Episode 557: Jim Reviews WWE Crown Jewel 2024

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Like the midnight and the rock and roll, he's in a fight for wrestling soul.

Using a racket and some mind control.

He's Jim Cornette.

The keys to the future, held by the past.

And with tag tee partner Barion Last, he sends this message out by podcast.

He's Jim Cornet.

Well, he's never afraid of lonely.

He never backs down from a fight.

He never wins the pony.

Cause his mama raised him right.

It's time

to prepare

your mind.

Get the experience.

Get the experience.

Get the experience of Jim Cornette.

Today, the world champion of Saudi Arabia has been crowned.

The bloodlines are fighting over the family jewels, and the WWE made another $50 million

last weekend.

We're going to talk about all that and more.

And joining me, Hawaiian Brian, the podcasting lion, the king of the Arcadian Vanguard Podcast Network, Mr.

Co-HostU.

He's the crown jewel of podcasting, the great Brian Last, everybody.

Aloha, Jim.

A pleasure to be here once again.

I think we're going to have a good time, or at least pretend to.

But it's your show.

I'm sure it'll be great.

Oh, I'm thrilled that you're thrilled to be here.

At least I didn't call you the family jewel of podcasting, but that may be more apropos now that I think about it.

Who was it?

Was it

Scotty?

Scotty the body before he became Raven.

Remember Craig Johnson, the announcer they had for Global Wrestling in Dallas?

Underrated announcer.

It looked like Keith Oberman, so it gave him legitimacy.

Well, he did,

well, nobody knew who Keith Oberman was at 1990, though.

Yeah, he was on Sports Center, 1991.

He was on Sports Center.

I'd never seen him, but nevertheless, Craig Johnson.

was a man about six foot five, six foot six inches tall.

And when he would do the promos with the even the bigger boys looked like the smaller boys right

and then he's interviewing was he johnny no he would have been scotty flamingo at that point in gwf he was scott anthony scott anthony and the brother of mark anthony i don't know about that but he was scott anthony and he would say oh where oh where art thou but nevertheless Scott Anthony looked at him one day and said, you're the biggest Johnson I've ever seen.

Maybe that's why the show wasn't a hit on ESPN.

That's why the African investors pulled out actually, was that comment.

Olu, Oli, Oliani?

Oli, Olu Little, Oli.

What'd you think when those guys from the Shinamanaki Post and Atlanta, the ones who were causing trouble at the center stage TV,

all of a sudden, you know, because they knew Peticino, they were involved in the GWF.

And, you know, Scott Hudson later went on to WCW.

But what'd you think when what were essentially just smart fans got involved and got a chance to treat it seriously on TV?

Well,

in all honesty,

my opinion in hindsight may be colored by the fact that I got to know Scott and

he was a very respectful smart fan.

And those guys appreciated the business.

I'm sure there may be a VHS tape of them all, you know,

fucking wearing clown outfits and dancing around in tutus or something on some independent show in front of 60 people in the 90s or whatever.

But

that era of smart fan that actually did get invited to be into business was not as

over the top as some of today's are, or hadn't developed the bad habits because there was an internet that told them

everything about the business they needed to know before they talked to anybody that knew anything about the business.

Does that make any sense to you?

Yes, it does.

So, but and uh Scott did a very good job.

I've done commentary with him for,

oh, god damn it.

For somebody,

and he did a very good job.

He was an excellent straight man.

Not in the Bud Abbott style, but more in the Gordon Soley style.

All right.

Well, Well, so.

Oh, is this my show?

This is more in the Alfred Hitchcock style today here.

Hey, it's it may be in the goddamn tragedy of the Romeo and Juliet and Mark Anthony.

Where art thou?

Speaking of tragedies, we got to establish at the top of the program and then move on that this is being recorded,

no matter when you might hear it, before the election, here in America, for those of you around the world and in Tunisia.

So we have

no idea like everybody else because it hasn't happened yet what's going to happen.

But either

either we will, by the time you hear this, live in a free and democratic society or the kingdom of Trumpistan.

And if that's the case, we'll have a lot of apologizing to do to the folks I mentioned around the world

for putting you guys in fucking trouble also.

But nevertheless, before for all the people that wrote me in, I'm sorry it didn't work out this time, but if we all get together and mobilize, we have another shot in four years.

I understand that that was outweighed by the number of people who wrote you off.

Is that

what I was hearing?

Now, that's not

the fake news they talk about

that I heard that.

Somebody made that up.

I don't mean to spread disinformation.

Who made that up?

Or misinformation.

Would that be, would it be disinformation or misinformation?

What word should I be using here?

If you're the one creating it and it's a diversion, well, it's not a diversion.

I think it's just misinformation.

But

if I'm not doing it on purpose, is that just dumb information?

You're doing it on purpose.

If it's for not getting off the hook, you're not getting off the hook.

If it's with malice, would that be malice information?

Mama Cornette, at one point in her life, worked for the

Chamber of Commerce down in Louisville, Kentucky, downtown,

and she on the on the phones, on the on the she on the switchboard.

And so many people would call in those days.

That's something you did before there was an internet.

You would call to find out certain things about the business rulings or practices or whatever the case, the Chamber of Commerce in Louisville.

And so when they put her on the information desk, she liked to be referred to as misinformation.

Brunsch.

All right.

All righty then.

Did I mention?

I think so.

God damn you.

I'll tell you.

Just give me.

Just swing at one of them.

Look at here.

I'm wearing these goddamn.

I'm wearing these goddamn new headphones.

The experience last week was when I could only hear you out of one of my ears, which was one too many, apparently.

Was that not the case?

That was not the case.

It was an enjoyable show.

You liked it.

No, but, oh, yeah.

And we loved it.

was

last week that I couldn't hear out of one ear.

And then I announced that I had the new headset on the drive-thru.

And now this is the first experience.

And this thing is tighter.

It's like wearing a vice on my head.

It's smooshing my ears.

The other day we

recorded for so long.

When I got off afterwards and I took the thing off, my ears kind of peeled off the side of my head.

Well, A, it is new, but secondly, just loosen it a little bit.

It doesn't have to be.

It's not an asset well it won't it won't it'll loosen long ways but it won't loosen wide ways i do not have a preternaturally large wide head i don't know what kind of pinhead fucking normally buys this brand of

whatever the fuck you sent these to me why

headphones did you get me a child size or a pinhead size they don't offer those on the uh on the amazon you don't get to pick well you must have got.

I'm taking them off.

Oh, God damn.

I got sweat behind me ears now.

It's like putting a vice clamp

by the French angel Maurice Talay

on the sides of my head.

Do I have to pay for these?

Is there a petty cash

fund in the Arcadian Vanguard Network offices that handles things like this?

Do I have to pay for these things that are squashing my fucking head?

You know, petty cash was used up when Hotchkiss had to order that cake and send it to you under the name Jodi Arius or something.

I forget what it is.

Oh, goddamn, no, she's in jail, isn't she?

She ought to still be.

Goddamn first any look that up.

If there's any goddamn justice, that fucking bitch ought to still be in jail.

I thought that was the name of your fan who sends you the cakes and stuff.

No, but Jodi Arius is a goddamn famous murderess.

Oh, what's the name of the woman?

Joni Aries.

That was close.

Is the

Close.

If you were close to Jodi Aries, you might be evidence at a fucking murder trial on a slab.

And speaking of other people that you may have misidentified.

Please, no cakes from prison.

I guess that's the point.

No, unless they've got a file in it.

Well, I guess the cake.

The cake coming out of a prison to you wouldn't have to have a file in it.

It would only be if you're sending a cake into the

the rule of files it's a file with compromising information

no a file I know what you mean but that's

to play on words to get the file out good lord I'd like to get the F out so

I didn't mention to you also you had me some Verklimpt on your show the other day mine and Stacey's anniversary was Halloween also which was last week

But I didn't mention to you that one of the Halloween movies that we watched with a little Harley Quinn sitting there there curled up after our

anniversary dinner of delicious G ⁇ M crab cakes from Maryland.

Got to plug those again.

And my delectable fillets.

We watched The Fog.

How long has it been since you've watched The Fog?

Oh, I don't know.

Whenever it was last on TV.

Well, it was on TV on Halloween.

Oh, I didn't see it.

You didn't see it.

See, well, now you've lied to me already.

The last time it was on TV on something I was watching.

On something when it didn't happen to show up on something you were in front of.

Do you know what the professional wrestling connection is?

To the fog, the John Carpenter follow-up horror movie after Halloween.

Yes, of course.

Everyone knows there is a fog around the brain of Tony Kong.

No, sir.

You can reveal it if you indeed know it, or are you vamping around, as Bill Behrens would say, because you can't grasp.

You know what?

I don't even remember the last time I saw the.

I don't remember.

Was it a deep fog?

Was it a London fog?

No, God.

Oh, for heaven's sake.

Was it Cheech and

it was the fog and the fog?

Don't go.

The fog is glowing.

Stay out of the fog.

You're there in North Carolina.

Is it Los Angeles?

No, no.

That's that's a methane gas.

Yeah, that's smog.

Smog.

It's Northern California.

It's a coastal town.

It's

the radio station, the local radio station there is on the air from like six o'clock in the evening until like one in the morning.

More on the owner of the radio station in a minute.

And they're having a big Founder's Day celebration

in this small little inlet town.

It's right on the coast there.

And suddenly, the night before they're going to have this, a fog rolls in, a very mysterious-looking fog, and strange things begin happening.

And the owner of the radio station, when all the power goes out and the fog infiltrates the power systems and blows the telephone lines and everything,

the radio station is the one that's transmitting from the lighthouse that can tell the people in town to stay away from the fog

and come to find out that the fog contains the leper colony inhabitants that were murdered 100 years previously by the founders of that town in order to establish a more perfect union in that town and by stealing all their gold.

And they came back to get the fucking gold.

But

the owner of the radio station and the DJ

was Adrienne Barbeau.

Well, that was John Carpenter's wife.

Yes.

And that's the wrestling connection right there.

Bingo.

And even Stacey, who is a native of Northern California, was not aware that

was that her first television?

It had to be her first television

job.

Yeah.

Adrienne Barbeau was the big-time wrestling girl for Roy Shire.

on

San Francisco TV and what would that have been?

Like 67-ish, 8-ish, 9-ish?

Yeah.

Thereabouts.

And she would stand next to the lineup of the Cow Palace as they were announcing it.

And as did all of the,

what were they?

Was it Miss Wrestling or Miss Big Time Wrestling?

I thought it was just Miss Wrestling, but I'm not sure.

Well, I think, and one time, boy, one of them.

They tried to make her marry Tim Woods as a goddamn angle, but she wouldn't do it.

But you could have met Mr.

and Mrs.

Wrestling.

could have even put it on their driver's license.

But anyway, but she has she has said in interviews that working with Roy Shire made it easy to work with B.

Arthur.

And

also,

for that matter, to work with fucking leper colony inhabitants coming back from beyond the grave to

take their gold back.

Anyway, speaking of things coming back from beyond the grave,

hopefully he won't want to take anything back with him.

But everybody has been talking about this on Twitter, and we got a bunch of questions, comments.

Hey, what do you think?

Have you seen this type of deal?

Footage has been found of all people,

of all people from the,

not in the golden age of wrestling, but the fucking Victorian age of wrestling.

George Hackenschmidt

is now a star on YouTube.

Have you been following this story, Brian?

I have a ton of people who immediately started sending it to us.

And, you know, you and I just off air and maybe a little bit on there over the last year talked a little bit about George Hackenschmidt after I found one of his autographs in the files.

And we started talking about it.

And, you know, everyone knows about the Gotch matches.

The idea there's no footage is something that, you know, until you go looking, you may not realize.

Well, and

one of the Gotch and Hack and Schmidt matches, I can't remember, was 08 or 11, may have been 08,

was

the story goes, was filmed, but has been lost.

Nobody knows if it still exists or where it might be or whatever.

But nobody really knew

that this footage existed until

they just come out with it.

But apparently,

and I'm

hazy on the details of exactly how which came first the chicken or the egg but

this film footage was displayed

at a film festival in Estonia because George Hackenschmidt was from Estonia

which again and

if you don't even know google it while I'm rambling is is The Russian lion.

It's somewhere in the Soviet Union or Russian area, right?

Estonia.

Yeah, no, I've known people from Estonia.

It's right there.

Okay, well, are they nice people?

Very nice people, actually.

Well, you know, you know,

he was a hell of a guy.

Yeah.

But anyway, at a film festival, who was double-crossed?

Who was double-crossed?

It was found.

It was shot or restored from New Zealand by a

group there that had found this.

Apparently, was this footage shot there or was it, did it end up there for display and somebody found it and restored it in New Zealand?

Because it's like a

the what are the natives in New Zealand?

The Maoris,

right?

It's like a Maori name, I don't have it in front of me, company that did this restoration and brought this to light.

I could be wrong because I've actually been meaning to read up more on this because I'm fascinated by it.

But I want to say that it's something that Hackenschmidt himself brought with him on a tour there.

Ah.

But again, let me, you know, I have to double check that, but I think it's something that was like touring with him.

Because his opponent is American.

And it was just.

And he built like Mike Leno.

Yes.

Well, but

next to Hackenschmidt in the day, right?

This is in 1908.

It's not fair because for the

For the bodybuilders or the weightlifters or powerlifters in the audience,

For his day, George Hackenschmidt was not only a strong man, but was into early physical culture, had

a developed physique before the, I don't know, the weeders hadn't been born, the brothers.

I don't think they had weights as such as we might know them today back in them days.

And the hack squat

was named for him, which is a

method of lifting.

So he was a big fucking deal in those days, as far as one of the strongest men in the world, and then

could lay legitimate claim to being the best wrestler in the world.

And that's how he ended up with Gotch to settle it.

You know, and there's footage at the end of what we're talking about here that just show him posing a little bit, and there's no body fat on him at all.

And he's cut.

I mean, he's cut the way you would think a little guy on steroids would be cut, but he's not a little guy on steroids.

He's the real deal.

Well, and that's the thing.

I saw a

graphic that somebody had put up with a Hackenschmidt versus the tail of the tape.

And he's like five feet eight,

but he's over 200 pounds.

And like you said, with no body fat, and there were no steroids.

There were

barely food, right?

To paraphrase our friend Dutch.

There were no.

He had no protein shakes, nothing.

Yeah, he invented a lot of training programs for himself that later on were integrated into what he was like ahead of his time.

They were integrated into more modern things years and years later.

So, you know,

he was, he was what, and, and,

you know, when you look at the footage, and by the way, there's no, there's not really a ring.

There's no ropes.

They're on.

I couldn't, was that a mat spread out or just a canvas spread out or whatever it was?

Yeah, what do you think of the whole?

I actually like that.

I mean, obviously, it lends itself to what it actually is, but there's just a canvas, a mat on the floor, and a few rows of well-dressed men.

Yeah.

And the referee's well, the referee's well-dressed, too.

What'd you think of the look of the whole thing?

Well, this because

his opponent's name was Joe

somebody.

Might as well have been Joe Blow, but

Joe Rogers.

Joe Rogers.

Okay.

Let's face it, he hasn't gone down in the pantheon of the gotchas and Zabiscos and rollers and et cetera of that time period.

This was probably,

especially if Hackenschmidt carried the film

on a tour with him for publicity's sake or maybe make some money exhibiting whatever.

Probably the prehistoric equivalent of one of the stars in the 70s or 80s carried a tape around of him on Atlanta TV beating George South, right?

Or

the guy's competition, they can build him up.

Oh, the American, you know, challenger or whatever, Joe Smith.

And Hacken Schmidt, not only is he hand-picked the guy, he knows he can beat him regardless.

He might be working with him, might not.

It's hard to tell.

They're not even using the fucking ropes, right?

Silent footage.

But

so there's certainly nothing particularly see-through, but you can tell that Gotch could eat your fucking lunch if he wanted to.

And that's the thing is

it's fascinating.

It's dry if you're just a fan of modern wrestling and

bumps and

pageantry or whatever.

But for the historians or just

Hackenschmidt is the same place that a Kurt Engel was,

what,

100 years later?

He was the

best legitimate.

He was thicker.

Well, but I'm not talking physically.

I'm saying in terms of he was the best legitimate pro wrestler that there was because he was the best

or at least one of the best.

It was that was, you know, again, why they have the matches with him and a few select others.

In those days, it was

Lewis or Gotch or fucking whoever the top guy was.

and a few people surrounding him that kind of had everybody's respect.

And again, this isn't in the States.

This is Hackenschmidt touring the world.

Yes, so that's so he's taking his publicity material, such as it was at the time around with him.

Well, and I have something here.

Let me just firm it up.

John Langmead, who was previously on this show, did an article for Slam Wrestling.

And it says here that the original...

God damn it, be careful.

I love everybody that writes for Slam Wrestling, but I can't read that site anymore because every time I go there, it freezes my computer computer up.

The original nitrate.

God bless y'all do something, please.

The original nitrate film, again, according to Rice's research, was likely taken to New Zealand by Hackenschmidt himself when he toured there in 1910.

And, oh, but getting back to the no-rope situation, I think this was probably like either an exhibition he did.

Or it certainly wasn't a big major stadium thing where they sold tickets to it.

It was probably something that they in those days they had to film under a controlled environment in a lot of cases anyway.

According to this article, the match captured on the film is a two-out of three falls match between Hackenschmidt and the American wrestler Joe Rogers, and it took place January 30th, 1908, at London's Oxford Music Hall.

At 30 years old, Hackenschmidt was four years Rogers' senior and was giving away four inches in height and over 30 pounds.

There you go.

And again, you know,

he carried that around as publicity.

And

the atmosphere they've got is that was before,

well, we've talked about this in the past when professional boxing became a thing.

As the rules evolved and the presentation changed, wrestling and boxing in those days mirrored each each other in large part in terms of the presentation.

The reason why that the wrestling ring is called the squared circle

is because in a lot of places, both sports started out where they would draw a circle on the ground and you had to stay within

those parameters.

And then

when the idea of a ring as we know it,

you can't make ropes round.

The ropes were to keep people, boxers and wrestlers, from accidentally falling out of the fucking thing.

And especially to have a platform raised as more people began

congregating for these things.

They couldn't fucking see.

So they squared the circle with the ropes and the ring as we know it today.

But that's why it's a ring.

But these guys were just in the music hall.

on whatever was spread out on the ground because

in those days they didn't hit the ropes ropes anyway.

That hadn't been invented yet.

It was to legitimately keep everybody from falling out, right?

And there's that footage of Toots Mont from what would it be 19

late 20s, early 30s, that workout stuff that came up not long ago, where he's figured out how to take the bump over the ropes in an entertaining way and still look like he didn't mean to do it.

and utilize that as part of the fucking thing.

And then Buddy Rogers,

by the time TV comes around in the 50s, he's the one doing the spots where he's fucking careening off the goddamn ropes from one side to the other, off balance, and trying to stay away from his fucking opponent.

Can't control himself, allegedly.

So it's, it's.

And by the way, this footage is just a mirror.

What, three months, four months before the first match with Gotch?

Yes.

So that at that point,

Hackenschmidt was pretty much the challenger to the other guy who said he was the best in the world.

And

apparently he was good enough that Gotch felt like he needed to double-cross him in the end and rub it in.

But anyway, but yeah, so

what else could be out there?

You never know what the fuck that somebody's going to find somewhere.

You know, don't give up on the Gotch-Hackenschmidt match turning up.

You know, never give up on these things.

You never know what was donated someplace, what is in an attic.

You know, you always hear, oh, these things disintegrate over time, or these things just dissolve.

We've seen it, things just turn up.

This is from 100 years, over 100 years ago.

Well, what is the climate like in New Zealand?

Or Estonia?

No, no, seriously, that's where it's been in New Zealand, right?

Because he took it there on the tour.

Do you know why they call one of the most famous

high-grade

golden age comic book collections the Mile High Collection?

Why?

Because the guy lived in or near Denver.

I can't remember exactly.

But it's a drier, less humid climate.

No matter what,

you know, and

before air conditioning, if we're talking early 40s in a lot of homes, but no matter what

manner they've been stored in, unless they're in a goddamn vault like they've got the WWF tapes in in a mountain somewhere, paper reacts to the climate and the amount of humidity and temperature and etc.

And this guy's shit was

like pristine because he had not only wrapped it and kept in the closet in the fucking house, but also he lived in a dry climate and the paper was still white.

So if New Zealand lends itself to 100-year-old film preservation, because that shit used to spontaneously burst into flames back then.

I mean,

nitrate film?

Yeah, nitrate film is highly flammable.

So highly.

So we need to go find more shit in New Zealand.

You know, it's obvious from that footage, too.

Anyone who went to go see Hackensman, you were seeing someone who was the real deal.

Like no one was going to walk out of there and be like, ah, you know, this guy is a fake.

He was the real, he looked like the real deal.

No one had a physique like that anywhere.

And then you see, you know, just what he's doing in this match for,

you know, I don't know if it was for the film that they made it, but this match in front of a very small audience and he's a dominating guy.

Yeah.

And that's another reason why it was the

equivalent of a personal appearance/slash squash match of the day where he was getting paid to do that.

Somebody shot the film and he's like, yeah, I can.

And that's probably because

the Gotch Hackenschmidt

film was probably like most of the boxing films that were shot at that time, whether they exist or not.

Somebody was going to exhibit at theater, some early film company,

and/or just the Nickelodeons, whatever the manner was at that point.

And that's the kind of shit that got lost because they dealt in quantities of things.

And those films got cycled around and ended up in a theater somewhere, got closed, and the shit got dumped in a landfill.

But because this guy carried it around himself to this

tour and then it ended up there.

You hear about sometimes

the best silent films are found at the end of a goddamn line of distribution.

When it cost the,

whether it was China or fucking Poughkeepsie, wherever it was, when that film had gone through all the distributor or all the places it was going to be shown, all the theaters to the last in line, an Army base somewhere in Alaska,

it cost more to send it back than it did to just, they'd start fresh.

So they would, they would end up at the end of the line with a lot of these lost films.

Yeah, you know, a lot of them, shouldn't say a lot, but there are various projects that pop up on Kickstarter that I usually support, where it's like they have found multiple reels in different parts of the world and they're trying to recreate a movie that's been lost.

Yeah.

And, you know, with the silent, with silent films, especially, I don't know what the numbers, but it's like a high percentage, maybe over 70% that's lost.

Maybe it's higher than that.

No, I think it's either 80 to 90.

When

you consider every

film that was made by every motion picture company from the first one in the 1890s, first one public distribution until 1927, I think it's 80 to 90% has been lost.

Either

the master was just eroded, rotted, it wasn't preserved, fires in various places and studios and things.

And because the film was so flammable that they used, that's what they used to call it Kodak safety film.

I'm old enough to remember that.

But the first shit was like goddamn nitroglycerin.

It would just spontaneously combust.

and the whole room would go up.

But in terms of what else would be available from wrestling,

I guess there's a potential of this was made in the months leading up to the match, and maybe there's footage of Gotch on the farm or something that we haven't seen.

And then.

Yeah, but do we really need to see Frank Gotch having veterinary knowledge of a mule?

And when you look at

the early history of the film industry in America, it was all based out of New York.

And there was a lot of wrestling in New York.

So the idea that there wouldn't be more films of just stuff in the New York area, I would have to think there would have been at the time.

Who knows if anything will ever be recovered?

But it just seems too unlikely that it wouldn't.

And, you know, also just as big as Lewis was, and I know there's things, but as big as a sports name as Strangler Lewis was just for

newsreel footage or, you know, the short subject type of thing,

I would think that there was a lot more shot than

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Anyway,

you know why we're not going to have that problem in the future, Brian?

Why?

Because now everybody's got a fucking camera in their pocket

and they can shoot the next stars of the WWE.

I'm not talking about literally, I'm talking about in a videography fashion.

that are now being spread around the world.

What is this I hear?

Do you have the press release on this?

I think I got it here somewhere on the WWE ID program.

I do have this here.

Let me pull this up.

And

the ID stands for Independent Development.

You know, remember when we made the joke that they ought to take all these streaming services and all the video services and put them all together under one umbrella and call it cable television?

Well, it was Jim Gaffigan's joke that we took onto the air.

Let's give him credit.

Well, okay.

Well, I couldn't remember whose name.

All I remember was you stole it, and then I stole it from you.

That is,

now you're telling the truth, yes.

Well,

I didn't feel the need to explain it.

I thought that was common knowledge.

But nevertheless, that's the same thing.

That's the same thing they're doing here, as I will tell you about in a minute, but it's not like it's a new idea,

but it's probably going to cost them a lot more money, and they're going to spend more money on it.

But we'll go into this, but did you,

should we bring the people up on it?

Yeah, let me go to the press release here and we'll discuss it because there's a lot to it and really what it could in the long term affect in terms of the talent pool.

But October 29th, 2024,

WWE today announced the launch of its first of its kind developmental program designed to provide up-and-coming independent wrestlers a pathway to a potential career in WWE.

A pathway to a potential career.

The program will be called.

That's like a long road ahead.

The program will be called WWE,

short for WWE Independent Development.

Trademark.

Here's a quote from WWE's chief content officer, Paul Triple H.

Levesque.

WWE ID is the latest in our efforts to identify and support the journey of up-and-coming wrestlers, in turn raising the profile of and strengthening the independent wrestling ecosystem.

Following the 2021 launch of WWE's NIL program, WWEID has been constructed to support independent wrestling prospects and wrestling schools with world-class training, development, and mentorship.

Can I just butt in here just for a second, Brian?

Not to interrupt you while you're on a flow, but

how many

the NIL program was like college athletes or pro athletes or whatever kind of added the football players, the baseball players, basketball players, the hockey player, lacrosse players, ping-pong players, whoever these people are

that they were partnering with or giving some support to in some way for them to be

somehow affiliated with the has anybody come to WWE out of that program

uh you know I'm not exactly uh sure and I'm trying to see if there's anything that they haven't been trumpeting it from the rooftops if they have have have they Obafemi is apparently from the NIL program next in line uh NIL they don't call it nil do they they call it no I think I think it's name image and likeness well that's what it's supposed to be I think that's what it is in crypto they're calling it next in line.

Yes.

Right.

They already stole your ID.

Now they want to get everything out.

But no, but

then here's the thing.

Now they've thought, well, my God, here's a revolutionary thought.

Instead of going after the,

and I'm not saying there's anything wrong with it, go after everybody.

Cast a wide net.

Go after the athletic prospects and freaks of the day.

But they've had a brilliant idea three years after going after the football players and the college players, the pro players, whoever the fuck.

Let's go after people that are already in the goddamn wrestling business.

You see what I'm saying?

Well, let me go.

This is a revolutionary fucking thing.

They just thought, shit,

maybe we ought to goddamn go after some of the people that actually already kind of do this.

I'll continue with this press release here.

Under the program, WWE will provide prominent independent wrestling schools with the WWE ID official designation with the goal of providing new trainees and existing talent at these selected institutions.

We're slathering it on with a fucking trowel now, aren't we?

Existing talent at these.

I've partially owned and run one of these type of institutions, and it may have qualified for a fucking state institution, but go ahead.

These select institutions with enhanced developmental opportunities:

Booker T's reality of wrestling in Houston, Cody Rhodes's Nightmare Factory in Atlanta, minus QT Marshall, I assume.

His name isn't there all of a sudden, Seth Rollins's Black and Brave Academy in Davenport, Iowa,

the elite pro wrestling, it's a media hub,

the elite pro Wrestling Training Center in Concord, New Hampshire, and Knox Pro Academy in Los Angeles are the first WWE D independent wrestling schools to earn the official designation.

Well, okay.

And hop in.

I'm not going to take the piss out of these people,

but let's hop in here for a second because.

Obviously, we know Booker T's school at Houston, Cody's in Atlanta, Seth's in Davenport.

The Knox Pro Academy, that's Rikishi's school, isn't it?

Or the Samoan family has something?

I believe it's Rikishi, I think.

And who does the Elite Pro Wrestling in Concord, New Hampshire?

But they're somewhere near Triple H's hometown.

And I'm trying to think who that might be.

Do you have any idea?

I'm looking at the Knox Pro website, and it appears to be Rikishi with.

Please forgive me.

I'm not sure what other family member this is.

Well, but

for the point that I'm making, we're not, they can contact us for rates, and we'll give them the whole fucking advertising smear.

What?

There's some guy wrestling for them, Journey Fatu.

He looks like he may be Jacob Fatu's brother or something based on the looks here.

God damn, there's another one.

There's another one.

Fucking hell.

Oh, it's Rikishi and the Black Pearl.

I don't know.

I'm not too familiar.

Okay, okay.

Yes, the Black.

Yes.

He's a member of the family.

He's the pearl of the family, some sense.

He's the pearl of the family.

She wore a pearl necklace.

Anyway, what I'm trying to say to you

is that,

yes, because they know who these people are, they can go and see the school.

They know that

they're not going to do anything potentially to.

you know, to hurt any of the WWE talent.

I'm sure that every once in a while, some of the people, maybe from NXT or maybe

that aren't heavily relied on these days, might show up at some of these places.

Same thing, it's the same principle as OVW

in the developmental days where we would have guys come down and help some of the people they had an investment in.

But also, this is not a new idea.

And the reason I say that is because

in the 90s, we were kind of unofficially doing something because,

you know, I had always kept up with

either in Smokey Mount Wrestling or then

when I was in Stanford working in the office,

I was the guy for quite some time that was booking the local guys.

They call them an enhancement talent or extras, but the job guys.

And at that time, it wasn't an insult to me.

Guys would say, hey, can you get me to do some jobs on WWF-TV?

But I would keep lists when we were in a specific area of the country.

Like in Chicago, we would always call Chris Daniels at that point because he was just starting.

He wanted the work, right?

And

Rhino, bless him.

Did you hear he plugged me on his TNA

Hall of Fame acceptance speech?

Oh,

very nice.

Because I was the first guy that, and he said this, I was the first guy where he waited to say that.

That would have been egotistical of him saying I.

Jim was my first guy.

Well, no, he said, he said that on the pay-per-view?

Would you quit?

He said, Jim Cornette was the first guy that saw something in me.

And I pulled it right out of him.

No.

Would you stop?

Now you've got me doing it.

But the point is,

I'd say in night, I'm trying to think what it was.

It may have been.

Well, in 1994,

when the Rock and Roll Express, the Heavily Bodies from Smoky Mountain, we went up and did a couple of shows in Michigan for Gary Waronchek.

That's where I found Bruiser Bedlam just on the show there.

But also in Smoky Mountain, guys would send me tapes.

That's, you know, Candido,

or people would be recommended, you know, or whatever.

But then later on,

as I said at the WWF, not only calling guys for jobs on television, but also booking the guys at the time, the Billy Gunns of the world, the road dogs that were before they started doing anything with them, that weren't booked.

They wanted to work on third-party shows where they could do independent shows and make 500 bucks or 750 or a grand, depending on who it was.

And when I was doing the third-party promoters, I had to keep track of who

I could book these guys to that had insurance and was doing somewhat of a legitimate show and not only wasn't going to ask these guys to do anything stupid, they might get hurt, but also

on the same show, even if they weren't involved, we weren't going to have a goddamn chainsaw death match where somebody was going to get airlifted and it'd make the local news and/or something to besmirch the WWF's reputation.

Little did we know at the time we could leave that to the the owners of the fucking company.

But exactly.

But he wasn't quite as raspy then.

But so.

And he wasn't big on supporting independent wrestling.

Exactly, because he hadn't learned yet.

But since I was doing that, I knew, you know, you could depend on Blaine DeSantis over in Pennsylvania or Jimmy Kittner in Delaware.

or Dennis Coraluzzo in New Jersey if I kept an eye on him.

And not only

did I book a lot of the guys to these shows that,

you know, otherwise would have been sitting home and being off,

but they didn't get in trouble with the WWF office.

And I got on the shows too and made some extra money for the FICA fund

or actually the FCIA fund.

Fuck Connecticut in the ass.

I can get out of there.

Hey, I went to the website of the Elite Pro Wrestling Academy or Training center, I should say.

They're an institution.

I know that.

Unlike the Knox one, which just had pictures of the Samoan family all over the website, the first thing you have here is just a giant WWE

logo.

And then it has the press release, and then it has their mission.

And

I'm going to guess this may be a Triple H connection.

Otherwise, I'm not sure why this school would be hooked up.

New Hampshire.

Yeah.

Yeah.

But anyway, but that's.

Because the head trainer is a Kowalski guy.

Well, there you go.

But anyway, the point I was making is that that's what kind of morphed into a thing where we got

because I was always trying to keep track of who the top guys were working for the promoters that ran decent shows, whether it be in the Northeast or down south or the Midwest or whatever.

And we would get their top guys opportunities, even to do jobs, because that's how you got seen.

And that's Devin Storm

had a number of matches and a number of tryouts with WWF, but he ended up being Crowbar and WCW.

Christopher Daniels, I was, you know, had booked on TV to do jobs, but also to, when he came to one of the early versions of the camps, it didn't work out there, but he went to TNA.

Rick Ratchet.

If you ever wanted to empty a room, you just put Rick Ratchet in the room.

Well, there you go.

No, come on now.

Don't make me.

I'm trying to

say that there were some legitimate folks here that,

no, but, and, and I mentioned Rhino before because I've told a story when Bruce said, well, he just doesn't have any personality.

I'm like, he's 19 years old.

He's got fucking thighs as big as my waist.

He'll fucking look at his head.

God damn, can't you see this?

He's a fucking living gimmick.

Isn't it weird that Bruce would say that to you about him or other people?

Yet Bruce has like no personality.

Well,

and the thing is, I would say that's why Bruce wasn't on television, but goddamn, they put him on TV, didn't they?

But anyway,

that was the thing then with OVW.

I still knew where some of these people were, and we could get them to come in and have an easier time to be seen.

And that's what they're trying to do now.

And it's also the same thing with OVW,

was remember there were other developmental connections for a short period of time.

And the

This was Jim Ross's thought process, and I was totally behind it,

was that when they were affiliated with Les Thatcher and the Heartland Wrestling Association in Cincinnati

and Les's drawback up there was he didn't have a great play and didn't really have any place to shoot television like we had established here

but he was running regular events

and then of course deep south

That turned out to be a complete fiasco for all the reasons that have been discussed.

But the idea was a developmental territory in Georgia, one in Ohio, one here in Kentucky and southern Indiana.

We'd welcome something in Texas or wherever it may be where

we would rotate guys that were in this system that were not being trained the same way, but all being trained the right way

and not some off-kilter bullshit or they'd be doing...

goddamn, you know, ladder matches in front of 12 people and breaking their legs.

Because there were still a lot of good-looking prospects in the business at that time, as well as,

you know, when they were absorbing the people from WCW or not absorbing them, but

putting them in a program for very little cost to see if they get anything.

Not the stars, they didn't get absorbed.

And unfortunately, just for one reason or another, OVW is the only one that worked.

But that was the thought.

And it's still valid because a lot of times I would have guys

in my territory of everything 120 miles in a circle of Louisville for three fucking years.

And

the ones that are over with the people and they really like that wasn't too hard.

But then, you know, with the other ones, yeah, it's hard.

So there was no place for them to switch out and then also to work in front of

different regions, a different company's different territories

fans

react to things differently.

And that's another way you'd get experience.

So that was the idea that JR had, and we talked about it 20 years ago.

This is just these schools don't.

I know Booker does run live events.

I don't know how many of the schools run how many live events, but

they need

the NXT guys.

That should be a college, but they're taking in people that haven't been to high school before they go to college.

You need repetition at the flea market in fucking

Sewanee, Tennessee.

Well, can we talk about this from another aspect, another perspective, another angle, I guess.

We've talked in the past about problems AEW is having and will have

with talent pool, with getting new talent, with finding new stars, stars, with signing people.

And

when you look traditionally at wrestling wars,

Montreal, Georgia, various other examples,

when you get shut off from talent, eventually that gets you

because people get tired of the same talent over and over.

AEW.

And or the ones that have no other choice and so come to you.

Right.

And AEW, as we've talked about, Kevin Owens, whoever comes up as a free agent from AEW, Swerve Shrickland, Daniel Garcia,

he has to overpay everyone to either get them, he has to overpay them to keep them.

He has to really overpay them to get them to come in.

Yeah.

And he'll overpay even people that he probably shouldn't overpay.

But he's always had access to just pulling people off the indies.

It's one of the reasons independent wrestling and Japanese wrestling fell off a cliff was because Tony took all the talent from all the shows.

You could argue who's talent, who isn't.

Everyone who was filling out these shows ended up signed to AEW.

So now if all of a sudden you have a problem getting top talent, because most top talent aren't going to leave WWE unless Tony's going to offer him $20 million.

So if you're going to have problems getting top talent, And now all of a sudden you're going to start getting shut out at the grassroots level, too.

These are just the first programs, the first schools involved.

Makes it sound like they want more.

They probably want everyone.

It's WWE.

Well, hold on now.

They don't want everybody because there's not only is there a lot of wrestling schools, but these people.

Everyone credible.

Okay.

Well, see, that's a big qualifier.

You've just lopped everyone who could train.

Yeah.

You're continuing to lop off, you know, 80 to 90 percent, but they want

the best that they can trust, that they know what kind of business they're doing, that they know what kind of program they may have.

And I'm sure they're going to, or already have, investigated all of that, or there's going to be a closer.

Believe me, folks, at the Nightmare Factory Reality of Wrestling Elite, Knox, black and blue, and red all over whatever places,

if you're any kind of official, you're going to have some fucking scrutiny if they haven't changed that aspect of their business over the last 20 years or so.

But they want these training programs that also go ahead and read the final paragraph because

it doesn't really talk about independent promotions per se.

These are schools that may or may not

run their own local events.

And the last paragraph talks about independent wrestlers, but there's not that much about working with specific promotions.

Right.

And I do find it funny that someone would go to that Elite Pro Academy and they'd go, oh, you aligned with AEW?

No, we're aligned with WWE.

Why

don't you give that away?

Additionally, WWE ID will identify top independent wrestling prospects with an official WWE ID prospect designation.

and support their developmental journey by providing them with bread and butter, by providing financial opportunity and assisting.

All the gruel you can eat, kids.

Come on.

By providing financial opportunity and assisting with training, mentorship, and development, including access to world-class facilities, best-in-class ring training, athletic trainers, and more.

WWE ID will give fans the opportunity to follow the paths of these standout prospects on the independent wrestling scene through curated behind-the-scenes content as well as highlights and matches showcased across WWE's social platforms.

Well, what it sounds like to me there,

this is the only thing that I think they may have issues with or not even just, it may get more complex or complicated than they're thinking it's going to be when they've come up with this plan.

But if have top indie guys that they don't want to bring to NXT just yet, but they're going to give them this prospect designation and support their journey by providing financial opportunity, that means put them on some kind of retainer.

Hey, do whatever the fuck else you want, but we got right of first refusal to sign you to a legitimate contract or something of that nature.

Assisting with training, et cetera, including access to facilities, blah, blah, blah, means they probably will bring them

periodically to the performance center to

go to

camps or to see what they're doing or, you know, whatever.

That makes sense.

The giving fans the opportunity to follow the paths of these standout prospects through curated behind-the-scenes content and highlights and matches.

That may get complicated because if they're letting them, and that's another thing from a booking standpoint

i know they won't have it any much financial investment to them

considering they're worth billions of dollars in these guys but if they're letting them do their own thing they're going to be on some fucking shaggy dog outlaw shows

and

you know hopefully they'll put some parameters on them as far as no death match stuff or whatever because they're going to have to pass a blood test sooner or later if they want to get anywhere

But

I'm wondering if they may have to carefully curate

that content.

Or here he is behind the scenes at the Wartburg Tennessee County Fair.

And here he is at a ring.

It's about to fall down in a mud match with a fucking hippopotamus.

And at the same time, WWE is about to cut down on house shows.

Year after year, they have announced already that they plan to almost get rid of house shows altogether.

Makes you wonder if something like this gives you the opportunity to have small-branded shows

with talent that need that kind of experience.

Well, yeah, that's the thing: is that

at their level,

if they run Des Moines on a

Thursday night, they sell 5,000 tickets and wouldn't make enough money or make any money.

Well, this ain't worth it.

I mean, it's insane now, but

you can't

just study up or go to, you can't go to football practice and your first game is a Super Bowl, right?

Got to be in between.

We've said this all along: between wrestling school and training and going on national television.

And the reason why there's not enough things anymore in between that is why we see some things we see

on national television.

So, but this

I'm happy for all these people, but it ain't a fucking new idea.

And it's kind of like a what the amazingly enough, we ought to concentrate more on the people that have actually shown a willingness and some level of dedication toward doing this for dick all of nothing.

So, let's see if any of them actually we think can be any good at it.

That's what

we were doing 20 years ago with our tryout camps for OVW.

We were doing the WWE's job for them

by having people submit their information.

We would,

you know, politely decline the people.

We wouldn't take their money if they were 40 years old or 5'6 and 225 pounds or didn't have any athletic background or in any way feel like they could be successful.

And then we'd have them come and try out and train.

And eventually, you know, how many of those 20 30 of those guys got developmental deals

but you know

yes you have to go after people that want to do this that's kind of the place you start it's that plus it's wwe trying to go after the they said it there the wrestling ecosystem they don't want other play it's still like it was under vince in that respect they don't want other players it's people who play with them or nobody well they they don't they don't mind other players as long as those other players are like you said either play with them or just teeny, tiny little, yeah, teeny, tiny little fishies in the sea.

They don't want any other fucking whales or

especially any sperm whales.

That's just totally, totally against principle.

Well, this is your show.

Well, and since it's my show, I'm going to take it to places it's never been before.

Brian, do you know what the happiest thing in the world is?

Blowjobs.

no

now see your mind is still in the gutter still happy you're still in the gutter it's it's remained there for some time now the happiest feeling in the world is when you can walk down the street

and you can just be in it on any street in any state in the united states of america or or any street anywhere in the world actually

And it doesn't matter what's going on around you, but you can hear sweet, sweet music.

You can hear frantic heavy metal rock and roll, or you can hear sweet, sweet love making music like Isaac Hayes, or you can hear pop

like Bananorama.

You can hear any kind of music, no matter what's going on around you.

When the world is burning, there's fights.

on the street, people are being beaten up daily, or there's traffic accidents, car crashes right next to you.

You won't even hear them because you'll be listening to sweet, sweet tunes.

That's the happiest feeling in the world.

Can't you see that now?

You know, I think the most important thing is that this is available on any street.

Any street.

Any street, no matter where you are.

No matter what it is.

If it's the act of walking down the street, the Raycon everyday earbuds will work for you.

And you know what's bad?

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That means you can't snag yourself or hang yourself or restrict yourself in any way by having encumbrances like wires hanging off of you.

You can't live like savages, people.

No, you'll be free as a bird.

You can walk down the street, listen to these things, and take your clothes off before and walk and be really free.

Just hang out there for all the world to see your trials and tribulations or dribulations.

Don't just

listen to happy music, walking the way that God intended you to be made when your mother got spermed by your father and just walked down the street.

Bad idea.

And nobody's going to bother you if you're listening to the Raycon everyday earbuds because they will know.

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the plural raycon they make a bunch of these they made several dozen pair of these just last week but no they when they do the body cavity search there's more they're more interested in bend over they don't look up your nostrils or in your ears you can get away with the everyday earbuds

especially if you get the ones in vibrant colors that match most people's skin tones.

Again, we're still working on leprosy and neuropathy, but other skin tones, they pretty much nailed.

And the Raycon's got a 32-hour battery life, so you can have time to get arrested, be put in jail, sit there, and then be sprung.

And the multi-point connectivity helps you pair with two devices at once.

which it's easier again if you're naked to pair with two devices at once through the multi-point connectivity feature it has nothing to do with how easy it will be your uh clothing status well that's the way the demonstrator explained it to me what the demonstrator you had a demonstrator yeah this guy came over to the house and said yeah he was he said let me show you how these work and i said well thankfully somebody was going to come by i knew i'd called you know days before

But he,

nevertheless, I don't think that's Raycon.

He said his name was Ray.

That's not Raycon.

I don't know.

You got a con name Ray, maybe, but you didn't get Raycon because Raycon has

something I can say comfortably, a policy where no one will show up in your house nude to demonstrate anything.

That's the Raycon way.

That's the Raycon way.

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Did I make myself clear?

Are you speaking to me on mute?

I'm having a great time talking to you on mute.

And

what was I just saying?

I don't know.

Jim.

Well, I couldn't hear it.

Whether it's on any street or however it may be, Raycon is for you.

One more time.

What's that promo code?

Not on mute.

Yes.

Buyraycon.com/slash JCE.

And it's good on every street, lane, avenue, boulevard, parkway,

another

highway, another third.

Well, no, it's not good on.

You can't stop on the freeway.

What's the matter with you?

Why do you have to stop?

I don't understand what you're pointing.

Well, stop to get out, take your clothes off, and walk down the street.

How many people you see naked walking down the interstate?

No, that's not permissible.

It's a southern thing.

You just, well, you're getting it all fucked up now.

Once again, buyraycon.com slash JCE.

Yes, and before that we go to the world of SmackDown to set up the big crown jewel business, I want to make mention of my sale going on at jimcornet.com.

If you have a dog in this fight, if you have purchased an item in the month of October from our on sale until the end of October, which I believe was the 31st,

then you either have your item, your item has been shipped, your item is in the hands of the Feather Bottoms.

I dumped another 100 on them today.

or your item will be signed and packed in this coming calendar week and in the hands of the feather Featherbottoms to send out by, what would that be, Monday, November the

11th.

And we are all caught up and moving forward with the big weekly sales all through the month of November.

As a matter of fact,

if you got the email, if you signed up for the email blast on jimcornet.com, the homepage where it says sign up for newsletter down at the bottom, then you would know that the Santa Corney

action figures were on sale this week at half price from the 1st through the 8th of November.

But if you missed that news, then as Mama Cornette would say, you shit and fell back in it.

And you should sign up to avoid that in the future.

Something's going to go on sale every week in the month of November.

It's a feather-bottom

epiphany that he's had.

This in another one of these tremendous ideas that he has come up with and invented and is now going to trademark copyright.

But anyway, or you just go to, oh, come on.

You continue to mock and to scoff at Hotchkiss, and he is not a person to be mocked, scoffed at, or scuffmarked either.

Except when it's a mutually,

you know, agreeable thing with the person that is scuff marking him with their shoes, which that's kind of a thing that you wouldn't, we won't go into that.

But nevertheless, go to jimcornet.com because everything's on sale every day for at some price.

Might not be a discount, but you can buy it if you want to.

What a great sales pitch that is.

Honesty is the best policy.

There's always something you can pay for it.

It just may not be a deal.

Yes, there's

everything on sale at jimcornet.com is on sale every day for some list price that you can send me and we will send you the, but it's always, it's every day low prices.

They're so low, I can't cut them anymore, hardly.

I'd be losing money.

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Anyway,

you want to talk about SmackDown for a minute?

I've got my notes here.

I guess, Brian, this was the SmackDown episode.

November 1st was the date is what I'm trying to say.

The night before the crown jewel.

That's what you're trying to say?

They obviously, they weren't in.

Where were they here?

Were they in fucking Butte, Montana?

They weren't live on this episode, were they?

Because they had to be in Saudi Arabia a mere hours later.

You can't do that, can you?

Well, you probably could, but they didn't, and it would have been ill-advised for them to try.

I think it takes two.

I don't think it's physically possible.

Where were they on Friday night, November 1st at SmackDown?

Well, again, they weren't there.

See, I keep asking you these questions.

You ought to know these things.

I watched the show, but I didn't.

take note of it.

Did they say, is this one of those things where they were hiding their location?

I am looking it up right now.

I got nothing.

See,

it's a cover-up.

It was from Brooklyn, New York.

Well, no wonder.

No wonder.

Nobody would want to know.

Oh, come on.

No, they were just there.

They taped an extra episode, right?

Yes.

Which is why this thing was so lackluster.

It was a nothing show.

Every time they go to Saudi Arabia, the show before it, unless they're live, it's terrible.

Well, they're at least not worth going out of your way to watch.

It was, let's not, again, the hyperbole now doesn't do anyone any good.

It doesn't do our reputation any good if we say it was terrible.

It wasn't terrible because there wasn't anything wrong with it, because there was very little to it to begin with.

So it's just kind of there.

It was

a bowl of oatmeal with no sugar.

A wafer minus vanilla.

A cracker without the peanut butter.

The cracker's okay, but that's just a fucking cracker.

Crack without the pipe.

Well, no, because the crack can still be potent.

Oh, well, you're the crack expert.

What about?

Hey, goddammit.

Now, how did I get that kind of reputation?

I'm just saying it's not a proper analogy.

I'm an analogy expert,

and you did not form a cogent simile.

I apologize.

All right, anything to keep from talking about SmackDown?

So, here came

the refrigerator,

the women's champion, refrigerator Jax, one of the women's champions,

and she's doing a live promo.

So,

this is, if you close your eyes, you can hear Sable

talking.

Can you not?

The monotonic, is that a word?

Monotonic?

You're not a simile expert.

I don't know.

No, that's not a simile.

I know.

You don't know anything else about except similes.

That's the problem.

I'm talking English.

I don't know nothing about English.

I just know similes, which is a word of French derivative.

See, now you prove my point.

So it's a monotone.

It's expressionless.

It reminds me of Big Mama in 1985 when she was hunting for the Boogie Woogie Man.

I've looked in bars.

I've looked in cars.

And here you are.

Boogie Man feel low.

Not as low as she did when they fucking wouldn't air that interview.

They edited off the TBS show.

I think it made syndication.

But anyway, so she spoke, recited,

and then here came Liv and

Raquel and Dominic to respond, but they were interrupted by Tiffy Time,

and she did a recitation.

And basically, this whole thing is revolving around it.

She could cash in on Fridge, too, as well as she could cash in on Liv.

And

there's this, these women are just not getting along.

They smile in your face but all the time they want to take your place brian they're backstabbers

and finally tiffy punched liv and liv said get a referee and they went to break in dramatic fashion at which point when they came back brian you will never guess what was going on a match between tiffy and livvy

And finally,

Tiffy tried to hit Livvy with the briefcase, but Liv rolled her up.

And the referee counted while he was on top of the briefcase, it was not only in the ring, it was right where he had to count.

He had to count around

the briefcase under his nose in order to finish the match.

One, two, three.

And then Liv hit Tiffy with the case and tried to hit the refrigerator, but the fridge blocked it and hit

Rachel

Raquel

Rodriguez.

Rachel, Raquel Rodriguez.

Raquel Rodriguez.

Rochelle Rochelle.

Rochelle Rochelle.

That's right.

It's a young woman's journey through Minsk.

From Milan to Minsk.

Well, she hit everybody, including Dominic with the briefcase, then Bonsai dropped Liv.

And you could just see Liv's various internal organs just all saying, fuck it at the same time.

And that was a big old section of the program, wasn't it?

A big old section of the program.

I couldn't say it any better than that.

And you're the expert.

So why add anything?

So then they had a package on Triple H and Orton last week where Orton wants Owens, but Triple H don't want him to have Owens because Triple H

is worried about Orton,

is what he told Orton.

And

then they had a video with Owens in his car again.

Is he just driving around in some type of manic frustration?

But he was very low-key this time.

It's the big thing in wrestling now.

If you're a star, you need a car.

You know, Moxley, Jungle Boy, Kevin Owens.

Get a different perspective of the car.

Eventually, they're all going to just race and run into each other, and we'll see what happens.

He sent the video in because he wanted Randy Orton to hear it.

But he had to be in his car.

I don't know why.

He could have done it in the comfort of his own.

Does he have a study at home, a den where he can go and put on his smoking jacket and his slippers and enjoy his peep?

But he doesn't want to fight Orton.

He didn't know why Orton is making him fight him because he never wanted to hurt Orton, but now he's going to, and it's all Randy Orton's fault.

So he's taking the opposite approach of Jimmy Garvin, where Jimmy Garvin would say, it's not my fault.

Owens is saying, it's all your fault.

I have a feeling we're going to hear more about this upcoming.

Well, it leads into the big match of the pay-per-view.

I'm trying not to say anything about that.

It's hard because I've seen that to not say anything about that.

Well, no, it's not hard not to say anything about it.

Anyway,

then we had to suffer through the Street Prophets taking on purely dreary

where the girl with Street Prophets, what's her name, Kayfabe?

BFab.

BFab.

Well, she body slammed one of these heels.

No shit.

On the floor.

Yeah.

And she's bigger than them, too.

And then we were half an hour in, so they gave us Naomi and Bailey against Indy and Candy.

And then we were 52 minutes in.

And finally, they played Roman Reigns' music.

And I should mention they did a package of the Usos reuniting.

The brotherly love is back in full bloom.

But now we get the

Romans on the way to the ring, and he's bringing Jimmy with him.

And Jimmy cuts a promo.

He loves Roman, but you got to listen to me.

I need you to drop the beef with Jay or squash.

He said, drop it.

And they said, squash it.

They were chanting squash the beef.

He said, I made up with my brother, and now it's time for you to make up with your cousin.

And the fans are squash that beef, squash that beef.

You got to get a Smash Burger sponsorship in here somewhere.

They're leaving money on the table.

But anyway, Jimmy's whole fucking point was: if we're not together at Crown Jewel, we will fall.

And Roman asked for the microphone.

He didn't ask for it.

He holds his hand out.

And suddenly,

here comes Yeet.

And it's Jay's music.

And he makes the entrance through the arena.

And the fans are waving, and the fans are yeeting, and the lights are flashing.

And I got to be honest with you, the most perfect thing about this was they timed this where he was getting in the ring with all this going on right at nine o'clock.

I mean, they got it down to a science

because they'd started this segment at

52 in, so eight minutes till the hour, but they knew this was the part that was going to snag people.

And then Jay cut the promo and

we've laughed about him being blown up by the time he does that entrance and then has to go in there and cut a promo.

But I think he conserved a little bit.

This was the best promo

he's done since he got the whole Yeet thing going on.

Because he laid it out for Roman.

Hey,

we got to get back at Solo, but

we ain't fixed it yet

between us.

Because because I remember what you did to me physically and mentally,

and the way you disrespected me.

And I still showed up

because that's what family do,

is what he said.

And a lot of people don't think it'd be like it is, but it does.

And it's family above all.

And this go-around, you're not going to tell me what to do because I'm your equal now.

And that got a big pop from the people.

And then

Jay's like, side by side,

let's run this thing like we used to, but if you disrespect me, I'm gone.

Or you can act like my cousin, and I'll see you at Crown Jewel and we can all do it together.

I mean, what a babyface promo, right?

And he laid the whole thing out, and Roman holds his hand out for the microphone.

Then he gets it and he's milking it.

And now the people are chanting, OTC, OTC.

And Roman looks at him and he says,

yeet.

And the place blows.

And they start chanting, yeet, yeet, yeet.

And then hug it out, hug it out.

Is it now?

This is like the goddamn Jerry Springer show.

Instead of a studio audience, they got five or ten thousand fucking people doing this shit.

It's amazing.

And then the Usos stood there and put the one finger up.

And then Roman stood in between them and he put his one finger up and they popped again.

15-minute segment.

It was the best thing on the fucking show.

And that's probably what the people came for that they were most happy with.

But now, so we set up

like we didn't think it was going to happen, but we set up that they're united against the other

bloodline.

But just these are the stars, and this is what people give a shit about.

And we'll talk about it more with the pay-per-view review.

But

in general, these are the segments that hit, for me, a lot more than the actual bloodline matches.

I'm more into the drama and the acting in these segments than the actual matches when they transpire.

Or in the case of this one, expire.

But we'll get there.

But anyway, then they had a girls four-way with the four girls in the corners.

And it looked like middle school cheaters,

cheaters.

Middle school cheaters.

Middle school cheaters.

Middle school cheerleaders

having to fight in one of those bouncy house things.

What about cheer cheaters?

Cheer cheaters.

Well, you know what?

I've said before, they ought to inspect those cheerleaders at these games carefully.

They may be passing these ball players, goddamn foreign objects.

And then they teased Orton and Cody again.

Cody asked Roman said, or Roman, Cody asked Orton.

I can't get anybody's name right.

Cody asked Orton to save a piece of Owens for him.

And Orton said, there ain't going to be any left.

Apparently, he's just going to eat him like a bowl of nanner pudding.

But then Cody said, well, I don't know what I'm going to do then.

And Orton looks at the belt hanging there and then looks back at Cody and says, you'll think of something.

So they're still dramatically

foreshadowing this.

Do you think it's all a plot between Orton and Owens?

They're going to beat each other up and fucking try to kill each other to lure Cody into a false sense of security.

Well, I think it would be more valuable if it was two separate things.

But the other thing you have to think about is

coming out of the pay-per-view, which we'll review later,

with all the bloodline stuff happening and the bloodline featuring the most over baby faces like Roman and Jey Uso,

what is Cody going to do to be able to keep pace?

What are the good programs for him right now?

Is it just Owens?

And then what?

If you go right to Orton, is that too soon because of all of this?

But

I guess that's fun to try to see how they work that out.

But

you know, Cody needs something, though.

The next big guy

coming back for next year

might want to win the world title one more time.

Do you smell what I'm cooking?

I do.

John Cena.

Hey, listen, John Cena.

The big program I think they could do that would be great, but it would absolutely turn Cody heel, whether he liked it or not, would be Cody and Punk.

That would be really intriguing, but I think it would backfire completely on Cody's reactions.

I think Cena could cut, well, but they don't want Cena to be a heel either, but they can figure out a way to make that interesting for the Royal Rumble, couldn't they?

And The Rock, too.

Remember, The Rock and Cody have unfinished business, so you have these things, but

I'm starting to walk.

It sounds like Cody's starting to cool off, though.

Well, I'm starting to wonder whether The Rock is ever going to finish his business or not.

Because then he shows up at Bad Blood and stands there, and we don't see him again.

He just happened to be passing through.

But nevertheless, speaking of the people who are cooling off or heating up or whatever, that was the main event.

Gunther and Kaiser,

you know what?

That should have been his name, Gunther Kaiser.

But Gunther and Kaiser took on Cody and Orton

in the main event.

And this has been

just long anticipated this match would take place.

And they

started it and went one minute or less to the break, and they came back with like seven minutes on the air.

So, you know, boom, Cody gave Orton kind of a blah tag, and Orton made it come back

and hit Gunther with the DDT and tried to hit the RKO, but Gunther slipped it.

So Orton tagged Cody back in, and Cody made it come back on Kaiser

and hit him with the cutter.

And then Orton RKO'd Gunther, and then Cody crossroads Kaiser

and beat him boom one, two, three.

So that was kind of quick.

But then as they were celebrating, here came Owens, no longer in his car.

Maybe that's why he's somebody send security to check the parking lot.

That's apparently where he is whenever he's sending videos from his car.

And he nailed Orton with a chair.

And

at the same time, Gunther popped up and got the sleeper on Cody.

And Owen stood there and did nothing to prevent

Gunther from choking out Cody.

And security came in, tried to get Gunther off.

And that was all she wrote, as Mama Cornette used to say, except,

have you seen what they're starting to add at the end of the program?

Oh, since they went to the USA Network, the executive producers?

Yes.

Virgil Riley Runnels Jr., I believe it said.

No, no, you got to update it.

Paul Levesque or Levesque, as we in the industry term it, and Lee Fitting.

So, I mean, this is not

anything that we don't know, but have they ever had any kind of credits before?

They have for events they've done, because I remember they even had some goofy ones like executive producer Kay Fabe.

Oh, yeah, back in like those HBO specials and things in the early 80s, stuff like that.

Well, Well, stuff like the Slammy.

And some of the Coliseum video slammies.

Oh, the Slammies,

the production people at the studio got special permission to do some rib credits on the Slammies, too.

Do you think it's a smart thing, especially just in terms of

separating yourselves from the previous administration,

letting people know this is a different...

You know, people who are just tuning in now, what's this at the end?

That's not Vince McMahon's name there.

Well, then, I wonder if they're going to do that.

Because, what goes behind that choice of all of a sudden adding that?

Not that he doesn't deserve credit, Triple H, but

you know, that's a Paul.

That's a Paul Heyman move, actually.

Executive producer Paul Heyman.

Lee Fitting deserves a lot of credit for the way this thing looks now, too.

I'm not saying they don't deserve credit.

I'm saying it's a departure from what they've normally done, which is not have credits.

And

if they're going to have credits, why don't they go all the way?

Because not only

like your regional sports broadcast or your network sports broadcast or an entertainment show, they have

directed by, you know, audio, camera, whatever.

Why don't they do the whole thing then?

Because

in the old days, wrestling didn't have credits per se because you didn't want to be Booker.

Olo Dusty did with the TBS show, Virgil Runnels.

Like that was a well-known secret.

But

there's no reason they really couldn't.

Now, don't put down agents for matches that tell the guys what finish to do.

But for the technical crew, I wonder why they couldn't have some credits.

Are you trying to keep these people from being credited?

I'm saying the only people getting credits are the two people of the three people in charge.

Funny how that works out, isn't it?

Nick Honsey, keep my name off this.

Yeah.

I have a very robust name.

Please keep it off this.

What about Ari?

Ari should get some credit.

I knew he'd grow up to do good things one day.

He does.

It's called a dividend, but yes.

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But anyway, but that pretty much was SmackDown.

And

I mentioned a name there, Brian, on the SmackDown show, and I understood maybe this could have been the straw that broke the camel's back, but did they fire a few people this week?

I don't know if I would term it as firing.

Apparently, they released.

They asked them, please go away from here and don't ever come back.

Is that more.

Well, here are the names.

Tegan Knox.

Tegan Knox was released this past week.

Well, we haven't seen her in quite a while anyway, as far as I recall.

And if I recall right, I think in the times that we've seen her, she's had at least two, if not three, different knee injuries that took her out for almost a year.

Yep, I remember that may be the case as well.

Another name that was released, somewhat surprising, she was on the show you just talked about, Indy Hartwell.

Well, that's what I was going to say.

She was just here with her

sorority sister, Candy.

And apparently, this was, you know, she goes from being on fucking national TV one week to, ah, we don't need you anymore.

Hmm.

Should AEW AEW sign her?

She has size.

She's not one of the small girls.

I believe she's a fan, so maybe, you know, she got the heart in the right place for this.

Well, a lot of people have their heart in the right place in AEW.

It's just their brain that's dislocated about three feet south.

Some have even had their brain removed, according to reports in The Observer, and then placed back in their head.

But that's, you know, that was an experimental case, and we cannot blame, you know, because we've we've had a lot of readers, a lot of readers.

Yeah.

Yes, reading this newsletter of ours.

Yes.

We've had a lot of listeners that have said to us, they've said,

where can I go to have this brain procedure done?

Because,

you know, I got some problems with my brain.

And we can't, we have to tell them, no, it was an experimental procedure done only at the Narita airport in Japan.

It's in Japan.

If you you need to get the surgery done, apparently it's in Japan.

Or at least that's what we've

you got to go to gate five at Narita Airport and knock three times

and they'll take you back to the place where they do that operation.

All right.

Some of us would like to get back to that place, but let's, Jim.

All righty, who else did they?

Who else did they exile?

Who else did they send out never to be heard from again?

Out into the cold, cruel world.

The final name on this list,

Baron Corbin.

Ah,

Baron, we hardly knew ye.

12 years with WWE.

Jesus Christ.

You know, he must be a heck of a nice guy

that they went to that much trouble and effort to keep him around for 12 fucking years

it's always weird for me because i grew up in the era of wwf where

it felt like everyone was there for a long time but when you really look back on it some of their runs are like three years

two years and they were in and out

12 years and it's not like an abnormality there are other people that are just there forever you know no disrespect to i'm not saying fire seamus But Seamus has been there for fucking ever.

You know what I mean?

Like there are guys that are just, they're they're on this show forever.

Kofi Kingston, forever.

You've been seeing them on this show.

And

you never used to have that.

Baron Corbin, 12 years.

That would be the equivalent of in 1996 at the

start of the boom period, the Attitude Era, whatever, right beforehand.

Who was on a roster in 1996 that had been

there continuously since 1984?

Besides a Brooklyn brawler.

Howard Finkel.

Tito was gone by that point.

I don't know of anyone in 95.

Brett started, I guess, technically, maybe in 84.

Yeah.

And he, well, and but again,

was Brett continuous or didn't he take a break in the mid-80s at some point?

Nevertheless, it's ridiculous.

And that's the byproduct of there only being one place to go.

And, you know,

and let's face it,

I don't think anybody's pushing that Baron Corbin was the in-ring equivalent of Bret Hart or any stars of that particular level.

But it's, yeah, it's guys.

And that's, that's we talked earlier in the program that we did about a developmental program where there was

the idea was there was going to be different territory so you could rotate talent back and forth and they could get different experiences and you could keep things fresh on your cards.

And how

does this guy in any way get better when you know they sent him back to NXT after he'd been there for 10 years, right?

The fuck.

You think he's a prime candidate to get signed by Vince for his new company?

Well, only if he's,

you know, wanting to get into the entertainment industry.

Because, of course, Vince said he's not going to be in wrestling.

They're going to be producing major motion pictures and fitcoms, baby.

See, that's the catch when they asked this PR person, is this going to be a wrestling company?

Of course, they said no.

Vince would never say yes to that.

It won't be a wrestling company.

Sounds like a southern thing.

It's going to be bodybuilding.

And then

as soon as we get Luger back under contract.

Well, there it is.

Those are the releases.

Baron Corbin, again, many, many years on the roster.

A lot of different different character

changes.

Some funny segments.

Some really scary segments.

Some really not funny segments.

But all things considered, a nice run there.

We'll see what happens to him.

Obviously, they own the name Baron Corbin.

And we'll see what happens to.

Obviously, would he want it?

Well, you got to reinvent yourself now.

It's a little hard, I would think.

12 months.

Well, I think he needs to reinvent himself into a whole new profession instead of wrestling.

But, you know, again, would you...

if you were an independent promoter, oh, God, I could have Baron Corbin on my show for only, what, $1,500 if he'd go that low, $2,000?

What are the kids making these days when they come out of the WWE?

How is that going to fucking work?

He needs to be

somebody.

Maybe he could call himself George Hackenschmidt Jr.

I guess.

No, he looked more like Joe Rogers.

That wouldn't be nice, would it?

No, no, I don't think that that would be the right thing for him, but we'll see what that is.

That's not nice at all.

But anyway, you know, some of these people.

Hey, yeah.

Well, what were you going to say?

No, I had a separate thing, but finished.

A separate thing.

Well, I'll just say some of these people,

they need to get out of the wrestling business and they need to come up with a new line of work and a new way to make money and a new...

A new way to separate the suckers from their cash.

I don't think we should look at it like that.

No.

Well, you got to sometimes you got to take a little crowbar and you got to pry people's hands out of their pockets with their money in it.

And then they're happy with the product that you give them.

See, just like our relationship with the listeners, Brian, the people may think, oh, fuck, I don't want to listen to any more of that cornet, but when they sit down and they're forced to listen to us, then they get a kick out of it.

So sometimes

you got to force yourself to do something for your own fucking good, right?

You proved my point.

Right.

Well, in that case, some of these guys, like Baron Corbin, he ought to go to Shopify.

That's what I'm trying to say.

And do what?

What's he going to do?

And sell something.

What's he going to sell?

Anything besides turnbuckles and monkey flips?

Because,

folks,

Shopify.

What are you laughing about?

Shopify, nobody does selling better for one thing than Shopify.

Ricky Morton doesn't sell like Shopify does.

They're the home of the number one checkout on the planet.

Shop pay boosts conversions up to 50%.

You can convert things from one thing to the other thing, and it'll cost you half price.

Actually, you know,

if it boosts it, it means you'll get half again as much.

And less carts will go abandoned.

And then the grocery store parking lots won't be such a hazard to everybody's vehicle.

But it's all about getting your business out to the consumer and getting your product to the consumer and then checking them out.

And once you check them out and you've got their money, then you give them the thing and kick them out and send them on their way because you're on to the next customer.

And you've got to keep this moving.

And Shopify is not afraid to be rude.

Once they've got somebody's money and they've got their merchandise, then they're going to kick them right out of the store

or your website.

Well, first of all, that's not how it works.

There is no store.

We're talking about websites, and they're not going to kick it.

Well, they'll hang anywhere.

They're going to work on your behalf to have a pleasurable experience with the customer, not a rude experience where they get kicked out of the store.

Well, they'll hang up on you if you take too long on the phone, too, because they're about making money.

Can't have any of this fucking idle shit shit going on.

They're about making you money.

They're about making money for you, with you, which that's right.

So So these fucking customers, they're going to have to fork over and get the fuck out.

But I'll tell you, folks, right now, you can upgrade your business.

You can get the same checkout as all the big major players use.

And

you can find out how that Shopify can integrate and Intify all of your business opportunities together so that you're getting the most out of the least.

And they are the host with the most.

So on the web, in your store, in their feed, in your feelings, and everywhere in between, they're going to get your customers wherever they're scrolling or strolling.

And if they're trying to scroll while they stroll, even better, they're not paying attention and are more susceptible to being chloroformed and taken behind a building.

First of all, what?

No, that's not.

Well, we've got to find out if they've got enough money that they can afford what we're trying to sell them.

We?

We're just going to rifle their pockets a little bit.

Who's we?

We and Shopify.

I think it's you by yourself.

Shopify has nothing to do with this nefarious activity.

It's all you.

Shopify will be your partner in taking your business to the next level.

And I tell you how you can make a deal.

You can get a deal.

You can save money.

Brian, you want to know how?

It's this easy.

You can get a $1 a month trial period of Shopify.

And all that Shopify provides and all that they

all they observe, and all that they take in,

you can have a dollar a month trial period where you can get into the big money and the big bucks and the big business like that, too.

All you got to do is go to shopify.com slash JCE,

all lowercase, by the way, for whatever reason, that is very important because they've got all lowercase in capital letters.

Shopify.com slash JCE,

all lowercase, $1 a month trial period, and you

will be instantly admitted to the wonderland that is Shopify, and you'll retire rich, happy, successful, landowners, and farting through silk.

No guarantees.

No guarantees, but you will have the opportunity with Shopify.

Well, that's what Vince used to give out was just opportunity.

But no, we're going to guarantee, this is a sure thing.

You're going to become a robber baron, and you'll own probably a dozen railroads and several oil wells with Shopify.

All right.

Every time that that happens,

not only does a dollar bill come out the side, but also an angel gets its wings.

All righty then.

What in the world is going on over at the Arcadian Vanguard Network this week?

Before we go any further with the crown jewels, another fine week of programming on the Arcadian Vanguard Podcast Network.

Oh, that was very nice there at the end.

Get information about all the shows on Twitter at Super Podcasts or on Facebook at facebook.com slash Arcadian Vanguard.

Why am I smiling from here to here?

I can't stop laughing already.

Of course, if you want to get away from the hilarity and have serious wrestling talk with just the news.

If you want to be depressed and if you want to be morose.

If you are wrestling news with no opinion, no star ratings, just the actual news, just the facts.

No guff.

No guff.

No nonsense.

No who shot John.

No guff, but get your stuff from the wrestling news.

Directly from the wrestlingnews.com or wherever you find your favorite podcast.

I'm cracking myself up today.

Wherever you find your favorite podcast, look for the wrestling news.

Of course, stick to wrestling with John McAdam and Shut Up and Wrestle with Brian Solomon, wherever you find your favorite podcast.

And the 605 Super Podcast, the

Mothership.

Go through the archive605pod.com.

Available wherever we find, wherever you find your favorite podcast.

Wherever.

it'll be found sooner or later, probably floating in the river.

The mothership.

All righty, speaking of mothership.

So the

WWE took the big airship,

the big Zeppelin, they flew across the oceans and into the Saudi Arabia land.

And they did another episode of Crown Jewel.

And,

Brian, my first question is:

do every arena, do every arena, does every arena, or do all the arenas in Saudi Arabia look like airplane hangars?

Is it,

I mean, I know it's not a budget concern.

They've got more money than has ever been printed over there,

but they just look like the, like the big, you see the big ceiling.

It's like a big airplane hanger.

Is it just a difference in architecture and the culture, culture, or what's going on over there?

Are you an expert in this field?

I'm not an expert in the arena situation in Saudi Arabia.

No, and when you say they have all the money, you mean the ruling family, I assume, because I don't think it's the people, it's the family that rules the country.

Yes, but they can have all the oil money, they can build all the shit.

They got big buildings over there, they do.

They can build all the shit, people just can't afford to live in them.

Well, that's amazing.

So,

and the announcers, it was this,

because I say this every time we watch one of these shows, but I feel like they're changing these fucking guys' names.

But every time

that I say that wasn't Fubar, Makafakalube, and Slapco Fud.

Then somebody will write and say, no, it's the same announcers we always had.

But this did not look like Fubar and Slapco.

Slapco.

I believe it was Fubar and Slapco once again.

Are they just calling them different names every time?

Well, their names are not Fubar and Slapco for the record.

You gave them those names.

Those are not their actual names.

Well, but they seem like they have different names every time we see them.

So regardless of whether they're the names that I gave them or the names that their parents gave them.

They got different fucking names.

What are they trying to stay ahead of the law?

Thanks for being here tonight.

Now let's show you our Saudi Arabia announced team, who you will only see on these shows and nowhere else ever.

Ever.

Well, now, to be honest, there's not a lot of call to have

Raw from

fucking Tyler, Texas, translated into

Arabic, is there?

Well, there probably is, but probably not live.

I guess you could do that in the studio the way they used to do it with you and Vince hanging out and having fun on Monday nights.

That's a live.

Vince never did learn Arabic.

Anyway, the crown jewel event opened.

And should we make this mention generally before we begin the blow-by-blow description that I said to you earlier today, this was probably

the best two-hour pro wrestling program that I've seen in I don't know how long.

Problem was it took four hours.

Do you think that was because

there was some of the matches were very good.

Nothing was

except one thing was really stankifying,

but it took so long to get to anything.

And

is that, did they feel like I get maybe they're paying them by the hour.

Maybe it was 12.5 million an hour.

So they had to

help me.

What's going on here, Brian, with the just the

pace, the glacial pace?

This has been the pacing of their big events for a while where they go for several hours, but you only get a few matches and there's long commercial breaks, either in-house commercial breaks or actual commercials.

In this case, for tourism, for Saudi Arabia, because that's where I want to go on my next vacation to a nice, relaxing vacation in Saudi Arabia.

Where they just throw people off roofs.

That's all.

Fuck Pigeon Forge.

I'm going over to.

Well, anyway,

they couldn't put the Bloodline on last because the World Champion versus World Champion had to go on last.

So

they bookended things with the other big feature match, the Bloodline versus the Bloodline,

with Solo and Jacob and Tama versus Roman and the Usos.

And do you think poor Loa has figured it out by now?

That they just have no confidence in him whatsoever?

He's just got to be happy to be there.

That's what I think.

If it makes you happy.

Well, that doesn't.

Then go ahead and keep getting paid.

So

Roman and Jimmy got an entrance, and then Jay

got his own entrance with the waving and the yeeting.

And you got to say, the crowd that was there, do you remember the other Saudi Arabia crowds being this fucking over the top?

When they started, it was a little reserved, reserved, right?

And then they've kind of got with it.

But boy, these people wanted to see everything.

Well, they were chanting and stuff.

I remember them going crazy for different people in the past.

Sami Zayn got a big reaction, but again, Jey Uso came through the crowd.

Well, yes, but I mean, they were hot for almost everything that was in any way remotely entertaining on this program.

They were, they knew all the words.

How many people in Saudi Arabia speak English?

Or do you think that they're doing the Saudi Arabian equivalent of the the fucking Filipino guy that Journey got to take Steve Perry's place, where he could make the vocal sounds, but he couldn't speak English, so he was

just phonetically doing the fucking songs?

I think a lot of people know English.

I think it's one of the languages that a lot of people throughout the world are taught.

And in a lot of cases throughout the world, those...

You know, the kids who grew up in different countries are taught multiple languages.

As opposed to us who learn English and then, you know, drop Spanish in 10th grade.

But nevertheless, they're singing.

They love to sing over there because they only get a couple of these a year.

So it's still kind of fresh in their

minds.

So they love this.

But

the crowd was great.

And then they rang the bell, as the old saying got, no, they rang the bell 20 minutes into the program for the first match.

And

I mean, you can tell me what you thought of the match in a minute.

And And to be honest,

there wasn't much match there, but the crowd was so easy.

I jotted down.

I said they're working a spot show match, which

in the territory days, if you'd go to a spot show that didn't get a show very often and they were popping on headlocks and arm drags,

that's great.

You shine the baby faces, let them do

stuff that makes them look good and

body slams and drop kicks, and hip tosses, and stuff.

And then you get some heat,

and nobody takes too many risks, but people are loving it anyway.

And then you do your finish, or whatever, because

I try to tell the Ring of Honor guys this

at some point,

a number of points.

How much louder can they scream?

Right?

So that's where you gauge your performance based on the crowd.

And

if you're in Milwaukee and there's 500 people,

you know, don't risk life, limb, and property, but you do shit that they'll be happy with.

They're already screaming.

How much louder can they scream?

Now, having said that,

while as a former booker, promoter, and performer, I understand that principle.

Then a big-ass fucking crowd,

and the company got paid $50 million.

So

they kind of worked through this kind of flat-footed, but until the finish,

there wasn't really anything going on that

you were hanging on the edge of your seat about, was there?

I said it when we talked about SmackDown.

I like the segments with them where they're talking to each other and things are progressing.

And the finishes of the matches usually have some kind of story.

The matches themselves go on forever.

They're not always paced right,

at least for me.

And

once you brought up all the sloppiness with the Usos, that's all I see now.

You can't look away from it now, can you?

It's your fault.

You brought it up and now I can't unsee it.

Well, that's because it slapped me in the face when I first saw it.

Just like their punches that are open-handed slaps to the face.

I can't not see it because

I operated a training program.

But yeah, the match I thought was a little lacking,

but it's not really about the matches when it comes to the bloodline.

And that's basically

they got basic, you know, long heat on Jay, and then finally they had kept Roman out for the whole match.

It was either Jay or Jimmy.

And then finally, Jay tagged Roman and got a big pop.

I mean, it's working.

And then it was Roman against Solo.

and Roman made, they did a big one-two exchange, and then Roman made his comeback, but the other four guys had all just disappeared.

It's like somebody out

in the crowd has a tranquilizer dart at some point in the guy.

But Roman hits Superman punch and went for the spear, but Solo hit the spike

and covered him.

And then poor old Jimmy, he'd waited all that time for his spot, and he was late for the save, and the referee had to hold up to count.

At least the camera wasn't completely on it, so they were able to almost make you think, oh, maybe he got him and I just couldn't see it.

But I'll tell you, if this had been Brooklyn, the crowd would have booed the shit out of it.

But these people are just like, ooh, should that have happened?

If they boo, they better watch out.

They better watch for back on the way home.

Well, yeah, because you can't boo an official government project.

But he'd been gone for five minutes and he came in late on the fucking anyway.

So then the other four guys jumped in at 100 miles per hour.

They went back and forth.

And

finally, Roman grabbed Tama and threw him onto the referee.

But then Jacob leveled Roman and hit that sweet, sweet moonsault.

And then it did a dive on both Usos out

on the floor.

And Solo spiked Roman twice and covered him in one, two, three.

And I'm like, ooh.

And again, I agree with Solo beating Roman.

If either of the Usos had lost, it wouldn't have the impact.

And if anybody but Solo got the pin,

it wouldn't be what they're trying to do.

But I thought this was somewhat,

again, nobody really gets a fucking out anymore.

And then the heels got some more heat and they cleared off the desk and they were going to power bomb Roman through the desk, but Jay stopped them.

But then they got on Jay and they put him in the corner with the chair around his neck, and they're going to do the ass in the face at the

chair and a thing.

But Sammy's music plays.

And Sammy comes to the ring, and Sammy and Solo

are standing there talking to each other.

But now, meanwhile, Jay is in the corner sitting motionless, upright with a chair around his neck.

Brian,

I've recovered from goddamn knee surgery.

When I was coming out of the anesthetic, I was able to fucking take a chair off my head.

But anyway, sitting right there, and then Sammy looks at Jay,

but then he goes to hug Solo.

And as he goes, giving the hug, he gives him the suplex.

And then the heels get on Sammy.

But now all the baby faces get up, including Jay taking the chair off his head.

And they dump the heels,

and Solo is trapped in the middle with all four of the the baby faces, Jimmy and Jay and Roman and Sammy.

And at the same time, Roman and Sammy charge for Solo.

Solo moves and Sammy just knocks the shit out of Roman with the big kick.

And then Jimmy's pissed and Jay's trying to get in between them and the heels are lying.

They leave.

So it, again, a bump in the road to true domestic bliss here.

But like you say, the match,

it was the finish and a reason to do the angle.

And they'll

have a package of the angle on

Raw and

move from there.

You know, it's interesting to think that here, two years after the fact, I think that's how long it's been.

They're going to pull

Zami Zane.

They're going to pull Sami Zayn back into this.

But I guess if you're going to...

Really a Bloodline versus Bloodline, he is one of the...

Now that Romans, all of a sudden we're forgetting what a prick he was to everyone.

Yeah.

You know, now Sammy has to try to prove himself to Roman because he accidentally just hit him.

And

we'll see where it goes.

Interesting.

And Sammy was one of the most popular members of the Bloodline when they were heels.

Maybe he'll get his win back over Roman.

Remember, everyone flipped him.

Everyone.

Remember, there were certain fans, certain smart fans flipping out when he didn't beat Roman Reigns in Montreal for the title?

Yes.

Everybody in Quebec and San Jose were offended.

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But anyway, so that was the opening contest.

And where do you go from there?

Well, you go straight to the Women's Tag Team Championship four-team four-way match

with damage control against Lash LaRue and Jakarta Jackson against Piper and Chelsea, against Bianca and Jade.

Brian, I'm going to go out on a limb here and say you might have glossed over this contest.

I saw the doomsday device.

You could see the end of the world from this match.

I don't know about doomsday,

but

why do they're making custom outfits for the girls now, the full bodysuits, instead of remember when they first started the first show or two, they were either wearing like

a scuba outfit or sweatpants and a sweatshirt?

But now they're actually making

custom outfits for the girls.

Can anybody just come out and say, what the fuck is wrong with those people over there?

In WWE, no, they're not allowed to say that.

No, I mean, just anybody come out and say, hey, Saudi Arabia, what the fuck?

Here's goddamn

all these guys out here with more nipples than at a dairy farm.

You can see those.

They're in their normal attire, but the women have to wear beekeeper outfits.

What the fuck is wrong with those people over there?

I'm not going anywhere that it is illegal for me to wear my clothing.

Are you?

Oh, no, there's plenty of reasons I won't be going to Saudi Arabia anytime ever.

No.

Well, I don't mean this specific place.

If they have a law that says that you are not allowed to wear what you've got in your closet at home, is that a place you want to fucking go?

No.

Well, there you go.

See?

Especially if it's Saudi Arabia.

That's my point.

Well, that's mine, too.

So high-five.

All righty, the next match was the long-awaited contest between

formerly Mr.

Nice Guy and now human-wrecking machine Bronson Reed against our old friend Seth Franklin Rollins.

And we must have, we have, you especially, you've become a fan of the chaos and the

antisocial behavior and destruction that the human Godzilla film that Bronson Reed is has been wreaking across the

WWE universe, right?

He's like an aggressive Jerry Blackwell with bad tattoos.

I like it.

He needs Jerry Blackwell's afro, the curly fucking whole thing.

Well, it actually

it encompassed both sides of Blackwell, because he had the beard, so both sides of his head are top and bottom or whatever.

It was just like a giant array of hair around his

circular around his face, wasn't it?

I liked it too when he wore the bumblebee outfit.

It's just yellow and black.

He looked like a giant bumblebee.

Yes, and that, well, because that's what the boys fucking call, you know where that came from, right?

That was an inside rib.

It was a get, get, didn't he wear a mask and actually wrestle as the bumblebee once?

Well, yes, because in Knoxville, Southeastern, he lost a loser leave town match and came back as the Canadian Bumblebee in a fucking black and yellow outfit.

But the boys said

in his outfit, he looked like a bumblebee.

He was so short and so round, but he could fly.

So he looked like a bumblebee.

Like Bronson Reed, he could fly.

Like Bronson Reed.

Anyway, they have because this was a grudge match and

blood was bad and tempers were flaring, they did a jumpstart in the aisleway.

But here, I started keeping track because this was the third match right on the show.

It started an hour and 20 minutes into this pay-per-view, the third match.

And that was not all match time.

Not by any stretch of the imagination.

So anyway,

they jump start in the aisle.

They fight to the stage.

They fight down the ramp.

When they get to the ring, Seth rolls in the ring so he can dive back out.

And I'm like, what the?

This is starting like an AEW match.

What the fuck?

And then Bronson Reed lawn darted

Seth over the barricade into the timekeeper's pit, into a chair, and then ran him into the stairs and enrolled him in the ring.

And the the referee rang the bell to start the match.

Were we just talking about that last week in AEW?

That they've come up with this thing that they're just all now doing like it's part of the rules that

the guys can come out and drop like Agent Orange and nuclear missiles on each other before the bell rings, but then once that

They get both get in the ring, as long as they still have 50% of their appendages attached to their body, the referee rings rings the bell, starts the match like, okay, we're starting now.

When did this start happening?

I don't know, but I was at the WCW show at the Paramount in 1993.

An infamous disaster of a show, but Ric Flair couldn't make it.

It was a disaster of a show.

But Ron Simmons.

Was he trying, by the way?

Apparently, he couldn't make it because of the weather.

He couldn't fly in.

But Ron Simmons and Chris Benoit, for like 90 seconds, two minutes, had a wild match around the ringside.

And then the New York State Athletic Commission stopped it.

Can't go on anymore.

It's too wild.

Now instead, they start the match, and then they get in the ring.

But they started hot here in the ring.

Bronson Reed missed a splash off, or did a splash off the top, but missed the second one.

And then Seth...

hit his curb stomp and got a two count.

So I was like, what the fuck?

Where do they go from here?

Because they've been fighting all outside the ring and around the ring, and now they get in and trade their finishes, and they've just started.

And so then they did shit back and forth, and then Reed started getting some heat.

And he got heat on Seth, and then Seth kind of made it come back, but it slowed way down

because it had to.

They started at 100 miles an hour.

And then they went back and forth where Bronson Reed would take back over and

Power Bomb or Death Valley Driver, get a two count or superplex off the top rope and get a two count.

But I guess the problem I had was that they started.

It's hard to start at 100 miles an hour with a guy that weighs 350 pounds and expect

the rest of it not to be 25 miles an hour.

But then finally,

Reed picked up the stairs and he went to hit Seth with them, but Seth Seth tried to clip Bronson Reed's leg, but he came from the front and kind of slapped his thigh.

And then

Reed kind of went down to his knees and fell face first into the stairs that he was holding.

And it didn't look good because it's hard to do.

And also, I think he got either...

tatered himself with that or when Seth gave him the stomp on the stairs, busted his eye open.

And then he rolled him in the ring and gave him a curb stomp.

And then he went to the top and gave him another curb stomp.

One, two, three.

So again,

it slowed down.

And then the whole finish with the face into the stairs, I don't, did you?

It didn't translate because

he didn't want to fucking hurt Bronson Reed by clipping his leg out from under him, really, but he was coming from the front.

And that's harder to do.

And Reed had that weight over his head.

So the point is, is can it blah?

And then three curb stomps.

And the fans loved it.

The fans loved everything here.

But I don't know whether this was just the greatest thing ever or not.

Am I mellowing in my old age?

I mean, it was a lot for their big match.

It was a grudge match.

I guess it'll continue because they had the little bit of a face-off at the end.

Good visual of Bronson Reed having the blood.

I think it was from the stomp on the stairs.

At least that's what I thought watching it.

I don't know.

I mean, I guess the surprising thing is Rollins going over

cleanly.

What do you think of that?

Well, I mean,

in modern-day wrestling and modern-day WWE,

pretty much either the heel wins or the babyface wins.

Almost everything is clean in some fashion or another.

Maybe somebody distracts somebody and makes them look like an idiot, and then the other guy just hits his finish.

But

a lot of this thing, yeah, I'll just hit him with my finish three or four times in a row, and then the fans will cheer when I get the pin.

It wasn't as bad as what would follow.

Is that a fair assumption?

I don't recall what followed.

The women's title match between the refrigerator and Liv Morgan.

Oh, you didn't like this?

Oh, come on.

Look, I know

they figure we got to gimmick this thing up.

Little smoke and mirrors.

It's going to be a clash of styles.

It's going to be a clash of sizes.

It's going to be

a 12-year-old scuba diver fighting a pissed-off parade float

is what it's going to look like.

I'm with them that they had to try to, you know, disguise a little bit of this, but this was

an opus

to how many fucking things can we put into one match to disguise the fact that the match straight up would be the shits.

And it was so much.

You like this?

Oh, no.

I thought.

Oh, no.

You know, it wasn't really my.

That's not nice.

I'm not a big Nia Jax fan.

And

you're an asshole.

You know that what Pop was saying, and then you said it.

I'm not a big fan of the Nia Jax matches, no.

And Liv Morgan, the nice thing was she seemed very touched for a heel.

She seemed very overjoyed as a childhood wrestling fan that she was the first Saudi Arabian Crown Jewel Championship winner.

I would have enjoyed this if I'd have been the one to touch her.

You haven't even discussed yet the idea that after weeks of building it up,

Cody, Gunther, and then this match, no one wins the actual belt.

Oh, yes.

Well, it's just come up.

Okay, I guess it'll come up.

Let's go back to you.

David, back to you.

Back to you, Jim.

Well, thank you, Dave.

The fucking belts now, we are come to be told.

The belts will stay in Saudi Arabia and be on display there.

But the winner gets a nice ring he can wear around all year long.

And then next year, they're going to have another match for another belt that they don't get to fucking keep and take home.

I wonder if, do you think Saudi Arabia made those things and they're fucking real?

And they're really worth like a couple of hundred grand or whatever it might be.

And they don't.

And they pay for real security to carry them to all these tapings.

We've been seeing like security guards carry it.

Yes, I wondered if that's not a gimmick.

When they showed the close-up on this event, I was like, are those real jewels?

They really fooled me, so I don't know.

Well, I mean, because,

again,

I guess it's racist to say Indian givers, and they're Arabs anyway, don't have anything to do with India.

Yeah, that whole sentence was wrong.

Well, and that's why I didn't say it.

But I'll tell you one thing,

the people that win the belts ain't going to get to take the belts home.

And that would piss off a lot of fucking people back in the old days.

So the person who wins next year, do they get a new belt that they get to hold for one night?

No, I think they've just made these belts and now they're on display in Saudi Arabia if you want to swing by and look at them.

But the champions get a ring every year.

So, every year that you get to celebrate with the original belt, you hold it up in the air, you get your photos, and then you give it back.

Well, you get to hold it up in the air if Triple H is helping you because it's so fucking big, Liv couldn't pick it up by herself.

They're going to do this every year where the weeks leading up to Crown Jewel, there's just, you know, these security guards carrying a large case of a championship which they held longer than the champion

you are you are correct sir yes sir

well congratulations live morgan it's good it's good business for the guys in the suits that have the white gloves that carry the things around

But so this the whole thing and by the way match number four They're picking up time It started only an hour and 45 minutes into the show

but

they had somewhat of what could be described as an attempt at a match.

And then

Liv got a sunset flip power bomb type of thing off the turnbuckle, and both of them were down.

And here came Tiffy

with her briefcase, and she was going to cash in.

But as she, you know, as she's trying to give it to the referee, she turns around and realizes, oh, the refrigerator is up and confronts her.

And

old Nia Jax backed Tiffy up all the way around the ring.

And as they got to the complete other side,

Nia was looking over her shoulder, like, am I standing in the right place I'm supposed to be?

And so she was obviously positioning herself.

And then

Liv runs and jumps out and kicks her and then goes for a dive, but the fridge nails her and tells Tiffy to get the fuck out of there.

And Tiffy starts leaving.

And the fridge gives Liv a stiff Samoan drop.

And I mean, a stiff one, and Liv rolled her up in a crucifix out of the stiff Samoan drop and got a two count.

If it was real, Liv would have still been collecting her spleen.

But now

they were both selling, and

Jax was selling the roll-up.

Bigger than Liv was selling the Samoan drop, and Tiffy comes back down with the briefcase.

And the refrigerator slams Liv, but Tiffy tries to cash in now.

But there comes Rochelle Rochelle,

aka Rachel Rodriguez, or Raquel Rodriguez.

Raquel Rodriguez.

You keep saying Rachel.

Or Raquel Welch.

Well, she grabbed the case, and she and Tiffy had a tug of war with it.

And then, apparently, from what I can deduce and determine as

a former industry professional with decades of experience,

it seems to me that if I would have been calling the finish as I saw it happening,

that

Jax was supposed to reach over the top rope to grab a hold

of Rodriguez to try to get her off of Tiffy.

And then Rodriguez was going to snap Jax's head over the rope, right?

And Jax would stagger back,

and then Liv would come off the turnbuckle with her double knee move thingy.

That's what I deduced that it was supposed to be, but instead

The fridge leaned under the top rope and reached over the second rope to grab Raquel.

So when Raquel tried to snap her head over the rope, it wasn't over the rope.

And there was, and so

Jax just stood up and staggered back anyway.

Did you see that spot?

Oh, of course I saw that spot.

Do you think I'm on the right track as to what I'm deducing that it should have been?

What are you deducing?

That it should have been over the top rope.

I think so.

But she leaned under the top rope.

at two count.

And I'm like, Jesus, how much more of this?

So then

Rachel backed Tiffany up,

but Liv jumped out on the floor.

But Jax came and belly bumped Liv and Rachel into Tiffy

and then got back in the ring.

And the Fridge did a leg drop and went for the bonsai.

But Dominic appeared and slid the briefcase in and drew the referee.

And Rachel kicked

the fridge off the ropes.

And Liv hit her finish, the oblivion,

where she jumps into the ropes and then drags the girl down face first.

But

old Nia Jax did a forward roll.

Just like a forward roll, like a kid rolled on the mattress, boom, and she got covered one, two, three.

And I wrote, oh good god

was this kind of a mess or is it just me being picky oh I thought you turned into 1992 Dallas page good god oh good god

um

I mean it's Nia Jax and there was sloppiness all around and around and abound

and live one and she was very happy to win The other heels seemed very happy for her.

And that was that.

And then Triple H came in.

Yes, and that's where he had to help her hold her hand up with the belt because it was so big, she couldn't fucking get it up in the air by herself.

What do you think of Triple H having this role, so public,

I guess, such a public role where not only is he the executive producer on the screen, but he now does like the Dana White thing where he's presenting people with belts.

He's doing all the things.

Not only did Vince never do that stuff, no WWE president, like ever did that stuff.

I like it because it's more real.

It's more credible.

It is a Dana White thing that the UFC has established, and

it's combat sports oriented.

And there's nothing the matter.

In the old days, when nobody was supposed to know it was a work,

then if the active wrestler or even retired wrestler who was kind of the booker

in a territory coming out and doing that, especially if he'd been a heel or whatever,

it may have given away too much.

But

since everybody knows now, Triple H has been retired for a while.

He's the son-in-law.

They know his public role.

I think it kind of makes it more legitimate in that respect that it's more

sports-like, and he's an ex-jock.

He's moved into

the commissionership or whatever the fuck.

So I think this works and everybody knows who he is.

But that's just my opinion.

All right.

Would you like my opinion on the next match?

What was the next match?

Kevin Owens versus Randy Orton.

Oh, yeah, I'm really curious, actually, what you think of if this is indeed a match.

What you think of this?

Well,

if this was a traditional pay-per-view where people paid money and it was going to be the blow-off of something highly anticipated, I'd say,

ah, fuck, this was bullshit.

But

because they,

did we mention they made $50 million?

And the people in the building

were ecstatic at everything they saw.

And even the people at home couldn't complain because

there wasn't much difference in this and a match.

It was just a fight.

But most of the matches now are all fights anyway.

So

for the people who didn't see it, this is what they did.

Orton comes out

and the fans again were singing his song big and he milked every bit of it.

I mean, I didn't put the clock on his entrance, but he took a while to get out there because why not?

They can't scream any louder.

And

Orton had come, or Orton, Owens had come out in a Bob Orton Jr.

shirt.

And he did that the other night on SmackDown that we talked about earlier when

he was wearing a Dusty Rhodes shirt.

Now he's wearing a Bob Orton Jr.

shirt.

So he's wearing the shirts of the fathers of the people that

have turned on him or whatever.

But as Orton starts to, and by the way, for those of you who are keeping track, fifth match, two hours and eight minutes into the show.

But Orton gets up onto ropes to do his pose and his deal.

And Owens gets him with a chair from behind and nails him a couple times.

And they go to the floor, and Orton starts fighting back, and he drops Owens on the desk, and then Owens fights back, and Orton is selling his bad leg.

And Owens is nailing him with chairs, and then the referee grabs the chair, so Owens stunners the referee.

And then Orton gets the chair, and he wears Owens out with it.

And the agents start running out, and the announcers say, well, they've waived the match off.

And at least they didn't fight for 10 10 minutes and then get in the ring and ring the bell.

But Orton dropped Owens on the desk again and

threw Sean Davari out and DDT'd Owens.

But here came Pierce and Aldiss in, and Orton gave Pierce the RKO.

And then they fought over the rail into the arena.

And there's Owens is beating the shit out of Orton with an equipment case.

And

then finally, to put a

period or an exclamation point on it, Owens goes up into the crowd, the

raised seating section and comes off a platform, off of a railing, onto Orton through a table.

And then they both lay there and cell, and that's

which again,

I know they love doing it.

It's just so much fun to do that.

But how does it get heat on you as a heel

to lay the baby face out when you're laying there too?

You fucked yourself up.

Nobody has to get even with you.

You got even with yourself.

If Orton could give him the

elbow drop or whatever through the table, and there's Orton in a quivering heap of jelly, and Owens is standing over him going, ha ha ha ha,

that's heat.

But if they're both laying there fucking ready for the goddamn meat wagon to the hospital, is anybody mad at anybody at that point?

Tell me your thoughts.

My thoughts are that this was a non-match to save the match for

Royal Rumble or something.

I believe we mentioned at first it was awful quick to do this, didn't we?

Yeah.

But it was good.

Maybe they agreed with us.

But, you know, Rollins and Bronson Reed, they gave a finish too.

Rollins won.

Here, they didn't want anyone to lose yet.

So they did this.

And the way they just kind of fade out and go to a commercial

on these pay-per-views now is crazy.

I mean, you can kind of get away with any non-ending if that's what you're going to do.

Can you imagine if there was a basketball game and two guys, one guy was going for a dunk, and the other guy was going to try to reject that attempt.

And they collided heads and fell on the ground and their brains fucking splattered out and their blood was trailing everywhere.

And the announcers said, Both men are

look like they may be dead.

And they just faded to black.

And when they came back, they were playing another game with other teams, and they never talked about it again.

They wouldn't do that, no.

I wonder why they wouldn't do that.

It worked out well here.

Anyway.

We now have come, Brian, to the time

where the United States Heavyweight Championship will be on the line with LA Knight defending against Andrade and Carmelo Hayes.

It reminded me, Brian, of a song.

Would you like to hear the song?

No, oh no, no, no, no.

Let's all go to the lobby.

Let's all go to the lobby.

Let's all go to the lobby to have ourselves a snack.

They got ice-cold drinks in the lobby.

Ice-cold drinks in the lobby.

I think I'm about to go to the lobby.

Well, they lobbied to put this on earlier, but they didn't win because this is the death spot, right?

Two hours and 25 minutes into the show, they start the next last match, which is the most uninteresting angle featuring a top guy ever in the wrestling profession.

And L.A.

Knight even missed the leap up to the top rope and crotched himself.

Did you see that?

I did.

We've seen him do that every now and then.

It happens.

No, he did because there were two guys up on top this time.

So instead of slipping off and just having to jump up and do it again, he actually did the crotch spot where the guy crotches himself on a top rope

because he had less space for his feet to go.

Eight minutes or so, LA Knight gave Hayes a nice BFT123.

Do Ray Me.

That was what, is this over?

Is this thing over now?

I don't mean over in a fan, exciting, money-drawing way.

I mean, is it finished, done with, kaput, vapor, in the archives, history?

Please tell me it is.

I have no idea if it is or isn't.

Well, is you is or is you not, my baby?

Skibab, skib up, skib abs, skib up, skib up.

So we were time and ready for the main event.

We were time and ready.

It was time and we were ready.

All the words didn't come out.

Gunther versus Cody for the gaudy,

oversized crown jewel championship that's the approximately the same size as a small Volkswagen Beetle.

And

I got,

I was not

really happy or wanting them to do the champion versus champion match because

I thought it would it would hurt somebody one of the participants to have to lose and I was thinking well

should they even put Gunther over because maybe that really wouldn't hurt Cody with some kind of

you know fuck screw job thing, whatever.

But I think they had a good match here and it didn't really hurt anybody.

And

apparently, they're not going to refer to the Crown Jewel Championship again until next October when they start promoting next year's.

So

it was a good match.

And

they got away with a big match on a big show that they made money for.

And didn't really particularly hurt anybody's standing, I guess, overall.

We can talk about the details in a minute, but they got out of it, I guess.

Do you think they got out of it?

I mean, it was a good finish, considering it was a tough match to have a finish in, I think.

That's about all you can say.

Did they get out of what?

Did they get out of Gunther losing?

Did they get out of having this match without hurting either guy when it was over with?

And I think the answer is yes.

Absolutely.

And even the way it was handled after the pinfall, the way Gunther left, I thought was,

you know, he left strong.

But again, they sang Cody's song.

I don't even know the goddamn words.

And English is my first language.

You might not be able to tell every once in a while, but it is.

But again, the main event, but they were two hours and 45 minutes into the show for the start of the seventh match.

It was a little

slow, but this match, they were.

The crowd was already hot for it, and they knew this was the big one.

So these guys could take their time.

And of course, everybody else had taken their time, and also they took plenty of time in between every other match.

But these guys deserved it, and it worked.

And

between the crowd just going batshit and singing, ole, ole, ole, ole, all the time,

to start this thing, all they had to do was wrestle.

Again, it was back to...

Kind of an old-fashioned spot show match where we can give them arm drags and arm bars, headlocks, and takeovers, and the people are loving it.

But then they picked it up,

and when they started the heat, Gunther's an aggressive heel who lays his shit in, and Cody can sell and fight underneath or from underneath like a master.

So

again,

these guys are professionals and they take pride in what they do, and everything makes sense and looks good.

There's no stupid, dangerous bumps.

There's no sloppy work.

There's no

obvious alley oop

cooperation and, you know, help me stand up here gingerly balancing on the top rope or doing this cheerleading move.

I learned at

Mayberry Union High.

And they had a good match and they trade their big moves, but they put spots in where they can

either explain having to sell and they can't capitalize immediately for a cover and then they get a two count or

you know whatever there's it's not just an onslaught of

boom boom boom huge bumps one after another like the kids do over on the other channel with no thought to

the effects of same

and

to be honest they got the this is awesome chant

after Gunther had caught a Boston crab and then switched it to a sleeper and almost put Cody out with a a sleeper.

But Cody broke it with a chin buster and hit a crossroads but couldn't cover.

And they were both selling and that's where the crowd was going, this is awesome.

After like three holes in a row.

And

this that Gunther doesn't rush and he doesn't do

weak shit.

And he gets the most out of everything.

He's not going to stand there in the corner and copy his favorite indie outlaw Japanese wrestler by chopping you

17 times as quick as he can and it wouldn't break an egg.

He's going to draw all the way back to the other ring post and throw something in with a follow-through and make it make noise.

And that's what more is needed of in this business.

He makes shit mean something,

gets the most out of it.

And

instead of punching somebody five times, they all look like shit, he does it once and it looks great.

And then, anyway,

they went back and forth and they hit all their stuff, but there was a reason why it wouldn't work

until finally Cody tried the super Cody cutter off the top rope.

And boy, he's got balance for a guy that's running up the ropes and looking behind him.

But Gunther caught him in a sleeper, and Cody

rolled his weight and his momentum

on over and stood on his head on

Gunther's shoulders and got the one-two-three.

And it was a good finish because it was a fluke.

It was,

again, that's kind of like an old NWA World Title match finish where.

You know, you've got to,

the champion has to retain against the top guy of the territory.

Don't want to just beat him, but it was a fluke.

Ah, shit.

Could have happened to anybody.

And so they got by with having a good match.

Nothing's really particularly settled.

And you mentioned the aftermath when

Gunther shook Cody's hand,

but he also shook his finger at him.

He's like, all right, give me your hand.

Yeah, but next time, motherfucker, it's going to be different.

And off he went.

And

two Arabian sheiks and two women in beekeepers outfits, or they might have been hazmat suits, got in the ring and presented the belt that stays in Saudi Arabia.

One of those women could have put it under her outfit and smuggled it out of there.

They'd never know.

You could probably get a couch from a furniture store underneath one of those fucking things.

I don't know, but again, it's kind of heavy, that belt, maybe heavier than the couch but uh that was if she had some system of a truss under the the outfit as well because it's the size of a circus tent yeah i don't know what the hell you're talking about but did you see you could possibly even have a small bobcat underneath the women's outfits where they could just have it there they could just run it and power it up the hill

yeah suzanna actually saw some of the women's matches on the pay-per-view and she said you know why are they wearing those outfits.

I said, because they're in Saudi Arabia.

She goes, oh, they look kind of cool.

She's a woman.

She doesn't watch wrestling.

I said, yeah, they don't wear those here in the state.

She goes, why?

I said, well, you know, if they want to get over, they got to show some ass.

They're not going to get over in one of these fucking bodysuits.

Are you kidding me?

Well, but at the same point, you could phrase it from the standpoint of the other gender.

And even if the full body outfits look cool, And it's a sexist and misogynist thing to make the girls show their

skin,

is it worse that the girls have to show their skin by wearing the provocative outfits to get over before an American and or English-speaking and or the rest of the goddamn world audience?

But they have to do that?

Or is it worse that to appear in public in this other place, they have to wear stuff that they don't particularly want to make the choice to wear?

Is that worse?

It's a question for the ages, if I say.

Well, how old do you got to be to answer it?

I'm not exactly sure.

Did you see any of the post-match stuff where Liv and Cody

rode on a golf cart over through the complex to the WWE experience so they could do a, you know, a little bit of a press op with the Saudi Arabian chief of bringing American businesses desperate for money over, whatever his job title was.

Is that the exact job title?

The chief of Saudi Arabian companies bringing American businesses over to make them look better?

Maybe the unofficial title, but I believe that is his role.

And they did that stuff.

Did you get to see any of that?

I did not see any of that.

What was that on?

That was on the peacock.

Well, see, I was watching.

What was the place everything else was on?

I was watching this on real television the way that General David Sarnoff intended.

Wait, you bought the pay-per-view?

Yes.

No, you did not.

For this?

No, you did not.

No.

So that I could have the goddamn fast forwarding capabilities that I'm used to in a modern civilized society.

If there was ever a peacock event, it's this one.

You got to be kidding me.

You bought this on pay-per-view.

I'm on the couch in front of my 72-inch, or is it 82-inch television with full on-screen fast-forward capability instead of stuck here in front of my computer with these goddamn vice-like headsets, headphones on that you've got me wearing.

My fucking ears are killing me now.

You can watch it on a TV.

Well, but it can't fast forward the goddamn thing.

Not if it's lifted.

The fast forward.

No, even on, even after the fact, the fast forward on the cock, on Pecock,

is terrible and iffy at best.

And so I get real TV so that I can get through the 20 minutes in between matches without going out of my fucking mind.

Wow.

I'll have you know.

Well, you certainly haven't gone out of your mind.

You sound perfectly sane.

Well,

that's exactly correct because I've always been the sane one.

And it's just now that people are finding out that, you know, Cornette's always been sane all along, and it was us that was all nuts.

All right.

Well, that was Crown Jewel from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

And fingers crossed, everyone gets home safe in one piece.

Allowed to leave the tarmac, allowed to hit the air and get the hell out of there.

Hit the air?

I don't know if I...

Why did they...

Here's another thing.

I've told several pilots about this.

Freddie Floyd, the pilot that Crockett had, and several people I've come in contact with.

Why do they make the terminology

so

foreboding for people who don't like to fly?

In a short time, we'll have you at your final destination.

We'll be on the ground soon.

Heading for the terminal.

That's not that bad.

What the hell's wrong with that one?

Terminal?

Well, the terminal, not heading towards terminal.

What about, what about, instead of saying, we're going to take you to your final destination, how about we're going to drop you off where you want to go?

It doesn't sound too official.

Well, it sounds a little bit easier to take, though.

Thank you for flying.

We're going to drop you off where you were ready to go.

in just a few minutes, once we

don't do any of the things we normally say here.

Yeah, well, you don't scare people that way.

It's very nerve-wracking.

Well, where are you now?

I'm about at the end of this thing.

How about you?

I'm over here now.

I'm over there now.

Well, that's not nice, but I'll tell you what, folks, we're going to be back unless if the election goes the wrong way, we are quite outspoken.

We may not be back.

But if it goes the right way, we'll be back with the drive-through in a few days and/or the Jim Cornette experience next week.

Is that correct, Brian?

That is correct.

And in parting, until then, in betwixt and between times, we'd like to wish you love, peace, and soul.

Thank you.

Fuck you, and bye-bye, everybody.