WWE Now: Roman Reigns is ready to SMASH ‘em all at WrestleMania | Raw Recap

24:38I mean, we interviewed him three months ago.

24:42Sam Roberts:Yeah, in December. In December. He was still an NXT superstar. And we sat there going, gee, I wonder when he'll get to the main roster. That was only three months ago. And now he's going into WrestleMania. And when you look at this and you look at this Brock Lesnar match and the way it's been built as one of the big WrestleMania matches, it doesn't feel like, oh, this rookie is getting a shot. Not at all. It feels like he's half of the equation of what's making this a huge match. Yeah, and also the reaction to Oba as soon as Brock gets in there and everybody's chanting Oba's name. When Oba's music hits, there's a new little wrinkle.

25:23Okay.

25:25Sam Roberts:The drums play and there's this pregnant pause. And it builds anticipation. And then all of a sudden, you see Oba. The lights flash. And then he starts doing the walk. It could not be more perfect. The walk. I'm doing the walk.

25:45This is good radio

25:49Sam Roberts:Oh it's so good Everybody in Boston was doing it Children, all ages Adults Everybody's doing the Oba walk Isn't it amazing that he does I mean this is a ridiculous walk for anybody besides Oba Femi And he makes adults feel comfortable doing it Of course As a grown man I would 100 % If I had been in the TV Bank Center tonight I would have been doing the Oba walk when the music hits you have to you have to I mean we'll probably be in Madison Square Garden next week if he's there I'll be doing the Oba walk I'll be doing it you have to there's no question you have to it's contagious you feel invincible and that's an Oba and maybe the reason you feel invincible is because you're looking at the person who's doing this thing and it's Oba Femi who now I mean walks to the ring after being challenged to basically say okay no Seth Rollins no masked men if you're so great do it again I feel like if I got Brock Lesnar up for a powerbomb and slammed him down I'd probably retire you know what I mean I mean you saw what he did to all those masked men I don't know if all of them are still with us I don't think they are most of them not yeah I'd be done but they go face to face again no distractions Brock Lesnar picks up Obafemi in that F5 and you can see man Brock's legs getting shaky Brock struggling to get him up Oba escaping it and Oba clotheslining Brock Lesnar over the top rope eliminating every excuse that Paul Heyman had just created I mean three minutes before Oba was in there it was insane again the you talked about aura before the aura the vibes radiating off of that ring when these two are in it.

27:38Unbelievable.

27:39Sam Roberts:Yes, and for me, it was the moment that happened right after Oba threw Brock out of the ring. Which was what? And it was the look that Brock Lesnar was giving Oba Femi. Like what? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. There it is. There it is, yes. Yeah, like what is this? It's almost like this moment of realization for Brock. And this is a Brock Lesnar. We're looking at this look right now on the YouTube if you're watching along with us. and it's this look of Brock Lesnar he's been wrestling since 2002 that's a look of like what is this Brock Lesnar debuted in the WWE in 2002 he was already an NCAA champion so he had seen everything the NCAA has to offer he went in and he had his run in 2002 he leaves WWE he becomes UFC heavyweight champion He has a run with the UFC championship, which means he sees everything the UFC has to offer.

28:36I mean, all of the Frank Mir up and down the card. Comes back into WWE in, I think, around 2012-ish, maybe. And sees everybody that WWE has to offer then. You know, sees the John Cena's and the Triple H's and the Undertaker's and everybody that Paul Heyman mentioned tonight and more. And still now in mid-2026 is looking up at the ring going, what is that?

29:08Sam Roberts:And I don't think Brock's seen anything like that ever. That's, yes, yes. And Brock has, I mean, seen more than anybody. What is, Brock's the guy. Brock's the guy you look at going like, that's not a person. Yeah, and tonight when he was thrown over the ring by, over the top rope by Obafemi, you're thinking back to all those names that Paul Heyman listed off. and Brock's realizing, I don't know if Oba's one of those guys. I haven't seen anything like this before. So nuts. Oba's different. So nuts. Before we get to the rest of Paul Heyman's night, I do want to tell you that we got some new T-shirts available.

29:49Oh, let's go. I want you to see these T-shirts. First of all, Roman Reigns has a whole new line of shirts. Oh, it's so perfect. The OTC is back. The newest Roman Reigns apparel has officially dropped on WWE Shop and Fanatics. Featuring fresh designs fit for the head of the table. You can rep our tribal chief with bold, championship-worthy gear built for true fans. Look, it's WrestleMania season. you want to roll into Wrestlemania or Wrestlemania parties or wherever you're going to watch this show roll in with this new Roman gear so people know you're ready for the crowning of the tribal chief speaking of Wrestlemania while you get ready for Wrestlemania 42 you could do it with the latest apparel and merchandise that's also available now on WWE Shop and Fanatics from event ready tees to must have collectibles all of it brings the energy of the grandest stage wherever you go.

30:54Jackets, jerseys, hats, whatever you need. It's all available now on WWE Shop and Fanatics. And I feel like as we go down the road of what a terrible night, or complicated night, I should say.

31:11Sam Roberts:Layered. Layered night Paul Heyman had. We should bring in our guest today, tonight, whenever you're watching this, to Raw Recap. Our beloved Big E is here to help us analyze everything that went on tonight, Monday Night Raw. E, how are you? I am swell. I am swell. How are you? Oh, we're great. We're great. I mean, we've been sitting here. We've been talking about Roman Reigns. We've been talking about Smash Em All. We've been talking about Jay bringing back those Bloodline vibes. And E, if anybody, you know how much I love these Bloodline vibes. That I do. I do know that about you. But, you know, in many ways, I wonder, is Jay past that as someone who has now been a world champion?

31:58Is this a regression at all? No, no, no, no, no. And this is why sometimes you got to come back and smash them all. There is no regression. The bloodline is peak. There is no regression. I can't imagine that, say, is it a regression to go back to the bloodline? maybe the greatest thing that's ever happened no there is no regression this is when one family dominated the sport the entire sport was run by one family okay that well here's my argument like cm punk is someone who is very much a lone wolf says i'm doing this on my own is saying you can't do this on your own you your family always has there's always someone trailing there's always a group to worry about and now they're kind of proving his point not kind of they are proving his point and that roman reigns when roman is asked to stand on his own okay just be roman no paul hayman no bloodline is he going to do it i'm not roman obviously can but but the reliance on on the twins on the cousins on the family members that is i i want to see roman reigns and cm punk I want to see that man versus that other man.

33:13I don't want to see any other. I want to see those two. If you're at the top of your game, if you're the man you claim to be, if you're the one who we all acknowledge as one of the greatest to ever do it, I want to see Roman stand on his own two feet. God forbid, huh? First of all, he puts food on your table, okay? So a little more respect.

33:33Sam Roberts:Did he have any help putting CM Punk through the announce table? did Roman have any help putting CM Punk through the announce table you could argue that there were distractions there were cousins distracting you could argue that listen first of all it was CM Punk that drew the cousins out tonight okay CM Punk is the one that drew them out he did it on purpose he's pushing buttons he's very good at it and he did it on purpose second of all even if that is his point well gee aren't you kind of making his point with with your cousins out here cm punk can have his point and roman will have the world heavyweight title and then we'll call it a day okay and then cm punk can tell the world about his point but i was right though right good okay when you don't have the world heavyweight title nobody cares if you were right oh okay all right so all right that you make a point as far as being a world champion but if we're talking about legacy legacy is not just about how many world titles you've had, but it's also about how strong you are on the mic.

34:36It's about your ability to stand on your own. I think if Roman can't do this without the cousins, without the bloodline, I'm not saying his legacy takes a hit. I'm saying maybe we start to question it because a lot of CM Punk, okay, you could argue a lot of his, the summer of punk, that was a lot of Paul Heyman, the 400-plus-day world title run from over a decade ago. Paul Heyman was there for that. But much of Punk's career, he stood on his own two feet. And I think that's a lot of what his argument is, is, look, I'm calling out Roman. You claim to be the greatest to ever do it. You claim to deserve to be on the Mount Rushmore.

35:16I want to see you mano a mano. And until we see that, that's what I was looking forward to. And that's what I want to see. I hope at some point on this road to WrestleMania at one of these Raws, we don't get any shenanigans, No BS. We get these two gentlemen, these two titans standing face to face. Leave all the cousins. Look, we know there's 30, 40, 50 cousins. Leave them all in the back. That's what I would like to see as a fan. Well, let me tell you, what if Roman Reigns had the title, but his cousins had pancakes at ringside? Then would that be okay? Oh. Sam, you came out swinging today. I know.

35:53I'm sorry. Really? I took it personally. I took it personally. I took it personally. We're several time zones away from each other, and I feel like if the proximity was different, I feel like the tenor of this conversation would also be different. You know what?

36:08Sam Roberts:I feel like I'm going to have to be your Jimmy Uso. I did tell Megan before you got on that if at one point my goal was to have my ass beat, then I would be able to accomplish that goal, and I think I've proven that. You did. I think I have. Yes. I think I have proven that. I think I have proven that. While we're talking about—I didn't mean it. I didn't mean it. And I didn't mean it. I didn't mean it. Mm-hmm. Well, we're talking about the bloodline, though. We were talking about Paul Heyman. And Paul Heyman not having the greatest night in the world. Just a moment ago, we were talking about Oba Femi and Brock Lesnar.

36:37First of all, before we move on from Oba, I mean, I got to hear. I got to hear how you're feeling about the idea of not only just the idea of this match, of seeing Oba and Brock at WrestleMania, but what Oba has done the last two weeks on Monday Night Raw?

36:56Sam Roberts:I mean, Big E, you're a known Oba feminist. You have to be. Huge. You gotta be bugging right now. Massive Oba feminist. I almost soiled my couch last week. When I saw the ease in which this man, Oba Femi, powerbombed Brock Lesnar. And then to see what he just did on Raw again. I am telling you, this WrestleMania, this match is for me. It is for me. And I will say, man, not just the ease in which Oba handles Brock. You see those two face-to-face, looking at the tail of the tape, and see Oba's a little bit taller, a little bit heavier, just the way he moves. But one of the things that really stuck out for me is the reception.

37:44The fan reception has really kind of blown me away. I thought, for me, a win for Oba, as far as having the people in the palm of his hands, would be a 50-50 split reaction. I thought, you know, if you asked me two months prior, if Oba, if it was half Oba and half Brock, I'm like, man, that's amazing for Oba. It might be 90-10 or more for Oba. The way that fans have taken to him, I love the crowd shots of the little kids, of the other fans doing the Oba bounce to the ring. I love it. And in a very short amount of time, this man has gotten very over with this crowd uh I I love what Oba brings to the table and more than anything I I spent a lot of time when Oba comes to the ring and he's about to face Brock it's not just uh I'm looking at his eyes I'm looking at a lot of things but I'm looking at his eyes I'm seeing if there is even an iota of doubt of fear of this moment is too big for me I'm in the ring with one of the greatest to ever do it and I don't see that and maybe it's something he's dealing with internally that we don't see but this man has handled this stage with so much aplomb with so much grace for me there are a lot of matches that we're going to be excited about on the build to Wrestlemania on this road to Wrestlemania but for me it's hard not to put this up there man I I can't wait to see what these two do and it's really going to be it's the biggest test of Oba's career bar none obviously he's been in the ring with Cody Rhodes uh our current world champion face of the company but there is no one on this planet quite like Brock Lesnar uh and I'm really excited to see if if Oba can get it done because look powerbombing Brock clotheslining him out of the ring those are all important things but if he doesn't get it done at Wrestlemania it's kind of all for naught that's true it's a great point though about uh his eyes and about about the way he looks at Brock and the way he looks just looking at the audience you know Oba talked about going back to Saturday night's main event you know this being his time and owning this moment I feel like ever since he came back to NXT and and kind of during his second title run as NXT champion like something it was a storyline that that that there was something different about Oba but I feel like something actually was different about Oba like something clicked in that was different for Oba because when you say no no no no no no, no, this is my time.

40:11I refuse to accept otherwise. And I'm going to take from anybody who says it's theirs. You're now three months in being given the ultimate test of whether or not you actually believe that and whether or not that's actually true by saying, okay, okay, well that take it from that guy then. And to your point E, you're a hundred percent right that it looks like he's not only to your points, not only does it look like he's 100 % there and completely willing in a very real way to live up to this moment and to take the moment from Brock. But also when you talk about that 90, 10 split, what to me is remarkable is not only is that right, but it's 0 % silent.

40:54Sam Roberts:Yes. Meaning it's like, it's not like 90, 10 and then 20 % of the fans going like, Oh, I don't know these guys, but this is kind of fun. It's like 90 % of the audience total, if not more is behind this dude. And I love that you say looking at his eyes too, because it's, you know, I was saying it's like fake it till you make it. When you're looking at a guy like Brock Lesnar, if you have any ounce of doubt in your eyes, that will certainly show. And when you look deep into Obafemi's eyes, there's none of that. Not even an ounce at all. And with Brock Lesnar, I think that's saying a lot. It really is.

41:33And I think also with Brock, you can tell when he respects someone he's in the ring with and when he doesn't. And there are guys, a lot of great talent that he's been in the ring with. And you could see he and I think Brock is one of those guys where if he doesn't respect you, that's bad news for you. A lot of times, you know, guys are like, hey, if they if they're overlooked, they have a chance in this match. I think Brock's one of those guys where if he respects you, he is. I don't know. I'm not saying it's nerves, but I think that gives Oba a bit of an edge because Brock isn't isn't seeing someone that he can just run over.

42:11He is like, OK, I see a more calculating Brock in that usually he picks someone up for an F5. That's it. It's over. You get off the ground. Your feet are off the ground and you are done. Not with Oba. Not it's a different animal. And I don't think Brock has really been in the ring and in quite some time with anyone like Oba. I don't know if we've seen anyone quite like Oba to be his size, to move the way he does. He's got really an arsenal, too. He really has, as the kids say, he has a bag. The dude really has a bag of great weapons to pull from in his arsenal. And I think at WrestleMania, he's really going to show out.

42:48And if you haven't had the pleasure of seeing him wrestle in NXT, and he's not just a big dude who is an athlete. He puts on some really stellar, stellar matches. And you pointed to his time in NXT. I think oftentimes when you're a younger talent and you feel like you're on the cusp and people are getting behind you, you could have argued that Oba could have been called up a year ago. And I would have said, yeah, call him up. But I think sometimes that extra time to marinate, to work on your craft, to really hone your skills. I don't know if a year ago, if Oba was in this position, I don't know if he's ready for Brock.

43:22And in fact, I'd say there's all the athletic ability and everything could be there, but it really is the mental. It is knowing I have all the skills. I have the craft. It's all there. And it's tested over time. I've had title matches after title matches after title matches. So I think for a lot of young talent, I understand the desire to get up, to go on the road, be on the main roster. But I think that extra bit of seasoning for Oba being NXT champion, being North American champion, I think it really helped him get to this point where he's so poised when he's in the ring with Brock. Yeah, and I think that extra marination in NXT is something that you also saw with Braun Breaker, and I think it's something you also saw with Trick Williams that I feel like is effective.

44:07And to your point about not seeing somebody like this before, to me, and I said this to you last week, Megan, I think the last time we saw anybody even remotely like Obafemi was in 2002, and that guy was Brock Lesnar. So it's ironic seeing this all come together, but we were talking about that being step one of a complicated night for Paul Heyman. Of course, step two came right after that, even though Paul Heyman wasn't at ringside because he was tending to Brock Lesnar. We saw The Vision come out for their non-title match against The Usos. I mean, lots of complications. Austin Theory, presumably by mistake, rips a turnbuckle cover off at one point in the match.

44:49All kinds of chicanery. Jey Uso ends up going down on the exposed turnbuckle. Logan Paul ends up getting the brass knuckles on. L.A. Knight ends up coming to ringside, taking the brass knuckles from Logan Paul, throwing them to Jey Uso. and Jey Uso in full crash out Jey mode does not care, cannot be bothered to do it with any kind of secrecy, just right in front of the referee's face, says, okay, puts on the brass knuckles, and boom, uses them. The Usos lose, I mean, yeah, the Usos lose by disqualification. But Paul Heyman has a couple of clients that end up getting knocked out with a pair of brass knuckles.

45:33it's it's a tough time for paul it really is like to to have to have the vision falling apart with injuries and now with uh the results of what happened on raw uh with what's going on with brock as well and he had to know look you can talk about a lot of things don't bring up rue don't don't bring up don't bring up uh their lovely child that's you you crossed a line that You can't touch that line at all. You know, I'm so intrigued to see because I felt like the pieces were coming together for Seth Rollins against Braun Breaker or Bronson Reed. But with those two out, I really don't know where the puzzle pieces come together for Seth at WrestleMania.

46:15We know Seth Rollins is going to be there. I would be shocked if Seth Rollins doesn't have a WrestleMania match. But now it's hard to see with who, where that goes. obviously, you know, he's got to worry about I don't know if someone's going to bail him out Becky got plenty of money, hopefully she'll be there for him, so he's got that to worry about as well but, you know it's an interesting time, but it's also interesting, we saw no other masked men, we saw Seth Rollins stand on his own two feet like some other SHIELD former SHIELD members can't seem to do currently, but we saw Seth out there alone But yes, Paul Heyman is, he's in a very rough way.

46:59And the Paul Heyman we saw last week, that man, his eyes bloodshot. It's a mess. It's a real mess. But you know, I mean, again, going back to CM Punk at the end of Monday Night Raw laughing, even though he was S.H.I.E.L.D. powerbombed, solo S.H.I.E.L.D. powerbombed through a commentary table. I would say between, if I'm sitting there going like, who would I rather leave Raw looking like? Roman Reigns destroying CM Punk or Paul Heyman being taken I'm sorry Seth Rollins being taken out in handcuffs by Boston's finest I probably go Roman Reigns but but Paul Heyman seemed to have this master plan saying I'm gonna I'm we're gonna settle this like men WWE isn't big enough for the both of us I know you don't think so but calls out Seth Rollins Seth Rollins finally comes out and look at him.

47:48I mean, Paul Heyman, you know, clearly was searching what's going to be the thing. What's going to be the thing? As Seth Rollins is peacefully and cooperatively being let out by the police out of the arena.

48:02Sam Roberts:And he kept taking jabs too. He says, you're going to go to jail. He says, you're going to get divorced. Yeah, because your wife is going to sleep with everyone while you're in jail. I mean. And then we're going to have to get child protective services involved. and then your child is going to be put up for adoption and I am going to adopt your daughter, Rue, and Seth Rollins beelines to the ring. I don't blame him for a second. He had to. You can't be offended by that pancakes reference that I made with the type of hostility that we've seen on Monday Night Raw tonight. Look, it was very tame.

48:40The pancake comment is very tame compared to what happened. But look, Paul knows what he's doing. Paul knows exactly what he's doing. He is a mastermind. But at the end of the day, ultimately, someone else has to line up in that ring against Seth Rollins. And that's what I'm trying to figure out is what this master plan is. We already know it's Brock and Oba. So we know it's not Brock. Is there someone else out there? Is it Logan that steps up? Or do we see a returning Braun Breaker? I mean, look, if Braun Breaker is able to come back in time, I'm soiling my couch again. I'm going to need to put plastic down on that couch Because it's just going to be perpetually soiled But that's what I'm trying to figure out Is what the end game is for Paul Heyman Because it's clear he has a plan And Paul always has a plan There's a plan A, B, and C And he's someone who is, I think, the best politicker Probably in the history of our industry And there are levels that we as performers know That fans don't even know There's so many levels of intricacies when it comes to Paul Heyman But clearly he has gotten under Seth's skin and he knows how to do that very expertly.

49:47Sam Roberts:Well, one thing that you always say is that everything counts. And I don't want to forget about last week when Seth Rollins was the one who stepped up. I mean, with a million other masked men, when Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar were in the ring. Well, it was Seth Rollins and then F-A-F-O, F-A-F-5. Brock Lesnar comes out. Obafemi appears. And I couldn't help but notice that Seth Rollins had this reaction that he was in control of the entire thing. He wasn't emotional whatsoever. And then later he puts on social media a post referencing Obafemi. I don't know what's going to happen, but I just don't want to forget that detail.

50:26Well, I don't think Seth's going to get himself involved in that.

50:29Sam Roberts:I don't think he'll get himself involved in that match. But I think he was part of it. But I think it's part of what Seth is up to. Yes. I don't know exactly what Seth is up to. I mean, right now it's in jail, but he's up to something. I mean, I think here's the thing. When you look at everything that happened to Paul Heyman tonight, I think he's in control again. I don't know if he was last week, but I think that everything that happened to him is shaped to make him look like he's losing, when in reality I think he's invisibly winning, right? Because if you look at the Oba and Brock thing, we've still got multiple more weeks to go until WrestleMania.

51:09And I don't think that while we may go, Oba's never dealt with somebody who looks and feels and fights like Brock Lesnar. He's also never been on the other side of Paul Heyman. I think if you look at the tag team match and you look at the fact that the vision went down, the real outcome of that is because of the way the match ended. The vision of a title match. They have a title match at Madison Square Garden next week. And yeah, he got punched in the face by Seth Rollins, but ultimately he got Seth Rollins locked up, which is everything that he wanted to do. So I think that I think that there does have to be something.

51:46I mean, you know, on one end, you have the vision with a tag team title match on Madison Square Garden Raw next week. On the other end, you had Jay Uso, who in the last segment of the show said he doesn't care about the tag titles right now.

52:00Sam Roberts:So Paul Heyman has everyone right where he wants. Should, yeah. And should the vision get the tag team championship at Madison Square Garden Raw next week? Then they have leverage. And what does that say for what they're doing at WrestleMania now? What's the tag team that goes to WrestleMania? I don't know. No, that's a great question. But you know, one of the things I was thinking about is, so I think Paul does his best work with opponents that he has history with. You know, there's so much he knows about Seth Rollins. There is so much history with Punk. But one of the things I find intriguing is we don't really know a ton about Oba's backstory.

52:38There aren't past entanglements. He's coming in fresh. So I don't know if that same mind game playing is something that's really going to work against Oba Femi. There's no history from 15, 20 years ago. There's no friendships that have lasted a lifetime for Paul Heyman to pull these strings at. So I think a lot of Paul's puppetry, a lot of his game playing is going to work with a lot of the roster. I think it can work with Seth Rollins. It clearly worked with Seth Rollins. It can work with the Usos. It can work with so many members of the roster. But with Obafemi, there's none of that. So I don't know exactly how Brock gets the advantage there.

53:16But I do agree with you in the fact that Paul has a plan. We don't know what it is. It's hard for me to really figure out how he comes out of this hole right now because it feels like he's down at least, you know, he's 0-2 right now on the Oba Brock stuff, on the Vision stuff, you know, although the Vision has their title match. But it's been a bit of a rough road for Paul, but he has a few more weeks to have this plan unravel, so I'm intrigued to see how that all goes. Well, I've got to tell you, we actually have some huge news. This is for the WWE Universe. Your favorite WWE podcasts are recording live at Fanatics Fest NYC this July 16th through the 19th at the Javits Center.

54:00That's right. You can catch live episodes of Six Feet Under with The Undertaker. What do you want to talk about with Cody Rhodes? Impulsive with Logan Paul. and of course, WWE Now with Megan and myself. And that's not all. WWE superstars will be in the building all weekend, signing autographs, taking photos, making surprise appearances. Tickets are now on sale at fanaticsfest.com. So grab yours today and we will see you there. Now, that's July 16th through the 19th. You gotta be there for it. Even sooner than that is April 16th through the 20th. It's less than a month away now, and that's WWE World.

54:40WWE World returning to Las Vegas this April 16th through the 20th, and it's the can't-miss destination during WrestleMania week. Of course, WWE World brings the WWE Universe closer than ever to the superstars, legends, and iconic moments that define the WWE with immersive exhibits, exclusive merchandise, and experiences that you won't find anywhere else. You can see superstars like Drew McIntyre, Liv Morgan, Jey Uso, Dominic Mysterio, Tiffany Stratton, and many, many more. And even more appearances that are still to come. Tickets are now on sale at wweworld.com. And you can save 10 % with promo code WWE NOW10.

55:22I highly suggest that you take advantage of it. Now, E, you were just talking about opponents that have real history. we were talking about members of Seth Rollins family and this fits both those things the graphic is out I just saw it on Triple H's Instagram that means it's official it is official WWE Women's Intercontinental Championship on the line Becky Lynch challenges AJ Lee at WrestleMania 42 Becky Lynch gets her rematch and listen I will tell you the one thing that I found compelling.

56:02Sam Roberts:One, just one. The only one singular thing that I found compelling about what Becky said on Monday Night Raw tonight. Most of the other stuff was gibberish. But she did say that WrestleMania is her show. And as somebody that likes to know, you know, my little facts and figures, historically, she is not lying. WrestleMania is a show where Becky has made history multiple, multiple times for multiple reasons. And it is also the show that was kind of AJ Lee's last hurrah in the WWE. You know, there was the one more Raw match after it, you know, 10 plus years ago, and then that was it for AJ Lee. So I wonder if AJ Lee is fully aware of how bright those lights get at WrestleMania in a Becky Lynch match.

57:00Sam Roberts:I have to tell you, I was sitting back in my chair watching Becky with this promo, and I could not wait to get on the mic with both of you because both of you haters, you two haters have had so much to say about Becky, and it's going to be hard to say anything negative about her today. But I just have to call you out because Becky did take a break, a 10-month break, and it was because you people, you people, you guys didn't appreciate her. I saw it. People like you, Sam Roberts, were calling her Becky Hogan. Oh, Becky Hogan. We interviewed her, and you even brought it up. Becky Hogan. You did.

57:36I brought it up because it was worthwhile to bring up. Didn't appreciate it. That doesn't mean I was saying it. I brought it up because it was an appropriate question. I do a great job.

57:43Sam Roberts:You know, you talked about earlier in the show, Roman reminding people of what he's capable of. I thought tonight on the mic, Becky Lynch, all the doubters, all the haters, she reminded them all exactly why she is the man. And I could not be more excited for this match. You're not wrong. I just wish you would make it more palatable. Do you align with with Megan Morant and her take behind this promo? I to a degree. Look, I first of all, I am someone who has never taken anything away from Becky, her place in history, her ability on the microphone, her ability in the ring. I am someone who just tries to have a balanced look at some of the things that come out of her mouth.

58:25And sometimes they're a little ridiculous. Sometimes they are not moored. In fact, they are not rooted in truth. But I think Becky did have a great night. I will say one of the things I think, I think your point, Sam about AJ, her, her Swan song essentially was WrestleMania a decade ago. And I saw a point, think, you know, speaking of eyes again, I saw an AJ who I think was gotten to a little bit. I think someone who thought about the stage, who thought about this moment, and I agree, Megan. Like, I think that a Becky Lynch WrestleMania match, there is a certain—and WrestleMania obviously has a certain grandeur of its own, but it's elevated with Becky.

59:11It feels like more of a spectacle. It has more pressure on it. She has had some classics at WrestleMania. She's had some incredible, incredible matches at WrestleMania. and and i think for aj i still wonder how much okay you're coming in as champion but do you worry about look look also the landscape of the women's division is so different in that when she was having wrestlemania uh matches a decade ago they weren't necessarily the women weren't getting the grand stage they weren't getting the opportunities to be out there for 20 30 minutes to have these grand entrances to really allow people to sink their teeth into it there wasn't an intercontinental title no the title didn't exist no it wasn't a thing and now the bar is so high for women's wrestling that's what i wonder with aj is i wonder if she believes within herself yeah i got it not only like i was putting on great matches in my heyday but now that the women's uh division has accelerated so much can i live up to the bar of those incredible becky lynch matches can I beat Becky when she's at her best, when she's at her most crafty, when she's at her most thoughtful as far as all the ways she can take advantage of AJ.

1:00:23So I think there's a lot of excitement for this match. I think there's a lot of pressure on AJ as well. We already know who Becky Lynch is in this era. We already know what she can do. She's done it time and time again. And look, AJ has the people in her palm. She has so much love and so much excitement for her return. but this is this is a big deal this if you if you don't live up to that standard win lose or draw it's like people are expecting this match to be as good as as uh so many of the great women's matches we've seen over the last several years so uh i saw and i'm not saying it's doubt but i saw a little a little bit within aj of am i am i as good as i know as i think i am am i am I worthy of this stage?

1:01:13So I'm really intrigued to see if she can really deliver at WrestleMania. Like I know she can.

1:01:18Sam Roberts:To me, she seemed a little bit apprehensive and you know, I love to have fun. And as we all know, I'm a Becky Lynch apologist. I love everything that she's been doing, but I do think tonight things got more serious with Becky Lynch and it is the time of year. It is WrestleMania. We know how significant WrestleMania is to everybody on the roster, but especially to Becky Lynch and the history that she's made there. Now she has an opportunity to make more history with the intercontinental title, a title that really she's done so much for. I think it's inarguable that she's been the greatest women's intercontinental champion and now she can defend it.

1:01:53Sam Roberts:I mean, not defend it. She's going to try and get that title back off of AJ Lee. I know what you wanted to say. You're really trying to be a professional. You wanted to say she's going to win it. Well, I think I have actually convinced myself that Becky never lost the title because I just defend her so much. So every now and then I do have a flip up. But in all seriousness, I do think something changed within Becky tonight. And while the vlogs are fun and her tweeting in all caps has been hilarious. Not really. I think tonight things got serious. Yeah. And I think too. Well, look, I think we also should mention the fact that hopefully AJ remembers, as I remember you seeing that she has beaten Becky Lynch in a tag team match in a war games match and in a PLE singles match so this isn't completely foreign territory but there was you know I said I would give Becky Lynch credit for the one thing I have to give her credit for another line when Becky Lynch sat into the microphone AJ Lee mastered the divas era and I murdered it I went I mean again as the children would say bars I mean this was it was like yeah and to go to the apprehension that you were just talking about Megan to go to that look in the eyes that you were talking about Biggie I mean that line might kind of sum it up it's like do you really think I know you think that you're the best of your generation it'd be hard to argue that AJ Lee wasn't but do you really think you're the best of this one as well?

1:03:24And if you are, can you prove it against Becky Lynch at WrestleMania? It's a great point. Although it's a great bar, but sometimes when you peel back the truth behind the bar, the bar can fall apart a little bit. I would say AJ, I think, is hugely responsible for the divas era giving way to this current era i think without her i'm not sure i'm sure it eventually happens the speed in which it happens i i don't think it is you know it happens at a different time a little bit later uh i would also argue that there are a lot of other very talented women we look at the four horse women who help break down that barrier but but ultimately the point i think that that i we should focus on is can you go in this era is is this your era as well And I think that's a question that's been asked of Nikki Bella as well with a lot of the women who had their heyday a decade ago who are still in WWE or who are coming back to WWE because we talk time and time again about how the stakes have been raised so much with this women's division.

1:04:31But ultimately, it's not a question of your era against my era. It'll be in April, mid-April in Las Vegas. Who is the better woman? So, you know, it's a great line. And Becky is one of the best to ever do it, male or female on the mic. But ultimately, like, when talking season, this is, we're in talking season right now. It's a line that you sometimes in football where we're just talking. And that's where we're at right now. But at some point, very soon, in a few weeks, talking season will be over. and it'll be go time. Well, talking season might be over for Liv Morgan and Stephanie Vaquerque.

1:05:06Because, I mean, that got personal. I can't believe how quickly that got personal. Like, I can't believe how quickly I became fully invested in that story.

1:05:14Sam Roberts:Yeah, it was all that sit-down interview where Liv Morgan cried. Yeah, between the two of them. And now you're getting to the point where it's like, we had a segment on Monday Night Raw that Stephanie Vaquerque wasn't even involved with. This was Liv Morgan coming to the ring with Dominic Mysterio, which she had the great privilege of getting to do tonight. And Stephanie Vaqueror, not only interrupting it, but that brawl breaking out. And it was quick, but it was impactful. That brawl breaking out that ends up with the two of them in the entryway fighting, getting thrown into the big screen, in gorilla position, brawling in gorilla position.

1:05:52Just, I mean, a major, major spectacle. but I think it all goes to how big that women's world championship match has become and how quickly that that's happened.

1:06:03Sam Roberts:Yeah. I spent some time over the weekend, actually going back and watching the WWE documentary that was done on Liv Morgan. And it followed, you know, her journey when she was with the riot squad and then kind of going off on her own and, you know, being just moments away from walking out of the curtain at gorilla and finding out that her match was no longer happening and Liv really had to scratch and claw to get to this point. And I think it did a really nice job of illustrating, you know, all of that history. And it's like, you see Liv Morgan right now on our TV screen. And it's almost hard to believe that she was in that situation before because she has come so, so far, but her journey always had those sink or swim moments, right?

1:06:49Sam Roberts:Where like, that's one of the things about coming in with WWE. Yes, she had access to the best trainers. Yes, she had access to the best facilities. But also if you sink, you're not getting out. Yeah, that's right. Not at all. I think a lot of people have made the mistake of kind of getting lost in the veneer of Liv Morgan, of the Dominic Mysterio, of the cackle, red carpets, all those things. Put all those things to the side. This is one of the most determined individuals in our industry. This is a woman who puts the work in, who will spend time when she's not on the road, who will be in that ring training time and time again.

1:07:32She's dealt with injuries, multiple injuries. She's pushed through so much. She was not, when she came up on the main roster, she was not a focal point by any means. When she was with the Riot Squad, not a focal point by any means. she is someone who had to learn who had to kind of in many ways do it on her own who had to put in the extra work on her own to get there and and i feel like you see that now and when i watch raw i saw a woman the way she clawed at stephanie the way she was there to make a statement her aggression the like this live morgan i i think now that's what we're seeing and that's that's what i i love seeing is we're not talking about her her relationship we're not talking about all the things that don't matter, when we wipe all that away, we see a very determined woman.

1:08:17And look, I think the world of Stephanie as a talent, but she's going to have to bring all of her grit, not just her technical ability, not just her skills, not just her... And all those things are great. She's going to have to bring those. But ultimately, Stephanie is going to have to be gritty. She is going to have to dig deep. She might have to gouge out an eyeball because I'll tell you i think live is willing and ready to do that i think stephanie needs to be able to look herself in the mirror and understand like where where is my line what line is it that uh i am unwilling to cross and and find out who you are very early before you go into this match with live morgan understand what you're willing to go to what depths you're willing to dig down inside of yourself to go to to beat Liv because I think we're going to see a vicious a nasty a malicious uh a determined Liv Morgan come Wrestlemania time I think that's 100 % right um I'm glad that you're here to add uh analysis because I need your opinion on this we all know I mean you brought up Dominic Mysterio we all know what happened to Dominic Mysterio in the intercontinental title he lost it due to a curse that was placed on him by Dan Housen.

1:09:33This week, we saw that curse rear its ugly head when it resulted in Grayson Waller, who was cursed last week at the hands of Kofi Kingston. Of course, Grayson Waller losing to Javon Evans due to the curse that Dan Housen...

1:09:48Sam Roberts:I forgot about the curse. Yeah, that's why he lost. I thought it was the super cutter. The OG cutter? No, this time it was the curse. do you E in your professional opinion are you worried about I show speed I show speed was cursed earlier tonight by Dan Housen because he would not give Dan Housen his login Dan has actually I think had a pretty good idea which was give me your login and we could kind of do a co type of thing and I show speed turned him down resulting in a curse we've seen how ugly this can get how bad it can get are you concerned for for i show speed safety yes uh gravely gravely um the curse is real i mean you can you can laugh you can giggle you can tee all those things uh we've seen the results and and you uh you ran down many of them i think speed if he shows up next week i think he should be uh he should be surrounded by security i think he should have a like a bubble boy kind of suit smart i would I would have a lot of protective devices around me just in case.

1:10:55But, yeah, I would be worried about speed, as you should. Dan Housen, you know, people had certain things. There was certain discussions online when he debuted. And I feel like those very quickly changed. Oh, yeah. We saw him on Raw. We saw the way he's been utilized on TV lately. I think Dan Housen is someone I would not mess with, whether it's Raw or SmackDown. The curse is real. I don't mess around with curses or spirits or ghouls. I take all that serious. Hoodoo, voodoo, all the above. Yeah, I take them very seriously. So if I'm speed, I'm probably getting a vial of holy water around my neck.

1:11:34And maybe some garlic and a steak just in case. I don't know if Dan Housen is an actual vampire, but it couldn't hurt. Just be prepared. You forgot.

1:11:42Sam Roberts:Original Americano also was cursed. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Grande Original. Don't forget there was Ryo and Bravo. They were paying out back there too. I mean, that would be part of the curse, I would imagine. Yeah, yeah, he was cursed and he lost. So yeah, the evidence is clear. So you're saying like if you were Candice LeRae, you wouldn't even try to get the$20 back that he took from her at SmackDown. Remember, he was offering to help Johnny. He asked for$20 and he disappeared. That$20 is gone? It's gone. Don't worry about it. Don't harass him about it. It's a gift, early birthday gift, I'd say. That's it.

1:12:20Yeah. That's it. That's pretty smart. Well, Mickey, we truly value your professional opinion here. So we appreciate you being a part of WWE Now Raw Recap once again. I cannot wait until next week. It's a Madison Square Garden Raw on the road to WrestleMania. It can't get any bigger. We will be here to recap all of it. Make sure you're subscribed. make sure you're hitting like, leaving comments and we'll see you next week here on WWE Now for a recap