SummerSlam On The Big Stage

Big Four Energy From The Start

SPEAKER_00 0:05

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages, you are about to listen to the most entertaining and informative wrestling podcast out there. That is not a prediction, it is a spoiler, and this is Kfave Critics.

SPEAKER_01 1:05

I am your host, well, for the next 10 seconds or so, Michael Marcangelo. And unlike the black and white nature of the introduction and the intro music, my co-host usually likes to live in the gray area. He is my best man. He is Zachary Gray. I've I have been uh grooming him to be a wrestling fan probably since the day he was born. And so it's great to have uh uh you know do a podcast together where we're talking about one of the big four, uh SummerSlam. Uh Zach, welcome to K Fave Critics.

SPEAKER_02 1:33

Thank you. Yeah, I uh the grooming aspect, I don't like the terminology, but you know, I did can't imagine I can't, but you did uh you did intro uh introduce me as your best man, and I did have to make sure to do my best man speech uh in a uh WWE style promo. So um yeah, I mean most of uh the history and most of everything about WWE, I give all credit to you. So love that. Um so however I do on this podcast is gonna be a reflection of your uh yeah view.

SPEAKER_01 2:09

So

WWE On ESPN And Why It Works

SPEAKER_01 2:10

I totally yes, and I went from loving this to hating this already. Okay, it's great. Uh well, just so just to catch you up to speed, um SummerSlam and the the pay-per-views, as it used to be called, have changed a little bit now uh with uh the WWE network back in 2024, then they went over to Peacock, and now uh they all live uh domestically on ESPN, the SPN app. Usually the first hour is on ESPN or ESPN 2, which is cool. Um because you're just joining on this show, uh I want to kind of get your take because when this when this originally happened last September, uh Hollywood Ray and I were talking about it, and I said, listen, I get that sports fans may really hate the fact that ESPN is covering WWE as if it was a sport. Uh but as a WWE fan, it is so cool to finally see wrestling on their broadcast and then on their app. So as someone who has dabbled as a wrestling fan, but is a is a pretty big sports fan, how do you feel about that? What is the E stand in ESPN?

SPEAKER_02 3:14

What's it stand for?

SPEAKER_01 3:16

Entertainment.

SPEAKER_02 3:17

Yep. Entertainment sports programming network. So it's only fitting that WWE is being featured on ESPN. Um, I mean, they have the SBS, which is just the most useless award show possible. Uh so I don't mind it. I mean, look, they they play drag racing. Who gives a shit about drag racing and some of these other sports? They have ESPN 8 the Ocho specials at times, which showcase random sporting events around the world. Uh I mean they go crazy for horse racing, and that's not even humans, it's just horses going in circles. So, yeah, I think wrestling and WWE in particular has come to a point where people, I mean, it's still gonna have your diehards, it's still gonna have a niche audience, but I think it's also become so mainstream in the culture and uh you know the big names, and people can name like whether it's superstars of the attitude era, like like Undertaker and Stone Cold, your boy Shawn Michaels, but uh you know, John Cena, uh you know, all these big names that have gone through WWE aren't just names that people might know or they've heard of, like they are mainstream names. Um, Hollywood's help with that too, and everything else, but uh overall, it's you know, it's it's cool to see. It's it's a it's just something different to have.

SPEAKER_01 4:42

And uh it's validating. I just wanted to just rehash this. It's validating as a wrestling fan. Yeah, I mean, if you're yeah, if you're a wrestling fan, it for sure is. During the biggest era of professional wrestling, the attitude era, you know, everyone was a fan, and then like three years later, everyone would get back to the you know it's fake, right? Like you know, it's it's fake. It's like, you know what, guys, yeah, I get it. Do you like Game of Thrones? That's fucking fake too, assholes. Okay. Uh so to see, and I love that they're covering it on like get up and uh and first take. Yeah, I'm a I really like it, so I was just interested in your in your take, but you were you you played a pretty neutral.

SPEAKER_02 5:20

No, I yeah, I it's I mean sports are entertainment too, right? There's an entertainment aspect to all of it. And you know, do uh you know, do baseball games have predetermined outcomes? I mean, back in like the teens when they were throwing World Series, maybe, but um, no, it's definitely a different product. It's still you still have to respect the athletic ability that a lot of these guys put out there and and women put out there too. Um, because you know the woman's uh the woman's side of the WWE has have has for sure changed for the better since 25 years ago. Um so Braun Payne's matches. Right. And um so it it's definitely it's definitely evolved for uh for better, and it is a uh it's still a spectacle, it's still an athletic spectacle to uh to enjoy. So um if people get upset about it on ESPN talk shows and get up and all that, well, like you're still watching a talk show, like get over it, you're fine.

Two Night SummerSlam And Ticket Truth

SPEAKER_02 6:27

So I guess uh I guess this is the point where I'll ask you. Um for SummerSlam 2026, it's gonna be in Minneapolis. Uh a lot of big names, a lot of major titles on the line. CM Punk versus Cody Rhodes, Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Brock Lesnar, who I thought retired. You told me he retired after uh WrestleMania, but here we are. He's gonna be in a hell on a cell. Um so my opening question for you though is uh does this SummerSlam does it have the best card that WWE has put together since WrestleMania 40?

SPEAKER_01 7:00

I I think this this card looks really good on paper. Um I'm excited about like you when you when we run down the the whole card, it's gonna be very hard for me to pick a match that I don't want to watch. Um WrestleMania 40. I think listen, the hype around that event, uh specifically because The Rock came back and he was a heel. Um I don't think this lives up to that, but this is a card worthy of a of a stadium show. And I think uh I think they went all out knowing that they uh had to that they wanted to try to put as many people in the stadium two nights in a row. Um and yeah, I think each night has a has a great main event, and this is a good way for them to to break up WrestleMania season, SummerSlam season, go into Survivor Series, and then the Royal Rumble, and then you're back on the road to WrestleMania. So yeah, I'm I'm I'm super excited.

SPEAKER_02 7:59

Are you happy with how they have uh is I it's CM Punk and Cody Rhodes is the uh the main event, correct? For for night two, right? Yep. Yeah, and then night night one's main event is which one?

SPEAKER_01 8:10

It should be that it's probably Roman versus uh Seth. Gotcha. Uh it has to be, yeah. Um I just love CM Punk. I've loved CM Punk since 2006 when he when he came into WWE CW, and then all the way up to when he did his uh his pipe bomb in 2011. You know, and then when he left, um you just say what you want about the guy, but he's almost 50 years old. He can still cut a fucking promo. He's in the best shape of his life. And I think post-Attitude era, there have been very few stars that make you think what you're seeing could possibly be real. Not the not the fight, but the way that he blurs the lines for the storylines and his promos. You just never know if what he's saying if is what he believes or if if if it's all part of the all part of the uh the show. Um I'm ready for them to turn Cody heel. And it looks like they're they're they're positioning it this way. Uh he's I think in retrospect you realize that they waited too long to turn Cena Heel and they tried to do to do like a four-month heel turn in his last year, which by the way I still fucking loved. Um but Cody's the guy, and CM Punk is the perfect guy to turn heel around. And they're they're dancing around it. Um so I hope that they do it. If they do it, that will leave this will feel like a WrestleMania.

SPEAKER_02 9:37

And do you think and bringing up uh heel turns and Cena was obviously the most recent heel turn? It was very short-lived as well. What I know I'm kind of jumping ahead over SummerSlam, but I think it is like important to ask. Like how how long would you want Cody to turn heel? Like, would it be like the setup for a WrestleMania match or the chilly?

SPEAKER_01 10:03

I think because he's not on like a like like Cena was on, he had 35 dates left or whatever. So like you knew that eventually they were gonna turn him back and have a like a solid end to the farewell tour. I think listen, Roman turned heel in 2020 and was a heel until 2024, except he was being cheered two years in. So when you're that good, people won't boo you, they'll cheer you. Uh, and I think the problem with most wrestling, this is a problem with wrestling and wrestling fans. Wrestling companies want to uh promote their stars as baby faces so they can be on all the TV shows and do all that shit. And then uh wrestling fans are like, we want that guy to be a star. Oh, we made him a star. Oh, they're shoving him down our throats. Oh, they're never gonna turn him heel. Um, but Cody's good enough to be a heel, so he should be. It feels kind of overdue in a sense. He's not, I mean, he hasn't been one in WWE. I'm not even gonna count Stardust. Uh, but since he was uh uh was it ravishing Cody Rhodes when he had when he broke he broke his nose and he wore a see-through mask because his face was so demolished and people were wearing like paper bags to the ring. And again, he got it over so so much that people started cheering him. So he can do it. Uh and Punk's again the perfect guy to do it against.

SPEAKER_02 11:28

And you mentioned one thing too, which is uh this being over two days. So it's the first time in SummerSlam that's gonna be a two-night event. Um it was interesting when they first did it for WrestleMania, which was did they do that during COVID? So one of those things where it came out of accident, but then ended up being a success. And I think it makes sense for I think it makes sense for WrestleMania to be two nights. It's a big enough, it's a big enough uh PLE. I think not I think casual wrestling fans are people who just barely know wrestling. If you say WrestleMania, they know what you're talking about. Yep. But SummerSlam's interesting to make it two nights. Um what do you what do you think about the decision? Do you think it's right? Do you think it's you know trying to sell out more? What are what are kind of your thoughts about this?

SPEAKER_01 12:19

So going back to why I think they did it, obviously, yeah, COVID played a big factor, but the the WrestleMania right before that, WrestleMania 35, was at MetLife Stadium. And from pre-show on the first match to the main event, it was it was wrestling for seven and a half hours. That's too long to keep 80,000 people engaged for, right? So I do like the fact that now they're doing two nights and it's maybe four or five matches a night, and you're like you're in for all of it. Um, and I think like for the big events, it does make sense. SummerSlam is is a big event if you're a wrestling fan. Like it is always has been uh like the second biggest pay-per-view uh for WrestleMania. So if you could and I many people would argue, and I would agree, that right now this roster is the best that it's ever been in terms of talent and depth. So yeah, you gotta I I think you have to do it. Um from a shareholder perspective, you know, because I wouldn't have a house if it wasn't for uh Vinnie Mack and WWE. Um if you run it one night and you put 55,000 people in it, or you run it two nights and you put 40,000 in each night, from a company perspective, it's better. And I think uh this should that you would think that it would force them to be better storytellers than they have been recently. Um but this just shows that they have the ability to put a card together whenever they want to and to try to try and drive uh last-minute ticket sales.

SPEAKER_02 13:51

Speaking of ticket sales, uh reports are saying it's kind of slow, uh kind of underwhelming. Uh are they still charging a shit ton?

SPEAKER_01 14:01

Like no, that's the thing, dude. Like, all right, so WrestleMania this year was in Vegas, and so was last year. Um last year, each night they did, I think it was like 63,000, something like that per night. This year they get to 48,000 to 50,000 per night, but the ticket sales and and the gate was exponentially higher. So they were charging, I think, 35% more per ticket. The average ticket price for SummerSlam is $73.

SPEAKER_02 14:36

Which seems reasonable.

SPEAKER_01 14:38

Uh yeah, I would yeah. Listen, if if if if this was me in 2017, before I met my beautiful wife, the love of my life, you know, um, I would have been there. I would have I I would that this this is a reason for me to be in Minnesota. Are you um are you even a wrestling fan then? Are you not gonna go? No. No, we don't go. We don't go. That's fine. But so I mean, you could get lower bowl tickets for 125 bucks.

SPEAKER_02 15:05

Is this the first time they're having it in Minneapolis?

SPEAKER_01 15:08

Yep. And the reason uh why you uh to just to jump back to what you said originally, uh you know that you thought Brock Lesnar retired, Brock is from Minneapolis. Like this is this was always meant and designed to be his last match. Was that no?

SPEAKER_02 15:26

So yeah, because he left the he left the boots and all that.

SPEAKER_01 15:30

That's why everyone was so fucking shocked when he left his boots and his gloves and he gave Paul Heyman a hug and he was crying. We're like, shit, like the plan was always SummerSlim, and now you're just saying, you know, fuck it, but I'm I'm gonna I'm gonna call it early. So that's why I told you. I I genuinely believed it. And then here we are. And two weeks later, he fucked me.

SPEAKER_02 15:53

Um obviously the destination, the uh Minneapolis being the host for Brock makes sense. Uh if Brock wasn't part of this, do you think they would have been better off going somewhere, whether it was a Vegas or New York, Nashville, some bigger market?

SPEAKER_01 16:14

Here's my really big problem with this. Um they announced in 2024 that SummerSlam would be a two-night event in Minneapolis in 2026. And they didn't release that, they didn't like tickets didn't go on sale until like uh May of this year. That to me is dumb. Uh you should have released tickets early. Like I would have, I would have gone right on sale uh the minute that you announce it. Let it slow burn, then you wouldn't be having these reports of uh, you know, 29,000, 30,000 uh seats being sold. But I think you're asking that question because people would think, well, Minnesota is not really a wrestling town. Well, historians would tell you that the AWA and Vern Gagnier ran out of Minneapolis. Like that was actually one of the major territories back in the day. So it absolutely is a wrestling town. And the fact that you have Brock, yeah, I think that that I think that it helps. Um I think Chad Gable's also from there, which we'll we'll talk about. But I don't think if you can line up what could be his last match in his hometown, you should do that for him. And it looks like they're

Punk Vs Cody And Heel Turn Stakes

SPEAKER_01 17:20

there they're trying to. But I wouldn't say, oh, if Brock wasn't on the card, you don't have it there.

SPEAKER_02 17:26

All right. Enough about tickets. Let's talk about the actual event. So, main event, Sam Punk, Cody Rhodes, undisputed WWE championship. Uh, some are saying this is a dream match. I don't know if I'm saying it, but some people are. Uh, do you think this is the biggest match that Punk has had since returning?

SPEAKER_01 17:47

Uh no, not since returning, because I would say his main the first his first WrestleMania back where he was healthy, uh, the real reason he came back was because he never made a mental WrestleMania in his mind. You know, he did he he did go against the Undertaker at WrestleMania 29. Most people would say any any uh WrestleMania match against Taker, you're probably like that's the main event, uh especially when the streak was still intact. But I think his triple threat with Roman and Seth uh two years ago was absolutely incredible. Um this but there is so much history between these two, uh like real personal history. Punk took Cody under his wing when he first broke into the business. Uh Punk left in 2014. Uh Cody left in 2016 and went on and did things that Punk never could. Cody started his own wrestling company. Cody put uh I think 10,000 people in an arena without being involved in a wrestling company when nobody said that you could do it. So I think that the tension like you the story's real. Like the and the best part, the best part about wrestling for me is not when you when you overload it with gimmicks. It's just you get two guys, there's real history there, let them tell the story. So I think this is the biggest match of Cody's career since WrestleMania 40. Uh and I I yeah, it's a dream match for me. You don't agree? That it's a dream match? Yeah, you know, you don't you don't dream about this, Zach? Like when you when you think about you know wrestling lore, it's not Cody Rhodes versus CM Punk.

SPEAKER_02 19:30

Um, I mean no, it obviously is. Um I'm just thinking like what would be what would be like a satisfying finish for you?

SPEAKER_01 19:44

And wish more people in my life asked that. Now I would say Cody cheating to to win. And like the ref goes down, Cody hits Punk with a low blow, gets him bloody, like hits him with the belt, and actually turns heal. I think that would be awesome. That would be that would be absolutely awesome for me. But the only outcome of this match that will piss me off is if Cody wins clean as a babyface. I'm okay if Punk wins. I'm okay if Cody wins as a heel, but Cody cannot win as a baby face. That will piss me off. Which is probably what's gonna happen, by the way.

SPEAKER_02 20:24

So if he does, then like what would what would the what would that set up then? Because every, I mean, no matter like I mean, every uh Raw, every SmackDown, like it all leads to these PLEs, and obviously they're building up stories. It should. It should, right, in theory. It should, but uh it does feel like at times these then are just building up for it just keeps building, it keeps building, and you're like, all right, where is the payoff here? Uh so if if Cody wins clean, then what do you think they're trying to do?

SPEAKER_01 20:58

Shove them down our throats. Okay, but just to to give you my actual like happy ending, if you want to call it that, yeah, would be something happens with the ref. And it's very clear that Cody could do something nefarious. CM Punk is standing up, it's a little drawn out, cue the music, if you smell, the rock comes down, he's the final boss, Cody finally joins him and turns heal and punk. And now you've got a story. Like, first of all, you can do punk and cody from uh every minute at every event from here to the Royal Rumble, and then the rock gets a little too big for his britches, and it's maybe it's Cody versus Rock, or somehow you pull in Roman down the road for uh for Roman Rock, but that's what I would do. Like Do you think do you think punk rock would be uh huh? Punk rock.

SPEAKER_02 21:50

We've already seen it.

SPEAKER_01 21:51

We've already seen it. You don't you don't think they'd just fire it down again? Uh I think Rock has one more match left in him. And I think he won like I I think he wants it to be Roman. And I don't know how you get there. If well, if Cody's the big heel, then he turns his his sights to to Roman. Right. But that'd be how you do it. But I think, listen, you don't talk you want to talk about WWE ticket sales? The Rocks movies are flopping right now. And whenever that happens, he always comes back to wrestling. And then his movie, and then his movies always get exponentially better. Now I don't know why, but because the wrestling audience is like four million people. So it's not huge. Uh but this happened in 2011 when he was doing the fucking Tooth Fairy movies. He had been gone for seven years, and boom, he comes back, and now he's doing Fast and Furious. And he's doing all these other movies, and he's the biggest action star in the world again. So yeah. Oh, and he's on the board of directors for TKO.

SPEAKER_02 22:53

You don't think Moana's like killing it right now?

SPEAKER_01 22:56

It's not. It's not. Surprising. The movie took that that but the movie that budget was like $200 million and it has not made that yet.

SPEAKER_02 23:05

Yeah. Not great.

SPEAKER_01 23:06

So yeah, that's my that's my idea of that. Like you the rock is so good still on the mic. So why not bring him back?

SPEAKER_02 23:16

Do you think like do you think he helps? I I it's it's such a generic question. Do you think he helps? Like I'm thinking you're paying five million dollars a year anyway. I mean, like, like like I established, like we established at the top, I am very much casual. Uh I've I get most of my info from you, yes. Uh and so I I'm not in the weeds like you are when it comes to WWE. But but like, yes, I part of me gets excited to see oh rock's back, but it's also at the same time I look at him and I'm like, all right, like this isn't the same guy from like 1997.

SPEAKER_01 24:00

Like no, it's better, it's better than 97, it's not as good as 2000, as 2000, but it's he's still he's still good. So I mean, at some point, like well let me ask you a question though, because uh this always comes up like why do they have to keep drawing from the old names to to sell tickets? I understand that. Uh the Rolling Stones still sell out Chillette. Springsteen still sells out Chillette. If you had Springsteen, if you had I had to, if you had the opportunity, let's just put it this way. Let's say David Ortiz was still in 2000 and 2008 shape, right now, and there was no rule that you could not bring him back for a couple of games, wouldn't you?

SPEAKER_02 24:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 24:44

Right. But thank you. Just answered my question.

SPEAKER_02 24:46

Okay, well, there we go.

SPEAKER_01 24:49

Well, I guess I don't know. I could go with that one. All I know is that if if the if if the Chief was still in 1984 form when uh uh in in 2010 against the Lakers, and we could have brought him back, everyone would have done it. They would be like, oh, they're just bringing him back to sell a ticket. No, they're bringing him back to fucking win. Okay, and so WWE need their version of winning is selling tickets and generating buzz. All right.

SPEAKER_02 25:18

I was gonna say what what's winning, but you just answered it. Selling tickets.

SPEAKER_01 25:21

Welcome.

SPEAKER_02 25:22

Ruman Reigns, Seth Rollins. I do so I do love that the shield rivalry rivalry is uh still alive as well. I it is very tough for me. It's hard. Uh I think this is one of it's funny. Like, I I think there are some uh you know, factions or some tag teams that like you know they they either linger too long or they feel like it's kind of drawn out where like this feel like something about the shield and like they're like you know, they're good one day, they're not or like something about this feels authentic. There's something about this feud that feels authentic. Um do you consider it the greatest rivalry of their uh generation?

SPEAKER_01 26:11

Yes, yep, 100%. Uh no doubt about it. Let me ask you, because you you you brought this up and you can't look it up. Um how long was the shield together? I'm gonna guess like nine months. A year and a half. And people are still pissed off that they broke up 12 years ago, like and the way that

Roman Vs Seth And Shield Fallout

SPEAKER_01 26:30

it happened. Uh this is I don't know, like Piper. Uh I would say this is like Macho Min Hogan of our generation. Uh it's not Brett, Sean, but it's it's there because you can just always go back to it. They deliver, there's a real story. Uh, for what it's worth, you know, Roman has never beat Seth uh in a big match. No, he did beat him on a Raw way back when, uh, but he's never beat him on in the Big Palee. And at the height of the Bloodline's powers. Now remember, the Roman was technically a heel. Seth was also a heel. Roy Rumble, 2022. Roman comes to the ring, everybody's cheering him. Seth was a pretty good heel. How does he come to the ring? He hits the shield music. And Roman just is like looking around, like, what the fuck's going on? And he cut he reenacted the entire entrance. Yeah, so I think it's always there. And Roman has never been able to get back at Seth for hitting hitting him with a chair. He tried at WrestleMania 40 and it cost him the match. So that that's that that to me is great storytelling. Like they're they're they they keep putting things from the past as to why they're doing it uh in matches. So this is the feud of our yeah, of this current generation, for sure.

SPEAKER_02 28:02

Do you think Paul Heyman becomes a factor?

SPEAKER_01 28:03

Do you want him to become a factor? I don't know. I mean, my dream is that Roman goes, it hits Seth in the back with the chair and the shield music hits, and it's John Moxley or Dean Ambrose, who's I'm pretty sure he's still under contract with the other with AEW, so that couldn't happen. But if that did, that place would lose their fucking mind. Uh because now you would have all three members of the SHIELD back for the first time in six years.

SPEAKER_02 28:40

Is there a possibility? I mean, is there anything contractually like like is he's always still Well, I think he I I think he's under contract with AEW still.

SPEAKER_01 28:49

Um I can check. You know, I'll just talk talk to my sources. AEW contract. Yeah, it runs through October 2027. Of 2017. Yeah, so it can't happen. So that would be my dream. Maybe there's a buyout. I don't know. Some secret buy-out. That'd be fucking awesome. That'd be great. But that's the dream. Not gonna happen though. So here's the thing about this though. You know, like when you have two uh I would say generational talents, it really does not matter. Like nobody neither neither of them actually needs a win. Roman hasn't been in a position where if he loses, he kind of looks bad in like six years. He needs to beat Seth. You think so? Yeah. Yes, he does, of course he does.

SPEAKER_02 29:45

I mean, it's it's kind of because I think a lot of people were expecting him to lose, uh obviously to Cody, and then even like the WrestleMania before, like there was always like, oh, when's when's he finally gonna drop the title? There was always people just wondering how long the run was gonna go.

SPEAKER_01 30:00

But I mean he he saved wrestling. Roman? Roman Reigns and the bloodline absolutely saved saved wrestling. They brought it back from the pandemic era, and then they were the reason why you know SmackDown, which is the show that they were on, went from drawing like seven to nine thousand fans per night to 2023-2024, they were drawing 15,000, they were selling out arenas for Smackdown. That's all because of the bloodline.

SPEAKER_02 30:31

Yeah, I mean yeah, I guess he does have to win.

SPEAKER_01 30:36

Like you said, he he hasn't beaten Seth and Yeah, except for a throwaway raw match like a long time ago.

SPEAKER_02 30:43

Yeah. Uh, do you think this will be the match of the weekend?

SPEAKER_01 30:48

It'll be up there. I think this will be the storytelling match of the weekend. Match of the weekend for me. We haven't talked about it yet, but it's it's it's it's gonna be the the women's interc uh, the women's ladder match. That's gonna be a fucking disaster to watch.

SPEAKER_02 31:03

The woman's ladder? In the best way possible, by the way. Well, let's jump ahead to it then, I guess, right? Yeah, I'm I'm I'm game. Okay, so this is the it's what the interim women's championship ladder match.

SPEAKER_01 31:17

Yeah, because Rhea Ripley legitimately got hurt in real life. Uh, and they tried to keep her out there to uh to get ready for Summerson, but she she just couldn't do it. Um so now they're gonna have an interim, which I love because then that then that instantly sets up an undisputed, you know, uh WWE women's champion. Um every woman in this match can go. We don't know the final qualifier yet. I think we'll find out on Friday. It's either gonna be Julia or Lash Legend. Lash Legend is a fucking beast. I mean,

Interim Women’s Ladder Match Mayhem

SPEAKER_01 31:55

she can go. Julia is an international superstar. Um she's amazing. But my favorite in this match is Chelsea Green. Uh she is a well, she's a wrestling fan. She grew up a wrestling fan, always wanted to be a wrestler, was always told that she wasn't pretty enough. She didn't have the diva look. Um she did she did WWE tough enough back in 2014, got legitimately hurt, but kept going. Um she didn't win, but she went out on the independence and uh ring of honor and TNA and and she made a name for herself. Like she she got to a point where she was undeniable, and she's another one that is so good as a heel. Her gimmick is so ridiculous that people started sharing her. And there's a she's she's actually afraid of heights. And she was in a Money in the Bank ladder match a couple years ago, climbed to the top, and somebody pushed her from the middle of the ring off the top of the ladder to the outside of her ring through the table, and it was the spot of the fucking night. Um so yeah, I want her to win. She's not going to, but I do. I want her to win. And who do you think should win? I mean, it's so stupid to ever bet against Charlotte Flair. And I hate that. She's she's like the John Cena for the women. Yeah. Like 2006 to 2018, where if she's on a if she's on a marquee, she's gonna win.

SPEAKER_02 33:34

Do you think it's good or bad for uh business and particularly the uh the woman's uh side?

SPEAKER_01 33:40

Well, she's so good, you know. Uh she gets shit on a lot because everyone's you're a netbell baby, but no, it's she picked up the business really really quickly, and it was it was her, uh Sasha Banks, that's her WWE name, um, Bailey and Becky. Like they were the four horsewomen of NXT that really helped WWE move from divas to actual, you know, women, women superstars, and now just superstars. Uh, she's undeniable. Um, and it's hard to throw her adversity. Like, believably, the only person so far that's uh that's that's had her on the ropes was Rhonda. Because Rhonda can legitimately kill most of the the roster, men and fear, male and female. Um she's a bad, she's a bad babyface historically. Nobody likes to cheer for her. Uh so I don't know. I it's fine. I don't it doesn't hurt business because you know that if she's if she's on the marquee, she's gonna deliver.

SPEAKER_02 34:46

Going back to the kind of the reason, I want to say the reason why SummerSlam's in Minneapolis, but a big

Brock Vs Oba And The Fight Feel

SPEAKER_02 34:55

a big part or big draw for it is Brock Lesnar. And Oba. And Oba. The uh hell in a cell match. Do you I mean if this is Broadclass match, he has to put Oba over, right?

SPEAKER_01 35:12

I mean he put him over in WrestleMania. Took his boots off, took his gloves off. So you gotta do it again, right?

SPEAKER_02 35:21

I don't know. Um do you also find that strange that like it's it's the same match again? Is that weird? Yeah, you know, I so that's weird to me. Like I know I know WrestleMania wasn't that far from this, so like you could theoretically have a rematch, but this is their third. This is the tiebreaker. So alright, so I guess in that I guess in that sense like if you're comparing it to say like UFC, how they always you know, they always have a good uh match, and then they do with a rematch, and then like they do a part three of each guy's won. So like I guess in that sense it it makes sense, but but at the same time, I uh WWE just feels so different than like any like UFC or boxing or any other combat sports that like you could have these standalone matches and and really create something special out of it. Uh that you don't you don't need to have like a 3P, especially if like especially if it's a guy going out like like Brock, like I don't think you need to have a a 3P with uh you know uh you know an old school guy and and uh and a newer and a newer talent.

SPEAKER_01 36:45

Oba is a legitimate fucking problem. Like he is a big, big motherfucker. And there haven't been many people in WWE since 2012 when Brock came back that believably you're like, oh, this person could actually cause a problem. Um and Brock is just so smart, dude. Like he gets a lot of shit. Uh not uh and mostly from the die-hard wrestling fans that are like, you know, he's it's just the same shit. He walks in, suplexes, F5, it's over. He sells so much for people. And it's when when they originally when Brock did like an open challenge to set up the WrestleMania match, and Oba responded and answered it, like the look on Brock's face, Oba then throws him up in the air and picks him up for a power bomb. And the the hot mic caught it, and I'm I'm I'm glad it did, but I'm it also pisses me off that it did. Um Brock said, uh, put your foot on my chest. Like he knew to make Oba look that good. Um, it's a business for him. I think, but I don't think he would come back if he didn't want to do the right thing for Oba. I think he I think he's at this point in his career, again, he's 50 years old too. Right? He came in with John Cena in 2001. So he doesn't do anything he doesn't want to do. And no one can make him do anything. Uh so yeah, I think this is gonna be, I don't think it's gonna be like a five-star classic, but I I don't know when the last time you watched an event that had Brock Lesnar on it. I'm pretty sure it was WrestleMania 32 at my house when we uh you, me, John, and Holland did the Stone Cold stuff at the uh after he came back. Yeah, it was 38, right? Oh yeah, 30, yeah, 38. Yeah, you're right. 32 Jesus. Um But the the vibe changes when Brock comes in. Like it feels like it feels like a big time fight.

SPEAKER_02 38:51

Yeah, I mean anytime his his music hits, the place goes nuts. Fucking nuts. Did diehards really like give Brock shit like that? Like, do they really think it's like the same old shit? Which is like Yeah, they're getting better.

SPEAKER_01 39:05

But I mean, we did the same thing at Tassina, we were like, oh, it's just it's the five moves of Doom, like it sucks, and he and then once they start slowing down, or they go away, you're like, wow, we didn't realize how good we had it. And Brock is that good.

SPEAKER_02 39:19

But I but I feel like that's such an interesting like mindset to have for Brock, given that I mean he came in like he came in as just like the I mean he was the biggest guy you you'd ever seen and moving at the speed, like I mean, I guess like the little bronze of of WWE, like young, huge, fast, like the athletic ability. He like it was just he was a better Goldberg. He was all right, and that's the and that's the thing I was gonna uh get to was like hearing that feedback sounds like what how people rightfully talk about Goldberg. Is that Goldberg was huge, but Goldberg was just stiff as shit and legitimately had the exact same matches every fucking time because he couldn't fucking wrestle. He couldn't wrestle, he can't wrestle. Like he even like I mean, you look at the his match with The Undertaker, I forget which uh which pay-per-view it was, but Crown Jewel is Saudi Arabia almost killed. And it's like he almost got himself killed multiple times because he sucks. Like uh so it's just funny to hear that like people have this type of feedback for Brock when like you said, he sells, he understands the business, he does very well. All of his matches are very entertaining. And he from all I I don't I don't know all like the behind the scenes and everything, and then I know you're much more in tune with that, but it it seems like he has a lot of respect from guys in the locker room and understands like when guys are being stiff, he's not afraid to send a receipt either. Uh like he he gets it, and it's just funny to hear any sort of negative feedback on that because I think a lot of times when these when a guy like Brock, especially when, especially when like Vince was still around, yeah, Vince has this vision of how guys are supposed to be, and like you know, if Brock's you know gonna follow the uh follow the lead of being just this big bruiser, and then maybe it seems it's repetitive, then yeah, maybe he's gonna do that. But um, I mean it's it's good to hear that like people are kind of coming around on that. And hopefully this match is a lot longer than the WrestleMania match, because that was what, like a minute? Or felt like a minute?

SPEAKER_01 41:29

No, it felt it felt like a minute. That's but that's that's the deceptive thing about Brock, though, is that mania match is like seven minutes. But every time he's in the ring, it feels like it just it's just over in an instant because it's just it's it's really fast action, and then it's just explosive, and then it's done. Like it's you know, um he he is capable of having a 25-minute match and in it being five star. Um he is a I I'm I don't know that he's on steroids. I think he might be. I don't know, but he's he that guy's a fucking specimen. And he's like he's country strong. He oh yeah, he left WWE because he didn't like he didn't like to travel. He didn't like fans, he didn't like interacting with people, and he was he found himself uh you know mixing booze and pills back in 2004, so he left. And he became a legitimate badass in UFC. And then man, like not to spin this around, like because it's gonna be a whole nother hour-long conversation, but Brock caught a lot of shit for breaking the streak. Yeah, which I'm gonna there's literally no other person that should have, in my opinion.

SPEAKER_02 42:50

You don't think anyone else should have?

SPEAKER_01 42:51

No. Um well maybe, but you can't pit an undefeated uh Undertaker against Brock Lesnar and say to me, like, tell me straight to my face Ticker can beat him. Because he can't. It's just not that that's not believable in any fucking realm. It doesn't matter.

SPEAKER_02 43:13

Right. Do you think um you said like seven um like you said the last match was like seven minutes, seven and a half minutes, and I guess like for big big names over the years, like I guess when I look at either WrestleMania or other PLEs, I I look at like yeah, on your shirt, Shawn Michaels having 20-something minute matches with The Undertaker or um you know any other big headliners like having these long like do you think that's necessary for Brock? Do you think that would be like a good do you want like would you want to see like a 15-20 minute match with uh Brock? Or do you think that's just kind of overkill at that point?

SPEAKER_01 43:55

Yeah, no, no, absolutely. I would because he can do it. He's that good. I no, I don't know. Again, Oba is a a specimen. He's instantly over. Um, I don't know if he can have a 20-minute match. And at this point in Brock's career, yeah, he's almost 50 years old, he's a part-timer. I don't know if he could lead a 20-minute match with the guy that we if we don't know is ready. You know? Um, but if you put Brock out there with again, we've we've seen these matches. Brock and Seth, Brock and Roman, Brock and Punk, those were all 20-minute matches. And they're all all of them are great.

SPEAKER_02 44:34

And how do you think uh so I think I said it before, but I I guess we'll we'll wrap it up with this. Do you think he puts them over? If you gun to your head, you had to pick one. He puts Obo over.

SPEAKER_01 44:47

Yeah, I think he puts him over. And are you happy with that? I don't want Brock to retire. I mean, he has to at some point, right? I don't I mean, Rick Flair wrestled until he was 60, and he was wrestling 180 days a year. Brock is in way better shape.

SPEAKER_02 45:07

Do you really want to like do you want to see a 60-year-old Brock Lesnar? Like, do you really want to see that? Like, did people really want to see it?

SPEAKER_01 45:13

Brock if Brock Lesnar is 60 years old and he's 265 pounds of pure fucking muscle, like he currently is. Yeah, I mean, everyone needs to know when to write off in the sunset. I get it.

SPEAKER_02 45:23

Like, I I I get it, but that's the whole point, is because at least Ric Flair had the he had the luxury of having evolu evolution. Like, I think evolution helped extend Flair's career and it actually gave him some sort of purpose. Like, otherwise, he just would have been the old guy in the roster. And like, what the fuck would he like? Even though it's Ric Flair, and like he's a legend, don't get me wrong. But evolution made sense and still propelled him and made him relevant. Like, and I that sounds so disrespectful, but like it does. But like again, it makes it sellable to have this old guy on the roster still.

SPEAKER_01 45:59

Um I just want to point out that he retired from WWE four years after Evolution broke up. And then he went on to have a three-year wrestling career at TNA, and then actually had his final wrestling match in Nashville, Tennessee, two years ago. Yes, all very memorable, very high quality stuff. Uh his TNA run wasn't bad, actually. You sure? Yeah, oh yeah. He had a he had a wild match with Mick Foley, who should never have had that match. Um, and if it if if he didn't go to TNA, we would have never got the Jay Lethal impersonation. So yeah, I'm forever grateful that he went there.

SPEAKER_02 46:36

Fair enough. Fair enough. Um switch it over to

Liv Morgan Iyo Sky And Women’s Evolution

SPEAKER_02 46:40

the women's uh division preview. I know we talked, we briefly talked about the latter match, but uh uh the women's world championship. Uh do you think Liv Morgan has become the WWE's biggest field star?

SPEAKER_01 46:52

Yes, yes, yes. I fucking love Liv Morgan. I've always loved Liv Morgan. She is, again, she always wanted to be a wrestler when she was 13 years old. Uh and like her her real backstory is is wild. Um, her parents weren't good to her, her family wasn't good to her. Uh but she always wanted to be always wanted to be a wrestler. Like that she said that her her her sanity was on Monday and Thursdays, and that was SmackDown in Raw. Um so yeah, I think she's so fucking good. Uh and she's gotten exponentially better in the ring. So yeah, I Liv Morgan, in my opinion, unless unless it's Daria Ripley, should never lose. Uh is it EOS guy? Is that my saying that right? I also fucking love EOS guy, so this is a problem. Uh because it's not often that Japanese wrestlers like really get over because it's that is a hard accent to to throw and to be able to cut a promo. Now, Eosky can't cut a promo to save her fucking life, but when she's in the ring, everyone cheers for her, everyone loves her because she's just that good. She got the facial expressions, she's like the classic underdog that everyone always forgets. Um these two could have a fucking wild match, a really, really wild match. So yeah, I don't want EO to lose either. Like this this sucks for me.

SPEAKER_02 48:19

And uh fill me out like fill me out on this. So I know uh like the Mexican, like Latin American style wrestlers, like in Eddie Guerrero, Rey Mysterio Luchador style is a lot more fluid, a lot more like airborne, um, like seems a little more choreographed um in terms of uh you know, it looks like a dance when you're watching like the luchador style wrestling. Is there anything different with Japanese style?

SPEAKER_01 48:50

Yes. Um, so they do all of that, except they're known for their strong style. Basically, it's uh it they're stiffer. It's it's it's a uh much lighter work than is shoot. Um but yeah, she's she's incredible. She can do all the luchador shit, and she can get in there and chop you or kick you square in the fucking mouth. Um, she's a badass. What do you do you expect some of that to shine in this match too? Yeah, yes, yeah, because Liv, the best part about Liv is she and she's she's so good of a heel, everyone loves her, is that she sells better. I mean, she she sells like Sean did in '97. In '98. Like she just flops around that fucking ring. Like and like Flair did in the late 80s. And she makes she makes everybody she's in there with.

SPEAKER_02 49:43

Where do you see uh where do you see this one going? Do you think uh it's gotta be Liv. You think so? Has to be. We don't think there's a chance for Sky?

SPEAKER_01 49:52

Well, I think there is EO always wins. So yeah, I do think there's a chance, but uh there's no reason for me that you take the title off of Liv. And then the uh what the Bellas. I fucking hate the Bella twins. I've always hated the Bella twins. They are as people, they're fine. Like whatever. This is just my my wrestling fan take on them. They want to take credit for ushering in a new generation of of women's wrestling when they were the the stereotypical diva, they were the bra and panty matches that couldn't do anything. Um now Nikki got better for sure. Uh but I love Paige and the fact that Paige is back. Uh I hate that that she's been in this tag team thing since she returned at WrestleMania. I do think this is a way for WWE to get uh to get people familiar with her again, uh, because she'd been away for for so long. Uh but listen, anytime that Paige is in the ring, I want her to win.

SPEAKER_02 51:06

And uh do you think this will instead elevate fatal flu influence?

SPEAKER_01 51:15

Well, fatal influence is good. Like every single one of them is uh they're good in the ring. Uh they're good in their good promos. I'd be okay. Yeah, I the I don't think is is the the titles aren't up for graphs, so I think fatal influence should win.

SPEAKER_02 51:33

Do you think uh that's kind of a random question, but like I mean there are only so many titles that can really go around. Do you think it's uh like do you think there's any use or do you think it it makes sense to have non-title matches for these PLEs?

SPEAKER_01 51:51

Yeah, yeah, 100%. Um and let me give you a good example. Undertaker versus Shawn Michaels headline WrestleMania two years in a row. There was no titles.

SPEAKER_02 52:02

Well, except for the second one was that if he lost, he'd have to retire. So, like that, that was something on the line. But I guess for WrestleMania 25, there was nothing on the line there.

SPEAKER_01 52:12

Yeah, and they were like the sixth match, they weren't even the main event, but they stole the fucking show. Uh I think some matches don't need titles.

SPEAKER_02 52:21

Fair enough.

SPEAKER_01 52:22

I'll I have a this is this is this is not one of those matches, by the way. So don't don't back me into a corner.

SPEAKER_02 52:29

No, no, no. No, I there's there's a separate point I was gonna make, which I mean, I guess I'll make it now since we're talking about it. Because I was thinking about uh SummerSlam and the big four, and especially being on like ESPN and you know getting a lot more widespread recognition in that sense. Do you think it makes sense for them to introduce like

Should WWE Add Event Trophies

SPEAKER_02 52:55

King of the like there's only two pay-per-viewer PLEs that have uh titles related to that specific PLE. It's Royal Rumble, and tell me if I'm wrong, Royal Rumble and King of the Ring. Is that right?

SPEAKER_01 53:10

King of the Ring hasn't been a PLE in years. So that that's that hasn't existed in a while. Well, okay, I guess I'll stand corrected because they now it's a Saudi pay-per-view where they they crown uh like uh men's king of the ring and a woman's king of the ring, and then that's like the Royal Rumble for SummerSlam. So yeah, for the last two years it's been back. But yeah, uh so it's like a P.

SPEAKER_02 53:35

So I guess I'm saying like there's only really two PLE specific titles or things you can win. Where it's like if you win the Royal Rumble, you can I could say to you, Mike, who won Royal Rumble 1999, and you'd be able to tell me who did. Yeah, pretty sure it was Vince. I was gonna say you're you're gonna remember what it was. And then, but then I could also say, like, oh, who won King of the Ring 94? And you could probably tell me the same. Yeah, so no, it was Owen, probably won 93. Okay. So so I guess do you think it'd be do you think it would make sense given that they're now on like ESPN, they have like this more uh wider sports fan audience to have like a WrestleMania title or like trophy or no uh like a summer or survivor series they you okay, but so that's great that you mentioned that.

SPEAKER_01 54:26

I was waiting for you to mention that. Traditionally, Survivor Series main events were always uh a traditional 10-man tag and elimination, right? So they're like you had your sole survivor. Uh they've done away with that, and now they brought in War Games. So there are two War Games matches every year now on Survivor Series, and War Games was uh the NWA or WCW's counter uh to Survivor Series or vice versa. They I think I'm pretty sure uh yeah uh War Games was was first. Um so yeah, they they've gotten back to that. They they they do they do have gimmicks that align with the title of the name.

SPEAKER_02 55:10

And you don't you don't want to see like ever a because like I look at like WrestleMania and be like, oh, there could be like I don't want to give them a green jacket, but like it'd be cool to have the equivalent of you know the masters.

SPEAKER_01 55:22

They tried. They used to have a six-man ladder match that was only at WrestleMania, and it was called Money in the Bank. And then that got so big that that became its own pay-per-view. But that was never like the headliner, though. Of Mania, no, but it it it stole the show like five years in a row and and it became its own fucking pay-per-view.

unknown 55:45

Yeah, right.

SPEAKER_02 55:46

Well, I I was thinking about it today, going into today's podcast, thinking that you know, what if they did, like I said, what if they had specific titles for these pay-per-views, and like you can only defend it, you can only go for it like at that pay-per-view. Um, and I don't know if that would draw more eyeballs for for these, especially for you know these casuals or people you're trying to get from ESPN to say, like, oh yeah, we were you know, we were here last year. Remember Cody Rhodes was last year's WrestleMania uh inaugural champion, like uh you know, who's gonna take it this year? You know, something like that year by year, the same way we're saying that you know Roy McElroy is the back-to-back masters champion. Can he win three in a row? Same thing with like WrestleMania.

SPEAKER_01 56:32

I don't know if that would help bring in more casual sports fans or or folks who haven't, you know, really I think the way that they look at WrestleMania is very similar to the way that people look at uh golf fans look at the Masters. It doesn't matter who plays in the Masters, you're gonna watch it. It's like, you know, that's one of their signature events.

SPEAKER_02 56:54

Cool. Well hey, listen, uh if Fallovek wants to take my idea, by all means have a blog. He doesn't. He doesn't. It's fine. It's okay. Um mid-card. Mid card's always fun, right?

SPEAKER_01 57:10

Well, I don't yeah, the on the SummerSlam is gonna be fun, but there's there's a match on the card that I don't even want to discuss. Which one do you not want to discuss? We're not gonna tell you. So we'll just talk about the mid-card.

SPEAKER_02 57:22

No, I want to hear which one you don't want to discuss. No, no, no. I'll I'll you'll see it in my face. Is it the uh let me guess? It's gonna be uh uh Dominic Mysterio. I fucking love Dominic Mysterio. Is that the match you don't want to talk about? Yes.

SPEAKER_00 57:38

So let's talk about it.

SPEAKER_02 57:39

No, no.

Danhausen Dominik And The Pole Problem

SPEAKER_02 57:40

Was that right or no? Yes, yes, that's the match I don't want to talk about. Why why don't you want to talk about this, but we're gonna talk about it anyway?

SPEAKER_01 57:46

Because it's uh Danhausen and uh and Dominic are are so good, like they're they're just good. Dominic's a really good wrestler, he's a great heel. Um, he doesn't need a stupid real monies on a poll match, whatever the fuck it's called. Well, all right. I was trying to look that up and understand what the hell it was. Can you explain it for me? No. Why? Uh no, I I can't. I don't know. I mean, I I I can't wrap my head around what it actually is. So I don't know. You don't know. I've been watching and I still don't truly understand what it is. And what's it called again? Isn't it like real monies on the pole?

SPEAKER_02 58:26

What is what did I put in the rundown for you? You I it just says comedy belongs on SummerSlam question mark. But like I tried this, yeah, I tried looking this match up and I was trying to look up everything about it.

SPEAKER_01 58:37

And it's hum hum human monies on the pole match. So what does that mean? I don't fucking know, dude. I don't know what it means. That's why I didn't want to talk about it, because it's shit like this that I'll be honest.

SPEAKER_02 58:48

Like, this was the one I wanted to talk about because I think it's just one you I just wanted you to explain to me like what the hell it was.

SPEAKER_01 58:53

I can't.

SPEAKER_02 58:54

I don't know what it is. And like there was a I don't know if it was a bleach report thing that or something that said, like, oh, here's a history of them. It was going back to like the 50s, and I'm like, Yeah, what is it?

SPEAKER_01 59:03

Yeah, I don't fucking I don't know. And it's matches like this that irritate me because I have to defend wrestling to people who are like, Well, what's what the fuck is that? And I don't I don't know. I don't I don't know what it is.

SPEAKER_02 59:15

So let me tell you this, because Dominic Mysterio is obviously a well-known name. He's had big matches. I mean do you think do you think this is beneath him?

SPEAKER_01 59:27

You don't know who Dan Housen is, do you? You tell me. Do I tell you that you don't know who he is? Yeah, I don't think you know who he is. This kid, this gimmick is so ridiculous that everybody loves it. Like it's so bad it's good. Um, so no, this is not this is not beneath him. I do think this this is gonna open uh well, I don't know about the be the first match, but I think it'll be the one of the matches included in in the first hour for free. Uh because the kid's just so just so damn entertaining. Um no, it's not beneath him at all.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:02

Who would you rather see? Uh would you rather see Dominic face someone else on SummerSlam? Like, do you think he'd be a more entertaining match for this paper?

SPEAKER_01 1:00:12

No, I'd rather not, I'd rather it not be a stupid title on a poll match. You know, if it was just like if it was for a belt or if it was just a street fight, like whatever. That'd be cool. But it'll it'll be it, it will be entertaining because neither of those two know how to disappoint an audience. They don't. They're just they're just so you're more you're more annoyed by the the match format rather than the actual match itself. Yeah, like it just brings me back to WCW and like a Viagra and a pole match, and it's just I I just hate having to defend what's a Viagra in a pole match.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:49

Just uh like a Viagra pill on a pole, like like a literal pole or like someone.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:54

Yeah, yeah, you have to climb up and get it. The Viagra. Yeah, there was like buff Bagwell's mother on a pole match, and there wasn't like it's so stupid. Like that those are the things that irritate. So it's like a ladder match where you have to get the belt or like that, but it's on a pole instead. Yeah, there's a pole on on one of the turnbuckles, and you have to climb it. How big is the pole? Not much of a size queen, but I'd say it's like a 10-foot pole.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:20

Is there anything that you could put on the pole that would make you like this match?

SPEAKER_01 1:01:25

No.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:26

Nothing they put on top.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:28

I don't like having to say on a pole in regards to a match in in professional wrestling. I think it's just I think it uh it it instantly cheapens it. But hanging from the ceiling's fine. Yeah. Court ladder match, yeah. It doesn't say title suspended on a strap match. You know what I mean? It's a ladder match. Could it just be a poll match?

SPEAKER_02 1:01:49

What's the point of the poll? Well, there's something on it.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:53

Okay. What do I get when I get it? Whatever's on it. Right. What's human monies? It's money by the it's money. It's money by the way.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:05

Okay. But saying if the title was on the, you know, they had the belt on the pole, would you be fine with that?

unknown 1:02:14

No.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:15

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:17

I'm just seeing where the line is here, Mike. That's all. I don't I don't know. The line is on a pole. I don't want to have to include that in any rundown that I do. And it pissed me off that I had to. Uh any of these other uh Yes, uh Penta versus Chad Gable could steal the show. That is that is gonna be a a wrestling clinic. Penta is an amazing luchador, instantly over with the crowd. Chad Gable has been given so many bad gimmicks, and yet everybody still cheers for him. Um the whole premise of this match is that uh Penta beat him, I think it was like a year and a half ago, on Raw, and then Chad Gable turned himself into a luchador

Midcard Clinics And Sleeper Picks

SPEAKER_01 1:02:55

named Um El Grande Americano, which is fucking hysterical. And he denied that it was him, obviously. Um, but everybody knew it. And then he got hurt in real life. So they brought in another El Grande Americano who was the Swiss guy. Um, and back's backstory is they had a match at triple A. Uh, and it's it's it's uh one of the top 10 matches of the last 10 years. Like it was just that good. Um I think I love Penta. Chad Gable needs to win this. Um Baron Corbin just can't is just coming back. So he was fired, I think, a year ago. Um I think he's gonna be fed to Trick Williams. Um it it makes more sense to me for Baron Corbin to win. Uh, because uh a fa you know, a heel is always better when he holds the title and the baby face is chasing. Um but just to rattle all these off for you, the best mid-card match is Gunther versus Nick Aldous. Nick Aldous is the general manager of SmackDown, Gunther is the guy who is retired, Goldberg, John Cena, and AJ Styles all in the span of a year. Um and uh Gunther just pushed the GM so far that everyone no one in WWE remembers how good Nick Aldous was. He was a NWA world heavyweight champion um not too long ago. Uh, and I'm pretty sure he's the husband of Mickey James. That is so yeah, I think Gunther should not destroy him. This should not be a squash, this should be a 15-minute match, and obviously Gunther should win.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:46

And I do want to make note that I I do miss the Happy Corbin uh character.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:52

That was such a shitty gimmick that he he made it.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:57

I just remember going to uh WrestleMania, watching WrestleMania at your house, and I'm just like, why is he happy Corbin? Well, he hit the lottery, and now he's he's happy. Like that is the fucking greatest thing I've ever heard of my life. Like, this is this is my favorite wrestling. Like, well, he's not gonna win tonight. I'm like, what a shame. What an absolute shame.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:18

Then he lost all of his all of his money gambling, and he became like like poor. It was hysterical, but he's so good. But what people don't know is Baron Corbin is a legitimate tough guy. Like he was a bare knuckle fighter. Yeah, uh so they need to use him correctly.

SPEAKER_02 1:05:34

I'm uh so I'm pulling for him to win, just just based on the uh As you said the previous Happy Corbin uh persona, which again hilarious. Uh six man tag, bloodline chaos, as some may say. Uh some may say that. Do you uh are you excited for this one? How do you feel about six man tag matches overall?

SPEAKER_01 1:05:55

I like six man tag matches. Um the the my only problem with This is that the bloodline should have been over after 20 after yeah, 2024, when uh Roman came back and they did a bloodline like civil war at uh at Survivor Series war games. That was incredible, it was awesome. Um I love Jacob Fat too. The guy's a fucking animal. He he can do so many crazy things in the ring. All these fucking Samoans, that they're they're just insane. All of them agree. Yokozuna, all of them, they're all great. Um, but I love Ally Knight. Solo Sokoa is the corniest of the bunch. He's the little brother of Jimmy and Jay Uso. And he's again a guy who was brought in as an enforcer with Roman during the height of the bloodline. They never let him talk. But man, you give that guy a microphone, he's hysterical. He is just hysterical. So I'm rooting for uh solo, Ellie Knight, and Royce.

SPEAKER_02 1:07:01

Um pulling up some notes here. Why uh why is it when I look up Royce Keys, it comes up as Powerhouse Hobbes?

SPEAKER_01 1:07:09

Uh that's who he was in AEW.

SPEAKER_02 1:07:12

Okay. So I guess Google Google needs uh to fix their shit then, I guess.

SPEAKER_01 1:07:16

Yeah, he hasn't had many matches. I I think he I'm pretty sure he came in at the Rumble in Saudi, um, which was just like six months ago. So this will be a really big event for him.

SPEAKER_02 1:07:30

Um so you think it uh do you think it's gonna help elevate him in a way? Like what do you so what do you think is kind of like the purpose of the six-man tag?

SPEAKER_01 1:07:42

That's a great question. Um I think yeah, Royce will they're they're gonna show him off, but this is to to really hard launch solo as a baby face, um, and keep the spotlight on the bloodline as much as possible. I think anyone that's not actually Samoan in this match is gonna take a back seat. Um but solo is just so fucking funny. Like he's so ridiculously funny that he's undeniable. He came out uh on Raw last uh this past week and just walked through the crowd and did all of the Uso's like old gimmick when they were actually like the Samoans and slapping each other on the chest. And like he just walked through the crowd going like pew pew pew pew, and the place is just going fucking nuts. Like some some guys have it, he has it, and I I want he should be a a champion at some point in time down the road.

SPEAKER_02 1:08:40

Uh one last match here to uh preview uh Sami Zayn and Vin Taylor.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:47

Yeah, Finn Balor, by the way. Finn Balor, my bad. Sorry. Sammy was WWE champion. He won in Saudi in June, or is it July? Yeah, one of the two. And then nine days later he loses to CM Punk. Um, I'm glad he was champion. I'm glad he was a great underdog. They only did it because he was in Saudi and and it was he was kind of the hometown boy. Um this match will be great because they're both great wrestlers, but I don't I think they're just doing it to to make sure that they're both featured.

SPEAKER_02 1:09:24

And it's a number one contender match, so like what would they be contending for? It's a great question. So you don't even know. I thought I felt very stupid asking that, but we don't even know either. So I guess it's a good question.

SPEAKER_01 1:09:35

It's it's for the it's for the world heavyweight championship.

unknown 1:09:38

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 1:09:38

And who currently holds that? Uh Roman holds the World Heavyweight Championship. So Okay. So ultimately one of these guys would face whoever wins between Roman and Seth.

SPEAKER_00 1:09:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:09:53

So thinking of that, what would you think would be the best outcome for both matches? And then ultimately they would face each other.

SPEAKER_01 1:10:01

Well, there's a history between Roman and Sami Zayn. Sami was like the uh the non uh Samoan member of the bloodline, uh the original bloodline, and he again he was fucking hysterical. He's so good. Uh that there's there's history there. Finn and Seth could have a great match too. Uh they already had one. So I think it'd probably be now, unless they just say that this is not for uh the world heavyweight championship, and they change their mind and they're like, well, it's actually for you know the Intercontinental title or something like that. Yeah, but it it says it's for the undisputed number one contenders match. So I I think you have to have Finn Balor win because we already saw Sammy as a as a champ, and he lasted nine days. All right.

SPEAKER_02 1:10:54

Where you look spent no, it's just this is the most wrestling I've talked in like ever. It's it's refreshing. I feel great, it's nice. Um where do you uh where do you think this SummerSlam is gonna rank? Like, do you have high expectations for this one?

SPEAKER_01 1:11:16

Do you think it's very high expectations?

SPEAKER_02 1:11:18

So there's a very high barrier setting that you could be also very disappointed as well.

SPEAKER_01 1:11:25

Oh yeah, I mean it's that's life, dude. Um, I've been very disappointed in WWE many times, and I still come back. Uh, but just based on the talent that they have on this card, um if everything goes well, and there could be surprises, you know, if like listen, if the rock fucking comes out and everything else that I want to happen happens, like this will be a top 10 SummerSlam of all time.

SPEAKER_02 1:11:51

So you want the rock to come out, is what you're saying. Correct.

Final Predictions And Sign Off

SPEAKER_02 1:11:56

And so what's the next what's the next PLA after this one?

SPEAKER_01 1:12:03

Uh it's either a clash or it's WrestlePalooza, which is what they that's how they launched on ESPN in last September. Um I'm sure it's an international event. Like they they love their international PLEs now. Actually, so do I, because then it starts at 2 p.m. Oh, you and you can go to bed early. Who would have thought? Well at the same time, usually, yeah. I mean I'm not I'm not staying. This is I'm gonna have to stay up late for this one.

SPEAKER_02 1:12:33

Yep. Any uh any last takeaways from or I don't know if it's a takeaway, but uh any last thoughts on this uh upcoming SummerSlam that you uh wanted to share that I didn't uh touch on?

SPEAKER_01 1:12:51

No, I feel I I think listen, again, they have the opportunity to really uh to silence a lot of the haters right now. Um I I I do expect them to put out a uh an attendance of you know uh 40,000 per night. Uh hopefully it's real and it's not papered. Uh that will help my checkbook a little bit. Um if this is Brock's last match, like for real, for real, like thank you, Brock. Uh when you think of he he he's been a WWE superstar for the better part of 24 years. And he's still a fucking ass kicker. Everyone still loves the most people still just are in all of them. Um so I think that this has all the ingredients to be uh again a top 10 Summer Sun of all time.

SPEAKER_02 1:13:43

I guess we'll uh I guess we'll find out this upcoming weekend, right? It starts on Saturday. Saturday and Sunday.

SPEAKER_01 1:13:48

Saturday and Sunday, Saturday night. ESPN. Um Zach, thank you so much for for joining me today on K Fabe Critics. I I'm glad that uh all that indoctrination and grooming paid off that we can finally do a one-hour podcast. Um for those of you that want to listen to regular sports, uh, we will be back next week. I have no fucking clue what we're talking about, but that's usually the fun of it. So for Zach Gray, this is Mike Marcangelo saying thank you so much for listening to K Fabe Critics, and we will talk to you next week.