Exclusive Interview with "The Ring General" Gunther

20:54There's a job to do, and I'm here to do it. Some people might like the way I go about my business. Some people don't. I don't look at that as being a bad guy. I just look at it as a man who knows what the mission is. Demands respect. Yeah.

21:06Gunther:Well, I'll ease it up for your judgments. But also, I don't really care about judgment like everybody else can. Categorize me as what they want. Like I said, that's fine to me. I'm still waiting for the day where those reactions will get to me. But yeah, they can keep trying. Try your best. I'm here for that challenge. That's what's up.

21:29O'Shea:What would it mean? We know that you are a two-time world heavyweight champion. What would it mean for you to get this belt from Cody in Italy, but to wear the WWE championship around the ring general race? what does this title mean to you?

21:50Gunther:Obviously it would kind of like I should say it would be the full crown that I could put on my hat having been the World Heavy Championship twice already obviously the WWE Championship is missing for that and obviously that's a big goal like I said I want to be as successful as I can and that's the biggest prize to chase in WWE. I remember being World Heritage Champion and Cody being WWE Champion at the same time and I always felt it was easier for Cody to force himself more into the center of attention because he had the idol with the long heritage and the bigger history. Now I'm here to claim it.

22:44Gunther:And like I said, it's especially important to me that I take it from Cody. It's not just winning it overall. I think it's time for me to take that away from him. Now, you had a match with Cody while you both were champions at Crown Jewel. This was a match that Cody went over you. Have you gone back? Have you studied that match? have you seen where you may have made an error or done something that you now, in your mind, know that you can rectify and change the outcome of this meeting? Let's call this one more of an exhibition match, I would say.

23:25Gunther:I know exactly the mistakes I made. I'm not going to share them here. Obviously, they wouldn't be very smart. But yes, I am able to re-evaluate myself and criticize myself, analyze what I do wrong or what I do right, but that's nothing I would share publicly. It's nobody's business, but I think that the capability of doing that is what got me to work where I am. When I look in the mirror, I look into it very honestly about myself.

24:02O'Shea:We saw on SmackDown there was a bit of a wild situation with Royce Keys. now is that something that's on the back of your mind that he's not going to take that loss too lightly as you go over here or were you just focused on Cody are you prepared for anything to be thrown into the ring

24:23Gunther:yes I am prepared and Woodroise Keyes obviously in his position I get it he just joined the company I think they see a lot in him very promising wrestler and yeah, why not just go out and try to take what you think is yours, but you try to take it from the wrong person because yeah, I wasn't in a way. And I got to admit to that, like the last weeks, it's like I said before, I like taking the piss out of people and I might have overdone it a little bit, has happened before. And it's part of my characteristics. I don't think I will ever stop doing that because it is super enjoyable for myself, for my personal entertainment.

25:09Gunther:But I think I made a clear statement. I think I outclassed him clearly on his SmackDown main event, so that should end the conversation. Gunther, I saw that you, not just me, we all saw you had this little interaction with Paul Heyman. And it kind of made me think, not that you necessarily would ever need it, but would taking on a manager, maybe someone like Paul Heyman, would that be something that you would ever consider doing in your career? I mean, to be fully honest, it was very useful to have him there in that position. But those interactions in that time have been enough to make me realize that I'm better off on my own.

25:54Gunther:I don't need somebody in my year. I always trusted my gut my whole career, and it was mostly the right decision, so I wouldn't change that.

26:03O'Shea:Being someone who enjoys the misery of others, what is more satisfying to the ring general? A powerbomb finish or putting them right to sleep?

26:22Gunther:So that's a question of like, that's a question of like, how can I ruin the party in the most efficient way? How can I take a cheerful moment away from the audience and from my opponent? I think it really depends on the situation. But I think there is something to that drama that comes with somebody struggling in the sleeper hold and everybody just looking on and knowing that's it. That might go on for a little bit, but there's no way out. And I think that might be more satisfying. now I brought up the last time you and I had a chance to talk was before the Cena match and you essentially told me exactly what you were going to do to John Cena and you ended it with I'm going to put him I'm going to choke him out and tap him out I'm going to beat him even though you said that's what you wanted to do and even though you something that you kind of maybe thought could happen.

27:21How shocked were you or were you shocked when that tap actually happened?

27:28Gunther:It was definitely a very shocking moment and I could also tell he had still some left in the tank but it was a conscious decision to go like that. He decided it in the moment and he could have carried on for a little bit. But maybe at the end of the day i think that's the bigger achievement is like i'm the one that made john cena give up mentally and physically and i think that's something nobody can claim for himself and that was the ultimate achievement it wasn't even if he would have not tapped i don't know if it would have been much of a difference um but at the end of the day that's the biggest achievement it's like yeah i made him make the decision um to give up and i think that's a psychological advantage for all of the other opponents I'm going to have down the line because John Cena maybe when it comes to willpower one of the strongest wrestlers ever and if he runs against the wall when he's in the ring with me then I think that puts pressure on people up front already questioning themselves if they're going to have what it takes and if they're going to have enough willpower and mental strength to get through.

28:40Exactly. Of all the things that are on this man's resume, multiple championships championships accolades having that on your resume there can only be one there's gonna only be one he's the only man to do it and so yeah if i'm going up against this man that's in the back of my head like he made john cena quit yeah no one else has been able to do that it will be replayed throughout wrestling history yeah till the end of time this is going to outlive all of us yeah

29:07O'Shea:So we remember the Intercontinental Championship reign, 666 days. What a number. All right. And we remember what that reign was like, you speaking about the level of excellence you want to bring the title back to and all the things that went into that long reign. what can fans superstars the wwe universe expect if gunther is the wwe champion

29:42Gunther:i think when gunther is the wwe champion um the audience can expect that i'm gonna represent the wb championship in the highest regard and the highest quality possible like I always did. And I think that's a little bit what makes people extra feel negative about me because they might not like my personality and that's okay. Like I said, I can live with that. But they know they need to respect my work. They need to appreciate what I do in that room. And I think those two things together is what just makes it even worse for them. And that's what I'm going to try to do. I'm going to yeah, it's almost like I want to win them over.

30:31Gunther:That's not the end goal, but my matches and my work is so good that they subconsciously won't have any other choice than to feel respect towards me. But consciously, they don't want to do that. And yeah, that's what I'm going to try to meet. You better get with it or get lost. It's a different way of stirring up the pot a little bit, but that's what I would be focused on. You got to love the way this man goes about his business, man. You got to. So damn proper. Yes. Gunther, on Wednesday, we had Cody Rhodes. He joined us on the Rich Eisen show, and I told him that I would be talking to you as you were going to join the No Contest Wrestling Podcast.

31:18I asked him if he had any words. I was looking for maybe a promo or something, something starts something up and uh this is what he had to say when i asked him did he have any words for you ahead of your matchup uh this weekend no i would tell him to enjoy his time with with you guys enjoy making the the media rounds this is some of the most fun you'll ever have and he's getting to do that because he's wrestling for the richest prize in our game at Clash in Italy, which in my mind is starting to become one of the big four. And it only continues if he leaves Italy with the title. And as you know, and as O'Shea knows, I am easy to find and I am hard to beat.

32:00So if he's to take the title in Clash in Italy, then he can be the one to come back on your show and have it. But I think the way it will go is you'll talk to him. It'll be a great conversation. And then hopefully I'll show up in a few weeks and I'll have the title in tow and it will be a better conversation. Any thoughts on that? Because it seemed to me like he was basically saying that you're in this position because you're going against him for that title. I don't want to start on this. What did it seem like?

32:30Gunther:You know what the difference is? Sitting here, so first of all, that's the first point. I got 30 minutes here with you. I got requested to do this interview because it's a big match. Of course I do it. It's part of the profession. and I honor that. But obviously, Cody finds some way to get his face inserted into that 30-minute window that I have with you guys. That just speaks about everything I mentioned about Cody, about the attention seeking. Always finds a way to get the spotlight on him. And then secondly, yeah, you know what? I think Cody is right. I'm sitting here because I'm wrestling Cody for the WWE Championship.

33:08Gunther:The difference is if I would not sit here with you, I would do something else in my life and I would be very happy and confident with that. The issue is, if Cody is not on those rounds that are so much fun, then he's sitting at home worrying, crying a little bit that he doesn't get the attention that he wants to, that he needs. He seems to run on that. Yeah, I'm glad he was obviously in New York, spending the whole day with you guys. I spent the day with my wife here in lovely Cambridge in England and drank coffee in the city center and was not thinking for a second, I don't know, that I need to be on some interview to get seen, to get recognition.

33:52My recognition is going to come when the bell rings in Italy,

33:56Gunther:and that's what I focus on. That's what I work for, and that's why I'm going to be the new WWE Undisputed Champion when that second bell rings. I think, Cody, you did say something for real, though. This has been a great interview. I'm loving talking. This was solid interview. I'm having a great time the second time I get to speak.

34:15O'Shea:Did you see the fangs come out? Did you see my man? As soon as he popped off the screen, he was ready. This is what people have to expect Saturday at Clash in Italy. It is. In today's world, planning ahead isn't always top of mind, but not having life insurance can leave families facing difficult financial uncertainty during already emotional times. In many cases, loved ones are left managing expenses, debts, or long-term obligations without a clear plan in place. Life insurance is one of those ways to help provide financial security and support when it's needed most. That's where Ethos comes in.

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36:10O'Shea:Going to be a spectacle, I can tell already. You can catch the ring, General Gunther, as he goes for the undisputed WWE Championship against the American Nightmare, Cody Rhodes, at Clash in Italy this Sunday, May 31st, 2 p.m. Eastern, 11 a.m. Pacific. I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to watching this match. watching.

36:30Gunther:And for the sake of making noise for the business itself for that event, I think it's an amazing card. I think this is an absolute banger, PLE, that they put together. I think the other matches are really, really good and have high stakes. Yeah, very excited for the whole event. And obviously, main focus point, me becoming champion. But the location is good. I think the stakes are big and i think the atmosphere is going to be special it's going to be different and uh yeah i'm going to be able to handle it and i have doubts if totally will be able to handle it

37:10O'Shea:i mean the card is stacked yeah the card is stacked but you two and your love of the business and your understanding of what it means to have that around your waist is what new fans need to pay attention to and what us regulars are already salivating over, man. It's definitely going to be a spectacle. I want to know who are the wrestlers that you watched that you were admiring the same way that we admire a superstar like yourself?

37:51Gunther:I would say the guys I've watched is it was mostly I was mostly influenced I would say by European wrestlers or guys that wrestle in Japan Kobashi was always one of the guys Kenobi Kobashi looked up to Stan Hansen, I was a big Stan Hansen guy Terry Gordy, those guys but I think what I really learned the most was from guys that I tightly worked with over the years the first big matches my first really big matches in my career were with Zack Sabre Jr. back then and Daisuke Sakimoto and those were like really long lasting experiences for me with them and we kind of like grew together at the same time even though they were a little bit ahead of me then later in my career Timothy Vacher joined with somebody that I was heavily influenced by and then also obviously with my good friends Ludwig Kaiser he's somebody that from who has all this knowledge and had all this stuff, all this knowledge passed down from his father, who was already a very, very successful wrestler in Germany and all over the world.

39:02Yeah, I think those are the guys that directly influenced me the most. I miss watching Ludwig. I was a fan of hers. I haven't seen him in a while. Hopefully he's doing well.

39:16O'Shea:I'd love to see Ludwig back in the ring.

39:19Gunther:Privately, I'm still in touch with him. but professionally Is he good though? Is everything alright with him? He's alright but professionally he got kicked out of Imperium and he's gone what can I do? Let's talk about that you're still cool with him but you kicked him out of your group how does that work? That works because I'm somebody that is able to separate business from personal in some cases I don't it's a choice but in that case I can yeah I get that doing well back at his office job nice i completely get that one of my best friends had a tv show on mtv called punked years ago and i actually was a producer and then i got fired so i get it and we're still cool to this day so i understand yeah i understand must have done a really good job there

40:10look i to this day i think i was wrongfully let go but that's a story now I know how Dragunov felt

40:18O'Shea:I just got that shot from Gunther right there that was great by the way I also want to point out just as a fan I have to say this because me and you have been to a lot of events where Gunther's wrestled and you know when that music hits we put our arms behind our back always you know and we wait until you get into the ring before we can relax but you brought back the old music Thank you so much. You know, is that a part of the superstar's decision, or do you just get a call that it's happening? Because that old music, it just hits differently. We think about when you first popped up, and we heard that music and that white background and all, and it gave me that feeling again of your debut back in the day.

41:10O'Shea:so had any of your personal preference went into picking your old music

41:16Gunther:yeah actually I wanted that again because it when I joined the main roster I had a new song a new entrance music and I liked it but it felt very much WWE and I think my stronghold was always be different than anybody else And in that environment, I felt that what I had before wasn't part of that made me stand out. Nobody's really using a classical piece. And I had it for so long. So I developed a good feeling for it. And that's why I wanted it back. That was the simple reason for them.

41:59O'Shea:It's great for your creator wrestler on 2K, by the way. Oh, yeah. Yeah, he is. I remember when the song came back, I was watching, and I had to pause it. I was like, wait a second. Am I hearing this right? Yeah, and then the crowd can get into it and start harmonizing with it. I love the old song. It helped so much with the presentation. Yes. Now, also, a question that we ask everybody their first time on NCW, I need to know, when did you get bit by the wrestling bug? When did something click in you that you wanted to get in there? You wanted to be a part of the Squared Circus?

42:40Gunther:It was, let me think, I watched it as a kid. It was like back then friends had like VHS tapes and something and live. I saw it in person. The first time my dad took me to the tournament in Vienna, when we still had the summer tournament. And how it was there was like in the, they would go to different cities, but they would be in the same spot for, it was always differently long, but I think Vienna was like 30 days and for like 30 days, every day, there would be matches, because like I said, it was a tournament. And I just liked the, I can't put the finger on it, but I just liked the vibe around it.

43:19Gunther:There was mystique about it. It was a very grabbing atmosphere and feeling and yeah, I always liked it. It was always very intriguing and yeah, it never really went away. There was like a good amount of time where I didn't follow anything with wrestling. I played football and other things going on in life and then at some point I just actually when I stopped playing football, I started looking into it again and catching up with it. And, yeah, that's when I by accident found an advert for a wrestling school in Austria. That was the first time I was even older. That exists. I didn't know about that.

44:08Gunther:And then, yeah, I dug deeper. I have the thing where when I like something, I really like to grab a hold of it and know more about it, investigate it, try to understand it. It's in general if I have an interest in something. That was the case with wrestling too. I just went to a training and yeah, I enjoy it. There was a little bit wrestling has it. Pro wrestling has the vibe about it takes athleticism. It takes a certain craftsmanship, but it's also, it has the vibe of a little bit like the rock and roll life in that sense. It's always, it's always chaotic. It's so much traveling and yeah, I always liked the combination of all of that.

44:50Gunther:And yeah, that's when I stuck to it. You know, back in the days, you know, I always hear the name Walter. Okay. Living over here, you know, I catch some clips on YouTube here and there, but I wasn't fully able to fully invest myself into his character. But you were, man, there was almost like this mythical thing when your name would pop up on a website or on an Instagram post, and it was all capital letters. You know what I mean? And you just had this aura. You had this thing where like, have you ever, have you seen, do you hear about, do you know about this guy? And then when you showed up on NXT as Pete Dunne, another guy who we haven't seen in a while, I hope he's doing well.

45:34He's standing there with that UK championship and your music hit. I remember that pay-per-view. I think he had just got done wrestling, maybe one of the Coffee Brothers or something, I can't remember. But that music hit and that arena lost its mind. And then you stepped onto the stage and Pete Dunn, who was just rolling through people, a look of fear kind of came across his face. And you stepped out there and people lost their mind as you made your way to the ring. Can we go back to that? Because you won the belt. You held it for over 800 days. But what was that feeling like when you stepped into that arena that day, knowing that there was going to be a whole group of fans who maybe have only heard about you, but never got to see you.

46:21And now you're here in NXT UK to do your thing.

46:28Gunther:I wasn't surprised by it because back then the UK wrestling scene was so hot and so on fire. I was having three weekends out of the month. I was flying to England to wrestle. and the NXT UK crowd a very large portion of the fans that came to watch NXT UK were the same people that also went to all of those shows all over the country so I expected that they know me and I'm happy how it worked out because there was definitely a little bit of a gold rush almost when NXT UK started and everybody wanted to go there right away and I was always more let's wait, let's see, let's let it play out a little bit.

47:15Gunther:Let some time pass and fill a gap when it's needed. Because if something starts out fresh and everybody jumps on it, a lot of the things happen at the same time. I think when I came in, NHC UK was in need for somebody like me. And yeah, the reaction I think tells that. I think people were ecstatic that I finally joined WB and NXT UK. And yeah, from there on, it went uphill. I mean, you're talking about the man who you mentioned the 666 days as IC champion. 870 days. You like to keep gold. When he wins gold, there's no quick like, you know, back in the day, Tommy Rich won the NWA world title for five days and then Harley Race bait him back.

48:05when this man gets a hold of gold yeah it's staying with it's about to be furniture

48:12Gunther:yes now yeah and so so it is something that is um i've always been a fan of that too of like a long title reigns especially with a heel where it's like when i started out i was oftentimes the tallest on the roster or the heaviest so i learned wrestling out of that position out of the like being the mountain to climb and that counts for a match but also I feel like if somebody beats me after I hold the title a short amount of time it will mean less if somebody achieves that after a longer period of time because just so many tried before and yeah I think that's why that worked out pretty well and yeah especially NHG UK I want to point this out too with COVID.

49:04Gunther:That was such a very special situation because when you're the champion of a company, obviously it's on you to, yeah, it's your responsibility to put on matches good enough that justifies buying a ticket or tuning into the show. And obviously with COVID, that was a challenge because we were in an empty studio. There was for a few months, there was nothing and we were in an empty studio and that was a big challenge like how because that was new for the whole wrestling world how do we deal with that and I was in a position with Ilya back then to actually turn this whole thing into an advantage I think the first match Ilya and I had in NXT UK wouldn't have been as good or as well received if it wouldn't have been in an empty arena I think that atmosphere really added to it and that was definitely a challenge and I was I'm very thankful that it happened that way because in life in general I'm a person I need responsibility and I need a challenge and even I think I myself need a mountain to climb um and yeah I'm very thankful that happened because at the end uh I succeeded in that and it was a very valuable lesson for the rest of my career and for we always like to do this too for our fans that are watching if you're not familiar with the matches that he had with Iliad Dragon.

50:30Do yourself a favor after you're done with this. Please go wherever you can find YouTube or Netflix wherever and watch these matches because they're special. They're special matches. And the sounds of those chops in an empty arena are absolutely sickening. Like you said, buckshot, shotgun. Everyone who's not familiar, please do yourself a favor after this and treat yourself to watch some tremendous professional wrestling between these two men.

50:58O'Shea:Yeah, Ilya and Gunther are both, you're both superstars that I, you know, there's a moment where you can see in the opponent's eyes where they think, are you mad at me? Are you upset at me? It's just a visceral feeling that people get when they watch you both perform. And you guys together, it was insanity. I want to go back to something you said about being the mountain to climb. Now, I've always enjoyed heels when they have long runs. I mean, I'm a Roman fan. But heels when they go on long runs because I just feel like the audience is way more engaged because they want him to lose so bad. Like, Muhammad Ali found a way to make that in boxing.

51:52O'Shea:You know, he's talking so much smack that most people are tuning in, you know, just hoping like this is the night. This is the night. And being the mountain to climb. There's a guest that we had that spoke that same way. A guest by the name of Obafemi. Now, when I think about Kutu and Obafemi, there's not a ring big enough. All right. Take my money. Are you the type to study somebody like Oba in the day that it does finally happen? You're prepared or you're just tunnel vision with it?

52:30Gunther:I honestly don't really spend too much time on looking what the other ones do. But I always keep an eye on the big picture. And obviously Oba is a standout talent. I think in the short time he's in the company, he's done huge steps. But I think that's also, we will see how we deal with that. That's a big burden or a big responsibility right from the get-go. And I want to see him succeed in that because I think he's an amazing talent and the future is very bright for him. yeah and I hope he maintains that, stays around so when it comes down to us too yeah he's going to be ready for it love that answer that's amazing and that's a little bit to clarify quickly because I'm tall and I'm a heavyweight people often put me when they think about matches it's not going to be is something like how Ova and Brock is.

53:42I wouldn't meet Ova on a physical level

53:45Gunther:in the sense of like, I'm going to match him up. He's stronger than I am. I don't know if he's a little bit taller or not. And he's younger than I am. So it makes absolutely no sense. I think what would make that interesting is seeing me work from, maybe even from underneath, a little bit wrestle from underneath against a stronger opponent. And I think that's a test that would be interesting for him, how to last in a longer match, how to endure 20 minutes with somebody much, much, much more experienced than him. And that's why I need him to gain experience himself first because when I meet him, I want to meet him on eye level.

54:25O'Shea:Tactical, cerebral. All right, you are in a bar enjoying yourself. There's 50 dudes in this bar who are not a fan of the ring general. I need you to pick a team of yourself and four other superstars of any era to make sure the ring general is getting back to the car.

54:54Gunther:Well, first of all, I've said this. I would avoid everything to be in a situation like that. Yeah, yeah, of course. I'm not a big nightlife person. but I think yeah I would take Ilya with me he's a crazy man and also other personal reasons I take Kaida with me been on my side many many times and then the last two I mean we got some we got some machine I'm just sticking to what we got now I think I would take one of the Creed brothers. Yeah. I think equally fine. Either one. And I think I would take Otis. Yo. Yeah. I think Otis has been on three teams. I think so. That's a big man right now. Otis is doing dirt.

55:50Gunther:Yeah. And very, very, very impressive athlete too. Yeah. Love that team. Love that, yeah. Love that team. Now, Confer, before we let you go, I want to let you know that you're now family, whether you want to be or not you know you're now part of the no contest wrestling family so whenever you're in la you come over you let yourself that's what that's what they say you can choose your friend and not your family i like to think of ourselves friends and family you know you're in la we'll let you know where the spare key is you come over you help yourself out to whatever's in the kitchen but in the house but in the house gunther we have a in the garage we have a DeLorean.

56:30It's a time machine from Back to the Future. We're going to let you take the keys, right, Gunther? And what I need you to do, what we need you to do, is go back in time and pick five opponents from any era that you would love to have a Wrestlemania main event with. Which five men would you love to test your skills against?

56:52Gunther:A Wrestlemania main event? So we're sticking to WWE, right? No. Anyway. I just use WrestleMania because it's a big show. It's a granddaddy of them all. That's the thing. Those are things I never think about in my life. And I get put on the spot here. The question, what is career-wide and financially, what would be the best choices? But let's stick with personal. Yeah. For personal entertainment reasons. Yes, exactly. I would think Kurt Angle. Okay. Yeah. I think Eddie Guerrero. Eddie?

57:36Gunther:I think Shawn. Shawn Michaels. Great match. He always suffered in a very dramatic way, I think, to look at his fit. Two left, right? Yes, sir. And I think Daniel Bryan. Oh, okay. And... You know what? to the Undertaker.

58:00O'Shea:Nice. Oh, man, I was hoping. I was hoping. So you against Kurt Angle, Eddie Guerrero, Shawn Michaels, Daniel Bryan, and The Undertaker. I'm buying tickets for all of those matches. Oh, man. See? Beautiful, man. This has been really great, man. It's so cool to be able to talk to you and really get in your mind. The appreciation that we already knew you had, It just oozed through this interview, man. Did you have a good time? Sure.

58:36I was hoping that's what we got. What a chop!

58:41Gunther:Thank you for having me, guys.

58:44O'Shea:Ladies and gentlemen, Gunther will be going up against Cody Rhodes for the WWE Undisputed Championship May 31st. Clash in Italy. Make sure that you are watching. It is going to be a spectacle. We can tell already. Thank you for your time.

59:00Gunther:No, thank you, guys. And don't forget to text Cody and thank him because of him you were able to talk to me. Otherwise, I wouldn't even be sitting here. So thank you, Cody. And see you in Italy. Thanks for having me, guys. Yo.

59:14O'Shea:There's no games being played. None. Let me tell you something. There's no games being played. I'm very happy we got the man to smile at the end there. Because I was a little worried he might slap us through the Zoom. We was trying to be so professional. Man. No jokes. No jokes. Man, he takes, like we said, he takes this wrestling thing very seriously. It's not a game. He's not looking to go to Hollywood. He's not looking to go to some studio and be on the track with your pops. He's just looking to step into that squared circle, of course, after he wipes his feet, and just beating the will out of another man.

59:52Like beating another man, choking another man, slapping another man until they don't want to get beat, choked, or slapped anymore. And you know what? You got to kind of respect that. Yo, can we talk about how there's a German word for getting happiness for the misery? Schreiten Floyd. Bless you. Yeah, bless you. I've heard that word before. I can't pronounce it, but I've definitely heard it. And I looked up the definition once because someone used it. I was like, what does that word mean?

1:00:17O'Shea:that is like the haters like pledge right there that right there is just hate hate hate hate hate but yeah he's um it's gonna be something to watch it's another one of those times where i'm feeling i'm like the wrestling fan you know the the the wrestling fan who's watched wrestling all these years and me is like cody got this it's in italy they're not gonna make cody but then you're not That's what made Cody lose, right? Then it's like. Think about him winning this match in Europe, though. Yeah. In Europe. You know what I mean? And it just, you know what that crowd's about to sound like. Oh. It's about to be crazy.

1:00:58And if I'm not mistaken, usually, of course, champions don't start pay-per-views. If I'm not mistaken, Cody versus Gunther and Rhea versus Jade are going to be on ESPN proper. They're going to kick off the pay-per-view. So think about that, because now that's even more eyes, because not everybody has the app, right? Not everybody has subscribed. So not everybody's going to have the opportunity, I guess, to watch the pay-per-view. But everybody is going to be able to see those two championship matches. Does that add extra pressure? Not to this guy. It certainly don't. I don't think he cares one way or another.

1:01:33That's just something for our fans to know that I believe, if I'm not mistaken, yeah, those matches are going to kick off the PLE. so what yeah that's a key factor like that those are like tj because the one thing i will say you know about about cody like cody cody didn't even make a full year with his reign you know he

1:02:01O'Shea:lost at mania okay cody is one of those guys that like if it's for if it's good for business and like it just makes me ponder to you. It makes me ponder. I'm pondering. I'm pondering. This is going to be something to watch and to know that it's going to be on ESPN. This is, oh, might want to pay attention, y 'all. Might want to pay attention. I know I will be. And I know all these other matches have recently taken place. You know, we've seen Roman against Jacob recently, Rhea and Jade, some of the other matches. But this one, although they did have that match we spoke of earlier in Saudi, these two aren't really a rematch like these other ones.

1:02:46No, no, no.

1:02:46O'Shea:It's not fresh. Yeah, it's not fresh. It's been a festering bit of history that needs to be. Ober and Brock, of course. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It needs to be settled. Yeah. It's going to be settled. All right. And here we go. And the thing about Gunther is he's not really one to take an L too nice, you know? So, like, who knows if even this is it. It's going to be something to watch. As wrestling fans, we know what we all going to be doing. I'm going to be, it's not really early, about brunch time. 11, you should be. I'll be up by 6. Okay. You an adult. I got a day job that, you know, requires me to be up early every morning.

1:03:29But let's talk about it, man. That card, you're going to have Reigns against Jacob Fatu. Tribal combat.

1:03:36O'Shea:Yeah. this is going to get wild. Might be some color. Maybe. There's going to be a lot of things going on. And if you recall, what was it, a few years ago, Solo made kind of his main roster debut with Roman in Europe at a PLE. Do we see something? There's a lot of family members. Yeah. There's a lot of Fatou's. We got more brothers than the Wayans. Yeah, that's true. Shout out to the Wayans. You know, there's rumors. Zilla fought too. Maybe he shows up. I don't know. I haven't seen his social media in a while. No, I mean, I know he had maybe a House of Glory title or something that he recently dropped.

1:04:19So who knows? There's a chance. I'm just saying, you just never know. But this tribal combat is going to be, man, that's going to be worth the price of admission in itself as I'm wearing the Bloodline Jordans right now.

1:04:32O'Shea:She's just one to flex on you. Well, you know, maybe somebody from Nike sees that and hooks a brother up. But then we also have an addition to Cody against Gunther, like we spoke, Rhea against Jade, Lesnar and Femi, and then Becky Lynch against Sol Ruka. And there was word that Sol got a little injured. So hopefully she's okay. My Sol Ruka? Your Sol. So we'll see. But yeah, this is going to be an interesting card over here in Italy. I'm looking forward to it. Universe Sol Ruka. Yeah, but, you know, of course, Oba and Brock. I want to see where that goes. You know, I think we kind of stated. Do you make Brock lose twice?

1:05:13Do Brock lose twice? Do you make Oba lose? I mean, like. Like, come on.

1:05:18O'Shea:I mean. This is what we talking about. The last episode, we said it was shenanigans. We said it was. Stuff was run amok. We were bamboozled. And this is the confusion you're bringing us now. because theoretically, there's no reason why he should lose. Yeah. Oba. There's no reason why he should. Only other than the fact that it's Brock Lesnar. Man, that's what I was saying at WrestleMania. Then this dude beat him in what, four? Four minutes, four and a half minutes, yeah. I could, bro, four minutes? It'd take you that long to go to the bathroom and come back. It's just enough for me to make some soup, not long enough for it to cool down.

1:05:59O'Shea:Right? Like, man. So. black people. Anyway, yeah, we're going to be watching that. It's pins and needles, edge of our seat, because I need to know where we're going. I know you didn't just give that blank check for that man to come back and lose. Right. I know you threw the Monopoly bag at him. I know it, because there ain't no way you took a moment for WrestleMania, a moment away from him and Paul hugging him. Yeah, but think about it. Brock might have just got caught up in that moment. Maybe that was his goodbye to WrestleMania. Oh, man. Maybe not exactly goodbye to wrestling. Maybe he knows that that's going to be the last mania.

1:06:37Who knows? You know, there's all types of rumblings about SummerSlam. The man we just interviewed, his name had been attached. So who knows, man? I don't know what's going on. We're just like you at home. We're just sitting there. Somebody said something in a YouTube comment for two dudes who know so much. And I'm like, we don't. We don't know nothing. We don't claim we know everything. We're like, we're you, except we're here. We're speculating on everything just like everybody else.

1:07:03O'Shea:That knows so much. We do know a lot, though. Yeah, I know. A lot. Not everything. Not everything. That's why we a tag team. All right? Like, come on, man. Hey, let me get you right here. We fans, okay? All right. We're just fans. All right? We just happen to have a platform to spew our nonsense, okay? We're entertaining because we both be on TV. Now, it seems to have worked out pretty well for us so far. but we are in no shape, way, or form. Know it all. Yeah. Because you can't know it all unless you're writing it. But anyway, although I do know I could name like all the WWE champions from like the first one to about the 25th, but that's for another big tuna.

1:07:47That's, that's for another day.

1:07:48O'Shea:It is with great pleasure that I would like to announce that I will be a part of hall of fame on ESPN radio with Booker T and Brad Gilmore ahead of clash in Italy this Saturday. I think they got me on at 11, 2 p.m. Eastern. That's good math. Yeah, math my time. So I will be joining the crew over there at Hall of Fame. This is my man Booker T. He helped us out. I gotta help out Book. As soon as he gave me the hot tag, I'm in there. And my buddy Brad Gilmore, pretty excited. Don't know what they're gonna ask me, which makes me nervous. but it's all to get you ready for clashing in the league and uh yeah man make sure you check it out but tj now that i told them where they can find me on saturday can you tell the people where to find us all the time oh yeah all the time so if you want to follow what we got going on here at no contest wrestling all you got to do is if you're on youtube go to the youtube page go to the rich eisen show page and just type in no contest wrestling you'll see all of our uh video clips there if you're listening to us for your air gate just go to espn you go to amazon you go to apple you go to spotify basically anywhere that you listen to podcasts and of course on social media you can find us on twitter at there's no contest instagram no contest wrestling podcast or the tiktok we're no contest wrestling pod we're everywhere basically you know i'm saying so you ain't got no excuses for not finding us.

1:09:23O'Shea:On behalf of my podcast partner, the big tuna, the almanac, TJ Jefferson, you see the bloodlines. I am O'Shea Jackson Jr. Telling you all, make sure you have a good day, but not too good. It's who the hell you think you are. That's what I'm saying. Bye, Ms. Parker. Bye, Ms. Parker.

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