AJ Lee’s Big Return, WM43 in Saudi Arabia, & WWE’s Pricey Future | The Still Real to Us Show | Episode #813 – 09/11/25

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It's still real to me, damn it!

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[music]

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What up, you!

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[music]

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Welcome, everybody!

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Welcome to this week's And This Are This Oh Real Love Show, episode number 813 for September 11, 2025.

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Welcome to this week's edition of SRTU.

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I am one after the show, I am Jeff Peck, joined every single week of my course, you're

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on the lead, Dr. Craig Franklin.

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Dr. Trey, you could interpret this many different ways.

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Are you ready to light it up, my friend?

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Um, well, we're already in RVD Matt Rittle, come back, like, what are we?

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I know the song, I know you're referring to, but I just want to make sure that's where we're going,

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we're not talking about, like, we're going all 420 friendly on an episode for, you know,

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on a special episode, we're not going to be like, "Hey, let's watch ECW December to remember

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while we're high." I just want to make sure that's where we're going.

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No, no, no, it has something totally different, and you kind of alluded to it, but hell,

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I was going to throw an open-ended question and see what the interpretation was, more on that in

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just a second, a pre-show, Dr. Trey and I, uh, kind of going into a weathercast, talking about the

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fall, weather changes that are going on, and Dr. Trey, you're, your Southern gentleman.

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So you are not typically accustomed to the North version of fall, but are you a fall guy?

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Like, are you, are you pumpkin spice lattes and flannels?

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I mean, I'm not a pumpkin spice and flannel type guy, but I look at, like, you've known me for

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a very long time when you first met me. I, I was a very large man. I was a very big boy,

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and I don't like extreme heat. I don't like when it's really hot. So anytime I can get into a position

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where it's like, oh, I can kind of cover up, the weather's kind of nice. I'm not sweating anywhere

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that I shouldn't be sweating. I'm perfectly happy. So give me fall, give me winter, give me spring,

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I'm, I'm anti-summer nowadays. Yeah, and, and your fall is not like my fall. Like, what time,

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when do your leaves fall typically like early January?

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No, actually, it fell off my trees like last, I have one tree and I swear it just said,

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summer's been too much. We're just going to dump all the leaves now. So I have one tree that just

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dumped everything last week, but typically like around end of September, October, my leaves in my

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my property cart are coming down. So, I mean, we like, our fall though really lasts about four

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weeks. We got from summer and then there's about a four week cooling up period and then we're into

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southern winter, which is basically, I guess, kind of like what a northern fall is like highs in

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the 40s and 50s lows in the 20s. Yeah, that's, that's a good way to put it. Like the northern fall is,

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is basically your moderate time, I guess it would be. So, yeah, that's what we like getting

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on November and then late February, March timeframe is what you refer to as your winter. None of the

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less. We'll pick that up on weathercast that'll be dropping soon on patreon.com/srtuponcast.

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I was about to say we've been teasing weathercast for like a decade. Maybe we should actually

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put that on Patreon one day. We should do that. We should just talk weather for, I don't know how

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long we can probably longer than we think and we'll put that up on the Patreon page and that is

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your way to support the podcast folks. If you're not a subscriber over the Patreon page, please go there,

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support the show. You get this show immediately after it's available to download ad free along with

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many other exclusives. You've got SRTU classics. You've got interviews that I did with Dolph

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Singular that'll be dropping soon and then patreon only show of viewers choice. It'll be up on

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Patreon at some point this month and so much more over at patreon.com/srtuponcast. The easiest way

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to support Dr. Trey and I as we do this podcast each and every week for 813 straight weeks,

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almost fully 16 straight years of doing this show. Not missing a week whatsoever. Dr. Trey said

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at the beginning there it's time to light it up and if you watch Clash in Paris, you felt that the

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return was inevitable. It definitely started to speed up after Clash in Paris and then we saw the

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return on Friday night in Chicago. It was basically reminded me of when AW tip their hand and was like,

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you should really watch this show when punk returned at rampage. They did not make any bones about it.

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This is going to be a memorable show. You should tune in. You're going to be talking about it and

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they deliver as AJ Lee returned to world wrestling entertainment for the first time in nearly 10

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years. She signed a multi year deal since this is obviously your first contract back with the company

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since the 2015 retirement. There are a lot of potential dream matches on deck. We'll see you now

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on the ring with Becky Lynch. This is a huge boost for the women's division and star power merch sales.

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However, you want to look at it and this could help bring some some bridging of the gap to

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storylines that see him punk is involved in like the one we're currently seeing. So I ask you this Dr.

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Tre how does AJ Lee's return reshape the women's division in WWE and long term storytelling?

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I mean right now it's kind of like whenever they brought lead a back and when they brought church

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back like this is kind of that you know mid to 20 you know right around 2010 2015. She was everybody's

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favorite female wrestler like at that time so it ties in really well with that because it brings

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a look you know those you know 25 30 year old females back into the WWE fold as far as wrestling

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fandom. It bridges the gap between the new generation and the generation that you know Nikki

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Belich came from as well so that it ties that Lisa Deva's era to what we have now and it does it

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creates a lot of potential dream matches. AJ Lee is one of the most gifted for female wrestlers

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I've ever seen when it comes to being able to switch from e-eel to babyface like we all love her

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maniacal craziness as a eel but she was super over the babyface also so the fact that as her

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contract runs through like there's just a bunch of different stuff that you can tie her into like

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you know people forget you know her character was dating Daniel Bryan who you know married

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Brey and one of my favorite storylines ever was the rivalry between AJ Lee and Nikki and Brey

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Belich when she said you know obviously talent is not sexually transmitted like some of that stuff was

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so good uh it lines up a lot of stuff I mean AJ Lee and Charlotte Flair we've never seen that AJ Lee

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and Alexa Bliss like and those are just stars not to mention like AJ Lee and Rhea at some point AJ Lee

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and Eo AJ Lee and Tiffany like some of those ones are just like yes like sign me up to see how those

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rivalries play out because the promos in those should be fantastic as well. You kind of forget how

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good she was from like 2011 to 15 maybe even like 2012 timeframe when she was the general manager of raw

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one time always involved in major storylines was interacting with punk Daniel Bryan Kane Johnson who

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were were very big at that period of time um think she had the wedding angle on the one thousand

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edition of Monday Night Raw she was a very impactful player in WWE for a period of time and was

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certainly on the cusp of being a potential household name and then all the stuff with punk went down

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she left the company retired uh stuck around for a little bit got married to him and never really

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thought she she returned a professional raster I think the best case in area for me Dr. Trey it would

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be like one or two matches at best but for her to sign a multi year deal really opens up the potential

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explorations of what could be on the surface for her career like I'm already envisioning if I'm

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predicting WrestleMania right now I'm thinking AJ Lee versus Bayley AJ Lee versus Roxanne Perez the

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people that were very closely tied to her and heavily influenced by her career now in WWE with the

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opportunity to wrestle her like that's a storyline main in itself. What will be intriguing about this

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is that some point in my mind unless Becky Lynch remains as a regular contributor to the vision

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stable which at this point in time leads me to believe she is how do we get AJ Lee off of punk at

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some point how do we get even Becky Lynch off of Seth wrongs which can be discussed in the

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litter tub but the AJ Lee punk thing at some point even though they're married they kind of have to

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go their separate ways I feel like they can't they can't be tied together forever she's not going

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to be a valet for him he's not going to be a valet for her there is no intergender tag team titles

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right now it's not like they could tag team forever they're not going to do a stable probably at

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this point in their career that to me is the interesting point where we've got rest of pollusa makes a

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ton of sense to bring her back but at some point I feel like she has to do her own thing and doesn't

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need to be tied to her real life husband. I mean the easiest thing is kind of like we've seen them do

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with other characters where it's like you know let's say she wins the intercontinental title

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and somebody attacks her well then that moves her away from punk because that's not tied into

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the vision storyline you know or you know it's it's going to be something like that where something

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takes her focus off of Becky so obviously with this intergender match at some point you're going to

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have a one on one match with AJ and Becky AJ wins the intercontinental title and then you know

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Roxana attacks her because she's more concerned about what they've been intercontinental title than

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anything AJ has going on well then that now branches AJ off into a rivalry with you know with Roxana

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and Raquel and then Liv comes back into the mix and then you got a whole different dynamic as well.

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So I mean there are ways of moving it to separate them and then they can always come back to you.

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We saw you know a couple years ago when when Becky and Seth were kind of working together and

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kind of playing up that super couple angle and then like surely thereafter Becky was moved off

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into something else so it's it's it's it can be done and then you can always bring it back because

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you know they're not those two aren't the only married couples in WWE you got Montez de Biawga,

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Naomi and Big Jam like you can always circle back and do another marriage rivalry if you

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want to down the line. Dr. Shrey I mean this is could be a show in itself but it's going to be a very

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quick discussion here but when AJ Lee returned I don't know why this did it for me as a viewer at

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home and we've talked about this many a times here on the podcast over the last several years

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but when she was added on to the roster here I was like this may be one of the best women's

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divisions top down, Raw Smackdown NXT I've ever seen from WWE's standpoint and then I took

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it a step further I was like this could be one of the greatest rosters in WWE history and I know

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it's like well why would you think this was like just the addition of AJ Lee but it was just the

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because I did not foresee this happening two weeks ago and I certainly did not foresee it happening

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a week ago like this would be a full-time performer back in the company but when you get an opportunity

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to take a look at this all and you're like there is some serious serious talent like there are women's

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feuds that could take place that don't need titles there are matches that could take place that

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don't need champion chips their storylines that could take place that don't need titles I mean top

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down this may be one of the greatest rosters ever assembled and it's just like when you add another

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big name to the roster you're like holy shit I'm watching something special right now

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yeah I mean you can look at the roster and as you're saying that I hadn't thought of that

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because we've been so fixated on how good the NXT when the roster has been that we lost I guess it

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says we kind of took the main roster for granted but when you look at that main roster like

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how many future or current Hall of Famers do you see I mean you got Nicky's a Hall of Famer AJ is

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going to be a Hall of Famer Charlotte Bagley Alexa like I mean there's probably potentially ten

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future Hall of Famers on this roster and those are the only ones that have been in with the company

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seven years enough and then you look at the younger talent on the roster the Lyra's the

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Roxanne's the Roles you know the people like that you're like man from top to bottom it is absolutely

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loaded and just the sheer volume like you can say like NXT's roster is really really good as well

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but that's also being based on like future projecting AW has you know Tony Storm in

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excuse me Mercedes-Benz hey what's your obviously Hall of Fame caliber type performers but a

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lot of their stuff is also projection as well when you actually have the credibility that you have

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in WWE's women's division it's really hard to say that there's ever been a time where's been deeper

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I mean the only time you could probably say is you know that time when Lita and Trish were

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actively part-time performing just because that was two more Hall of Famers on the roster but I don't

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think the bottom end of the roster was as good as it is now yeah it's an amazing assembly of some of

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the top names performers and up-and-comers and like you said I mean you could literally name off

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probably ten Hall of Famers right now in the wins division and that's just a minimum the way

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that their careers are are going right now it's an amazing roster that makes things

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hard for the creative team because you want to include a lot of people that are very talented

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involved at all times rather than sitting on the shelves for a period of time. Speaking of that

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episode of SmackDown where AJ Lee returned Dr. Tray it opened up with a John Cena segment his last

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appearance on SmackDown full circle moment as he returned to the arena where he debuted against

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Kurt Angle which was on an episode of SmackDown back in I think July 2022 which is to be July 2002

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was either June or July 2002 and goes on proceed to have a match with Sammy Zayn US Open Challenge

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and it is an absolute banger as the match is going on I'm like this may be in the discussion

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if this match finishes because I'm as I'm watching the match live I'm like how are they going to do this

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because I is Cena got to take an L on SmackDown and they're kind of like a passing on the torch to

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to Zayn I don't know if they're going to do that on his way out are they going to put the title

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on John Cena after Sammy Zayn just recently became US champion or is Lesnar going to interfere

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and I did not want to see the third happen I wanted this to see it go the distance because I'm like

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this is one that I think I could be talking about as as a match that you're can at least from on

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a TV side perspective because it was so damn good and it was spreading out for multiple segments

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and then Lesnar came out Dr. Tray and then he laid out both Sammy Zayn John Cena match ends in

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in no contest so I ask you this did Lesnar's interference enhance the storyline he has right now with

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John Cena or did it rob fans of a classic match between John Cena and Sammy Zayn both I mean both

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things can be true like it furthers the storyline with John Cena because you know Brock comes out

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takes him out you know the last time we really saw Brock and Cena and the ring together was what

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summer slam 14 I think it was summer slam 15 when you know basically Cena got dog walked by John or

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by Brock Lesnar yeah I mean obviously we always want to see kind of a clear finish and a who's

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better than who type scenario but that's not what wrestling is wrestling the wins and losses really

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don't matter what matters is the story so yeah fans got robbed of a clear cut winner but it did

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like look I don't know how I'm not super excited about Lesnar and Cena that's just kind of like

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my Brock Lesnar MO over the last 10 years but it does enhance the storyline so I think in that

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situation both things are true which one would you prefer to have seen play out what to place or the

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match finishing I'm fine with what happened like I didn't want Sammy taking the L I didn't want

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John Cena taking the L and so it says you kind of book yourself into a quarter I did not like that

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they said it was a no-contest because technically Sammy got attacked first which should have been a

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DQ and then Sammy would have the DQ who went over John Cena and that I would have been okay with

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but to call it no-contest I thought was just a cop out that's just the way of protecting the

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storyline like everybody knew that he was out there to attack John Cena basically but I agree with

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you that's the old school fan in us it's the same thing that I had a couple months ago when the tap

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out or when the pass out was used to be just forever was three arms being dropped and dangled and then

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they did it one time and that was and it was like wait what how did that happen and then you saw

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the three drop downs of the arm when a sleeper holder something is being locked on return like

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shortly thereafter so it was unfortunate see does ain't have we're having a banger on Smackdown

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and Brock Lesnar came to interrupt it and we will preview his match with John Cena at WrestlePelus on

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next week's edition of the show yes Dr. Trey I wanted to ask you a question like how does you feel

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about Cena fusing out all the homages since he can't wrestle everybody but fusing out the end

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of days fusing out a GTS fusing out of styles clash like how do you feel about him doing that does

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it bother you or are you just in the mindset like okay I know why he's doing this so I'm okay with

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it in this scenario I loved it I dislike that commentary couldn't keep up I dislike that they

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like I think they called the angle slam like a fallaway slam it's like nope that's that's an

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angle slam and then when he's pulling the hair back like edge used to do when he did the spear and

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Michael Cole's response was that to tribute to the big dog because they had so many matches I'm like

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I don't remember I remember all match I don't remember so many matches I liked it I liked that he

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did attribute I like that he did a hat tip to those guys because they were so important to them

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in his career and I like that the fans wanted him to do an RKO and he did an audible on the fly I dug it

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yeah I didn't like like we talked about like you know we don't think we're getting another scene

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in AJ match which you know given AJ's weird in commercial break promo hey we fight but you know

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certain guy like you're right like I mean Graves tried to correct Cole on the spear with the hair he

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goes or someone else like he tried to allude to it but yeah I think it's a nice way to show

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seeing a showing respect to those guys the funny thing is with the end of days only one person

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ever kicked out the end of days now Sam is they technically makes it too wow so somewhere

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Bishop Dwyer Baron Corbin Tom Kostik is smiling right he actually I think he actually came out

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on Twitter and said what a great thing it was and how much it meant and that scene actually used it

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it's it's cool that he played homage to the Smackdown runs that he had because I think if

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fans like me I don't know about you Dr. Trey but that when they did the brand split in 2022

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I keep saying 2022 2002 when they did the brand split a couple months later seen in debut that was

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a very memorable time for me as a wrestling fan because the brand split was so cool and they took

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it so seriously and you never really saw them do it again where wrestlers were kind of

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you know they're interchangeable in the brands like you're seeing one week Jimmy Uses on Smackdown

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the next week he's on Raw it's like there's no rhyme nor reason like they were legitimate two separate

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brands there were pay-per-views that were this is Smackdown presents Raw presents and I really enjoyed

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Smackdown because they were the underdog and they were putting on the better show whether it be

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the Smackdown 6 or when the period of time when Cena debuted shortly thereafter Ray Mysterio

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debuted and they made a big point that when Edge Ray Mysterio and John Cena like Clean House

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of the UnAmericans in that cage match the night that Ray Mysterio debuted was like this is the

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future of Smackdown and I always dug that time period of the show it was like 2002 to 2004 or

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five-ish when Eddie was champion as well and when the Smackdown 6 tag teams were performing that was

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a really cool time so I liked what they did back then or this past Friday from John Cena.

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Yeah it's funny like Edge or Cena has got the end like do I think if John Cena has a raw guy or a

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Smackdown guy and I'm like it's tough because of that like yeah like for me I still think of

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seeing it as a Smackdown guy because when he was on his rise it was on Smackdown and that was

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a very impactful time of my life ironically Edge I think of Edge more as a raw guy and I think

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a lot of it had to do with the Edge lead a mad hearty storyline. See that's funny I look at

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him more as a Smackdown guy because that time period I just discussed and then like after 2006 7/8

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when he was rated our superstar he was certainly on Raw for a little bit but I remember him

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feuding with Undertaker on Smackdown. Yeah the Vicki Guerrero storyline was on Smackdown yeah it's

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in my yeah that might have flew me back as Edge being more Smackdown guy but like the live sex storyline

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was always like that was on Raw and that's to me one like the big highlights of this career.

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Well back in 2002 John Cena was deemed the future of Smackdown on an episode of the Blue Brand

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and now there are some people being acknowledged as the future of an entirely different brand in

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organization A.W. Dr. Trey and that is one the current TNT champion Kyle Fletcher he is on a

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rapid rise with singles wins and growing my confidence that you can make a case that his

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Oceo open tag team partner Mark Davis who is also extremely talented is starting to become

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the marginetti of their tandem because Mark Davis is unfortunately out with injury again

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and just his rise has been really really fun to watch this is a guy that I always thought was

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incredibly good like I thought he was extremely talented but I did not think he was that good

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and it's getting to the point where oddly enough I think his career is going to be comparable

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and compare the rest of their careers to Will Osprey from their time working together in

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New Japan and also carried over NAW for a little bit as well. Dr. Trey who is more likely to win the

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A.W. World Championship first now is it going to be Kyle Fletcher or Will Osprey?

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I'm still going to go Osprey because he's the most brandable name so I think if Osprey doesn't

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get it shortly after his return from surgery the longer it goes the odds then switch to Kyle Fletcher.

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Like I think Kyle Fletcher is extremely talented he's gotten better on the microphone he's

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gotten really he's gotten really damn good at it my relationship with him is the hair like he just

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he looks like a bigger version of Tyson kid to me I don't know what he just I don't know if it's the

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hair the ears the fat I don't know what it is he just looks like a little bit bigger Tyson kid

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but I mean it's growing on me more and more like he wears the pink as a no-mosh to the hearts

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so like he's he's fantastic they're in it really does remind me of Will Osprey about

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eight nine years ago I think you and I were on the show and I said if Osprey puts on a little bit more

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size he could be a world champion and he actually went out for a little more size and now you see

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where his career's gone not that Kyle has to put on any more size just the more experience he gets

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and the more higher profile matches he gets he's going to get better and better I think if I was

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a betting man I would say 80% Osprey gets a world title first 20% Kyle Fletcher but if neither of them

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have it in the next 18 months I think those odds might flip obviously a big point of this is

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is the injury to Will Osprey and how long he is going to be out for it balloons out there could be

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an entire year doctor try but he's going to be super hot when he returns oh yeah it's going to be

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like we triple age came back from his quad tear it's gonna blow the roof off whatever building it's in

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and you then need to strike while the iron is hot and you start planning the storyline for

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the updated return line where you're like okay we need to put the belts on you know a heel that

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everybody despises and then when Osprey comes back he's going to be super over we make the flip

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and see how he runs with the ball after that but that's that's kind of what the M.O. and wrestling

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has always been like the super hot like especially on like long term injuries they come back after a

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year they're immediately at the top of the card right in the world title picture so that's that's

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kind of what I'm saying like if if Osprey doesn't get it in within 18 months especially like the first

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six months after he returns then I think the odds are shifting more towards Kyle Fletcher getting

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it first so with Kyle Fletcher he's in the world championship match for all out against hangman

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page which I think will be a really fun match here do you agree that this outlook that Kyle Fletcher

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is the future of A.W. or is he more part of the future of A.W.? I think he's I don't know if he's

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the future because once again I like hearing him talk but I don't I'm not that point yet where like

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I have to hear everything he says you know to me he's not at the MJ left MJF level on promise like

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he's not there he's not there he may never get there but I mean is he if you think of when Edge is

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first title run was like he wasn't a great promo guy in his first title run he got better over time

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because he started to learn the value of you know selling the story verbally more than the in-ring stuff

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I think that he is a big future of it but I don't know if he'll ever be the guy because I still

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think other guys are just have a little more charisma than he does you don't think he is charisma?

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no I didn't say he has none I just say that I think other guys have more there's just something about

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him that it just screams star to me now when he comes on the screen like to me it's not you know

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they started we talked we started like during the day no grinder on the B plus players he's in A

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minus guy to be right like he's a guy that yeah you can put the top of the car I just don't know if

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he's ever going to be the guy you know it's just you know swerve has more charisma

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osprey has more charisma fletures just a slight tick below those guys

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interesting yeah it's it's been a really cool ascend because I felt like it's organic I think he is

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very confident and it shows on the screen and it's been enjoying a watch call fletcher really

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blossom because again I was someone I was like there's something with this kid just never knew

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like if you go back to his match at all in were him and mark davis as acy open with the ROH

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tag team champs and they took on MJF and Adam Cole on the pre show I mean fletcher is considerably

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like maybe 30 40 pounds less weight than he is like now I mean he was not what he looks like in the

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ring I mean he's really worked on his body he's worked on his mic skills he's worked on his in

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ring performance he is exuding confidence I think the pairing with Don Calis has been really fun to

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watch I am a fan of Kyle fletcher I am digging what he's doing and dare I say dr. Trey I think this

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is somebody that could like late 2026 early part of 2027 I think this is an AW world champion that

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we're watching a send right now yeah now I like I said I agree I think he's in that in that

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consideration I mean you don't get a world title match at a pay-per-view unless they're looking to see

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if you have the goods to eventually pull it off like we've seen them with other guys in the past

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where like hey they'll get that title shot like on a B pay-per-view just to kind of see like hey can

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you can you run a main event can you attract viewers are our people if you're the heal our people

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really want to see you get your ass kicked or hey is this a guy that we can see the fans kind of

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getting by and that's kind of where I think they're at with Kyle fletcher because wrestling wise he

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wrestles a lot like a baby face like he's got the super athletic moves he does all the cool stuff

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you know and it's like okay is he gonna be our Seth Rollins where he can wrestle like a baby face

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but still get that heat from the audience or is this a guy that we need to put on the baby face

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side because he wrestles so well it's hard for people to hate it but you kind of have to test it

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to see where it goes you can't just like blink and lee assume that hey this guy's got the goods to

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you know main event you know wimbley stadium in front of 70,000 people without actually testing it out

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virtually yeah it's it's fun to watch and it's like these one of those rare moments where you know

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that somebody is on the verge of doing something big and that's the kind of the vibe I get right

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now with Kyle fletcher which I enjoy as a wrestling fan going back to WWE doctor tre and this is

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something that I noticed pretty recently I tend to look at like wrestling any ticket prices when they

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come out just had a curiosity to see like how much they're running for what I give an opportunity

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to like go check it out check the show out whatever I actually most recently did this with summer slam

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seen well should I when I go to one or two shows it's not that bad of a drive and I wanted to go take a

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look and the ticket prices were astronomical and I saw a wrestle many of their and I did not pay

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what I pay what you would pay for like the last roll row at the very very top of the stadium and

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it's like this is insane and you tend to see this now more often with a lot of sports teams I just

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recently went through this when I was looking at Yankee tickets for 2026 as a Yankee fan it was the

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same thing and just this extravagment amount of money that you need to put out for these tickets where

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it reaches a point for a guy like myself I'm sure you feel the same way doctor tre where yeah I want

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to experience this but I can experience it and get a better view of my own home as well especially

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the older I get and it being very choosy with how I spend my money and then I saw this interview or

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I don't know if it was like a press conference that Goldman Sachs was was holding was a Goldman Sachs

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conference that TKO president Mark Shapiro was at and spoke about TKO business and he said Vintzik

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Man historically kept ticket prices accessible to encourage whole families to attend shows together

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he emphasized that Vince wasn't focused on maximizing ticket prices while TKO intends to aggressively

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raise yields Shapiro pointed out that UFC events consistently break records for ticket revenue

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setting the standard TKO wants WWE to match WWE's 59% second quarter margin highlights that higher

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sight fees and ticket yields are already boosting profitability with that said doctor tre and I guess

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this is already happened is dough to be risking its family first tradition by chasing UFC style ticket

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revenue under TKO and are we shocked that we're talking about Vintzik Man glowingly where he was

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actually trying to do a say solid to allow us and our families to enjoy a wrestling show

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yeah I mean what I worry about with WWE is that they're going to run in the same problem at

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Major League Baseball in the NFL have ran into where like yeah it's cost prohibitive to take your

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entire family out to gain now the upside about baseball and you know this look you can get Yankees

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tickets when they're playing uh let's like the nationals right now super cheap right because it's just

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nobody wants to go see the nationals at Yankee Stadium so you can still on days like that because

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there's more available dates making outing with the family to not be super expensive but you know

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Jeff you're not taking the wife in Luke and then you know the potential future child of peck

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to a Yankee Red Sox game on a Friday night at 7 o'clock because the ticket price

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is going to be outrageous and that's why baseball lost a generation of fans because

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kids just weren't able to go to the games the NFL runs into that now we're like yeah they're selling

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out but they're selling out to corporations who are buying luxury seats and 50 yard line tickets for

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company outing that they can expense it's not the family of five going to watch the Packers at

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Lambo anymore and I worry that WWE is going to run that same route where Vintz looked at it as in

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the same way I look at it with independent wrestling I play to the kids because the kids stay fans

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for life and that's how you build longevity in the brand is that loyalty that you're in in

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doctorated to as a child with raising the prices like kids don't have the attention span is sit down

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and watch two and a half hours of Monday night raw right now they kind of do like everybody else

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says which is like hey we'll go watch some clips we'll go watch some highlights and then tune in for

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the May review like you and I growing up Monday night raw we sat through the whole thing good bad

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indifferent spark plug sparky plug you know one two three kid generation don't the clown deal hopper

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we sat through all of that stuff because we were in doctorated as a kid to how great wrestling was

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if you start pricing everything out of everybody's range you're gonna start losing general like future

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generations of wrestling. Yeah that's what's really disappointing for me doctor Tre is the

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fact that because they're so successful right now they are more likely to push their bottom dollar

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rather than do the right thing for the fans that support them and you're seeing that more and

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more with streaming the amount of streaming packages that you need to purchase to be a wrestling

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fan nowadays is out of control there was a video over the weekend of a tick-tock user that

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was at the Halloween Horror Nights in Universal Studios Florida and there's one of the haunted

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houses is tied to the the wide six and he ran into Nikon and said to him like the ticket prices are

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so high and Nikon was like I understand and then you've got days later Mark Shapiro coming out and

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saying like we want to push the ticket price is higher it's really unfortunate because that's what pushes

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and I'm not poor I'm not rich I am your average middle American with a family a wife and kid

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we both work and whenever money we have we we like to from time to time spending on entertainment

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purposes I debated would I make the trek into Madison Square Garden and go watch John Cena's final

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appearance on Monday night we're on I was like you know what it's probably not worth it because

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those ticket prices are probably astronomical for a poor section of the the arena like a section

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that is just as a poor viewing and and I'm I'm really high up and do I really want to be part of that

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I don't I like to go into wrestling shows when I could and I didn't like breaking the bank to do that

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so it's very unfortunate to see this come out like that and the fact that these are statements that

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fans like you and I can read and then also then discuss on this podcast makes you wonder like what

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the hell are they doing like we just want to continue to expand money I mean that is a successful

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business model they'll make their stocks stockholders happy but the longevity of it as you point

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out to dr. Trey is a little bit of the unknown right now I mean do they just think all of their

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fans are suckers and they'll just keep coming back for more and more and more as of right now we are

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because the arenas are being filled so I guess until the arenas aren't filled and is when they will

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listen again there's a really cool business model out there I'm sure you're familiar with Savannah

377
00:37:45,200 --> 00:37:51,920
bananas the the baseball team that goes around they are they literally call themselves fans first

378
00:37:51,920 --> 00:37:59,280
and for like really high seats it's 40 bucks even they pay the taxes all the processing fees the team

379
00:37:59,280 --> 00:38:08,640
handles next level 60 bucks VIP level 100 bucks and they are selling out 45,000 seat baseball stadiums

380
00:38:08,640 --> 00:38:14,400
dr. Trey like I don't understand why that can't be successful as well for even wrestling promotions

381
00:38:14,400 --> 00:38:20,560
no it absolutely can be but when you're the biggest difference is and this is that is when

382
00:38:20,560 --> 00:38:26,160
we would convince the random company for the majority of those years first of what tko it does

383
00:38:26,160 --> 00:38:31,600
they're not beholden to stockholders that all they're beholden to is are we making a profit are we

384
00:38:31,600 --> 00:38:36,800
making enough money to pay everybody what we tell them we're going to pay them and are we you know

385
00:38:36,800 --> 00:38:40,880
the owners are they making a little bit of money to keep this thing going forward you know that's

386
00:38:40,880 --> 00:38:45,920
one of his why Vince kind of kept the price low because he was building longevity but he was still

387
00:38:45,920 --> 00:38:51,040
making enough money to make sure everybody was good you know Vince didn't become a billionaire

388
00:38:51,040 --> 00:38:57,360
until they went public he was always just millionaire Vince until the company went public and like I

389
00:38:57,360 --> 00:39:01,760
have a friend of mine that's one of the male cheerleaders for the Savannah bananas and he's like yeah

390
00:39:01,760 --> 00:39:09,760
we we're well taken care of the owners like really gracious about that stuff um but yeah like they could

391
00:39:09,760 --> 00:39:16,480
obviously milk it for more and sell VIP sweet seating and corporate seating and all of that stuff

392
00:39:16,480 --> 00:39:22,560
and really maximize their profits but once again they're trying to build longevity they're trying

393
00:39:22,560 --> 00:39:30,400
to become the Harlem Globe traitors of baseball and create that brand loyalty that last 50 60 years

394
00:39:30,400 --> 00:39:35,440
where it becomes an event there we want to go see when those guys are in your town so that business

395
00:39:35,440 --> 00:39:41,520
model can be successful but I think it's if you're a private company and not beholden to stockholders

396
00:39:41,520 --> 00:39:47,360
because the stockholders just wants to you maximize profits you know it's funny we all were voting

397
00:39:47,360 --> 00:39:52,080
and rooting on fits are being not being involved with the company one way or another creative team maybe

398
00:39:52,080 --> 00:39:59,360
even owning it fans were and I agree with this business model that he wanted to keep it pretty well

399
00:39:59,360 --> 00:40:05,520
tight for family so that they could attend and it's unfortunate that WWE is losing that site because

400
00:40:05,520 --> 00:40:12,560
that's what made it so successful was that they did put families first so unfortunate but not a

401
00:40:12,560 --> 00:40:17,120
surprise when it comes to today's corporations and what they're trying to do in in a lot of different

402
00:40:17,120 --> 00:40:23,040
areas and avenues of of entertainment that we all know and love in this in this world of ours

403
00:40:23,040 --> 00:40:30,400
speaking of which uh WWE reportedly is going to be bringing WrestleMania 43 to Saudi Arabia

404
00:40:31,120 --> 00:40:36,720
in 2027 down to trade that is the report out there right now this would be the first WrestleMania

405
00:40:36,720 --> 00:40:41,600
held outside of North America obviously huge financial implications for the Saudi partnership it

406
00:40:41,600 --> 00:40:47,520
raises question to mal about fan travel times owning global TV deals um the rumblings out there right

407
00:40:47,520 --> 00:40:53,200
now is that Saudi Arabia is willing to pay any price possible to bring back people out of retirement

408
00:40:53,200 --> 00:40:58,720
like they want to put on an absolute show so this could be more like the early stages of crown jewel

409
00:40:58,720 --> 00:41:02,960
than the WrestleMania that we're tend to use to there's also been some discussions that they

410
00:41:02,960 --> 00:41:08,800
may do to WrestleMania is in one year which is lame to me uh so that they do WrestleMania United States

411
00:41:08,800 --> 00:41:17,280
does it moving WrestleMania overseas to Saudi Arabia grow WWE's brand doctor tray or does it risk

412
00:41:17,280 --> 00:41:26,160
alienating core fans that they have I mean for the for the long time fans of the diars like us it's

413
00:41:26,160 --> 00:41:32,720
irritating like it kind of pisses me off when I read that um and not so much that it's just Saudi

414
00:41:32,720 --> 00:41:38,480
Arabia it's kind of because it is the first one not in North America is in Saudi Arabia like you

415
00:41:38,480 --> 00:41:43,920
look at these Paris crowds you look at these London crowds I'm like yeah they really should have gone

416
00:41:43,920 --> 00:41:49,680
there first and then do a Saudi show like we're we've gotten used to doing the Saudi shows now a little

417
00:41:49,680 --> 00:41:56,400
bit but yeah it's disappointing because you know it's just like okay let the European guys have a

418
00:41:56,400 --> 00:42:02,960
first because they kind of deserve it then you can do a Saudi one uh two WrestleMania's in one year

419
00:42:02,960 --> 00:42:07,760
deletes it's like having two super balls in one year like it just doesn't make sense like there's

420
00:42:07,760 --> 00:42:14,160
a reason why it's an event because it only happens once a year and it goes all out for it so

421
00:42:15,040 --> 00:42:20,720
like I'm against it but here's the thing I think the day we're all gonna watch it just because it is

422
00:42:20,720 --> 00:42:26,320
WrestleMania and doesn't really matter where it is because we're just so invested in the story

423
00:42:26,320 --> 00:42:30,960
and the product that we're going to tune in no matter where it is yeah it's WrestleMania right I'm

424
00:42:30,960 --> 00:42:35,360
not surprised by this auditory I honestly either way if this was going I'm not sure that this is

425
00:42:35,360 --> 00:42:42,960
happening no not all yeah I would have loved to see it like it London first before Saudi Arabia

426
00:42:44,160 --> 00:42:49,200
yeah but you know I mean when you're talking about the fact that the Saudis can grow I mean Jeff I

427
00:42:49,200 --> 00:42:56,320
mean literally like there's not a number they can't come up with and as a company it's like yeah

428
00:42:56,320 --> 00:43:01,440
we're probably gonna take a PR hit but look at how much money's gonna come in that's what companies do

429
00:43:01,440 --> 00:43:08,880
unfortunately you know so if I mean you're talking probably I mean if they were projecting you know

430
00:43:09,440 --> 00:43:15,840
500 million in revenue I don't you know how much they generate revenue anymore but I mean half it

431
00:43:15,840 --> 00:43:22,960
could probably come from this WrestleMania alone like it's really hard to say no to that but just as

432
00:43:22,960 --> 00:43:30,880
you know historical fans lifelong fans is just it's kind of like you know A.W.

433
00:43:30,880 --> 00:43:37,040
Least went to London and did their biggest show there like couldn't W.D. at least do WrestleMania

434
00:43:37,040 --> 00:43:45,360
London first and then do the Saudi one second and still make the shit ton of money yeah I guess we'll

435
00:43:45,360 --> 00:43:49,760
see how this all plays out Dr. Tre I'm sure an announcement is coming by the time we we record next

436
00:43:49,760 --> 00:43:55,200
weeks in this then show because reportedly a press release in Arabic was sent out on Wednesday

437
00:43:55,200 --> 00:43:59,680
and then immediately pulled back because it was done as a mistake and now seeing that WrestleMania

438
00:43:59,680 --> 00:44:06,320
43 would be held in Saudi Arabia so I expect by next week's show we're probably talking about it

439
00:44:06,320 --> 00:44:10,720
and the test run will be Royal Rumble 2026 because that's where it's going to be this year's in Saudi

440
00:44:10,720 --> 00:44:14,960
Arabia and we'll see how the how they handle it so the first time they've held a pay-per-view

441
00:44:14,960 --> 00:44:20,960
that we were used to in Saudi Arabia a elimination chamber was held over there at one time

442
00:44:20,960 --> 00:44:28,800
you know when you have the the big four of Royal Rumble Mania Summer Slam Survivor Series

443
00:44:28,800 --> 00:44:33,680
held in one of those spots that has a little bit of a deeper meaning look at it so

444
00:44:34,880 --> 00:44:41,200
WrestleMania 43 reportedly coming to Saudi Arabia in 2027 more on that story as it develops

445
00:44:41,200 --> 00:44:44,640
and then the last thing I want to bring up here on this week's edition the show Dr. Tre I'm really

446
00:44:44,640 --> 00:44:50,480
looking forward to this show next week NXT homecoming at full sale university it returns to its

447
00:44:50,480 --> 00:44:56,240
original home and creates an nostalgia and intimacy intimate feel with the fan base it has a

448
00:44:56,240 --> 00:45:01,520
chance for a current roster to shine in a classic setting obviously it's going to feature guest

449
00:45:01,520 --> 00:45:08,640
appearances it's could have some surprise guest appearances surprise people making a return to

450
00:45:08,640 --> 00:45:15,120
NXT possibly you've got DIY taken on trick mellow gang as they reunite you've got fatal influence

451
00:45:15,120 --> 00:45:21,280
taken on rear-ripply Stephanie Valkour and Tiffany Stratton you've got Tyler Breeze taking on

452
00:45:21,280 --> 00:45:27,520
Ethan Page for the North American Championship they teased appearances of Triple H William Riegel

453
00:45:27,520 --> 00:45:34,240
the Street Profits Bianca Belair I went to two shows at full sale university one was a like

454
00:45:34,240 --> 00:45:40,720
month-long tape being of NXT the other was when they were live in 2019 from one of the shows I think

455
00:45:40,720 --> 00:45:48,080
it was headline by Keith Lee and Roddy Strong if I remember correctly for North American champion

456
00:45:48,080 --> 00:45:52,960
to remember Bayley made an appearance on that show laying someone out as it was hyping up

457
00:45:52,960 --> 00:45:58,240
survivancy of 2019 really enjoyed going on those shows it was a really cool place to watch the

458
00:45:58,240 --> 00:46:04,720
shows does NXT returning to full sale university this Tuesday give you all the feels of the good times

459
00:46:04,720 --> 00:46:12,480
dr. Tre yeah it brings back to the style like that so full sale like I actually really

460
00:46:12,480 --> 00:46:16,320
would try to get my daughter to go to school there because she's a grad that's what you want to do

461
00:46:16,320 --> 00:46:21,440
at one point was be going to like graphic arts design and that's kind of what full sales known for

462
00:46:21,440 --> 00:46:27,040
but it was also that at that point full sales still the taping area for NXT and I was like oh I go

463
00:46:27,040 --> 00:46:34,320
visit my kid and see an NXT show so it would it worked out but yeah it's it's one of the top four or

464
00:46:34,320 --> 00:46:42,000
five venues that you think of when it comes to WWE in a way like when I think of NXT I think of

465
00:46:42,000 --> 00:46:47,600
taping the full sale more than any other place even over the PC or anything like that like that's

466
00:46:48,320 --> 00:46:55,920
kind of where picture just like you picture you see done like under arena like you picture

467
00:46:55,920 --> 00:47:03,040
and CNA you know in Nashville at the fairgrounds or down in Orlando do the tapings there like there

468
00:47:03,040 --> 00:47:09,920
are just certain spots that feel like home and in full sale definitely to me is always the home

469
00:47:09,920 --> 00:47:16,560
of NXT what is your favorite home arena that brings you the most nostalgia

470
00:47:16,560 --> 00:47:26,320
man it might be the Nashville fairgrounds for T&A there's been so many like that's when T&A first

471
00:47:26,320 --> 00:47:30,880
started there but then it was also the home of like a lot of small independent promotions in the

472
00:47:30,880 --> 00:47:37,760
Tennessee area it's either that one or what's the arena name in Atlanta where they did all the

473
00:47:37,760 --> 00:47:44,080
center stage yeah center stage because that's where they did a lot of the Saturday night tapings back

474
00:47:44,080 --> 00:47:50,640
when 6.5 on the mother's year maybe we like that's those two are probably at my top too

475
00:47:50,640 --> 00:47:57,520
mine is the Manhattan Center in New York City where the first several months of raw were held like

476
00:47:57,520 --> 00:48:04,080
well I when they went back for raw 25 I was super hyped for it and then you know they barely

477
00:48:04,080 --> 00:48:10,160
did anything in that arena I am shocked NXT has not gone there I'm shocked that AWS has gone there

478
00:48:10,160 --> 00:48:14,880
I love when AWS in the Hammer sign which is right down below literally in the same building of the

479
00:48:14,880 --> 00:48:19,680
Manhattan Center Hammer signs another one but that's I'm kind of being like for my territory for

480
00:48:19,680 --> 00:48:25,520
this but I'm I'm super hyped for full sell you sell university doctor I think this is going to be

481
00:48:25,520 --> 00:48:31,520
a really good viewership boost for NXT you've got we also got Izzy Dame

482
00:48:31,520 --> 00:48:39,920
and taking on a Tade in Paxley taking on Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss for the women's

483
00:48:39,920 --> 00:48:46,800
acting championship like it's it's going to be a fun show and it that may be in the history of this

484
00:48:46,800 --> 00:48:53,760
podcast Dr. Trey that period of time when you could watch NXT on the WWE Network the black and gold

485
00:48:53,760 --> 00:49:02,640
there like 14 2014 to 2019 may be some of my favorite shows we've ever covered like NXT takeovers

486
00:49:02,640 --> 00:49:09,760
gave me a sense of excitement that was lost for a period of time as a wrestling fan like it renewed

487
00:49:09,760 --> 00:49:16,160
that spirit of like I'm really excited love the crowd reactions love the in-ring stuff you found

488
00:49:16,160 --> 00:49:21,120
you like found all these guys that were doing different things that they were doing the WWE

489
00:49:21,120 --> 00:49:26,080
main roster at that period of time like I think at least in the history of the show I think that

490
00:49:26,080 --> 00:49:34,240
NXT black and gold brand of 14 to 19 maybe my favorite stuff we ever covered so I'm like super excited

491
00:49:34,240 --> 00:49:39,840
for the show full sale so does does the black and gold Eric is when you guys for when you and Eric

492
00:49:39,840 --> 00:49:45,360
first start the show you guys were really hot on a ring of honor and that was the generico steam

493
00:49:45,360 --> 00:49:53,520
Tyler black age of the fall like that was that era so which which do you rank higher black and

494
00:49:53,520 --> 00:50:02,560
gold or that that era of ring of honor so I loved steam and genericos feud more than I loved like

495
00:50:02,560 --> 00:50:08,480
the ROH brand like I do the NXT brand if that makes sense like the feud yeah the best feud I think we've

496
00:50:08,480 --> 00:50:17,520
ever covered on this show oh steam in a generico I think almost second to that may be like Drew McAter

497
00:50:17,520 --> 00:50:23,600
and CM Punk like a very distant second like I really enjoyed that feud but as a brand as a full show

498
00:50:23,600 --> 00:50:28,800
that you would like watch every single week and be happy and excited and watch an NXT takeover be

499
00:50:28,800 --> 00:50:31,920
happy and excited like there was a period of time where I was like I don't think we've ever great in

500
00:50:31,920 --> 00:50:36,160
NXT takeover less than a four and you look at some of those match the years we did for each one

501
00:50:36,160 --> 00:50:41,040
of those years for a period of time and they were coming from NXT takeover shows I think the best

502
00:50:41,040 --> 00:50:46,880
brand I've ever watched during this show was that NXT black and gold brand yeah the only thing that to

503
00:50:46,880 --> 00:50:55,360
me rival it was and you could like you have to take trade for was that late 90s ECW run because

504
00:50:55,360 --> 00:51:01,440
you saw stuff there that nobody else was doing and that's kind of what kind of a fed the the fervor

505
00:51:01,440 --> 00:51:09,200
for that black and gold brand was that was the closest thing to ECW it was ECW without the language

506
00:51:09,200 --> 00:51:15,680
in a lot of ways like we saw like I still remember Keith Lee counting Adam Cole like four four rows

507
00:51:15,680 --> 00:51:20,560
into the crowd like certain things like that we were like oh my god that was fantastic and some

508
00:51:20,560 --> 00:51:27,040
of the matches and I don't know if you saw the backstage little interview with Tyler Breeze after

509
00:51:27,040 --> 00:51:32,480
after the last NXT show but they're back there like Stevie Turner and the first thing she brought up was

510
00:51:32,480 --> 00:51:38,960
you know Tyler Breeze and Jujan Thunder Liker and that was stuff that you're like I can't believe

511
00:51:38,960 --> 00:51:43,680
they're putting this on NXT does Vince know they're doing this like they got away with a lot of stuff

512
00:51:43,680 --> 00:51:48,960
that you know because Vince just wasn't really paying attention to it until it got hot and then he

513
00:51:48,960 --> 00:51:56,800
had to put his amperens all over it make it 2.0 yeah it was the bad times for sure so I'm going to

514
00:51:56,800 --> 00:52:01,360
look forward to it at NXT home coming this Tuesday we'll take a look back at that if there's anything

515
00:52:01,360 --> 00:52:06,320
worth talking about on next week's edition of SRTU with that said let's get a couple plugs and

516
00:52:06,320 --> 00:52:11,120
sponsored out of the way you could download the show every Thursday or Friday at realguymeanie.com

517
00:52:11,120 --> 00:52:15,600
russicchattenatonx and the still wrote a show feed on apple spot on fire every down those podcasts

518
00:52:15,600 --> 00:52:21,120
you get support us at patreon.com/srtupodcast you get the show at free and immediately available to

519
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you and of course all the great exclusives that are up on our patreon page don't forget to

520
00:52:26,560 --> 00:52:30,800
rate review and subscribe as the algorithm is king that helps us out on all those podcast platforms

521
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wherever you got this show you can follow us individually on extra myself at SRTU Jeff and for

522
00:52:35,760 --> 00:52:41,040
Dr. Shrek Franklin at the Dr. Trey of course don't forget to follow the show on x@srtupodcast

523
00:52:41,040 --> 00:52:46,400
with that be it said what is going on the wonderful world of dr. Shrek Franklin this week well like

524
00:52:46,400 --> 00:52:52,000
jib said you can follow me on x@ddrtrey you can find me on facebook and instagram just search out

525
00:52:52,000 --> 00:52:56,400
old drtrey Franklin when you're on facebook check out rock and city championship wrestling we just had

526
00:52:56,400 --> 00:53:04,080
a really big show this past Saturday night next one's coming up on september 20th so be sure to check

527
00:53:04,080 --> 00:53:09,840
out all those with that they post the full show you can want you can hear me doing play by play

528
00:53:10,480 --> 00:53:17,760
commentary ring announcing the whole nine yards for you know two and a half hours if you guys tune in

529
00:53:17,760 --> 00:53:23,840
the show but most importantly but there's sports sports are all love really dependent wrestling show

530
00:53:23,840 --> 00:53:30,000
where they still try to make sense really is still trying to get and they're not all about the

531
00:53:30,000 --> 00:53:34,640
bottom dollar and alienating fan bases yeah there you go support all the great things that support

532
00:53:34,640 --> 00:53:41,920
srt and again support this podcast over at patreon.com/srtupodcast join us next week we'll preview

533
00:53:41,920 --> 00:53:48,400
predict AW all out or preview predict WBC wrestle preview wrestle polusa and more enjoy the weekend

534
00:53:48,400 --> 00:53:54,320
stay safe enjoy in some professional wrestling save your money for wrestling tickets

535
00:53:54,320 --> 00:54:00,240
and until next week for dr. ray Franklin i am Jeff pack this has been the stirrold us show