Debut of The Wrestling Kickback: Royal Rumble 2025!

[00:00:07] Throw them up, lay it down just like Matt Amari. Wrestling Kickback's gonna make you sorry. Feeling like the Rock cause I'm driving in Ferraris and we coming every weekend and feeling like a party. Full of rig flare, huh? Showing out like Bianca Belair, huh? Best podcast, flexed in the air, huh? From the rings and we win it don't care, huh? No cap. Throw them up, lay it down just like Matt Amari. Wrestling Kickback's gonna make you sorry. Feeling like the Rock cause I'm driving in Ferraris and we coming every weekend and feeling like a party.

[00:00:44] Hey, what's up fam? It's Chappelle and I am back again with another rendition of Recap Kickback where we talk about everything that I want to talk about. Black stuff, we talk about black entertainment, we talk about movies, we talk about The Walking Dead, we talk about Game of Thrones, we talk about House of Dragons. And now we talk about wrestling here in our new Wrestling Kickback podcast hosted by somebody you might know and somebody you will be getting to know unfortunately on this podcast a lot better. First off, the person you might know,

[00:01:16] my co-host and the person who I trust to take this and run with it in year two of Recap Kickback, it's Mari. Mari, welcome back. Hello, hello. I'm glad to hear our wrestling theme song again. That video got me so hyped. It's like WWE video packages. It got me hyped for what's next and the new chapter. So I'm glad to be here with you guys today.

[00:01:44] Yeah. And with you, you brought over a guest and I guess we stand for a while. It's Matt Scott. Matt, welcome. Yes, I'm co-hosting. Baby, here we are. Look at this. And you know what, Mari? I'm like the 49% to Mari's 51%. But Chappelle, you're throwing off the percent because I'm like, what percent does Chappelle own? Well, the percent that I own is a podcast podcast.

[00:02:08] Okay. So for the people listening who are not familiar, yeah, Mari is my amazing co-host for many, many shows that we talk about here on Recap Kickback. But one of her biggest loves is wrestling. And so she used to be the host of the Wrestling Rehab Up over on RHAP. And now we have given her a home right here at Recap Kickback to kind of do her thing in the meantime when she and I aren't talking about Black entertainment news.

[00:02:34] And so Mari, I'm very excited to see what's going to happen here now that we're starting year two of Recap Kickback. Yes, yes. And this is the new and improved, questionable, wrestling kickback podcast. Yes, we get to chop it up here about wrestling. You know, it's our party over here so we can do whatever we want. We'll talk about whatever we want to over here. And of course, I will always have my amazing co-host, my tag team partner, Mr. Matt Scott.

[00:03:02] It'll be the two of us, you know, breaking wrestling down the only way that we can here on Recap Kickback. We're so glad to join forces and bring our audience like just more content. Yes, we are. If you're listening, make sure you check out our YouTube videos as well, Matt. YouTube.com slash at Recap Kickback will bring you right here, right? Yes, yes. And look, just a big shout out to you, Chappelle.

[00:03:31] Thank you for having us here. It's beautiful to be here. Also, big shout out to Isaiah, a.k.a. 8ball for not only the theme song to open the episode, but to close the episode. And shout out to Ainsley for helping me make the intro video and the outro video that you'll see. Ainsley, shout out to you. People are going to be mad. You know, they hate Ainsley around these parts. I know, but I don't care.

[00:03:59] I feel like she was used for good in this way. So, we're good. If you don't see anyone missing fingers, hands, arms, limbs. Just don't look at them. Yeah, just don't look at them. So, Mari, how is the Wrestling Rehab up going to differ from the Wrestling Kickback going to differ from the Wrestling Rehab up? What are we doing differently this time around? Especially now that you, you know, you kind of got your own space to cook a little bit here on Recap Kickback. Yeah.

[00:04:28] So, a little differently, me and Matt, if you have been keeping up with us over on the Wrestling Rehab up, we've been doing the Wrestling Rehab up since 2021. Yeah, four years. Yeah, four years. This would be four years for us. And we would normally do a week-to-week coverage on the highlights of the world of wrestling, WWE, AEW, NXT, whatever, whatever. That's what we were doing previously.

[00:04:53] Within the last year, things have changed drastically. Anybody who listens to me for anything should know I do have a new baby. I was pregnant when we went to WrestleMania. What? The Wrestling Rehab up went to WrestleMania. I was not pregnant last year when that happened. So... That was wild. It was wild.

[00:05:22] Did we end up suing the venue or...? We should have. Technically, we should have, but it's fine. Welcome back to that. You know, yeah, yeah. But with that, you know, that change and the change of kind of the landscape in wrestling itself, which is like really ever-changing. Just in the... We haven't spoken about wrestling since SummerSlam.

[00:05:43] Um, and just within that past four months, we've already had several, um, WWE going to Netflix, NXT going to CW. Like, there's been so many just shifts and change in the landscape of wrestling, along with the shifts and chains in landscapes and not only my schedule, but Matt's schedule.

[00:06:02] So I say all that to say that the Wrestling Kickback will be bringing you monthly coverage, or honestly, just coverage whenever we want to. Mm-hmm. You know, consistently, we want to do monthly. I'm going to try and cover the PLEs in some way, shape, or form. You know, if something, like, really crazy happens and we have the time, you know? I know, right? I know. I mean, which might happen. I mean, we are living in the end times here.

[00:06:33] So, like... Yeah. You never know who's going to main event WrestleMania. Hopefully. Yeah. So, yeah. So we'll come up here. Hopefully we don't see that happen with any precedence. We'll provide some very chill coverage of wrestling. We'll try. You know, in our black-ass ways, we'll cover it the way we can. And, uh, and hopefully we hear from you guys. We hear from, more from the audience. What do you want to see? What do you want to cover?

[00:07:01] Like, again, since this is on the Recap Kickback feed, we might do, you know, top fives, top tens. Who's your favorite wrestler? Matt is the interviewer du jour. So hopefully we might line up some interviews. So, yeah, it's, like I said, it's our party. We can do whatever we want. Yeah. Matt, I think as a consumer, I like listening to the Recap Kickback with the wrestling rehab. It's going to be so hard. There's so many W's around. I know.

[00:07:30] Because I'm a casual. I am a filthy casual when it comes to wrestling. I check in, find out what my faves are doing, who the new faves are. And then I kind of skedaddle. I don't really like to keep up with the week to week because there's so much wrestling from week to week. I mean, like y'all said, y'all AEW, NXT, what, you name it, y'all were talking about it. And there's just so much content. And so I really am enjoying the idea that y'all keep us abreast of what's happening so I can pop in and still, like, be in the know without having to follow every dang storyline every day.

[00:08:00] Because there's so much going on in this wild world of wrestling. Yeah. Yeah. And I think, like, look, Mari and I, for 100 plus episodes, maybe 150 episodes or so, we're doing week to week when we weren't on sabbaticals and breaks and maternity leave and the like from the podcast. And so, you know, I think this is good, though. We'll be able to check in when we do. And a big shout out to you, Mari, because I really miss getting, like, all of the clips each week.

[00:08:29] I miss you being our excuse to keep up with everything. And so I think people will really appreciate the fact that, like, we're here. I think we could keep up with this cadence of monthly-ish. And yeah, this is a new, it's a new day. Yes, it is. Yes, it is. And I agree. Like, it's so, it's so, like, catch 22, right?

[00:08:53] Because I truly do miss the, just the weekly of the, finding all the clips, making the outline, finding the guests, then talking to you. And we have so many wonderful guests. You can always go back and check all out all of our old episodes. And, you know, just getting to talk to you every week, Matt, it was so fun.

[00:09:16] But on the flip side, it's like, I mean, I don't know how much our listeners, they'll probably understand if you watch wrestling, you'll understand how much time that went into that weekly episode. Because even though we come on here and we talk for two hours, it takes forever to go through all of the, what did we say, Matt? It's like, depending on how much wrestling you watch, it's like anywhere from eight to ten hours a week.

[00:09:46] Well, yeah. And then every week we're so in the weeds about what's happening that week and how that compares with the week before and the week before and the week before. So, I mean, who knows? You know, you might have some weeks where we're back to back if we get really pumped up about what's happening. But, you know, it's good that we could kind of keep it high level.

[00:10:04] And, you know, just glad to be back and shout to people in the chat just for showing the love and being here as we return or really as we premiere with the Wrestling Kickback. Yes, exactly. So thank you guys for following us over. Thank you if you're new. But whatever you do, you know, click that like button, subscribe at recapkickback.com. You know, definitely check out. We always say check out the video. Our videos are always so fun.

[00:10:33] Matt always has the wrestlers on deck for pictures. We always were always on point here. So just go to youtube.com slash at recap kickback. All right. Yeah. Well, to y'all's point about all the wrestling content that y'all have to do every week. Like I said, you're coming in here for the big storylines, the big moments. And so, Mari, it was a great idea for y'all to start with this month's big moment, the Royal Rumble 2025. And so, yeah.

[00:11:03] Take us away, Mari. Tell us what's going on. What we need to know. What happened? Let's talk about the events of yesterday. Yes. So we are here for our Royal Rumble preview podcast. Thank you to everybody who is live. We will be taking your questions. Feel free to put it in the chat in the comments. But, I mean, one of the biggest PLEs. Definitely the biggest one that starts off the year. Quite probably like my favorite PLE. Like the Royal Rumble is always like, it's so fun because you just never know what's happening.

[00:11:32] And I thought it was really fun to kind of watch this one as like a casual. Not a super casual because I still, on my level, know what's going on. But to not be so caught up in the storylines to just watch it. I was just like, oh, okay. You know, just watching like that. And then to go online and see people like, but wait, there was no this person. There was no this person. I was like, oh, there wasn't that person. Like it's kind of the first time in a while that I hadn't watched the Royal Rumble.

[00:12:01] It'd be like, I need so-and-so to come out. I need this to happen. I need this to happen. And just kind of like watch it. Matt, what were your thoughts? I'm with you. No, I'm completely with you on that, Mari. Because when you go into the Rumble and, you know, we do it to ourselves as fans. But we go in with the expectations and the rumors. Like I remember a couple weeks ago seeing AJ Lee's name trending as people were talking about her being in the Rumble, which was such a long shot.

[00:12:30] And, you know, obviously that did not happen. And so we get our expectations up really high, especially around the Rumble. And that only leads to disappointment about, oh, are there going to be these surprises? What's going to happen? I do feel like, you know, while I wish there would have been more surprises, I do feel like I was able to appreciate it more because, especially because we were not, not to trash us, but like we weren't here speculating about what would come up.

[00:13:00] Because obviously, I mean, whatever we come up with would be a lot better than what actually happened. So I loved it though. It was a lot of fun. And yeah, this was a nice way to watch it. You just reminded me. I remember last year. Remember last year we thought AJ Lee was coming and the like abject disappointment we had when she was, when she didn't show up. Oh my gosh. Chappelle, you, you watched the Rumble in, in order for this. What were your thoughts just overall in general?

[00:13:29] Yeah. Yeah. I kind of live in the space that y'all are kind of in now where you just like, I know people, but I don't really, I'm not really invested in a lot of their storylines, but there were a few moments that I really did get into. Sarah in the chat is asking about Alexa Bliss's storyline now that she's back. Y'all know I was a less, I was an Alexa Bliss guy back in the day. Okay. I like what she is. She still kind of is. Yeah. We don't know what she is yet. Exactly. And so that's kind of where I'm interested in.

[00:13:56] I love that question because when some of the characters come back, you know, it's wrestling. We remodel these characters, we rebrand them so much. They come back after different names and different hiatuses. I have no clue where characters like her are going to be the next time I see them. And so that was kind of fun. Yeah. So let's get into like our favorite moments. We'll start with the women's rumble. So in our overall thoughts on the women's rumble. So for me, I love the women's rumble.

[00:14:27] Literally probably my favorite match ever. Sure. Yeah. Yeah. And going into this one again, I only tangentially knew what storylines were going to happen and stuff like that. And the one thing I definitely did know because they didn't sugarcoat it. I knew Charlotte was coming back. Everybody knew Charlotte was coming back. I just want to say that one, the women did a great job. I was like, wow, there's so many women in this ring.

[00:14:54] Like the ring was packed the whole entire rumble, which you feel like you rarely see that. And then WWE had this amazing ticker, this graphic at the bottom that I thought was amazing. Chappelle? Right? I have so many questions about the ticker. It's so good. This is so cool. They should have done this decades ago. Decades ago. Because that was one of my questions for you. I was like, when did they start? Like the graphics with the stats on it.

[00:15:19] Because the time that the people have been in the ring, how many people are in the ring, what their names are. For somebody like me who's a casual, that was great. Because I was like, oh, that's who's in the ring right now. And I even like the little highlight cards that they would give us. Like, this person hasn't been seen in a rumble since this year. And this was their highest placement. And did you know these placements haven't won since? I was like, bro, finally. This feels so user-friendly. Yeah, it's good to have the visuals along with everything.

[00:15:49] And especially for me, just to keep up with what number we're on. Who was what number that just came out. Because I feel like half the time when you see people tweeting about it or recapping it right after the show, they get some numbers wrong or they miss some details. It was all laid out, which was so perfect. So I was a huge fan of that. Yeah, and I mean, my daily moment to bash Peacock. Peacock was going in and out for me.

[00:16:17] And I actually was trying to stay on and off social media because I'm like, I think I'm kind of... Because you know how when you play it on an app, it's like you're ahead of some people, but you're behind where other people are. But I thought the ticker kind of kept time throughout. It was kind of interesting social media-wise. But I loved everything about that. Like, who's in the ring? 14 people in the ring. How many people have been eliminated? That was so cool.

[00:16:46] And I think it's because Kevin Dunn isn't there anymore, right, Matt? I'm pretty sure he's going to... I think that was one of the last things we reported. Yeah. Some of the WWE troubles may have caught up with him. So I really like that. Can we pull up some of the stuff in the chat here, Matt? Can you pull up Sarah's comment about Roxanne?

[00:17:13] And so Sarah says, how about Roxanne beating Bayley's time in the Rumble? This can definitely be used for their current feud at NXT. Yes. As again, a casual viewer right now, the commentary team was doing really good to really keep us abreast of the current storyline. So I did know that like Bayley, Roxanne and Julia are going to be fighting at Vengeance Day for the women's title. And Roxanne did beat her time. But I was literally just talking to James.

[00:17:43] Every year that there's been a women's rumble, the Iron Woman time has changed every year. And I'm pretty sure I said it last year. I hate that. What do you mean? Like every year. So like the first year, Sasha set the Iron Woman time for like 57 minutes or whatever. And then the next year, Natalia beat it. And the year after that, Liv beat it. Breaking the records. Like every year, the year for the Iron Woman has been beat.

[00:18:08] And last year, Bayley was an Iron Woman with a time of like an hour and four minutes or something like that. And Roxanne beat that this year. But she didn't even win the rumble. So it's like. Yeah. You know. I don't know. Yeah. I feel you. The records never stick. And I will also say this. I think it might have been the men's rumble, but there was a moment. And I'm sure we'll get to that rumble, of course.

[00:18:34] But there was a moment where like, I think it was Ludwig Kaiser entered and then was clotheslined out or thrown out really quickly. And then Michael Cole is saying, oh, my gosh, that might be a new record. And it's like, no, sir. That actually was not a new record. Yeah. You're always trying to break records. But I will say Roxanne Perez was amazing in this rumble. I think she entered at number three and was there. I mean, all the way until the end. For someone who's not even on the main roster, that is wild.

[00:19:02] So just kudos to her for just shining in all of it. And really, I think, leveling up from past years. Because Bayley's been established. Charlotte's been established. Yeah. They're kind of like some of the originals and the cornerstones of this era. And we saw that, too. Yeah. Yeah. We tried to point that out. So, yeah. Chappelle, any key moments that stood out for you in the Women's Rumble? Well, we have to talk about our winner. I mean, we were all shocked to see that. Just shocked. Charlotte, she did it again.

[00:19:32] The queen is back. I was like, boo, boo, boo, boo, boo. Tomato, tomato. Tomato, where have you been? Y'all know me. I'm a Bianca guy. Okay. So I was like, hey, man. I was pulling for my girl. I knew she wouldn't go with it. I knew. Just based on the way they were talking about her. She's obviously a tag team champion right now. So I was like, they ain't about to give her this one. But when I saw that it was coming down to like Nia Jax is there. Charlotte Flair is there. I started reading the rule. I'm like, oh, it's going to be her. It's going to do it again.

[00:20:02] Oh, Mark, I know you love Charlotte Flair. Seeing her come back and win this. And now, you know, be able to pretty much name her prize for the next big main event. How do you feel? Like I... Speechless. It's like reading. Yeah, I feel like I'm curious. Like you knew what was happening. Like you knew what was happening. Because with... Yeah. Sorry. Sorry.

[00:20:29] With Tiffany being the champion. So since we've been away, Tiffany cashed in her money in the bank on Nia Jax. Yeah, whatever. There's a whole thing that happened. And now she's the champion. Charlotte always comes in and she wins. And now she has to go up against the hot new thing. It sucks because when Charlotte was removed from, you know, when she was out on injury, it was supposed to be her versus Bianca last year.

[00:20:59] Like that was what we were building up to. We were building up to Charlotte and Bianca. And it all made sense. Bianca was at the top of the card. It made sense for Charlotte and Bianca to go. And hopefully it would have made sense for Bianca to go over Charlotte. She would have won because she's still undefeated. Undefeated. That's her thing. So unfortunately with Charlotte getting injured, it actually made Bianca have to fall down the card to tag team division where she's been at for the past year

[00:21:27] with varying levels of success there. And now, unfortunately, where the title picture is, it's just moved on without her, which, you know, Bianca, she's still good at what she does. So she does not need to be in the title picture. We've said that before. So now with Tiffany, where that's right. Yeah. Tiffany Shadden, where she's at. I'm not surprised that it's Charlotte versus Tiffany because every new blonde girl is always compared to Charlotte. Charlotte.

[00:21:56] And we'll see if Charlotte does the job to Tiffany. I don't know. I don't know where that storyline is going. Like, I have to continue to watch. I mean, you're quick to go to Tiffany, though, because let's remember that the first time that Charlotte won the Rumble, she cashed in on the NXT title against Rhea, I believe, back in the day, which was wild. But then it also makes me think, I mean, is there a world where she challenges Rhea Ripley instead of Tiffany Shadden? I don't know.

[00:22:26] No. No. Really? Because they already put on their barn burner, what, two years ago. So there's no point in revisiting that. But I will say, I feel like with the case I could see for that is just that it's been such an evolution for Rhea even in that two years. So I don't know.

[00:22:48] I agree with you that Tiffany makes more sense for this year because, like, who else would Tiffany fight that actually would be, like, as interesting or exciting? But, and Rhea could do anything at WrestleMania. Like, she's her own main event. She should main event WrestleMania sometime. But I could see it. I want to see that match someday just to see them up against each other when they're, you know, more on the same level.

[00:23:13] Like, they're both guaranteed Hall of Famers at this point, which I don't know was true a couple years ago, the last time that they squared off. Yes. But I want to know who the chat thinks is going to face Rhea because the Rhea and Liv storyline was so good to me that it felt weird that it was resolved. I mean, I get why they resolved it. They resolved it on, what, like, a Netflix episode or something like that. Like, something like that.

[00:23:42] It wasn't on a big PLE, if I remember correctly. But, like, where does Rhea go now? Like, I know she's a newly minted babyface. She's no longer with the Judgment Day. But it's like, so now she needs a really big bad to continue to fight against. And Liv is still there. But could Liv's time be spent somewhere else?

[00:24:07] Like, I'm kind of interested to see where Rhea goes because I don't think it's with Charlotte. But, yeah, like, I wasn't surprised. I wasn't surprised. So when people were saying, like, oh, no Jade Cargill, no AJ Lee, no Asuka, no Becky. No TNA people. Why would you want those people in this match if they're just going to lose to Charlotte? You know what I'm saying? Like, they're just going to take an L.

[00:24:35] So I don't, I didn't, I didn't see that for that one. I will say, yeah. I was going to say, Sarah in the chat did answer your question. She's thinking Bailey or Bianca as far as who Rhea could go up against. Yeah, I don't know if you have any strong feelings about that. Have they? I mean, Rhea versus Bianca would be great because they haven't done that yet on the biggest stage.

[00:25:04] Yeah, but we're like, to me, I don't know. I don't like, how do you reconcile that with where Bianca is on the card right now? And the current kind of mystery of what happened to Jade and her and Naomi had that little moment in the Rumble where she's like, why are you hugging Jordan Grace? Who looked amazing, but the hair was kind of. What? We'll talk about Jordan Grace in two seconds. We'll talk about Jordan Grace in two seconds. I'll look for pictures.

[00:25:34] Io or Bianca would be great. But correct me if I'm wrong. Io is a baby face too. So it's like, it feels like there's a lot of really good baby faces and no really good heels. Like the only really big heel you have is Nia Jax right now to me. Speaking of, what did y'all think of Nia's spot? So there was always about 14 women in the ring. And I was like, okay. We kept saying like, who's going to come in clear house? Who's going to come in clear house?

[00:26:03] It's like, that's normally Nia's thing. And of course, Nia comes out. There's still like 12 people in the ring. They all try and gang up on her. But she ends up literally eliminating like six people at one time. So unceremoniously. Yeah. Okay. Mari, did it look like she eliminated all of them? Because I know they were trying to credit her with the eliminations. But I feel like all of them were kind of already on the way out because of that stupid spot. That stupid spot. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:26:32] I think she just did like a little shove. Yeah. Who? Somebody fact check for me. She is. She was born in Australia. So yeah. So like Lyra Valkyria, Stephanie Van Quir, EO. They were already kind of. Raquel. Raquel. Yes. They were already tangled together. Then. So who is that? Lyra has Bianca's braid. I know. She literally does.

[00:27:01] She's pulling it like a rope. Like she's trying to climb back up with her braid. Liv went out too. It was like literally all of the big, bigger names went out that one spot. So I was kind of like. It was weird for me because I was like, dang, I hated that. But also it kind of does protect them all at the same time. Like it's weird. It was stupid. Like why are they doing that though? Why are they all on the apron? Like. Come on.

[00:27:28] It was stupid, but I still think it protected them a little bit. Like I really do. I agree. The fact that it was all at once. All at once. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? So it's like. So it's not like people getting mad because a lesser talent, you know, throughout a bigger talent or anything like that, which it's stupid anyways. But it was just like, it was like, oops. It was just goofy. Yeah. And it was kind of a way. It was kind of a way. So people can't be mad.

[00:27:57] Like, you know, like when Daniel Bryan gets eliminated and everybody's pissed at Daniel Bryan. It was like, we're going to piss everybody off. So he's just confused. It was like, we're going to eliminate Yaka. We're going to eliminate Naomi. We're going to eliminate Stephanie. We're going to like, they're like, we're going to eliminate all of your faves at one time. Liv Morgan. We're going to eliminate them all at one time. So you're all just like too stunned to be upset. Well, like give and give Naya that heat in a way where it's like, I just capitalize. Like she did not throw them out individually.

[00:28:26] Charlotte didn't have to do it, which would have been its own issue. And people would have been mad at that. Exactly. Yeah. So I'm just saying like, I, it, it was a goofy spot, but you know what? They moved it. They moved things along. I don't think it was as bad as it could have been. And yet, even after that, there were still some of the, you know, you had, I don't know who was still in the ring at that point, but you still had Bailey. Most people left in the ring. Yeah.

[00:28:53] It was, it was Bailey, Roxanne, Naya, Charlotte, Nikki, I think at that point, I can't remember who else, but Charlotte, Nikki, Trish might've still been in there. Yeah. I think Trish was still in there. Maybe Alexa. I can't even keep up with who was eliminated on that big spot, but yeah. So it was a lot of people in there. So let's talk. Let's talk. Okay.

[00:29:22] So I, that was a sideways dig at Jordan Grace, but I love Jordan Grace. I'm so glad that she's like officially in the WWE now. Like she, everything I've seen from her is really good. The only thing I was saying was her hair, which looked great. It just didn't match what was happening. You know what I'm saying? It was like, it was that just me? It was like Oscars. Yeah. It's like PTA mom hair, but like, I thought she was, she looked a lot like, she looked,

[00:29:49] like damsel in distress or something like that. But also, no, I'm like, I was so confused. Cause I thought this was Michelle McCool at first. She would do the very much like the flowing curly hair. Uh, I don't know. I was confused about that story, but that's her thing. She's been doing bangs lately too. Uh, like, like her from that side. She looks like, like that's Kathy Griffin's like signature hair. Like legit on Jordan grace.

[00:30:18] And I was just like, this is like, it just doesn't, they both look good, but it just don't make sense together. Like it was like a drag race moment. You know what I'm saying? Like, I like the hair. I just don't like them. Yeah. Yeah. No, you know what? She'll work on it maybe. And that's the thing. I think being in WWE, like, I mean, I don't know what, like how her makeup situation is, but I've heard from some of the women that they get kind of coached on that by different people.

[00:30:48] And so I think she'll glam it up even more, but it's hard because her thing has always just been like her muscle, her strength, you know, even doing some intergender wrestling, fighting some of the guys. Her body is crazy. Next level. Love it. Next level. Yeah. But it's funny. Cause she's kind of short. Like she's relatively short. She's like five foot eight, five foot seven, maybe, maybe five, six, which is just wild. Cause she's so muscular and strong. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:31:17] I think I saw her next to her across from Charlotte at one point. I'm like, okay. Oh, well, that was also. Six feet. Yeah. Charlotte will make anybody look small. That's true. That's true. This is true. Final thoughts on the women's rumble. Chappelle, before we move on. It was fun. You know, I like, I like the women's Royal Rumble. I'm glad they started doing it. And I'm glad that they got all these different like people now from outside of the WWE. I was looking at, I was in the Facebook group and people were talking about how big some

[00:31:45] of the pops were for some of the people outside the WWE. And I was like, that's, that's pretty cool. You know, cause for a long time, like y'all have talked about this, but just really hard for them to build a roster of women's wrestlers that they can use all the time. And so it was like, you're blessed when you get some of these people to come over and really contribute to the company and get highlighted. And they gave them, they showed them some love, you know, leaving people from NXT and for so long, it's crazy. And so, uh, yeah, I thought that was really cool. Yeah. And Trish, Trish with the throwback.

[00:32:14] I love seeing Trish. Every time Trish comes out, that's my face. So she looked so good. She did so good. I was, I was surprised. Okay, Trish, I see you. I think that was only her second rumble, right? Matt, it maybe second or third or something like that. I know cause she did the first one. And then I remember, I remember Lita coming out consistently, but thinking to myself, like Trish hasn't been out in a while. Yeah. You know, I get upset when I see Trish and not Lita. Yeah.

[00:32:45] Her third. Maybe it could have been her third because of, um, when she came back for Becky. So that could have been. Oh yeah. And Matt, Nikki, Nikki, Nikki Bella. Yes. Nikki Bella. How do we not talk about Nikki Bella? Number 30. That's the fault. The traitors. The traitors. They gave her, they gave her a traitors. So that's another thing. So when I saw Nikki Bella, I was like, yes, Nikki. Cause I was so happy to see her because we, we all watched the traitors. So I was like, good for Nikki to come back and be a part of it.

[00:33:15] Ooh, people were not happy about Nikki Bella. Who was not happy about that? I heard a good, there was a good pop for her. Well, Matt, I saw on the internet, Matt, that people just felt like the 30th spot was supposed to be somebody that I guess, you know, I guess it's like, it's a coveted spy. I mean, she's no Logan ball, you know? And so maybe, uh, you know, but she's, I learned this with a little ticker. She's a hall of famer, you know? So I was like, why not? So that's, yeah. Yeah. Sorry.

[00:33:43] Like who people are always going to be disappointed about the 30th spot. There's that's, it's all, you have to put someone in who could take the heat, who could handle it because Mari, I will never forget that year that I believe it was Rey Mysterio was number 30, was it like instead of Daniel Bryan or something like that? What a mess. They did that to Rey. Nikki could handle it. Nikki could handle it. And I do think it was a smart move because, you know, total divas, total bellas.

[00:34:12] Like she is, she is beloved, even if not by, she's just not loved by like the core wrestling fandom all the time or appreciated, but you know what? The IWC. The IWC does not like her. The IWC. That's right. But she got a pop in ring because again, no matter how much people on the internet hate her, she, I've, I said it on, on my traders preview podcast and say it again.

[00:34:39] She revolutionized the business because she brought in people, namely women's wrestling fans that people up until the, up until her couldn't. So you can be mad at, at Nikki Bella all you want to, but it won't change the fact that she, she literally changed wrestling history. Her, her and her sister. Like, I don't care. I'm sorry. I'm sorry for you guys. If, if, if that's, if that's not something you want to hear, she is literally a wrestling legend and a hall of famer and deserves that spot.

[00:35:09] And again, Charlotte is winning this rumble y'all. So what is you all the 30 spot always goes to an alumni. If the person at 30, is it winning? Like it's, it, it, it, it, it happens so often. I would love to see the numbers on that, but like, if the person at 30 isn't winning, normally that spot will go to somebody who is like a good pop, like it'll give you a good

[00:35:36] reaction, a good, like nostalgia, nostalgia act, but that nobody expects to win. Like. Yeah. But you know, yeah, again, like, again, you're thinking that's going to be AJ Lee. You're thinking, could it be? I mean, there are so many different names, but that was the big one. People will be disappointed. Like, I don't think that much about it. Just like maybe go in, lower your expectations and enjoy the thing.

[00:36:03] 30 is always 30 is always like debuting superstar, like hot debuting superstar, hot nostalgic act, or the person who's winning the rumble. That's literally normally it. Or if you're a dick, it's Logan Paul. Yeah. I was going to say, like the heel that you don't want to say. You announced it ahead of time. And you announced it ahead of time. That's why they announced it ahead of time that Logan Paul was going to be 30. You see what I'm saying? Like. It's not a rocket science. So I love seeing Nikki. She looked like, she looked happy.

[00:36:33] You know, rough waters about. Wasn't she. I thought she was kind of suing the WWE. I don't know. I thought they weren't on the best of terms. Maybe not suing. I thought they weren't on the best of terms at one point. They were weird because. Well, they were not on the best of terms. At least as far as I remember. Back to the Johnny Ace, John Laurinaitis. Who was. At the time married to. Their former stepfather at this point. Yeah.

[00:37:04] They were just not happy about any of the situation. And then maybe there was some other stuff about them. And their name. So they became the Garcia twins. The Garcia twins. Yeah. Which now they've maybe taken back the Garcia. Or the Bella name. I can't keep up. But I don't know. I don't think there was a lawsuit. There wasn't a lawsuit. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Probably not a lawsuit. But a little bit of weirdness there. But shout out to her. I love seeing her. Was it cool kind of seeing her in her element, Chappelle? Oh, yeah.

[00:37:34] After Traders. Well, that's the thing. I didn't know her. But like as a wrestler. I think I tapped out before she came in and kind of became the legend that she is. And so, yeah. See, I got excited because I was like, oh, I know her. You know? And so, but then like I said, I saw online people were like, I'm in your 30. This is what we're doing? At that point, I was rooting for her. But again, when I saw that she was up in there against Charlotte Flair, I was like, oh, man. That's tough. You know? Well, you know, the Traders didn't end great and neither will this.

[00:38:02] But, you know, I think it's less about winning the Rumble and just coming back and like really just having her moment to shine as like you called her an alum who is a legend, you know, put her in the spotlight. I think she deserves it. Exactly. Yeah. Speaking of which, I want to bring up Alexa Bliss, not an alum, but someone who's been gone forever. And she just made her way back to the roster. Mari, what did you think about, you know, taking in more? Because just like I'm curious mostly about what's going forward with her.

[00:38:32] I know we've mentioned her a little bit, but yeah, she had the Lily doll with her, which I know terrifies us. So I don't really know. She had a good little showing. Is like a high seller on WWE shop. So for so there's been so many minds about her coming back. So first off, her coming back with this same gimmick, even I'm like, can we retire it? But apparently she's sold so much merch and that, I mean, she's always been a merch seller.

[00:38:59] But like with that, that doll and stuff like that, apparently like it's huge. So I don't think we can expect a, like a shift in character yet. Like hopefully they have a plan for that. But two, apparently, again, I'm in and out of the dirt sheets. And there have been some craziness going on with the dirt sheets lately that so much to the point where I'm like, no, I'm tapping out. Like this is y'all are fighting over fake sports.

[00:39:29] Like this is stupid. So, but apparently there was like a dirt sheet that had said that Alexa was never coming back or something. And it was like, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, it was that. And then people were like, oh, was that were they giving out fake sources just so that they can make fun of the wrestling media? Because like there were rumbles. There was there was rumbling that Alexa was going to come back. I was like, I know she's I heard something about she's going through her contract.

[00:39:59] Like they're trying to figure out her contract. So her being there was not surprising in a surprising way. I'm just glad she figured it out. Like, you know, it's been since 2023 since we last seen her. I know she had a baby. She got married. So very interesting where she'll fit into the dynamic of the women's division. The women's division is just so stacked. That's why they got both. Yeah, they're about to make so much bank on that doll in that shirt on that doll, that shirt, all of it. So maybe that's some indication of what to expect.

[00:40:28] And they're selling Nikki Bella merch show. Again, so much draw on Bella. If you don't understand how big of a draw Nikki is, you never went to a wrestling show between 2011 and 2016. Because if you did, you would have saw a sea of red. It was just all Bella merch everywhere. It was wild. It was wild. Yeah. All right.

[00:40:57] Let's get to some of the men's rumble. Unless you guys want to talk about some of the individual matches. For me, for me personally, I kind of took a nap. Briefly? Well, Mari, let's just touch on them really quick then. Like, the next match was DIY. Johnny Gargano. Yeah, two out of three. Champa versus the Motor City Machine Guns.

[00:41:23] All I just wanted to say on this is that when I found out that the Motor City Machine Guns debuted in WWE, I was like mind blown. I was shooketh. I remember watching it. Like, it was amazing. Because I remember watching them like 20 years ago or 15 years ago when they were in TNA. I was a big fan. And I remember I had an Alex Shelley shirt before he was even with Chris. Like, I was. But, you know, it's cool to see them. Cool that they're there.

[00:41:53] They wrestle well. They won the championships. They didn't win them again at the Rumble, of course. But I will say the one thing I want to bring up with this match, the finish was so weird. Which I don't know if you saw the finish, Mari, if you did sleep. I woke up just in time for the profit. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Because they, two out of three falls match. Blah, blah, blah, blah. Like, each team gets a fall.

[00:42:19] Then at the end, as the Motor City Machine Guns are about to win, the Street Profits come up and attack them. Yes. And so DIY wins. But then the Street Profits attacked DIY to prove a point. Yes. Yeah. Michael Cole was trying really hard to explain that. He was like, oh, they just wanted to choose who they fight next. But it, like, almost didn't make sense. No. I agree. I'm with you. No, I'm with you.

[00:42:48] Because, like, again, I'm not following these storylines closely. No. And you think in typical fashion, if I'm beefing with one group, I would come in and make sure they lose the match. You know? Like, okay, I want them to lose. But Michael Cole would say, oh, they wanted them to win so that they can then beat them for the championship title. Instead of making the movie titles right now and fight them, they want to beat them so they can win. So it's like, I got to make sure that we're the ones who take it from you. Look at Black History Month. Yeah. Wow. Really?

[00:43:18] To me, it just translated to, oh, the Street Profits are bad now. And they're just fighting everybody. Yeah. It's a heel. It's a heel time. Yeah. It's a heel time. And DIY, they're both faces. And then the 2003 final, they're both faces. The Street Profits came. Hopefully they get their championships back. It's all good. Like, I was, again, I don't know, knocked out. Baby was asleep. I was asleep. I woke up. I mean, I felt good for you, though, honestly, especially at the baby sleeping.

[00:43:48] I feel like you felt, I wasn't here for the Cody KO match, you know? Okay. That's insane. Yeah. Let's get into that. So we all know I'm a ladder match girly now. I love a good ladder match. However, I'm so sick and tired. Like, KO has to be upset, right?

[00:44:10] Like, KO always, always, always, always contends for the championship at Royal Rumble just to not win it.

[00:44:21] It has to be like, I know it might not be like four years in a row, but it's been so many times that that's happened to him that I'm just kind of like, why should we care when we know that you're not going to switch the title going into WrestleMania season and that you keep doing that with KO? Like, that's the most frustrating thing to me.

[00:44:47] And I really want to know the stat because I know he did it with Roman, I think twice, Royal Rumble twice, with Cody, I think with Seth. Like, I think it's been four separate occasions where he is challenged for the championship at Royal Rumble and loses every time because they know he's going to put on a great match but just lose. You know what I'm saying? Yeah.

[00:45:14] Maybe that's like his version of WrestleMania. Getting his ass kicked at the Royal Rumble. This is so sad. Like, even looking at the pictures of it in that final spot. That bump through the ladder at the end when Cody went through the ladder looked nasty. The way he laid there looked nasty. But you know what? I will say KO does get to do a lot of interesting character work going into moments like this. Like, this time he had the Wink Eagle Championship.

[00:45:44] So that was cool. He stole it. Yeah. Like, that's what I'm saying. He makes them good moments. Exactly. But why do we do this? Why should I? Like, he was not winning. He definitely wasn't beating Cody here. That's what I'm saying. They make him do such good story work, storytelling, storylines, takes these crazy bumps. Like, the him and Roman match was like a false count anywhere match like a few years ago.

[00:46:11] That one time where Roman didn't get on his feet quick enough. But like, that's what I'm saying. Like, I'm saying I'm frustrated because it's good. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? I mean, obviously it's a great match, but I just feel like it's hard to get emotionally invested in how it'll go because we know how it's going to go. And we know it's going to be a great match. So it's like, how can it exceed our expectations?

[00:46:42] It was kind of insane, though, in terms of the spots that they took. I will say that. But then again, like, that's what we're used to with KO. Like, getting his ass kicked at the Rumble or going through ladders, throwing people off of ladders. Great match, but... What do you think, Chappelle? Not on the Rumble pay-per-view. I love this so much. I'm a big KO guy, and I like Cody Rhodes a lot. Like, between the two of them, I was like, you can't draw up a better match for me because I think Kevin Owens' thing is I get my ass beat really good.

[00:47:11] I think the cool thing about, you know, I'm already talking about it, but I kind of returned to talk to y'all about wrestling around the same time when he was in that big feud with Roman Reigns. And it was just Roman destroying this man, right? Like, all the time. Yeah, it was like, you know, like you said, at WrestleMania, you know, in 2023, like, it happened. And I was there, and I was like, oh, I kind of got a, like, it's like, it's a little endearing, you know? It reminds me a little bit of, like, Mankind, right?

[00:47:39] Because Mankind is mostly known for all the hits and the falls he's taken, like, you know, the body parts he's hurt and all this other stuff. It's like, yeah, I know KO is about to die here. I don't want him to die. But you know it's coming, right? And then, you know, of course, I like Cody Rhodes, so I love this. This was my favorite match, and it was gruesome, you know, that last, you know, through the ladder. I know they yelled through the ladder, but when you actually go through the ladder, I'm like, yeah, this is too much.

[00:48:05] And I really enjoy them bringing out, like, the administration people coming out like, gotta make sure he's alive. Should we call him back? I love that element of it, you know? It's so cool. I know. Yeah. It's so good. It was kind of like Barry, though, and I think maybe Mari, like, what we're getting to is, like, we are Royal Rumble people. Like, we show up, we want to see the Royal Rumble matches, so it does feel like the other matches are kind of filler, a little bit of filler. Yes, I agree.

[00:48:32] But they did deliver, and actually, I mean, I would say DIY and Motor Speed Machine Guns also delivered, right? It's not a match quality issue, but when you're waiting to get to the next Rumble, you kind of want to, like, yada, yada it and go on. But they, you know, we should watch that back. We should watch it back. We should, yeah. And they did luck up. I am glad they made a ladder match. I'm glad it wasn't just a regular match. If it was just a regular match, then I really would have been like, y'all get this on the screen, you know?

[00:49:03] But I just, I did. I did like that match. I'm not saying I didn't like the match. I'm not saying I didn't like the match. But I just can't. I'm wondering when the next time, if KO will be able to be a champion again, major champion. Yeah. But, you know, we finally got Roman's chokehold off of the, like, the title right now. So if it's going to, if it's going to be the time to do it, it's going to be it. But, like, think of Mari.

[00:49:33] Think about a year plus ago with Drew, Drew McIntyre. Like, everything with him, he just hadn't broken through that level to where he became post-mania and otherwise. Where he was just nasty around that time. You know, maybe superstar of the year for 2024. So, I mean, KO could do it. But I think when I saw him carrying around that winged eagle belt, I knew it's not his moment to actually get the championship.

[00:50:03] Yeah, it's like they want that look, but they don't want to actually put the title on him. So, yeah. But I'm very interested to see where Cody goes because the highlight of the evening, the men's rumble, the winner, they shut me the fuck up. Let me tell you this, okay? We're watching the last, we're watching the men's rumble, right?

[00:50:28] It's down to, it was down to Jay, Roman, Cena, and one more person. I'll tell you, it was, it was, so there were a few different points. Like, one of them, it was, final six, was Roman, Cena, Logan, Paul, Punk, Seth, and Jay. Thank you. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. Yes.

[00:50:51] And then Roman gets, Seth gets eliminated and then starts, like, tearing up the side of the ring, right? Yeah, Punk eliminated Seth and Roman. And then immediately Logan Paul eliminated Punk. Oh my God. And so then you had, like, Logan Paul, Cena, and Jay Uso, like, you know, knocked out. Just laying down, yeah. But that was insane with, like, Roman, what you're getting to with Roman, with Seth, with Punk.

[00:51:20] I wasn't ready. I kept yelling. I said, Roman, stop putting your head near things. Like, it was so funny. Rollins hits, Rollins hits Reigns with the first curb stomp. And I'm like, oh my God. And Punk's just there. And then Seth is just pissed all on the outside of the ring. Roman goes near the, the steel steps. Roman, get away from the steel steps. Here comes Seth with another curb stomp to Roman on the steel steps.

[00:51:50] Like, I think our chat is saying they're thinking Seth is turning heel or something. I don't care. I love Seth Rollins. And I was, I really thought Punk was going to win the Rumble. So when he did it, you know, cool. Again, we all know me and CM Punk, he's a great person. I don't like his booking. Sure.

[00:52:11] So I'm, I'm all team Seth, Drew, Roman, like those last, those last six to eight people in that Rumble was crazy. Like that's so much star power or whatever. But that aside, Chappelle, we get down to Logan Paul, John Cena and Jey Uso. And my, I was like, this could either be really, really bad, medium bad or good.

[00:52:39] Uh, and I just kept saying out loud, I was telling, I was telling James, I was like, they're not going to do it. They keep playing in our faces about Jey. We're going to get a stupid Logan Paul win here. Or if Logan doesn't win, John Cena is going to win. Like I was going off and they shut me up. What do you think? It's so tempting for them to just do the Logan Paul thing, right? Like we got, uh, I show speed in the Royal Rumble. Like they're really leaning into like these younger audiences with these streamers.

[00:53:09] And like popular YouTube personality. We seen how they, we seen how they treat Logan Paul in the, in the WWE. They, you know, they hype them up and, and I'll give them this. He's very, he's very athletic, does a lot of very interesting things. Um, and so, yeah, I think it was right there. They were just, I just know they were so tempted to do it. Um, my biggest fear was that this was going to be John Cena. I just, it's something about seeing John Cena in the Jordan at like 50 years old. It's just so unsettling to me. I'm like, where did you even buy the shorts now?

[00:53:37] You know, it's just, they don't even sell them that size. You know, I was involved, you know, and he kept them. And, and so I'm like, it just, to me, I love John Cena. It's taken a long time for me to get there. But like, I, I love him now where he is now. I don't need him to have another, like this, this is fine. I felt like watching old John Cena in the ring kind of made me feel like, all right, we are both retired in my mind. So I was like, it's gotta be Jay.

[00:54:03] So it's got to be like, there was no world to me where it was going to be John Cena. And then, like I said, looking at Logan Paul, I was just like, they wouldn't do that to us. They would, they would. I thought it was going to be Jay or not. So, wow. I thought it was going to be John Cena. Yes. Because they play in Jay's face so often. Yeah. And I'll also say this, the funny thing for me, as people are coming out, like I, each rumble, I wrote down the first two people to start.

[00:54:30] And then when I saw people like Vrooming came out at 16, John Cena came out at 23, Punk came out at 24. Cause I'm thinking, here's who might want Seth came out at 25. And to your point, Mari, it was just star studded, including, including Dom Mysterio in that last like 10 people. But I didn't even write down when Jay came out. Cause I'm thinking what, like they're going to throw him out. Like they threw out his brother. Um, I will say though, I like, I love that this is, I love that this happened.

[00:54:59] I love this for Jay, despite that really bad WrestleMania match that we witnessed in person, Mari, where they just were super kicking each other left and right. Um, but I don't, I did not like, and this just me being picky. I'll say this. I didn't need John Cena to give the rub to Jay. I don't like it. No one needed it. No one needed it. Right. Jay is the most over person right now. Like, again, if you look into that audience, all you see is Yeet shirt.

[00:55:29] So thanks John Cena. I think because I don't have the background about them, the way they do Jay Uso is that like, I, so I, for me, it was so obvious that it had to be him because I was like, why would you give it to John Cena right now? Look at, look at how everybody's going up for Jay Uso. It's like, it's John Cena, but yeah. John Cena has, you know, he's a little long in the tooth when it comes to wrestling. You know, we've seen this before from John Cena. We've seen a lot from John Cena. And I just felt like now's a great time to pass the torch. I just didn't need him physically going to pass the torch.

[00:55:59] Cause I was like, it feels like it's been passed. Like, I feel like it's time. This is Jay's moment. He's been passed the torch like eight times now. Like go, go get, you don't got the torch no more. No. He's been talking about the fact that like. It's his farewell tour. That's why everybody. I love John Cena. The next year he's on his retirement tour. I love John Cena. And like I said, it took me a long time. I remember when I first saw John Cena, I was a fan. Then he got black and I was like, I'm good. And then he's back.

[00:56:27] He's back to this, like whatever he is now. And like, I like him as like a movie star. I love his personality. Any interviews that I've ever seen John Cena run, he looks like a fun guy. But it just, to me, feels like this would have been kind of like a step backwards a little bit. And I, and I really felt like this was a cool moment for some of the younger superstars, including, including Logan Paul. That's what I'm saying. My, my worst case scenario was Logan Paul. I was like, oh my God. Worst case scenario, scenario, Logan Paul.

[00:56:55] So then I was like, oh my God, am I, am I rooting for a Cena victory here? And then when, when they threw out Logan Paul, I was like, oh, thank God. Hopefully it goes to Jay. But I still, I did not believe it was going to go to Jay until John Cena's feet hit that, hit the ground. So that's the beauty of it though. They did a really good job at that. They did. Yeah. They did because you really thought, we really thought, and it could have been Cena because then he goes on to Mania. He has this Mania match. Like, you know, it, it would all add up.

[00:57:23] I think we'd get over it, but I'm glad that they didn't do that. And then John Cena needs to figure out his own road to that 17th championship. Because, yeah. I mean, he talks about how he's not going for the 17th belt. He's not trying to break quote unquote Ric Flair's record. But like, he's, he's going to break that record this year. Right. And I think so. I just want like a little short, like shorter jorts. You know what I'm saying?

[00:57:51] I just, you know, just come, come with the times, you know, like, that's why, that's why I think it's hard for me. It's kind of like you, you watching your, your faves kind of just like age out, but then they're like, it's not graceful. I'm like, I want it to be graceful. I want this to be your farewell tour, but I want it to feel like it. And it to be, it's like, like even when the, when the powerhouses are all in the ring. Right. You got Roman who's just, they're just like stoic. You got, uh, you know, see, you know, like it was just Seth freaking Rollins is there.

[00:58:20] And John Cena looks like he's fan girl and like everybody else. He's like, what's up? You know, like, and Roman can't be, Roman can't be bothered. He's like, you know, I'm here for business. John Cena looked like a fan. I popped so huge when Roman came out because that stat about him not being in the Royal Rumble for five, this five years, because he's been the champion for the past four was so hilarious to me.

[00:58:45] Like, it's so good because, because it's kind of funny because it made you forget, like before those four years of him not being in the Rumble, he was the Rumble, like terror. Like people hated him being in the Rumble because every time he was in the Rumble, he was always in the final two. And he didn't win. Right. But people, they still hated it. And so like, yeah, so it's a very interesting thing. But I've never realized that before, Mar, that he's never won a Royal Rumble.

[00:59:13] It would have been pretty cool for him to win one. Well, he's no, he's won a Royal Rumble. Oh, 10 years ago. Yeah. I want to say he's won two. I want to say. I'm pretty sure. But yeah, they said, yeah, he won 2015. They kept saying 2015. Oh, 2015. So maybe he hasn't. I mean, that's 10 years is a long time. You know what I'm saying? That's why I was like, it's crazy to think because he's been, he's basically been out of them for so long because he's been the champion. But right. And then all the subsequent ones. Yeah.

[00:59:43] But he like final two, but not being able to take it home. Literally the whole. Yeah. Yeah. Interesting. I wonder what the yips or something. You getting the final two, but you can't bring it home, Roman. Now I got a new one to get you next year. I would see if Roman could get him one again. It's been, it's been a decade, y'all. Yeah. I don't. So we're getting a lot. Let's pull up. That should have made me. One of Sarah's chats.

[01:00:10] For me, I think Jay goes up against Gunter because, you know, Jay was literally about to, it kind of resumes their storyline for the Intercontinental Championship when Jay was about to beat Gunter for that. And then the bloodline got in the way and all that stuff. So I think that would be where I would go with that. And then I don't know what's, again, I just said, I don't know what's going on with Cody.

[01:00:38] I don't know if you give Cena the WrestleMania. It's probably people are saying you put them in there for Elimination Chamber. I don't know. I just think between Seth, Drew, Roman, and CM Punk. So just the four of them are just so incredibly hot right now. Like, what do you do with them if you don't put at least one of them up against Cody? You know what I'm saying? Yeah. You don't need Cena main eventing WrestleMania for the title. You'll have him there.

[01:01:07] But then again, maybe I'm wrong because it's his final WrestleMania. So will they want him to main event because it's his last WrestleMania? Does it need to be for the title? Are they going to do some of the, like, Mari, we saw it. It was The Rock and Roman versus Seth and Cody last year. Are they going to do that on, like, something like that on night one? I have no idea. But I really don't. I just feel like Cena needs to earn his way to whatever he's doing at WrestleMania.

[01:01:36] Even better if he's putting someone over, in my opinion, or at least, like, fighting someone who is young and up and coming. I just have a feeling he's going to do, like, John Cena versus Randy Orton or something like that. But again, this is why, this is literally why we like the Rumble. Because there are so many avenues you can go into once you come out of that match. There's so many storylines that can start to take shape and stuff like that.

[01:02:02] So, Mari, one of the questions we have in the chat, what if the belt is on the line at the chamber? Cena wins, then J versus Cena at WrestleMania? Like, what? I need Cena to work for that. Yeah. It's an interesting question. And I wouldn't want to see J versus Cena. Like, I wouldn't want to. You know what I'm saying? Like, I don't know. And then J wins again? It don't give the same energy that it used to give. You know what I'm saying? No.

[01:02:31] It's not what I want, you know? I'm telling you, Shabelle. I don't know if I want to see Gunter either, though. You know? No, Gunter versus J. That'd be, like, what they worked when they worked was really good. And plus, Gunter's really good at being, like, that really big, dominant heel. That's why I want J versus Gunter. Because J is just the obvious baby face against the heel who's like, oh, you're a tag team specialist. He literally told him that. He's like, you're not worth the time. You're a tag team specialist.

[01:02:59] You're not getting this belt that I have. So I personally want to see that. We'll see. All right, let's bring some more questions up. And then we'll wrap this up. Yeah. We mentioned J versus Gunter. That potentially being a thing that we could see that could happen. I want it. You know who was a standout for me in the Royal Rumble? Jacob Fatu? Oh, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[01:03:29] I don't know him. The Samoan werewolf. Yeah. That is a persona. That's how you do it. You know, all the Samoans in wrestling history have just really shown up and shown why they are the legacy that they are. And just, like I said, I'm not familiar with his character. Or, you know, and so when I was watching it, I was like, oh, yeah, I wouldn't want to mess with this guy. You know, like, he's got, like, I don't know, man. It's such an interesting, like, kind of, like, presence that he has where it's like, oh, yeah, he's taking, like, he's taking these hits,

[01:03:58] but he's, like, bouncing back. It's like, no matter what you do to him, he's just like, I don't know. I'm like a Tasmanian devil energy. I really like it. Yeah, he's great. He's so scary. And I was surprised that he was the only, like, bloodline member there to represent. I was waiting for Solo. I was waiting for Tama Tonga. Like, nobody showed up. So that was interesting. But he really did kill it. We didn't even talk about how we started off with Pinta and Rey Mysterio. They're just like. And Pinta lasted a long time, man.

[01:04:28] Go Pinta. Yeah. I was going to say, Pinta, brand new on the roster. And it's cool to see that he was at least in the match. They're trying to keep some momentum with him. And I didn't think that it would be the Rumble when we'd get the Pinta-Rey match. Like, I thought we would get a feud. Maybe. Yeah, I don't know. I don't know what I expected. But I definitely think they would open up the Rumble. It was definitely a little appetizer. They're like, this is a tease. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. They did a really good job.

[01:04:58] Joe Hendry comes out as the TNA. He's the TNA champion. People love him. Like, I have no. The only thing I know about his work is from what he does in NXT. What he did in NXT. And people loved him there. So, very charismatic. Yeah. Like, something about him, like, really is, like, draws people to him. I wonder what it is, too. Because he's had, like, good theme songs.

[01:05:26] I want to say his theme song, like, charted on Spotify or something like that. I might just be making that up. But, like, yeah. People really love him. I will say, when he was in the ring with all of the people. You know when you just, like, don't really see it? I didn't really see it. And I think that might just be, like, a physical stature thing. Which is so, like, Vince McMahon 20 years ago. But, yeah. I mean, I hope that he does well. I hope we see more of him. I also just like that they give him all these different cameos in WWE.

[01:05:55] And I'm glad he's TNA's champion. Because, like, yeah. He could keep growing and keep thriving that way, too. He. Because he was the NXT champion for, like, two seconds. Like, they put the. I believe that was him. Right? Was that Joe Hendry that they put the belt on for, like, two seconds? Or am I thinking of another dude? I want to say maybe you're thinking of Ethan Page. Ah. All-Ego Ethan Page.

[01:06:23] But, no, they both came out at the same time, I thought. I don't know. Something. Something. Yeah. I don't think he was. That's funny. Yeah. No. He's. Yeah. He. I don't think they've really done a ton with him in terms of. I don't know about him. But he got a pop. People loved him. People, like. The IWC is going crazy. So. I don't. He did. He did win. From what I understand. He did win NXT. An NXT year-end award.

[01:06:53] Moment of the year. Last year. Yeah. Because he did. I know. I was like. I'm pretty sure he came and he challenged somebody. Or something. Or other. Okay. Let's pull up. The House Has Spoken. Says. They think it's Cody versus Cena at Mania. With Cody going heel. Everybody's saying Cody's going heel.

[01:07:23] Is Cody going heel? No. He can't go heel. He's the new John Cena. Nightmare. That nightmare part makes you feel like he can go heel though. You know. Because he was. He was heel. Yeah. He was heel. I like. I like. Look. I like that. I'm sorry. I'm a Cody guy. You know. So I was like. Man. Yeah. Him going heel would be so entertaining. Because it's like. It is. Almost like his. His pop is like. Kind of like. I'm Mr. Perfect. Nobody can touch me. I'm like. He's.

[01:07:50] He's disgusted with the fact that Kevin Owens even thinks that he can like. Just like breathe the same air as him. Like. I think a heel turn for him. Sure. Yeah. I don't see it against Cena though. Because. I don't think Cena's. That sympathetic. Like. Yeah. Yeah. I'm on board with Cody. Turn on. I feel bad for him. I mean. I feel bad for him. When that ring. I was like. You outmatched baby. Get out of there. Sarah says that on Saturday night's main event. Jay lost to Gunter. And I. Totally forgot about that. Sounds very. Yeah. That did happen.

[01:08:20] I can't watch. I'm going to tell y'all right now. I can't watch the Saturday stuff. Like. Like. Yeah. We have a lot of those coming up this year Mari. And I heard a lot of it. It's like counter programming. Or I don't know if it was. For AW. Intentionally counter programming AW. It is. But it's lined up with AW. So I'm like. Nobody has time for collision. And main event. Even though. Well not that. The time was Tony Storm. Yeah. And regular Tony Storm.

[01:08:50] And Mercedes Monet. You know. We still like her. Triple champ right? Yeah. Quadruple champ. She has four belts. Jeez. Isn't that crazy? But yeah. So. So. I don't know. We got. Hendry is not good. That's funny. Established. Yeah. Random. We have a random question from Sarah. About Denise Salcedo. Which is just like. Shout out to her. Yeah. We're very familiar with Denise's work. She's.

[01:09:20] She's a very good content creator. The fact that AI thinks that Jacob Fatu is her husband. Is kind of hilarious. And the reason why. We should not use Google AI. Or any of those type of things. No. Yeah. Shout out to Ainsley for helping with the video stuff. Anyway. Yeah. No. Great. Great questions. And if there are any other questions. Drop them in. I don't see others right now. But look. I don't know. We've gotten through so much Mari. I know.

[01:09:49] We talked about the rumble. We're back. Yeah. We are back. We're back. We are so back. We are. We are so back. And we got to thank our new owner. Brandon Chappelle. Sorry. The contract reads Brandon Chappelle. I don't. I don't like that idea of Chappelle being our owner. Well, you could not be owned, Matt. Yeah. Contract is.

[01:10:21] Mari's on contract now. You don't have to be. You know what I'm saying? Where's Sean Ross at? I'm agree. Scott has been released. Get Denise Salcedo on the phone. We have a spy here on the wrestling kickback. Best of your future endeavors. Replace me with her. Fine. Go for it. I'm so happy that y'all are doing this. Honestly. Because like I said. I love being abreast of what's going on in wrestling. But I cannot keep up with 19,000 hours of wrestling a month. It's just insane. I know y'all keep an eye on it.

[01:10:50] I know y'all tell me all the stuff that matters. But y'all are good at keeping your ear to the street, Matt. And y'all are really good at following the storyline. Just from a macro perspective. So that when stuff like this happens. I can come in and get caught up on everything I need to know. And so thank y'all so much for being able to come over here. And be willing to do this on Recap Kickback. We got a little bit more rebranding to do on some of this stuff. But yeah. We're going to make it happen. It's going to be a tight ship over here. I know it's in good hands with Mari and her sidekick. Oh my gosh.

[01:11:20] I mean tag team partner. I feel so degraded. Yeah. Tag team partner. Come on. Like. Yeah. I'm the Mari Gianetti. Yeah. There you go. Where's the barbershop window when you need one? I'd be honored. Yeah. Thank you. Okay. Well, I, I, like I said, I guess that's it for us. Thank you for joining us on the wrestling kickback. We are so excited to be here. Make sure you follow us over on blue sky. You follow us at wrestling kickback.

[01:11:51] Kickback. Kickback. Kickback. It's going to be so hard for the longest. Wrestling kickback. It's like saying, you know, it's like, it's like, you know, that it's 2025 now and you write the date and you're still writing 2024. 2024 every time. Yeah. It's going to be like that for like two months. Yeah. But if you follow us on blue sky, when we do drop on, that's where we'll put all of the playlist videos, you know, the clips that we talked about, we'll put those on blue

[01:12:18] sky and then we'll talk about them on the next podcast. That way, you know exactly what we'll be getting into. Make sure, of course, you, you watch us over on the recap kickback YouTube by going to youtube.com slash at recap kickback and make sure you subscribe. Um, at recap kickback.com. So this is our new home. This is where we're going to be at. This is where you can find us all day, every day. And please remember.

[01:12:44] Not every figure of speech, y'all figures, whatever we want. Whatever. Anyways, wrestling is for everybody, but not all wrestling is for everyone. Do you have plugs, Mari? Oh, yeah. Well, sorry. My bad. We were trying to get out of here. Where can the people find you? At Mari talks too much on blue sky. That's it. I'm not, I'm nowhere else. Yeah. Too like the number two. How about you, Matt? Matt Scott GW on blue sky.

[01:13:15] Check out pod friends. Subscribe to that. That's the old thing. Shout out interviews over there. Chappelle, where can people find you? At recap kickback. Where else? Yeah. No, at recap kickback. We got a lot of stuff planned. This is February. It is our anniversary. Yes. We can have kickbacks. It's been one calendar year. So we got a lot of good content. We got a game night coming up. We got some more coverage with me and Gia about Abbott Elementary. Of course, we still have our how to run Christmas series that we are doing with Gia and I.

[01:13:44] We got a lot coming up. The Purple Pants badass. Bryce is coming at some point to talk about stuff. So much. We got a, we got a black cartoon character, Brett, still coming in a couple of weeks. So we got everything coming here. We're trying to spice it up for year two, maybe. So make sure you subscribe recap kickback.com slash subscribe and youtube.com slash at recap kickback. Okay, great. Sorry. I forgot. I forgot we have the recap kickback audience here too. So yes. We had to get our plugs in for them. Yes. Okay. Yeah.

[01:14:14] We will always be plugging recap kickback. That is correct. 100%. Yeah. Sorry. We're under new management, y'all. Under new management. Yeah. Yeah. The yoke is tight. You know, no. Okay. But yes, it's great. This black history month. Can't wait to do what we're going to do on recap kickback. Other than that, again, the wrestling wrap up, make sure you are following us on blue skies to know when we are coming back.

[01:14:42] And of course, job has a squad cast Facebook guys for sticking with us. You know, thank you for understanding what's been going on. We do love chatting with you guys there. If you want to join the job has a squad cast Facebook group where we talk about wrestling over there, you can you can just follow us on Facebook and then we'll get you in there. That feels weird saying. But anyways, we do love our message us and we'll somehow.

[01:15:12] I mean, I think wrestling kickback sounds like a great Facebook group name. I'm just saying, you know, we got a lot going on. And then it's more effort. Same group. Just change the name. You know. Well, we can't. Well, it wasn't our group to begin with. Oh, God dang it. Well, yeah. We're branching out, babe. We got to figure this out. We're going to do it together as a family. How about that? Wow. Thank you, Daddy Chappelle. Oh, thank you, Sarah. Thank you. Yeah. Yeah.

[01:15:42] Oh, thank you. OK, well, let's follow us. We'll figure it out. Thank you for sticking through it. Yes. Wrestling is for everybody, but not all wrestling is for everyone. We'll see you. Enjoy. Enjoy our video. I'm just trying to wrestle. I'm going to show you what I do. If you come for Matt and Murray, I'm going to come for you.

[01:16:11] Raw WWE, they break it down for you. Steve Austin, Undertaker, bringing it to you. Round one, round two. What y'all finna do? Round one, round two. Wrestling kickback new. We the best podcast. Come and give a view. Champion just like I'm Sasha. You know that it's true.