WWE SmackDown Review: Final Royal Rumble Build

<v Speaker 1>Good morning, good afternoon, good evening. Hello, whatever time it
<v Speaker 1>is with you and wherever you are. Thank you for
<v Speaker 1>downloading this SmackDown with you as part of the ww podcast.
<v Speaker 1>As always, it's an absolute pleasure to have you listening along.
<v Speaker 1>Once again. I'm Amanda, your host of this SmackDown review.
<v Speaker 1>And we aren't on European time anymore, but we are
<v Speaker 1>in Riddar, which means SmackDown Today was on at five pm,
<v Speaker 1>so as I record now it's eight o'clock in the evening.
<v Speaker 1>Happy days. I want to talk about the Rule rumble
<v Speaker 1>and some predictions before we get to our SmackDown main event.
<v Speaker 1>I want to talk about some predictions of both winners
<v Speaker 1>and some potential returns hopeful. Let's start off with the
<v Speaker 1>non royal rumble matches. So Gunther versus AJ. If AG loses,
<v Speaker 1>he retires. Now, first off, I know you've heard this
<v Speaker 1>before from me, but this monika that they've given to
<v Speaker 1>Gunther as the career killers, just he hasn't retired people.
<v Speaker 1>He had Goldberg's last match, then he had seen his
<v Speaker 1>last match. It wasn't their last match because of him.
<v Speaker 1>It drives me nuts. Anyway, I want to see an
<v Speaker 1>AJ win, and I think we will. He deserves one
<v Speaker 1>last Mania at the very least Drew versus Sammy with
<v Speaker 1>a heavy heart, I think we get Drew win to
<v Speaker 1>retain the title, unless wwe finally pull the trigger on
<v Speaker 1>Sammy and get him the belt for Mania. Heart overhead
<v Speaker 1>here i'd say Sammy, but head over heart, I think
<v Speaker 1>I'm gonna go for Drew, but hoping that we get Sammy. Okay,
<v Speaker 1>So onto the two rumble events. So the Men's Rumble,
<v Speaker 1>with only about fifteen or sixteen declared, there's plenty of
<v Speaker 1>scope for surprises. So firstly, the likely winner this year
<v Speaker 1>is so hard. I've picked my top three likely winners,
<v Speaker 1>and as they say on the strip, in no particular order,
<v Speaker 1>I think we're going to get Roman a classic, and
<v Speaker 1>we know he'll want another run at the title. Next
<v Speaker 1>is a bit left field, but I feel like La
<v Speaker 1>Knight's time might be approaching. So La Knight is my
<v Speaker 1>wild card, and my last possible is Brock because I'm
<v Speaker 1>not sure they'd bother having him in it if he
<v Speaker 1>wasn't going to be up there. But let's see, and
<v Speaker 1>that's really quickly talk about any returns or appearances that
<v Speaker 1>we've not seen for a while, so my first one.
<v Speaker 1>You're all going to know what this is. But I
<v Speaker 1>think Chris Jericho. Please God, if we hear break the walls,
<v Speaker 1>I will pop my ass off. I think we're going
<v Speaker 1>to see Chad Gable or El Grande Americano. I guess
<v Speaker 1>I think those two are locked in. Slightly more shaky
<v Speaker 1>could be Kevin Owens. I don't know where he is medically,
<v Speaker 1>but it has to be a possibility. And then I'm
<v Speaker 1>going to say maybe Seph I don't know what the
<v Speaker 1>extent of his injury is or even if it's real
<v Speaker 1>this time, but if he came back, he would surely
<v Speaker 1>have down turned face because of the vision turning on him,
<v Speaker 1>So let's see. I think that's probably the least likely.
<v Speaker 1>Although finally, on the men's side, rumor has it the Rock,
<v Speaker 1>but I can't see that happening. So let's talk about
<v Speaker 1>the women's match now, the women's rumble again, plenty of
<v Speaker 1>room for surprises. Only fifteen or sixteen people declared here
<v Speaker 1>as well, we already know there's a decent amount of
<v Speaker 1>NXT possibly TNA people too. In terms of winners. Again,
<v Speaker 1>I don't think this is easy this year. So another
<v Speaker 1>top three, A returning Tiffy. She needs to be back
<v Speaker 1>in the title picture. She's awesome. Jordan Grace, she would
<v Speaker 1>be a bold pick from WWEC and is that she's
<v Speaker 1>really only just arrived, but she's over and it would
<v Speaker 1>be a refreshing change. And my last of the three
<v Speaker 1>would be a returning Bianco Bella. For me, that would
<v Speaker 1>be the most underwhelming option, but it will be good
<v Speaker 1>to see her back. We also think there's an outside
<v Speaker 1>chance for either Live or Rear as well, but much
<v Speaker 1>less likely. And so to the returns for the women
<v Speaker 1>and some exciting stuff to think about here. Firstly, Tiffy
<v Speaker 1>and Bianca. I think they're both bankers. I think we're
<v Speaker 1>going to get an aj Lee possibly face off with
<v Speaker 1>Becky and start off their feud for the icy Belt
<v Speaker 1>at Mania. Now hear me out here, I am predicting
<v Speaker 1>we get Sasha Banks. Yes, I do, I do, I do.
<v Speaker 1>And last, but never least, I think we are going
<v Speaker 1>to see the return of Page. Imagine a j Lee
<v Speaker 1>Paige and this current woman's roster, yes, please, Inevitably, I
<v Speaker 1>guess we are going to get some kind of Beth
<v Speaker 1>Phoenix appearance. She's a Rumble staple at this point, saying
<v Speaker 1>that I'm not sure is she over with edge on
<v Speaker 1>aw or wherever he's gone. I'm not completely sure. Anyway,
<v Speaker 1>they are my picks. As always with the Rumble, I
<v Speaker 1>think the surprises are probably a little bit more exciting
<v Speaker 1>than the winner for me anyway. So let's see that
<v Speaker 1>kicks off here in the UK tomorrow night, I think
<v Speaker 1>about seven o'clock in the evening, so again a very
<v Speaker 1>palatable time for us here in the UK. Let's see
<v Speaker 1>what happens. Considering there's been literally no build to the
<v Speaker 1>Rumble this year, in a weird way, it's actually made
<v Speaker 1>it somehow more exciting. Anyway. Look, let's get to it
<v Speaker 1>and review the SmackDown the ed IF of January from
<v Speaker 1>Ridar and we start off with a bit of a
<v Speaker 1>promo for the area and we get our arrivals, first
<v Speaker 1>Gunther and then aj Styles. We also see Drew arriving
<v Speaker 1>and of course Sammy, who Cole reminds us for the
<v Speaker 1>first of about six hundred times this evening is zero
<v Speaker 1>and eleven versus Drew. We then go into a recap
<v Speaker 1>of Saturday night's main event, which I didn't think was
<v Speaker 1>up to much. The Fatoo Cody thing was fun, but
<v Speaker 1>the rest of it was pretty much a glorified house show.
<v Speaker 1>And I think going forward, maybe we just need to
<v Speaker 1>remember that. And by we I mean me. I always
<v Speaker 1>get myself so excited because we get a little bit
<v Speaker 1>of an extra Bruceie bonus WWE event, and then I'm
<v Speaker 1>always really disappointed by it. So note to self, don't
<v Speaker 1>get excited by Saturday night's main event anyway. First out,
<v Speaker 1>tonight we got Cody, who gets a very decent pop.
<v Speaker 1>He's dressed like a ninety stockbroker. Tonight. I don't think
<v Speaker 1>I will ever get my head around WWE shows. In
<v Speaker 1>this part of the world. We have Cody's entrance and
<v Speaker 1>he walks down the ramp where the crowd are all
<v Speaker 1>lined up as always. Guess how many females I saw
<v Speaker 1>a big fat zero. I mean, what the actual w
<v Speaker 1>w E they were meant to come to this part
<v Speaker 1>of the world. The big cell was they were going
<v Speaker 1>to make a change. They were going to make a change,
<v Speaker 1>and they were gonna you know, change minds and ideas
<v Speaker 1>and beliefs and etcetera, and all the other inequalities, etcetera.
<v Speaker 1>In this part of the world some change so far though,
<v Speaker 1>WWE absolutely nothing. I think you could have probably counted
<v Speaker 1>all the females in the audience on this show, probably
<v Speaker 1>on one hand, two hands, Max, which I just think
<v Speaker 1>is just it's not the one, is it. Anyway? Anyway,
<v Speaker 1>back to Cody, he's in the ring, says the usual,
<v Speaker 1>which we talk about. He says he half expected to
<v Speaker 1>come to the ring trading punches with Fatu. He says
<v Speaker 1>the fun they had the other night was prominent, surely
<v Speaker 1>ended by w W E Champ Drew McIntyre, and that
<v Speaker 1>gets a decide mixed reaction from the crowd, a bit
<v Speaker 1>of booing and a bit of cheering, so they seem
<v Speaker 1>fairly much split. He asks where Drew is on this
<v Speaker 1>monumentous night. He says, it looks like Drew realizes that
<v Speaker 1>all he won was the title and not the most
<v Speaker 1>important thing that goes with it, and if he hasn't
<v Speaker 1>realized by now, he never will. He calls Drew Taki
<v Speaker 1>and a keyboard warrior and says he doesn't realize there's
<v Speaker 1>kids that watch this show and this is Drew's chance
<v Speaker 1>to open the show and take control, but he's nowhere
<v Speaker 1>to be found. He's dropped the ball. He says it
<v Speaker 1>would all make sense if he won the Rumble for
<v Speaker 1>a third time, and that gets megabooze and I mean
<v Speaker 1>like proper booze here. If he wins tomorrow night, there
<v Speaker 1>might be a rioting ridder. He says. If he won,
<v Speaker 1>he would challenge Drew, but maybe not. He might not
<v Speaker 1>face Drew because he's facing Sammy tomorrow night, and that
<v Speaker 1>gets a massive pop. He says in his career he
<v Speaker 1>has taken the road less traveled, so he might even
<v Speaker 1>choose Punk to face if he won the Rumble again.
<v Speaker 1>Punk gets another huge pot from the crowd, and he says,
<v Speaker 1>in addition to belief, he's also going into the Rumble
<v Speaker 1>with the experience of winning it twice. We then get
<v Speaker 1>Randy's music hits and he gets a huge reaction as well.
<v Speaker 1>As Randy gets into the ring with Cody, the whole
<v Speaker 1>crowd start chying for an RKAO. Randy says that he
<v Speaker 1>loves Saudi Arabia eye roll. Then he goes on say, Cody,
<v Speaker 1>everyone knows how I feel about you. You're my brother,
<v Speaker 1>blah blah blah. I've got the most respect for you
<v Speaker 1>and everything you've done for the industry. He says no
<v Speaker 1>one was prouder of him than when he won the title,
<v Speaker 1>finished his story, but tomorrow night is every man for himself.
<v Speaker 1>Randy says he knows a desperate Cody is a dangerous Cody,
<v Speaker 1>but then he says there's nothing more dangerous than a
<v Speaker 1>VIPA chasing fifteen, which I think is a lovely line.
<v Speaker 1>He says tomorrow they won't be friends or brothers, and
<v Speaker 1>if the opportunity arises, he won't hesitate to throw him
<v Speaker 1>over the top rope. Randy tells Cody to remember he
<v Speaker 1>isn't the only one who's won the Rumble twice, and
<v Speaker 1>then we get Jay out, who seems in a hurry.
<v Speaker 1>I've heard on RAW that Jimmy is off of personal reasons,
<v Speaker 1>and now I can see tonight that Jay's wearing a
<v Speaker 1>big jim top. So I hope all is well for
<v Speaker 1>Jimmy and everything is okay at home anyway. We've got
<v Speaker 1>Saudi Arabia yeating, and Jade says, no disrespect, but he's
<v Speaker 1>going to run it back to back and win again,
<v Speaker 1>leave many a champ again. And now Sammy is in
<v Speaker 1>and it's like a face train too. Fair. The crowd
<v Speaker 1>absolutely lose their minds for Sammy, he says. As much
<v Speaker 1>as he would like to spend the evening speaking Arabic
<v Speaker 1>to his people, he recognizes he's in the ring with
<v Speaker 1>three of the best. He says, tomorrow he faces Drew
<v Speaker 1>for the championship, and it's not just a match for him,
<v Speaker 1>it's three stories that have been running for years. One
<v Speaker 1>that he's never been champed, two that he's never beat
<v Speaker 1>Drew in eleven tries, and three he's never lost a
<v Speaker 1>match in Saudi. He says he doesn't plan on starting tomorrow,
<v Speaker 1>and he plans to walk out the new champ. He says,
<v Speaker 1>if one of you wins, it won't be Drew. He's
<v Speaker 1>waiting for you. It's going to be me. We then
<v Speaker 1>get Hayman, accompanied obviously by the vision. He says he
<v Speaker 1>sees the vision on stage, and then he looks at
<v Speaker 1>the ring and he sees four superstars but no vision.
<v Speaker 1>He says, he sees Sammy, who will not become the champion,
<v Speaker 1>and three superstars that will not win the rumble. He says,
<v Speaker 1>by tomorrow night, you will all learn that it will
<v Speaker 1>be Blond Breakers night. Randy tells him to shut up.
<v Speaker 1>He says, he dares the Vision to pull their head
<v Speaker 1>out of their asses and come and get an ass kicking.
<v Speaker 1>We then get Nick all this out. He calms things
<v Speaker 1>down and tells Hayman off for derailing the show. He says,
<v Speaker 1>everyone can see where this is going. Let's just get there.
<v Speaker 1>It's the Vision versus Randy versus Cody versus Sammy and
<v Speaker 1>Jay tonight. Okay, so deep breath. That was one hell
<v Speaker 1>of a long opening segment, and it got better and
<v Speaker 1>better as it went along. When Cody started, I thought
<v Speaker 1>Jesus again. But as the face train went along, it
<v Speaker 1>built and it built, and it built. Nothing to make
<v Speaker 1>me rethink my rumble winner, nothing to make a change,
<v Speaker 1>but still a nice segment. I do fancy Sammy's chances
<v Speaker 1>a little bit more against Drew. Now, the Vision interrupting
<v Speaker 1>was I guess necessary to try and bring a blockbuster
<v Speaker 1>main event in the form of this ape man tag.
<v Speaker 1>I like, how we don't just let the vision show
<v Speaker 1>up on the wrong show go unnoticed anymore. Nick called
<v Speaker 1>it out, and so he should. All in all, I
<v Speaker 1>would say, a pleasing start. Next up, we've got Mellow
<v Speaker 1>and he is still running his open challenge for the title.
<v Speaker 1>And speaking of which loosely loosely related, I assume you
<v Speaker 1>guys have seen that Tomasso Champa is now with a
<v Speaker 1>W so officially building on from what we discussed last week.
<v Speaker 1>His contract must have lapsed, he's clearly got no non
<v Speaker 1>compete in it, and he's gone straight to aw So
<v Speaker 1>let's see who Mellow will face tonight, and it's Ray Phoenix,
<v Speaker 1>who sadly pretty much gets Crickets out in riddar. Now
<v Speaker 1>this should be interesting. I think I'm thinking of Mellow win.
<v Speaker 1>But let's see. This one kicks off with Ray out
<v Speaker 1>of the gates pretty quick, laying it on Mellow big time,
<v Speaker 1>gets himself even a quick two cover, which was off
<v Speaker 1>of a pretty cool weird spinny cover thing around the ring,
<v Speaker 1>and Mellow is seemed to be really struggling here, but
<v Speaker 1>finally he magiced to get in some offense and the
<v Speaker 1>momentum then switches to Mellow. This one closes out with
<v Speaker 1>Mellow hit in the first forty eight and nothing but Net,
<v Speaker 1>which I have to say looked awesome. Tonight gets himself
<v Speaker 1>the victory and retaining the title. This was a decent
<v Speaker 1>enough match, some moments where you actually did believe Phoenix
<v Speaker 1>could win. Obviously, these two are both phenomenal athletes, and
<v Speaker 1>this was a good start to the show. We go
<v Speaker 1>backstage and we see Ilia. Miss approaches him and Ilia
<v Speaker 1>tells him, give me one good reason why I shouldn't
<v Speaker 1>kick your ass. Miss says to him, I didn't come
<v Speaker 1>up with pushing you off the top rope last week.
<v Speaker 1>He says that Mellow is so worried about losing the belt,
<v Speaker 1>he did the one thing no one thought he would
<v Speaker 1>do and went to the Miss for help. He says,
<v Speaker 1>why would I do something to you. I don't even
<v Speaker 1>know you. Ilia then facetiously sort of takes the mick
<v Speaker 1>and introduces himself to Mis tells him he loves his suit.
<v Speaker 1>He says, this is how it could been, but you
<v Speaker 1>cost me the match. He says he doesn't care or
<v Speaker 1>no so if he was working with Mallow. But tonight
<v Speaker 1>Missus Paine will entertain. We go backstage then straight away
<v Speaker 1>where we've got Nick. He's with Truth and they've got
<v Speaker 1>that bloody ball machine out again. I'm guessing they're drawing
<v Speaker 1>numbers for the rumble. They're still laboring that joke. Priest
<v Speaker 1>comes along. Nick says that he's got him a place
<v Speaker 1>in the rumble. He picks his ball and I don't
<v Speaker 1>think we see what his spot is, but he doesn't
<v Speaker 1>seem to mind. Then we go to Cassie, she's got
<v Speaker 1>Drew with her and she asks him for a quote
<v Speaker 1>on his first title defense and also the participants of
<v Speaker 1>the rumble. He says, well, let's talk about the participants first.
<v Speaker 1>We heard from then earlier tonight running their mouths. He
<v Speaker 1>says that Sammy isn't the same Sammy that he's beat
<v Speaker 1>eleven times, but Sammy will always be stupid and he's
<v Speaker 1>got himself in an eight man tag match tonight, the
<v Speaker 1>night before his title chance, Drew says he's willing to
<v Speaker 1>do anything atkes to hold onto his title, and he
<v Speaker 1>asks Sammy if he is prepared to do anything to
<v Speaker 1>take it, so really leaning into dark moody, heally Drew.
<v Speaker 1>I still don't know about this Drew title run. It
<v Speaker 1>would be more fun if he did drop the belt
<v Speaker 1>Sammy tomorrow, in my opinion, and he could carry on
<v Speaker 1>losing his mind, saying he's been screwed over. I'm just
<v Speaker 1>not sure that me and Heal Drew is enough for
<v Speaker 1>me anyway, at the moment. That's just my personal opinion.
<v Speaker 1>Back again now to Kathy. She's a busy bee tonight
<v Speaker 1>and she's got Rio, Ria and Eo or Rio with her.
<v Speaker 1>She asked them how they'll handle the Rumble tomorrow. She
<v Speaker 1>says they know what it means and how it's everyone
<v Speaker 1>for themselves. They say they're going to be friends whatever happens.
<v Speaker 1>They're interrupted by Keana and Julia. Keana says that this
<v Speaker 1>act is cute, but it will be their undoing. Julia
<v Speaker 1>and Eo then have a chatt in Japanese and Keana says,
<v Speaker 1>we do agree on one thing. Your friendship isn't at risks.
<v Speaker 1>There's no way it's coming down to the two of
<v Speaker 1>you in the rumble, which was brutal and a very
<v Speaker 1>interesting line. She says that and Julia are going to
<v Speaker 1>take the tag titles. Julia is going to win the
<v Speaker 1>Rumble and become a triple champion. He says, don't you
<v Speaker 1>think you're getting ahead of your cells? And at that
<v Speaker 1>point Nyra and Lash pitch up and say, don't you
<v Speaker 1>think you're all getting ahead of your cells? She says,
<v Speaker 1>there's no way you're winning the Rumble, as Lash and
<v Speaker 1>Naya are and then it all kicks off. Nyra and
<v Speaker 1>Lash say it doesn't matter who wins the tag titles,
<v Speaker 1>as they're having the winner now. I'm not sure when
<v Speaker 1>that was decided, because Keana and Julia one the number
<v Speaker 1>one contenders match last week. Seems Nepo Baby Naya is
<v Speaker 1>making up our own rules. Kudos to WWE for me though.
<v Speaker 1>They continue to build the women's tag division, and thanks
<v Speaker 1>largely to the excellent work of Flair and Bliss with
<v Speaker 1>the Belts, the division has never look stronger. Speaking of
<v Speaker 1>Flair and Bliss, they are out now together and Cole
<v Speaker 1>reminds us that tomorrow night they will be in the
<v Speaker 1>Rumble against each other. Flair says that they're one day
<v Speaker 1>away from the rumble. She says the women are all
<v Speaker 1>each other's throats, but the truth is that she is
<v Speaker 1>going to win the rumble. She is going to Mania.
<v Speaker 1>Bliss's face looks like she's chewing on a washer, doesn't
<v Speaker 1>the cappy at that at all. Flair says there's no
<v Speaker 1>one she'd rather have her back than her best friend Bliss.
<v Speaker 1>The crowd a cheering for Bliss, and she says that's
<v Speaker 1>funny because she had the exact same plan. She says
<v Speaker 1>she's planning on winning the rumble. Flair says, how can
<v Speaker 1>you win? If I win? Bliss says she's already made history.
<v Speaker 1>She had the first woman's match in the Middle East,
<v Speaker 1>and tomorrow she plans on making history again by being
<v Speaker 1>the first winner of the Rumble. Here, Flair says she
<v Speaker 1>doesn't think Bliss understands. She says that she's been a
<v Speaker 1>great tag partner and friend, but tomorrow is everyone herself.
<v Speaker 1>Did she think she was going to help her win?
<v Speaker 1>Blisters she doesn't need her help, and then she tells
<v Speaker 1>Flair it might be a shock, but not everything is
<v Speaker 1>about her. Flair says, are you saying if I turn
<v Speaker 1>my back, you'll toss me over the top rope? But
<v Speaker 1>then we get live out with Raquel and rock Sam.
<v Speaker 1>She says, how cute the two besties are fighting. She says,
<v Speaker 1>we can't relate, but why you two a busy backstub
<v Speaker 1>in one of the Lust three will be winning. Bliss
<v Speaker 1>says that she hates to break it to her, but
<v Speaker 1>having the other to help you isn't really a plan.
<v Speaker 1>Flair says, if you think we aren't friends, why don't
<v Speaker 1>you come down here and find out Live agrees, but
<v Speaker 1>she doesn't mean it. She bails out. When they're halfway
<v Speaker 1>down the ramp. Nick comes up behind them. He says
<v Speaker 1>he knows they aren't on SmackDown, but he has a
<v Speaker 1>rule if they show up, they wrestle, So he makes
<v Speaker 1>the match any two of Judgment Day against Bliss and Flair.
<v Speaker 1>So I think tomorrow at the Rumble we are likely
<v Speaker 1>to see Bliss or Flare throw the other out of
<v Speaker 1>the ring and properly start this split and division. I
<v Speaker 1>think both Flair and Bliss can go pretty deep, so
<v Speaker 1>chances are will be pretty far along into the match,
<v Speaker 1>so it will be set up like potentially the one
<v Speaker 1>chucked over has genuinely lost an opportunity to make an
<v Speaker 1>event Mania. I am going to be really sad to
<v Speaker 1>see the ending of them as a team, but they
<v Speaker 1>have one hundred percent done their job and elevated the
<v Speaker 1>hell out of those tag titles, and for that they
<v Speaker 1>should receive their flowers. This tag match is up next,
<v Speaker 1>and we've got rocks Ane and Live versus Flair and Bliss,
<v Speaker 1>and it starts off with Flair and Bliss in charge,
<v Speaker 1>but soon enough we get Shenanigan's from the Judgment Day
<v Speaker 1>behind the rest back giving them the momentum. Cole tells
<v Speaker 1>us on Comms that Live has never won the rumble,
<v Speaker 1>and she's been close a couple of times, and I
<v Speaker 1>have no doubt that Live will be up there. In
<v Speaker 1>terms of the final stages, there's a rumble. Will it
<v Speaker 1>come down to Roxanne and Roquel perhaps, and then the
<v Speaker 1>split of the Judgment Day too. Maybe it's time. But
<v Speaker 1>can't see them split in Judgment Day and split in
<v Speaker 1>Bliss and Flare at the same night. However, they are
<v Speaker 1>on different brands, so in the grand scheme of things
<v Speaker 1>that really shouldn't have a massive effect, this one ends
<v Speaker 1>after a really close pin for Pereers, we get an
<v Speaker 1>appearance from Vaka to eliminate Raquel from ringside. Finally evening
<v Speaker 1>up the numbers, we get Bliss hitting sister Abigail and
<v Speaker 1>getting the win for her team. This was a good match,
<v Speaker 1>very entertaining. I tell you what, though, you don't realize
<v Speaker 1>how much your subconscious brain relies on what we normally see,
<v Speaker 1>and by that I mean the costumes the ladies usually wear.
<v Speaker 1>They all look so similar in these power range outfits
<v Speaker 1>that they have to wear in this part of the world.
<v Speaker 1>It takes me a beat to realize who everyone is.
<v Speaker 1>We now have Jordan Grace backstage with Kaffee, and again
<v Speaker 1>I'm looking at her like I know, I know you,
<v Speaker 1>but because you don't look like you normally do, it
<v Speaker 1>takes me a second to realize anyway. Kathy asks her
<v Speaker 1>how she's feeling ahead of the Rumble. Jordan says she
<v Speaker 1>backs herself to win the Rumbull. When she does, she's
<v Speaker 1>going to give Jade the reality check she needs. She's
<v Speaker 1>then attacked from behind by Jade, who tells her she
<v Speaker 1>won't win the type rum ball and she won't beat her.
<v Speaker 1>Jordan fights back and it breaks down into a pull apart.
<v Speaker 1>I like Jordan Grace. I kind of hope she does
<v Speaker 1>win the Rumble and gets a crack at Jade. I'm
<v Speaker 1>not enjoying her title reign. Has she even defended it
<v Speaker 1>once yet all I remember is her walking around telling
<v Speaker 1>everyone that she's that bitchdole dot com. Next out, we've
<v Speaker 1>got Axiom in a singles match against Gregano, which is weird.
<v Speaker 1>When this few started, Champer was very much involved and
<v Speaker 1>he's now just gone. It's like voldemorlt. We don't mention
<v Speaker 1>his name at all. I'm sure going to be some
<v Speaker 1>Candice driven shenanigans here at ringside. Johnny's out and he's alone,
<v Speaker 1>which I guess means Candice will appear later maybe or
<v Speaker 1>maybe not. Maybe she's not even here. Axiom is in
<v Speaker 1>charge first off, and to be fair, Colt actually said
<v Speaker 1>Gogano hasn't got a partner anymore. He's all alone. I
<v Speaker 1>guess that's as close we're ever going to get. Axiom
<v Speaker 1>fully in charge now and is flying all over the pace,
<v Speaker 1>smashing Gagano from all angles. Apparently, Wade says that Acxiom
<v Speaker 1>was once on the books of Real Madrid. Is that true?
<v Speaker 1>I need to google that later. Johnny fighting back now
<v Speaker 1>with a very different style. Johnny gets his head almost
<v Speaker 1>kicked off by Axiom, and an Axiom hits a Spanish fly.
<v Speaker 1>Johnny manages to rip off another of Axioms masks, but
<v Speaker 1>Axiom takes the old one back, which doesn't match his outfit.
<v Speaker 1>It's blue and his outfit is red, which does nothing
<v Speaker 1>for my OCD. He hits the Golden Ratio, getting the
<v Speaker 1>win and all the masks back. So I'm thinking first
<v Speaker 1>things first, Perhaps Axiom should get some different fastening Mexianism
<v Speaker 1>for these masks to make sure they're on'm tighter can't
<v Speaker 1>seem to keep hold of them. This was a good
<v Speaker 1>match and I was wrong. Now Candice, I guess she
<v Speaker 1>stayed home. But Axiom wins and maybe that's the end
<v Speaker 1>of this feud with Johnny And what future for Johnny
<v Speaker 1>now as a singles competitor. I mean, he's done it
<v Speaker 1>before and he's certainly the more likable member of DIY
<v Speaker 1>in my opinion, It's going to be very interesting to
<v Speaker 1>see what direction they take with Johnny. Now, Mellow is
<v Speaker 1>backstage with Ilia talking about what happened last week and
<v Speaker 1>Miss and his help or not help to Mellow. That's
<v Speaker 1>like a weird high school Barney. I thought we were
<v Speaker 1>a friends. Now your old friend pushed me. Wow wow,
<v Speaker 1>aw a bit boring bit. I'm flattering Ilia is worth more.
<v Speaker 1>Let him wrestle Mellow and get that bit over and
<v Speaker 1>done with. Now, let Mellow carry on because he's actually
<v Speaker 1>doing good work at the moment as well as Ilia.
<v Speaker 1>Now to the ring, where we've got aj Styles making
<v Speaker 1>his way out and welcome everyone to SmackDown and Jesus,
<v Speaker 1>did I go down a warm hole? Please tell me
<v Speaker 1>we aren't back two hours ago to the beginning anyway.
<v Speaker 1>AJ says that he's got a big match tomorrow at Rumble.
<v Speaker 1>He says, some of you are worried about tomorrow. He says,
<v Speaker 1>don't worry. I'm not worried. He's going to knock gun
<v Speaker 1>for his teeth down his throat, and then the retirement
<v Speaker 1>to her starts, and we get all the one more
<v Speaker 1>times and he says Randy, he says punk, and then
<v Speaker 1>we get Gump for Out, who gets a reception like
<v Speaker 1>a bucket of cold sick. He stands up on the
<v Speaker 1>announced get desk tells AG that L tells AJ that
<v Speaker 1>none of the future plans are going to happen. He says,
<v Speaker 1>deep down he knows that he's made a massive mistake
<v Speaker 1>and it's going to cost him his career. He says,
<v Speaker 1>tomorrow he's going to end his career and he'll do
<v Speaker 1>it the same way he did to Sina and make
<v Speaker 1>him tap out. AJ says that's funny because the last
<v Speaker 1>time he checked, it was Gunster who tapped out like
<v Speaker 1>a little bitch. This sets Gunther off and he approaches ring,
<v Speaker 1>but thinks twice about going in, so we continue to
<v Speaker 1>build this one. I think the AJ retirement year is
<v Speaker 1>too big for us and wwe to lose. So I'm
<v Speaker 1>even more sure now that AJ wins tomorrow night and
<v Speaker 1>Gunster is not the career killer, and yes, I will
<v Speaker 1>die on that hill. Next up, we've got Ilia versus
<v Speaker 1>the Miss, and I'm fully expecting Mis to get his
<v Speaker 1>head kicked off and his ass well and truly handed
<v Speaker 1>to him on this one. Miss actually starts off pretty good,
<v Speaker 1>but soon enough gets his chest caved in with a
<v Speaker 1>massive chopper. Now all the momentum with Iliyah and he
<v Speaker 1>seems pretty cross tonight. This one is going on a
<v Speaker 1>lot longer than I thought it would. Miss gets away
<v Speaker 1>with gouge in Ilia's eyes, but Ilia manages to hit
<v Speaker 1>to Peedo Moscow and the h Bomb, taking the win.
<v Speaker 1>Every match we've dragon off, in my opinion, is awesome.
<v Speaker 1>But this went on too long. Now do we believe
<v Speaker 1>that Mis and Mellow are inca hoots? No? I don't
<v Speaker 1>buy it. I hope not. I really like face Mellow
<v Speaker 1>and I want Mis to just be shaken off him
<v Speaker 1>once and for all. Now we get a promo from Solo,
<v Speaker 1>and yes he still has that bloody lantern. He is
<v Speaker 1>basically glowing, saying he told us that all this would
<v Speaker 1>be the outcome. He says, he did it. He's got
<v Speaker 1>the lantern and he's got the tag titles. He said,
<v Speaker 1>the tag titles aren't for him, therefore his family and
<v Speaker 1>tomorrow he's going to win the Rumble. We then go
<v Speaker 1>straight into a howardy promo. He says to Solo, you
<v Speaker 1>think you won, but you're wrong. Technically you'd win, he say,
<v Speaker 1>as you are mistaken and underestimating the weight of sacrifice.
<v Speaker 1>He says, the lantern and the tag titles will come
<v Speaker 1>back to us and the fireflies will illuminate his insecurities.
<v Speaker 1>Now I can't imagine that Solo is going to win
<v Speaker 1>the Rumble, can you? I mean, really, I haven't seen
<v Speaker 1>any decent odds anywhere frohim even to be top three,
<v Speaker 1>but it certainly is looking like the WYAT six and
<v Speaker 1>MFT feud continued. Now we're moving on to our main event,
<v Speaker 1>which is Cody, Sammy j and Randy versus Division. And
<v Speaker 1>I mean the entrances alone on this one have taken
<v Speaker 1>about a year. I'm not kidding. I left Netflix running,
<v Speaker 1>I went for a Wii, I came back, I made
<v Speaker 1>myself a cup of tea, and the entrances are still
<v Speaker 1>going on, and we only had free because the Vision
<v Speaker 1>attacked the Face Team before Cody has even come out.
<v Speaker 1>If we'd have done Cody's for lent, we would have
<v Speaker 1>been here till Christmas. I'm not even joking. So they
<v Speaker 1>have Vision attack the Face team. Cody legs it down
<v Speaker 1>to the ring in his tracksuit. We didn't even get
<v Speaker 1>the bell yet. Finally things calm down and get the
<v Speaker 1>bell and start with Sammy. He's in with Theory, who
<v Speaker 1>has the better of Sammy in the early stages, and
<v Speaker 1>Theory honestly looking pretty awesome since he came back and
<v Speaker 1>he's on fire here. The Heels have it on absolute
<v Speaker 1>lock at the moment. Sammy's tagged Cody in and Cody
<v Speaker 1>has been in the ring for ages and is getting
<v Speaker 1>absolutely mollard and could this be setting up the reason
<v Speaker 1>why Cody's not in top shape to win the rumble tomorrow.
<v Speaker 1>Finally Cody gets out just before he's absolutely pancakes. He
<v Speaker 1>tags Randy, who comes in hot. After all breaking down again,
<v Speaker 1>we get an alarmingly high number of guys being thrown
<v Speaker 1>over the top like a little amuse Boush teaser for
<v Speaker 1>tomorrow's rumble, and he hit Randy hits rkaa on theory,
<v Speaker 1>but Logan Paul breaks the count and it ends in
<v Speaker 1>a dqu finish as bloody Drew grabs Sammy from the
<v Speaker 1>ring and starts beating him down, and this makes me
<v Speaker 1>think again, perhaps Sammy is in for the wind tomorrow,
<v Speaker 1>as Drew clearly feels he can't get this done without
<v Speaker 1>a head start. We then get Fatoo out, who's still
<v Speaker 1>got some beef with Drew. He takes Drew out and
<v Speaker 1>we've got a match within a match, Drew, Fattuu and
<v Speaker 1>Cody all taking each other out. Sammy saves Cody from
<v Speaker 1>the claymore giving Drew a hell of a kick in
<v Speaker 1>the corner, and Sammy picks up the title at the
<v Speaker 1>same time Cody does. We go off air with bron
<v Speaker 1>Breaker delivering a double spear. So this was a very
<v Speaker 1>high octane and hard to keep track of final event,
<v Speaker 1>but generally pretty entertaining. In this episode, just Mackdown was
<v Speaker 1>good to very good. I thought, let's see what the
<v Speaker 1>Rumble brings, wouldn't it be cool though, if we got
<v Speaker 1>something totally random and unexpected. As always, I travel hopefully,
<v Speaker 1>particularly with the Rumble, which is one of my favorites.
<v Speaker 1>I think some of the big clues tonight have been
<v Speaker 1>that final match. I wonder if WWE were testing the
<v Speaker 1>water with having Sammy pick up the title and the
<v Speaker 1>massive pop that he got. Now, perhaps we are going
<v Speaker 1>to have a title change tomorrow night. I'm going to
<v Speaker 1>go as far as to change my official prediction and
<v Speaker 1>I'm going to say that I think Sammy gets the
<v Speaker 1>win Overdrew, and Sammy gets all he's ever dreamed of,
<v Speaker 1>carries the title into Mania, and Drew goes absolutely bloody loopy.
<v Speaker 1>That is what I think. I really hope that we
<v Speaker 1>see a cool, raw Rumble tomorrow night. I want to
<v Speaker 1>see some returns. I want to see some surprises. I
<v Speaker 1>really want to see something a bit interesting and a
<v Speaker 1>bit different. So let's all travel hopefully together. Look, that
<v Speaker 1>just does it for this week's show. Thank you, as always,
<v Speaker 1>have me in your ears once again, and remember, until
<v Speaker 1>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>next time.