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00:00Hello, and welcome to the Raw Preview. I'm Adam Wilborn from WhatCulture, joined by Michael Hanfler from WhatCulture, here to
00:07look ahead to tonight's episode of Monday Night Raw.
00:09But before we get into it, if you're a fan of this sort of thing, make sure you subscribe to
00:13WhatCulture Wrestling on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and YouTube.
00:16We do daily wrestling podcasts where we're not going to interview Raw, but also SmackDown, the show formerly known as
00:20NXT 2.0.
00:22We've done our pay-per-views, premium live events where we have interviews, roundtable discussions, and a round-up of
00:26the week complete.
00:27We're going to get a quiz, of course, on WrestleCulture. As I said, though, joined by Mr. No Days Off,
00:32Michael Hanfler.
00:33No Michael Sidgwick today. He's off today. I was off on Friday. You were Mr. Consistency all of a sudden.
00:39That's me, yeah. I was like I was all along, and there's been a lot of false narratives peddled for
00:42the years.
00:44But lots to look forward to on tonight's Raw, and the return of Roman Reigns.
00:48Yeah, I'd be honest, I didn't know about that until you dropped that little nugget over the desk this morning.
00:53It's a pretty cool list. I'm not going to say the power's back, as much as I like to jump
00:59to conclusions and use an abused recency bias.
01:02But as we'll flesh out on the SmackDown review coming later on, like, the King of the Ring has worked
01:09wonders.
01:09It's fixed everything, hasn't it?
01:10Kind of. Kind of. It's, I think it's reminded us of something that we already knew, that a lot, I
01:18mean, a lot of the existing programmes felt incredibly stale.
01:23And it wasn't just those foo heads. It was the fact that the wrestlers seemed so limited in who they
01:28could interact with.
01:28As a result of that, you've got something like Seth Rollins and Bron Breaker, right?
01:33They're in the middle of a, you know, well, they were, I guess they still are.
01:35They still are.
01:36In the middle of a rivalry. And it's not just that, oh, you're kind of a bit tired of Seth
01:41Rollins and Bron Breaker interacting.
01:43Seth Rollins was allowed to make friends with the Street Profits. So they get dragged in a bit.
01:48Bron Breaker's got the vision. But outside of that, nobody does anything with anybody.
01:56Like, so there's just rotation of wrestlers that just see, it feels like, even if this isn't the case, by
02:01the way,
02:01because I'm sure there would be like a result somewhere that would prove otherwise, it feels like that's all they
02:07do is just rotate that sort of five or six same wrestlers
02:10in and amongst like the same storyline. And the King of the Ring, these four ways, my best example, I
02:16would say, was Bron Breaker on SmackDown the other week.
02:18What the hell are you doing here? And just interacting with SmackDown wrestlers and just hitting people at his 23
02:24miles an hour for the love of the game again,
02:27rather than because of like Paul Heyman's grudge or whatever he's got going on. It was just really nice.
02:32And I think less so for the women's division, actually, I will say that because the women's division tends to
02:36like,
02:36by necessity, has to be a little bit more flexible. We talk about the tag division, just, just like, it's
02:40like the grabber machine, isn't it?
02:42Like they're all the, all the women's tag teams, the aliens in Toy Story, like looking at, are we getting
02:46a shot?
02:47But like in the men's division, this like, the little mix up they've all had has worked wonders.
02:51And why I sort of brought SmackDown into it as relates to Roman Reigns as Brutine's tribal chief is because
02:58obviously so much of that on SmackDown
03:00was bringing the bloodline and the MFTs together off the back of the cliffhanger ending of Clash in Italy.
03:08And now we immediately get Roman Reigns' response to it.
03:11It's not one of them things where there's a kind of big development on SmackDown to do with these overlapping
03:16families.
03:17And then, ah, well, Roman will probably pass comment on this when he rocks up in August.
03:21No, he's here now. Like he's got something from SmackDown to respond to that was a big deal.
03:27That is like his, his requests being acted out and all that kind of thing.
03:31And everybody like behaving as he would wish and Jacob Fatou kind of fleshing out why he's prepared to go
03:37to bat for Roman or anybody else.
03:38Because there is stuff, new stuff, albeit with kind of an old coat of paint, that Roman Reigns actually has
03:45to zero in on and focus on.
03:48And it's just, it's just nice that there might actually be a little bit of freshness to this.
03:52The, the kid, we talked about this last week, the King of the Ring wrestlers on Raw all talking about
03:59challenging Roman Reigns at SummerSlam
04:01in what almost felt like a bit of a misdirect that like, well, what if one of them went for
04:04Cody?
04:04Because Jay Uso has been told he's got to go for Cody. Like right now, Roman Reigns is in that
04:08Cody spot from a few months back where he's like,
04:10what's all this? Would everybody want my title?
04:12Yeah.
04:12Like it doesn't feel like he's been like allowed to reference other challenges so far, does it?
04:16And now there's sort of three or four that are outright saying, I'm coming for you.
04:19Yeah. I think the, the sort of necessity of the King of the Ring has injected some much needed excitement
04:25into the whole thing and creativity.
04:28Cause it's like, right, we don't have to worry about booking five matches or whatever.
04:33Three will kind of take care of themselves, two or three or whatever.
04:36And like, what are they doing over here?
04:38So much so that when they were running through the card, I was watching SmackDown last night.
04:41They were running through the card for next week's SmackDown.
04:44And you've got obviously the huge Cody versus Gunther, Sami Zayn special guest referee match.
04:49You've got Queen of the Ring, I think Liv Morgan, Charlotte Flair's that, that, that night.
04:53And they were going through and I went, oh, how do we get a tag title match with the MFTs
04:59facing Priest and R-Truth, which normally had been partridging out about.
05:06Normally it'd be the only thing they'd announce ahead of time.
05:08Yeah.
05:09As well, that other, that's the regular roster.
05:11Yeah, weirdly the sort of necessity of booking backwards because you have to put one in the can before they
05:19fly to Saudi in a couple of weeks.
05:21Yeah.
05:21No, it's just, it's, I don't think it's entirely King of the Ring based, but it does feel like a
05:26lot of the roster feel energized by the fact that they're doing something new.
05:30The, I guess like the post WrestleMania slump had maybe a longer tail than we realized, you know, if you
05:38think about Brock and like Brock's comeback was alarmingly quick.
05:43And then him and Obra have already had the rematch and it was probably like, what, less than 40 days
05:46between the two matches.
05:48And Roman and Jacob was set up on the Raw after WrestleMania and has only just wrapped.
05:54And there's quite a lot of examples, Seth and Braun may never end.
05:57Like there, there's a lot of that where all of this stuff felt like it was already happening before WrestleMania.
06:03So the fact that it's still going on here in June just feels, what, has nobody got any ideas?
06:08And as I say, I'm not suggesting this King of the Ring has been like rich in sort of new
06:13creative frontiers, but the simple newness of the parents and the wrestlers has been enough.
06:18And speculating on the brackets has been fun.
06:20And that's the measure of if a tournament's been booked well or not is if you are looking at the
06:24brackets and thinking, whoa, but what about that one?
06:27Rather than like looking at the obvious outcomes, you're like, yeah, but what if so-and-so qualifies?
06:31It's been fun.
06:31I know we've got on the King of the Ring side of things, everyone from Raw.
06:35Yeah.
06:36But I still cannot call it at the semi-final stage.
06:39And Jey Uso is effectively wrestling for SmackDown here on account of what title he's been told to challenge for.
06:44But yeah, I'm excited to see how Roman Reigns assesses the sort of lay of the land.
06:49Jacob Fatu has been following his orders, but hasn't been getting on with the brothers, obviously.
06:54What was it Solo said about the MFTs?
06:56If he wants me, he can come and get me.
07:00I want to see that.
07:00Yep.
07:01He should pass comment on that, Roman.
07:02Do you think that happens on the SmackDown after next?
07:06Because he'll presumably be in London for the Raw.
07:11Yeah.
07:11And it's only the next night, so if you want to make it easy in terms of, because they're
07:15just doing Raw in London, and Tuesday night filming SmackDown and then flying to Saudi.
07:22I would quite like, on tonight's Raw at least, because ultimately if he is going to be present
07:28for all of it, as you say, you've got like, not just Raw, but then you've got SmackDown
07:32where he's there anyway for the Roman, this is for the pay-per-view.
07:36I would like this one to feel as if he's not going to be ever-present for that stuff.
07:40I would like him to almost address, right, I was in here last week, a few things, you
07:46know, when Ryan in the office gets his list, his quiet little list of enemies out.
07:49I think it would, like, behoove Roman to do a bit of a State of the Union.
07:53This idea that, like, he takes a couple of Raw's off, and he, like, lives down to these
07:56expectations where people think he's like a skiver, or he's like a paper champion, or
08:00what, he's like, no, no, no, like, when I said I was back, I was back.
08:02I'm watching, and I'm listening, and I've got a lot of things I want to get off my
08:06chest, and he just, like, starts going down his list of enemies.
08:08He's like, right, first of all, uh, like, licks the top of his pen, Sola Sekoua, heard
08:13what you said, uh, you don't want a war, mate, you stupid idiot, like, how many times have
08:17I needed to tell you slash show you, uh, but if you do, we're not hard to find, if this
08:23is going to be inevitable, like, like, you have only to ask, and just basically throws the
08:28gauntlet right back to Sola being like, it's really easy for you to talk big over on
08:31the SmackDown, like, I'd like to see, uh, do more than what you did at Clash and
08:34Itly Way, just stood at the barrier and stared, because that's what you always do, is you
08:37stand at the side, and you stare at me, you stare at my end of the family.
08:40And you getting involved in, uh, in the match, ended up with Jey Uso, winning on Friday.
08:45Can't wait to talk about that on the SmackDown review, by the way.
08:47That's it, I'm pulling the strings with you, you're so stupid that I don't even need to
08:50pull the strings, I still end up pulling the strings, thanks, Sola.
08:52What if Sola bought a ticket for tonight, though?
08:55I mean, I'd love that, at MFT, at home.
08:58Well, I'll take it.
08:59So that's that, tick.
09:01Uh, I'd like him to have a bit of a pop at LA night.
09:04Yeah.
09:04How did mouthing off at the Bloodline work out for you on SmackDown?
09:07Uh, mocking us all, thinking that we've all got, like, stupid names, or that we're all
09:11just gonna, like, run in and help each other.
09:15Nostradamus was good.
09:15It was good.
09:16You can say, well, it's funny, LA, because, I mean, yeah, you annoy some Samoans.
09:21Yeah.
09:21Yeah, you annoy some Samoans, but I didn't see the Bloodline helping you on SmackDown.
09:25All I saw was the Bloodline defeating you.
09:26Nice one, Jay, by the way.
09:27And he's like, thanks, Roman, yeet!
09:29Like, he's all fired up.
09:31That shot of him through the, the, with the crown.
09:34Giving it the crazy eyes.
09:35It was brilliant, wasn't it?
09:36It's actually gonna be amazing.
09:37Yeah.
09:39Like, I'm into this, Jay Uso losing it again.
09:41And Cody's little, mmm, little, mmm.
09:44Like, the seed.
09:45Oh, with the Uso's.
09:46I just hope this, just hope this is, this is your idea.
09:48Yeah.
09:48Not Roman's.
09:49Yeah.
09:50I heard what you said, Cody.
09:51All right, Jimmy, don't you?
09:52Hey!
09:53Big Jim!
09:54So you can, I can have pop at Cody if he likes.
09:56Um, and he can, you know.
09:58Funny, isn't it, how, other than if I say, one of my guys is gonna go for your belt, everybody's
10:01coming for mine.
10:02Like, I guess it reminds you who the real champion is, Cody.
10:04Oh, look, no pop.
10:05That kind of just one of them, where they, like, fire little shots across each other.
10:08And then, just.
10:09If, if, if, if, if anything, I want Obafemi to win the King of the Ring.
10:13Well, imagine after all of that, like, he just, he just outright says it.
10:17And he says, Obafemi.
10:20Like, just.
10:21Just says his name.
10:22Just the words coming out of his mouth, right?
10:23One rule around here.
10:24Uh-huh.
10:25Like, just a massive, massive pop for the main mention.
10:29I'm gonna bust if he says that.
10:30Uh.
10:32Yeah, if you like.
10:36So, Wilborn's busted.
10:37Uh.
10:38And I imagine a lot of people in the crowd will.
10:40Hopefully they'll keep it to themselves.
10:41Rather say it out loud.
10:42But, like, is it.
10:43What reaction?
10:44The old breadcrumbs to WrestleMania, effectively.
10:46Yeah.
10:47The first time you.
10:48Or, full slice of bread to SummerSlam.
10:50Works for me.
10:51And a burger bun that.
10:52Like, honestly.
10:53I think they should do it.
10:55Um.
10:55Was it on the SmackDown preview?
10:57I'm not saying you took credit for this.
10:59But you said you'd read it somewhere.
11:00Where there was, like, there.
11:01Somebody had pitched, like, a night one, night two, Obafemi.
11:05Yeah, I did see that.
11:05I think it was just online.
11:07Something.
11:07Someone suggested.
11:08Don't hate it.
11:09Like, working myself into a shoot about that now.
11:11Even though I kind of think Dominic should beat Oba through God knows what.
11:15I think I'm more into the idea of Oba just running the table.
11:20Seeing Brock Lesnar is, like, the sort of light work ahead of defeating Roman Reigns the next night.
11:24Like, that's this.
11:25Surely that's this generation's I beat The Rock and Steve Austin in the same night, isn't it?
11:28But Oba doesn't need to cut the promo like Chris Jericho.
11:30Because people just remember that he did it.
11:32Like, just over two nights in two massive stadium matches, he just takes out, like, these two kind of monstrous
11:38pillars of the prior decade or whatever it's been.
11:41And just, being them both, I'm the world champion.
11:43What's anybody going to do about this?
11:46Or at the very least beats Brock.
11:47And I don't want him to get screwed against Roman.
11:50But, like, I don't want anything to befall Obafemi that's bad.
11:54Well, let's talk about this semi-final then.
11:56Because I don't know what I want to happen.
12:00Because on the one hand, I think Obafemi is a megastar.
12:05Look at the reaction he got last week.
12:07Well, look at the reaction he gets everywhere, basically.
12:10It was an incredible promo last week.
12:11Incredible.
12:12Great promo.
12:14But on the other side, and I want, like you say, I want him to win King of the Ring,
12:18punch his ticket, go to SummerSlam.
12:20It's a huge match, Roman Reigns versus Obafemi.
12:24You could basically do the Avengers thing as well, but have no one help Obafemi.
12:29You would keep running down, send out Jay, send out Jimmy, send out Jacob over, just beats them all, then
12:35beats Roman Reigns.
12:37I love that.
12:37That's what the problem is, mate.
12:38Just keeps making his own save.
12:40Yeah.
12:40They just need music to hit.
12:41They just hit his.
12:42A few people do that, and he just keeps playing.
12:44Just keep playing the music like in AW, just playing his entrance thing the entire time.
12:48That's on one side.
12:49But the other side is Dominic Mysterio.
12:55Now, a lot of people said, oh, beating, having Brock Lesnar beat Obafemi is going to destroy his aura.
13:01That's obviously a load of bollocks.
13:03Me?
13:03I'm a lot of people.
13:03I still think it was the wrong call.
13:07But, I mean, the words on paper, Dominic Mysterio pins Obafemi.
13:14Yep.
13:16Funny, as they might be, are concerning.
13:20Now, obviously, it would presumably come with a huge asterisk, because it's not like even you can just say, oh,
13:25yeah, he was going to win, but then J.D. McDonough hit him with a chair.
13:27Because, as we've seen, that has no impact whatsoever, but Brock, understandably, could take issue with Obafemi's comments last week,
13:35because, as he said, it's 1-1.
13:37I've won, bitch.
13:38Who knows that?
13:401-1, three points to me, I think.
13:43It's like when we played the U.S. in the 2010 World Cup, where I think it was the New
13:51York Post or someone like that, the next morning had the headline, USA wins 1-1.
13:57That's good.
14:01But, I also quite like the visual of, like, ref bump or whatever, Brock comes down, Dom sees him come
14:10in, and just is like, the look on his face would be a picture.
14:13And then Dom also boasting of being Obafemi would feed me for a long time.
14:19That being said, obviously, you can't have him beat him with just like a 6-1-9.
14:23No, I think it's such...
14:29Like, this is joyous matchmaking, because I don't...
14:34Right, I don't think I could be proven wrong and, like, eating my words in 24 hours from now.
14:39But, I don't think there is a scenario in which they beat Obafemi, where they don't go to ludicrous levels
14:45of protecting him.
14:46Like, cartoonish levels of protecting him.
14:49To the point where, let's say, Brock Lesnar was involved.
14:51He arrives at ringside while, like, a referee is distracted with, like, the judgement day or something.
14:56And he picks up JD McDonough, throws him at Obafemi, puts Dominic on top, and Dominic is so splayed, and
15:07JD McDonough is so splattered that the referee can't even see there's two bodies on Obafemi.
15:10Like, I can imagine them...
15:13If there is a way in which Dominic Mysterio wins, to your point, and to kind of what we speculated
15:18on from the moment we saw the brackets of, I mean, if there's one guy you want to see, lord,
15:23that win, it's dirty dumb.
15:25They would go to such lengths to illustrate how he's done it, that context is everything.
15:33Brock Lesnar beat Obafemi, no matter how he did it, was, to me, damaging, because it's this idea of, like,
15:38well, to get things done in WWE, you've got to do the trilogy, and you've got to trudge through the
15:43sludge a little bit.
15:43And I was like, it would just be nice if, for once, nobody had to do that.
15:46Imagine if there was no sludge.
15:47Take the sludge free route, and just, like, win all the time.
15:49It'd be class, right?
15:51Dominic, on the other hand, the gulf and the gap and the disparity is so enormous.
15:55That you simply can't book him to, as you say, win with a 6-1-9.
15:58Like, a pulling of the hair and a distracting the referee.
16:01As illustrated last week, the hitting of a steel chair.
16:03Put in on purpose to show you that if it's one steel chair shot this week, well, that's not consistent
16:07with what we saw last week, is it?
16:09It looks like it's going to take 100 chair shots to beat Obafemi.
16:12So how do you arrive at the point where they're hitting him with 100 chair shots?
16:15There's things you have to think about.
16:17You have to put so many steps in place in order to do it.
16:19So that's going to be really fun to watch if they do it.
16:21And again, seven days' time Obafemi comes out of it, none of the worst.
16:24Because you've got this ludicrous, audacious circus of a scene in which he's lost.
16:30Or, Occam's razor and he wins.
16:32You know, like, he just absolutely brutalises the poor kid.
16:36The, like, I will say, Liv Morgan took Dominic to one side last week, didn't she?
16:40She was like, I don't panic, I've got a plan.
16:41She did.
16:42And then we saw her last night.
16:44The star of Holland, Netherlands versus Japan.
16:47This is it.
16:47And she looked pretty chill at AT&T Stadium.
16:51Seemed to care as much about the game as the commentators cared about her being at the game, quite honestly.
16:56So, uh...
16:56It's a fun game they play, isn't it?
16:58Oh, yeah.
16:59Oh, yeah.
17:00The...
17:01They started putting little phones, by the way, with people's names behind them, I've noticed.
17:06Because I saw one...
17:07I don't know whether it was just, like, for the seating, i.e.
17:09Yeah, well, I think...
17:09Here's where Michael Hamlet is going to sit.
17:11But there was, like...
17:12I think it was Infantino was sat next to Rubio.
17:15And they had their names right behind them.
17:17See, I think Liv Morgan was just in a chute seat.
17:19Yeah.
17:19Like, I didn't...
17:20She's a woman of the people.
17:21That's it, yeah.
17:22Like, just the...
17:24Imagine...
17:25Gee, can you imagine if they got to her and there's, like...
17:28Was it John Champion was doing it?
17:30Yeah, yeah.
17:30With Ali.
17:31And they were like...
17:33And there she is.
17:34The greatest women's champion of all time.
17:37It's Liv Morgan.
17:38And she's enjoying the game.
17:39Trouble, trouble, that, huh?
17:41Be great.
17:42No.
17:43Her and, so far, I've seen Mike Myers not getting recognised.
17:46I think he was in, like, a bucket hat watching Canada or something.
17:48Well, she got somewhat of a compliment from the Japanese commentary team
17:52who did the Jim Ross...
17:53Jesus Christ, who the hell's there?
17:55And she popped up on screen.
17:58So, you know, something, I guess.
18:02She looked pretty chill, is what I'm saying.
18:04So, I guess the plan has already been put in place.
18:06And Dirty Dom need not worry.
18:09I don't think...
18:11Again, I'll hold my hands up tomorrow if I'm wrong.
18:12I don't think they can get this wrong.
18:13I think it's just really funny watching Dom go splat.
18:17Or somehow they arrive at the most ludicrous of circumstances.
18:21Brock...
18:22Do you think he's going to try and put a brave face on?
18:25Because, at the end of the day, you're still going out to face Obafemi.
18:28Yeah.
18:29So, Dom has to come out first, obviously.
18:32Does he run all the way to the...
18:36Like, so he comes out first.
18:38Oba enters.
18:39Dom...
18:40Bell rings.
18:41Dom...
18:41Oh, God.
18:41So, he just immediately slices the floor, runs away, runs all the way down the aisle,
18:47back to the entranceway, at which point there's a JD McDonough ambush in the aisle.
18:51And it's not really to beat Obafemi up and beat him down.
18:56It's just to keep him out the ring long enough.
18:58Like, they're just grabbing his leg.
18:59And, like, Dom runs back to the ring and he's, like, screaming,
19:02Count, please, Count, one, two...
19:04And, like, Oba, with JD McDonough on his ankle, just, like, calmly walking...
19:08The Hulk Hogan and, uh...
19:09Who's from TNA?
19:11Oh, Dixie Carter.
19:12Yeah.
19:12Yeah, just, like...
19:14JD McDonough's Dixie-ing out.
19:17You've got JD McDonough on the leg.
19:18Rakhal, Liv, Roxanne Perez, like, grabbing his arms.
19:22And he's just continuing.
19:23Like that.
19:24Because Liv and Roxanne are quite small, aren't they?
19:26They could have, like, an arm each.
19:27He's still just doing this stroke.
19:29Listening in the air.
19:29Yeah.
19:30And he just, he's walking back to the ring, like,
19:31he gets to, like, count of eight or something,
19:33and he's still back in before ten.
19:34And that was Dominic's best chance.
19:36Is there any way...
19:37How would this work in terms of the rules?
19:39Because I understand, or how the referee would interpret it.
19:42What if, like, Dom's getting murdered?
19:44You know, he's...
19:46Oba's toying with him, if anything.
19:48And he rolls to the outside and he's like,
19:49Liv, Liv, Liv, we need a plan.
19:52And she looks at him, kisses him on the lips,
19:54and then kicks him as hard as she can in the cock.
19:57Oh.
19:58DQ.
20:00Maybe, legit, maybe that's her plan.
20:02Like, we've seen that sort of thing before.
20:04Like, where you get your...
20:06Because the referee would surely be like,
20:07I mean, I know you're a teen.
20:09But to the...
20:10I've got to do it.
20:12Oh, man.
20:13You might have got it there, you know.
20:15Because then it's Oba not getting pinned, isn't it?
20:18Like, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry.
20:21Huge hoof in the dick and balls.
20:23Dom just...
20:24Owie!
20:25I just scratched the side of her head just before she did it.
20:27I was literally picturing Home Alone as well.
20:31What are you doing, Marv?
20:34A lot of Home Alone in the front of us.
20:36A lot of Home Alone where we're booking at least.
20:37Dom's clutching his groin, he spews up.
20:40Yeah.
20:40Did you see, by the way, I've only just noticed this just before we came in,
20:44that it's a busy, busy night for the Judgment Day, obviously.
20:48We'll talk about Raquel and Io in the other semi-final.
20:51But there was a tease on socials between Roxanne Perez and,
20:57I think, one of our fave five right now.
20:59I'm talking, of course, about...
21:01Charlotte Flair!
21:08Obviously, yeah, Flair's set to face Liv on SmackDown,
21:12but on Sunday, Roxanne Perez responded to a WWE clip of Charlotte winning.
21:19Yep.
21:20That's spoilers for SmackDown, what were you doing?
21:22Saying, congrats, Charlotte.
21:24You're now in the Judgment Day's way,
21:25and what a dangerous place to be.
21:27I can't wait to watch Liv wipe the floor with you Friday.
21:30But if you show up Monday, you might not even make it that far.
21:34And Flair responded by saying she's got to go to Baltimore and handle some business.
21:38She's got to go to Baltimore and get something.
21:41Let me tell you what, I would love it if I beat you.
21:44Suck it.
21:45Still fighting for this, gentlemen.
21:47Keegan telling Ferguson to suck it.
21:50In his chair.
21:51He went down to my estimation when he said that, and he can suck it.
21:58Also, sorry to interrupt, but Liv Morgan has now made more,
22:02this is not my take, but it's certainly one I've seen,
22:04made more World Cup appearances than she has title defences.
22:08Oh.
22:09Or knee.
22:10Oh, I mean, that's a sad state.
22:12Bad broken.
22:14Bad broken.
22:14Bad broken.
22:16And they were busy as well.
22:17They were at the UFC Freedom 250 thing.
22:19I don't want to talk about that.
22:21Let's talk about Liv Morgan and all the World Cup and WrestleMania and not that.
22:27But I get a bit of grief off yous for not caring about international tournaments.
22:32And that's fine.
22:33But I did say from the very beginning, I knew what I was going to get out of this one.
22:38And just seeing Liv Morgan last night in the stadium that she has worked in,
22:42I was like, I feel like as wrestling fans, we've got the inside track on this World Cup.
22:46The commentators are all like, these incredible megastructures.
22:49I'm going over it.
22:49Like, some of us see these every year.
22:53Yeah, people are, the current mood is like, we were kind of misled with regards to US stadium.
22:58Some of us knew this was going to kick ass.
23:00Yeah, we said all the other stuff.
23:02Yeah, not sure about all that.
23:04But this.
23:06Tell you what, that was a pretty excellent stat last night about how the Dallas Cowboys stadium
23:10could fit the Empire State Building inside of it and still have, I think they said about 15 feet.
23:16That's awesome.
23:18I can't remember where they were for Germany Curaçao, but they did say on commentary as well,
23:24if you took the entire population of Curaçao, you could fill this stadium twice.
23:30That was it.
23:32That's amazing.
23:32So basically, if they wanted to get a ticket, it's a pretty good chance if you're from Curaçao
23:35you can get one.
23:36Well, apart from the fact that you have to pay through the bloody nose.
23:38Well, yeah.
23:39Yeah, that is a shame for people in the cities that can't afford to go.
23:42That's, I'd say, it's legit.
23:46So we've had, it's weird as well.
23:48Like, again, we're so, well, wait, I'll speak for myself.
23:51I'm so wrestling-brained.
23:52I know these buildings so well from WrestleManias.
23:55And I just accept that most of them are immediately, like, franchised off some major brands.
24:00So, like, Dallas is AT&T.
24:02It's Lincoln Financial Field.
24:03It's so fine.
24:04And then all of that's been stripped.
24:06It's the Dallas Stadium.
24:07When they said, I was going to text you, I was texting him last night about,
24:10I think I said the phrase, because Japan equalised, spoilers, but what are you doing?
24:15Late on against the Netherlands.
24:16And I think I texted you saying something along the lines of,
24:19hmm, a twist late on in the AT&T Stadium main event.
24:23Where have I seen that before?
24:24Honestly.
24:25But because, because it said Dallas Stadium, I was like, what are you talking about?
24:29It's AT&T.
24:31You've seen Levi's have changed their logo.
24:33That was it, yeah, Levi's as well.
24:35That was the one that threw me as well.
24:36WrestleMania 31, the Bay Area.
24:38I was like, why does the stadium that's called the San Antonio Bay Stadium look just like Levi's stadium?
24:44The big Pepsi logo from Lincoln Financial Field was, like, either covered over or, like,
24:50they took it down or whatever.
24:51I mean, I like branding and stuff, so, like, I know it's corporate capitalism,
24:54but it's weird of all things that work up, they get those ugly brands away, like,
24:57they're just because they're not.
24:59It's because they haven't given us a huge amount of money.
25:01That's it.
25:01They're not on the approved list.
25:03Now, they all look absolutely fantastic.
25:05Never in doubt.
25:06I did.
25:06I enjoyed Friday with, like, Mexico and Canada.
25:12Prop on started when the States got here.
25:13Like, let's be real about that.
25:15I had a bit of a downstairs twinge when they played, is it Alan Parsons Project?
25:20Yeah, yeah, yeah.
25:21And they zoomed out and the USA walking out of SoFi, and I was like, that's pretty badass, that.
25:27Like, Ricky Steamboat comes out, it's like, WrestleMania 3.
25:29So, it's like, it's, yeah.
25:32I'm pleased to have done it for all, like, it's just an all game.
25:34Yeah.
25:34I wasn't sure if it was just going to be for the home nations.
25:37Yeah, it was, was it, because I'd seen it, I'd not seen it in all the games, but it was
25:41Holland, Japan again, when I saw it last night.
25:43And I was like, yeah.
25:44Like, he didn't do anything when he came on, bless him, but, like, I heard the glass smashing when Brian
25:48Broby ran on the pitch at ATT Stadium.
25:51I was like, do a super.
25:52Do you know there's 12 Sunderland players at the World Cup, that's two more than Real Madrid.
25:56So, every commentator is going to say for the duration of this tournament, I would like to see one of
26:00them win a game.
26:01I've seen five, and they've all lost or drawn.
26:06So, it would be nice.
26:07But then we were just talking before we came in, maybe not.
26:09You know, like how the World Cup is off in the shop window.
26:11I would like the shop to remain closed.
26:14So, like, ideally, none of them make that big an impression, and we don't lose anybody.
26:18I feel like somewhere, Sidgwick was just getting the sharp pain in his arm or something when we were talking
26:22about that there.
26:23That, that one, it was in Brazil, Morocco, wasn't it?
26:26It was Shearer that got confronted with this time.
26:29Great.
26:30Yeah, they've had a good season, Sunderland, haven't they?
26:34That, um, Isak looked good for Sweden last night.
26:37He should play in the Premier League.
26:38Promising.
26:38What have I done to you before this podcast?
26:41No, I'm Adam Nicholas.
26:42Yeah.
26:42When have I ever assaulted either of you two about football?
26:45What is this, eh?
26:47You'll have to reboot that Isak one for, I don't know.
26:49You don't want to start with me, boy, I'm telling you.
26:53I'm, I'm, I'm just jealous you've got the World Cup ball, to be honest.
26:57We've got it.
26:58I brought it in for the set.
26:59It is my ball.
27:01And I'm going home.
27:03To take it back to Steve Austin.
27:05He took his ball and went home.
27:07But yes, we're going to, we're going to try and get a few other bits and pieces on here over
27:11the course of the coming weeks, I think.
27:12I didn't anticipate I'd watch this much.
27:15I love the fact that you've got a bit of that World Cup fever.
27:17I just, I really love the beauty shots of the stadiums.
27:20Vom will come second.
27:21It comes about fifth.
27:23Like, they're, quite honestly, like the, you sent me the ITV credit sequence a couple of days.
27:28It dropped, yeah.
27:28Yeah, so I was like, well, yeah, that's what I want, please.
27:30I knew that bit where it, like, transitioned from, is it the Van Persie diving header into some Mexican...
27:35Oh, no, it's, it goes, like, I watched it 80 times.
27:37It goes halfway through Cristiano Ronaldo's Sioux, it goes into a Hurricanrana.
27:42And then when they're luched off, flips the guy over, it goes into the Van Persie diving header, was it,
27:47for Holland?
27:48Yeah, Netherlands versus Spain.
27:49It's...
27:50And the big Spain 5-1.
27:51God, yeah.
27:52Actually, I remember that one.
27:53It was with the Uniboy's.
27:54First game of the tournament, was it Louis van Gaal, maybe?
27:56First game of the tournament, yeah.
27:57You'll like this, Nicholas.
27:58I was with the Uniboy's at the weekend, and Adam Nicholas informed me, because I was unaware of this,
28:02that there is a 24-7 best World Cup games channel on the iPlayer.
28:07What?
28:08Don't tell me that.
28:08I told Hanford about this as well.
28:10Yeah.
28:10So we put it on, and I can't remember what game was on at the time.
28:16Oh, it was Spain-Portugal, the Ronaldo hat-trick.
28:20And then it went immediately to England-Columbia 2018.
28:24You are.
28:25Just a bit, because we were sat there, and I was saying the lines of the commentators before it happened.
28:31And Ben, my best mate, went, how do you know so much about this?
28:35And I was like, I've probably watched it about 50 times.
28:37Backer looks confident.
28:39No, I watched that channel so much over the weekend that I made it all the way around.
28:43Did you?
28:44To the back of the loop again.
28:45So I was like, hang on, this is the same thing that we've played this morning.
28:47I've actually watched it all now.
28:49What, like, make lists here at what culture.
28:52Stadiums, number one.
28:54Yeah.
28:55Kits, number two.
28:57Like, World Cup kits are always, like, integral to my enjoyment of these tournaments.
29:01Germany's is real good.
29:03The Adidas ones are all hits.
29:05Yeah.
29:05The German throwback one is nice.
29:07The Holland one is, they've invented a new orange, which is nice.
29:11Feels brighter.
29:12Yep.
29:14The Reds on the BBC's Ultra HD.
29:17The whole thing.
29:18Like, it looked stunning watching that game on Friday night.
29:22What else do I like?
29:23The ball.
29:24Really nice ball.
29:25The fact that they've got that, like, man versus food fella doing stuff for ITV.
29:29He's good.
29:29I genuinely thought he was a misprint.
29:30No, he's not good.
29:31I like him.
29:32I'm not into him.
29:33I've never seen, I've not seen him on it.
29:34I genuinely thought he was a...
29:35I used to love him on man versus food.
29:36I never really saw that.
29:37He's a huge Adam Richman guy for man versus food.
29:39Adam Richman, that's his name.
29:39But he's...
29:41He ain't doing it for me.
29:42You know what he is?
29:43He is, to me, what British people in wrestling are to you.
29:48Oh, God, right.
29:49Point taken.
29:50I won't argue you down on that one.
29:52That's what I'm feeling.
29:53I love the ITV pundits.
29:57Either look just like sunburst or windswept.
30:01Yeah.
30:01And either way, they look great.
30:02I love the little paperweights they have to put on the notes when the wind picks up.
30:05When I give anything, it'd be sat there.
30:06Like, what have you?
30:08Like, when they saw the...
30:08Was it the Brazil fans coming over the Brooklyn Bridge during that, like, half-time?
30:13Yeah.
30:14Like, my mum said, not really sure I like what Gary Neville's doing with his hair.
30:19And I was like, I don't think he's doing that with his hair.
30:21I think that's the wind.
30:22The wind is blowing it, like, all over the place.
30:25Yeah, like, at some point, I'll get to how much the football matters to me.
30:28But this is, like...
30:30If everything I've just described was, like...
30:33And there's no disrespect to this country, but, like, to France or something.
30:36Like, I'd not seen any of it yet.
30:39I'd have just...
30:40Also, I got so, like, blackout oblivion drunk on Saturday from starting early.
30:48Like, from having, like, train cans at, like, 9, 10 in the morning.
30:51That I was wiped out, pissed by, sort of, 6, 7 o'clock.
30:54And then I woke with a shock, thinking it'd be, like, 5 in the morning.
30:58It was midnight.
30:59And I was raring to go for, like, the evening's games.
31:02There you go. Round two.
31:02So, like, yeah, I'd inadvertently coached myself.
31:04And it's, like, wrestling...
31:06Being a wrestling fan, train for this, isn't it?
31:07Like, I feel well-prepped for so much of this, through years of watching pay-per-views at odd times
31:12and stuff like that.
31:13I was listening to a Football Weekly episode, and, you know, when we would, like, give a bit of gentle
31:19stick to our American listeners and viewers,
31:21be like, well, this is what it's like for us all the time.
31:25Australian footy fans are saying that to English footy fans.
31:27Well, this is what it's like all the time.
31:29Of course, yes.
31:30They're getting it, like, a nice time of day in Australia.
31:32So, it all comes around.
31:34I like the idea, as well, of all the wrestling companies, WWE and AEW, going, oh, thank God.
31:39The NBA finals are over.
31:41All that distraction's gone away.
31:43The World Cup's gone over.
31:44But I think we've done all the Mania stadiums now.
31:47I can feel myself starting to drift.
31:50Lose interest.
31:51A little bit.
31:52Because I didn't realise we were going to get them all so condensed over the course of the weekend.
31:56I thought they might, like, save MetLife for just the final or the special occasions.
31:59And we got right in amongst it.
32:02So, I've seen MetLife, AT&T, SoFi, Lincoln Financial Field.
32:08But when you see them again, you'll just get the same.
32:10Yeah, we're different colours, different teams, different colours, different needs.
32:12Yeah, of course.
32:13I forgot about that.
32:14It's not like, it's not one and done.
32:16Yeah, you burn through that.
32:18Oh, well.
32:19Off to the college stadium we go.
32:21Yeah.
32:22Yeah.
32:22I've just, I've watched and enjoyed way more of it than I thought it would.
32:25It's been nice.
32:26Well, here's something you haven't been enjoying, probably, that we have to talk about.
32:29But don't worry, we'll get back to the Queen of the Ring and a hugely anticipated in-ring
32:36return in a second.
32:39But I have to ask you again about Seth Rollins and the Vision.
32:42First of all, I'd like Roman to circle back to acknowledge Seth being all like,
32:48I'm going to SummerSlam and I'm going to beat Roman Reigns.
32:51Roman Reigns can't beat me without help.
32:53And he's like, where are you, pal?
32:54Yeah.
32:55It leaves, to be fair, it leaves a bit of chum in the water, doesn't it, if Jay does win,
33:02because then Roman needs an opponent.
33:03You know, if Jay wins this King of the Ring, he's going to go to that.
33:05So they do have to kind of furnish Roman with, that's why I like the fact he's got so many
33:10people just calling him out.
33:13He didn't have this.
33:14Seth helps Jay win King of the Ring just so he can.
33:17They were, I wonder if Roman Reigns will, I like that so much centers around him.
33:23This is like, this is where this character starts to make sense again.
33:26I've always said this.
33:27God, I miss the days where Roman was the tree, right?
33:30If he can replant himself as a second tree, like, what he wouldn't do for the show, this
33:35is what happens.
33:36O-Tree-C.
33:38I love you and that.
33:40I love you too.
33:40Thanks.
33:41Like, O-Tree-C is what we need right now.
33:44Like, and that's where he's refused to put down roots.
33:47And if he did, like, he would be my wishing tree.
33:50Like, I just, I love the idea that when he was the tree, every decision he made would,
33:56like, knock on about 10 different characters.
33:58But he never really had people challenging him because everyone was scared.
34:01Like, there was only really Cody that was like, I'm coming for you.
34:04Like, and then Sammy Zane finally was brave enough to leave the bloodline and all that.
34:07But for the most part, the challenge was pretty brave.
34:10He challenged him as well.
34:11True.
34:12Well, only because Cody stepped aside.
34:13Good point.
34:15Which was the plan all along, idiots.
34:16Yeah, come on.
34:18Keep up.
34:18But the fact that, like, he's been away and all these people have said, like,
34:22I'll challenge you if you like.
34:24Seth Rollins wanted it.
34:25LA Knight wanted it.
34:25Oberfemi wanted it.
34:26All that kind of thing.
34:27Like, if Jay wins the tournament, Roman needs an opponent.
34:30So Seth Rollins could still be that guy.
34:31But obviously, I mean, he didn't win last week because of Brombreaker and the Vision.
34:37Is there any way this ends ever?
34:40But also, could they, they're going to book a Night of Champions
34:46slash Sunday Night's Main Event tag match here, aren't they?
34:49They're going to be Seth and Montes Ford versus Bron and Austin Theory.
34:58Nobody cares.
34:59Nobody cares.
34:59But it's, you've sort of got to.
35:01It's the last one left.
35:03Have they booked that yet?
35:05I don't think so.
35:06Right.
35:06It's the last match left.
35:07Yeah.
35:08We've done every other one.
35:09So we've got Maxine Dupree waiting in the wings.
35:12Yeah.
35:12Well, then we have to have one more because she's obviously going to reveal herself there.
35:16She's warming it out.
35:16Screwed the baby face, didn't she?
35:19What I was trying to get to there was, is there any way that Seth is trying to be like,
35:22let's keep this one rolling because I want to try and get Montes Ford established
35:25before I depart this program forever.
35:28Like, I'm trying to find a positive.
35:29It's the idea of Angelo Dawkins being like, I'm right here, mate.
35:31Yeah.
35:31But he's out injured indefinitely or like.
35:34I don't know what they're like.
35:35So they might as well.
35:36And it's not like Joe Hendry's factored back into things, is it?
35:39So it does feel like it's two on two at this point.
35:43I'm Joe as well, by the way.
35:44This time of year, living in America now, presumably.
35:47So you want me to take sort of June, July off?
35:50I think I can manage that.
35:52I think he like, just went and, not busked necessarily,
35:57but took his guitar and played outside the Scotland Haiti game
36:01and just thought, well, this is great, right?
36:03Because I'll either, like, just, I'll be the story that people have.
36:06I'll go viral through people being like, look, he was here to support Scotland.
36:09But also, like, that added virality is not exactly happening for him on Roy,
36:14is that he could make some money.
36:15Huge pomperish, they cut him on one of the games.
36:17Then Ali McCoy just immediately knows who he is.
36:19Well, I believe in Joe Hendry.
36:20Well, maybe it has to work the other way.
36:23You don't see him, but the commentator says his name
36:26and then he manifests in a seat somewhere.
36:30All right, we've done Cesar Allen's vision, bollocks.
36:32Yeah.
36:33Let's talk instead about the Queen of the Rings semifinal,
36:37an EO Sky versus Raquel Rodriguez.
36:40As I mentioned, the winner of this facing the winner of Liv and Charlotte.
36:45Yeah.
36:45And constant problems with the judgment day, i.e. Liv being like, anyone could win it.
36:51Me.
36:51Me.
36:52I'm winning it.
36:53It's, there's a lot of drama to be had in Raquel making the final ahead of, like, Liv's semifinal.
37:04Because, obviously, then they almost don't want to have the conversation.
37:08They want to avoid, like, the reality of Liv winning and then think, oh, it's good.
37:12You haven't spoiled the result of the other one either, have you, if that happens?
37:15No.
37:15That's the thing.
37:17If EO wins, Liv's winning.
37:20EO and Charlotte could well happen, but just for the cleanliness of...
37:24Well, I was going to say, I think you have the Raquel loss for a red herring to make people
37:30think,
37:31oh, Liv's actually going to beat Charlotte.
37:32And then, instead, the match is between Rhea Ripley's, like, proper best friend and her newest friend in Charlotte Flair.
37:39Oh, yeah, maybe.
37:39Like, the idea is, like, Rhea Ripley is this, she's injured herself at the moment,
37:43but she knows she's going to have to defend the title at SummerSlam against the Queen of the Ring.
37:47And, oh, bloody hell, look, he's in the final.
37:49Me and Charlotte are kind of just on terms.
37:50I wasn't necessarily in the mood for her, like, the war to end all wars with her at SummerSlam.
37:55Or EO, oh, God.
37:56Like, I think they could almost use Raquel and Liv here as red herrings, purple herrings.
38:02That's what everybody calls them.
38:03For the, for, like, the fact that you're going to have this Charlotte EO babyface match.
38:10EO!
38:11Yeah, love that.
38:14Um, that would be, what if there's no decision and they have to do it as a triple threat and
38:20it's a rematch from In Your House?
38:22Remember that?
38:23Yeah!
38:23Like, Rhea had to tweet that she's orange.
38:26Code orange could play SummerSlam.
38:30Like, that'd be terrible.
38:32But, yeah, the Charlotte.
38:35Like, for the colour scheme, I suppose.
38:37It's orange, isn't it?
38:38Summer, isn't it?
38:39Why is it Minneapolis?
38:40It'd be, ah!
38:41Ah!
38:42It could be, um, what culture colours?
38:45It could be purple and gold, couldn't it?
38:46Oh, yeah.
38:47It's the Vikings playing purple and gold.
38:49Is that right?
38:49Um, anyway.
38:52That's more excitement to be talked about on another day.
38:54I wouldn't want Sidgwick to miss out on SummerSlam colour scheme conversation.
38:57Yes.
38:57Um, yeah, I think it's going to be an EO Charlotte final.
39:00And I think both members have been put in to give you the idea that you're trying to work out
39:05the permit.
39:05Like, because even if Raquel loses and Liv makes the final, that's quite funny in that, like, all three women
39:11have entered and at every stage one has fallen to the point where Liv's the one that's got to the
39:14final.
39:15Yeah, I told you it'd all work out, guys.
39:16I'm going to do it.
39:17And, yeah, also if they do what they've teased on socials, Raquel loses, I say earlier on in the night,
39:22because I think Dom Obafemi, that is genuinely, stop what you're doing.
39:26Dom Obafemi on telly, right?
39:29Do you think that's, like, a top of the hour or a main event?
39:32Main event, because I think so.
39:33If you're ever in Brock involved in it, probably.
39:35Even if you have, even if you're not, I don't care.
39:37Keep people on the list.
39:38I want to stick around.
39:40Like, if that was on a normal time here, or even if it was on, like, late here, not, like,
39:44late, late.
39:44Why are we doing that?
39:45I'm not insane.
39:46I would be like, yeah, we'll be powering on through.
39:48It's like, you know, when they book some mad World Cup game at 1am, and I'm like, yeah, right, fair
39:53enough.
39:53I'll do a deal with the devil.
39:55I'll stay up for that one.
39:56While I'm down there.
39:56Yeah, indeed.
39:59But the idea that, like, Raquel's, ah, ah, bloody hell, goes back into the clear about us, and Liv's like,
40:07ah, well, never mind.
40:08So, Roxanne, if you could make sure Charlotte doesn't even make it to Friday, that'd be great.
40:12And then at least, woo-hoo, one of us win it.
40:14And if one wins, we all win it.
40:15We've done it.
40:16Yeah.
40:17I'm the best in the world.
40:20Yeah.
40:21I think Raquel loses.
40:22I didn't realise you were going to the World Cup game, Liv.
40:24Where are our invites?
40:26Could only get two tickets.
40:27Busy.
40:29Actually, yeah, they should play on that.
40:30Also, Dom should be like, who the, who the, who the, who's that guy?
40:35Don't worry about that, like, dear.
40:37Just let me kick you in the cock in the main event.
40:38Just says, like, nothing in particular, and just says, I don't know, trouble, trouble, that's me, and spins out a
40:43shot.
40:44Hmm.
40:44Um, I, EO and Charlotte in the final meet at EO.
40:48Oh, so considering what's happened for, how many years have you had to Judgment Day for now?
40:53Uh, just, just the, just the four, really.
40:55Just for the last four years.
40:56Yeah.
40:57Just as about to go out, Liv's like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
41:00I think Raquel should be able to do this by herself.
41:03So, we won't be interfering in this.
41:04Just so people don't think we're being hypocrites, by the way.
41:07Just the four glorious years of the Judgment Day, compared to what feels like four turgid ones of the vision.
41:13Like, context is everything.
41:15I love, oh, I can't wait to talk about Wolfpack on SmackDown, mate.
41:22The Wolfpack.
41:23Uh, but one final match to talk about tonight, and really, really hardly anticipated this.
41:29Chad Gable returns to the ring to take on Rusev after the whole luchador, uh, developments with Pen-Hur and
41:39Rey and Dragon Lee last week.
41:41Love all of this.
41:41I really hope, um, they keep this one simple.
41:45Stupid.
41:46Like, just pin Rusev.
41:48Yeah.
41:48Just have Chad Gable beat him.
41:50I understand why they would want him.
41:52Ethan Page can try and get involved.
41:53Yeah.
41:53Yeah.
41:53I understand why they would want to think, no, we need to protect people here.
41:57You've only just really, Rusev's only really started to find himself in the main roster, and a lot of that's
42:01because of his link-up with Ethan Page.
42:02Like, Ethan Page has kind of shown his value, which we knew he would do, but he's shown it really
42:06quickly on Raw.
42:07Um, and I worry a little bit.
42:09Because I was really excited by the way they used Chad Gable last week.
42:12I was very impressed that they just gave as much as they did.
42:16It was very un-Triple-H to be like, right, do the apology.
42:19Then do, not just one sort of in-ring reveal of whose side is he on.
42:24He's on the goody side.
42:25But then also he gives a mask back to Ray.
42:27There's no sort of, I've got the mask, and then, like, say, Penta snatches it, and we don't know if
42:30Gable would have done with this mask.
42:32It's like, no, um, I'm sorry.
42:36I'm very sorry.
42:36Legitimately sorry.
42:37Let me prove it with German C-plexes.
42:38Like, they gave you so much with Chad as if to, which is what we asked for, capitalise on these
42:44reactions that he's getting.
42:46Is he an outside bet for Roman at SummerSlam?
42:50Because I get it.
42:51It's SummerSlam.
42:52It's WWE.
42:52It's probably going to be Roman versus Seth Rollins.
42:55Well, again, right.
42:56If Jay wins the King of the Year.
42:58To reference your, and I think it's worthy of a second go, O-Tree-C point from earlier in the
43:04podcast, podcast fans.
43:07That was kind of the genius of that character.
43:10When he was so indestructible, if anybody even dared, why have you done that?
43:18Why have you gone and even put yourself in this man's orbit?
43:21And then you get something like that LA Knight title match.
43:24Yeah.
43:25Remember that?
43:25The Logan Paul one, when he was a situational babyface.
43:28Remember that?
43:28Like, there were so many, like, weird little outliers where they were never going to win.
43:33But it was really cool to watch them try.
43:35Like, Drew McIntyre getting to finally return to his home of Cardiff, Wales.
43:40Like, just to have the momentum of his home people behind him.
43:45There were so many title matches like that.
43:48And Chad Gable, because he's just this right now guy.
43:52Yeah, in the aftermath of SummerSlam, if he lost to Roman Reigns,
43:56it's a hard way back.
43:57He could win Money in the Bank.
43:59Good call.
44:01Good call.
44:02Write that pick down so that everyone knows that you were selecting Chad Gable.
44:05It's Sammy all the way for me, baby.
44:07You full on just Bobby Heenan, that bitch now, don't you?
44:09There's like, whenever somebody would have the Royal Rumble, he's my pick.
44:12Yeah.
44:12He's my guy.
44:13Sammy, though, is looking stronger and stronger by the day.
44:16Yeah.
44:16Become Mr. Money in the Bank.
44:17Tell you what, they've come up with a fantastic idea for next week's SmackDown.
44:21Don't know who would have given them that one.
44:25Yeah, Chad Gable beats Rusev.
44:27Chad Gable beats Rusev.
44:28They probably do, Chad, like, shows what else you've got for Chad Gable.
44:34Like, what's the, to your point about Roman,
44:37what's the direction that feels legitimate?
44:39Because right now, this is more, he's fighting them
44:41because they were, like, Penter and Ray's rivals.
44:44He's doing them a solid to prove his loyalty and prove that he's a good guy.
44:47But Ray did say, well, you've got more skeletons in your closet
44:52and there's more people to apologise to.
44:53So that's presumably Otis and Tozawa, maybe?
44:56Like, so he's just being a good guy, like, doing the right thing by people.
45:01Like, I'm not opposed to him having this sort of, like, mini apology tour,
45:05but I do think he should beat Rusev.
45:07And then also then kind of show that he's not just going to be content
45:10to hang around in this raw mid-card.
45:11You don't want to look like you're just part of the furniture already.
45:14I don't want to dismiss him and say, like, this is his level
45:17because I think the noise behind him right now,
45:21I don't think he beats Roman Reigns at SummerSlam, by the way,
45:23but I think the noise behind him right now could carry him to a world title.
45:27But, like, mid-card fodder,
45:29he was always in and around that with Gunther, wasn't he?
45:32But did he ever?
45:33He never won the belt.
45:34He's never been in Intercontinental.
45:36He won, obviously, tag titles and stuff,
45:37but he's never won the IC title.
45:39What about this?
45:40What about sometime in the world,
45:43the Vision weren't feuding with Seth Rollins?
45:45What?
45:46I know.
45:47And Maxine Dupree, upon joining the Vision,
45:50slash revealing her reliance with us in theory
45:52that we've been seeing on camera for ages,
45:54obviously has to, like, turn her back on Otis and Tozauer.
45:58And if that was to happen at the exact same time
46:00that Gable's been like, we're mates now.
46:02Don't do that.
46:03Like, that actually pulls Gable towards Brombreaker.
46:06Jeez.
46:08That's, like, there's an overlap for you, you know?
46:09It's a hell of a SummerSlam match.
46:11You want to watch that match, don't you?
46:12You want to see Chad Gable and Brombreaker?
46:15I would.
46:16Singlets alone.
46:17Yes.
46:18But, yeah.
46:19That's, like, that's a weird draw.
46:20It's exciting times on Raw.
46:22It's getting the juices flowing a bit at the moment.
46:24It's nice.
46:25I've needed this this year.
46:26Well, let us know your thoughts ahead of Raw tonight
46:28in the comments section below,
46:29or on X, at WhatCultureWWE.
46:31Watch there.
46:31You can follow all three of us, sort of.
46:32You can follow Michael Hanfler at...
46:34HanflerX at gmail.com.
46:35I'm also on Cameo.
46:36You can follow our brilliant producer, Adam Nicholas, at...
46:38It's Adam Nicholas.
46:39And you can follow me at Adam Wilburn.
46:41Follow us all at WhatCultureWWE.
46:43As I said, make sure you subscribe to WhatCulture Wrestling,
46:44wherever you get your podcasts from,
46:45for daily wrestling podcasts.
46:47Got the SmackDown review coming away later on today.
46:49And we'll be doing a live Q&A on YouTube
46:52a little bit later on as well.
46:54But for now, this has been the Raw preview.
46:56My thanks to Michael Havlitt, to Adam Nicholas.
46:57Thank you for joining us.
46:58And we'll see you soon.
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