WWE Now - It's the Summer of Punk Again! | Raw Recap

21:17Sam Roberts:And by the way, we're just weeks away from SummerSlam. Exactly right. Exactly right. I'll tell you what I'll be wearing to SummerSlam. What's that? A little pro sphere. Oh, I got mine on too. I love my pro sphere. whether you've been cheering since the Attitude Era or you're all in on today's biggest superstars. Maybe if you're even counting down to the next PLE, ProSphere has the gear to help you represent the WWE universe in style. How else do I represent El Sucio, Dominic Mysterio? I mean, look at this design, the highlighting under the gray lettering. This, this is how the greatest luchador of all time should be put on display thanks to ProSphere.

22:03Sam Roberts:And how do you stand out in the crowd? Well, you rep the greatest female wrestler of all time, the man, Becky Lynch, of course, my ProSphere on today. And I will stand out in any crowd wearing my fantastic ProSphere gear. and you will too suit up with ProSphere's lineup of premium jersey inspired styles, graphic tees, hoodies, and so much more with options for adults and youth. Every single member of the family can find the perfect look to show off their WWE fandom. Here's the thing about gear. You don't just wear it. You make a statement with it. That's what I'm doing. That's what Megan Marantz is doing.

22:47Head over to Fanatics and shop the full Pro Sphere collection today with new superstars, new events, and new designs arriving year-round. There's always a new way to represent. Pro Sphere on Fanatics, gear built for every member of the WWE universe. And I've got to tell you, speaking of the WWE universe and everything going on in it, it is chaotic to say the least. So after everything starts with Monday Night Raw and what was going on backstage and what was going on in the parking lot and the arrivals and everything, Seth freaking Rollins hit the ring. And I've got to tell you, there are people asking that question, you know, Seth and Roman, what makes this one different?

23:37And I say just watch the show. Don't be like Brock Lesnar. watch the show listen to that story to me i mean there's so much meat on the bone when it comes to seth and roman this is and i i don't think seth rollins has never been any bigger roman reigns has never been any bigger this is an era defining everything defining match between two guys who this era was built around. And I think Seth Rollins made an incredible case for that last week. We talked about it here on Raw Recap about just what an incredible tale was weaved by Seth Rollins that brought Roman Reigns to the point where he had to say, yeah, I need to beat you.

24:26So Seth Rollins comes out tonight and he talks about where he's coming from and where he's always come from. He again brings it back to Seth ripping apart the shield, to Seth cashing in in the heist of the century at WrestleMania 31 on Roman Reigns' main event. And he talks about the fact that wrestling was all he ever wanted to do, that as a little kid, all he ever dreamed of was not just being a professional wrestler, but being the biggest star in the industry. And that while he was in the Shield, he had a front row seat. He knew firsthand that Roman was the chosen one. He was always the chosen one.

25:14He was the one that was put on display. And in Seth's words, he said it didn't matter if Roman Reigns couldn't cut a promo or wrestle his way out of a paper bag, which is rough. It's like, why are we talking about old stuff, Seth? Come on, dog.

25:30Sam Roberts:He was throwing a couple shots there. He was absolutely. You could tell it was emotional for Seth because he was watching his dream get handed over to somebody else from Seth's perspective. He said that it was somebody undeserving. He said it wasn't just that. He said it was somebody undeserving and somebody who I believe he thought hadn't earned the opportunities that he was getting. and now you start to see where going back, where this resentment may come from, you know, where this sort of, well, I have to not necessarily stop you because maybe I can't stop you, but Seth said he did it to stay close, to stay in that orbit.

26:12You know what I'm saying? He talked about when Roman looked at Seth and said, you work 10 times as hard as I do, but I make 10 times as much money as you do.

26:22Sam Roberts:But for Seth, it was never about the money. That's what he said. It was about doing the work. And what I loved so much about this promo from Seth, though, was we talk a lot about blurred lines. And I felt like, especially when Seth brought it back to him as a little boy, and he pointed out the fans in the crowd and started calling out their ages. He said, I was you. I was you at age nine. I was you at age five. And he brought it back to where he came from and his whole journey in WWE with the shield cashing in on Roman Reigns and the reasons that he did it. And to me, it was a moment where there was a lot of real truth coming out of Seth Rollins' mouth.

27:03From his perspective, you know, because here's the thing, that can be a frustrating thing. And I believe him when he says that the work is the reward. I think that there are a lot of people who feel that way. But the fact is that you also have to sit there, whether you think somebody is deserving of an opportunity or not, when they execute on it, it's kind of the end of the conversation that the reality is that regardless of how Roman got here, because there are plenty of people who have been given all the opportunities and have failed at them and they've had to move on to somebody else. And then, and, and, and, and when people fail at all those opportunities, there've been plenty of times where a guy who was right in the spot to be that guy does not become that guy.

27:49Roman Reigns is not, the top human in the pro wrestling industry because he was put there. Roman Reigns, you can't be put in that position. And anybody who will sit here and they'll write in the comments or they'll say whatever they want to say and they'll go, top star in the industry, this or that, this or that about Roman. What about back then? What about this? What about that? All that conversation ceases the minute his music hits.

28:21Sam Roberts:Of course it does. The minute there's a Roman Reigns match, all the conversation ends and you go, oh, this is why we wait for this because he's the best. I mean, he changed the entire industry. Think back to Friday Night SmackDown, the way that show opens. You have Sami Zayn in the ring. You have Jey Uso in the ring. You have Cody Rhodes in the ring. And as they're all standing there And Sami's talking about how far as he's concerned, the title is still in the family. And I'm looking at Jey Uso and thinking of the journey that he went on with the bloodline and how Cody Rhodes finishing his story goes back to the bloodline and how Sami was in the bloodline as well.

29:02Sam Roberts:A lot of roads in WWE lead right back to Roman Reigns and right back to the bloodline. And yes, he was chosen. but what Roman created for 1 ,316 days that altered the industry as we knew it. That's not just being handed something. You said all the roads lead back to the bloodline. Was that a pun? It wasn't, but I wish it was. Nice. I wish it was. Nice. So, yeah, but at the same time, Seth is also probably the most underrated wrestler on the roster. That's a fact. You know, and I think that there is something, I don't know that anybody's better at being real than Seth Rollins. I think when, and it goes to the point that you just said, where it was like you could feel the emotion coming from.

29:49Yeah. And when you get that, the reality of who Seth Rollins is and why he does this, a connection starts to build very, very quickly that maybe you didn't see coming. But I'm sitting there, right? And I'm going, this may be the best I've ever seen Seth Rollins. I'm literally going, I thought last week was one of the best I've ever seen Seth Rollins. And then mid-sentence where I go, Seth is maybe one hit away, one bar away from the best promo of his career. It just goes, L-A-9. And I'm like, oh my God, you were in the room with me. I started laughing out loud because I was like, it's just so disrespectful.

30:35Respectful. I loved it. I think L.A. Knight is at his best when he is doing stuff like this.

30:42Sam Roberts:It was right when Seth said, Roman has to prove he's not a fraud. L.A. Knight. I mean, L.A. Knight with no chill is by far my favorite L.A. Knight because I think there's a lot in L.A. Knight. I think L.A. Knight has way less chill than he likes to put out there. Oh, yeah. And so you go back to Seth being real, right? and how compelling it was for Seth to be real, L.A. Knight steps up, and he talks about Seth and Roman boring the audience to sleep last week. Yippee skippy. Yippee skippy. He starts saying, brother, brother, brother, brother, brother, brother, brother, brother, brother, brother, brother, brother, this, brother, that.

31:23Sort of saying that they were complimenting each other until Seth got a title shot. He remembers when people used to have to win matches.

31:29Sam Roberts:He was talking about their matching haircuts. Yeah, let's get our matching haircuts. Let's get our beards matching. Let's get, and you're just like, and you know what? I think that that is a tough position for LA Knight to be in. Because the fact is that I think that the audience is interested in Seth Rollins versus Roman Reigns. I think that the audience was locked in to what Seth Rollins is saying. So for LA Knight to go out there and go, this story that you guys are interested in is boring and Seth doesn't deserve this. like you've got to convince you got to sell me on that you got to convince me that that's right and the minute he started going yippy skippy brother brother brother let's go to the same barber i was like oh my god la night left all the chill in gorilla position and he has come out here and just laid it on the table like i don't care and it goes back to what i was saying before i mean for for for seth rollins to look at la night and go i think you'll have your moment in time.

32:31Sam Roberts:I don't like you, but I respect you. LA Knight's got the eyes bugging out. Of course they're bugging out. LA Knight is sitting there going like he literally just caught a promo saying you guys are holding me down. You're using your little numbers. You want to talk about getting real? That felt like it was getting real. He called them two biggest vomits. Vomits, he called them. Like he was Sergeant Slaughter. The SGT himself. He said that Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins are manipulating numbers to keep guys like me down. And then Seth has the nerve to say, I think you are going to have your moment in time.

33:14And it's like, do you know how many times people have told LA Knight that? To wait? Come on. Just wait. Just wait your turn.

33:22Sam Roberts:It's all right, man. No. Keep working hard. No, I'm not going to wait my turn. LA Knight's, what have I been doing? Right. And what has the crowd been doing the entire time that I've been waiting my turn? I do like, too, that LA Knight is taking credit. Of course. He's like watching Seth Rollins. He's going, okay, if you guys are going to go out there and take credit for the greatest generation of all time, I'll go out there and take credit for myself, too. Why not? And sitting there going, and I think it's really interesting, right? Because on one end, you've got this sort of, there can only be one match between Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins.

34:01But like everything in wrestling, there's something on the other side of that. The story keeps going, the story never ends. So the idea that realistically, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns feels like the bow on this story. It's like, this is the punctuation mark on the story. But then LA Knight is just sitting there going, na-na. He goes, no. No, it is not a punctuation mark. I'm the story. I don't care about what you guys have going on.

34:30Sam Roberts:I've been the story. Yeah, I'm the story. I've been the story the whole time. I'm going to be the story here. And Seth goes, fine. I'm going to get through Roman Reigns. And that's what's coming up next. And after SummerSlam, when I'm champion, we can talk then. LA Knight is so tired of hearing, you're on deck. Right. He's not here to be on deck. I mean, there was just something, because you don't see, again, like you don't see it coming. What is it? LA Knight doesn't have to do anything with Roman Reigns versus Seth Rollins, but him interrupting and just inserting, aggressively inserting himself into the conversation about the World Heavyweight Championship, no matter what's going on, is like this wonderful kind of, I don't know if it's paranoia or obsession, where he's like, I don't care what this looks like.

35:20I'm doing it. And I'm going to disrupt. It's a complete disruption.

35:24Sam Roberts:I can't help myself anymore. I have to do what I have to do. And listen, I love disruptors. Yeah. Disruptors are the best. Well, and then just as L.A. Knight turns around, who's waiting for him right there. Which I love this stuff in WWE when it's like, no, this is the story. No, that's the story. No, that's the story. And here comes Jimmy Uso. Where it's like, it's Seth and Roman is the story. No, it's LA Knight and Seth. Jimmy Uso slides in and goes, no, no, no, keep my family's name out of your mouth and then kicks LA Knight in that very mouth of LA Knights. And then that wasn't it either. Well, that was very interesting to me.

36:00You know, LA Knight, as Jimmy Uso was leaving, and Jackie Redman was catching up to Jimmy Uso, you could see L.A. Night, and Jimmy Uso said.

36:10Sam Roberts:She wanted clarification on what happened with L.A. Night. First of all, I love that it was Jimmy that pulled this off. I love that it was Jimmy's hit. I love that we're getting past the, let's all be friends, Jimmy Uso. I love that Jimmy Uso is - Cooler heads prevail. I hate cooler heads prevail. No. I like Crash Out J. I like No Chill L.A. Night. You like when people lead with emotion. I love it. I love it. I love everybody just going like, well, if I love Nick Aldis showing up for work while he's suspended. I love everybody just going like it's wrestling, dude. It's wrestling. It's high testosterone.

36:44Sam Roberts:We're not supposed to be rational. No, we're highly combative. We're not going to think things through. The amount of tension on tonight's show alone between all parties. It was great. It was insane. You love tension. I do. You love that. As long as I'm not involved in it. I looked at my watch and I was like, wow, we are 24 minutes into Monday Night Raw. And I have four pages full of notes. Everyone hates each other. But as he's walking out, L.A. Knight's sneaking up behind Jimmy. Like he's going to jump him outside in the parking lot. And boom, ass. Here comes Jacob Fatu, who's here to say no.

37:20And Jacob Fatu takes out L.A. Knight protecting Jimmy. Maybe Jacob respected what had happened with Jimmy. Jacob suits himself up and says something about the bloodline.

37:32Sam Roberts:Because it was Jimmy. who is not that punk-ass Jay. Right, because he doesn't take orders from his. A punk-ass! And Jimmy said he was headed to SmackDown to take out Solo. Look, Adam Pearce is the one who's decided to kill this borderline. You know, we're not checking passports between Raw and SmackDown. So, okay. Door's open. Come on. Jimmy said he's going over to take care of Solo now. I like that in that one little moment, all we saw was that one little bit between Jimmy and Jacob. We didn't see Jay tonight. who, you know, after losing to Cody Rhodes, losing to King of the Ring, Roman Reigns on Raw next week.

38:08I'm very anxious to hear what he says about Seth, but I'm also very anxious to see where the bloodline's at after what Jay did. But I, it was a much more gang-like bloodline, the vibe between Jacob and Jimmy. It was. Go, no, we're walking around here. If you talk about our family, if you mess with us, one of us is going to take you out and if you mess with one of us you mess with all of us

38:35Sam Roberts:and that's a dangerous bloodline yeah and and i mean jacob himself as the enforcer is beyond dangerous but then when you see how they're operating especially when jimmy's not trying to get cooler has to prevail right i'll just say this you wouldn't understand but it it's that's the type of scenario where you feel good that jacob is your best friend i don't understand but I don't know if you would like best friend. That might be. Yeah. Well, we have it. If you go back on episodes of the now, you can see. I don't know if he ever said the words best friend. It was pretty clear. But I think, you know, I think you're his boy, but I don't know about best friend.

39:15I believe the real honorary ooze was the, I mean, that's not really a phrase that's bandied about very often, but whatever. I do want to tell you about the world's number one sports fan festival. I'm talking about Fanatics Fest. And it's returning to New York City, I can't believe it's already, next weekend. WWE superstars and legends are going to be taking over the Javits Center all weekend long, including John Cena, Roman Reigns, Cody Rhodes, Rhea Ripley, Liv Morgan, The Undertaker, Dan Housen, and many more. Do you know how much I love that Dan Housen is on the list? John Cena, Roman Reigns, Cody Rhodes, Undertaker, Dan Housen.

40:00Sam Roberts:Well, he's Mr. New York. Come on. That's right. Here's what the WWE Universe can experience on the show floor. How about can't miss WWE programming, including You Can See Me Now, live Q &A with John Cena, the official WWE SummerSlam kickoff, and live episodes of WWE podcasts, including What Do You Want to Talk About with Cody Rhodes and WWE Now featuring Sam Roberts and Megan Morant. Plus, WWE superstars competing in the Fanatics games, including the tribal chief Roman Reigns. Autograph and photo sessions with your favorite WWE superstars and exclusive WWE merchandise available only at Fanatics Fest.

40:46It's all happening July 16th through the 19th at Fanatics Fest. Tickets are going fast. So get yours now at fanaticsfest.com. And, you know, moments get made like crazy at Fanatics Fest.

40:58Sam Roberts:You're trying to make one. Well, a lot of people are wondering. A lot of people. Really? Are wondering. Yeah. You don't even know what I'm going to say. It could be. And it is. A lot of people are wondering. They said, Sam. This is what they say. They said, Sam, you said Roman Reigns is competing in Fanatics games. I said, yeah, that's exactly what I said. That's what I said. They said, do you remember last year? I was like, yeah, Fanatics games, it was great. They were like, no, Sam, Fanatics games last year is where John Cena ran down. People are reminding you of this? I forgot. Is where John Cena ran down the entryway, leapt over a table, ignored Megan Morant and Kathy Kelly, ignored.

41:40Sam Roberts:Not exactly what happened. And gave you a huge hug that was so big that it knocked furniture over. And I said, a chair? They said, no, a whole table. I said, wow. I said, you know what? I remember now that made my life. They go, what a coincidence. Cause I watched the now and on WWE. Now John Cena said it made his life too. You're so humble. And that got, well, that's what they said. Yeah. And it's gotten them to thinking. What if Roman Reigns wants to give me a hug? That could happen. I don't, that could happen. He might want to get his life. I don't think you should get your hopes up too high.

42:14If somebody wants to get the message out to Roman Reigns, how much that meant to John Cena, maybe we could do something like that for our OTC tribal chief as well. Maybe.

42:25Sam Roberts:I think he might have peaked last year. Alex, if you want to shoot off an email or something just making sure. Okay, he's typing right now. Or, you know, we could get it. Is Becky in this Fanatics games? Because that would be great. I think, you know, she's a big fan of me but she actually hates you. Oh, that's weird because if I'm a judge I wonder how that's going to go. We actually have a call where you can't let biases interfere. With your judging. There's two million dollars on the line. I can do whatever I want. I don't know about that. By the way. Just two million dollars on the line. I can do whatever.

42:57I can do whatever I want. You know who actually can do whatever he wants?

43:02Sam Roberts:Roman Reigns. Yes, that's true. But you know who else? Who? The ruler, Obafemi. Oh, that's true. Yep. Whatever he wants. I mean, Paul Heyman came out on Monday Night Raw tonight. And, well, first of all, he referred to Obafemi as King Schlong. which I don't know I had never yes he said that Obafemi was walking around like he was King Schlong which I don't know if that means that the Urban Dictionary I don't know what that means if the Obafemi strut is now the King Schlong strut I don't know what that means but Paul Heyman is such a wordsmith that I feel like it has to be true if it's coming from Paul Heyman so that's said about Obafemi.

43:45But he also said, aside from the King Schlong thing, he said that Obafemi has inspired Brock Lesnar. He's inspired Brock Lesnar to become the beast once more. And he said straight up that Obafemi, King Schlong himself, will not make it out of hell in a cell.

44:09Sam Roberts:Well, and he talks about what Brock has done inside Hell in a Cell. It's his cage, man. Taking care of the Undertaker multiple times. People don't leave Hell in a Cell with Brock Lesnar. He's never lost Hell in a Cell. No. It's a remarkable thing. But then we hear the oba music. King's long. Here he comes. That's never music. that's really that's never music that you want to hear while you're talking about Obafemi you know what I mean unless it's all compliments here he comes it must be good news he must be here to pat me on the back you know something like that no and Obafemi basically comes out and says Paul Heyman likes to talk so he just wanted to make sure that Paul Heyman had someone to talk to and listen Paul Heyman's credit although he did not look overly comfortable I mean, this picture that we're looking at of Paul Heyman, the fate, like he can't, like all of his senses are being attacked by the fact that Obafemi is there and he just doesn't understand.

45:14It's like when you want to protect every limb on your body because you don't know what's going to be attacked first, but you don't know how to do that. So you just stand there unpleasantly hoping that nothing too bad happens.

45:27Sam Roberts:Close to the ropes as well. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Quickly get out of harm's way. He's not looking for a rope break there. He's looking to escape. Exactly. To fully escape. I mean, especially with someone the size of Obafemi, you got to be worried about getting tossed. Hopefully if he does, he tosses him outside the ring and he's done. And that's all he has to do. Because if Oba tosses you and you're still in the ring, Oba's not done. But Paul Heyman, you know, he stayed true to what he was saying. Stood on business, did Paul Heyman. and he spelled it out for Obafemi that at WrestleMania, Obafemi proved that Brock Lesnar could be beat and that he deserves credit for that.

46:10But in Italy, Brock Lesnar proved that Obafemi could be beat. And here we are at this trilogy match inside Hell in a Cell. The Brock-tagon is what Paul Heyman called it. The Brock-tagon.

46:26Sam Roberts:No one is a better cage fighter than Brock Lesnar. That's what he said. Whether it's a steel cage, whether it's a Hell in a Cell, whether it's an octagon, it becomes the Brock-tagon when Brock Lesnar is inside. And Paul Heyman said that only one man is going to be able to leave Hell in a Cell as the unbeatable superstar in the WWE. And Paul said that man will be Brock Lesnar. Obafemi turns around and I mean Obafemi man it's one thing to be that impressive to look at it's one thing to be that impressive to look at and then be that impressive in the ring it's another thing to be that impressive to look at that impressive in the ring and be able to take a mic and tell your story and Obafemi can do it all I mean we were talking about this when we were watching it together I mean you remember the days when Obafemi was on level up and then Obafemi makes it to NXT.

47:25Sam Roberts:He has one of his first NXT PLEs. You could tell there was something special about Obafemi. But as soon as Obafemi got to Saturday night's main event, and then every single time since then, when he's grabbed the mic, I know he's special, but he opens my eyes even more. I would agree with that. Especially with his justification. Saying that Paul Heyman is doing damage control. that Paul Heyman knows that this is the end of Brock Lesnar. I mean, I think Oba was sitting there going, you're not an advocate, you're just a mouth. But a mouth can't get fed without the head. And I think what the implication is that Paul Heyman knows that Oba Femi is a threat to Brock Lesnar and that Paul Heyman needs Brock Lesnar for his own survival.

48:17Sam Roberts:I mean, Oba Femi called him scared. Called Brock scared or Heyman scared? Heyman. Yeah. yeah yeah he did call brock a coward he said and this was crazy he said i'm gonna beat i'm gonna beat brock lesnar and people said this i heard it uh uh someone on the radio they said why summer slam why is it so important that oba faced brock lesnar at summer slam well so that he can beat him inside hell in a cell in front of all of his family all of his friends his children i I mean, bro, nobody brings up Brock's family. Right? Crazy dog. But Oba did tonight. He did. He said he's going to beat you. I'm going to beat you in Hell in a Cell.

48:59But more importantly, I'm going to do it in front of your family. I'm going to do it in front of your friends, in front of your wife, in front of your kids. And it's like this is a guy who is not only not worried about upsetting Brock Lesnar, but is hoping that he pushes it to that point where Brock Lesnar is raw and emotional. That's not something I want to do.

49:21Sam Roberts:I don't know if I've ever seen anybody step up to Brock in this way. Especially not this quickly. No. No, absolutely not. And when they have, when people step up to Brock Lesnar a little bit. It usually doesn't end well. No, Brock Lesnar makes it hurt. Like, are you crazy, dude? Do you know who I am? And the fact that Oba's doing this after he ate seven F5s in Italy. I know. You would think that that'd be like, okay, I had a good night at WrestleMania. I'm going to leave this one alone. I'm the king of the ring. I can go after a champion. I'm going to leave that one alone. No. And by the way, he's gotten an eighth F5 since then.

49:54Sam Roberts:And that's why Obafemi is built different. He is built completely different. Now, Paul Heyman is in a very interesting spot. He usually finds himself in that predicament. Because there were a lot of people that were asking, why last week on Raw when Austin Theory said, oh, Paul, you didn't tell me you were coming. You haven't answered my voicemails, blah, blah, blah. And Paul said, did I not tell you I was coming? Well, now you know. And walked off. It was like, geez, Paul. But he went to the Vision. The Vision had their tag team championship match against the street profits. Yeah, they're in the gorilla getting ready to go out there and try and get back those titles.

50:36And he goes right up to him and he says, don't even worry about getting speared through the barricade. He goes, you couldn't get past Seth Rollins. And he points right at Brom Breaker. And then he goes over to Austin Theory and he goes, and you couldn't even get past Joe Hendry. And it was very, I'm not mad at you. I'm just disappointed. I think that Paul Heyman has developed something that is almost paternal with this vision group and is making them feel like, hey, I'm the one who went on television and I'm the one who said these guys are the future. And I'm not going to allow you guys to make me look foolish or to sully my record.

51:30and I don't know I have to question whether this kind of quote-unquote tough love if that's what it is is going to work to motivate these guys because I feel like if somebody came up to me I'd be like screw you man you know that's that's how I would feel but then Paul Heyman goes and

51:46Sam Roberts:says come back with something worthy of your wise man or don't come back at all which is a threat threat in a way yeah and maybe he's just trying to bring out the i mean it's definitely a threat he's saying if you don't step it up i'm out i'm threatening to leave that's the threat and you would just say see ya see ya i mean it'd be tough to say to paul hey right he is the adorable oracle you know what i mean i would want if he were going to be my oracle i guess i would try to live up to his expectations i mean imagine just being one of these young young guys right like braun breaker who paul heyman stood in front of the entire world and and talked about how you're the future of the industry and you're going to main event WrestleMania after WrestleMania.

52:28Sam Roberts:And a couple of months later, he looks at you before a tag team championship match and says he's disappointed. This is it. And it's your fault. I'm disappointed in you. You haven't lived up to my expectations. Yeah, that's a tough pill to swallow. Yeah, it is. And that's either going to bring the best out of you or the worst out of you. And I guess Paul Heyman's put them in a position where it's like, either way, you know what I'm going to do. If it brings out the best in you, I'll be here If it's the worst See you never Find somebody else, yeah Exactly right Now I don't think anybody I think that people expected the vision to disintegrate Yeah I think they thought it was over after last week I kind of thought it was Right And I think a lot of people were like Okay, this must be a see you later The vision got a little blurry, you know Of course it did But maybe that's what Paul Heyman was saying it needs to sharpen up.

53:24And so they went out there and in a position where I don't think anybody expected them to win the tag team championship. I feel like the Street Profits just got it. They're able to pull it off.

53:36Sam Roberts:Logan Paul did have two sets of brass knucks. Well, I really think the decoy knucks are brilliant. I have to tell you, I have never seen the decoy knucks go. And I don't know if those are fake knuckles or he uses real brass knuckles as decoy knuckles, I'd probably use real ones because I feel like it'd be more of a distraction. If you're going to carry around one pair, you might as well have a backup, right? Right, especially if one are the decoy knucks. This is so you're looking over here. Plus, why not wear them on both fists if you're really in a fight you're trying to win, right? But we almost hit, I mean, peak disaster.

54:16Went after two sets of knucks, they didn't work. Brawnbreaker loses him. Dawkins gets him out of the ring. Theory goes for it. Dawkins grabs the knucks. He's ready to knock out Austin Theory while the referee's back is turned. Maxine Dupree comes out of nowhere. Low blows Angelo Dawkins allowing Austin Theory to get the pin. And Austin Theory pins Dawkins so that the vision are once again tag team champions and Maxine is all over this Austin theory.

54:56Sam Roberts:I thought they broke up. Well, here's the thing. I think the reason that you thought they broke up and a lot of people thought they broke up, first of all, we never even really knew they were together. It felt very well. We knew something was going on. It felt well they want they to me. It felt very, very, if I could use a topical reference, it felt very moonlighting to me. We knew it. Sybil Shepard vehicle with Bruce Willis. Moonlighting. We knew it at the very least that these two were talking. Right. Will they, won't they? Kind of like, you know, well, the show Moonlighting. Moonlighting. Yes, yes, yes, yes.

55:33Sam Roberts:Moonlighting. Yes, yes, yes. But what I don't think anybody picked up on is the fact that maybe here, Austin Theory is a catch. we all were sitting there going how did Austin Theory convince Maxine Dupree to get in that car with him but the reality is that the the idea that Maxine Dupree would have to live her life without Austin Theory is is is a life that Maxine did not want any part of she said I don't care if it means not being friends with Chad Gable I mean did you see when that whole victory parade left in that SUV. I mean, Otis and Tozawa, I don't think I've ever seen people more sad. What do you think Otis was saying?

56:18Babe, I thought he was I thought I told you it was bad news, babe. Babe, he's bad news. Where'd she go? Tozawa's just sitting there going, I don't know. Where'd babe go?

56:28Sam Roberts:No idea. I don't know. No idea. This is no more Miss Nice Girl Maxine. No, and I don't think she left her forwarding address. She might have changed her number Oh, Maxine? She doesn't live here anymore. Where can I find her? She didn't leave that information for you guys. She's gone. I mean. She's not coming back. And she's not coming back. Yeah, I mean, and Gable is out here, you know, making friends with the luchadors and Dragon Lee. So it's like, what do Otis and Tozawa have left? Nothing, dude. You stay in that friend zone too long. This is the type of thing that happens. Sorry, babe. Sorry, babe.

57:06It happens. We're still friends, though, right? Yeah, I mean, Austin Theory ended up being the catch here. Austin Theory gets the pin. Paul Heyman says, look, that was just step one, but it was step one. And he does give Maxine Dupree the credit for it. But listen.

57:25Sam Roberts:She deserved it. I got to tell you, there is something to me about a faction like the Vision. And sometimes, you know, factions have to take on different shapes. It's not just so cut and dry. Hey, listen, you saw it with the Judgment Day. You know how I feel about factions. Yeah. They all stay together forever. They have to. I don't listen to conversations about factions breaking up. Break them up. I don't know. Just evolve them. Evolve them, turn them into something else. The idea that when you look at the vision. Just kind of move the pieces around a little bit. Right, and they go, oh, let's bring in a whole bunch of new members.

57:56No, no, no, no, relax there. Just do like one little move over in this direction. Because when I look at the vision and I see them at the end of that entryway holding the tag team championship again, only this time for real, this time Theory and Breaker actually did win them together. I see Braun Breaker. I see Logan Paul. I see Austin Theory. And I see Maxine Dupree.

58:24Sam Roberts:And you say the future looks bright. And I see a group that is just the future. What if that was it? Do they need anything else? I would say no. You're living in a time where we were just talking about how that roster is scrapping to get ahead, figure out who's going to be the ones that define this era. If this group of young superstars who have years in front of them and all the potential in the world are able to capture this thing that was once built around Seth Rollins, that was once built around the vision that Paul Heyman had, maybe they don't need somebody else's vision. Maybe their vision as the young superstars that are going to be paving this road.

59:06Maybe that's the vision that we should all be focusing on. That's the vision that I want to see. I mean, this is the strongest I've seen the vision look probably since that night after WrestleMania, right? When they were formed? It's big, man. It's big. I got to tell you, a bunch of championship changes on Monday Night Raw tonight. and you can bring championship gold home with you. Unless you're Sami Zayn, you can't. But everybody else can bring championship gold home. Sorry, Sami. It's too soon. I know, we were so friendly last week.

59:39Sam Roberts:Talking about how Michael Cole is a hater. Well, that was unfortunate that I said that, but it's been said. You, though, can bring championship gold home with WWE replica title belts from WWE Shop and Fanatics, featuring authentic detailing inspired by the titles seen on WWE programming. Can we still get Sami Zayn's side plates? Are those, I don't know. We'll search for them. We'll see if we can find them. These premium collectibles let every fan celebrate their favorite superstars and iconic championships in true champion style. And a lot of people are saying, how'd you get those championships?

1:00:15And you got to tell them with these guns, baby. And how do you show off those guns with summer tanks? Gear up for summer with the latest WWE tanks available now at WWE shop and fanatics. You can rep your favorite superstars all season long in all these tanks. We have a big, big Monday Night Raw coming up next week. Brock Lesnar in the house. Roman Reigns in the house. A gauntlet to determine the number one contender for the SummerSlam match for the Intercontinental Championship, which people are already fighting over. And of course, we'll find out more with the Judgment Day. But I got to tell you, tonight, they weren't victorious, but at least they felt like they were on the same page.

1:01:04Sam Roberts:Yeah, sort of. And Io Sky is taking on Roxanne Perez next week. And Roxanne Perez said she's going to make it so that Io Sky doesn't make it to SummerSlam. Hey, that'd be good for Liv Morgan. It would be good. It would have been better if Raquel could have found a way to win the Intercontinental title. But the Judgment Day being on the same page kind of left Raquel in a tough situation where she was in the perfect position to have her soul snatched from Sol Ruka. Because of that EO Sky up to those tricks. Listen, it's going to be a big Raw. We will be here to talk about it next week. Make sure you're subscribed to Raw, WWE Now Raw Recap across all audio platforms, leaving comments, hitting like on YouTube.

1:01:46And we will see you next week on Raw Recap here on WWE Now.

1:01:56We'll be right back.