Previewing Cody-Punk & Roman-Seth at SummerSlam!

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Justin LaBarHost1:14

Welcome to the Busted Open Podcast on a Sunday.

Justin LaBarHost1:16

I'm Justin LaBar along with Raj Debsi.

Justin LaBarHost1:18

Today we talk about Cody Rhodes versus CM Punk.

Justin LaBarHost1:21

Temper starting to flare.

Justin LaBarHost1:22

What are we expecting at Summer Slam?

This is the Busted Open Podcast.

Justin LaBarHost1:28

Uh, both guys are two of the top babyfaces in the company.

Justin LaBarHost1:32

Uh, up to this point they are remaining that.

Justin LaBarHost1:36

Uh, uh, you know, one has not took this crazy heel turn.

Justin LaBarHost1:39

They are remaining babyfaces.

Justin LaBarHost1:42

But I will say, as I was listening closely this past week on SmackDown, um, Cody got his entrance.

Justin LaBarHost1:48

He got the whoa.

Justin LaBarHost1:50

He got all that pyro ballyhoo.

Justin LaBarHost1:52

Gets in the ring.

Justin LaBarHost1:53

While the, there was some Cody...

Justin LaBarHost1:54

While the Cody chants were there in Oakland, there were definitely some boos trying to break through.

Justin LaBarHost2:01

Uh, I got none of that with Punk.

Justin LaBarHost2:02

Punk had the overwhelming, um, uh, positive reaction, I would say, if I had to pick between the two.

Justin LaBarHost2:08

So talk to me about the navigation of a babyface versus ba- a babyface.

Justin LaBarHost2:12

I mean, do one of them at come Summer Slam when the bell rings, d- does one of them need to take a low blow, need to take a shortcut? Does one of them need to, to kind of solidify that, "Hey, I'm not gonna be all-American good guy here.

Justin LaBarHost2:27

I'm gonna do what it takes to win"? Or, or, or do both of them do that? Do both of them realize the worth of their opponent, and do both of them start to get a little, uh, down and dirty? Like, how, how do we navigate this? What do we expect?

Raj DhesiHost2:38

That would be very interesting.

Raj DhesiHost2:40

But [laughs] yes, we have two babyfaces, but polar opposites.

Justin LaBarHost2:45

Mm-hmm.

Raj DhesiHost2:46

CM Punk is a edgier type of babyface, almost a heel, o- one could say [laughs] as well as Cody.

Raj DhesiHost2:56

Um, one can say Cody is a heel just how clean cut he is, almost like a Ba- a Bob Backlund type.

Raj DhesiHost3:03

When I was growing up, Bob Backlund returned [laughs] and he was just such a white meat babyface, and it was, uh-

Justin LaBarHost3:09

Staring at his hands [laughs]

Raj DhesiHost3:11

... right before the Attitude Era and the fans were wanting something else out of professional wrestling at that moment.

Raj DhesiHost3:17

Sometimes what it comes down to is what market you are in.

Raj DhesiHost3:20

Different cities might react differently, more, uh, I think south s- the southern states might react more to Cody, whereas you go into the upper northeast area, might be more of a CM Punk heavy crowd there.

Raj DhesiHost3:35

But, um, yeah, both ba- ba- both babyfaces, but what I think we're getting a glimpse of is the future of the business.

Raj DhesiHost3:46

I think we're gonna see less and less, maybe in a decade from now or 20 years from now, less clear-cut heels than babyfaces c- because if we look at film and television, oftentimes heels, once you get to know their motivation and their struggles, they become babyfaces.

Raj DhesiHost4:03

Uh, uh, babyfaces.

Raj DhesiHost4:05

For example, Joker.

Justin LaBarHost4:06

Mm-hmm.

Raj DhesiHost4:07

I, I watched the Joker film.

Raj DhesiHost4:08

Uh, what was traditionally portrayed as a heel character, you got to see his insight, uh, into why he is the way he is, his upbringing, his history, et cetera.

Raj DhesiHost4:19

So I think we're gonna see more of that going forward and just more authentic storytelling.

Raj DhesiHost4:27

Authentic storytelling, more, uh, real-life type characters.

Raj DhesiHost4:33

But for this match, again, the psychological warfare that is in play right now, the tit for tat, I would not be surprised to see what you mentioned, one guy cheating behind the ref's back to gain an advantage.

Raj DhesiHost4:47

And oftentimes when you do that, it, it, the crowd's not gonna boo because they understand the situation.

Raj DhesiHost4:53

This is a title match.

Raj DhesiHost4:55

Um, uh, this is for the biggest prize in the game and at the end of the day, you gotta do what you have to do to win.

Justin LaBarHost5:01

Yeah.

Justin LaBarHost5:01

No, I think I t- I think the crowd totally would understand that.

Justin LaBarHost5:04

I, I think you're right.

Justin LaBarHost5:05

I think to, even to an extent they might even be amused [laughs] of like, look, look at, look at, look at what, you know, uh, uh, Punk has pushed Cody to the limit that Cody's willing to do this.

Justin LaBarHost5:13

I think, I think there would be an understanding.

Justin LaBarHost5:14

And I think to your point, I don't even think we have to necessarily think that, that this is where it's going in 10, 20 years.

Justin LaBarHost5:20

Uh, I think there is a reality check right now of more shades of gray than ever, and I think if we just look up and down this card, and then we'll, we'll touch on different parts of the card throughout the show.

Justin LaBarHost5:33

If you look at this card, there's several different situations, whether it's a babyface versus a babyface like, uh, Chad Gable and Penta, or even there's a s- there's a six-man of The Bloodline, and there's a mixed bag of reactions of, like, you hear, you hear pops for people that you're like, "Well, are they supposed to be cheering him? I thought that was a bad guy." So I, I, I think you're onto something that w- that's just, just kind of where we're at.

Justin LaBarHost5:59

Um, how much of it is intentional? How much of it is just, again, we're Society and the reactions are, you know, that's, that, that's a whole other, I guess, debate in itself.

Justin LaBarHost6:07

But I think, I think you're onto something with there, with that.

Justin LaBarHost6:09

But I'll...

Justin LaBarHost6:10

Yeah, th- this is, um, I don't think we're leaving Summer Slam with either man, again, having that definitive, "Oh, my God, they're now the biggest heel in the company." I don't think we're going that way.

Justin LaBarHost6:17

I think that both are too valuable, um, in their contribution to the company as being fan favorites.

Justin LaBarHost6:23

But for 30 minutes or whatever it is that they're out there and that bell rings, this is gonna be a very intriguing way to see, you know, who does what.

Justin LaBarHost6:32

And, and again, this match, um, it's not predictable.

Justin LaBarHost6:35

I, I, I, I truly, I mean, I have my prediction of what I think of or...

Justin LaBarHost6:38

But I don't, you know, I think it's up in the air of who walks out as champion, how they do it.

Justin LaBarHost6:43

And then, oh, by the way, something that we don't always see WWE do, but I appreciate this, is that they established this past Friday that as soon as this match is done between Cody and Punk, there's gonna be a number one contender lined up.

Justin LaBarHost6:58

We don't always get that in WWE creative.

Justin LaBarHost6:59

Sometimes it's the, you know, champion match happens, and then it's they go out on Raw or SmackDown the next week.

Justin LaBarHost7:05

They cut the promo, and you wait to see how many people come out, how many people, you know, try to make their claim.

Justin LaBarHost7:11

Well, you know, Sami Zayn's in a match.

Justin LaBarHost7:14

You know, uh, you know, we're gonna have a very, very, you know, clear cut, uh, understanding of whether or not it's, you know, who the number one contender is for the fact that Sami Zayn's got a match against Finn Bálor.

Justin LaBarHost7:22

So, um, and I, I assume that the champion of the challenge will be on SmackDown since that's the brand they're on, but we'll wait and see.

Justin LaBarHost7:27

But that is, uh, an interesting situation that, again, WWE's presented, which I like, by the way.

Justin LaBarHost7:31

I'm, I'm all for, for that situation of, "Hey, number one contender.

Justin LaBarHost7:34

Let- let's make this match matter."

Raj DhesiHost7:36

Yeah, definitely.

Raj DhesiHost7:36

I'm a big fan of it also, uh, just in the, uh, in the thought of long-term storytelling.

Raj DhesiHost7:45

Last week on Raw, we seen Damian Priest in a backstage with CM Punk telling him that, "If you are still champion, uh, whatever, you know, I wanna become double champion with the, with the tag championship as well as the WWE championship." This week, we've seen Finn Bálor on SmackDown in a backstage also referencing 10 years ago at Summer Slam when he won the WWE championship but had to forfeit it due to an injury.

Justin LaBarHost8:12

The Universal.

Justin LaBarHost8:12

That's right.

Justin LaBarHost8:13

Yeah, yeah.

Raj DhesiHost8:13

It was the Universal Championship.

Justin LaBarHost8:14

Yeah.

Raj DhesiHost8:14

That, that, that, that's right.

Raj DhesiHost8:16

So all-

Justin LaBarHost8:16

[clears throat]

Raj DhesiHost8:16

... of these factors are in play, and WWE has done a really great job of this, of, of thinking long-term and planting seeds early.

Raj DhesiHost8:24

And then you...

Raj DhesiHost8:26

At the moment, it doesn't, doesn't make sense, but later on, it makes sense that, "Oh, this is what was going on." So kudos to WWE and long-term storytelling.

Raj DhesiHost8:35

Their creative, their creative team has always been incredible, but right now they're in overdrive.

Raj DhesiHost8:40

I love all the storylines and watching how everything is playing out.

Raj DhesiHost8:44

And it's exciting when you're a wrestler and you have a sense of direction and you know long-term my arc is headed this way-

Justin LaBarHost8:50

Mm-hmm

Raj DhesiHost8:50

... my character is headed this way versus when I was there, a lot of the time it was just week to week.

Raj DhesiHost8:55

It was a lot of uncertainty what you were gonna do.

Raj DhesiHost8:57

It was a lot of start and stop.

Raj DhesiHost9:00

You, you, you'd be on for a week or two and doing good, and then the third week all of a sudden you'd be off without any rhyme or reason.

Raj DhesiHost9:07

So I love this change.

Raj DhesiHost9:08

It's, it- it's incredible.

Raj DhesiHost9:09

And I don't wanna get into it too much right now because we're gonna talk about it later, but just this, uh, this idea of traditional heels and babyfaces.

Raj DhesiHost9:18

We look at the other main event, the other title match, uh, world heavyweight title match between Roman and Seth, also shades of gray, as well as Oba Femi and Brock Lesnar, is, uh, it's a theme throughout the card where let's just let the wrestlers wrestle and let the crowd decide.

Raj DhesiHost9:38

Let's let the crowd have fun.

Justin LaBarHost9:40

Yeah.

Justin LaBarHost9:40

There's a lot of fun to be had.

Justin LaBarHost9:41

And, and w- one other backstage I wanna lump in there that, that as you were noting some of the other, um, kinda backstage and, and, and where we're going, even Damian Priest coming up to Cody and saying, "You know, I respect you, but me and a lot of the boys are pretty tired of the same faces of this brand.

Justin LaBarHost9:56

So like, you know, you and Punk do your business, but we're all coming." A- and, and, and Cody acknowledging, "I like that attitude.

Justin LaBarHost10:04

Bring it on." And I was like, "Ah, that's great." [laughs]

Raj DhesiHost10:06

That was a great promo.

Raj DhesiHost10:08

[laughs] And, um, traditionally that is something I feel that WWE would tap dance around not really addressing that.

Raj DhesiHost10:15

But that is true.

Raj DhesiHost10:16

As a, as a wrestler in the locker room, it, you get frustrated when the same people are getting the same opportunities.

Raj DhesiHost10:23

But at the end of the day, you have to look at yourself.

Raj DhesiHost10:26

What are these superstars doing that I myself am not doing? What can I improve on to get to that next level? And those guys at that top level right now in the world of WWE deserve that position.

Raj DhesiHost10:38

They've, they've paid their dues.

Raj DhesiHost10:40

They've shown their value.

Raj DhesiHost10:42

They've shown their worth in any situation.

Raj DhesiHost10:44

Um, Cody Rhodes, QB1, The Company Man.

Raj DhesiHost10:49

Even on commentary, I believe, uh, was it Wade that said, or one of the commentators said that the busiest man in the WWE.

Justin LaBarHost10:58

Mm.

Raj DhesiHost10:58

That is true.

Raj DhesiHost10:59

There's so much media responsibilities.

Raj DhesiHost11:01

He was on Jimmy Kimmel the night before, I believe, on, on, possibly on Thursday or at some point this week.

Raj DhesiHost11:06

All of those things are really important, and performing is just a sliver of the pie.

Raj DhesiHost11:12

Um, [laughs] you have 24 hours as a WWE superstar.

Raj DhesiHost11:17

Performing on television once or twice a week for two hours is just a small, small piece of the pie.

Raj DhesiHost11:23

But Cody is doing an incredible job, as is Punk, as is Roman, as is Seth, for really carrying the company, and that's why they're in those main events.

Justin LaBarHost11:33

Yeah, no, it, it's well said.

Justin LaBarHost11:35

I mean, I've, I've, I've, you know, I've spoken to guys and girls in the past when they are WWE champions at the time, and, and they'll say to me, "Look, the, the, the 30 minutes of wrestling a night, that's, in some respects, that's the easier part.

Justin LaBarHost11:48

It's the other 23 hours [laughs] and 30 minutes that they gotta...

Justin LaBarHost11:52

The travel, the media, the, the, all the different requests that you, that you gotta fulfill that, um, the people, that not everybody's seen, you know, as they're seen, um, worldwide on, on, on, on, on the TV shows." So yeah, it's, it's a- It's a hell of an undertaking.

Justin LaBarHost12:04

So again, you know, Priest saying that, it, it, you know, it, it again, it fires up.

Justin LaBarHost12:08

It gives you from a creative standpoint, it gives you some, "Okay, we got guys that are coming." Um, and then it also draws attention to, you know, to what you're saying, which is, man, look at how hard these, these guys work to be in the top babyface spots that they've worked themselves, uh, up to.

Raj DhesiHost12:21

I wanna bring up another point, Justin.

Justin LaBarHost12:22

Yeah.

Raj DhesiHost12:23

All four guys in, in our main events in our title matches, um, are over 40, I believe, or around 40.

Justin LaBarHost12:30

Correct.

Raj DhesiHost12:31

[laughs] So when you're an aging athlete, you have to spend more time on recovery, more time in training, and the fact that CM Punk is as, is in his physical peak right now at this age is incredible, and it goes to show you how much time he puts in.

Raj DhesiHost12:48

He has to be weighing his meals and traveling with meals.

Raj DhesiHost12:51

I did the same thing leading up to my championship run when I was WWE Champion and beyond.

Raj DhesiHost12:57

I would bring all my meals with me in a YETI cooler bag.

Raj DhesiHost13:00

I would freeze my meals.

Raj DhesiHost13:02

No matter what, wherever I woke up in whatever hotel, I did fasted cardio.

Raj DhesiHost13:07

Then I would have breakfast that I packed with me, oatmeal packets, protein powder, and I would pack all of this.

Raj DhesiHost13:13

Half of my suitcase was just food and supplements.

Justin LaBarHost13:15

[laughs]

Raj DhesiHost13:15

Um, now some of the guys have buses, which makes it a lot easier, but still, discipline year-round to that level i- is very, very difficult, and respect to all those guys.

Raj DhesiHost13:26

Seth, incredible shape.

Raj DhesiHost13:27

Roman, wow.

Raj DhesiHost13:28

Yeah, incredible.

Raj DhesiHost13:30

10...

Raj DhesiHost13:30

You compare his body to 10 years ago, and it's a world of a difference, and that's what really brings his confidence.

Raj DhesiHost13:36

If you see Roman Reigns, the Tribal Chief, in, in incredible shape, full head of hair, something that I really [laughs] miss having, and he's got the per- pearly whites.

Raj DhesiHost13:46

You know, it, it, it all adds to the aura.

Raj DhesiHost13:49

It adds to the spectacle, the superstar that is Roman Reigns, as well as now CM Punk really seeing the value in, in getting a tan and being jacked.

Raj DhesiHost13:59

[laughs] It, it adds to your confidence.

Justin LaBarHost14:02

No, you're well said.

Justin LaBarHost14:02

I mean, we, we briefly in the third hour last week, Jonathan and I briefly touched on, um, just the age of w- where a lot of the main eventers are.

Justin LaBarHost14:09

And again, f- f- in 40, you know, w- w- 40 is the new 30, and 40 is not as old in the business as it used to be.

Justin LaBarHost14:14

Guys and girls take much better care of themselves.

Justin LaBarHost14:16

Uh, they're, they're smarter and know more than what previous generations did.

Justin LaBarHost14:21

Um, you know, so they all look great.

Justin LaBarHost14:23

Um, but you know, time is a reality, and so it does...

Justin LaBarHost14:27

When you look at Roman, Seth, Cody, Punk, and realize they're all 40 or over, and then you look at Brock, who's closer, I think, to 50, um, it does make, when you look at these, when you look at these mega cards that is a two-night SummerSlam, it all of a sudden to me puts some emphasis on a Oba Femi.

Justin LaBarHost14:43

It puts some emphasis on a Trick Williams.

Justin LaBarHost14:45

It, it, you know, 'cause like, all right, well, here are the guys that aren't 40 that, that you can feel the organic rise.

Justin LaBarHost14:50

And so I think it, you know, it just, it puts, puts them into light.

Raj DhesiHost14:53

Coming up next, we break down Gunther versus Nick Aldis.

Raj DhesiHost14:57

What will we see at SummerSlam?

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Justin LaBarHost19:03

Raj, uh, let's, let's kick off hour number two and let's talk about Gunther versus Nick Aldis.

Justin LaBarHost19:08

Uh, widely speculated as we have been watching the, uh, conflict escalate over the past month and change, and then this past week we got, on SmackDown, we got the contract signing.

Justin LaBarHost19:20

Now, sometimes the contract signings can be a bit of a, "All right, we're doing this again." Just a reason to get the two out there.

Justin LaBarHost19:27

That, that's the theme.

Justin LaBarHost19:28

But I kinda [laughs] like this contract signing especially because Adam Pearce did at least cover some terms and conditions as he referred to it, that actually I was curious about.

Justin LaBarHost19:35

Like, what does this mean for Nick Aldis? Is he done being GM permanently? Like, what are the...

Justin LaBarHost19:40

And, you know, and he said, you know, j- this is just temporary for now.

Justin LaBarHost19:42

Adam Pearce is taking over SmackDown.

Justin LaBarHost19:43

So I like the clarification from admin duties here.

Justin LaBarHost19:47

Um, this is interesting.

Justin LaBarHost19:49

I, I, there, there's, there's two ends that I wanna talk about this.

Justin LaBarHost19:52

[clears throat] Excuse me.

Justin LaBarHost19:54

Look, I, I'm gonna start with the positive end because I'm very intrigued by this.

Justin LaBarHost19:57

Um, you know, we saw the exchange happen between these two, um, and I think that I, I'm intrigued by the fact that Nick Aldis, you know, he, he, he has had a wrestling career.

Justin LaBarHost20:09

He, he is a former wrestler.

Justin LaBarHost20:11

He's just, he's, hasn't had, hasn't had a match in three years as they note.

Justin LaBarHost20:14

Um, and they finally acknowledge that he has a career because [clears throat] I think this is important because I'm, I'm, I've been asking Jonathan Hood this, what is this match gonna look like? And what I mean is Gunther is so decorated.

Justin LaBarHost20:28

He's retired Goldberg, he's retired John Cena, retired AJ Styles.

Justin LaBarHost20:32

Gunther is so decorated as a wrestler to the audience.

Justin LaBarHost20:35

Nick Aldis, the WWE audience hasn't seen him.

Justin LaBarHost20:37

They only know him as a suit.

Justin LaBarHost20:39

So is Nick Aldis going to wrestle like a wrestler? Is he gonna wrestle like a guy who's got a little bit of ring rust? Um, I, I hope to God they don't try to present it as, "Oh my God, he just put on a headlock.

Justin LaBarHost20:50

Where did he learn that?" Like, I'm, I'm just really curious [laughs] how they lay this whole thing out and, and what they give the audience.

Raj DhesiHost20:56

So I think [laughs] in today's day and age with social media, the WWE Universe is well aware of Nick Aldis' history.

Raj DhesiHost21:04

Former NWA Heavyweight Champion, former TNA Heavyweight Champion.

Raj DhesiHost21:08

Yes, it has been three years, but you never really lose it.

Raj DhesiHost21:14

You can see he's in incredible shape from even seeing him just in a suit, you can tell this guy is in phenomenal shape.

Justin LaBarHost21:20

He had to take the jacket off to throw punches 'cause he's, he's [laughs] so built.

Raj DhesiHost21:23

Exactly.

Raj DhesiHost21:24

[laughs] Exactly, and I think he wanted to show off his body a little bit too.

Raj DhesiHost21:26

But, uh, on a personal note, I am very happy for Nick getting that moment to wrestle in WWE.

Raj DhesiHost21:34

It's very, very long overdue.

Raj DhesiHost21:37

Me and Nick are roughly the same age.

Raj DhesiHost21:38

We started at the same age.

Raj DhesiHost21:40

He had a tremendous trajectory up front, really touted, uh, as the future of professional wrestling.

Raj DhesiHost21:47

I remember in watching TNA and, like, being blown away that this guy is this young and still this good and is in this type of shape.

Raj DhesiHost21:54

He was years beyond where he should've been, years beyond where I was at that time.

Raj DhesiHost22:02

And I would hate for him to wrestle like a civilian wrestle, like a GM.

Raj DhesiHost22:08

I have a feeling we're gonna see Nick Aldis in trunks and a beautiful pair of boots, and he's gonna be presented as a professional wrestler.

Raj DhesiHost22:17

One thing that I feel that WWE could have done is made a highlight package highlighting his career, some of his moments, some of his, um, in-ring action, delivering some cool moves or, or getting a feel of what his moves are, his signature moves are, what his finisher is, et cetera.

Raj DhesiHost22:37

I also believe there's a chance that Nick has such a good showing, WWE realizes that hey, maybe he has more value as a professional wrestler, and I would be very, very happy for Nick if that happened.

Raj DhesiHost22:52

And if it doesn't happen, he's doing a tremendous job as the GM, and I'm glad they clarified that it's just a temporary resignation and he will resume his duties as GM.

Raj DhesiHost23:03

Because I was a little bit confused at first.

Raj DhesiHost23:05

When he resigned, I thought, "Okay, he's gonna be a wrestler now? Like, wh- wh- where is this headed?" But yes, the plan is for him to become GM, uh, after Summer Slam, but I, I really think there's a, there's a chance that we see Nick Aldis wrestle more often.

Justin LaBarHost23:23

Yeah.

Justin LaBarHost23:23

I, I mean, I, I thought that same thing too.

Justin LaBarHost23:25

Like, like, what's the best case scenario for him with this? I, I, I don't know if I could see him [clears throat] regularly wrestling, but I, but I definitely absolutely, if this goes well, and, and hopefully it does, and why wouldn't it? Um, I definitely could see, like, okay, we don't see him wrestle again, but he pops up at the Royal Rumble or something [laughs].

Justin LaBarHost23:42

Like, I could see something like that just to, okay, now the audience has seen him as a wrestler in a WWE ring so that they're okay with it, they understand it.

Justin LaBarHost23:49

Um, and I, I absolutely agree with you, and I think it's a great point about the putting together some type of video package, and there's obviously still one more SmackDown to go before we hit Summer Slam, so they could still do that.

Justin LaBarHost24:00

And I, and I hope they would.

Justin LaBarHost24:01

Um, obviously getting, you know, they've, they've had a working relationship with TNA, so having video of him at TNA would seem to be simple.

Justin LaBarHost24:09

I, I don't know what the relationship with NWA is.

Justin LaBarHost24:11

I mean, they, they were fine to mention an NWA on, on the promo, so- Could they get some footage from there? I, I don't know.

Justin LaBarHost24:17

But I, I do agree, something to let the audience, just give the audience a little bit more of like, okay, this, this is, this is a c- this is, this is actually gonna be a credible fight.

Justin LaBarHost24:24

Like, it's not gonna be as, as you s- I, I put it well, a civilian, so to speak, um, getting in the ring with the Ring Generale.

Justin LaBarHost24:31

So I, I think that's a really good, uh, call of what they could do here on the go-home editions of Raw or SmackDown.

Justin LaBarHost24:36

Let's actually hear a little bit, uh, of the confrontation escalate from this past Friday.

Justin LaBarHost24:41

Gunther and Nick Aldis in the ring with the contract signing and table, and, uh, things get heated.

But when I beat you at Summer Slam, you go from the career killer to the man that got made a bitch by his boss.

[audience cheering]

Oh.

They are not waiting for eight days from now-

Oh, God

...

in Minnesota.

Oh, God.

Contract signed and now for former GM Nick Aldis, the handcuffs are off.

As Adam Pearce is trying to separate them.

You made your point.

You made your point.

Oh, that is a lot of pent-up rage, and Pearce just got-

Oh

... speared.

Oh.

[audience cheering] Well, as cheap as you like, and this does not look good, Joe.

Oh, he just power bombs him right through the contract signing table.

You want peace back? Leave it! Yeah!

Schuster.

Let me go right.

Yes!

Let's sign it here.

Gunther and Aldis.

Yeah.

Oh, what a statement from Gunther there.

The excitement of signing that contract is over.

This is the reality of Summer Slam for Aldis.

Sign and delivered.

Justin LaBarHost25:54

You know, so in hearing that, it, it, it's one more reminder too to me, Raj, of why I do hope Nick Aldis, once this match is, has come and gone, why I do hope that he, uh, resumes the GM role is because the- we're actually in a rarity here with WWE.

Justin LaBarHost26:10

Uh, Pierce is the Raw GM, Aldis is SmackDown GM.

Justin LaBarHost26:12

It's been that way for several years.

Justin LaBarHost26:14

And the crowds generally like both of them.

Justin LaBarHost26:17

And there's sympathy behind Aldis and, and there, and, and there's cheers and rally for Aldis.

Justin LaBarHost26:21

And when, and when Aldis got reinstated after that quick suspension a few weeks ago, like, the people cheered when, when he said that he was back.

Justin LaBarHost26:27

And that's rare because, as you know, more often than not, your authority figures, uh, pr- especially in WWE, your authority figures on TV, even if you want them to be likable, tend to [laughs] tend to get booed and kinda crapped on by the audience.

Justin LaBarHost26:44

And so I, I think it's actually kind of a nice little thing that WWE has found and settled on, that Adam Pearce and Nick Aldis have been effective authority figures to, to progress the storylines on their respective shows.

Justin LaBarHost26:55

But the, but the crowds, like, give them some respect.

Justin LaBarHost26:57

And so I hope...

Justin LaBarHost26:58

And again, that's not, that's not easy to do.

Justin LaBarHost26:59

So I, I, I, th- th- for that, for that reason alone, I hope they can resume Aldis being a GM.

Raj DhesiHost27:04

Yeah, definitely the respect is there.

Raj DhesiHost27:06

Although they didn't wrestle in WWE, I feel the fans know that they were quite accomplished in their own wrestling careers respectively.

Justin LaBarHost27:16

Mm-hmm.

Raj DhesiHost27:16

Adam Pearce, also former NWA champion, heavyweight champion.

Raj DhesiHost27:20

And [laughs] I love watching Adam Pearce because he understands showmanship.

Raj DhesiHost27:25

He has his, his, his sayings, his signature sayings a- and that's official.

Raj DhesiHost27:30

[laughs] And, um-

Justin LaBarHost27:31

I need a drink

Raj DhesiHost27:32

... yeah, I, I need a drink.

Raj DhesiHost27:33

Exactly, exactly.

Raj DhesiHost27:34

Um, uh, but one thing I do wanna note, uh, Justin, is finally we heard Gunther allude to Nick as a legend.

Raj DhesiHost27:45

He said, "When you sign this paper, I'm gonna make you a legend." Because that was one part of this storyline that was a little bit confusing to me.

Raj DhesiHost27:53

[smacks lips] Obviously, we know Gunther is the career ender.

Raj DhesiHost27:57

He takes legends and he puts them out of the game, Cena, AJ Styles, Goldberg.

Raj DhesiHost28:04

I was wondering, [laughs] are they gonna do the same thing with Nick Aldis? Are they gonna present him as a legend that Gunther retired? So I think with this promo, uh, with Gunther signing the contract and saying, "This makes you a legend," I, I, I think possibly can head that direction too, and give Gunther another name that he, he retires.

Raj DhesiHost28:25

Because at the end of the day, when Gunther's career is winding down, I wanna see a long list of superstars that he's retired.

Raj DhesiHost28:34

If you wanna cement his legacy as the wrestler who ends the careers of so many legends, you're gonna need names and, um, again, long-term storytelling.

Raj DhesiHost28:47

I would also [laughs] not be upset that if after Nick Aldis, if he does get retired, that WWE doesn't retire an- another superstar with Gunther for a little, for some time, because I don't want him just to be the, the, the career ender, the, the, the wrestler that takes the legends out.

Raj DhesiHost29:09

Let's let it breathe for a little bit and bring it back in the future to remind people.

Raj DhesiHost29:13

I, I think that's what is needed.

Raj DhesiHost29:15

Or Nick Aldis wins and [laughs] s- or if he doesn't win, he's a, he has a great showing and he continues to wrestle.

Raj DhesiHost29:21

I, I think that's a real oppor- uh, real opportunity, and it is a real possibility, and that's what makes this match so intriguing, just the unknown.

Raj DhesiHost29:29

We don't know what we're gonna get here.

Justin LaBarHost29:31

Well, uh, Raj, this is what makes you a great tag team partner to me this morning, is you're, you're segueing right into where I wanted to go next and I didn't have to tell you.

Justin LaBarHost29:37

This is great.

Justin LaBarHost29:37

We're, we're working in sync here.

Justin LaBarHost29:39

So I, [sighs] this is, so this is where I get torn on things.

Justin LaBarHost29:44

[sighs] I think that if, if, I, first off, I think Gunther should win.

Justin LaBarHost29:48

Let Nick Aldis have a, have a great show and let him get the, you know, when he eventually comes to after passing out or tapping out, he gets a nice standing ovation.

Justin LaBarHost29:55

Give him that moment.

Justin LaBarHost29:56

Give him a nice showing.

Justin LaBarHost29:57

But I think Gunther needs to win, and I, and I will say to what you just said there, if, if the end result in this match, when Summer Slam comes and goes, and we hop on the air here Mon- on a Monday morning, if the end result was Nick Aldis had a great showing in a WWE ring on one of WWE's biggest events of the year, and he gets added to the same c- and is sharing a list with company like Cena, Goldberg, and Styles, it's a good look for Aldis And it, it justifies to an extent this match for Gunther and the re- the reason I, I, I, I worded it that way is I'm not gonna lie to you, I, I'm, I, and I, and I'm sure dominoes fell and creative decisions were made and changes were made and, and I think that's probably how we got to this point.

Justin LaBarHost30:46

I, after seeing him retire Bill Goldberg, after seeing him be the last match for John Cena, the AJ Styles, l- you know, longest reigning IC champ, really good Wor- uh, World Heavyweight title run, I, if you would've told me in April that Gunther's Summer Slam match is gonna be against Nick Aldis coming out of his GM duties for a temporary time, I would've said to you, "This is a huge miss.

Justin LaBarHost31:13

What are you doing with Gunther?" You know? I mean, I, I, I've been waiting personally, and I've been very vocal on this space about I've been waiting for Gunther and Brock Lesnar.

Justin LaBarHost31:20

When Gunther and Paul Heyman had an exchange around WrestleMania time about owing a favor, I thought this is where we're going with the favor.

Justin LaBarHost31:26

They ended up segueing it I think with, you know, with, with, with Seth Rollins and the, and the vision.

Justin LaBarHost31:31

So I don't know what changed or what happened, but I, you know, I will say on paper and when you s- when you say it out loud, if here's what Gunther's been doing in the last couple years, and this is his Summer Slam match, but if it's, if they can segue it into it's a one more wrestler who he retired, even if that wrestler has been in semi-retirement for three years, I, I guess that's better than just a random, a, a match otherwise.

Justin LaBarHost31:54

Do you, do you know what I'm, do you know what I mean? It just, I just, it's, it's just a weird trajectory for Gunther this summer is, is what I'm getting at.

Raj DhesiHost31:59

I know what you mean.

Raj DhesiHost32:00

I know what you mean.

Raj DhesiHost32:01

[laughs] Let me present another option.

Justin LaBarHost32:03

Please.

Raj DhesiHost32:05

Nick Aldis steals one on Gunther and they continue their feud.

Justin LaBarHost32:10

Oof.

Justin LaBarHost32:11

All right.

Justin LaBarHost32:12

I mean-

Raj DhesiHost32:12

Nobody will see it coming.

Justin LaBarHost32:13

Nah.

Justin LaBarHost32:13

[laughs] Ugh.

Raj DhesiHost32:15

And it won't add Nick to that list of legends if you, if you-

Justin LaBarHost32:18

But I think you need to add him.

Justin LaBarHost32:19

I think that's what m- I think that's what makes, again, the match mean more in the long run is if it, if it does add Nick to the list and it kinda, you could then ex- you could then from a creative standpoint explain, well, this is why we did this with Gunther.

Justin LaBarHost32:29

We, we needed somebody else.

Justin LaBarHost32:31

W- well, there's nobody else here that we, that was ready to retire.

Justin LaBarHost32:33

[laughs] This is the way we could, uh, we kept the gimmick going.

Raj DhesiHost32:35

Look, Justin-

Justin LaBarHost32:36

Okay

Raj DhesiHost32:36

... we're tap dancing around the topic.

Raj DhesiHost32:39

Does Nick add any value to being on that list of retired stars?

Justin LaBarHost32:46

Uh, uh, I'll counter you with-

Raj DhesiHost32:47

If it's a no, then let Gunther lose via a quick roll-up.

Justin LaBarHost32:53

Ugh.

Justin LaBarHost32:55

See, I would counter your question of value of is there any value [laughs] of Gunther losing to Nick Aldis at Summer Slam.

Raj DhesiHost33:01

Well, as a heel, does it hurt him in the long run? If he comes out on top in this storyline, they ha- they have another match, maybe a third, again, uh, some sort of stipulation-

Justin LaBarHost33:14

Mm

Raj DhesiHost33:14

... or street fight or something, he can come out of it on top.

Raj DhesiHost33:19

Losing I don't think will hurt Gunther if it's done in the right way.

Justin LaBarHost33:23

Yeah.

Justin LaBarHost33:23

I mean, sure.

Justin LaBarHost33:24

There's definitely a, there's definitely gonna be a right or a wrong way to do it if, if that's even in the cards, if him losing's even in, in discussion.

Justin LaBarHost33:29

Right.

Justin LaBarHost33:29

Uh, how it's done, certainly.

Justin LaBarHost33:31

Um-

Raj DhesiHost33:32

I think it is in the cards just [laughs] out of shock value.

Justin LaBarHost33:36

Mm.

Raj DhesiHost33:36

Surprise the, uh, surprise the audience.

Raj DhesiHost33:39

Now, WWE does this from time to time.

Raj DhesiHost33:41

You know The Maharaja did win the WWE championship out of nowhere se- [laughs] seemingly.

Raj DhesiHost33:47

So it does happen.

Justin LaBarHost33:48

[laughs]

Raj DhesiHost33:49

It, it, it, it does happen, Justin, and this is one of the complaints w- against WWE, that the product is too predictable, storylines are too predictable, who's gonna win is too predictable.

Raj DhesiHost33:59

Let's throw a wrench in the gears.

Raj DhesiHost34:01

Let's put Nick Aldis over via quick roll-up, but let's make sure Gunther completely annihilates Nick right after the one, two, three.

Justin LaBarHost34:09

See, I, I mean, while a surprise and a swerve is good, I always als- also say predictable's fine as long as it's logical.

Justin LaBarHost34:15

Let's not go too far off the crazy path here.

Justin LaBarHost34:23

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