Reactions to Wrestlepolooza, Monday Night Raw and an interview with The Miz

32:29And I was like, yo, Shane, look, there's Heyman. And then he came out and did the intro and it was fire. But yeah, just be remiss if we didn't say that. But, you know, the Usos, the Vision, they were doing their thing. And then after, I think, a recoil of a chair shot, Jimmy just got, or Jay, I'm sorry, got busted wide open. And he was leaking. and I don't know if that made them maybe cut the match short a little bit or whatever. I predicted the division to win anyway. But yeah, he got busted up pretty bad, man. Yeah, and I remember trying to look like, who's bleeding like that? I looked at Reed?

33:08No, I looked at Breaker? They just got hit with chairs. Well, who's bleeding? It was like Jay, the one who attacked him. And looking at slow-mo vids and everything, Yeah, it popped him right in that head, right in the front on that hairline. And the dude was concussed. There was no way around it. Jimmy immediately after the match placing a towel over the open wound, just trying to keep it closed. So I know it was ugly over there. And, you know, we saw him raw. He obviously had a match with LA Knight, so he's fully recovered from protocol. But scary moment for Jey Uso. Jey Uso right now is in a bit of character limbo because you don't know what direction he's going.

33:54His looks are intense. He seems to be tired of the happy-go-lucky Jey Uso for the kids, and he wants to get back into the title scene by any means necessary, and he feels like this dude, L.A. Knight, is in the way. L.A. Knight, of course, we knew how the special guest referee thing was going to go. He was actually the first guy we saw. Oh, yeah, that's the first person we saw. Right. Friend of the show. And, yeah, you know, fun, cool match. Really was a story builder more than a finisher. And so, you know, by far no way near the end of that saga. But then we got some good stuff. Then we got to see EO versus Vakere.

34:44EO! Boy, when you talk about just two ladies that demand respect from the crowd when they come out, it is EOS song such a banger. Stephanie's track is such a banger. Stephanie came out like she was ready for a championship. The new robe, got your dad in the front row. She tasted the gold. She looked like a champion. She did. Yes. Yes, her presentation was on point. Io's Io. There's no way you can look at Io and, like, see her come out with that smile and know, like, she's about to do some crazy shit. She's about to go nuts. And they did exactly what they were supposed to do, what we had been waiting for.

35:35Now, we both thought Asuka was going to have a hand in it. Yeah, just that's where it was going. They let it play out. One-on-one, catch a fair one. the care coming out with the victory that that finisher she did a lot of people are calling it different thing it's a corkscrew it's a corkscrew yeah yeah some people are calling it the uh spiral tap i've seen that a bunch of times i believe the spinal tap you have to land on your spine so that's why it's you land on your back and she didn't so i think it was but regardless it was beautiful the whole match man it was truly i go back to that thing i said about the thing of Beauty is a Joy Forever.

36:14That's one of those matches that I'm going to go back and rewatch probably at least 10 times before it's all seven. It was that amazing of a match. You took two competitors at the top of their game, two women who are not just amongst the best women wrestlers, but wrestler period on the planet. And it was amazing to watch those two, you know, just go out there and put on the show and that's exactly what they did man and what an awesome i'm like replaying it in my head right now what an awesome match like it was just they moved like water like it was just fluid one thing after the other it didn't feel there's just something about it that let you know you're looking at something different yes you're looking at something different, something special, exactly.

37:07And they had fought this... Wait, because since we're talking Stephanie, I got a shirt that I wore today on the Rich Eisen show. Absolutely. Big champ. And they had fought twice before, but both of those times ended in no contest. So it was something that we were waiting to see what the choice was going to be. You're going to give it to the vet, or are they They strapping the rocket to the care. She got the dub. But I got a little controversy. How so? Both their shoulders were on the mat, bro. It wasn't a clean pin. I didn't notice that when I rewatched. Are you sure Stephanie's were, both of them?

37:53Bro, it was not a clean pin. I'm like, she's laying on her back. EO is basically on her head for that pin. I don't see a different angle, but I don't think that's going to come back to play. I think that just is what it is. I don't think that's a line that like, it'll be like my shoulder wasn't, you know, I just think it was what it was. Hey, if I'm writing that down, I'm holding that in my pocket for a promo. I'm holding that in my pocket for a promo. Yes, it tells me I don't think that that's going to be the case with this one, though. But, you know, the cool thing is, though, we got to because, like I said, with Stephanie, you know, we helped put the name Devil's Kiss out there and then see her.

38:39We've seen it in person before, but to see it again in person. Yeah, it's again, I keep quoting Kadeem from Man Can't Jump. A thing of beauty is a joy forever. You got to go watch the movie tonight, man. You know what I'm saying? But yeah, like Stephanie is so good, man. She's just excellent at what she does. You can see her when she speaks from the time she did the interview with us until now, like the confidence in her English has grown. She's just special and EO is special. And it was amazing just to get to see those two women go out there and do what they do as well, if not better than anybody else.

39:23I know we always said we don't do match rankings, but I'm going to give that 10 out of 10. 11 out. That's how good it was. That was one of those matches that we had circled for. Since we found out that Naomi had to vacate the title, we knew that Viqueir. I really didn't know where that original match between Naomi and Viqueir was going to go because I felt like Naomi was in such a spot of just entertainer on top of just in her bag and finally had reached the mountaintop again and there were so many people that while she is being a heel were just so naturally happy for Naomi that I really didn't know I really didn't know where they were going to go with that clash of Paris match because it could have went either way putting the rocket on the care I would have just, I mean, you get why, but Naomi was in such a spot that I don't know if it would have been such an easy decision to do that.

40:30But obviously, Big Jim ruined that for everybody. But that's not his fault. Yeah, thanks, Big Jim. She kept tempting Big Jim. And, you know, temptation to the flesh is hard to resist. Yeah, so, but, you know, and Sister Trin being Sister Trin, she's still wilding out on Twitter. as she said, she put a tweet out, Stephanie Vicarra or Stephanie Velcro or however she says her name today, congratulations, beep, and you better mail me my nameplate. And then somebody wrote, somebody responded, make sure it's next day shipping too. And she wrote, I need them ASAP. So she's still wilding out on Twitter.

41:14It's amazing. I hope that we don't go the next 13, 14 months and not see her. I hope she pops up just randomly at some point. If it's just backstage to talk trash, just to remind people that she ain't gone nowhere. Yeah, at least come out with the bump, with the caution baby on board or something, man. I love that. People would love to see her. We can't go a year and a half without seeing Naomi. Not with the run she's been on, the best work she's done in her long career, man. But hey, bringing life into the world is beautiful, and congratulations to her. And man, you know that baby is going to have so much fun growing up.

41:58Athletically gifted, for sure. And just imagine, like your dad, according to everyone, is probably the funniest dude in the locker room. You know? Yeah. That kid's prying for a very good life. Now, we're going to get back to the PLE, but I'm just reminding myself of something. to our friends over at Bleacher Report. Now, I know a list is strictly opinion-based. There's nothing that says that your list is law and that we all got to follow that or anything like that. But when it comes to the 25 greatest or the top 25, whatever y 'all call y 'all list, Naomi not on that list there's a bunch of people on that list whose influence is a key factor in them being on the list and I'm one of those people that believes in influence impacting where you are at the end of the day when we map out greatest careers and whatnot.

43:07And when I think about all the firsts that Naomi is for black people, I'm going to just say what it is, there's no way that she isn't top 25. I don't even know what you're talking about right now. The list? Oh, my brother. Let me let you know right now this list. Is this today? No, no, no, no, no. This was before this is probably three days before Wrestlepalooza but we never talked about it this was just strictly like something that the internet had a hold of the list was and I'm going to read off this written out four days ago Bleacher Report ranks the 25 greatest women's wrestlers in WWE history we have At number one, Becky Lynch.

44:04Number two, Charlotte Flair. Number three, Trish. Right there, Shay, you violated. You did something that you can't start a countdown list. You gave me number one. I don't care about the rest of the list now. You got to start from the back and work your way down. Now I know Becky Lynch has won. There ain't no more surprise now. Well, I mean, she said it during her promo that Bleacher Report says she's number one. I'm starting at 25 right now. Let's go from the bottom. Number 25, Michelle McCool. Number 24, Jacqueline. Number 23, Bull Nakano. A little bit. You know? A little bit, huh? How do you say Nakano, right?

44:45It's also my boy Wilmer Valderrama's daughter's name is Nakano. Wow. Yeah. Yo, that Wilmer, we got to kick it. Yeah, so I think Bull Nakano a little low on this list, or a little high, depending on how you want. She should be a little. Straight powerhouse. Straight powerhouse of a woman. 22, Shayna Baszler. 21, Alundra Blaze. Number 20. Stop. Alundra Blaze. Come on now. No. No. I thought they was getting mad at her because of the like. All right. You got Bull Nakano and Alundra Blaze in the 20s. This is almost not a valid list already, but keep going. Number 20, Liv Morgan. Number 19, Alexa Bliss.

45:28Number 18, AJ Lee. Number 17, Mickie James. Stop. Stop. Stop. Brother. Brother. You know how I feel about Mickie James. Bro, I love Mickie James. She's only number two to Oscar in my book of all time. My favorite. Mickie James. I don't like that. I don't like that. But I'm sorry. I'm probably going to interrupt you again, just to be honest. I feel you. Listen, this is what the internet been on, bro. Number 16, Natalia. Number 15, Beth Phoenix. Number 14, the Bella Twins. Number 13, EO Sky. 13? As in after 12 and before 14? No, I don't like that either. 13. Number 12, Paige. Number 11, Ronda Rousey.

46:23The 11th greatest woman's wrestler of all time. Ronda Rousey? Ronda Rousey. I mean, this is not a knock on Ronda Rousey. No, Ronda Rousey, whoop ass. But I'm talking about WWE history? Not even, yeah, I mean, okay. WWE history. 10? That's what we got there, yeah. All right, now we're in the 10s. Number 10, Lita. Number 9, Oscar. Stop, I don't care about the rest of this list. The rest of this list is too lazy. It's false. The only reason I'm not going to shut this down is because she's in the top 10. Other than that, if she had been in like 13 or something, I'd have broke my laptop. But I'm sorry.

47:08You know how I get it. Number eight, Chyna. Okay. But number seven, the longest reigning Raw women's champion of all time at number seven, Bianca Belair. She hasn't had that long of a career, though, either, man. When you compare her career to, say, Oscar's career in terms of length and accomplishments, I don't have any problem with her being there. It might even be, and you know, this is not a knock on Bianca. But yeah, I'm okay with that. We love Bianca. Number six, Bayley. Number five, a Sasha Banks shout out. Number four, Rhea. Number three, Trish. Number two, Charlotte. Number one, Becky.

47:53Naomi don't make that list yeah that's a little the most money in the bank matches in women's history and a winner two time champ Naomi even I mean look Jazz should have been on this list plain and simple like let's you know what I'm saying Jazz should have been on this list maybe Naomi should have been on this list. I'm trying to think of who else, man. Anybody else you're thinking of that? I mean, look, Awesome Kong could have made this list, you know. I just don't see how Naomi who, I mean, for our listeners, just take time to look up a lot of the firsts that Naomi is and tell me she don't deserve to be on the list.

48:52it's like it's mind-boggling but again I don't get mad at these lists because like I said to I think either Miz or Rosenberg wrestling is so subjective right what you like someone else might like someone else is going to have a list that's going to have a bunch of Joshi wrestlers on here other than the WWE Japanese women there are so many great women's wrestlers out there throughout time. So, I mean, like I said, the list is subjective. It's someone's opinion. I'm not going to get too riled up, even though I got a little riled up. I mean, she's a two-time SmackDown Women's Champion, a former tag team champion.

49:34She was TNA knockout champion and never lost as world heavyweight champion. And she can't be in the top 25. There's some people on there that I don't even know if they won. and she came in top 25? Who are you taking off then?

49:56I need to pull it up again. I just know there's some people that are low. Some people that I know are on here for their influence. I like Shayna Baszler, right? She's cool. Shayna Baszler, 22 all time. Ain't no Naomi and she's never been a world champion. Yeah, never been a world champion. Only NXT. And she was dominant in NXT. She did a thing. Dominant. Dominant. But, like, I don't see that. I don't see that. I don't see Ronda on there, bro. I don't see Ronda on there. Yeah. Like, and respect to them as actual fighters because they will beat your ass under a table. I'm in a bar. I'm snatching those.

50:40Ladies, can you please help me? Please help. Yeah. I'm going to sit back and have a drink. Watch them get you. I'm just saying over Naomi, I don't feel that. I don't feel good. Old school TJ would say Wendy Richter should definitely be on this list. Wendy Richter was at the time when the rock and wrestling connection started to happen in the mid to late 80s. It was her and Cyndi Lauper when MTV and WWE had a partnership going. It was Cyndi Lauper, Captain Lou Albano, and Wendy Richter taking on the fabulous Moolah. Wendy Richter being with, you know, Cyndi Lauper, you know, that would be the equal of, because how big Cyndi Lauper was, it would almost be like if you took, you know, Tiffany Stratton and put her with Taylor Swift.

51:32You know what I mean? That's how important Cyndi Lauper was at that moment in music. Yeah. So, yeah, I have Wendy Richter. she's got to be on my list the fact that the fabulous Moolah or Mae Young is that's a little and I can understand you know there's some stuff about Moolah that people don't like but Mae Young we saw you know Queen of the Ring you know we know yeah yeah just here's four Naomi was the first black super this is one of those crazy things that when we were interviewing her. I remember we were going over the list. She's the first black SmackDown women's champion. First black women's tag team champion.

52:22She was a part of them. First black woman to win the Money in the Bank briefcase. And according to the records, because I remember looking it up with you and we were like, no, what about Simmons? What about Rock? What about first black superstar to win a world title at WrestleMania? She can't be under 25? What about Mildred Burke? There's a whole movie made about Queen of the Ring? Queen of the Ring? You have Mildred Burke on your list? Like, yeah. I don't know. Maybe we got to work on our own no contest list because we do lists every now and then. You're about to get me cussed out. I get cussed out every day already.

52:58We haven't done a list in a while. The last time, what did we do? We did Best Drop Kicks. And there were some people we missed on that. We got to get back in that because I told you our guy Manny from El Paso I think Manny's from El Paso in Texas regular call to the Rich Eisen show he'll call in and ask me if you and I can he was the one who said best drop kicks he'll ask for our favorite painted face wrestlers and our favorite clotheslines so maybe when you come back to town in like two weeks we'll start that up again when you're back in studio maybe we'll make our own list of women that got left off of this list yes I love that I love that idea let's keep them moving I just had to give Naomi her flowers because, you know, we love Bleacher Report.

53:46Do better. Next, what I think is my favorite match of the night, just because of how on the edge of my seat I was, first friend of the show, CM Punk. Bringing back his lady, AJ Lee. The mixed tag between them and Seth and Becky. And starting off Seth and Becky's entrance, you're like, you hear the music and you're like, where are they at? And then you look up and they're coming down on risers, dressed in purple with fire. It was, it was dope. It was dope. Them just getting lowered. You hadn't, I mean, I can think of, you know, Shawn Michael and, you know, one of those two WrestleMania matches against Taker.

54:34he did kind of the same thing when he was all on white but Seth and Becky just getting lowered down that was that was pretty ill uh you know Seth is always you know the gear is always people have a problem with the way they dress and to me it's like how do you want them they are WWE superstars they're larger than life they should not be dressed like an average Joe walking down the street like yeah like this is pomp and circumstance like you know when Seth had you have the Anthony Edwards on you know I'm always checking out you know in film you know I'm saying but no yeah and you know I saw a post on Twitter the colors that they were actually wearing um you know I gotta I gotta fact check this but uh it was true yeah yeah exactly it was you know about mental health bringing awareness of mental health and and those dealing with suicidal thoughts or any other tendencies that cause self-harm, just bringing awareness to them.

55:35While Punk and AJ, AJ had obviously the multicolor on the bottom of her sneakers for... The rainbow. Yeah, the rainbow for LGBTQ. And so it was, yeah, it was using their platform, using their gear to give a slight nod, which even if I don't want to like Seth and Becky, that's super cool for them to do so you know i can't knock it um but they put on a hell of a match too yeah aj coming out really that was the pop we wanted and you know we kind of you miz and myself we kind of predicted and i told miz i don't think aj starts the match if you recall i was like yeah they got to tease that i want to tease that and get her that pop so immediately what happens is who's who's in the ring first becky and aj and then seth i think tagged and he came in so AJ left I was like okay so it can still be this way and then you know she finally got the she got in she got the pop look it's been 10 years since AJ Lee had been in the wrestling ring in that capacity now I know she did the TV show Hills I believe so I'm sure obviously you know she's been in the ring but in front of a crowd like that and yeah there's always going to be a little rust when you've been gone that long but bro I thought she looked phenomenal and yeah I can honestly say that's probably going to be the worst match that she has going forward.

57:03And I don't think it was worse. I'm just saying. That was the first one back. She's still cool. And I think I told you at one point. I was like, she's still so smooth, man. Yeah. Absolutely. It was like riding a bike. She got in there. And also, it speaks to your opponent. It speaks to who you're in the ring with. And the match was fun. It had its heavy, serious moments. It had its false finishes. It had its funny moments when the husbands separated the opposite wives. And then the wives had to separate the husbands. That's just, it's entertainment. And I had a good time. At one point, Seth, like, fell out the ring, and he's laying right in front of us.

57:52And I leaned into the barrier. I was like, yo, Seth, you got to get up. They ain't going to buy this again, man. There's another instance where CM Punk fell in front of us and said, Phil, I know this isn't a good time, but I think you got this. He looks up, he goes, government names.

58:13I ran in the ring. I mean, I've called you Phil our entire lives. You're Phil, bro. And later on backstage, he told me, he was like, I thought you were just a random guy. I was about to kill you. Then I saw it was you. and at one point AJ threw Becky up against the barricade she literally almost flew over and landed on her lap by the way halfway over and then went back over but yeah it was you know I'm reading a lot of stuff online I swear man some of you wrestling fans just you can't be happy man you just you want perfection you just can't have fun this should be fun you know what I mean to see husbands and wives going out there and just I don't know, to see someone who people have wanted for so long to come back and then see her back in her element and looking so good, like, you know, people just complaining about stuff, man.

59:09It's just like, I mean, you know, I know we all ESPN cheering, but even a reporter by the name of Andres or Andreas Hale giving that match a C. did you not hear the crowd were you not there did you not get the the seats did you not hear the this is awesome or holy shit chants going throughout the arena it was everything you needed that match to be and i mean i was entertained it go a little long yeah sure okay Maybe it wasn't a little wrong Was it a perfect match? No How hard it is to have a perfect wrestling match though Very tough I was thoroughly entertained I had big fun It was great to see AJ in there You realize that Becky really is Very very very You should already know this She's very good Seth and Punk And I said something To you and Miz during the pre-show that Miz kind of lit up at.

1:00:19He's like, I like that idea. And that is, why not, why don't we see another match, another mixed tag match where the stipulation is winner takeoff? So being if Seth and Becky lose to AJ and Punk, then the IC title and the world title go to them. But if Becky and Seth beat AJ and Punk, then their stipulation is they have to leave and never come back. Right. Or just go to SmackDown. You have to have that. It has to seem like a finale. And obviously, you'd have Punk and AJ go over, but that should be... That's what Seth would do because he hates him so much that he'd want him gone. So, you know, that's a little...

1:01:05We like to call creative liberties. But why not? And Miz said he loved it, so that's good enough for me. He's awesome. Yeah, great time. AJ made Becky tap out, even though Becky then immediately got on Twitter and said that there was a bee flying around her and she didn't really tap. She was trying to swipe the bee away. And you know what? I'm not going to call Becky a liar. You know, I didn't see the bee, but I wasn't that close to her. So maybe that is the case. Jessica Carr called her a liar immediately. At one point, they were just going at it on the floor. And she just had lost all control.

1:01:43and I yelled, Jessica, you gotta do something Yeah, right, come on, dog It was just wild, man, but yeah the one spot where Punk and Seth are on one table, Becky and AJ are on the other table going for, I guess, maybe a power bomb or a rock bottom maybe that Becky had and then she shoved AJ into Punk, speared him and then him and Seth go down and the table It just blew up. Those tables ain't made by Granger. That's for sure. And that's a rich idea. Hey, I see you. Yeah, the Granger table. Maybe that's, I take that back. They don't want Granger tables because they need these tables to break. Right, right.

1:02:28I like that. They ain't going to break. So, you know. But yeah, I hope they do it again. Pays Checkout is offered by your banks and credit unions. So when you shop online at participating merchants, your cards appear in one place, ready to use and kept up to date. And the best part, your actual card number isn't shared when you check out. Because boundaries are healthy, like no work emails after six. One small step for boundaries, one big leap for checkout. Pays, it checks out. Activation required. See Pays.com to learn more. Terms and conditions apply. Tomorrow morning is knocking. Stock your fridge now.

1:03:07How about a creamy mocha frappuccino drink or a sweet vanilla, smooth caramel, maybe, or white chocolate mocha? Whichever you choose, delicious coffee awaits. Find Starbucks frappuccino drinks wherever you buy your groceries. Exactly. When it comes to Seth and Punk, it's never over. And I'm perfectly fine with it. Go ahead. Fight forever, as they say. And then finally, we ended it with Cody Rhodes, Drew McIntyre. And I'm going to be keeping you real. That was a little rushed. Yeah, right. That was a little rushed. It definitely wasn't the best match we could have got out of those two. Yeah. There was really the build-up to it wasn't that great.

1:03:51Yeah. But, you know, hey, it is what it is. We actually, or at least Miz and I thought, I think you picked Cody, I thought that Drew was going to take the title. I really did. I thought, you know, it was going to be his time. Unfortunately for him, it wasn't. and he and Cody went for that like boot through the announce table and then looks like he may have broken or injured his ankle because after the match he's he again he's laying right in front of us takes his feet off and he looked like he was paying the referee through the x up throw the x up unless it's really real yeah then again you don't pretend like you blew your knee out and then come on the rich eyes and show and lie to tj jefferson about your knee being hurt you Don't do that either.

1:04:35I don't believe nothing no more. I don't believe nothing no more. We don't know how that goes, but Cody gets the dub. Cody gets victory. He will see Seth Rollins at Crown Jewel, see if he can get another one of those big old Super Bowl rings that they keep giving him. That's what I'm looking for. I'm right tonight. He says he has nine more digits, and he wants to fill them up with rings. Yeah, I mean, all of Raw tonight was really just a buildup for Crown Jewel, And I think we can expect that. And, you know, the thing about these crown jewels is they're like non-canon events. Like they don't really mess with the main storyline too much.

1:05:19You know, we know what it is, what we're looking at. Yeah, yeah. So it's a little main storyline break. I think the most interesting thing right now is Asuka and Kyrie finally hitting the switch and going up against Io in the main event tonight. Rhea Ripley got hit with the mist, and I ain't never seen somebody get hit with the mist so damn well. She was a whole different color. I've seen the greatest misters of all time, and I'm going back to the great Kabuki. I'm going back to the great Muta. I'm going to Killer Khan. uh i'm going to uh man there's just so many others that have missed it but yeah that was that was a lot of miss that oscar hit ria really was ria is uh a whole different species right now i mean if they were casting she hulk now all a producer would need to do is watch this last episode of raw and see this gigantic green woman and be like oh that's our she hulk That's right there.

1:06:26But, yeah, that was probably the most exciting thing. Penta hit Grayson Waller with the meanest. Avalanche, Mexican driver, destroyer, I mean. Like, my God. We need to check on our buddy down under. Next week we're getting Rusev against Dirty Dom for the IC title. Yeah, there's always turmoil in the Judgment Day. We'll see how they go with that. but I was going to say to cap off our Wrestle Palooza night we went backstage as well. There's one thing we're forgetting Stephanie McMahon getting her flowers Undertaker comes riding the bike out and we're all like you know of course you're like you hear the gong you're like oh but why is Taker coming out and he pulls his bike in front of Steph she was down the road from us and he started talking to her he climbs over he sits down And then, you know, he gives her the news that she's officially going into the 2026 class of the of the Hall of Fame.

1:07:31And she looks stunned, man. She really did. And, you know, good for her. You know, Steph is a lifer in that business. And she's probably the most powerful woman, you know, as a character that there's ever been in WWE. and also you know when we met her at fanatics fest like couldn't have been nicer like impossible for her to be sweeter and a nicer human being and you just you know she comes over to me because you were like hey i'm here with my friend but he doesn't want to come out he doesn't want to bob you and she's like oh let's go talk to him and then like on the show i'm sitting there eating and out of the corner of my eye i see you her power walking towards me and i like hurry up and finished and I sat and put my fork down.

1:08:16I'm like, uh, and she's like, does she want to come say hi to me? Open arms, hugs me. Embrace. Yeah, I was like, wow, this is Stephanie McMahon, bro. Good for her. Just a little inside scoop to our fans out there. We haven't picked a date yet, but from Stephanie herself, she would love to be a guest on the No Contest Wrestling Podcast. Yeah. pretty i don't know if you guys know pretty big and uh yeah i can't wait to can you imagine a story she got oh my goodness yeah so you know the show that was great you know and we had fun i think it was uh slightly better than the c that they're giving everybody maybe not an a because it's hard there was only five matches you know but five was almost perfect you didn't you know it was like it felt like you got in and then you got out you know one thing i'm a little surprised they didn't do is maybe bring some more of the legends out.

1:09:18Like, this is your first foray into ESPN. We got the taker. That was great. Kind of felt like I'm surprised. I'm not saying it was necessary, but I'm surprised that there weren't more legends that people who may be watching really for the first time would go, oh, I've heard of that guy or I've heard of that guy. But, you know, hey, you can't. I mean, you know what I was expecting. What's that? I was, you know, like, I just can't I can't, I couldn't imagine a world without hearing And so I'm still, to this day So yeah, to this day, waiting for that A lot of fun, being in the front row, man Like, and I mentioned this, being, you know, as a kid growing up in Altoona Going to watch wrestling at the Jaffa Mosque, man And sitting basically at the top of the arena to be blessed enough to be able to sit front row in green shirt guy you know i'm saying but like that was dope to be right there and you know and see the action up that close and then we uh we made our way back because we were leaving we thought we were going to shoot a a wrap-up show but i think things went on so long that we didn't have time for it so as we're sitting there you start talking to either one of the cameramen or one of the ring guys.

1:10:38Tell me what that conversation was before you got what you got, because I didn't hear it. What was said to you, and then I'll tell what was got. I may or may not have gotten tapped on the shoulder. I may or may not have been told, hey, did you have a good time? Yeah, man, I loved it, man. This is like, I'm living out a childhood dream. Every time I come to one of these. You want the turnbuckle? Excuse me? You want the turnbuckle? The donut, man? Yeah. Yeah. I'm going to get you to what with the W. Boy, I hope I don't get in trouble. I can't. Yes, sir. So, ladies and gentlemen, that is a turnbuckle from the ring from the first ever Wrestlepalooza and then I saw you got the turnbuckle and I was like yo that's dope you got a turnbuckle our friend Jade you know she was shooting the gift first of all our friend Jade she had me cracking up the whole show you know she made Brock Lesnar kind of smile by yelling John Cena was just a boy and I was scared I was like Jade would you shut up don't yell at me.

1:12:07He literally smirked and I was like, oh my god. Said something to the guy and the next thing I know he walks away and I'm looking at you and he's like, yo, that's really dope, bro. And then the next thing you know your boy gets a turnbuckle. Would you look at that? Would you look at it? So you and I have the turnbuckle, two of the turnbuckles from the ring from the first ever ESPN WWE, PLE Wrestlepalooza Allegedly, because unless they If they do one of them damn treasure hunting shows Again, I do not have that Oh, I have it, because they offer you money for it I'm going to say no I'm going to say no, but I'll let them display it But I need it back Yeah, because I don't I ain't got no money, bro But yeah You know, wait a second, wait a second Yeah, I see why I'd get exposed This mug is thick Pause So we walked out Which was dope in itself And of course when you sit in the first few rows At a PLE They have custom chairs So we got some custom chairs Our boy Tom Mailed it out today too One of Indianapolis Indiana's finest Officers Boy Tom Tom Wells Tom Wells, he was hanging out with us and he just randomly said, do you want me to mail those for you?

1:13:35Shout out to Tom. Thanks for watching us. Before we left, do you remember that cameraman that we were talking about? I met him before, the one up front. Yeah, yeah. His name is tripping. But he goes, hey, you guys want to do our podcast? And we're like, well, what do you mean? He goes, the cameraman, we all want to do a podcast and we want you guys on. I was like, heck yeah. And I go, we actually asked for stew but we never got a response and he was like yeah you know that happens but one day we were going to start our own podcast right so dope yeah just let us know so we walk in the back you know we're backstage people are milling about and this one guy comes up to us and he asked us a question oh he goes yeah i heard you got asked to be on our podcast and we were like yeah you know somebody asked and i said look we've wanted to get cameraman on before i said i specifically requested stew and i never heard anything back and he looked at me goes i'm stew and i was like wait what i plot harder i was like wait you're stew and i hugged stew we we were like because if you know if you've watched any of john cena's matches you know he comes out he has his towel up and he always is like let's go to work stew or stew let's do this and as he runs stew's the guy with the handheld jim followed him to the ring for years and years and years so we've always heard the name stew never saw stew so we got a picture with stew We'll have D-Lo pop that up right here.

1:14:56But yeah, got to chop it up with Stu a little bit. He made sure that Tyrese Halliburton was back there. We got to sit up with him. And then Stu was like, all right, my work here is done. And then the funniest part of the night comes. So we're walking down towards the buses. And who do I see and who sees me and just waves me over? His damn friend. But Kobe, my boy, Seth Rollins. And so I'm like, this is going to be interesting because by the buses, it was Miz. miss betty seth and i think yeah i think that was it just those three right and then we come walk him down and um oh and brian dipperson who is the manager of becky seth and miss what up dip oh nice so you know seth comes over and like you know of course i asked him again like i did the first time you good is everything okay he was like yeah and then you know becky immediately you know we talked about her almost getting thrown on us first thing becky said this is like oh my god did i land on you i'm so sorry i was like but you anyway i gotta say this without ruining her without ruining her character becky lynch and i'm good on picking up vibrations it's just i've always been good at just like you know getting a feel for people and i can tell you this without fail becky lynch is and i hate saying this because it's gonna maybe mess up her character maybe one of the nicest people I've ever what a sweetheart I mean she was just she's so dope and we only really you know we talked to her at the beginning when the little scenic kids were coming through we saw her she immediately asked how we were doing blah blah blah chopped it up with her a little bit yeah man Becky just so cool and then you and Seth you know I wasn't really sure what your combo was but it looked like you guys were like it was a nice combo you had your hatred for Seth Rollins didn't come out because at that point, I think you were speaking to Colby.

1:16:48Yeah. I told him. I was like, bro, I want you to know I'm feuding with you every show. Every show I'm feuding with you. It just means you're good at your job. That's why in the picture we may or may not have taken. That picture will pop up right now. You see the pose? I wasn't trying to be happy I'm a little far away I'm a little far away from everybody You did that on purpose There's no way you walked away not liking those two That's for sure And then of course When I meet them, the Chicago Bears When they first game Thanks TJ You don't even know how bad that was for me Because as you know Ashton Kutcher is one of my best friends And, you know, for a while I've been saying, oh, I need to hook you and Seth up, big Bears fans.

1:17:44So I put us on a group chat yesterday, and that was not the right play. Because the Bears dug in the Cowboys back. And those two in that group chat, I just got slaughtered. And if you go on your new contest Instagram page, I talked about it on the Rich Eisen show today. It's there on the Instagram page. Check it out. Yeah, man. At one point, Seth wrote, suck it, TJ. I'm like, I deserve this. Ashton's making videos Taking Bear Down, sending it to Seth And then, you know, my godson Bear Who, by the way, gave me a cold I don't know if you could tell, Bear got me sick So I'm not that great You know, Seth Rollins, he runs in the room Puts on his Bear jersey, he starts making the video And I'm sitting here like, why did I do this?

1:18:28Yeah You're a masochist, bro You like punishment You're weird, you're a freak But yeah, man So all in all, it was a really great, great moment. We had a great time. We even got to talk to Punk and AJ Lee. Yeah, so as we were going further in the back, then we ran into Punk and AJ, and it was great to see Punk because, you know, I hadn't seen him since he did our podcast, since he really put us on the map. And he's like, oh, this is my wife, AJ. I'm like, I know who she is, man. You know, and it just so happens another one of my friends, not trying to name drop, but Wilmer Valderrama is a friend of mine and his production company I think him and AJ are working on something so he told me that when he and I were at the Canelo Crawford fight but you know me and Wilmer we mess with each other all the time and Wilmer was like no I told her about you and your podcast you should try to get her on I'm like yeah right so I meet AJ and I bring up the fact that Wilmer and I are one of Wilmer's one of my best friends for 25 years and she's like yeah he brought you up to me and I was like oh that dude wasn't mine so then I text him that and then he called me and he cussed me out for about three minutes like yeah yeah what you think that's what we do uh but yeah it was uh it was amazing it was amazing start to finish we got to do something you know i think the first words i ever said on espn i quoted uh kanye from nasa's song dreams where i said one two one two some dreams stay dreams some dreams come true because that's what it felt like it felt like a dream come true absolutely also shout out to uh who we saw in the hallway the great paul hayman and bronson reed uh we you know it was a great great exit man it was uh all around great night we appreciate everybody who stayed and listened to us talking about how much fun we got but uh pj man we started when we started this today i told you know i was feeling sick and I was like, I don't think I got I think we've gone over an hour and we still got a little bit more for you because we got an interview with The Miz.

1:20:33Oh my god! Let's uh you know, we've done enough talking for a minute let's go ahead and spend it to The Miz right now.

1:20:41O'Shea:Our next guest TJ for the No Contest Wrestling Podcast he is a two-time Money in the Bank winner a two-time Grand Slam champion 25th Triple Crown champion in the history of the company, a nine-time tag team champion, two-time United States He's eight-time Intercontinental and two-time WWE champion. He's from Cleveland, 20-plus year event. Had some time in Los Angeles, but we're not talking about LeBron James. We're talking about The Miz, man. That's what I'm talking about. Thank you very much. Welcome to The Miz to the show. It's good to be on the number one wrestling podcast. I'm trying to tell you.

1:21:11O'Shea:It's good to have you, man. It's good to have you, man. We met on the set of The Rich Eisen Show when you hosted. I shadowed you to see how my day of hosting was going to go, so it was good to see you. And it went well, by the way. I watched you. Crushed it. Crushed it. Crust it. Crust it, dude. It was good stuff. Yeah, so. He brought some A-listers. A little bit. After working with the A-lister. You see how that works. I cheated and asked Ice Cube at the end. But, you know, you got to use it. I like that he's Ice Cube. Yeah, but he's a guest. He's a guest, dude. He's a guest. Have you ever Ice Cubed him, by the way?

1:21:40Never. Have you ever been like, hey, Cube. On the show, it was the first time. If you had just gotten beaten down, like, I am dad. No, it's just. E-A-D.

1:21:48O'Shea:He would give me such a look of distaste that I don't know how he would take it. So that's why the first time ever was on the Rich Eisen show. I was like, so cute. How do your friends, by the way, get introduced to him? Are they like Ice Cube? No, they're just Mr. Jackson. Really? Yeah, Mr. Jackson, yeah. And the most they'll ever get is a, how are you doing? And that's it. That's it. That's really it. That's just a sign of approval. All right, what brain busters do you got for me today? Kelly Blanchard and Arn Anderson. Boom.

1:22:19You said brain busters, right?

1:22:21O'Shea:Oh, hey now. Oh, no. All right. Now we're on it. We're live. We're live, everybody. All right. So something out. All right. You want a question that I don't know if you've gotten it before, but it's something that I like to ask anyone who's won, you know, the big boy, you know, the title of all titles, the WWE championship. You know, take us through that first night laying your head on the pillow. After everything that you have been through. Everything you've done. Everything that, you know, all the people getting on you. All the naysayers. Yes, the naysayers. when you finally, after calling your shot years ago, finally getting the WWE title, what was that first night laying your head on the pillow as champion of the world?

1:23:01O'Shea:I'm going to go before that, okay? So before that, I have money in the bank. Everyone is talking about how I'm going to be the first ever to cash in the money in the bank and lose because up until then, no one's cashed in and lost yet. Everyone's like, the Miz will be the guy. He'll be the one guy that does it. So I get to Orlando that day, and I kind of find out, you're going to cash in today and win. Now, I wanted it to keep a secret, like obviously, but I remember I did something on the show before this, because it was the, I believe it was the main event, and it was Randy Orton versus the entire Nexus team.

1:23:42He was going up against all the characters of Nexus, the superstars, and I was going to go in. He was going to get injured, cash in, go after the leg. And by the way, previous to this, we were having promo classes. And during that promo classes with Vince McMahon, that day he wanted us to get our inner animal out. So we'd had to cut promos like dogs. I watched Sheamus and Wade Barrett cut a promo as dogs. You don't know fours? and I'm telling you like that was promo class that day but honestly when I got in that match and if you watch that match back you can see like I am literally channeling an inner animal I am seeing the injury and when you when an animal sees an injury that's your target that's where you go when a shark smells blood in the water they target that right so that's what my mindset was so it helped that promo class helped me get into that lock into that mode right so I go after Randy Jordan, I hit the skull crush finale.

1:24:46I pin him one, two, three. And so many emotions, like you don't understand what happens in that instance. Because everything slows down but speeds way back up, right? So everything slows down where I hear one, two, three. I'm so excited because I know I have to celebrate because I'm so conditioned. When you win, you celebrate bigger because then everyone can see. The last people up there can see. but emotionally and inside I'm going oh my god it actually happened yes yes and then all of a sudden you feel almost everything you've been through getting kicked out of the locker room every day going to Deep South Wrestling and telling myself one more day you can do it one more day this is so tough this is the toughest thing I've ever had to endure my body aches my mind is going every which way because I feel like I should be somewhere, but I'm not where I want to be.

1:25:45And I have to keep trying, keep struggling. And then you get to WWE. You get kicked out of the locker room. Nobody likes you. Everyone's telling you you're going to get kicked out and you're going to get fired within three months. All these things are going in my head in that moment. And this is within three seconds.

1:26:02O'Shea:Yeah. You know what I mean? And then all of a sudden I get up on the second rope and I feel myself being like, yeah. And seeing the crowd kind of react in both awe, cheering, and booing. And then being up there and seeing the audience, I almost was in tears. But then I'm sitting there thinking, you can't cry right now. Not right now. You're the WWE champion. You see Austin crying. You see The Rock crying. No, you want to be that guy. So you're like, yes, I am the guy. but you also feel an immense amount of pressure because you know what comes with a WWE championship. You are now the face of the company.

1:26:43You are what everybody is set out to be and do. And it's in November. And so I know WrestleMania is coming up and am I gonna keep this title for that long? So you're going through all these emotions. So then I get backstage and people are clapping backstage, shaking my hands. I went up to Vince. I told him, I won't let you down. You made the right decision. Because nobody really knows this, but Vince was on me. From whenever I lost to John Cena at the Great American Bash, and I just got mopped the floor with, Vince was on me. You need to start taking, be serious. You can't be such a goof, you're too goofy.

1:27:26Goofy doesn't sell. I want you to put asses in seats. Yeah. And so I'm like, yes, sir. So after every match, he would literally just be like, you need to do this better. You need to do this better. You need to do this better. I've seen him do it with many talent. But then he was taking an interest in me. And I was a sponge. And not only did I have him, but I had Randy Orton to work with live events. I had John Cena to work with live events. I had Shawn Michaels take me back and literally saying, Mike, this is what you need to be doing. Hunter would take me aside, and he would show me how to punch because he didn't like my punches.

1:28:01Like these, all these veterans now were taking me aside and doing that. And so as I was getting uplifted, winning the United States championship, winning the tag team titles, winning money in the bank, I was, I was learning stuff and learning and learning. So then all that came to there. So that night, everyone claps, everyone shakes my hand. You know, where do you go? Do you go celebrate? I mean, right? Like it's Orlando. Let's go to a club. Man, I went to Denny's. Yeah. I went to Denny's and had a barbecue chicken skillet. Yeah, a championship. With my soon-to-be wife, Reese. So that's how we celebrated my WWE championship.

1:28:40We went to Denny's on a date, and we went back, and we were exhausted. We went to sleep, flew the next day to L.A., and started my journey on literally doing everything and anything I possibly could to be the best WWE champion I could be.

1:28:53O'Shea:Now, what's the bigger F you to the naysayers? getting that first title or getting number one in PWI. Because that. You know, that was a backhanded compliment because when they told me that I was getting number one in PWI, I did an interview, and I was like, man, this is really special. Because I remember the first time I was in PWI, I was like number 400. It was my first year in wrestling. I didn't think anyone knew I was actually doing it, but I got in, and I was like, oh, my God. So every year I'd look to see what number I was. and when I got into WWE, I kind of let it go because I didn't really care anymore.

1:29:29But then when they told me I was number one, I was like, this is amazing. And then I read the article. We really didn't want to give it to this guy. Of course not. You can't deny the year he had. And I was like, you know, you couldn't just have been like, he deserves it. He's our number one. It was like, I know it's going to upset everyone. But no one had the year like The Miz. I had the United States title and the team championships all at the same time. I had three titles. No one does that in WWE. I had the money in the bank. I had WrestleMania. I won as a bad guy in the main event of WrestleMania.

1:30:02That doesn't happen.

1:30:03O'Shea:You were number one and also most hated in the same year. Amazing. So I'll take that one. Absolutely. You know, when you think back to your reality days and the way that we all, most of us got introduced to you is you on the real world going to the KB toy store or wherever you were and you bought that replica title. Did that go through your mind when you're holding the real title? Like, you started there, man. And nobody thought that this was going to be happening for you. And it happened. And you made it to the top of the mountain. Did that go through your mind? Man, when I was on the real world, I wasn't even thinking about being in the WWE.

1:30:41I was just trying to be comfortable, right? You go to New York. Like, I'm from Parma, Ohio. Went to Miami, Ohio. when you're thrusted upon the real world, especially back then, that was the show. MTV was the network. I know everyone now is like, what are you talking about? Like, MTV was it. Yeah, man. The real world was it. It was the number one show out there. Every week, every time there's a new episode, it was the number one show. That and Raw, right? We're the number one shows on cable. So when I went on that show, seven strangers, and literally you have a camera on you at all times, and I was just not making friends at all.

1:31:22Everyone hated me. I was uncomfortable. I was in New York City. I was in a new place. Didn't have my friends. Didn't have anybody. And didn't really have anyone to talk to. So all of a sudden, I just started saying, you know what? I would just start drinking and just create a character called The Miz that I'd learned on wrestling. I was like, you know what? I'm just going to start cutting promos on people. And everyone started liking The Miz more than they liked Mike. So they'd be like, hey, do The Miz, do The Miz, do The Miz. So then when I got done with that, Like, my friends got me a rock action figure, went back to my house in Cleveland, and I was like, well, what am I going to do?

1:31:53Am I going to go back to Miami of Ohio, go in business classes that I'm failing out of, or do I want to pursue something more? And I was like, I'm going to be a professional wrestler. Everyone laughed at me. Everyone laughing now. Now look at me. I don't think, you know, looking back at your long career, that you got enough credit. I don't think you got the credit you deserve because now today, you know, the influencers. Everyone wants to be an influencer, and they're held in regard. But back in the day, it wasn't the same thing. And for you to take the journey that you did, we as wrestling fans, that was one of us.

1:32:26Should have applauded. He was one of us, and he made it. And yet, I don't think you got the love that you deserved. Because I was an outsider. But now it's great to see that you are, after all, it took a while to see that you actually, you have gotten the love and the respect because the travel, the path you took, it was uncommon. I mean, look what Logan Paul's doing right now. Exactly. Cleveland's own. He's an outsider, right? Cleveland's own. Who was the first outsider? Who was the first person that came into this industry and literally nobody wanted? Because let's face it, we're a pact here.

1:32:57Yeah. We're a family here in wrestling. And nobody comes into our family just to be a 15 minutes of fame. Yeah. We want to see if you want to earn it. We want to see if you are a mainstay. Got the love. You're going to be here. You have the love for this business. And so I had to prove myself to everyone and continue to prove myself, just like Logan Paul is going to continue to have to prove himself each and every time he goes out into that ring.

1:33:19O'Shea:Now, we got, you know, I'm getting the wave, so we got to ask you our number one question. All right. You're in a bar. Yes. There's 50 dudes in that bar, and they can't stand The Miz. They're haters. Haters. I've had this happen, actually. I need you to pick a team of you and four other superstars to make sure The Miz is getting in the car? Well, The Usos are number one and two. All right. Because it's happened. All right. Shout out to The Miz. And I'll never forget. Guy just, like, literally we were just hanging out. What city were we at? I don't remember, man. We were after, like, a Monday Night Raw or a Friday Night Smackdown.

1:33:55We were kind of eating. And a dude just going, Hey, The Miz from Real World, blah, blah, blah. And let me tell you something. The Usos don't play. Yeah. Okay? The Usos don't play. So they've always had my back ever since day one and to this day. So I will always take the Usos. And honestly, I'll take any Samoan. Any Samoan. I'm telling you, they are the toughest. Umaga. Yes. Give me Umaga all day, every day. And I'll take Jacob, too. Oh, yeah. Why wouldn't you? It's a solid team. So is that my, is that?

1:34:28O'Shea:Yeah, that's it. The Usos, Umaga, and Jacob. Yeah, I'm taking all Samoans all day long because they just have that. And by the way, in the ring, if you're in the ring with a Samoan, and I know a lot of people won't understand this, Samoans are just so smooth and so good. There's a reason why Jimmy and Jay are at the top of where they're at, where they become as a tag team. And the reason they're there is because of how good they truly are. And I think Jacob, the world is his oyster. I think he has all the talent to become whatever he wants to be in this business because I watch and I see the little intricacies, the little things, the connection with the audience that they all have.

1:35:09I mean, you watch Jay come out there, the entire arena is erupting. Yep. And they feel that energy that they have. And I think Jacob has that same energy when he's in the ring. I want to see what he's going to do next. So I really can't wait to see what they'll be able to do.

1:35:26O'Shea:We're excited to see Jacob, but we need to see more of you on No Contest, man. Everybody give it up. Let's go. No contest wrestling podcast. Number one wrestling podcast out there. And it is awesome. There you have it, ladies and gentlemen. Shout out to The Miz. We got to get him for a full episode. He's professional in every way. Yeah, we got to get him for a full episode. But he gave us some nice tidbits there. And the all Samoan bar fight is hilarious. Right. I mean, look, and you're getting home. Maurice has got nothing to worry about if that's your squad, bro. Coming home to your wife and your two daughters with that team.

1:36:10Speaking of coming home in just a hair more time, in a hair more time, a week or two, I should be back home. We should be able to give you these episodes of No Contest on Monday, on time, like you are used to, in studio together, talking mess like you know we love to do and getting you guys the best guests that we can. Hopefully soon we get you Stephanie McMahon, which should be a banger of an episode. I mean, it's a beautiful thing that we got going and I can't wait to get back to that title right there, man. I can't wait to put that in a chair in between us, man. That's going to be a real big moment.

1:36:54Thank you to everybody. We'll stop with it until you get back, though. As you should. I know I was. If I see you in Ralph's and you're feeling froggy, not today because I don't feel good, you might take it. But at the end of the day, we can do this. You know what I mean? If you want some, come get some. Cash it in. Some of y 'all be doing jujitsu and stuff, and I ain't, you know what I'm saying, my bad. But yeah, make sure you follow us. Let them know. Yeah, exactly. Tell them where to find us, TJ. All of our socials. So on Instagram, No Contest Wrestling Podcast. On Twitter or X. That is There's No Contest on TikTok.

1:37:30No Contest Wrestling Pod. And, of course, you'll be able to see all of the videos on the Rich Eisen Show page. And you'll be able to see the pre-pre-show on the ESPN YouTube page. How about that? Look, man, we're coming up. You know what I'm saying? Come on. Own up, bro. Thank you to everybody who supported us. The next time I see you, it might be officially. No, no, no. Not even yet. The next in-studio might be around the time of our year anniversary. We can't wait to share it with you guys. Yeah, that was our weekend. Appreciate you guys tuning in. TJ. All right. Now, for everyone else, we appreciate you rocking with us, and we'll see you soon.

1:38:13TJ. Yeah. What's up? I love you, bro. Hey, check out this belt. It's pretty dope, right? Come on now. Maybe in our shop one day you'll be able to buy a replica. You can't have this one. What do we gotta take? Like, what has to happen? You know what? Never mind. Stay black, my brother. Stay strong. As-salamu alaykum. What the hell did that mean? Well, alaykum as-salam. Good Lord. Hi, Ms. Parker. Hi, Ms. Parker.

1:38:49Most of us are one good deal away from finally replacing that worn-out rug. fixing up the backyard, or getting the bedroom we actually want. Good news, that deal's almost here. Wayfair's Black Friday in July sale. Get up to 80 % off area rugs and up to 60 % off outdoor and bedroom furniture. Shop Wayfair's huge selection of styles and find the piece to fit your style, budget, and space. Plus, free shipping. Black Friday in July ends July 27th. Shop today at Wayfair.com.

1:39:17O'Shea:Wayfair, every style, every home.