WWE SmackDown Review: Randy Orton Returns & Drew McIntyre Sets Picture of Dusty Rhodes on Fire

<v Speaker 1>Listen WWE superstar Drew McIntyre, and you're listening to the
<v Speaker 1>WWE podcast show.
<v Speaker 2>The one that everybody wants me sixteen, So to work
<v Speaker 2>your ass is mind, You're.
<v Speaker 1>Gonna acknowledge me.
<v Speaker 3>Good morning, good afternoon, good evening. Hello, whatever time it
<v Speaker 3>is with you and wherever you are. Thank you for
<v Speaker 3>downloading this SmackDown review as part of the WWE podcast.
<v Speaker 3>It's an absolute pleasure have you listening along. Once again,
<v Speaker 3>I am a Mandat, your host of the SmackDown Review,
<v Speaker 3>and a very happy new year to you all. I
<v Speaker 3>hope twenty twenty six brings what you want and what
<v Speaker 3>you need and we all manage to have a little
<v Speaker 3>bit of fun. Let's dive straight into it, guys. I've
<v Speaker 3>had free coffees and some pro plus, I've stretched and
<v Speaker 3>I am ready for the super marathon that is a
<v Speaker 3>three hour SmackDown. This one aired January second from Buffalo
<v Speaker 3>and first up tonight, we get a reminder of the
<v Speaker 3>Drew Cody situation from the last few weeks, with a
<v Speaker 3>focus obviously on the events of last week, Drew's crappy apology,
<v Speaker 3>his goading of Cody, and the three Rings of Hell. Stipulation.
<v Speaker 3>We then get to see Cody arriving, and tonight we
<v Speaker 3>are going to find out a bit more about the
<v Speaker 3>three Stages of Hell and what the matches will be.
<v Speaker 3>I'm hoping that we find out a bit more on
<v Speaker 3>the logistics of it all and how it's going to work,
<v Speaker 3>because I am interested to see what this is and
<v Speaker 3>the show that Simberlin, guys, is that, as far as
<v Speaker 3>we know, is that just a SmackDown? I don't know.
<v Speaker 3>I should probably find out. We then get Bliss and
<v Speaker 3>Flare arriving. There are eight women tag match. Well, they'll
<v Speaker 3>get a team with Rea and Eo. They're going to
<v Speaker 3>be versus Naya lash KOBOOKI Warriors in a poor Man's
<v Speaker 3>War Games playback, and I have to say, they all
<v Speaker 3>look pretty cold coming in from outside in Buffalo, so
<v Speaker 3>I'm guessing you guys over there, I've got some of
<v Speaker 3>the same freezing temperatures that we do over here. Right now,
<v Speaker 3>We'll also have Damian Priest arriving, who please, please, please
<v Speaker 3>please please tonight has his last match with Alistair Black
<v Speaker 3>and it's an ambulance match, so surely it must be right, right,
<v Speaker 3>must be. We've got cold and Corey on comms. Before
<v Speaker 3>they can get too far into it, we'll get an
<v Speaker 3>interruption from Miz. He says, we are not moving on
<v Speaker 3>till twenty twenty six until he's happy. He's sick of
<v Speaker 3>happy New Year. He says, we can't move on until
<v Speaker 3>he's aired his grievances in twenty twenty five. I mean,
<v Speaker 3>I don't want to be the one to tell me is,
<v Speaker 3>but you know you can't hold time. We're already there, mate, anyway,
<v Speaker 3>I get his point. He says his first grievance is
<v Speaker 3>that he asked for Seena's last match for the sake
<v Speaker 3>of obligation, as there's a story that needed closure. He
<v Speaker 3>says he should have been the one that bid, the
<v Speaker 3>one to tap scene it out, but instead here he is.
<v Speaker 3>He is stuck in Buffalo. He says. Grievan's number two
<v Speaker 3>is that he offered his mentorship and instead of it
<v Speaker 3>being grabbed and basically adored, it was ignored. He says
<v Speaker 3>respect is expected from everyone, not just from the rookies,
<v Speaker 3>but the fans too. Grievance number three I didn't catch,
<v Speaker 3>but says that shallow mate, this isn't over, so I'm
<v Speaker 3>thinking that's something to do with TV or movies whatever.
<v Speaker 3>Grievance Number four is against Joe Hendry. He says he
<v Speaker 3>went and ruined his last SmackDown of the year and
<v Speaker 3>also brought back an unfair and untrue nickname. This is
<v Speaker 3>while the crowd are chanting time balls at him, he says,
<v Speaker 3>went out onto twenty twenty six, and the silver lining
<v Speaker 3>is that's seen has gone and there's a new face
<v Speaker 3>of WWE, and it's him, he says, unlike Buffalo Hemans Championships.
<v Speaker 3>He says he's the most decorated superstar. Goes on to
<v Speaker 3>list all his accomplishments and he says that means that
<v Speaker 3>he is the face of WWE and is the locker
<v Speaker 3>room leader. Finally, he gets interrupted, which I think we
<v Speaker 3>were all expecting the interruption. What we maybe weren't expecting
<v Speaker 3>was that it was going to be by Randy, Thank God,
<v Speaker 3>and mis looks quite shook to see him, gives him
<v Speaker 3>a little clap as he gets into the ring. Randy
<v Speaker 3>gives him a good shove on his way to the corner,
<v Speaker 3>which is class and exactly what you would do if
<v Speaker 3>you were Randy. MS carries on and talks up Randy
<v Speaker 3>saying it could be Miss Ko, which is awful. Let's
<v Speaker 3>hop that doesn't catch in the crowder baying for an RKO.
<v Speaker 3>After a massive welcome for Randy, he says absolutely nothing
<v Speaker 3>and just ask once and twice. And to be fair,
<v Speaker 3>Mis took it like an absolute trooper, as you would
<v Speaker 3>be expected. I thought this was a pretty great opening segment.
<v Speaker 3>Miss is annoying as hell, but he always has been.
<v Speaker 3>And if it's perfectly here to bring out Randy is cool.
<v Speaker 3>It's brilliant to have him back, and I wonder who
<v Speaker 3>he's going to be feuding with. It would be nice
<v Speaker 3>to see Randy get a run with the title. He
<v Speaker 3>hasn't had one for ages and he's so over at
<v Speaker 3>the moment. And I'm not talking like a Roman type rahm,
<v Speaker 3>but a couple of months with a little nod of
<v Speaker 3>acknowledgment for him, I think would be nice. And what
<v Speaker 3>of the is well, I guess he's like a super stub,
<v Speaker 3>isn't he. He's the one the manager can keep in
<v Speaker 3>the back pocket and bring on as and when there
<v Speaker 3>is a Mis sized hole in the story. He can
<v Speaker 3>do comedy and he's a pretty decent heel too, so
<v Speaker 3>bring it on. As long as he's not winning championships
<v Speaker 3>and taking up too much space, I think there is
<v Speaker 3>absolutely a use for Miss SmackDown. Now we go backstage
<v Speaker 3>to the Kobooky Warriors. They're approached by Night and Lush,
<v Speaker 3>who says teaming with them is difficult tonight, but as
<v Speaker 3>they are trying to keep on the good side of
<v Speaker 3>Nick Ordis, they will help them win tonight and then
<v Speaker 3>they get to oh them one and they can give
<v Speaker 3>them a title shot. Aska says they're going to be
<v Speaker 3>happy to give them a beating once they defend the titles.
<v Speaker 3>On Monday Night Raw. The Ape Woman tag is up
<v Speaker 3>next and first out, we've got the Faces. Specifically, we're
<v Speaker 3>an EO who get a massive reception from the Buffalo crowd.
<v Speaker 3>Before that, we go backstage. We're with Randy. He tells
<v Speaker 3>Cody that he's going to let him know out of
<v Speaker 3>respect that once he beats down Drew in Berlin, that
<v Speaker 3>Randy is coming for the title. Nick is there too.
<v Speaker 3>He reminds Cody that he cannot hit Drew tonight lest
<v Speaker 3>he has to strip him of the title. Back to
<v Speaker 3>the Woman's war Much and we didn't see the entrance
<v Speaker 3>for Lash and Naia, so that pretty much tells you
<v Speaker 3>all you need to know about how wwe feel about
<v Speaker 3>them as a team. Although that being said, we also
<v Speaker 3>didn't see the full entrance of Flare and Bliss either.
<v Speaker 3>This one starts off as the Heels storm the ring
<v Speaker 3>and attack the Faces. We've got Asker in with Ria.
<v Speaker 3>First off, Asca is on the attack, but Reas soon
<v Speaker 3>gets the upper hand with her power game. Bliss gets
<v Speaker 3>the tag and takes out the Kabuki Warriors on the outside,
<v Speaker 3>and a great match ensues. This one ends up with
<v Speaker 3>Ria showing her total emments and smashing the Kabuki Warriors.
<v Speaker 3>All of the faces taken to the ring to sort
<v Speaker 3>out the Heel team one by one, and we get
<v Speaker 3>a bunch of finishers as Rea delivers riptide to Kyrie.
<v Speaker 3>Sorry not to Kyrie, Yes sorry, I've got myself turned around.
<v Speaker 3>So Ria delivers ripptied to Kyrie, then tags EO, who
<v Speaker 3>hits the over the Moon sult get eng the win
<v Speaker 3>for Bliss, Flair, Rear and Eo. And this was an
<v Speaker 3>outstanding match, I thought, as you would expect, there are
<v Speaker 3>seven great wrestlers here, and also Naya Jax was in
<v Speaker 3>it too, But seriously great match. In traditional terms, that
<v Speaker 3>might mean that the Kabukis retain on Monday as they
<v Speaker 3>ate the Pin tonight, but not necessarily. I do wonder
<v Speaker 3>if we will get Lash and Naya interference on Monday,
<v Speaker 3>perhaps Bliss and Flare too, so no doubt it won't
<v Speaker 3>be a straightforward thing. My guess is we go to
<v Speaker 3>some kind of fatal four way type tag match for
<v Speaker 3>the Belts, and that's fine with me. These girls can
<v Speaker 3>put on awesome matches, so the more the merrier for me.
<v Speaker 3>We go backstage to Nick and he's got Jordan Grace
<v Speaker 3>with him and he is offering her a spot on SmackDown.
<v Speaker 3>Before she can answer, we get a Chelsea interruption. She
<v Speaker 3>says she won't go out there tonight, it's freezing. Nick
<v Speaker 3>tells her she's interrupting and introducing Jordan Grace. Chelsea says
<v Speaker 3>she is emotionally unwell after the Stranger Things ending and
<v Speaker 3>she can't possibly compete. Now. I might be the only
<v Speaker 3>one in the world who's never watched any of The
<v Speaker 3>Stranger Things, so not a reference I get, but I
<v Speaker 3>know that pretty much everyone else has seen it. Nick
<v Speaker 3>tells her maybe he should strip her off the title
<v Speaker 3>as she isn't fit for purpose and she strops off,
<v Speaker 3>So I'm getting the defenses on anyway. Loving Chelsea's comedy
<v Speaker 3>work and her one liner about fighting for her life
<v Speaker 3>on the internet was brilliantly delivered. We now have kit
<v Speaker 3>Wellson now and once again, when he is announced from
<v Speaker 3>being from Buckinghamshire, England, I have a small kitten because
<v Speaker 3>that's where I'm from. He's still pushing his toxic masculinity
<v Speaker 3>angle and he says he's redefining masculinity. And he finds
<v Speaker 3>himself in Buffalo, home with the most toxic sports fans
<v Speaker 3>in the whole of America. He's interrupted by Matt Cardona
<v Speaker 3>or Zack Ryder as is opening graphics. Said I'm confused anyway,
<v Speaker 3>him whoever he is, is outside the ring and he's
<v Speaker 3>from New York, so kind of hometown. I guess this
<v Speaker 3>one kicks off and Cole lets us know that Mat
<v Speaker 3>Cordona is now an official part of the SmackDown roster.
<v Speaker 3>Cordona absolutely owning Wilson, smashing him all over the place
<v Speaker 3>in Cole telling us that Cordona has had a group
<v Speaker 3>of fans following him wherever he's been throughout the years.
<v Speaker 3>Again enough little reference to the fact that there is
<v Speaker 3>some kind of life outside of the WWE, which I like.
<v Speaker 3>So coms can't seem to make up their mind on
<v Speaker 3>what he's called. We had both Zach and Matt, but
<v Speaker 3>whatever he's called this go around, he looks pretty awesome
<v Speaker 3>getting the victory over Wilson, who it seems is very
<v Speaker 3>much continuing with the toxic maxculinity thing, which is for
<v Speaker 3>me meh, but as he is from where I'm from,
<v Speaker 3>let's give it the benefit of the doubt and see
<v Speaker 3>where we go with it. As for Zach or Matt,
<v Speaker 3>whoever he is, he looks great too. He gives me
<v Speaker 3>really strong La Night vibes though, and will be interesting
<v Speaker 3>to see who he feuds with now he is a
<v Speaker 3>confirmed SmackDown star. Backstage, we go to Kathy Kelly. He's
<v Speaker 3>got Damien Priest with her. She asks him what it's
<v Speaker 3>going to take to end this rivalry tonight. He says
<v Speaker 3>it's been six months, and he thinks that he can
<v Speaker 3>speak for everyone when he says enough is enough. On
<v Speaker 3>one way or another, it has to end tonight. I
<v Speaker 3>mean preach that. He says that far half a year
<v Speaker 3>Black tried to break him and change him. He says,
<v Speaker 3>all that's done is to wake something inside of him
<v Speaker 3>that even crazy Black won't understand. He says, tonight he
<v Speaker 3>is the one who will fade to black and go
<v Speaker 3>to Edi in the back of the ambulance. I mean,
<v Speaker 3>isn't wrong? Is he once again? Please let this be
<v Speaker 3>over tonight. We then go to a promo from the
<v Speaker 3>White Six. How do? He asks Solo what the meaning
<v Speaker 3>of family is? He says that it's an answer he's
<v Speaker 3>been searching for since he was exiled from his own bloodline.
<v Speaker 3>Solo claims the White Six aren't a proper family, but
<v Speaker 3>you haven't taken the time to comprehend the forces up
<v Speaker 3>against and he mocks what he doesn't understand. He says,
<v Speaker 3>his family isn't made up of just them, It's made
<v Speaker 3>up of millions of fireflies around the world who always remember.
<v Speaker 3>He says it's time for them to chop down the
<v Speaker 3>MFT family tree at the route, and he says, when
<v Speaker 3>the dust settles, they will be the ones so clearly
<v Speaker 3>not done with the Wyatt family MFT feud. And I
<v Speaker 3>guess that's okay. One to carry on over to the
<v Speaker 3>new year. And as Solo was getting superpersonal with Howdy
<v Speaker 3>and Bray, it's only right that we get to blow
<v Speaker 3>off and hopefully at six can properly hand the mft's
<v Speaker 3>asks to them. That does still leave the question of
<v Speaker 3>Nicki and who for her. I mean, there's no lady
<v Speaker 3>in the MFT for her to face and time is
<v Speaker 3>sticking by. As we leave Nicki on the not wrestling shelf,
<v Speaker 3>it seems a real shame because the girl really does
<v Speaker 3>have skills. So please Triple H find something good for
<v Speaker 3>Nicki to do. Next out, we've got Sammy, who gets
<v Speaker 3>his usual massive pop. He says he hasn't been around
<v Speaker 3>the last couple of weeks, so this feels good. He says.
<v Speaker 3>The last time they saw him was actually at ringside
<v Speaker 3>when he watched Sena's last match like a fan. He
<v Speaker 3>says it hit him in a way he didn't expect.
<v Speaker 3>He says that his son asked him why they call
<v Speaker 3>Sena they never seen seventeen, and he explained to his
<v Speaker 3>kid why. He says then that his kid asked him
<v Speaker 3>how many times he has won it, and he had
<v Speaker 3>to tell his kid zero. He says his kids been
<v Speaker 3>watching him in the ring every week and him it
<v Speaker 3>doesn't make sense why he hasn't won the main championship.
<v Speaker 3>He says, he isn't here to talk about being world
<v Speaker 3>here to talk about being world champion. He is here
<v Speaker 3>to do it this year. We then get Trick Williams out,
<v Speaker 3>who already seems super over with the crowd, and which
<v Speaker 3>is pretty cool seeing as he's only been on the
<v Speaker 3>main roster for about two minutes. He says to Sammy,
<v Speaker 3>we haven't been properly introduced. He says he's the most
<v Speaker 3>entertaining and exciting person in the business. He says he's
<v Speaker 3>only here for one thing. He says Nick told him
<v Speaker 3>that he needs someone like him to come in and
<v Speaker 3>be world champion, and he tells Sammy they aren't alike.
<v Speaker 3>He says it won't take him twenty years to almost
<v Speaker 3>get the job done, which is out shots very much
<v Speaker 3>fired there from Trick. Sammy tells him that he looks great,
<v Speaker 3>but the problem is that he has yet to be humbled.
<v Speaker 3>He says he isn't the first to come out and
<v Speaker 3>make these claims, and he isn't the first to look
<v Speaker 3>down his nose at him. Sammy says he has no
<v Speaker 3>problem teaching him a lesson and to show him what
<v Speaker 3>it's like to be humbled. Well, that's a fun segment.
<v Speaker 3>Trick is excellent on them. I can cut a wicked promo.
<v Speaker 3>I was a bit concerned when Sammy started on the
<v Speaker 3>ow angry shouting promo. I'm going to be well Chubby.
<v Speaker 3>We had that last year and it was boring and
<v Speaker 3>it didn't really go anywhere. But these two feuding, Yes,
<v Speaker 3>I am here for that. Plenty of time for Sammy
<v Speaker 3>to get a title shot as the year progresses. But
<v Speaker 3>let's see Trick and Sammy. Please. We go backstage to Mellow,
<v Speaker 3>our new US. Champ Ilia tells him last week he
<v Speaker 3>thought the best and he asked him if he will
<v Speaker 3>continue the Open Challenge, and he says he will, which
<v Speaker 3>is awesome. Mellow runs into Miss. Actually thought we were
<v Speaker 3>getting a genuine Mellow saying thank you to Mis for
<v Speaker 3>his mentorship and help, but actually he says thank you
<v Speaker 3>for finally leaving him alone. He's been much better off
<v Speaker 3>since he did, which is just brilliant and you can
<v Speaker 3>see it. Send him totally round the bend. Love it.
<v Speaker 3>I'm so pleased that the Open Challenge is continuing, and
<v Speaker 3>we straight go straight in to Melow's first defense, and
<v Speaker 3>we have a Johnny Gargano versus Melo match. And this
<v Speaker 3>one kicks off of Johnny coming out very aggressively, but
<v Speaker 3>Mellow quickly gets his shit together, amounts a comeback. Candice
<v Speaker 3>thoughts Mellow flying out of the ring and polaxing Johnny.
<v Speaker 3>This one winds up fairly quickly. It was quite a
<v Speaker 3>quick match, with Mellow hitting the first forty eight, follows
<v Speaker 3>up with nothing, but net gets to win over Johnny
<v Speaker 3>and what was a good match? Please that Melo retains. Obviously,
<v Speaker 3>I think this will be another good reign. I'm loving
<v Speaker 3>what WWE are doing with the US Championship and how
<v Speaker 3>they are just continually getting all these people who would
<v Speaker 3>traditionally be the mid card is over, we go backstage.
<v Speaker 3>We've got Tamatonga watching the match. Remember he's been angling
<v Speaker 3>for a title shop the past couple of champs we've had.
<v Speaker 3>He clearly doesn't understand the concept of an open challenge,
<v Speaker 3>but anyway, he's lingering, and I fear if he gets
<v Speaker 3>the belt, the open challenge will end. It's not really
<v Speaker 3>a heel gimmick, is it, So I hope it doesn't
<v Speaker 3>have one for a while. Anyway, he's confronted by Shinski,
<v Speaker 3>who talks to him in Japanese and Tama responds in Japanese.
<v Speaker 3>Don't understand what was said there, but clearly some ag
<v Speaker 3>Solo asks what the problem is and Tonga says that's
<v Speaker 3>an old chapter and nothing to worry about. Solo says
<v Speaker 3>he's spoken to Nick and next week they're going to
<v Speaker 3>have a four or four match with the Wyats, then
<v Speaker 3>they'll take back the titles. On the way out, Tamatonga
<v Speaker 3>has another little look over his shoulder towards Shinska. I
<v Speaker 3>have no idea what the history is between them or
<v Speaker 3>what was said, but you can color me officially intrigued.
<v Speaker 3>I am here for that. We now get Jade backstage
<v Speaker 3>with Kaffe, who asks her about the injury to meet
<v Speaker 3>you in and ask her if it was deliberate from Jade.
<v Speaker 3>Jade says it was, and that's what happens when these
<v Speaker 3>pigeons don't know their place, she says, speaking of pigeons,
<v Speaker 3>and Jordan Grace is there, who says that she needs
<v Speaker 3>to decide who to sign for and she wants to
<v Speaker 3>have a good look at options. Jade says that she
<v Speaker 3>suggests Jordan looks elsewhere as this is her show and
<v Speaker 3>she's that bitch. Jordan says, well, I'm Jordan Grace, but
<v Speaker 3>you are definitely one of those. Okay, okay, okay, I
<v Speaker 3>want this. Get Jordan signed to SmackDown. We need her,
<v Speaker 3>we need her, we want her. Get it done. Get
<v Speaker 3>Jordan on SmackDown. Do we know if the meeting injury
<v Speaker 3>is real or a work I don't know. I'm going
<v Speaker 3>to google that and find out. Cody Now backstage, he
<v Speaker 3>has a face to face with Sammy. Cody says he
<v Speaker 3>heard him out there and it's good that everyone is
<v Speaker 3>being so honest tonight. Sammy tells Cody he respects him
<v Speaker 3>and he thinks the world of him, but he must
<v Speaker 3>understand where he's coming from. Nick comes along and Cody
<v Speaker 3>says he's heading to the ring now, just before we
<v Speaker 3>move on, Sammy, I mean, I don't think Cody is
<v Speaker 3>going to be losing any sleep over facing Sammy. Yeah. Anyway,
<v Speaker 3>we've got Cody in the ring now. He says, how
<v Speaker 3>does one get hold of one of the most prestigious
<v Speaker 3>belts in WWE. He says he isn't the strongest, fastest,
<v Speaker 3>fittest or smartest, he says, it's his mentality when facing
<v Speaker 3>anyone in the ring, he says he gets there early
<v Speaker 3>because he wants people to see him seeing them, and
<v Speaker 3>he says, Drew reeks of envy, and Cody is grateful
<v Speaker 3>for it. He can't wait for the fight, he says,
<v Speaker 3>in the spirit of the arena, which is incredible important
<v Speaker 3>to him. He wants to tell the truth, he says.
<v Speaker 3>When he smiles and plays dummy for the unreal cameras,
<v Speaker 3>he says, they're playing checkers and he's playing chess because
<v Speaker 3>no one asks him what he sees. And he says,
<v Speaker 3>whether they're friends or those, it doesn't matter, he says.
<v Speaker 3>When he's Drew, he sees a lunch. He says, this
<v Speaker 3>era of WW is the one who calls himself Champ,
<v Speaker 3>and that doesn't change in Berlin. So this was a
<v Speaker 3>back to a pretty generic Cody promo and I think
<v Speaker 3>really that much wrong with it. But you know, we
<v Speaker 3>did move on to a slightly nastier Cody in recent weeks,
<v Speaker 3>which was a bit more interesting. This is a bit
<v Speaker 3>more snawsome, but there we go. Drew then comes on
<v Speaker 3>the big screen and calls him predictable. He says, in
<v Speaker 3>the world of Gray, Cody is as vanilla as it gets.
<v Speaker 3>He says the three stages of Hell will be first
<v Speaker 3>a real wrestling match, the second will be a fALS
<v Speaker 3>count anywhere, and the third will be a still cage match.
<v Speaker 3>He says, now they will have everyone will have a
<v Speaker 3>lesson of self control. He says he wanted the conversation
<v Speaker 3>to be on the Cody Express, but Cody wasn't there,
<v Speaker 3>so he let himself in. He had a mooch around
<v Speaker 3>and he took an item, and that's a photo of
<v Speaker 3>Cody and his dad. Drew says that he wishes Dusty
<v Speaker 3>were still here today to see the man Cody has
<v Speaker 3>come become, sorry, but he knows he will be wherever
<v Speaker 3>he is looking up seeing it all. He says some
<v Speaker 3>people have said it will be a cold day in
<v Speaker 3>Hell before Drew's champion again, and that he hopes Dusty
<v Speaker 3>has got a coat down there because it's about to
<v Speaker 3>get chilly, and he smashes the photo. This prompts Cody,
<v Speaker 3>obviously to leave the ring and go after Drew, but
<v Speaker 3>security and Nicker in the way. Drew then appears in
<v Speaker 3>the ring, where he has a bin and the photo
<v Speaker 3>of him and Dusty, And to be honest, it's all
<v Speaker 3>gone a bit Keystone Cops or Benny Hill with the
<v Speaker 3>security guards running around trying to stop Cody hitting Drew
<v Speaker 3>as he burns the photo of Cody and Dusty in
<v Speaker 3>front of him. Now just a thing. I get that
<v Speaker 3>Drew is goading Cody into hitting him in order that
<v Speaker 3>Cody is stripped of the belt. But if he is,
<v Speaker 3>the title won't just be awarded to Drew. Surely there
<v Speaker 3>will be another long ass tournament and the chances of
<v Speaker 3>Drew winning that are massively reduced as there would be
<v Speaker 3>huge names in for that. I'm thinking Randy, Sammy, everyone
<v Speaker 3>else who's spoken tonight, the MFTs, etc. Etc. So it
<v Speaker 3>doesn't really make any sense. Surely he stands a better
<v Speaker 3>chance with Cody one on one in his own stipulations
<v Speaker 3>in a match that he got to make up himself
<v Speaker 3>next week, which, by the way, I still think Cody
<v Speaker 3>definitely retains. I cannot see Drew taking the title into Mania.
<v Speaker 3>So the three stages of hell match are now set.
<v Speaker 3>We've got a normal match false count anywhere, so I
<v Speaker 3>think we know it's going to be one one as
<v Speaker 3>we go into a decider, which will be the steel
<v Speaker 3>cage match. Next up here, we have got Chelsea and
<v Speaker 3>her title defense against Julia, and it's Julia who starts
<v Speaker 3>off very aggressively ragdoll in Chelsea around the outside of
<v Speaker 3>the ring area. Alba provides a distraction, allowing Chelsea to
<v Speaker 3>blindside Julia, taking her out, and Chelsea gets a solid
<v Speaker 3>pin to the count of about one hundred on Julia.
<v Speaker 3>But Keiana is up on the apron and has the
<v Speaker 3>ref distracted, and Alba, better late than never, finally takes
<v Speaker 3>out Keana, but too little, too late. This one ends
<v Speaker 3>as Julia hits the Northern Lights bomb and gets the
<v Speaker 3>victory and we have a new US champ. I'm not happy.
<v Speaker 3>I wanted to see Chelsea with a nice long run.
<v Speaker 3>I don't like hot potato with belts like this. Just
<v Speaker 3>hope they do better with her run this time. I
<v Speaker 3>want to have faith that they will. But nothing has changed.
<v Speaker 3>Everything is exactly the same. I say again, let's have
<v Speaker 3>a women's US Open Championship Challenge. It's done so great
<v Speaker 3>on the men's side, let's just have a go at it.
<v Speaker 3>We get a backstage segment EO and Riea. I say
<v Speaker 3>they can't wait to get their hands on the Kabuki
<v Speaker 3>Warriors on Monday and be champions together. Flair and Bliss
<v Speaker 3>tell them that for experience, they know the Kabuki Warriors
<v Speaker 3>can be a little sniky and wishing good luck a
<v Speaker 3>bit weird. But I do think that Flair and Bliss
<v Speaker 3>will come to the aid of Rea and EO possibly
<v Speaker 3>help them with the numbers game, I hope. So anyway,
<v Speaker 3>I definitely I am not ready for Flair and Bliss
<v Speaker 3>to break up yet, so I hope that's not on
<v Speaker 3>the cards anytime soon. We now go to our main
<v Speaker 3>event after another lengthy recap on the history of these two,
<v Speaker 3>as if anyone needed that. But let's remember we are
<v Speaker 3>trying to fill three hours. So the main event ads
<v Speaker 3>to Black versus Damian Priest in an ambulance match. Cole says,
<v Speaker 3>the first time on SmackDown and only the seventh in
<v Speaker 3>WWE history, which is pretty cool, although it's very hard
<v Speaker 3>to believe that there weren't more of these in the
<v Speaker 3>Attitude era. Man, I think shrieks Attitude erea to me,
<v Speaker 3>it's an ambulance match anyway. This one starts quick and
<v Speaker 3>as Black attacks Priest before he finishes his ring entrance,
<v Speaker 3>but luckily Priest manages to get his massive coat off,
<v Speaker 3>and this one is on Black somewhat optimistically taking Priest
<v Speaker 3>straight to the ambulance and opens the doors, but there's
<v Speaker 3>no hope of at the time, Stamp on Netflix still
<v Speaker 3>says we've got solid twenty five minutes left of this match.
<v Speaker 3>But we do get the contents of the ambulance all out,
<v Speaker 3>particularly the stretcher on wheels which Priest uses to flatten Black.
<v Speaker 3>We get a near finish some way in as it
<v Speaker 3>looks all over. Black puts Priest in the ambulance and
<v Speaker 3>almost has the door closed, but Priest fights back and
<v Speaker 3>exits just in time. We are getting pretty close to
<v Speaker 3>the end of this match, and we've got Priest taking
<v Speaker 3>Black up to the top of the ambulance and he
<v Speaker 3>looks for South of Heaven from the top. It didn't
<v Speaker 3>come off, I'm sure completely as they planned. It basically
<v Speaker 3>looked like more of a shove. There was no elevation
<v Speaker 3>from Priest on South of Heaven, but I think that's
<v Speaker 3>what they were going for anyway, Off the top of
<v Speaker 3>the ambulance, through some well position tables, which I'm sure
<v Speaker 3>had significant padding underneath, as that would have been out
<v Speaker 3>onto the concrete floor of the arena and probably would
<v Speaker 3>have shattered every single bone in alistair Black's body had
<v Speaker 3>it just been straight down onto the floor. Corey says,
<v Speaker 3>skip the hospital called the Morgue, which is the line
<v Speaker 3>of the night for me. That finishes Black off, though,
<v Speaker 3>as he goes into the back of the ambulance and
<v Speaker 3>Priest shuts the doors. Weirdly, he'd opened the side door
<v Speaker 3>as well, so when he threw him in the back,
<v Speaker 3>he then had to walk around to the side to
<v Speaker 3>shut the side door before he could shut both the
<v Speaker 3>back doors. And I'm not sure if that was just
<v Speaker 3>to keep the suspense going or whether that was just
<v Speaker 3>a bit of a cockup. Anyway, let's give it his jews.
<v Speaker 3>That was an awesome match. Hopefully, what is now the
<v Speaker 3>finish to end this feud once and for all. We
<v Speaker 3>can't go any further with it. Surely an ambulance matches
<v Speaker 3>the end of the end, so I really do hope
<v Speaker 3>that that's that. I really really want to see Priest
<v Speaker 3>go on to have some kind of title run. I
<v Speaker 3>wouldn't hate seeing him getting involved in the US title
<v Speaker 3>Open challenge, or even you know, getting himself positioned somehow
<v Speaker 3>into the world title. Either way, I would love to
<v Speaker 3>see Priest on a title run. As for Black and Zelena, well,
<v Speaker 3>I'm not sure. I don't know what happens with them now. Selena,
<v Speaker 3>I guess we'll continue to reinvent herself as she always
<v Speaker 3>has done throughout her career in WWE. She's gone from
<v Speaker 3>manager to heal to face to heal to face to
<v Speaker 3>that weird random gimmick she did when she won Queen
<v Speaker 3>of the and started talking with a very ropy English accent.
<v Speaker 3>So Zelena will be fine. Black I want to see
<v Speaker 3>more from him because this guy, I've got phenomenal amounts
<v Speaker 3>of in ring talent and what he can do in
<v Speaker 3>a match is really superb. But we need him to
<v Speaker 3>feud with someone different. We don't need necessarily a long
<v Speaker 3>running feud. Let him go on a tear through the
<v Speaker 3>roster or something, but he needs he needs a good storyline.
<v Speaker 3>And talking off storylines, I think we've got another season
<v Speaker 3>of Unreal coming up, which I still can't make up
<v Speaker 3>my mind whether it's just a whole nother angle of
<v Speaker 3>work against us. Poor Marx as fans or whether it
<v Speaker 3>is genuine your peak behind the curtain, but either way,
<v Speaker 3>it's a good bit of frivolous entertainment which will help
<v Speaker 3>ease the blow of January when we're all skint and
<v Speaker 3>cold fat. I mean, that's just me, okay. So we
<v Speaker 3>made it through the whole three hours. It was a
<v Speaker 3>bit of a marathon, but actually the show was decent,
<v Speaker 3>plenty of advancement in stories. Excited that we might get
<v Speaker 3>Jordan Grace on SmackDown. I really really hope that happens.
<v Speaker 3>And we move on to the Anniversary Roar, which looks
<v Speaker 3>like it should be a decent show. And yeah, I
<v Speaker 3>don't know about any returns, any significant title changes there
<v Speaker 3>I want to see obviously Punk Retain'd like to see
<v Speaker 3>some development with the tag titles on the women's side,
<v Speaker 3>as I said, probably heading for a fatal four way
<v Speaker 3>type thing, But either way, it's looking good as we
<v Speaker 3>move into the new year. The three hour show there
<v Speaker 3>was a bit of fluff and a bit of film,
<v Speaker 3>but actually there was also quite a lot of wrestling
<v Speaker 3>as well, which, as it's at is a good thing.
<v Speaker 3>So we go on to Berlin and let's see what
<v Speaker 3>happens there with what seemed just to be Cody and
<v Speaker 3>Drew on the card, which is interesting. So that just
<v Speaker 3>not does it for this week's show. As always, thank
<v Speaker 3>you for having me in your ears again and remember,
<v Speaker 3>until next time, be kind.
<v Speaker 2>Thanks for listening to the WWE podcast. Don't forget to
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<v Speaker 2>a show, or head to wwepodcast dot com, and for
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<v Speaker 2>next time.