Raw Recap - John Cena hits a Grand Slam in his final night in Boston: Raw Recap, Nov. 10, 2025

28:18He beat Damian Priest. He's moving on to the second round. We also saw Sheamus had an amazing match with Shinsuke Nakamura. And it really was. It was the type of match you want to see in this tournament. It was the type of match that you want to see from Sheamus. It was the type of match that you want to see from Shinsuke. It was just hard hitting all the way through. like these two guys were fighting for something. And ultimately, Sheamus is the one that comes out on top. So now we have Rusev and Sheamus in the second round. We don't know if they're going to face each other because we haven't seen the way the bracket is seated yet.

28:58So we don't know where everybody's going to get placed in that second round. We don't even know who we're going to see in the next set of matches on SmackDown. No, yeah, we have four more participants still to be named. On Friday on SmackDown, we have The Miz versus Jey Uso, which is massive. And then you have LA Knight versus a mystery opponent, wild speculation time. Then on Raw next week, you'll have Javon Evans. Against Gunter. I mean, I went on the radio today. I was talking about Gunter. And I said, here is the thing about Gunter. he's one of the great no fun wrestlers of all time and you know what Javon Evans is maybe the funnest wrestler that I've ever seen in the ring and guess what no fun guys like to do destroy fun guys remove fun wouldn't it be fun if Javon Evans advanced yes that's why I must end it I'm the most no fun wrestler of all time who else want and I and look I love a no fun wrestler I I love an ultimate spoiler.

30:03I love what did I use to call him? The reality of the whole thing because it just destroys your fantasy. Whatever dreams you may have, they're out the window when Gunther shows up. So I love that. And then you have another mystery opponent scenario where next week in Madison Square Garden, you're going to get Solo Sokoa versus a mystery opponent. So who's to say we know Damian Priest is out. we know uh uh Shinsuke Nakamura is out I think it's gonna get real interesting as we get closer and closer I think that John Cena being the intercontinental champion seeing the fireworks go off did you think when you turned on Raw tonight you were gonna get the title change fireworks going off no I mean it wasn't even the only time but we'll get there but like yeah just a wild, wild thing.

30:59And now, I mean, now it's so up in the air. John Cena is going to be on Raw next week at Madison Square Garden. Who has any clue what he's going to be doing? Because now it's fair game to wildly speculate. You know, his last SmackDown, I believe, was the promo that turned into the match with Sami Zayn. Yes. Like, this is now happening on television. And that wasn't the case at the beginning of this John Cena run. At the beginning of the John Cena run, for the most part, it was talk, talk, talk, talk, talk, talk, match at the PLE. Talk, talk, talk, talk, talk, talk, match at the PLE. Now it's like, look, we got this much John Cena left.

31:38Let's get talking. Let's get matches. Let's get everything. Oh, I hope we get another match at MSG. Madison Square Garden. I do, too. I do, too, man. And then Survivor Series. I mean, who knows? There's War Games is being bandied about. Do we have a new Intercontinental Champion next week? Does John Cena have the title going into Survivor Series? Does he have the title at Saturday Night's main event? Well, there's no way. I mean, John's got it. There's no way he could lose it next week. I didn't think he could win it this week. And who knows if he'll even be defending the title. There's a world where he's in that War Games match.

32:16CM Punk is putting together a team right now. We see Jey Uso. We see Cody Rhodes. there's a world where John Cena's in that cage. Who's to say, I'll tell you what. Here's the thing that I love too about John Cena. We're going to talk to Big E about this in a moment, but John Cena has a brand new action figure. Before we get to the end of the last year of John Cena, we celebrate John Cena as he comes to the LJN line of WWE action figures. I am so excited about this. we can step back in time to the WWE line that started it all. LJN WWE superstar figures have returned. The retro toys recall the original design from the 1980s with fan favorites in signature looks, including John Cena, Dusty Rhodes, Hulk Hogan, and Logan Paul.

33:10You can get your favorite or collect them all on Black Friday in stores at Target at Target.com or wweshop.com. And look, I have the John Cena right here. I want to, and it's not fair. I saw it like way. Barry got to play with his. They've told me in the control room. I'm not allowed to play with mine. They didn't tell me anything. So pass that over here. All right. But look at it. So, so, although I don't know if I can allow you to open this because the other thing that's great about these, and now we're going to get geeky. Okay. This is, is such a true to life throwback to the original. Oh, God, I feel like I'm listening to the Broski Breakdown.

33:49I mean, listen, that's right. To the original WWE LJN line. First of all, it looks perfect. But the last line of WWE LJN action figures came on a black card like this. See how it's black where a lot of the photos, it's not blue like the back of it. It's black. So all four of these figures are also available in this version, which is the chase version. This is the rarer version of John Cena. The black cards are the rarer figures. The blue cards are slightly more common. The black cards are very, very collectible. They all come with posters inside. And it's so great because obviously like John Cena and Logan Paul weren't around yet to be a part of this original LJN line, which, you know, I mean, we're talking Jesse the Body Ventura, okay?

34:34These are the originals. Look how close that is. Look how close that is, okay? But you have like Dusty Rhodes who didn't get to be a part of the original LJN line, but as somebody that we always wanted to be a part of it. And then you have Hulk Hogan that is like exactly like the original first ever WWE Hulk Hogan action figure with the championship title and everything. I mean, I am so excited that these LJNs are back. It is, it's a collector's dream. So make sure Black Friday, you get out there, you get to Target, and you get these figures because it is so fun that they're going to be back on shelves.

35:13Those are a black, look at those. So cool, right? so cool hit them up black friday get to target get your action figures i want to uh uh invite our next guest into the raw recap somebody that's gonna help analyze all the many many things that happened tonight on monday night raw ladies and gentlemen please welcome biggie hey guys what's happening what up e i mean big e much we have a lot a lot happening yeah as a former as a former wwe champion and a former intercontinental champion yourself to see john cena at this point in his career on this night against with all due respect to you come on i would argue the strongest intercontinental champion that i recall seeing and I've been watching wrestling for a very long time for John Cena to be intercontinental champion tonight is this mind-blowing for you uh yes yes it is I did not expect this at all I thought surely okay we'll set up the dom match but here's judgment day get to thrown out we there's a six man or something we're not actually getting the match really there's gonna be some shenanigans we don't actually get the match but the fact that we came back we got the match right away i i love that we got that match one i also just i i love this look i know it's a losing effort but i do love this for dom i think being in this is the last two months we have what four more weeks of john cena's career and dominic mysterio is not in a squash match with john cena he's going toe-to-toe with john cena he's getting mic time with john cena look i understand that he lost the title to Cena but I think this was a big moment for Dom I think passing of the torch moment might not be the right way to put it but I think it is a big cosign that yeah Dom is a guy we're going to invest in for a long time and I thought he did a great job even in a losing effort even just seeing like I think for me one of the big markers was seeing him face to face with John Cena I didn't see one iota of trepidation on Dom's face I didn't see a second of ah is this moment too big.

37:28I saw a dude who thought, not only do I deserve to be here, but I'm better than you. And I'm going to prove that in all aspects. And he didn't get the job done, but I love this for Dom. And I think this is going to be a moment that we look back on when Dom is a world champion, who knows, a year, two years from now, whenever that time comes, I think we'll look back at pivotal moments in his career, his ascension to that top spot. And I think we'll look at this as a great moment in his career. You know, it has been interesting to watch the crowd's reaction to Dominic Mysterio because last week the entire crowd is chanting Dirty, Dirty Dom the whole time as Rey Mysterio is out there.

38:08And I keep thinking of the times that Dominic couldn't get a word out on the mic because he was getting booed so loud. And to me, as fun as it is when the crowd is singing Dom's name, it was really funny when he couldn't get a word out because they were booing him. So I'm glad that we got that tonight because I have a feeling that crowds are going to be chanting Dom's name more often than not because they're all falling in line with my friend Sam Roberts over here. It's hard to deny. Look, it is his charisma, his ability, and I think he's just getting better and better. He's getting even more comfortable in the ring.

38:46He's getting even better on the mic. He said it tonight. He's not even at his peak. And he's right. He's not. He's not. He's not. He's not. He's not 30 yet. And that, like, most of, you look at the top of the roster, it's all guys in their late 30s and 40s. Like, he still probably has another five, six, seven years before he's really in his prime. Man, his growth has been remarkable. So, yeah, it was really a great night for Dom, even though he lost his title. He's going to be back. And this was not what I expected, but it was really a great spotlight for him. But do you think at all, like people go, well, technically that really wasn't the referee assigned to the match.

39:26The referee that counted the fall wasn't actually assigned to the match. So there is, unfortunately for John, a little asterisk with the next. How come when I complain about referees, you say that it's nonsense. But when you do it, it's justified. I didn't say that anybody should be fined or suspended. Multiple fines. Plural fines and suspensions. I didn't say that. And I certainly didn't call anybody out by name like you did. I didn't. But I believe you did call Jessica Carr out by name. But I'm just saying a little asterisk, no? No asterisk. Look, this is pro wrestling. This is pro wrestling, okay?

39:59The man won it legally. And the fact that there wasn't a ref there presently was probably, you know, we could blame Dom for that. Dom and his shenanigans. So, look, there is no asterisk at all. You can't put an asterisk on John Cena's title win anyways. Of all people, how dare you? In Boston, of all places. Come on. it's not in his home yeah no you might be there you might be onto something there there's at least yeah conversation to have there how about this okay not to be forgot because there were i felt like there were multiple moments tonight where you were like oh i feel like i shouted more times watching this show than i have in in weeks and weeks and weeks and weeks and weeks and one of those moments that i didn't see coming at all and was timed i feel like to precision was nikki bella turning on Stephanie if I care.

40:48Nuts. It's like the whole, we've been having this nice sort of build of friendship and Nikki Bella even going like, hey, I'm looking for a friend. I need a friend here to help me kind of ingratiate myself back into the current roster, into the current locker room. And she's helping her. She literally even helped her with the judgment day tonight, only to boom, knock her out with that championship. And all of a sudden, Nikki Bella has that, mean streak look i it's dastardly it's low but i i love this for nikki i do i her giving her flowers to this current generation beautiful to see but i i don't want to see a nikki bella who is just bigging up the younger folks and saying you're doing a great job and i'm here to be your friend i want to see a nikki bella who is going after world titles i want to see a nikki bella who is ruthless.

41:44That's the Nikki that we came to know and love. That's the Nikki from a decade ago that was on top, was someone who was going to do whatever it took to be at the top of the industry. So I, this version of her, I'm excited to see. I thought there was a chance once we saw this pairing. That's the problem with, you know, friendships in WWE. Anytime people come together and they're friendly for a bit, I'm just counting down the days where it eventually implodes. Now, look, it took 10 years for our friendships to implode in the new day, but eventually it happens. And I think this is a great trajectory for Nikki.

42:18I'm excited to see kind of what unfolds for her. A more a more ruthless, a more focused, a more, hey, I'm willing to do whatever it takes to get that title version of Nikki. Yeah, I'm here for it. I'm with you on being here for it. I just didn't anticipate it coming this quickly. I mean, when you see the relationship with them and everything Nikki was saying about how she's she she knows she's a Hall of Famer. She knows she's done everything in this business. But this is a completely different women's locker room. And she, in a way, has to prove herself that she belongs in this locker room. I guess Nikki Bella just got tired of waiting around and being Miss Nice Girl.

42:58I also think that there's something about what you just said. I don't think I think Nikki I think sometimes people get tired of having to prove themselves because you're not wrong right where it's like okay I even though I'm a legend literally a hall of famer you're all new and and I guess I have to prove myself to you but at a point like past performance does count for something at a point I think when people still expect you to continue to prove yourself it's like no we're done we're done with me proving myself i'm nikki bella and if you want me to prove myself here's what i'll do i'll hurt you that's how i'll prove myself i'll start hurting you right and if cm punk can come back after a decade we don't have these conversations about punk having to prove himself to this current generation or this current lock room we don't really i don't know if we always have these same conversations with the men who've done great things and look people can feel the way that they want to about nikki they can have their opinions But I have met so many people who I'm telling you, the impact of Total Divas and Nikki Bella is real.

44:04There are so many women who got into this industry because of that show and because of the Bella Twins. There are so many performers who got into the industry because of the Bellas. Whether you're a fan, whether you're a performer, her impact, I think, is something we don't quite talk about enough. We talk about AJ's impact and how many young women she's influenced to get into this industry. but I have met plenty of fans and performers alike who got into our industry, who got into WWE because of Nikki Bella. So let's give her more of her flowers because I'm not sure she always gets the flowers she deserves.

44:38And Maxine Dupree is one of them. I mean, she talks about it all the time about how she was so obsessed with Brie and Nikki Bella. And now Maxine Dupree is in a situation where she has an Intercontinental Championship match against Becky Lynch at Madison Square Garden of all places. That's going to be crazy. Two weeks in a row, two new intercontinental champions in a row. That's going to be nuts. Well, are you calling it right now? Right now? Yeah, of course. He's got more momentum than Maxine Dupree. The greatest female wrestler of all time, Becky Lynch. Oh, I didn't even think about that. Yeah, you didn't think about that.

45:13I will say I'm excited for this one. The growth. Again, you think of someone who's grown. And just someone who is, Maxine is so likable. Her work ethic is evident. You see the posts at the dungeon where she's training. She's someone who wants this. And look, we have so many women who have done this at a very high level for a very long time. And Maxine is someone who is still climbing. She's still someone who's trying to prove herself. But I thought the match she had with Becky was probably her best performance yet. I think Becky's bringing out the best of her. And I can argue that. I would say the same thing probably about the match with Lyra.

45:49Becky is someone who continues to elevate the talent around her. And I think that is one of her greatest contributions to this industry is her elevating talent that she is in the ring with. She truly does. And I'm excited to see the version of Maxine Dupree who shows up. And look, of all places, the garden can be ruthless. New York fans can be ruthless. If you don't bring it, if you don't bring all your energy, everything you got, if you're not ready for that moment, it can be soul crushing. And I know Maxine is going to be prepared for that moment. So I'm really excited for her. Welcome to the big time.

46:25Absolutely. That's what I'm saying. You like that one, Sam? Yeah, big time, Bex. I got it. There you go. I got it. I got the connection. And I'll tell you, you're right about New York. New York is the spot. That's why all these big things happen in New York. Did you see, by the way, building up to the big Raw in Boston, there was an Instagram post that went out. John Cena hugging a certain member of the WWE broadcast team. I believe that was myself. Remember where that took place? Anybody remember where that took place? I remember. Fanatics Fest. Fanatics Fest. Yes, the place where dreams come true.

47:00Who would have thought as a little boy I'd be able to go to Fanatics Fest one day and have John Cena charge me at 30 miles an hour and give me a giant hug? This is the type of magic that happens at Fanatics Fest, the world's number one sports fan festival, Fanatics Fest. It is indeed making its return to New York City, giving all of us the option to create even more moments. Yes, Fanatics is bringing you closer to the league's team, superstars, and athletes that you love across four action-packed days in July. meet your favorite WWE superstars get your hands on exclusive merch catch live podcasts and interact with the biggest names in sports tickets go on sale this week it's November 13th this week and fans of this show can get 10 % off by using Raw Recap 10 at checkout so go fanaticsfest.com November 13th put in Raw Recap 10 for 10 % off and we will see you at Fanatics Fest.

48:09Now, when we talk about what some of the women were doing on Monday Night Raw, and we talk about these title changes, in one fell swoop, not only did we get new women's tag team champions in the Kabuki Warriors, not only did we get Lash Legend, who out of nowhere in the last like four days has gone from superstar star with all the potential in the world on NXT to somebody that everybody is taking notice of on the main roster. But we went all the way to beginning the crafting phase of women's war games teams. We heard those words come out of a returning Rhea Ripley's mouth. War games as, who was it?

48:57It was Rhea, and it was EO, and it was Charlotte, and it was Alexa Bliss in the ring looking down at Asuka, Kyrie, the new women's tag team champions, Nia Jax, Lash Legend. The fact that I don't think even two weeks ago, we could have predicted that a women's war games match might look anything like this. Lash Legend? No. Until Friday, I didn't expect to see Lash Legend on the main roster. The bougie bully. No. And now it's like, but, I mean, what do you think of that, Big E, as somebody who made the journey from NXT to the main roster. The idea that it's like, okay, Lash, you're on the main roster now, but you're going right into war games and you're going into war games with, I mean, listen to who's in there with Rhea and with Io and with Charlotte and with Asuka.

49:46These are the best of the best. And now Lash has to rise to that occasion. It's such a great spot for her. It is a big spot. There's a lot of pressure. But I will say even just in the small moments that we've seen her on the main roster so far, she has looked excellent. In the two or three things that she did tonight, everything looked phenomenal. She is an athlete. She is strong. She is powerful. She's got size. She's got length. She's got charisma. I think this is such a great moment for her really to put her stamp on saying, yeah, I'm here. And I'm not just another body on the roster. I'm someone who's going to be a force here.

50:28So I'm really excited. I think it's about damn time for Lash of Legend to be called up. But I do love this is a big spot. Look, I was on the main roster, I think, for about four or five months before I had my first main roster match. And that was at WrestleMania. That's a very big spot. But like it's this is a quick turnaround for Lash. She's only got a few weeks before she's in probably the most brutal match that we have. And the expectations for this match are high. She's in there with the best women in the world. She's in there with Io. She's in there with Rhea. She's in there with the very, very best.

50:58And I think it's a great opportunity for her really to showcase her skills. But I love how I think this all came together very quickly, to your point. But it's got so much juice. I love that they got the main event. I love even seeing Rhea with the face mask on. She looks like she's ready for war games, you know? And Io, I can't wait. I need that trash can spot from Io Sky. I can't wait. It's a staple. Anytime she's in a war games match, we just need it. I'm sorry. Any cage match, we need it. Okay. But no, this match is going to be phenomenal. We've said it time and time again, especially on the show.

51:34The women have absolutely carried this year in WWE. I can't wait for this match because I think they're going to bring a lot of creativity, a lot of brutality, a lot of violence. It's going to be a great match. I'm really looking forward to seeing how Charlotte Flair and Rhea Ripley work on the same team with one another because that was a match at WrestleMania that we all said was, you know, a candidate for match of the year. And we haven't really seen Charlotte and Rhea together in quite some time. So to have them on the same team at war games, I'm curious to see what that looks like. Yeah, me too.

52:09And again, I think there's something about Rhea and her biggest rivals becoming friends, becoming teammates. I think they all, again, like I said before, I think shedding blood with someone, going in those brutal battles where you bring out the best in each other, those five-star matches where you really have to dig deep. I think there is a level of kinship after those matches, a level of trust where, hey, we beat the hell out of each other, and I know how good you are. There's a level of respect earned in the ring when you share that kind of chemistry, when you go toe-to-toe like that. And I think we'll see that at War Games.

52:47I can't wait for those two to team together. To your point, we haven't seen them in the ring together in quite some time. But now seeing them have each other's back stats is going to be a lot of fun. It really will be. I'm also really interested in the future of Alexa Bliss and Charlotte Flair. Because I think what really bonded them as a team was the tag team championship. And they are no longer tag team champions. Does this mean that like in the long term, their work as a team is over? Or does this mean that they still have those team goals? Because both of them are single stars, right? They not only won the title, but they had this great reign.

53:27I think they elevated the women's tag team championship. I think if you look at the women's tag team division now, the division is stronger than it was when they got the tag team championship, which I think is the mark of great champions. but at the same time, they're both top tier singles, female stars. So I think you have to ask yourself, like, did those two remain a tag team act or do they go their separate ways? Because I also truly believe, and it's really hard to argue in my opinion, that this team changed Charlotte Flair. This team changed the perception of Charlotte Flair. I think this team was everything Charlotte Flair needed.

54:10Before this team, you had this Charlotte Flair that was getting booed in buildings and was almost confused as to why. You know, and she, well, I'm trying my best, and I came back from this injury, and I'm putting on the best matches, and they're booing me, and I don't know why. I don't know why I can't win them over. And it seemed like it meant a lot to her to win the fans over, but something has happened throughout the kind of the build and execution of this team with Alexa bliss, where this, I guess more human side of Charlotte flair has come out to the point where now she is getting cheered.

54:44And now you don't even think, you know, you just take for granted. Well, of course I'm happy to see Charlotte flair. Charlotte flair is great. Like you forget almost that she was getting booed before. So, so I wonder what, what that version of Charlotte flair, not a tag team champion, potentially back in the singles division. I wonder what that looks like as well. Yeah, you know what? I hope this isn't it for those two. I have really enjoyed them together. I think oftentimes with these tag teams that can be thrown together, it just doesn't click. It doesn't feel right. For me, it's clicked right away.

55:21I love the whole we're not friends bit. And to your point, I think from the Charlotte that I've known now for over a decade, I think she's someone who has had to kind of put up her walls to protect herself for a long time. And I think being that lone wolf, having that lone wolf mentality for so long, not just in her career, but I think in many ways, probably throughout a lot of her life. I think that's like by design. And it has been a survival instinct. It has allowed her to to keep on going, to keep a lot of the outside forces from from being able to bring her down. But I think her this tag team with Alexa, I think, has just forced her to be a little bit more vulnerable, more human, to let people in a little bit more.

56:05And it's been a joy to see this version of her, because I think when you really get to know her, when she allows people in, when she trusts people, she really is magnetic. She's warm. She's funny. She's charismatic, all those things. And that's a version of her. I don't think a lot of people have been able to see. And we got more glimpses of that with the backstage interviews with Alexa. I thought they really brought the best out of each other. And it was heartwarming to see both of them at this stage in their career. To your point, they've both done so much as single stars. They've won countless world titles.

56:39They've had Hall of Fame careers by themselves. But this, I think, has been just a really good time for both of them. And I think it's allowed them to both get their flowers a bit more. So I hope this isn't the end. I've really loved their pairing. It's been heartwarming to see them on SmackDown. I've loved the backstages. It's been touching in many ways for me. So I hope this continues. But more than anything, I hope they get to do what they want at this stage in their careers. If it is to go their separate ways and be single stars, so be it. But if they want to keep going as a tag team, I'd love to see that.

57:12Deep in the cockles of your heart is where it touched you. Yes, deep, deep in those cockles. I don't know why you felt the need to say it that way, but yes, deep in the cuckold. Yes. I thought it was important. You know, I like to paint the picture. That's just kind of, you know, that's just kind of my thing. It's appreciated. We haven't talked about the, arguably the best moment of Monday Night Raw tonight was when William Regal appeared backstage. Oh, we're getting there. Oh, we're definitely getting there. Before we get there, because you're right. I know I'm excited, too. I know. I keep thinking about it.

57:45That moment. I was like, he's not really there. Traditionally, though, these War Games matches are five on five, right? Traditionally. Yes. Who knows? Maybe it'll be four on four. Who's to say? We don't know anything. We're just sitting here watching the programs. I'm going to put you on the spot. E, you first. If you were to add one more person to each team, who's on the Rhea Ripley team? Who's on the Asuka team? If you were to add one more on each. Ooh, that is a lot of pressure. When is Bianca going to be back? That is my question. Pie in the sky. Let's say if Bianca's healthy, I would love to see Bianca on Team Rhea.

58:27I don't know who the captain is, but let's say on that side. She said the war games thing. Yes, yes, yes, she did. And on the other side, ooh, I'm trying to, who is missing? That would be, you know what? We need more big spots for Julia. I would love to see Julia in a big showcase like this. Obviously, she's coming off of a title loss to Chelsea, but I feel like this is a match that would allow Julia to shine. Let's add Julia to the mix. What do you think, Meg? Well, now you brought up Chelsea, and I'm like torn. Obviously, you know what I think, Sam. I mean, I want Becky Lynch in the match. Okay.

59:01I want Becky Lynch on Team Asuka. But you want Chelsea on too? But now that you brought up Chelsea, and I'm wearing the Chelsea green shirt, and now she's United States champion, I'm like, Chelsea and war games would be pretty spectacular. Um, or we could have Nikki Bella and Stephanie Vaquer. That'd be fun. I'm not mad at that. Not mad at that. Fun. We could do Becky Lynch, Maxine Dupree. That'd be my pick. I would want, I would love to see because going back to that war games thing, like I love the idea of, of Maxine. It's like, okay, like she's had, she's had a couple of opportunities recently to really shine and has, has taken those opportunities well.

59:41And I feel like War Games becomes that next opportunity to be like, how much work have you been doing in that dungeon? What does it look like when you're in a War Games match? And I think it could be really cool, but it'll get very interesting. All right, let's get to the William Regal of it all. Let's get to when we saw it, okay? So CM Punk comes out, right? And CM Punk is ready for a street fight. And you know he is because he had his elbow taped. You know, it's one thing, if you just come out in a sleeveless shirt, that could just be Punk, right? But he had the tape on the elbow. I was like, oh, somebody's getting beat up.

1:00:11This is going to be great. And he comes out, you know, and he calls out Logan Paul. Logan Paul comes out. Logan Paul's doing a lot of talking. You know, Punk was proving, again, it's dangerous to go mic for mic with CM Punk. If there's one chink in your armor, Punk is going to be the one to point it out. But then Logan said those magic words. Well, he said the vision is what he said. And the vision surrounds Logan Paul. And I think that answers a lot of the questions that we had going off the air on Monday Night Raw last week. When you see that there is at least this cooperation, if not a full-on membership of Logan Paul and Paul Heyman and Braun Breaker and Bronson Reed.

1:00:50And Paul Heyman is insulting CM Punk and talking about how unlikable he is. He's a terrible friend. He's this. The only person worse is AJ Lee. and then CM Punk tells them that AJ Lee would leave them in a puddle of their own bodily fluids in front of everybody and it just gets, but that's when Jey Uso comes out to have CM Punk's back, right? And I love, I love what we're getting with Jey Uso because this is what I wanted to see out of Jey Uso was not him to become a villain, you know what I mean? Just do that sort of like, well, if he's this, now he'll be that. More this kind of evolution of Jey, There's a gradient nature to it where Jay is like, no, I'm not saying that I'm a quote unquote bad guy now.

1:01:37I'm saying that I'm a self-assured person. I realize that I need to tune everybody out and just follow my instincts. And what I'm following is the fact that like, yeah, I'll have your back on this CM Punk. When I saw this evolution of Jey Uso, I said LFG. Yeah. Yeah. I like it. I got it. I got it. I got it. I got it. Thank you. I had to. I got it. No, no, no. Good for you. Good for you. Good for you. I had to shoot. But then you had this moment, right? And this moment where Cody comes out to save the day. And you realize that this is why Cody is special. This is why Cody's in the position that he's in.

1:02:16Because when you don't expect that happening, when you need a hero to come in on that horse and come into town and save the day, Cody is your guy. Boston, which isn't always the friendliest city to the good guys, is not only cheering for him, but after the music goes off, they're still singing Cody's song. And Cody and Punk and Jay are able to fend off the vision and Logan Paul. And we get to the back. And of course, we're all thinking this as fans. We're all going like, okay, I see teams formulating. I see something happening but that's when punk goes regal get over here and you're just like yes we get war games and already i would like to say that just looking at the three on three it is already so compelling on the men's side and already so completely loaded with stars going into this war games match Oh, it absolutely is.

1:03:19And I also was wondering where this alignment with the vision was going for Logan and what this means. And look, whether it's temporary, whether it's just for war games, whether it's more than that, it's interesting. and I'm intrigued to see how he works with people. Typically, he doesn't play well with others. He does not play nice with others. But I think this pairing, this trio so far, I think is a fascinating one. And also to make it to your point, the evolution of Jay, I also love this because I think I've thought about his career and look, no one was, I think of Jay's biggest moments in his career and going from, look, you remember the Usos and the face paint going to day one-ish, going over to SmackDown.

1:04:02It wasn't listening to outside noise. It was, hey, it's time for us to make a change. This is the change we're going to make. When Jay started doing the single stuff, what, five years ago, it was, I think he needs to listen to his gut more because I think his best moments have been when he's trusted himself, when he's been able to block out that outside noise and just focus. And when Jay is focused, he's very dangerous. He can get so much accomplished. He can be at the very top of this industry time and time again. And I think too often he was listening to others. He was too worried about perception.

1:04:33But if Jay keeps the main thing, the main thing, and that's on being the best he can in the ring, he's going to be an absolute star for as long as he wants to be in this industry. But, yeah, I love the way this team is shaping up. I'm so intrigued to see who gets added over the next couple weeks before we get to Survivor Series. But right now it's looking real good on both sides. Yeah. Yeah, and the fact that we have a world heavyweight champion and a WWE champion on the same team for war games. That's pretty massive. It's pretty big. And also, like, one of the things that I thought was interesting as well is right before Cody's music hits, you get those Roman chants, the OTC chants.

1:05:09And I thought, is there going to be a moment where people are let down? And that's the last thing you want if you're Cody, is to feel like, ah, Roman's really the guy they want, and I'm just a substitute. But hearing them sing his song the way they did before the melee, hearing the Cody Rhodes the European style chants really was heartwarming because that guy the amount of work he puts in the way he really captains the ship like he does it the right way he gives so much to the fans to this industry to the company he's a guy who deserves to get his flowers from the fans and like you said Boston is not the easiest town to get over in uh but I love that he was heralded the way he should be in Boston yeah it was almost like because they didn't expect it it was almost like oh this is even better you know what i mean like they didn't know and it almost like when you felt the energy of that audience when you listen to it it was almost like they surprised themselves with how happy they were to see cody but that's when you know that you're that dude well e we always appreciate the analysis my friend always great to have you on the show uh uh i'm sure we'll talk to you again hopefully before survivor series uh but if not you know we'll talk to you maybe a survivor series yeah let's do it thank you my friend you kind of petered out there i know i know i know because i didn't you know what i mean yeah can we finish on a high i like i feel because i feel like you've you i feel less than now so if you could not peter out it can we do good well i will tell you this i was just thinking i always appreciate so much when the ultimate analysis of one of of one of the great talkers, one of the great purveyors of knowledge in this world of sports entertainment.

1:06:52When a former WWE champion can grace us with his presence and just the mere thought that sometime in the near future we will speak again has left me giddy with anticipation. E, thank you so much for being here with us today. That's what I'm talking about, my man. That's what I'm talking about. That's how you go out. I appreciate you, boo. I'll talk to you soon. Thank you, E. You are the best. We were just talking about Cody Rhodes. We got good news this week on Raw as well. That, Cody's podcast is coming back. What Do You Want to Talk About is part of the podcast fleet of shows that we have on the WWE Network, along with, you know, Impulsive and Six Feet Under and What's Your Story with Stephanie McMahon.

1:07:39And, of course, this podcast. But what do you want to talk about is back. Natalia is Cody's guest this week. And of course, Natalia just came out with her book. So I'm sure I cannot wait to hear the conversation between Cody Rhodes and Natalia just getting into everything. And to hear those two people who both are so entrenched in wrestling families. When you hear wrestling has more than one royal family. Well, that's two of them right there. Exactly. So I can't wait to hear that podcast. And by the way, Cody Rhodes arrived tonight. What, did you see what he was wearing? What he was decked out in?

1:08:17It's like a little camo. Oh, his all new camo collection. It is here. This collection features a t-shirt, a hat, a weight belt, and of course, everyone's favorite, the Windbreaker. Get yours now at WWE Shop and Fanatics. And speaking of Cody and Fanatics, don't forget to wear your gear when you are listening to the new podcast, which by the way comes out November 12th. Don't wait until the last minute when it comes to gifting. Check out early gift picks at WWE Shop and Fanatics and get your holiday shopping done early from tees to collectibles. There's something for every fan on your list. You gotta do it or you're gonna get shut out and it's gonna be very, very embarrassing.

1:09:00There's so much stuff there. Help yourself to it. You can even get a little Sam, You know, the WrestleMania figures that have a Sam Roberts Build-A-Figure, those are up on WWE Shop. You can get one of these guys for yourself. Any child in your life, in your family, they'll all be so excited. A little suited Sam Roberts under the Christmas tree, it can happen. It can happen. You can make dreams come true. Are you doing that for your daughter? That's right. That's the first action figure. It's Becky Lynch and then little Sam. Little Sam. Little Sam will be there. Right there. Here for the holidays.

1:09:30I cannot wait for Madison Square Garden. The table is set. Monday Night Raw. Like I said, two more tournament matches. You've got Javon Evans versus Gunther. You've got Solo Sokola versus a mystery opponent. You've got Becky Lynch defending her Intercontinental Championship. You had asked, when is Maxine Dupree going to be ready? She's going to be ready this coming Monday night at Madison Square Garden, the world's most famous arena. I think it's going to be a very... And, of course, John Cena's last time at Madison Square Garden. I think it's going to be a very, very special Raw. I think it's going to be a very, very special Raw recap.

1:10:12Make sure that you're there for it. Subscribe across audio platforms. You can comment and like on YouTube. And we will see you next week when we recap the next Raw on Raw Recap.

1:10:28We'll be right back.