Raw Recap - Finn Bálor assaults CM Punk during Punk’s match with AJ Styes: Raw Recap, Jan. 26, 2026

0:07Oh, what a time coming off of a Monday Night Raw that exists in this in this in this climate where the WWE was tonight are getting bombarded with snow. We use that as an opportunity to bring to you the most high-tech episode of Raw Recap. Honestly, in the history of podcasting, it's tonight for the first time ever. We bring you the Raw Recap from three different locations all at the same time. This is a WrestleMania II level episode of Raw Recap. Of course, I am Sam Roberts. I'll be here in the Knott Sam basement in an undisclosed location. Megan Morant is here in an incredible living room in an undisclosed location.

0:55And in yet a third undisclosed location with some of the most gorgeous wallpaper man has ever seen. Big E is here on the Raw Recap. Welcome, guys. What's going on, Big E? I love that peeling stick, baby. Looks good. Thank you very much. I did not do the work myself, but it's pretty. It's pretty. Yeah. That's all it look. As long as you look good in front of it, it doesn't matter who did the work. Thank you. That's how I've always said, Megan, are you surviving? You don't have a lot of snow near you, I would imagine. No, no, no. Northern California has been spared. Oh, that's great. That's great.

1:30Megan, Connecticut, not so lucky. Oh, you just disclosed my location. No, Connecticut is one of the big states. I didn't say big state. Big state. One of the biggest. Yeah, we're surviving over here. Look, I mean, it was a different night. It was very bizarre not watching Monday Night Raw with you. We've done so every single week for countless amount of weeks. That is right. I did not expect to see a World Heavyweight Championship match tonight. Okay. Yeah. We have to talk about this, okay? Because, because you're right. I did not expect to see a World Heavyweight title match on Raw myself, especially CM Punk versus AJ Styles.

2:08To me, this is one of the conversations that I heard a lot. When AJ Styles put that step up, when he announced that he would accept Gunther's challenge, he would put his career on the line in this match against Gunther. And the what if conversation started immediately? Because when you're talking about Gunther, there's a pretty good chance that he's going to win. And if he's going to win, AJ Styles is done one month into the year that he said was going to be his last year in professional wrestling. And one of the matches that people kept bringing up, either in the sense that like, oh, wouldn't it suck if we didn't get, or no, AJ can't actually retire at the Rumble because we haven't gotten with CM Punk versus AJ Styles.

2:55That was the match that I heard. and when this match gets made out of nowhere, at first I go, oh, number one contender, that's going to be an interesting wrinkle because as you're watching Gunther and AJ, you know on the other side of this, there's some light for AJ Styles. If he can get through this, he's the number one contender. When Punk turns it on its head and goes, no, no, no, we're going to do the championship match tonight. I got a text from this Morant lady immediately. Oh my God, we're going to get title match tonight? AJ's going to get the title. AJ's going to get the title. And I've got to tell you, I feel like a fool.

3:31Because, Megan, you were there last week. E, I'm sure you were listening. We said, oh, Finn Balor, he reminded us. Finn Balor, he's got to be a hero again. He's got to be the old Finn Balor. It's just the best having the old Finn Balor back. And of all the things to ruin, for Finn Balor to ruin, You want to be a bad guy to ruin AJ Styles versus CM Punk. And to give us that as a finish. I mean, it destroyed. It destroyed the whole buildup of the night. Yeah, I was like, oh my gosh, we're going to have AJ Styles as your new world heavyweight champion. And then we're going to have maybe CM Punk. He enters the Royal Rumble.

4:16And then what could possibly happen? Like, my brain was going a million different directions, trying to, you know, figure out what's going to happen Saturday at the Royal Rumble. And meanwhile, Finn Balor just surprises all of us after backstage earlier in the night. We saw him, you know, recognizing CM Punk and having that interaction. But shortly after that, we also saw him with Liv Morgan. He got me. He got me. I was so excited for this new turn, a new Finn Balor getting to be. And I think of him as a peer of a CM Punk, of an AJ Styles. Those guys, they really changed the game. What they did on the indies really helped shape what wrestling looked like in WWE for years to come.

5:00And the thought of Finn breaking from the Judgment Day, carving out his own path, making a world title run as a beloved. You know, even just getting to see glimpses of his old entrance the week prior and seeing the way the fans in Ireland took to him. Like, that was such a beautiful moment. And I thought for a split second we were going to get that Finn Balor again. And we were robbed. We were all robbed. Yeah. Not only were we robbed of getting that Finn Balor, but that Finn Balor robs us of that Finn Balor and then also robs us in a real finish to this CM Punk AJ Styles match. you know like in one fell swoop we're sitting there going on two levels and he i'm sure you were right there with me going like oh this is great like looking forward we're either gonna get cm punk and this great title retaining moment or like megan you just said aj styles walking into the rumble now is champion and now we're sitting there like is gunther gonna be the world champion is he gonna retire aj styles and get the belt is he not gonna be able to retire aj styles now somebody wins the rumble and fights AJ Styles and maybe Finn Balor will do this and he's going to be a good guy now and this is going to happen and like everything that you were just excited for just poof went up in a cloud of smoke at the end of the show flashed in front of your eyes in mere moments and it was funny because you know during the AJ CM Punk match I was I was thinking a lot about that Finn Balor CM Punk match that we talked about Sam on the show last week and we were talking about how punk he always just seems to capitalize on one moment and and that's really been the story of cm punk's title reign and i was just so intently watching waiting for this moment that cm punk was going to be able to take advantage of aj's tiles and and hit the go to sleep and retain his title and out of nowhere like finn ballard just i did not see it coming all throughout the night it completely it completely threw me for a surprise and i need to know the motivation Like, why?

7:02Why are we doing this? Because Punk was cordial to you, because he raised your hand last week, because he suggested that maybe breaking away from the Judgment Day could be really great for your career. He gave you his flowers. Give me the reason, Finn. I need to know the reason because you disrupted an incredible match. Maybe the last time we ever see CM Punk and AJ Styles in a ring together and to be robbed of that finish. I need to know the reason. Give me the reasons. What are the reasons? And interestingly, too, you know, I was I was waiting to see if Finn would go back and attack AJ, what his motivations were, if it was both of them.

7:38But he was really laser focused on Punk. And it seems like this feud with Punk is just beginning between him and Balor. Well, a couple of things to what you just said. Number one, you're right. Like if this is the last if that was the last Raw. And by the way, we could talk about this. but like AJ Styles looked particularly emotional starting that match. He looked like one of those. I'm soaking this in now because this might be the last one on a Monday night. That's what it like. Looked like not like a wrestler telling a story, but like a man soaking it in and going like, this is my moment. And these are all details that we're going to be paying attention to when you've got you know a stipulation like you've got in the match with Gunther and really over the last seven days like that has started to you know that thought of this could be the last for AJ Styles has really started to to feel like more of a real possibility especially after Saturday night's main event and that match against Shinsuke Nakamura both of the entrances just the way the match played out tonight getting the match against CM Punk like it really has me questioning oh my gosh like is AJ Styles career going to be ended by Gunter at the Royal Rumble and when he's making his entrance you're thinking like shoot this could be AJ's last Raw ever and I will say the one thing I respect if this is it we're not seeing a diminished version of AJ Styles we we never saw a diminished version of it I don't even think he missed a beat a little bit you know there was some discussion with Cena and his run whether he still had it at some point still put on great matches But you started to wonder if, you know, if he wasn't quite the same super scene that we were used to.

9:25I haven't had that question once with AJ. I've seen someone who, you know, I've had a chance to talk to him about, you know, about this being the last year in the locker room. And he's someone who takes so much pride in his work. He is someone who refuses. He doesn't ever want fans to see even a slightly diminished version of AJ Styles. And the thing is, like, man, he could go into his 50s. I really think so. with the way he takes care of his body, he still has the same athleticism he had when I first was in the ring with him, what, a decade ago. His run is really, truly remarkable to be at his age in his late 40s and to still be so crisp, man.

10:05If this was indeed his last Raw, what a run, what an incredible run. I know we're not here eulogizing him yet. I know he still has that opportunity to beat Gunther and keep competing in his career. but man truly the best guy from a technical standpoint I've ever been in the ring with the blend of explosiveness of creativity of technical he just has it all truly has it all and a guy that really shaped the industry in such a beautiful way and interesting too that he put out there at the beginning of the show this ain't the plan saying goodbye tonight isn't the plan saying goodbye on Saturday isn't the plan that he flat out said.

10:43I watched what Cena did. I've seen the way people can go out. There's a lot of guys I want to have one more match with. I felt that moment with Shinsuke at Saturday night's main event. I want to have a year. I want to have 2026 the way John Cena had 2025. I want to have 2026. And I think that it was really important for him to say that because I think that people felt like the match with Shinsuke was kind of like it had last hurrah vibes. And the idea that he gets this match with CM Punk tonight, it's like, okay, are we giving this guy flowers on his way out? And I think it was really important for AJ to go, no, like I'm going to keep getting these flowers for the entire year the same way John got to do it.

11:29And honestly, I mean, he got to feel that firsthand And because I can't think of a match that John got more flowers for on his retirement run than the one with AJ Styles. And listen, there's still a lot of people that, you know, want to match with AJ Styles. We saw Javon Evans backstage talking to AJ Styles as the show progressed. You're talking about Unk? Yeah, I'm talking about Unk. Talking to Unk, teaching him the slang? Bet? The amount of times you call people Unk on our show is ridiculous. some people like well it's complimentary to some and others take it as an insult and i can never tell so just keep throwing it out i'll tell you this he lived live morgan even next to roxanne perez did not appreciate being called unc i'm sure she did but look when you've been around for a little bit you you get that unc crown uh but look sam i understand that aj might not be preparing for this to be the end but but i think about look none of us uh are excited about or looking forward to dying but we get our affairs in order we get our life insurance we pick out our burial plot and i think in many ways we're seeing an aj styles who of course he plans on beating gunther he plans on moving forward but in many ways i see an aj who is taking stock i i love the shinsuke match i thought we saw a re a revitalized that's the word a revitalized version of shinsuke uh the match they had at saturday night's main event uh incredible because it feels in many ways like aj saying if this is it let me have the classic match with shin let me have the match with punk let me get all these big matches that people have wanted to see out of the way he got the opportunity to have this great tag team with dragon lee even like javon just getting to rub shoulders with him in this backstage i hope this isn't it but in many ways it feels like a man who is taking stock of his career and of his life and and he is getting the things that he really wants to do at the very tail end of his career he's getting them out the way just in case just in case there isn't a tomorrow that this is indeed the last monday night raw let me get out the performances that that the people have really wanted uh it's bittersweet man it's really bittersweet are you doing are you gonna be on the post show for royal rumble i will be there well i mean godspeed to you because if aj Styles gets retired by Gunther at the Royal Rumble and his last match with CM Punk got ruined by Finn Balor and this is it for AJ, you're going to be talking over a lot of loud noises on that post show again.

14:03A lot of boos. A lot of boos. A lot of boos. Absolutely. This is what Gunther does. Gunther not only ends careers, but he makes your life a lot more difficult trying to get a point out while they are just booing to the high heavens. That's what he does. And the people do not care. They're going to express themselves. And they have the right to. Yes, they are. Now, let me tell you this. A minute ago, you were asking why. Why, Finn? Why? And I'll tell you why. It's because I don't have any clue what is going on with Adam Pearce right now. And the maniac that this man has become, just willy-nilly, just making decisions here, taking him back there, adding another one here, taking this one back there.

14:43but I will tell you, and you would have experience with this as a WWE superstar, somebody that's been in many Royal Rumbles a couple I just watched with my son bringing him up to speed over the weekend he got very, very excited when you put down that plate of pancakes for Kofi to step on and you saved your partner in that Rumble that was a great one but I swear, in all the time that I've been watching WWE superstars are allowed to declare for the Royal Rumble like they're Michael Scott declaring bankruptcy. Like they just shout it out and it happens. I have never in my life, in my life, heard somebody go like this.

15:22Rumble's full. What? What do you mean the Rumble's full? First of all, we only know like 12 people in it. So how could it be full? It's full? Finn Balor goes to, Finn Balor, after everything he did last week, goes to Adam Pearce. And Adam Pearce just like, he's John Candy outside of Wally World. in National Lampoon's vacation. Says, go ahead and turn around. Park's closed. Oh, my God, you have the references tonight. Well, I couldn't believe it. All the references. I couldn't believe it. It was outrageous when Adam Pearce just looks at Finn Balor in the face as if this is a real thing to say and says, the Rumble's full.

15:57Well, he did add all members of the Vision tonight on Raw. Well, guess what? Was that it? We only had four left? And that's what he decided to do, just put all the Vision in? And by the way, if that is the case, why did he do that? He didn't look at, but he didn't look at Monday Night Raw and go, hey, you know who was great on my show last week? Finn Balor. Maybe I should just save a spot for him? No? Adam Pearce is in a little bit of a predicament right now where he has to do whatever Paul Heyman and the Vision say. Okay, but, but, but, but now we get into this other thing. he said and Bronson Reed is in it and Logan Paul is in it and Austin Theory is in it and Paul Heyman did not look happy Paul Heyman did not look like his plan was fulfilled Paul Heyman looked like he had been kind of knocked off of his game a little bit and even when they're in the back and Logan Paul is like making this declaration all for one and one for all Paul Heyman's on the phone with somebody he's not he's not a part of this so that wasn't hayman's plan that was for some reason and i don't know if it's the same person calling paul hayman as was the same person calling adam pierce and they're trying to figure out like who's on whose side here but either way all these spots get taken up cm punk tells finn ballard to join the royal rumble and phil ballard finds out it's full right have you ever been told that biggie that the rumble is full i that is the first time i've heard it but we do know there are just 30 spots that's it that's it just 30 you can't just you know it's not willy-nilly it's not a random number it's just the 30 slots and look i if that is if that is indeed the truth if the rumble is indeed full completely slotted out for me that That makes me excited because if a superstar of the caliber of Finn Balor is told, I'm sorry, we have no room for you.

17:57It must mean we got some heavy hitters, maybe some surprises, maybe some new signings, maybe debuts, maybe returns. I don't know if the lineup is that stacked. I'd like to think we got some big heavy hitters coming. I would think so. I mean, all the names like this is a Royal Rumble. when you look at who's in that match, this is one of those rare ones where it's like, there are like several people in this match that you could sit there and debate. Well, this one could win. That one could win. When you're talking about like Cody and Gunther and Roman and everybody. Braun Breaker. Braun Breaker is now in this thing.

18:35I mean, Logan Paul is in this thing. You tell me Logan Paul couldn't win the Royal Rumble. Doesn't that sound like the type of thing he would just do to get everybody upset? Yeah. You know, I mean, I definitely think that this is, and we said it last year too, but this one might even be more so. Potentially the most star-studded Royal Rumble that we've seen in a long, long, long time. But still, to go to Finn Balor after last week and tell him the Royal Rumble is full, you put him into a corner. I blame Adam Pearce on this, like the whole way. Well, and if indeed the Royal Rumble is full, and Finn Balor wants an opportunity at the World Heavyweight Championship, he certainly took matters into his own hands.

19:18Rumble's full. I have to go out there tonight and make another statement. You know what he should have done? He should have done that to somebody that was in the Rumble, put him in the hospital, take their spot. That's more strategic. That would have been the move. That's not a bad idea. Thank you. That's actually a good call, Sam. He should have declared. All you got to do, that's what history has taught us. All you got to do is make sure a camera is rolling. Any WWE camera could be digital, could be Raw, SmackDown, Evolve. Just jump in front of a camera and say, I declare, I'm in. That's right.

19:49That's on him. Nash is running around back there. Nash Wiener's running around back there with a camera. Jump in front of him. Declare right now. Take some initiative. Yeah. No, you're probably right. Shock the world. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I'll tell you what. One thing I got very, very excited about right before the main event, they tried to sneak it in on Monday Night Raw the big Obafemi graphic comes up and then boom it hits you with the Royal Rumble logo and you go I mean that was one of the names when you talk about like surprises that might come up I think Oba was looked at as like the perfect guy to debut in a Royal Rumble but the fact that we know like watch this show because Obafemi is making his official main roster debut in the Royal Rumble and by the way Obafemi, the last time we saw him on a main roster show, it was Saturday night's main event, right?

20:41In the match with Cody Rhodes. He put his hands on Drew McIntyre. He did. Drew McIntyre is the WWE champion. Are you telling me there's not a world, a world, where Oba shocks the world, wins this whole thing? Shocks the world? Shocks the world? You wouldn't be shocked. Look, that's, look, Sam, I've refinanced my house because I'm betting it all on Obafemi. What do you mean? That's easy money. Shocks the world. Who would be shocked? Have you seen this man? Have you seen his size, his speed, his dexterity? Have you seen the way he moves? That's not shocking the world. The man is 300 pounds. Do you see the way he runs towards the corner?

21:24He moves like he's 150 pounds at 300 pounds. Who would be shocked? I wouldn't be shocked. I think if you're shocked by Obafemi winning the Royal Rumble, you're a fool oh wow and yeah i said it you're an oba feminist i am indeed an oba feminist he bet his whole house on feminist as well but also an oba feminist yes i support both of those things yes that's a beautiful thing it's a beautiful beautiful thing they're both beautiful that is true i mean when we interviewed uh oba for this podcast on saturday night's main event on the on john cena's final match why didn't you call me why wasn't i there for it i mean you should have been there you were busy you had a lot of things to do you had a lot going on but bro when the video came out i was like i don't even look i was sitting next to obafemi and i was like this was the worst decision i've ever made in my life like it looked like it was one of those like museums where two people are standing in the same room but it looks like one is like you know like like a quarter of the size of what a normal human could be and the other is a giant like it was insane looking at that thing looking at the at the video and just going like that it's it's a real life giant it's a real life monster come to life and just and just hear and he had so much confidence too just like just like it's almost like he's become fully aware of everything that you just said that's where it gets dangerous right when when people it's not like you see it in him and it's like boy just wait till he realizes it no he's come to terms with it and he's pretty he's pretty ready to execute upon it he knows he knows who he is and that's what i love and it's not it's not an arrogance it's just a confidence that he knows he's the man you remember how interviewers used to have to uh do a split to make superstars look taller you need to do the opposite you need to ensure every time you do an interview with oba i think you need to kindly and be very i think you need to ask him to do a split and you should probably stand on a couple apple boxes as well Yeah.

23:22Right. Just to, yeah, yeah. Just to kind of try to even it out. I don't have to do any Tom Hannafin tricks.

23:31I used to have to do a deep squat backstage. You did? You're tall. You're tall. Yeah. You need a split. And barefoot, too, I'm sure. Oh, yeah. Gotta lose the heels. I do. Before we move on, because I want to talk about the vision. But I also want to tell you guys about a very, very exciting thing I saw earlier today on WWE Shop and Fanatics. We've talked before about the Rhea Ripley, who we'll talk about at a great appearance on Raw tonight, but the crossover collaboration that she's been a part of with Art the Clown and Terrifier. There is new Rhea Ripley Terrifier collab merch that is available now.

24:08Love and Brutality, perfect for Valentine's Day. It's Rhea and Art together. They've teamed up again with an official collab. It's live right now on WWE Shop and Fanatics. Add some edge to your collection with these tees today. I mean, Art the Clown, Terrifier, Rhea Ripley together. Absolutely incredible. And with the Royal Rumble coming right up, don't forget to celebrate WWE's most unpredictable event with Royal Rumble merchandise and superstar gear from WWE Shop and Fanatics. If you're having a Royal Rumble party, you got to show up dressed right and representing one of like the true classic WWE PLEs.

24:49Shop now on WWE Shop and Fanatics and be ready for all the chaos of the Royal Rumble. And I think that there will be chaos in the Royal Rumble because of what we saw with the vision. You guys brought it up. The fact that like we knew going in to Monday Night Raw that Braun Breaker and Adam Pearce would be having this meeting. if you will. And Paul Heyman had done this amazing job to no one's surprise of compiling the evidence that he could show to everybody before Adam Pearce even walked out. When you have already established your argument before the other person even appears on screen, you know, the other person's in trouble.

25:36And he had video evidence. Like there's nothing Adam Pearce can do to deny any of the claims. Yeah. I mean, it's like, well, he was really obnoxious. It's like, okay well you still did you still did the things you did all this stuff that you're accused of but you know i found interesting adam pierce comes out and he says that braun breaker suspension has been lifted braun breaker is in the royal rumble paul hayman is happy by this then adam pierce says also logan paul austin theory and bronson reed are in the royal rumble paul hayman does not look pleased by this and then says we're going to give Austin Theory a chance to redeem himself we're going to do a match with Rey Mysterio right now and still Paul Heyman did not seem overly enthused by this at all and Adam Pearce didn't come across to me as as doing this in a begrudging way did I did I misread any of that no I don't think so at all I here I have a bit of a theory that I want to posit.

26:39So Paul has been very open over the last several months about Braun Breaker being the future. To me, it seems very clear that he has eyed not just, hey, we'll make sure the vision brings home a world championship, but that Braun Breaker specifically is the first one, that he is the guy. And I think that he had a plan to use the rest of the vision. Look, if they're on the outside, they can interfere. They can run out. They can distract. They can do all kinds of things. But look, that's a lot of egos to manage. If they're all in the ring, are they really going to be of service to Paul's mission?

27:17Are they all going to be focused on making sure, okay, let's work as a team. Let's eliminate everyone else. And then, you know what? Let's kindly take our exit to make sure that Braun is indeed our first world champion since Seth Rollins. I think that Paul had a plan and everyone being in. Now, are you really going to tell Austin Theory if he's cooking in the Rumble? Actually, cook a little less and make sure that Bron goes on. If you have all of these horses in the race, surely they're like, I'm trying to win this thing myself. It's a lot more difficult to manage those egos and those characters when they're all in there fighting for themselves.

27:54If they get an opportunity, why not take it? Maybe they say, you know what, Bron Breaker, I'm going to dump you behind your back. You're out. It's my time now. I think that Paul had a plan to use all of these puppets to make sure that Braun was the guy. And now, who knows? Who knows? Listen, Biggie, a couple weeks ago, I was saying the exact same thing as you, especially after Braun Breaker lost the World Heavyweight title match to CM Punk. I was saying, what does the future of the vision look like? How can they all operate as a unit? Braun had his chance, and he didn't deliver. He didn't win the title.

28:28So how is Logan Paul going to sit back there and say, okay, we're all behind Braun Breaker? But as the vision has kind of, you know, evolved and moved on in the coming weeks, I firmly believe that they're all for one and one for all. I mean, we never see Logan Paul just showing up at a Monday Night Raw. But Sam, you and I talked about this last week on the Raw Recap Show. It seems as though Logan Paul, love him or hate him, is actually now operating as a full-timer. And all of these guys are standing right behind Braun Breaker. And we saw that moment backstage while Paul Heyman was on the phone with someone.

29:08And they're strategizing for the Rumble. They really are working as a team. I don't want to believe it either because there's a lot of egos. But that's everything we've seen the last several weeks. Yeah, there's no direct evidence to tell you that there are any problems here. First of all, I do think, E, that you should push forward based on previous Royal Rumble moments that we were just talking about. If you are on the outside of the ring helping your teammate who is still entered in the Rumble, I believe that they should start calling that pancake position. And that way, I think that could be really good.

29:41But you don't always have to use pancakes. It's just that's what it's called. I think I was surprised I was ready for the old sort of we're not getting along when Logan Paul said we have an advantage there's four of us, we can go in there and take advantage of this match we should all agree that one person is going to win when Logan Paul stood up every bit of my instinct would say, oh this guy this guy's just trying to get the big guys to have his back. But Logan Paul, now look, Logan Paul will lie. So we do have to put that out there. Yes. However, he's the one that said it should be Braun. And Austin Theory said, I'm down.

30:31And Bronson Reed said, yep, you're right, I'm down. And, you know, it's never really been done all that successfully in the Royal Rumble that a faction like this would come in and work together. but theoretically if it was i mean they'd be a force to be reckoned with now okay now but but this e and this is going back to your point about paul hayman having a plan let's say god forbid braun breaker goes in early braun breaker gets eliminated from the rumble before the other vision members are even there well now what's the plan now does the plan go out the window and do Do you have a scenario where somebody else wins the world heavyweight title and Paul Heyman's got to deal now with the fact that like, oh, we were positioning this guy as the guy, except now this is the one that's going to WrestleMania to fight, you know, Drew or Punk or whoever's got the title.

31:26And how do you figure that out? Who is it? Is it Bronson Reed? Is he the guy who's, oh, do you have a plan B, C, and D in case, you know, everyone's thrown out early? It is also just very difficult for me to believe that Logan Paul is now a full-timer, and you're telling me he is now going to be here in service of other people? Have you ever known him as a magnanimous, giving, thoughtful man at all? That he is here to prop up his other stablemates because he's a great team player? There is nothing in his history that makes me think that's what he's here for. I think he is someone who is laying low.

32:04He is waiting for the right opportunity. and who knows maybe that opportunity is at Rumble maybe it's at Wrestlemania maybe it's not even this year but I think he is someone who is always looking for that opening and I just can't trust that all three of those gentlemen are going to say yes Braun is indeed the guy let's go out of our way to be selfless so I don't know to your point if Braun does go out early I don't know what the plan is it's very hard for me to conceive that all three of them are going to be okay deciding, okay, Bronson, you're the guy. We're all going to work for you. Or Theory, you're the guy.

32:37I struggle to believe that. Yeah, I mean, I believe the greatest of all time described Logan Paul as a parasite on the industry. So, you know, I mean, that's how some perceive it. And a parasite is generally not there for the betterment of its host. He was also described tonight as the most famous personality on the face of the planet. I mean a lot of people know who Logan Paul is I don't know if he's the most famous but I mean for look for good or bad reasons there's not that many people when I tell people I was literally having a conversation with somebody today who does not watch wrestling explaining to them the Royal Rumble and talking to them about what's going on in WWE and when I brought up Logan Paul they went what because they were like you mean Logan Paul Logan Paul?

33:28I was like, yeah, that's exactly the Logan Paul that I'm talking about. He does have that fame. He's an important asset in the Paul Heyman group. But, you know, and I do want to say, too, Austin Theory looked incredible in this match with Rey Mysterio this week. He did. Like, really great showing for Austin Theory. Go ahead. Yeah, I was going to say, like, he's, I don't think the question, at least for me, I've been in the ring with him, the dude is super talented he's in great shape i i think for him it's really just about it's about what's upstairs it's it's just about the mental and not saying he doesn't have the iq from a wrestling standpoint to be the best i think it's just getting in the right position and i think hopefully the thought is it could be the vision to get him the confidence he needs to get him the momentum he needs uh but man he's he's got it in the ring as far as technical ability strength speed all of that like dudes got it and what are you talking about a bag like people talk about a wrestler's bag their moveset the things they can pull out Austin Theory has one of the most creative bags you will see in our industry the dude has a variety of offense for a guy who is not look at him again you know with with Ray Mysterio he moves agilely and he is so much bigger than Ray he is put together so for me that was never the question it's can he put wins together and get on a track and have a path towards a title or have a real direction.