WWE Now - Roman Reigns finds himself in another Tongan Death Grip | Raw Recap

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And I'll tell you this, I don't remember the last time we were in a situation that Roman Reigns was waiting around for two hours during the show. And Roman was furious. Did you see the video that came out on social of Roman? Oh, I saw it. Screaming at Adam Pearce. I mean, he lost his cool. Roman? Yes. Well, you should have. Can you imagine? I mean, everything is all choreographed perfectly. You get out of the SUV, you pull right up, you walk up to gorilla position. Not wasting any time. Right. The curtain starts, you go through the curtain, the music starts playing, the aura is there. And all of a sudden, who's there to tell you? You can't do it. Adam Pearce tells Roman Reigns, don't bother. Jacob Fatou's not here yet. Roman's got to wait. Bro. You need two signatures on that contract to make it official. Right. Unless you're doing it Brock Lesnar Oba Femi style, and that's not the spirit. No. Of what was going on. So, and we saw it throughout the night too. Roman Reigns, not like he left the building, went out to get like a snack or something, then I'll come back towards the end. No, no, no, no, no. He was in that office waiting around with sore jaw, Adam Pearce for the entire show. Not a lot of people can make Roman Reigns wait. No. And Jacob Fatou did it tonight, but we had a very compelling moment, a captivating moment, a singular moment that right now, it's not a moment. It's two ships crossing in the night, but there is so much more there. You had an audible reaction when you realized what was happening. Oh, I did. Roman Reigns in gorilla position stopped before he goes out through the curtain and who's right there face to face with him nose to nose, ready to go out himself, but his former shield teammate, Seth Freakin' Rollins. And we all go, oh boy, there it is. I just love these little, these little teasers. I mean, hella gasp. And you look at that and you look at that and you go, this is, this is what we, what we talk about when we talk about rivalries. And you talk, you know, there are those, those, those moments where you can see like just in this moment, those two sharing a screen together, the way they look at each other, the intensity, there is so much history being told with those two just staring each other down, realizing this is never going to be over. And it's certainly not over right now. And it's just in that moment. Nope. No words needed to be spoken. No, except Seth Rollins who said, you're in my way, which immediately made me pause and go in life. I know you go right back to Roman and Cody. There, there, there are, there are stories that are told in WWE and some of them are told for now and some of them are these, are these huge overarching stories that take place over the course of years. And Roman and Cody is that, but now with Roman and Cody on two separate brands, don't forget, last week, Seth Rollins is on television and he's saying, you know, one of the things that is Braun Breaker's fault is not just that Seth lost at WrestleMania, but Seth says it's Braun Breaker's fault that he lost the title without ever getting beaten and that Roman Reigns is now the champion. That World Heavyweight title is something that Seth Rollins identifies with himself, maybe more so than any other champion. He was the inaugural champion. He, I mean, that's his title. And he never lost it. And for him to not only have never lost it, but to now look at it back on Roman Reigns, who the last time there was a title on Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins had to suck up every bit of pride and do everything he could sacrifice his entire body to make sure that Roman Reigns lost that title to Cody Rhodes just to get it off of Roman, who it doesn't matter who went on, just to get it off of Roman. Now that same guy that he felt that strongly about getting the WWE championship off of, that same guy is holding the title that Seth considers has. And I feel like all of that is just in that moment with those eyes and you're in my way. It's one of those things, right? Roman and Seth, we talk about it. That's a match we'd want to see at some point. At every point. When do we get there? I don't know. But when you see them on the same screen at the same time, immediately injected into my veins, injected into my veins right now. Instantly. But there's so much going on as we head to backlash that once the show starts getting started, like we have that moment to start. And then you almost forget about it because there is so much going on outside of that with Seth Rollins and with Roman Reigns with Seth Rollins. And it happened instantly, right? Seth Rollins starts walking down the aisle to say whatever it is that he plans on saying, but he does not make it to the ring because Braun Breaker just shows up instantly. He's completely ambushed by Breaker. Tears him limb from limb. Jess, pillar to post, a beating gets put down on Seth Rollins. And then just when we think it's over, Braun Breaker jumps back in the ring, spears Seth Rollins and leaves him laying again. This is not the first time. I feel like every time that they get into it, Braun Breaker figures out another way to leave Seth Rollins absolutely laying. And again, ambushing him once again. It happened at WrestleMania. It happened last week on Raw. It happens again tonight. Seth Rollins is sneak attacked by Braun Breaker. Do you point that out to say that it's an asterisk? Meaning just because Braun Breaker has been this successful against Seth Rollins doesn't mean he's going to be this successful against Seth Rollins because when there's a match between the two of them, when you're at backlash, it's like there's no sneak attack. There's no ambush. But later on tonight, Seth Rollins got to ambush Braun Breaker. And how did it turn out? Not so good for Seth. So like we get into this, you know, there, I feel like there is so, there's a lot of complications right now in the vision. And I feel like leadership is splintered. And I feel like there's not a concentration. Nobody's paying attention to the children. And I say that with all due respect. Everybody, nobody's, everybody's paying attention to what's going on at the top of the food. Chain and nobody's paying attention to the fact that like Logan Paul and Austin Theory are just like emotional maniacs. Yeah. I mean, Paul Heeman was trying to look out for Logan Paul earlier and said, you know, you are, you are off your rocker and there is no way that you can put hands on Joe Hendry tonight because you will end up in jail. And how did Logan do with that advice? He didn't listen to it at all. No, he didn't listen to it at all. No, no, he just jumps in. We see Austin Theory versus Joe Hendry. Logan Paul just, you know, they were describing him on commentary as pacing around the ring like an animal. He was furious. And why is he furious? Because Joe Hendry said fire Logan Paul in a song melodically. Yeah. And Logan Paul says nobody can call for his firing. Well, I mean, anybody can say it. I mean, look, I don't think Joe Hendry has any jurisdiction over the board of directors. Like, I mean, I don't think so. You know, I don't know that he has that kind of power. Maybe maybe it's because Joe Hendry is new to the roster and Logan Paul. I mean, it is interesting that Logan Paul is in a position now where he feels like he's owed a certain degree of respect, which I don't mean to laugh when I say it. It sounds very disrespectful that I laugh when I say it. But the fact that Logan Paul has gone from celebrity wrestler who's trying to sell, you know, Who's been a full timer now for what, eight months? I don't know. I mean, that's a six to eight months. Yeah, something like that. But he claimed full timer way before he was a full timer. He did. You know, he did. But it's true. It's not about hydration stations anymore. It's about Logan Paul wanting to really do this. Showing up in Omaha. Yeah, he's showing up in Omaha, but everybody else shows up in Omaha. They don't get extra credit for it. It's raw. They're lucky to be on the show. Nobody's sitting there going, you don't say Joe. You don't look at Joe Hendry and go, gee, how amazing is it that Joe Hendry showed up in Omaha? He should show up in Omaha. Omaha is a great city. It is great. Right. And Logan Paul is a tag team champion. You know, he should be in Omaha. He should be on Monday night raw, whatever city it's in. So, you know, they're able, and then, I mean, look, it's a little obnoxious that Joe Hendry's like, I'm going to do a concert before my match. I've never seen a guy do a concert in trunks before. Warming up the Volcker courts. Yeah. Yeah. I don't know. I don't know if that's all that necessary. But I mean, I guess if you're, if you're, I didn't know the talent show. But if you're multi-talented, I guess you want to show them all off. Yeah. You're new. You want to make an impression. Do I have a, do I have time to sing a little before the match? They're like, yeah, I guess so. Yeah. I mean, what do you want to say? I was thinking of the Fire Logan Paul song again. Yeah, sure. Yeah. I probably liked it last time. They loved it. They loved it. Michael Cole, very into it. He said he's singing it in the shower. I didn't want that visual. It's so gross when he said that. I didn't want to think about that. It's disgusting. No. It really is gross. But of course, Logan Paul gets involved in the match. Now Logan Paul and Austin Theory using the numbers advantage. Here comes the street profits. They did indeed want the smoke. They jump in the ring to try to break things up. Street profits are now taking care of Austin Theory and Logan Paul. Here comes Seth Rollins. Oh, no, no, no. Here comes Braun Breaker. Yes. Braun Breaker first. Braun Breaker single-handedly takes out the street profits. Just an absolute animal. But that's where the ambush comes in, where Rollins is able to grab the ankle and pull Braun Breaker out and start, I mean, he starts to beat him down, but with all the chaos and all the bodies around there. Well, and I love that Seth came out too, because backstage earlier in the night, Jackie Redman caught up with him and he was like, I'm not dead yet. I know. And it was, yeah, it was the type of conversation where it's like, you really still doing this dude? Yeah. And he goes, no, I'm breathing. That's the problem. You left Aaron by lungs. Yeah. And Paul Heyman had gone backstage when he was talking to the whole vision, trying to tell Logan Paul, hey, listen, you cannot put your hands on Joe Hendry tonight because you will end up in jail. Braun, why are you even talking? Because Seth Rollins is still breathing. Right. Right. And if he's still breathing, he's a threat. And he's right again, but nobody's listening to him. Nobody's listening to poor Paul Heyman. He's sitting there trying to get his men in line. He's got no spot. However, once again, regardless of whether there was an ambush or not, Rollins ends up on the receiving end of a beating from Braun Breaker. He got distracted by the street profits. Yeah. Everything that was going on outside of the ring. He had Braun Breaker perfectly lined up for the stomp. Distraction turns his head for a moment. Spear. Should have known better. Should have known better. What's the, what do you mean distracted? Who are you? You know, this is the moment. Take it. And I mean, I think it's going to be different at backlash. You would think that there won't be all those people around, but also it's the vision. I bet Paul Heyman will be at ringside. Who knows where theory and Logan Paul are. I mean, Seth Rollins told the street profits afterwards, just stay out of my business and I'll stay out of yours, but it's all. It's everybody's business. It's all vision business. Yeah. The street profits want those championships. Yeah. So, I mean, we'll, we'll see what happens with, with, with Seth Rollins and the vision and Braun Breaker. I mean, it's, it's, it's going to be Braun Breaker is on a different level. At the moment where it's just like every time he hits the ring. And this is one of those things that they talk about, right? They talk about the fact that, that sometimes coming back from an injury, you take more precautions. You know what I mean? Like you're not quite the same. Yeah. A little hesitant. You're like, okay, these things can happen. It just happened. It's like, you realize you're not invincible. Look, when you get into a car accident, you're driving carefully. Right. When you get back behind the wheel, not Braun Breaker. No. No. He's balls to the wall. Reckless. I mean, just completely every bit of intensity, the veins popping in his neck, just every single thing. There's no, okay, let me save a little bit for later. You know what I mean? Everything is dialed up to 11. And that's just the, the, the space that he operates at. And that can be very, very effective. But when you have somebody like Rollins who, if there's air in his lungs, he's going to keep fighting. He's a threat. How do you stay that intense for a long enough period of time to actually put Seth Rollins down? Yeah. And deal with the psychological warfare. Of Rollins? Yes. Yeah. But I think Braun Breaker is impervious to psychological warfare. I'm starting to think that he may not be affected by mind games just because there's, there, I mean, look, you can't trick a brick wall into letting you get through. That's a good point. That's a good point. You know what I'm saying? That's not to say anything about Braun Breaker's, you know, mental fortitude. That's to say Braun Breaker is so strong and so fast that you could play whatever game of chess you want. He's kicking the board over, you know, and then what are you going to do? Pick up your Rook. Yeah. Like that's, that's where Braun Breaker is coming from. So, you know, but I said the same thing about kicking the chess board over when it came to Roman Reigns and Jacob Fatou. So when Roman and Jacob finally do make it out at the end of the show after Roman has been cold chilling in that arena all night long, you think he was pacing back and forth? Oh, I saw him now. The couch he was screaming at Adam Pierce is what he was doing. He was pissed for two hours at him. Every minute that he sat there on that couch waiting, he was taking it out on Adam Pierce. It was a tough night for Pierce. Listen, it was a tough time. We'll get into all of them. I know. You know we will. We have to. But once he got out there and it's, and it's really interesting because Roman was in this space where the respect was assumed where it's like you, you, you just go, Hey, I'm here to be acknowledged. And everybody goes, of course we're going to acknowledge you. You're Roman Reigns after everything acknowledged you on a Monday night raw. Would you allow us to? And the cousins are like, of course you're the tribal chief. You're Roman Reigns and Jacob is sitting there going, nah, it ain't that. Let me keep it 100. Right. And you're like, Oh gee. Now, and now Roman, and you heard him. He's back in that position where he feels disrespected. And that's the thing about Roman man. You could talk about mind games. You could talk about being in control. You could talk about the systems that he has in place, but the minute that he starts to feel disrespected, it's a wrap, dude. It is a wrap. And I want to talk about that. But first, before we get back to raw, what I really want to talk about is the main event happening in your own home. Okay. Look, life is basically WrestleMania every single day. That's true. Okay. A high stakes gauntlet where the responsibilities just keep coming. It feels like you're constantly making trade-offs between the things you have to do and the things you actually love. That's why we're celebrating those moments where you refuse to tap out. It's time for the minute-made juice break where we highlight those everyday wins that deserve a massive pop. And I'll tell you, this is a personal story, but I'll tell you, we were celebrating my father's birthday. Oh, so nice. The patriarch of the family. And my mom made all the, I mean, she's this baker, my mother is, you wouldn't believe it. And she lays out this whole plate of cupcakes. And, you know, I've been trying to eat a little better. You know what I mean? I've been trying to keep myself in shape. But of course, I'm sitting there going like, I got to have a cupcake. Mom made cupcakes. So I ate one. Oh my God. It would be disrespectful if you didn't. It would be. It's so good. So incredibly good. And I said, I still got an appetite, a cupcake. You know what I mean? And there's another one sitting right there on the plate. And I said, every part of me would love to eat that second cupcake. But you know what I did? I said, I'm not going to tap out on me trying to get things in shape. I'm not trying, I'm not going to tap out on this idea that I'm trying to be a little bit more responsible. I had a little something for the sweet tooth and I, and I'm not doing it. So you know what? And I considered it, I considered it a win. I went to bed at night and I said, you know what? The old me would have had the second cupcake, but this one just had the one. So I considered that. As big of you. I considered that a way, you know, it was tough, but, but between me and the cupcake, second cupcake, I'm the one that got the three count. That's good. Yeah. That's good. Cause beach season is right around the corner too. Right. Right. You know what I mean? I got to look good. You do. I look good for my wife. You do. You know, it's, I feel that. And for me, it was a little bit different, but also, you know, this weekend I was, I was out feeding the homeless as one does. And it was warm out this weekend. I don't know if you spend some time outside, but you're feeding the homeless. I was. Okay. Small sacrifice of a little bit of time, you know, that I could spend watching wrestling. I could spend training for the Olympic trials, don't need any kidneys. There was a number of them. Was that the soup kitchen? You put a hair net on and everything. You did. Had to. Okay. You know, luscious locks interfere with the food that I'm feeding the homeless with. But anyways, it was just a, you know, on a, on a beautiful day out there this past weekend, small trade-off had to spend the time inside of the soup kitchen, but just the smiles on people's faces was, was really the nice win. And it's all about finding that moment for yourself in the middle of the chaos where you serve others. That's not in the spirit of what we're talking about. I think it's a, I said a second cup game. Minute Maid and WWE are tag teaming your daily grind, bringing main event energy to life's everyday matches. Together, we're, we're turning the toughest rounds into moments worth cheering for. From the ring to real life, Minute Maid and WWE are here to help you bring the juice when the day tries to tap you out. Never tap out on taste. Never tap out on taste. Bring the juice. Bring the juice. Okay, whatever. I'm excited for beach season. I'll be at the soup kitchen. I won't be at the beach. But Roman Reigns, Roman Reigns comes, I've done that before by the way. I have. It wasn't this weekend, but I had, I did it before. I just didn't, I didn't bring it up. Roman Reigns is out there as Jacob Fethu hits the ring. And I mean, Jacob Fethu is in all his glory, you know, and Roman Reigns is talking to him about the disrespect. Roman says, there is respect to be had for me in this business. And Jacob Fethu is talking about what he looks to gain to put his family in the right spot. And Roman Reigns is explaining to him, you're talking about your seven kids. I'm talking about 107 kids. He's talking about higher education. I'm talking about generations of higher education. Roman Reigns is sitting here trying to set up. And this is why Roman gets so frustrated. And I get it. Roman Reigns has a bigger vision of setting things up for his entire family, for generations to come. And every time he tries to do this, somebody shows up thinking that he's just in it for himself, and that that person who shows up wants what Roman is getting based on the idea that it's just for Roman. And that's where Jacob Fethu finds himself. Who looks at Roman and says his plan is not just to take the championship, but to then once he's champion, squeeze every dollar and every cent out of this company the same way they've done to his family for years. And you audibly gasped when he said that. Because anybody who knows the history of that Samoan family in the professional wrestling industry, they all were massive stars. They all made a huge impact. They all carried their weight in the WWE. They didn't all end up like Roman Reigns financially speaking. They didn't all end up in a position where they could set everybody up. A lot of them at the end of the day had very little to show for it. And that's what Jacob sees. Roman is trying to change that for generations. Yeah, Roman said that he's the one who's holding the door open. And I mean, I would argue that that's 100% true. He held the door open for Zola. I would argue that that's 100% true. Who held the door open for Jacob. So if he brought you in, then I brought you in. And I was like, yeah, dude, yeah. But here's the thing. Jacob doesn't care who brought him in. He's here now. And he's taking it. And as far as Jacob's concerned, I brought me in. I think Jacob brought up Zola, sure. But that's only to say that Roman didn't do it. That Zola is the one who did it. But I think if you asked Jacob, how'd you get into the position that you're in? He would tell you, because I got me into the position that I'm in. And if you- I'd say, if I can keep it 100% with you? That's what he would say. That sounds like him. I thought I was hanging out with Us again. You wish. I wish. Yeah. But yeah, I mean, that's what it is, right? Jacob's like, no, no, no, no, no. I'm not thinking about generations and generations and generations right now. I'm trying to get me and my family right. I'm desperate to do anything for my household. I love that because Roman said he brought up the Tongan death grip. The Tongan death grip. Michael Cole had described it earlier in the night where you like squeeze where the Adam's apple is. Yeah. And I mean, this is a move perfected by Haku, who is, I mean, notoriously one of, if not the toughest wrestler to lace a pair of boots. And he didn't even wear boots. He'd wrestled in bare feet. Everybody who talks about Haku talking, has legendary stories about how absolutely insanely real life tough this guy was. And probably still is to this day. I wouldn't mess with him. But Roman talks about that Tongan death grip and how that's a move that's reserved for 3 a.m. at a bar when it's eight against one. Not for your family. Not for your family. And that's when Jacob pointed out. And he was like, I hear you. And Roman called him little cousin. Little cousin. Little cousin. That's not, Jacob doesn't want to hear that. Especially after last week, what he did to Roman Reigns. Right. You're going to call me little cousin. I'll leave you gasping for air again. And, and, and Jacob explaining, I know exactly what that move is. I know what the implications are. I know what it means. I did it on purpose. I did it for a reason. I did it because I am that desperate. Cause it is 3 a.m. And I am eight against one. And really the way Roman paints it. Listen, who's side of the Usos on? Roman Reigns' side. Is Roman Reigns on Jacob's side? No. No. Is Solisiko on Jacob's side? No. No. No. No. He said Jacob's a dead man on SmackDown. Is, is Talatanga, Tomatanga, these are, they're on Soliside. Jacob is looking at two fractions of this family. And instead of going like I'm leaning on one side or the other, he's got them all coming at him. Yeah. He's got Solis and Talas and he's got the Usos and Roman. Absolutely. And the Usos and Roman are not on the same side as Solis and Talas. And Tomatanga. Yes. I mean, there's tension between him and Solis, but I'm, they're still on the same side. He's still, you know, a week ago on SmackDown, Jacob still had to take out Toma. So I mean, you've got all aspects of this family coming at you. And that's where Jacob is right now because. So he's like, it is 3 a.m. in the bar. Right. And you got what I need. And I know you all are my family. That's right. But I'm desperate. I'm desperate. And that's when it, it, it breaks down. So, Jacob goes right for that Tongan death grip again. Roman fights it off, goes for it again. Roman fights it off when he finally kicked it in. I thought Adam Pearce was going to get punched in the face again. It's a get out of between the two of these two. Roman goes up for that Superman punch. Jacob catches him. And in this moment here, I'm so glad you guys got this picture. If you're watching on the YouTube version, this is exactly what I was thinking of. Because there was in this moment at the very end of the show, when he has Roman locked in on this Tongan death grip, you can see that Roman knows that it's locked in. You can almost feel the life escaping out of Roman Reigns' body through his eyes. He's looking at Adam Pearce going, you have to do something here. And this is not a solo Sikowa. I mean, this is not a Jacob Fatou that sneak attacking people. This is the same Jacob Fatou that you're going to get and a backlash. He's doing it while looking at his cousin in the eyes. He's doing it while looking up in the sky at his cousin who's about to Superman punch him. Ah, Tongan death grip. And that's when Roman is looking at Adam Pearce going, you got to do something about this. This is not what I expected. This is not what I'm here for. Jacob is bringing every ounce that one could bring to Roman Reigns. And it is beyond compelling to me. I mean, if this is what he's bringing during the contract signing, is this is what he brought last week, Jacob has proved that he's not afraid to go there. This is what desperate times call for desperate measures. Absolutely. That's why they say it. And Jacob is looking to take everything that Roman has. I mean, look, he put it, he slams him down on the table. He leaves him laying. He's the one once again, two weeks in a row standing over Roman Reigns. Very interesting to me that there were no usos in that ring. Makes me wonder what this main event is going to look like at backlash. Is this going to be a larger bloodline affair? Or is this going to be more like WrestleMania where Roman is handling his business by himself? I hope it's the latter. Well, he said, I mean, clearly things are different with the usos. They're on Roman side, but Roman says, you know, no, this isn't about, they're not doing business the way they were doing it before. The systems that Roman has in place are not the same systems that he had before. This is a different Roman Reigns. But neither version of Roman Reigns, the old one or this one, ever really had to deal with this Jacob Fatou. Because that desperation is kicking in and you can feel it. And whether that happens from being locked up, whether that happens from spending 12 years on the independence. And look, Roman brought up the fact that he did have to fight. He did have to fight for everything that he had in the WWE. And he was in the WWE for more than 12 years. But it's a little different when you're fighting, when you are fighting for the top spot in the WWE, you're not worried about food being on the table. You're still, you know, the bills are still paid while you're fighting for the top spot. Jacob was starting with figuring out how to get the bills paid. Because how to get food on the table. Because he went from. EBT to WWE. It's a different deal. It is. It's a different deal. And I'm interested to see how it all plays out. By the way, you never know, Megan, when the Viper is going to strike. So you got to make sure that you're always ready to show your support. With Randy Orton's newest t-shirt, RKO everybody. You can get yours now at WWE shop and fanatics. And while you're there, bow before it says in the copy the self-proclaimed, but I'm taking it out. The king of the luchadors show that you feel Dominic Mysterio should be sitting on the throne of sports entertainment by snagging his newest t available now at WWE shop and fanatics. What a gorgeous t-shirt that is. What an incredible t-shirt that is. Get it right now. Now to help us break down even more from what happened on Monday Night Raw. We have a special guest I'd like to bring in now to the raw recap. Of course, the one and the only big E is here to help us break it all down. What's going on E? Not too much. Not too much. Excited to talk some Monday night raw. Well, this is, this is your, I'm glad you're here because Megan's going to be real difficult to deal with in this segment. I can feel it because we had a big, we were just talking about the contract signing between Roman Reigns and Jacob Fettu. But we had another contract signing tonight live on Monday Night Raw. So Ruka officially signs with the Monday Night Raw brand. Now, before we get into the absurd chicanery that existed within this segment, are we excited to see So Ruka on Raw E? My God, absolutely. This woman is so electric. Her offense is so unique. She is just one of what just honestly, as far as I catching superstars, one of my favorite, I honestly, I'm going to save all time. She is a joy to watch. She is so unique and different. I love just the way she carries herself. I think it's different from the rest of the roster. I think she's going to make a big splash in WWE. And I think, you know, her starting off with Becky was not what I expected. But it's such it's going to be such a fun feud. So I am really, really excited to see where this goes. And also on the Becky Lynch of it, I kind of love this role that Becky's been in as of late, the new women, the the talented women coming in, like her stuff with Lyra. I thought really elevated Lyra. And I expect the same with the feud with with soul as well. Some people think that like she goes, Oh, there's a big buzzed about superstar. Let me try to steal a bunch of this spotlight. Anybody has been saying that spotlight stealing Becky Lynch has put a lot of people on Twitter. No, I only heard one person say that. Who is my gold coleslaw? Why do they call him that? Nobody likes coleslaw. Oh, it's true though. Nobody likes. It's true about nobody like it. Coleslaw is not even spotlight stealing Becky. You don't think so? It doesn't even really roll off the tongue. It was like spotlight stealing soul. Boom. Rolls off the tongue. That's soul spotlight to begin with. What was just saying? Spotlight stealing Becky doesn't roll off spotlight stealing Sam. There we go. I couldn't steal a spotlight if I tried, but but yes, I'm actually with you. I was surprised when when Becky's music hits and and and she comes out claiming that this time was reserved for her championship winning celebration, which would be, I mean, I guess, I mean, you've been a champion before. If there was time reserved for you to have a celebration of your title and yet somebody else is using that time to announce that they're a new signee, you would probably be unhappy about it, I suppose. Sure, but I, I don't want to upset you, Megan, but I don't know if I believe every word that came out of Becky Lynch's mouth. All right. I think we were here for soul. We're excited for soul. The contract signing was, I believe was teased. Not just tonight. We knew this was coming last week. Yeah. Yes, it was last week. I believe so. We're confirming that. But yes, so I can understand if Becky was upset, but for some reason I doubt her story is veracity. It's a little off for me or maybe the locker room leader that Becky Lynch is and is known to be. She's just coming out to, to give a warm welcome to a young, new upstart in WWE. Well, she clearly did not say she was doing that. She clearly said she was coming out to celebrate her title win and was taking umbridge with the fact that. Well, she's the greatest intercontinental champion of all time. I mean, I don't know about all that, but regardless, it wouldn't, it wouldn't matter if you're the great, even if she were the greatest intercontinental champion of all time. I don't see how you could just decide. I would like to have this segment for myself. You know, there's something else already happening and then she comes out and she, and she, what she made, she starts us, you know, yelling about Sol Ruka and she shouldn't be here and everything. What did you feel about Sol Ruka calling Becky Lynch a rude, big headed and well, and then said the B word. You know, I just kids these days, they don't respect greatness. Kids these days. Oh, ever since you had a kid, you changed. I mean, you think about it. Megan went full boomer after she had a baby. You think about it and all that Becky Lynch has accomplished night one on Raw or night two. I mean, night one, she stepped up to live Morgan night two when she's signing her contract. She just decides to throw the B word around to a legend. I mean, I don't think that is exactly the best way to make a first impression when you're dealing with history makers in this industry. But I don't know. I've, I've, I'm not a history maker in this industry. Big E you have experience doing that. Is this the way to, to step up to one of the locker room leaders? What keeps it locker room leader? Well, here's the thing. Would you like to see Sol come in and bow and say, I'm so sorry, Becky, I'll leave now. Is that someone you can get behind as a fan? Is that someone that you're excited to see? No, you want to see Sol assert herself, assert her position. She is here not just to, to get along, to shake hands, to, to bow in the presence of greatness. If she wants to be great, she's got to challenge the greatest and Becky is as great as she claims to be. She's as great as you, Megan, you claim to be, you claim her to be every single week. But I think for, you know, Ric Flair famously said to be the man, you got to beat the man. And that's what Sol's trying to do. She is trying to beat the man. No, in Megan, by Megan's logic, she would have preferred if John Flair, she would have preferred if John Cena had come out in 2002 on SmackDown. And when Kurt Angle said, who do you think you are? John Cena said, no good point, Kurt. I better head to the back. You're an Olympic hero. I'll let you have your time. Kids these days, you know. You're right. The last thing you want out of a wrestler is aggression and wanting to go for it. That's why Oba Femi. I would just like people to show respect. No, you're right. Oba Femi has gone absolutely nowhere. Because he's too aggressive. He's too aggressive. That's right. Yeah. Yeah. Do you worry at all? I mean, you know, Becky got so flustered that in this melee of sorts, all Sol Roocke had to do is step aside and Becky Lynch punched Adam Pierce in the face. It was a tough night for Adam Pierce. It was a tough night. But you know, there's been a lot of corruption in WWE that he hasn't exactly handled in the best way. I mean, your guy fell victim to some of that corruption tonight. Dominate Mysterio at Uncanny Star. Yeah, I know. That wasn't good. With the corruption with Jessica Carr, corrupt Carr. So, you know, Adam Pierce has had his back against the wall. I mean, I was just watching a video on social media. Becky was explaining that, you know, she didn't mean to, she just sometimes underestimates her strength. And that's tough, you know? I mean, I can't personally imagine, but... It's like for you, you're like, you think you're just going to the grocery store, you don't realize you're running very fast. That's right. Because you underestimate your speed. I was like, oh, that one was 5.57 again. Oh, it's like qualified for the Olympic trials. Look at me. Oh, look at that. Yeah, I know, I get that. Yeah, I mean, I can't imagine it with the strength, but it's tough. Right. So you're the plight of Becky Lynch, who wasn't even invited to be a part of the segment. She could have just not come out and everything would have been fine. I would have missed her. Okay. Okay. I understand. What about the fact that she ate a soul snatcher? I mean, she left that, I mean, at the end of that segment, she was laid out flat face first. Look, the soul snatcher is a cool move. All right. Whoa. It's a cool move. Even when Becky's on the receiving end of it? Not as cool. Would you say that was the least cool soul snatcher that you've seen? Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Yes. Yeah. E, were you okay with it? That is how you make a statement. And honestly, one of the most electric entertaining finishers in all of WWE. That's how you make a statement. So I'm excited for people. I feel like our fan base is already getting used to soul. And I think the more you get to see soul and her athleticism and the things she can do in the ring, she's going to win over fans across the country, across the globe every single week. And I also think to your point, E and Becky's involvement in this, the idea of a story surrounding Sol Ruka and Becky Lynch, it's going to give Sol the opportunity to show the audience what she does beyond cool moves. You're going to have Becky in your face talking to you. There's going to be a war of words. You're going to have to show wit. You're going to have to show personality. And I mean, look, Becky is for all of her flaws, a very, very strong force both in the ring and on the microphone. And that's the force that you have to kind of measure up to when you're in there. And I think that if you're good enough, and I think Sol is, it gives you the opportunity to show the audience all sides of yourself. I mean, Sam, you and I sat down with Sol Ruka, the raw after WrestleMania. And that was when she stepped up to live Morgan. And it was like from a fan reaction standpoint, as soon as she walked out, the entire crowd in Las Vegas responded to Sol Ruka. She grabs the microphone. She cuts a promo on live Morgan just completely nailed it. And then she has this incredible match that ultimately Zarya got involved with, but it was just like, check, check and check. Yeah. Yeah. She's it. Although I will say that on that weekend, we did get the opportunity to interview both both Sol Ruka and Becky Lynch a couple of days before. And Sol, I mean, it was just such a much more pleasant conversation. Becky is just, I mean, she's just nasty, you know, not pleasant. I had a great time talking about you. You did. Yeah. Okay. All right. Well, I guess we differ in that opinion. I think that the three of us can all agree on one thing. This oba femi open challenge rules. Like this is awesome. The idea that like at first I wasn't, look, I'll be 100% honest. You're going to keep it 100% with us? I will in honor of Jacob Fethu. I'm going to, I wasn't looking forward to Tizawa being in there. God bless Tizawa. And I love the power of Tizawa, but like, I don't need to see oba femi throwing Tizawa around the ring. I already know oba femi can throw Tizawa around the ring. Like I feel like we're past that with oba femi. Like I was really looking forward to this open challenge being about like showing oba femi in the ring with different types of wrestlers and how he takes on this onslaught and that onslaught and why he's not, you know, people, you know, God bless Goldberg. But like, and people will compare oba femi and Goldberg because of that streak, because of how hot Goldberg got so quick, because of how much he resonated with fans, but Goldberg's matches by design all look the same. And that was, worked for Goldberg and that was great for Goldberg. I don't think that's oba. I don't think people realize how skilled and varied oba femi is. And that's what I was really looking forward to with the beginning of the oba femi open challenge. So the idea that it ends up being Otis, I go, okay, now we're talking. And man, I swear, when he put Otis up on that second rope, I thought even oba, I said, okay, that'll be a great opportunity for him to just kind of scoop and then allow momentum to go down into the finish, you know, just allow momentum to hit the fall from grace. Dude, when he is holding Otis up and starts walking forward to the center of the ring and you could just tell in his body and his confidence, he realizes that he has it and then just nails it. I mean, what a sight. He is one of those wrestlers that feels like he's made it from a lab. Like truly. And that's a lot of Otis grundle to have in your face too. That's a lot of undercarriage. That's right. You know what I mean? This is why it's good to have your perspective on here because I've never, I've never had to deal with that kind of grundle before. I just sit here and talk about it. So the idea that you would know, like, you know, it's a lot. I've shared the ring with him. It is a whole lot of undercarriage, but no, you're right. And also, let's not forget maybe one, that might be the greatest running uppercut I've ever seen in a WWE ring. I'm telling you, it is not just this man's strength. It is his speed, his agility. Like this man moves like guys who are 200 pounds lighter than he is. It is truly incredible. It's mind blowing the things that he can do, but what an incredible performance. And I felt much the same. I also, let's leave the Goldbergs planter aside. Goldberg catching straight for no real reason at all. I would address that. But I will say, man, I also didn't want to see Tizawa be killed either. I love me some Tizawa. I wish we got to see him in the ring more. But as soon as I owe this step forward, I said, oh, okay, I'm excited for this. And seeing those two, seeing what they did, man, I'm telling you, Oba is just made of something different. I think him having the match at WrestleMania with Brock was so fitting in so many different ways. It's because I think we haven't really seen anything like this since 02, since Brock first came in. And I also think that same like uncanny blend of strength, speed, athleticism, not just, he's not a big plotting dude by any means. The same way where we couldn't understand how Brock moved as fast as he did, how he was able to scoop guys up like they were 150 pounds lighter than they actually were. I see that in Oba. Even the pizza toss, he did the Otis. No struggle at all. And Otis is truly one of the most dense human beings you will ever come across. You see a big guy, I'm telling you, it's not just puffy and soft. It's a ton of muscle. This dude trained at the Olympic grounds for wrestling, trained with some of the best. People see Otis and they say he's fun. This dude is legitimately one of the strongest human beings you will ever meet as well. And to see Oba just toy with him, truly, truly incredible. I hope we all, I know we understand how beloved Oba is, how much the crowd is behind him. But I hope we also understand you're not getting an athlete like this to come around very often. I hope we can understand this is a different kind of unique and special. And I've been around some of the biggest, strongest men in the world. Like this guy is in his own tier. He really is. And it feels like he is just scratching the surface for what he can do in WWE. Yeah. And I think too, the thing that makes him different is from all of that is even with the Brock comparison, Brock was such a freak athlete that it was almost like the industry shifted around him. Oba has all those qualities, but still is when he is cutting a promo, when he's doing an interview, when he's showing up in a suit and tie, he's got that face of the company energy. Like that to me is very scary. When you're able to be an athlete on that level, strong on that level, like resonate on that level, like have all of that and then also be able to hold yourself up and communicate in this space where it's like, that guy can also walk into any room and charm anyone that he wants to. I mean, it is, you talk about lab grown, that's what you've got. No, absolutely. And even man, even just that moment, I think what would also make some special is the way he's able to connect with the crowd. I think for someone who is so new into his main roster run is really impeccable because even just the moment where he's kind of pantomiming the pop-up and he's looking at Otis, even that, like I love that you get to see him think out loud. Us as fans, we get to understand, oh, I'm not just going to run to the next move and get my business done and get out of here. I think that allows fans to feel even more connection with him because you understand not only is he a special athlete, but he's got this rare charisma as well. He's truly a one of one. I don't see him and think, oh, he's a cookie cutter version of this former superstar, of that former superstar. I'm sure he is borrowed from a lot of the other greats before him. But even just that moment, I loved of kind of seeing that twinkle in his eye of trying to figure out how am I going to slice this pie? How am I going to figure out how to get this man up into my power bomb? And like that moment too, just showed me he gets it on so many different levels. Like that time a few Mondays ago before WrestleMania, we saw him cut that incredible promo on Brock. We're like, oh, oh, he's not wilting in this moment. Oh, he's got it. He can cut a fire promo too. You don't see any nerves. I really think of all the talent that's come up that we're excited about. We could talk about so many of these superstars, but when you talk about someone who checks every box right now, that's obfuscame for me. Yeah. Yeah. And I think too, like that moment where he's like, you're kind of following him as he's figuring out how to get Otis into the position that he needs to get him in. Now we're following along the story of this was an open challenge. He's unprepared for Otis. He has to sit there now and think, okay, how am I going to do this? And we go along like it's just, it's able to convey this story that we're all on board with. And in a weird way, like very, very, very few people can ever relate to the strength, power, athleticism, size, speed of someone like obfuscame. But in that moment when you watch him think this through, he almost becomes relatable because it's like, how do you, I solve this problem that is the open challenge that is this dense man of Otis. And then when he's able to solve it, we all rejoice with him. Right. It's not exactly Dominic Mysterio charisma, but it's still great. It's still the point is it's a compliment. Oh, stop. Well, I got to talk to you guys about fanatic slam by top stepping the fallout of WrestleMania with the WWE slam backlash box featuring a dynamic mix of base cars and premium hits. This release captures the intensity rivalries and momentum shifts that shape WWE's next chapter. Chase must have signature and dual signature cars from top talent alongside visually striking tilt cards that bring the action to life. Look for exclusive inserts like the Tampa takeover and aftershock highlighting superstars that left a lasting impact in the wake of WrestleMania. And be sure to join the slam backlash watch party on Saturday, May 9 at 6 30pm Eastern time where users can follow every moment of backlash live while collecting free packs, coins and profile avatars as one of WWE's most explosive rivalries unfolds. WWE slam by tops download now. And you know, since you brought him up speaking of Dominic Mysterio. Big night for the judgment day. Bro, however you want to get there. You could say we got there this way we got there that way. JD McDonough pinned and defeated Finn Balor tonight. That is a massive win for judgment day. A massive win for JD McDonough. A big win for loyalty as well. Within the judgment. Yeah. That's right. A lot of haters. We're running around talking about oh judgment day falling apart. Baba. Roxanne Perez is on the good guys team again. Letting the judgment day. No. Okay. And he hit somebody with a hammer. I'll hit somebody with a hammer. But JD McDonough. I don't think anybody walked in. You could almost feel it in the audience like there was an expectation. We're getting this rematch between JD McDonough and Finn Balor because it was so good the first time. But obviously, Finn Balor is going to win this match. No, no, no. JD McDonough walks out with the dub. Big. Big for JD. Absolutely is. And I think and I'm glad we're getting we're putting some more respect on JD's name. Truly, he's one of those guys who we see him backstage with the judgment day. We see him interfering often, but he's not really given the spotlight that often to be able to have singles matches. But man, like let's put all the judgment day run ins and back stages and clubhouse. Let's put all that aside and let's just talk about this man's ability. Truly one of our best in ring workers across the board. This guy can absolutely go and he's also someone who just takes. I think he takes more risks than anyone else as well. I remember him nearly dying, hitting that announce table, but like that hasn't stopped him. That it seemingly he's only up the ante on the risks as well. So we can talk a lot about the judgment day and how big this was for them and the group dynamics. But I just I feel like we don't get to spend enough time actually talking about JD and his in ring ability. And he is a joy to watch as a wrestler worker to worker. He's he's got it, man. He's just got it. I couldn't agree with you more, Biggie. And one of my favorite matches at WrestleMania actually was that that ladder match and JD McDonough taking the Mexican destroyer off the ladder. I mean, that was a highlight for me. And you talk about people doing insane things with their body. That's exactly what we see from JD each and every time he's in the ring. Were you surprised to find out that Roxanne Perez is still on the good guys team? Yes, I figured I was surprised. I figured you'd be surprised. I was surprised because we all remember how Roxanne Perez was brought into the judgment day. There was a lot of conversations. I was going to say canoodling, but I think canoodling may be taking it a bit too far. So I'll say there were a lot of conversations between Roxanne Perez and Finn Balor. It seemed like there was established relationship there. There was the time where Roxanne Perez was presenting Dominic Mysterio with some chicken nuggets when Liv Morgan. Nuggets when Liv Morgan wasn't there. And then obviously last week, nuggets or Tendies? I think they were nuggets. I just want to double check. I think they were nugs. Because if so, that's not really Dom's preference. Okay. He likes the Tendies. He likes Tendies more. Okay. Well, which he, because he's an adult. Sure. Nuggets are a little more of a kids thing. It's still good. Still good. You'll take them. I love nuggets, but like Tendies, that's kind of where it's at. Dip it in a little ranch. But then we see Liv Morgan calling out Roxanne Perez. And it's like, why am I figuring out what is happening in the judgment day clubhouse by watching Netflix? She watches the product. She does. Very important to watch the product. You have to watch the product. That's how you know what's going on in the judgment day. And she makes Roxanne Perez promise her that she's part of the family and that none of this, no more secrets. Right. No more secrets. And when Roxanne Perez walked out to the ring by herself, she had a little bit of a weird look on her face. You don't trust people. Did you trust her? Of course it's judgment day. It's family. When she walked out there by herself without Liv Morgan, without Raquel Rodriguez, without Dominic Mysterio, you thought, oh, she's just... I said the judgment day probably has another plan. I don't want to everywhere with my family, but we all end up in the same spot. I don't know. There was a different look in Roxanne Perez's eyes tonight. Well, we found out that they are indeed family when she hit Finn Balor with a hammer. There's canoodling. That's a... I said canoodling was taking a little bit too far. There were interactions. Interactions. Interactions. Look. Conversation. Here's the thing. Yeah, Finn Balor brought Roxanne Perez into the judgment day, but the judgment day took Finn Balor out of the judgment day. So the question is, was Roxanne Perez a Finn Balor person or a judgment day person? You got to be a judgment day person. This is one of the most incredible factions ever existed. You got to sign with the winners, right? Well, no, you sign with your family. That's a very pessimistic way of looking at things, Megan. Big E, were you surprised? No, because... Of course not. Of course not. He's not in here. I think Roxanne, look, for her to leave the judgment day to turn on the judgment day, she's kind of outnumbered right now. Even just with Raquel, with Liv, I saw... Obviously, we got to see her stand tall with the judgment day at the end, but I don't think this thing is over. I think, in my mind, I think we might be seeing Roxanne waiting for the right moment to jump ship. I don't see someone who was happy, who was loving her time in the judgment day, but right now you turn on the judgment day and you got a lot of problems. Timing is everything, you know? It is. It absolutely is. And maybe if Finn gets some more help, maybe if there are more allies for her to be in her corner. But I don't think right now is the right time. And I think her career, she's so, so talented. But I think her career has been buoyed by being in the judgment. I think that's kind of... That's really irrefutable. She really is definitely... She's improved her status, the ability to have title matches. Her place on the card is absolutely improved by being in the judgment day. But I also think she's a star who can stand on her own, but right now is not the right time because she'd have some hell to pay. You think she could beat Liv Morgan? Absolutely. What? I'm not saying she will, but she's got the ability and talent, absolutely. And who knows Liv better than Roxanne? She spent a lot of time around Liv. She knows her strengths. She knows her weaknesses. You know, besides Dominic aside. You know what I'm saying? I mean, she's one of the few people that knows Liv Morgan really, really well. And when you have someone that close to you, they can be your greatest ally, but they can also be your biggest enemy. Is there any possibility to that too? It's like, oh, like part of the judgment day, it's like we get to chill with Dominic. And it's like, if I were to leave the judgment day, I'm not really even... I'm not really going to be chilling with Dominic anymore. I'm probably not going to leave the judgment day. You think that that could be it? I don't know the locker rooms like you do, E. Right, right. I'm sure that's a... That is a massive factor. He's a very charismatic man in his own way. Super cool dude. So having to say goodbye to that forever, I'm sure would be devastating. Okay. All right. So we are on the same page. That's what I thought. That's what I figured. Well, look, I mean, one more thing. One more thing. We should mention the fact that we got a very contentious face to face between E.O. and Asuka tonight that ended with E.O. getting misted. Obviously, Asuka taking Umbridge disappointed with who was once her mentee while her once mentee is looking at Asuka going, I mean, that's a classic story, right? The two of them wondering which one of them changed, you know, and seeing it from their perspective. And I mean, that's what happens, I guess. Perspectives change. I don't think any of that's going to matter. You know, once they're in the ring, I think it's just simply going to be about who's the better wrestler on Saturday night. Yeah. I mean, obviously they're bringing in a lot of baggage and a lot of history, but I think you're right. It is just truly going to be about who is the best in the ring. And my wife to be made a great point. She said, well, now E.O. is pregnant after she got misted. Now she's pregnant. And I think that's how that works. Wow. Because we have a long line of women who've been misted. And then stood toe to toe with Asuka and then a baby comes soon. Oh, wow. So let's watch. Let's just keep an eye on that. It's just a theory. But I'm really excited about this match. I believe I haven't verified this, but I saw something online where someone said this is going to be the first time in a singles match that two Japanese wrestlers have gone, you know, face to face in a singles match. I haven't looked it up, but I know if I don't recall a time. But I'm excited about that. And these two, I think are going to absolutely kill it. Asuka is someone who has just not lost a step at all. We've seen her a lot in back stages and tag team matches, but we haven't seen her in a ton of singles matches. But when we do, as of late, my God, the way this woman is truly timeless, truly one of the most slept on, most underrated talent we have. And which is crazy to say because she is a legend. She is, she is E.O. Senpai. She is someone who I think has really shaped wrestling, not just in Japan, women's wrestling in particular, but has also shaped it in WWE and in the United States. She is just someone who I think has it. And seeing her focus, seeing how locked in she was during that sit down with E.O. I hope E.O. has her mind right. I hope she's not worried about, you know, their history. I hope she's focused because she's also truly one of our greatest performers. A male or female does not matter. So I think these two are going to put on an absolute classic, but there is a ton of history and Asuka has been a pioneer. She has been a mentor, but you have to put all that to the side. You can't think about someone's legacy, how much they mean to you. When that bell rings, that has to stay out there because Asuka is still incredibly dangerous. You have to worry about the mist. You have to worry about that spinning back fist. Her offense is so crisp, comes out of nowhere, is so fast. So that's the Asuka that E.O. is going to have to deal with on Saturday. And I get it, you know, when you mentor somebody and they just end up, you know, disappointing you, it can be really, really tough. But, you know, not as tough as not being over the excitement of WrestleMania and Fanatics Casino has a way for you to harness that action. No matter where you are, WrestleMania Road to Gold is the most star-studded casino game ever and is the latest in the series of WWE themed games exclusively available at Fanatics Casino. The exclusive game features 20 WWE stars from the WrestleMania 42 stage like Liv Morgan, Drew McIntyre, Randy Orton, Rhea Ripley, Cody Rhodes and many more. To top it off, the bonus pack game is voiced by the iconic man himself, Michael Cole. Play WrestleMania Road to Gold and five other WWE casino games anytime you please, only a Fanatics Casino must be 21 or older. Gambling problem, call 1-800-Gambler, not available in all states. Terms apply, see Fanatics Casino app. Fanatics Casino loves Kolesla. They love Kolesla. Big Kolesla fans. They said in the booth, they were like, a lot of the producers like Kolesla and I was like, yeah, they're figures. Nobody likes Kolesla. No, I know. E, do you like Kolesla? Be honest. I don't despise Kolesla. Come on, Doug. But you can take that off my plate at any moment. There's never been a time where I've yearned for Kolesla or missed Kolesla. We don't need it. I mean, I can't imagine. You know, you go to Raising Canes, you go, no Sla, double Texas toast. Can you imagine somebody behind you going like, can I have your Kolesla? Like, oh, what are we? Double Sla, hold the toast. Yeah. Oh, are you a psycho? No, no. Well, listen, we've got a lot to discuss when it comes to backlash. So I say we meet again, the three of us, break down this card later in the week. Biggie, it is always a pleasure chopping it up with you. Thank you for joining us here on the Raw Recap for Megan Morant. I am Sam Roberts. Make sure you're subscribed. We will see you later this week for the Backlash preview show here on WWE Now.