Mailbag Episode #150: Listener Reactions to The Rock's Return, Cody Rhodes, Drew Turning Heel? Becky's NXT Title Run, More!

This is w w E Superstar Drew McIntyre and you're listening to the w w
E Podcast, the show, the one that everybody wants me god Videos.
Step three sixteen says, just quist your ass is my art. You're gonna
acknowledge Tree. It's time for the w w E Podcast Mailbag. It's Wednesday,
September twenty, twenty twenty three. So many emails to get to tonight,
and this maybe the first show that I don't get to everybody. I'm
gonna prioritize patrons voicemails. I mean, I've got a lot of those.
Two. It's maybe the biggest response I've gotten on a mailbag show. And
I do make an effort every single show to make sure I get everybody in.
But this this one, this one's gonna challenge me. But before we
get going, I want to welcome James to the Patreon family. How you
doing, James. I hope you enjoy all of the ad free stuff and
the exclusive show and the video that I'll be I'll be probably doing another video
tomorrow for the SmackDown tier and above and should be a fun little discussion.
I make them very quick, easy, easy to watch. Three minutes or
least usually, and that will becoming tomorrow. But that's only for the SmackDown
tier and higher. So if you want to join on Patreon, you can
do that Patreon dot com, Slash w w podcast, Apple podcast has an
app free or ad free experience, and WWE podcast dot com. So all
right, let's let's dive into it. I'm not gonna waste any time here.
Let's get to the patrons. And first up, boy boy, even
you patrons are very active too. That's a good thing. Uh, let's
start with Let's start with Frank, and Frank says, let me talk to
you. I'm gonna say the over under you guys starting with that line is
like five. Let's see if I'm right. So you say you're gonna start
with the question if WrestleMania forty was over and no one lost the titles,
and you're a head of creative, who would you set up for WrestleMania forty
one Night one at Night two? The Rocks return was awesome, but also
sucked because I felt like he should have confronted Paul Hayman or somebody of the
bloodline. All right, I'll stop there, because you have other stuff too.
Interesting question. I mean, I haven't really even given WrestleMania forty one
a glancing thought. But here's what I would do. Everyone keeps the titles.
Here's what I do. I would have Cody Rhodes believe it or not
versus Roman reigns at WrestleMania forty one, where Cody finally finishes his story after
two years. But the key is we have Cody Rhodes win the belt,
but they do a double turn where Cody actually does something he handed with a
low blow shocks the world and he captures the belt, but he turns heel
while Roman his baby face. That's what I would do, because you get
two you kill two birds with one stone, you get the belt off Roman
in a year, you have Cody finally finished his pathetic story, and you
also put him in the role that he should be in, which is a
heel. So that's what I would do. At least that's night one,
Night two. Man. Hell, this is just me in my own fantasy
land. I would have brock Lesner, Stone Cold, Steve Boston, and
probably at night one, Roman and Cody at night two. Because I believe
it or not, brock Lessener and stone Cold almost happened last year. That's
not out of the realm of possibility. That actually was proposed to Stone to
Steve and he turned down, so w W even wants it. So all
right, let's see, let's continue out through email. And you said also
I was thinking, say Cody Rhodes was to turn heel. Oh wow,
I literally did not read the next line. But that's weird. I would
like to see him heal in twenty twenty eighteen. Drew McIntyre. Yeah,
that's that's exactly it. I mean that, that's really really odd that you
also said that and I wasn't even reading ahead. So Randy Orton is coming
back now. We all saw him going into the Performance Center, which is
good news. I know. I can't believe Endeavor released Ava reins and are
finally they're ever going to say who's going over to SmackDown? So yeah,
I saw that Randy Orton footage. If you guys haven't seen it, Basically
what it is is fans caught Randy Orton getting out of a vehicle and getting
going into the Performance Center. I e. He should. That means he
should be training for a comeback, and he's closer maybe than we think that's
the assumption, and Randy Orton in his capture kind of whispered like to the
crowd, you know, don't tell anybody. So Randy Orton was seen I
think today at the Performance Center going in, which is very encouraging. All
right, Frank, By the way, guys, I maybe running through these
faster, just to give everyone an opportunity here. I'm really going to try.
I can't make any promises, but all right, let's talk to Peter.
P I won't I won't expose your last name, So Peter says,
the WrestleMania forty conundrum. You've talked about WrestleMania forty briefly and some of the
possibilities of matches of main events. I'm genuinely curious and what their plans are.
If Rock is in, then it has to be Rock versus Roman.
Can't have anything less. Then you have the other main event spots with Rollins,
Cody, Gunther, and of course Eli Nights possibilities. My question is
that would what would you like to see? Gunther is prime for his spot,
but you can tie him up with Brock. Rolins versus Cody would be
a climactic finish to their story. But Rollins may not be the champ I
WrestleMania, Cody needs to be as a I feel wwe have invested too much
in him. But then how do you tackle the Yam movement? Yeah,
this is a hell of a conundrum. Honestly, the biggest moving piece what
they need to lock into place yea or nay? Is Rock going to be
in the match of the Roman Like? They need to figure that out right
now? It has to be No, it's happening. I don't want to
hear that. Well, we need to put our pencils down because we couldn't
figure out way to make the match bigger than just a match enough, right,
I'm referring to the interview that The Rock did with Pat McAfee before he
returned on SmackDown on Friday. But they need to lock that in if it
is locked in, assuming it is, because I think that's the most likely
scenario right now. Is the Rock facing Roman Reins of WrestleMania forty and the
title will all in all likelihood be on the line. That means the Yam
Movement has to be postponed against Roman reigns. Now. I would be of
the belief and on the side of La and I challenging for a belt and
the belt is not on the line for Roman and Rock. It should not
be. It has no place there. It is a total tip of that
scales in terms of who is going to win the match. It's no fun
to have the belt on. In fact, I think it detracts from the
match. But you knowing w w E, they're gonna think that, well,
the belt on the line makes the most sense. It doesn't. But
sure so, assuming the belts on the line, that takes La Night out
of the potential main event with Roman Reigns. That leaves him open to well,
if he wins the rumble, does he face Seth Rollins? Is that
something you want to see? You know? And if he doesn't face Seth
Rollins, then where does La Night go if he wins the rumble? You
know, looking at the current field on on SmackDown, well rather on Raw.
If he wins the Rumble, he's not going to face Roman Reigns because
the Rock would be facing Roman Reigns. So who would La Night be facing.
You could say potentially Gunther, you know, if Gunther's not gonna be
facing brock Lesner. But I think brock Lessner Gunther is actually what they're aiming
for. That's been the reports. So if Gunther's tied up with Brock,
I think the title will not be on the line, which means Gunther's going
to drop the belt in the next couple of months, And that's fine.
I think he's proven his point, made his point, and he has added
an immense amount of value to the Icy title, So that's okay. The
belts should not be in line with Brock. So if Seth Rollins is still
champion, you could have Alia Night versus Seth Rollins. But Seth Rollins is
a pretty massive baby face right now, unless you're going to turn him heal
anyone else on the main roster. You could have him against Jayuso with Jayusso
again all considering that they're in their roles as they are now. Jay's a
baby face, can't that doesn't work right now, Kevin Owens doesn't work right
now. Ricochet, that's not even a conversation. Uh, you could.
You could have Cody versus Elie Knight, but I think right now they might
be doing Seth and Cody at WrestleMania. That seems to be also where they've
tipped the scales. So Ela Knights in a weird spot, man, because
we're all primed and ready for the YAM movement. We're all ready for that
thing to take over and and and create a massive wave, but the Rock
is and it's a weird thing because we almost see Rock Roman. If Rock
Roman wasn't happening. Ela Knight is a perfect fit for that main event match
with Roman. So I honestly don't know how they solve this. I don't
know. That's I hate to cop out man, but it's it's a conundrum.
It's a conundrum because Elie Knight's in a in a very enviable position of
having the crowds just get behind him out of essentially nowhere and continue the momentum,
want to see him as champion, but all of a sudden your path
is and blocked by a star that we've been wanting to see face Roman for
years. So we love them movement, we're there for it, but Rock
Roman, it's almost it would be sacrilegious to not have this match. It
has to happen. We all love the M movement, but Rock Roman has
to happen. Unfortunately, the title I think will be clogged up in there
and not available for La night. It's a weird spot. All right,
Let's let's keep it going. Oh or am I lost my spot? Okay?
So Rollins versus Cody would be a climactic finish to their story, but
Rawlins may not be the champimania Cody needs to be there. Yeah, so
yeah, he does need to be there. WW hasn't I mean, w
W would be just fine without Cody. I have to say, you know,
I'm not gonna go on that rant again, but thanks Frank. All
right, let's talk to mister whisper in the wind and he says, I
hope everyone's seven a good week. Get well suoned Nick Chubb. Yeah,
a lot of injuries in the NFL right now, and massive star injuries,
not just kind of your you know, your your defensive backs or something like
like stars. All right? Is it me? Or is Finnbaler way too
happy to be a tag team champion? He's acting like it's his first title.
It's very cringey and it's and not like a heel. So yeah,
it is a bit weird. But here's the thing. I actually don't mind
it for two reasons. One, he's being over he's being over emotive about
it and gloating about it in a way that does make it obnoxious where you
want to see a baby face take it from him. So I think that's
part of the reason and purpose of the way he's acting with it. Number
two, anybody who acts happy with a tag team title in WWE should be
applauded because the tag titles, especially the women's side of things, are damn
cursed, so they should act happy. I don't care if you're a baby
face or heel. You should pretend it's the most important thing to you because
it needs love all the time, the way WWW has treated their tag team
divisions. So all right, thanks again for that other Patreon to give.
Thanks again for that other patron to give Cody or the comparison of Cody Rhodes
as a politician. It makes perfect sense and makes me hate him a lot
easier. Yeah, he is a politician. He is a damn I don't
know who said it, and whoever it is, I give you credit.
He is a politician, my friend, and it's it's exactly what he is.
He's kind of he's too soft, he's too nice. I don't buy
it. All right, So we are so darned close to Drew's heel turn.
Xavier Woods set the tone perfectly for the narrative. He will definitely call
out the fans in some way during his beginning stages of being a heel about
how he carried WW as a champion during the pandemic. And he's completely right.
Yes, we're all waiting. We're all waiting eagerly for a true heel
turn, myself included. That's not hyperbole. I really am Also, I
heard twenty twenty four is a big year for Kevin Owens. Can he ever
become champion again? And how would you rate his big year? Have a
good one, Maddie. No one, okay, no one calls me Maddie.
I don't even know the last time I was called that. I really
don't so. Kevin Owens is in twenty twenty four a big year? I
mean take that with a grain of salt. Things change on the fly.
How many times you hear about raw changing their direction? I know that's under
the Vince mcgram regime, but Vince still has influence. I'll believe it when
I see it. And what does a big year mean? If I could
make his big year? Here's what I do. I would bring in at
any cost. I really would. M j F, whose contract is up
January first, and I know many of you all we already resigned with any
W res time with a W. I've heard nothing of the sort. I
have heard no confirmation that MJF has resigned with AW. If he has someone
correct me, please send me the article. I'm not talking. Well,
he probably did. No, no, no, no. I want to
hear that from the source that he did from a W or MJF himself.
I don't think that's that out there. So if he's still available, bring
him in, have him work with have him worked with Kevin Owens. MJF
and Kevin Owens. Bring it on, man, That's what I do to
start off the year. Yeah, and have him being brought in as a
heel too. I want heel m JF. None of the stuff he's shown
right now with Adam Cole. All right, let's go. Let's see.
Let's see we're going to We're going to the other I got like three different
mail back sources here. We're gonna go to the next next individual, and
this is King Scully. He says he's representing the UK. How hey,
Matt, how you doing. I broke my big toe at football. Yes,
football, not the other name beginning with s. Oh, well,
you mean how it's known to the rest of the world as soccer. Yeah,
I know in the UK you guys colleague football. To us, that's
weird, like, but it actually kind of makes sense because you use your
foot on the ball. But also you use your foot on the ball in
actual American football. So anyway, nonetheless, those listening most of us,
I think there's like my audience about seventy five in North America, So for
the rest of us, he means soccer. I played tites a week indoors.
I recommend kicking the ball, actual ball, not the door frame of
the fire risk. Oh yikes, get what get better? Man? You
know, breaking a toe is no fun at all, and it's your big
toe on top of it. Yes, anyway, what's with all the outfits
lately? Imperium looked like they were attending a funeral in their suits when celebrating
Gunther's title reign Cody the actual nightmare. That's a good one, looking like
he's attending a wedding. Then we have the herb business. Two point zero
just finished filming the remake of the Godfather. To top it off, we
have Pat McPhee and Austin Theory get it going to a wife beating contest?
Well, add the rock in there. You know, all three of them
were wearing black tank tops in that segment, which was I would imagine by
design or happenstance, who knows. But yeah, here's the thing. I
actually like Imperium in the Suits. I think it suited them. Huh see
what I did there? Really well, I think that that gunther could be
in a dang catalog like a Sears catalog or something. Those of you old
enough to know what Sears is if you have a Sears near you or GQ,
how about that GQ a little bit more relevant. So I really actually
enjoyed it, the Imperium Faction in Suits, It really did. I thought
it was a very nice look. But the herb business, that's just kind
of as that's Bob Lashly. He's kind of go to Cody Rhodes. I
mean, I'm not gonna even go there. You know, he's he is
an actual nightmare. As you said, the Rocks term is a surprise.
While the summit was special thanks to Memphis Mark who ruined it in our group
chat. I forgive you Mark, but at thirty six, I still got
goose sumps. Embarrassing, right, No, man, it's not embarrassing.
That's what keeps us coming back, Goose. I got goosebumps. That's what
that's the feeling you chase. That is why you're a fan. That's what
you're always chasing when you watch wrestling. So no, no need to be
embarrassed. That is That means you are still invested. That means you still
love this thing. So but it was great to see him, and he
dropped the Spinebuster in the most relative electrifying move, like he hasn't been away.
It wasn't just it wasn't his best promo and theory did well. But
let's see Rock versus Roman and Wrestling MANE forty to confirm the real travel chief.
Yes, so many people were disappointed. He didn't make any mention of
Roman or the bloodline or anything. There was no interaction, which tells me
this is kind of a happenstance, one off that he happened to be in
town. Things lined up, Let's get the Rock on the show. That's
what I think it was. But also it could have timed perfectly by design
with the merger being completed with UFC, w W and Endeavor. So maybe
it was all three. Who knows the fact that the matter is. It
was still fun to watch him, And you know, I know people want
to rush into the Bloodline story. They got a lot of time to tell
it, They got a lot of time to think about how they want to
introduce it and all that kind of thing. So I wasn't too disappointed about
that, because look at September twentieth, right, WrestleMania is what October sixth
and seventh or October April sixth and seventh, something along that line. So
we've got six months, little over six months, half a year. There's
time. There's time, all right. It was not so great to see
Cody Rhodes kickoff for all this past week. And I'm fed up with this
character. All right, guys, I feel like I should give you a
round up? Law Am I turning you? Guys? Are you doing this
on your own? He doesn't have a beat, He doesn't have to beat
everybody, although he clearly does like he's some invincible machine. It made Dirty
Dom look weak. I don't think anyone wanted to see him with Ko and
Sammy. Again, haven't we already seen that? I think at this point
I preferred Stardust. Cody is good in the ring, no doubt, but
his character in the WW on this story need a reality check. He isn't
Stone Cold Steve Austen and let's not forget even stone Cold lost a match or
two. What a great wrestler? Oh yeah, so yeah, I mean,
I got nothing to say on that. He's insufferable to me at this
point, he's actually like tripling down on the things that I hate about his
character. I mean, it's just I went on a rant about it,
so I'm not going to duplicate that if you guys want to hear that on
my Raw review show last night, Just the things he does. He even
strings out you know, so Indianapolis, and he waits for the pop with
his just putrid side smile, and then what do you want to talk about?
And then he just waits for a reaction that's not going to come because
it's the dumbest question to ever ask a group of people, you know,
and then he just everything about him, his movements, is his very performative
entrance. It's just all it's all for me gone. All the magic of
his baby face character that I try to get invested in is just gone.
But okay, anyway, you continue and you say what a great wrestler Ivar
is. His match with Kofi was good. He carried that match and it
was damn right shambles that they let Kofi kick out of the Moon Salt.
The Viking Raiders would have ruled the tag team division back in the early nineties.
They deserve to win more matches. Yeah, there was there were times,
right remember where they repacked the Viking Raiders. We got vignettes from them.
Valhalla came in, they started being badasses. Remember they took their shields
and like beat the crap out of people for weeks, and then that went
away and they started losing matches again. So that's what I'm saying. Anyone
that's in the Tag tea division that are the champions should pretend that that's the
most amazing thing they've ever owned ever, because this is what they do to
tag teams. They don't know what to do with tag teams. So Ivar
did have a great match with Kofi. I mentioned that this past week too.
You don't see too many singles matches with Ivar and I enjoyed it,
so I agree though if it was the nineties would be a different, different
show. And the kick out of the Moon Salt. Yeah, that that
when you think about the reality of that, like, come on, it's
just that certain moves that used to be finishers everyone suddenly started doing and now
it's just become transition kind of like near falls, you know, like ddts
used to be finishes and that's starting to come back again. But you know,
a clothes line, believe it or not, used to be a finish
back way back, but it did, you know, so a chokeslie used
to be a finish. Outside of Damian Priest, you know, super Kick
probably mostly Greets. Example of all time is the Shawn Michael sweet Chin music.
That's nothing more than a just another weapon that every single person on the
roster has added to their arsenal. And it's nothing more than just kind of
a you know, a knockdown move. You know, it's it's I mean,
unbelievable, all right. So lastly, I cannot wait until Drew macatyre
beats ten bells out of riddle. Just do it already, and angry heel
Drew is definitely the way forward. Yeah, no doubt, all right,
thanks King Skelly, no doubt about it. We're all waiting. We're all
waiting patiently. Oh my gosh, so many emails left. Lady. Let's
go. Let's go, so Detroit, Kyle, Let's go. Cody Rhodes
is Homelander. Have you ever seen the show called The Boys on Amazon Prime?
Cody Rhodes reminds me so much of it the character Homelander, starting from
the overall look of the slick macked hair and cat caped red, white and
blue America outfit, with his constant over the top pandering through the crowd,
the way he combines being both a politician as well as everyone's hero, and
everything he does is quote for the fans. He is a spitting image of
the character in my opinion, outside of having actual powers. But I'm mainly
here to complain about women's division as a whole. First of all, I
have not seen that, but I'll take your word for it. Okay,
So the women's tag team division, especially the writing, is atrocious. First
of all, all the women's tag champs were literally thrown together with the titles
on them. Seriously, how can you have someone join a tag team when
they have already won that they already have the titles. Why does Piper just
get to add herself to the Tag Team Champs? What about the other women
in the division? I thought that if a member of the Tag Team Champs
was injured, the team that would have to that team would have to relinquish
their titles. I'm confused. Yeah, you should be confused. The idea
is, don't ask questions. We just do stuff so that it's convenient for
the story. And we hope you don't care enough that if you put truth
serum in WW management and creative is the truth. Just stop asking questions,
Just don't think beyond the surface. This is rassling. Just go with it.
Don't worry that. We don't want to have to come up with a
story or to have to be We don't want to have to follow our own
rules, so let us make up our own as we go along. That's
exactly what they hope that the rest of the fans do. But yeah,
they're the answer is you should be confused and insulted as fans. Honestly,
when they do this kind of crap, you know your intelligence should be insulted.
So all right, I understand tag team champs or tag teams are thrown
together sometimes, and I'm not mad about that. Sometimes that can create unexpected
magic, such as r K BRO, But I'm mad that they would allow
Piper to just insert ourselves into the champion position. Just imagine someone doing that
with a singles title. For instance, Let's say Seth gets injured during the
title match and retains. Does that mean anyone can just grab the title,
the belt off sets shoulder and just claim themselves as a new champ. No
one has to fight for it. It makes the logical sense, not in
the real world or even in the WWE. I'm not going to say it.
You use the word universe. I can't stand that. I can't stand
that phrase. I never got used to it. So to answer your question,
I think that they're, you know, beyond the egregiousness of them,
hoping that you don't care to about this stuff or notice is that there are
free bird rules. Maybe they're going to lean on freebird rules, meaning like
when the New Day win the belts, when the New Day when the tag
tag team titles, they don't assign those belts to any two out of the
three, specifically any two out of the group can defend it, So perhaps
that's what it is. Now the question is do the does Does free bird
rules only apply to those who existed in the group when the belts were won?
Or can people who join the group be suddenly champions as long as it
stays within the group that they're in. Yeah, I don't know, but
what if they take the belts in the match leave that it gets I'm not
even gonna go into it, but I don't like freebird rules honestly, But
that's maybe what this is, all right? Tom? Where was I here?
I lost? I lost my spot? And why the new random team
of Zoe and Shanea get a match with the tag team champs right away and
they were just formed? Why not get another women's tag team out there for
more exposure and help develop the non existent division. Then here comes Naya Jack's
playing the monster role and destroying everyone in her path, which nobody wants to
see. Why couldn't they give Piper that monster role? She would have been
great at it and wouldn't put other talent at risk being in the ring.
The women's division doesn't need more talent, they have plenty already. Not like
bringing Naya ads any talent anyway. They need to write actual stories for the
women and let them develop their characters. They really aren't doing much with the
singles title either. They aren't developing enough challengers to compete for the titles.
Also, Becky should not be carrying the Women's NXT Championship right now, and
that's just a joke. She's main roster talent and someone should be at the
top car or top of the card, fighting for the main titles or feuding
at the top of the card with other women. I'm really disappointed in everything
they're doing with the women in WWE, and I could go on exposing all
the problems. On a positive note, though Ko was still brilliant on the
mic. It was very entertaining on Raw this week. That's it for this
week and go Lions. Well all right, So it sounds to me like
you you kind of think, you kind of feel like all's well in the
women's division. I'm getting the vibe that you don't have a whole lot to
complain about, and that you know, you want things to kind of just
continue the way they're going because it's it's about as good as it's ever been.
That's kind of course. You know, hey, I can't respond to
every point here. You have so many different, so many different issues with
the women's division, and a lot of this is valid. The fact that
they, you know, brought Ny Jack's back doesn't excite oh really anyone.
I'm sorry. I know there are people on the show that listen to the
show that are fans of fans of Night Jacks and good for you. I
mean, I don't mean that in a sarcastic way like literally good for you.
I hope that you enjoy her return, but the majority of fans are.
It's a big collective grown. If I could encapsulate the sound most fans
make about her return, it's this, why is she back? Right?
That's probably it? Or to just summarize it without words, probably that right.
Some are around there now. As far as your complaint though about Becky
carrying the women and Women's NXC championship as if it's below her, I don't
think I would take this. If I would, Becky Lynch, you know,
I wouldn't take this as a demotion. Number One, she's never won
it, right, and you want to be able to add that to her
resume. Number Two, working with Tiffany Stratton and the enter other NXT women's
talent helps build new stars, It helps bring new eyeballs to the product,
maybe gets people to watch NXT that otherwise don't a lot of most fans that
watch the main roster don't watch NXT. So if you have Becky Lynch go
there, win the NXT title. I think there's some people that are going
to cross over and start watching NXT and then maybe get hooked on NXT.
It can't hurt anything, you know, And clearly they're not ready for Becky
and Rhea, So I have no problem with this, and it actually did
wonders for Finn Balor Kevin Owens went there for a while back. It doesn't
need to just be a one way street. If they're going to talk to
us about NXT being a legitimate third brand, then treat it like one.
And I think this is how you do it occasionally. I don't need it
all the time. But I really don't have a big issue with Becky other
than her promo, which oh yeah, I've heard. If you don't know
what I'm talking about, it was nearly as bad as Cody saying I'm here
to make you guys happy, which is maybe the quote of the you know
of this century when it comes to baby faces in pro wrestling, of just
how to get people to just completely cringe. But Becky Lynch rhyming and her
promo on purpose, you couldn't be more transparent that your promo was pre written,
because you know she didn't come up with that on the fly. It's
it was just awful. If you don't want to talking about google it,
Becky Lynch n XT promo, it'll pop right up all right too. Let's
go talk to our next patron, DJ Kuzmo and he says he's back at
it again and says and then we wait and wait and wait for the eventual
Drew mcatellier mcatyr heel turned. But the question is who would be his first
program? Jay Cody Sammy Seth after fast Lane. Interesting to me as to
why the Judgment Day is continuing to try to convince Jay to join their group.
Even I gotta I gotta say, DJ, just uh DJ, see
see I'm looking at all these letters, j D. I know you're trying
to mess me up with PJ J D McDonough. I'm not gonna I'm not
gonna fall for it because I will, my brain will grasp on to PJ
and won't let go. So j D was so j D was trying to
join the group. He's clearly simping hard to get their attention. I think
we all fellows could relate in prior years and while in high school with college
of trying to get an attractive woman's attention and getting shut down every time.
And then comes this Jay usso looking dude, and all the attractive women are
competing and get his attention. I mean, come on, dude, geez.
Yeah, that's a for me. Uh, that's a that's a bit
of a relatable, a relatable experience. Not not too often, you know,
you reach a point where you're just like, you know, it's not
even worth the anymore, so you just don't do anything. Oh boy,
that's a that's an after dark topic, is it not? Anyway, before
this becomes a segment about an after dark show. See see you guys,
you know me, you know me DJ, Sorry, Anthony, I just
want to say that eventually j j D will join the Judgment day, probably
at or after fast Lane, because it seems like the superkick that Jay gave
Damien on this past Monday Night Raw might be the final nail on the proverbial
coffin of the judgment day trying to convince Jay to join. But wait a
minute, what does it mommy have to say about that? We'll find out
for our one last thing to mention how insane it was that the Rock appeared
last week on SmackDown. I would have never believed that this was going to
happen, because the last time I saw him on SmackDown was in twenty nineteen
eighty he debuted on Fox. Moments like that make pro bustlings so exciting because
you never know who might show up or what might happen next. That was
one of the things I loved about watching SmackDown during the tail end of the
Attitude era and for most of the US Rutho's Aggression era, the element of
surprise. DJ Kusmo signing off, Yeah, I mean, that's that's the
feeling that they always tell us that we should have. They even introduced the
show like that. How many times you hear on a night when anything could
happen? I mean, Kevin Patrick's famous for saying that, right, That's
like, that's how he introduces every show. It's like first of all,
it's not unbelieve you right, like stop, I know you want us to
believe that. But for the majority of those of the time, it's not
a show that you feel like anything could happen. You know. Most of
the time you're sitting there going, yeah, it's probably gonna be this,
it is probably this is probably this right. But while that is the majority
of the time that we watch wrestling in our years, there are these moments
like the Rocks return and others that you go okay, yeah, cool,
right, and you get the goosebumps and this is Those are the moments that
reinforce why you're a fan, that you sit there and go, this is
why I love this stuff, you know. All right, DJ, thank
you. Let's talk too. Let's see let's talk to my god. You
guys are hammering me. Another patron and this is Freeman and he says,
hey, WTB podcasters, I thought it would be best to get in the
mailbag super early this time, given the big shocker that came on SmackDown,
and I have a lot I want to talk about, so time to abuse
the Patreon privilege. Well, you're not abusing it. You're not abusing it.
No, that's what you need to do first. A small point,
but I have to disagree with you about the wrestlers welcoming people to the show.
I feel it's an important, enjoyable part of the building hype and it's
something that I actively look forward to. Starting with that, I just wouldn't
feel right. Well, then you've been conditioned and brainwashed my friend what he
means, and if you don't know what we're referencing, it's then every single
person that comes out, no matter who is out there first, always has
to say welcome, Tom Wonder not Raw. It's like, why you're not
a spokesperson for the show. You're a wrestler on the show that we are
supposed to believe are there to fight, compete for championships, and that that's
why, that's why we're told you're there, not to be a company tow
the line, dude that just goes out there and says a corporate line that
everyone has to say to start off, Raw or wherever. I hate it.
I'm sure that you know. Do you feel like you'd be lost without
it? Well, we were doing just fine in the attitude with a Suggression
era. Even beyond that, I don't know when this exactly started. Over
the last couple of years, it feels like we were doing just fine without
it. I knew what program I was watching without having the wrestlers come out
and go, hey, welcome to a monet raw. I never once said
to myself, oh, shull, I thought I was watching Jeopardy. Thank
god they told me. You know, That's how I feel about it.
I despise those little things that they just they're habitual, and I don't understand
the need for it. I think it feels very contrived in corporate and it's
very predictable, and it takes away from the feeling that they're telling us anything
could happen when I know the very first line that this person's going to say
every week guaranteed. No. I hate it. So anyway, first,
a small point, but I have to disagree with you. Oh anyway,
continuing, let's address the elephant in the room, the return of the Rock.
This may have stirred up some excitement among fans, but it's hard to
ignore the fact that it reeked of hollow fan service with little promise of anything
substantial. Rather than setting the stage for something bigger, this appearance seemed more
like a nostalgic Grabbit viewership, calling it a question it's significance in the broader
context of w B storytelling. While this got a huge pop, so would
bringing out any major celebrity. And ultimately he just came out to say hi
and not advance any stories or even set any matches. Well, it doesn't.
Here's the thing, as I mentioned earlier, and I feel like I'm
gonna say this again, every appearance by him or any big name star doesn't
need to set up a match. That would be nice, right like if
Austin. If Austin came out and the glass broke opening up on Anette Raw
and he was out there to just I don't know, they're in Dallas,
Texas or they're you know, he happens to be in the area and Austin
comes out and just you know, says he wanted to come home for a
night, and you know, he starts hitting and just basically doing the greatest
hits. And then somebody comes out, some heel like the Miss comes out,
runs down Austin. You know what's coming. Eventually Austin hits a stunner
on the Miss beer. You know, everyone's happy, and you know Austin
just kind of leaves for the night. You're telling me you don't want that
because it didn't set up a match or you know, broader storytelling. You
know, like that that's the thing. And I know that the expectation with
The Rock is different because we've heard about WrestleMania forty and this match with Roman
that's been looming for years now. So the expectation for The Rock is a
little different when he comes because you're like, Okay, he's got to be
setting up something, and when he doesn't, people are like, what the
hell. But at the same time, they're also excited to see him,
all right. I would also like to add that I don't even think The
Rock truly came out that night. I got the feeling that we were watching
Dwayne Johnson pretending to be The Rock rather than The Rock himself. Little things
like smiling to the kids and laughing at his own promo made it feel like
more of a performance than a fan service. Maybe I'm expecting too much.
Well, two things, I would advise you to watch Cody Roads. Then
if that, if those little things that The Rock bothered you, are you
telling me that the Cody Rhodes doesn't. I mean, that's that's all.
That's the whole Cody Roads character. I mean, that's what it is,
is built on that crap. But also give the Rock a little bit of
leeway here, because he hasn't been a deva to be in four years.
He's been living his life outside to be just fine with all those projects and
movies and all that stuff, and so getting back into that character in that
headspace is not easy to do. He has to, really, I mean,
you can't just flip a switch and all of a sudden he's one hundred
percent back in. So I think he did fine considering the fact that he
hasn't done this in quite a while. Moving on, the ongoing WB feud
between Seth and Shinsky has showcased Rollins growing hubris. This journey into darkness aligns
with the classic storytelling trope of a hero's fall do their own due to their
own pride, So I expect this is what is going to happen, with
him becoming more desperate as Shintsky doesn't play into his ego trip, leading to
Seth Rollins turning. Heel Raw has too many baby faces and one of the
needs to turn I think Seth is most likely, well, I would I
would say Drew is most likely, as it's kind of been a theme throughout
this mailbag. Drew seems to be the most likely. But Seth Rollins turning
heel isn't the most crazy thing in the world. But I feel like right
now they have something going with Seth as a baby face. Fans do seem
to gravitate to him pretty well. But I wouldn't hate Seth turning heel.
I wouldn't, you know. He's not that far off of one. So
I'm not saying no. I would say to me, he's my number two
choice because Seth's going to need someone to work with and a heel. Drew
McIntyre, who hasn't been a heel in a long time, has a lot
to contribute. If Seth Rollins curns, he'll it's likely that he will lose
the title, but not necessarily to Nakamerla. Instead, I think his eagle
trip will lead to a suspension, marking the climax of his huboristic descent.
Word choice is very interesting tonight, not complaining, it's just it's a it's
very very high level. Cody would be proud of us we feel like we're
intelligent using larger words, leaving the belt open and Seth a truly broken man,
exactly what Nakamura promised this quote. Suspension would also give him the time
off he needs to get his back sorted well. He would have to probably
be out for six to eight months minimum. I mean, the reason that
he's not getting the surgery he needs for the back is because he knows it's
not a you know, two to four or two to six weeks recovery.
It's like six to eight months, I think, if not more so,
you know that that is not going to happen right now for Seth. I
don't I don't think all right. Another thought about Becky, How coincidental is
it that she moved to NXC just before Nia Jackson's return. I think she's
over there because those two don't play very well, don't play very publicly together,
don't get along, and WB management wanted to avoid any future further drama.
This is true. I don't see them keeping Becky in NXT forever unless
there is another way to keep her segregated from NAYA. I don't expect Nia
to be around for very long. I actually don't think that's the case.
The reason I don't is there are people in every walk of life that you
don't like, but you have to work with. These two women are professionals,
right you would, you would hope, so anyway they know that,
you know if they start acting up backstage or whatever, and even if there
is real life beef, you deal with it, you move on. You
can't tell me that everyone that works together in pro wrestling, men and women,
they all love each other. I think more often than not. More
often than not, there's companionship, some real friendships, but there there are
probably men and women that compete or our teams that despise each other but pretend
to like each other on camera or vice versa. So I think that that's
something that I don't think they did that for that reason with Becky. I
think they just don't have anything for Becky right now and they can't go to
Rhea and Becky yet. That's the reason, and it brings viewership to NXT
and all the benefits that I've described earlier. Finally, given you like the
politician angle for Cody, I thought I would share another hot take on him.
He's obviously talented in the ring, but this image has to be his
image has he has is being so pushed. I fear they're going to do
the same thing they did with in early Roman Reigns. Both Cody and Roman
were growing to be the quintessential good guy to point of forcing the issue.
I fear that WWE haven't learned from the fan backlash from Roman and they're doing
the same thing again with Cody and given up more time and more people will
turn against him. If this is true, then Roman begins to step away.
It's likely that Cody will step up and to take over is the face
of the company and be the one to take his title, much to my
annoyance. There are similarities between Cody and Roman in terms of the baby face
character. But here's the thing. Cody instantly got a massive baby face reaction.
The big dog version of Roman Reigns never got anywhere close to that reaction
that WWE wanted him to get. That desired reaction never happened for the Roman
Reigns baby Face big dog character ever. And the other difference is Cody Rhodes
can cut promos. Baby Face Roman could not, and they protected the hell
out of him by not letting him speak more than three words, you know.
And he also went right from the Shield to the main event. He
didn't take any intrim steps, he didn't take challenge for the Intercontinental Championship.
He just went right to the main event, which I think a lot of
fans resented. And so there's there are differences here. And Cody Roads also
has a past rapport with w W. Even though we went to a w
we all know the story there. So yeah, I you know, I
think that Cody might be the one to take the belt from Roman, but
I if they do, I want it to be a double turn. At
least give me something that I won't want to jump off a building, right,
give me the one dangle that carrot in front of me, so I
don't want to, you know, drop a toaster in my bathtub. So
I'm being a bit dramatic, I know that, but my point is like,
if you're gonna do it, I think that actually would be beneficial not
just for my own mental health, but also for story story wise. So
all right, thank you, buddy, and uh let's continue on to make
sure I do I have other patrons. Let's see my God, all right,
so let's see it. You'm gonna I'm gonna mix it up with a
voicemail. We got so many emails. I'm gonna exit up with the voicemail
here. Get some of the patrons voicemails on here, because I don't know
if I'm gonna get through all the emails, guys, I really don't.
So let's go to Yeah, let's start with you know, guys, You
guys know who I'm gonna start with, so adjust your speakers accordingly. Here
he comes, mister DJ Kuzmo. Hello, don't any podcast where this is
DJ Kuzmo. Back added again on your mail Max Show Records. You live
on a westday morning, on a chilly, brisk Wednesday morning. Before we
get to the Vier Mahard Report, before we get to the Beer Mahd Report,
I gotta give a shout out of shout outs. I know this is
not a football podcast, so shout out to my caretter adding the Football Function
podcast. This is not a sports podcast, but I gotta get this off
my chest. Hit us, none of them. The New York Football Giants,
my New York Football Jians, and an incredible victory this past Sunday against
the Arizona Cardinals down in Arizona with a score of thirty one to twenty eight.
Now one I saw at half time that it was twenty to nothing.
I was like, not again, not again, because last week I saw
the absolute nightmare of the ass whooping that the Dallas Cowboys gave to my New
York Football Giants, and I did not wanted to see that again because I
wanted to see these guys put out a victory in Arizona, and rightfully so
they did because I don't know during the halftime in the locker room, I
don't know what coach day Ball said. Something happened, something clipped, because
at the second half, this was a different New York Football Giants team as
my guy Daniel Jones took over the game with first out after first down,
touchdown after touchdown, Saint Quel Barkley doing what he does best, and of
course every single one of the collective of the offense, the wide receivers,
everybody was in sick as the New York Giants pull up an incredible victory within
a score of thirty one to twenty eight. Now, with that being said,
they have a game this coming Thursday night. No rest for the weary
as they're still on this I guess you could say West Coast road trip as
they go against those pisky Oh my goodness, the archer never says our arch
rivals, the San Francisco forty nine ers, who have been a thorn in
our side for so many years. I hopefully, hopefully, hopefully they could
pull out a victory against those forty nine. Is this coming Thursday on Thursday
Night Football? Now, I know this is not a football podcast, but
let's get to your favorite shower coming every single week on No mail Bag.
And I'm talking about the Vi VI, the v of the Veer, the
Vier Muhammad port O, the Vier Muhamad port took please this past Monday eight
on Monday Raw. But they were not once again, my guys, the
in the Shear were not. Once again, they were not on Monday Night
Raw. Now. I don't know where they are right now, but I
do have to say this. For the past couple of months, you know,
it's been up and down with the booking. Hopefully we get to see
them back on Monday Night Raw. It seems like the Alpha Academy needs somebody
to face them as they have moved on from Imperium and going. Hopefully,
my guys very Mahon Saga and the modern day Maharaja will probably be in this
next field with the OUTFA Academy. Now with that being said, this is
your guy, DJ COULSMO. Have a blessing, big guy to one another
at peace, DJ. Yeah, little football here. So you know what,
I haven't really commented on this, and this is not a football podcast,
but I think a lot of sports bands are wrestling fans. So yeah,
the Giants. I was a little scared too. Actually, on my
fantasy team, I had the have Daniel Jones as one of my quarterbacks and
I said, and based on the performance last week, I'm benching his ass.
And I ended up eating my words because in the second half he came
back for like, you know, thirty something points. So that, of
course is I'm over two on in terms of quarterback selection on the NFL weeks
here. But you know, nothing goes faster than the NFL season. I
mean we're already on week three. I'm telling you freaking flies by that said
the Giants man. For those that care, Yeah, I if they had
lost Arizona, their season would essentially be over. I know it's weird to
saying that week two, but at that point you're you're going to San Francisco,
they're facing the forty nine or Smart Night and it's probably gonna be a
loss. So if they go one and two, it's better than oh and
three obviously, and you know, then they get eleven days off and then
they go to Seattle. So you know this right now, if I would
say if they go two and two, that's a that's a that's an acceptable
start, okay, especially with the debacle of losing forty to nothing to the
Cowboys, you know, so all right, well let's continue on it.
Yeah, as far as the very Mahan goes and SONGA, I'm very disappointed,
honestly, and where they've taken them, which is kind of the zoo
side, erratic or inconsistent. The booking is up and down. It's just
very disappointing because I really enjoyed where they were going with gender bahall and even
just the quick video packages that they were doing. And then they just they
were gonna say, oh, the Superstar Spectacle when in India they're gonna face
Kevin Owens, the Samy same for the titles. I said, here we
go, and that turned into a non title match, and then they just
disappeared off the face of the earth. Not encouraging. So again, that's
why I'm saying the tag team division often gets the lack of respect. So
yeah, all right, thank you DJ. Let's continue wherever I want to
go here. Maybe we'll throw in another email here and then we'll get back
to boy smails. Mix it up a little bit. And this is from
Rebecca and she says, Hey, Matt, so a couple of thoughts Becky
and Natty for the next te title was awkward, I agree, and also
unnecessary by the way. I mean, it wasn't just awkward, it was
totally unnecessary and did I mean, I don't understand the purpose of this.
This made no sense to me. Cody Enough said, I wholeheartedly agree.
Ikey, Yes, thank you. No one is allowed to disagree with me
on that you'll be banned from the show. Three. As a woman,
I wanted to throw my two cents about the real Ripley retaliation thing. I
get the whole sponsorship thing, and if the company can't let the men retaliate,
then the women should be not allowed to interfere. Here's why I feel
like girls can look at these women as role models, and I feel like
we're sending a bad message like, yeah, I'm a girl and I can
run rough shot over the men and they can't do anything in real life.
Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. It's an unhealthy dynamic either way.
It's just a bad idea to let these women do this, not even a
good idea. And it feels like it's quote your character. By the way,
if you watch the show Heals, this issue is directly addressed with the
female character. But from the company point of view, if you don't watch
it, I highly recommend it. Good stuff. I will watch it.
Thank you. Yeah, I'm glad you said that. You know, it's
it's just been a sticking point for me. And I'm not advocating for men
to go out out there and you know, starts cracking the women over the
you know, the head of the steel chair and all that. I'm not
asking for them to do what Austin and Triple H did to Leda back when
they had the two Men Power trip in what two thousand and two, whatever
it was two thousand and one. Yeah, that actually I did find funny.
Not in the sea. Oh my god, they're beating up women just
like they're so overpowering and actually lead to post that beat down. Actually said
that that was the one of the highlights of her career because she gets to
be in the main event with Stone Cold Steve Boston and she took so many
chair shots. Uh. Social Leada even enjoyed that. But my point is
I agree with you. You know, the women shouldn't be interfering with the
men. They should stay totally separate from one another from a physical standpoint,
totally. But the narrative is you're you can't you can't touch me exam a
woman. Of course, in real life, it really shouldn't matter whether you're
a man or a woman. Self defense is blind to your your sex right
like self defense is just defending yourself so that you you know, you don't
just you don't get injured or killed, and that that principle should apply to
pro wrestling, even more so considering it's a fantasy environment. But I agree
the message being sent to women in in wrestling, if you're using this as
a role mode for women or girls that are watching, is hey, by
the way, you can go beat up your boyfriend and he can't touch you
because you're a woman. It's a bunch of nonsense. Again, I'm not
advocating for men to go out and just say, oh, well, you're
stronger. I'm stronger than my girlfriend, so I'm gonna go and start beating
there. No, of course not. But my point is if I wouldn't
tug on Superman's cape. And I'm not saying men are Superman, maybe that
was a bad analogy. It's more like, if I know somebody is significantly
stronger than I am, I would not go and poke the bear. That's
a better one because eventually the bear is gonna poke back, and I'm not
gonna like it, and then I'm gonna scream domestic violence. Oh you hit
me? Well, what would you? What would you do to h to
provoke that? Well? I I was hitting him and then he hit me
back. Weird how that works. But for right now, they seem to
because ri Rippy's a woman, that there's this immunity in this invisible bubble around
her, and it's just infuriating to me. It's infuriating because it also de
emasculates the men who just kind of cower and sit in the fetal position and
go, oh oh man. They might give her a mean look, but
they're not gonna do anything. It's ridiculous. I despise it. It hurts
everyone involved. I agree, Thanks Rebecca. All right, now that they've
got half the women mad at me on the show, let's continue and let's
go. I'll take one more email. Let's say I've got it. Do
I have duplicates here? This is from It's from David, and David says
this is actually Dragonheart. Okay, so he says, I've been listening to
your podcast for nearly a year and I've enjoyed it. I'm working whenever I
listen, which really does make my day go by faster. So thank you
for being a good time distraction for me. Well, I'm glad I could
do that. Just don't get fired. Take it how you will. I've
been meaning to write in, but I've been too busy that now seems like
a good time. I've got a lot to say. First, I understand
why you said. I understand why you had said what you had jumped off
the Cody Rhods train and is lying in some ditch somewhere with a broken leg.
I think you're referring, yeah, I said, but I'm jumping off
the Cody Rhods train. I think that's what you're referencing. Watching him last
Monday, I could see why he can be so obnoxious. The pandering to
the crowd can to get a reaction is over the top. Kabuki like acting
needs to stop. He's very animated. The slight edge in his voice was
oblivious. It had a hint of sarcasm with a touch of glee, not
to be outdone by his million dollars smile. I'm being facetious, of course,
but that being said, he's a good performer and he should never be
taken that shouldn't be taken away from him. I saw him once at a
live event and he was spectacular to see. Now I know why that the
WW is making it like he's the reason why jays on Raw, which to
us looking in doesn't make sense. But this could be another jab at AW
because Cody used to be an executive vice president over there. It's not a
secret that w W we'd like to take shots at a W when they get
the chance. So hey, I mean, the fact that he's a good
performer absolutely can't take away from him. I credit him for how good he
is in the ring. I mean no question about it. I have no
problem with that. His interest music is very catchy. I understand all that,
but it's it's just it's really a simple issue. His baby face character
isn't sufferable, that's it. I think he'd be a brilliant heel. Brilliant
Look what happened with Roman reigns. It turned his entire career, his life
around with the success he found as a heel, And for years fans were
climbering, no, we don't want him as a baby face, Please turn
him heal, Please turn him Heal. Was like, Nope, I know
better than you. I'm going to win this war of attrition, and he
eventually caved after what seven years, and look what it turned into one of
the most successful storylines in company history. He's been champion for three years.
So anyway, all right, last week you were talking about heels and baby
faces and how they shouldn't fight their respected alignment. But I disagree, mainly
because it's more of a realistic feel to it. I get the whole baby
faces versus heel's thing, but at the same time, it's refreshing when someone
isn't fighting and doesn't care with the other side, what side their opponent is
on. It's like if I walked up to you and asked, are you
a baby face or a heel? If you said a baby face and I'm
also a baby face, I'll say I can't fight you because I'm one two,
so I'll find a heel and to pick a fight with that doesn't make
sense. It's an exaggeration yet so true. Well, I'm not saying it
can't ever happen, and in fact, the most highlighted example of two baby
faces facing one another one another in a high profile match. Look no further
than WrestleMania seventeen, regarded as one of the best WrestleManias of all time,
with The Rock versus Stone Cold Steve Boston both baby faces in that match.
Now, Austin turned heel at the end of the match, but going in
they were both baby faces. In fact, baby face versus baby face is
actually more intriguing than heel heel. I think it's not that it can't happen,
it just is when you put two people together that fans don't like,
the fans are more often than not going to feel indifferent. But if you
put two baby faces together, the fans are going to cheer and be excited
for well, one of them is gonna win, and I kind of like
both of them, so it's a win win situation. The danger in that,
though, is fans will try to find a path of or a I
guess one guy will get a lot of reaction than the other, and the
fans will gravitate typically towards one over the other, and maybe the other one
comes out a little damage because that one didn't get the bigger reaction, and
potentially that's a sign they're turning them. Hell So, anyway, without getting
too deep into this, let's see, so the WW has been working this
for so long that when they change up on such a small thing, the
WW fans don't know how to take it. A killer will kill, no
matter if you're a Christian or a Satanist. Well enough venting on that,
I want to talk about Nai Jacks. I know most people weren't pleased when
she came back, I for one was. Here's the reason. Yes,
she can be a liability, but she is different now what you call your
cookie cutter barbie doll type. She's a big girl and she uses it to
her advantage because most girls in WB are much smaller. It's not easy to
work with Naya, and that's how injury occurs. I don't think Nia does
it on purpose, but that being that baking calls her to get careless.
I did see Monday, however, she was trying to work without causing injury
to the girls in that segment. For instance, when she I have the
rope to do the Bond's eye drop on Chelsea Green, she held on to
it this time coming down, not like when she did to Rhea over a
week ago, using her full body mask and causing her bruised ribs. Maybe
Naya is listening to Stevie Richards YouTube channel and taking tips. I'm just saying
that people need to give her a chance at least before putting out judgments.
So yeah, and then your final Your final point is about Randy Orton with
the Performance Center and he comes When does he come? Probably right? Maybe
it is the rumble. I would say, if he's starting to get the
Performance Center thinks that's a massive step forward. I would agree, maybe even
Survivor series. As early as Survivor Series or Crown Jewel, I would look
to those, but I really don't think it's going to be Fast Lane.
But as far as Nia Jackson. I'm willing to give her a chance.
In fact, I actually gave a great idea. I think because it's my
idea, it's by default great. But I said, hey, if you're
gonna bring her back and she's just gonna are injuring people in storyline, lean
into it. Because the idea is that nia Jack's injures people on purpose,
which I don't think it's true, but lean into it. That could be
her character. Part of it is she's in there to not just win matches,
but hurt people. So double down on what the fans already think you
are. Why not lean into it, use it to your advantage, turn
it around. That'd be the smart thing to do, Like take what the
fans have all thought you are and make it your character instead of trying to
fight upstream. Now. Yeah, I would agree though that she is more
difficult to work with. If I'm a talent that's used to working with a
certain body type that can move at a certain speed, the timing of that
person, and then I work with Naia Jacks the timing is going to be
off. I don't think that it's carelessness on her part. I would hope
that's not the case. It's more of just her body moves slower and is
more powerful than the other women that you normally work with, and so to
make those adjustments, but in doing so it heightens the risk for injury.
And that's why you saw some of them happen the way they did. So
all right, thanks David, and get back to work. All right,
Okay, let's take a pause. Like guys, I have, I have
like eight more emails. I don't think I'm going to get to the mall,
so let's take another voicemail and see how I feel if I want to
keep keep going here. So hold on, let's get Let's see who the
next person is. And Matt, it's Devin from Brisbane here, I hopefully
will Man. Hey, I have just watched Law today while working. I've
got a bit of a lucky life and form. But anyway, I just
wanted to get your take on a few things with a couple things. First
of all, what are your thoughts on the NXT Women's and North American Championships
being defended on Law. I don't know where I stand on this. I
don't watch NXT, but I mean my gut feel is if you've got an
m X T Championship that should be exclusive to NXC, but I guess this
is w w E and the only consistent thing is inconsistency. But you know,
I just wanted your thoughts on you know, next week Dominique the Stereo
is defending it, and this week we had Becky Lynch defending it against Italia,
which leads me to my second quer is that you know, Becky says
she wanted to test herself against the best of the future, which is fair,
but then Natalia coming out and wanted to challenge it is kind of not
even the best of the past coming out, but she didn't have a valid
point, Samuel, Becky, aren't you just stealing it from someone else who
deserves a chance. So I just wanted your thoughts on those two points,
defending the NXC Championships on raw and your thoughts on a current star, you
know, like a well established like Becky getting the nxtch Tanky chiefs choose.
Hey, Bevan, always good to hear from you. So two good things
here, well, two good questions, and I addressed a little bit of
it. But as far as Becky Lynch, again, I have no problem
with her in NXT, but that It was funny when Italia came out because
that she embodies the complete opposite of what you're you should be trying to do
with Becky and what Becky was trying to do with her an XT run,
and she said that she wants to compete against the best of the future,
and again she gets the complete opposite of Natalia with Natalia, not that Italian
is awful, but as you said, she's she'll make the Hall of Fame.
She will, And you know what, I think it's borderline deserving.
I really do, because most people don't look at Italia as like a my
god, what are the trailblazers. She's not. She's just this very steady,
kind of respect based ring general that you know is never gonna really have
another run. She's there as a gatekeeper at you know, to help the
new talent. She's a locker room a positive locker room influence, you know,
you kind of know when to tell you is. So there's something to
be said for that. But she embodies I'm sorry, in a way,
the opposite of what you're doing with the NXT title run with Becky. So
for her to her come out was like, that's the last person she would
be literally last on my list, maybe maybe next to uh, you know
who's the one that comes out of the woodwork out of nowhere, Tamina.
Yeah, maybe maybe next to Tamina. So but no one's no one's Mina
than Tamina. So there is that now. As far as the NXT title
on North American title and uh, you know, any any title that's not
on the brand that you wanted on, well, first of all, Dominic
is carrying it around on other brands. He's carried around on both Raw and
SmackDown. We've also seen w W violate this many times when remember the Raw
one Champions on SmackDown, the SmackDown Women's Champion was on Raw and they were
defending it on the opposite shows. That was bizarre. And I know they
rebranded it as the WWE Women's title in the Women's World Title. Fine,
but you had opposite belts being defended on opposite shows. So for them to
say, oh, well, don's going to defend an nxty North American title
on Raw or SmackDown, nothing surprises me. I think it's hogwash to use
a very strong word, right, but you know, that's just kind of
the lay of the land. That's how they operate. They don't. They
don't. They don't work within their own rules that they've set. When it's
convenient, they do. When it's not, they don't, and they hope
fans don't care, don't or don't notice, or don't care enough to say
something. So that's what I think. Thanks so much. Let's get to
let's get to another you know, let's get to another voicemail. Hey man,
it's Justine from Maryland. Sorry for a second voicemail. I got beast
service in my house so the car. Feel so sorry about that. I'll
try to let it happen again. So what I was saying was, I
was the question was do you see they're being a Drew and Cody uh one
on one program, because you know, Drew did mention Cody when he was
talking about Jagle, so and then it was just a coincidence how Cody just
came out after Drew was standing on the rent. I honestly thought that Drew
was gonna come in and give him a claymore. But I feel like that
there's still slow burn that he'll turn. So this one, I know,
if you think we're gonna get a hill Drew versus Cody. I feel like
that they're sending it up since he already mentioned him. So I just want
to know because I mean, we still think that Cody's going to SmackDown,
but I honestly don't think though, because now since the Rock came back,
I don't think it makes sense for Cody to go to SmackDown now. So
this one of your thoughts on the on that next is the the US titles.
So it's innocent right now because the thing is like, we're gonna get
Santos and rain my Stereo. I wonder if Santo's gonna turn hell. I
feel like there's a story there, but I feel like, well, lastly,
think he's gonna go after all the titles. I feel like that would
be interesting to see if if they put the bell back on lastly, because
he's already had a couple of runs. I don't think he needs a US
title, but I feel like if they want to make you know, the
new Hurt business look good, I feel like they'll give him alls a goat.
So I just want to know, like where you think that they're going
with the US title thing, because I mean, there's still La Knight.
I feel like if he if he was to win, it would probably have
to be against Santos if it was a hell because I don't think, you
know, we don't want him going against Ray, So just want to get
thoughts on that. Next. I want to say just so ja usso thing.
So I'm still towing on who's gonna take the title off Gunther. I
feel like they should maybe give Jay just like a little singles run because I
don't want to see Gabel. I don't see I don't think Gabels even gonna
beat Gunter since he just lost to Brunson Reid, so I don't think that
they're gonna go that direction. So I just want to though, do you
think that Jay should get the title? Because I don't think Tomaster Champ is
gonna be him either. I don't think the person that's gonna beat Gunther is
even on our minds. I feel like it's going to be somebody else,
maybe Twing from NXT. But it's interesting because Jay did lose to Drew,
so now he's taken losses, but he didn't lose by distractions, so I
feel like he's probably in a few with the judgment day for a while.
But I still want to see him, you know, get a at least
get an Icey title matchup. Justin goodna hear from Manny, I just deleted
your other vhite smelling clearly connection was all screen anyway, So all the jure
three things really quickly. Dude, does Drew and Cody happen? I think
it? I would love that, And they did hint at it this past
week with Cody being the moral compass that he is, you know, decided
to be the bigger man and help Jus for no apparent reason. I mean,
I still don't understand why he did what he did. He's all about
second chances nonsense. But yeah, I think also, could Cody be traded
to SmackDown. We still don't have that complete trade. We don't know who
that person is that's going to be traded to SmackDown, because don't forget Jay
was traded to Raw, which means there has to be an equal and opposite
reaction to SmackDown. We don't know who that is. It really could be
Cody. Cody could go to SmackDown there, that's just a distinct possibility.
But we haven't seen Seth and Cody yet. Seth and Cody has been teased
for months. Every time they seemed like they've completed their programs. They've been
interrupted twice now over the last like four months, and still Seth and Cody
has to happen before anything else of moving or drafting happens. Does La Knight
went against the heel Santos Ascobar? Yeah? Lnight has to be at a
heel here, keep the momentum going. You don't, like you said,
you don't want all a Night beating Raymistereo for that belt, but you want
Santos Askabar who maybe cheats to win, facing La Night at say Crown Jewel
Or Survivor series and having La Knight beat a heel Santos to win, Yeah,
that's sure. Now who beats Gunther? Yeah, that's that's a heck
of a question. Chad Gable would have been my pick except for the fact
that, like you mentioned, all of a sudden, it's like we've forgotten
that Chad Gable had, you know, those those great made events with with
you know, Gunther, and all of a sudden he's back to losing the
bronze and red. It's like they changed course overnight. So I honestly don't
know you know, like you said, it could be Juso. Jus is
an absolute candidate to win. But then can we really call him main event
Jayuso anymore? Because that's a name. Honestly, if I was a heel,
i'd be salivating to cut a promo with him whenever he's not in the
main event, because to call yourself main event Jayuso means that like you're perennially
perennially. I can't even say that perennial perennially. Sorry, it's so late,
guys, I feel like a fool. You're always easier word in the
main event, and when you're not, that would uh yeah, that's it's
kind of a it's a name that you're setting yourself up for to be whacked
against the heel when you're not in the main event. So all right,
oh hey, it's getting late, guys. All right, maybe I'll do
one more email and then maybe maybe two depending on the length, and then
I'll kind of wrap this up. So let's see where we land, all
right. This email is from This is from Amber, and Amber writes in
and says, Hey, Matt, I've been meaning to write about this.
I'm currently listening to your Weekend review show and wanted to chime in about something
you've brought up several times. I think Paul Hayman's use of his iPhone is
a character choice. I think Paul Hayman the Man is choosing to make Paul
Hammon the character one of those stereotypical gen X or baby boomers who can't probably
use an iPhone, like when your grandparents or someone you work with is an
otherwise otherwise intelligent and successful person, but they need your help turning off the
flashlight and their phone to adjust the brightness. Paul Hayman the Man is super
committed to his character. If you notice he's starting to let his hair turn
gray and dropping the coloring around the time that the bloodline started to crumble.
I could be wrong, but I just thought this is one of those times
that Paul Hayman was choosing to do something in his character because I'm certain that
Paul Hayman the Man knows how to use an iPhone. Great day, love
the podcast, Thanks Amber. So let me just say that's very possible.
I think that's possible that he's going for that vibe of the out of touch
technology. Older gen get it. We all have our parents that you need
help with the most basic functions of the of the iPhone or the Android phone
or their smart TV or whatever, and they think you're some kind of like
Apple genius bar representative in their house or the geek squad from best Buy or
something. But yeah, it's possible. My guess though, is it's not.
First of all, he's called the wise man, right yet he can't
figure out how to use an iPhone properly or at least pretend he looks like
he knows what he's doing on the on the screen to function, you know,
use Siri properly and at least, you know, even if you're not
going to make the screen look like you're actually doing what you're saying you're doing.
Of calling Roman Reigns, just speak into the microphone portion of your phone.
He's like talking to the screen or he's talking to the earpiece. I
don't know. Maybe just I'm so just worn out from the you know,
of being a millennial and living in the technology world that when I see people
that don't know the basics makes me just not angry, just kind of like
it makes me shake my head, not in disapproval, just in kind of
disbelief. You know that you don't know how to use the most basic of
all functions. That said, you could absolutely be right. I know the
graying of his hair. I've noticed that, and it's it's very possible Amber,
you know, and it's not the worst thing in the world. It's
just he does it in every segment, every segment we see him in.
Call Roman reigns, Call Roman Reigns, Call Roman Reigns. That's not how
your phone works, bro. You have to say, you know, you
have to say like the Sirie thing, you know, hey Siri, and
then you know your phone as my phone is activated right now, we'll do
what you say. But anyway, I digress. Thank you Ember, All
right, am I feeling generous. Let's see, let's see this is a
short one. So this is from Nick and he says what it starts to
smell backdown. Rock, McAfee and Theory were all awesome. The pop of
the entrance for the Rock was unbelievable. Wanted to offer an alternative way to
book WrestleMania Forties main event. Since WWE insists on having multiple main events,
I think it's perfectly doable for Rock and Cody to face off with Roman in
the main event. Ooh, my thought would be Rock Roman takes place on
Night one with the title not being on the line, merely the Tribal Chiefdom.
Then a night too, Cody versus Roman can take place with the title
online. I think this would be an incredible way to get our dream match
and get our serious title match in all in one card. I'm not sure
how this would work for Roman to feud with both of these men at once,
but I feel like there must have been something similar to this in ww
history at some point. Right, No, because WrestleMania has never been split
into two nights, never up until the last few years, so I can't
think of an equivalent to this. I don't hate the idea, but you're
right. The thing is also Roman is not on you know, he's not
on the program right now enough to have a proper program with one person,
let alone two. I mean, you know, unless he's going to start
sending videos in or you know, doing Twitter or now x right like,
he's not a He's not a He's not on the show enough to do one
person, much less two unless he severely ramps up his schedule. But I
don't hate this, but I think it would dilute the matches that Roman are
in because your focus is kind of on both men in a match with Rock
needs to be a sole focus. And also you would run the risk of,
you know, the excuse that well Roman, you know he lost in
Night one and then he's gonna lose a night too, but he also had
to perform last night. He could do double duty and no one's ever done
that, and they can make a big deal out of it. Then he's
main inventing both nights. They could do that, but that's it's just more
evidence forget the title off Roman. Then you don't have to worry about this,
and he's in one match, so that is I don't hate it.
I don't hate it. Nick, all right, I'm trying to find really
really short emails guys, Mason, this is really short. He says,
the Rock, the damn Rock. He's finally here along with John Cena.
This is amazing and the one thing we can thank the writer Strike for also
is a Rock and Cina or here to do? You think Batista might return
a few with Ray Mysterio because I would like to see that after Ray drops
through a championship. What are your thoughts on that. No, no chance
Batista. Yeah, I mean, Batista has been very clear he's done with
pro wrestling, done, and I believe him. I mean, maybe he'll
come back for a cameo, maybe he'll hit like a Batista bomb here or
there in the coming year or two. But no, I think he is
done with wrestling. He ended it at a Wrestleman a couple of years ago
with Triple H and he wants to leave it there. Let's see. So
if Seth really is gonna do WrestleMania forty, why not have him versus Sena
And if Seena wins the World Heavyweight Championship then drops it and retires the next
night on raw. Oh. I mean, here's the thing. That's whether
I wouldn't advocate for the Rock to win the belt. I wouldn't advocate for
John seen It to win the World Heavyweight Championship because it does it doesn't do
any favors for anyone. It's kind of like you dropped it to a legacy
star that you know is not going to be around, you know what,
They're past their prime of full time work. This doesn't help any of the
younger talent that you would hope that it does. And you know, it's
all kind of, you know, to me, a net negative if either
Rock wins the title or Sena wins the title in your scenario, there's just
no benefit other than shock, Oh my god. Twitter blows up for a
little while. All right, oh my god, John Sena's champion again.
Oh my god, the Rocks champion again. And the next question is,
well, yeah, for how long? Again? If it's about building new
stars and building new talent, that's a funny way to show it. It
may be fun in the moment as a nostalgic, fun little moment, but
it's a bad long term decision. That's that's not seeing the forest of the
trees in my mind. So let's see. I don't know, guys,
I don't know what to do here. So let's talk to Mark. This
is also quick. He says, what do you think about the recent troubles
inside Imperium? I have a theory about it. Gunther will kick Da Vinci
Da Vinci. See, guys, that's how you know I need to end
the show. Gunther will kick Vinci out at some point and says he will
bring in a new face soon after. Shortly after, Dragon off loses to
Haze at Nxtino Mercy, he'll show up on raw and introduces a new member
of Imperium. What do you think about it? I would love to be
I would love it to be honest. As a German, I really enjoy
the success of Gunther and Kaiser, haven't I stay? Take care? Well?
Thank you Mark, And I don't you know, I don't dislike the
idea. I think that, you know, honestly, Vinci is a kind
of He's he's the guy that no one really thinks about in the group.
Kaiser is well spoken, he's this, he's got a very distinct voice,
a very distinct look. Obviously, Gunther is main event quality, you know,
top top top, top, top tier guy that will eventually be world
champion or undisputed champion. But I really I don't dislike this because again,
uh, you know, Vinci is uh this kind of this. He's like
he's like a house plant, you know, And I don't mean that in
a negative way, Like he's the athleticism of a house plant. But you
don't think about your house plants. They're just there. And you know that's
not the fault of Giovanni Vinci because he hasn't had a whole lot of Mike
time or character development at all. So if they're gonna do something with Dragon
off and have him swap places, fine, you know, so all right,
that'll do it for the emails, guys. So those of you I
had had a handful of emails, I know I did not get to you.
I apologize list, but let's wrap it up with one more voicemail one
and then we'll call in the night. So let's see who that person is.
Hey, this is Jason Miller from Eugene, Oregon. I'm calling in
because I hear you guys saying maybe Ray Mysterio isn't a great choice for the
American Belt. Kind of boring. But I think they're gonna get that belt
off of Dom Dirty Dom, the NXT Belt, and then Dom's gonna go
after his dad and they're gonna get that American Belt over on Dirty Dom.
I love to know what you guys think of that idea. Anyway, I
love the show, keep it up. Bye, Hey, Jason. Not
a bad idea, you know. I think that with Raymysterio's US champion,
I don't I don't think that's gonna last long. Dom as NXT North American
Champion. I actually think that, you know, he he'll typically have longer
runs than baby Faces do. It's just a better story to have baby Faces
and Chase mode as a general rule. But I do think they do want
to revisit Ray and dom They only got one match out of it. They
got like, you know, a year of build up, essentially, of
teasing that that would happen, and we got one match out of it,
which delivered at WrestleMania, and they I think they could go back to it.
They It's been long enough that people will go, Okay, I could
get back into this for one more one more you know, one more goal
around, run it back one more time. So I don't I like that
idea? Yeah, certainly that that wouldn't be the worst idea in the world.
And the only thing I would ask is that Dominic comes up with some
narrative other than deadbeat dad and you weren't there for me and deadbeat dad,
deadbeat dad, deadbeat dat. Let's add a little other wrinkle to it,
you know, And and maybe he could find something. But I like it
all right, That'll do it for me tonight, guys. Again, if
I didn't get to your email or voicemail. I apologize. We just you
know, for the first time, half just too many to get to.
You know, I really will do my best. And patrons, if you
sent me an email and you didn't get your email read, let me know.
I'll answer it in a future show and then you're as soon as I
can the next show I do because make sure in the subject. If you're
a patron, you put it in the subject of the email, and then
I'll confirm it. I'll look at Patreon to make sure that you are a
patron, and then i'll prioritize it. So and voicemails. You know,
it's kind of a crapshoot because I can't see who it is. But I
thank you everybody for listening. I really appreciate it. You know, this
show is for you guys to get a voice and a platform to talk,
and I hope that you do consider calling in and talking and giving your opinion.
I may be doing something different with my shows very soon, not every
show, but more on that in the days to come. You know,
it's nothing radical, but it is going to be a bit of a change,
and I think a positive one for some of the shows. Again.
I'll I'll elaborate a little more on than your future, but until then,
thank you for joining us. Continue or consider going at free on Patreon dot
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