PMS 2.0 1288 - UNC General Manager Michael Lombardi, Field Yates LIVE From The Senior Bowl, Stephanie McMahon, WWE Superstar Sheamus, & AJ Hawk

Hello beautiful people and welcome to our humble about the Thunderdome on this big Thursday January 30th 2025 this program starts now. Football is wonderful and obviously next week is Super Bowl week as we will find out if a three-peat is happening or if Nick Sirianni and the Philadelphia Eagles will win their first Super Bowl since Big Richard Nick Foles led that squad into a wonderful horse poop eating time of Philadelphia.
The Chiefs are favored by one and a half currently. Will that change next week? We will certainly monitor it.
The stories are in abundance for this particular one. Patrick Mahomes, is he going to cement himself as the greatest of all time for winning three straight? How about Travis Kelsey? Is to get a notch under his belt Andy Reid this man has the most wins for both teams that you're currently looking at both Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles will he continue on his dominant tour with this fantastic squad out of Kansas City and then on the other side Saquon Barkley can you win with a run heavy run first line-led team in 2025? Everything says yes, but will they be able to beat the team that refuses to lose, which is the Kansas City Chiefs? We shall see.
We'll be live in New Orleans from Radio Row starting next Wednesday all the way through Friday. The guests are already stacking up.
The guests' names are pretty big. I don't want to give anybody away.
marino will be joining us what send it yeah no flubs send it damn marino and many many more will be stopping by we uh can't wait to get down there we also can't wait for this weekend in this beautiful city of indianapolis indiana the royal rumble has invaded indianapolis and everybody is here including stephanie mcmahon

who will be joining us in the second hour live in the thunderdome cannot wait to chit chat with her

she'll be joining us and uh obviously it's an honor to get a chance to call her a friend cannot

wait for the chat with her about the business the state of the wwe her life and everything else and

then this weekend in lucas oil stadium in front of a record-breaking royal rumble crowd magic will

Thank you. the business, the state of the WWE, her life, and everything else.
And then this weekend at Lucas Oil Stadium in front of a record-breaking Royal Rumble crowd, magic will be had and we will find out who will be punching a ticket to the main event of WrestleMania. There will be a 30-woman Royal Rumble, a 30-men Royal Rumble, or a ladder match.
Battles all over the place and history will be made right inside of the line house, Lucas Oil Stadium. Tomorrow night, Cambridge Fieldhouse.
We kick everything off at 5 p.m. Eastern on Peacock and all the socials.
Michael Cole and I'll be hosting the Royal Rumble kickoff. Then that goes into the Friday Night Smackdown, which then leads into 6 p.m.
Eastern kickoff time of Royal Rumble on Saturday. The city is abuzz.
The city is alive. The city is thankful that WWE came here, and it's a great time to be alive.
It's not just me here. Obviously, the boys of the Toxic Table are here at Boston Corner, at Ty Schmidt.
Royal Rumble, Ty, massive weekend. Everybody has flooded into our gorgeous city.
Yeah, it's the absolute best, and if you've never experienced a Royal Rumble, I really don't know how to describe it because everyone knows WrestleMania is, you know, like the Super Bowl equivalent. But the Royal Rumble, I mean, it's bigger than, you know, like a championship weekend.
It's kind of its own thing. There's really nothing in the world of sports that's like it.
And even if, you know, you haven't been a WWE fan for a really long time, like if you watched 15 years ago, there's a chance you're going to show up at the Rumble and some of your favorite superstars of the past are going to be there. I couldn't be more excited for this weekend because it really is like, if you read the dirt sheets and all that kind of stuff, you can kind of get an idea of what's going on in the business.
You have no idea what's going to happen at this event. You really don't.
A lot of times you don't know what's going to happen until it happens that night at that time. And people within the

WWE don't know. And I think that's why

it's one of the best events

not just in the wrestling world, but in

the world of sports entertainment. Literally

anybody can show up at the Royal Rumble

and has shown up at the Royal Rumble.

Stars of yesterday, stars of tomorrow,

stars from other promotions

show up, and then in the end one person gets a chance to have their dreams come true in main event WrestleMania. Will this be the year that CM Punk gets to go main event WrestleMania? Will he win the Royal Rumble? Will the Second City Saint finally punch his ticket after tearing his tricep from the bone last year in the Royal Rumble.
How about John Cena? The final time is now Drew McIntyre. Obviously, Kevin Owens and Cody Rhodes are participating in a ladder match.
It's going to be absolutely absurd. For those that don't know, the American Nightmare, Cody Rhodes, is WWE champion.
He's in the middle there with the blonde hair. He comes from a royal family of wrestling.
The guy next to him, Kevin Owens, there is a Canadian guy. He's a psycho.
And he certainly said some things about a lot of people. But having him be a part of a ladder match in Lucas Oil Stadium, people that watch back in the day, remember Jeff Hardy just used to do.
Oh, yeah. Whatever.
Shane McMahon used to jump off of whatever. Kevin Owens is a mix of both of those guys.
And I legitimately cannot wait to see what happens and the carnage and the chaos. And, you know, who wins this Royal Rumble, both the men and the women? And, you know, who is going to cement themselves as one of the greatest of all time? Winning a Royal Rumble can certainly help do that.
Let's go to one half of the hammer. Don! Cowboys, Tone Diggs.
There isn't a betting odds, I don't think, on the Royal Rumble on ESPN Better and official sites. But there is a bunch of them for the Super Bowl next week.
You went through a few of them. Dallas Goddard's over yardage yesterday feels good because the Chiefs have not been able to defend against a tight end.
And they give him the ball a lot. Is there any other bets that you've been looking at for the Super Bowl that maybe we should think about snooping around on? Yeah, a couple tidbits for today.
Patrick Mahomes as a favorite of three points or less or a dog in the playoffs is 8-0 against the spread and 8-0 straight up, which is not a surprise at all. Andy Reid off of a bye.
We even talked about it. 23-4, okay? 23-4, Andy Reid is off of a bye you know we've been talked about a 23 and 4 okay 23 and 4 Andy Reid is off of a bye technically with this week off is technically aft off of a bye here for Andy Reid in that situation those those are two heavy heavy heavy stats going in the um Chiefs favor uh seven of the last seven games the Chiefs or sorry the Eagles have covered their first spread.
They're actually plus one and a half in the first quarter of this Super Bowl. So just a couple of things, a couple of tidbits for today as far as the Super Bowl is concerned.
I love that. Also, some breaking news out of the Philadelphia Eagles camp.
Brandon Graham, stud linebacker for the Philadelphia Eagles, BG, I believe is what they call him, tore his tricep week 12.

They have opened his practice window today, so he could potentially be playing in the Super Bowl next weekend.

That would be a huge addition to a defense that has been buzzing and flying around.

If BG tears his tricep week 12 and plays in the Super Bowl, you're talking legendary shit, folklore shit.

I'm pulling for this story to happen, Todd. Yeah, without a doubt.
I mean, that was crazy. I don't know what noise that was.
Okay, yeah, it looks like we got some tunes going mid. Man, he's panicking, sprinting across.
The bump box bugged in. Okay.
Bruce Brown's having a morning. Bruce Browning's having a morning.
Hey, you're doing it, Bruce. You're A-okay.
Bruce it's all gonna get figured out bruce is in charge of figuring out all the tickets sure for the royal rumble this weekend certainly a lot on his plate people coming in from out of town where are they sitting where are we sitting who's sitting where there's booze bags gonna be in places we need to make sure we get it all figured out hey bruce you're doing great keep going bruce that's on me i i was worried about that for the last two minutes yeah yeah and then it happened obviously and just think the worst thing that could happen has happened it's not the terrible end of the world so don't worry about it maybe uh stress less bruce brown and also when stephanie gets here make sure you take care of her okay so let's go and her team let's make sure we're doing a okay bruce got a plate right now. He does.
A lot of logistical stuff that I don't think he's prepared for. No.
But certainly 0 for 1 with the bump box. Yep.
Only way we can go is up from here, Bruce Brown. But it's a beautiful Thursday here, obviously.
It is. He's great in high-stress situations.
Yeah, he is great in high-stress situations. Everyone says that about Bruce.
That's kind of like the 1A of when you're describing Bruce. This guy always performs under pressure.
Always does. We love Bruce.
But Brandon Graham, this situation, I think is, like you said, it's legendary. I think there were talks that this might be his last year regardless.
So if he were to come back, play in the Super Bowl, get a sack, or have a massive moment, and if they win to go out on top, that is a storybook ending. And like you said, the Eagles defense is unbelievable.
Getting a guy like him back in just for a play or two, a couple third downs, it's huge. People remember the stuff like this forever.
Remember T.O. came back off of a broken leg to play in the Super Bowl.
Thomas Davis with his broken forearm came back to play in the Super Bowl. People love this shit, and they'll talk about it forever if Brandon Graham's able to talk.
They lost that particular game, Thomas Davis, with the Carolina Panthers, although his forearm looked gnarly, to say the least. Cam Newton was asked this morning about MVP or Super Bowl.
Would you give up your MVP for the Super Bowl? He said, no, I wouldn't, but then he gave a full answer about, like, there's a lot of people that aren't good at football that have won Super Bowls. There's a lot of great players that won a super bowl there's not a lot of bad players that have ever won an mvp so i think you know the way his answer was taken was kind of out of perception but you win a super bowl you remembered forever yep you won a super bowl after tearing your tricep in week 12 and come back you remembered as an absolute dog not the bg wouldn't be but that is something that nick sirianni prides himself speaking to nick sir Sirianni, he'll be joining us tomorrow, 1.30 Eastern.
Yeah, I had Andy Reid on yesterday, very close to the vest, didn't tell us anything. Sure.
Nick Sirianni, we assume will be a great conversation tomorrow at 1.30. Cannot wait to catch up with him.
How's the team feel? What is the vibes as they travel down to New Orleans? Are they loose? Do they feel like they're the team that's not getting any credit because all the storylines are the dynasty, the dynasty, the dynasty?

Also, Jalen Hurts, is he good enough?

He's not good enough. Patrick Mahomes, greatest of

all time. I assume Sirianni is utilizing

all of those things to stack

the chips onto his boy's shoulders

and I can't wait to hear him tomorrow,

Conman. Yeah, especially because they just lost to him.

You know, like a lot of these players, although it will

be some of their first Super Bowl, like Jalen, they just lost to the chiefs in the super bowl a few years ago there was that story last year about how jaylen's background on his iphone was the chiefs celebrating that victory over them but i'm pumped for this game you know a lot of people saying they're not going to watch it those people suck and they're going to end up watching the game i think it's going to be a great You know, you think about the chips that Saquon Barkley has on his shoulder, let alone, you know, going in as one-and-a-half-point dogs, but just not really being wanted by the Giants, that entire thing, him setting all those records. And then you just think about the vibes, like you mentioned, like Mylotta.
We showed that clip yesterday of him, you know, pancaking three guys and then, you know, laughing as he's running down the field on the first play against the Commanders and Saquon took it 60 yards to the house. Like, I think this is going to be a great Super Bowl.
Definitely better than ones of the past. And who knows? If the Chiefs do win, Pat Riley owns the trademark for three-peat.
He's going to make like a billion dollars. So I know who he's rooting for.
I think the Chiefs were trying to get ahead of that. Yeah.
They were trying to get ahead. Like, is it a Chiefs peat? Is it three Chiefs? They wanted to get away from the three-peat, I think because Pat Riley has his raked.
Yeah. He's just raked in money off the three-peat stuff.
Since the 80s. Genius move.
Yeah, got the Bulls twice because they went three in a row twice. Also had the Yankees in the 2000s when they won the World Series.
Made a bunch of money off that, I assume. Yeah, Lakers, but that's where it started with him but if you know if he gets five percent yes of every dollar made off of anything that has three Pete on it just oh yeah hey great shirts how much did you sell there uh a million bucks sweet okay five hundred thousands coming to old uncle Pat Riley yeah I'm dealing with a Jimmy Butler situation.
Yeah, the Miami Heat might be nowhere near a three-peat at this particular situation, but I am. I am for sure.
So go ahead and pay the corner, pal. Who's the corner? That is Pat Riley.
Genius. Business decision.
All right, we have some breaking news out of the NFL. Steve Wilkes has been hired as the Jets' defensive coordinator.
Steve Wilks has obviously been around the NFL a very long time. Congrats to him getting a gig over there.
Aaron Glenn, we assume, will be running the defense, but Steve Wilks also has a very, very, very deep resume of being a successful defensive mastermind in the NFL. What if the Jets don't suck? What if the Jets don't suck? Isn't that crazy to think about? I like Aaron Glenn.
I like the way Aaron Glenn has handled himself. I like the way he didn't bow down to the Jets media too.
I think he understands the situation over there. He got Woody Johnson to say, maybe I haven't been the best owner.
Maybe the Jets are turning the corner or is this what we always do with the Jets anytime there's a little bit of change? Yeah, Jets are the Jets and still, you know, we just watch them watched them it is the bills division going forward and all eyes kind of turn to aaron rogers

because that is the biggest question mark when it comes to the jets but what do you think about

the aaron glenn saying that he's not going to be calling plays that you know he is kind of passing

it off is this one of those moves you bring in a vet like steve wilks i think that's why steve

wilks gets the gig you know i think obviously aaron glenn will be a big piece of what we're

doing and strategy but if you call the plays as the head coach and then you stink and then it's

Thank you. Wolks gets the gig you know I think obviously Aaron Glenn will be a big piece of what we're doing and strategy but if you call the plays as the head coach and then you stink and then it's you know you give it up that's not good somebody else calls plays they stink then you can take it over you know that's like a very good move I think logistically just for the future not saying Steve Wolks will stink he has not stunk in the past that's why he is who he is been in the NFL a very long time.
Great hire, I think, in my eyes, for the Jets. But it's hard to be the head coach, stink as a play caller, then give up the range, kind of lose legitimacy.
Somebody else doing it, if they stink, you picking it back up, always a good move. Mike McCarthy down in Dallas was doing something similar.
Doug Peterson down in Jacksonville was doing something similar. I think this is the right move.
And also Aaron Glenn knows he's a leader of men right now, not just a leader of the defense. I like the move by Aaron Glenn.
But I think the OC thing is the more interesting thing, right? Because that kind of stems with everything that they're going to do with Rodgers. Obviously they need a quarterback of the future.
Rodgers isn't going to be there for the next 5 to 10 years, but they need to hire a guy that Rodgers gets along with who runs a similar kind. They they're not going to bring in a guy and then make Rodgers learn a completely I mean you wouldn't think they would yeah they might but you'd think he's going to want a guy who kind of runs that primary like west coast offense you know that he's used to so we'll see like that it's kind of all eyes on that and I guess that starts with are you going to bring Rodgers back or not and as Rodgers want to play play? I mean, there's so many things.
And who knows what the deadline is. We have not reached out to Aaron Rodgers or Glenn to get an answer on that.
I don't think that would be right for us to do, especially because we talk into microphones. But I think Aaron Glenn said that there has been text exchanged with Aaron Rodgers.
I think Aaron Rodgers, from what we know, has great respect for Aaron Glenn. I assume Aaron Glenn has the same exact thing for Aaron Rodgers.
A lot of decisions have to be made on that front before it happens, but I don't think the Jets are going to be picking an offense coordinator around Aaron Rodgers. Personally, I don't think.
Because I believe if he comes back, the plan is going to be to get a young guy, have him watch Aaron, and then hopefully hand off the reins for the future. I wouldn't think so either.
I don't think you want to hire your future OC based off of potential maybe one year with Aaron you know and just kind of put your your whole future into that but I like what I like with the Wilkes hire and what I like with all these first-time head coaching hires is when they get a DC or an OC or someone on their staff that has been a head coach before now Wilkes was a interim head coach with the Panthers but he did a great job with that Panthers team was so good that all the players wanted him and the Carolina Panthers to hire him. They did not do that,

but a guy with head coaching experience

and running a team with a first-time

head coach, I think is always a good idea.

I think so, too. More news.

Matthew Stafford will be playing next year.

Congratulations

to Matthew Stafford making the decision to run

it back. He looked great this year at the end.

There was a lot of moments where we thought the Rams could go on and win the whole damn thing somehow out of nowhere. Very young defense.
Obviously, Puka Nakua and Cooper Cup and Kyron Williams and that offensive line that figured out how to block because they were a crew that was getting kind of buried early in the year and last year. Matthew Stafford deciding to come back.
Good for him. Good for Matthew Stafford.
I love that one of the old guard is still kind of doing it and less need talked about it actually and here's what he had to say number one do you could you see a scenario where you would trade stafford and if you did do you think that's something that you guys would try to do quickly as opposed to dragging it out yeah it's on that one, I think Matthew probably disturbed

our rejuvenation period because I think we did play

in the division around that year.

And then maybe a week later is when it leaked that,

hey, he would like to be trading the Lions.

We're thinking of trading.

So we had to get back to work a little bit quicker

than we wanted to.

But I haven't, on trades, Gary, too, that's one thing, too.

It'll take someone calling or us reaching out if we want to do.

That's the things that will be determined down the road here.

Okay.

Yeah, we have no idea what's going to happen.

There's a lot that has to get figured out.

Les Snead has done a great job building that roster.

Remember, they go all in.

They go all in to win that Super Bowl in Los Angeles.

They do.

They did.

Then what are you going to do on the other side?

You know, you kick the can down the road, kick the can down the road.

Inevitably, that can is not going to have any more road to get kicked down.

It's going to be staring you right in your dumb face.

They did that.

They were able to adjust.

They got great usage out of their draft picks, even though they didn't have a lot of draft picks. Remember, his entire thing was, fuck them draft picks.
Now he's got young guys in very important positions. He's able to manage the roster and Matthew Stafford coming back.
Look out for the Los Angeles Rams out there in a battle for L.A. as the Chargers also on an upswing.
Good for both of them. Yeah, awesome, And with the Rams, you mentioned, I think, earlier in the week,

they were one of those teams early on in the season

where it was like, hey, they might trade everybody

they have. Cooper Cup was hurt, and they were

talking about him being a guy who was going to get

moved. And then when they beat the Vikings on that

last second kind of controversial

face mask on

Sam Darnold is when their whole entire

season turned around. And, you know,

they have so much young talent. Like, why would Stafford want to get out of there? He's kind of rumored to get traded, it feels like, every year, whether that's some sort of contract negotiation or something along those lines.
But when it comes to Les Snead, basically everything that he does, I feel like now is, hey, probably the right move just because of them winning the Super Bowl and them being able to turn it, you know, around so quickly. And Sean Mc think we have faith in Sean McVay.
Already a Super Bowl champ, so he's already cemented as a guy that can get it done. So damn young.
And literally, Liam Cohen just gets a gig. His coaching tree is starting to become bigger than a lot of the greats that have ever been around there.
It might be already one of the biggest coaching trees of all time. I mean, literally, we talked about a couple years, like a cup of coffee with McVay, get you a head coaching job.
And I feel like that may have died down for a year or two. But, I mean, we are fully back into it.
I don't know, probably 12 teams, 13 teams, basically from his coaching tree. Also, Raiders are bringing back Patrick Graham as their defensive coordinator.
Congrats to Patrick Graham. Congrats to the Las Vegas Raiders.
Max Crosby spoke to Jim Gray about Pete Carroll, just said his energy is the one thing that he has realized. Joining us now is a man who has deep history with the Raiders.
He's currently the general manager of the University of North Carolina Tar Heel football team. Friend of the program, ladies and gentlemen, Michael Lombardi.
Hey, how are we doing? I love Chuck. I love that Chuck gave you the donuts.
You got to love Chuck. You can't, you know, what a great guy.
Yeah. Congratulations.
I mean, I'm pretty excited that Chuck isn't going to be bringing in 50,000 calories every single Thursday, but we will miss his presence as we will miss, obviously, you as you continue to work on your UNCGM job. Let's talk about the raiders here though obviously you have deep history and love for that particular franchise you like the pete carroll hire you like pete carroll becoming their guy and what do you think he brings to the raiders that maybe they haven't had for a while well i think sometimes these owners need to buy credibility right because they've made so many mistakes along the way that they have to buy somebody who brings them credibility in the building.
And Pete Carroll, who will, you know, whatever people want to say outside the NFL and in the media, Pete Carroll has had an NFL Hall of Fame coaching career. If you just look at what he's been able to accomplish in Seattle, the winning that he did there, going to two Super Bowls, winning one, you know, he gets his team into the playoffs.
I think to me, the Raiders bought credibility. They needed it.
And they needed somebody who's going to give them some competitive nature within the framework of how they're going to play. I think it's a great hire.
He's a young 73. He's got incredible energy.
he'll he'll be able to walk in front of that team and get in front of them and have have the ability to say fellas if you want to win a super bowl this is what you have to do and look when they went out there with john schneider when they started in seattle when he left to go from sc there they were not a good team in seattle and and between him and john schneider working, they rebuilt that team with a great defensive front, Michael Bennett, Cliff Averill, all those great players up front that they had, and that's why they were able to win Super Bowls in terms of they were dominating in their scheme. What do you think he did this entire last year, Pete Carroll? We didn't hear much from him.
He was hanging out with Washington and you guys up there for a little bit, I think, with the Huskies. Was there anything else? Teaching at USC.
Yeah, he's a professor for a bit. Because we know Bill traveled around to a lot of different colleges to kind of see how it is.
Chuck has remained dialed in throughout, literally since he retired. We assume Pete stayed with the game, stayed in the game.
How do you think he spent his past year year and what do you think has either helped him become a head coach again or do you think he's

just going to pick up where he left off i i think the year off always helps somebody especially

it refreshes you recharges you plus you know you go through that period of wait a minute somebody

didn't want me you know i feel like i have a lot still to prove and when you've got a career like

pete's had where he's won a national championship in college won a super bowl i think you want to

I'm going to go out there and go out on your own terms i think pete wanted to stay in seattle the organization made a decision to move on and i think he wants to prove it was a wrong decision so when you're out of football i think you're constantly evaluating what can i do better in the next job i get what do I need to improve on where were the mistakes I've made it you do this ongoing autopsy of your career and I think you have to do it every year whether you've been fired or not it's the only way you can improve I mean after a year here at North Carolina we're going to go through an extensive understanding of what we did well what we didn't do well we've done it after the portal we'll'll do it after recruiting because the only way you get better is to learn from your mistakes. And I think Pete's one of those people who's very curious.
You know, he listens to a lot of leadership podcasts. I know that.
So I'm sure he's ready to take it up another level. Yeah, we can't wait to watch Pete back there with the Raiders.
And once again, we all feel the same way as I believe you do. The NFL is better whenever the Raiders are rolling, especially with a city like Las Vegas, who's never had a great NFL team until maybe next year.
Let's go down to Duval. Ty has a question for you.
Lambo, what do you think about Jacksonville hiring Liam Cohn? We've seen all the stuff come out. Obviously, he's getting killed for saying Duval in his press conference and not really knowing the cadence.

And then all the stuff's coming out from Tampa about him pissing off the front office

and a lot of coaches with the way he left there.

He only has five years of NFL coaching experience,

but he's well-respected coming from McVay's tree.

Do you think they made the right hire, and is he ultimately a guy who's going to be able to turn around Jacksonville? I think it's a really hard job. They're not going to play at home for the next two years, so you've got a lot of obstacles that you're not in control of.
I think one of the things you have to do in Jacksonville is change the culture. You've got to convince people down there that you know how to win.
I think there was a team that needed to buy credibility more than anything and I hope Liam can do that but as a young coach with five years he's going to have to win people over at every single staff meeting every single team meeting and show that you know look we can win this thing the Bucs lost a playoff game so he doesn't come in there with the stature of saying hey follow me guys I know how to win Super Bowls he's going to have to show that they can win I think Jacksonville has that losing mentality that they're going to have to erase because it just naturally flows uh-oh something bad happens it's going to continue I think he's got a challenging leadership job ahead of him I don't know who's going to help him whether they stay with the interim general manager or they find somebody outside, but I think it's a huge job. I really do.
I think he's got a lot ahead of him because becoming a head coach at any level is hard. Becoming a first time head coach at a job that's challenging is going to really tax him.
I don't think he even remotely understands the terrain that lies ahead of him. Yeah.
And you know, you can be a goober in your opening press conference. We've seen that before and end up working out.
We've seen it end up not working out. We would like to reserve judgment on any of these coaches.
Can you really tell if a guy's going to suck as a head coach? You have no idea, right, if a first-time head coach is going to be good or not, right? No, I think you need to see, you know, look, to me, I think you need to see their leadership skills immediately. Are they going, how they hire coaches? I think are they going to hire good or not right no i think you need to see you know look to me i think you need to see their leadership skills immediately are they going but how they hire coaches i think are they going to hire their friends are they going to hire the best person for the staff that's the first to me that's the first look at what you're dealing with are they going to be head coaches are they going to be subcontractors i know liam said he's going to call plays that's great but is he going to be involved with the defense everybody wants jacksonville to fix jerobo law jacksonville's lost so much they need to fix their franchise right it's like us coming here in north carolina said all we have to do is fix the quarterback no we've got to fix everything if we want to get to the next level and i think that's liam's challenge too you've got to be able to work in all areas as a head coach or else the rest of the organization feels like you're not paying as close attention to him so he's got a challenging job and I and I hope they give him a support system to help because these young coaches are out there on an island I think after you've been fired from your first time as a head coach you realize I'm sure if you talk to Robert Sala today he would say wow there's so much I didn't know that I know now yeah and Robert Sala back is the defense coordinator for san francisco 49ers we assume his name will be up for another head coaching gig at some point and that second time around has been very good for a lot of people head coach is not easy not easy at all he won't even remember that dude in about two weeks because the amount of shit that's going to come across his desk we're pulling for him legit we would like everybody to have great success hopefully he's able to do it you bringing up the point about not having a home game in two years is a very good one too because they're doing stadium renovation right aren't they building a full stadium okay so that's a task in of itself having to manage that because that's more distractions anything that is a distraction from winning is going to be tough to navigate hopefully liam's able to do that that.
There is a chance he doesn't, though. A lot of coaches end up stinking in the NFL.
We hope he's not one of them. Connor has a question for you, Lambo.
Yeah, Lambo, different kind of situation in Cincinnati. Duke Tobin came out and he kind of talked about how Jamar Chase is obviously a priority as far as a contract goes.
But then you think about T. Higgins, Trey Hendrickson.
said look hey we can't be paying you know top dollar at multiple positions around the league the exact one was we can't have guys at the top of the payroll in every position right uh how do you think they go about assembling their team and how do teams not fall into this kind of category like the Cowboys are in now and seemingly the Bengals are in where you're paying three guys you know 50 of your cap, but you kind of have to hold on to those guys because of how productive they are. Yeah, well, you want to hold on to them.
You just got to draft really well. I mean, the Rams got away with it.
I know I listened to what Les said before I came on, and Les has done a great job of rebuilding that defensive front with the draft. And to me, if you're Duke Tobin, you've got to say, I've got to sign Hendrickson.
He's my best pass rusher. He gives me a presence on defense.
I love to sign T. Higgins, but unless I can get T.
for the right deal, I'm going to have to draft somebody. I'm going to have to find, again, it's the same thing whether you're in pro football or college football.
They're replaceable parts and they're non-replaceable parts. And I think when you're talking about a great pass rusher like Hendrickson, they're hard find they just don't come walking down the street you got to pay him and you're going to have to pay him you can never overpay for great but what happens is when you start overpaying for good you get in trouble and I think that's something that Cincinnati can't do look since he has been look the offensive line has been a mess their defense hasn't been very good because of the way they practice and because of the way they they don't really demand physicality look the reality of it is is teams that can't run the ball don't play good run defense i mean that's just a fact look the rams one of the areas they have to improve on is their running game they were 31st in the national football league in yards per attempt and guess what their defense was 26 and allowing yards per attempt those two have to go together.
And since he never puts those two together, I think it's one of the hardest defensive coordinator jobs in football because of the way they approach offensive football in Cincinnati. They never run it.
They really don't manage the game correctly. They just want to score, score, score.
And all of a sudden, they're in a scoring duel and they end up losing. So Duke's got a challenge, but he's going to have to

draft really well. Okay, so let's stick with

the Cincinnati Bengals and T. Higgins

situation. You think he's going to be

okay without Jamar Chase? Obviously, there was a lot

of games where Jamar was not playing.

Obviously, there was games without Joe Burrow playing

and everything like that. You think he's going to be

able to become a true number one somewhere if it's not

in Cincinnati? I think

he can be. I think they're going to have to move him

around. I think he is certainly a dynamic

player. And I think if he goes to the right team where he is, let's call him a one, where he also has inside slot receiver or a tight end, then I think he becomes a player.
Because remember, when you have Chase on the field, everybody's rolling the coverage or trying to double him some way. Now, they did a good job in Cincinnati this year motioning them keeping him away from double teams but I think T's really talented and I think T can go somewhere and be a really good player you put T Higgins on a team like the 49ers my lord you know he could end up shining because they've got other players around him and then he looks really good but Brandon Iuke would be even better with someone like T or Debo or someone there.
So, yeah, I think he's – and here's the problem that Duke has. Duke's not going to be able to pay what other teams are going to pay because people are going to overpay for T Higgins in the sense that they need him.
Yeah, got the Patriots over here saying, give him to me. A lot of Caspians.
Right. Talking about overpaying.
You got the Packers here saying give them to me. And then people in

Indianapolis, fans of the Colts, they're saying

he'd be great here, especially because we got Pittman

already on one side, Alec on the

other side. T would be great to open

up the entire offense. I assume there's a lot

of teams that are envisioning potential

T Higgins on their offense, making them better.

And anytime that happens, all you need

is two to really drive up a price.

If there's more than that, you're talking congrats to T. Yeah.
You've earned it, brother. Welcome to New England, T.
And also, all the mic'd up segments I've seen from T, beloved by his teammates. Like, absolutely beloved by his teammates.
And him not being the number one guy, I think there's a sense of humility that comes with that. I think there's a sense of work that comes with that.
I think he is a prized possession of this particular free agency.

And before the season, there was that entire

video he released of him from his car

knowing, like, hey, this is probably my last

year in Cincinnati, but still going out there

and playing and not causing any problems.

And his mom came out and was like,

he's going to do what's right. He's going to go do this entire thing.

I mean, he is a guy that could potentially

change your offensive franchise.

We shall see how... Yeah, and I think what people lose sight of, too, here too here pat is since he's not a tax-free state so you know duke's not going to be able to match the deal that someone else puts out there and and because he's not in it whereas if he were in say houston houston could get close because of the tax implications don't ever don't ever think that that's not a big factor in these deals because it is you know you go to Massachusetts, he's going to pay a hefty sum.
The Patriots are going to have to pay way more than, say, the Raiders did if they sign him. You're talking about Taxachusetts? Yeah.
Is that what you're talking about? Yeah, that is what you're talking about. Or any of those states, right? Any of those states, you're just, I mean, that's just the cost of doing business.
Taxation without representation up there in Massachusetts. Now the place is known as Taxachusetts.
Whoa, whoa, whoa. There's representation.
That's why the Tea Party was there, Connor. I mean, I don't want to disrupt you, Connor.
I understand you want him there. I know.
Now, Lombo, you get it. And that Tea is still at the bottom of that harbor.
Don't you forget it, brother. But I mean, that's happened these last two years, though, with Iyuk and Calvin Ridley.
That was a conversation, and they did overpay and overshoot everyone else

because of taxidermy.

And how did it work out?

We don't need to talk about that.

Drake May is the quarterback.

Okay, all right.

He's a pro bowler.

That was before Drake May was a pro bowler.

He's a pro bowler.

Now we've got a pro bowler quarterback.

All right, let's move away from the NFL.

Let's go to trying to get into the NFL.

AP Tone has a question for you, Lombo.

Yeah, Lombo, one of those reasons why T is coveted so much is because the wide receivers in this upcoming class aren't like the ones that we've had in the past few classes they say right now. But right now, on my timeline, it's all Shrine game, it's all Senior Bowl, it's all highlights from that stuff.
Where do these Shrine game and the Senior Bowl, where does this rank in the process of the draft process and for guys like you, for GMs, for scouts, and stuff like that? I wish Chuck was still here today because we could reminisce about watching the Senior Bowl 12,000 times with Al Davis. I mean, that's all we watched.
And people say, well, why did you watch one game all the time? We would watch practices and we would watch the game because college football is about level of competition. That's really what it's about.
And the Senior Bowl, historically, going back to my first year in 1984 when Bruce Smith played in the game and Jerry Rice played in the game and some great players played in the Senior Bowl, is you get good on good. You don't have to worry about who we play in, who's the guy across from them, who they block in, who's's the corner and so the senior bowl tape for scouts and organization is a valuable tool the other value that goes into the game is can players improve their way from monday when they start practice till saturday when the ball gets kicked in the air are they improving using nfl techniques and fundamentals and it's different there than in college so i think it's's huge for every player to go in there.
If I were a quarterback and I represented a quarterback from college, I want my player to play in the Senior Bowl because there's no blitzing. It's either cover three or one man.
The middle of the field is always going to be closed, and you're not getting blitzed. And if you can't succeed in that offensively, then you've got no chance to play in the NFL.
They're saying Tez is really showcasing well out there at Oregon. He's a great returner as well if you need him.
Quick as a hiccup. Absolute stud.
Getting a chance to take on corners. One-on-one is obviously something that's going to be watched very closely for wide receivers and corners.
A few snaps ago, we saw Mike Green out of Marshall led the FBS in sacks just de-bowing a guy from Ole Miss, I believe. No, Oregon.
I'm sorry. Oregon tackle.
He's never going to get the chance to play against Oregon tackle as the Marshall thundering herd. So whenever he runs somebody over like that, obviously he's going to open scouts' eyes as a Senior Bowl Hall of Famer.
Hell yeah. As a Senior Bowl Hall of Famer, I will say it was an honor to get a chance to meet everybody down there.
What's happening in the lobby and handshaking is an extension of the combine is what they're saying. The meet and greet, the face-to-face time and seeing people is a big deal, right down there? No question.
And you get to see them in an environment. And the best time to really spend time in Mobile is when everybody goes home.
Today's Thursday. Most of the NFL teams will go home.
And if you stay for Friday and then you stay for the game, you really get more time with the kids because most teams have gone home from their week. And I think it really gives you a chance to see.
Plus, you want to see how the kids behave and prepare for the game. I think that's really important.
You know, you want to watch games on players. We spend too much time watching highlights.
You know, you should watch a quarterback. Look, you know, when you're watching a quarterback play in high school, I don't want to watch games on players.
We spend too much time watching highlights. You should watch a quarterback.

Look, when you're watching a quarterback play in high school,

I don't want to watch all the throws he makes.

I want to watch what happens after he gets sacked.

I want to watch what happens after he has a bad play.

I want to see the next play.

That's never on the highlight tape.

And when you're down there at the Senior Bowl and you're watching games

or the full game, you see that.

Yeah, I enjoyed my time down there. I wasn able to do much, you know, because there's only one field.
So kickers, putters, you don't really get a lot of opportunity. But, you know, Pat, people saw you boom the ball, though.
That's really, you know, and they could see that. And this way you didn't have to work.
You know, what you want to do at the Senior Bowl is put the question, man, we need to do more work on that guy, or we need to spend more time with that guy. And then all of a sudden that momentum will build, you know, because what's happened is they don't really have a great look at you through college because now they see you live.
Live is always better than watching tape. I think they got a chance to hear it.
You know, the ball come off by foot. I legitimately think that was what the difference.
I think they got a chance to hear it and like, oh, shit, wait a second. This guy's got it.
I think that's a great point because it's like a golf shot. I mean, how many times when you see them hit that golf ball the way it sounds? It's the same thing.
Punters, great punters have a different sound than average punters. Bingo.
Like if I was to go to the combine, which I think I'm going to be down there for the specialist this particular year, I'm going to get a chance. And wasn't invited to the combine i was invited to the senior bowl as a kicker but i was punting and kicking at the practices before the practices it's like you can tell by the sound i think you like for me anytime i went to a kicking camp there's no offense to anybody that i was at the camp with and thomas morstead who's still punting in the nfl uh was at some of those camps it's like you can just hear the different there There's levels to this entire thing.
At the combine, if I was to be scouting somebody, it'd be like, I want to hear who's out there first. And then once I hear it, let's go see if their form is worth a shit at all.
And if they can pound it and boom it and their form's okay, this is probably going to be a guy. Now you've got to figure out mentally if they're somebody.
All the other positions, there's certain things you're looking for.

I think they want to see the ash of some

of those DNs and some of those offensive

linemen, but then the sound, too,

of the thud that these guys are bringing, I think

is a big deal, which is why boots on the ground

is so damn important.

I enjoyed my time down at Mobile. Absolutely

enjoyed it. Most of the practices, though,

I was just making one-handed catches,

just trying to showcase my athleticism on the sideline. Like, could throw this thing 70 yards if i had to like anything to try to make myself look like i was a little bit more of an athlete but congrats to all the guys that get invited to the senior bowl and also uh congrats to shrine bowl people no offense yeah you know because nagy puts out a tweet that says like all right scouts recalibrate your eyes It's time for the senior bowl and the shrine bowl guy got all offended it was like i don't think he was talking shit i guess you could take it as shit talk i think he was just saying like recalibrate your eyes like there's a whole new batch yeah of people but the shrine bowl guy was like you don't have to bury us it's like whoa whoa whoa it's all good we're all scouting we're all trying to get guys into the nfl the senior bowl though has been the thing for the longest let's talk about the super bowl now lumbo uh we're over a week away obviously and there's some storylines developing nothing will really start cooking until next week today brandon graham got announced his practice window has been open after tearing his tricep in week 12.
That is certainly something. Everything else is just seemingly Chiefs versus Eagles.
Two different styles here. Eagles are a 1990s football team.
They're going to pound the rock. They got the most explosive player on the field in Saquon Barkley whenever he has it.
And then the Chiefs just win. They're coming off their best offensive performance by far of the entire season.
How are you looking at this as we're about a week away, and what should we be thinking about as we talk about it? Well, I think we should spend a lot of time thinking about Andy Reid going against Vic Fangio, and there's a lot of examples of that when he was in Denver. He's the head coach of the Denver Broncos, so you've got a lot of tape to watch.
I think Andy Reid has spent most of his week this week watching Denver Broncos versus the Kansas City Chiefs. What will Vic Fangio try to take away? I understand the Chiefs' offense is different, but Vic has a certain style that he wants to play, and I think Andy will study those four games or six games, how many they were in Vic's tenure.
I think he was there for three years. His tenure in Denver will really be providing the launch pin for what the game plan will be for Andy Reid as he goes forward.
Because he's got the tape. And he'll see from game one to game four how he wanted to play him.
And look, this Chief team, you know, forget about all the nonsense about the officials and all that. They just know how to win, right? They know what it takes to play.
And they knew they needed to score more points. They revvedved up their offense last week and then they were able to make the plays that they needed to to win the game and it's the same thing with philadelphia i mean philly you know was probably anticipating play in detroit and washington took care of that so they were able to get in this game and they let jalen hurts kind of take over a little bit and wear the washington commanders down so I think it's a great game, but I think both teams are peaking at the right time.
There's no question. I think so too.
We're in for a great one. I'm excited for it.
Lombo, we can't thank you enough for making time. Thanks guys.
What are we doing right now? We're still scouting. We're recruiting.
We've got a couple more days on the road and we're going to keep hammering those young men out there that want to play professional and come see our school. Getting business lined up, Pat.
We've got a long way to go. We're working on a lot of things, so it'll be fun.
It's great. Realistic expectations of next year.
Have you guys put that out there yet or no? Are we trying to win it all the time? We're going to stick with the Belichick mantra. I'm just trying to get better today.
That's all I'm worried about. I've got to get a little bit better today.
If I do that, I'll be good. You're the man.
Ladies and gentlemen, multiple-time Super Bowl champion Lombardi. We'll be joined by Vanderfield Yates here in a matter of moments.
He's live down at the Senior Bowl. Can't wait to get his kind of takeaway on everything.
Lombo is just like 4,000 miles an hour all the time. He's the best in the best.
He's got an answer for everything. He does.
Never has said, you know, I haven't thought about that.

Like, legitimately.

Ever.

Ever.

He has thought about everything.

Yep.

All the time.

Vic Fangio versus Andy Reid, that's a beautiful thing.

You were holding up seven.

What's that?

Six.

So they played six times when he was with the Broncos,

two times when he was with the Dolphins, I believe.

And I think Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid are 8-0 against Vic Fangio,

if I am correct.

Oh, yeah, that was a stat that hit the internet last night. I forget who tweeted it.
Somebody said, not for nothing. Patrick Mahomes, pretty good against Vic Fangio in this entire thing.
Now, this defense with Vic Fangio, a little bit different than the defenses that Vic Fangio has had in the past. It is 100%.
I mean, the playmakers that he has with the Eagles is much different. Also, Patrick Mahomes is good against a lot of people.
Well, and also Jalen Carter. Bingo.
Yeah. A little different animal.
It's a little new. They also have two rookie cornerbacks, too.
So it's not as if they've been in the league for very long. Jalen, just knowing it's the last game, not that he ever saves anything.
Okay? I'm not saying he plays like 98% of the snaps. It's absolutely unbelievable, especially with what was being said about him whenever he came in.
This guy's a workhorse, actual workhorse. wait to talk to nick sirianni about him tomorrow but there is an obvious difference in plays when he's trying like whenever he decides like yeah i'm gonna beat you on this play he comes out of his three-point stance and you just see every person that he's ever he just presses him and then it's a swipe and then he's in the backfield chaos completely.
Patrick Mahomes has done well with that, though. Patrick Mahomes has done very well with that throughout the backfield.
Are they not going to do that? Are they just going to try to keep Patrick Mahomes in the pocket? Because that is when Patrick Mahomes allegedly is not at his best. When he's extending plays, making the Mahomes magic, is when Mahomes is Mahomes.
I'll be interested to see what Vic Fangio tries to do, but you can't overthink it either. You've got to be yourself.
Fascinating game of chess, especially with two weeks to prepare for it. It's like, do we do too much? Do we do our shit? Do we change? Do we not? There's so much going on behind the scenes right now.
That's why whenever we get to the game, it's exciting to watch that first drive. Like, okay, you can tell what they're declaring they're going to be doing, and that's why the first 15 is so important.
Yeah, and you kind of saw it against Jaden Daniels, too. Like, if, you know, Jalen Carter is pushing the pocket crazy and Mahomes does have to escape, like, Nolan Smith runs a 4-3.
So, he can run in space as well. So, it is, I mean, this is a great matchup.
I truly cannot wait for the Super Bowl. I can't believe the thought that you're not going to watch is even out there for some reason.
That's over. I think that kind of passes.
I hope so. Joining us now live from the Senior Bowl is a man who has obviously been in scouting departments in the NFL before.
He's a fantasy football guru for ESPN, friend of the program, ladies and gentlemen, Vanderfield Yates. Yay! Wow! The air? Not bad, right? You look so okay pat let's say can the glasses stay on or no yes you can do whatever the hell you need to do but this is maybe the coolest looking dude that's ever been on our show yeah thank you field geez louise how's the weather how's the weather down there it's cold everywhere it looks like it's okay 70 degrees for the past three days.
It's unbelievable. And you know, listen, I'm a Northeast guy.
I live in Connecticut full time. I haven't had anything other than like a hoodie for three straight months on.
So this is tremendous. I am soaking up every last bit sun before the senior bowl practice is included in a couple hours.
Okay. As you should, we're happy for you.
We'll try to embrace the 70 degree weather via osmosis here. What has been the big thing that has stuck out down there? I know there's been a lot of hours.
Okay, as you should, we're happy for you. We'll try to embrace the 70-degree weather via osmosis

here. What has been the big thing that has stuck

out down there? I know there's been a lot of heat on

Jalen Milrow, maybe not performing

that great. Mike Green there out of

Marshall, obviously. Debo in the Oregon

tackle and one-on-ones has been a story.

Tez Johnson, Oregon wide

receiver, has been stealing some headlines.

What are the storylines of this year's

Senior Bowl, you think, Vanderfield?

Yeah, you're on it right there with a lot of those.

I'd say that one of the cool things for this year is this is the first full year we've had in which juniors were allowed to participate in their Senior Bowls. So I think there's a chance that the top-end talent from this class, by the time it's all said and done in April, ends up being about as good as you've seen from the Senior Bowl.
That really has been one of the big themes this week. But at the top of the board, you mentioned some of the guys that have made their biggest marks.
There's a good crew of pass rushers here this week. Mike Green, you mentioned, who went viral yesterday for de-cleaning Josh Connerly, who, by the way, himself, I think is going to go in the first 15 to 20 picks out of Oregon.
Donovan Azaraku from Boston College, other name, that had such a good first couple of days that he is now no longer at the senior bowl. Kind of guys that are doing exactly what they need to do to prove to NFL teams that the perception of those players coming into the week was accurate.
And I think the quarterbacks are always going to be one of the big storylines. In this second practice, we'll have Jalen Milrow and Jackson Dart, two SEC quarterbacks who go about their business in very different ways.
I think we've kind of seen with Jalen Milrow sort of the peaks and the pits for this player, right? The very good of Jalen Milrow is the guy who had 20 rushing touchdowns last season. I think if he runs during the pre-draft process, it's going to be a sub-4-4-40 time, which that's obviously uncoachable, but as far as his consistency as a passer, that's going to be he has to prove to nfl gms that he can do at a high enough level to be a sustained starter in the league okay so obviously i hate doing this because we have no idea what the projections are going to be but jaylen milro with the ball in his hand special throughout all of his career at alabama when he would decide to tuck it he was the fastest guy on the field he hadness.
He had great vision. Is there any conversations about him potentially taking some reps at different positions, or are we all in on quarterback Jalen Milrow still? Yeah, we're all in on quarterback for Jalen Milrow.
I think these players, you know, they deserve it. I understand why people ask these questions.
It's a natural one to ask, but he might be as fast as any running back that he is on the same field with this afternoon. It's all been quarterback-focused for Jalen.
And, you know, the tricky part about Jalen is that it's not that he is incapable of making specific types of throws. He's not the best rhythm passer yet.
It's just he doesn't do it frequently enough. You know, there was a throw on the first day of practice here that I thought was maybe the best that we saw from any quarterback on the field.
It was a dart to a wide receiver, Jalen Royals from Utah State. And then it was like the next rep, Jalen Milrow has a ball that lands in the dirt at the feet of a wide receiver.
And you're saying to yourself, if you could just do the first half of what we saw at a much more consistent level, there'd be no question that you would be in the first round conversation. He's a really unique player.
I do think that whatever team takes him, hopefully we've learned our lesson from some of these quarterbacks that have come into the NFL young and Jalen is a true junior. So he's a younger prospect that I know that we have guys that come in and make their mark like Jaden Daniels and Bo Nix this past year, but those guys are much more the exception than the rule and development is going to be a massive theme for what jalen milrow's early career looks like special talent and also be loved by his people down there in alabama great personality great leader and we saw the viral video not the one in the dirt of him overshooting somebody by like 15 yards maybe and he said his hand size wasn't as big as maybe they're looking for they're always going to cut you down good luck down there jalen we're pulling for you conman has a question for you field yeah vanderfield down there does there seem to be one position group that's kind of the most stacked when you're just looking at and do you think because of that you know will some of the top players in that position maybe drop a little because of how stacked you know d tackles or tight ends might be this Yeah, I kind of feel like you've got two draft classes jam-packed into one at running back, defensive tackle, and tight end as well.
This running back class is so deep. We know that Ashton Jempsi is going to be the first one taken out of Boise State and deserving, you know, I would say he's maybe a top eight prospect in my book.
I just don't know where he'll go because we know know the NFL values running backs in a different way than how the top 100 of your respective favorite draft analyst board looks. He's terrific, but you've got a bunch of other guys that you might see them fall into the third round just because of supply and demand.
It looked like guys that could start. Trevor Etienne, who finished up his career in Georgia, is about to practice here in just a few minutes.
I thought he's looked excellent the past couple of days. No surprise.
The younger brother of Travis is also a big factor in the passing game, or has been for Jacksonville. Trevor, easy pass-catching skills.
That much is for sure. But we've seen guys that come in all different shapes and sizes, too, like Ollie Gordon from Oklahoma State.
He was a dope-walker finalist in 2023 for the best running back in college football. He had over 1,700 rushing yards two seasons ago.
Wasn't as dominant this year. But I'm just telling you, you walk past the guy, and if you told me he was actually like the starting defensive end for Oklahoma State, I'd buy it.
He is absolutely massive. So how these guys end up falling off the board beyond Ashton Jensen and a couple others, I think they're really going to come down to what exactly is your team prioritizing? Because you've got guys that can catch the ball at a high level.
You've got guys that can run for power. You've got guys that can do a little bit of both.
But this running back class is ridiculously stacked. Can't wait to watch how it all unfolds on draft night.
Obviously, we'll be keeping up with Vanderfield until then. Tone has a question for you, Field.
Yeah, Field, I do. And you talked about the running backs.
I was looking at the tight ends as well I mean Tyler Warren's not there Colston Loveland's not there but I saw Harold Fannin has been dominating the tight end out of Miami Arroyo I believe his name and has been dominating is this one of the best tight end classes in a few years as well it really is Elijah Arroyo six foot four two hundred fifty one pounds the average nearly 17 yards per catch which for a tight end it end is just ridiculous. And you watch him out there athletically.
He had a catch in the end zone today in which he jumped high. I certainly couldn't jump as high as he did, but it looked like he barely efforted to do so.
And just a reminder of how physically gifted he is. And Harold Fannin, this is one of the things that I keep coming back to with Fannin during the pre-trap process is that when you play against Bowling Green, and with due respect to the rest of that roster, everybody knows what the plan is.
It was to throw the football to Harold Fannin last season. So you'd think that a defensive coordinator would say, I don't care if we've got to put three guys on him.
Let somebody else besides him beat us. He had 117 catches last year and over 1,500 yards.
The guy's production every single week look like a Madden box score. So the numbers speak for themselves this past year.
And whenever you see these guys come down here, and this is one of my favorite parts of the Senior Bowl, they're guys from Bowling Green and North Dakota State and Alabama A&M and Marshall sort of stepping up in terms of the competition level. How do they look? And I think Harold Fenton looks like one of the guys.

So that's a good sign for where he will end up as an NFL prospect.

He's had a really solid week this week,

and he catches the crap out of the ball, that much is for sure.

I appreciate the fact that you're judging these prospects

on whether or not they can jump higher than you.

I did not know that was a piece of the entire thing.

Absolutely.

We didn't hear you, though, because the AirPods cut off.

That's on us.

I'm sure it was a great line.

We only have a couple minutes left before the hardout here. How are the kickers and the punters doing? We hitting big balls or no? Oh, yeah, we had it.
So at the end of each practice, these coaches have been doing these call-out competition periods. Well, okay, give me an offensive and defensive lineman.
Give me a running back and a linebacker. See who wins the rep.
The final rep of the practice this morning was not a one-on-one. It was a one-on-everybody else.
The kicker Fitzpatrick from Florida State had to drill a 50-yarder for everybody to avoid push-ups. This thing would have been good from 65, and there was a bit of wind here this morning.
So we've got a couple Australian punters. As you know, those Aussies are all over FCS punting right now, and these guys have been dropping some bombs this week, that's for sure.
Yeah, not as many going into the NFL as there had been in the past. But hopefully, you know, whatever gets in there is the greatest of the great.
We can't thank you enough for making time for us. Enjoy your time down there in Mobile.
All right, guys. Have a great week next week in New Orleans.
Can't wait to watch. Are you going to be down there? I will be.
I'm hoping to get down there late in the week. But I'll come over and I'll crash the set.
You guys have got legitimate A-listers there, but at least come over and watch from the stands. Dan Marino is joining us.
If you show up with those shades, I think you'd get in anywhere. Ladies and gentlemen, Field Yates.
Get the ride. See you, Field.
Love that. Looking back on my time at the Senior Bowl, that would have been cool to have been able to do that.
Yeah. That guy hits that 50-yarder.
That's sweet. Everyone watching.
That's like real pressure, too. That's like a real moment.
He hits a good from 65, good from him. Good for him.
I assume that's only going to boost it. Combine for the specialists, obviously a big deal.
Senior Bowl happening currently. Royal Rumble happening this weekend.
Super Bowl next weekend. Tonight, though, Con Man.
though con man yeah massive pro bowl games i mean this is why we watched we got dodgeball tonight we also have the quarterback challenge tonight i believe there are a few others i'm not sure if the lineman spike it is tonight it is the big spike is tonight i know rag now is going to be doing that there there are a bunch of awesome things. It starts at 7.
It's on ESPN. I believe it goes until about 8.30.
This is just night one. Night two slash day two is on Sunday.
The game itself, the flag game, starts at 3. But, of course, they have the entire, you know, kind of obstacle course.
The great football race, the head-to-head. Madden as well will be awesome.
Tug of War, a classic.

And then Perfect Punt.

That does sound like kind of a cool little...

Punt Perfect.

Oh, excuse me.

Punt Perfect.

Kind of like Dude Perfect, where they're kind of punting into like a beer pong type six cups.

But yeah, some absolute dogs.

Kyle Juszczyk is punting for the NFC, which is kind of sweet.

Marlon Humphrey also both non-punters.

Duh. Logan Cook from Jacksonville and Jack Fox, the actual punters for each AFC and NFC.
I know dodgeball, there are a few places you can actually place bets on for tonight, which is pretty sweet. Yeah, no big deal.
Hey, Drake May, good dodgeball player, right? Yeah, Drake May preseason this year actually drilled a kid right in the beak. He's not on the team.
He's not on the team. want anyone to get hurt and that kind of makes sense and that's why i wouldn't put drake may out there i assume drake may is going to shatter the quarterback uh challenge tonight if i had to guess yeah boom he is uh oh this is for the trivia game i believe the passing the test that It's on trivia.
Jeez. You don't even know what the hell

you're talking about. I saw trivia.
I don't know

why trivia is on there. I believe

trivia bases it. How well

they do in the trivia is how much time the

quarterbacks get in the pass the test.

Johnny Smith's going to be hooking up

Drake May. Yeah, which is great.

Nico Collins' dog is going to be helping

Joe Burrow. Miles Garrett, big brain

helping Russell Wilson. Pittsburgh's dealer

quarterback. And then Josh Jacobs

for golf. Fred Warner for Sam Donald.
Mike Evans

Thank you. Joe Collins' dog is going to be helping Joe Burrow.
Miles Garrett, big brain, helping Russell Wilson, Pittsburgh's dealer quarterback. Yeah.
And then Josh Jacobs for golf, Fred Warner for Sam Donald, Mike Evans for Baker. Tonight should be a spectacle, to say the least.
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Football! It is wonderful. We're so lucky that we get to talk about it every single day.
Tonight, the Pro Bowl games kick off on ESPN at 7 o'clock Eastern. Should be fun to watch the charades and the horseplay of the NFL's best or the NFL uh average that have been voted in the pro bowl because the starters have opted out of these particular things should be fun to celebrate the game and the league that we love cannot wait to see how all of the players perform especially in that big old spike as offensive linemen try to put a football through the earth and then they'll measure the amount of power that they have all starts tonight at 7 p.m eastern time battalion is spiking a ball tonight dexter lawrence is spiking a ball tonight this might be the one quinn and williams yeah is spiking tonight right i mean this might be the one that steals the entire weekend for the Pro Bowl games.

Obviously, that's tonight, 7 o'clock on ESPN.

The Talks at the Table is here at Boston Corner.

Ty Schmidt.

Ty, I know you've been looking forward to this.

The big spike is maybe the thing that's going to save the Pro Bowl games.

I think.

I didn't realize we had a proprietary, you know, spike-o-meter as well.

So, I mean, they're pulling out all the stops for this.

And then, yeah, you mentioned it.

We got Sexy Dexy. We got Frank Ragnow.
What? Chris Lynch. He tore his pack, didn't he? He did.
So he's going to have to be using his left arm, maybe? Maybe he uses both. Oh, maybe it's a double-handed spike.
Yeah, double-handed spike. Maybe it's a major league situation where it's fixed now, and it's so tight that when he spikes, he's going to throw it through the earth.
Oh, rookie of the year. Rookie of the year, that's what I meant.
Yeah, one half of the hammer. Dad.
Cowboys AP tone. That's the first time I've ever been able to correct somebody on a pop culture reference.
I feel pretty good about that. Gardneroser and I had a good summer a couple different ones.
Not as good as his friends had when they were building that boat. Yeah, sure.
But certainly a great, great movie there. You got to hit that floater at the end.
Maybe that's what Ragnow's going to do. Maybe Ragnow's coming in and only needs a two on the spike-o-meter.
He decides to throw it up as high as he can and dunk it in there. Joining us now is a man that we wish we could see on the spike-o-meter.
Break it, probably. Yeah, I don't know how he would handle it, obviously.
I think in the punt perfect, he would do a great job as well. He's a college football national champion, a Super Bowl champion, a Rotter Cup winner.
Ladies and gentlemen, A.J. Hall.
Yeah, Hunter! A.J., the Spikometer tonight, almost like the Spikomatic in the entirety. Are you excited for tonight's 7 p.m.
Pro Bowl games, pal? Yeah, I'm very excited. The first thing I saw, you guys just mentioned Frank Ragnall, the torn pec.
That dude, I hope he doesn't tear that pec again or figure it out. But I don't know if the big spike is going to be my, you know, the number into.
There's a couple others maybe, but yeah, I guess I want to see the technology they invented for this event. Riddle me this, what are you tuning in for then if it's not the big spike, pal? Was there a five-legged race I saw on there? I thought there was three-legged, but was there five? That is Sunday.
The great football race is on Sunday. Can you go back to tonight's, please? Can you put on tonight's events, please? There we go.
You're talking about the relay race. You're talking about the relay race tonight? Yes.
Yes. I want to see these guys run.
Yeah, me too. Especially if they're going to go for it.
They've had these races in the way past. People tried.
Recent memory, some tried. Michael Parsons became the fastest guy because Tyree Kill and many others just didn't even try.

Yeah.

Did they not try because they didn't want to get hurt or because they didn't want to lose?

Oh.

You know, if you don't try and you lose, you could say, I didn't try.

If you try and you lose, then all of a sudden it's, well, yeah, I guess I'm just slower than everybody else.

AFC, Jonathan Taylor, he's going to try.

I bet. He should.
I hope so. I bet he's going to try, if I had to guess.
Everybody is. Yeah.
Happy to see that. Leader in the clubhouse, it seems.
He's the anchor. Anchor? Well, no, he's not.
He's leading them off, but you get it. That's's one name And I can already tell This is probably going to be A laughing stock I can probably already tell They're not going to give a damn A shit about anything in this That's a bummer That I just see that Jared Verse will be cool He's probably going to be moving Yeah Joey Bosa He's certainly going to give Maximum effort Nick Bosa as well Keith Keith Van Bort I'm calling Kyle right now.
Keith is going to bust his ass. Can we FaceTime Kyle Van Nooy, please, just so we can see if yes, please call him so we can see what the effort level is going to be.
Derwin James is not going to lose, I don't think, in anything. Buda Baker is not going to lose in anything.
Turpin? Daryl Hodge? This is Bobby Wagner's first Pro Bowl, right?

So he's going to fucking go all out.

Yeah, he certainly is.

I love it.

I'm a little bit worried about this.

Patrick McCord going is good news.

Yeah.

Because he's going to want to seem to be faster than people could imagine.

Because he's always been probably downplayed on his feet.

Joining us now, ladies and gentlemen, Pro Bowler Kyle Van Nooy.

Kyle.

Kyle.

Keith, what's going on, you guys? Hey, I also got a special guest with me. Fred Warner.
Let's go. Good to see you, Fred.
I think we'll see you next week down in Radio Row. We appreciate you joining us.
Yes, sir. We can't wait to see you.
Yes, sir. I'll see y'all there.
How's the golf game going, boys? How we doing down there? Forget him right now. Forget him right now.
You got him now you got him next week you get me right now okay hey we're talking about this relay race thing that's happening tonight what's the effort what's the effort level going to be on this Kyle hey you see how they paired me and Bobby Wagner up against each other that's the type of effort we're getting how has it been down there how you see me and Bobby the old the older states the elder statesmen of the group, they paired us up against each other. You know what type of effort I'm giving you.
I'm giving you that championship effort, that first-class effort of just making it to the finish line. That's the type of effort.
Okay, let's not pull anything. Obviously, we are old as shit now after a very, very long season.
How has it been down there chit-chatting with everybody, catching up with all the pro bowlers? Honestly, it was dope. I had a great conversation with Mike Evans last night.
Shout out to the 2014 draft class. That's the homie.
We had a good conversation. It was awesome.
It was awesome to let him know how I felt about when he earned his money at the end of the year I felt like I earned money for like with him you know that's the type of love that the 2014 class have for each other and it was just awesome to catch up with him meet his family proud of Johnnie Smith former teammate that ended up getting into the Pro Bowl broke records this year, so the vibes are high right now. Elite time so far.
Yeah, that is, the Pro Bowl has always had that. Now, the product on the field in the Pro Bowl games certainly can get called into question, but the behind the scenes, everybody mingling is always great.
Go ahead, AJ. You ever think of throwing some suggestions out there, possibly for the relay race tonight? Maybe you guys have to start.
You get a bat and you spin around the bat five or six times. We watch you guys stumble around and try to figure this thing out.
Louisville chugger. Yeah, I think it would be good to mix it in there.
Maybe throw in a couple other random things like that. I like that.
The spin around, I like See, let's see who's got balance, who's got effort and energy after you get dizzy. I like that.
What do you guys, are you guys going to give a lot of fake energy? NMI! A lot of that tonight, are we doing a lot of NMI? Hey, you know me. You're going to be hyping everybody up.
You're going to be hyping everybody up. Hey, I love that work, young gun.
I love it. I love it.
I need more, though. I need more.
Are you going to let Patrick Queen, are you going to let Fred Warner beat you? You know, you got to play the mind game. Yeah, talk a little shit.
I appreciate that. Speaking of talking shit, you guys took Chuck Pagano from us.
Congratulations. Do you know him? Aside from talking to him on the program, he's the man.
Hey, honestly, I tweeted at you guys guys the other day you guys are four for four with getting people jobs getting people paid we appreciate that i appreciate that well we're lucky to do it we're honestly happy to have him you know he's obviously harbaugh's guy but getting to know him a little bit outside of um outside of football just the man he is he's first class and to have him in the building just adds that that juice he's got that old school juice you know yes that you need to have in a building and I think that's something that the Ravens are missing besides Harbaugh you know on the staff we have the young guys they brought Dean Pease in as consultant and now you brought in chuck pagano i mean the sky's the limit for that group leading with um nate wiggins now and kyle hamilton who's an avatar who's behind us he's playing golf too i i would they're too far but um just a great group of guys in this in the secondary and we are excited we. We're excited to get them in the building.
Bring that old juice energy up in there. Have you thought about the Super Bowl much? What are your thoughts? Yeah.
Alright. Hey, enjoy your day.
We appreciate the hell out of you, Pro Bowler. Ladies and gentlemen, Cal Van Noor.
Yeah, Cal. So he basically just said him and Bobby, we're going to do it.
We're going to finish. We're going to finish the race.
We are going to get to the end. You know, they did that obstacle course a couple of years back.
And Miles Garrett like broke his foot or something. Yeah, exactly.
Because he's given actual effort. And it's like we're so close to almost getting effort.
And then a guy gets hurt and everybody goes, see, that's why. And agents are are calling going see now his offseason the room you know what his offseason is now rehab for a broken foot for what was it getting a sack in the playoffs was it maybe during the season did he hit an escalator get paid more money no it was at the pro bowl jumping over a tire so let's make sure we're not doing that and that's kind of a part of the problem of it all aj that is the problem the more uh yeah there's just so much money on the line and so like the teams i can imagine if you're a coach and you see one of your players out there giving maximum effort okay i'm i'm very glad that you are the standard is the standard but you need to figure you play for whatever team we're on you don't play for them yeah and uh there will be a couple people that get like uber competitive and can't help themselves normally it's the younger guys you know it is like the younger guys that like feel like they're untouchable and they're you know invincible and everything like that but just like the thought of tonight being awesome feels like a little bit of a pipe dream but expectations expectations you got to manage them yeah let's vibes.
Awesome moments. We're going to see a lot of superstars.
There's going to be moments that are going to come from it. And let's try and enjoy it that way as opposed to thinking like, yeah, this is going to be high-level competition in all these things.
Well, like dodgeball is consistently fun. Like that will be a kind of a sweet event no matter what happens because it does get heated and they take it very seriously and then of course too like the quarterback challenge is awesome i wish that they did put like an orlovsky or just a regular average joe out there to show you how difficult these throws are just because they don't look that hard because the moving targets and all that type of stuff but i think there's a lot to look forward to this the big spike i Ty kind of hit it.
It really might steal the show. If they spike the shit out of this ball and they have some sort of measurement for pounds of how much pressure they have, it'd be awesome.
Let's just hope to God that nobody gets hurt doing the spike-a-meter. Can you imagine if Ragnow re-tears his back? Never going to happen again.
Beat Mike. It'll never happen again.
And with Ragnall, with the way he competes, he might see somebody get 700 megameters on the spike-o-meter or whatever. Here's the spike-o-meter down there at Pro Bowl.
They're already practicing with it. This is from two years ago.
That's top 80. 10-83.
Russell Wilson gets a 13-60.

Tyron Matthew, 13-35. This is going to be sick, dude.

Yeah.

What if someone bounces one back up off their nose and breaks their nose

and it bleeds all over?

There's a chance.

I guess that's why they got the net around there.

To be clear, you go to your local state fair,

there's a much better setup with the ax in this particular thing. Yeah, it's a spike-o-meter, though.
What do you think, Ty? You thinking the same thing? You still thinking that, Ty? I think this is a proprietary item, so I think they've probably reworked it a little bit. I would still think that the spike-o-meter is going to steal the show.
I think this was kind of just like the... Let's see.
Let's see what the spike-o-meter... This was two years ago.
Look at this. Look at all these guys lining up.
These guys are waiting 40 minutes to get in on the spike of meter. Yeah, there is a line out the door, they said.
Just a prototype. Jaquem Jordan got a 9.07.
Okay. Whoa.
Patrick Mahomes, 13.86. That's good enough for third place.
Jaquem Grant Sr.? Is that who that is? Wow. That was a good spike.
Tyreek. That was a good spike, yeah.
He's been in the end zone. Shaq Barrett really brought the hammer down.
I think he missed it. It better not be like this.
What do you mean? It better not be like this. What do you mean? If this is what it is, this sucks.
This cannot happen. No way it's going to be this.
Get out of this tournament. We need this ball to Scott.
The big thing about a spike is the after. Yes.
Oh, well, that makes sense, actually.

Come on.

I'm a little worried about spike.

No, no, no.

Don't let this.

This is a prototype.

It doesn't look like this.

It's going to be cooler.

This could be a two-minute segment.

This could be an hour and a half.

This could be a two-minute segment.

Is that Shaq Leonard?

Yeah, this is Shaq Leonard.

Maniac.

Let's see what he does.

Go for it.

Oh.

Oh.

Yeah.

That's what I'm talking about, Shaq.

He's got that punch, too.

You know, he's punching balls out, so he's got an explosion.

He won the spike-o-meter.

He did.

By a landslide.

Yeah, by a lot.

Are you kidding me?

So is it still the same decibels in measurement?

What is that, 2001 spike-o-meters?

Yeah, yeah.

2,091 pounds of pressure on the spike-o-meter.

Bingo.

So it's like the equivalent of dropping a ton from the sky onto the ground. I go back to that Bargetsy thing.
A ton, 2,000 pounds. What's 1,000 pounds? Half ton.
Okay. None of it makes a lot of sense.
Imagine somebody that doesn't watch football. Happens to be in America.
Sure. Happens upon ESPN tonight.
Hey, we've got all stars, mate. These are the best in the world.
Spike O'Meara. What are they doing? 2091 on Spike O'Meara.
What does that mean? That has to be visually a lot better. Have you seen it? I'll be honest.
I don't remember that from last night. I thought it was a new event.
Me too. It is a new event.
That was just like a, hey, we're trying something.

It has to be.

Two years of work since then.

That was a social clip.

It is a brand new event.

There's going to be something.

So much fireworks.

So much cooler.

They might have glaze in a dunk tank.

J-Glazer?

Yeah.

If you get 2,500 spike-o-meters.

Exactly.

There's definitely smoke happening.

It drops them in there.

Like once they hit the spike.

Like when you guys hit the anvil. Yeah, there needs to be.
Yeah, but that ball needs to. There might be pyro.
There might be pyro out there. We don't know.
Fireworks? I'm a little worried about spike-o-meters. Think about the sound effect.
We shouldn't have watched it. We shouldn't have.
Yeah, because that was a prototype. It's like we're looking at a BlackBerry thinking that it's going to be an iPhone.
Oh, that was the pilot episode. Exactly.
BlackBerry Pearls. You don't know how good that was when they had their little rolly ball.
Actually, I am well-versed in the BlackBerrys. I do know how sweet it is.
Really? Oh, yeah. You're a little bit too young, I think, for the BlackBerry.
No, no, I'm not. Brickbreaker? Come on.
My Paul had one, so I messed around on there from time to time. Let's talk about some changes the NFL made this year.
The kickoff. Remember the new dynamic hybrid kickoff.
New kickoff rule stats are coming out now in the season. 57% increase in returns.
Average starting field position improved by several yards. The more touchdowns, more returns past the 40-yard line, and a lower injury rate.
Overall, positive sign. And if you look at the championship games, it felt like every kickoff was returned.
Now, I don't know what's going to happen in the Super Bowl. Buckner has a massive leg.
He's able to put the ball out if he wants to. Jake Elliott as well.
It should be warm weather. Obviously, perfect climate down there in New Orleans.
So maybe it'll just be touchback, touchback, touchback. But in the championship games, when weather wasn't perfect, everybody was kind of forced to return.
Made the the game much more exciting I enjoyed that it ended up working out because we had a lot of questions going into the season AJ yeah I mean I think this is exactly what they wanted right they say it's a lower injury rate and we have 57 percent increase in returns I mean I think I guess as the season goes we've seen more and more return right early on we're seeing a bunch of touchbacks that just due to weather weather i think it's weather and also kickers legs getting maybe tired you know because there was even some teams that were really focusing on this they were bringing it out from like one too deep you know if it was going four or five deep i think it was a guaranteed touchback but some teams were bringing it out from too deep some kickers weren't able to get it any deeper than that later in the season because their legs were tired and then weather obviously has a massive implication a couple snow globe games ball's not going into the end zone guys are being forced to return it strategy was on display i think if you're a riz and the special teams coordinators that came together and put this together you're celebrating massive success in keeping the kickoff and actual play for the sport yeah i agree it was awesome this year and you know hopefully they make that one little change that we talked about in the beginning of the year that would make a huge difference on on if they bring it out or not uh but nico remigio chiefs punt return or kick return he brought one out from like eight deep this weekend so and that's tobe uh who prides himself on having a great special teams unit as does philadelphia any teams have depth and are good are normally be good at special teams coach riz the interim head coach of the Saints. Going into the year, the only thing anybody knew him for is being the guy who kind of pieced together this new dynamic kickoff, taking some stuff from the XFL, adding some stuff from special teams practices, which is where this all began, so he could save guys' legs, and then inevitably we get something that adds more exciting plays.
Congrats to everybody. Not an easy decision to do something like that, especially with how stupid it looked at the beginning of the year.
Yeah, and it wasn't a kickoff, but, I mean, if you even just think about the last time the Eagles and the Chiefs played in the Super Bowl, that Kadarius-Tony punt return, it kind of swung the entire game. That kind of got the Chiefs back into the football game.
AJ, we thought it had no chance. We thought the kickoff was going to be over.
We thought it was going to be a fourth and 25 or whatever on the other 25 to kind of start drives. Now it feels like the kickoff's at least going to stay for a while.
I remember beginning of the year, to your point, we weren't seeing many kickoffs return and everything just looked stupid. And we thought, wow, they're going to have to do something drastically different or they're going to get rid of it.
Instead, now we're looking back at the stats. We're saving football, baby.
We're saving kickoffs. I love it.
Congrats to all parties. Yeah, I mean, I can't say I love it.
I don't love it visually. I still think it's kind of awkward and weird, but I do love the fact that the kickoff feels like it's here to stay.
I felt like going into this season, they're like, well, I don't know. Kickoff feels like it's on its last leg, like they're ready to get rid of this thing.
And so they were just waiting. It felt like they were waiting for reasons to almost get rid of it.
So now I think this does a lot. It does to quiet the noise, too, about player health and all that stuff.
It gives another checkmark in their box, you know, of the league. Like, hey, we're taking care of these guys.
33-yard extra point looks stupid for a long time. Yeah.
You know? Now it just kind of looks normal. You're right.
You get used to it. You do get used.
It is surprising how fast you can get used to something. Yeah, humans are, by nature, you, like, for instance, with music, you hear a song one time, it's like, nah.
And then whenever they force that song down your throat 50, 60 times, it's like, kind of a bop. It's awesome.
Kind of a bop. And I think, you know, a couple seasons into this, people will be a little bit more used to the awkwardness of the setup i think players will get used to it i think coaches will get more used to it i think there'll be more strategy that'll come about it and if it continues to go the way it's going with these numbers i think the nfl is going to be excited to have the electricity of returns remain in the game now they just got to change it so you don't have to declare if there's an onside kick before you kick it.
I don't know how you do that.

How do you do that?

Just don't make them do it.

Yeah, but you got the rest of the team 30 yards away.

Yeah.

I think the kicker sprints down with the ball to where everyone else is lined up.

Sprints down, sets it up.

It goes, ah!

Onside!

Yeah, yeah.

Onside. Yeah, I guess you can't do it anymore.

Yeah, legitimately, I don't know how you wouldn't.

Land it inside.

Is college going to keep it? Is college keeping the real kickoff? Because you go to watch college. They do the old school.
Yeah, but they do fair catching. Yeah.
A lot. Yeah.
Which. I would imagine dudes are still knocking themselves out in college kickoffs.
I don't love the fair catch on kickoffs. No.
I don't love that. I don't.
They need to get rid of that. They need to.
They need to. Just for the good of sport.
Sure. People can't be watching that.
And especially for the good of the players that are out there. You know, like you got some really good players.
There's guys 30 yards away and they're giving themselves up. It's like you look soft.
You look like you're not an actual football player. That's an embarrassment.
If your special teams coach can't draw up something where you catch a kickoff at

the 10-yard line and you can't get

to the 25 or the 30, maybe you need to

fire your special teams coordinator. Maybe

you need to go back to the drawing board.

As opposed to the fair, I don't like it at all.

I think it is an embarrassment for football.

The fair catch on kickoffs. Definitely

it does suck, but because they

still have the element of surprise onside

kicks, would you keep the fair catch so that they can keep surprise onside kicks? Yes. Yes.
I mean, I guess we would do that. But also, surprise onside kicks started dwindling away, too, at the end of this whole thing.
Successive onside kicks started dwindling away. There's actually more successful onside kicks this year than I think any of us could have expected.
Remember, there was a couple times when those got happened, and I think it's because kickers started working on it, but also maybe because they're not working on it defensively as much. You're not having as many hands team reps.
You're not doing as much because your kickoff team is all the way down there. It's a very small chance you're going to have to take on an onside kick, so then you don't really rep it or practice it as much.
But, yeah, it's impossible to not have to declare because where everybody's standing. Well, in college, too, with some of these really good teams who are super deep, you would think, like, hey, that's really the only way some of these four- or five-star underclassmen are getting on the field at all.
So, like, is that the only way you want to see what you got from them? It's just like, hey, go stand out there. We're going to fair catch it.
So I just want to make sure you're going through the motion. Some of the Ohio State...

They had a book out there. That's what I'm saying.

He's a great player. You got him

acting like he's scared to return a catch.

What are we doing? What are we doing?

Makes no sense. Ryan Day's doing a little

media tour. How come he hasn't stopped by our show, AJ?

What's that all about? I don't know.

It's a good question. We should reach out.

Is he scared to coach the ball?

No, I saw he's on Kelly Clarkson.

He did her show.

He was on Fallon.

Was she sitting awkwardly close to him?

Jimmy Fallon, Kelly Clarkson.

I don't know if she was or not.

Did he do the Jennifer Hudson?

I don't know if he did that show.

Did Dan Orlowski dance down the hall?

Yeah, I hope he did.

I hope he did that.

I don't think he did that.

Did he do that show?

How weird would that be?

He's like, hey, I'm not dancing down the hall, though. I'll come on, but I'm not doing'm not doing that you have to yeah you don't have a choice that's the happy place that'd be awesome that'd be sweet if he just walked super fast straight past the camera though head down yeah santina morella speed walk at the very end at very end he hits the worm as he gets through the line right into the studio ladies and gentlemen we have a living legend in the Thunderdome traveling to

the great city of Indianapolis Indiana for the Royal Rumble we have royalty

ladies and gentlemen the. Nice.
Stephanie McMahon. How you doing? How you doing? How are you? Good to see you.
Thanks for having me. Our pleasure.
No, no, no. We're lucky.
Yeah, thank you. We are lucky, Dan.
Great boots. You see these boots? Oh, yeah.
Love them. Yeah.
Holy shit. Yeah, those are badass boots.
Those ain't shit, Edgar. Those are badass boots right there.
Now, which one is Dan? Dan? There's a sign about Dan farting outside your head. Yeah, that's Dan Orlovsky.
Yeah, he's actually from Connecticut. Oh, hey.
Yeah, the great state of Connecticut. He's on TV all the time on ESPN.
Thank you for making the trip. Thank you for coming on the show.
Thank you so much for having me. Okay, Royal Rumble weekend.
We were trying to describe it earlier. I think Royal Rumble is something that encompasses all wrestling fans, all entertainment fans, because literally anybody can show up.
Obviously, with Paul, Mr. H, Mr.
Levesque in charge of all the creative, what should we be expecting this weekend? And what are your favorite things about the Royal Rumble? Oh, well, you're asking me standard fare here, Pat. You know, yes, the Royal Rumble kicks off the road to WrestleMania.
So as you know, the winner of the men's Royal Rumble match and the winner of the women's Royal Rumble match, they go on to choose the championship that they'd like to compete for at WrestleMania, which of course is the granddaddy of them all. The show of shows.
I mean, that is the spectacle, you know, and that all starts with the Royal Rumble. So I think, you know, John Cena competing in his last Royal Rumble ever is going to be really meaningful.
I'm looking forward to Charlotte Flair's return to the ring. It's been way too long.
Lots of surprises that I don't even know about. And if I did, I wouldn't be allowed to say.
No, yeah, you should. Yeah, but I don't know.
I mean, I know some things, but not all things. I was certainly surprised yesterday at the office when Triple H was announced that he was going into the Hall of Fame.
Congratulations, Mr. Rage.
Yes, by Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker, who were so happy that they were able to pull one over on him. And they got me too.
I had absolutely no idea. It was so incredible.
Magical time for the WWE right now. Yes, it is.
It is. Saw you at the Intuit Dome for the Netflix premiere.
Yes. Big pop for Steph whenever she got put up on it.
Hell yeah. Massive pop for Stephanie McMahon.
How proud of you are you of the WWE right now, of Mr. H, and of everything happening with the business? I couldn't be more proud, and I put out a tweet or a post on X, you know, that morning because I was just so overwhelmed.
I saw the spot, and it just, it made me cry. I mean, I was just so proud proud I was in tears to think about WWE I mean when my parents first started trying to promote WWE we actually had to buy time to get on the air and you think about how it's progressed and then how we've been on cable and broadcast and then ultimately launched the first one of the first you know DTC services one of the first streaming platforms.
It was platforms. It was Hulu, Netflix, and WWE Network.
There may have been a couple other ones, but that's how it was big. And then we were one of the first to sell, to sell our content then to Peacock.
And then now to be on Netflix. I mean, we're the first regularly scheduled live program on Netflix.
I mean, that's incredible. A lot of pressure.
A lot of pressure. I told Paul, though, I said, hey, listen, as somebody who is regularly scheduled as live and has relationships with WWE and the NFL, which Netflix has invested billions into both, let's get it right, Paul.
Well, so far, so far, I think he is. And it's so funny because I am so proud, but whenever I talk to him and I say how proud I am of him, he always talks about everybody else.
Yes. Because it's about the team.
It's about everyone who brings it together. It's you too, Pat.
I mean, every Monday night, you know, and then Netflix is going to have the Royal Rumble internationally. So for the first time ever, in almost every country internationally, Royal Rumble will be streaming on one platform.
And then of course, domestically it's Peacock. Okay.
So let's talk about, you talked about the history of paying time to get it on the air and then all the evolution and the growth of the WWE. Let's talk about you.
Yeah. You've grown up in front of all of our eyes.
I've been a WWF, WWE fan My entire life And now I'm an old lady No! Younger than ever Younger than ever 28 is not old Awesome mom, awesome mom Badass business, everything that you Philanthropist, everything you've been a part of But growing up in the spotlight I assume is a bit absurd, whenever it involves the wrestling business do you stop and think about that ever do you get a chance to get away have you reset it all what is it like to be Stephanie McMahon so one of the things that I learned when I stepped away is that I'll never get away from WWE ever it is a part of who I am it is um what I love you, I really did grow up in this business. So it was not

unusual to have shoots done at our house. I was in the first ever Saturday night's main event.

I went trick or treating at Roddy Piper's house, which was actually our house. And he was putting

candy, you know, bowling balls, breaking our candy bags. I mean, you know, he was a heel at the time.

And I was on that episode with Chip from Kate and Allie. Like mean, you know, he was a heel at the time.
And I was on that

episode with Chip from Kate and Allie. Like, it was just random, right? I did modeling for, you know, the catalog and I didn't get paid.
We didn't have child models at the time, you know, it's like all of the employees, kids, we were just dressed up. And, you know, I've just, I've lived this amazing life with so many opportunities to meet incredible people and be a part of something that's so special that connects people all over the world.
And I feel it everywhere I go and every arena I go to is something that is just so special. Big pops for Steph everywhere she goes.
You know, it's not like that forever. That's not necessarily true.
That is true. Oh is true.
That is absolutely true. And a lot of people, you just talked about stepping away.
A lot of people thought you wanted to get away from it all, you know, and it had been your entire life. Was there a moment where you wanted to get away and then you realized that, like, you're proud, actually, of everything that happened? I never stopped being proud, ever.
I do think I wanted to disappear for a little while. and i kind of did you know and um and it was good for me i needed it and uh and now i'm back yeah well it's great to have you back uh con man has a question for you yes yeah steph as far as like the evolution of the superstars so you kind of just mentioned you know way back with rowdy rowdy piper and everything like that and now the things they're doing in the ring are insane do you feel like the athleticism is at an all-time high and can it even go further just because at some point that is there like a stop to it yeah like a too much factor like we're talking about kevin owens going off like eight ladders uh on saturday night like can that continue to kind of climb and reset the bar well you, I don't want our talent to ever put themselves in danger.
You know, of course there's a risk to what we do. But I think the athleticism has evolved in all sports.
You know, it's not just WWE. When you watch football now, when you watch every different sport, I mean, you see these athletes taking it to another level.
When you watch high school athletes now perform, it's at another level. I think it's just the evolution of human beings, and we're going to continue to see that.
And yes, I think the athleticism will continue to wow and amaze everybody watching in WWE. How do you feel about the company's ability to create new superstars? Because there's other wrestling promotions, obviously, that have existed throughout time.
I'm not just talking about currently. I'm talking about through time.
And the ability to create superstars is something that is very hard for a lot of people to do. WWF, WWE have always been able to do that.
Now, obviously, with the Performance Center and with NXT and everything that's been invested in that, how do you feel about the ability to create superstars? And why do you think that that is something that this company, your company has been able to do for so long? Gosh, I think it's because it all starts with the superstar. It all starts with that talent and that character, because you have to have a reason to care, right? You have to have a reason to care to see, to watch them in the ring, to want to see them win, to want to boo, to see them lose.
You have to care about the character. It's not enough to just have in-ring action.
So I think that's something that WWE knows better than anybody. And it's a process.
It's working with the talent. It's finding out who they are.
It's the vision for the character. It's giving it a try.
At NXT, you'll see multiple different personas sometimes come through and it's the same person. It's because you're trying different things and seeing how the audience is going to react.
And ultimately, it's the audience that chooses what's going to work or what isn't going to work. I think Stone Cold Steve Austin's told plenty of stories about that.
Yeah, Stunning Steve was certainly a beautiful thing. Or the ringmaster.
Yeah, or the ringmaster back in the day was glorious. You're one of the best heels of all time.
Oh. Did you enjoy that? Love being a heel.
Yeah. But thank you.
Yes, I hate being a baby face. It's the worst.
Yeah. The worst.
Love being a heel. Prefer to be booed.
Yeah. Much, much more preferred.
Whole life? You felt that way? Oh, yeah. Even when I was growing up growing up like i i always loved the heels you know i i didn't like cheering for hogan it just wasn't well but he was the most over ever but i i just like yeah i didn't i wasn't on the bandwagon when did the smack come into the slap so it was when i became you know a character and obviously when I became a heel.

And I don't know what my first slap was, but I remember the advice that I was told because all the boys were like, you got to lay it in stuff.

Oh, yeah.

They said, you got to lay it in.

It's got to look good and make sure you don't pop anybody's eardrum.

You got to hit them in a particular spot, but hit them hard.

So that's how the slap kind of started. You lay it in there it in there.
Yeah, it was like Foley, I think. Jericho, I got.
I remember one time DX was holding Jericho. I forget the storyline, but I was going over to slap Chris, and he like winced.
All the guys thought it was so funny, and they made me wait and let him win. And then they had me slap him.
It was really funny. How are your relationships with, I don't want to say ex-talent, but OGs of the WWF? Because obviously, there is situations that happen with superstars.
I think it happens in any business. Definitely in a business where there's a lot of egos, only a certain amount of spots, a lot of travel, a lot of exhaustions, and a lot of physicality, where people kind of get on the outs with the family, shall we say.
Now, in the family, the WWF, the WWE, how have you been able to maintain relationships with people that have been through the WWE? And does it always feel like a reunion every time people come back home? And do you feel a big part of that whenever people come back? So to answer in reverse order, I don't necessarily feel a big part of it if I wasn't. It is always a big reunion when somebody comes back.
And I try to keep good relationships with everybody. If there is a falling out or some particular negative aspect, that's not what I choose to focus on.

And if someone needs to get over whatever that is,

and then that's their purview.

It feels like the business,

everybody takes a break,

not everybody,

Michael Cole has been doing this for 28 years straight.

Isn't that insane?

Yeah, I know.

I love Michael Cole.

Me too.

What a mania.

I slapped the crap out of Michael Cole.

You should do that again.

Yeah, amen.

You should do that again. Ask him Amen.
You should do that again.

Ask him about that. Let's get one of those.

Let's get one of those at the Rumble.

Ty has a question for you, Steph. Yeah, Steph, you mentioned stepping away and how that was

great for you, but once you

kind of go out there and you get that

pop and people are booing you and

we've talked to so many superstars

who say how intoxicating that is and

the adrenaline you get from that. Do you ever miss that aspect of it and wish, like, oh, man, I wish I was still doing this on a consistent basis, going out there every single night and getting booed and kind of feeling that rush from a live crowd? It's a great question.
And I think there was a period of time that I have felt that way. I think there's various periods of time where I felt that way.
But honestly, after I wrestled Ronda and Kurt at WrestleMania, it, for some reason, didn't become my driving force. Like it, it, it was so amazing that match and what we were able to, to the story we were able to tell, what we were able to accomplish that me being the only non-athlete, you know, it was a tall order for me.
And ever since then, I haven't had that craving. Honestly, it's more, how are they going to react? It's not like, oh, I'm craving them to do this or that.
It's more like, oh, are they going to react at all when I come out? Because I've really only been out at WrestleMania, you know, opening the second night of WrestleMania, and then I've been in the crowd. So it's not like I've really been out in front of everybody.
Great promo at Mania! Great promo at Mania! Well, I got to usher in the Triple H era, the Paul Levesque era. I mean, it was such a cool moment for me to be able to do that.
How is that? Watching him all these different phases because that i was just a fan so i've only followed along i've never asked him or you i believe it was just a bit for a show that you guys were maybe concocting to happen then you come fall in love oh oh that yeah mr h so and then now there's been so many different iterations of you, so many different iterations of him, so many different iterations of the business, kind of watching it all grow. How do you feel about the current state of Mr.
H and you guys as a family? Because he's more busy now maybe than ever? Yeah, he's busier now than ever, but he's happier than ever. You know, he's working so hard, but it's something he actually just talked about at the town hall to to all of our employees i say hour i know it's not hour anymore but to the wwe employees yeah please i can't get the hour out of out of my lexicon but he um you shouldn't but he talked about the fun you know and how everybody is having as hard as they work they're having that much how important that is.
I mean, I think you guys know that better than anybody, right? You can put in all the hours, you can grind away, but if you're having fun, you know, that's, that's where the money is. And then if you're having fun, if our talent are having fun, then the audience is having fun.
Yeah. And it radiates to the screen.
It does. You feel it.
Yeah. And you got to find people that love the business.
Like for football, for instance, we talk about all these NFL teams trying to find guys that love ball. Like I feel like in the wrestling business, you find out quickly who loves the business, right? Don't you think? You do.
I think so, yeah. Yeah, because if not, you're not going to make it.
And some people, though, come from different walks of life, but they fall in love with it. You know, and that's where the passion resides.
It's like you don't have to have been a fan your whole life. But yeah, if you're a fan, it makes a huge difference.
I think you guys have the most loyal and passionate fans out of any business? I would say that. I mean, I'm sure other leagues, sports leagues would say differently, but I believe that wholeheartedly.
There's about to be, what, 65,000 plus? Maybe 70,000. Maybe 70,000 here at Royal Rumble.
Biggest biggest Royal Rumble attended event happening here but I think also because our fans are such a part of our journey they are the reason for our success and they are part of making it so successful so even this move to Netflix it's like that's what I put in my post because it's everybody who's ever been a part of WWE or loved it in some capacity that has gotten us to this place. And our fans know that.
They're a part of it. And I think that's kind of what makes it different.
Yeah, you just said our fans again. I know, I told you, I can't get out.
You should keep doing that. It's very natural and everybody understands it.
The fans are a character. Yes, absolutely.
And I don't think that's necessarily something in all sports or any other entertainment business. It's like the fans matter more in wrestling than any other place.
It's a beautiful thing. I was lucky to be a part of the WWE Universe.
Now I get a chance to say dumb things into a microphone in your business. AJ has a question for you.
Steph, he's in Ohio. Yeah, Stephanie, someone that I've been a big fan of for a long time and an absolute great company man for you guys, The Miz.
Now, are we seeing, we hear The Miz talk a lot of times. He feels like if he's not forward-facing in some of the posters or some of the promo, he may get a bit excited.
Are we expecting to see a nice, like a push for The Miz here over the next couple years? You never know what's going to happen with The Miz. He's very surprising.
Comes out of nowhere. How do you feel about the amount of content, amount of superstars, and trying to keep everybody happy that your business has to do? I don't think it's possible to keep everybody happy, you know, ever in any capacity.
They're always going to have some people who are happy, some people who aren't. But I think the amount of content that is being produced is at a record level.
But again, we have such an incredibly talented team. Our production team being by lee fitting we have you know of course all of the talent you know everybody's willing to shoot content everybody wants to shoot content and we have more programs and shows now than we ever have before and trailblaze everywhere speed yeah x was the first one that showed up on it it's like everything you guys are doing is like trailblazing not Not everything's a home run.
It can't be. I think everybody would agree with that, but you guys step into the batter's box more than anybody, which I think is why I love your guys' business so much.
And also, you know, with how, I don't say old the businesses, but with how long the business has been around. Okay.
So do you know that really, if you position the business, right, and this is something I used to do at all these business conferences when I would talk to the audiences, really it goes all the way back to the days of the Roman Coliseum. And then I say, thank God, you know, we evolved from, you know, with the outcome.
Kill. We evolved to scripting the outcome and that was a good thing.
Yeah, smart idea. But, you know, really it does go all the way back.
You know, it it's the oldest form of entertainment i think you know hand-to-hand man-to-man kind of combat goes along with being a human being and it's a part of survival right and then it evolves over time abraham lincoln honest day was a professional wrestler some historians refute that and some absolutely support it and when when you think about his style and his promo, if you will, he always talked about people. He told stories.
And that is what WWE does better than anybody. And that's what this business does.
You tell stories. Standing at 6'6", wearing a top hat, making him 7'1", out ofinois honest abe lincoln that's good billing for him but without at the carnivals which is where this whole thing kind of starts you know people talk about carny and everything like that and kayfabe and everything like that the language is a carny language and the history of it everybody you know you would think with how big the business has got billions dollar deals billion dollar deals it's still family-run business always will be there's only a few people that are making decisions in there obviously your family has been a part of that for as long as any of us can remember it how has it been to not like take it personal all the pop shots or all the the shots that have been taken at you your family everything do you try Do you try to stay above it? Do you try to stay away from it? Do you try not to see it? How do you kind of engage in all that type of stuff? So it's been my whole life.
And when I was in high school was when my dad was indicted by the federal government. And the media came after my family in a really big and really hard way to deal with when we were in high school.
And I think at that time I was filled with a lot of anger and resentment. And I had a hard time, you know, navigating all of that.
And I think, you know, now in my later years when all of it seems to happen again, it's with a little bit of reverence that I can appreciate all of it because it's just noise. People have opinions no matter what, and that's great.
And you can think you know exactly what's going on. You can give whatever dirt you think you know, but at the end of the day, I know where I stand and that's how I have to just be grounded and rooted in who I am and what I believe in and try to ignore the noise.
Yeah, and I think that's why people view you the way they do, even if they view your dad or your family differently. I think that's why everybody appreciates the hell out of you.
That's why there's big pops every time Steph comes out. We have a graphic here, the Queen of Queens, co-founder of Conor's Cure.
Like the amount of stuff you've given back to the world to make the society better. I think you felt an onus to do and you have certainly managed to do and helped to do.
Why is that such a big part of what you think the WWE is all about? Because it's all about our fans and it is all about giving back. I mean, that's been a part of the ethos of WWE from the very beginning.
We were one of the first partners of Make-A-Wish Foundation, you know, over 30 years ago. And our talent were the most requested wishes, you know, out of anybody.
And that's really how the relationship started. And it's like, of course, yes, of course,

bring this child. Yes, we want to make this wish come true.
What more can we do? And that then

evolved into Special Olympics and that evolved into a lot of other partnerships that we have

that are all about giving back. Connor's Cure was founded because of a little boy named Connor

Mahalik, who was impossible not to fall in love with and he was i met him at the royal rumble it was after the show and he was standing there he was wearing a shirt that was like dragging on the ground and and justin roberts one of our referees introduced me to him and he was telling me all about his t-shirts and how seamus had just given him this one that was dragging on the floor and that he underneath that he had a Daniel Bryan t-shirt on because Daniel Bryan was his t-shirt and under that he had a Skylanders t-shirt on and I was like buddy he was just you could tell he was sick because he had a scar running up the back of his head and he had a little lump on his head and he you know you could tell he was sick but you'd never know it from his personality I asked him for a hug? And he said, no. And I said, why not? And he, you know, you could tell he was sick, but you'd never know it from his personality.
I asked him for a hug and he said no.

And I said, why not?

And he goes, because I give choke out hugs.

And I was like, try me, buddy.

And it was the best little hug.

And when I stood up, that's when his dad told me, he said, you know, you guys aren't supposed to be back in Pittsburgh until the summer.

And this was Royal Rumble. And he said, and doctors say that that connor's not going to make it yeah and um and i i just couldn't get over that and when i said goodbye to connor i gave him a little kiss on his cheek and i'll never forget how soft his cheek was and then he turned around and he looked at me.
And I know this sounds crazy, but I swear our souls touched. And I made an unspoken promise in that moment.
And went on the bus that night because we were on the tour bus. And Paul and I were talking about what we could do.
And we invited him to WrestleMania. And we were thinking, give him something to hang on for.
And it worked because hope is really important and hope really does matter. And his dad said that at WrestleMania, it turns out the doctors told him not to travel.
And they said, this will be a disaster. Don't travel.
His dad did it anyway. And he said it was like he had his little boy back.
He could tie his shoes. He could feed himself.
He could do all these things. And then his hero, Daniel Bryan, ultimately wins it all at WrestleMania.
WrestleMania. And Daniel Bryan came over to him with a championship and said, you did this, and you have to continue your fight.
And Connor did for three more weeks. Man.
I'm getting emotional. He died in his dad's arms three weeks later.
Yeah. Little Yenzer kid in Pittsburgh Children's Hospital, obviously, is a powerful one, a great one.
We appreciate everything you've done for him. I'm getting emotional.
I think we all are. I have an almost two-year-old.
He's got a daughter. He's got two kids.
It makes a difference. As you tell these stories, we're thinking about it.
But so what can we do? That's what WWE does, though. That's right.
And so there's something we can do. And we galvanized our fan base, and we've raised millions of dollars for kids with cancer.
And it also maintains a personal commitment for me, and I'm doing a number of different things outside of the company. Hell yeah, Steph.
Hell yeah, Steph. All right, as we all get past the tears of remembering.
Sorry about that. No, don't be sorry at all.
We are very lucky that you are doing that and giving back to the world, especially in the city that we are from, Pittsburgh. So we're very grateful.
AP Tone has a question for you. Yeah, with your vast knowledge and wisdom of the business and the company, and now that you're back, do you feel an obligation or do you have a lot of superstars or people around the business? I mean, Pat talks about every time he comes back.
He talks about how awesome everyone is, from superstars, the camera people, to everybody. Do you ever feel an obligation to be a mentor or give advice to any of the superstars or anyone in the business now because of that you've been in all your entire life? I don't feel an obligation, but I'm more than willing, certainly.
And anybody who wants my opinion, I'm happy to give it. know um but it is true how great everybody is oh the best i mean just the culture of the company i think just got called into question a lot yeah i called into question a lot i by people that don't know the company but you're talking about camera people that have been there for like 30 years yes you're talking about uh like uh nikki and his crew the production crew

has been there for like 25 the guy who threw steve beers during the attitude they're still there

right now doing it it's like everybody is at the top of their profession that's right and they

won't leave and then think about all the life you live during that time and the challenge because

life kicks everybody around right and then the challenges that you have personally in this team

that's always there every single week there for you and i think that that's just another part of it it's another part of why it is so special i don't want to put you on the spot here but have you ever given your mount rushmore of wwf wwe superstars no i can't do that yeah that's way way rude. It leads me to the Hall of Fame, you know? Yeah, yeah.

It'd be so, so rude.

But there are a couple different people that have,

obviously you mentioned Hulk Hogan earlier.

Yeah, yeah.

And LA booed his ass out for... They did.

Yeah, they did.

Wow.

They did.

Maybe he comes back with the NWO.

Oh, yeah, the black and white, yeah.

The press conference.

But what he was able to do,

obviously alongside Andre and that entire crew,

kind of launched the business

into something very different.

And then Stone Cold, The Rock, that entire Attitude Era, DX, that old crew, they do what they do. Cena takes the reins, takes it to another.
This group takes it to another. Do you view it as different eras or how do you kind of view the history of the team? I think it's appropriate to break it up in eras.
You know, I think it helps define it because it is so big and there has been so many special people and special moments. So I think eras work.
Yeah? What's your favorite era? The Attitude Era? What an insane time to be alive. The Attitude Era was out of control.
It was crazy. It really was.
To be a part of it on the inside and outside, it was, yeah, lunacy. That's where I grew up in.
I was created in the Attitude Era. That makes so much Exactly, exactly.
In the back, there's a guy named Nicky Skates, massive wrestling fan. He has a question for you, Steph.
Stephanie, what does the future look like for you from the wrestling standpoint, like the business? Where do you go from here? You're on Netflix now. You're all over the world.
How much further can you guys take this thing? I know there's been shows in Europe in europe now is that the next step where where are we going next so international is a big focus but again i'm not an executive at the company right now so just you know right now i don't mean anything by that i just mean i'm you know speaking on my on my own here absolutely but international is absolutely a huge focus and that's part of one of the reasons why the partnership with Netflix is so important to us. When you think about even NXT and you think about our developmental center in Florida right now, the Performance Center, what if you have those all over the world? What if you can grow sort of mini territories? What if you replicate NXT in different countries all over the world? Ultimately, then what does that do? Aside from a programming standpoint, but then you level that up.
And, you know, how do you then a global world tour where we're competing against ourselves in different countries? You know, what does that look like? I mean, there's one thing about WWE is we've never put a ceiling on anything. You know, and we're limited only by our imagination.
So I think that that's the best answer. But yes, international is a huge focus.
It's the greatest business in the world. I'm so incredibly lucky to be a small little tiny part of it.
I'm so lucky to be invited back. We will continue this conversation on ESPN+, Disney+, Plus, YouTube, and TikTok Live.

Still alive.

TikTok Live.

Still bringing it.

Still bringing it.

We don't know how much longer it will be.

Royal Rumble

on Saturday at 6 p.m. Eastern.

Smackdown

kicks it all off tomorrow

from Gainbridge Fieldhouse

here in Indianapolis, Indiana.

We'll continue our chat

with royalty,

Stephanie McMahon digitally.

We can't thank you enough for allowing us to do this for a living. a friend, tell a friend something nice It might change their life Alright, we got it out We're no longer on ESPN So if you want to just drop a bunch of motherfuckers But we didn't promote the ESPN show What are you talking about? My show Oh shit That's part of our problem We'll continue to get better We'll continue to evolve Wouldn't be us if we did Yikes, that is 100% on us With that being said I was going to steer it but then I wasn't sure You should have You can just view this show as your show Whenever you show, just do whatever you need to do.
But we are live on ESPN Plus currently. Awesome.
And we're live on Disney Plus currently. Yep.
And YouTube. And I believe that is going to be a few of the homes for a show that you are creating.
That is correct. And I think this is an announcement that it is.
It is. It is in partnership with Omaha Productions and ESPN and WWE.
It is a part of the Peyton's Places show, and it is called Stephanie's Places. And I'm going all over the country and hopefully the world to really find out the stories behind the biggest stars in WWE.
I believe we have a sizzle reel for Steph's Places. It has no audio on it, but it is a bunch of the shots.
You caught up with Stone Cold Steve Allstate. I did.
You got a chance to catch up with Charlotte Flair. Roman Reigns.
And the whole bloodline, by the way. Down on a yacht down in Florida.
Hilarious. It's coming in March.
ESPN Original, Stephanie's Places. You know the history of this business through and through.
What is the goal of Stephanie's Places? It's really to tell the stories that haven't been told and to find out more about the people behind the characters. And what I want to do is bring, you know, some type of advice to the audience.
Like, you know, these people are all hugely successful, but like most people, they've been knocked around a lot. So how did they overcome the challenges that were put in front of them? How did they get over certain things to become who they are today? And, uh, and it's really their journey.
That's, that's what I'm trying to tell is, is the story of their story, their journey of where, how they've gotten to are. Have you enjoyed hosting? Have you enjoyed it? I've loved it.
So I have to say I was really nervous to do it. Again, it was like my first step back, if you will, and into the business.
And I was really, really worried about it. And ultimately, it's just been so rewarding to get to hang out with our talent that I know so well on a certain level, but then to get to know them so much better and differently.
And again, to bring their stories out. It's and it's interesting because with each person, it's different.
In some cases, like I'm the younger person who remembers them as a big star. And how do we do this? And then in other cases, I'm the older person and I'm trying to pull things out of a younger superstar and it's no one show is the same and it's just a lot of fun.
Hell yeah, we can't wait to watch coming in March. Go ahead, Tom.
Did you get to meet Steve's cats? I did. Poncho! Poncho! Poncho! But he kept running away.
Well, that's Poncho. I don't like cats.
What? I don't like cats. Neither do I, but Steve's cats are different.
Well, I know, and that's what he said. He said they were like dogs, and they were great.
And I'm not disparaging Steve's cats, but yes, in general, I am not a cat person. Well, there are cats that are like dogs, though.
They say that. They say that.
I don't like cats since since i'm a kid and they mess with me so my my husband's sister she had a cat that was like 22 years old or something never came out of the closet but it would just stay there unless i came over and it would come sit behind me on the sofa and his sister was like this never happened i don't know what no they mess with me they know i don't like them i i was a sophomore in college and my roommate and i we had this apartment the bathroom door wouldn't close all the way and this cat would come in and perch on the sink when i was taking a shower and i'd wash my hair like i thought this cat was gonna jump over no it was not it was messing with me and it knew exactly what it was doing. I was bit by a cat when I was in daycare.
Black cat bit my middle finger. What does that mean? I don't know.
So many. We know what that means.
It means you're going to hate cats for the rest of your life. That's right.
I think is what happened. Okay, before we let you go, you can tell us now.
Congratulations. You're going to be in the Rumble this weekend.
Wow. Right? I am not in the Rumble match.
That is... I am not in the Rumble match at all.
Well, you wouldn't tell us if you were. Yeah.
K-Vabe, K-Vabe, K-Vabe. We'll dump it.
We won't let anybody hear it. Okay, well, we appreciate the hell out of you.
Let's take a break.

On the other side, we'll wrap up all the stories.

Let's celebrate the hell out of Stephanie McMahon

in Stephanie's place.

Thank you, guys.

Thank you for making time to stop by.

I know it's your first time doing any interviews

since stepping down as an executive.

That's right.

At WWE.

You came in here and crushed it.

Well, we were crying.

Yeah, yeah.

I did.

I'm legit.

This is my first time crying in here. Really? Definitely.
were crying. Yeah.
Yeah. I did.
I'm legit. This is my first time crying in here.

Really?

Definitely.

Oh, so great.

I have a credit.

Yeah.

Yeah, I'd say.

Tone was crying too.

I mean, so was Ty.

And I didn't even have to slap you to make you cry.

Oh.

Could have.

Let's keep those.

I'll do the Jericho.

Yeah.

So great.

I got to get that footage.

Thank you very much for having me.

It was an honor.

No, the honor is ours. Thank you for everything you've done for society, for the business, and for us.
Tax Act knows filing your taxes can be complicated, and that's why we have live experts to help you with any questions. They can hold your hand through the process beginning to end.
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Football is wonderful. That's AJ Hawk.
He's a college football national champion, a Super Bowl champion. Age, I mean, that's the first time I've ever cried in here with stephanie mcmahon she absolutely crushed it uh so thankful she stopped by with the wwe team it's always nice to see them great people all around the talks of tables here at boston connor and at ty schmidt we talk about it a lot and uh you know anytime we say it into a microphone i i almost feel like we're braggarts and i don't mean to sound that way but like anytime we're on wwe people they're way too nice to us yeah without a doubt and i think that is i mean they put you guys in a video game but crazy they are to us they've always been the coolest people ty and we've been around them now what six seven years in this entire thing a lot of uh wrestling marks leave that out of their comments whenever they bury me for certain different things.
It's like this started back with the NXT kickoff panel all the way back in New Orleans, all the way through doing that to commentating NXT, to doing some of the panels and kickoff shows for the WWE, to getting to commentate on SmackDown, to now getting to do Raw, to doing some matches. It's like they've been cool to us since the beginning.
And it's not just me. It's all of us.
And it's absurd every single time. No, and very rarely do you do something.
Like we're going to like their biggest events of the year where, you know, like they have so much shit going on. And a lot of times we're going to places with like 10 deep, you know, and it's not easy to just like accommodate, you know, like, oh yeah.
And like, you guys, like whatever you need, seriously, you know, we, we got, we got seats for you. You know, you can go to this area, you can do this, you can do this.
Like it'd be very easy if there are that many people to just be like, Pat, you're good, but like get, get your fucking posse. Like, you know, they can go sit up in the nosebleeds and kind of just be done with it.
And they've never done that. At WrestleMania this year, we were sitting behind The Rock's mom.
Second row. Two chains was right by us.
Exactly. Titty boy! Oh, yeah.
Titty boy. I mean, it's insane.
And it's time and time again. They're good people.
They've been so nice to us. We're incredibly thankful.
Obviously, Stephanie and Mr. H have been incredibly kind kind to me i started nxt whenever triple h was running nxt he has been nothing short of just a i mean whenever he was on at the intuit tone we almost i almost got like emotional when he was like hey watching you and your guys too from the beginning i think they feel like they're a part of it aj like i feel like the wwe people are like and michael cole definitely is like man whenever we met to where you are now, like, they feel like, hey, the little boy has done pretty good, like, and his friends.
And that's a cool thing to feel, you know, especially from a company that I've obviously been a fan of my entire life, H. I told you from the first time I ever went to anything WWE when you were doing NXT back in the day, like, from the first, I remember the first time I went down there with you i was there for like we were there what five six seven hours it was during covid all the stuff's going on and i just couldn't believe like you said like i was like why i felt like i was stepping on toes okay i shouldn't be here i shouldn't be doing okay and they were so open and i like it they're like yeah man whatever you guys need like it was a family like it truly felt like a family atmosphere and that was it's always cool to see all the old wrestlers coming back and they all have a gig and they all have a place in what they do and they have so much respect for them like it's a cool like old school type culture i think too yeah i agree and uh you know when i mentioned getting away because that happens with everybody in the wwe like you get to a point you know we can see it happening publicly with some people maybe where you get to a point where you forget how good it is and how lucky you are to maybe be working where you are and how pumped you should be and it's like that happens in every business especially in one where you have to travel around it's a lot of work there's a lot of this there's only a certain amount of spots it's like people get away and then they kind of get like refreshed and then whenever they come back it's always like uh welcome back it's great to have you that business has a lot of that and i think it kind of happens literally for everybody but michael cole michael cole is like the only constant yeah like 28 years and i'm always like cole like don't you think you need a break it's a break i take a break i'm gonna fire my ass and i'm like no no like it is kind of one of those things it's one of those businesses where it can be a lot but everybody has the same mindset like let's just do the best shit and uh let's serve our fans that's legitimately how they feel it's and royal rumble being in indianapolis and i know mr h said this but like i pushed very hard for it to be for them to come to indy for a lot of things.
Now, certainly did Nick and Triple H say and Michael Cole go, oh, you want a home game? Hi. Everybody wants a home game.
You know, like Michael Cole in San Antonio the other night. It was said like three times, like I'm from 20 minutes down the road.
So like Michael Cole drove home after the thing. So anytime I was promoting like, hey, you guys need to come through Indianapolis more.
We need bigger shows in indianapolis give us a chance indianapolis people are going to show up they're all like oh okay yeah yeah yeah we'll stay in indianapolis and then what louisville you want louisville next and then you know we'll go to chicago too and then maybe detroit you just want us to maybe stay in there and they were talking shit obviously but then whenever i started saying like no I think this place would be a great host because we're a great hosting place.

And I feel like whenever they got the deal done to do it,

they were pumped to come tell me,

hey, we're coming to Indy, man.

Very excited for it.

And that's why this weekend is so damn cool

because I think the crowd that is going to show up

for this Royal Rumble is going to be an electrifying crowd.

I think they're a crowd that is going to be very thankful

that the Royal Rumble is here. And obviously WrestleMania is coming it's that was agreed uh to end the deal and i think um royal rumble wrestlemania and summer slam were all deals that were agreed to with the city of indianapolis and it's like whenever that deal gets done one of the first calls that nick and triple h make is to me and they're like hey man we got it done like let's let's enjoy the hell out of this and it's like this weekend is the first of that and uh i'm so lucky and uh pumped to be a part of it all i saw you crying over there because the things that wwe has given back to the community too is immense and it very rarely gets talked about outside of the wrestling fans you're right the connor secure thing the stalled i didn't know the story of it um yeah and ever ever since we've had kids just a mush.
But no, but then like, Cena's the most of all time for Make-A-Wishes. And he's not the only one.
It's just because he has done a thousand of them. But yeah, all the WWE superstars, they're always with kids.
They're always giving back to the community. It's awesome.
Great business. And you can do anything in the business.
Work their asses off. Two.
That's the biggest right there what connor said it's like all that other stuff yes i retweet but they all work so hard and you just have to respect that yeah and you can do anything i mean they could put a wwe baseball game together somehow yeah and it would work sure you know they would make it work somehow like if you have an idea they want to hear and uh all right let's make it happen you know what if as opposed to like nah that can't happen which some places are like you know i'm not going to point any fingers at anybody most places most places but wwe you have an idea they're like okay figure this out let's see sounds like andy reed a little bit like what coach andy reed said yesterday he'll he'll listen to anyone who has advice he's not guaranteed to call it but he'll listen okay speaking of andy reed do you know on on this day seven years ago the chiefs traded alex smith to the washington redskins in exchange for a third round pick and cornerback kendall fuller this trade would inevitably lead to patrick mahomes becoming the starter for the kansas city chiefs a. Alex Smith had just got done with his best season of football.
Alex Smith started that season by beating the shit out of the New England Patriots on opening night. Then they would lead to a season where they'd be so comfortable with their seeding, they would rest the starters in the final week.
Patrick Mahomes, his quarterback out of Texas Tech, would play against the Denver Broncos in the final

game of the season. Once again, because they had such

a good season, they didn't have to play

the last game. It did not matter.
That's how

great Alex Smith was. Everything they thought

Alex Smith could be, he was

in this particular season with Andy Reid.

Patrick Mahomes would beat the Denver Broncos

in the final game of the year. Then the Chiefs

would not win the Super Bowl. That offseason

would start, and what would they do? They'd get rid of Alex Smith after he lives up to the hype and expectation from all the years ago in draft night. And everybody, including us, would say, the hell is Andy Reid doing? Why the fuck would you get rid of Alex Smith whenever he plays his best ball and only going to play even better ball, you assume, going forward in this Andy Reid Reid system and then we had a caller call into our show from Kansas City go Patrick Mahomes is going to be the best player to ever play football for the Kansas City Chiefs and we said look at this blind loyalty that these people have to the Chiefs and Andy Reid little did we know that everything that was happening in practices and everything happening in that Denver Broncos game was something that they knew was going to become a very consistent level of play so obviously this day January 30th is uh one that's remembered for a lot of things I would assume but the biggest one is that this is when the Patrick Mahomes era began in Kansas City and you have to give credit to Andy Reid for pulling the trigger and making the decision happen, especially with how good Alex Smith was playing.
And the rest, they say, is history, A.J. Hawk.
They had to know. Obviously, they did know.
They didn't think they knew. They knew what they had in Patrick Mahomes.
And I do remember, I mean, I don't know anyone that's like, oh, yeah, that's normal that they're trading away Alex Smith. We remember the season that he did have then.
But I do remember hearing throughout, like, different players talk about through camp or whatever just about Mahomes. Like, hey, I'm just telling you, like, this dude, he's next.
Like, they weren't saying get Alex Smith out of here, but they were talking about him, what he does in practice. Hold on.
I got a text from Colquitt, right, the punter? Yeah. I think as we were doing our show, we did a full line.
Oh, what a stupid decision. And then I got a text from Dustin Colquitt that was like, Bob, Bob, this is the guy.
This is who we want. This is the guy that is going to be great.
And wait until you see what this guy is going to become. And what's he become? Oh, well, he's 29 years old.
He's a multiple-time Super Bowl champion. And he's already in the conversation of being the greatest of all time.
I also never forget,

I want to say clip in the show, because I don't know if

we had rights yet or not, but there was

a preseason game.

I can't remember who it was against, but there was multiple

throws where he was rolling right and just throwing the ball

like 80 yards down the field. We're like, oh, okay.

That makes sense.

The day of.

I appreciate us all going, yeah,

on day, we remember. We were all, I was appreciate us all going, yeah, on day we remember.

We were all, I was gobsmacked that they moved on from Alex Smith.

And that was at the very beginning of our program.

That was at the very beginning of us being doofuses talking about sports.

And it's like, boy, has this worked out for them pretty well, I'd say.

Well, and even so, they could have known what they had in him.

And, you know, like, oh, this guy's unbelievable in practice.

Like, there's no way that they would have thought, hey, we're going trade and we're gonna be at least in the afc championship every year for the next seven years like that that's still a pipe dream so that like that just speaks to my homes too like how how good he actually is like there there was no fall off ever it's like he came in and he just continues to win and continues to win and it's crazy. I don't think anyone could have said they saw that coming.
Alright, and more news coming out of Baltimore. Sounds a little bit alarming about Justin Tucker.
We will obviously follow along with that. And ladies and gentlemen, joining us now, a man who's from Dublinlin ireland what one of the greatest hosts

in the history of international travel yep ladies and gentlemen wwe superstar shaman Yeah!

Yeah!

Yeah!

Come on!

Come on, lad!

Big son of a bitch! My neck. I'm surprised you had me back after the last time, huh? You were great.
Yeah. You were great the last time.
That's why we had you on. Sheamus in town for the Royal Rumble.
Going to win it this weekend? That's it, man. The plan.
2012, the last time. I'm about to another win, I think.
Yeah, you're about due. You're about due for another win.
How you feeling? I feel great. Look at AJ there, looking sharp again.
Is that a fresh coat, AJ? Yeah, it's pretty fresh a day or two, Seamus. I appreciate the vest you gave me as well.
I'm picking a great day where I'm going to wear it on a big thing. He lost that.
He threw that thing away. I haven't seen you wear it.
You know what I mean? I bet this is the point. He said it was shite.
What? That's terrible. Maybe if I get a renewal of my vows or something.
Something really serious. That's all I want.
That means we're never going to see that thing. No.
To be clear, he has no idea where that thing is. No.
Which is a shame. Oh, no.
Probably still on the plane. It feels like just yesterday we were in dublin ireland together that was the beginning of the college football season we just wrapped that up uh last monday the college football season ended you were almost right with your national championship prediction with notre dame and also you picked georgia tech to beat florida state sounds like you're a big brain college football guy a huge brain college football guy you know huge brain i'm already i'm already working my picks for next season.
Yeah, weren't you

he was a mascot. Yeah, you were

Georgia Tech's mascot. In the Ramblin, right?

Yeah, I

ended up going to a couple of games. They're awesome.

The whole team and

the Silti and all are brilliant. Everyone was great.

They really welcomed me in.

I think it all stopped though. We went to

Syracuse and they lost at Syracuse.

I went to the, obviously the one in Dublin they won

and then we went to

the one at Georgia Tech when they played

Thank you. I think it all stopped though.
We went to Syracuse and they lost at Syracuse. So I went to the, obviously the one in Dublin they won

and then we went to,

I went to the one in

at Georgia Tech

when they played Georgia

and then it was

the after,

when they lost to Syracuse

they didn't get an invite back.

So the lucky charm

stuff wore off,

you know.

The lucky charm.

The lucky charm stuff.

But let's talk about Dublin,

man.

What a time it was.

Can't wait to go back.

Pat McAfee with his short off,

you know,

taking the 10 beats at the first. The whole world, coming back like a magician.
The whole world saw us over there on the internet having a good time. We're going back.
They're taking a lot of football over to Ireland now. The NFL has said that they're going to take a game over there.
Another college football game's going over there. I don't want to say it's because of you, but I want to say it's because of you, Seamus.
You need to know that. I appreciate it.
It was a blast, mate. Would we go back to that? Would we have the show over there for the whole week this time? That's a good idea.
I don't think I'd like the whole week. It's a great idea, right? Put it on Paddy's Amex card.
It's got one of those black ones. Listen, it's not the money I'm worried about.

Deliver.

I don't know if I could survive a week over there.

I think we did it right the last time, about 24 hours or so.

But we would definitely take the show back over there.

I had a great... You were the best host, I think, we could have ever had.

Yes.

In your national trip.

You and the Mahons.

Yeah, and the Mahons over there, obviously.

There are Mahons, Mahons, Mahons.

What were you calling them?

Yeah, Mahons.

Oh, yeah, look. Look at us.
Oh, I'm getting homesick watching this it's the best yeah we had great time over there man it feels like just yesterday but everything kind of flies since then you've signed a new deal with the wwe yeah five years congratulations thank you thank you i was um i was with so many guinness deep that night that uh i to announce it. And I was like, well, I hadn't actually put ink to paper at that stage.
But I was just so... Everything about that week was just such a huge hype for me as well.
Ireland was on great display. I think showed up in a big way.
And that game was obviously electrifying. Comes down to a game-winning field goal.
How do you feel, though, going into the Rumble? You look like you're in incredible shape right now. You know, I honestly, I feel the best I've had in years.
I just celebrated birthday Monday, 47, 27. Happy birthday! Happy birthday! Man, I'm getting G'd up here big time, man.
I'm going to be going with so much confidence on Saturday. But, yeah, you know, I just feel really good.
Training's going well. Doit's going well.
And, you know, I still haven't lost. I think I'd say more passionate now than I've ever been in my entire career.
And I had that match with Braun Breaker. I was starting tonight's main event.
That was so close. We had Jesse Ventura calling the shots saying I was robbed.
You know what I mean? You know what I mean? Oh, look at that. By the way, spear of the year there, mate.
That's the hardest spear I've ever taken in my life from that kid. Yeah think both of you uh felt that i was just feet away from there your rib would end up being a downfall you go for a brogue kick later something would catch you wouldn't be able to time it braun would take advantage he'd end up winning and retaining his intercontinental championship the only title you have yet to win in the wwe uh do you have your eyes set on a rematch are we all focused on the Royal Rumble? What are you thinking? What's it, mate? I mean, I think most, the 29 other men in that match, they're going to be, if they win, they're going to go after like Cody or Gunter.
When I win that match, I'm going right back after Ron Bray. Only title you haven't won.
Only title I haven't won. And people have said to me like, you know, what's the deal? You know, are you going to going to give up like people say it's an IC course but that title is one thing I need to be complete and become WB's first ever ultimate Grand Slam champion there's Grand Slam champions and then there's the ultimate Grand Slam champion that's what I want after 17 years with the company Commander Supreme champion yeah he's clapping in there like he's clapping he's getting the clap yeah he got it Z will give you hey anytime you need to be G'd up which I don't know what that.
Yeah. Unbelievable.
He's clapping in there like he's clapping. He's getting the clap.
Yeah, he got it. That's Zeke.
Zeke will give you a, hey, anytime you need to be G'd up, which I don't know what that means, Zeke will help out. Connor has a question for you, Shay.
Shay, we got a guy in here who's actually doing the workouts that you've been kind of putting yourself through and he has really transformed over the last few weeks, but what are some of the hardest workouts you've ever done when it comes to your series? Talking about the Celtic Warrior workout. Yeah, yeah.
So actually, I just did one today. That's why I flew in early.
I did one with Penta. He's obviously his newest superstar.
You've seen him. He's unbelievable.
Crazy, acrobatic. He's also strong.
And Charles is probably one of the hardest chops in the business. But I did a workout with him we played handball first which killed me at that

and then we had

an arm workout

and it's obviously

just a quick shout out

here

I'm great at giving

shout outs on your show

yeah

as you should

yeah

give the rub there

get fit

that's all that cool

but no

the hardest one

I think so far

has been the one

with Maxine Dupree

it landed about

two weeks ago

it was Pilates

and I got turned

into a human pretzel man

like there was

there's some shady

pictures out there

you know

with two women

just kind of

bending me off

Oh yeah It looks

Thank you. It was Pilates, and I got turned into a human pretzel man.
There's some shady pictures out there, you know, with two women just kind of bending me off. It looks weird, dude.
But I needed a couple weeks off after that one. What is it? Celtic Warrior Workouts? Yeah, YouTube.
My YouTube channel, Celtic Warrior Workouts. And when are you going to be on, by the way? I've got to start working out first.
Let me figure out my workout first. You've been saying that for the last year.
You do other people's workouts, right That's right. I do yours.
We could do it here. We could have everybody go in.
We could have a full on Bleed Nairobi's class, you know what I mean? Sure. Yeah.
The headphones, you know what I mean? Jazzercise. Yeah, maybe we do Hawker's workout.
Maybe we do A.J. Hawks.
Billy Blanks, Tybo. We should do that.
I don't know if Seamus got that across the pond. You know Billy Blanks? I don't know Billy Blanks.
Double time. Go.
You don't remember? You don't know. Wow.
Workout expert. You don't know Billy Blanks.
Uh-oh. Oh, boy.
Never big on the Tybo there, A.J. Sorry.
You need to pick up. Yeah, me either.
What's your mindset going into the rumble? You just got to stay on the ground? Why does anybody just go in there and just lay down? Yeah. That's too great.
Can you tie yourself... Can you tie yourself...
Try that, please. Try that.
Lay down. Hold on to that bottom rope.
Yep. Just like this.
Boom and bang. And just hang on on that bottom rope.
For real. Just think about it.
Just something to think... I know it's not really your style.
You like to fight. I do.
And you like to create banger after banger after banger after banger. But if you hang on and hang on and hang on and then wait for the banger at the end, I think your final two, no matter what.
Something to think about. That's a good plan.

That's a good plan.

You know, I can't believe I didn't think about that.

Boom.

I do like the fight.

You're welcome.

Yeah, have fun getting that title.

Not only you cheat up, but also I queued up all of a sudden.

I'd say if I was Bronson Reed or Otis,

that would be an even better one.

What are you saying about those guys?

I'm saying they're big guys.

I'm saying they're big.

They're big heavy lifters.

Bronson Reed broke both of his ankles, right? He did. Throwing the tsunami off the top.
Was he in there? Huh? No. I don't think he's going to be back.
Yeah, they're wheeled. Brunson, T's and P's, man.
Yeah. I couldn't even imagine.
I couldn't even imagine the amount of force that was coming down. Snapped like chicken bones.
Boom. Just like it.
He's going to be back bigger, stronger, faster than ever. We assume that that the tsunami is certainly lethal and i love working and that splash that's an i've taken that a couple of times i thought the first time i took that move the tsunami like the splash off the top i literally told my neck was you ever see those like uh those packets like with the kind of like the fruit packets to give the kids and stuff yeah i felt like one of them i thought i liked them i thought my head was gonna literally pop off and fly in.
Have you ever taken a Nia Jax Annihilator? No, I haven't actually. That one? No, no.
I've not. But I saw Rhea take one the other night, and she was facing Dan, so she had it on her back.
I thought she snapped her spine. Legitimately thought she snapped her spine.
Instead, she got up, picked up Nia, did the entire dance. What is the key to a Royal Rumble victory, though? 2012, why do you think you won that one? I just, I mean, the plan.
You got to get lucky? There's definitely a bit of luck in there. It's obviously what number you come in at as well.
I think the one two years ago, my last Rumble, before I got hurt, I was, me and Gunter were number one on number two. And it was a slugfest.
Especially when Otis came in. Or not Otis.
Almost came in. Sorry.
The giant. And clothes like me, Drew, and Gunter in the face.
And we're lying on the ground just looking at each other. Just contemplating life.
That's kind of why they call him a giant. You want to talk about the hardest hitter? Almost.
100%. How long have you been in business, though? 20 years wrestling.
17 years. Going going 18 years with the WWE.
That's including developmental like the NXT at the time, which was FCW. And June 30th will be 16 years on the main roster.
Okay, that's amazing. Congratulations.
You should be incredibly proud of the durability, sustainability, and ability to remain relevant long enough for that to matter. I think I saw you take a clothesline from hell on a cut-up the other day from JBL.
But these Royal Rumbles, there's like a nostalgia effect that happens. You've wrestled against a lot of these guys that come back in here.
Yeah, man, I was in there when I first started. The first year, I was in there doing six-man tags on live events.
It was me, Randy. I think it was a big show show and we're taking on like taker sean and cena and i remember uh sean michaels had this thing on sundays we do a saturday live event sunday and it was like sean doesn't bump on sundays that was his thing you know it's homage to his uh you know his faith jesus rest on sundays yeah right michaels would never bump on sundays that's that's how far back man you far back, man.
They were all in the ring. They were all WrestleMania 26, my first WrestleMania against Triple H.
The most nervous I've ever been in my life, I think. And then you had Taker, Shawn in there as well.
And so many other guys. Just so many talent that have come and gone in my time here.
It's, it's great. And I love working with the younger talent now, you know?

It's great.

Great crack.

Beat the shit out of them.

Yeah, it's beating the shit out of them.

Teach the shite out of them all.

Yeah, the shite.

The shite.

Bring them all, fella.

I'm ready for Saturday.

You got me hyped for Saturday now, man.

Let's go.

We're going to win.

Yeah.

What else are we going to win?

Nobody say.

Are you going to be there calling it?

You're going to be there calling it?

There you go, mate.

You got the buzzwords, mate.

You know it fires me up.

You know what I mean?

Yeah.

It's fight night. Baby.
Yes. You're going against Braun Breaker the other night.
Braun Breaker's my dog. That was kind of a tough thing for me to kind of be split.
Just the body was kind of burying the Steiner family as a whole. So I felt obligated to kind of go to bed for my guy.
Braun, as the body was kind of doing his thing. I saw you take a photo with him afterwards.
Did he come and tell you you got screwed? You got wrong? Yeah, he did. You got wrong.
It was a pretty, it was a damn moment for me, man. Like, I don't know how many shots I've had the icy tile, but I thought it was so close, especially after that broke.
And yeah, of course, it's, you just got to pick yourself back up. You know what I mean? Hell yeah.
Yeah, it's not about. Like you did the next day on college game day.
By the way, the next day, right, college game day, after all this, I i turned up fresh to daisy and he was just like i used i could see it man i could three hours we did i can't see the pain in his face i completely forgot about that next day oh yeah i think that was kind of my problem yeah i was kind of caught up in the moment you know i wanted to go banger after banger after banger afteranger. I forgot about the day after all this.

That's the thing, though.

When you're out in Dublin, right, and you're drinking,

that's what me and the lad used to do.

It would be like, there is no tomorrow.

You know that Rocky?

Exactly.

There is no. You don't think about tomorrow.

You just think about that plank that's in front of you.

Yeah, exactly.

And that's what we did.

And if we go back, I assume it'll be the same exact story.

Without a doubt.

Seamus, we appreciate you stopping by, man. I appreciate the call.
I appreciate you having me on the show. Do you want to do a giveaway? You want to do a giveaway? I don't know what...
Take down Connor. I don't know what a bear.
My back hurts just from him grabbing my fucking neck. Yeah, me too.
Dude, he'll come over to me. I'm just excited to see you, Connor.
I'm excited to see you. We went to work together.
We went toth again, bro. You know what I mean?

How about after his matches?

He's like the most sweaty guy I've ever seen in my life.

I also sweat a lot.

I am too Irish lad.

He'll come over to the commentary table,

and I have no idea what's happening.

I'm either getting punched in the face right now,

I could get kicked in the face,

or I'm getting a massive hug that's about to just drench me.

Normally, it's a hug with a grab. You you're an aggressive lover i i think i think people will say and uh i want to let you know we appreciate every second of it yeah we here's a moment here yeah obviously well okay you spilled my drink headlock cole how you doing we had no idea that was happening.
That was burger after burger, Seamus, right there.

That was 274.

Yeah, you spilled my entire...

That's all I have.

Yeah, the drink everywhere on the side there.

But I want to let you know,

everybody that's ever been around you loves you, Seamus.

I love you guys, too.

I appreciate that.

Anytime I'm in Indy, I love popping up and saying hello to y'all, guys.

And hopefully we can make Dublin happen again.

Hell yeah.

Hell yeah.

Okay, what American sport do you think you're potentially best at? Can you throw football? I'm not the greatest thrower. Football.
I play football, you know, like proper football. Soccer.
We have a hurl in here, don't we still? Yeah. I don't know if we have the ball.
Yeah, the ball right here, right? Bone said he could take him down.

There it is.

Oh, yeah, you should try that.

I don't know.

It's all right, man.

I'll demo this place a little bit.

I'll bring a bit more light into the place.

It'll be grand.

No, but we need this here.

Make a putt.

Can you putt?

Golf?

I'm not.

I'm just, you know, I'm just a.

Can you make one putt? I can try. All right, yeah.
Let's do that. Let's I can try let's do that he can make a putt for sure yeah you can make a putt you can always have him spear D-ball like Braun did I'll watch that it fell out of the pack now too you are significantly more jacked than the last time.
Yeah, good to see you. Look, this baby, you know, it changed my life.
You're welcome. You're going to be down here, Seamus.
All right. All you have to do is just make one cut.
What's the name? What do I get for that? 30 people will win $500. Oh, shit.
Yeah. This is not just for you.
30 people will win $500 Oh shit This is not just for you 30 people will win $500 If Sheamus You got Seven The Celtic Warrior Sheamus trying to win 30 people $500 Oh It is very aggressive once again he came fresh out of a workout so he's all jacked up 30 people 500 oh it is makeable he's trying to jam it in there this is not he is trying to jam it in there says AJ Hawk 30 people win 30 people $500 if Seamus is able to oh you're getting there buddy you're getting there buddy speed So I got dead threats off these 30 people, $500. If Seamus is able to.
You're getting there, buddy. You're getting there, buddy.
Speed. All Seamus is going to have to do is put one golf ball into a hole and 30 people.
You're getting better, though. Don't you think? You got this.
He's not leaving any short. You got this.
30 people, $500. If Sheamus is able to bury

the... No, that's not a good one.

He yanked it. I'll tell you what.

Take a breather, Sheamus.

Sheamus, Sheamus, Sheamus.

Slow down. Take a breath.
Gumpy wants you to

take a breath for a second. Gumpy wants you to

just kind of inhale. Take it in.

Visualize the putt. He's in the back.

All you got to do is just put that ball into that

tiny little hole over there.

I know what that is. putt.
He's in the back. All you got to do is just put that ball into that tiny little hole over there.

Yeah, I know. I get the giving.

50 people.

Hey, 50 people.

Listen, you're on the spot is where you're supposed to be. This is something

you'll be able to do.

50 people will win $500. Listen, you're on the spot is where you're supposed to be.
This is something you'll be able to do. Come on.

50 people will win $500. I heard you the first time, yeah?

That's us next year.

60 people.

$500.

All you got to do is make one putt here.

Sheamus!

Oh, shit.

Oh.

It all comes down to this.

We had banger.

After banger. After banger.
After banger.

After banger.

After banger.

Can we get a putt that goes into the hole?

60 people will win five?

No, we can't.

All right.

All right.

We got the Royal Rumble.

His win's coming Saturday.

Same for Saturday.

Your win's coming Saturday, brother.

Yeah, that's not a reflex of what's happening on Saturday.

Bingo.

No, it's power.

Power.

So much power.

Blasted.

All right.

All right.

That's it.

Yeah, it is.

I'll see you later.

You're going to throw seven guys over the top rope.

All right.

Hey, hold on, Sheamus.

Don't leave yet.

To all the boys in the back, great work today, boys. Great work.
To the WWE crews that is here, we appreciate the hell out of you. Thank you.
Stephanie McMahon, phenomenal work. And to Seamus, thank you for stopping by and lifting our spirits and our hopes for a great Royal Rumble weekend here in Indianapolisapolis indiana to all the people that watch along and allow us to do this for a living we can't thank you enough you're the greatest people on earth be your friend tell a friend something nice it might change their life we're gonna sing together team on me put it out hey we don't set the bar there you go go.
We are at a bar. And we went to a lot of

bars. Yeah.
And it was all a great

time. And to AJ, who one day wear that

vest, I gave him. One day.
Yes, I will.

Yes, I will, Seamus.

I'm going to get out of your way. You're sitting, you see

this camera? You see the, you're on the,

you're behind. Can you sit up a little bit? Yep.

There we go. There you go.
There we go.

I'm a leaner.

That's true.

Team on me. Team on three.
One, two, three. Here we go.
I'm a leaner. That's true.
Team on me.

Team on three.

One, two, three.

Team.

Goodbye.

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