As a Black person, the Naomi rant people going on about, I think, is ridiculous. Blanca is literally one of the top stars in the division for years, Naomi had a good title run years ago, and Jade is being pushed to the Moon. Plus, Naomi hasn't been booked badly this year, especially compared to a lot of women on the roster. Good spot in the rumble, win at mania, title shot against Bailey, and more tv time/matches than most. BUT not everybody can win, all the time. Tiffany is just more over right now. Just because the pretty white blonde girl won doesn't mean it's racism. The same people complaining about Tiffany winning because she's white and blonde are the same people complaining that Liv Morgan wasn't winning months ago. Seriously, calm down people. 🙄

Chad Gable really shined. He suplexed a ladder. Lol 😂

@michaelsinger4638

16 күн бұрын

And showed ass, literally. 😂

@diabeticman2194

16 күн бұрын

Perc Gable unleashed!

@wpompeyjr

16 күн бұрын

Definitely! The you still suck chants took me out 😂😂😂

@Ciki92

15 күн бұрын

Chad should have been the master in the bank. He could have cashed in on gunther after a few months. long term story telling

Claiming that Naomi not winning stuff is because of racism makes no sense to me. Bianca has been THE top star of the women’s division for years. Racism is a problem but I don’t see how in any way that is the problem with why Naomi has not been pushed.

@theape6778

16 күн бұрын

It's stan culture. Liv was getting similar hype before her title because WWE was "pushing away smaller stars" in favor of big athletic ones like Bianca, Rhea, Charlotte etc

@Smithy_76

16 күн бұрын

It’s like Dan said people become obsessed with certain female wrestlers, they then come up with all sorts of crazy takes if the wrestler they’re obsessed with aren’t winning every week

@blackbird351

16 күн бұрын

Horny little people who have never had an honest relationship of any kind with a real person crushing on physically attractive athletes they see on TV and using the fake prejudice they pretend the world has against the attractive grass-toucher on their screens as evidence that it's the world's fault they never go outside. (That was a long sentence, but I feel it quite concisely hits the nail on the head)

@Robert_Rivern

15 күн бұрын

Yeah, that was some obnoxious grifting from the guy on the right. Playing the race card in a division where you got Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill is insanity. Bianca is overly pushed to the degree of burying multiple other women, same for Jade getting gold within a few weeks in the company. If this wasn't a grift I expect they would have shown more concern for Asian wrestlers. They are so often portraited as these insane evil people that must resort to cheating or some weird poison mist to win.

@tskrilla1494

14 күн бұрын

Bruh. If Bayley and Liv get multiple titles and Naomi has none what's your reasoning for it? HHH just doesn't know how to book black wrestlers... Lashley and Belair b4 Cargill for examples. I'm not sayin it's for sure racism. I am sayin that there's no way u can just dismiss it by pointing to Bianca who is an outlier and not the rule.

It's gonna be fun to see were this Drew x Punk x Rollins stuff is gonna go. Alot of chemistry between these guys.

@GoldieVoerman

16 күн бұрын

Rollins cost punk in the match vs drew imo which we can get back to the build of Seth vs punk

@johndoe9458

16 күн бұрын

TLC

@sethstrattan7380

16 күн бұрын

Priest should get involved

One of the super chats had me thinking. If Cena wins, the Intercontinental Championship, last title that he's never won, he could then have his last match against Sheamus giving Sheamus the win giving Sheamus the one title he's never had. I know a lot of people would put Sheamus near the bottom of the list for final opponents for Cena, but I always thought they had really good chemistry together and would put on a fantastic match with how good Sheamus is now.

@diabeticman2194

16 күн бұрын

That’s a good pitch imo!

@thatoneguyonahorse6570

16 күн бұрын

Plus Cena lost to sheamus when sheamus first showed up in wwe for the world title so him losing to him in his final matches brings it full circle

@Cammers2000

15 күн бұрын

@@MrMario-tc8sl that will be good for both men to hold The IC Championship and then retire after dropping the title

@brentsmith9134

15 күн бұрын

Firstly, Sheamus has always been great in the ring. Secondly, I completely love this

Could just tell from the length of the podcast that this was a Luke and Dan episode

You can criticize John Cena for a lot but not his promo work. He has some of the best promos the world of wrestling has even seen. Everything he said after "fine speech" was just superb. He made every match feel important with a promo.

@Phoenixbrand95

15 күн бұрын

@@siyachrie he has a certain "rhythm" to his promos. Which makes sense given his Battle Rap background

@alexanderbrown8498

15 күн бұрын

@@siyachrie completely agree. He's genuinely one of the best talkers in the business (apart from "JBL is poopy" and "CM Sucks"). I usually tend to agree with a lot of what Luke says, but calling Cena a terrible promo is outrageous.

I found it weird how some people I follow on twitter were acting like Sami was to over push, and few minutes later they were saying CENA of all people needed to win the Rumble and going for 17th

@michaelsinger4638

16 күн бұрын

Sami isn’t overpushed. It’s just that Bron winning would have been more interesting in this case.

@HeelHook96

16 күн бұрын

@@michaelsinger4638 I don't mind Sami winning, but him winning clean seemed a bit off. Another Gunther like finish where he gets cocky and Sami catches him would've been better IMO rather than just a decent match and clean finish

@michaelsinger4638

16 күн бұрын

Good point. Also he’s not much of an “underdog” if he takes everything the other guy throws at him and then just hits a move and wins.

@Blueeyepirate

16 күн бұрын

I get why , Sammi made the company a lot of money, and proved himself moving up to the main event scene and adding something to the bloodline. So he’s deserved this title run, and 100 percent he shouldn’t be the underdog anymore. Bron is just getting started folks he’s gonna have tons of opportunities in his future.

@JoeChianelli

16 күн бұрын

Why are you assuming it was all the same people? Not all Sami Zayn fans will be Cena fans and vice versa. I know why, because your point makes no sense otherwise. 😂

I hope the final two in next years Royal Rumble is Punk and Cena. Cena said he's also going to elimination chamber, leads me to believe Punk will win the Royal Rumble by eliminating Cena and then Cena winning the chamber. After WrestleMania they can have a SummerSlam or even better, a MITB main event match. Title or not, it will be a hot crowd whenever it takes place

@sanjayshetty1533

16 күн бұрын

Provided punk doesn't get injured 🤣

First comment as a member! I 100% agree with Luke, MITB was a really fun show! Logical and consistent story telling works.

I did like the ppv, just not how Priest keeps feeling like 3rd or even 4th fiddle in his own title matches.

@mr.ilikespam6081

16 күн бұрын

Yes that's the point

@CaptainBackpak

16 күн бұрын

The look on his face after that match said to me that he's mad about it too.

@alejandrolucero7182

16 күн бұрын

@@CaptainBackpak he was probably mad because of the botch tbh. I'd be pissed because of that if I was him too

@ObeliskTheTormented

16 күн бұрын

Did u see the look on his face after the match? Neither is he.

@MikeysLegend

15 күн бұрын

​The point is to make Damian Priest 3rd or 4th fiddle? If that's the case then that's stupid booking to make your champ 4th fiddle in a match if by design ​@@mr.ilikespam6081

OMG that new opening!!!!! KEEP IT!!!!! THATS AWESOME!!!!!

My big problem with the Drew Cash In is that it just makes him look incredibly stupid for not seeing the obvious Punk interference coming. They should have just had Punk blindside him before he could get to cashing in - and theres a really nice story of Drew learning from that and hanging onto the briefcase

@michaelsinger4638

16 күн бұрын

Yeah he was the ONLY one who didn’t see this coming. He just looks like a complete moron at this point.

@haydenmatzkows4581

16 күн бұрын

Agree

@michaelsinger4638

16 күн бұрын

Agreed.

@gravedigger8482

16 күн бұрын

Exactly where I'm at. This could've also screwed Seth as the distraction makes him lose and we end in the same place we're now but with Drew still holding the case as the gun on the wall.

@mr.ilikespam6081

16 күн бұрын

​@@ajtct98 the one time he is not focused on cm punk when should of, backfires so now he will be focused on cm punk completely that is my take away from not expecting CM Punk.

I feel like they should've ended with Tiffany winning or The Punk interference. The bloodline match ( although a fun match) didn't have a huge finish imo

@kev1nno

16 күн бұрын

Couldn't agree more

@ariklion37

15 күн бұрын

100% agree

@num1Jaysta

15 күн бұрын

Yep

The men dont need the lingering brief case all year.. Tiffy having it for a while is good enough... we csn pick back up with one of the guys holding it for a long time again next year but im good with a break from the storyline of the briefcase

Luke, its not that it was predictable. Its that it was pretty botch heavy, a few were very significant, and over half of the run time, didnt have any matches. These were issues YOU brought up. Bit you gave it a perfect score.

@Jam3sA

16 күн бұрын

I don't understand that scoring after mentioning so many issues.....This scoring on a curve thing that Wrestletalk do never makes sense to me though generally

@Cenzo1130

16 күн бұрын

Pretty sure wrestle talk is on the wwe payroll or they really want their nostalgia acts to get over.

@emilbovbjerg

16 күн бұрын

Honestly, scoring in reviews (not just of wrestling, but of anything) doesn't really make sense. Because what constitutes a 5/5, a 7/10 or whatever score doesn't really mean anything. You have to actually listen/read the opinion of the reviewer, to get what they thought. Two reviewers might say basically the same things, but how they translate that into a score is completely different.

15:29 the whole chat about the crowd not given enough time to react to the Priest kickout botch and everything you guys said was spot on. I was in the crowd, everyone was screaming that was 3 but as soon as Drew came out, no one gave a crap

Seriously surprised people are down on this show, I legit think it was the best one since Wrestlemania.

@khaitranngoc4176

8 күн бұрын

I would like to know why?

I have an alternate theory. Damion priest wasn't visibly upset because of the botch, but was upset because punk interfered when he wanted to win without any help. Cause he looked at punk right after that.

LOVE the intro, hope everyone gets a personal intro

Chad suplexed a ladder. I fully believe he can suplex everyone and anything

New Intro akin to early Smackdown. Love it

@num1Jaysta

15 күн бұрын

I was thinking Raw is War

i rather what they did with the mitb then someone having just a random cash in in tbe future because no one is pinning gunther or cody

Really like the new intro. It sucks a whole lot for the transitions on the audio version though. I usually listen to these to go to sleep and it keeps waking me up when it transitions

Adam Pearce just announced that Drew and CM punk have been heavily fined for the actions last night And Drew is suspended indefinitely

@jamesmaskell3743

15 күн бұрын

Making sense after what Drew did after being screwed over. That was fun to see him just exploding in front of the panel and Adam Pearce

The problem for me with the Drew, CM Punk and Seth angle is that you can get the same result without cash in the MITB briefcase. Just make CM Punk interfere before the cash in, and the best part is that Drew hates the MITB briefcase so having it for a long period of time will be something to watch.

@torehosu

16 күн бұрын

@@Adum Sure but Punk was already an enemy of Drew, Seth hates him since his comeback and Damian retains the title not an enemy so far, all that can be achieved without the cash in. And this can even further the story line between them, making Punk and Drew screw each other opportunities and by default adding Seth and Damian to the mix.

Listening to you guys talk about "logical storytelling" and "sensible choices", you're referencing a part of literary theory called narratology. It's what you get when a story plays out coherently and makes sense, and then you can break it down and see how step one led to the act 3 breakdown and the villains moonlight explains why he hates the interloping hero. I enjoy listening to you guys dance around a topic without ever saying it's name.

@DanLayton

16 күн бұрын

Thank you for the name!!

@nathangibbs7149

16 күн бұрын

Dr james phelan from Kansas state university has written several articles and i know of 1 book he did with the subject of you want more in depth reading on it. ​@@DanLayton

Love the new intro

Not only was it the best decision to use the briefcase like this, it was literally the only option wwe had to make use of it as a Plot devise that actually helps a story line. With bloodline/ Roman/ Rock/ Cody on SD and Gunther/Rollins/Drew/Seth/Cena and probably Brock on RAW there is just no room to elevate any of the other participants to the Main Event scene within the next 12 months. They would have looked out of place and they would have just distracted from the real big money story lines that both shows are cooking until WM41

Yoooo… this wrestletalk podcast opener is awesome!! Also - dan’s hair!!!! 🎉

I think the whole CM Punk an Drew segments an storyline has been Excellent 🙂 It's perfect.

New intro, who this!!!

The thing you said about needing a break from ladder matches, I think that’s why I liked the women’s match so much. Ladder matches have become so paint by numbers that they don’t feel exciting and dangerous. The women’s match brought back that sense of chaos and danger and “oh these matches shorten careers” that ladder matches used to have when I was a kid. The early mistakes inadvertently made the match better because it made the rest of the match not feel like a choreographed show

I get Dan’s sentiment of “Who else could win it? What are they doing now?” However my counter argument is that they have a year to build someone up. When NXT moves to the CW, a channel in as many homes as Fox, they’re going to start treating NXT like a big deal. Using the briefcase on the NXT Title could’ve been a smart option, especially since we’ve had a Royal Rumble winner challenge for an NXT Title before too.

For the love of God don't stick us with 2 Cody rumbles then give us a John Cena rumble

Amazing intro, love it

Okay but that new intro is soo much better

I don't know if Wrestletalk will see this, but it looks like my Ultrachat went missing, since it didn't get read out :(

Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for the new opening theme. I just couldn't handle the last one. This is a massive improvement.

I’m all for the MITB being used to advance a story. My thing is. How is the Drew and Punk story getting advanced. Punk already cost Drew the title last month. It feels like a repeat to me. It gives something with Seth but I don’t really see what it adds to Drew.

Whoa, check out Professor 'Tan' Layton over here 🌞

Hot fueds drew vs punk hangman vs swerve are gonna just get more heated I think hangman gonna do something to heat up his fight with swerve soon for all in

Firstly I really enjoyed the show last night. Well, the matches anyway. However, a thought that popped up in my head was Oli once standing up for these absurd commercial spots and the half hour between matches. I don't think Triple H loves a 5 match card, I think Triple H has to work around literal hours of commercial bs. He could also be involved in that decision but honestly I don't think I will watch a PLE live again until the Rumble.

Woah, new intro. WOAH, new Dan hair!

And Dan has different hair!?!? What is happening right now? Is this a different timeline??

Good to see Dan back.

new intro is dope

I feel they could of had punk screw drew and still have la knight or Melo win the briefcase it's so fun when a great talker has it they could of made a star and advanced the punk feud

Totally agree with your opinions on the show overall and specifically the storybeats for all involved going forward. Show was pretty good, but I guess some people are expecting more but each to their own. Go and watch some 2019 Raw and decide if this shows trash or not lol😅

@fscorpion678

16 күн бұрын

You can think this show was bad while still acknowledging 2019 was worse like? You can have those two thoughts lol

@1307PSON

16 күн бұрын

@fscorpion678 Fair enough bud. I think saying this show was actively bad is wrong but we're all allowed our own opinions. Predictable the show may have been but sometimes good storytelling is predictable and has set up numerous interesting character beats going into the road to Summerslam. If you didn't enjoy then all the power to ya but it wasn't exactly a 1 out of 5 show was it lol... hence the 2019 remark

I love the new theme guys!!! Gave me old school Raw vibes

I like the new intro!!!

Great review guys, loved the intriguing direction the Drew, Punk stuff is going and now Seth is back in the mix can only get better

I get ppls frustration with the cash in, but I see the vision. Gunther is definitely winning the WHC at SummerSlam and once that happens, nobody asking on on him or Cody. The contract was gonna be wasted either way, so why not get rid of it now?

Nice new opening👍

i think it would be amazing to have two money in the banks

That Kick out Snafu could reset everything. Miz would demand a reset. Seth won, Drew's match should have been one on one with Seth.

Seemed like it took forever for samantha to announce Drew cashing in. Should of been quicker.

Drew and Punk’s rivalry has been so good that we kind of forgot about how much Seth hates Punk too

How do I simultaneously hate and love this new intro. This intro is cool, slick and is very elaborate but at the same time it's change and like Stewie Griffin I don't like change.

@ericastein3926

16 күн бұрын

I think it’s the new Support Wrestle Talk audio portion that I disliked. Up till then I was like oh this is really fun.

Wait I'm sorry, hold up. Wow with the new intro!

You really need to take the idea of the Briefcase as its a storyline vehicle. And the way last years priest run with it was good. But if they have significant storylines across the year planned, then you need to make sure that there isnt too many things to thread the stories together. And the briefcase will always be a thing that you need to have a consistent theme across the term of having it to work with. And if you go back to how Theories run with the briefcase went, you can see that having a mcguffin with no story plan can completely hurt the character and how they work with other stories..

I like the visuals of the new intro but not the theme itself.

Intro is LIT

I hope on monday we see Liv in the background talking to the ref. Just to plant the seed that she was the mastermind to make sure Damion kept the belt. That the count was not a botch but a plan

Nooooo I wanna sing jam that jam

Jacob fatu is great. He is the main one who actually makes his moves look real and very painful.

The problem with the cash in is the same as every year. They have 2 briefcases but dont wanna book 2 mitb people so fast cash one (usually the womens) then slow book the other. This is every mitb since there have been 2 briefcases.

Something I don't quite understand: in kayfabe, why, exactly, is cashing in on an ongoing match considered a smart move? It seems to me that using it after a match when the winner is exhausted and barely moving would be a significantly better strategy. But people talk about it like Seth's blueprint for making Reigns/Lesnar a triple threat was a stroke of strategic genius. In the real world, I get that - it took a heatless match and course-corrected it into an iconic moment with a winner anybody wanted to see as champion. But in kayfabe, isn't that actually just Seth putting himself into a situation in which his opponents - two menaces, no less - are still able to actually fight back? Same for Drew here, except he didn't get lucky.

Dan's argument that he was excited for the first few months of Priest's mitb run because of story possibilities but then he got bored because they didn't do anything with it.... IS the argument that HHH doesn't like the mitb briefcase. He's had three years of mitbs to be in control of and he's done nothing with them story wise.

Here’s how I would’ve booked it. Drew has been HYPER fixated on Punk…not so much the title. So Drew should be “seeing red” in a sense toward Punk, screw the title. So the booking is, he makes the announcement that he will cash in later in the night if he wins the briefcase. The moment comes, he cashes in…but all the cash in is is a ploy to draw out Punk because Punk won’t face him straight up. He only relies on jumping him. So Drew cashes it in and forsakes the match altogether as he turns his attention to fighting Punk. Audience finally realizes, oh wait, there’s still a title match going on, Seth distracted by the brawl going on causes him to lose and we get to the same place we arrived at on the actual show. Seth beefing with Punk because he can no longer challenge for the title as long as Priest is champ. And Drew and Punk is now taken to another level as Drew cerebrally lured out Punk.

The messiness of the womens MITB added to the awesomeness of it.

The cash in now puts seth in an awkward spot where if he wants another shot at the belt he would want to help gunther win

The Bar was Solo? That's why he's the Tribal Chief rn 4:00

Look at Dan with the lilac hair 👌🏾👌🏾

I think for SummerSlam, it would be great for Sami Zayn to go against Dominik Mysterio where the odds are in his favour, but with Judgement Day interference and Dominik's cunning he is the one to dethrone Sami. Imagine the heat Dom would have winning the IC title.

That new bumper is very loud!!!

My issue is that it’s been so long since we had a strong Mr. or Ms. MitB that was built up while holding the briefcase. Sheamus did nothing in 2015 Dean Ambrose cashed in the same night he won it in 2016 Baron Corbin lost his cash-in by rollup in 2017 Carmella held it for a long time but didn’t really do much Braun Strowman had an awful run then his Hell in a Cell cash-in ended in no contest in 2018 Alexa Bliss, Bayley, Asuka, Nikki ASH, and Liv Morgan all held onto the briefcase for 24 hours or less Brock Lesnar just came out of nowhere and won it in 2019 all to quickly build a WrestleMania rematch Otis won it essentially by accident in 2020 only to lose it to The Miz after a lawsuit, who then cashed in and held the title for 8 days Big E had a very rushed cash-in to pop a rating in 2021 Austin Theory, well, you know what happened there Damian Priest held it for a while but didn’t do much in that time. They didn’t build him up as a main event player and now he still doesn’t feel like it. IYO SKY held the case for just under a month, so they had to spent a majority of her reign building her up as a top singles star instead of doing it before she won the title. Edit: I think it’s disingenuous to say Drew *had* to win because no one else in the match was at that level. Money in the Bank is supposed to elevate someone to that level. Just because it hasn’t in a while, doesn’t mean it can’t anymore.

Hot take: Cena should beat Gunther at mania 41. Have Cena win the rumble, have a feud with Gunther, and finally win his 17th. Gunther will win it soon after, but that’s the main path to #17 that I see

Aww shoot new intro theme!

Honeslty this PPV was pretty good imo, it's not one of the best ppvs in the Triple H era but it was good. And at first i was like everyone else who was upset with Drew winning because I didn't think he needed it, but im okay with it since not only did it add even more to the drew and punk stuff. It also brought back the anger Seth had to punk which will lead to them having a match soon which for someone like me that likes both Seth and Punk, I cant wait to see that match. So for me personally I'm okay with this decision.

I do hope they play into the botched pin. I feel they missed a beat not doing an Orton Gunther rematch after the botched pin, but now we're in a situation where the SS WHC match has a lot of holes, and to Dan's point of having too many significant botches lately becoming a problem; I think acknowledging it is one thing, but not trying to weave it into the story can come across as lazy. On Raw, I'd love it if its revealed that Judgement Day bribed the ref to save Priest, and this pisses Priest off because, once again, the JD couldn't stay out of his business, but Finn calls him out as a loser, fracturing the group more. As for Seth, he was screwed, so he should be added to SS, but now, if he loses, he can't challenge if either Priest or Gunther win. Gunther can feel slighted, but then they can point out his KOTR botch. The Triple Threat isn't just for the title, it's for Priests place in JD, Seth's contendership, and Gunther will lose his status as King. High, high stakes. And finally, Drew v Punk. Give them an unsanctioned match at SS, but Drew only agrees that if he wins, he gets a guaranteed title shot, but if Punk wins, he gets it instead.

Seth vs drew vs punk for the MITB briefcase @ SUMMERSLAM

Naomi did have her moment wrestlemania orlando Also Naomi next reign should be as a heel. She loses all year and turns and dethrones bayley could be interesting

The ring sponsorship is so much worse than the sponsorship of the case

The only issue that I got with the cash in is that Punk is not able to fightDrew can only do too much before is completely need for him to be there

I liked what they did with Drew post-show.

36, didn't become a John Cena fan until the aj styles feud

An idea for the cash in that they could’ve done is, Drew comes out and is about to cash in, punk then comes out and beats up Drew and beats him with a weapon and accidentally hits Seth and costs him the match. On the next raw, jey gets a match for the briefcase, punk comes out to try and screw Drew again but Drew stops him, Seth then comes to get punk. Drew and Seth double team punk but Seth accidentally hits drew and jey wins the briefcase. Seth gets involved still, Damian is still champ, Drew and punk get to further the rivalry, and you still get a chance for jey to be champ still.

I split king/queen of the ring and money in the bank by gender each year. i think that having the same match double each year loses some of the mistic about it and makes the overall storylines more repetitive. I would just make it like one year have MITB and the women have Queen of the year, and then the next year alternate, to keep them separate and make everything more memorable and more unique.

That new intro is 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

YOOOOOOOOOOO THAT INTRO IS FIRE

I mean we already have TNT and TBS championships

Cena should put over wade barrett as apology for ruining the nexus monster momentum all those years ago

New theme is a banger

The Punk interference during the Drew Cash-In was just really predictable. If Punk was going to cost Drew a match, have him knock Drew off a ladder and then crown a winner who can be elevated to the main event level. My only theory on why they did it this way, was because they wanted to get rid of the men's briefcase as quickly as possible so it doesn't interfere with the inevitable Gunther title win at Summerslam as him and Cody are probably going to have lengthy title reigns

Hope they run with a story that Judgment Day bribed or threatened the referee to not count to three for Damian.

I think Damian Priest is going to retain at Summerslam against Gunther

You say all other competitors were doing other stuff. But so was Drew Mcintyre😊

All the reason that ppl give for the other 5 ppl not getting the briefcase ignore the fact that they can build someone up over a year before they cash in. We don’t know where these characters will be in 6 months

Luke spot on about cena, I can relate too brother