WWE Now - Becky Lynch sets her sights on a returning AJ Lee | Raw Recap

Rhea Ripley and LA Knight have qualified for the Elimination Chamber. AJ Lee is back. Finn Balor and CM Punk have a world title match coming up. Natty is on the show. Paul Heyman keeps playing FAFO. This is the Raw Recap on WWE Now. A WWE and Fanatics original production. Oh, baby, this is what it's all about. The road to WrestleMania as we start filling up the Elimination Chamber. There it is. Point to it. Point to the sign, baby. 68 days. That's right. Now, pointing to it does not mean that we are declaring for the Elimination Chamber. It means that we're going to also be talking about everything going on on the road to WrestleMania. and we certainly had a lot of that tonight. Yes, qualifying matches are happening. It's really the season. Tis the season. Tis the season indeed. I mean, it's my favorite season. And we're going to talk about AJ Lee. We're going to talk about CM Punk. We're going to talk about Finn Balor. But let's start with the vision because first of all, we get breaking news to start Monday Night Raw, which is the internet rumors are true. Braun Breaker had surgery, which Paul Heyman described as the type of surgery that could end a mere mortal's career. Luckily, Bron Breaker is no mere mortal, but... He blamed Adam Pearce for this entire situation, said he got Bron so upset that Bron Breaker went lifting. I mean, look, listen, in order to function in society, I think it's better that Bron Breaker gets upset and goes lifting than does something else. Because if he's not lifting, he'll be destroying something or someone. Now, this wasn't just a typical laparoscopic surgery. that fixes. He wanted to say the word. Laparoscopic. Heyman said it. He did. He's also a great orator. But yeah, that's why he's out indefinitely is Braumbreaker. Once again, the vision who prides themselves on a numbers advantage is plagued by not having the numbers that they once did, especially right now. There couldn't be a worse time to go down for injury. I would have imagined that Brom Breaker would have to be a key part of the Elimination Chamber. I couldn't imagine a triple threat scenario that he wasn't going to win to qualify. It's tough to believe an Elimination Chamber would come up, and even with names like Randy Orton and now we know LA Knight in that match, that anybody could stop Brom Breaker. They're caged in with the guy. Well, especially after the Royal Rumble that he had. Of course. I mean, this guy is angry. The rage. But now apparently none of it's going to happen unless indefinitely is a shorter time than I realize it is. So now we have the vision. Which it could be. Sure. Indefinitely is by definition not definite to any particular amount of time. But in the meantime. That's right. Well, I'm Webster. But in the meantime, in the meantime, I'm also Rand and McNally. But that's only for directions. Okay. And while we're on this road to WrestleMania following these maps, we end up with a triple threat to determine a spot in the elimination chamber between LA Knight, between Penta, and between Austin Theory. I think three superstars we can all say we would love to see in the chamber, but only one can get in. Paul Heyman and the rest of the vision is specifically told by Adam Pearce. do not interfere in the triple threat. By definition, a triple threat match is going to have no DQ rules because you can't disqualify one guy because you're left with two guys after that. The vision knows this, which is why Adam Pearce specifically said, don't do it. Yeah, but then he said FAFO, which is sort of just, you know, dangling it in front of Paul Heyman. Because Paul Heyman is down to 2-0 in FAFO. Paul Heyman's FAFO score is terrible right now with Adam Pierce. Right now. Right now. We're not at the end of the game. I think if we talk about his career, Paul Heyman has been, he's kind of made a career out of FAFO. Sure, but. Not right now. Guess what? You know. What have you done for me lately? Are we still Paul Heyman prime? Or is this final season for Paul Heyman? You know what I'm saying? Right now. And look, you can't count the scoreboard in the middle of the game. It's true. It's a terrible thing to do. Unless you're watching the Super Bowl. You got a pretty good idea within five minutes. But other than that. Oh, that hurt. Well, it is what it is. I know. Other than that, field goal city, baby. Other than that, you can't count the scoreboard, and especially when Paul Heyman is on one side of the field, you can't count the scoreboard in the middle of the game. However, he has not been doing well with FAFO against Adam Pierce, who somehow always ends up with the last laugh. So we're watching this great triple threat, and regardless of what Adam Pearce said, Logan Paul got right in Adam Pearce's face and said, what are you going to do? Which, I mean, Adam Pearce is a competitive guy. Adam Pearce is a proud guy. Adam Pearce is a guy who considers himself a leader and wants to lead this brand. And you got Logan Paul looking at you right in the face going, what are you going to do? Adam Pearce is also a guy who now must surround himself with security at all times at all times and he's a super emo guy I mean this guy is emotional this Adam Pearce he is not acting in a way that is sort of a rock dependable tried and true someone like Logan Paul knows that so getting in his face and saying what are you going to do about it they're almost begging Adam Pearce to put his hands on another member of the vision. It's a great point. Because don't even think about pro wrestling. Think about culturally. Is there anybody who's a bigger antagonist than Logan Paul? No. He is literally on red carpets Super Bowl weekend saying he's not excited about Bad Bunny. Like he is an antagonist. Whatever the thing is that one could say that it's just going to get on your nerves, Logan Paul is going to say it. This man has made a career out of it long before he was in a WWE ring. He had already made a career out of it. He is a professional. So I think you're 100% right. That is the thing. Like now I'm challenging you. What are you going to do about it? What could possibly be more antagonistic in a pro wrestling environment than a quote like that from Logan Paul? Especially with his long hair getting right up in your face. Yeah, I mean, yeah, yeah. So he gets out there. And of course the vision interferes, which they were always going to do. We get a Bronson Reed tsunami. Logan Paul's at ringside. Everybody's there to help Austin Theory qualify for this chamber match. Just when you think that Austin Theory is going to get the pin over LA Knight, there's Penta to save the day. Pulls Austin Theory out of the ring. Still, LA Knight took a tsunami. I don't know. You know, there's no quick getting up from that. Luckily, there didn't need to be a quick getting up from that because as Penta gets back in the ring, here comes the masked man again. I would imagine, I cannot say for sure. I saw four Grande Americanos tonight. So who's to say it's always the same masked man, but it appeared to be a masked man similarly dressed with similar motives. This time wearing gloves. I think the masked man knows that the internet likes to examine everything and is looking for the hands, is looking at everything. The masked man just gets smarter and smarter. but he goes out pretty. I think it was a super kick that he hit first. Hell of a super kick. Athletic guy. I will say, and this with all due respect, because you know, I'm, I'm trying to figure this out. We all are. Immediately. I go, why Adam Pierce does not move like that. I don't know. I had Pierce. Adam Pierce was, I mean, he was more of a Matt technician. You know, I don't know that he ever moved like that. I said, that's not how Adam Pierce moves. Well, we had had a conversation when we first saw this masked man at the Royal Rumble. Who do we think it is? And we did speculate about it potentially being Logan, Paul. So as soon as this masked man comes out, I'm yelling to you, where's Logan Paul? Where's Logan Paul? And I can't see Logan Paul. So I'm thinking, could it be? Well, he's so slimy. You never know. He's slugged off someplace and put on this hood and everything. I go, maybe. And I go, I'm going to have to go back to the tape and check what pants Logan Paul was wearing. Are they pants that match the pants that that masked man is wearing? So the masked man hits him with that superkick the masked man hits him with the seth rollins stomp again and then the masked man retreats just as the vision follows him logan paul chases out the masked man logan paul was my pick logan paul was the guy that said that logan paul is the masked man he's up to no good now for the first time we didn't see any of this at the rumble the masked man is in the same location at the same time as Logan Paul, as Bronson Reed, as Adam Pierce right there at ringside. Those three people were not wearing that mask tonight. It's impossible. I don't care what secrets that mass magician has to reveal. That ain't one of them. It's not Penta. It's not Penta. It's not LA night. No, it is not. So I don't know. It could be Byron Saxton. Hey, he's wearing the same suit as Corey Graves tonight. You never know. I believe that was Corey Graves wearing the same suit as Byron Saxton. Is that how you're going to classify it? Yeah, I think it was a Byron original. I don't know if Corey would agree with that. Probably not. I think Corey would say that it was him who originated that type of style. He probably would say that. I would respectfully disagree. However, the fact that we've now eliminated suspects from this masked man list, to me, is utterly fascinating. And it's narrowed it down a lot tonight because Logan Paul was my pick. Adam Pearce was a lot of people's picks because Adam Pearce has been operating his show like a lunatic. Like the old Adam Pearce, no, he would never, you know, get physically involved like the masked man has. This version of Adam Pearce, he's out of his mind. However, it isn't him. Because he was in, you know, in the same area at the same time we saw him both. Could it be Seth? Of course. Of course. He's always had tricks up his sleeve. I watched Unreal, okay? I know. I'll tell you what. You know who would know if it's Seth or not? His little girl's teacher. Miss Joy. Miss Joy. Miss Joy. Miss Joy. I'm going to ask Miss Joy. Have you heard anything about this masked man? You know, are there any new rumors? See if she's leaking on the sheets. Do you know the dirt sheet that I could start if I got the exclusive scoops from Miss Joy all the time? It really would be something special. But yeah, so yeah, I think Seth is still on the list. obviously it's not Austin Theory no because he's the one who got stomped and now that masked man has stomped both Bronson Reed and I'm sorry, Brom Breaker and Austin Theory yeah, it can't be Brom Breaker no, he's post-surgery and he got stomped at the Royal Rumble so it's not him I mean, whatever you know, here's the thing we're sitting here talking about who's the masked man and I think L.A. Knight would be very, very offended by this conversation Because as far as he's concerned, the headline is that L.A. Knight goes to the Elimination Chamber and gets to once again. He returned at the Royal Rumble. And there are a lot of fans that are waiting for L.A. Knight to just have his moment. That they will not be satiated. They've been waiting since two Summer Slams ago. Yeah. The Slim Jim Battle Royal. 100%. But LA Knight's a unique one because with LA Knight's fan base, I don't think they'll be happy until he's a world champion. And he's now one match away from a WrestleMania WWE title shot. You know, one match away from Drew McIntyre's WWE championship. Because CM Punk, I saw the match graphic, will be occupied at WrestleMania unless. It is a match graphic. Well, yeah, but they might have to change it. that can always happen, especially because now CM Punk has another challenger before he can even get to WrestleMania. And we'd like to say, let me see this Mania match graphic because these match graphics are everything to me. You know how seriously- You're obsessed with me. There it is. Look at that. Ask for it and it shall appear. There it is. I even got a question on the podcast this week. They said, is there an official match graphic for this match? I'm trying to correct you. And I said, no, don't correct me. I'm a match graphic guy. Did you hear the way, and people know that about me. Did you hear the way I just commanded into the air? Allow me to see the match graphic. And here it is on the screen for all of us to enjoy. World Heavyweight Championship CM Punk versus Roman Reigns. Now, this is a big part of Monday Night Raw tonight. Because this is one of those main events. Especially after the promo that we saw ending last week's Raw. when we saw Roman Reigns and CM Punk in the ring together. And whether on paper, we knew that the match that we wanted to see was the best in the world versus the OTC, or whether it was seeing them face-to-face that made us realize. After that segment, there is no doubt in anybody's mind that this is the biggest match that you can possibly have this year at WrestleMania. And by the way, Cody Rhodes and Drew McIntyre are probably not terribly happy to hear a statement like that, especially if it's a measuring contest. But it is what it is. Those are fighting words. Well, look, I think that you can tell that based on how hard they're trying to, which I didn't want to bring up with the measuring contest, but how much they're trying to protect this main event and how much Adam Pearce is trying to now protect this main event that was not in existence. eight days ago is now so important to somebody like Adam Pierce and clearly so important to WWE that Adam Pierce is once again emotional and shouting about not wanting CM Punk and the WWE championship to be in that ring before the weekend of April 18th. But it's going to be whether Adam pierce likes it or not because he made it official tonight on raw that it's finn balor and cm punk at the elimination chamber ple in cm punk's hometown of chicago and the entire time that i watching cm punk just go back and forth with finn balor and and take this on like the fighting champion that he is I wondering what does Roman Reigns think of all of this I mean not a thing I don't think. No, not. Well, I'll tell you this. First of all, CM Punk shows up looking like a million bucks. We all got to say that. Love the jacket. That jacket was amazing. And by the way, I know you saw what CM Punk was wearing. And I know when I see CM Punk wearing a jacket like that, I start to think, could I pull it off? You can't. maybe I could. Maybe I could. There's only one way to find out. WWE shop and fanatics. That's exactly where I'm going to get the new best in the world CM Punk coach's jacket. You can get it right now at WWE shop and fanatics. I'm going to prove Megan wrong. I believe I can pull it off. There might be a few people out there. They can pull it off a little bit better than me, but regardless, it's awesome looking. Look at that blue pops. Not only do you have the new CM Punk jacket But AJ Lee came back tonight New AJ Lee merch is live Show up to Chicago Wearing the AJ Lee shirt And the CM Punk jacket The Spinning Web Since 2011 shirt Is available now You can have this shirt on When AJ Lee defeats Becky Lynch It's available now It doesn't say that in your copy Okay I misread that But that's when you would wear it When she defeats Becky Lynch Celebrate your favorite wrestler's favorite wrestler We're talking about AJ Lee You can grab yours now at WWE Shop and Fanatics Before it all disappears You're having a great time there and everything I'm just reading the copy Now before we get into AJ Lee and Becky Lynch Because we will Can't wait We gotta get into CM Punk and Finn Balor Yes So you're right And we'll get back to that Roman Reigns question It's a great question Thank you. I thought so too. I'm glad. But I'm sure that's why you asked it. First, Dominic Mysterio kind of handing Finn that hard truth, which it wasn't even like he was saying, look, dude, I don't think you can beat CM Punk. It wasn't saying like, hey, you should have beaten him before. It wasn't saying anything. It was simply Dominic Mysterio going, I think it's spoken for. They made such a big deal last week. out of Roman Reigns and CM Punk that I don't think there's going to be any WWE title match at the Elimination Chamber PLE in Chicago two weeks from now, a week from Saturday. And Dominic was just saying... Two weeks from Saturday. Saturday's Valentine's Day, right? Two weeks from Saturday? That's right. Yes, two weeks from Saturday in Chicago. And Dominic was just saying basically what all of us were thinking. Right, we saw this thing. This is the title match we're looking... But that's not how Finn Balor sees it. Finn Balor's like, I'm not watching the whole show for the whole show. I'm watching the whole show for me. And Finn Balor doesn't forget that before CM Punk addressed the tribal chief Roman Reigns, he looked right at the camera and called out Finn Balor. He called out Finn Balor. I mean, Finn Balor's got a steel trap up here in that Irish head of his. He's got a good brain in there because not only does he know that, not only does he remember two weeks ago, which we've all forgotten because that promo was so memorable. It's true. That Finn Balor took out CM Punk. And the week before that that finn baller had cm punk dead to rights i mean within an inch he made one mistake and that's how cm punk was able to beat him in ireland but finn baller also goes all the way back finn baller also remembers that he has history with roman reigns finn baller also remembers that during the bloodline reign of roman that finn baller had his one shot and the rope broke. The rope broke. And that was it. No, this. It was just the rope broke. And Roman Reigns took full advantage of it, and that's how that match ended. It was not satisfying for fans. It was not satisfying for Finn Balor. So he comes back two weeks from Saturday to the Elimination Chamber, pay-per-view, PLE, and demands, demands this title match. Adam Pearce says no way no way we can't do it no way no way and it's like this Adam Pearce who's like and Finn we've known each other for so long like we're buds first you tell this guy the nerve of this Adam Pearce first you tell Finn Balor the prince you tell this guy Royal Rumble's full Royal Rumble's full and then we see Mr. Iguana but Royal Rumble's full it's never been full have you ever heard anybody say he's full Never in my life. I've never in my life heard that the Royal Rumble was full. I've never heard anybody say that. They go, oh, I'm here to draw my number for the Royal Rumble. No more numbers. They got all taken up. Full. Okay. Okay. I'll deal with that. And then he goes and challenges the champion. And Adam Pearce says, no. We won our main event for WrestleMania too much. We can't have the champion defending his title at the PLE in his hometown. No, we're not doing it. Chicago would riot. Finn Balor says, oh, really? And then here comes CM Punk. Look in my eyes. The whole thing. Jacket on, everything. It looks like a million bucks. No more hokas, Nikes. Nikes. Because those are you-know-what kicking shoes. That's right. And Finn Balor gets in there. And CM Punk gets in there and Finn Balor goes over to the table. Oh, I loved this with the security guards. They were all running around. And then Finn Balor ends up on the announce table. CM Punk ends up in the ring. Adam Pierce and the security guards are all confused of what to do between these two guys. Like those security guards are stopping anyone. But he goes, no. And Punk goes, no, this is the, I mean, I'm here to be a fighting champion. And CM Punk, this is the new CM Punk, where CM Punk was looking at Adam Pierce, going, I'm the champion. I'd like to have some say in this. But it was really him saying, this is my call. Because he said straight up, either give me some say in this or I'm spending the rest of the show hunting down Finn Balor. And Cleveland was loving it. They're like, yeah. Cleveland thought they were going to get for a second. I thought we were going to get a world title match right there, right then. But they made it for Chicago. They made it for the Elimination Chamber, PLE, two weeks from Saturday, official CM Punk defending the title against Finn Balor. And I think a lot of people are going to go into that show. And they're going to go, there's no way Finn Balor's winning the title. A lot of people are going to go into that show going, I already saw the graphic. We already know what the WrestleMania main event is. Finn Balor's not winning the title. And I think that's the exact narrative Finn Balor wants them to have. Because that's the exact narrative people had before EO Sky won the Women's World Championship in the month of February before WrestleMania last year. Here we are in the month of February. the very last day of it February 28th in Chicago Finn Balor has a chip on his shoulder Finn Balor is getting ignored from the WrestleMania main event Finn Balor isn't being considered for this thing he was ignored from the Royal Rumble he was ignored from the Royal Rumble not considered they filled it up before they got to Finn Balor so now what does he do Finn Balor walks in to CM Punk's hometown, to Chicago, to the United Center. And he walks in ready to not only spoil this for every fan in Chicago, but spoil it clearly for the powers that be in the WWE that have given Adam Pearce all this stress to make sure that this main event doesn't change. Because there is a good chance that once the main event of March rolls around, It's Finn Balor's face that's on that graphic. This is Finn Balor, chip on his shoulder, motivated, scary Finn Balor. Finn Balor, the guy who decides to remind everybody that he is an industry-shifting professional wrestler, is a scary Finn Balor. Finn Balor wasn't having fun tonight on Raw. Nope. Finn Balor didn't walk to the ring in Judgment Day colors. Finn Balor didn't walk to the ring in a shirt that said JD or the judgment day anywhere on it. Finn Balor showed up in the old school Balor club colors, Balor club gear. I think the real story of what we saw three weeks ago now on Raw was it was almost like waking up a sleepwalker. it woke this guy up and it not only reminded us how good he is it reminded him how good he is and the fact that he hasn't been in the wwe or world heavyweight championship conversation for the amount of time that he hasn't been there he now feels slighted by that he feels disrespected by that no and he's looking at an ipod and you know what he's he's looking at the ipad and you know what he's saying i took that personally that's exactly right megan now i have a question for you go ahead do you think it's at all possible drum roll please that finn baller shows up at the united center as the demon it's always possible the demon it's always i mean he talked about on the cody rhodes podcast too right yeah of course about how the black and gold demon was much different than the demon that we've most recently seen very different very different i think that black and gold demon listen finn baller is slipping back into his ways that he started in black and gold i had a balor club t-shirt from nxt with the nxt wow it's a good year to beat you the brimo t-shirt the finn balor club t-shirt all the old t-shirts coming back for sammy 100 they're all there because they're so great but yeah i mean i think that there's always that possibility or is that something he saves for wrestlemania or is that or or does this version of finn balor have that chip on his shoulder where it's like no i don't even i'm finn balor I'm not painting up I'm not doing that I'm Finn Balor That's who you've got to deal with And you have no idea what a problem it is I think all things are on the table and possible And to answer your other question about Roman Reigns I don't think so I don't think he's stressing about it No I don't think he's worried about this Do you think he's eye rolling a little bit? Like here goes CM Punk again Yeah I think that's Here goes Phil again I think so Because Punk had a line it was that you said he's brave enough, humble enough, confident enough. And he went on brave enough to defend this title. He's humble enough to know that this could end at any moment, but he's also confident enough in who he is and who CM Punk is and to be a fighting champion. And it's just something to me, based on the interaction that we saw between him and Roman Reigns last week, that Roman is sitting there listening to him being like, ah, ah, ah, like, come on, come on, man. Yeah, and I think there could be an eye roll. But I think on some level, as much as I'm sure Roman Reigns wants Roman versus Punk to be the match, I think there's another part of Roman Reigns that would love for Punk to prove that he's not even good enough to make it to the match. Because that's what happens. If Finn Balor wins that world heavyweight championship at the Elimination Chamber PLE two weeks from Saturday in Chicago, not only has he proven that he's the best and he's the champion, but he's proven that CM Punk, in his effort to be a fighting champion, wasn't good enough to make it to WrestleMania. And I think that that would bring Roman Reigns great joy. Well, Roman Reigns did say last week that he hates CM Punk. Hates him. And it's not, he's not indifferent about CM Punk. Hates him. Hates him. So, you know, he's actively rooting for. His demise. Yes. His demise. I can't wait. I love that this match is happening. I love that we're getting in in Chicago. And I'm telling you, like, it was a cool thing when it happened in Ireland. And I love, too, that the one-on-one matches are Finn's home country and CM Punk's home city. That's great. But I think that by the time we get to the Elimination Chamber PLE, this CM Punk Finn Balor match is going to have such a big match feel to it that I think a lot of people aren't going to see coming at first it really is going to kind of expose what a superstar Finn Balor has always been I can't wait and United Center first time in what like 30 years long time long time I can't wait to see it I also I'm very excited because WWE World is returning to Las Vegas this April 16th through the 20th. It is the can't-miss destination during WrestleMania week. WWE World brings the WWE Universe closer than ever to the superstars, legends, and iconic moments that define WWE with immersive exhibits, exclusive merchandise, and experiences that you won't find anywhere else. You're going to be able to see superstars like Drew McIntyre, Liv Morgan, Jey Uso, Dominic Mysterio, Tiffany Stratton and many, many more with even more appearances still to be announced. As a matter of fact, I believe on Monday Night Raw. What? We announced Stone Cold Steve Austin. Oh, Stone Cold showing up at WWE World, which like as soon as they announced that on Raw, I was like, stop. What did they just say? And then you see the graphic and there he is. There he is pointing right down the center. Still looking like he's ready to put a boot you know where. Tickets, by the way, are now on sale at wweworld.com. And you can save 10% with promo code WWENOW10. Get those tickets. WWENOW10 is the code. Megan and I, I hope, will be there. That's why we keep pointing at our WrestleMania sign. And we hope to see you there. But we have our first guest here on Raw Recap on WWE Now. I believe we have a low-key legend joining us from Monday Night Raw. Welcome from Cleveland, the low-key legend to the Raw Recap WWE Now podcast. Natty, Natty, you promised to decimate and you did indeed decimate. My first question, I have to ask you. When you were on the table, there was this moment and I noticed it in the replay when you had Maxine in the sharpshooter on the table. There was this look of peace almost, almost a meditative trance that overcame your face as you had Maxine locked in the sharpshooter. What was that? That was peace. That was me reminding Maxine that Natalia elevates, but Natty decimates. and you know when I think about when Maxine won the Intercontinental Championship who did Maxine think she thanked AJ Lee some of the greatest superstars that have ever lived have come to my family have come to the dungeon the place that my grandfather started in 1953 Some of the greatest professional wrestlers that have ever lived came through there, and my family taught them everything they know. And I gave Maxine something that was so special, and all she did was use me like a rung on a ladder, pulling herself up the ladder and not even thanking me for a thing. So tonight I found a lot of peace. Yeah, it looked like that. I mean, you know, you for a long time, I feel like it's been years that you've kind of developed a reputation for helping people, for helping women get to the next level, for being that person. I don't want to say rung on a ladder, but for being that person that helps get a lot of different women to the next level. But I think that you are right that inevitably what happens when you're in that position is the people that get to the next level are the ones that get a lot of attention for it. I would imagine at some point that was rewarding to you. What kind of changed? What snapped in you that made you go, no, it's time for me to reap rewards personally? legends like mark henry thanked my family thanked my uncles for helping him reach greatness legends like gorilla monsoon legends like andre the giant who have had help from my family have thanked my family for greatness maxine i thought she was different but she's just like the rest of them she used me like a rung on a ladder and I am never going to forget it. And in some ways, I need to thank Maxine. I need to thank her for giving me this sort of awakening. But at the end of the day, good guys finish last. You know, I mean, the match goes to a double count out tonight. And I can't imagine most of the time you get in there, you're getting in there to get the W. I didn't feel like you had gone in there with a specific mission in mind to win anything. It went in there like the mission in mind was to hurt somebody, was to hurt Maxine, was to send this message. And that whatever the rules are inside the squared circle kind of were meaningless to you. When that bell rings and you realize that the double count out is the finish, are you sitting there going, this was a terrible mistake? Are you sitting there going, I've taken this too far? Does it even matter, Sam? Does it even matter? When you look at someone like Maxine Dupree, like I thought Maxine was different. That's actually what hurts me more than anything. Like I said, nice guys finish last. And for me, for a very, very long time, I realized that doormats are good for one thing in one thing only, and that's getting walked on. I thought Maxine was different, but she's not. She's just like the rest of them. The rest of them that went on grabbed everything that they ever wanted and forgot about the people that helped them reach greatness. Maxine is no different than anyone else. She used me like a rung on a ladder to pull herself up and win a championship. And then who does she think, Sam, who did Maxine think when she won the IC championship? Who did she thank megan who did she think not natty was aj lee yeah she thanked aj lee so maxine you know what maxine can kiss my ass so i thanks to natty must have been something you said me i didn't even get a question in no well i guess she said what she wanted to say i mean natty something has awakened yeah in natty you know i think uh i didn't expect her to i didn't think that she needs to walk out this has been brewing for quite some time and it was like maybe maxine was the straw that broke the camel's back yeah no no i think that that's probably true you know i i think that look natty is a remarkable talent and i think that it's possible that she feels like she's taken for granted. It's possible that, you know, she's been in this position where she's in almost a mentor-like role, where she's been in WWE long enough. That's why they call her the low-key legend. She's been in WWE long enough that she's seen it all and done it all. But when was the last time she had a serious run anywhere near a world championship? In a while. But when was the last time she got somebody ready to have a run? that happens all the time yes for the world championship and i think it gets to the point where you forget that she's the one behind all of this so she showed up and i noticed that too i know i mean look at like there's an intensity on her face when she has maxine in the sharpshooter but it's it's it's it's a weird almost it's not exactly a trance but it is an absolute peace state where it's like there's there's a there like it's methodical in what she's doing and the fact that she like came to the ring tonight not really trying to score a pin or get a submission just like i'm just going to beat the snot out of maxine dupree and that's what she did because that's what this is about for natty beating her up i mean this is about making a statement this is about showing everybody who is maybe overlooked natty maybe taking natty for grant for granted i mean you look at maxine right she was she was built in the dungeon by who by natty you take a look at the last couple years and you go up and down the women's roster i mean it wasn't long ago that natty was down in nxt helping people like roxanne perez you know it wasn't long ago like she's she's had her fingerprints on so much of this roster and helping build forget about But Roxanne Perez, you want to go back to the women's evolution. You want to go back to Divas champions becoming women's champions and Divas matches becoming women's matches. You can go back to TakeOver Brooklyn if you want. You can go back to a lot of what was going on in NXT. But if you want to go to where it started, you go to NXT television, And you go to Charlotte Flair versus Natalya. That was the singular match that started it all. That was the first time that I recall way, way, way back then. This was pre-Takeover, I believe. This is way back when it was just this match on NXT TV that you got wherever you got it. But it was the first time people started buzzing that the women were doing something different. And that was Natty. And I think that while history has continued to move, I don't think Natty's ever forgot that. And I think that the idea that people don't credit her with it every day probably bothers her. Yeah. And has reached that boiling point. Well, it clearly bothers her that Maxine didn't thank her. And Maxine's not the only one who hasn't thanked Natty. Sure, sure. And I don't know. I mean, I don't know if Maxine has been pretty public with her gratitude towards Natty and being in the dungeon. I mean, before Natalia completely screwed her over, you saw how excited Maxine was backstage to run into Natalia. What are you doing here? Oh, my gosh. I can't believe you're here. You thought Natty screwed over, Maxine? Well. Because I'm just saying what you just said. Well. Is that what you thought? Well, it didn't matter. Lay down on the jury. Let it reflect. because as we've talked about right here, it didn't matter. It wouldn't be screwed over. It didn't matter. You said screwed her over. Yeah, as friends, but it didn't, I mean, it didn't ultimately friends because we've also heard from Becky Lynch that Adam Pierce was in the truck. He called for the wrong camera angle and Becky was actually, she was, she was kicking out anyways. That's Adam. Shoulder was up, but Adam Pierce, not what you just corruption. That's not what you just said, but Natalia's intentions were to hurt Maxine. Can we agree on that? Yeah. What did you make of AJ Lee coming out to help Maxine? Well, I just, I mean, I can't get over those eyebrows. They were brought up. They were brought up today. Is it positive or negative? Not good. Okay. Not good. That's ridiculous. I thought, I think she, I think she actually has remarkable eyebrows. If I'm telling you the truth, I think she has great eyebrows. Did someone tell you you had good eyebrows too? I've had, in my younger days, I had, I had good eyebrows. Yeah. Yeah. You know. In the past. In the past. In the past. Those are younger days. What can you do? But AJ coming out after already being involved in business with Becky Lynch, which we will talk about, coming out and being kind of one of the key people in breaking this thing up and helping Maxine out. I was very intrigued at the idea. And you could say it's because she's friends with Maxine and wanted to help her friend. But it feels like AJ Lee's making enemies. With Natty. I would think with Natty. I wouldn't be thrilled if I was trying to sharpshoot her Maxine Dupree. I wouldn't be thrilled with any wrestler that came out and tried to stop it from happening, especially in the state that Natty's in. So I wonder if AJ Lee is going to have that on her plate. I also then see Becky Lynch coming out. And I wonder if like, okay, if Becky Lynch and Natty both end up with problems with AJ Lee, where does Becky Lynch land on the fact that, I don't know if we mentioned this before, that Natty eliminated Becky Lynch from the Royal Rumble. Where does Becky fall on that? Megan. Right now? I mean, Becky Lynch also has a lot of enemies because she's a champion. And when you're a champion in WWE, a lot of people are coming after you. And let's face it, a lot of people are jealous of Becky Lynch. And I don't blame them. Becky was crashing out tonight. On Raw? Monday Night Raw. Segment one, actually. Segment one. First segment of all. I didn't think she was crashing out at all. Right at the tippity top of the Netflix broadcast. That's not what I would define as crashing out. Well, we saw the crash out begin in the entrance shots. And I don't remember the last time I saw a crash out in an entrance shot. You know, one of the last times she saw A.J. Lee was when A.J. Lee showed up in New York City without a manager's license. So then to see A.J. Lee backstage once again, who even knows if she has a license? Wargames was after that. Was it one of the last times? Well, you know, it was one of the last times, sure. AJ Lee's allowed to show up. I mean, number one, she wrestles for this. She's a WWE legend and still wrestles. We heard Becky say tonight she's not even an official Raw superstar. She's not officially on the Raw roster. Well, she can go wherever she wants. She's wrestled. And plus, she's married to CM Punk. She can be there to support him. Becky's married to Seth Rollins. And Seth Rollins is also allowed to be backstage. he's also an official member of the raw roster. But even if he wasn't, I think it'd be okay. I don't think anybody would be like, what's he doing here? Well, can you imagine Becky? I mean, she spent the last week just fighting all of the injustices that took place after the Royal Rumble because her feet didn't touch the ground. And then she comes back to work. I mean, her feet did touch the ground. So go ahead. Yeah, yeah, I watched the Royal Rumble. I don't know. I saw a video of her getting driven backstage and she said that if the corruption continues, she might have to cancel WrestleMania in Saudi Arabia. Okay. No, I didn't see that. I doubt she has the power. Well, her lawyers, they may. Yeah. They've done nothing so far, but go ahead. They're working on it. You wait, you wait and see. For how long? However long it takes. Okay. So anyways, Becky's backstage after fighting all of this corruption, taking big meetings in Hollywood, going to the Superbowl with her hot husband, Seth Rollins. It's her saying it, not me. Hot husband, Seth Rollins. And Kofi. And then she arrives at Monday Night Raw, and who does she see upon arrival? AJ Lee? Who's there to greet the WWE universe and hang out with some friends? Wouldn't you be a little taken aback? No. AJ Lee just shows up? She's allowed to show up. Becky Lynch was mad when I was in a building. I was there for work. Well, that's justified. so Becky Lynch comes out after ruining the entrance shot Becky Lynch comes out at the top of the show and she just starts screaming about being mad that AJ Lee is there like really crashing out hard just like there's no point to what she's saying except I'm mad that AJ Lee is here well she's like a little chihuahua who Becky? no AJ and then so AJ comes out eyebrows and all well yeah she did bring her her eyebrows are attached to her So she did have her eyebrows and they look great, by the way. She comes out and yes, Becky Lynch did say that AJ Lee thinks she's so cute and doing her AJ Lee thing. But she's not cute. She's like a chihuahua that is ruining Becky's life. Which, I mean, the idea that Becky is annoyed by somebody constantly and it makes her feel like her life is being ruined. I don't know if she ever takes ownership over the things that she does to everybody around her. I don't see anything that Becky's doing wrong. She continues to crash out, saying that she wants to fight AJ Lee. So, so far we've got Wrestlepalooza, tag team match. Seth and Becky, AJ Lee CM Punk, AJ Lee beats Becky Lynch. Okay. Then we have War Games. When Becky was yelling at her team to come over and help. AJ Lee beat Becky Lynch at War Games. the tap out yes all of these matches by the way have something in common what corrupt car Jessica Carr is that why she didn't give her the intercontinental title at the Royal Rumble that's right she gave it to Eddie instead yeah well now Becky has decided a one-on-one match is the way to go and she's walked herself into this one-on-one match that apparently is going down at Elimination Chamber with the intercontinental championship now on the line. She accepted it. Whether we have a manager's license or not, there's a real reality that AJ Lee also walks into Chicago like CM Punk does. And if CM Punk beats Finn Balor and AJ Lee beats Becky Lynch, they both leave as champions. Matching titles. Wouldn't that be cute? It would, but it's not even worth thinking about because AJ Lee hasn had a singles match in over 10 years I know but she hadn had a match at all in 10 years and she beat Becky Lynch in the tag match Yeah but this is different It not a tag match And she hadn had a War Games match ever and she beat Becky Lynch in War Games. But this is very different. This is a one-on-one singles match against the greatest female wrestler of all time and a Becky Lynch that, in all seriousness, is doing some of her best work that we've ever seen. Becky Lynch is doing great work But she's also making Very emotional decisions She is Can you imagine if Becky doesn't make it to WrestleMania as the Intercontinental Champion No I can't Really I can't imagine it Because I can think of a scenario where that's exactly what would happen Want to know what the scenario is AJ Lee beats her at Elimination Chamber Yeah but that's I mean it would be Likely likely you're saying it's likely for someone to just step into the ring with the women's intercontinental champion after not having a singles match in 10 years and defeat her. If it's AJ Lee. Yeah. Yes. I've watched AJ Lee. You watch the product. I do watch the product. Does it look like there's ring rust on this lady? No, but this is Becky Lynch. We're talking about. Yeah. The lady got beat by AJ Lee twice in different types of matches. I know any type of match. Throw any type of match. AJ Lee's beaten Becky Lynch. If there's one thing history tells us, it's that no matter what type of match we're in, AJ Lee's beaten Becky Lynch. You know the other thing about Becky Lynch, though? What? She always finds a way. There have been a lot of times that she's found a way. A frustrating, a frustratingly lot of times that she has found a way. That I can't say you're wrong on. I will say that there will be an opportunity for people to meet and greet Becky Lynch. Did you know that? Please tell me more. Oh, you're going to want to be there. The world's number one sports fan festival. I'm talking about Fanatics Fest. It is back, making its return to New York City. Fanatics is bringing you closer to the leagues, teams, and superstars that you love across four action-packed days in July. Meet your favorite WWE superstars like Cody Rhodes, Rhea Ripley, EO Sky, Liv Morgan, Jey Uso, Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch. Yes. Randy Orton, Stephanie Vakere, Tiffany Stradden, and Bianca Belair. They're all going to be in attendance as well as big names from across sports like WWE superfan Cam Scadabo. You'll also be able to get your hands on exclusive merch and catch live WWE podcasts. Tickets are on sale now at fanaticsfest.com, and you can use code WWE now to get 10% off at checkout. Very, very exciting. We found out that Rhea Ripley, speaking of Rhea Ripley, who will be at Fanatics Fest, qualified for the Elimination Chamber. She beat Ivy Nile and Lyra Valkyria. You know, I mean, there was a lot of opportunity for upsets tonight. I think Maxine would have been an upset. upset against Natty, did not get the job done. I think the Alpha Academy would have been an upset to win the tag team championship. By the way, love their shirts. 100% pure babe. That's right. Babe. Babe. Against the Usos. Did not get the job done, but I think, you know, you're talking about waking people up, whether it's Natalya trying to wake people up, whether it's Finn Balor waking people up. I think Akira Tozawa might have just told a lot of WWE fans tonight. Hey, in case you don't know, I'm really good at this wrestling thing. You know, we have a lot of fun, but I'm really good. There were multiple times where I think he and many fans thought that he was going to win, you know, that sent on, but ultimately it was the 1D on Otis, which I mean, I would have thought if we're going to hit the 1D, let's try to get it on Tozawa. But the fact that the Usos hit it on Otis, one, two, three, the Usos retain. And the double spear. Oh, double spear. Usos, yeah, they were on fire tonight. And then also, we should mention, speaking of being on fire, I did not know what a great team that Javon Evans and Grande Original would make as they took on Rayo and Bravo Americano. The OG cutter. from midair couldn't even catch his breath gets up and immediately from the ground jumps over the top rope leaps unbelievable but yeah i mean javon we talked to him i think it was last week yes i almost wish we could talk to him again this week to just find out like what he found what point in midair do you realize i've timed this correctly i'm gonna catch bravo because bravo is just looking for that splash or whatever. And from the other side of the ring, here's Javon Evans landing the thing. And the fact that after this match, after he hits the OG cutter midair and then leaps over the top rope from flat-footed on the mat, and then he's just having fun and dancing with Grande Americano after the match. I mean, I sometimes wonder if Javon is even, and I hope he's not honestly aware of how good he is. Do you think he has an inkling about it? I think now, I think his vocabulary has grown quite a bit in the last week or so. I think he might for the very... And can you imagine this? Javon is young enough that he may have an inkling for the very first time in his life. He's never... He would have never had an inkling before. I think he might have an inkling. Yeah, no, no. I'm happy for Javon. I am too. I thought seeing him do his thing, I'm also so intrigued by the fact that Mexico and AAA, the fans of AAA prefer contemporary Grande Americano, but the American fans prefer original Grande Americano. So when we're on Raw, it's almost like a Bret Hart Foundation thing, like with DX and the Attitude Era going to Canada and all of a sudden he's a good guy. But then coming back to the States and all of a sudden he's a bad guy. When original Grande is in America, he's getting cheered and contemporary Grande is getting booed. But then they go over to AAA in Mexico and contemporary Grande is their guy. They're cheering him and booing original Grande. it's a little confusing it's fascinating it is I would like Corey Graves to get to the bottom of that a little bit more because he's our resident expert yeah I mean culturally I guess contemporary Grande is just connected with that audience more and you know I mean maybe in contemporary he's been doing the AAA shows a little bit longer absolutely he has absolutely he has but yes so all that happened as well as Rhea Ripley qualifying for the elimination chamber match We have Rhea Ripley and Tiffany Stratton both in this thing on the women's side. On the men's side, we have Randy Orton and LA Knight both in the elimination chamber. Of course, on SmackDown, we're getting a massive qualifying match. Cody, Jacob, Sami Zayn in a qualifying match. Of those three, Cody Rhodes, Jacob Fatou, Sami Zayn, only one of them is getting into this chamber match, which is insane. and then next week on Raw we've got Gunther who promised to not only win this qualifier but win the chamber match and become the WWE champion at Wrestlemania and Gunther's had a pretty good track record as of late when it comes to these matches are you worried about your boy Dominik at all in this match? I mean how good would he look with a third title? but he's in there with Gunther you know they make those hot girls love Dominic Mysterio shirts in men's sizes. You're going to get one? I just checked. I mean, I don't think I'm checking sizes if I'm not planning on shopping. Well, he gave Liv Morgan some roses and some chocolates tonight. What a sweet guy. Liv said she's going to give him his gift later. I wonder what it is. I don't know. What a sweetheart Dominic Mysterio is. Can you imagine an early Valentine on Monday Night Raw? He's the best, Dominic. Not only is he just so cool, but also caring. Sometimes people don't realize it's cool to care. I didn't realize that Liv Morgan knew Spanish. Of course, she watched that Bad Bunny halftime show. You know, that's how I learned too. Stephanie Vaquer was out there. It was, it was, it was, well, it was something, but next week, I don't know. Here's the thing. Gunther has a history with Javon Evans. I believe Gunther and Javon Evans met in the John Cena tournament. Gunther's going to have to deal with Javon Evans bouncing all over the ring and Dominic Mysterio looking for every trick in the book. We have not seen Dominic Mysterio wrestling in quite a while. And you know, he's been at home concocting all kinds of different ways to win matches. So he's got to deal with the bouncing of Javon, the tricks of Dominic Mysterio. But if there's any way, right? Think about it. Javon Evans. who's more fun to watch than Javon Evans? I don't think anybody. Right. Whether you love him or hate him, who's more fun to watch than Dominic Mysterio? Nobody, right? These are two of the funnest dudes on the show. Who kills fun for everybody? Goon-Tur. You don't even want to talk about this, mate. You hate talking about Gunther matches. I do. Because it all ends the same. I do. I really hate talking about, I mean, I mean, it's wild that you just a couple moments ago were telling me like there's no ring rust on AJ Lee. And then you look at Dominic in this match and you're like, well, it would look cool if he had another title. Looked great. It would look great. And then on the women's side, you got a qualifying match on Monday Night Raw next week, which is Natty, who's on the warpath right now, versus Bayley versus Asuka. Asuka also on the warpath. She wouldn't even let Kairi Sane ride the golf cart with her coming back from the Royal Rumble. You see that? I was going to say we haven't seen Asuka since she was eliminated by Kyrie. By accident. Yeah. By accident. But yeah, she's going to be furious. This is her last shot. Again, this is why these qualifying matches are so important. Because the elimination chamber really is that last shot to get in to a title match at WrestleMania. That is an absolute career changer. I'm sure Bayley has a massive chip on her shoulder. We all know what happened to her last year at WrestleMania. Right. I mean, think about it. WrestleMania 40, she's in a title match. It's her dream come true. 41, she gets there the day of, she's off the show. You don't think she wants to head back to Vegas this time? Of course she does. In a position that nobody can mess with? This is going to be huge. This is going to be a sleeper of a qualifier next week on Monday Night Raw. 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And next week, not only do we have those two qualifying matches, we've got AJ Lee confirmed for Monday Night Raw this week, which is nuts because like literally we had no idea she was back. Nope. And she just shows up on Raw. And now not only is she back, she appears to be headed towards the elimination chamber in this match with Becky Lynch for the Intercontinental Championship. And now that's two Mondays in a row. AJ Lee live on Monday Night Raw. I mean, you got to be curious about what she's going to say. Yeah. Yeah. Of course I am. You think she's going to apologize for upsetting Becky Lynch? I don't think she's going to apologize. I think she should apologize. You do. But of course she should. She insulted a living legend. Who? Becky Lynch. Oh, I didn't know who you were talking about. What do you mean you don't know who I'm talking about? The greatest women's intercontinental champion of all time. Well, I mean. Who else did it better? Lyra. She was good. Yeah, she can never challenge for the title again. as long as Becky's holding it. Even for the second run? I think that's how it works. As long as Becky's holding it, Lyra can't challenge for it. That's tough. We got to look into that. There should be a clause. I got to find Clarence Mason or my lawyers of my own, not Becky's lawyers, to find out if it's while Becky Lynch is holding the title or if it was just the first run of Becky Lynch. I think it was while she's holding the title. You might be right. That's bad news. I didn't even think about that. She's the greatest women's intercontinental champion of all time. You cannot debate that. I just did. But. And it was wrong. Who do you. That's not how you debate. Who do you think. Speaking of debates. Speaking of battles. You think we continue this game of FAFO next week. I got a feeling that the game must continue because Paul Heyman is what we call a survivor. Yeah. And always seems to find a way to turn the tide. I mean we'll see. We'll see. We'll see if this masked man shows up. He's in a hole. He's in a big hole. Oh, he's in a big hole. And it keeps getting deeper. He's trying to shovel his way out from the bottom. It's not working so far. We'll see if it all pans out. Whatever happens, we will be here on WWE Now to recap all of it. Make sure you're subscribed across all audio platforms, leaving comments and hitting like on YouTube. And Megan and I will be right back here next week for another Raw recap on WWE Now. We'll be right back.