WWE Now - Street Profits challenge Bron Breakker and Austin Theory for World Tag Title | Raw Recap

21:31We will get to Liv Morgan, by the way.

21:32Sam Roberts:Of course, we have to. Who has had a big night tonight, had a big night on Friday, big night on Saturday. But before we get there, let us not wait a moment longer before we recognize the new tag team champions of the world. The Street Profits. The Street Profits. They requested the smoke. They received it. They excelled. They are once again tag team champions in the WWE. Tremendous match. Another match where, to me, the vision was not prepared for what they have done. Man, Paul Heyman has to be sitting somewhere, wherever he is, watching what is going on and just shaking his head in disgust. Unless he has a big neck brace on from when he got speared.

22:21He probably does. Yeah. He probably does. But metaphor, still in his brain kind of shaking it. Maybe eyes are going back side to side as if he's shaking his head.

22:28Sam Roberts:He can't be pleased with what he saw. No, I mean, it was interesting to me as we were building up to this match to see Braun Breaker in kind of a leadership position with the Vision in a very shot-calling position with the Vision backstage before this. Yeah, his whole body language had changed, right? And definitely taking on that leadership role, which is an interesting dynamic when it comes to Logan Paul because typically I don't see really anybody being able to tell Logan Paul what it is to do but there was no question about it when you saw Theory, Logan Paul and Breaker backstage who was in charge?

23:06Sam Roberts:Brock Breaker. Yeah, Logan Paul's a bit of a goofball. A little bit. You know, maybe he recognized that, maybe he doesn't. Sometimes it seems like maybe, I mean, look at his face, he's a goofball. But he doesn't, I don't know if he always, really strategizes. You know, Logan Paul is very, very successful, but there are certain moves on the chessboard in this world of professional wrestling that I don't know if Logan Paul is fully ready for. I think he relies a lot on instincts. He loves instincts. He's an instincts guy. Yes. Right, he's feeling right. And he doesn't question those instincts. No, no, he's got a lot of confidence.

23:39He was raised with confidence, it feels like. And also, I think he's got that sort of baseball rule where, you know, even 50 % is a Hall of Fame numbers.

23:49Sam Roberts:there we go right so that's what he's thinking find a way to get on base right work a walk that's it that's it if i mean if if half of my ideas result in a double i'm one of the greatest ever doing that's nuts right yeah you see what i'm saying that's a nice way to put a little positive spin on anything right right well i'm getting doubles half the time and i mean that's like that's something to write home about you're failing but if i was in baseball i'd be one of greatest ever doing. You kidding me? You know how much money I can make in baseball if I could transfer this skill set? I mean, Logan Paul is out there.

24:24He keeps claiming, and look, far be it from me to say that Logan Paul is not going to be a man of his word because he has been. He said he's going to be full-time. He's been on TV. He's full-time, but he keeps claiming that he's healing faster than anybody who's ever healed in the world, but he's not healed. Like you would think, Like when John Cena healed incredibly fast and showed up at the Royal Rumble after his torn pack, he didn't go on TV every week and go, just so you know, everybody, I'm healing abnormally fast.

24:55Sam Roberts:Hey, everyone, I have an update. Right. He just showed up and he wrestled in the Royal Rumble. Ready to go. Right. So Logan Paul. Tell me how your recovery is going. Show me. Show me. Show me. Well, apparently very good. He says good. So he's out there at ringside. You know, as Braun Breaker was filling in for him as tag team champion alongside Austin Theory. And we end up in a scenario where once again, I mean, I don't know if this ring needs to be expanded. I don't know if we need to teach all these superstars where the middle of the ring is. But once again, we got a foot that is just close enough to the rope.

25:29There's now a weekly occurrence. And Logan Paul puts Austin Theory's foot on the rope. but I guess, but Austin Theory is so out of his head that he can't keep his foot on the rope so Logan Paul's gotta hold his foot on the rope the whole time and he's like, look, referee, the foot's on the rope and the referee's like, I can see your hand, dude you're holding his foot on the rope, what are you doing? he's like, well, I mean, it's still on the rope

25:54Sam Roberts:it's still on there, technicality his foot's on the rope is what I'm saying so the referee goes, okay, you're right, technicality also technicality, you're out of here see you later That's right. That's right. And Logan Paul is forced to leave. And now we're down to two on two. The Vision loses their numbers advantage over the street profits. And then eventually, Logan Paul sneaks his way back in. And he slides those brass knuckles on the apron. But just when you think that Austin Theory is going to sneak over there and that Logan Paul is going to stick around, what do they do? Say his name. And he appears.

26:31Sam Roberts:I believe in Joe Hendry. and there we go and there he is he's back people have been wondering where this joe henry is of course he got tack attacked several weeks ago by austin theory in the name of logan paul you know getting revenge he's been gone for weeks trying to get logan paul fired he was before that even when logan paul got injured he was like fire him and that's why austin theory came out and said enough is enough stop he's literally singing a song the guy's injured he's on the table getting surgery. Paul, can we find Logan Paul? And then Michael Cole, he's singing along with him. I can't believe that a guy could have a voice so suited for broadcast yet be the worst singer that's ever existed.

27:14Michael Cole might be the worst singer that's ever sung a song. He's one of these great... He's one of the all-time broadcasters. Like, his voice is his tool. But it's only for broadcasting. It's only for speaking. Nothing rhythmic. Nothing melodic. Nothing. so he he's back joe hendry he appears i don't even know if anybody said his name i didn't hear it

27:38Sam Roberts:but somebody must have said it but they are in the uk they talk about him all the time a lot yeah they love so somebody in the front row or something must have said it yes so it's because he appeared yeah and then that obviously threw the distraction again right we have a numbers game So now it chases Logan Paul out. And then Rollins' music plays. Which was interesting because before this match, we saw Seth Rollins sit down backstage with Corey Graves, and he was talking about a steel cage match coming up this weekend at Night of Champions, and he gave a lot of credit to the Street Profits. Yeah.

28:13Sam Roberts:He talked a lot about how Dawkins gave him grace when no one would give him grace. Finally, Tez comes around, also gives him grace, but it helped him out. And during that sit-down, I was wondering, is Seth going to come out during this match? And I was like, nah. And boom, there he is, except he doesn't come out where they think he's going to come out from. Braun Breaker, who, by the way, already showing flaws, is so locked into Seth Rollins that even when he's waiting for Seth Rollins to come out, he's looking down the aisle. He's got his back to the ring. Completely takes his eye off the ball.

28:42Which is when Seth Rollins pops out of the crowd, takes those knucks away that Logan Paul brought out, punches Austin Theory in the face, runs off braun breaker chases him off is now away from the ring entirely during the middle of a tag team championship match where his partner just got punched in the face with brass knuckles see you later i'm going after seth what and guess what street profit said you do that that's you we're gonna stay here and we're gonna pin austin theory one two three the street profits win the tag team championship but two things happened i think the street profits won the tag team championship and once again like he had done in the match with braunbreaker where paul hayman got taken out seth rollins completely outsmarts the vision i mean this is i don't think this is going

29:32Sam Roberts:to be a great week for the vision and this is seth rollins who told braunbreaker not long ago that he wasn't ready and now braunbreaker is sitting there thinking about saturday instead of thinking about monday when he's got a champion now what does the vision have nothing nil zero nothing zero they have no Paul Heyman. They have no tag team championship. Austin Theory and Braun Breaker, no title. Right. And Logan Paul with a brace on his arm. I don't even know if there'll be a Fanatics Fest. I hope they will. I hope they will. I know I'll be there. Look, I'm talking about Fanatics Fest. You know, it's bringing two exclusive WWE live shows to New York City this July.

30:07Of course, you don't want to miss the official WWE SummerSlam kickoff hosted by songstress Michael Cole, of course and Sunday July 19th is when that's going down with special guests exclusive insights and a preview of WWE's biggest event of the summer SummerSlam plus John Cena is taking the stage for You Can See Me Now the live show on Saturday July 18th that's the day before the SummerSlam kickoff it's a live Q &A giving fans an inside look at the moment stories and mindset behind his legendary career. Of course, by Fanatics Fest. Oh, that'll be the weekend before the new season of Unreal comes out, where we'll get a lot of information about that as well.

30:51Fanatics Fest is a must-attend for every WWE fan. Tickets are available now at fanaticsfest.com. And of course, you can save 10 % with promo code WWENOW10. And before we get to Fanatics Fest.

31:07Sam Roberts:I like how you added the SummerSlam there. It was very Bret Hart of you. The SummerSlam? Yeah, I like that. That's right. That's right. I can't wait. Real ones pick up on that. I can't wait for the SummerSlam. But before we get to the SummerSlam or Fanatics Fest, let's get to our guest today on the Raw Recap. Of course, he is a former WWE champion, one of the premier analysts in the game, and an incredible author, so I hear. Ladies and gentlemen, Big E. Welcome, my friend. And what's going on, guys? I appreciate that. Yeah, yeah. Dabbling into the whole writing a book thing. First of all, I got to say a couple of things.

31:46Megan, the top fire.

31:48Sam Roberts:Thank you so much. I don't know where you got this thing from. Prosphere. Okay. I got to look into that, I guess, for the ladies in my life that love WWE. Also, Sam, you referred to Michael Cole as a songstress. I believe that is a title only referred to for female singers. Yes, I believe. Oh, I didn't know that. Yes. I think he may have known that. Can I tell you something? I feel ridiculous. As you should. Yes. I feel silly. I'd like to apologize. I'd like to apologize. I didn't mean that. It's a ridiculous thing for me to say that. I think you meant it. No, I didn't. You meant it. I didn't mean that.

32:23I didn't mean that. Speaking of females, Big E, tonight on Monday Night Raw, we had the Queen of the Ring finalists squaring off Liv Morgan and EO Sky. I mean, Liv Morgan, we've been talking about people with confidence a lot on this podcast today. And when you can walk up to EO Sky, look at her in the face and not say, I'm a champion, not say, you know, I've done this, I've done, look at her in the face and say in a wrestling context, I am so much more talented than you. I mean, that is a wild thing to say two of all people EO Sky look a lot of people consider EO Sky the best wrestler in WWE not the best female wrestler the best wrestler in WWE if we look at her her resume as far as what she's done even just in the last two years in WWE the number of classic matches she's had is incredible I don't think that Liv has quite built that body of work yet but she is an absolute superstar that is undeniable and and look you have to applaud the confidence that is what you need at this level i look i i'm all for respecting people uh who are very talented in this company people have come before you people have done uh incredible things but you really need to be that brash and i think confidence is never an issue when we're talking about live morgan and i think that's what she needs going into queen of the ring a lot of people you know when this tournament first started were scratching their heads when they saw that live morgan was even in the tournament going, why would the world champion be in a tournament where the prize is to get a shot at the world champion?

34:09And I mean, Liv Morgan clarified that. I think it goes back to the sort of brashness, the confidence that she goes, well, I want both. You know, I want both titles. And I think that it's interesting that we're now kind of one match away from being like, oh, maybe that's what this was all about from the beginning, that Liv Morgan wants to fight Rhea Ripley again and wants to take both belts. Well, talk about a way to really solidify your legacy. Like being in that, holding both world championships would be massive. Now that means having to get through, like we said, arguably, maybe not arguably, the best wrestler in WWE and also Rhea Ripley, one of the best to do it, one of the best walking the planet as well.

34:55That's a very tall task. but if anyone can do it I think Liv definitely can the growth we talked a lot especially on this show about her growth and how much better she's gotten over the last few years but I think this is the best version of Liv Morgan is this Liv Morgan we've seen in 2026 but at the same time

35:13Sam Roberts:this is an Eoskai who you know she wasn't on the Wrestlemania card you know after everything she did she walked into Wrestlemania last year as a champion now she has an opportunity where she's just one win away from facing, it could be Liv Morgan, it could be Rhea Ripley, and Io knows in the back of her pocket, hey, Rhea, that champ that everybody's talking about, she's never pinned me before. And I know how Io always presents herself as so positive and lovable. Humble. You know there's an edge to her. There has to be. She puts a garbage can on her head and jumps off the top of the cage. Right?

35:49That's an edge. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, she definitely does. Look, where she cut her teeth in Japan, the way those women train, man, she, that woman is tough. And look, even her, she's usually very gracious in promos and in interviews. But even just the line about Liv having a big head, even that from her, I think, demonstrates that she's not here to be belittled and to be talked down to. Like, she is ready to stand up for herself verbally. We already know what she can do physically in the ring. But I think she also shows she's got some gumption as well. What do you think you do? what do you think we see so we know if live was to win we know the move would be live versus ria at summer sling because live's not going to fight herself if eo were to win against live morgan does she go for ria ripley who's never been able to beat eo sky or i mean if she got this opportunity by beating live morgan does she just go like yeah i'll just go beat you again at the next show like i just beat you i know how to do that i just do it at the next show i'll be the champion?

36:53That, that is a great question. You know, having a momentum of, of beating someone, but they often say in sports that the second time oftentimes is a lot more difficult because let's say live does lose this match. She's going to be able to look at the tape, understand what she did wrong, make changes. If you go in winning the previous match, oftentimes you think, yeah, I can do this again. And also let's take into account the fact that if she does manage to beat live. Who knows if judgment day will be there or not, but I can assure you if she gets a second crack at it, they are going to do their best to foil that plan.

37:29But man, I think so many of us as fans, I'm not saying there isn't a ton of juice in this potential rematch for the world title, but man, Rhea and EO once again, after their, their long time as friends, as a tag team, them getting like, that's what I love seeing those two side by side. I love their friendship. but I was always waiting. When does this thing come to a head again? Look, they've been in the ring a decent amount, having singles matches, having triple threats, but those two women could wrestle each other every single week for the next decade, and I am still tuned in. They make magic together.

38:06Sam Roberts:Yeah, they do. I've been saying I can't wait for it to come to a head for a long time, and Sam was calling me a hater. Well, that's because you were saying that while they were literally a tag team. Well, I couldn't wait for it. Biggie was excited, too. No, he wasn't with you on that. Biggie enjoyed watching that. I mean, Biggie, first of all, can speak for himself. He's an author. And second of all.

38:28And second of all, no, you were the only one. When Rio was running wild, you were like, this can't last. This can't last. They're going to collide. They can't be friends. They're both too good. It's that runner thing in you. No, you're an individual. You're an individual sport person.

38:44Sam Roberts:Assume me for liking good wrestling. All right. Megan's friendships, you know, she's friends with all these runners. But the minute the starting line is there, she's got no friends. That's how it should be. You're in competition, right, Biggie? You know, once you get in that squared circle, throw your friends away. He was literally in a trio. Well, you know, but then. Sorry, Biggie. Yes, yes, yes. Look, the truth is somewhere in the middle, okay? I love seeing those two as a tag team, but I'm excited to see those two go one-on-one as well. Hopefully we get it. In a stadium? Come on. I mean, amazing.

39:15I know. Amazing. Now, you said you don't know if the Judgment Day will be there or not. It felt like there was some friction going on with the Judgment Day, a lot of complications. Of course, Liv was kind of taking a leadership position, had nothing for poor Roxanne Perez, was looking at Raquel saying, don't worry, you'll get one of the other titles, that's no big deal. Trying to deal with the fact that Dominic Mysterio is out$100 ,000. trying to deal with the fact that poor J.D. McDonough has been electrocuted. And I don't know what kind of electric currents Dan Housen is using, but I mean, these electrocutions that have been happening around Dan Housen, I watch on SmackDown.

39:57Like these, usually they don't last for weeks. They've been like, Miz has been in a catatonic state for like two or three weeks now. He was saying, hoorah. Like it was like, you know, 2007 on SmackDown. I couldn't believe it. Look, the Miz is very hard-headed. I also do not understand. We know this man willed a team that had not won an NBA championship for over half a century, and they did it. His powers are confirmed. His powers are strong. Leave Dan Housen alone. If you want to walk into his lair, be there to offer your services, be there to, you know, do you need a butler? I don't know why anyone thinks walking into if he took 100 grand from me I'd say Dan Housen Merry Christmas that that's yours as an early Christmas present enjoy it I don't know what these two are thinking I mean it really is amazing that a lot of times you know mainstream normie world and the pro wrestling world almost exists on two different planes right two different planets but if you recall people and and it's funny because I feel like there are some that don't even remember that from February until the second round of the NBA playoffs, everybody was treating Dan Housen like a fool, like a damn fool.

41:17And they were treating him like he was an idiot. Nobody took his curses seriously. Dominic Mysterio and JD McDonough specifically did not take, everybody said these curses are ridiculous. This is a thing that Dan Housen is saying. There's a coincidence, a series of events. It's nothing. But watching the Knicks go 15-1 after the uncursing happened for that team to capture that championship, what's amazing has been that while we've seen a sort of mainstream awareness of Dan Housen and the curses, I'm always curious as a fan, what does that mainstream do to what I'm watching on WWE TV? What's the correlation?

42:03How does it translate? And watching on WWE television, now everybody, whether it's Matt Cardona or Los Garza or Liv Morgan or The Judgment Day, they all take those Dan Housen curses absolutely seriously now. And it's put Dan Housen in this sort of unexpected space where he's got this amazing power over the roster. It's incredible. We've talked about Dan Housen and his rise and this run ad nauseum, but deservedly so. Like what he has done the last couple months, I don't know if I've ever seen anything quite like it. It's like he has the Midas touch. Anything he does, it just works, and it works to the highest degree.

42:52What a run for him, man, And to think of where his debut started to now, it's kind of insane. It's kind of nuts. It's been four months. It's been nothing. It's been nothing.

43:04Sam Roberts:I think you called it once a wrestling fairy tale. It is. And that's exactly it. This guy just shows up out of nowhere and he's like, no, don't worry. I got this. And everybody's like, no, you don't. And he's like, yeah, I do. And then he died. And it turns out he was right the whole time. Yeah, absolutely. And look, I've had opportunities, you know, when he's leaving the building, we have quieter moments as well getting to see more of the real man uh man he is his perspective his humility but also his drive his creativity he's someone who just gets it he understands he understands how he fits and this is and to me like he's also just a lesson i would say to all the young wrestlers out there and for people trying to find their way i'm i'm such a big believer in creating or finding a niche that doesn't exist, finding your own lane.

43:51There is no one in the wrestling bubble that I am aware of who can fill those Dan Housen shoes. He has created his own. It's weird. It is different. It is unlike anything else, but that's his. He sits firmly in that lane, and I think it's such a credit to him. Look, he doesn't need to be 6 '6". He doesn't need to be 300 pounds. He just needs to be him because he's absolutely knocked it out the park. Yeah, because I also don't think anybody would make that many Simpsons references. I don't think they know him. you know what I mean I don't think they could squeeze him in like that it's pretty it's pretty impressive really he's also I mean you know you're sitting there right you're looking at somebody like Matt Cardona and you're like no no after everything this guy did after leaving WWE no he's Matt Cardona now let's take it seriously he's Matt Cardona who's the one character that could get that guy to woo woo again who's the one guy that could get him to go on TV and woo woo again one more time woo woo you know it he's I mean and in all and you're right he like like In the sense that he just makes, not just him, he makes it all work around him.

44:54The fact that that now is like this, everything becomes, I don't know, a little bit more interesting with Dan House. No, absolutely, absolutely. Yeah, and I don't know what's going on with everyone being shocked. But again, if I've seen what happened to Kit and to Miz, don't touch anything back. Don't touch any of the tech. Don't touch any machines. I wouldn't even step foot in that room. That's his room. he can have it people people in wwe are very hard-headed clearly they were especially jd

45:22Sam Roberts:mcdonough's got that big skull big that's true you know that is true you know and they're desperate because last week liv morgan goes in there olivia morgan as dan hausen called her oh olivia morgan yes and she tries to persuade dan hausen to put a curse on obafemi it doesn't work and then this week Dom and JD are back in there again yeah desperate desperate desperate desperate for Dan Housen uh I do uh uh Biggie we were just talking about um the tag team championship match on Monday Night Raw uh but of course the tag team champions over on Smackdown uh R-Truth and Damian Priest all rise for the unlikely pairing of R-Truth and Damian Priest this tandem has shaken up the tag team division and now you can celebrate their championship reign with this r-truth and damian priest rise up wepa up cartoon t-shirt available now at wwe shop and fanatics for anybody that was looking to wepa up you now can thanks to wwe shop and fanatics and somebody who we were talking about earlier seth rollins he's joined the club of the throwback t-shirts throwing it back to 2014 with this Seth Rollins retro buy-in tee.

46:41It's a must-have for fans of the Architects breakout era, and it's available now at WWE Shop and Fanatics. I mean, that WWE wear patch sewn on the bottom of the T-shirts, that's a whole era into and of itself. No, it really is. Even that era of Seth, I was going to say, I'm so glad when I saw they announced that they were bringing back that Seth Rollins shirt. To me, that was really Seth breaking through him post-Shield doing his thing, and what a run. Man, that was a hell of a time to be a Seth Rollins fan. Speaking of a hell of a time to be a fan and also groups coming back together, the Chad Gable apology tour continued tonight on Monday Night Raw.

47:25And he went in, and he had members of the Alpha Academy in there with him, Kirito Zawa, of course, and Maxine and Otis. And he was apologizing to all three of them and complimenting all three of them. And it was Maxine who stepped up with all that attitude. Maybe she learned it from Austin Theory.

47:45Sam Roberts:Perhaps, we don't know. I don't know, I don't know. I wanna get involved in that. And said, you know, we did it without you. We're gonna keep doing it without you. We don't like you. We don't want you. We don't want the apology. And she talked about how she held a single title in WWE, something Chad's never done. That's true. Chad tried to say it to her as a compliment. She hit him back with the exact same thing, but as an insult. And it was like, that's not even remotely cool. That's not why I brought that up. But tell me how you feel. I mean, you're a nicer man than I am. I think I can be honest about that.

48:15I agree. I don't know if this is because I'm a cold hearted individual. But we're now in whatever it is, week three. I don't need Chad Gable to apologize to anybody else. I think that Chad Gable speaks for himself. Let his actions speak. I understand he did this, he did that, but we can't live in the past. We can only move forward. And if people are gonna accept us by who we are today, they're gonna accept us by who we are today. I think I wanna see Chad Gable get back to kicking ass. and, you know, not, I don't need to see all the making amends. You know, I think that's a fair assessment. I think the last few weeks apologizing to the luchadors, to Ray, to Penta, to Dragon Lee, I think, you know, I can see why he did it.

49:12To me, this was the most important apology, though. This was the family that he built and the way in which he spoke to his family, the way in which he treated his family. You know, he's talked for a long time about how close he and Otis were. The fact that they both came up in amateur wrestling, both being from Minnesota. Their bond is deep. It was beautiful before Chad kind of threw all that away. So I can understand why he wanted to make this last apology. But I am with you. I kind of hope that this is it. I think Chad really has proven himself. He's proven himself in the ring a long time ago.

49:47But I think as a real star that people are absolutely behind. He has shown that. So I hope now he's able to kind of more just get on his path and focus on winning championships. But I also can understand the need to make amends. But I will say, to me, this was, as far as being on the microphone, I thought this was Maxine's best performance significantly. We might not like what she had to say, but I also can understand where it comes from. But her confidence, the fire in her eyes, the way she stood up for the group that say, oh, just step aside. I'm taking the reins of this. I can understand. And you can say, oh, she's been talking to us in theory.

50:30Maybe she picked up some of his callous ways. But let's rewind to how long this man was awful to these people, these people who supported him, who were there for him. So I think she sits in this space of, I don't really know what this means for Otis and Tozawa, but I can understand the anger. I can understand the vitriol. And good for her for having a backbone and saying, look, I understand that you are contrite and you are now taking the time to say your apologies to all the people you hurt. But that doesn't mean I need to accept it. That doesn't mean I'm okay with this new you and what we're all just going to hug and sing kumbaya again after everything you did to us.

51:11Like everything's okay. So I, they're in this real crossroads right now. And I don't know as talented as I think to Zawa, Maxine and Otis are without Chad Gable, we haven't seen them be in a prominent position in WWE. And that's not to take away from their talent, but who are they without Gable? If they don't make amends, we know Gable is going to be on our TVs weekly. We know he is bound to do big things. We see him, the rocket ship, it's going up and up. but I wonder and I worry if those three will really have much opportunity to grow if they don't find a way to bury the hatchet with Gable. Yeah I mean they can't live I mean it goes back to what I was saying about the apologies almost too like living there in the past and being defined by what you did a year or more ago I don't think it's going to make anybody terribly successful and it does like to me i go like okay it's great that that that gable apologized right and great and great that gable did it in such a public forum so that people could see okay this is the new gable but realistically i think a lot of us that are just watchers you know we're not invested in we don't i mean the the personal relationships and all this i think yeah apologize

52:29Sam Roberts:to ray mysterio yeah once ray said he was cool i was like i think we're all cool we're all cool If Ray says it's cool, I think he speaks for us all. Because when I watch, I'm not looking at Chad Gable and going, oh, that's the guy who was mean to everybody. I'm looking at Chad Gable and going, that's the guy who just wrestled the best mask versus mask match I've ever seen in my life. Let's go. What's next? Let's go. And I feel like that's a place that I'm hoping, you know, Gable's at a week from today. Like, I'm like now, like, let's go. Because, you know, I mean, E, you know better than anybody else.

53:04WWE moves fast. Very fast. And we're headed right for SummerSlam. And SummerSlam seems to me like a spot where you want, or if you're Chad Gable, you want to be in a position to do something very, very impactful.

53:17Sam Roberts:In Minnesota? In Minnesota. Of course. Coming off mask versus mask. And every, like, all the talk that that match had the entire world buzzing, reappearing on Netflix. Like I cannot wait to see Chad Gable get into whatever it is that he's getting into next. I'm I for me, I'm good with the apologies. I did like your point about Maxine Dupree. And, you know, when we do rewind and we look back, it's like here's she was a young woman when she was brought in to the Alpha Academy. And I think today she stood up to Chad as if she was a veteran and she had a backbone to her. And I love seeing that growth out of Maxine as well.

53:55Sam Roberts:But I'm really just looking forward to seeing where Chad Gable goes and can he be an ass kicker, right? Yeah. Quite frankly. Yeah. And Megan, I think that's such an astute point. And if you didn't make it, I was going to make that point about it being in Minnesota. What an opportunity. What a platform. And I will say as well, for Gable, these few weeks, these couple months are so crucial because this man is coming off of, I say, to me, easily feud of the year. everything he did in Mexico just beyond tremendous it's one of those things that when we look back in December at what 2026 was in WWE I promise you that's going to be one of the first things I think about I know we're gonna get so many more incredible moments but that's definitely going to be up there but now he is in this period where now he's lost the mask he's done with the feud in Mexico now he's really locked in if you don't have this moment if you don't take advantage of this moment, this rebrand, and show people that you are indeed a star and that you have momentum, you got to keep it.

54:57Because if he starts to cool off in the next couple of weeks, if he spends too much time chasing an apology from Maxine or Otis and Tozawa, if he spends too much time down that rabbit hole and isn't seeking championships, isn't seeking main event opportunities, very quickly, the audience at home is not going to see him as a rising star, they're going to say, ah, that's kind of where he plateaued. That's about where Chad Gable is. So I'm really intrigued, and especially with SummerSlam coming up in his home state, in his hometown. I believe he's from the Minneapolis area. But either way, it's such a massive opportunity.

55:35We have two nights. If he is not in a big spot on that card, it starts to feel like, ah, that momentum he had is gone. So I just want to see Chad Gable continue to rise. And whether that's with his old family or not, we'll see. But it's his time now, and he absolutely has to capitalize. Speaking of families and betrayals, Solo Sokoa, dressed in red head to toe, showed up on Monday Night Raw. And by the way, there have been a lot of people who talk about the bloodline interfering in matches. People who are going like, oh, well, maybe the bloodline's going to interfere in the king of the ring, or the bloodline's going to interfere here or the bloodline's going to interfere there.

56:16The bloodline has interfered exactly 0 % of the time for the entire calendar year of 2026. So this talk of interference on the bloodline's part, it has to be removed from people's vocabulary. It's treasonous.

56:29Sam Roberts:It was sort of ironic because L.A. Knight, who is so obsessed with this family more than anybody next to Sam, he's the one who interferes, but not on behalf of the family. Solo Sokoa showed up, he spiked Jimmy Uso. I mean, look. I love Solo in the red. First, he does look like a million bucks. But first of all, the fact that Jacob Fatu was the one that was almost like, no, no, no, no, no. He got the message, let him make his own call. Jacob Fatu was kind of the non-emotional one between himself, Jay, and Jimmy. Now, Jay had some ideas, but Jacob Fatou made it clear that he doesn't answer to Jay's punk ass.

57:17That was made clear.

57:22Now, for Jimmy to be told to just wait and see how it plays out, Solo knows what to do. To be the one on the receiving end of a Samoan spike, Jimmy eats a pin then from L.A. Night. First of all, I wonder, is this going to change the conversation with L.A. Knight? Because he's pretty sure he knows everything going on with this family, and clearly he does not. And also, is this a moment where Jimmy and Jay go to Jacob and go like, what are you doing here? What is the plan? That is a great question. I think there's so many puzzle pieces that have to be figured out. Solo is going to continue to be a problem for the bloodline if they don't get him under control.

58:05And I know L.A. Knight is a lone wolf. He wants to do this thing on his own. But I started thinking, okay, we see the reformation of the bloodline. Who in God's name is going to stand up against this team? You better gather the Avengers. But I think we're going to be put in a position. I think L.A. Knight is going to be put in a position where it's like, find a team or you're in trouble. I've never been to prison. But I think it's a bit like prison where you better you better find your crew. You if you're in there alone, you better find some people to have your back, because if not, you're going being in there alone.

58:44If he he can't escape this bloodline vortex and try as he might. This man does not seem to have the ability to extract himself from anything that has to do with the Usos, with Roman Reigns, with Jacob Fatu. He's just in it. But if you're if you're going to be in it, you better have some allies. And it might not be with Solo. He might not see eye to eye with Solo. They might not share the same values, but they have a common enemy. And I think it's going to be on him. I don't know. We see Solo talking a lot to Royce Keys and we see Royce, someone who I think is so immensely talented. He's over on SmackDown.

59:20But I think we see a lot of people who are resistant to teaming with the MFTs, with Solo. But at some point, if you don't find someone to align yourself with, the bloodline is absolutely going to run roughshod through all of WWE. So I think LA, he has to make a choice. He has to make a decision because he's in it whether he wants to be or not. And by the way, this is the first time that the bloodline has actually been all blood. This is the first time that every single person in that bloodline is 100 % blood related. No wise man, no honorary ooze, no extended family, no nothing. This is a blood related team, which is why at some point I've got to believe you're not going to see any Tongans in that group.

1:00:08But I want Solo to come back home. I'm with that bloodline. I want everybody in that Anawaii Fatu Samoan dynasty under one roof because I'm telling you, and this has been the way, and Roman broke it down a few weeks ago, talking about the fact that that family has had a strong hold on WWE since the late 1970s, except because of a lack of organization, they've never been the centerpiece that they are now. And I feel like that is what differentiates this bloodline from the previous incarnation. This is truly about that Anowai Fatou family, the history that they have in this company, and the fact that the chickens have come home to roost and it's time for them to take what's theirs and to stake their claim.

1:00:56And I think in order to do that, everybody who's blood related has to kind of fall in line. Speaker 1 But but solo is a boss right now solo is a leader of men. So it's like, do you do you want to leave this startup company that you own that you operate that you run to go join the mega corporation? But at the mega corporation, you might be a lower level manager. He is not going to be the man calling the shots if he joins the bloodline. But if he can get the MFTs where they need to be, if he can get LA night, if he can get Royce Keys, if he can find some other people to kind of fall in line under him.

1:01:34And if somehow he is able to beat the bloodline, to dethrone the bloodline, that's how you make a statement. That is how you, how you carve out a legacy. Can he carve out that same legacy? If he is the third or fourth or fifth most important member in the bloodline, as opposed to being the man with the MFTs and possibly being the ones to take down the bloodline. He better, he better, if he wants to do that a better team with Dan Housen because the only way Solo Sokoa is taking out the bloodline is if they all get cursed.

1:02:03Sam Roberts:And you know what they say, if you can't beat them. Join them. That's right. Join them. By the way, you know what? Go ahead. I was going to say, Dan Housen in that Sammy Oos role, but for the MOTs, I am with it. Let's go. Yeah, he's already got the war paint on. He's good to go. Speaking of Betrayal 2, before we go, how about Lyra Valkyria deciding now's the time to DeShola Ledge turns her back completely on Bayley after another failed attempt to win those WWE Tag Team Championships. Becky was right about everything. Hashtag Becky was right about everything. What was she right about? Everything.

1:02:43Sam Roberts:She knew. You think Lyra was being loony? That Lyra was a loser. Lyra took the pin. And then all of a sudden she hashes out on Bayley. Lyra took the pin. And she was tired of losing. If you were tired of losing, don't get pinned. you can't say somebody's a bad guy and then like a year and a half later they turn and go like see i told you that was a long time ago it doesn't count anymore it's trending on twitter right now statute of limit it's not trending yes it is hashtag becky was right about everything first of all it's the longest hashtag ever and second of all that's tailored trends that's what's trending for you because it's all you check you're just in becky world on twitter all the time as soon as lia turned i was like oh becky was right she's right and then i pulled up twitter and turns out She's honestly, she's not kidding.

1:03:26We literally watched her all together. And she looked at me, she goes, Becky was right. I go, would you, I mean, would you stop it is what I said. Of course she did. And also I saw the barrage of tweets from Becky as well. So she does not miss an opportunity to pat herself on the back. But I will say I thought in this moment, you know, anytime you see a loss between a team and a team that has had some losses in the past. And then there's that lingering at the end. I thought, okay, it's going to be Bailey. It'll be Bailey who turns on Lyra again. I was wrong. I was very, very wrong. Do I like this?

1:04:04No, in the sense that Bailey is beloved. She is someone who is a living legend. She has contributed so much to this industry. So seeing her be turned on by someone she thought was a friend is devastating to see. But as far as what's next for Lyra, I think this move could be great for her. I think people have been waiting to see something different, to see some more edge, to see her. It feels in many ways like we've seen Lyra in the ring and she is so talented. What she brings to the ring, she can go. We saw the incredible feud with Becky. She's someone who is very, very talented. But unfortunately, it seems for both of these women that this tag team team has kind of they keep butting their heads against that glass ceiling I don't know what's next for them and I kept thinking that like after this loss I don't know what's next for them and so I think they needed something different I don't know if this was the route to achieving that but I do think it places a bit of a spotlight on Lyra what her next move is so it's going to be on her to see where she goes from this if she does I would imagine she'll be going toe-to-toe with bailey for quite some time um but this is an opportunity for her to really rise and i think she saw it as such as let me take this opportunity and use bailey my former friend as a stepping stone yeah absolutely well uh e it is always a pleasure of course we have a huge weekend coming up saturday is night of champions megan and i will be back here later this week for uh our night of champions preview show on WWE Now, as well as right after Night of Champions, the Night of Champions recap on WWE Now.

1:05:44E, I believe you will be a part of the countdown to Night of Champions on Saturday. So very, very exciting things. Can't wait to find out what happens over the weekend. Thank you so much, as always, my friend. Thank you guys very much. And I appreciate the author's shout out, How I Got Over, pre-sales out now. Woo! Everybody grab the book, subscribe to the pod, and we'll see you later this week for more WWE Now.

1:06:18Sam Roberts:Get that Amex Gold card ready. I'm too tired to cook. We feeling five guys or the Cheesecake Factory? Both. Earn up to$120 a year in statement credits of participating partners. Up to$10 each month when you pay with the Amex Gold card. Learn more at americanexpress.com slash explore-gold. Enrollment required. Terms apply.