AEW Wrestledream & WWE Money In The Bank Reviews : The Gimmick

0:02 Hello, ladies, gentlemen, and welcome back to a special episode of The Gimmick. As usual, I am the Canadian Nightmare, and I am joined by Andrade Elmitilo. Oh, my God. That's showing my age right there, but I'm joined by S.

0:17 Bubz.

0:18 How's it going, sir?

0:19 Good, good.

0:22 Yeah, we'll talk about some pants. We'll talk about lots of stuff. But how's your ass supposed to be going this weekend? How's your weekend going? I'm not used to it. I don't remember the last time we did a Sunday at this time. Yeah, I don't think.

0:36 Unless it was like a... It'd have to be like WrestleMania, I guess.

0:40 True. Yeah, I guess those. But yeah, we're doing this because we were... David will be joining us at some point. He's got a football game. He's got hit some bad traffic. So we are going to do that. But yeah, how has been your weekend?

0:52 So good. Good. Just kind of chilling and stuff. It's been a good time.

0:57 Yeah, that's good. Yeah. About the same. We did a lot of. Oh, man, you'll hear about it eventually. We did some podcasts about 2 a.m. last night because of Taylor Field forgetting many, many things. So that's a whole story. And then, yeah, I've watched mostly football day. Had a fucking nap. Sorry, Jon Bertholdt, but I was dead tired because I only had four hours of sleep. And then what else happened?

1:20 I don't know.

1:20 Just busy time. Excited. Halloween's on the horizon. What's a Halloween movie you watched last? Time to check the letterbox in a while.

1:29 That I watched last? What did you watch last?

1:31 What's on the docket? Do you have a must-hit that you haven't yet? Um.

1:35 I'm not sure. I was thinking maybe I'd watch the Child's Play series this year. Because that's one of the major ones. I've just never watched any of them. And I always see clips and stuff. I think I'd probably enjoy it from what I've seen.

1:51 I think so. Even the bad ones are kind of ironically bad. For most, I don't think there is one that's bad. The second they start to get bad, they're like, okay, we're going to go funny. And they never... I don't think God.

2:04 I'd say my barometer for, like, bad franchise one is, like, honestly, like, the depths of, like, Halloween or Friday the 13th. Like, if it's better than that, I'll enjoy it. Because those are, like, those are truly some of the only ones where I'm like, I am not liking this at all.

2:19 Or even for me, like, Freddy's Dead. I fucking hate Freddy's Dead so much. You know, I understand it has, like, a little bit of a falling, but for me, it's like, oh, my God.

2:28 But, yeah. Yeah, so I haven't really watched... Yeah, I don't think I've watched many... horror stuff recently yesterday i did watch uh a simple plan which is a one of the sam raimi movies i'd never watched before it's like a drama it's uh with bill paxton and billy bob thornton i don't think i've seen this i thought it was really solid it's like uh noir yeah it's like one of the only sam raimi movies i hadn't watched yet i think there's there's like the one with keanu reeves that i haven't seen i think there's like maybe one other one i haven't seen yeah uh but yeah It's like a drama. Some people say it's like sort of Fargo-ish. It's all like in a snowy town and stuff like that. Yeah, I thought it was pretty good.

3:12 Yeah, okay. Well, there you go. So, yeah, no, we've watched most of Halloween. So I feel like next year what we should do, I don't know why I'd have to see the run time of one, but we should try to either find whether for our shit list, whether it's a particular match that will actually, I think I know what it is. Hang on.

3:29 There is that... I've never seen that. Wrestlers vs. Zombies or whatever it's called. Isn't that a movie?

3:34 The Sandman one? Or is it a movie?

3:38 Yeah. Isn't there one with Kurt Angle or something?

3:42 I don't... There might be.

3:44 Let's see.

3:45 Wrestlers vs. Zombies.

3:45 I feel like I've seen a poster of it.

3:48 Because I avoided a lot of those, man. Pro Wrestlers vs.

3:52 Zombies.

3:53 Roddy Piper, Kurt Angle, Shane Douglas... 18% on.

3:56 Rotten Tomatoes oh my god yeah I avoid it's on Tubi of course it's on Tubi I'll try I'll screen share the post oh my god this poster I tried to avoid so I honestly that's that is a huge blind spot for me is like some of these wrestling movies because like.

4:15 I always want to watch the wrestling movies and I never get around to them like I've had all the Marines ones on my watch list.

4:24 I've watched the WWE studio ones for that era. I've watched the Condemned. Here's what we're dealing with. I try to make these big screen, and even then, it's not even.

4:30 It looks like an indie wrestling poster.

4:34 Oh, yeah, 100%. But, yeah, that, I also thought at some point, if we don't ever watch a whole Halloween Havoc, because I've actually never watched it. On our shit list, we should probably add Hulk Hogan versus the Ultimate Warrior. I'm not sure if you've ever heard about this match.

4:48 I've only heard a little bit of it.

4:50 Yeah, there's like a Hogan tries to do a fireball fails and there's all this stuff. And it's one of these moments where they brought Warrior in because he beat Hogan, beat him at Mania. And that was the story that, OK, he's going to come to WCW. He's left WWF and he wants to get his win back or beat Hogan again.

5:04 Hogan's going to get his win back. And they tell this great story where he's doing the promo. And then like three to four minutes in, both Hogan and Bischoff realize like he's not any of the promo. And he just keeps going on. And he, like, went way over time and stuff. It's this whole, like, nightmare.

5:18 I feel like the only... I don't know very much about Warrior. Obviously, like, a lot of that older, like, WWF stuff is very much, like, I haven't seen. The only thing is, like, a few days ago, I randomly watched, like, this shoot interview with the Ultimate Warrior. It was something about, like... It was, like... But it was, like... A semi-recent one.

5:41 I mean, considering, like, when he died and stuff, I guess. But it was, like, it was something like Kevin Nash had, like, challenged him to a UFC fight or something like that. And he was, like, responding to Kevin Nash. And it was just, like, his main thing he was angry about wasn't even that, like, he was going to beat him in a real fight. It was, like, the amount that, like, Kevin Nash had said he'd have to pay him to do it for. Yeah. He was like, I'll do it, but he was like, you have to add two zeros to that price to fight me.

6:14 Oh, my God.

6:15 I don't know the Kevin Nash half side of the story, but obviously this Warrior shoot interview was responding to that.

6:22 Yeah, Kevin Nash and Ultimate Warrior engaged in a bitter Twitter feud early in 2012 that boiled into a proposed real-life fight. 100 grand for the winner-take-all or anything like that. Oh, that's 11. Okay, I won't pull that out. There's like a warrior. There's like a Kevin Nash one where it's like 11 minutes of him talking. I'm trying to find the warrior one because I've never.

6:43 The warrior one was pretty. I think maybe it was like from his like YouTube channel or something like that because it was just him.

6:49 The YouTube channel was bad. Oh, yeah. This is nightmare fuel. We're not going to watch this whole like 12 minutes here, warrior. But anytime back in the day, even when social media was like around like a little bit, When you're getting these angles of war, you're like, on your record.

7:02 Oh, yeah. It wasn't this exact one, but it was a similar one.

7:07 But you just know he's saying bad shit and dumb shit. And that's why even before him and Vince and everything fell apart, it was just like, I don't know, they bring them back because they just say a bunch of bad stuff. Let's go from most replay. Let's just watch these two and see what happens in this.

7:19 And thereby robbing the boys, the young guys, their chance.

7:24 Oh, this is it.

7:25 Yeah, this is it.

7:26 In their own right.

7:28 By their own merits. And I stand by what I said before. Let me personalize it.

7:35 This is our Halloween content.

7:36 Fucking gear bag, Kevin. Do the right thing and take your ass home. Now I went back through the videos I've done over the last few years.

7:47 A lot of them, not all of them. He probably came back or lost.

7:51 Commentaries I posted and the comments I made. And I didn't find any place where I ever said I had a dream to be an MMA fighter. or that I was training to be an MMA fighter or that I trained in the style as MMA fighters do. So that part of your challenge is a little odd and confusing considering that because I'm into exercise and fitness for all these years in a hardcore way that I am totally aware of the long-term intense and disciplined training that goes into preparing for something like that. I mean, let's face it, Kevin.

8:27 You're in the business that is a work for the same reason that I'm not pounding my chest, cutting Ultimate Warrior promos.

8:33 I'm the baddest motherfucker on the planet.

8:35 Because both of us would have our asses completely handed to us by nearly every MMA fighter that is out there on any MMA card.

8:47 Kevin's legs would be taken from him.

8:52 Now, if you're serious that you want to play by MMA rules, I've got to ask myself why it is that you're waiting around and you're not doing that. My suggestion would be that you pack your gear bag and go home.

9:07 That's insane.

9:09 We only watched two minutes of this, and it's the second time he's dropped that packer gear bag.

9:14 That says put the bags in the fries.

9:16 Put the fries in the bag. Not buy... Oh, yeah, because earlier, yeah, he got off, like, a whole rant about, yeah, like, him keeping the boys down and stuff like that.

9:28 The saddest part about your offer is, well, the money. I know that that's not a revelation to anybody because I have a reputation for always being on top of my money or paying particular attention to money-sided things. And, you know, there are a lot of mischaracterizations out there about me that. Will never be cured, but there is one that doesn't exist, and it is that I learned my money business well, and I practice it even better in fact you did an interview some time ago where you were complimenting me about that and saying nearly the exact same thing that I'm saying now so I just wonder how you came up with the silly ass idea that I would ever be interested in going back to any kind of ring

10:18 for the chunk change that you've offered. Or, if I'm understanding this thing correctly, or that I would put my own money up.

10:28 Sort of as an entry fee. Participate in an event. Where only other people are going to profit.

10:36 God damn sure that those other people can't be trusted to begin with. I think the thing to do Based on what you've actually offered is that you should keep your money because you need it worse than I do. But if you want to set a date several months into the future so that I can employ the intense and disciplined training that I'm known.

11:07 For, that I've used to succeed in the business at a higher level than any of you guys.

11:12 And you have some investors who want to put some big money up. And let me be clear about that right now so people don't think that I'm leading them on. Let me just say that adding one.

11:23 Zero to the figure that you've offered isn't going to drive my interest.

11:28 If you have investors that can come up with big money to get my interest, I will happily oblige you in your challenges.

11:43 Happily we'll stop jim there my god yeah i was just reading the origins of this where uh it started because we're re-emerging this oh sorry wrong one where is it here uh fan asked ultimate warrior why he didn't dye his hair and return like kevin nash and warrior respond by tweeting i'm not a dickhead who thrives on stealing the limelight from young guys taking offense nash challenged him to a real life fight proposing a three-round MMA rules with $ 100, 000 on each side. Yeah, from each side.

12:10 So he was telling Warrior to, that was his initial proposal to them both put out the money. Winner take all in Miami the day before. Okay, you know what? That is smart. He is a business guy. Day before Mania, WrestleMania 28, which is crazy. I went to that one live. I would have been in this show. I would have told my dad, we're going to see Kevin Nash versus Alton Warrior. And then, yeah, while Nash later dismissed him saying Warrior avoided the actual challenge with legal and logistical loopholes.

12:41 So I guess he got hurt from a lawyer. Nash later acknowledged in retrospective interviews the call was more of a heated pro wrestling work shoot dynamic rather than sectioned MMA bout. and then yeah yeah yeah so that would have been wild to see because i actually don't if it would have been like in the real life them actually fighting i don't know who would have actually won i feel.

12:58 Like they they would have like i mean considering you know how long after uh the warrior uh and ended up passing away i don't know if that would have gone well for him.

13:09 That's true and like just from doing the engine stuff and yeah no that was wild and uh Yeah, there you go. That's our Halloween content this year. Maybe next year that WrestleZombies one, like I said, something from Halloween Havoc. Maybe we do, too. We watch, like, Eddie and Rey and then Hogan and Warrior. Like, have an all-timer watch along and then, like, an all-shitter watch along. We're going to get the rest of our money back, but we'll go to Hunter. Hunter, he says, if it's true that about Dereganoff that WWE went to him to sign a new contract to remain WWE, and he declined it. I can believe it.

13:40 I think that was the report, yeah.

13:43 See, and I didn't actually know that. I didn't know if they let him go or he declined it, and it happens all the time with both companies, right?

13:50 I think the word was like, it was like people in WWE were like... I think it was that like people in WWE were pretty surprised when he left because they had been in like, Contract talks with him, like, pretty much, like, right until the very end of his contract, I believe was the word, if I'm remembering correctly.

14:11 Yeah, and, like, obviously we'll get there, like, in long term, too. But, yeah, I just– I think we all kind of agree where I think with him right now, like, that probably is the best route. I would love to see more of the stuff he would have done in WWE because I think he– He can fit anywhere as far as like maybe not the whole. Actually, I don't even believe that.

14:27 Like I know he has some more like, you know, Dan House and gimmicky stuff, but he has a very theatrical side to him. But I think with the direction they're going right now, I don't know if he would have been one of the guys going up to the top. I think he would have been where he is in the United States or around, which is kind of weird because which place started didn't think it was gonna be that route. I really don't. I really don't know. Or same thing to just even TV styles, right? There's a certain way they rest on duty that maybe he didn't want to. I really don't know. I think it fits. But, like, again, that happened with Andrade to both companies, right? He left AW and he left WWE in both weird circumstances. But

15:00 hopefully for both AW and him, that'll be a good equation. I do wish there was a couple more matches we got. It kind of sucks for we got on NXT UK. You never got Gunther and Dragon off on, like, the big, big stage. Because I feel like for his IC run, his world title run, and even this next one, they're like, oh, well.

15:16 When he wins the WTL from Cody, like, Dragunov for sure will be, like, his first defense. And we never got that on, like, the big, like, you know, and I don't know if they would have given it, not Mania, but, like, even a Survivor Series or something.

15:27 Yeah, they only did it on, like, the house shows. And even the one where, like, where he tore his ACL was against Gunther, I think, like, when he was out for, like, nine months.

15:37 Yeah. I wonder when do you think he'll return to WWE? He just signed a couple. He signed last week. So I'm going to say Tony usually signs people like three to five years. So I would just I'll take the middle and say like four years and go from there. But I don't.

15:49 Yeah. I don't say more likely. Yeah. Yeah. Minimum like. Three years barring, like, you know, he fights Sammy Guevara backstage. Yeah, there's two things.

16:00 Either injury time or he's going to fight Sammy Guevara and stuff. But, no, and I think there's a chance Dragunov could be... Not that this sounds bad. He could be, like, indoctrinated in the Moxie way where I could see Dragunov becoming, like, an AEW lifer.

16:14 The way.

16:15 it works. I can actually see him going with the deaf writers and I can, there's tons of good matches. But again, who knows in three years, maybe like, yeah, I did everything here. This isn't the relationship I wanted, but I think if he's just like what he kind of said in that press or looking to, you know, he said fight, but to wrestle, I think that's the best place. Cause look at Chompa, right? WWE wasn't doing much with Chompa. And now he's, we'll get to the Andrade match. Cause the other stuff, like he's still doing like, you know, like long matches with Darby or this and that, right?

16:40 Like he's having these like kind of bangers. So that's where it's like, Whether that's something he'll like or he just wants to do and then go somewhere else, who knows? We'll see. But we'll get to him again. Maybe we won't. I guess we'll have to stay. Where do you think Dragunov goes as far as with AEW? Does he just become a collision guy and he's on there every Saturday?

16:59 Because we worry about Ciampa, right? We're like, oh, ROH all over. Where do you see Dragunov in the next six months, we'll say? Six months, I think.

17:09 I think he's definitely going to be in the C2, like, for sure.

17:14 Oh, yeah.

17:15 And I could even see, like, him and Moxley being, like, the final. And maybe, like, I could see him beating Moxley. If Moxley, you know, one year, you know, I'm good.

17:24 You're good shit, man. You really know what you're doing now. Like, you should be riding with us, man.

17:30 Either that or he loses and then joins the Death Riders.

17:33 Wow.

17:34 Moxley retains and they uh they join but but i definitely do think he's gonna be in the c2 and like i said i think it's likely that it could be him going all the way to the finals.

17:43 Yeah that's a good one even if he's on the finals i could see being like when they do the pay-per-view it's like the final four yeah because.

17:49 That already like that helps to get him in the mix with like a bunch of different people like right away without really having to have like any story for it like Oh, like, this week you're going to get Ilya and Darby, and then this week you're going to get him and Ricochet, and this week you're going to get him and Takeshita, or stuff like that. And you can, like, promote that as, like, every week. Or even, like, you know, like, on a collision, it's going to be, like, this big match, like, because it's part of the Continental Classic.

18:16 Yeah, no, I think that's a good route for them. I think you'll be working... Because, yeah, December is just around the corner, and they're going to start doing that, turning, obviously.

18:23 And then, other than that, who knows?

18:24 I think what will happen is, unfortunately... he'll end up in one of the groups. It could be United Empire, it could be Don Cal's family, or it could be the Death Riders. I just say unfortunate, just because I feel like there's a time, I'd say the late 2000s, it was after Revolution. After Revolution died, it felt like people were sick of stables, like promoters, especially WWE, and they're like, no more stables. We're done with stables. And that was a big thing for a while. Vince had, for five years, he almost had an unsaid... Like, no stables rule. Like, he didn't want any stables. And then they came back in both companies, and then I think in both companies it was almost like, okay, it is like,

19:02 we have nothing to do with these people. Throw them together. And that's sometimes I worry. Like, again, Kevin Knight was doing well. I think he's still doing well, but I didn't think he needed to be in Don Cal's family. And they do that with a lot of guys where it's like, oh, just throw him back there. So I hope that, that's my hope is he stays alone for a while. Yeah, C2. And then after that, he kind of stays by himself. Now, of course, if he's, like, floundering and he needs, like, something, then sure, you put him in a group, but think he's gonna fit pretty well at the aw like fan base and what the like the matches they like like the sickos like yeah you're you that's the guy you want him in moxie

19:31 going for 25 to 30 minutes there you go so there's tons of stuff he's always a challenge of the week lots of eliminators so uh we'll see uh and anyway so money the bank will get to that first top of the wd stuff uh espos what are the current rankings for the draft if you have those I suppose was doing already. I felt like he was doing a pre celebration by being like, no, I got a clean 200. He got the clean hundred. He got, he did get a hundred. So I'm wondering where we are now, but, uh, Yeah, that happened last week, and I suppose he's going to give us the results here in a second. I'll put the results of the show.

20:04 I can do the results here. So David is still in first now with 627 points because he got that 100 as well. So keeping his lead with that. Then you are in second with 440 points. And then I did catch up quite a bit with that, and I did have a good week overall. So now I'm at 381 points.

20:26 Okay, so we only got like a 60-point difference pretty much.

20:30 Yeah.

20:31 Okay.

20:31 Before I was down, because that week, counting the bonus points and stuff, I got 130 points.

20:39 Okay, that's pretty good. I need you to get a failed cash-in. Or I guess we'd have to really discuss if Penta Cash is on the AAA title, where that goes for the points and everything.

20:49 I think AAA, I haven't counted it for any sort of stuff.

20:54 No, we wouldn't be counting that. But yeah, let's start with the one that we kind of thought was the lock-in. It's so funny because I remember when I was watching one of the bank and the result happened. I thought back to our preview show, and we barely discussed, like, milliseconds of discussing Tiffany Stratton in that. Other than, like, her falling and, like, the classic, are they going to catch her? And, of course, she had a bad, like, maybe her worst bump ever in this situation where not only they caught her ass, but no one caught her, like, upper body. So her head just fucking rocked off the ground.

21:29 So good for her that so far we haven't heard, like, any big, like, injury report or anything like that. Hopefully she is okay. But, yeah, the woman that we spent barely any time talking about as an actual option, because I remember you bringing up, like, oh, it's all, like, new people. I was like, yeah, and then fucking Tiffany Stratton really randomly, but she gets the win. S-Whips, how did you feel about that? How did you feel about, oh, and how do you feel about where she's going right now?

21:52 Yeah, I'll say, it was one of those where, like, once it happened, I could see, like, looking back at, like, the segments and stuff that had happened to, like, being, like, You could definitely see they had planted the seeds for her winning in different ways. So, honestly, it wasn't what I wanted because I did really want Roxanne to win that.

22:13 But it was like, yeah. And there was the report, too. That was the one that they definitely changed last minute. I told you.

22:22 They always get a little antsy. They're always like, all right, which one can we switch up here? And honestly, I still thought I thought the men might be the one where they're like, okay, Penta was really hot, but.

22:34 Maybe let's... I think the men's one was more like they changed it, but not last minute. It was like Braun a month ago, and since then it's been Penta. It wasn't like this week they decided it was going to be Penta.

22:47 Yeah, we talked about that in our Discord. We've now deemed Braun the originally scheduled man, because we have all those... There's a bunch of those. I think LA Knight called him the if man, but that's one of my favorite thing in North American footballs. There's always like the, if man or the wood man or the, if only man, that's Braun, he's the only originally scheduled man. It's like, man, there's only so many times this is going to happen before.

23:09 It's just, it's a, it's a running joke. And I guess obviously people are, man, my timeline was just filled with LA night memes all the time. And you know, I think you'll shoot. If you think that's going to happen, barring an injury, like Penta is going to win the fucking title before. And I like Penta. Don't get me wrong, but like, Knight's been there a lot longer, right? But it doesn't matter. Yeah, it's surprising. And then I kind of figured that once we talked about Chelsea Green, what she's doing, and we've heard now the reports, that makes sense of, okay, that's a good way to get her as a heel turn. And I think a heel turn is probably a good idea for Tiffany, because she came to the main roster as a heel, but she never...

23:43 Let's be honest, she's never a heel. She's aligned with Nia Jax. She was doing some heely stuff, but.

23:48 It was the second... Yeah, it's like, by the time she won the Money in the Bank, like, Maybe, like, three or four months of being, like, on the main roster pretty much. And then, like, when she won it, she was, like, basically a face already. Because it was just, like, Nia being mean to her and stuff like that. Like, she would be, like, a heel in matches. But, like, as a character, it was, like, they already wanted you to, like, cheer for her. Because she was going to turn face.

24:11 It's one of those things, too. Like, of course, anybody, when they come from NXT, the main roster, there's a big pop, right? But then consistently, she's still just getting babyface reactions throughout her singles run. So it made sense at that time to turn her. And then it felt like the past few months, it's like, okay, she's been a little stale. She wasn't even on the WrestleMania card, right?

24:28 So I think this is a good idea. I think they got some other young babyfaces coming up. She can work with them. And that'll be, I think, a very fun heel turn. They already set up right away. They're like, oh, Chelsea Green must be loving this. It's like....

24:41 I think it's going to happen like pretty quickly. Cause this week she wasn't on SmackDown. I think like, I think she was fine, but they were selling like, Oh, like she was like still from like the injuries of the match or something like that. Cause they were doing that for a lot of people like Javon and some different people in the match. Yeah.

25:01 I hope that's one of my biggest, I've always said this with AEW. I hate when people have like this fucking knockout match and then Wednesday and dynamite, they're back. It's like, Just haven't got a promo. Like, why are they wrestling? Especially Darby all the time or Moxie. It's like, I get they're the tough guys. But some of these people, it's like, they just had this hellacious match. Why are they wrestling again?

25:19 Yeah, I think Tracy Jane, too, was another one who was also, like, selling, like, an injury from that spot, too. But, yeah, so Tiffany wasn't here this week. And I think they did set up Chelsea for the title and Nikki Bell, I think, in, like, two weeks. I feel like that could be the cash-in, like, already.

25:40 The only reason I knew that is because obviously I didn't watch SmackDown. I saw people complaining about, you know, she got a title shot and Paige's beard. Did Paige's beard clean?

25:48 No, she cheated.

25:49 Well, then, there you go. How did she cheat? Was it interference, or did she.

25:55 I don't know. I think it was, like, foot on the ropes.

25:57 Okay, well, there you go. All I saw was that she won, and I saw that there was, like, a two-minute segment of them doing, like, John Cena spots, and I was like, man... we gotta let it go. This is like, this is like a, this is like a, I understood when Nikki first got back, but it's like, this is a bit too much now. If I had seen it, I'd be like, all right, this is getting a little weird now. You know, like, like we haven't dated in a long time. I'm married now. Like you got a kid, like let's stop. Let's stop. So, um, yeah, I was going to say, I could see it being then. Well, uh, I'm actually gonna take it back. And I, I bet it's going to be in Saudi actually. Just because if it's Liv and if they're going to prop up Tiffany

26:34 to be a heel, I don't know if they're going to want to do heel-heel right away with Tiffany and Liv.

26:40 Yeah, I could see that. Instead of Tiffany replacing her in the match, it's like, yeah, Chelsea loses to Liv, gets beat down by the Judgment Day, and then Tiffany cashes in on her. I could see that.

26:54 Yeah.

26:54 Yeah.

26:55 No, that's all right. I wonder even if they let Chelsea win the crown jewel champ. That's what she'll cash in on. She'll win the crown jewel championship. But no, I could see them letting Chelsea win that. And then that's why the Judgment Day beat her up. And then Tiffany cashes in because Liv's already won that too, right?

27:10 Yeah.

27:10 So that's actually the way I'm leaning now.

27:12 Just because there haven't been. I don't think there hasn't been any. I don't think there's been a two. No, a two time crown jewel winner so far. I think there's not.

27:21 Cause I think it was either.

27:23 No, I don't think so. Unless I'm forgetting like a very random one.

27:28 Possible. Lots of history there going on. So, but yeah, that's going to happen. And then I could see, cause I know they said the reports this week that they're still trying to do, roman oba we'll see if roman's down for that in january and then because remember around this time we were supposed to last year the reports were hey november we're getting roman and cody and then all of a sudden january things change it's like i i'm not believing the roma oba thing until it is like until i see the graphic like and we're like a month away that's what i'm saying because i can still see roman being like i don't know i think i could cook a little look a little long i'd say.

27:58 I wouldn't believe it until like I don't know, because I would say, like, even after, like, even if, like, Ova wins the Rumble, and then they do, like, something where, like, well, I mean, you know, Ova can just give a shot to The Rock. They've established this. But I feel like, yeah, like you said, like, until you see the graphic, like, the Mania graphic, I guess I wouldn't be fully locked in for that.

28:21 No, I just wonder how, if Roman doesn't feel Ova's ready.

28:26 Yeah, even, like, if Roman loses to, like... Someone else somehow. And then that person is just going to, you know, do the job to.

28:34 And they'll put Roman like a chamber. So like he doesn't get him like he'll get like hurt and like stretch him out or something. And then, yeah, the other one is Cody and Punk, which is just. fucking wild to me. All the stuff of, like, one, I was like, why are we doing it at SummerSlam?

28:48 Heal Cody at, uh, at Mania, FacePunk.

28:51 Don't even get me started on the punt lore stuff, man. That segment was so bad, everything. And not all, like, and not just him, like, Randy. When he punted him.

29:00 Randy's like... Like, why? Like, Randy's acting so... It was like a fake, uh, reaction. Yeah!

29:06 He's acting like he would when he's babyface. He's trying to be funny. He's, like, acting so, like, hokey. The last few times I've seen Orin, so that's weird, but I just, like. I don't know. We'll have to see more. That SummerSlam match really, I think, put a bad taste in my and other people's mouth. I do want to give them another shot, but I guess if Cody's heel, but now what?

29:23 They're just going to run the rest of the playbook on Punk where it's like, okay, I imagine what would Cody qualify, and then would he turn heel on the road or in the match? Because I always think they'll do it in the match, but I feel like they'll do it on the road too because they did that with Cena. They did that with Randy. I feel like it's going to have to be on the road too.

29:39 Yeah, I think so. feel like they'd probably do that.

29:42 Nut shot, something, something. And, you know, but again, too, we have to see, you never know about Dwayne. He's always, he's always, he's always sniffing around.

29:49 And we have Cody turning heel by, uh, eliminating Opa in the, in the rumble. Oh yeah.

29:55 That would be good. He'll be super pissed.

29:56 Three time a rumble winner for Cody. That, that could be the heel turn. That would get people mad.

30:02 And what they should do, if you want to really go overboard, they do it in a way where Cody, when he gets eliminated, no refs see it, so he sneaks back in, and he's just so obsessed with getting that title. He's like, ah, I had to take my shot.

30:10 It's like Jay eliminating Cena, but if Jay was supposed to be a heel.

30:17 Yeah, so anyways, where I was getting to, as I said, obviously, if she's healthy and good to go, Rhea's going to be part of WrestleMania plans, which is like a no-duh, but I also could see Tiffany actually her turning heel and if that works out, that to me is a mania match. They haven't really done that as like a marquee.

30:35 Did they do that once in the match got interrupted or did they tease it and turn it into like a tag once? I thought they did something like that, right?

30:40 They did tag once on Raw where it was like, yeah, they like interrupted them and then I think they have tagged I think they tagged once when they were both world champion on a random SmackDown, but I think it was also a DQ. But they were both faces at the time. They teamed once when Rhea was a face and Tiffany was a heel, and then when they were both faces.

31:04 Yeah, so if you can heat Tiffany up and she's a good deal.

31:07 I also still think there's a chance of you do... You can still do Rhea and Liv at Mania. That's a possibility for them.

31:15 I was the person pitching that. We're not there yet. We need to... Yeah, I wonder what's going to be on that side. Because Liv has the title back. Which we'll also talk about. Yeah, I guess we talk about that. We have the triple threat. I thought it was fine. I thought it was not... Funny enough, the big women's title matches from both this show and the AEW show were both, like, under my expectations of what I thought was going to happen. I thought it was fine, and Liv got it back, which was so funny, right? Because I thought, oh, well, I didn't pick Roxanne because Liv isn't the champion. And then midway through our prediction show, I was like, oh, fuck, they can just flip it back.

31:50 It's funny that they did flip it back to Liv, but then Roxanne doesn't have it. So it's just like, okay, what are we doing? They'll still probably do some tension and drama and everything going on, but she has it. Yeah, I don't really know what they're doing with the Raw... I all say is I just feel like in the next three months, Becky's winning it. I don't know why.

32:07 I just feel it in my gut. And I feel like, or even if it's WrestleMania January time, like the raw, they always do that.

32:14 Like the raw, like Ross before like rumbles or, uh, elimination chamber, or they do like a shock before like the big show or something like that.

32:23 Cause I could see her wanting to get back on the card in a big way. I don't really know what her mania match would, be like obviously she's a baby face i don't know what like who they pair her up with because to me if i like the idea of ria and tiffy heel tiffy i'm like okay i can see that that's a marquee wrestlemania match i still think tiffy should have been on the card last year that she kept that up i can see they do lots and i actually think as a match ria and tiffany could have something really good with becky yeah.

32:46 Because i remember they had like the final stretch in the chamber this year that was like really good yeah like they were like the last two and they had they did the thing were like They have, like, an actual match for, like, the last, like, five, ten minutes of the chamber. And I remember thinking they had some good chemistry there.

33:02 Yeah, and give them, you know, solid, hopefully, 20, 50 minutes of WrestleMania. They'll do that. And then I don't even, where, because you watch more than me, what the hell has Io been up to? What's she doing nowadays?

33:14 Just, like, just shows up, like, randomly to do stuff. I think she's back to, like, trying to win the Intercontinental title again. Okay.

33:22 All right. Yeah, I was just trying to think if Becky was the Mania champ. I was trying to think who they could pair her with. That's like a big marquee match. I think it would be someone newer. I just don't know who that is. I guess you could make it Stephanie, but I don't know if they'd do that twice. I really don't know.

33:39 I don't know.

33:39 Either way, I think Becky's winning that title in a little bit, but the Raw title. What did you feel about that Triple Threat match?

33:45 Yeah, I wasn't really a huge fan of it, especially because I was really excited for it. It just felt like, yeah, it kind of felt just like, kind of slow and plotting, and there were some spots where, like, they kind of miscommunicated or, like, stuff kind of took longer than it should have, so I just felt it didn't really flow very well between, so I was kind of disappointed by it.

34:08 And obviously, too, I forgot to mention that spot in the Money's Win the Bank, the choke on the ladder.

34:14 Oh, yeah.

34:14 Oh, my God.

34:15 Great spot, though. I mean, very dangerous because they could have went wrong.

34:20 The bounce obviously didn't go the way they were probably planning, but, man, that was.

34:23 Yeah, because the ladder was like, because it was like just barely tucked into the one that was standing up. So they bounced up and it went out.

34:30 Yeah.

34:31 I'll let you speak on the Oba and Bronson and Roman and Knight because I didn't see those two. I never got around to and I forgot. I actually think I heard that Oba and Bronson was fun. And then Roman and Knight, I feel like I heard mixed.

34:44 I'd say I liked it, but people liked it way more than me. I thought I liked it and I was like Roman and LA Knight. Because I liked it, but I was thinking like. It's funny, I thought basically what Dave Meltzer said about this match was funny, because I was watching this, like, to me this feels like the quintessential, like, WWE match, where it's, like, kind of slow, but, like, it is, you know, they have aura, they're doing some aura farming, you know, they're, like, punching each other on the outside, you know, classic whip into the ring post, into the barricade. you know, clear out the announce table, powerbomb to the announce table.

35:24 We figured that out. He loves it.

35:25 He's got the formula.

35:26 Yeah.

35:27 But yeah, it felt like, like just like a WWE match. I thought it was solid. I enjoyed it. Obviously. Well, I wouldn't say that. Cause I'd say they did have me at points of like, Oh, LA night could win. Like I did feel there was, but the ending stretch wasn't that. Cause it was like, He, cause they, they did the thing. I think Roman was the first person to kick out of the BFT.

35:50 Yeah.

35:51 And then that, but that happens like maybe like halfway through the match. And then after that point, LA Knight just like, didn't do like, he just didn't go for the BFT again, obviously. Cause I think they didn't want him to kick out of it twice. So he would just like do all these other moves where you'd be like, Like, you know, in kayfabe, like, why isn't he just, like, getting him up and hitting him with the BFT right now?

36:12 But he was like, oh, I'm going to do the top rope elbow drop now. Oh, I'm going to go for the elbow drop again. Like, he just wasn't hitting the BFT, and then Roman spears him to get the win. So I thought it was solid, but people were really loving this. And, yeah, Dave was like, this is an example of a WWE-style banger match. So he actually liked it.

36:31 Really?

36:32 Okay.

36:32 Yeah.

36:33 Okay, there you go. Yeah, because I saw it makes things on the people that I follow, but maybe I'll have to go back and watch it. And there was no interference, right, on Roman's side?

36:44 No, Roman's still doing his... Clean wins.

36:47 I saw the ending, too. He did the Moxley thing. Like, that right there. That's a tough guy. Whatever you say about him. It's like, again, they're just so fucking programmed the same way. Like, I don't really like him, but he's got it. He's got it. It's like, you know what he's got, man? He's got a bunch of losses on his record. You know, so I don't know. What is LA Knight's future in the next few months here?

37:07 I don't know. I honestly thought he was going to. Well, on Raw, it was like he walked up to Solo. And he's like, oh, you're teaming with the bloodline again, huh? And then he just, like, walked away. So I think they're teasing a heel turn for LA Knight.

37:22 I don't know if there's any spots from the War Games that MFTs is getting pretty... Or the 9-4-6.

37:28 Or the 9-4-6, God. MFTs, they're down to just two guys now.

37:34 Yeah, the 9-4-6. Yeah, which I guess, yeah, we can talk about that where Carmelo is a member after, you know, an MJF tweet went a little viral, which is so funny. It's like... What was going on there? Was MJF just kicking the horn? Is Jesse just hearing stuff? He was bullshitting. You never know.

37:48 I think he just sees, like, you know, people are talking about it. And, you know, he has a photo of him and Christian Casanova, I believe, was his name on the indies.

37:57 And everybody felt like, oh, it's going to AEW. And it's kind of funny because they go, oh, Dragunov's coming. We got him coming. Like, all this stuff's happening. But he's there. And, you know, I think this is a good fit because they clearly, and that's been in the reports, they like Royce Keyes. They feel like... they were trying to find a spot for him, right? It felt like, okay, we got him, and we said this when he was leaving A & W, there's a chance, there's a chance for anybody, but there's some talent you just look at and you go, okay, that could be a WWE guy or gal. And with Royce, it felt like, you know, they brought him in, won a couple things, did some stuff, but they never knew.

38:26 Did the dark match for like three months.

38:28 Yeah, which apparently he requested. There's some reports about that, which is like, okay, cool, I understand that, right? Like some of the people that wanted, like AJ Styles, he wanted to go to NXT first, and they're like, no, you're not going to NXT, but I think with Royce, it felt like, okay, they didn't give up on him, but they definitely just didn't have, like, yeah i.

38:45 Think i think the interesting thing about royce was like if it was like if he was because they were pushing him for a while but like the crowd wasn't really reacting like if it was like if the crowd was like super into it there'd be people like oh look at this like great push they're giving him because he was like on ron smackdown you know he was wrestling jacob fought too in the main event and stuff like that but the crowd just like really wasn't wasn't just into the face version of him so.

39:14 I don't think he ever was like that amazing his face in aw like his he was like as a really cool badass big guy you know just to chuck you around throw you around so i think and like you could get there but you kind of have to be loved like hated first in that situation we don't have that natural chemistry. So I think this is good.

39:30 I think Carmelo, I don't mean to be that guy. I think this is the, like, this is kind of the make or break for him. I think, and don't get me wrong, I think he could make it and do well. I expect that he's going to look at this as like, okay, can he be the Randy Orton Batista where he's not the leader of the group, but he can shine out and become like, you know, like, a big star, or is he just going to kind of flounder after the Bloodline feud is done? I'm hoping, because he's a talented guy, and I think he can do that, but I feel like this is their spot.

39:57 So I think with both Royce and, I think, obviously the projects here are Royce, Jada, and Carmelo, you know?

40:03 Yeah.

40:04 Because when that group breaks up, the other guys will probably just become a tag team, and then, you know, if they don't hit it, they'll main event NXT, and then they'd be gone.

40:11 I'll say, funnily enough, like, in NXT, like, obviously those two, OTM and Jada, were a group, And then they like, they like broke up for probably like a year or so, but like, it wasn't like a turn or anything. It was like that classic, like we have to go our separate ways, this sort of thing. But they would still, even like earlier this year, I think there might've been a few backstage segments of them together. And then now on the main roster, just back together. So I think, I think this, this does work better. It is curious.

40:39 Cause I did think Jada was probably going to be the talker of this group, but honestly Mel is, is really good on promos as well. So, I do wonder how it works, like, because they haven't done, like, an in-ring promo yet, the 9-4-6. I think probably in the next upcoming weeks, they probably got one. Because so far, it's kind of been, they're doing, like, the, like, an invader type of gimmick. Like, their entrance is just, like, them through the crowd with no music. So, and they just walk into the ring, so. I feel like eventually, obviously, they're going to do a group promo. And that's where I'm curious on, you know, who's talking. Because Royce is the leader. But I wouldn't be surprised if he's just,

41:17 you know, in the back, arms crossed. Yeah, just while the other guys are talking.

41:22 Believe in the, you know, something like that. Where it's like, okay, you can get that off.

41:27 Yeah, he'll say, ain't nobody safe. And that'll be the last line of the promo there.

41:32 And to me, it's not the bloodline stuff. I'm sure that'll go well. Rome will get in there. I'll be with a fine two-comb. But it'll be, to me, the after. It's okay. Once they lose.

41:41 It's like the Wyatt Six. They had the first feud with Chad Gable and the Creed brothers and stuff like that. And that went fine. And then after that, it was just like, well, we have nothing for them.

41:53 And that's where I'm hoping that this is a, hey, we want a project for Royce and these other people. And then we want to... put this in a bloodline and not like a, we just need a bloodline project, which right now we can't tell. Cause like, I think they do want to push Royce, but at the same time it is war games time. So it's like, we can't tell. Like if this was happening in the summer, you'd be like, okay, well clearly, you know, there, I guess it happens. But I mean like maybe earlier where it's like, Oh, they're just doing this right now where this is always, we were like, okay, what's the bloodline?

42:19 Or like, if it happened, if this is like, if this had happened on like the raw after mania, you'd be like, Oh, this is going to be like a big story. Yeah.

42:28 Okay. This is a group, not a, is this a group for the bloodline to fight? And we won't know until a couple months after they'll, they'll sleep. They'll keep it together for the rumble. Cause you'll do the, Oh my God, the nine four six is controlling the rumble. And they're doing that.

42:39 Oh yeah.

42:39 That's the class.

42:40 You'll have– I bet you'll have, like, Mellow in there with, like, the two guys or, like, one of them, like, helping them, like, throw guys out or something like that.

42:48 And we'll get Toss and Royce coming in. Oh, they're controlling them all, and you can even run back some Bloodline stuff. So there's a game plan of that. It's more like Mania time. It's like, okay, are these guys doing anything, or are they just in the stack?

42:59 Yeah, I'll say it. It'll depend, like, how many of these guys end up making the Mania card, or it's just like– I mean, it's like, yeah, I could see, you know, Royce or Mello, but then it's like, are they going to be doing something important or are they like. The fourth guy in an eighth man IC title ladder match or something like that.

43:18 Or they're confronting the WrestleMania host of like, you don't run WrestleMania. The 946 runs WrestleMania. And then Shane O'Mac beats them all up.

43:27 Or Royce and Mello are going for the two-time Andre the Giant Battle Royal.

43:33 Or to me, that's when you know it's really over. If they make Royce and Carmelo the tag team. And like, you know, we need some gold in there. Because when groups do that, just the most popular guys together, they're like, oh, fuck. Jada, I'm not too worried about. I think she'll be fine even if the group breaks up. I think with Royce.

43:48 I think Natty is a big fan of Jada. Because that's kind of the word that pretty much that Natty feud had in NXT was kind of like, let's see if she can work on the main roster.

44:01 Do you think that in the War Games match... do they put Naomi? They don't, they don't enter gender that right.

44:07 Probably.

44:08 No, I don't think so. I think most would be like.

44:11 The women's and then square off like the separately.

44:14 Or I could see like Jada's like on the outside and like trying to, she like throw something in there, put something in there and then like Naomi returns and like takes her out on the outside or something like that.

44:24 Or you can even do like all the guys are down. They do a couple of spots in the ring and then they get out of there.

44:28 Right.

44:28 Like she climbs like hell. yeah that's probably you're right that's probably the way it goes i wish it would be the one in our gender one i'd love to see give it like now we give the rear view to a couple people and you know yeah they're not gonna happen but uh yeah so that'll be interesting uh oh.

44:43 Yeah i didn't talk oba and oh yeah i thought i thought this match was a lot of fun like it was it was exactly what it needed to be of just like that like haas match just like throwing around, and honestly, super protecting. It's funny, because in any other match, the type of finish they did would be, like, trying to protect Bronson, but this one is, like, they're protecting Ova in the fact of, like, how strong he is, even though he's winning, because it was, like, because he did, because the finish was, like, all the vision are out there except Braun, because he was going to be in the ladder match, so Logan Paul, Theory, Maxine... And they're, like, throwing chairs into the ring and getting on the apron

45:25 and distracting the ref. And Oba takes two brass knuckle shots, which I thought they did it really well. Like, Bronson, like, hits him with the brass knuckles. Oba, like, sells backwards, like, into the ropes. And then when he comes back, he gets hit another time, and that takes him down. And then Bronson goes up, hits him with the Tsunami. Oba kicks out, first person to kick out of the Tsunami.

45:49 And then after that, he obas up, does the uppercuts, he throws Bronson, hits the fall from grace. It's just called an uppercut. And gets the win. So I thought it was a lot of fun. I did see people, people who've watched a lot more wrestling me say, this is very much like, this is like the, like the, this is like the Hulk Hogan formula, but like showing why, like when done right, like there's a reason like Hulk Hogan was so massive. Cause it's just like that baby face that is just like so indestructible that like, it's like, it's just, you're in awe of watching this guy. Yeah.

46:25 Yeah, it'll be interesting what they do, though, for the next little bit there. And then who knows whatever's going on with Vision. Vision's going to Vision. Is there anything else from this card?

46:35 No.

46:36 Oh, I guess the men's money in the bank. We kind of thought... I thought that... I don't know. I don't... I don't think this was a bad match, but I guess it just didn't... It did not really stick with me in the moment. It didn't stick with me after the fact. Fun to see, you know... Fun to see Penta winning because, honestly, there was a time where I didn't think Penta was going to be, like, off season one of the world title. But I think he will win the world title. And that shows that we talked about his debut when he came there. And he had such a good package and look. But I thought there was a ceiling for him. And clearly there's not. And that's good for him. So I thought it was nothing, like, offensive.

47:11 I just didn't have anything that I was, like, walking back by. Other than, like, okay, there's some fun spots there. I know that Javon has stuff like... people like mixed and everything, but it's like, ah, it's WWE. They always love doing those big like spots and spectacles and everything. So that didn't surprise me. Like, oh, Javon's looks like such an idiot. Put the ladder there. It's like, that's always been the case. There's always, why do guys put the ladder so close when there's two fucking tables near the inside.

47:32 Of the ring?

47:32 Like it always happens.

47:34 Right.

47:34 So like, I get it. If you're looking at it from, I guess a very realistic point of view, but, In these type of matches, that kind of gets thrown out the window. So, fun to see that they heat up Braun a little bit, too. But, again, it's just like I can't invest in them heating up Braun because, you know, originally scheduled, man.

47:48 They're doing Braun versus Penta on Raw tomorrow.

47:52 And thank goodness he's okay. Did you see that spawn, that house shot of Braun laying on the back of his head?

47:56 Oh, my God.

47:57 And then I saw this big debate about people blaming LA Night at first. There's a second angle. He didn't touch it. Braun just fell. It's like, oh, my God. But, yeah, what do you think about this?

48:06 I enjoyed it. I thought it was a fun time. Honestly, it very much became a set piece type of match, especially with the ambulance coming out and it kind of going down to basically just Braun. Like I said, I did like them heating up Braun. I thought this was a really good performance from him, like this whole match of him just kind of dominating the whole time. And like he was just taking anybody who tried climbing the ladder, he was pulling them down right away. But it was also kind of the story of like he was pulling all these people down. But he wasn't climbing the ladder.

48:36 He was just kind of running around, spearing people and trying to stop everyone from winning without him actually trying to win. and that's, I guess, what cost them in the end, just when he finally tried to Pentagon him. I did think it was funny, like, him spearing Punk and KO through the barricade, and that just took them out the entire match. Like, they didn't come back for, like, 10 minutes.

48:58 Punk's like, my age, I ain't doing a ladder match. I even remember, too, when he came back in 2012 for... No, no, no, when it was 2013, when they put him in the Money in the Bank ladder match and Heyman turned on him... He didn't even want to be in that. Back in the day, he was like, I do not need to be taking these. But the same thing, too. They kept doing this, too. when he was like i can't remember what injury he was coming off of but he's coming off of injury this is the time where he hated working ryback because ryback kept hurting him and they announced like the raw new year he's working right back in like a tlc and he's so fucking pissed it's in the colt cabana shoot interview but it's.

49:34 Just like I think people say that match is, like, really good.

49:37 It is. Hey, Ryback was cooking there for a little bit, though, son.

49:42 People weren't supposed to think. You see that clip of, like, Ryback doing, like, the toe pay.

49:46 Yeah, I did. Oh, we could have had all, man. Look at this big guy. But, hey, I was definitely on the bandwagon a little bit with Ryback. If not being, like, oh, one of my favorites. Like, okay, I can see why this is that. But, no, I was even surprised. Let's go around when Punk was in the match. I was like.

50:01 I felt like Cody would be more like the ladder spectacle guy, but now they've got.

50:06 Well, yeah, he didn't take anyone's finisher. He didn't take a ladder bump. He just kind of hit Kevin Owens the whole match.

50:16 I guess... Because I see they're still kind of like circling each other. Are they still like... Are they going to do a blow-off for that, or what are they going to do?

50:24 Yeah, they're still kind of feuding, so I don't really know what the next point... I mean, I assume they have like A normal match. Obviously, they don't have the title right now. So, yeah. I missed... I think I did miss... I think Punk had, like, a backstage segment on this week's SmackDown or something like that. I missed it, though.

50:43 I didn't really see what it went down by. I did think... I think it was him and KO and, like, Nick Aldis or something like that.

50:49 Yeah, Nick Aldis was like, you can't fight out there. You gotta be fighting in the ring where it makes us money and stuff.

50:53 So....

50:55 And then, obviously... I think this is what happened on SmackDown, but you have Tatum and you got Alexa, new tag team champion.

51:02 One of his tag team champions, yeah.

51:04 Yeah. What's Charlotte up to right now? Is she like her time?

51:07 Well, because that was supposed to be– because Alexa had put Charlotte and Tatum into this tag title match because she wanted them to be better friends. And then as Charlotte was going to walk out to the match– She got, like, beat up backstage by Jade and the baddies and stuff. So it was like, oh, she's not cleared to wrestle, so Alexa replaced her, and then they end up winning the tag titles without her. So it depends on if it's going to go, you know, they end up being friends or if this is the start of, like, oh, they don't need Charlotte anymore or something like that.

51:44 I see. Yeah, I guess they could do that. I feel like they should just rock this unit for a little bit longer. But, yeah, what a weird, like, makes sense, but weird pairing together there. But I was laughing, too, because obviously David got, I think it was Meechum as his jobber, right? I think it's next week on SmackDown.

52:01 They're doing Meechum.

52:02 And I even said that. I said, like, well, there's always a chance. I mean, I'll laugh if for some reason they just did this to get the titles on them. And David says another fucking jobber that's getting them all these points. But, yeah.

52:13 But good for Tim, because she said, like, Alexa Bliss was, like, the inspiration for, like, why she started wrestling was seeing Alexa Bliss. And now tag team champions are there at school. It's like Edge and Hulk Hogan as tag team champions.

52:26 Yeah. My God. Anything else WWE related that we haven't hit on?

52:34 I think that's pretty much it. Yeah.

52:37 Also, he didn't have a show too long ago. And then, okay, so we got AEW. We had WrestleDream last night. What did you watch from WrestleDream? It's still out there on the ether.

52:46 I did see most of the show. I didn't really see any of the pre-show, like, tailgate brawl stuff. What matches did I not see? Oh, I didn't see Nick Wade and Jericho. I thought so.

53:01 And.

53:03 What other match? I, like, half-watched the Young Bucks and Kevin Knight and Kyle Fletcher.

53:10 The greatest take team of all time, the Young Bucks. My God. Yeah, so what do we got here? We had.

53:17 We can go in order, I guess.

53:18 Yeah, we had guns and FTR started. I half-watched the same thing. I didn't watch the tailgate, so I only saw the tail end of that there. You know, it was good. I'm happy the guns are resting. I think this is fun to do an actual best of five to keep these guys busy for a little bit. My prediction is I think it's going to go win for win.

53:35 I think that's what they're going to do this year. I think it's going to go guns, FTR, guns, FTR, and then Machine will get it. And then I would hope that means they get, like, a tag team title match. Like, if you just win a best-of-five series and it's all for nothing. And we just did FTR and Bucks, obviously, not too long ago. So, guns and Bucks, that makes sense.

53:53 It's like a... I don't know. That could go either way. I could see that main eventing at Diamond. That could easily still be the third or fourth match starting a show. If it's hot enough, too, it could even open a pay-per-view because now there's more than just the big four or six. I think that all depends on when it happens.

54:10 It could be a TV special. That will be something good. Did you catch that at all? Obviously, they opened the show.

54:18 Yeah, I did watch the portion that was on the show and I enjoyed it. It was like Very solid wrestling match between these two. I mean, I do like the machine guns and FTR. I do think it's like at the same time, it's weird because they did so much in this match because they had a lot of time. I think the match ended up being like 25, 28 minutes or something like that. If you're counting like the stuff before the. In the tailgate brawl.

54:44 26 minutes.

54:45 Yeah. So they did a lot of stuff in this match. So I'm very curious to see how all the other matches differ. Like, I would also be curious if one of these ones in the Best of Five series is, like, a 10-minute match on, like, a collision or something. Like, just to see them do, like, a different format. But I like this one. I thought it was a good time.

55:04 And obviously, correct choice of guns, you know, winning, like, their first major match here. Yeah. There were points where I thought they were just going to lose, but.

55:15 Tony took it really personally that they didn't sign him the first time, so he just makes them lose all three. They don't even get a single win on there, but I want to get your thoughts on this, because this, for some reason, I actually know some reasons, but this match has just made the internet.

55:31 My nickname was almost going to be a Tekla Defender on this one, but....

55:37 We had Mercedes Monet versus Tecla. Obviously, Monet got the win with the mass shot. And I can't.

55:45 I think it's the Monet maker.

55:47 Yeah. Terrible finish. But what do you think about the match? And then what do you think about the hubbub after the match?

55:54 I really enjoyed the match. It was very solid. I will say I do wish it kind of had a little, little bit more. I will say. But I thought I really enjoyed it. I thought they worked well together. So, obviously, I was very excited to see this one because I was curious on, you know, the whole thing of, like, if this should happen at All In and stuff like that that was happening before then. So, with that in hindsight, I do think I like the Willow match more, even though I did have some problems with that one as well.

56:24 But I really enjoyed this one. I will say, like, I don't know if this one, I'm trying to think, like, What was, like, the story of the match? I don't know if there necessarily was, like, a big one. I guess working on, like, Monet's face being injured and stuff like that. But I can't really think.

56:42 Even though Tecla's a babyface now, this, to me, was wrestled in a very heel versus heel sort of way. Like, just the pace.

56:48 I'll say, like, technically, like, you know. She is technically still a heel.

56:54 She is, but she's not anymore.

56:55 But she's like a heel that's cheered.

56:57 They got the Sisters of Sin now versus the Divine Dominion. Like, they're slowly turning them, right? Like, if you look at this side. So I agree with you. What I like about it is they've not done anything for her to be like, oh, she ran out and saved Willow. I'm like, you're a good bitch. Like, no, they didn't do any of that stuff. That's what they should do is she should be the same way and just first other people.

57:15 And that's why I like the style of match because it did feel like two heels together. Versing each other, kind of being a little dastardly and being arrogant and cocky. And they're just, like, taking their time. So I really like that aspect. I'm with you on the match overall. I actually did like it, even though I think the ending was a little abrupt. Like, I just wish it.

57:33 I don't know.

57:34 Yeah, I did think that, too. Yeah, because it was, like, they did, like, the super close near fall, like, where she, like, took the match shot and then rolled her up. And then, but after that, I was like, oh, yeah, and then Mercedes just picks her up and hits the finish, and that's the end of it. That was kind of the same problem I had with the, because I watched the match of Mercedes versus Queen Aminata from the Dynamite in France from last week or week before, and I kind of had the same issue there, where it felt a lot of, like, Aminata in control, and then, like, they just go back into the ring, Mercedes picks her up, hits the Monet Maker, and then that was the end of the match. Like, It kind of felt like it

58:13 was missing a longer ending sequence, I'd say. But Mercedes, I thought, was really fantastic in this match, as always. But that spot where she picked Tecla up while she was in the spider pose and did the knees to the head before doing the lung blowers, just some great stuff. And honestly, she's doing a lot more power stuff now, which I think is very cool.

58:34 I mentioned in Discord, she's never been this big before. Her arms, her whole body type, she's definitely hitting the weights and It's fun in this era. And, uh, yeah, no, that I agree. Like the, the Monet makers, not like the RKO, but to me like that, because that has like a, such a setup. If you have a finish like that, that's when you can do the match kind of ends out of nowhere. Right.

58:54 With this.

58:54 And it's funny because the finish was that way. And then even the beginning, they tried to do like, she got her in the, the so-called the bank statement or whatever.

59:03 The statement maker.

59:04 Statement maker.

59:05 Right.

59:06 So they tried to do that and they did be like, Oh, it's not fully set in, but they were, I, feel like mercedes and tecla were trying to go for the like all the crowd's gonna think mercedes gonna beat her really early on crowd zero reaction nothing.

59:19 I'll say that that relates to some other stuff on this show too of well we'll talk some some finishers how you know in some matches you know it takes 17 finishers to to beat someone and then another match you're getting pinned off moves that uh never beat anybody i can defend it.

59:35 I can i know i can defend it with gm stamina style you know but that was the thing where that sequence was going and i was like oh, they should just roll out of this, this is awkward, the announcers are trying to sell, like, it could be over, they're trying to sell the ring, and no one in the crowd's buying this, it should just be, like, Tekla, just get me out of here, and, yeah, I don't, like, obviously, you never know, we've heard stuff before, the, you know, not even bad stuff, like, you know, Mercedes and Bryn, that match, how that went, but, like, I don't know, because I watched it back. Tekla's still on the ground for a full-soled 20 seconds after the three count goes on.

1:00:08 To me, that is not a no-sell. A no-sell is literally because that's been a big debate.

1:00:12 The Austin Aries.

1:00:13 Yeah, the Austin Aries get out, boom. People were showing the Legion of Doom versus RVD and Kane today. I'm not sure if you saw that going around.

1:00:20 Oh, yeah, I did see it.

1:00:20 And he got up, like, right away and walked, and Kane's, like, looking at him and everything. But that still, to me, kind of fit because Legion of Doom was, like, super badass. So it's like, oh, they just caught us. They got us, whatever. But, like... It was 20 seconds. They're like, oh, she's out there dancing, doing her stuff. It's like, Tecca's always kind of doing that stuff. So I'll say, like, I liked the match.

1:00:40 I don't think it was as good as I was hoping, but I don't think it was anything for the reaction is as bad as I thought. And then people were like, oh, well, look what she said on the pre-show. It's like. what, Mercedes Monet, who's always in character in these fucking things? Like, I don't know. It's just... And maybe, who knows? Maybe there's heat. Maybe she saw that and couldn't believe it.

1:00:57 Or maybe they're just feeding into it. I don't know. But it's just like.

1:00:59 Yeah, I'll say, like, I didn't have any problems with the post-match. Like, I didn't even notice... at all like i noticed tecla like walked out of the ring afterwards but to me it wasn't like oh she's no selling it was like oh she just got out of the ring after the match yeah.

1:01:14 I actually thought there's gonna be an angle because when she cheated i thought oh are they gonna set this up for more i didn't get the vibe of that after i don't think so no i but i thought with the mask that oh maybe they'll do some sort of gimmick or a longer one but no i think that was like that was it there so We had that, and then we had Nick Wayne versus Jericho. There was nothing here other than Nick Wayne's working his ass off.

1:01:37 He's got a new theme song. So what I will say is I do like that Tony Khan's pushing him because I am a Nick Wayne believer. I think he could actually be something. I think he's working on his body. I think he's getting more charismatic. He reminds me a lot of a few years in, or when he was in AEW, and then when he started doing the singles run.

1:01:54 Me and Kyle Fletcher, I was like, I don't know, man. I don't think Kyle Fletcher can be that guy. And now people are like, he's the fucking best guy around, right? And I can say he's one of the best up there. And same thing with Nick Wayne, where I believed it early on, but he did not have all the tools needed.

1:02:08 I guess I'm happy he beat Jericho. I guess we're going to get some terrible segment with Jericho and him, where Jericho has to say sorry for a bunch of stuff. So can't wait for that. But this is definitely something that did not need to be here. This is going to be dynamite. And Jericho did pretty much just like, fu attitude adjusted on some steel steps that was like the highlight spot of the match and uh yeah and then they did a finish where um he nick wayne kicks jericho in the nuts nothing happens he kicks him again of course there's the cup um for some reason you know aw's rules with zed jericho takes the cup and then starts beating nick wayne that's a weapon that's a weapon that i don't care what it but the

1:02:43 rest sees it like the rest fully there and he pulls that out pulls out of his hands Nick Wayne goes for the nut shot again. Doesn't get Jericho nut shots him. But then Jericho, classic fashion, still loses after the fact. They do something where he, like, I can't remember if he nut shot Jericho again or he got out of it. And then he, like, rolled him up and the ref missed it. And he had Jericho, like, roll up for, like, six seconds. Nothing worse than a long roll up. So I think there's going to be more of this program. But I hope we can just get Nick Wayne out of here and doing other stuff.

1:03:10 And then you had the Bucks and Cal's family, Kevin Knight and Kyle Fletcher. very much same protocol as the okada not as bad as not as bad i mean like not as far as the way as far as like oh they're fighting the whole time but that's how they lost the match.

1:03:23 Was yeah he.

1:03:25 Tags himself in well it's just like it's so funny because real tag teams all the time like tag each other without seeing it i guess that's the point right it's like well they're not a tag team but just i thought this was lots of fun it's funny like it's a great feat of athleticism, but the signature move they were using where he had Kyle Fletcher had a buck on his shoulder and Kevin Knight would jump up and drop kick him. I was like, I don't know what more that really does to hurt. Would it not just hurt him more for Kyle Fletcher just to fucking rocket back and hit him? Again, it shows Kevin Knight, wow, look how athletic he is. Kevin Knight, yeah, he's the fucking shit. I love this, but I'm hoping again, this

1:04:04 is just like, I hope this issue was not just to end the match and was to whether it's Knight or Kyle to spin them off because I've said this before you don't need two top young guys next main eventers I talked about Randy Orton and Batista earlier in this episode Batista wasn't that Batista was just a muscle when Evolution started and then he became that where Kevin Knight and Kyle Fletcher they're filling the same role so and I think I still would have preferred they kept Kevin Knight as babyface I think with the way they're booking it they wouldn't and I think Kyle could work as a babyface there's things you could do I don't know how that works for the Osprey stuff, but, no, I love this match a lot. This was tons of fun.

1:04:42 Bucks continue just to have a good, really, run so far with this and the match they had. God, who did they first last pay for you? Why am I fucking.

1:04:51 The TLC match.

1:04:52 Right, the TLC, and then they had Cope and Christian, which, you know, I'll defend all of them. That was a good match. We're going to get guns, and then, you know, new level loss was Trio's title. We know it's just around the corner, which is odd, but now it's not, because now I don't actually think Kenny's coming back Anytime soon. Which, actually, we'll talk about some of the New Japan stuff just in the middle, but... Was there... Because you didn't watch the full match. Was there anything that hadn't been taken.

1:05:12 To match, or... Not really. I don't have that much to add.

1:05:17 Okay. This is one that I actually did not catch, was Persephone, when she defeated Danaluna, Haiyan, and Queen Ananata. They announced, like, two days before I had to make dinner, and I'm sorry, I did choose this as the other one to my... where I had to... And, actually, I missed the first five minutes of Andrada and Tomasa, which...

1:05:35 was not the worst case in a second. But, uh, do you have any thoughts as you see this one?

1:05:40 Uh, yeah, I did see it. Uh, I enjoyed it. It was, I wouldn't say it was anything crazy. It, it kind of did feel a bit slow at times of kind of just people like sort of kind of walking around the ring, hitting each other. But it was an enjoyable time. Honestly, I think Persephone is going to be like a big star for a W and in general. So, They're just, you know, continuing to show how good she is in this match. I will say the crowd was very much not into this. Obviously, coming off Young Bucks and Kyle Fletcher and Kevin Knight was just, like, from that crazy match into this. And especially since Danny Luna hasn't really gotten a big introduction for AEW so far, like, she's wrestled a few matches, but there's been like no

1:06:26 promos or vignettes or anything for her.

1:06:28 So again, she just lost the fucking title match not too long ago.

1:06:31 Like, and high, and high end too. Like she's been around, but never really like, she's kind of been like a collision, uh, exclusive. Most of the time she's been, uh, on a W and teaming with, uh, my world. So, uh, but I'd say the crowd by the end was more into it. And some of the cool stuff they did, uh, I did kind of think something was going to happen, like, after the match, but nothing ended up happening.

1:06:56 No, Persephone's been a big holding pattern. I wonder if they're waiting for Maya to get back, because Tony, I was surprised, like, full-on confirmed if Maya wasn't hurt, she'd still be champion, which was, to me, wild for him to say that.

1:07:09 My world is cleared now, though. She did announce.

1:07:12 But she hasn't wrestled yet, right?

1:07:14 No, not yet.

1:07:15 Yeah, so I wonder if they're waiting for that, because it needs something now. I don't think that's something... They just put them together. I don't think that something is, like, to break her and Brit up and Brit to be the challenger. I don't think that is it. I think there is a version of that without the title. I think that you could have her lose and Brit turns on her, or Brit turns on her to make her lose, and you could do just, like, a one-off on, like, a collision or a dynamite to, like, end that feud if you want. Even though I still think there's money... Well, there could be money. I don't know if there's money, but, like, there's money of them being a challenger for the tag team titles for, like, a month. I'm not saying the win.

1:07:47 I'm not saying that, but.

1:07:48 you know and brit's been working she's been working more than i kind of thought actually because i think when she first got back we were like is she literally just a manager and she's like three or four times now so there you go and.

1:07:59 Nothing in mexico with uh persephone as.

1:08:02 Well yeah so and i don't think it's like oh fuck she's like singing out the joint she's just like she's she's there doing her stuff so i'll see a single at some point but uh All right, and then after that, but that's, oh, that's what I was going to say. They just need to have, they got to get some stories going for Persephone. They need something to keep that up. Maya could be that. And then we got Andrade versus Tommaso Ciampa.

1:08:23 You can go first on this.

1:08:26 One. I, yeah, it's tough because where Andrade is, he's clearly liking this, and I thought the match he had last month with Pac was, had a lot of this, but this was like a worse version of that, and now I just go One, are we going to get more of the theatrics as we go along? And two, now I can't really get that excited for an Andrade match. Now, I'm not saying this was a bad match. There's still athleticism going on here. But I think with this one in particular, the theatrics really overtook it. Now, if you like that type of stuff... because, like, hey, you look at someone like Orange Cassie, right? That's his gimmick. He does it all the time. But even when he was having that, like... I didn't even fucking know what title

1:09:09 he had when he was in the long run. Was it the Continental?

1:09:11 International title.

1:09:12 International, yeah. He did it a little bit, but then he kind of dropped that, right? For a while now, he's been back to that with the Colgomeration. But with Andrade, I feel like these should be the matches he's having on Dynamite. And then on pay-per-view should be the, like, all right, I'm the fucking wrestler Andrade. Because it kind of just makes me check out. It makes me not want to see this. And even the, like, chompo pants spot, like, yeah, that's fun all back in. To me, that's like... That's like collision stuff. That's like dark match stuff. Like, I don't know. It's just like, especially with the way Chompa has risen in AEW, I just feel like with the Jericho stuff and then this, I don't think it's actually

1:09:44 hurting his stock because luckily he's such a good character and he can produce in the ring. He has a good look. I think it, so far he's been bulletproof. I just, I would have preferred Chompa to be in the Clockwork Carnage match. Absolutely. And have someone else be in this spot. But yeah, so I don't know. It's tough because they're, there's great moves and there is some chemistry there, but it's just like watered down by just Andrade gone to get his spots and of how, you know, and the pants and now, and now what's happening is the wrestlers that are wrestling him have to get in their spots. So Ciampa has his tights and say, I just know like they're like countering his spots. And, uh, yeah, I don't know how I feel about it. I don't

1:10:25 feel great about it. I feel less excited about Andrade than I had, uh, maybe a few months ago where I think after, cause I was there for wrestle dynasty when he had that match with Darby, uh, And that crowd reacted. He was white hot and he was still doing those spots, but she's like, okay, he's going to take his pants off and that's it. Now it feels like the spots are the matches. Instead of there's being a match with the spots, they're planning the match around the spot.

1:10:46 Yeah. I don't love. Yeah. Like I'd say I enjoyed, I enjoyed this match, but it was definitely, yeah. A mix of trying to do the very much comedy gimmick sort of stuff. while, like, okay, we're going to do that, but now let's move on to, like, the real wrestling, like, right after. Like, it was kind of a weird mix.

1:11:06 So it's not like I would say, yeah, it definitely wasn't bad for me because, like, they were still doing cool stuff, but it definitely wasn't what I expected or necessarily wanted when you see, like, okay, Andrade versus Ciampa match. Like, and I don't think they'd had a match in NXT before.

1:11:22 Yeah, we're going to get this classic, and it's just like, yeah, it's, It's not because they're workhorses, but it's like little pit stops. It's like a side quest in the middle of a match. Like, okay, we've got to do this. But, you know. Andrade gets a win. He's still got that contract. We'll see what happens.

1:11:38 We had the new level and swerve versus the good, the bad, and the handsome. This was really good. This is one of those situations. It reminded me exactly of when Bayley and Sasha had their Brooklyn match. And then they're like, okay, how do we... one up this thing okay we're gonna do the 30 minute iron one match and i thought oh for sure that's gonna surpass it so when they announced two or three falls like oh yes absolutely i love this and then it just i think it just had like similar beats to that first one of the the swerve hangman like they get separated the team separate them i still enjoyed this match but i don't think it was like the last one where the last one to me was a I got that on my match year container list for sure. This was like, oh,

1:12:20 this is like a really good, this is a Dark Knight Rises to Dark Knight. Where it's like, okay, this is a good, I like Dark Knight Rises. So yeah, it's a good sequel. But clearly, like very clearly below the first one there. So I don't, did you ever get around to watch that first one?

1:12:33 No, I still haven't. I still haven't watched that one. So this is your version.

1:12:36 Yeah.

1:12:37 And to me, I didn't like this match that much. You've got to watch the.

1:12:40 First one now at some point. Because this is, now I feel bad because I'm like, oh no, if Esbjorn saw this after we're like, oh. Me and Dave were like, that match was crazy. It sure went on last. Then there's this, like, ah, you know, this was good, but not.

1:12:52 Yeah, yeah. For me, this one, it was just okay. Like, I felt like the two out of the three falls kind of, like, killed the pacing for this one. Because it was just like, it's like, you get someone to rank pin them, okay, that's one fall. But it was like, the first two pins, like, not the final ones, kind of, I felt like they happened to, like, No crowd reactions. Like, okay, we have to get these out of the way to get to the actual final one. So, yeah, I thought it was just kind of fine.

1:13:18 I know it's probably happened. I'd have to think about it. But I think in recent... Or in, like, a bigger event. I really want a match... Where they do two or three falls, and they go on for, like, 30 minutes, and the falls don't happen for a while, and then they happen quickly. Because then, to me, it would be like, then they're tired. They're more hurt. Like, the falls should happen way more at the end instead of why in other matches when they're trying to kill each other for 30 minutes in the first one, no falls. But in this one, first seven minutes, ten minutes, oh, it took a fall to, like, maybe not even a finish or something.

1:13:47 It's like, okay, because I know what you're going to bring out. In Clockwork Carnage, I have a counter for you. In this... I don't. It's like an Ironman match. The fall should happen near the end, and that's where I think the crowd will be hot. It's like, oh, shit, it's getting near the end. Instead of at the beginning.

1:14:01 So I hope there's some wrestlers out there that do that where, hey, we're going to go for 25 minutes, and then all the falls are going to be in the last five minutes because we're fucking beat up, you know?

1:14:09 Yeah.

1:14:10 There was also that one spot that honestly, it was just so weird. When they were on the barricade, and I forget who was like, Someone was grabbing someone, like, draped on the barricade. And then, like, Swerve gets on the barricade and, like, Hangman gets up. But then he doesn't jump down. He just, like, walks down. And then someone else gets put on the barricade and goes through.

1:14:32 It was just, like, very convoluted for what ended up being, like... I think it was, like, someone getting, like, double stomped onto someone else's knees. But it was just, like, very convoluted set up.

1:14:45 I think that happens in wrestling sometimes, too, where... And I... give all the credit to the guys, because they go, okay, well, we gotta do new stuff, we've done this match before, and also, like, we gotta do stuff you haven't seen, and sometimes you can try to, like, overthink it, like, same way, I think that happens all the time in ladder matches, with some of these spots, it's like, there's too much setup going on, you've overbooked this going on, and, uh, no, I agree, that was... That was one of those spots where time stands still, and you're like, oh, we're not getting any of this back. But yeah, I was surprised, though, the new level loss, because we kind of thought, okay, it's going to be Kenny. We've heard that they're going

1:15:18 to go Kenny and Bucks. And I guess we could probably talk about this a little bit here, as Kenny showed up in, I can't remember what the event was, but he showed up in New Japan last week. It's not official, but he's probably challenging Yoji Sushi? Yoji Sushi?

1:15:32 Yoda Sushi.

1:15:33 Yoda Sushi? Yoda Sushi? For that Yoda Sushi? Yeah, Yoda Sushi. There we go. For it, they're having a triple threat with him and, oh, God, who's the other guy?

1:15:43 I forget what his name is.

1:15:47 I know there's a guy that MJF's wrestling. Oh, my God. I'm bad with the New Japan crop. I've got to start watching, because I've heard great things.

1:15:59 I forget his name. I'm looking for it.

1:16:04 What is it? It's not even like Yoda Tsuji.

1:16:08 No, he's a gadget, I'm pretty sure. Yeah, he is. He's not Japanese. He's like Boljin, but it's something.

1:16:17 Bolton Oleg. Yeah, Bolton Oleg. And I've heard good things about it. um so they're doing it's gonna be bolton versus kenny versus suji and uh if bolton or omega i can't remember is it win or it's just win right.

1:16:29 It's the it's like the thing it's like yeah it's like winner faces suji at the at like wrestle kingdom but then it's like if suji wins he could pick his opponent it's like that it's like the of any of those two i think It's like the thing of, like, the champion entering the Royal Rumble. It's like, oh, if they win, they can pick their opponent.

1:16:52 I agree with everybody, and especially, too, because I've not... Both of them I've heard a lot, and then who the hell's the other guy that MGF's going up against? Because those are the two I've heard.

1:17:00 Oiwa, I think.

1:17:00 Oiwa, yeah. And they're, like, kind of, like, the new crop, right? With Tsuji and Cal and.

1:17:05 Newman.

1:17:06 I keep getting fucking Mexico counter. I hate it all the time. So that's a new crop.

1:17:11 Right.

1:17:11 And to me, I, as just an outsider, when all the insider, the big fans were like, why didn't they just do both in Kenny one-on-one? I go, yeah. Why didn't you just do both in Kenny one-on-one? Because like, I feel like one for the triple threat, either way, especially for Kenny, if you're going to do Kenny and, uh, Suji, don't, don't even have them touch. Like, don't spoil that for the wrestle kingdom. Save that. And then two, that's just like, that's just a dumb, to me that's a dumb, that's a very teenage WCW sort of like, like, okay, he gets, he has to pick between the two of them. It's like, what? Like, why?

1:17:44 They just have it one-on-one, have them watching, whatever. But no, I do, because I've heard since last year, and I continue on, I've heard good things about New Japan, so I might make Wrestle Kingdom my jumping-off point, but I can't. I'm going to try and watch this more regularly. Not live, because I can't stay up for those shows anymore, but I might try to, and I've heard great things, so I think I'm going to use Wrestle Kingdom as a gateway, but I wonder if that was the plan and they went to them, because I feel like from all the people that were watching New Japan on my timeline and podcasts I listen to, I feel like the working theory was they were going to do Tsuji and Okada at the Dome, but now they're not, so I wonder if

1:18:19 people are just wrong or things change, and I wonder if that's why New Level and Swerve lost the titles, because I don't think they're going to be doing them in the elite right now. Kenny's going to be there. And even then it came almost weakened that Kenny, which I kind of figured he wasn't even supposed to be on the pod show. He just flew in because he wanted to be there. He was in Japan, which made sense because he was posted with Kota and everything. That's why when they announced he was there, I was very surprised.

1:18:42 I was like, oh, and good on him for being there. But that's why I wonder if Kenny's just gonna get in shape here sporadically he thought that's one match in new japan i think the way and you can do bucks and um uh new level right now if you want and again like it is big but i hate to say it like it's great to have swerved there i'm very excited but the the money in the trio still was like the new day in Leroy. This is like a new thing. They did not have Swerve turn on the new level, which for a second I was worried.

1:19:09 Because when they gave him the titles and Swerve was in the background, I'm like, oh, they're just blowing this thing up right now.

1:19:14 I honestly thought all of them were going to turn right there. Like, I thought they were all going to hit him in the back with the titles. But I....

1:19:23 Chair on top. I did love they give the titles over. Swerve goes to the title, just drops and looks like a scorned lover. Like, how could you fucking drop the title? It's great. But yeah, so I think that that's I'm wondering if that's why they lost the title and plans kind of change. Or I wonder, are they just doing this to like are they going to just run this back again? Are they just hot potato?

1:19:43 That's what I thought. It's like, it's kind of, it'd be kind of weird to do like, cause, cause before they announced the emergency machine guns and FTR series, I was thinking this could be like the best of five or best of seven series.

1:19:55 Yeah. They could have done it as a kind of a minor tribute to power too. Right. They did like the death trial and the elite. So like do that again. So I wonder if it's going to be like unofficial one. Cause now they have technically like a win over each other. So you could do that. So we could, see multiple ways going. And again, I'm down to see it again.

1:20:13 I loved that first match and this match I thought was good. So I want, I.

1:20:17 Will say MVP of this match though. Bandito.

1:20:20 Oh my God. The spot when he had Creed and Kofi and he did a fall away slam on top. That's just crazy shit. Anything could go wrong in this situation, and Bandito just makes it look super easy. We gotta get that ROH title off him, and he's gonna start having some fucking real title runs, you know?

1:20:40 You see, he broke the record for longest combined days as a ROH champion ever.

1:20:47 Fuck any ROH record. Fuck that record, fuck the Athena record, fuck it all. That's just dumb stuff. I hate that. I hate the old ROH stuff. um this one i like half saw because i was setting up stuff um mox moxie mark davis from what i saw was good way too long and i said the only reason to me that would have justified this being long is if moxley lost and i actually don't think it would have been a terrible spot because they're telling the story and moxie actually had a really good promo last week of like oh i'm in pain i don't know what type of pain anymore i'm just hurt i think you could kind of use some of the real life situations to have them lose and then he could, I thought they were gonna have Mark beat him, and then Moxley would just, like,

1:21:24 win it a month back later, like, kind of what they did with Brodie Lee and Cody, um, so this was a good hard-hitting match, Moxley was fucking busted open big time, but, uh, I don't think this needed to be here, but it is tough, because I think Moxley and the Death Riders have a lot of, like, good heat right now, so it's like, you don't want to leave them off the card, I just, I trim this by 10, then, in my opinion, you know, just have it be a hard-hitting 13-minute match, go, but We know what we're going to get with Moxley now. When he's on these cards, he's going to wrestle a main event style match even though he's not in the main event.

1:21:52 That's what he's doing.

1:21:55 I will say I really love this match. I thought it was great. Obviously, telling the story now, obviously relating to what happened with Pogba of the Death Riders being more babyfaces now, and I thought what made this match especially great was, like, it did make you think, like, Mox beating Mark Davis was, like, a big triumph, and, like, he took down this monster, despite the fact that, like, you didn't think Mark Davis was gonna win. Like, you didn't think he was gonna win, but they still made it be, like, a moment of, like, Mox taking, like, the big monster down.

1:22:31 And Davis was really good at that. He was good in that match a couple months ago with Osprey, where he, like, like was trying to re injure him. Davis is really good at playing like the monster bully. Like I'm going to hurt this baby face.

1:22:41 You know? Yeah. So, so yeah, I really enjoy this one. Honestly, very hard hitting. I feel like it's, it's just weird that like Mox is these types of matches, but then in the Osprey one, he just went like full, I guess that's the, I guess that's why they give him the, the continental title where he can't have, uh, people at ringside.

1:22:59 John, these are the rules. We got to keep with the cave, babe.

1:23:02 You know, you know, this one, they even did like, it was like, They weren't at ringside, but they were on the barricade.

1:23:09 Come on, Mox. No wonder, though. Your Moxies are kings. No wonder why this is Dave Meltzer five-star classic. And then we got clockwork carnage. We had Will Ospreay defending against Darby, Samoa Joe, Adam Copeland, Kajushka Okada, Ricochet, Spiegel, Mike D. Bailey, and Takeshita. What did you think of this? Also, we had some eliminations. We had some points scored. What do you think for the first ever AW Clockwork Carnage?

1:23:37 And do you want to see this again?

1:23:41 I did think it was a lot of fun. I enjoyed it. I definitely had a few issues with it, which we can get to later. But I'd say for the first time, it was a good time. And I felt like it did what it needed to do of just being a crazy match with a bunch of star power in it and people... flying all over the place.

1:24:00 And I thought it was able to tell, like, various stories, even though it was, like, all people, you know, finisher spamming and going all over the place. And I do like how it differs from the Iron Survivor that we've seen in NXT. But at the same time, I feel like there's more stuff they could have copied from that to make this a little bit better. But I do wonder, I don't think, like, I could see it changing a little bit down the line, even just from this first iteration. Like, and I hope they don't spam this. Like they did, uh, like the casino gauntlets when they first did them. So, uh, but for the first time I'd say it was a good time.

1:24:41 And not that it needs to be like any longer in AW pay-per-view, but I actually think 15 was too short. I think they should make it 20. The, uh, the lasting part. Cause just felt like that would just spit.

1:24:50 I'll say that is one thing. Cause, uh, Because the interesting thing about this one is, like, they have the people come in, and then when all eight people are in the ring, then the 15 minutes starts. So if you think about it, like, there's not really an, like... I'd say the advantage is being the eighth person to enter because you can't be eliminated. And the difference is in Iron Survivor, it's a 25-minute timer, but people are coming in the whole time. So if you're the last person in, that means you have less time to score points, but you're also not getting pinned. So it kind of makes for an interesting dynamic. This one is like, okay, everyone's in, and now everyone has the same amount of

1:25:30 time to get the pins. And yeah, like you said, obviously you don't want to make the show that much longer, but yeah, 15 minutes felt like a little short for what could have been done.

1:25:41 Yeah, it definitely felt like the trial run here, but I agree with you that there could be some changes. There's lots of good mini-stories. Obviously, I'm an Edge guy, but I think they did fun stuff of him and Darby staring down him and Osprey. I guess that is... I think the story, I know I've seen some people, and listen, I am an edge guy. I've seen some people book the whole, like, oh, he's going to win the Owen, and that's going to be his, they're going to do all in Toronto, and that'll be the story.

1:26:05 Don't get me wrong. I would fucking love that, because if all could be in Canada, that would, like, that'd be cheaper for me to possibly go in the Canadian dollar. So I'm hoping, but I don't foresee them rerunning the Brian storyline. There's part of me that thinks you could have them him win it. And just so, cause Tony Khan's a big lineage guy.

1:26:23 Right.

1:26:23 But like I said, in the discord, does the tag team titles already count for that in his mind? Like, ah, we got them there. That's good enough. Um, so I, I think that's like a, I think edge is better for just the next pay-per-view in my opinion. I think you go that round. Then you, I think you do as bad, like not bad, but like, I don't care if they copy the scene of retirement tour. I think they should go, Hey, uh, I want to versus people before I go. And that's it. We're just doing matches where, Hey, it's me and Kenny. What's the story. Well, you're never going to see Edge and Kenny Ospreay or Kenny Omega at any point, so let's do it. I'm fine with that right now, especially we learned that. christian like broke

1:26:56 three ribs and all this shit like very early on in the fall it's so funny.

1:27:00 People people pointed out like uh like they showed the spot where it happened it was like it was like double yeah they just like irish whipped them into the thing you see them like holding there and talking to the ref so.

1:27:13 That is early on in that match so kudos to him and.

1:27:16 Yeah people point out like like a minute later he does like a frog splash yeah He.

1:27:21 Was throwing all out there. He was like, oh, that injury time is coming. So, no, I enjoyed it. I think what my critique is, because I don't have the critique that you have, I think, because I can headcanon about that.

1:27:33 My critique is... It wasn't really a critique. It's just more I thought it was funny, especially for AEW, where you have these matches where, like, people are kicking out of, like, seven finishes in a row, and then this one, you're just losing to the first finisher. But it does make sense in that, like, I think it was shown more clearly in the Samojo submission spot where he's kind of running down the clock and sort of these things. So it makes for an interesting mindset of I can get pinned or tap out quickly or slowly to cost me points or save points or stuff like that.

1:28:10 The way I also take it too is in a one-on-one match, you only got the one guy doing you the damage. So I take it as like with their seven to six other guys, that's why you get so much more hurt because there's no recovery time. I love the spots too where at some point, I can't remember, it's like Will Ospreay hit somebody, got a pin, and then Darby hit him with the coffin drop and then he got a pin off there. And that's the other thing too where that's how I take it. It's almost like in a tag team match where I go, okay, why is Matt Jackson kicking out Kyle Fletcher's finish here, right?

1:28:38 But I think it's like, well, technically, he's taking like less damage because it's a tag team match right so that's how i always headcanon these multi i try to and like aren't like in these situations iron survivors this where it's like oh you got pinned by like a signature it's like oh you've just taken so much damage you haven't had time to recover and that's why when we're one-on-one you might have a chance just to lay back okay i'm gonna I'm going to get my grip spot.

1:28:58 And you can focus. You can counter better. So the only thing that I would say is, and this is just like an overall thing because we never thought Will Ospreay was going to lose. I hope they do this match again. But when they're talking about making it yearly for WrestleDream, I hope that's not it because I imagine WrestleDream is always going to be the first pay-per-view after All Out and Close All In and everything.

1:29:18 I think I know what you're going to say. Make it not for the title, right?

1:29:22 Either not for the title or it should be in the middle of a run where it's not for sure that the champion's going to defend or have a successful defense. Because to me, that's the fun.

1:29:32 Because this one, it was kind of like you were watching like, okay, so how is Ospreay going to win? It wasn't like, how is everyone else going to win? It was like, okay, Ospreay has... One point, he now is like, how is he going to get the other two points in these last minutes?

1:29:47 Where if this was like six months into his run, we might probably still pick Will Ospreay. But you could think, well, there's a chance I could take it because like the way it is. That's where I would like in the future, this should happen more in a middle reign where, hey, someone could lose. If they defend it, that's cool. But just at no point did I believe Will Ospreay is losing.

1:30:04 So that kind of had an anchor on the whole match. Even him entering number one, I was like, all right, I don't even know. It's like just an Uber, like I'm beating them all. It's like.

1:30:12 Okay.

1:30:13 Like, I guess that's the only thing is it's just not this match being so unpredictable due to a time where it is unpredictable. So that's the only thing I would say. So, but overall I thought it was a really fun show.

1:30:24 So, you know, What did you think of Takeshita not making it to the final stage?

1:30:30 I was pissed about that. I was thinking about that last night after. They did this whole thing.

1:30:35 Where Okada just geeking him out once again.

1:30:38 Yeah, and he beat Okada and that was supposed to be a thing. And I know it was because he had to go to Japan for the G1. So he beats Okada and then a few weeks later he drops to Kyle Fletcher and he hasn't really been doing much. And here he is. He's eliminated here. Yeah, it's one of those things of like TK, like, he always has them around, but he just doesn't really know what to do with them. So I was disappointed with that. Speedball, that's the guy you eliminate. Like, that makes sense.

1:31:03 Yeah, to me, he was the one that was like, he's in here to be the example of people getting eliminated in the first stage.

1:31:09 We didn't need two examples, Tony Khan. We didn't need two. And hey, shout out to Edge taking some of Takeshi's, like, moves. Because, like, Edge is a tall guy, but Takeshi is a big tall guy, and he delivers those things with power and, you know, Edge... This guy, I don't want him to get to her. I want him to actually get the retirement to her. I don't want him to get any more injury time on his contract.

1:31:27 I did see someone also point out that the only person who didn't get pinned at all was Okada. He didn't take any pins from anybody.

1:31:37 Goddamn. just another guy that's just floundering around like, cause what happens? He has a great match. Everyone's like, Oh God, that's great. And then we just forget about Tony Khan's booking of them, you know, but I don't forget. I don't forget. Um, but yeah, no, that was the show. Um, I don't think there's anything else.

1:31:54 Um, I'd say for, for Wednesday, cause I did end up, I am going to a dynamite this Wednesday. Uh, so I believe they announced, uh, Ilya will be having his debut match on dynamite. Uh, And I did see some people say this, but I didn't see a clip of it or a match graphic or anything from the press conference.

1:32:14 But supposedly, and this could be wrong, that Will and Cope would be teaming on Dynamite, I saw someone say. But I didn't see any graphic or a clip of the press conference where I assume it was said, but that's what I heard.

1:32:29 What, Don Cal's family member is going to be taking the pin?

1:32:31 Yeah.

1:32:32 I don't know. Welcome back to AEW.

1:32:34 Probably for the Ilya match as well. Someone's going to be... Unless it's just like a squash of like a job or like local talent, which it could be.

1:32:43 No, if they're teaming up, Edge and Will, then I feel like then that's... We're definitely getting that at full gear then coming up.

1:32:51 Yeah. But here's the question of, is he turning heel though?

1:32:56 It was tough because I saw... both ways in that match. You could go where he was kind of acting like, oh, I couldn't believe I lost in such a way that you would turn heel. But then in the end with the handshake and everything and it was weird because they even did that in the tag team run with the Bucks of like They won it that way. They started to cheat, and that was the story of the match, that they couldn't beat these young guys, and fuck it, we're going to get a little squirrely. And then Edge would be like, I don't feel good about how we won.

1:33:23 I thought he was being like a cheesy heel, right? He's going to be like, oh, I really want to give you another shot, and then turn around and be like, no, fuck you. I am going to cheat again. And that never really got picked up a gun. Christian was still a heel, but it's just like reverted back to Bayface. Now, I don't know if they were going to do boxing them too, because obviously Christian got hurt. And I still think, Edge and Christian would have wanted to put them over, like, just cleaning an actual match match.

1:33:46 The interesting thing, too, is supposedly, you know, he wasn't even supposed to be in this Clockwork Carnage match.

1:33:53 So that tells me, to me, and we don't really know what was going to happen with the Darby-Steve Borden match. That tells me, I feel like WrestleDream, they would have had one more here with Edge and Christian, and I think they would have beat them clean. Because even, I can't remember what interview, but Edge did an interview where he kind of, like, made it sound like they were going to do multiple. Cause they asked, Oh, why is not a ladder match? You think, well, we don't want to start off with a ladder match. We kind of want to build this and do, so that's where I think they had more plans for this and didn't go that route. So, um, yeah, I do believe edge was always going to, uh, verse Osprey at one point. Cause

1:34:23 I just feel like, again, how do you not do that match? I just still were the crowd. I thought it was fun when ricocheting him, he's keeping a ricochet for the most part. And the crowd singing his song was wrestling. Yeah. That's some fun stuff, you know?

1:34:34 So I saw a tweet to those like, uh, How he came back and just started hitting spears on everyone. It's like he was on the outside doing the W2K, grabbing his hair.

1:34:47 It's funny. You and I both called how that was going to go in that match. Because it kept being like, oh, just damn, maybe he should retire. And I thought that if he– there was two versions of that. The spear was going to– or I thought that was going to be the story where he was like, Oh, I do need to retire.

1:35:02 Your washed storyline.

1:35:04 I thought they were going to do the whole, like, yeah, maybe I don't have it. But I feel like you would have done that and then announced the retirement, right? You would have had that match and then been like, you know, after that match, I don't know how much I got left in me. I didn't get a fucking pinfall on Clockwork Carnage. Yeah. I took the last pin. But, no, they made him, like, the guy who almost won it before Osprey. So, you know, we'll see. But, yeah. Well, let's get in this. Who knows where David is? He's lost the ether. So if we don't get his thoughts now, we'll get his thoughts next time. So, this past week, Street Fighter released. I was going to say at the time I reluctantly agreed to it.

1:35:39 I didn't.

1:35:40 I was happy to agree to it. Like, oh, let's review this. We got Cody. We got Roman.

1:35:45 Sure.

1:35:46 I'd say now I'd go I reluctantly agree with it. I go first because I know I'm more negative. This was like a I've said this before. This was a waterboarding type of movie experience for me. Now, I can see someone still enjoying this and having fun with it. I understand. I'm also not a Street Fighter guy, but I think this was all over the map. I agree with S-Pubs and other people who said this, that it's just the music spamming is crazy, crazy. And it's not even the way where, because I know there's tons of people.

1:36:16 That hate the Deadpool Wolverine music spanning. But the reason I don't mind that.

1:36:21 That is nowhere near as close to this.

1:36:24 But, like, the reason I like that one, too, because it feels like it fits the vibe. They're trying to go for, like, oh, the direct early 2000s when we were fans growing up with Jackman and wanted to see this crossover stuff. This movie just has, like. from all eras. So I don't want to go too much. We go back and forth. I definitely, I wish I saw some alone with like two other guys. I saw like a 10 PM, whatever. Like I, like there's like two other guys in the theater. One guy, I think was enjoying it.

1:36:50 One guy was dead silent the whole time. So I don't know why he was there, but one guy, he was enjoying himself. Um, so I'm not sure what other, like a raucous crowd would have been. I would have been better to see this with somebody, but I just had to see it that time. Um, and, uh, Yeah, I definitely will never watch this again. I did expect better from Mr. Reynolds, Cody Rhodes. I will stand by that.

1:37:14 I think his very first scene where we meet him, I think that's actually good. He has his BTE energy there.

1:37:21 He has that there.

1:37:23 And then something happens in the rest of those takes where he didn't have it. I saw what they were going for, but I also don't know if this is on him or on the writing and the movie, because I did not find this movie funny at all. There's not a single time I fucking genuinely laughed in this. So this was... this was a fucking, this was a tough watch for me, I suppose. This was a, this was a Homelander in the theater experience for me of like, what am I doing? Why am I here?

1:37:45 But, uh, yeah.

1:37:46 What do you think about this? Yeah.

1:37:47 For me, it's like, I agree with everything you said, but at the same time, I don't know. There's just like something there to get me over the point of like still enjoying it. But like, I still felt all the things that you felt like, definitely like the music spam. Like I said in my letterbox review, like, This was like, and a lot of things about this movie I could say are similar, like Suicide Squad 2016, where like every single scene has a licensed song and like they'll cut to one to the other.

1:38:12 Yeah.

1:38:12 With like nothing in between.

1:38:13 Like in the final fight of the Kuma and it cuts to Rob Zombie, like more human to human. And like, this is where we're going here. We don't have any.

1:38:20 There's only, there's only one scene with a licensed song we're like i don't know if it even fit the scene but i just like the song so i like the scene uh but most of the time it's just like and the the 50s that one did make me laugh when they dropped.

1:38:37 That one we're in full spoilers by the way people have not i'll put in the title if you have not seen street fire but like Your other scene or not, there's nothing to spoil in this movie.

1:38:48 Yeah, there's like no... I mean, there's barely a story in this movie. It's just like a compilation of scenes happening with like nothing in between. And it's funny because I was thinking before watching the movie, I was thinking of the trailer and like thinking of the scenes in the trailer because one of the trailers I really like and I've watched a bunch of times, but... I was like, nothing in this trailer tells me the story besides this just being, like, various scenes. And then the movie is just that. The movie is just that.

1:39:15 It's like six movies in one. And not in the way where, like, oh, all these storylines. No, there's so much going on. And not in a way where you can't understand it. You understand all that's going on. It's just like, here's a plot line. And then here's a plot line.

1:39:26 There's also the flashbacks, too. Like, they're well animated. But it's like every five minutes there is a flashback.

1:39:33 They definitely did that just to save budget in certain situations. Like, well, we can't shoot this scene, so let's do that.

1:39:37 And I like it. Even then, I think I would have liked it, like, I think a fix for it, if you just put all of it together in the beginning as, like, a prologue.

1:39:45 I think so.

1:39:46 Just, like, all the flashbacks, just put them all together as, like, the first, like, maybe that doesn't, I don't know. I'm sure there's some, like, audience test, audience metric that's, like, oh, they're confused that it's not an animated movie because the first. 15 minutes are animated, but I think it would have flowed better, rather than, like, you know, Ryu is, like, he walks down a street, and it's like, oh, this happened, then he flashbacks to it, and then, like, three minutes later, like, Ken gets a flashback of it, and, like, there's just, it just happens constantly.

1:40:13 When he's telling Ken, like, the big reveal, like, that he threw away his, like, fighting token or whatever, and then they flip, again, flip right back to the anime, it's like, did no one get like real scenes here? And I wish the whole movie was that I wish the whole movie was just the anime stuff and had them voicing it. Cause like that, that was fun. But yeah, there was a lot of it just for like someone watched kill bill and was like, let's do that a bunch.

1:40:35 Yeah.

1:40:35 Like chronological out of order stuff, but like for no reason.

1:40:41 And let's have all their origins be animated. And yeah, for me, the mini-man, I knew what this movie was already at that point, but when the 50 cent mini-man, it hits when 50 cent is on screen. That's where that, okay, this isn't even tongue in cheek. This just feels like it's like, they just thrown in the white towel. Like, oh, let's just put a mini-man in there. That's just like, and that's where it's just like, at times this movie, cause there's a time where like Chung Li, who I think was the best part in this movie. She actually was good.

1:41:04 I actually agree with that.

1:41:05 And not just cause she's attractive. Like she had the roll down. It was fun. She goes to kick bison. Bison catches it, and he turns her foot, and he smells it. They give him, like, a foot fetish in this fucking movie. Why, I don't know. But there's times where they do that, and I just wish that, because, like, Mortal Kombat, I think, struck, like, a cheesy action 90s vibe, and they stuck that more in the first one. This, at times, many scenes feel like a parody of Street Fighter.

1:41:28 I feel like they would have been better just to, like, almost go fully into that, where it was almost, like, scary movie, like, top secret, Top Gun sort of level, where We're going to go more... It's tough because the guy... I can't remember his name, but he's in Bolt Train. The guy playing Ryu, he's in a completely different movie.

1:41:46 That's a real serious tone. I got to avenge my father and my friend. But then the rest of the movie is all very over the top. It's Guile always talking about how attractive people are and how sexy they are. And that's where the strongest... I thought something could have been there if they just made this like, hey, we're going to do Street Fighter, but we're going to have cool fight scenes, but we're going to make it more like a parody. We're going to go that route, and it's not. Sometimes it's an action movie, sometimes it's a comedy.

1:42:08 And even then, like, I was very disappointed by, like, the action scenes. Because, I mean, like, the ones you do see, you see, like, 30 seconds of them. And then they literally, like, they did a, they pretty much did a no contest DQs on the half of the tournament where you don't even see the match. uh but yeah uh yeah there's just so much and it's like so much happens but nothing happens at the same time and like weird stuff like the movie is just like very weird weird choices being made like it's just a very strange movie.

1:42:41 The best way i compare it to is like also like i said the waterborne thing but i think it just feels like you're in a like a automatic car wash and it's.

1:42:49 Like You're just getting sprayed by stuff.

1:42:51 Yeah, and, like, the thing's washing you, and then, like, those wipers go up, and then another one comes down, and they come at you, and then those wipers go up, and the ones from the back. Like, that's what this movie feels like, where it's all happening at once, and not in a good way where it's all constructed. But, again, I can see why people might have fun with that.

1:43:06 I saw a lot of people, like... uh not liking david elshamachan in the movie i actually did like him as bison i guess like i'll see people i'm being bigger but i i thought for what this movie was going for he fit for what the like the bison they wanted um and yeah speak about i saw your letterboxd people cory rhodes you.

1:43:23 Know yeah i didn't think he was he was good in this but at the same time like you said it's like I think it is very much, you know, the fault of the material as well. But, like, that first scene, you said you liked it. For me, it was just, like, it was, not that it was, like, too weird, but, like, it was too weird. Like, it was just, like, I don't know. Yeah. But just, like, I don't know, just, like, the way he was talking, because he's, like, putting on a voice or, like, something to, like, be guile, but, like, it was just too weird for me who's, like, seen Cody talk too much, I guess.

1:43:56 Maybe for, like, Someone who hasn't seen him before and, like, doesn't know what he normally sounds like. It might not be as weird. I don't know. It was just, like, there's just something off about it.

1:44:06 I felt bad for him because a few podcasts I listen to that have no idea who Cody Rhodes is, like, this guy is not. Like, he's not a good actor. Like, some of them talk about him being an X-Men. Like, he better not be an X-Men. I think they're, like, and don't get me wrong. Even then, too, people are, it's bad timing because of the pun thing, too. I keep seeing that fucking face reaction. I saw this trend, like all my algorithm of like, what even is this emotion that he's like emoting here? So it's a bad week for Cody Rhodes and the acting department. But I think there is something still there. Again, you watch BT.

1:44:38 I've always thought he can be a great comedic actor. I saw him and Adam Cole. Those are always the two that I was like, oh, they actually could have a career doing elsewhere. So I think Cody could still do it. And I did like the opening scene because it was weird, but it felt like him doing the, like, what are you doing, Tommy Bahama? Like, it felt like he was channeling some of that. But then there was times, too, where, man, when Ryu came in the bar, like, the next scene, and Kenzie was like, oh. this is going to get interesting. Oh, what's going to happen?

1:45:03 It just felt like, like they had him in there and he's like, okay, you know, uh, do, do some of your own lines here and we'll, uh, we'll film them and have them there.

1:45:12 Yeah. Like, you know, we paid him like a little more cause he's like a WC or something like that. Like make him say lines. And that's where it's like, that's where I go. Like no one can sell those lines. The whole, like, Oh, this is getting it crazy. You know, like no, like, okay, not nobody, but you need to be the best, the best. And Cody's still like, uh, you know, newer on the big frontier. Obviously he's taking acting lessons. So, I still got faith. I still saw some stuff for my, uh, my American nightmare that could pull it off, but has been a better project. Um, man, even the ending, like they just pull up and they're just like, we're going bison hunting. I was like, Oh, and the ending is such a fucking weird mess where

1:45:44 they like, they're built this whole time to fight bison that never happens so kuma just is it's weird that he's the side quest in this movie but he becomes the final boss in this movie like you would think that someone ryu beats and then he keeps going on no they beat him there and rome reigns i don't think he's awful but he's playing the equivalent of what kevin nash or triple h did in marvel of like in Blade and The Russian. I'd say better than that, but still just cool voice over, cool look. He comes in like, I'm looking for you, Ryu.

1:46:15 Every line he said in this movie was in his acknowledge me voice. Like that.

1:46:22 You've never been weaker than before i thought you were better than this i'd say.

1:46:25 Yeah well like he probably filmed for like one day and did one day voiceover and that's all he all he is in the dispersed throughout the entire.

1:46:34 Movie yeah so i again i don't think he was bad i think he's just like he's like almost anybody could do that role that's the thing where at least with cody i don't think anyone could do that on that role don't think it's great but i think there's I don't know. I guess they can only defend its first scene. The rest of the movie, there's nothing really there.

1:46:53 It's not really working, unfortunately. But yeah, it just ends where they fight. And then randomly they have Ryu turn bad. And I think that happens in the game. But then we have a fight against Ryu. So again, that's also very 2016 Suicide Squad where it's all shitty. They work together. They turn bad. And then Bison's escaping. He shoots an RPG.

1:47:11 And I thought the movie was literally... When he said, game over, and it cuts it back.

1:47:16 Yeah.

1:47:17 I don't know if I would have liked that. I honestly might have liked that more just for how ridiculous sequel it would have been. Even more than how it actually ended.

1:47:27 And that was another parody moment, too. When Ryu's walk, he's like, I'm going to take my own path. And he has no shoes. He only lasts a few minutes. Then he sits in the car. And here's another thing, too. It all comes down to taste and whatnot. Um, this like put the whole movie, I felt this way, but it's put over the top when he sits down, Ken's beside him. And I can't remember what he says, but he like wraps his arm around. He's like, I love you, man.

1:47:46 I love you, man.

1:47:47 Like he's having his ear. I am not a Noah Centennial guy. I don't get it. I don't see it. Now, here's the thing. I was talking about this to Emily because I'm watching below. I was that way with Josh Hartnett when he was younger. I think when he's older, he's great. Sebastian Stan when he was younger, I didn't think he was a great actor. Now I do. Right now, Noah Centennial, anytime I've seen him, I just think he's the most... I think he's fine to be in something, but him leading projects, I've never seen him in anything and been like, oh, this is like... I see now why he's the lead of this and I did not like... I...

1:48:17 would I did not enjoy Ken whatsoever in this movie. He was the second worst thing. I agree. I don't know if it's your worst thing. I'll let you talk about it first.

1:48:28 I have two things that I think could be worse here.

1:48:31 But Ken for me was number two. I didn't like this. It just wasn't funny. I don't think that's all Noah Centennial's fault, but that's where I just... Yeah, I haven't seen it with him to get why he's leading projects.

1:48:42 Yeah, I don't even know if I've seen... Because I haven't seen any of those Netflix type stuff he was in.

1:48:49 I saw one because Emily watched it.

1:48:51 I'm trying to think of stuff I would have seen him in. I honestly don't think I have.

1:48:55 He was almost in the He-Man movie. He dropped out of it, but he was cast before.

1:48:58 I feel like I remember that.

1:49:00 Which is funny. I feel like There's like similar vibes going on there.

1:49:04 Yeah. I probably, I do think I like, well, I like T-Man more than this movie and I didn't even like it all that much.

1:49:12 Like T-Man, I look at, I know I don't probably like that movie, but I can see it's already like probably a better constructed movie than whatever.

1:49:18 Yeah. That one has a story at least. Yeah.

1:49:23 That movie I just never understand when I see the fucking Skeletor clips. And this movie does that. There's a clip where Skeletor's like, oh, and that big long thing dangled in between your legs. And he's talking about a sword, but he's implying his genitals. They do that multiple times in this movie, too. It's not offending me, but they're going for the homoeroticism. But it comes kind of. out of nowhere and.

1:49:45 It's yeah it's just very very like i said very weird and interesting movie and like a bad way yeah i'm like how how did these choices happen uh but i guess i can talk i'll say i'll say the one that that annoyed me most and the other one that is bad but more funny and how bad it is but i'll talk like the the dan hibiki andrew schultz character was just like so it was just like In the movie, way too much. He's like the third most important character in this movie.

1:50:16 He's blackmailing somebody. He's got some cred on somebody, and they're like, yeah, we gotta get Schultz in this. Like, if he doesn't tell us, he's gonna get us cancelled. I'm like, yeah, okay, let's get Schultz in there.

1:50:28 And it's not like he's... It's not like he's, like, a terrible actor. But it's just, like, yeah.

1:50:34 To recommend, like, all this stuff. It's not like with the guy who plays, like, Kano in the Mortal Kombat movie. It's like, oh, this guy's so fucking good. That's why Kano's, like, the fourth main character in this movie. Because he's so good at this. We're like, Schultz... And I'm not a Schultz fan, but, like, he wasn't bad, but he wasn't so good. Or it was like, oh, they cast Schultz, and they're like, oh, we got dynamite here.

1:50:52 And especially when they try to give him, like... you know, an emotional arc by the end. I'm like, I don't care about like, you know, Ken's manager, who's just like been here the whole time.

1:51:02 This is like the moral comment thing. They should have cut a bunch of these characters, save them for like sequels. Also, you're not going to get the sequel, but like that's where there's just tons of stuff going on here where it's.

1:51:11 Like, even like Zankief, like I like that actor. He's a big guy. He just like disappears halfway through the movie. Like the last thing, like he, he has that scene in like, Like, the bar. And after that, does he show up at all? I feel like I don't remember him.

1:51:24 Don't you see him in the background of the tournament or something, maybe?

1:51:27 Maybe. But, yeah, I feel like after that point, he's just, like, completely gone from the movie.

1:51:31 And here he is on the red carpet being like, yeah, I think this beats all those other video game adaptations. People don't believe actors and directors.

1:51:37 Never.

1:51:37 Never in the public. Never believe them when they're telling all this stuff.

1:51:41 But now to the actual worst thing I thought of this movie is Jason Momoa as Blanca, a.k.a. Jimmy. It was just... Just, like, from the second he started talking, I was like, oh, this is bad. Like, this is actually just awful.

1:51:56 This is like when actors star in a really bad kids movie. That sort of way, where it's either... their career's over or it's younger, and they're like, oh, yeah, I did this fucking bad shit. Like, I was just trying to get a name for myself. Again, I don't know why, and I don't know why anyone would see this movie for Momoa, because he's barely in this.

1:52:16 I agree.

1:52:18 This was the worst thing. That segment with Ryu felt like it went on forever. And it's not long. It's not that long, but his, like, one-liners, they're kind of giving him, like, a drag sort of innocent humor where he doesn't understand some things, but it was brutal. it was brutal that entire thing i was just like again did someone blackmail momoa to be blanca like why why is this happening and it just.

1:52:40 I think this is more like like someone heard that yeah they liked blanca it's like oh we have to get him in the movie now like we have a star.

1:52:50 And I think you're right. It just was like whatever they were giving him here. And also, I don't even know if it's what they're giving him. I guarantee there's some of the stuff that's like.

1:52:56 This is Momoa Adlib's, you know, he's riffing on a level that's freaking sublime.

1:53:05 And that's how I feel, which is funny because like Taika in that movie, I didn't actually hate him in Free Guy.

1:53:10 Taika is better in Free Guy than a lot of people in this movie.

1:53:14 A hundred percent. But that's how– the way people meme on that clip, that's how I felt on Momoa here watching this. They thought they were– again, with Schultz, they think they're cooking on some certain things. It's like, no, you're not. Like, the flame is out. There's no flame here. This is cold. This food is cold. You've got to take it back and redo it. And again, like, that's what you got Momoa for. This is what you do. And, yeah, and again, you're probably right. He just wanted to be there.

1:53:36 But it was– yeah that that that uh the guys won't see it but that would be one of my emperor drog like award nominations would be like momoa and street like that to me is a role that's like embarrassing no one if this movie felt like and i don't think you've ever heard or seen the movie but you've probably heard of it it feels like movie 43 where a bunch of big actors revealed that they kind of got tricked to do this movie and they thought it was something else that's what street fighter feels like it feels like somehow these all these actors are the most part Like, we're doing something else, and then, or the writers or directors, and then they did this. And it's like, oh, but Moe was in here, and you got,

1:54:13 there's another people name in here. Like, you got, who else? Is there another name? Who am I missing? There's another name in the afternoon, right?

1:54:20 50 Cent, you got 50 Cent. Oh, yeah. You have the, what's the guy from SNL, who's like the, yeah, Mikey Day.

1:54:30 Mikey Day, yeah, yeah, yeah. Which, that was like a, he has like a dominate sub dominatrix, like just single relationship with a step on me and do all this stuff. It's like, who are you aiming this for? And again, it was, uh, I guess I know the crowd they're aiming it for, but I don't think it's coming out.

1:54:46 So what, uh, obviously I saw your square ladder box. What do you, what do you give this?

1:54:51 I'll say for enjoyment, I would pass it, but on a, like, you know, on a movie level, it is a hundred percent of fail.

1:54:59 Yeah.

1:54:59 You know what? In the, um, football draft which sucks because tonight um i was as if i cursed myself last week i went five and oh i'm number one league i went five and last year i was like i only won one game last week i made a meme i i can pull it up here i of course got arrogant i got cocky i'm number one the league i'm undefeated and then you'll know why i got the bad luck because i'm making memes like this Oh, where is it here? But anyways, the winner of the league or the loser has to watch a punishment movie.

1:55:33 Last year, I made Detol watch a Siberian film, which is one of the worst films of all time. It's just a snuff film. But Street Fighter, because I don't know of the crew that's seen Street Fighter. or like in the football if they've seen that this might go on there oh here you go I found it here I may I got cocky I made this fucking game it's Undertaker doing the pose 5-0 and of course this week I'm gonna fucking lose I'm so mad but Street Fighter might go down that.

1:55:58 Happened to even be the one before the year he lost.

1:56:02 Yeah it might be it might be it might be the punk year so I might have really screwed myself but yeah I think that Street Fighter might be a movie because I won't be last place luckily That might be Kirkland or Superbad Mike. Those are the two guys in last place right now. So I might say Street Fighter is a punishment movie, depending who gets it. I have to see.

1:56:21 I'll say I have a question for you. You know, Momoa in Street Fighter or Momoa in the Minecraft movie?

1:56:29 Momoa Minecraft movie, as much as I hate Minecraft movie, like, I just... It feels like he's still trying to be, like, a little charming in there, like the loser, the old jock, right?

1:56:41 I just feel like when Momoa in the Minecraft movie, that was your point where you were like, it's over for Momoa.

1:56:48 Yeah, they came back with Lobo, which is funny because some people still think, like, I've seen a lot of takes where, oh, I fucking hate him as Lobo, so I don't know. I liked him as Lobo. He's definitely in his, like, Jack, he's in his Johnny Depp post-Jack Sparrow era where it's like, I gotta do Matt Hatter.

1:57:02 I gotta do, like, he's like, I gotta play a character, man. I gotta just be out there and wild. Like, you know what? I'll defend it, too. I actually really liked Wrecking Crew. That was a good movie with him.

1:57:10 Oh, yeah. I liked Wrecking Crew, yeah.

1:57:13 I liked that, and that's where, like, that's classic. So I know it's in there. It's just Momoa, he's just having a good time. He's fucking dating Andrea Drona. He's making this money. He don't care. He knows he's not going for any Academy Award. He's having a good time, and that's great for him. You know, that's wonderful, so... Yeah, I definitely would fail this movie. On Letterboxd, I'd give it a 1 out of 5. Out of 10, I don't know. I really don't know. Because 10 is a wider range. I think I'm in the 2 sphere. I think sometimes the movie has... I can't see the good version of this movie, but I can see the good vibe version of this movie.

1:57:50 For me, the good vibe showed what this whole movie... kind of what I wanted to be like was the one fight scene set to come out and play where like when Ryu and Ken were like fighting off all the guards and Chun-Li was fighting Vega like in the office like to me that was like the vibe I wanted for this movie where it's like and it's like kind of like fun like sort of like they're doing like the wire stuff where like someone gets hit and they go like flying backwards and stuff like that like that's kind.

1:58:19 Of coming down and they're just going down and they're doing.

1:58:21 Like the side to side like side scrolling sort of thing like that's what I wanted this whole movie to be pretty much so For me, that's the one scene in Needle Drop that felt like it actually worked.

1:58:33 And that's one of their least... I feel like Ken's is the least annoying. It feels like there's a good buddy cop back and forth with Ryu and him. And even the fight when they get to him and Ryu, I don't absolutely hate that or anything. I'm always a sucker for in the rain, and there's some good stuff there.

1:58:49 And that's what I would like. I would like it to be more... It's still cheesy and tongue-in-cheek, but that... Or, like I said, then go just the route where it is. Like, yeah, we're going to have these people in these ridiculous costumes, and we'll do a pair.

1:58:58 That's the interesting... I'll always be... I'll never forget that this is originally supposed to be directed by the, the Philippo brothers. The guys who did talk to me. Yeah.

1:59:09 A lot this weekend. I saw that a lot.

1:59:11 Cause they even did like, cause they did like, obviously on YouTube as rack or rack, like before the horror stuff, like they did like, and people, I remember when they got announced as directors, people were bringing it up. Like they did like a, like a, like a, like way, probably like 10 or more years ago on YouTube, like street fighter in real life video. Um, And it's, like, it is what that scene I really like. It's, like, them, it's, like, one of them is dressed as Ryu and one, like, I think M. Bison or something like that. And they're, like, yeah, like, on wires, just, like, jumping around, shooting fireballs and stuff like that. Like, just very wacky, over-the-top, like, comedic. And I think, yeah, if they had leaned, it's, like, you

1:59:48 either have to go, it has to be completely serious and realistic, or you go completely over-the-top, wacky, comedy.

1:59:55 Which, once they got the costumes, even in there, they had to go wacky. But the problem is, I don't think they went, like... the right type of wacky. They went, like, they went just kind of, like, fourth wall. They almost, like, tried to go, like, Deadpool-y wacky, like, with the comedy.

2:00:07 Yeah. They tried to do, like, in on the joke instead of, like, trying to make a joke.

2:00:13 Yeah. It's a lot like, oh, you get this, right?

2:00:16 Yeah.

2:00:16 I don't get it.

2:00:17 You might have to explain it. Even with M. Bison dropping, like, the original Street Fighter line of, like, for me, it was just Tuesday. Like, that's very much like a, oh, you get the... We're doing a reference, guys. Yeah.

2:00:31 So, well, there you go. That's our thoughts. We'll have to get Dave's thoughts in the next episode. Who knows where he is? It was like an hour ago where he shows the imagery. He was in traffic. So, hopefully, he's all good. But, yeah. When is the next? Is it September? No, it's Crown Jewel.

2:00:44 Crown Jewel.

2:00:46 Maybe Saudi. We'll see what happens there. that's first week of November, right? Or something.

2:00:50 Yeah.

2:00:51 Also, I did forget to mention something in the AEW section that I completely forgot about.

2:00:56 Yeah.

2:00:56 Do you see the thing I sent of the, uh, the Tony storm tapes?

2:00:59 I saw it a little bit. So do we think they're like teasing that comeback?

2:01:03 Yeah. They, they dropped like a, like a, cause someone, I think they sent it to like various influencers, social media people who were like at the show. And one of the people uploaded like a full transcript of it. And it's like, It's relating to, like, the who murdered Toni Storm story.

2:01:22 And TK literally said that on the press thing. Like, oh, yeah, when she's back, hopefully they find out who got her. So they're starting to get that story back going.

2:01:30 Yeah. So, yeah. So it's like, yeah, the tapes was like... just heard talking about like various stuff. And then the last one was like, the last one was like, it was something about like some lore of like, there was like an unfinished movie of timeless Tony storm with something to do with a murder. And then like the last tape is like lost or something like that. So it's like, Oh, whoever did it is, like, on the last tape or something like that, or, like, part of the unfinished movie.

2:01:58 Also, we don't know why she was gone for so long. If she still needs some time, like, for ring rust or just even time to get back there, you can have weeks of segments of vignettes, like, building this up.

2:02:07 Yeah, to me, this feels like some of, like, that Wyatt stuff where, like, it feels like this stuff won't even be, like, mentioned directly on TV for, like, months until it's, like, right about to be, like, she's coming back.

2:02:19 That's cool.

2:02:19 So I just thought it was an interesting way to roll it out. I think it's very cool. It very much fits with the character.

2:02:26 They've done a good job. That is one of their best, like, if you talk about most protected IPs or characters, wrestlers, Toni Storm is one of those, right? So, yeah, so we'll definitely talk more about that in the future. I think the next time, if it works out, we might do a gimmick is November... Because the 7th is Extra Life Charity Stream. So I will not be making the boys watch Crown Jewel. Where is it?

2:02:49 Here.

2:02:50 What did you say?

2:02:51 I have the shirt. Oh, yeah.

2:02:52 There you go. Extra Life coming up in a couple weeks there. I suppose we'll be a part of it. It's not officially out there, but it is officially now that we're doing the trivia battle. And I suppose it's in it, and there's going to be a new spin on it. So we'll probably announce that. In the next week or two.

2:03:05 I'm curious about that now. Oh, I think I know what it is. I had forgotten. You told me.

2:03:10 The guy in the chair knows. So only a few people, only you, I think, family, Clay, Chris, Bob, there's only a few people that know.

2:03:16 Even then, I'm excited to see how that turns out with that new Sven, because it could be interesting or a mess at the same time, or in a good way.

2:03:25 I can't remember if you were around in the era, but we had this terrible, aka I had this terrible idea where one of the extra lights we did an afternoon and we just put the link out to the public and said, anybody could join. It was awful. We closed the stream up. We had rampy. We had like kids join.

2:03:39 It was, it wasn't there, but you always bring it up. So it was bad.

2:03:43 It's the single worst idea I've ever had, but this, I think we'll still be good unless someone runs away with it. We'll see. But, uh, I think it'll be a fun time. So, yeah, we won't do– yeah, I won't be making the boys watch Crown Jewel while I'm there. But, yeah, I think probably the 50th will be good because we can cover Crown Jewel and then also Full Gear. I talk about a lot of stuff there. We'll get David's thoughts on Street Fighter. He said he's getting that popcorn bucket.

2:04:05 So hopefully– The Kyle one.

2:04:07 The Kyle one. So there you go.

2:04:08 I didn't see it at my theater, but I was kind of late, so I didn't check. But, yeah.

2:04:12 Yeah. There you go. That is The Gimmick. We'll be back in about a month or so with a couple episodes. At some point, too. Even in between. We might do a GMO. We'll see what the weekends are looking like. And then, yeah.

2:04:22 Won't be boring.

2:04:24 Take care.

2:04:25 Bye. End stream.