Main Event Takes On The Mad Dragon! | WWE Raw Preview (May 13 2024)

The Dadley Boyz are back to preview this week’s episode of Monday Night Raw as the King & Queen of the Ring quarter-finals get under way… and it’s LIVE!

e e e hello and welcome to the raw preview We Are The dadly Boys of what culture I’m Adam wilborne joined by Michael H Michael sck here to look ahead to tonight’s episode of but before we get into it if you’re a fan of this sort of thing make sure you subscribe to what culture wring on Apple podcast Spotify Amazon music and YouTube we do daily wrestling podcast where we not only review raw but also FR Smackdown show for the nxt2 a dite aw Collision pay-per-views premium Live Events we have interviews Round Table discussions and a round of of the week complete quiz of course on Wrestle culture as I said though joined by H we to look ahead to Raw tonight Live on YouTube thank you to everyone who’s joined us in the chat and thank you for your questions which we will get around to but it’s time for the king and Queen of the Ring quarterfinals to begin yeah um quite a lot of wrestling as a result of this tournament I uh was trying before we came in the office to double and treble check the brackets it’s the first time I was saying this in the smackdown R I’ve actually felt like I need the spoon feeding that WWE have had as their stock in trade for like the last 30 odd years it’s just like bloody wrestlers in this there’s a multiple multiple different brackets and there’s matches taking place on House shows and things like that and I’m I can’t grasp the we to run you through theet yes please well do you know it’s not because I don’t know what the matches are tonight it’s because I keep missing the permutations of who might fight who and Miss who okay in this so yeah it run us through so the raw quarterfinals are J Uso versus Ila dragonov and Gunther versus Kofi Kingston after Kofi beat Ray on the live show circuit so the winners of those two matches would face each other Smackdown side of things tamatanga versus L A9 yeah H and R versus Carmelo Hayes in the Queen of the Ring it is eio Sky versus Shaya Basler after Shaina was supposed to fight Queen Selena um but unfortunately injury put P to her so Maxine took a spot and Shaya destroyed her yeah um and you weren’t going to let this pass Without a Queen Zelena reference absolutely not um who Queen Selena um es gu versus Shan B the winner of that face is the winner of Lyra valkiria versus Zoe stock and on the smackdown side of things my God this is the best part of the bracket out of all of them for me Nia Jax versus Jade Cargill and Tiffany Str Tiffany Str oh your manners yes versus Bianca Belair stacked field and SmackDown women’s at the moment love that um but yes so let’s start I suppose with the obvious one main event J Uso presumably in the main event of this show taking of the Mad Dragon himself ill Your Dragon of it’s Weir weird this isn’t it like this is one of those yeah I like this is what I want Dynamite to be who’s going to win yeah it’s I think J Uso wins but God damn if they haven’t yet again tried to come up with a matchmaking to make him the complete package rather than just half a one who did he replace J Uso it was Drew yes so this would have been Drew and dragonov in another sort of like hard hitting one following on from gun to Sheamus in their main event last week um again Drew would have won that or would Punk have possibly screwed him yeah yeah um I can’t see dragon off beating Jer here well yeah there’s a potential obviously of dragonov Gunther in this semi that’s it we’re not getting that yet are we that’s the thing it doesn’t feel like we’re getting that but it feels like they’ve been deliberately paired on this side of the bracket to the I’m sorry I hate myself sickles who are L that now familiar with that wonderful pairing that incredible chemistry that want to see that match played out on a bigger stage so of they just quite carefully like dangling the idea that that match could like in theory happen with the idea being that right well that’s a plausible outcome so uh dragonov versus either Drew or now J Uso has that extra shred of Doubt yeah well they’ve done it with Jayden Bianca on Smackdown as well that match is still very much on even though it’s surely not going to happen in a tournament also as well are quite like I think J will beat El dragonov here but as Wild As It Seems on paper for them to give away the first dragonov Gunther meeting on a like it’s important but it’s not like a pay-per-view it’s not this like massive sort of stage that they’ve set for it for months on end or whatever we’re talking about how this would actually reinforce The credibility of the tournament again because the win and the loss would matter if you did get a dragonov Gunther and let’s say Gunther wins because I think Gunther is going to win the tournament overall and he beats dragonov that doesn’t we still need to sort like I still I say we I still need to re-educate myself on this that like well dragonov will get another goat Gunther one of these days he’s lost to Gunther because Gunther’s got more big match experience within WWE but this isn’t the end this isn’t just oh there was a big match there when you were a fair way off bash in Berlin for example yeah that exact show yeah when it doesn’t mean that you couldn’t do that again and G saying I’m took the piss out you in the king the ring why would I want to fight you now and in the meantime Dragon off’s built up a bit more of a CV of Wis or like I don’t win tonight for what it’s worth but I think yeah I feel like you can run Jay Gunther and say can I you beat if Jimmy Anton interfered last time Jay and Gunther was like I thought Jay’s match with Damien priest the backlash was better but naturally Gunther was one of Jay’s better singles matches so you’d get that again as they continue to try and find the balance of like can we finally find a run of J Uso having like three good matches in a row like that’s honestly what they’re shooting for this character because every other aspect of it is so over it’s every bit of main event as it says until the bell rings so they could continue to build its credibility in the background Drew stubbornly looking on as the guy that took his place has gone all the way to the final and just getting more angry about CM Punk’s involvement and all of that isn’t a bad little story to tell in the background so I do think Jaye gun is the final yeah I can’t call it I cannot call it if I had to guess and I guess I’m on this podcast answering these questions so I will I reckon J Uso is considered to over to not at least lose to Gunther that’s the minimum but again the the the Spectre of Gunther versus Elia is so prominent is so wanted by a certain member of the members of the fan base that I would consider it a possibility so I think realistically this tournament has been booked really quite well in that regard um I’ll have complete doubt over the outcome as this match infolds and as a general point away from a specific prediction on these brackets this is what I want aw Dynamite to be sometimes like who who going to win this match I’ve kind of got no idea I’m investing the outcome because I cannot call it and then I’ll have like you like if Jay loses you’ll be fine if dragonov loses you know they haven’t forgotten about him you know that they’ve protected him very very strongly throughout his uh Tenya in NXT like when was the last time there was a match I know I’m talking about aw when it’s a raw preview I’m sorry but when was the last time like I can’t call this one cannot call it and I’m really looking forward to seeing it one the competitors in the match I suppose would describe [Laughter] as very entertaining still forget that we get that as a potential on a Monday now it’s like it’s weird that like it’s Mo night I’ll never go away it’s as well like it’s um I don’t think they don’t matter aw brought clean finishes back or more like just the expectation of actual wins and losses and matches when WWE just seemingly abandoned them completely this is um this feels like a tourn this feels like the first tournament after like w about to do that for a long time you couldn’t even put the tournament last year and it’s like well we’ve only had like sort of about a year of for the most part matches having finishes I I now don’t mind the odd DK en count out in WWE because it’s typically a service like like we had that one with Tiffany strattam where she was so pissed off with Bailey and Naomi and you knew that it was to build a triple threat but you could buy it like they’ve for the most part delivered finishes so you get a tournament coming around and where none of us have said I gets thrown out by a screwy finish or Drew’s pissed off and runs in and ruins the match out of bitterness you could book that but all of us our first thought is oh as a winner and a loser and a consequence here and it’s nice to think about it in those terms as well hi Tock hi to Jeff for par Snips didn’t do a Sunday roast was way too hot for a roast yeah no idea no maybe sometimes I put a drink in a freezer to get it really really cold but then often times I will forget about it get frozen solid so I’ll do freezer alarms come out the oven alarms Fair very alarms mean s was saying today um whilst enjoying uh Gregs that the Pasty in spite of the heat is still an excellent hot weather dinner like it shouldn’t work cuz it’s like when you think of a roast like hot food like that it shouldn’t work this is the first day of sunshine we’ve had in the UK in 2024 but it’s still great it’s still like quite lightweight third was a good weekend well yeah that’s true yeah well on for you te tonight then because you canot really have stodgy proper really B things not sure I’m having a paa oh that’s good cuz you get the studge I can’t just have salads every night no not a rabbit so I think a p has got enough freshness going on with like the squeeze the lime but Seafood in there go to the cocktail not in a week night for me play maybe I will you know why getting a shop delivered when I get home part of which is a big old watermelon oh and one of my favorite things is just to make the margarita mix and just put some watermelon the actual shoot fruit in there shoot fruit get your hand Blitzer and then it’s just like a beautiful watermelon margarita and it it is so so light that it doesn’t overwhelm the flavor you still get that Spirit forward rush and it is a rush of the alcohol but with a beautiful summery fresh tropical twist my wife’s out tonight so I might put the crisps in the fridge before I put Between the Bread Jeff ra maker in the chat just says ye Jeff uh the other king of the in quarterfinal sees Gunther versus Kofi Kingston Kofi obviously out for revenge for Xavier Woods he’s not get it though what what what a Sor what did he say sometimes when I hear WWE has go Gunther versus Kofi obviously Gunther injured Xavier Woods heading into the tournament H why Kofi took his place it’s just nice it’s rather than good isn’t it like Gunther looked upon the never ending new day Imperium Feud and like I’ll fix this and he injures aier would stop him achieving his dream and now he eliminates Kofi Kingston it’s just not bad week to we to week storytelling jump on the chest thing and we can get some thumbnails out of it that’s true yeah the Big Show made goofy Kingston pigeon titted according to what culture.com so go can surgically operate yet again yeah I don’t so hang on hang on wait a minute wait a minut you just said Gunther can what uh surgically operate yeah your doctor fed Gunther is always welcome at the local fical facility but I’m saying though if he surgically operates and we’ve never seen Gan and hamlet in the same room are you saying that that G’s Dr fed who surgically operates you know it’s been that long since anyone who said this fed has look like gun through I forgot that was a bit like there only made sense when he was like1 pound every year never literally never comes up anymore I’ve just said it I appreciate that you look nothing like that like live awesome wrestler thanks thanks internet um in terms of the queen in the ring I who have you got winning Queen of the Ring because we sort of half touched on this on the smackdown review earlier so you got eios Sky Shaya Basler Lyra valkyria Zoe Stark it feels like the winner probably comes from the smackdown side of things which you got Nia Jax Jay Carill Tiffany St and Bianca B Jade okay why not you know where my vote’s going obviously where night Jacks I thought theyve got I like if but n’s got you love ni oh I think Jade but it’s based entirely on who gets knocked out in the next round Jed oranka because I think they’ve got they’re going to avoid that they’re going to make you think this is on the cars Jade beats Nia Jax and then Tiffany Stratton gets something of an upset over Bianca Bianca in theory could be carrying an injury after the Candace selling the knee from that again like they might it might be a bit of a cop out it might be a sort of a like they’ve got the tag titles to think about so a tag champion rival could like hit a chop block on Jade car on uh Bianca Belair while Jade cargill’s there trying to run interference and then I don’t know like Tiffany Str gets the count out win but then you’ve got that tag team title program set up as well like frakin uh I can’t even remember her current name kayy Ray Isa Dawn and kayy Ray doing nothing at the moment but they could easily just fire Alba fire thank you could easily interfere there while like Jade cargill’s trying to deal with them Bianca Blair’s taken out and then all of a sudden you’ve created two programs and you’ve avoided the Jade Bianca match and then I don’t know like have Bianca sell the knee for longer and her for the first time appear to be the weak Link in the team rather than the sort of more experienced member can you imagine like Jade Carill with some kind of like Royal aesthetic making an entrance to the ring jeez like with a crown and stuff I mean she yeah look the part amazing in terms of the uh Ro quarterfinals then Zoe Stark versus Lyra valkiria tonight feels like Lyra wins that one yeah Dynamite this one little bit both persons on a a roll I hate invoking that as a verb and you’ve got and you’ve got the whole damage control thing who she could meet if eios Sky wins her match against Shaya Basler yeah she saved Becky from them last week yeah and iOS Sky needs this win as well I think it just like they’ve they’ve not um I’ll say this like she’s obviously been on the back burner post WrestleMania so it’s not like they’ve had to have her out there every week wrestling and continuing to lose or whatever but this will be to her this is her easiest quickest way back to Bailey isn’t it so I expect her to win to get to the the bird person match yes and um in terms of other things on tonight’s show we’ve got Becky Lynch which I’ll get to in due course is this the week that Drew McIntyre finally gets his hands on CM Punk they’ve been playing a lot of cat and mouse recently I hope so I think last week was them uh stretching it as stretching that bit that little gag as far as it will go and uh the one thing they haven’t done for me yet is they haven’t really built enough equity in just how recovered is CM Punk because I think when Drew catches him or when he finally gets to attack him they should really like you should all be fearing a little bit for Punk’s health is like is he going to immediately Punk’s not even return to the ring and Drew is going to put him right back on the Shelf again he’s going to delay his recovery and return to it by six more months or whatever they could get proper honest to God heat out of that punk would know how to sell it and would know how to make it matter um Drew’s just like riddled with bitterness and anger at this point post WrestleMania so I would like him to catch him but I would like them to make it like make the consequences of that matter as well I’ve I’ve I’ve enjoyed this still a it’s we used the phrase flare the other week the lack of the like the lack of physicality has forced the hand creatively and I think it’s it’s really benefited and it feels different from a lot of other fueds as a result but when it does get physical it should matter like I know Drew’s got his elbow p and he’s hurt but like he’s got a boooo on his elbow he’s got a booo on his elbow but like Punk’s only just taking off the the gimic so how recovered is he like I’d like to see that like leaned in on a little bit like Drew’s done there they’ve done the internet stuff haven’t they he’s doing the the stand parad and all that only get you so far it’s got to start to feel real again soon yeah I don’t I assume this isn’t building to match it King of the Ring king queen of work of Saudi Arabia sure we know he’s got a moral issue with doing that because he said so in the past and one thing about CM Punk is that the man stays true to his word four months minimum before he works out um but I don’t know whether yeah at the Castle I think it might be worth the risk like there’s not many better than Punker at flipping the alignment for the night and playing the localized heel like I Long Island Punk was such a dream when he came out to mjf’s theme you got the first night of MGF as a baby face and it was like this so he comes out to Broken Dreams in Clash of the just baby on on a roll thanks they might be able to get further on than that I think there’s God out of [Music] Jame out of T especially because it’s clobbering t you going to do so say goodbye it’s clobbering t this as well they’ve got themselves I love it it’s the best thing you’ve ever said you’ve got them out of such a jam here right it was going to be it was going to be Drew imitating Punk and then the rock r that and gave him a sword yeah so now can be Punk imitating Drew fixed it you fixed it that’s the best I can’t of believe how good that was out of you thanks thanks I think uh so you don’t want tonight every dog has his day you don’t want tonight you a Hound indeed oh um you don’t want ban but by it doesn’t need to bark all of this is the banner I just realized what Adam Nicholas is wearing by the way he’s dressed as microphone will explain all this I don’t want to know he’ll be made to uh just leave what was I gonna say oh yeah um s and do the intro and they just hear a door slam who is that the stacks spit I just just walked out uh you don’t want like Drew McIntyre attacking people backstage who look a little bit like CM Punk this week oh God no that always felt so stupid didn’t what’s happened you know like well B say you don’t want this to be the week where like Drew thinks he’s finally caught him and then Cory [Laughter] Grace all right do that and one thing they teased last week which I I sense they would probably advertise because it’s you know an in ring return was JD McDonna taking care of Braun strowman they said Judgment Day said I don’t hate that at all it’s good stuff because I didn’t watch ra last night last week but I’m assuming yeah yeah um was very well no I’ll catch up with it tonight before I watch a show tomorrow watch that six straight hours last weekend a double header you would do it I would in a heart week I wish when I finish this week’s raw next week’s was just right there like binge when he go to Netflix you avoid it all then binge watch it 38 years later the warning comes up are you still watching Monday Night Raw sure am yeah I I I don’t know after five minutes still watching this I don’t know whether um they do uh JD Madonna tries to take care of Braun strowman this week and then they set up a match for next week perhaps yeah um they go home yeah what was the runner they had definitely Triple H here was this am I miss remembering cast members here did like Liv Morgan trap damag catar in a bin oh they locked the I thought you were talking about when it was The Toxic attraction toxic attraction that was it we’re getting like locked in cages and stuff yeah but I can’t remember who did that did you might have been Wendy Chu there’s no chat I I’ll keep an eye on watchx I want to see jie McDon like no effect try and take out broad ac across the night like a crate falls off a ledge or something and he just misses him net yeah the net Morrison try and do something like that they dropped goo on him but they missed and it hit Kayla oh no there was a shot of them in a police vanan like watching him down in a car went he went out they were in that car yeah pmic was good uh I um obvious it obviously wasn’t it was that was about as bad as it got wish the pandemic but shut up and move on H it was pretty bad though money in the bank threeway for the belt wasn’t it m Morrison and Bron Roman for all the marbles in an empty performance center so yeah that again but this time with a loud crowd um quick word on Becky Lynch we we will get to your question yes we will get to them in due course not wasted your time no more than usual yes we talked a little bit about this on the news um all we know tonight is she’s in action who Becky Lynch thanks but apparently she has only weeks left on her contract um any chance she leaves WWE for usage no I’m not being funny why would you yeah yeah not going to get what what does she want out with it what does she what does Becky Lynch one out of wrestling right now yeah I mean she wants to wrestle regularly then tough titties you not doing that in old one match tone uh you you’re probably going to get paid an awful lot of money which is fine you’ve got you know young kid a shelf life for the pro wrestler um n just not happening i’ be I would be like staggered absolutely astonished if she went went to aw she um we were saying she sort of Derby Allen herself in that um interview before WrestleMania uh with Ariel helwani where he was bringing this up and she said no no I haven’t signed so he pushed a little bit further and he said oh you know like would you explore your options elsewhere and she didn’t want to say no because obviously that’s poison from a negotiation point of view but the reality was a no like the face said everything like Seth Rollins hadn’t signed then and it’s like there raising a kid on a bus like with a company that facilitates that entire life it’s a big old thing to change isn’t it she going she’s going nowhere yeah holding out for the most money she can get would imagine if she’s a free agent that’s a risk to them isn’t it so what you what you classic NXT oh uh with Wendy Chu and Rox sareez ruining tox attractions day uh Wendy Chu I believe was the one who like locked Mandy tried to kill mny rose loocks are in a tanning booth someone else got stuck in a cage I’m fairly certain but the best one was of course when her and roxan teamed up to slightly move their car further away in the car park love that if you remember I you remind us every week man it’s hard hard hard to forget you make everything hard to forget uh let’s get some questions thank you to everyone who who sent us a messages in the chat hi to Matt Rangers says happy Monday Brothers not having the best of days from a mental standpoint so this is much needed love you guys thanks to the endless last you’re more than welcome feel better man feel better um this might make it feel better cuz we’re going to have to explain ITC tactical penguin thank you for your uh donation thank you for your question afternoon lad’s been waiting since NXT to say this and wanted to strangle you for being this thick sorry I I I get the energy a new every single day I want to do that a new Superstar please don’t drink W apologies keep your sides uh secure as well a new Superstar leopard AKA The Leopard thoughts so do you want to explain this to s so he’s uh speed you know Bland chase you right so there’s a a Lincoln story lines now s more on the NXT preview tomorrow between Ridge Holland and chase you uh where he’s trying to help I don’t me on blood his strength and he’s ruining it he’s watching it yet again and chase you were mixed aren’t they yes Hill wants to give Rich Holland a chance uh how she reminds him of his daughter oh you just like me daughter you’re so full of energy I just want to help but then he’s kind of accidentally bashing ones Duke know brought a chair down to the ring because Lexis King slightly cheated in a match with duuk bloody Hudson I’ll fix this I I’m being honest I’m stalling here because I’ve forgotten the Step At which we get from that to there’s a leopard loose in NXT and it wants to win a bail so picture it yes thank you that was it that was it the Riley Osborne thank you Nicholas said uh see the hunk the hunk yeah yeah I don’t know know about him I don’t trust him a leopard never CH love a British accent well you know maybe the likes ridges as well but he said a leopard never changes his spots so he’s like what cuz what happened was he said I’m really sorry I cost you match uh I’ll do anything I’ll do out out your need I’ll do absolutely anything and they were like all right buy us dinner uh and he was like great like I told you i’ do anything to get you forgiveness and then Riley Osborne just pops in with I don’t know Leon Chang what what do you want I said I’ll do anything like he just like immediately went with the defense if you want Absolut light switch out of nowhere with the defensive oh B didn’t he want one like that so we don’t think Ridge is uh and we bed leopard as part of the new member of the uh NXT lock like imagine on the Eagle’s Nest like a leopard looking down on the the North American Title division it would be dangerous am I right like you would yourself into a title match yeah yeah it won the combine the leopard won the combat cuz I mean imagine trying to compete with a leopard in a series of gym based uh combine was class by the way s it was good it was Ninja Wario stuff like who can climb the fastest Chuck this ball as as you can put like this glove on the wrestlers now punch and it was like your punch was this quick your punch was this hard and it all like measured it from the glove so good so imagine a leopard in that putting a glove on the leopard leopard have posible thumbs going to punch something po kill you a leopard in the studio you got it’s about it it might not do well there but like it was loads of different areas wasn’t it strength conditioning uh vertical leap vertical leap imagine that spot changing failed at that one Drew bottom with Ridge Holland apparently C says Hey guys with RW Smackdown being treated as equals tomorrow’s going to suck do you think we could get come on we need to go back to the days when it was just a cow and an elephant this podcast has gotten stupid do you think we could get a cross brand faction EG bloodline raw and bloodline Smackdown I really hope not we’ve got one it’s a final Testament everywhere everywhere nobody wants them anywhere each brand trying to get no you have them cross brand faction maybe I mean I Funny Tang alone he to go back to school so that would make some sense wouldn’t it go to NXT yeah like or a good school there well now we know the draft is related to pay I’m not being funny right I there’s maybe potential here like where there’s a faction and they could Scout NXT is a way to like do some uh corporate Synergy um and they could Scout and say look we’re on Raw we we’re a faction and I say you’re an honorary member if you do such and such such and such and such and such this plant the idea and then the member of the faction could then go onto the main roster interfere on behalf and then become formally inducted yeah maybe uh Steve Nicol capulus AKA Edward hands says good Legends can you read this with a some J can you read this with a Greek accent please Adam good luck I don’t I don’t I genuinely look at you getting all earnest I don’t do accents I I I don’t know where to as we all know I don’t know I think he’s trying to do Welsh Santino yeah Santino marel welino you watched uh Eurovision yeah got all the different European accents dialects and like no no no do Greek [Music] as we all know there’s too much Creed in wrestling still after 20 years what else is there too much of in wrestling at the moment what why is there too much of it there too much Creed Creed yes yeah yeah yes near enough Creed and wrestling is any Creed wrestling at all not well maybe maybe many many years ago you if you gy Ross yeah um away from like very very obvious like almost anti- Insight like there’s too many titles yeah yeah too many you know wrestlers in aw there too much of as like a thing like Mass sacrifice um there used to be an extravagance of but Rock to the point where but then I think that’s changed a little bit pet PE is that there’s too much hunger yes sick or Restless say how hung they are that they’re starving food offing take food off my [ __ ] table I was hungry as well I say it every week they do the staring donut and shut your mouth the one thing we cover awwe and the one thing you know about both those companies above all else is that the catering is apparently excellent because there’s always enough wrestler to talk about sitting there so how anyone that works for those companies is hungry despite what they say every week that’s beyond me it’s absolutely beond there is too much hunger we need to end wrestler hunger yeah need end wrestler hunger just start but charity just start shutting up about it just say you want to win matches yeah uh the too much title thing like I know s you’re saying that’s like too many too many there’s no insights there but I disagree because it like again it reveals that problem whenever this happens wrestling companies got over excited with titles you’re getting P reviews and pl where every match is a title match and belts especially in aw at the moment belts placing blood feuds is dire like dire for the weekly because you’re just forgetting why wrestler a hits wrestler B and then you’re just reminded oh it’s because they’ve got a belt like I we take the piss out of um House of black and Adam Copeland good reason at the moment but it’s not incidental that Copeland’s got the TNT title the TNT title is driving Malachi black to cadp him well especially that hand well indeed and has gone to that place more on the Collision review from earlier on today did you think the um you know the bar steel cage match te they better put some of that bastard stuff around the actual mesh well he didn’t want it but the hand was the one signing the contract they better put some wire around the walls of the cage and not just the top oh my bloody and I got climb well edges it’s just like this is fine it’s indestructible yeah I need to see some B bumps surely like they’re not going to do noio 2005 well yeah cuz it neither of those characters really seems escaping underneath Malachi Black’s magic powers out teleport uh be nice if they made the cage um like like spray it black with black bar and stuff a house of black there are house rules bar cage Eternal Evergreen take too many spooky guys yes yeah does like it’s you know that Meme that rested development where it’s like does that work for anyone oh no it never does people just like delude themselves into thinking it’ll work but maybe it’ll work for us that’s the spooky guy thing is it is as it worked in the modern eras anyone come up with a spooky gimmick where it’s like that’s my ticket to the top has there been a consistent got get the spooky guy main event and the card wrest of the card will work itself out at the main event where theoretically you got this money you got this money gimmick this ticket to the top uh Miss up your mouth is ever got anyone to the top so why did loads of them keep doing it well like I think a plague one of my favorite things that we you can always take the piss off like wrestling never coveres itself in glory in these segments or when the wrestler has been out the one thing we’ll say about the D Man like people legitimately did resp up buiness when it came to like the Undertaker had this presence that like if something happened Undertaker on the show the wrestlers did sort of acknowledge it they didn’t really want any part of The Undertaker’s world or canes when they were all together you get like the spooky thing happening in a segment and then it’s like right anyway next like the rest is like should we not call up like that’s a that’s a once in a lifetime event that’s just occurred at my work the natural how did he teleport we should do something about this our comprehension of natural laws completely just changed all right well I don’t care about that I need to get for four qu St sounds interesting but I got nor more contenders match next I’ll be right back can you deal with that speaking of which Michael Everett says hungry don’t think of don’t think of how can you think of food at a time like this somebody Defying Gravity in front of your very eyes starving Tom is rumbling Michael says Hey Jens thank you all for the amazing work that you do thank you Michael thank you Michael curious as to the possibility of Uncle howdy thee white 6 debuting at King Queen of the Ring it’s happening soon I don’t know when I don’t think it will happen at the queen king queen of the Ring though I don’t think they’ll do it do tonight you’re so ke for this I it’s going to be an awful conversation this but this idea is going to fail and it’s like it’s going to feel a bit awkward and a bit icky and nobody’s going to want to be particularly taking the piss out the legacy of W because what happened like we did a podcast that would still recommend it be on the feed somewhere shortly after we passed where I think we tried like an honest appraisal of like The Life and Legacy of Bray white and then we saw of WrestleMania weekend what it de what it does if nothing else is mean a great deal to people and the worst case scenario for all of this is that feeling getting tarnished by another like failed attempt so what you what could happen here and I think this is actually the most likely scenario is that you are going to feel at a gut level in incredibly sorry for the people you meant to be deathly afraid of yeah it’s I someone like a alas going out there and trying to make it work especially like he couldn’t have come across as like more of a sort of honorable fell that’s God suffered so much through all of this and it’s like absolutely go out there and like try and make this work and do whatever you feel you need to get out of it but if and when it goes wrong not working and said I’m not being funny it’s B Dallas Dexter Lumis Nikki cross yeah uh anyone going to be scared of this it’s and like are they going to feel remotely in it’s just not going to work I’ll go like this I’ll go like this the hands will be up if this works it’s one of those where I don’t like spooky things Joe casy as well a version of it might work on NXT an absolute push go near no but like again I believe that Universe operates under different rules and I do want to do the whole I think I speak for everyone when I say thing because I people like spooky stuff it’s why I’m being this is why people keep deluding themselves into thinking maybe it’ll work for us because it’s work before the Undertaker there’s a market for it and maybe they’ve just never effectively tapped into that market or maybe the market is like a really shallow pool of people who just love it so much that maybe people think promoters or wrestlers think oh there’s a really big market for this and they’re looking at this really enthusiastic sample and not thinking it through properly I’m not on that marker very easy for me to say guaranteed failure it’s going to be a laughing stock I cannot see it going well personally but I’ll go like this if it does I’ll go like this hi to karthy who says between backlash King of the Ring the IC division Punk Drew and a reinvigorated bloodline I’ve been very happy with post Mania other than the draft I do skim through the filler though and paig for she says hello siges thoughts on backlash we obviously didn’t get the chance to catch up about it last week well I tell you what I was in keer um when backlash was on so I was taking a break from the grind taking a break from work lovely time with my family and then I pretty much got unwell I’m fine now as well as people can be I’m like my body’s breaking down as I near 40 so realistically when I wanted some comfort I don’t go to the FED um so I decided to watch hip-hop Evolution on Netflix it was very good o so I’ve not caught up on backlash I have however seen the main event I was very taken by the audience the atmosphere was unbelievable but this and I think this about mol wrestling I’m not doing my WWE bad thing it’s generally not a gimmick it just struck me how the one time there’s a pure proper bit of pro wrestling energy so completely different the one spot they didn’t really know what to make of was the burning Hammer kick out at one um very very good if performative but then everything’s per formative you know what I mean in a crowd reaction so I can’t dig it out for that when they talk about alltime atmospheres I’m still inclined to go for something like Arena Mexico BCC um earlier this year for me was just almost as loud but it seemed like they were feeling it more and otherwise if I want a really good atmosphere I’d prefer Kikuchi kabashi ferace Lon like any day of the week something struck me I watched Cody and AJ again after the da thing cuz I like my immediate feeling was that’s my WWE match of the year I felt so much for Cody specifically but I thought AJ had a really great night as well couldn’t really fault any of it to be honest and then Dave couldn’t either which I just didn’t see coming so I gave it another look he could because he gave it five out of seven that’s true yeah where are where are my maners we talked about this he has sort of shifted the rules finally hasn’t he in line with five means it’s one of the best matches of the year except it isn’t because he’s gone six or above on like four matches but you know I’ve no doubt that there’s other Heights Cody yet to scale I think this Logan Paul match could be great there’s going to be the rock down the line there’s obviously so much Cody can do on the second watch like when I wasn’t screaming along with him and I was just simply watching as he screamed and as he retained and all of that I was sort of thinking you you’re done now you can go back to be whenever you’re ready like this is perfect like there again like I said there will be other Heights but there was some that winning that title and having a match like that and just being not just winning it being that champion at least once does feel a little bit game completed for Cody now I just get like I’m excited to watch him enjoy completing the game and maybe he’s got new goals that we don’t know about and he wants to be the most financially lucrative superstar in WWE history you can’t do that in a month can you so he’s got longer to go but like I don’t know I just sort of felt like you and aw again one day feels more viable than it did when he hadn’t yet won the belt I will say so I haven’t really caught up on backlash I probably will at some point because I’ve heard that there were certain matches that were four and 34 stars and the like I will say that what what an absolute master plan it is to do I’ve talked before about L being deliberately boring on purpose so that SummerSlam will feel as big as it can Mania will feel as big as it can Survivor Series in the rumble will feel as big as it can an unbelievable promotional strategic Master stroke to do these complete B show filler cards in these ridiculously hyped Market because you because you kind of have to make it boring at times if there’s no offse you kind of have to have a fulla in season otherwise they’ be too much of a good thing it’s something wrestling has always always struggled with this is the best compromise ever I think it’s a master stroke in terms of promotion all credit to WWE for making boring stuff loud and I’m not being that phous when I say it um can you remember 2018 2017 2018 when the B shows going four and a half to 5 hours dead American Town stret out for the network backlash 2018 and the like it’s they were Town Killers though they you were reaching the point where he had the three-sided curtain shows the year later because of nights like that like stomping grounds like the Ziggler Seth Rollins IM man match beat stomping ground yeah this is so much better um and so another takeaway I have from uh backlash is I watched it this went well the aw’s [ __ ] in it [Laughter] if you can get Tanga low punch pal punch pal Mard like what the hell are you doing what are you doing to me I sell for this you can get him and have this clown say that he’s menacing on Smackdown I thought he was it’s that’s like it’s perception of it I’ve seen him wrestle like I have to I have to pretend within the like the laws of this spefic fiction that he’s like Jesus Christ they’ve got another dangerous guy I’ve seen him work there’s a chant when like one in every four matches no onebody counts Newcastle 20% of me loves that team when they are like three or four nil up or whatever do the chant JY boys taking the piss JY boys taking the piss while you passing it around for fun you’re toying with your opposition do Deford taking the piss do Deford take you’re taking the piss out of wrestling if like so you look at New Japan from what like 2012 onwards whatever glory and the decline is that picture and aw have signed aarda and Osprey aard and Osprey WWE get the gorillas of Destiny yeah and tangaloa oh don’t get us wrong and they’re winning but it’s broken man you can it’s broken they’re taking the piss let’s say right let’s say the bloodline by exerting dominance like set up their next match with it’s looking like it’s going to be Bobby Lashley the street profit right I’m not particularly fanasy booking these matches because I don’t want to see tangaloa attempt his 619 on Bobby Lashley and Bobby Lashley have to sell it like all that’s where all of this falls apart so you need something like the backlash opener like a Monumental bells and whistles achievement like uh tamatanga is already doing the fraking self Rock Bottom thing as a finisher bin that I know you can’t do the gunstone I get that bin it come up with something new because if you can fake it over these 5 minute matches like whatever you do don’t then blow it at the Finish like the the backlash tag a minor miracle but but was it was it not just great agenting was it not just great matchmaking is that what all this is supposed to be I’ll go along with the perceptions reality until Reality Bites I think it probably will but I’m like because I’m enjoying the the character development the plotting the latest solo and Paul Heyman thing I loved it proper like really like sort of going to direct the story for the next couple of months I’ll bu I’ll buy that a scary looking man is scary for now and then he throws a punch and then could go like pretty important you know what is right so the the shot the WWE shows you is of tangaloa pulling the referee out and he’s like oh him like I was expecting somebody I was expecting Jacob fatau but him fine but like well they’ve got an extra number if nothing else they’ve got an extra Soldier there when you see the other side and he’s got that tow he’s got the towel stuck on his head and he misses the referee and the ref has to bump himself oh yeah it’s Tanger lower but W don’t show you somebody’s phone camera do they show you that so again this is tongal now so different person fresh clean slate sorry I must yeah where my man Tong Tong Tong uh hi OG stem cell in the chats glad to see you back s um I spent an hour and a half in a 14,000 person queue for pre-sale SummerSlam tickets and didn’t get any $200 plus per ticket kiss my ass to see tongala Tong Paul Hyman oh my God my God I’m so scared of Tonga low 11,000 my 11,000 tickets in Fr and they broke the biggest gate ever or whatever it was this uh this T I know like I remember when the Takeover happened and they said some like some knowledgeable reporter said all ticket prices are going to go skyh high this is a UFC strategy it’s been that way for ages and it works so expect it WWE fans are now seeing it like this sellout thing not like the Hydro One not even being a sellout yet you would normally be like WWE fumbled the ball there they’re going to get however many more people are going to get in and then they’re going to just boast about the millions they’ve made from it there’s no fumbling going on like idiots didn’t get the like drip fell into a giant pool of money yeah trip fell off screw Ducks diving no like I it’s it’s the dire State of Affairs if you’re like like consumer basically like you can’t you can watch from home and have a great time but Mark offers consumer when people when the people are going when like getting excited I mean so it’s coming to Scotland loads of Scottish fans getting our own PL okay okay and then okay and they see those prices no and they have to say goodbye it’s cabber and day uh tactical penguin says ham now needs to do a bit to do a Stacks bit but as Gunther I don’t know why that’s it’s not a bit is it just just comes in just my living my life just comes in and has some fun he’s a referee now as well I’m not sure if you’ve seen this I did see this i’ see it good why would I do that I’ll catch up on a Tuesday night yeah yeah we’ll talk more about it tomorrow just made who has fun yeah um karic says could s elaborate on what he means by thatcherites when referring to a section of fans and is he one of their like and thoughts on a refreshed bloodline we sort of done the refresh bloodline side but yeah what are thatcherites thater are people who like Timothy Thatcher and it’s uh drawn from the thatcherites who were drawn to Margaret Thatcher yep and the same thing for the Timothy thatchers nothing ends Timothy thater it’s the people who uh I know just the the real graps crowd God it’s one of those I’ve got a thing about can I swear now yes grapple [ __ ] people that aites of grapple [ __ ] that really hard-nosed technical style where it’s like if you’ve got your own mom trapped in a hold in this really technically intricate you could still use your other hand to punch someone like it all looks fake and the people who are like oh well that’s too uh you know ostentatious that style the decision making it’s not like it’s all you could do anything in a wrestling match it’s all the beauty of it actually yeah yeah just it’s the it’s the the snobs and the thing is right I had this weird psychological uh Epiphany where on this podcast I will do ladies night and I will sing and I kind of have this bout of self-loathing afterwards and I will go I’ll do impressions of Elia dragonov Etc I feel like I willingly undergo a humiliation ritual on camera to send myself up because I would never want to be confused with one of these people yeah yeah if you had to pick see it I see it in myself I can be pretentious I can be snobby sometimes I can even be and I hate myself for it a little bit holier than that but I never want to be confus with one these uh Steve n capulus says when is what culture cooking starting I’d love to see Hamlet make a bread sandwich and the proper way to cereal I would love for my trash food takes to have a platform bigger than my Twitter and sidrick discust but we genuinely have like had a chat before about basically s teaching me to be a grown ass adult like in the kitchen uh we have a little mini kitchen downstairs don’t we so maybe we just need to get Mor on to seeing the vision it’s a microwave that’s yeah I just said a little mini kitchen uh go says strawberry Arrow by the way strawberry and chocolate that didn’t look good they should never meet together do you not like the ones quality straight and Roses strawberries no unless there is an a shoot strawberry covered in like melted chocolate disagree cuz then it’s predominantly fruit with chocolate what you want is chocolate with flavors of fruit s strawberry and chocolate just a horrible combination I understand that it’s not amazing like orange chocolate yeah same I’ve just got an aversion to strawberry flavored candies in general drink a strawberry soda like strawberry Fano I’ve got right you know my take on tomatoes where I hate a raw I hate a raw tomato but if you just cook it down or make something of it like a pasta sauce napi sauce pie sauce that kind of thing if you cook it I will eat it I have the opposite to a strawberry fresh wonderful okay maybe I’ll go to a [ __ ] but any strawberry flavored things are like disgusting to me so you’re never a dackery guy despite your love of cocktails no no know strawberry candy strawberry choc disgusting GOC say scar says punk punk Drew is the inverse of punk Rave instead of punk getting his hands on the heel you’re dreading the monster smashing your now fragile hero there of that that they absolutely should play with yeah was good stuff that one yeah really good stuff uh Marcel laet Marcel thanks for joining us as always uh it says hello from the number one dadly boy Super Fan uh to wilborne the ginger dad the elite dad and the FED dad enjoy the week when do you think Seth rollins’ music returns [Music] take [Music] [Applause] [Music] meing uh well never left my heart he looked pretty gooded at the end of the Wrestlemania match he had that look on his face of I’m out f a while yeah Rumble what’s the actual injury I’ll find out was it his knee again a doctor that’s going to give us no help whatsoever sorry Marcel is it his knee again he’s had bother with that in the past isn’t he miniscus I if you Seth Rollins you must have been looking at the ring and obviously you’re working so you’re selling the everything that happened at the end of it but there’s a lot of people in that ring that Cody could Feud with could keep busy with it’s not the worst thing being off TV I think if you Seth Rin giving people a break and coming back in right at the top like if you think about the last time he were just signed a new deal as well like you’re on this presumably better money than you on before you got complete Mark if isn’t yeah I’m sure he is you know he must be and he did a lot of favors for a lot of people at WrestleMania a lot um if he was to dispay for the rumble look like an airole if he was to dispay for the rumble right he could come back as either a baby face or a heel depending on what CM Punk’s doing at that point build a WrestleMania night one main event and having done nothing all year like when Cody when his when his tit fell off he would feel so special around Rumble season that him and punk special’s a bit far him and punk could pick right back up yeah and there’s like there’s a huge WrestleMania program from him Seth I’ve this is from melzer Seth I’ve heard not that long but it’s the KNE thing he’s just got to rest the knee up for a little while I said the knee thing me and Dave there you go he’s he’s missed that ACL it looks like which is the killer yeah that’s one he’s worried about stay gone a while it’s always good to take time off when you’re someone like Rollins who it’s always good to take time off when he’s someone like a wrestler yeah y uh just darl says late once again because I was enjoying the smackdown review which is available R podcast from of course um enjoying by the way Jax to beat Jade because Jade eliminated Jax at the rumble yeah again mind that if you’re GNA Dodge the Bianca match for the time being uh just says Adam what’s the next NXT PL and that would of course be NX s can you pass me there that would be uh wa NXT NXT Battleground you’re grounded battle grounded ding ding ding ding ding you’re a winner so that’s what you missed too hot man thanks to Callum for sending us that by the way indeed thanks to Callum and think how many more uh NXT there are in the typical calendar year please no who knows brought your own propped Halloween Havoc you started this sorry you brought your in prop two I’ve already forgotten what I just said I suddenly feel like pained like physically pained this time tomorrow we’ll be previewing NXT uhuh favorite part of the week um Mark Lee Willis thank you as always for joining us markk thank you um a Breathe new life into my viewing but is often left grasping towards the bar it set so high I’ve just read s’s aw article nods with approval what’s this you mentioned this on the Collision room yes um I’ve been trying to articulate my feelings on aw well since 2019 but like what like what what is it the why what’s your problem [Laughter] now so if you want to walk culture.com WWE Brew there I’ve written an editorial called the secret critical mistake aw keeps making and since 2022 between the jbcc outcast versus homegrown what are they doing to our aew let save the soul for the promotion and now they’re doing it with Team aw because Tony KH had a benevolent gift to save wrestling what’s the thanks he got there’s to be AWS to be constantly under attack and I think his paranoid mindset which is you know informed in my opinion but we’re not going to go over this it’s like almost uncon unconsciously yeah like filtered into the narrative and how he books and how he treats a as this fictional entity and I’m sick of it I’m absolutely sick of it um like the idea that aw is the stakes that the entity itself is worth fighting for more than I hate you or I really want that title um it’s just starting to wind us up a little bit and I’ve try to extrapolate that in editorial form again w culture.com WWE um swerve be Moxley in terms of Defending what that belt means cuz aw meant something different in 2020 what it means in 2024 it’s just I would rather that the wrestlers hated each other in interesting ways rather than defend because the point I made in the article and on the Collision review so I won’t labor on it too much is the idea that to watch aw now especially with how much this big umbrella program the elite versus Team aw is the big thing bigger than worth which is a problem in in and of itself is that if you’re the kind of fan I think you two definitely are I am to a degree of like I’m not as big on it as I used to be and I have pretty significant issues with how the creative goes with where the feeling is like you have to be like raw raw I’m team aw to get into the storytelling and if you’re not it comes off as cultish and eye rolling like you have to really believe in the cause because of the way the story lines are configured now and I don’t really believe in the cause as much as I used to so the pro the the effect for me isra don’t give a TOS fight in a in good programs and that’s what I like do you know what I mean I think yeah like you have to be properly I’m into it to buy into the stakes of the program one of the many differences one of the many differences between the attack on Kenny Oma and the attack on Tony KH is that there was other than you loads of obvious ones is there was Heavy heat on the attack on Kenny m because it was like the young books beating up their best mate who’s based who’s guts light in pieces based on nothing more than a bit of ego and they’ve gone a bit power mad whatever Tony khah that is very much more a direct hit on AW and yet it’s funny watching a billionaire getting knocked about and those like the Kenny Omega thing is rooted in a real friendship that we know of and don’t want to see a weird billionaire at that yeah like we don’t want to see the Jacksons go so mad up their own ass that they’re now prepared to just bat a Kenny Omega for it they can do what they like Tony can’t anytime they want yeah fine and Brian and FTR and Eddie Kingston aren’t really fighting keny from the hospitals battle they’re fighting Tony K’s from Jacksonville’s battle Yeah like he Kenny omega’s named them but they’re not like you did that to Kenny omega’s stomach how dare you they’re not they’ve not said that at all Tony KH calls the fight the way a the way Tony KH presents himself and aew is a sacred hallowed Turf in wrestling that saved it it must be protected at all costs against these cornies and these corrupted for es or whatever it’s proper if you think of it’s prob God complex stuff like how dare you corrupt or try to ruin what I have created it’s God complex stuff why this book a good title goodwi title and have people V for it it’s an overcorrection of all the years that W said itself was [ __ ] yeah remember the S like we’re going to fix the terrible product sack another GM because he’s useless this is an overcorrection brand is still the star ultim problem I’d rather just have wrestlers with characters and agencies fighting amongst themselves and I mean can you imagine right Bruce broy giv a toss where he worked no yeah or like certain wresters of your just like I must defend the honor of this Pro it’s a constant interpromotional battle but like it’s just like making up a guy who hates me you know what I mean like I just it’s winding me up uh final couple of questions before we wrap this up very quickly Josh K says s have you used the inverted method on the eror Press yet well I love this question very much right because for whatever reason when I first got my arrow pressed the seal felt a little it’s maybe it’s like a knack with how it would do it properly but sometimes where the seal would go diagonally and I would get a bit of the the I’m never going to survive here the extraction the shut the where it basically kept going too much through right and you’d get like a weaker cup of coffee as a result because he hadn’t got the maximum extraction but now I’ve just for whatever reason I’ve just got The Knack of how to perfectly do the aerrow press to the point where only a tiny amount of my liquid goes through I would ra you’re awesome sorry talking toid I’m talking to the viewer so now because there’s such a like insignificant amount of the water passes through the filter D’s write it off it’s nothing to me the problem with inverted is that I tried it once can you and there was an absolutely Monumental burned hand spillage I would rather avoid it all going tits up tits up to get the no water than to get like that much a tiny tiny amount so I’m basically tldr I’m afraid of the inverted method but if it goes tits up you you you’re going to get burned and you’re going to have a massive mess to makeup is there a knack to not messing it up that’s what I want to know that’s know in the comments Josh final question I’ll to talk coffee Francisco uh says good morning young ones how do you feel Nia Jax joining the bloodline to bring the women’s title to the family uh yeah why not like the bloodline haven’t crossed over into the women’s division yet and it’s been a staple of these triple stables for the most part that there’s there’s like the Judgment Day could say they ran WWE because they were winning belts in every division it’s not a bad look honestly it’s not you get the nice um Undisputed era kind of ruined it for a bit remember the expedition of gold or whatever it was like where the the prophecy was fulfilled oh yes but because like there wasn’t really that much to fight for now in WWE if you’re dominating across multiple divisions it is pretty cool so I like n Jax or somebody else joining for the bloodline to have some sort of skin in the game in the women’s division would probably um encourage better booking like it was talked about for years wasn’t it with Naomi in the East never got there we’ve realized s you can track you know we kind of say WWE kind of gets away with murder when it comes to the booking of the women’s division it’s like pretty shocking and they book one or two stories around the title Naomi and AJ Styles are in identical positions coming out of backlash lost title matches lost in the king queen the ring in the first round and you can track them exactly we who’s going to have a better summer is it going to be Naomi or is it going to be yolked in the mood suddenly AJ Styles who who’s going to have a better year I just can’t tell uh we’ll leave it there then um Josh go back to me I’m sure he will in due course not yet we’ll keep an eye out for that though Josh and if You’ got more questions apolog we can get to all of them we’re going to be doing a Q&A later on this week so keep an eye on X what culture WWE I’ll tell you afterwards Adam wilborne on X um but let us know your thoughts ahead of Raw tonight on X at what culture WWE watch you can follow all three of us you can follow Michael hanlet at Michael Hamlet you can follow Michael swick at M sidwick you can follow me at Adam wilbor follow us all at what culture WWE follow our brilliant producer at it’s Adam Nicholas and make sure you subscribe to what culture resting wherever you get your podcast from for daily wrestling podcast the smackdown and collision reviews are available right now and we’ll be back tomorrow to review Monday now ra very oh oh you idiot oh Xiao sexy ass thank you for reminding us uh I’ll just think of one off the top of my head what could it be tell me in while he’s doing that so it’s all dead air mhm tell me hlon five words or less why you love the Fed so much uh outfits Raw is war comedy the more of this there is the less you see what is it that’s this week’s R the more of this there is the less you see what is it the answer to that raw riddle will be revealed on the raw review tomorrow join us for that and of course the NXT preview coming your way tomorrow as well but for now this has been the Raw preview my thanks to Hamlet cidc thank you for joining us thanks again for all your questions for all your donations and just for joining us today and we will see you soon