Episode Transcript
[00:00:06] Speaker A: The Rocky Review podcast hosted by J. Rock Rude.
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to another exciting episode of the rocking Review podcast. Not just any episode is episode 10 of the podcast. We've gone all the way here and because of this, it's a very special episode where we got not one but two guests today on the podcast. The first being A returning Lucas McGarry. Welcome back.
[00:01:07] Speaker B: Hello. Hello.
[00:01:08] Speaker A: And our brand new guest for the first time on the Rock and Review podcast, the one and only, Mike Neckers.
[00:01:14] Speaker C: How we doing, Jason?
[00:01:16] Speaker A: I'm doing great, man. I am still feeling the effects of what we had to experience on Saturday night from Toronto where the unthinkable happened. John Cena finally turning heel after all these years of being the smiley baby face, make a wish guy. I'll just say this right at the start of the episode, what was your opinions on it?
[00:01:40] Speaker B: It's just that is the craziest thing I've ever seen in my entire life coming. I, I, I've been a wrestling fan for such a long time and there was nothing ever in my brain that said John Cena was turning heel. Like it was always like, ha ha, John Cena turned heel. Like that would be so funny because it wasn't like a realistic like thought because that wasn't a thing you thought of because it was just. No, it doesn't make sense. And then it happened and I'm just, I'm, I'm still baffled to like even right now, I'm still just does not make any sense to me.
[00:02:14] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:02:14] Speaker C: Someone who's kind of newer to wrestling. I just got into it about a year ago now.
I still wasn't expecting it. I mean, just a crazy turn of events. Obviously I didn't see a whole lot of John Cena. As I said, I was pretty new to it. But to see him come in and knowing that he was such a face and such a well known loved guy in the company, to see him come back, start his return and start that retirement tour and to come out and heal like a month into it is just not what I expected at all.
[00:02:42] Speaker A: Yeah, I totally understand. It was still shocking and we will go more into it when we talk about it towards the end of elimination chamber. But because you are a first time guest and I asked the same question to Lucas when he first came on. What was your first wrestling moment that you can remember?
[00:03:00] Speaker C: First wrestling moment that I can remember, one that really resonates with me was that Hell in a cell match between CM Punk and Drew McIntyre. That was one of the first matches I sat down and watched all the way through live actually with Lucas, and I think that's the one that really got me hooked. I mean, just a phenomenal match. Two really good fighters, and obviously CM Punk came out on top. But wow. And what a gruesome match to start.
[00:03:22] Speaker A: Off on one of the top WWE matches of all year. We'll go into that. We'll also go into the Travis Scott controversy that happened towards the end of Elimination Chamber. We'll also talk about another superstar possibly joining wwe. Ray Phoenix of the Lucha Brothers Penta. He is already has been made a big impact on the Raw roster. And after long, long, long awaiting his release and wanting to receive anything from Tony Khan, finally he has been released. We'll go over that. We'll also go into a preview of this Saturday's AEW Revolution pay per View happening in Los Angeles. All that and more on this episode of the Rocking Review.
So we started off Elimination Chamber with the women's Elimination Chamber match. Bianca Belair, Liv Morgan Bailey, Alexa Bliss, Naomi and Roxanne Perez. I will mention that before the show. I don't know if any all saw it. Did you see the Canadians booing the national anthem for usa?
[00:04:39] Speaker B: I did not see that. Yeah.
[00:04:40] Speaker C: Unfortunately, Lucas and I were working the hockey games here in Oswego actually during Elimination Chamber. So we waited until the next day to tune in and skipped right to the start of.
[00:04:49] Speaker B: That's why. That's why I texted you, remember?
[00:04:51] Speaker A: Yes, I. Don't spoil anything for me, because I remember that. And I looked at that. I was like, oh, my goodness. I. I could not believe everything that happened that night, especially with how we started the show before the match could even start. They had Naomi and Liv Morgan in the ring starting the match. And all of a sudden, a storm is coming. Jade Cargill comes out returning after almost five months of.
Almost five months of being put on the shelf after a alleged attack. And for months, we had no idea who it was. We had speculation that was Liv Morgan. I had speculation that it was Bianca Belair. We'll get into that, that later. But she comes out and we think that she's gonna attack Liv Morgan. She goes straight for Naomi and just pummels her. She freaking runs her right into the chamber and then she closes the chamber door on her. And because Naomi got beat up so early in the match and she started the match, she had to be taken out so she was unable to medically compete. So a free elimination for Liv Morgan there at the start of the show. What was your Thoughts on that angle with Jade coming back and immediately attacking Naomi.
[00:06:04] Speaker C: I mean I thought overall it was just a crazy turn of events. Of course we didn't actually know who attacked Jade, who put her through that car windshield. Originally there was a lots of speculation Bailey were in the talks for that Naomi people thought maybe Bianca herself. And then of course Liv and Raquel were seen at the scene but. But no one actually knew exactly what happened. So to see Jade come out and attack her that viciously and that aggressively, I think that kind of just confirms it for everything. And it was so cool to watch.
[00:06:31] Speaker B: Oh Mike, you're talking like a full on detective right now. You're adding in like facts and details and just analyzing it so well.
[00:06:39] Speaker A: It was like a crime scene. Come on.
[00:06:40] Speaker B: Now I think that for Jade to be out for as long as she was, they had to make it good. Which meant that the her only attacker options could be either Naomi or Bianca. Now again, we don't know for sure that it was Naomi, but I feel like we're 99% sure because Jade immediately went after Naomi. Now my only question is, was Bianca involved? Well, because Bianca is now in a world title feud. So if Bianca was secretly involved in this, that becomes very, very big for if Bianca the potentially wins.
[00:07:15] Speaker A: Jade vs Bianca and Bianca meanwhile. Well, this was all happening while Jade was beating down on Naomi. Bianca stuck in her pod because she didn't come out yet was just like pleading and begging, like just pounding on the glass and just like very confused. She actually did enter necks and Morgan attacked from behind, tossing around the chamber and dumping her back inside the ring. Roxanne Perez entered neck. She ducked a cliff clothesline from belair and tilt a world head scissor takeover popping her back up to her feet. Morgan then placed Perez on the top turnbuckle, but she countered with a flying hurrican rana on the outside. Perez tugged on Belarus braid and wrapped it around the chamber, allowing Morgan to capitalize with a shotgun drop kick for a two count. Bailey then come in. She dribbled Perez's head off the chamber pod and then delivered a Bailey to belly against Perez. The chamber wall present powerbombed Bailey onto the padded floor outside. I've never actually really understood this. If you ever have seen the old school elimination chambers, what's your perspective on now the paddingness outside of the ring?
[00:08:28] Speaker B: I mean it gets rid of like a little bit of a safety aspect of like. Oh, it's not that it's not as safe like there's padding but Again, we have to remember these are still human beings, first of all. And second, it's still crazy. Like, they're still inside of a. An elimination chamber. There's cage everywhere, 10 tons of steel. It still looks menacing. It really doesn't matter that much if you think about it, because obviously they're trained to do everything the correct way and minimize the damage as much as possible. So I think regardless of whatever they have on there, it's still going to be a good match. They're still going to make it look as good as possible. So I personally could not care less.
[00:09:12] Speaker A: Alexa was the final entrant. She ducked a clothesline from Morgan and delivered a stiff right hand. She then landed a jawbreaker on the Morgan and a back elbow on Perez before drop kicking Morgan to the mat. Bayley then rolled Bliss up for a two count, but Bliss responded with a running meteora. Bliss then followed up with a running blockbuster for a two count. Bailey and Bianca momentarily teamed up to deliver a power slam onto Bliss before Bailey regained control and caught Roxanne Perez midair and hit her with a middle rope stunner. Perez attempted for a springboard moonsault, but Bailey got her knees up and she got her knees up and Perez's face hit Bailey's knees right in the mush. And as Bailey was looking to capitalize, she was against the ropes. And Liv Morgan sees the opportunity. Hits the oblivion and first actual elimination. Not Naomi at the beginning is Bailey from the match. Where do you think Bailey goes at wrestlemania?
[00:10:13] Speaker B: I. I'm not the biggest fan of Bailey. She's a very. She's a very big figure in the women's division, and I am okay with that. I just don't like the fact that she's been doing a lot recently. She's been a lot of main events. She's been taking a lot of spots, and she hasn't been doing anything with those spots. So I think for her, I would like for her to have a less important match at WrestleMania. Like last year. She got. She won the Royal Rumble. She had her great match with EO WrestleMania perfect. Like, that's fine. I. She had a fantastic moment. She deserves it. She earned it. But I think we're starting to move past her. I'm starting to be done with, like, Bailey in the main event scene. I'm kind of waiting for the new women's division to really kick in, and I think for that, Bailey kind of needs to start slowly taking a step back.
[00:11:05] Speaker C: Yeah. And I think we've seen a lot between Bailey and Roxanne Perez lately, whether that be on NXT or on smackdown, but obviously with Perez kind of making her way over to the main roster now, I wouldn't be completely surprised if that was a match we saw at WrestleMania. I just don't know if there's enough storyline built up between the two for that.
[00:11:24] Speaker B: No, no, there's plenty because Roxanne and Bayley have been feuding in n for the past, like, months with Julia and Vacair, so it would make sense for them to go added at Mania on a bigger stage because they had Fatal four Way at Vengeance Day.
[00:11:39] Speaker A: Yes, Vengeance.
[00:11:40] Speaker B: And it was her. It was Roxanne, Bailey, Cora, Jade and Julia off in the NXT women's title. It's a great match. So Bailey and Roxanne have plenty of beef.
[00:11:49] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:11:50] Speaker B: To go against each other. They have plenty.
[00:11:52] Speaker A: But. But for a main roster caliber, Perez's grade, Roxanne.
[00:11:57] Speaker B: Roxanne is being pushed to the moon.
[00:11:59] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:11:59] Speaker B: So obviously they have very, very big plans for her. So I think there is a good chance we see her in a decent match at Mania. I would. I would not put it by Triple H to put her in a decent caliber match at Mania, just because they are just like they did with Tiffany Stratton. They are really trying to make her like a face of this women's division right off the bat.
[00:12:25] Speaker A: Well, when you had the original four horsewomen coming in and they all made their impact. And then, of course, you know, Sasha left and then Becky's on odd sabbatical right now. She's always mentioned on TV and we don't know if she's ever going to come back. But the thing is, them building up those younger women that they have built on NXT the last two, three years is such a mainstay in trying to show the new women's revolution, the new women's division that WWE is capturing right there in the PC. After the pin, Morgan tried to run from Belair and the two found themselves brawling on the top of one of the chamber pods. And they exchange in a tug of war with Belair's braid. And then Belair grabs it. She whipped Morgan in the midsection with the braid and she fell off the chamber. Belair then delivered a flying crossbody onto Morgan and Perez and she barely got blitz. But what did you think of that spot there with Bianca and the braid?
[00:13:33] Speaker B: It looks gnarly. I mean, it's pretty much all I can say. It was just one of the loudest whip noises I've ever heard. I don't know how much she actually took that.
[00:13:44] Speaker A: I looked back at it and I thought that she hit the chamber. I thought that she had the glass and it made like a noise or something like that, but.
[00:13:52] Speaker B: No, either way. Either way. Yeah, it looked absolutely gnarly.
[00:13:57] Speaker C: It's a crazy bump to take, especially elimination chamber with how far they were into the match when it happened.
[00:14:02] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:14:02] Speaker C: I'm sure they're already crazy fatigue there to take that kind of bump and walk out of it with that clear mark across Liv. Morgan's stomach buster open. Yeah, so crazy.
[00:14:11] Speaker A: Back in the ring, Roxanne went for pop rocks, but Morgan counter with a super kick, set up Bliss to hit. Twisted Bliss off the top to eliminate Perez from the match. Bliss and Morgan battled back and forth. Morgan executed three amigos before attempting 619, but Bliss caught her and rolled her up for two. Morgan then blocked the KOD from Belair, but countered with an okono rule for another near fall. Bliss then countered Bianca and hit her with the Abigail ddt. That's the Sister Abigail, the Abigail ddt. But Morgan, after Bianca was hit, got Bliss into a jackknife cover and she eliminated Bliss. So we're down to Morgan and Belair. Morgan kept on beating up Belair headfirst into the chamber. She then hit a flying code breaker off the second rope and tried for oblivion, but Belair speared Morgan but only got a two count. Blair then hit a massive power bomb after swinging Morgan into the chamber and the pod. Remember that part where, you know, they had her swinging back and forth, hitting her against all the obstacles and attempted for a 450, but Morgan got the knees up. Morgan again tried oblivion, but Belair caught her, loaded her up into the KOD, delivered, and 1, 2, 3. Bianca Belair is heading to WrestleMania. Now, you mentioned at the beginning of the match how she's now in World title feud. Let's talk about that. March 3rd raw in Buffalo. And if I'm aware you went to that, how was that?
[00:15:55] Speaker B: That was great. It was such a fun show, the watching that punk.
Maybe people are calling it like Pipe Bomb part two. I don't know if I'd go that far as to call it that. It was very good. I will say that. I don't know if I'd go as far as to say punk pipe bomb, but it was very, very fun to watch that live. And overall, the show was very, very solid. I would has been doing some really, really good work.
[00:16:23] Speaker A: I would. I would dare to say if there was a name I could dub it. I would call it the Buffalo Bombshell.
Not the Pipe Bomb, but Buffalo Bombshell. I actually had, like, a thought in my head the other night of, like, if I ever was in wrestling and I ever did a promo, I would want to do a Pipe Bomb style promo in Buffalo, because I just love everything about it, Bills and whatnot. But the main event saw Ria Ripley versus Iyo Sky. Now, towards the end of the match, Ria and IO were on the outside, and Bianca sat ringside, and Bianca was cheering for Iyo and Ria took offense to that. And it was very confusing. Like, I don't know if you had that question, but, like, once they started putting their hands on each other, Bianca and Ria, was that not a dq?
[00:17:15] Speaker B: So my thought was. And I just. I. I usually just kind of chalk it up and whatever the WWE logic is for that match, I'll just say that to make myself, like, get over it faster.
I'm thinking that because there was no, like, actual striking, because it was just.
[00:17:31] Speaker A: Yeah, that's what I thought too. I thought I was like, if it's a shoveling.
[00:17:34] Speaker B: Oh, the rest, obviously title match too. Don't want to end title match off of dq, shoving dq, which. So I. It makes sense that that would happen.
[00:17:47] Speaker A: With the distraction, though, from Ria and Bianca, Ria tried to set up a top rope riptide, but Iyo sky ended up countering it out of nowhere into a Hurricane Rana, and then climbed back up to the top rope, delivered over the moonsault. One, two, three. Out of nowhere, Iyo sky is the women's World Champion. And currently it will be Iyo sky versus Bianca Belaira at WrestleMania. What was your thoughts on the shocking title victory from Iyo Sky? People have been wanting her to win that championship. They thought that she should have won the rumble. They thought that she should have been in the elimination chamber. And then all of a sudden, the night after elimination chamber, when they think that all hope is lost, she finally ends up winning the title and also is the first person to hold the two newest versions of each title. The Ron Smackdown, what have you. And she's also a Grand Slam Champion. Now, what was your thoughts on that?
[00:18:54] Speaker B: People always give Triple H way less credit than he's deserved. No one expected that, obviously.
So all I can say is just keep waiting for more. Like, it's. Triple H has been keeping us on our toes since WrestleMania last year, and he's going to keep putting us on our toes over and over again.
I think Iyo winning that Title is the perfect way to start and really start the WrestleMania season.
[00:19:28] Speaker C: And you know, I've been really high on Iyo sky ever since I started watching. She's a phenomenal fighter, a high flyer, an aerial threat.
But I just. I don't love the decision. Of course I trust Triple H and what he's doing, but I. I know iyo sky has not been great as far as cutting promos, things like that, at least compared to Rhea Ripley, who has just been so, so good at it. So, of course, I'm so excited to see Iyo sky battle at WrestleMania, but sad that Rhea Ripley will not be there. Well, as of right now, yes, as.
[00:20:00] Speaker A: Of right now, the current plan is officially it is IYO versus Bianca, but there is a chance that we could get a triple threat, which I believe that that would. That can qualify as a rematch for Ria to get.
But then I think that if we did get IO Ria and Bianca, who do you see walking out of Vegas with the women?
[00:20:24] Speaker B: If it's a triple threat.
[00:20:25] Speaker A: Yes, if it's a triple threat.
[00:20:26] Speaker B: Ria.
[00:20:27] Speaker A: You think Ria wins back the title?
[00:20:29] Speaker B: Ria. Ria's always better when she's chasing. That's. I think that's the whole point is that she is so much better with. It's not going to be eo. I. It will be Bianca or it will be Ria. Unfortunately, it will not be Iyo, but that's how it usually goes. IYO is law. EO lost her title last year at Mania. Probably gonna lose it again this year at Mania. She kind of just is the. The bigger star pusher, but I think yo being a potential face in it this time is going to make the dynamic a lot different and I'm excited for that.
[00:21:02] Speaker A: Yes.
After that, we got Naya Jax and Candice lerae versus a returning Trish Stratus and Tiffany Stratton. Your favorite, Mike.
Trish Stratus and Candice lerae. They kicked off the match and Stratus gained a early advantage, delivering a Luthez press and a swing and neck breaker. Stratton then fought off with a jawbreaker and tagged Stratus back in, hitting a roundhouse kick to Jax. Jax encountered a springboard bulldog with a back suplex for a 2 before trapping stratus into a bear hug.
Larae then got tagged in. She had a running drop kick with a vertical suplex before Jax re entered taunting Stratton and actually delivering a stink face to Trish Stratus. Larray kept control with a series of strikes took down Stratton before Trish could be tagged back in. When Jax tried to interfere, Stratus pulled her to the outside and sent her crashing into the barricade and then went back to the ring on the top rope. She hit Jax with an avalanche Stratus faction Bulldog, but Larae came in and broke it up. Stratton then got tagged back in almost silently because I didn't even see it. And countered Larae's attempt at a swinging net breaker and hit the prettiest moonsault ever to Jax for the pinfall victory. So pretty much nothing match. I mean, Trish comes back, she, you know, is in her hometown. And what do y'all think of this match?
[00:22:40] Speaker B: I think this match was exactly what WWE and Trish Stratus needed to do to end Tiffany Stratton versus Nia Jax. And now that that feud needs to be done and we need to be moving on to Tiffany Stratton vs. Charlotte for the next next month and a month and a half.
[00:22:55] Speaker A: Yeah, that need.
[00:22:57] Speaker B: Because that could. That could be an event of a night of WrestleMania easily. They're both absolute stars, so they need to be building that as much as possible. And I'm sure they will. And I'm sure we'll get some great promos. I'm sure we'll get all that good stuff. But her and Nia Jax, and they might not be, but I really think.
[00:23:13] Speaker A: That this should have.
[00:23:14] Speaker B: This should be Tiffany ending her and Nia Jax's view.
[00:23:18] Speaker A: Yes. What do you think of the match, Mike?
[00:23:20] Speaker C: Well, you know, Jason, like you said, I'm a huge Tiffany Stratton fan, of course. Great to see Trish Stratus back in action outside of her involvement in the Royal Rumble in that tag match against Chelsea Green and Piper Niven the week prior to the Elimination Chamber. But this was probably my least favorite match of the Elimination Chamber, just because it didn't have any real holding on.
[00:23:41] Speaker A: Anything else going on during the night.
[00:23:43] Speaker C: Still a great match. And of course, that prettiest moonsault ever is just a beautifully executed move every time by Tiffany Stratton. But I think it's kind of what everyone expected to happen, and it's what did happen.
[00:23:54] Speaker A: Now, if I can ask real quickly, what did you think or what do you think will happen at Mania? Do you think we see Stratton walking out with the championship, or do you think Flair gets another reign?
[00:24:09] Speaker C: Well, of course, I'd love to see Tiffany Stratton walk out with the championship. I'm a bit of a super Fan, like I said, but I just don't see it happening. It's Charlotte Flair, the most decorated woman to ever be in the wwe.
[00:24:21] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:24:21] Speaker C: And I think she's gonna walk out with it.
[00:24:23] Speaker A: I feel like the brand new Cena wins. Lol. Is now Flair wins.
[00:24:28] Speaker B: It's been Flair wins. Woo. Like, she's been doing that for a while now. She's killed so many title runs that didn't need to be killed.
[00:24:36] Speaker A: It's in a dumb way because, like, we're, you know, we both watch a lot of aew. Like, she technically did kill off a lot of Toni Storm and basically set her packing and then she went to aew and now she's like one of the hottest. She is things in the women. Okay.
She's like one of the, you know, the biggest stars in the women's division, you know, worldwide in her timeless Tony gimmick that she's been doing. Well, that match was, you know, very bittersweet. Didn't offer a lot, but this one right here, this offered plenty.
[00:25:11] Speaker C: Oh, yeah, it did.
[00:25:12] Speaker A: Sami Zayn vs Kevin Owens in an unshanctioned match. And I thought that this was gonna be like a normal, okay, it's a street fight match. They made the presentation on this the biggest that they could because they knew that this was not just another Zayn vs Owens match. They knew that this had to be extreme. And because of this, the lights dimmed, all the logos on the turnbuckles, on the ref, on anything else except for the, you know, the logos of, you know, novocaine. Go see it in theaters, on the ring. And then, of course, like the LEDs, that was the only thing you saw, WWE logo. This was completely, quote, unsanctioned, and they swung for the fences right off the bat. Zane fought back with a baseball slide drop kick on the outside, sending Owens face first to the steel ring post before exchanging strikes. Zayn then rammed Owen's shoulder into the post and flung multiple chairs into the ring. But Owen struck first, driving a chair into Zayn's midsection and unleashing multiple chair shots across his back. Zane then retaliated, stacking chairs on Owens and attacking him with a hockey stick. Zayn then pulled out a table on the outside, but Owens regained control by smashing Zayn into the ring post and choking him out with the hockey stick and eventually biting his forehead. The fight then spilled onto the crowd. Zayn battered Owens with a trash can. Zayn countered with two back suplexes through two separate tables on the outside in the crowd and used A trash can lid as a weapon before Owen struck back with the ring bell and multiple trash can shots before using a TV monitor.
Owens climbed to the top turnbuckle back into the ring. Zayn met him up there with some punches, but Owens countered the suplex, slipped out and just pushed Zane off and crashing through the two tables that were set outside. What did you think about that spot? That spot looked absolutely crazy, especially the fact that it was the two stacked tables on the outside.
[00:27:23] Speaker B: Whoever sets up the table gets put through it. That's kind of the rule, isn't it?
[00:27:26] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:27:26] Speaker B: I feel like. Did they both set one up? Was it one?
[00:27:30] Speaker A: So. Oh, so I mentioned.
[00:27:32] Speaker C: So.
[00:27:32] Speaker A: So Owen set up, I think one and then he might have.
[00:27:36] Speaker B: Well, if I thought Sammy set up the stop, the top one, but I might have been wrong.
[00:27:40] Speaker C: I'm pretty sure Sammy dissent up that top one.
[00:27:42] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:27:42] Speaker C: What, what a spot. And what a sell by Sammy. Yeah, he did a really good job of playing off that neck injury, selling that very well.
[00:27:50] Speaker A: The neck. The neck was the draw of, of the entire match. And it goes to show that, you know, they tried to sell, of course, like Zayn was not medically cleared for this match to happen initially and then Adam Pierce gave him the match and said it was under sanction. So, you know, Zayn selling the neck definitely did it. Back in the ring, Owens then drilled Zayn with a brain buster onto a chair for a near fall before delivering some kicks to the midsection. He attempted to deliver a pop up powerbomb. Zayn countered with two half and half suplexes, one of them onto the chair. Fired up. Zane tried to hit a helluva kick, but it ended up knocking out the referee. I believe his name was Chad Patton. I believe it was.
Allowing Owens to hit a stunner. Charles Robinson ran down mania 24 style.
[00:28:40] Speaker B: Oh my God. That was. That was so awesome. That was so. He genuinely like recreated that spot bar for bar. It was so awesome.
[00:28:48] Speaker C: Gosh.
[00:28:48] Speaker A: Have you ever seen, have you ever seen that? The gif of Charles Robinson, who's been a legendary ref in the biz, always known as Flair Junior, just running down.
[00:28:59] Speaker C: Mania 24, one of the most hilarious clips from WWE history. Without a doubt.
[00:29:05] Speaker A: Yes. Owens frustrated that Zane kicked out Clothesline Robinson.
[00:29:10] Speaker B: Of course.
[00:29:11] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:29:11] Speaker B: And that was such a brutal clothesline too. That was gnarly.
[00:29:14] Speaker A: Turned to be sad.
[00:29:16] Speaker B: So gnarly.
[00:29:17] Speaker A: Owens then flung a chair at Zayn's face. Zane then slapped Owens before getting hit with a Avalanche Fisherman suplex through another table. But still Zayn kicked out Zayn powering through every big move that Owens delivered just shows you how much fight and what a character that Sammy is.
Owens then drove a chair into Zayn's face and mocked him again before Zayn responded with helluva kick. Zane went back to the outside and found a barbed wire steel chair and repeatedly struck Owens with it. Zane even hit a drop toe hold onto the chair that struck Owens eye but apparently no blood question mark like why, why was there no blood on the drop toe hold right to the face of Kevin Owens?
[00:30:05] Speaker B: Yeah, I don't, I don't really know. I was kind of confused by that too to be honest.
[00:30:10] Speaker A: This should have color. They should have. This should have had color.
[00:30:13] Speaker B: Yeah, no I, I definitely agree. I feel like they could have done a much better job of doing stuff like that. But also you don't need blood necessarily always. It's not the most important thing in the world.
So I guess for them to decide not to go with blood they just kind of went hey this match is already crazy enough. We got a barbed wire chair. I guess they don't need blood.
[00:30:36] Speaker A: Zane ended up setting up a chair bridge between three chairs. He had two regular chairs and then he laid down the barbed wire chair and delivered a blue thunderbomb right onto the chair. But that was also another near fall. And meanwhile Cole selling of just, can somebody just stop the match? Can we get this? Like Cole by far has been one of the top announcers bar none. I don't care who, like who you say is even better than Cole. Nobody has been better at Cole, not even McAfee, even though he's got some, you know, nice little quips in there. But his selling of the match was also the big component to why this match was, was so great.
Owens countered another haluva kick and delivered a pop up powerbomb forcing Zayn to roll to the outside to check on his neck. So this was towards the end of the match. Owens wrapped chair around Zayn's neck and drove him into the ring post twice before delivering shades of old nxt, their old rivalry, an apron power bomb. But not one but two before finally he just rolled Zayn right back into the ring and pinned him for the 1, 2, 3. What was your thoughts on this match?
[00:31:52] Speaker B: It hit it checked every box that I wanted it to check. It was gnarly. I kind of wanted Sammy to win but also needed Kevin to win for Randy to come back. Randy versus Kevin at Mania is going to be Chef's kiss and I can't Wait for Randy to hit that phone kick.
[00:32:07] Speaker C: Yeah. And I think just a phenomenal match. I really love the use of that barbed wire chair. I know it's not something that you ever really see in the wwe but for them to come out and use that drop Kevin Owens on his face on it. A powerbomb onto a pin on top of it, that must not have felt good for Kevin Owens. But just a crazy match and really well done by both fighters and everyone else involved.
[00:32:28] Speaker A: Yeah, well it helps that Owens was, was wearing his, his shirt so he didn't really get a lot of, a lot of, you know, pain from that. But after the match Owens was not done and ripped up the ringside padding revealing the concrete and he was about to hit a package pile driver on Zane when all of a sudden voice voices plays and Randy Orton comes out and the pop, no matter what, the biggest pop will always be Randy. Randy is the one vet that will get the biggest pop and everybody will just be taken over by him because just everything that he has done for the business and he's still doing at his age and you know, always having his loyalty to WWE is just absolutely outstanding. Owens knew I was coming and told Orton to come right into the ring. And Owens and Orton began fighting out and Owens tried to use a still chair but Orton blocked it and then delivered the RKO finally and was about to hit Owens with the chair but then tossed it aside, went back to the corner and we were about to see the return of the punt kick. Know anything about 09 or in? This move was deadly back then. But Siri Eric's came in and stopped Orton from doing the punt which then led to a RKO fest on a bunch of security yards.
[00:33:58] Speaker B: Future World Champions.
[00:34:00] Speaker A: Yes, Future World champions. What was your thoughts on the Orton return? And now finally we are going to get Orton versus Owens at Mania.
[00:34:09] Speaker B: Yeah, in this day we'll never have a bad Randy Orton segment. He's just so good, he's like genuinely such a pro at his job that there is nothing he can't do. So I think for him to like now be back, he's. He had his long sabbatically took his break and now he's back for Mania season. Yes, I think he'll be a consistent shower in this view with Owens. Hopefully don't know for sure but I hope that is the case and we get a very very good build up to this Mania inevitable Mania match.
[00:34:41] Speaker C: Yeah, and this crash out version of Kevin Owens we've seen over the years is really at an all time high right now. I mean just the things he does, the thoughts that go through his head that he shares. I mean showing up outside of Sami Zayn's house, just ridiculous. I mean, taking videos of his family, him like playing with his child. Insane. But the build up for that match was insane. And I think we all kind of knew Randy Orton was going to show up at some point and it was just a matter of when. And I don't think that Triple H and the production teams at WWE could have picked a better match than this one.
[00:35:13] Speaker B: Yeah, it's, it's, it's gonna be great. I. There's nothing else to say. It's gonna be fantastic.
[00:35:17] Speaker A: Yes. Or in an Owens at Mania. I feel like Orton definitely has to win that and then it's really the question of does or go for the world title spot. And we'll go into that at the end of this main event and we'll talk about the big massive reveal at the end of the show. But our main event for elimination chamber, the men's elimination chamber match. John Cena, CM Punk, Seth Rollins, Drew McIntyre, Damian Priest and Logan Paul. And the first ones to start the match was Seth Rollins and Drew McIntyre. McIntyre slammed Rollins into the chamber. McIntyre then gained the upper hand, but Rollins fought back with a springboard knee strike. McIntyre then caught Rollins with a tilt war backbreaker and a snap suplex onto the floor. Damian priest came in third and immediately took control, hitting McIntyre with a lifting flatliner and a rebound lariat Rollins. McIntyre countered Priest offense with McIntyre hitting Rollins with a powerbomb onto Priest. Logan Paul came in. I do have to mention what do I think about the Logan Paul entrance with the American flag.
[00:36:33] Speaker B: So awesome. That was so fun.
[00:36:35] Speaker A: Does it make better sense now? Knowing why he came out with it? Knowing that the Canadians booed the national anthem before the show started because they're bitter. They're bitter. And he's the ultimate troll. And that, and that's the great thing about, about Logan Paul is that people don't expect him to be as good as he is. And sure he's cringy and he's a troll, but like the fact is, is like his, his ability to transfer this character into the world of, you know, sports entertainment where definitely could be of use. Just shows you how smart number one he is and to how gifted he is being able to do some of the stuff, especially at such a short time.
[00:37:15] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:37:15] Speaker C: And I think as much as he is a heel and as much as the fans really hate him, he is a phenomenal wrestler, especially for being so new to this company, so new to wwe. He is just a phenomenal wrestler, whether that be off the ropes or in the ring. He's just so, so good.
[00:37:30] Speaker A: Three years. I believe it is three years. It'll be in about actually. Yeah, it'll be three years. He debuted at Mania 38 when he tagged with the Miz and they had that match with the Mysterios when they were still together and even then he was, he was okay. And then he had the match with the Miz and we all know his star studded performance against the tribal Chief Roman Reigns that he had at Crown Jewel that year and that just showed you how high that they were pushing Logan. But he came in and took out McIntyre with a springboard crossbody and took out Priest and Rollins. Paul then executed a standing moonsault and a swinging fisherman neck breaker. Priest then took Paul down with a old school hurricanrana from the top rope. Paul delivered the titanium punch but Rollins got a super kick on him. And then in came John Cena and he came in, he just hit everybody with attitude adjustments and then hit the five knuckle shuffle on Rollins before McIntyre hit him with the claymore. And because he lost focus of everything, Priest took advantage and rolled up Drew. And the first person eliminated was Drew McIntyre.
[00:38:46] Speaker C: I love this narrative of Drew McIntyre just consistently getting rolled up by, by guys that he should be beating.
[00:38:53] Speaker A: The first one was Jimmy and then the second one now was, was Damian Priest. And I did mention that Priest versus Drew I think is the, the choice going into.
[00:39:03] Speaker B: And it's just the way he always has like such crazy hype going into the match. And then to like get embarrassed now twice by Damian is just so funny.
[00:39:14] Speaker C: And you look at the look on his face after he gets rolled up, he pops right up and he just looks completely in awe by the fact that it just happened. Come on man, what are you doing?
[00:39:22] Speaker A: It's every match now completely rage induced because of this. He surprised Priests and hit a claymore before he exited the chamber. Paul Seamless took advantage and delivered a frog splash. But not just any frog splash. Frog splash from the top of the chamber pod and pinned priest. 1, 2, 3. So priest immediately eliminated as well. What did you think of that spot with the. That was like the one big spot from the top of the chamber into the ring. And you know Logan being the daredevil that he is, doing a frog splash from the top of chamber is very dangerous, especially if you've seen the history very first Elimination Chamber match Survivor Series 2002 RVD doing Frog Splash.
What was that?
[00:40:09] Speaker B: Didn't he completely bust his knee?
[00:40:11] Speaker A: No, no. So what happened? Yeah, so what happened was for many who do not know, rvd Rob Van Dam, he did his five star frog splash. But of course, the structure of the chamber is different from now. And because of this, he basically, he just like went towards Triple H to deliver this frog splash, but his knee connected with his neck and basically it moves bruised. And Triple H lasted all the way to the final two of the match, but I think it was like a.
A broken throat.
[00:40:49] Speaker B: Triple H thugged that whole match out when he did not need to. I mean, he did, but he shouldn't have had to. And he. He was forced to thug out that match. Like basically not being able to breathe.
[00:41:00] Speaker A: Yes, exactly. My being able to breathe was absolutely insane.
CM Punk entered last. I thought this spot was. Was kind of funny. Punk was so eager to get in because he was last and Paul was sitting right there. And they had the war of words. The Raw before where Paul slapped Punk, which was a very big no, no. And Punk sitting there in the pod and you just see him go, you know, it's me, mother. Open it. And I was like, that was hilarious.
[00:41:28] Speaker B: That was very funny. I. That's just like the, that's the realness we need of like, they're not robots. They are. They're still humans that, like, they're actors and they're wrestlers, but they're still people that like, want to just fight too. And I think that's like, the acting you need is like, Punks, like, like, come on, we. We know it's me.
[00:41:48] Speaker A: Open the cage.
[00:41:49] Speaker B: Let's go.
[00:41:49] Speaker A: Yes.
And he ended up taking Paul out before turning his attention to Cena. Had a standoff and they looked at each other. They said, one opportunity and Cena goes for a handshake and Punk comes in and delivers a hug. And I just thought that was very wholesome. It was very wholesome for the time being.
But Rollins came in, attacked both of the men. Paul tried to deliver a double buckshot Lariat, but Punk countered, swung around with a roundhouse kick and landed Paul with a gts.
And Paul was eliminated. So we're down to the final three. Punk, Cena, Rollins, Cena and Punk briefly teamed up and hit the old school heart attack on Rollins. Shades of the Heart Foundation, Bret Hart and Jim the Anvil, Nightheart. They exchange blows before Cena hit Punk with some shoulder tackles, only for Punk to counter into an Anaconda vice. Cena escaped, hitting an attitude adjustment, but Rollins sent Cena right through the chamber pod. Punk countered Rollins with a flying elbow drop, but Rollins responded with a buckle bomb and a curb stomp for a near fall.
Rollins then attempted for a super stomp from the second rope, but Cena interfered. Punk capitalizing, hit Rollins with the gts, allowing Cena to also hit the ea and Seth Rollins is eliminated. So after a handshake was given to Punk, Cena was bamboozled and Punk responded with a GTS for a near fall. And they just started exchanging finishers. Cena recovered, hitting a attitude adjustment, but that only got a two as well. He then went for the STF lock, but Punk was trying to fight off Cena and ended up getting to the ropes. And once Punk had turned over onto his stomach and he was through the ropes, Rollins had not walked out of the chamber. And just like McIntyre did the priest, Rollins hits the curb stop. And Cena looks at this, he's wide eyed. And then oddly he runs up, pulls Punk back into the ring, locks in the sdf, but not just like holding like Sleeper, like, just like a choke. And meanwhile Rollins is on the outside of the chamber door yelling at Punk to die. And Cena, he says I'm sorry before Punk passes out to the STF and John Cena wins the elimination chamber and he's got his world title shot. He's going for number 17 here, boys. What do you think before we get into the big thing, what did you.
[00:44:36] Speaker B: Just, just based off of the match? It was great. I mean honestly, this, the Cena like rushing in to get Punk after the Curb Stomp wasn't that crazy to me because Punk literally tried to screw him and like handshake into a GTS right before that. So I wasn't really like blaming Cena for that because like he had gotten it screwed right before.
But no, I. It was a great match. That was like, damn, Cena's getting that 17th Pelia.
[00:45:01] Speaker A: Yes. What, what did you think of the match, Mike?
[00:45:03] Speaker C: Just phenomenal from start to finish. I thought it was really good. I Love the Drew McIntyre Claymore, Damian Priest after he'd been eliminated. That sets up a feud for Mania. Yes, I loved that Seth Rollins Curb stomped CM Punk on the ropes after he was eliminated. That sets up a feud for. What was it next week on Monday Night Raw, that steel cage match.
[00:45:23] Speaker A: Yes, that is correct. At msg, it will be Rollins and P. Punk in a solid steel cage and probably the perfect chance to see a returning Roman Reigns come in and we get that Triple Threat. That should be a main event. Punk, Rollins, and Reigns. But again, there is the favor to be called into Haman, so we have no idea where that will go. But of course, let's get to the talking point, gentlemen.
So Cena wins. They got the pyro. He is chasing for number 17.
And then Cody Rhodes comes out. Cody Rhodes comes out. He's excited. Cena lets Cody in. He looks at Cody, he says, we're going to tear it up. And they give a handshake, and it seems good. And then we know that there's the decision that has to be made if you fiend bean. And Travis Scott comes out and he is just sipping on an energy drink and he's just vibing. And then the final boss comes in.
And I'll just say this. What was your reaction for at least this segment of Travis Scott coming in at first? What were your thoughts?
[00:46:43] Speaker B: I. I personally don't care. Like, I think it's hilarious when stuff like this happens. We have, like a guy like Travis Scott coming out. It's awesome. It's really funny.
[00:46:51] Speaker A: It's. It's the celebrity value. And I think that people know that if they include the celebrity value, they will get the views. And I think that's the. The mainstay right now for WWE in doing that kind of stuff. But the Rock comes out.
Travis Scott is in the ring. I. I don't know why I kept on, like, looking. I was like, when is he gonna get out? Come on, now. You can't be a part of this.
[00:47:15] Speaker B: He's in the Rock syndicate. What are you talking about?
[00:47:19] Speaker A: So Rock comes out and he says, cody Rhodes, the moment has arrived. I will open my arms, you will come to me, and you will embrace me as your brother, and I'll embrace you as my champion. I want it all. I want your mind. I want your soul. And God have mercy, I need your soul. And if the answer is yes, then the American Nightmare will live forever. But if the answer is no, then tonight the dream dies again.
Now, if you remember the smackdown before the show, they revealed that he had a weight belt that said CODY Soul and June 11, 2015, which is, of course, unfortunately, the date of the passing of the American Dream. Dusty Rhodes. This. This entire thing, no matter what you say about the Rock, if he can cut a promo and he can make the story short and he can tell you what his main goal is, it is absolutely amazing. Rock extends his hand out, Cody just looks at him and he goes, I want it all Rock. And, you know, we're sitting there puzzled, and Cody's just thinking, and he just goes, but my soul no longer belongs to me. And you want to know why? Because I gave my soul to this title and this ring a long time ago. And these people.
So you know what? Hey, Rock, go f yourself. I couldn't believe that they, one, did it uncensored, and two, just like the pop that back up from the crowd that it was uncensored.
[00:49:02] Speaker B: I mean, that's crazy. He said. He said, go yourself live on. On air, right?
[00:49:08] Speaker A: I. That's.
[00:49:08] Speaker B: That's the biggest.
[00:49:09] Speaker C: Welcome to the Netflix era.
[00:49:11] Speaker A: That's what everybody wanted the Netflix era to be. And it's the purpose for Cody being the Baby Face champion is that he is supposed to say to all the heels what everybody else wants him to say and what they want to say to the Rock and what they want to say to Rock after the year that he's had, trying to take credit for everything that happened last year with Cody's story, basically, it's just like, nah, just screw yourself off, man.
So the Rock just looks at Cody and then he looks off to Cena. And Cena, meanwhile, is in the back. He's emoting. He's doing his Hollywood face. He's just thumbs up everything. He's excited. And Cena's just sitting there, and he's just looking at Cody. Cody just looking around. Meanwhile, Travis Scott burning some sage in the corner, just. Just chilling. And then Cena goes up. He dabs up Cody, hugs him, and then looks at the Rock in the corner. And Cena's face goes from smiles to just nothing.
Death stare. Robot Android looks right at the Rock. The Rock does the two. He does the throat slash.
And as soon as Cena gets out of the hug, he kicks Cody square into the jewels and just starts beating down on him with the watch, Just starts beating him with the title. And meanwhile, just everybody. They cheered at first, but then it quickly, you know, it turned into, oh, my gosh, this is actually happening. And wow, seen as a. Actually doing this.
[00:50:46] Speaker B: What.
[00:50:46] Speaker A: What was your reaction to the initial Cena turn again?
[00:50:51] Speaker B: It's just. It was baffling. Like, there. There was nothing in my. In my brain that ever told me he was ever going to be healed. And I think it's as simple as that. Like, I. I never expected this in my entire life. Yeah, Never. It never crossed my head that, you know, would be a deal.
[00:51:10] Speaker A: And the real selling point is that people are like, why would he, of all people, want to do his heel turn. In his final run with the company. People are like, people are like, why in your retirement tour are you actually going to do this heel turn all of a sudden? And the fact is is that people have said, and he's even said himself, Cena has said he's always wanted to go heel. And now this gives him a chance to show us what that could have been. And he have done it earlier in his career. And I think that the fact is that people told him no, specifically one Vinny Mac, and basically was like he's the poster child. And now that he's not, because they're trying to turn Cody into that of all people. And because they got people like Roman Reigns and other big stars now, he doesn't need to be that way. He's just a legend that comes back and forth into the company in this last run. So you know what? I'm gonna go out and I'm gonna do it heel. So after John Cena beats up Cody a whole bunch of times, we see Cody gets color, he gets busted open, they rip open his jacket, they rip open his suit. Freaking Cena is choking him with the tie. And then they hold him down and Rock's got the weight belt and for some odd reason, Travis Scott wanted to get his hands dirty. And he just picks up Cody and Cena puts, puts him back down, puts Cody face down. So he's like on his, on his stomach and his back is up and Travis Scott just open hand palm strikes Cody right into the face. And Cody actually suffered a busted eardrum and a black eye from this. What did you think of this? This shoot style from all time rapper Travis Scott.
[00:52:59] Speaker B: Cody wrestled an entire match with the torn pack. Anybody that's whining about this is giving Cody zero credit. He is perfectly fine. Yes. Did Travis mess up a little bit? Yeah, but he is fine, Cody. Cody is perfectly fine.
[00:53:18] Speaker A: Well, we'll talk a little bit more about Travis after this. But after that, Rock then had the weight belt. He whipped Cody with the belt and then got the blood, put it on the belt the same way he did it last year in Chicago with Mama Rhodes belts. And then Cena just puts his foot right on Cody's head, poses with the Rock and they walk out and Cena is now a bad guy for the first time in pretty much, it's pretty much since 2003. It's 2003. And then he turned into the babyface and he never turned back out after that because they made him that way.
[00:53:56] Speaker B: And now and even Then that wasn't really a heel. That was just him not knowing what character he was.
[00:54:01] Speaker A: The. The rapping character he was. He was dissing people left and right.
[00:54:04] Speaker B: This dream Mysterio doesn't mean he's a heel, but that just means he's having fun and rapping.
[00:54:11] Speaker A: But, but, but which. Which is essentially what saved his job as soon as they saw that he could rap.
So with all this said, where do you think this stands with WrestleMania number one? It's got to be main event. Especially now, does Cena get the 17th at Mania or does Cody be Captain America again and he wins and overcomes the odds?
[00:54:37] Speaker B: I don't know. I. Honestly, as of right now, I could not tell you what I think is going to happen. I mean, Cena, there's so many different directions for them to take this because you can't just think WrestleMania. You have to think what happens after WrestleMania, depending on what happens. So, yes, I think there's just. There's so many different things you can predict. It's really hard to come up with just one.
[00:55:05] Speaker A: Yes. So when you talked about, like, what happens after Mania, Cena, he was not on this week's Monday show, even though that would have been absolutely ballistic if he was. He's not on the show for MSG for this upcoming Monday. He is, however, going to be on three of the international shows. He's going to be at Brussels. He's going to be.
[00:55:29] Speaker B: But that's all.
[00:55:29] Speaker A: No, not Belgium. He's going to be in Glasgow.
[00:55:31] Speaker B: That's all he's on.
[00:55:32] Speaker A: And then he's going to be in London. So it'll be Brussels, it'll be Glasgow, and it will be London. And originally Punk was on these shows, but it has been reported he's been taken off. So who knows what's gonna happen after that steel cage match next week. Maybe he gets taken out for a couple weeks.
[00:55:50] Speaker B: I'm assuming Roland picks up the dub.
[00:55:52] Speaker A: Okay. And it's had one, one.
[00:55:54] Speaker B: And then like I. I'm assuming this is where Roland gets his get back. Because you gotta have a three piece.
[00:55:59] Speaker A: Yes. Well in advance with the upcoming three shows that Cena has been announced for. In the build up to Mania, it has been advertised that he is now going to be a part of three new episodes in Smackdown in May and June with the May 30th show in Knoxville, a May 13th show in Lexington, Kentucky and a June 20th show in Grand Rapids, Michigan. So we're getting two back to back weeks and then he's gonna appear for.
[00:56:27] Speaker B: One show, but barely anything before.
[00:56:31] Speaker A: Barely anything before, but. Well, that's just because, like, we don't know entirely. But I'm guessing the reason why they haven't is usually when they put out these future dates of like, oh, he's going to be showing up. Like, they have Roman Reigns showing up for the two international smackdowns that they're going to have in Italy and London following this international live tour that they're going to have. So, you know, the question is, does Cena win the title? And then he ends up being like the Roman Reigns character where basically he barely shows up and then it actually works to the character that you talked about earlier. So you would be in charge, show up less. He would begin to be this loyal. He would give up right away. So this would actually be good if he did win the title. I know as a lifelong Cena fan, which I. I didn't even talk about my opinion as a lifelong Cena fan, never did I think that he would ever go heal. But did I want him to go heal at some point? Yes. And this now opens up the door of what can Cena do under this heel moniker. And again, we know he. His vocal, his, you know, his range in acting and everything like that, which is essentially what wrestling is. So the hope is that with this, Cena can produce a character so influential that gets so many people that have, you know, trusted him for years. He's the make a wish leader, for Christ's sake. And now he's supposed to be this bad guy and this corporate stooge next to the Rock who is going to win the Rock, his championship, basically from Cody after Cody beat Roman last year. But speaking of Travis Scott, it was reported that Travis Scott actually, at the Elimination Chamber post show press conference, the Rock said that it was possible that Scott could wrestle in the future because Fightful Select Steve Carrier of Ringside News later reported that Scott has been doing some pro wrestling training. Conversations have taken place regarding having some matches. If it got to that point, possibly Rhodes could have a chance to get his lick back. Now, a dumb question, but we know another singer and artist who has been very tremendous in the world of pro wrestling, and that is one Bad Bunny. I wish I knew his nickname, but, you know, I can't speak a lick of Spanish. But Bad Bunny versus Travis Scott. Do you think we ever get that and is that gonna be a big draw?
[00:58:59] Speaker C: I mean, I think it'd be really cool to see those two wrestle. With that said, it would have no real holding on anything storyline wise Unless they find a way to somehow build that in. I think it'd be a fun little thing to watch it. Maybe a pay per view, something like that.
[00:59:15] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:59:15] Speaker C: But as far as, like any real holding in WWE Universe, I don't see how that would work.
[00:59:20] Speaker A: Well, again, people remember Bud Bunny's last fight that he had with Damian Priest and Puerto Rican Street Fight. So good backlash and everybody was so hooked on that match. And really, I put that at the standard of, you know, a celebrity appearance inside of a wrestling ring. But that might not be the only new face in WWE that we could see in the near future. Because shifting over to aew, Ray Phoenix, the brother of Penta zero Miro, is finished with A E W. It was reported on March 3rd by the Wrestling observer that Phoenix no longer appears on the company's roster page. Last month, Malachi Black and Ricky Starks, now Ricky Saints, was moved from the roster page shortly before news broke that they had been released from their contracts. Dave Meltzer reported this on X. He stated that Ray Phoenix was removed from AEW website. The belief is that he was released from the rest of his contract, similar to Starks and Black, and will be in WWE asap.
We had known that there were talks in that direction for a few weeks. AEW has not confirmed the second part, but the removal pretty much says that.
In last week's edition of the newsletter, it was reported that WB had already been drawing up creative plans for Phoenix's arrival, despite the fact that he had not been released from his AW contract. They had been making big plans for Ray Phoenix, although there has been no confirmation that Phoenix has been released from his AEW contract. Now, that was before then and it was believed that because of an extended injury time on Phoenix's deal that that would have kept him under contract until mid-2025 and basically that stopped him from signing with Penta when they initially started. But boys, what do you think of this? Rey Fenix finally released from the clutches of Tony Khan. And now we have a chance, even though it's very late. We could see the Lucha Brothers at WrestleMania.
[01:01:51] Speaker B: We could. I. I'm glad that Penta or not Penta, I'm glad that Rey is finally able to do what he wants. It's unfortunate how both of their careers ended up in AW because they were at one point like the hottest tag team in aew. I watched, I watched their tag, their steel cage tag match against the Young Bucks.
So good. And I really think that they were so hot and on top and just film to fall off the way they did, it sucked. But I'm glad that Penta is now on such a big stage on Raw. And Ray Phoenix, when he gets here, I know he'll be able to do the same thing.
[01:02:24] Speaker A: He.
[01:02:25] Speaker B: Because he's just as talented, talented, arguably even more talented than his brother Penta. Ray Phoenix is. So I think for both of them, I'm really excited for what the future holds.
[01:02:35] Speaker C: Yeah. And obviously, in their time together in aew, like you said, just dominant, really good fighters put on phenomenal matches. Penta has been great in the WWE so far, whether he's winning or losing. Of course, we saw him, his first match, beat Chad Gable, who has gone mia. For the past few weeks, he's been studying Luchador.
[01:02:52] Speaker B: Yeah, the Dark.
[01:02:54] Speaker C: He will still lose to a luchador. Maybe it'll be Ray Phoenix.
[01:02:58] Speaker A: He'll come back. He'll come back as Mr. Americano and basically have, like, a Patriot mask.
There was a vignette that was played on Raw this past week, actually the. The third show. And basically he was in Mexico somewhere painting hundreds of dollars or pesos or whatever, and basically this man gave him a huge cardboard box. And like, we don't know what it is, but if anybody has studied Lucha Underground, which is where a lot of people like Ray Phoenix and Penta got their start, even people like Ricochet with Prince Puma, and even people like Santos Escobar, that there was a glove, kind of like a Thanos type glove that they had, where basically would give him, like, the power of the God, basically. So there's a chance that that could work itself into. But I think that Ray Phoenix finally being able to go over to WWE team with Penta, this could mean a lot. And the fact that we could get a match, which I don't know if we've gotten yet, of the Lucha Brothers versus Motor City Machine Guns, we got the Lucha Brothers versus the New Day, which I think that is the supposed match that will happen if Rey and the rest of the lwo get taken out that we'll just have Penta and Ray against Xavier and Kofi. And you know what I call it now, because they haven't alluded to anything there. If we get anything from Biggie, I think he interferes with that match, he delivers one last big ending to either woods or Kingston, and the Lucha Brothers get the win. So Phoenix has now been released and is probably AEW bound. And speaking of AEW, we will end the show with the preview of AEW Revolution taking place this Saturday at the Crypto.com arena in Los Angeles, California. And we'll start with the AW0 hour matches, the free match that they have on. I can already Hear it on YouTube and other streaming services.
Six man tag match. Johnny TV, also known as John Morrison, Johnny Impact and MXM and MXM Collection Mansoor and Mason Madden of the former Maximum Male Models. They take on Mark Briscoe, Orange Cassidy and the return of Big Boom AJ justice with Big justice in the corner. Oh God. If you remember Lucas, when I first had you on the show, I said, oh God, I hated this match. But it was a decent match with Big Boom AJ and QT Martial.
What is your thoughts on Big Boom AJ coming back to AEW and now is going to get this big tag match once again in the zero hour. But still.
[01:06:04] Speaker B: Well, I mean it's, it's a, it's a follower game, I guess.
[01:06:10] Speaker A: Yes.
[01:06:10] Speaker B: He's really funny. He's not the worst wrestler I've ever seen.
[01:06:15] Speaker A: Yes.
[01:06:16] Speaker B: And he provides content for a crowd that needs a laugh sometimes. So I'm really not against it. It's kind of just this is happening, we have to watch it. So kind of just. It was the most viewed part of full gear.
[01:06:31] Speaker A: It was the, it was the most viewed thing of full gear. It was the second most viewed pro wrestling content video out in 2024. The match with him and QT.
Mike, what is your perspective on Big Boom AJ being all elite and having his second match in all elite wrestling?
[01:06:53] Speaker C: Well, first of all, I'll just say I really hope this match does not end with another spear from Big Justice. One of the worst spears of all time, without a doubt.
[01:07:01] Speaker B: Doesn't matter.
[01:07:02] Speaker A: It happened, but it happened.
[01:07:03] Speaker C: And Big justice has more time in a wrestling ring than I ever will. So good on him for that.
But I, I feel like the winner of this match is pretty self explanatory. I don't see Big Boom AJ losing. Yes, especially with the likes of Orange Cassidy and Mark Briscoe alongside.
[01:07:21] Speaker A: And the craziest thing also with this is that fact that Mark Briscoe was the former Ring of Honor world champion and he just lost it to Chris Jericho who somehow is still the champion. I have no idea why. But like this is where you put somebody like Mark Briscoe in a pre show match where he's teaming up with a content creator and his little, you know, 11 year old or 14 year old, I don't even know how old he is son who's just sitting in the corner and meanwhile they have a freaking even smaller Guy who's big and just freaking just rubs his chin all day. It's like absolutely insane. And, you know, probably get another run in from Big Show Protecting the Rizzler. They have not announced that the Rizzler will be on this show. So I wonder if that will not give the viewership as far as the. The YouTube crowd. But as far as the main show, we have the AW World Tag Team title match between the Hurt Syndicate, Bobby Lashley and Shelton Benjamin against the outrunners Truth Magnum and Turbo Floyd. This. This is again self explanatory Hurt Syndicate. We hurt people. They have been one of the top things on AEW programming in the last couple of months since Bobby Lashley came in and debuted. And their world title run definitely will go on for quite some time. But I do not see the outrunners doing anything substantial in this match. Lucas, I think I've talked to you about this. What is your thoughts on the outrunners?
[01:09:02] Speaker B: I really don't have any thoughts other than they're just like the kind of. Just a nostalgia act. They're two 80s themed guys who have big muscles and they have fun moves. But like you said, they're not going to do anything of substance. So I really don't.
There's not much to talk about with this match. It's just kind of. It's going to happen. The hurts. I think it's going to win.
[01:09:23] Speaker A: Yes. I don't really understand this. Have you seen any, any footage or any, any videos on the out runners? Mike?
[01:09:32] Speaker C: I've never even heard of the outrunners. Of course I know who Bobby Lashley is.
[01:09:36] Speaker A: Yes. But yeah, yeah, if you look up, if you look up anything, they're basically old school 80s NWA, old school territory tag team with dumb names that somehow have a championship match.
[01:09:50] Speaker C: Truth Magnum and Turbo Floyd.
[01:09:51] Speaker A: Yeah. And then just like Flex and it's something crazy. But. But yeah, easy win for the Hurt Syndicate. We hurt people then. We have. I don't even know why this is the number one contendership match and not the other match that's later on the card. But this is for the AW world title number one contendership match between Ricochet and Swerve Strickland. Now, these past couple weeks, this rivalry between Swerve and Ricochet has had its perks. Ricochet finally coming in and having a decent character. He's supposed to be annoying, so he works with that and becomes the geek in glasses and the backwards ball cap and the suit has the annoying. Aha. And then just, you know, goes off and cheats to win. Like, this is good, but I don't understand why this is the number one contendership for the World Championship. The only thing that this satisfies is Swerve Strickland, who. Who was my pick to win this. But, you know, what is your thoughts on this match and this rivalry?
[01:10:59] Speaker B: I'm. I love this rivalry. I mean, it's a fun exhibition for both of them. Ricochet, obviously, now with two wins over Swerve. Two pinfalls after last night's dynamite, too. Yes, really funny, honestly. And it's just. You're kind of just waiting for Swerve's get back. You know, he's going to get it. Swerve will win the world title at some point in the future, so I think it's only just a matter of time. And if this is where it sets it back up, I. I'm okay with that.
[01:11:28] Speaker C: Yeah, I'm excited for this match. I think Swerve is probably going to walk out of somewhere.
[01:11:32] Speaker A: We'll talk about some. Some burning attempts later on when we get to that match. But. But yeah, apparently Swerve said that Ricochet is only going to be known for the guy who Swerve put in the ground and of course, is bringing out your wife.
We then have another grudge match between Will Ospreay and Kyle Fletcher in a steel cage match. I think that the build for this has been going great ever since Fletcher's win started back at full gear. And then Ospreay had the wind, World's end, and now we finally get the concluding match to their trilogy in a steel cage. I got Will Ospreay going this one, pretty simple. But, Mike, what is your opinions on this match?
[01:12:21] Speaker C: I'm really high on Will Ospreay, and that's mainly thanks to Lucas. I'll come over to his house, I'll walk into his room, and he'll be watching some indie match from seven or eight years ago. Will Ospreay kicking out of, like, three pile drivers. So I love watching him, and I hope he wins this match. I think it's going to be a really good fight, though.
[01:12:39] Speaker A: Yes.
[01:12:41] Speaker B: Yeah. Fletcher and Osprey are just like they. Obviously, they're the good friends turn to enemies. They know each other so well and all that. So I think they're. They're so similar in style, and Fletcher's, like, so young and talented. The match can easily be match of the night, or it can be a dud if they don't put on the quality of match that they should.
And people are expecting a lot. So if they don't put on a match that people are expecting it will be a dud to them.
[01:13:14] Speaker A: I don't think it's going to be a dud. But just like this, this rivalry has been great. It's built up Fletcher as a main event caliber Superstar and I am very much looking forward to what he ends up doing after this fight feud. But yeah, I have Boss Bray Moving on. We have. This is supposed to be match of the night. I think we know this. AW International title Konosuke Takesha vs Kenny Omega now before we go into who we think, what is your thoughts in this match?
[01:13:49] Speaker B: Kenny Omega is my favorite fighter in aew. Yes, he's uber talented. He does everything and every. He does everything that you want in a wrestler. He's so unbelievably talented. So I think for him to finally have his like shot and be back in aew I I can see him winning. I can also see him losing though. So it's really just what are what's in the cards for him because I can see this going both ways very very easily. Yeah.
[01:14:23] Speaker C: And myself not super familiar with either of these guys. I've lost to Lucas on WWE 2K a couple times. He's been playing as Kenny Omega. Takashida again, not too familiar with but I have seen a couple of his matches. Very good wrestler. So this should be a pretty good match. I'm excited for it.
[01:14:39] Speaker A: Yes, I. I got Omega winning this and Omega is just going to be the star that he always is in aew. But I'm sure they gonna have one hell of a match. We then have the Hollywood ending match, whatever this means. Probably another standard street fight. AEW Women's World Title match between Toni Storm and Mariah May. So oddly enough, I believe it was before AEW Grand Slam Australia. We had talked about this match that was going to happen between Tony Storm and Mariah. I knew it said that Tony winning would just seem super pointless and it would not seem great for the build of Mariah May because it just seems like Mariah was just carrying it around while Storm was on sabbatical.
[01:15:27] Speaker B: Guess what happened.
[01:15:28] Speaker A: Yeah, guess what happened exactly. Who you got in this match? I'd preferably say I got Storm winning this just because if they go back and forth with May and Storm and Mace Champion again, even though it's going to be okay because we like Mariah maybe a little bit better, I just don't want to see the title change too much back and forth. But. But who do you have in this match.
[01:15:53] Speaker B: I really, I'm hoping it's Toni Storm, but also I don't know who else is going to challenge for her title. The only two women that I really enjoy watching are Mariah May and Toni Storm. Kris Statlander is fine. She's got no character. Willow Nightingale is helping out Edge with beating Jon Moxley right now. So she's not around unless they do a four titles for one title match. And Mercedes Monet is just going to bell collect even more. I don't see that happening.
[01:16:23] Speaker A: If she becomes the Ultimo Dragon of freaking aew, I'm going to be pissed. I'm just going to say we'll talk about her match coming up. But. But Mike, what is your perspective on this Hollywood ending match? Just this Hollywood storyline between Mariah and.
[01:16:41] Speaker C: Tony very similar to Lucas on this one. I just don't see Toni Storm losing this title. I don't think it makes sense for AEW to give the title to a different person. And for that reason, I'm gonna stick with Toni Storm.
[01:16:53] Speaker A: Yes, it will be a Hollywood ending the world will never forget or whatever type of, you know, way that Tony wants to say it. We then have this is what I said should be the number one contender for the world title. Adam Page versus mjf. Now, now, this is definitely a match that I think a lot of people kind of overlooked. They kind of didn't really see this as like, oh, this could ever happen. But don't really realize that this has never been an actual rivalry. In the span of the six years that AW has been around all, the only time we ever saw Paige and MJF was that first show when they introduced the world title and MJF came out and Paige was out there because he was taking on Jericho and we never got Paige versus mjf. But who do you have in this match? Adam Page, Hangman or Maxwell Jacob Freeman?
[01:17:50] Speaker B: I mean, I'd like for it to be mjf, but I unfortunately think they're going to give the nod to Hangman just because he's the the favorite and the baby face. But I really want MJF back in the world title scene asap, but unfortunately I don't think that is in the.
[01:18:06] Speaker C: Cards for right now.
[01:18:07] Speaker A: Yeah, what is, what is your take on this rivalry with Paige and mjf?
[01:18:11] Speaker B: Oh, no, it's great. It's really, really good. And I fully agree with you that it should be the number one title contender. But even so, if that was the case, like then it would just Make Paige the number one contender. Regardless, though, I think this rivalry is good. It's. It's something for both of them to do so that they're not like, the fans aren't going, oh, why aren't they in the world title picture? They have something to do now, but I think still for them, it's just below them to be having this rivalry between each other. Even though, like I said, it's still been fantastic. They've been having a good war of words. They've been talking, they've been saying a lot of good stuff to each other that's really getting deep. But again, I just, I don't, I don't think it's needed, and I really want MJF back in the world title picture soon.
[01:18:52] Speaker C: Yeah, Lucas, I think we're looking at two of the biggest talkers in AEW right here. Looks phenomenal at their jobs outside of the ring. Both great inside the ring as well. It's sure to be a great match. And I want MJF twin, but I just don't know if I see it happening.
[01:19:06] Speaker A: Well, there is, there is a lot of going in for, for mjf, especially with, with the segment that they had that same episode where they showed MJF getting his AEW tattoo laser removed. And it really just speaks of, like, you know, with MJF now going up at Hollywood, he'll be in the upcoming July 25th release of Happy Gilmore 2 on Netflix. And him being able to be a part of all this, do you think possibly the relationship that originally that we thought that MJF had were Tony Khan could be dwindling? And the reasoning for some of these programs, especially with MJF just having his programs with guys like Jeff Jarrett and Dustin Rhodes. Do you think that this is a form of dissension between Maxwell Jacob Freeman and Tony Khan? No. No, no.
[01:19:59] Speaker B: You think that the MJF is unfortunately locked in it?
[01:20:03] Speaker A: I think at one point he might want to, but maybe right now, depending on. Because he, because he did come out with a interview saying by the end of either this year or his end of his contract, he will have over 15 mil, which that's cash in a huge bag regardless. But we have the AWTBS title match. Mercedes Monet vs Momo wannabe or something.
I, I don't, no, Watanabe, Watanabe. I, I, I try to focus on Mercedes programs, but it's pretty much just like nothing to me. Like, great that she's collecting all these belts around the world, whether it's in Britain or it's in Japan or whatever. But like all this like just for her to basically say like, oh I'm the best and like she's really okay, but she's not like the best out of the horsewomen. But like, you know what's on this perspective and it doesn't matter. And pretty much I think we all see that Mercedes walking out. This is just an easy win for her.
[01:21:17] Speaker B: Going another one of those, like what is this match? Why is it needed?
[01:21:21] Speaker A: Exactly. I don't know why doesn't need to.
[01:21:23] Speaker B: Be on this already like way too filled card. It's another problem. They just have too many matches on a card hard and most of them mean nothing.
[01:21:31] Speaker A: Yes.
What, what is your, what is your take on the whole Mercedes character that has been happening in AEW Bank?
[01:21:40] Speaker C: I mean she certainly has a pop with the crowd. I, I understand the hype behind her as a fighter and of course all those belts just build more hype.
[01:21:48] Speaker A: Exactly.
[01:21:48] Speaker C: But there's a point where I feel like it's almost too excessive and I feel like we're at that point of she doesn't need this many belts. If they gave her one belt, maybe two, I feel like that's plenty. This kind of is just overdoing in my opinion.
[01:22:01] Speaker A: Exactly. We did have another match that was added. I did not have time to put it on my sheet, but Brody King versus Kazuchika Okada for the AW Continental Championship. This is another one of those last minute. Tony wants to have Okada on the card or have us in the beginning get match on the card and just adds it anyway with absolutely no build. Because before this I barely knew that Brody King was involved anywhere close to Okada. So just stating that out there. Who do you have for this match? This is simply Okada. Yeah.
[01:22:36] Speaker B: Yeah.
[01:22:37] Speaker A: Now with this, with Okada having this easy win, does this mean now at AW Dynasty, could we see if Omega wins? This is. This is what I would love. If Omega wins, do we see a title unification? The international title and the continental title between Omega and Okada at Dynasty?
[01:23:01] Speaker B: I mean, maybe. Obviously there's a. I just thought about. There's a. There's a very obvious possibility of that, no doubt. But.
[01:23:11] Speaker A: But could that be reserved for another pay per view? Probably.
[01:23:14] Speaker B: Yeah, probably.
[01:23:15] Speaker A: So looking at like all in Texas.
[01:23:17] Speaker B: Probably in July, I don't even know if that needs to be a thing. Regardless.
However, it's. That's a fun match. That's really, really cool to think about. However, I just. We have so many unifications like we just talked about with Mercedes Monet. She's got five different belts.
You don't need unification belts. Like we're seeing an NXT next week at a roadblock. Stephanie Vacair and Julia are already unifying their women's North American NXT titles. We don't need to do that. We don't need to see that. So unless that match is being broken up with the disqualification, I. I don't understand why they're already putting all of their eggs in one basket. But we're having both women's championships on nxt. So now circling back to just multiple titles.
[01:24:01] Speaker A: It's just something you don't need.
[01:24:02] Speaker B: You have a title. You have a title. That means you're the best of something.
[01:24:05] Speaker A: Yeah.
[01:24:06] Speaker B: So I don't think Omega and Okada need to have a title for title match. It can just be a match.
[01:24:12] Speaker A: Well, the difference. I think you're slightly confused when I talk about unification. I mean, it basically being one belt and then basically for Julia and Stephanie Mercure, that is title for title. And that'll probably be a situation where they'll win it and then they'll decide which one they vacated. And I'm already calling it now probably because it's going to be North America Women's North American championship.
[01:24:35] Speaker B: If someone wins that. The other belt is being vacated.
[01:24:37] Speaker A: Yes. And I'm calling it now. Stand to Deliver Las Vegas. We're getting a six women's tag ladder match again for the North American Women's Championship for nxt. So. So that'll be fun. But our main event of the show is for the AEW World Championship. Jon Moxley of the Death Riders versus Not. Not Edge, not Adam Copeland.
I. This storyline that has been going on ever since World's End where Cope coming back and trying to eliminate all the members of the Death Riders. We saw it with Claudio, we saw it with Pac, and then besides Wheeler.
[01:25:21] Speaker C: Wheeler.
[01:25:22] Speaker A: Wheeler walked out. Who's the girl?
[01:25:24] Speaker B: I forget who. Like Marina Shafir.
[01:25:26] Speaker A: Yeah, Marina Shafir. She got taken out by Willow Nightingale and then Wheeler just walked out the other night. Does this finally end the reign of the Death Riders? And does Cope end up being a world champion in aew?
[01:25:42] Speaker B: I have a really fun prediction.
[01:25:44] Speaker A: Okay, go ahead.
[01:25:45] Speaker B: Is winning.
[01:25:46] Speaker A: Okay. And then I. Okay, I. I know what it is. I forgot that.
[01:25:49] Speaker B: I forgot that Hope is winning and Christian is Cash.
[01:25:52] Speaker A: I forgot immediately.
[01:25:54] Speaker B: That is 100% how it's.
[01:25:56] Speaker A: That is how it's happening.
[01:25:57] Speaker B: I forgot.
[01:25:59] Speaker A: Is winning off a TV.
[01:26:01] Speaker B: Yeah. Christian is 100% returning, cashing in. And it's going to be so funny to see Christian win it because Christian deserves the AW World title. Like, I, I, I hate to say it because he's, it's Christian, but, like, he has been grinding so much. He has been the best character worker with the heel stuff he does. So I think it's, yeah, it's all.
[01:26:27] Speaker A: The work that he, I would, I.
[01:26:29] Speaker B: Would be thoroughly surprised if one Cope loses. Like, if Moxley just beats Hope. That's stupid.
[01:26:35] Speaker A: Yes, yes, yes.
[01:26:36] Speaker B: I, I really think Hope should beat Moxley.
[01:26:39] Speaker A: Yes, he should.
[01:26:40] Speaker B: And then, yeah, Christian's gonna, Christian comes. It's gotta beat him, right?
[01:26:44] Speaker A: He, I did. I totally, I think I thought about this, but I wasn't having it when we were doing this, that Christian Cage can definitely cash in and be Cope because he's done that before. And I think that that would add to the storyline. And then we get Christian Cage vs. Cope at Dynasty for the title. And I actually say Christian wins that one. So maybe Cope never wins the world title and basically he just gets into a couple of different feuds. Most specifically, I think a lot of people are wanting to see Cope versus mjf. I think that would be a great feud that we could get in the future. But overall, yes, I do see Cope winning. And if Coke does win, I do see Christian Cage coming in and cashing in that spot for the championship. So that is our AEW Revolution preview and our predictions. And that is it for the end of this episode of the Rocking Review podcast. I want to thank you guys so much for coming in. Mike and Lucas, I love hearing your thoughts on wrestling and I cannot wait to have you guys in the studio and in for the podcast.
[01:27:55] Speaker C: Thanks for having us.
[01:27:57] Speaker A: And as you all know, we are both on X and Instagram on the Rocking Review. That's R a Wk ing review. That is where you can get all of our notifications on when we are dropping and when a new episode will be coming out. We are also featured on the 889wnyo.org website in which you can see all of our other podcasts produced here at wnyo. And as always, it's spelled R A W K because we talk about that W's in pro wrestling. Thank you everybody.
[01:28:56] Speaker B: Ra.
