WWE Podcast Throwback (2022): Current State of WWE - Latest on Vince McMahon, Brock's Return & More!

<v Speaker 1>This is WWE Superstar Drew McIntyre, and you're listening to
<v Speaker 1>the WWE podcast.
<v Speaker 2>The show, the one that everybody wants me.
<v Speaker 3>Good three sixteen said, says Gruss your ass.
<v Speaker 4>It is my arm.
<v Speaker 1>You're gonna acknowledge me.
<v Speaker 4>All right, everybody, Well, there is no shortage of things
<v Speaker 4>to talk about tonight. Tonight We're gonna focus on two
<v Speaker 4>specific topics, and I've got Anthony Denmalco here with me
<v Speaker 4>as always every single Monday night, to talk about the
<v Speaker 4>current events of WWE, and we usually pick out a
<v Speaker 4>couple of stories that happened, and we're gonna get into
<v Speaker 4>that with Vince and brock Lezer's return. But welcome to
<v Speaker 4>the show, Anthony. How's everything going?
<v Speaker 2>Not bad?
<v Speaker 1>Men?
<v Speaker 2>A bit of a hectic. I know that we had
<v Speaker 2>talked about it. The process of moving is maybe single
<v Speaker 2>handedly the worst thing one could experience in their life.
<v Speaker 2>Obviously I'm grossy exaggerating, but it's completed for the time being.
<v Speaker 2>I have to do it all over again in sixteen
<v Speaker 2>weeks or so, but for now I can sit back
<v Speaker 2>and relax a bit. And I'm sure you know that
<v Speaker 2>feeling I'm talking about.
<v Speaker 4>I do, And I thought that was like the worst exhaustion,
<v Speaker 4>and then you have kids and then you're like, oh,
<v Speaker 4>I didn't know there was a fourth level of hell,
<v Speaker 4>and then there is so yeah, but you know, I
<v Speaker 4>get it, and you know, definitely we'll get through this
<v Speaker 4>tonight and you know you can get back to get
<v Speaker 4>back to your insanity. And so let's talk about Vince
<v Speaker 4>McMahon because right now, I mean, he seems to be,
<v Speaker 4>at least for the moment, the most talked about thing
<v Speaker 4>in the world of wrestling, and we all know the story,
<v Speaker 4>at least what we can know at this point. There
<v Speaker 4>was an investigation, There is an ongoing investigation with Vince McMahon,
<v Speaker 4>and the board has put a committee together to essentially
<v Speaker 4>investigate a three million dollars settlement, an alleged three million
<v Speaker 4>dollars settlement from Vince McMahon to kind of a hush
<v Speaker 4>hush type of deal with former employees. I guess one
<v Speaker 4>of them, or both of them, or I don't know.
<v Speaker 4>One of them at least was a paralegal in the
<v Speaker 4>organization that is no longer in the organization, and they're
<v Speaker 4>looking into alleged misconduct with that money, and if it's
<v Speaker 4>found that he's guilty. You know, we'll have to see.
<v Speaker 4>But right now, Vince McMahon, Vince McMahon has stepped aside,
<v Speaker 4>not stepped down. I guess that was a distinction as
<v Speaker 4>Stephanie steps in his introm ceo. Let me let me
<v Speaker 4>stop there. What do you make of this whole thing?
<v Speaker 2>Well, I mean, it's kind of crazy when it comes
<v Speaker 2>out in concrete info because we've seen the mister McMahon
<v Speaker 2>character play someone who has abused their power, has cheated
<v Speaker 2>on his wife, had affairs left, right and center, been
<v Speaker 2>obsessive over women, and you know, I guess you always
<v Speaker 2>kind of thought that that was a bit of how
<v Speaker 2>the person Vince McMahon was, but you always kind of
<v Speaker 2>like to think that it was just the character and
<v Speaker 2>mister McMahon. But then when a report like this comes out,
<v Speaker 2>it really kind of makes you think, like damn, like,
<v Speaker 2>was he almost trying to live you know, his real
<v Speaker 2>life on television in a way, And was mister McMahon
<v Speaker 2>always just like an amplified version of Vince McMahon, And like, look,
<v Speaker 2>I read as much as probably you did. But like,
<v Speaker 2>just just before I go any further, the report, the
<v Speaker 2>early reports is that they were consensual relationships.
<v Speaker 4>Correct, Yes, That they were consensual, yes.
<v Speaker 2>And that they are investigating the fact that he paid
<v Speaker 2>three million dollars to keep it hush hush of the
<v Speaker 2>company's money.
<v Speaker 4>Right, stockholder shareholder money. Yeah.
<v Speaker 2>And it's tough because, like it's just it's awful to
<v Speaker 2>hear about, especially when you consider that it happened in
<v Speaker 2>twenty nineteen, I believe, and you're just like, hey, god,
<v Speaker 2>you know this guy was probably like already in his
<v Speaker 2>early to mid seventies and he's still doing stuff like this,
<v Speaker 2>and it really kind of questions, like it makes you
<v Speaker 2>question the person. But at the same time, there's a
<v Speaker 2>part of me that says, like, my god, like, I
<v Speaker 2>guess we always kind of knew this, and this's just
<v Speaker 2>kind of confirms what we always knew that the Vince
<v Speaker 2>McMahon person wasn't completely far off from the mister McMahon character.
<v Speaker 2>And I guess all that I could kind of say,
<v Speaker 2>if to kind of find some kind of silver lining
<v Speaker 2>in this, is that at least they were consensual relationships.
<v Speaker 2>It doesn't and again, like they were consensual, but why
<v Speaker 2>are they completely consensual where there's their manipulation going on?
<v Speaker 4>Uh?
<v Speaker 2>You know, obviously he's a high rank one of the
<v Speaker 2>most powerful men in the country. You know, I can't
<v Speaker 2>imagine that did the age come out of the women.
<v Speaker 4>That No, I don't think so well either way.
<v Speaker 2>I can imagine that a still a working woman that
<v Speaker 2>you would have to assume is somewhere in the range
<v Speaker 2>of twenty to fifty years old, would be really you
<v Speaker 2>know excited to you know, start doing you know, sexual
<v Speaker 2>things with the guy in his early seventies. So, I mean,
<v Speaker 2>it just kind of really paints WWE in a bad way,
<v Speaker 2>and it kind of confirms what a lot of people
<v Speaker 2>have always speculated about Vince McMahon.
<v Speaker 4>What would you say, Well, yeah, it certainly lives up
<v Speaker 4>to the uh living your gimmick accusation. And maybe that's
<v Speaker 4>why it seemed to work so well on camera for
<v Speaker 4>Vince for so many years that you know, he seems
<v Speaker 4>so believable in what he was doing on camera, and
<v Speaker 4>he was one of the best heels the companies the
<v Speaker 4>organization's ever seen, which is maybe why it works so
<v Speaker 4>scarily well. But you know, look, I mean there's this
<v Speaker 4>is still an ongoing investigation. We can make our assumptions
<v Speaker 4>that this is all true, and you know, again there
<v Speaker 4>is no conclusion on this yet. They are still doing
<v Speaker 4>their investigations. So I mean, I guess we'll go with
<v Speaker 4>the presumption that he's guilty of this. I mean, that's
<v Speaker 4>the only way to do this. Otherwise we have nothing
<v Speaker 4>to talk about. But if he's indeed guilty of this,
<v Speaker 4>I mean, the thing is, even if he used private
<v Speaker 4>funds like okay, say it was proven he did make
<v Speaker 4>this payment, but the payment was made from his own money,
<v Speaker 4>it was not from Stare stockholders shareholders money. I think
<v Speaker 4>that only makes it a little better from the perspective
<v Speaker 4>of the shareholders saying, Okay, he wasn't misusing appropriate appropriating
<v Speaker 4>our funds, but he's still kind of a scumbag that
<v Speaker 4>is cheating on his wife and paid the woman to
<v Speaker 4>be quiet about it. Now, he wouldn't be the first
<v Speaker 4>nor the last millionaire or billionaire to do this. It's
<v Speaker 4>probably way more common than people realize, especially in the
<v Speaker 4>world of sports, with things like this that we don't
<v Speaker 4>even know exist until they come up. So Vince would
<v Speaker 4>not be unique in that way. But it is given
<v Speaker 4>that Vince McMahon has you know, it's taken this long
<v Speaker 4>for something like this to happen, and you know, I'm
<v Speaker 4>gonna still say there's a small sliver that it's not true,
<v Speaker 4>but I'm gonna lean on the side of yet probably
<v Speaker 4>did happen. And if it comes out that he actually
<v Speaker 4>did this with funds from that were like publicly traded,
<v Speaker 4>which I think would be really bad. I mean that
<v Speaker 4>that would make this worse for him. But if that
<v Speaker 4>indeed is the case, then I think Vince McMahon may
<v Speaker 4>have no option, no alternative, but to permanently step down
<v Speaker 4>as CEO and maybe leave the company all together. That
<v Speaker 4>I mean, do you think that's even a possibility. A
<v Speaker 4>guy that once defeated God in a tag team match
<v Speaker 4>has an opportunity. I mean, do you think that's even possible.
<v Speaker 4>Say the worst case scenario for Vince comes comes to
<v Speaker 4>pass and it's found that he is guilty, do you
<v Speaker 4>think that he'll actually leave the company?
<v Speaker 2>You know you often thought, or I'll just use myself
<v Speaker 2>as an example, that there would be nothing, aside from
<v Speaker 2>death that would be able to pry Vince McMahon away
<v Speaker 2>from WWE and full control both on the business side
<v Speaker 2>and the creative side. And he's managed to maintain control
<v Speaker 2>of the creative side even through this so far, and
<v Speaker 2>we'll get to his promo and appearance on SmackDown three
<v Speaker 2>nights ago. But I feel like when you're a publicly
<v Speaker 2>traded company and so many billions of dollars are at play,
<v Speaker 2>and there's so many people with their hands in the pot,
<v Speaker 2>and we're living in as such a fragile climate as
<v Speaker 2>we are today, where cancel culture is a real thing,
<v Speaker 2>and I'm not referring to that. This would be like
<v Speaker 2>a victim of cancel culture. If they do come out
<v Speaker 2>to be true these accusations, I think that they would
<v Speaker 2>be completely justified for people to be completely upset about them.
<v Speaker 2>But it feels as though, especially when you take into account,
<v Speaker 2>don't his daughter coming in as the interim CEO and
<v Speaker 2>chairwoman and how much of a philanthropist she tries to
<v Speaker 2>present herself as, I feel like this would be something
<v Speaker 2>that he would not be able to survive. And to
<v Speaker 2>be honest, I'm still very surprised that he was able
<v Speaker 2>to maintain creative control and allowed to appear on SmackDown
<v Speaker 2>like that for me, and I have no doubt in
<v Speaker 2>my mind that was completely a Vince McMahon call to
<v Speaker 2>try and act like, you know, I did nothing wrong,
<v Speaker 2>and you know, try and get out in front of
<v Speaker 2>it in a way. But I just the more and
<v Speaker 2>more they let Vince McMahon go here, it just seems
<v Speaker 2>to be tarnishing his legacy. And you know, we talked
<v Speaker 2>about his appearance at WrestleMania, how he botched the stunner,
<v Speaker 2>how he looks now, the way he kind of acts
<v Speaker 2>awkwardly like. And this is aside from the real life
<v Speaker 2>stuff that's going on. From an on scar perspective, I
<v Speaker 2>can't speak for you, but I just feel like he's
<v Speaker 2>absolutely tarnishing his legacy as a great arguably greatest heal
<v Speaker 2>of all time as far as on screen characters go.
<v Speaker 2>But now you couple in what's going on behind the
<v Speaker 2>scenes and now is coming out publicly in real life matters,
<v Speaker 2>and how big of a company WWE is and how
<v Speaker 2>many big how much money is at play here, it
<v Speaker 2>seems like something that Vince McMahon will not be able
<v Speaker 2>to evade, especially when you consider that a guy like
<v Speaker 2>Nick con has gotten involved recently and it is a
<v Speaker 2>publicly traded company. I feel like this may be a
<v Speaker 2>storm that he can't avoid this time around.
<v Speaker 4>Even the powerful Vince McMahon may not be able to
<v Speaker 4>survive this. I mean, Vince McMahon is a guy that
<v Speaker 4>has survived the courts before, but in this case, I
<v Speaker 4>don't know if he could survive because of the back lessions,
<v Speaker 4>especially as you said, the culture that we're in right
<v Speaker 4>now that is sensitive to these kinds of things, and
<v Speaker 4>for better or worse, We're not going to get into that,
<v Speaker 4>but it does exist and I think that it would
<v Speaker 4>be a big factor, especially from a PR perspective. Now.
<v Speaker 4>It's also interesting to note that Stephanie McMahon and I
<v Speaker 4>brought this up, and others have two as well. I'm
<v Speaker 4>not a genius that thought of this, but Stephanie McMahon
<v Speaker 4>stepped kind of aside from WWE a number of months ago,
<v Speaker 4>you know, just prior to this news coming out, and
<v Speaker 4>before I mean since essentially the womb she was in
<v Speaker 4>WWE day to day, involved in the decisions, involved in whatever.
<v Speaker 4>I mean. She she actually was selling T shirts early
<v Speaker 4>early on in her childhood and made her way all
<v Speaker 4>the way all the way up to the cheap brand
<v Speaker 4>officer whatever. And the thing is, it's is it a
<v Speaker 4>little bit suspicious that she maybe you know, kind of
<v Speaker 4>saw the writing on the wall. She knew it was
<v Speaker 4>coming down the line. She probably knew ahead of time
<v Speaker 4>that there was there's something going on with her dad,
<v Speaker 4>and she heard rumblings of this coming out, and she
<v Speaker 4>smartly decided a couple of months ago to step aside
<v Speaker 4>from WWE and do kind of her own thing and
<v Speaker 4>distance herself. And then all of a sudden, these allegations
<v Speaker 4>come out and she's like, oh, well, wow, this is
<v Speaker 4>this is shocking. Yeah, I didn't know any of this
<v Speaker 4>was going on. I mean, maybe from its kind of
<v Speaker 4>self preservation on her part, or it just could be
<v Speaker 4>dumb luck. I don't know which one it is, but
<v Speaker 4>it is just very suspicious timing where she decided the
<v Speaker 4>moment probably she found out to distance herself, and then
<v Speaker 4>when the news actually broke, she has some kind of
<v Speaker 4>soft landing to say, well, I mean I left a
<v Speaker 4>couple of months ago to do my own thing. I
<v Speaker 4>don't know what's going on here. I mean, you know,
<v Speaker 4>who knows. But do you think that Stephanie knew something
<v Speaker 4>ahead of time and kind of made the smart move
<v Speaker 4>to get away from the company and distance herself so
<v Speaker 4>that when the news broke. She wasn't associated in any
<v Speaker 4>way with this.
<v Speaker 2>I mean, like logic would suggest that, right, Like, it
<v Speaker 2>feels like way too coincidental that she took a leave
<v Speaker 2>of absence what in late May, then less than a
<v Speaker 2>month later this all comes out. The only thing that
<v Speaker 2>would maybe suggest the opposite is that she was like
<v Speaker 2>placed in as the interim CEO and chairwoman. But again,
<v Speaker 2>you're right, like, I just think that it's too coincidental.
<v Speaker 2>Maybe it wasn't like solely because of this, but maybe
<v Speaker 2>it was like she wanted a few weeks away or
<v Speaker 2>she wanted some time away, and they then she found
<v Speaker 2>out that this was maybe coming down the pike and
<v Speaker 2>she said, Okay, well now maybe is no better time
<v Speaker 2>than now. And I mean just for someone like Stephanie McMahon,
<v Speaker 2>who has been so gung ho about distancing herself from
<v Speaker 2>the wrestling aspect of the company, you know, a self
<v Speaker 2>proclaimed philanthropist, all these like how would you say relationships
<v Speaker 2>with these companies or these foundations like Connor's Cure and
<v Speaker 2>the Susan g. Coman Foundation, Like I just feel like
<v Speaker 2>this would be the where this is rather the worst
<v Speaker 2>possible scenario for someone like Stephanie McMahon. But I guess
<v Speaker 2>I'll just flip it into a question back to you.
<v Speaker 2>Do you think that her becoming chairwoman and CEO was
<v Speaker 2>something that she knew was going to come at the
<v Speaker 2>end of the tunnel here, or do you think that
<v Speaker 2>maybe the board of directors just picked her because they
<v Speaker 2>truly felt that she was the best person for the job.
<v Speaker 4>Well, I think that in every organization, especially one as
<v Speaker 4>large and as WWE is, they have a succession plan,
<v Speaker 4>like they knew. For example, if Vince McMahon were to
<v Speaker 4>die and you know, he just gets hit by a bus,
<v Speaker 4>they know who's going to step in, and that person
<v Speaker 4>is Stephanie. Now it also is smart from the perspective
<v Speaker 4>of creating the illusion or the reality that the company
<v Speaker 4>is stable with a McMahon in charge to the shareholders
<v Speaker 4>and stockholders. If it was somebody they never heard of
<v Speaker 4>that is suddenly the CEO of the organization, people are
<v Speaker 4>maybe scrambling, have some doubts, some concerns, and drop some
<v Speaker 4>of their stock. I think it's it is something that
<v Speaker 4>they thought of ahead of time. Even if this wasn't
<v Speaker 4>the case with a scandal, if Vince were to literally
<v Speaker 4>die in his sleep or something that they have to
<v Speaker 4>have a succession plan, and I think Stephanie was that
<v Speaker 4>succession plan and is that succession plan. And it is
<v Speaker 4>smart from the perspective of stability as a whole to
<v Speaker 4>the public eye. So you know, do I think this
<v Speaker 4>is going to be permanent? I mean, time will tell.
<v Speaker 4>Vince is still involved in the creative, which doesn't surprise me.
<v Speaker 4>He's stepping aside, but he's not really stepping away from
<v Speaker 4>his work, is what. It sounds like. He's still kind
<v Speaker 4>of the man even without the title of being CEO
<v Speaker 4>and him coming out on SmackDown. I just want to say,
<v Speaker 4>like I really thought that was like I understand why
<v Speaker 4>he did it. I understand why he did it because
<v Speaker 4>it was to send a message to everybody watching that
<v Speaker 4>he isn't going anywhere, He's not shying away from this
<v Speaker 4>and emphasizing the word together as if we're supposed to
<v Speaker 4>just back him on everything. I think that's what the
<v Speaker 4>message was. And he didn't say much of any which
<v Speaker 4>really pissed me off because it was very to me,
<v Speaker 4>very kind of narcissistic on his part to just do that.
<v Speaker 4>I'm like, dude, you're you should just go back and
<v Speaker 4>take care of business. You don't need to come out
<v Speaker 4>here for your own ego to send a message like
<v Speaker 4>we know who you are, we know what kind of
<v Speaker 4>person you are. Go back and take care of business.
<v Speaker 4>You don't need to come out and do this public stunt.
<v Speaker 4>That is literally you've said nothing. People were just like,
<v Speaker 4>what the hell is that? I was sitting there, I'm like,
<v Speaker 4>that's it. He literally repeated the signature video package at
<v Speaker 4>the start of the show, like that's it. He repeated
<v Speaker 4>like four words. I did not like that at all.
<v Speaker 4>I understand why he did it, but I think it
<v Speaker 4>was left a lot of people like, what was the
<v Speaker 4>exact point of this? Vince? You took up a small
<v Speaker 4>amount of time to do what to to to pop
<v Speaker 4>a rating because you knew that, Oh my god, he's
<v Speaker 4>there's a scandal going on, he's gonnappear on SmackDown. What
<v Speaker 4>the hell is he gonna say? You know? And we
<v Speaker 4>got literally nothing.
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, for me, that reeked of him saying like, oh,
<v Speaker 2>I'm gonna show them that I'm actually innocent and i
<v Speaker 2>can do whatever I want and I'm not rattled by
<v Speaker 2>these reports and nothing's gonna stop me. But it's just
<v Speaker 2>like you literally came out just to tell us that
<v Speaker 2>you're still in charge, basically right like that, there's no
<v Speaker 2>other reasoning for him appearing. And I feel like the
<v Speaker 2>last few times that Vince has come out, save for
<v Speaker 2>what he did lately with Austin theory, but like when
<v Speaker 2>it's announced, like, oh, Vince McMahon is gonna be on SmackDown,
<v Speaker 2>he comes out and he says nothing. It's like when
<v Speaker 2>he was meant to open the show, I believe on
<v Speaker 2>SmackDown when they first came back in front of audience,
<v Speaker 2>in front of people, and he just came out and
<v Speaker 2>he said, where the hell have you been? And then
<v Speaker 2>he left, and I'm just in my head, I'm just like,
<v Speaker 2>just go away, and look, this is not for me
<v Speaker 2>to make light of what all these accusations and what's
<v Speaker 2>going on in real life. But for a moment, let's
<v Speaker 2>talk about vincemhn on screen. Does anybody want to see
<v Speaker 2>Vince McMahon on screen anymore? For me, it's no, And
<v Speaker 2>it's been no probably since, to be quite honest with you,
<v Speaker 2>probably since he got involved with the Roman Reigns and
<v Speaker 2>Triple H program back in twenty fifteen twenty sixteen. That's
<v Speaker 2>the last time that I could remember, and that's we're
<v Speaker 2>talking six years ago now or six and a half
<v Speaker 2>years ago now, that Vince McMahon resembled any kind of
<v Speaker 2>version of his past self. And you know, I'm not
<v Speaker 2>a huge fan of Stephanie McMahon on screen, but why
<v Speaker 2>not let Stephanie McMahon be that character. Why not let
<v Speaker 2>Triple H be that on screen character. Hell let Shane
<v Speaker 2>McMahon be the on screen character. But it's just so
<v Speaker 2>sad now, and there's no other way to put it.
<v Speaker 2>It's just sad to watch him try and be what
<v Speaker 2>he used to be. And I feel like, in a
<v Speaker 2>lot of ways, that's the way it is in real
<v Speaker 2>life too, that he still tries to be that genius
<v Speaker 2>that creates of genius and this over the top powerful
<v Speaker 2>guy in real life, that he makes these bonehead decisions
<v Speaker 2>to like book himself, to open SmackDown, to quite literally
<v Speaker 2>say nothing and just come off as an egotistical narcissist.
<v Speaker 2>I don't know it's sad because again, take away the
<v Speaker 2>real life parts of it for a second. It's said
<v Speaker 2>that he's tarnishing his on screen character, his on screen legacy,
<v Speaker 2>and now we're seeing him tarnish his real life legacy.
<v Speaker 4>It's akin to when people go beyond the wrestling years,
<v Speaker 4>when you're just like, dude, it's time to hang up
<v Speaker 4>the boots. Can you please stop ruining your legacy. I
<v Speaker 4>mean a lot of criticism was hit. It sent undertakers away,
<v Speaker 4>and some of it legitimate, some of it not. You know,
<v Speaker 4>when it comes to n ring and when wrestlers just
<v Speaker 4>don't know when to let go. I think Vince also
<v Speaker 4>has that sickness, and I understand it, Like even though
<v Speaker 4>I'm not I don't have the size of an ego
<v Speaker 4>the size of Vince mc mann, I do understand it
<v Speaker 4>on some level, like when you love something so much
<v Speaker 4>and this is your baby and you've created it, and
<v Speaker 4>you have been successful in the past, as you and
<v Speaker 4>I said, arguably one of the best heals in the
<v Speaker 4>organ in the entire industry ever, and he wasn't even
<v Speaker 4>a real wrestler. So to let go of that and
<v Speaker 4>not appear on screen, I'm sure to him is hard
<v Speaker 4>to let go of. But I think also he recognizes.
<v Speaker 4>I do still think he has some self awareness to
<v Speaker 4>realize that he can't speak long form much more anymore,
<v Speaker 4>because he mumbles, Like you really have to listen to
<v Speaker 4>what Vince is saying. He just kind of like mumbles
<v Speaker 4>a bunch of words together, and it's like Grandpa, like
<v Speaker 4>can you can you slow down? It feels like he
<v Speaker 4>just at this point should be kind of in a
<v Speaker 4>rocking chair playing with his grandchildren, like you know when
<v Speaker 4>I was your age, pale, you know, I used to
<v Speaker 4>be you know, like that kind of stuff, Like you
<v Speaker 4>shouldn't be running an organization at this age. I mean,
<v Speaker 4>you just shouldn't be. That's all. It's time. We all
<v Speaker 4>need to move on. He there needs to be a
<v Speaker 4>succession plan in place, and maybe he is forced out
<v Speaker 4>with this whole scenario. So do I think he's hard
<v Speaker 4>to his legacy? I mean, beyond the scandal, which you
<v Speaker 4>will hear about the results of that maybe in the
<v Speaker 4>coming weeks or months, you know, certainly, Yeah, I mean
<v Speaker 4>because for a long time now, especially with the Austin
<v Speaker 4>theory thing, which really put it over the top for me,
<v Speaker 4>of him just for whatever reason, sitting in an office
<v Speaker 4>talking about golden eggs, mumbling to Austin theory, em masculating
<v Speaker 4>a talent you're supposed to be elevating, you know, all
<v Speaker 4>that kind of stuff made no sense to me. And
<v Speaker 4>also he was not coherent. I cannot hear what you're saying, Vince.
<v Speaker 4>So yeah, I'm on top of the bone headed creative decisions.
<v Speaker 4>It's just his mental faculties are wearing, as we all
<v Speaker 4>will when we get to that age, and he just
<v Speaker 4>unless something forces him out like this and there's public
<v Speaker 4>outcry from stockholders and shareholders, I do not believe that
<v Speaker 4>he will leave the organization unless there is like almost unanimous,
<v Speaker 4>unanimous movement to get him out.
<v Speaker 2>So well, I heard that. Now, Stephanie McMahon, if she
<v Speaker 2>sticks in this role, I believe it's Wade Keller who
<v Speaker 2>reported it that if she ends up sticking in this
<v Speaker 2>role as the permanent CEO, she's gonna lean a lot
<v Speaker 2>on Triple H. No surprise there, but Paul Haman and
<v Speaker 2>that Paul Hayman would get a massive role in Creative
<v Speaker 2>And let's just play, you know, for funzies, the hypothetical
<v Speaker 2>scenario that Vince McMahon is forced out. Do you think
<v Speaker 2>Stephanie McMahon becoming the CEO and chairwoman and delegating a
<v Speaker 2>lot of the creative decisions to Paul Hayman and presumably
<v Speaker 2>Triple H would be a good thing for the company.
<v Speaker 4>Well, I mean both of them are proven. Like I mean,
<v Speaker 4>Triple H built NXT from literally nothing. I mean they
<v Speaker 4>built it from the days of essentially doubled Are to
<v Speaker 4>an established brand that has credibility around the world. And
<v Speaker 4>then of course Paul Hayman an established, well documented creative mind.
<v Speaker 4>Now he's also getting up there in h two. Age
<v Speaker 4>is a factor here, guys, Like I hate to say it,
<v Speaker 4>I'm not saying Paul Hayman is completely out of his prime,
<v Speaker 4>but he's on the back nine. I mean, let's be honest,
<v Speaker 4>he's not a young guy. But at least in the
<v Speaker 4>next ten to fifteen years, could Paul Hammond be a
<v Speaker 4>guy that you could rely on. Absolutely, he's proven. He's
<v Speaker 4>one of the best promos on the ever in the industry, ever,
<v Speaker 4>barn on any generation I put him up against. He's
<v Speaker 4>a guy that had built as ECW. He's a guy
<v Speaker 4>that actually created Stone Cold. Steve Ausler at least created
<v Speaker 4>the environment to help facilitate Stone Cold to become Stone Cold.
<v Speaker 4>You know. So, yeah, I mean I think that would
<v Speaker 4>be fine. Why not I mean, they're both proven. Why
<v Speaker 4>go with somebody that you don't know? Now, some people
<v Speaker 4>may say, well, it's even with Vince gone, it's kind
<v Speaker 4>of the same thing, like the apple doesn't fall far
<v Speaker 4>from the tree. Stephanie's a chip off the old block,
<v Speaker 4>whatever analogy you want to use. And there are some
<v Speaker 4>realities to that. I mean, just because Vince is gone,
<v Speaker 4>some people think that, you know, all will be well,
<v Speaker 4>it'll be a totally fresh new product. I even if
<v Speaker 4>that were the case where Paul Hammond and Triple H
<v Speaker 4>each run raw or smack down her both or whatever,
<v Speaker 4>and Stephanie's the CEO and Vince's gone and the evil
<v Speaker 4>Vince McMahon is sitting at home, I still don't think
<v Speaker 4>we're gonna see a massive change in WWE, because you
<v Speaker 4>still have a McMahon in charge. You still have everybody
<v Speaker 4>that Vince McMahon hired in creative there, presumably everybody that
<v Speaker 4>is in the production team and in helping create the
<v Speaker 4>product that it is today. You still have all those
<v Speaker 4>people there that are all in the same positions. There
<v Speaker 4>are no new minds unless you literally clean house and
<v Speaker 4>start fresh, which they won't do because it's not a
<v Speaker 4>smart move if you're a publicly traded company. There's a
<v Speaker 4>lot of restrictions and things you need to consider when
<v Speaker 4>you're a publicly traded organization. So I don't think with
<v Speaker 4>Vince gone that things are just gonna bam magically change.
<v Speaker 1>Now.
<v Speaker 4>You may see small things here and there, but I
<v Speaker 4>think largely it'll be run mostly the same that Vince
<v Speaker 4>has run it because Stephanie learned under Vince McMahon. She
<v Speaker 4>was his daughter, for God's sakes, and she is got
<v Speaker 4>Vince McMahon's blood literally running through her veins, so she's
<v Speaker 4>not a carbon copy of But I think largely things
<v Speaker 4>won't change. And I hate to say that for people
<v Speaker 4>that want to see a massive change in WW.
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I mean, I just wonder if Stephanie McMahon would
<v Speaker 2>delegate more because she so doesn't want to be a
<v Speaker 2>part of the actual wrestling aspect of it, right, But
<v Speaker 2>like I wonder if maybe that would be like a
<v Speaker 2>hidden positive, that because she doesn't want to be really
<v Speaker 2>directly involved with it, that she would delegate more to
<v Speaker 2>people with more wherewithal to be better served in that position.
<v Speaker 2>But then there's the other aspect about this, and the
<v Speaker 2>one guy who's kind of becoming the X factor in WWE?
<v Speaker 2>Is Nick Kahn? Like I know that Stephanie McMahon has
<v Speaker 2>assumed the role of chairwoman and CEO, And is it
<v Speaker 2>technically a higher position than Nick conn who he's the
<v Speaker 2>president if I'm not mistaken, And I'm just wondering here
<v Speaker 2>that since he joined WWE and replaced I believe her
<v Speaker 2>name was Michelle Wilson and George Barrios, I think those
<v Speaker 2>for their names, he has kind of just been like
<v Speaker 2>taking like a machete to the complete organizational structure here.
<v Speaker 2>And I think that like in a weird way, like well,
<v Speaker 2>I don't think it's more I'm just like thinking out
<v Speaker 2>loud here, rather is like, is he kind of trying
<v Speaker 2>to clean up WWE and fix it for the way
<v Speaker 2>that maybe the shareholders and the border directors want to
<v Speaker 2>take this company into the future. Do you think that
<v Speaker 2>Nick Cohn is kind of a big X factor for
<v Speaker 2>the company moving forward?
<v Speaker 4>Oh, he's already been right, like you said, he's already
<v Speaker 4>been a guy going around with machete, sledgehammer, whatever blunt
<v Speaker 4>object do you want to use. I mean, the guy
<v Speaker 4>has had a massive impact, especially over the last couple
<v Speaker 4>of years of not just COVID COVID didn't help, but
<v Speaker 4>the firings, the releases, the shocking releases that have taken
<v Speaker 4>place over the last two years. I mean, typically it's
<v Speaker 4>the week after WrestleMania. I think it's like they call it,
<v Speaker 4>like Black Thursday, Black Wednesday, whatever it is that week
<v Speaker 4>following WrestleMania, where there's typically layoffs. There were mass amounts
<v Speaker 4>of layoffs the last couple of years and throughout the year,
<v Speaker 4>not just one particular time, and not just wrestlers either,
<v Speaker 4>like production, travel staff for obvious reasons. You know. So
<v Speaker 4>the guys already had a massive impact on WWE from
<v Speaker 4>a personnel perspective, and I'm sure the organizational chart if
<v Speaker 4>you looked at it, with the few hundred people they
<v Speaker 4>have working there, looks much different now than it did
<v Speaker 4>a couple of years ago prior to nickcn coming in.
<v Speaker 4>So he's already had a massive impact.
<v Speaker 1>Now.
<v Speaker 4>I don't know what their plans are moving forward. Like
<v Speaker 4>you said, maybe Stephanie McMahon decides, hey, this would be
<v Speaker 4>really cool on the first woman chairwoman of WWE. You
<v Speaker 4>know that kind of thing, and you know she may
<v Speaker 4>use that for kind of like women's empowerment or whatever
<v Speaker 4>the hell she wants to do. I don't know, But
<v Speaker 4>if she doesn't, then perhaps she's just gonna get the
<v Speaker 4>organization ready for a sale. Now I know that this
<v Speaker 4>has been discussed for six to twelve months now oft
<v Speaker 4>they're going to sell it to Disney. Well, while they didn't,
<v Speaker 4>at least up until this point with Vince gone, maybe
<v Speaker 4>he was the one roadblock that Disney could not get
<v Speaker 4>to say yes. And they obviously need his blessing. Vince
<v Speaker 4>out of the way. Stephanie really doesn't want to run
<v Speaker 4>the place. She's more interested in doing her own business ventures.
<v Speaker 4>Why not make a few billion, sell the company to Disney,
<v Speaker 4>get it, or at least prepare it, sell it to Disney,
<v Speaker 4>and then be on her merry way and it let
<v Speaker 4>Disney run the organization. I mean, I'm not saying that's
<v Speaker 4>gonna happen. I'm not saying that I've heard that's gonna happen.
<v Speaker 4>But it's in terms of the information I have at
<v Speaker 4>this point, doesn't seem out of the relevant impossibility.
<v Speaker 2>No, not at all. And you like that's the way
<v Speaker 2>that these things sent seem to be trending, right, Like
<v Speaker 2>it happened with the UFC. I believe it was Dana
<v Speaker 2>White and were they the Fertida brothers. I think that
<v Speaker 2>sold the UFC to a big corporation and they kept
<v Speaker 2>Dana White on as the president. And it just seems
<v Speaker 2>like that's the way that this thing is trending here,
<v Speaker 2>and the only thing maybe stopping it is Vince McMahon.
<v Speaker 2>And like, look, they've already sold the ww network to
<v Speaker 2>Peacock ak NBC Universal, so it would stand a reason
<v Speaker 2>that maybe they'll sell the entire company to a company
<v Speaker 2>like Disney. And you know how like because let's be
<v Speaker 2>honest here, like, do you think that Stephanie McMahon definitely
<v Speaker 2>not Shane McMahon. He hasn't been involved in any major
<v Speaker 2>way on the business side for about twelve years now,
<v Speaker 2>if not longer. It doesn't seem to me like Stephanie
<v Speaker 2>McMahon is chomping at the the bit to you know,
<v Speaker 2>be her father's successor and carry on the McMahon legacy
<v Speaker 2>as you know wrestling promoters. Hell, her father won't even
<v Speaker 2>say the word wrestling. They invented the term sports entertainment
<v Speaker 2>out of thin air, and Stephanie McMahon has really taken
<v Speaker 2>that ball and completely run with it, So I would
<v Speaker 2>think that maybe that's where this is going to trend.
<v Speaker 2>And Nick conn kind of seems a guy who has
<v Speaker 2>kind of spearheaded that. You know. You've also heard some
<v Speaker 2>rumors that may The Rock would buy it because he
<v Speaker 2>has a long standing relationship with Nick Con that I
<v Speaker 2>don't think anyone knew until the Rock social media post.
<v Speaker 2>But I mean, I guess before we move on to
<v Speaker 2>the Brock and Roman thing, the last question I would
<v Speaker 2>kind of ask you is that do you think that
<v Speaker 2>once Vince McMahon isn't in power anymore, whether that be
<v Speaker 2>that he survives this and eventually dies or he is
<v Speaker 2>forced out because of the scandal, do you think the
<v Speaker 2>McMahons will move forward as massive parts of WWE and
<v Speaker 2>by McMahon's I guess you could also say Triple H
<v Speaker 2>as well.
<v Speaker 3>You're listening to the WWE podcast. We'll be right back
<v Speaker 3>after this short break.
<v Speaker 4>You got to check out the Mentality Show. If you
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<v Speaker 4>how men think and really want to hear what goes
<v Speaker 4>on in the minds of everyday men, then you should
<v Speaker 4>check out the Mentality Show Every Wednesday. It's six pm
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<v Speaker 3>Welcome back to the WWE podcast. Let's get back to
<v Speaker 3>more great wrestling audio.
<v Speaker 4>I yeah, so do I think that WWE is gonna
<v Speaker 4>move on with a McMahon Chargers? Was that your question?
<v Speaker 1>Like?
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, exactly.
<v Speaker 4>Yeah, Well, I mean again, assuming Disney doesn't purchase WWE,
<v Speaker 4>because at that point they could make whatever decisions they
<v Speaker 4>want from a management perspective, I do believe again, like
<v Speaker 4>you said, with Shane, Shane's a guy that I would
<v Speaker 4>love to know the inner workings of the like the
<v Speaker 4>relationship with Shane and Vince and and the backstage stuff
<v Speaker 4>that's going on with Shane, because he seems to be
<v Speaker 4>in out, in out things seem good, No, they're bad.
<v Speaker 4>He's back to doing whatever, making shoes in China. I
<v Speaker 4>don't know his whatever he's doing. And so the Shane thing,
<v Speaker 4>like you said, that's out, Like Shane clearly isn't a
<v Speaker 4>good fit or doesn't want to be a part of
<v Speaker 4>WWE from that perspective, Stephanie is a wild card. Maybe
<v Speaker 4>she is interested in doing this, and she does have
<v Speaker 4>a little bit of the evil geniusness inside of her
<v Speaker 4>that you know, her dad certainly instilled. And I think
<v Speaker 4>that there's a possibility that maybe she actually does want
<v Speaker 4>to and this is kind of just her evil plan
<v Speaker 4>being hatched. Well, not that she set up her dad,
<v Speaker 4>but maybe again distancing herself, setting herself up for that
<v Speaker 4>role so that knowing she's in that next line of defense,
<v Speaker 4>that next person in line of Vince Wertz's have to
<v Speaker 4>step aside like he just did. Then she knew that
<v Speaker 4>if I'm involved, well I can't be involved with a
<v Speaker 4>scandal going on. How did I not know? So let
<v Speaker 4>mean distance myself and in two months they're gonna call
<v Speaker 4>me to be introm CEO and then and they're gonna
<v Speaker 4>find that Vince's guilty and I'm the permanent CEO. I mean,
<v Speaker 4>like it's possible she thought that far ahead. I wouldn't
<v Speaker 4>put it past her. She's a smart woman. I mean,
<v Speaker 4>you can't get to that level and do what she's
<v Speaker 4>done if she wasn't. So there's that possibility. So long answer,
<v Speaker 4>I think, yeah, I think that there will be a
<v Speaker 4>McMahon in charge when the smoke settles from this this scandal.
<v Speaker 4>Even if Vince's found guilty, he's thrown out, people go crazy,
<v Speaker 4>the headlines blow up, Vince McMahon out of w whatever,
<v Speaker 4>which will be a lot of fun to talk about.
<v Speaker 4>But I still, at the end of the day think
<v Speaker 4>the last name of the person running the company will
<v Speaker 4>be McMahon.
<v Speaker 2>Because you think that even if a company like Disney
<v Speaker 2>or let's say NBC whatever would buy WWE, they would
<v Speaker 2>keep a McMahon still in charge to oversee the operations.
<v Speaker 4>If they were willing. If Stephanie here's the thing. If
<v Speaker 4>Stephanie's not willing, though, things change, right Like, if Stephanie
<v Speaker 4>McMahon has no interest and she truly does just want
<v Speaker 4>to do her own thing or you know, sell it,
<v Speaker 4>let Disney make whoever they want to make, a CEO, president,
<v Speaker 4>you know, head of talent relations all that, then sure,
<v Speaker 4>then then things change. Stephanie McMahon, to me, though, is
<v Speaker 4>the last member of the McMahon family that I think
<v Speaker 4>could actually be the CEO. I don't think Shane has
<v Speaker 4>any interest based on just the last twenty years of
<v Speaker 4>his in and outs and the things we've heard, But
<v Speaker 4>if Stephanie's not interested, then then all bets are off.
<v Speaker 4>I think maybe Paul Avec Triple H could be the
<v Speaker 4>guy to actually take it over at or hell, maybe
<v Speaker 4>Nick con I mean the he could I mean Nick
<v Speaker 4>conn or Triple H. I don't know who else could
<v Speaker 4>possibly step in if Stephanie's not interested.
<v Speaker 2>The Seae McMahon thing, to me has always been so weird. Obviously,
<v Speaker 2>you can't judge a guy based off of his on
<v Speaker 2>screen character, but like everyone who's listened to me for
<v Speaker 2>a while, no now knows that I'm a big Seane
<v Speaker 2>McMahon fan, but I always felt that he resonated well
<v Speaker 2>with the crowd. I would argue that he was probably,
<v Speaker 2>of all the McMahon's, probably the best serve to play
<v Speaker 2>the baby. I know Jim Cornett has said numerous times
<v Speaker 2>that he's the best McMahon or the nicest McMahon. It
<v Speaker 2>just really makes you wonder what the hell went on
<v Speaker 2>behind the scenes with Shane, especially considering the fact that
<v Speaker 2>he's the older of the two, I think relatively substantially
<v Speaker 2>between him and stephan I think he has like at
<v Speaker 2>least five years on her. It just really begs the question, like,
<v Speaker 2>what the hell went on with Shane for him to
<v Speaker 2>leave in two thousand and nine. Then even when he
<v Speaker 2>came back in twenty sixteen, it was largely only as
<v Speaker 2>an on screen guy. And I still think that he
<v Speaker 2>got over pretty well. Like when he was the commissioner
<v Speaker 2>of SmackDown, he had his programs with Kevin Owens and
<v Speaker 2>not Daniel Brown aj styles he had the matter. Yeah,
<v Speaker 2>like I thought that he really resonated well with the crowd.
<v Speaker 2>And obviously what happened at this year's Royal Rumble when
<v Speaker 2>he was a producer really kind of killed that entire
<v Speaker 2>thing in the cradle and he ultimately got ousted by
<v Speaker 2>the company. But I've just always wondered what the hell
<v Speaker 2>went on with Shane McMahon behind the scenes.
<v Speaker 4>I mean, yeah, I hope at some point before before that,
<v Speaker 4>you know, Shane heads to his grave, he doesn't take
<v Speaker 4>it to his grave. I would love to know the
<v Speaker 4>ins and out of that, I mean, because it's fascinating
<v Speaker 4>the things we don't know about the relationship between you know,
<v Speaker 4>the son and father and now, of course that's a
<v Speaker 4>very private, intimate relationship. Maybe we will never know and
<v Speaker 4>they both will take it to their graves and everyone
<v Speaker 4>just say, that's none of our business, and I guess
<v Speaker 4>it isn't, but I think it is very interesting. It's
<v Speaker 4>fascinating of the relationship between Vince and Shane, because you're right,
<v Speaker 4>Shane is a very popular, if not the most popular
<v Speaker 4>from a crowd perspective. McMahon. Yeah, his punches and he
<v Speaker 4>doesn't wrestle the best, and you know, we've heard all
<v Speaker 4>the criticisms and I understand that to some degree. But
<v Speaker 4>Shane McMahon, you know, puts one hundred and ten percent
<v Speaker 4>in even if he doesn't wrestle the best quote unquote.
<v Speaker 4>I think that Shane could if he was interested, he
<v Speaker 4>could run the company, but I don't know if whoever's
<v Speaker 4>in charge at the very top would want him as
<v Speaker 4>the CEO. Again, a bridge will cross when we get there.
<v Speaker 4>But let's dive in to brock Lesner and his return. So, Anthony,
<v Speaker 4>are you surprised and are you do you like this?
<v Speaker 1>Like?
<v Speaker 4>What do you think about all this?
<v Speaker 2>I'm torn because I truly do like brock Lesnar a lot.
<v Speaker 2>I know a lot of people hate him because he's
<v Speaker 2>a part time guy and he always just gets handed
<v Speaker 2>these main event type of matches and storylines, and just
<v Speaker 2>his entire career has been a main event served to
<v Speaker 2>him on a silver platter because he is a massive draw.
<v Speaker 2>But I've just always really liked brock Lesner. I like
<v Speaker 2>that he brings like a legitimacy to WWE. I think
<v Speaker 2>he's a very underwrated worker. I'm not as big of
<v Speaker 2>a fan of Cowboy Brock as I am as Classic Brock.
<v Speaker 2>I like classic Brock way more, but I respect the
<v Speaker 2>hell that he's been able to provide another dimension and
<v Speaker 2>prove to people that if he wants to be, he
<v Speaker 2>can be a standalone character without Paul Hayman talking for him.
<v Speaker 2>He's not the best, but he's passable. I like that
<v Speaker 2>he's at least proved that he can be a different
<v Speaker 2>type of guy than just bouncing up and down and
<v Speaker 2>looking big and scary. But I'm with you, I prefer
<v Speaker 2>the classic Brock, so I always have time for Brock Lesner,
<v Speaker 2>and I do think that including Roman Reigns aside from
<v Speaker 2>if the Rock comes back or when Austin comes back,
<v Speaker 2>or even John Cena, but I think maybe he's on
<v Speaker 2>the same level as Brock. Brock is like the biggest
<v Speaker 2>drawed WWE has right now that really kind of transcends
<v Speaker 2>the business that everybody knows. Obviously, his UFC background helps,
<v Speaker 2>but this just isn't it. You know, my love for
<v Speaker 2>brock Lesner isn't enough for me to get behind this
<v Speaker 2>number one. It's just because we're doing this again again.
<v Speaker 2>We're doing Brock and Roman again, and it doesn't make
<v Speaker 2>sense this time around because the last two times that
<v Speaker 2>they competed one on one, Roman won, He beat him
<v Speaker 2>in Saudi Arabia last October, and he beat him at WrestleMania,
<v Speaker 2>and I believe at WrestleMania was clean, wasn't yep, So
<v Speaker 2>what grounds does brock Lesner have aside from the fact
<v Speaker 2>that he's brock Lesner to come back and jump the line?
<v Speaker 2>And the other part about this is is that And
<v Speaker 2>again maybe I'm backtracking a bit, but I just didn't
<v Speaker 2>wasn't ready for Brock yet, Like I thought Brock was
<v Speaker 2>gonna come back like post SummerSlam, because it kind of
<v Speaker 2>felt like we got like a Brock overload in a
<v Speaker 2>lot of ways. And I just think we got a
<v Speaker 2>Brock and Roman overload, And I just I don't know
<v Speaker 2>why we're seeing this again. I think that they're going
<v Speaker 2>back to the well with how they start programs with
<v Speaker 2>Roman way too much like that he beats someone, he's
<v Speaker 2>about to walk off, and then someone's music hits and
<v Speaker 2>just comes in gets in his face. You know, we
<v Speaker 2>saw that with what was it when he beat ray Masterio?
<v Speaker 2>Edged did that when he beat Edge, John Cena did
<v Speaker 2>that when he beat John Cena, Brock did that. Now
<v Speaker 2>when he beat Riddle, Brock did it again. Like it's
<v Speaker 2>just like, do they have no other way to start
<v Speaker 2>or build a program involving Roman reigns And obviously you
<v Speaker 2>have the whole thing with Roman Reigns that you know.
<v Speaker 2>I know, absence makes the heart grow fonder. I get that.
<v Speaker 2>But the fact that he's occupying both world titles and
<v Speaker 2>he's only defended them on screen once since Wrestlming, to me,
<v Speaker 2>is inexcusable. Not like not even out of pay per view.
<v Speaker 2>It was just on a SmackDown, which we talked about
<v Speaker 2>last week. Solidified that even though we didn't we wouldn't
<v Speaker 2>think that Riddle would have a shot even if it
<v Speaker 2>was at a pay per view, the fact that it
<v Speaker 2>was on SmackDown, we knew for a fact that it
<v Speaker 2>meant Riddle was not winning. And I just think everything
<v Speaker 2>together has just made this very underwhelming and it's just
<v Speaker 2>WWE going back to the well won too many times.
<v Speaker 2>I understood why they did it last year in Saudi
<v Speaker 2>Arabia because they wanted to get presented in a different
<v Speaker 2>way with Roman as the heel and Brock as the
<v Speaker 2>baby face. Okay, I was on board. I wasn't a
<v Speaker 2>huge fan of them doing it again at Wrestleman, but
<v Speaker 2>I understood that they were trying to make it feel
<v Speaker 2>like the biggest match of all time. Fine, wasn't a fan.
<v Speaker 2>The match was terrible, but I understood it. This I
<v Speaker 2>don't even understand anymore.
<v Speaker 4>It really is puzzling. Like you said, I'm a fan
<v Speaker 4>of Brock Lesner too. You know, how can you not be?
<v Speaker 4>You know, regardless of the program he's in, he's a
<v Speaker 4>he's a once in a lifetime athlete, and he is
<v Speaker 4>not the greatest on the mic, but that doesn't even matter.
<v Speaker 4>That's how big of a deal he is and how
<v Speaker 4>much he's accomplished and the presence he has all that,
<v Speaker 4>and what he can do in the ring too, And
<v Speaker 4>you know, I I, hey, the guy wants to make
<v Speaker 4>millions for showing up part time. Are we gonna start
<v Speaker 4>crapping on Roman Range for that? We're gonna start crapping
<v Speaker 4>on John Cena for that or everybody else that's done
<v Speaker 4>that and made that path the rock. You're telling me
<v Speaker 4>we're gonna boo the rock if he comes back and say, oh,
<v Speaker 4>you're part time, get out of here. Like the fans,
<v Speaker 4>I understand get frustrated at a certain point. But the
<v Speaker 4>problem with Roman is he is He's champion. And the
<v Speaker 4>really iron ironic part of this whole thing is that
<v Speaker 4>wwe merge these belts together, so Roman has a whole
<v Speaker 4>new set of opponents to work with. He can work
<v Speaker 4>with the entire roster and show up on raw more
<v Speaker 4>and SmackDown. Yet he's done actually less of both. Like
<v Speaker 4>he's done. They've they've actually done the worst possible thing
<v Speaker 4>you could do with this this scenario, and take the
<v Speaker 4>guy that won the belts, take the belts and take
<v Speaker 4>everything and just put it into hibernation and it just
<v Speaker 4>goes away Like that's the Like, that's the worst possible scenario. No,
<v Speaker 4>I understand, He's working on States and Roman's getting paid
<v Speaker 4>a lot of money, great for him, seriously happy for him.
<v Speaker 4>He's at the point in his career where he can
<v Speaker 4>work less and make the same good for him. That's
<v Speaker 4>what I would want to But the problem is now
<v Speaker 4>you are, you are sacrificing other opportunities for other people
<v Speaker 4>who could be holding one of those belts or both
<v Speaker 4>if they still want to keep it unified by what for?
<v Speaker 4>What to hold it for? For brock Lester and a
<v Speaker 4>challenge again that we know he's going to lose for
<v Speaker 4>the fourteenth time. You know, when they could have easily
<v Speaker 4>had a rematch with Riddle. Now I understand the stipulation was,
<v Speaker 4>oh Riddle couldn't challenge Rome again. There's a billion ways
<v Speaker 4>around that, you know. I think that that would have
<v Speaker 4>been a much more fun match with Riddle, only because
<v Speaker 4>they've gotten a lot of momentum behind him. People organically
<v Speaker 4>like Riddle, and they would have had I think a
<v Speaker 4>better quality match, especially what we saw on smack Down.
<v Speaker 4>They had a really good match, a lot of really
<v Speaker 4>believable near falls, i e. The RKO that was or
<v Speaker 4>the spear that was reversed into an RKO, Like there
<v Speaker 4>was a moment I'm like, oh crap, Like he could
<v Speaker 4>actually win it here and everyone else saught the same
<v Speaker 4>thing you know in Riddle is amazing in the ring.
<v Speaker 4>They could have built that into the main event of
<v Speaker 4>Money in the Bank at the MGM in Las Vegas.
<v Speaker 4>But the problem is, again I think this comes straight
<v Speaker 4>from Vince McMahon, is that he wants the biggest main
<v Speaker 4>event possible and he thinks that bringing Brock back is
<v Speaker 4>a bigger main event. Now, in one respect it is,
<v Speaker 4>But at the same time, you've got this rising star
<v Speaker 4>and a star that's more believable to beat Roman than
<v Speaker 4>a guy that just got beat by Roman like eighteen
<v Speaker 4>times to come back that you know isn't gonna beat
<v Speaker 4>Brock or beat Roman. He has zero chance. Like I
<v Speaker 4>don't think Brock has any chance to beat Roman at
<v Speaker 4>Money in the Bank versus Riddle, who you can make
<v Speaker 4>an argument, Hey, he's an up andcoming star. That's what
<v Speaker 4>you want to do with the person that beats Roman
<v Speaker 4>is have a guy that's on the rise, has a
<v Speaker 4>momentum behind him, he's young, check check check. Riddle has
<v Speaker 4>a okay chance that you can make an argument Brock
<v Speaker 4>has zero chance of beating Roman, and so you take
<v Speaker 4>that element of surprise away from it, and I think
<v Speaker 4>he brought back Brock earlier than maybe he wanted, especially
<v Speaker 4>if Randy Orton truly is out for the next you know,
<v Speaker 4>I don't know how long, apparently till the end of
<v Speaker 4>the year. I've heard a lot of different things, but
<v Speaker 4>I don't know if this is gonna be the end
<v Speaker 4>of it with Brock and Roman. I mean, they got
<v Speaker 4>Summer Slam next. What are they gonna do? Just have
<v Speaker 4>Brocklezer go away and then? I don't think so. I
<v Speaker 4>think we could see like part seven of this matchup
<v Speaker 4>with Brock and Roman at Summer Slam. Like I'm not
<v Speaker 4>saying it's gonna happen, but Brock isn't back just for
<v Speaker 4>this kind of b pay per view. I think he's
<v Speaker 4>back through Summer Slam, and it could be Roman reigns
<v Speaker 4>for both both times.
<v Speaker 2>Well, that's the thing I wanted to ask, like, is
<v Speaker 2>it for money in the bank, because I thought I
<v Speaker 2>saw something that said that he came back to challenge
<v Speaker 2>Roman for SummerSlam. H that they're just gonna skip over.
<v Speaker 2>I like, don't quote me on that, but and I'm
<v Speaker 2>pretty sure it's for a last man's standing match. I
<v Speaker 2>saw that much so, like, I'm pretty sure, like you
<v Speaker 2>could double check this for me, that they booked this
<v Speaker 2>for Summer Slam, Oh my god, and they're just gonna
<v Speaker 2>leap frog money in the bank. And assuming that's accurate
<v Speaker 2>and I'm not completely messing this up, you're basically holding
<v Speaker 2>that title hostage or both titles hostage for two months, yep.
<v Speaker 2>And we know that for two months, nobody's even going
<v Speaker 2>to get involved in the World Championship picture or the
<v Speaker 2>Undisputed Championship picture. Forget having a match for it, forget
<v Speaker 2>having you know, winning it. There's gonna be no nobody
<v Speaker 2>even stepping up to Roman for the entire summer because
<v Speaker 2>they've already decided two months in advance. It's Roman versus Brock.
<v Speaker 2>For what reason, no other than Vince feels like that's
<v Speaker 2>the biggest match that he could put together. And that's why, Like,
<v Speaker 2>maybe I was overly negative with Roman from the onset
<v Speaker 2>when he won the two championships at WrestleMania, but I
<v Speaker 2>felt like this is the way that it was going,
<v Speaker 2>that these championships were just gonna go into hibernation. And look, again,
<v Speaker 2>maybe I'm talking about both sides out of my mouth
<v Speaker 2>because when Brock was Universal Champion on Monday Night Raw
<v Speaker 2>back in twenty seventeen or whatever it was, I didn't
<v Speaker 2>mind it as much. But in part of that was
<v Speaker 2>because you had guys like aj Styles and Daniel Bryan
<v Speaker 2>carrying the other World championship over on SmackDown, so it
<v Speaker 2>still felt kind of legitimate that there there was at
<v Speaker 2>least one World championship in the mix. And to be honest,
<v Speaker 2>I feel like Brock back then could be competed more
<v Speaker 2>than Roman is now. And that's crazy to say, Like
<v Speaker 2>you had Brock defending the Universal Championship at pay per
<v Speaker 2>views like Great Balls of Fire and Battleground and stuff
<v Speaker 2>like that, and this you don't even have Roman competing
<v Speaker 2>at any pay per view. And for me, it's just
<v Speaker 2>the fact that you've brought back another part timer to
<v Speaker 2>go head to head with him for like the fifteenth time.
<v Speaker 2>It's like, it's absolutely crazy, and it's just like, how
<v Speaker 2>am I supposed to invest in this anymore? Like unless
<v Speaker 2>it is like this incredible long term booking that Seth
<v Speaker 2>is gonna win money in the bank and then cash
<v Speaker 2>in on Roman and Brock again, you know, akin to
<v Speaker 2>what happened seven years ago. But I mean, I'm not
<v Speaker 2>giving WWE that much credit, especially with the way that
<v Speaker 2>they've booked Seth in terms of wins and losses over
<v Speaker 2>the last twelve months. So I mean anything short of that,
<v Speaker 2>and assuming I don't know if you're able to double
<v Speaker 2>check it, but like assuming that this is just booked
<v Speaker 2>for SummerSlam and they're completely leapfrogging money in the b
<v Speaker 2>and everything in between. You know, I just I'm not
<v Speaker 2>very high on this.
<v Speaker 4>No, I'd just read a few articles that did say that.
<v Speaker 4>I mean that that apparently I did to see the
<v Speaker 4>last man standing. I just didn't see the venue. I
<v Speaker 4>thought it was money in the bank. It does look
<v Speaker 4>like that is slated for Summer Slam, and if that,
<v Speaker 4>if that holds true, that is again, like you said,
<v Speaker 4>another sixty days tacked onto his six hundred and fifty,
<v Speaker 4>so he'll be at what like seven hundred and ten
<v Speaker 4>days as champion and at that point you're three quarters
<v Speaker 4>of the way. They are roughly two one thousand days.
<v Speaker 4>And I keep harping on that, but I can foresee
<v Speaker 4>them just doing that, and can just because they're like, well, guys,
<v Speaker 4>when are we gonna have this opportunity again to have
<v Speaker 4>a thousand days, Like, to me, that's such narrow minded booking.
<v Speaker 4>But yeah, but the only the only hope we have
<v Speaker 4>is exactly what you said, the money in the bank winner,
<v Speaker 4>whether it's Drew or Seth. Yeah, because I think those
<v Speaker 4>are really the only two that have a legitimate argument
<v Speaker 4>to win that match, which I probably think it'll actually
<v Speaker 4>be Drew because then he'll challenge Roman for Clash at
<v Speaker 4>the Castle, I'd imagine, unless he wins some other way
<v Speaker 4>to challenge Roman. But you already know at least through
<v Speaker 4>Clash at the Castle with Drew in September, like Roman's
<v Speaker 4>gonna hold a belt at least another three months to
<v Speaker 4>get to Roman or to get to bra Sorry, to
<v Speaker 4>get to Drew's. There's like the same cast of characters here.
<v Speaker 4>To get from to Roman versus Drew at Clash in
<v Speaker 4>the Castle, you gotta go another three months. And it's
<v Speaker 4>just absurd that we already know the next quarter of
<v Speaker 4>a year there is no chance of anyone taking the
<v Speaker 4>belt from Roman. Like that's I think the biggest problem
<v Speaker 4>I've had with this run. And I've been a big
<v Speaker 4>proponent of this run. I have and I've sat here
<v Speaker 4>and defended him more than most and you know, for
<v Speaker 4>a better worse, that is what it is. It's very
<v Speaker 4>subjective here. But the biggest problem I've had over the
<v Speaker 4>two years almost that he's been champion and look out
<v Speaker 4>for them harping on that at SummerSlam by the for
<v Speaker 4>two years he's been champion. The biggest complaint I've had
<v Speaker 4>is that every nearly every opponent he's had, you've never
<v Speaker 4>really believed that they could beat Roman like they they've
<v Speaker 4>Kevin Owens even it's you know, in his four matches
<v Speaker 4>or whatever he had, there was maybe one of the
<v Speaker 4>matches you're like maybe, but at the end of the day,
<v Speaker 4>you're you're never thinking, oh my god, they're probably gonna
<v Speaker 4>be the one to beat Roman, and then they don't.
<v Speaker 4>You're like, oh man, they had a chance. Nobody there's
<v Speaker 4>been nobody Cizarro, the Demon, Finn Baler, Kevin Owens, obviously
<v Speaker 4>brock Lesering. You know, anytime he challenges Roman has no chance.
<v Speaker 4>You know, he faced John Cena. You knew while there
<v Speaker 4>was some speculation he's a part time guy, doesn't make sense, legend,
<v Speaker 4>doesn't need it, he doesn't make He's not gonna get it.
<v Speaker 4>You know the rock he comes back. You know, it
<v Speaker 4>doesn't make sense. It's all just nostalgic matches, and just
<v Speaker 4>like video game matches that people are are are thinking themselves, yeah,
<v Speaker 4>there's no chance, like this is it's cool that these
<v Speaker 4>matches are happening. But unfortunately, guys, we know the outcome,
<v Speaker 4>like we we already know Roman's retaining because it doesn't
<v Speaker 4>make sense for this person to win. That's the been
<v Speaker 4>the biggest complaint I've had with this entire run is
<v Speaker 4>that nine of his opponents. You just going, yeah, it's
<v Speaker 4>gonna be a fun match, but there's no way they're
<v Speaker 4>winning that. That's that's a terrible way to have a
<v Speaker 4>title run.
<v Speaker 2>I think the only time that I really thought that
<v Speaker 2>maybe he would lose was wrestled maybe A thirty seven
<v Speaker 2>in the triple Threat match with Daniel Bryan Edge. That's
<v Speaker 2>and once he beat them, and I still picked Roman
<v Speaker 2>to retain. But that was the one time where I
<v Speaker 2>wasn't one hundred percent confident. But you're right, like Ray Misterio,
<v Speaker 2>no Edge the second time, and money in the bank,
<v Speaker 2>no sina. I mean somewhat, I said, like maybe they'll
<v Speaker 2>give Sena his seventeenth World title to pass pass Flair
<v Speaker 2>and then he'll drop it back to Roman. But I
<v Speaker 2>mean the way that they booked him versus Sena was embarrassing.
<v Speaker 2>The Brock thing obviously, like him winning at WrestleMania was
<v Speaker 2>the most clear cut outcome we've ever seen, arguably that
<v Speaker 2>at WrestleMania, and we knew that he was gonna beat
<v Speaker 2>Riddle on SmackDown, and like, I don't know if I'm
<v Speaker 2>missing anyone in there, obviously Jay Us at the very beginning,
<v Speaker 2>we knew wasn't gonna have a hope in the hell
<v Speaker 2>of winning the championship. So, like, it is a shame.
<v Speaker 2>It sucks that, like even a guy like Seth Rawlins,
<v Speaker 2>Like if that was a good match, I think the
<v Speaker 2>program had a lot more juice left in it aside
<v Speaker 2>from the fact that it was heel versus heel. But
<v Speaker 2>we knew that Rawlins wasn't gonna win because they were
<v Speaker 2>in the midst of the Brock angle and you had
<v Speaker 2>Seth as a raw guy. So even that we knew
<v Speaker 2>that Seth didn't have a hope in hell of winning
<v Speaker 2>the Universal Championship at the Rumbles, So I mean, it's
<v Speaker 2>very unfortunate that even though it has been an excellent
<v Speaker 2>run for the most part. I would say all the
<v Speaker 2>way up until this year's WrestleMania, I had no complaints
<v Speaker 2>with it. I would say that it is still a
<v Speaker 2>shame that for the first eighteen months when it was
<v Speaker 2>red hot, you never presented a formidable opponent for him
<v Speaker 2>to go up against.
<v Speaker 4>Yeah, it's it's that. I mean again, I'm not gonna
<v Speaker 4>pretend that I wasn't a fan of it. I was.
<v Speaker 4>I I was a big fan of his run, and
<v Speaker 4>to some degree I still am. I can respect what's
<v Speaker 4>going on, but at this point, like fans are starting
<v Speaker 4>to lose their patience in a way that's not good.
<v Speaker 4>It's not good heat. It's like people don't want to
<v Speaker 4>watch anymore. And I will argue tooth and nail that
<v Speaker 4>there is difference in that kind of heat where people
<v Speaker 4>just want to change the channel and they don't want
<v Speaker 4>to even invest anymore. Disengagement is not heel heat. I
<v Speaker 4>think that's the difference that people don't understand sometimes, and
<v Speaker 4>so I think that that people are at that point.
<v Speaker 4>People are at that point where they're just like disengaged
<v Speaker 4>and they're just like, oh, well, Roman's gonna win, it's
<v Speaker 4>gonna be a good match, you know, So I'll watch
<v Speaker 4>for just like the wrestling perspective, but I'm kind of
<v Speaker 4>disinvested from the bloodline. It's the same thing. Roman wins, retains,
<v Speaker 4>he stands there till it tells people to acknowledge him,
<v Speaker 4>and then a new opponent comes out just as he's
<v Speaker 4>holding up the belts. It's like very formulaic. It's the
<v Speaker 4>same thing, and I totally get it. I'm not crapping
<v Speaker 4>on that, and I'm starting to I'm starting to get
<v Speaker 4>on that bandwagon of like, Okay, I'm kind of done
<v Speaker 4>with this. Can we just get the belts off Roman?
<v Speaker 4>So we can get Roman in matches that you actually
<v Speaker 4>don't know if he's gonna win or not, Like like
<v Speaker 4>to me, you've you've made your point. Roman's a future
<v Speaker 4>Hall of Famer. He's had an epic run, a legendary run.
<v Speaker 4>We get all that great heel turn, great success, great execution.
<v Speaker 4>For the most part, point made. Can we move on?
<v Speaker 4>You are strangle holding two championships unified into one that
<v Speaker 4>you're not even maximizing or utilizing at all, by the way,
<v Speaker 4>and you're also holding mac talent that could be taking
<v Speaker 4>these spots for pay per views that are that oftentimes
<v Speaker 4>don't even have a world title match because Roman's not there.
<v Speaker 4>I mean, so there's there's to me the negatives finally
<v Speaker 4>outweigh the positives of Roman holding those belts. I just
<v Speaker 4>I'm there now, and it.
<v Speaker 2>Sucks because they had something amazing. It's just they had
<v Speaker 2>to exaggerate, they had to push it. And by day
<v Speaker 2>I mean vince that, like you know, I could see it,
<v Speaker 2>just like oh, you see, like now they're behind Roman.
<v Speaker 2>Now I'm gonna give them what they want. And it's
<v Speaker 2>just like no, like why can't he just be a
<v Speaker 2>top wrestler, but like not above and beyond and head
<v Speaker 2>and shoulders above everyone else, Like even Stone Cold Steve
<v Speaker 2>Austin back in the day wasn't pushed like this, Like
<v Speaker 2>you know, like even stone Cold when he was on top,
<v Speaker 2>at least you had that one guy in the rock
<v Speaker 2>or to a bit lesser of extent, Triple H that
<v Speaker 2>like when they will go head to head with Austin,
<v Speaker 2>you would think like damn, maybe they could beat him,
<v Speaker 2>and sometimes they did. Triple H beat him in the
<v Speaker 2>Three Stages of Hell match, one of the all time
<v Speaker 2>by the way. I love that match, yeah, exactly, like
<v Speaker 2>The Rock beat him at WrestleMania nineteen obviously a different context,
<v Speaker 2>but he still beat him. Like you when The Rock
<v Speaker 2>was the World champion and Austin was out in two thousand,
<v Speaker 2>the Rock was the top guy, like Current Angle beat
<v Speaker 2>him at No Way Out in two thousand or no
<v Speaker 2>sorry it was No Mercy two thousand. Like these are
<v Speaker 2>things sometimes that have to happen. And I could guarantee
<v Speaker 2>you that guys like The Rock, guys like Austin, even
<v Speaker 2>a guy like John Cena, and you know, he was
<v Speaker 2>pushed as Super Sena for a long time, but never
<v Speaker 2>to this extent that like it pays sometimes to have
<v Speaker 2>them lose, and it pays sometimes for them to have
<v Speaker 2>that redemption story. Like I think one of the things
<v Speaker 2>that really helped Sena, and I don't know if you
<v Speaker 2>remember this, but like in the year twenty twelve when
<v Speaker 2>he lost to the Rock at WrestleMania twenty eight and
<v Speaker 2>then he was just a losing match after match after
<v Speaker 2>match after match, and twenty twelve, all Sena did was lose,
<v Speaker 2>and he had a failed cash in money in the
<v Speaker 2>bank briefcase. And then in twenty thirteen, he won the
<v Speaker 2>Rumble and he beat the Rock at the at Wrestling
<v Speaker 2>in twenty nine, and even though it wasn't my favorite
<v Speaker 2>thing in the world, I think it got a lot
<v Speaker 2>more people behind John Cena again because they did have
<v Speaker 2>him face some form of adversity And could you imagine
<v Speaker 2>like Roman losing a match and coming out like a
<v Speaker 2>month later more vicious than ever because he did finally lose,
<v Speaker 2>like they would have a brand new like can of
<v Speaker 2>worms to open and work with and everyone would be
<v Speaker 2>so much more invested because we're just like, Okay, we
<v Speaker 2>had a vicious Roman before, but now that he's lost,
<v Speaker 2>let's see what levels he'll take it to to get
<v Speaker 2>that title back. And they just won't even go there.
<v Speaker 4>There's there's such a story to be told on the
<v Speaker 4>other end of this, Like we have had, they've squeezed
<v Speaker 4>every last drop of juice at least we think they
<v Speaker 4>have out of this current product for two years. They've
<v Speaker 4>been doing the same thing with Roman, and there's a
<v Speaker 4>there's such another side of this. There's a potentially better
<v Speaker 4>side of this or more interesting side of this on
<v Speaker 4>the other side where Okay, he lost, now what the
<v Speaker 4>hell is he gonna do when he comes out, what's
<v Speaker 4>he gonna Is he gonna like light the arena on fire?
<v Speaker 1>Like?
<v Speaker 4>What is he gonna do? Like the quiet anger? I
<v Speaker 4>think he could show on camera would be scary good
<v Speaker 4>and I would love to see it. They could even
<v Speaker 4>turn him baby Face off of it. I mean, honestly,
<v Speaker 4>the fans are already cheering and he comes out. Some
<v Speaker 4>of them are He's got a great entrance music. You know. Again,
<v Speaker 4>I think that the fans have had time to hate him.
<v Speaker 4>The ones that have wanted to boo him have had
<v Speaker 4>time to boo him. We've We've had a lot of
<v Speaker 4>a lot of fans, like myself, pent up anger for
<v Speaker 4>him that I think is now released and were ready
<v Speaker 4>to embrace him. If they ever wanted to turn babyface,
<v Speaker 4>they could that we could get to the point where
<v Speaker 4>Vince wanted him to be six years ago winning the
<v Speaker 4>Rumble in fifteen in Philly, except actually be there now
<v Speaker 4>because they've gone through the time of hating him and
<v Speaker 4>now they can instantly turn him on a dime. I
<v Speaker 4>really believe that. So you're right, it's just time and
<v Speaker 4>I think that fans are fed up, We're done with it,
<v Speaker 4>and you know, I just I don't want to go
<v Speaker 4>in circles. But any final thoughts on.
<v Speaker 2>This, no, I just it's a shame that we know
<v Speaker 2>that the world titles aren't going to be moving or
<v Speaker 2>have a developing storyline for two months during the summer.
<v Speaker 2>It's just it's just sad and it's frustrating.
<v Speaker 4>It's rights. I honestly don't even know the next time
<v Speaker 4>they're they're in question. I mean, but if the Rock's
<v Speaker 4>there challenging for the Belts, got help us. I didn't
<v Speaker 4>want to cross that bridge. I mean, we've got like
<v Speaker 4>eight months until we have to talk about that. I
<v Speaker 4>would just really hope that the Rock comes back is
<v Speaker 4>not for the Belts. You and I have discussed that,
<v Speaker 4>but I really don't even know the next time. I
<v Speaker 4>would look at a Roman match even again all the
<v Speaker 4>way to WrestleMania and go, hmm, well, it could be
<v Speaker 4>this person who beats him.
<v Speaker 2>Here.
<v Speaker 4>There's literally no one I can think of at this
<v Speaker 4>time that could come back and challenge Roman outside of
<v Speaker 4>some people in XT. You have heard the names, but
<v Speaker 4>right now in the current roster, I'll look at it
<v Speaker 4>and go, yeah, there's nobody, So just put it on
<v Speaker 4>Seth for God's sakes, Like, just have Seth win the
<v Speaker 4>money in the bank, cash it in that night. Let's
<v Speaker 4>get it over with. Seth is now the unified champion,
<v Speaker 4>Like let's move on. That's what I would do. But
<v Speaker 4>all right, well, Anthony, thank you for coming on tonight.
<v Speaker 4>Of course, you guys can check out Anthony on his
<v Speaker 4>retro show. And this past week was from the vault version.
<v Speaker 4>But this week, hopefully we'll get a fresh, a fresh,
<v Speaker 4>new episode. And did you have anything in mind, Anthony
<v Speaker 4>or you're waiting for the universe too and fire you
<v Speaker 4>over the next few days.
<v Speaker 2>No, No, I actually have one in mind. It was
<v Speaker 2>supposed to be last week, but it's just with the
<v Speaker 2>whole moving stuff, I knew that I would have had
<v Speaker 2>to record a half assed version, so just figured give
<v Speaker 2>us a brand new episode this week. And it will
<v Speaker 2>be the Rocks run from twenty eleven to twenty thirteen,
<v Speaker 2>as we will dive into his return and his semi
<v Speaker 2>full time run that when he came back in early
<v Speaker 2>twenty thirteen, all the way up until WrestleMania in late March,
<v Speaker 2>were for just about two or three months or so.
<v Speaker 2>It felt like the Rock was kind of on a
<v Speaker 2>full time schedule. Maybe not from an in ring perspective,
<v Speaker 2>but he was appearing on Raw, he was appearing on
<v Speaker 2>SmackDown almost each and every week when he held the
<v Speaker 2>WWE championship in early twenty thirteen, and I don't think
<v Speaker 2>people remember how often he came back during that period.
<v Speaker 2>So I'm excited to dive into that.
<v Speaker 4>I actually I'm glad you're doing that because I actually
<v Speaker 4>don't remember him there much. But maybe it is foggy
<v Speaker 4>memory because you look at these legacy stars and you're like, yeah,
<v Speaker 4>but they weren't there that much. But I think you're right.
<v Speaker 4>He was there way more than we realize, and you
<v Speaker 4>know that that's important. I think he wanted to put
<v Speaker 4>some respect on the belts and not just be this
<v Speaker 4>absentee champion. So good stuff. I'll be looking forward to it.
<v Speaker 4>And you have a social media you want to share
<v Speaker 4>as well?
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, as always, you can get me at a to
<v Speaker 2>Marco twenty five on Twitter.
<v Speaker 4>Awesome. Well, looking forward to the episode and we will
<v Speaker 4>be talking next week.
<v Speaker 2>All right, man, take it easy, take care.
<v Speaker 3>Thanks for listening to the WWE podcast. Don't forget to
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