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Podcast Episode Summary: Raw Recap - One Final Night at MSG for John Cena
Podcast Information
- Title: What's Your Story? with Steph McMahon
- Description: Steph McMahon engages with interesting personalities from various fields including sports, entertainment, business, and WWE, sharing stories of personal triumphs and challenges.
- Episode Title: Raw Recap - One Final Night at MSG for John Cena
- Description: This episode features John Cena’s farewell at Madison Square Garden, the celebration of Maxine Dupri as the new Women's Intercontinental Champion, and insights into Survivor Series: WarGames.
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Episode Highlights
John Cena's Farewell
- Significance: John Cena's last appearance on Monday Night Raw at Madison Square Garden was a historic moment.
- Celebrity Presence: Numerous celebrities attended, including Andrew Schultz and Eric Andre, heightening the atmosphere.
- Emotional Farewell: Cena reflected on his journey and the importance of Madison Square Garden, likening it to a rite of passage for WWE performers.
Maxine Dupri's Championship Win
- New Champion: Maxine Dupri became the Women's Intercontinental Champion after defeating Becky Lynch.
- Post-Match Emotions: Maxine expressed disbelief and joy at her victory, crediting the supportive New York fans.
- Vision Board Reference: Dupri had previously placed this championship win on her vision board, illustrating her determination and ambition in wrestling.
Survivor Series Build-Up
- WarGames Matches: The episode detailed the formation of teams for the upcoming Survivor Series: WarGames.
- Team Dynamics: Discussion on the interplay between wrestlers, such as the rivalry and collaboration between Roman Reigns, Brock Lesnar, Drew McIntyre, CM Punk, and others.
- Tension and Anticipation: The build-up included a focus on personal vendettas and alliances, showcasing the storyline intricacies leading into the event.
Key Moments and Discussions
- Brock Lesnar's Impact: Lesnar's return generated significant buzz, causing a shift in team dynamics for WarGames.
- Roman Reigns' Confidence: Reigns displayed a confident persona, hinting at a renewed focus and determination to reclaim his glory.
- AJ Lee's Return: AJ Lee's involvement added another layer of drama, especially regarding her past with Becky Lynch and her impact on the Women’s division.
Reflections from Hosts
- Personal Anecdotes: The hosts shared personal stories and observations, fostering a relatable and engaging dialogue about the night’s events.
- Celebrity Interactions: Fun interactions, such as a story about a missed greeting with Pete Davidson, added humor and relatability to the recap.
- Excitement for Future Episodes: The hosts teased upcoming events and discussions, emphasizing the continuous evolution of WWE storylines.
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Key Takeaways
- Historical Context: John Cena's farewell at MSG is considered a pivotal moment in WWE history, reflecting on his extensive career and legacy.
- Emerging Talents: Maxine Dupri’s win marks a significant moment for new talents in WWE, showcasing the importance of hard work and determination in achieving dreams.
- Storyline Complexity: The intertwining narratives leading to Survivor Series highlight the depth and complexity of WWE storylines, keeping fans engaged and invested.
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Conclusion The episode captures a memorable night in WWE history, blending emotional farewells, championship victories, and the buildup to significant upcoming matches. The hosts' engaging conversations and personal insights further enrich the listening experience, leaving fans excited for the future of WWE.
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:00Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar just showed up in Madison Square Garden. John Cena says goodbye to Monday Night Raw. Maxine Dupree, the new women's intercontinental champion, is on the show. John Cena is on the show. This is the Raw recap, a WWE and Fanatics original production.
0:31Oh, my God. God, Megan, I don't even know where to begin. First of all, John Cena is going to be on this show. Maxine Dupree, the new Intercontinental Champion, is going to be on this show. We have feelings. Yeah, this was an all-time Monday Night Raw in the world's most famous arena. All the stars were out, and for good reason tonight. And more stars than I realized were out. giant stars, physically enormous stars that were specifically named Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns. I mean, this, and you're right. Celebrities all over the place. Andrew Schultz got into a fight with J.D. McDonough. It was an insane.
1:14Eric Andre was in the crowd. So many fun celebrities in the crowd. All of the stars know you, by the way. Well, I don't know. I mean, we were walking backstage. Sam, what's up? What's up? I saw Pete Davidson backstage. She's like, hey, Sam, what's going on? And then, of course, I'm beside you because we travel as a pack. And we're homies like that. I say hi and go out to shake a hand and completely got blown off. And thankfully, you were one of the only people who saw it. I wasn't going to mention it. It was not, by the way. Pete didn't see you, I think. It wasn't intentional. It has been a rough night for me for multiple reasons.
1:50Well, it was a rough night. Yeah, you got unfortunately accidentally blown off. your favorite wrestler lost the intercontinental championship something which i hope you now can maybe have a little bit of empathy we'll get to that for me we'll get to that but all is right with the world because the tribal chief is back celebrity you know what they were all there to every celebrity you could ever imagine they were all there they weren't there to say hi to the last professional broadcaster they weren't there to to hobnob amongst each other to say hello to the executives from Netflix and ESPN and Peacock and WWE.
2:27No, they were all there to witness the absolute and utter aura of the tribal chief Roman Reigns. How dare Paul Heyman say that he had assembled the best war games team in his entire career? Oh, and he was so confident about it backstage with Nick Aldis and Adam Pearce looking at all of the historic signs and pictures posted on the walls backstage in the bowels of Madison Square Garden. And Paul Heyman had a smirk on his face knowing exactly which trick was up his sleeve. And that trick happened to be Brock Lesnar. I mean, so you always know when things are possibilities, right? You know that Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman have always had a relationship.
3:23You know that there is something to the rekindling of that relationship in the sense that at Wrestlepalooza, we got that ring introduction. And the night before Wrestlepalooza, there was on SmackDown a backstage interaction where Brock said to Paul Heyman, we should talk. That's right. So we have our war games kind of just a stare down, just to kind of, you know, get everybody. like you could have just said we're gonna have a fight you know what i mean like there was no way that wasn't coming to blows but a lot of interesting things happened in that in that in the very beginning of the segment first of all the vision comes out as a unit and logan paul was part of that unit logan paul entered with matching colors and at the same time as paul hayman braun breaker and Bronson Reed and I gotta say didn't it sort of feel right yes I mean seeing Logan Paul standing next to Paul Heyman almost just made sense and I thought to myself why hadn't they been working together for longer it was that part it was that thing of like with Paul Heyman where part of you just like goes like oh my he's just the greatest he's the best he's amazing and then the other part of you is kind of a little sick and is checking to see if your wallet is still there that's the part that paul hayman and logan paul have in common yeah and that's the but like and i feel like those evil forces are only brought to life when they're together but but i i mean i agree with you i'm sitting there looking at the vision going this is kind of what the vision was always going to be but they come together drew mcintyre comes out separately but still is on team vision you know what i mean and then of course you got cm punk you have cody roads you have the usos these guys start going at it and all of a sudden that music hits everybody's in trouble when that music hits and i mean you also there's just something about you talk about aura you talk about all you talk about moments there's just something about sitting in madison square garden or any i mean the same thing we were there when it happened in in giant stadium in metlife stadium when that music hits and we're like oh my god everything changes you're like like it's not just oh this is a moment we'll remember you feel somehow like the landscape has completely shifted and you had that same feeling again tonight when Brock Lesnar shows up and walks out there and you realize that Brock Lesnar is because Paul Heyman was saying it wait till you see who else I've got wait till you see who if you were upset about Drew McIntyre wait to see who the next guy is and it's Brock Lesnar and we go you know he's coming to the ring he's cleaning house he goes for CM Punk right away, which is interesting because you have two Paul Heyman guys, you know, tearing each other up.
6:29Brock was doing a lot of the tearing, unfortunately, for CM Punk. He's also going right after the world heavyweight champion, which is probably not an accident if you're Brock Lesnar. And you're sitting there going now at this point, not only does the Visions team have this insane numbers advantage, but you can multiply that by a million because Brock Lesnar is the fifth member of the team. And then a very important note, the credits go up on Monday Night Raw and you think, oh my gosh, CM Punk's four games team is completely screwed. This is the end of Monday Night Raw. By the way, has there ever been a time where a falsy copyright logo hasn't been the greatest thing ever?
7:11Has there been one fake copyright logo and credits when it hasn't been awesome? No, it's always the best. It's always the best. And I mean, even just any Monday night, you always have to wait a couple extra beats. You always, yeah, that's right. A couple extra, until it's like completely over, and then you know. Right. I loved this one, because it wasn't a visual, it was an audio. Mm-mm-mm. You're just like, whoa! Oh! He's here! He's here! He's here! He's here! And he was there. And Roman Reigns comes out, and I can tell Roman is confident, because remember before, when Bronson Reed was stealing his shoes and we were like, well, they're not even the best Roman Reigns shoes.
7:51He came out in these Travis Scott lows and like nobody can get these. Okay, I'm trying. I'm putting my name in. I'm putting my email in. I'm not getting any emails back. I can't get them. I thought Roman looked confident. I mean, just from one look at him. I didn't even take note of the shoes. Oh, the shoes tell the story. Okay. I'm glad to have you for this. Yes, the shoes tell the story. He ain't faking is what I'm saying. And he's got the new tribal chief t-shirt. So I know I got to go on fanatics and get it. And he comes to the ring and it's just like, and I, I, I feel like this is that Roman that I've been waiting for.
8:31I've been waiting for a Roman who is not there to like set his family straight. Who is not there. Who is just simply there with the, with the, with the ferocity. Yeah. That's a good point there. This has nothing to do with family right now. I mean theoretically I mean he's on a team with family members With new shows But tonight really didn't have much at all to do with family No he was out there to prove Well and I think that ultimately Brock Lesnar showed up to be like Hey I'm the top person I'm the game changer And Roman went no He said bet Right That's exactly what he said And I mean you are so used to seeing what you saw with CM Punk Brock comes in and no matter what you do You're getting suplexed Whether you're John Cena, who will be on the show later on, whether you're John Cena, whether you're CM Punk, whether you're Cody Rhodes, it's like you get in there with Brock Lesnar and he's going to treat you like a rag doll.
9:23And Roman Reigns was unaffected by any of it. Roman Reigns had his chin sticking straight out like he was John Taffer going into a dive bar. He couldn't have been more confident in the fact that he knew how to handle business. and I mean he Superman punched Brock Lesnar out of his boots. Brock Lesnar got sent flying out of that ring that Superman punched and it was like that. That's the game changer. That's the difference maker. You still can't get over the bar rescue reference. I'm just saying, you know. It's a good one. Who do you think you are coming in my ring? You know? Exactly. Did you get that money from your mother?
10:09How would she feel? But I'm going off on a tangent here. Listen, it's the same spirit. There's no moving John Taffer when he gets in there. And there's no moving Roman Reigns when he gets in there. When John Taffer goes into a bar, that bar is his. When Roman Reigns gets into a ring, that ring is his. But the tribal thief did try to make a statement once again tonight. He tried to. And then got speared. Wow, I mean, bro Not only did he get spirit So he did, he put the boots to Roman Reigns And listen There's a small handful Of people Who have pinned Roman Reigns Since he You know, since this era Of Roman Reigns Since we've seen this tribal chief Roman Reigns Just a very small handful of people who've done it Bronson Reed is not only one of them He's the last one that did it So there ain't no taking that away from him and there's an even smaller group of people who have put Roman Reigns on a stretcher and Bronson Reed has done that too.
11:12That's a hundred percent right. That's a great point. But again, this is a different Roman Reigns. I think Roman Reigns is done playing games. I think Roman Reigns is, is, is, I think feeling like people have forgotten who he is. Right. I think this whole year, right. You, you know, in the very beginning it looks strong from the minute Roman Reigns got eliminated from the Royal rumble. it's like it hasn't been the way it should be for Roman Reigns right Roman Reigns starts this year by beating Solo Sokoa by becoming the tribal chief fantastic right no doubt about it now and then it's a simple mission go to the Royal Rumble win get my title back at Wrestlemania he goes to the Royal Rumble he loses he goes to Wrestlemania he loses and it's all because he's trusting these people around him he finally centers himself he teams with his with his cousin Jey Uso at SummerSlam.
12:03Jey's the one who gets the pin, by the way. And then after that, Roman is either being put on a stretcher by Bronson Reed or being pinned by Bronson Reed. And I think it's like, okay, it's enough. It's enough of this. It's time to remind people of who the guy was that held that title for over a thousand days, that controlled the WWE for four years in a manner that nobody ever has. No, it is very, very interesting when you look at this war games team that roman reigns has joined theoretically i would imagine yeah i mean it's i mean listen there's no graphic yet that i've seen i haven't seen it yet but but we think but we've been doing this podcast yes right it's very interesting when you think about the people who are also on this team right cm punk on the team last year you remember war games that was that was the favor it was tense it was very tense i mean remember the clip i think i mean millions and millions of views on social media of Roman putting his arm in front of CM Punk.
13:00Let me tell you something. It was so iconically tense. I don't even know. This is not a commercial. I just think it's fascinating. Mattel just put out CM Punk and Roman Reigns action figures, and they come with heads that mimic the expressions that the two of them had when they were in the shark cage together, refusing to look at each other. That's the level of iconically tense those two were. And it's gotten much worse since then. Yes. Much worse. We really haven't seen them interact since WrestleMania? Well, no, there was one interaction when Roman came out and he helped up Jay and he did not help out CM Punk.
13:38And then there was a reference to CM Punk after that when he looked at Paul Heyman. And shockingly to me, he made reference to the fact that Paul Heyman turned on him by siding with CM Punk. He didn't say Seth. He said Punk. And I went, oh, that's the category that CM Punk is in. But go on. Okay, so that's Punk. Talk about who else is on this team. Cody Rhodes. You're in my way in life. Let's not pretend that never happened. The Georgia Tech scene. Let's not pretend we didn't go to Georgia Tech. No, no, no. You're in my way in life. That scene has never escaped my head since it happened. Every day I wake up thinking about that scene.
14:20You're right. What about, who else is on that team? We have the Uso brothers, yes. And we know how he's been in Jey Uso's head a little bit. Jey Uso's has been listening to a lot of people, and Roman's been the one who's telling him, like, hey, it's the top of the hour. You want to be in the main event? You want to be world heavyweight champion? Why are you back here? But we've also seen Jey get called little Roman. Jey only started helping Punk when he said, I'm done listening to people and that could reflect on Roman. How have Jimmy and Roman been? I would say not great. No, I would, I would, I would say they'd be getting along kind of poorly.
15:00All the looks that Roman has been giving Jimmy. Let's not pretend it wasn't, it wasn't that long ago that Roman was having conversations with Jimmy saying, and what's so bad if he was like me, you don't think I hear everything. You don't think I see everything, but I don't know. Maybe Roman's hatred for Paul Heyman, hatred for the vision, maybe it trumps all of that. Maybe this is a more focused Roman. Maybe Roman realizes. Look, I interviewed Roman Reigns in January, right before the Royal Rumble. And he was talking about how, and this is a very real life conversation, but I think it relates to the character that we see on television as well.
15:39I think it's kind of, I think that line has been very well blurred. but my question to him was when you're at home for long periods of time do you watch the show going i wish i was there and he said absolutely not he said it's never happened because this is too because i've got this all figured out too well i have all these systems in place he said i study ceos i study these billionaires and they have systems in place so they're not going to fail i wonder if roman reigns didn't go back and say you know what maybe i took my eye off the ball and he's restructured and redefined those systems that don't include the wise man anymore.
16:18Because, I mean, the level of confidence that he had going in was like, I know something you don't know and everybody's in a lot of trouble. Well, you would think there'd have to be a lot of restructuring after you lose someone like the wise man and really the entire bloodline is not the bloodline anymore. But then on the other side of War Games, you have Drew McIntyre who has made it very clear that the bloodline has ruined his life. And by the way, not for nothing, everything counts. As you know, that's the school of thought that I come from. Drew McIntyre was wearing all black, except I saw him.
16:53He was walking around in some flu game Jordans. You know what color are those flu games? I told you everything starts with the sneakers. You know what color those flu games are? If I had to guess, I'd say red. Black and red. Black and red. Why is Drew McIntyre wearing black and red on his feet? I don't think it's because he's trying to join the bloodline. I think it's because he's trying to use the bloodline's own colors to kick their heads through tables the way he did to Cody Rhodes. And Drew McIntyre is a big thinker, so it's not by mistake. He doesn't do anything. He's wearing red and black.
17:24He doesn't do anything by mistake. But Megan... Knowing Drew McIntyre, red and black probably haunts him, right? He sees red and black and he starts foaming at the mouth. Maybe he wants to. Maybe that's how he wants to go into the war games. Maybe he's a more, we're talking about how dangerous Roman is, how dangerous Brock is. Maybe there's a more dangerous Scotsman that we haven't been bringing up enough. I mean, I could talk about war games all night long, but this is such a terrifically special show because not only did we have Brock Lesnar coming back, Roman Reigns coming back, but we celebrated the last Monday Night Raw of John Cena, the last time John Cena will be in Madison Square Garden as a performer.
18:07And what we were able to do earlier today, just a couple hours before Raw started, was sit down and talk to John Cena. And we were informed too. This is, to my knowledge, the last John Cena interview that will ever happen while he's wearing jorts, which that's huge. And that's a feather. That's a feather in our cap. And I will take that with me. But I wanted to share that with you guys. our conversation here on Raw Recap with the GOAT, John Cena. This message is sponsored by Raycon. I've got to tell you about these Raycon Essential Open Earbuds. I have them here because I was not going to take a trip all the way to Madison Square Garden without my Raycon Essential Open Earbuds.
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20:26Yes, it's cold. It's quite cold. Did you wear your denim for John Cena? Well, now you pointed it out. Yeah, you absolutely did. Conscious choice. Appreciate you. That is amazing. Well, John, I mean, this building must mean so much to you. This show must mean so much to you. I mean, we are, you know, recording this four hours before the show goes on the air. Yeah. Are you processing yet that you're about to wrestle in Madison Square? Did you give me the heat asses? We just talked about this. Stephanie McMahon's over there in the clouds somewhere. We just had an off-camera talk about all this. So what I'm hearing from that is the building is very important.
21:08Right. The show is very important. Right. So a lot of times I like to lens out. I think the significance of this building should never be lost on sports entertainment. I know that there are events that are bigger and bolder and can fit more people. But I believe we can learn a lot from history. And I think that every person in WWE should understand the history of this place. And that way when they're awarded the opportunity to stand on the canvas, this building shouldn't just mean something to me. and over the years I've seen the importance kind of erode away, and I think it's got a resurgence now, and that makes me feel good because this is a place where if you are allowed to perform here, you are a professional.
22:11A lot of times when I hear you talking about stuff like this, it's from that bigger picture perspective. When we've spoken before, I think that's the perspective that you keep most of the time. But when you're doing this retirement tour, because when I think of you associated with Madison Square Garden, I think about the Royal Rumble. I think about the Survivor Series tagging with The Rock. I think about all these things that you did in Madison Square Garden. And I wonder if you've gotten to the point in this retirement tour where you are being self-reflective, thinking about your moments in these buildings, Thinking about the fact that you, as the kid who grew up as a wrestling fan, who got to do this thing at the highest level and now embraces the title of greatest of all time, that that's what's being celebrated is what you've done.
22:58So thank you for the kind words. If you're asking if I'm in a reflective state, I'm I'm ready to have a great show. and I don't want to be in any other position because I don't want to get, I want to keep my feet on the ground. I don't want to get lost in my own sauce. I want to be able to, there's 16 ,000 people that are going to be here tonight. I want to make sure they're happy. And if I'm the reason they showed up, boy, if I'm in a mind state other than that, we could wind up with them feeling not so happy. So I'll have plenty of time. I already told Steph we'll talk later on. we'll probably do another raw recap jortsless unfortunately for us but unfortunately i love the jorts thanks man i love them too so i was actually having this conversation on one on one of my shows about the transition because i get to duck the question love it yes please about the jorts okay and i came to this realization today that i don't think in the history of wrestling especially when you started wearing those jorts that people would realize the significance of them.
24:04But I started, you know, the wheel started spinning in my head and I said, you know, when The Undertaker retired, he said where I draw the line is I won't have the dead man gear anymore. You won't see me in the dead man gear anymore. And that gear is so iconic to wrestling fans, to wrestling in general. I'll come out on the motorcycle. I'll be the American badass, but I won't wear the dead man gear. And I just had this like aha thing that I feel like you may end up in the same position, which in turn then goes to this thing that for a period in your career might have been mocked by some fans. The John Cena jorts, to me, have reached the significance of the Undertaker's dead man gear.
24:50So I appreciate that. A nugget that I appreciate out of that train of thought is the jorts are, were, mocked. And I think that's a my takeaway on that is it's it's OK to be authentic. They are they are me and. I'm able to be confident enough in myself to weather the storm of criticism and in many cases harassment and ridicule. As we reflect or as a lot of people are reflecting on these moments, people are bringing up moments that meant a lot of a lot of positive stuff for me. I have been a very polarizing character in the WWE, and that's led to a lot of people's moments. Some of those marquee matches and some of those moments have been very, very polarizing.
25:39To be able to wear a uniform that I felt comfortable in, a character I felt comfortable in, a lot of that thanks to Steph over there, and not waver when other people wanted to be pleased, not waver from what was in my heart because my first run, my first try, I tried to please everyone else, and it was inauthentic. And when I got a chance to be a character, the stuff where I wanted to evolve the character, I still maintained my authenticity. And I think that's important for any longstanding success in here. You do good work, coachable, reliable, and you're invested. And I think the investment is passion, and the passion can reflect authenticity.
26:22The jorts now are in whatever perspective they're in because I just wouldn't give up on wearing them. I could take their best shot, their biggest ridicule, and still put forth great effort, be reliable, and do good work while wearing cut-off jeans. There's one place where you're not polarizing whatsoever, and that's Boston, Massachusetts. That's not true. It's not true. again we can learn a lot from history i've had a lot of tough a lot of tough nights in boston massachusetts if you want to be more specific we can say uh with the data that we have the the final raw the final show in boston the final show in the td garden where i was able to defeat don mistero for the intercontinental title they were happy to see me that night but i yes boston has been a very polarizing crowd for me over the years and it's my own hometown and And that's them being their authentic self.
27:15It's a tough room. The TD Garden's a tough, tough room to work. But you weren't polarizing whatsoever last week when you became the Intercontinental Champion for the first time in your career. Yeah, how about that? How about that accolade right at the end? Still making history. Everybody's talking about that IC run Stone Cold had at the end. At the very end. You know, DJ carrying the IC run late in his career. Taker with that late IC run. You know, that's just one of the... How about that, right? Yeah. Here we are. Look at it. There it is. You said it was going to be a year of stuff that nobody's ever done before.
27:45Nobody has ever won the ICI title on their way out. Just on that way out. You know? But, no, what an awesome opportunity. And I just came from Liverpool. Did two days there at a convention over the weekend. And so many people, again, incredibly grateful for the ability to get in there with Don Mysterio, who I respect and admire. He reminds me a lot of me. And he reminds me a lot of the mistakes I made. Like I can see all of the mistakes that are about to happen with him. And I want to shake him and be like, you're going to do this. But I want him to learn for himself. But he is authentic. He's reliable.
28:20He works hard. And he's passionate about the business. He'll learn. He'll figure the rest out. But what a chance, you know, in Boston to have a chance at a championship match. And because it's not, it's not what Stone Cold would do. Like, yeah, yeah, I'd like that match. It can be done your own way. There's no right way to be a success in this business. It's just take opportunities as they come. And I got a cool opportunity to do something special. And, man, it was a special moment. So thank you for bringing that up. It felt like it wasn't lost on you from the moment you walked in. Has there been any part on this run?
28:57Because sometimes you see that look in your eyes where it appears to me that the realization of, well, that was it. That was the last time in Boston kind of sets in. Like you let the crowd react. You get filled with that and you realize that was it. Especially as you've been having some of the best matches in your career against Cody Rhodes, against AJ Styles, against Logan Paul, against Sam. These matches have been great to the point where some of us fans are going. I thought he said he couldn't go anymore. I'm pretty sure he can still go. Has there been any thought when you work at the level that you've been working at And you get the reactions now that you're finally getting where you go, man, I wish I wasn't leaving in December.
29:47No, no. Really? Yeah. And I think the thing that's helping me push myself across the finish line is like there is no tomorrow. So I've always given everything I have. What I love, again, you're saying a lot of stuff. So what I love is like, hey, man, as a fan, I think you're having the best matches of your career right now. I have heard that through many phases of my career. I got to switch to the hip-hop John Cena and then was put in a lot of matches to quote-unquote toughen myself up. I heard that then. And then the era of Super Cena happened, and then I got put with opponents who were supposed to be bad guys, but they loved them, the punks giving Bryan Danielson a shot, Edge.
30:32Hey, you're having some of the best matches of your career right now. fast forward to the United States Open Challenge hey man you're having some of the best matches of your career right now and then for you to be able to say that now means a lot because if you know you can pontificate of like you should do X, Y, and Z but I've always wanted to stay curious and I've always wanted to leave the door open for a path of growth you can never master sports entertainment you can never master WWE there's always something to learn and me with all this time under tension. I'm still learning and I'm still growing and I'm still trying to perfect my craft.
31:10And my body is beat up. It takes me a while to warm up for these matches and it takes me a while to cool down. And I want to leave giving the audience that shows up being like, but you're doing the best work of your career. That's, I will say that's helping push me across the goal line. That's keeping my mind fresh. I'm also working with talent that I've worked with before that I've had new opponents to work with, so they're bringing new ideas. I'm working with new talent. It's honestly, it's great in that regard that there is that curiosity to still learn. I don't think that'll ever be extinguished, but I do have to listen to my health, and there's not one piece that is like, hey, it should go past December 13th.
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31:53I know there's a lot of speculation on him. There was at one point of like, oh, they're just going to run him through to WrestleMania because that's the end of everyone's story. That's just the end of everyone's story because that's the way everybody did it before me. I told everybody 15 months ago that I was going to do this. I told them I was going to do a year, and I'm going to do a year, and after this it's done. And I don't say that as a bad thing. I say that as a collective that I've been allowed to do this for 23 years at a very high output. And to hear that you're having some of the best matches of your career in the fourth generation of installments that I've heard that, it validates that I'm not the only one who's exhausted.
32:34Every time I come through the curtain, I think everybody feels emotionally like, man, he gave us all, he gave us all he had. And I think, or at least I hope after the 13th of December, people understand that that's all I'm trying to do is just give it, give it everything I got. We got a, you want to? Yeah, we've seen a lot of legends in the business, their careers, their in-ring careers, and for a variety of different reasons. And not everybody gets to go out on their own terms. you set out 15 months ago to go on this retirement tour and you're going to get to go out on your terms. How important is that to you?
33:07So I don't want to, um, that's a, that's a perspective. I'm not going out on my own terms. If I could do this in infinity, I would do it. This is where I feel the most fluent. This is where I feel safe. This is where I feel at home. Um, yes, the audience has let me into their living room every week for 23 years, but they've also let me into their lives. and by going across the world and doing all these conventions and meeting all these fans one fan at a time, hearing the stories of how me playing dress-up and living my imagination and living my, you know, my taking opportunities and trying to make it the best I can has affected their life.
33:43I want to do this for infinity, but I can't. So I want to make it specific, and I'm not going out on my own terms. It is, I made a promise to the fan base when I started that when I got to step slower, I got to walk away. And the sad thing is us as fans see that, but you got so much left. Yeah, I could probably squeeze out more matches, but at what cost? I do harm to myself. I do harm to the product. And you as a fan who's allowed me the opportunity for over two decades to spend time with you, you leave feeling bad or sad. No, I want everyone to be happy. And moreover, I want to take the tail end of this thing.
34:22And I'm so glad about the tournament and about Saturday night's main event and get everybody to look at the future of the business because I believe that's whatever energy was given to me. The veterans and old-timers gave me their energy and equity by teaching me and certainly doing honors. And forever the tradition has been, oh, your last match, you kind of go out on your back and you do the honors and that's it. No, I think we can do more. I think we can take the eyes that care about showing up to our show and expose them to the future and what's next. And I love the Time Is Now tournament, that we have some way to earn the chance to qualify as my last opponent, and I really want to take my hats off to Triple H.
35:05I called him up. I said, I got an idea. We've got to do two hours for the tribute show, and if you do a whole John Cena tribute, two things are going to happen. You're either going to do too much or too little. You're never going to please everybody. I would like to propose that we have big-name WWE superstars fight in exhibition matches versus the brightest in NXT. So that way we have a sold-out building. Hopefully the world's watching on Saturday night's main event. I get to wrestle one final time. But in doing that, everyone also gets to look at what to look forward to. I think that's the most important thing.
35:37We're just, yes, it's my last match, but it's collectively. We're all just kind of closing a chapter of an era in sports entertainment. And I want people to be able to look forward to what's next. You also got Zack Ryder back on TV, which is a big deal. It's a big deal. People are coming out of the woodwork for the tournaments. Man, I was very, very glad to see Zack Ryder come back. Matt is a personal friend of mine. I can speak candidly like that, and I've seen his mind grow. You want to talk about always being curious in a quest for growth. the Zach Ryder I knew from a long time ago has accrued so much sports entertainment wisdom.
36:24And it's amazing when we have interactions, he'll tell me about his journey and be like, this is what you were trying to talk about before. And I wasn't, I wasn't ready to understand it. And I like rooting for people who are humble enough to admit when they're wrong and always want to grow and are doing things for the, for the greater good of the business. Matt's certainly one of those guys and man his wife Chelsea is certainly one of those folks who takes an opportunity and makes the absolute best out of it and I was just really happy to see Zach Ryder back John I can't tell you how much we appreciate you making some time for us I remember in 2005 watching you show up on the highlight reel with Chris Jericho and appear on Monday Night Raw for the very first time as a surprise It was a big one, too.
37:13The jersey, I mean. Yes, it was. It was the actual jersey that Moses Malone wore.
37:22But to be here and to be a very small part of what is so special for you, for wrestling history, it's my pleasure. It's our pleasure. And I just appreciate you making the time to do this, man. Thank you. Thanks for the kind words. no part is small and every part is needed um man we had a the director of our show came to thank me i was like man i'm never gonna have a moment you're gonna be too busy i'm like you always have a moment we can't do it without you he's like no no the fans are here for you yeah but without you we don't have a tv show you guys allow our consumers to engage after the final bell is rung after the lights go out and that engagement helps people get excited about our product which hopefully leads people into the arena, which makes more stars and keeps the business going.
38:11There is no small part. If everybody approaches it with, I'm living my dream and I get to do something cool and be part of something special, man, I'm grateful for everybody in front of him and being behind the camera and in the arenas. Without them, watch those pandemic shows, man. we fought on but like we we're a lot better with the audience yeah and i guess my point is there there are no small pieces we're all doing this together that's why he hugged me at fanatics fest now i know why man you guys are such good sports man thank you so much for that i just i had already done an entrance they wanted me to do another one you're thanking him for that because he is hasn't stopped talking about it made my life i think it made my life too look at that yes yes I was just thinking like, man, for some reason, my life feels incomplete.
38:59I'm going to dive on Sam. I'm good. I'm good. Thank you so much, man. Thank you. I appreciate it.
39:08I need this. Guys, we'll get back to it in a second. But I've got to tell you, I don't mess around when it comes to the essentials. And you know what's essential? Getting a good night's sleep. I don't get a lot of those. So when I get them, I got to make sure they count. How do I make sure they count? Well, I go to Brooklyn Bedding, of course. A Brooklyn Bedding mattress is the way you want to go. You know, these ridiculous prices on some of these mattresses. All you want to do is have the most comfortable sleep of your life. Is that so much to ask? Well, Brooklyn Bedding didn't think so. They give you that high-end mattress experience without the sky-high price tag.
39:48Mine is super comfortable. It looks great. And it didn't cost a fortune. I mean, they handcraft every mattress in their Arizona factory, right? So there's no middlemen. There's no gimmicks. There's just top-tier quality, honest pricing, and real-life American craftsmanship for a better night's sleep. Brooklyn Bedding is one of the few mattress brands endorsed by the American Chiropractic Association for spinal alignment and back health. Plus, they're 100 % fiberglass-free for peace of mind. No more nightmares about all the fiberglass. Not sure you can take my word for it. That's a little insulting, but Brooklyn Bedding has been awarded the best mattress by CNET and best hybrid mattress by Wirecutter.
40:30So you know they're the real deal. Go to BrooklynBedding.com and use our promo code RAWRECAP at checkout to get 30 % off sitewide. This offer is not available anywhere else. That's BrooklynBedding.com and promo code RAWRECAP for 30 % off sitewide. Support our show and let them know we sent you after checkout. BrooklynBetting.com. Promo code RAWRECAP. Crazy. Just an incredible moment for me, for us, for the show. Which part? When he said you made his life? Well, I mean, I would imagine he was tongue-in-cheek, but maybe he was telling the truth. I don't know. Just the idea that we got to share that with John Cena was amazing, and I think I speak for you when I say we're very, very grateful to John Cena for spending that time with us here at Madison Square Garden.
41:22And, you know, tonight was a very iconic night, and there's a way to celebrate that iconography that we see in front of us. I was talking about it before the John Cena interview, that Roman Reigns T-shirt, that new Tribal Chief T-shirt that he was wearing when he came out on Monday Night Raw. Well, the original Tribal Chief is back with a brand new tee and a hoodie. It is hoodie season. It's autumn. We got a Roman Reigns hoodie as well. Show your loyalty and acknowledge your tribal chief, my tribal chief, our tribal chief, the original tribal chief, and the only tribal chief, Roman Reigns, with the latest drops at WWE Shop and Fanatics.
41:59Also, we're going to get into it. AJ Lee is back. So AJ Lee's got a brand new t-shirt. Dolph Ziggler returned on Monday Night Raw. You can get Dolph Ziggler merchandise. Gunther returned on Monday Night Raw. You can get the new Gunther t-shirt, which is so incredible. It's black on black. It's like perfect for Gunther. It's amazing. All three of these people have brand new tees live now on WWE Shop and Fanatics. If you love tonight's returns, go grab the new gear and rep your favorite comeback. And of course, John Cena's final Monday Night Raw. You can celebrate his final Raw with his limited farewell tour NYC collection available now at WWE Shop and Fanatics.
42:44If you've been waiting for one of the John Cena drops to get on board with, this is the one. Madison Square Garden, final Raw. We were just talking to John about how big Raw has been for the career of John Cena. This is the time. Get the new merch at WWE Shop and Fanatics, and that way your time will be now. Thank you. Thank you. So, yeah, I thought it was a remarkable thing because I have been uh thinking a lot about how important Monday Night Raw has been in the career of John Cena you know when John Cena showed up in 2005 on Monday Night Raw on Chris Jericho's highlight reel as the WWE champion he had made this uh kind of amazing three-year career on SmackDown and going to Raw was really the beginning of the idea that John Cena was the top guy right it was that was the beginning of that build and and uh to see it just to take that journey all the way to see it come to a head tonight was was an amazing thing for me we got to be out on the floor to witness all of it i mean the place went bonkers yeah when john cena came out It was so cool, but pretty quick into that promo, Dominic Mysterio interrupts.
44:10I think you were the only person in Madison Square Garden cheering when Dominic interrupted. I was so excited. I actually have a video of it. Do you really? I'm so excited. I'm going to send it. You should. You should. But yeah, everybody is booing when Dom's music hit, and you are loud and proud, standing and clapping. like the proud father that, you know, unfortunately, Dominic didn't get to grow up with. Unfortunately, that's right, because Ray took him away from Eddie. And and I mean, because it's just I just see the the wow cojones that one must have to interrupt that. John Cena is literally on his last Monday Night Raw.
44:48And I'm like, now's a good time for me to go out there. Two weeks in a row. Two weeks in a row. It's like I already ruined boss. I'm going to go out. No, no, no. I'm going to make John Cena's last Monday Night Raw and then last appearance in Madison at square garden about me and then i thought we were getting a rematch i did too right because there's been so much there's been much wild speculation i'll say about who john cena would be wrestling i think after boston we all assumed we were getting a john cena match wasn't advertised but we assumed we would yeah and i mean one of the things that was up in the air was the idea of what if there's a dominant mysterio rematch and when dom came out and demanded it and cena said yes i was like oh we're getting it but dom did the most dom thing ever which is no no not tonight for these people but there is i real when he was saying it and he made the challenge for survivor series and john cena immediately accepted i was like yeah it's gonna be really interesting for me to like witness john going into dominic mysterio's hometown yeah right it was a big in boston zero people were cheering for Dominic Mysterio for any moment of that because Boston is John Cena's town.
46:03In New York, they booed Dominic Mysterio, but, you know, you noticed it because I always got very happy. During the match a little bit, when it happened, when we got to the six-man tag team match, there were some Dirty Dom sing-alongs. What did it sound like? Dirty, Dirty Dom. Dirty, Dirty Dom. The crowd does want to cheer for Dom. He's the best. But not with Cena. So I'm so curious what will happen in San Diego. Right. Does San Diego embrace Dominic Mysterio the way Boston embraced John Cena? Or is San Diego a baseball stadium full of WWE fans realizing? I mean, this is the thing. It's John Cena's last sort of traditional WWE PLE.
46:50You know, the last what used to be the old pay-per-views. it's John Cena's last one when John Cena started this road it was like I don't understand is Wrestlemania's last match and it's like people finally got what he had said from the very beginning which is like this will be my last this this will be my last this there's two John Cena matches left that's it one of them is the finals of this tournament and one of them is in San Diego so does San Diego go this is big for our hometown guy this is San Diego's greatest wrestling Mysterio of all time? Or do they go, oh my God, we're never going to see this again.
47:29I don't know. Me neither. Me neither. I really don't know. And I could see something happen where maybe Dom gets booed during the entrance, but during the match, are we going to get 30 Dom sing-alongs? And imagine what that would sound like in that stadium. It'd sound great. But so Dom says, no Survivor Series. John Cena challenges him to a non-title. He says, fine, then, non-title. Whatever you would just say, I want to fight you. And then the Judgment Day comes out. Finally. I guess Dominic figured out. They didn't come out last week. No. Maybe him and Finn got together and hashed it out. I hope so.
48:02Seemed like tonight. They were on the same page. Yeah. It was such a fun. So, J.D. and Finn Balor come out. They beat down John Cena. And then who comes out? Sheamus. I was not expecting that whatsoever. Right. And it was great because Sheamus may win the tournament and get a match with John Cena. but should he not, God forbid, should he not, he got that John Cena moment. You know what I mean? He got that sort of... He was on the show and he was talking to us about how important that is to him. That's right. That's right. And then of all people, and like I'd like to say that Rey Mysterio, legend that he is, came out because he wanted to also be a part of this amazing moment.
48:46But I think he just like came out because he's a bad dad. Because he immediately, there's three guys in the ring, this crazy there's three dudes in the ring and ray mysterio goes oh i know who i'll start punching first my son well like that's crazy now you were sitting behind me so maybe it was other voices that you were conversing with but i thought i heard you say wow he can really still go listen i thought i heard you say that i mean we haven't seen ray mysterio wrestle in quite some time because he's had an injury but i thought it was you that admitted you were in enjoying seeing Rey Mysterio wrestle?
49:22First of all, that doesn't excuse the fact that he was like, oh, there's three people here. I could choose who to punch. I'll go with my son. Terrible. Terrible. Really toxic. But yeah. I mean, the fact is that once they made that a six-man tag, I was like, this is one of the funnest six-man tags ever. Like, everybody just doing their stuff and enjoying the moment. The bad guys are the bad guys. The good guys are the good guys. We're going to all do Sheamus' move. Now we're going to all do Rey Mysterio's move. Now we're going to all do John Cena's move. And yet, like, watching Rey Mysterio in the ring, if you can get past the fact that he is, like, hell-bent on beating up his son, is remarkable.
50:05It's insane. I mean, I feel like the Benjamin Button thing is thrown around for a lot of people, but there is nobody that better exemplifies that than Rey Mysterio. I mean, I watched this guy in 1997 fighting a guy who looked a lot like Dominic Mysterio named Eddie Guerrero. And the way he moved then is so similar to the way he was moving tonight. I don't move the same way that I moved in 1997 anymore. And I've had zero Lucha Libre matches. okay like the fact that Ray was going at the level that he was going at I'm like there's no like slowing this guy down there's no stopping him there's no nothing it was he was it truly was a remarkable showing for Ray Mysterio if I told you nothing about tonight but said you're going to see a match with Sheamus Ray Mysterio and John Cena all on the same team what year would you say this is I mean it could sometime it took place within the last two decades.
51:14You know what I mean? And all three of them are wrestling at their peak. We had the conversation with John Cena. You're having some of your best matches. Sheamus, having some of his best matches. We had that conversation with him last week or the week before whenever we talked to Sheamus. Rey Mysterio, the same way. Just awesome, awesome stuff. And then, of course, on the Cena-related note, two big tournament matches. I thought that Toto Sacoa, mystery opponent Well I was going to say Javon Evans showed up He was strong The Garden got behind him But Gunther May be the greatest no fun wrestler Of all time Yeah you were talking about his black on black shirt Does anything say no fun Like just a black on black t-shirt This is not a fun t-shirt It's just no fun But I did like his robe that he wore on the entrance That was a little fun And by the way, it was class.
52:08No, we saw a different Gunther. I mean, Gunther has gone back to the drawing board here. This is a scary Gunther. Oh, yes. This is like Gunther's in his classic trunks that say the ring general on him. Gunther is coming out to his classic theme song now. There's no. So I don't know if Gunther thought he had drifted too much into the mainstream or what it was. But Gunther has gone back to his roots. And that's scary for a lot of people. I noticed before Gunther had left us for a little while. There was almost a time where he was smirking quite often. I did not see a single smirk on his face tonight.
52:39It's done. Madison Square Garden showed up and said, you know what would be fun? If John Evans won. And Gunther goes, oh, that's what would be fun? I'll ruin that then. I'm a no fun guy. And I think it's great. Earlier in the show, we were talking about how great it is when something happens after the credits go up. I think whenever Gunter wins at the end of a show, we're always like waiting for something else to happen after the credits. And nothing does. Welcome to reality. And then, of course, Solo Sokoa versus a mystery opponent. Dolph Ziggler. I'm here to show the world. I mean, when that music blared out, the reaction that it got, the close calls, it has been really fun seeing Zack Ryder and Dolph Ziggler get to have one more opportunity in the WWE.
53:20I truly hope that it leads to more. It was absolutely awesome. I mean, look, nothing's going to beat that spike. If Solo can get that spike on you, you're going down for it. But, like, yeah, it was really cool to see Dolph Ziggler again. Yeah, great. I mean, it was one of those things too similar to Friday with Zack Ryder where these guys have a personal relationship with John Cena. These are guys. And rivalries. Exactly. And these are people when John Cena announced that this tournament was going to take place. People who don't even work here immediately online. People are speculating. Matt Cardona, Zack Ryder, Dolph Ziggler, like all of these different names.
54:00So the fact that we actually got it in Madison Square Garden, super special. Really cool. Really, really cool. But something else very special happened on Monday Night Raw tonight. Maxine Dupree won a bittersweet, can you say? Yes, bittersweet. That's fair, right? Yeah. I'm very happy for Maxine. You love Maxine. Yes. It's, you know, when I started in WWE, she started her journey. So really just watching her climb the ladder and become who she is now has been so much fun. No one works harder than Maxine. and she's just she's a grinder she's hungry but Becky is my favorite wrestler and I really did think she was going to go on to hold the Intercontinental Championship forever you did say that on the Countdown to SummerSlam show which I thought was very strange but you believed it I mean if it wasn't for AJ Lee she might have maybe not we'll never know but AJ Lee came out Becky Lynch lost the Intercontinental Champion.
55:06Maxine Dupree is a title holder in the WWE. And her first stop was in this room on the Raw Recap. Here's Maxine Dupree. We have our next guest here in Madison Square Garden on Raw Recap on what I believe is the biggest night in her career. ladies and gentlemen, your new women's intercontinental champion, Maxine Dupree. How does it sound? How does it sound? Oh my gosh. Please, say it one more time. Your new women's intercontinental champion, Maxine Dupree. Dupree. I've been waiting a long time to hear that baby I mean look at how does it really feel Have you sat there and realized I walked in to Madison Square Garden Against somebody who many have said Is the greatest women's wrestler of all time More than many Who?
56:14A lot of everyone Sports Illustrated ESPN ESPN Did AJ Lee ever say it? Well I don't know We'll get to AJ Lee But the point is You walked in there with a goat and you walked out of Madison Square Garden with the Women's Intercontinental Championship, what's happening in your head right now? Well, to be honest with you, this is the first time I've sat down since it happened, so no. I have not had a chance to sit down yet and really think about this moment. However, in the moment, I was overflowing with emotion. I actually cannot believe that this is on my shoulder. I cannot believe that I beat Becky Lynch.
56:52I cannot believe that I just wrestled in Madison Square Garden. I cannot believe that my mom, my dad, and my fiance were all here to see it happen. This is like truly the best day of my life. And if nothing good happens after this, I'm okay. But you can believe it happened because you told us yourself on the Raw Recap show that you put the Intercontinental Championship on your vision board. Is this what you envisioned? Yes, but like I dream big. I don't think they're really going to happen. I just lie to you and say i'm gonna achieve this it's called manifest yes well i work hard okay it's hard i don't i don't know if i if i ever thought that it was actually possible um especially to dethrone becky lynch like that's that's someone that's made invented wrestlemania and i'm just a little old me how many matches have i had if we look up the number it's like i want to say we have a guess i don't know what i have to go on cage match i don't i don't it's 50 or under wow wow and that's including like live events like not you know yeah but like realistically too something that makes the moment is that the fans in new york which we can be a fickle bunch went wild for you went absolutely wild when they realized that they'd been a part of this moment that they had seen this thing that you just beat somebody that was the intercontinental champion for a very long time, Becky Lynch.
58:22The fans were like, this is what we wanted. I was really, truthfully, I was scared going into tonight because the New York fans, you know, they love a baddie. Oh, yes. They love a bad boy. They love a bad girl. And I, as much as I like to pretend that I am so tough, I'm just a girl chasing her dreams for real. Like, this is just who I am, you know? And so I was nervous if they were going to want to see that or not. And I'm not going to lie to you. At one point, they were chanting something, and I thought they were chanting in support of Becky. And then I listened a little closer, and I said, ah, yes, New York City.
58:58I knew I loved you. We're in this together, baby. So we know that any time a WWE superstar wins a championship, you get the iconic picture backstage with Triple H, the point picture. Saw yours already. Really? I haven't seen it yet. Yas is up on Instagram already. Oh, my gosh. What did that feel like knowing that this is someone who took a chance on you? You were very open and honest with everybody about your journey and not having the wrestling experience and putting in the work. But at the end of the day, Triple H, he took a chance on you and now you are sitting next to him as a champion. I know.
59:37That's crazy. I was on the flight here to New York and the last photo I have with him is from my tryout the day he offered me a contract. and it's a screen grab of the YouTube video that Dodie made of the tryout and it's a shaking hands and I have a face mask on because it was during that time. And it's like, I don't even look like myself. My hair's like half brown and I'm like a little twig. I hadn't started eating protein yet. And I was like, I was like, wow, hopefully the next photo I get with him is in gorilla holding the title. Can I show you something? Yes, please. Oh my gosh. How is that real?
1:00:10It's real. No, like, stop, I'm putting it on a t-shirt. I'm literally wearing that on a t-shirt next week yeah I mean you talk about vision boarding and seeing this stuff through the fact is I think fans have watched the Maxine character kind of go through this transition where you however long ago it was weren't confident at all in your ability and I think that a funny thing happened where fans started seeing that character but saw the real side of you. And I think that something really special happens when wrestling fans realize like, oh, no, she's working, frankly, harder than she has to to be better than she needs to be because she gets it and she wants it.
1:01:02But I want to be great. Even tonight, tonight was truly the best night of my life and I'm going to do my best to not overthink. But there's things in that match that I'm like, no, next time I step in there to defend this title, I have to be even better. This is, to me, this is like truly step one. Step one of 100. I'm so happy, but like this is not, I'm going to celebrate tonight and then we're back to training because there's things that still, I want to be great. I don't want to just be good. I don't want to just be like, oh, she got by, yay. No, I want to be one of the best. And if I want to be one of the best, then I have to keep working.
1:01:35And I said that to Hunter tonight. I said, thank you for the opportunity. I know I got more to do. That's what you said? I got more to do. I know. I'll be back. I'll be training. What did he say to you? He said, we all got more to do. We're all still training. I want to be undeniable. And I think I'm on my way there. We're climbing that ladder, but I'm not there yet. I mean, this is a pretty good step. Was there any part of you that was concerned? AJ Lee coming back to the WWE in Madison Square Garden is a huge deal. The moment that follows that moment is your moment, which means you have to go like okay New York if you've seen something there wait till you see this you have to be that person that follows the AJ Lee moment and you were thank you I'm not gonna lie to you though I wasn't even thinking about that because I firmly believe that if you use a candle to light another candle the other one doesn't lose its flame there's there is room for both of us to shine in that moment and I think we proved that tonight did you hear the crowd when she came out it was insane and And when Jess, our referee, hit that three count, I literally, I had an out-of-body experience hearing the crowd roar.
1:02:48Like, I was like, oh, we did it. We did it. And I think tonight what is, like, really so special for me is one of the large reasons I got into wrestling is my grandpa is a diehard Monday Night Wrestling fan. His whole life took my dad to shows when my dad was a kid, like, truly. And I think I've told this story on podcasts, but like when I started watching Total Divas, I didn't even know that I was watching the same product that my grandpa was watching. And it was something we got really close over and a large reason of why I did a tryout. And when I got signed, he was the first person I called was my papa.
1:03:22And he said on the phone, he said, what did your dad say? And I said, I haven't called him yet. I called you first. And he was over the moon. And then every Monday or Friday, he would text me and say, what time are you on tonight? And I would tell him. And then he would say, are you wrestling or BS? and most of the time i was bsing so i'd be like oh no just just keep watching and he would tell me all the time no sydney just need it just need to suck them like in the backstage i'm like i'm working on it um and he passed away last year but i just i know like when that pyro hit and i got to hold up this title like i just know he was kicking his feet that his granddaughter like made it you know yeah i got to do this and by the way you're very good at the bsing too yes I'm going to thank you.
1:04:02I try, you know? Well, it's so funny. You've talked about this on other podcasts before. And I even remember when I was on the road with SmackDown, it was one day after a travel day. And you were telling me, like, I want to be on the live events because I want to get reps. And so many podcasts you've talked about, like, I'm fighting for this because I just want to get reps. I want to get better. And whether it was wrestling or it was BSing, you were always looking for ways to get reps. Now you're Intercontinental Champion. You just told us how hungry you are to do more. But is there a period of time where you'll celebrate this massive accomplishment?
1:04:36You know, it's like 10 p.m. right now. So I think I'll celebrate from like 11 to 1230. I'll get a little sleep. And I got to go back to work next week. I got to be training next week because I don't know what Adam Pearce is going to throw at me next week. What if I had to put this on the line? Right. Well, that's the other thing, too. Have you thought about the fact that like now it's look, you're three. I would argue the three best matches of your career have been your three matches with Becky Lynch. Yeah. But now you've set the standard. Yeah, I'm scared. Terrified, isn't it? Yeah, I think that I've learned more working with her than I've learned in a very long time.
1:05:14Because like a lot of people say, Sports Illustrated says it, she's the greatest of all time. However, if you want to be the best, you got to beat the best. And baby, I beat the best. You did. And that has to make you feel good, Megan. I know you never wanted Becky to lose the title, but if the person who won it from her is acknowledging she won it from the best, at least. Listen, we were out on the floor, and we walked down from Madison Square Garden to this fine room to interview Maxine, and I said to you, as sad as I am about Becky losing the title, if someone was going to beat Becky for the title, I'm very glad that it was Maxine.
1:05:52You did say that. Thank you so much. I know that was hard for you to say. You know, it's just, it's nothing personal. I'm just, I just love Becky. It's okay. All the haters came back around. Did you hear them tonight? You'll be next. I did hear them. You know, one of the things we were talking earlier on this show with John Cena about is the other IC champ. You and John Cena. One and the same. Right. And also, by the way, after Survivor Series, probably you and Dominic Mysterio. That's even bigger. Oh my God. They don't call me Dirty Maxine. I shower. I have good hygiene. I smell nice. Don't get it twisted.
1:06:31And I don't have time to deal with Liv or Roxanne. I'm busy right now. I am so busy. That's true. Those are two people that could at some point be coming for you. But John brought up the importance of Madison Square Garden as an arena. I mean, this is the building that this company was really founded on when it was, you know, when it was Capitol Wrestling, when it was the territory. So this is the home of this promotion. And tonight's Monday Night Raw was one of the, easily one of the biggest of the year. Celebrities all over the place, every sort of executive suit and tie. All day. All day it felt like mania.
1:07:14I was like, what is going on? Yes. And for that to be the spot where you get this honor, I mean. No, I can't believe it. You have, I feel like, kind of jumped headfirst into this wrestling world. Yeah. I'm not going to lie to you. I don't know how I got here, but I could not be more grateful. And, like, I'm just, I'm literally going to cuddle this tonight. Have you thought about the nameplates? Have you put the sideplates on yet? Or have you seen the sideplates? They may have brought it to me and said, we don't have your sideplates yet. Because nobody was expecting me to win. I didn't think you were going to win.
1:07:52Clearly, no one even ordered my side plates. It's my third title match. Like, tell me you didn't think I was going to win. Right. And so I said, listen, I've been in charge for about three minutes. I expect the next week. I think that's fair. But at least, you know, I got a cute logo. And if I just hold it like this, not to pull a Miz, but like, then it's Maxine. That's true. Oh, that's true. That's true. If anyone asks, these are my side plates and Miz do not come for me. That's fair. Unless you want to do a mixed tag match. Then I'm down. Miz, one of the greatest Intercontinental champions of all time.
1:08:20Yeah, true. Yeah. have you miss and john cena and dominic it's inarguable um have you talked to natty yet you guys when i tell you like i haven't done anything yet i can't wait to talk to her though but i haven't even seen my phone i don't know where it is wow i came back and came here who needs a phone when you have the intercontinental championship exactly i know that natty is going to be over the moon i did talk to her this morning um she sent me a really nice message and was like before the day gets crazy because the day got crazy you know i had we were at the food bank this morning which was so cool getting to volunteer um food banks for nyc and then also west side campaign against hunger so that was awesome um so it was a crazy day and then we came straight here and and dove right in but she sent me a very nice message just like take it in this is your moment you can do this you know what to do at what point did you believe that right at what point because it's been pretty well documented how much work you've done in the dungeon how much work you've done with natty how it's like basically anytime we don't see maxine do pretty on television.
1:09:20She's working on getting better and working on getting better. At what point did you have the confidence to say like, no, this is the match I should be in? Um, maybe tomorrow. No, I don't know. Like, I don't think that that's like, for me, I seriously cannot believe that this was my day. Like, I'm like, how did I get here? I don't know. When I had my first match with Becky, I never expected Adam Pierce to offer me another one. That was I thought I was getting one match. Then I got a second match. Then I got a third match and I was like, wait, how am I like in my head? Like, how am I pulling off these wins?
1:09:54What am I doing? Like, I don't know. It's like an out of body experience. And even tonight, I know that once I go home and like sleep, it'll all come back to me right now. Like I seriously blacked out out there. I don't know what happened until the roar of like, oh my gosh, I'm the IC champ. Yeah. And how do we get here? I don't know. There's only been three women's intercontinental champions. Yeah. You're right there. No, it's really crazy. And you know, you're supposed to wear it to the airport when you fly home. Oh, you think I'm going to let this thing out of my sight? Little Miss Becky might come and try and steal it from me.
1:10:24Absolutely not. She looked pretty pissed in there when I was rolling out with my new bestie, AJ. She was biting one of the ropes. Yeah. Becky Lynch was biting a rope. She's kind of feral. That's a good word. What's the relationship with AJ Lee? How did that all come about? Listen, you guys know I love a diva. Yeah. I love a diva. Was I expecting her to come out and help me? No. Right. I was shocked to my core. But I think it's a testament to who she is as a person. And like she said, she will stand up to a bully. And at the end of the day, that's what Becky is. And I think that she has seen the last two matches that Becky took the easy way out.
1:11:02DQ, count out. And she was done letting that happen. You want to play that game? Let's play it. Finish it. Adrian, touch her. No way. No way. Just cause the distraction you were ready for. You were up there perched. Her music scares you that much? I think it's kind of cute. well i don't know i don't know look i mean you talk about uh getting into wrestling watching total divas yeah and the star of total divas one of them was natalia yeah the idea that like no i'm living the dream i mean how often do you sit there and like look around especially on a night like tonight and go how is this it's actually insane how do i share a locker room tonight with Nikki Bella, AJ Lee.
1:11:48Natalia's not here. She'd be top of the list and you know that. And all these incredibly talented women, Bayley, Lyra, EO Sky, Rhea Ripley, and I get the opportunity to go out in Madison Square Garden and face Becky Lynch. I don't know. I'm counting my lucky stars. I always say in wrestling, like if you want to know if somebody's in the position that they should be in or not, You just listen to the sounds that happen when they're there. That's all it is. That's to me. That's all. You just listen to the sounds that the audience makes. And I think that there was no doubt that tonight in Madison Square Garden, you are in the right place in the right role.
1:12:33Thank you. And you're the right person to be the intercontinental champion. Thank you. That means the world. Now, I want to say it, Megan. I think you are the right person. to be the women's intercontinental champion. I am very excited for you. I have put that on t-shirt. I have had a front row seat to watch your journey, which is so much fun. And I'm so happy for you. And I can't wait to see the 2026 vision board. I know. I mean, do you... We gotta get crazy. Do you get crazy? Or do you get like... I mean, what do you do now? Do you just realize like, okay, I'm in a position where it's time to just ride the wave?
1:13:12be great and see what comes next or do we keep figuring things out and manifesting anyone ever get good from riding the wave okay right we're trying to break barriers i got things to do right i've got things to do starting with seeing how long i can hang on to this bad boy how many times i can defend it how many how much growth i can have in each and every match to come out on top that's what i'm focused on um i will say i think that becky made this title what it is she made it a big time title. And I plan to do the exact same. And will you share your vision board with us next year? Of course.
1:13:49Do you guys want to have a vision board party? Yeah. Wouldn't that be fun? It'd be so fun. I would love that. I've never been invited to one of those. Well, I mean, when I say one of those, I mean a party. But, Maxine Dupree, congratulations. Thank you so much. Thank you so much for spending some time with us on this of all nights for you. Unbelievable. go take it in and enjoy yourself you did it Bailey may have said that there's tequila in the locker room to celebrate get that tequila thank you guys congrats man what a night for Maxine Dupree the new intercontinental champion I mean just awesome just awesome and we thank Maxine for stopping by and doing the podcast look we have all these great opportunities to hang with these WWE superstars here on the podcast.
1:14:40Not everybody is so fortunate, but you can be. You can start hanging with these superstars. How do you do that? Well, you go to Fanatics Fest. Yes, big news, WWE and sports fans, the world's number one sports fan festival, Fanatics Fest, is making its return to New York City. Fanatics is bringing you closer to the league's teams, superstars, and athletes you love across four action-packed days in July. Meet your favorite WWE superstars. Maybe Maxine Dupree will be there. And get your hands on exclusive merch, catch live podcasts, and interact with the biggest names in sports. Tickets are now on sale.
1:15:15And Raw Recap fans can get a 10 % discount by using Raw Recap 10 at checkout. That's Raw Recap 10 at checkout. And let's be honest. It is such a big deal that John Cena literally said his life was changed. All right. Last year at Fanatics Fest, he said his life was made last year at Fanatics Fest. I can't remember. Who made his life? Who did he say? You don't know, but who did he say made his life? He said that you made his life. That's right. Yeah, he did. Maybe you will get the opportunity to make John Cena's life. Just get your Fanatics Fest tickets. It's going to be a humdinger now. Is that what they're saying?
1:15:58That's what they're on the streets. That's what they're saying on the streets. A humdinger. Humdinger, they're saying. So we'll see. I think it will be. I think it's true. It's wild that you are the one who made John Cena's life. I would never have. I'm very humble. So I wouldn't have known me. But I'll believe him. I'll take his word for it. It's been a big night for you. Massive. A lot of hobnobbing for you backstage today. Bro, the tribal chief came back. That literally trumps everything. I don't care who was here. The tribal chief is back. I don't care. It's nice to see people. You're going to tell your children this is why you have food on your table.
1:16:31Right. Thank you, Uncle Roman, is what they say. That's what they say every time we have dinner. But we were talking to Maxine. You were talking about AJ Lee. Yes. So not only do we get this return tonight. I mean, tonight, you know, you get the return. I love the skipping. You know, it's so classic, right? When she skips her way down to the ring and she knows she's getting in Becky Lynch's head because she knows she got in Becky Lynch's head at Russell Palooza. And she knows she got in Becky Lynch's head on the way to Russell Palooza. And Becky Lynch was so distracted throughout the Maxine Dupree rivalry.
1:17:11I mean, part of it is because, you know, she was dealing with a referee who was who's clearly, you know, had some some questionable calls throughout the rivalry. But that's neither here nor there. A.J. Lee. Well, if the referee had questionable calls, if you're Adam Pearce, what do you even do? Multiple fines and multiple suspensions. The one ref? Yes. Multiple. Okay. That's correct. Anyways, I'm getting back to the AJ Lee. Oh, sorry. Of it all. Okay. AJ Lee knows exactly how. Jessica Korn was the referee in every match, right? To push Becky Lynch's buttons. Right. Now, it's not difficult to get Becky Lynch riled up, especially these days.
1:17:50She seems to operate very riled up. That's like a normal state for her. And sometimes it's a strength. Yes. Other times it distracts focus. That's right. And that's what we saw tonight with AJ Lee. She has a special way of getting under the skin of Becky Lynch. I love that you brought up the skip because there is something when she skips and she's got that look on her face. It is this weird control that she knows that she has over whatever situation. She's careless and everybody else is enraged. But she's not careless. She's so controlled and knows. But she knows to portray careless. Yes. And that's what enrages people.
1:18:23I think that's 100 percent right on the money. there was a moment backstage right where on smackdown charlotte said she didn't want to be on the women's war games team on raw it appears she doesn't trust rhea ripley right everything counts yes on raw it appears that maybe her distrust of rhea ripley is not larger than her friendship with alexa bliss right the friendship with alexa bliss may have brought her back into the fold but Rhea Ripley walks over to AJ Lee who's having a conversation with Jackie Redmond and for a moment Jackie Redmond was all of us when Rhea goes hey can I come talk to you about something and AJ Lee and Rhea Ripley walk away and I mean Jackie Redmond is is I mean jaw on the ground as was I do you know what this means I mean are we gonna see AJ Lee in a war games match we could oh i hope so if we see aj lee in a war games match does that mean we're going to see i mean let's not get the cart before the horse we're gonna get very excited and this happens to us megan this happens to us we come up with all these ideas we get ourselves excited we still need to know if charlotte flair is going to be in a war games match we didn't get that confirmation no we know that she has alexa's back but to what extent is that enough to overcome the lack of trust in rio ripley there is so much happening right now and that's why we need to be here to recap it that's why we're always here to recap it we will continue to be here to recap it next week after survivor series who knows where else will pop up but the wwe podcasts are all over the place just hitting it on all cylinders neil degrasse tyson on logan paul's podcast i just watch this Stephanie McMahon interview with Paul Heyman.
1:20:12It's a life changer. I mean, it's one of the best podcasts I've ever listened to, period, on any network, but it's nice that it's on ours. And of course, one of my favorite podcasts, Six Feet Under with The Undertaker is back this Wednesday. New episode of The Undertaker's podcast, Six Feet Under, coming this Wednesday. And of course, The Undertaker's doing a live one on the 12th of December in Washington, D.C. So be there, be square. Look, Megan, huge night for a lot of reasons on Monday Night Raw tonight. We've barely scratched the surface, but we will be here to scratch that surface once more next week.
1:20:51Did you have one particular highlight of tonight? I got to take a picture with Lin-Manuel Miranda. Okay, that was big. That was big. That was big. Yeah. That was big. It was very big. Yeah. All right. That was another big name. Yeah. That was here. All to witness the return. It was a humdinger. Of the tribal chief. That's what they're all saying. Raw was a humdinger, and so was the Raw recap. Make sure that you hit like on YouTube. Make sure that you subscribe across all audio platforms. And make sure that you are here with us next week when we recap Raw. Once again, have a good one, everybody.
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John Cena joins Sam Roberts and Megan Morant for his final Raw at Madison Square Garden, new Women's Intercontinental Champion Maxxine Dupri shares her first thoughts after beating Becky Lynch, Survivor Series: WarGames matches take shape and much more! This is the Raw Recap, A WWE & Fanatics Original Production, brought to you by Raycon & Brooklyn Bedding.
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