Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Pod Warriors #4: Backlash to Backlash
27 Plays4 years ago
Seth & Jordan discuss the, um, backlash to Backlash!
Become a Premium Foley Fam Member at chickfoleyshow.com
Use code CHICKFOLEY to save 10% on all your wrestling figures at Ringside Collectibles. ringsidecollectibles.com
Recommended
Transcript
00:00:01
Speaker
Ugh!
Introduction and Format Changes
00:00:18
Speaker
what is up foley fam we are back with the fourth edition of the pod warriors gonna be doing something a little bit different tonight but before we get into that let me start by introducing my compadre my partner in crime my tag team partner in the pod warriors jordan what's going on man
00:00:36
Speaker
everything's good man yeah this is uh gonna be a change of pace for everyone that's listening to the first three so uh we're gonna keep you guys on your toes with these episodes so be prepared for some more
00:00:50
Speaker
Yeah, for sure.
Backlash Review and Travel Issues
00:00:52
Speaker
This is going to be a instant review of backlash not quite instant we're wanting to do this last night, but I had to go down to Tennessee for work and my dumb ass forgot to bring my headphones with me so this is backlash plus the post backlash raw review that we're going to bring you guys tonight.
00:01:12
Speaker
We're trying this out. We'll see how this feels. We'll see what kind of feedback we get from you guys, the listeners. And if you like it, this is something that me and Jordan may start doing every night as soon as a pay-per-view ends. So ideally, we would do these 10 minutes after the final bill for the pay-per-view and then get that out for you guys to listen to the next morning. So we'll try to make that happen next time if you guys like this.
Weekend Recap and Kentucky Adventures
00:01:36
Speaker
But before we get into backlash, Jordan, how was your weekend, man?
00:01:40
Speaker
Weekend was good. Watched some backlash last night, obviously. Celebrated Mother's Day with my wife. Watched some Kentucky Derby and did some drinking. So yeah, all in all, really good weekend.
00:01:53
Speaker
Hell yeah, man. We're still in Kentucky right now. I'm still at my parents' house. We're one week closer to moving to our house in Tennessee, though. And we're actually going to have a dedicated podcast room there. So that's going to be pretty
Enhancing Podcast Production
00:02:06
Speaker
cool. So you should see the overall production quality increase a little bit with the entire Chick Foley show network.
00:02:14
Speaker
I heard the complaints from a couple people last time. We addressed it on the show why I was using my NPR voice, talking a little bit softer, a little bit quieter, a little bit more low key. But you know, my parents got the genuine hardwood floors. And one of the downsides of that is the sound just echoes in this house like crazy. And I wasn't trying to wake up the kids. But I heard the criticism and the observations loud and clear. So tonight, I'm just bringing the fucking thunder, dude.
00:02:40
Speaker
the fucking fresh wax floors. I'm going to hold you back tonight. Yeah, nothing is stopping me. You're going to, you're going to feel my, uh, feel my thoughts on this backlash event.
Promotions and Listener Engagement
00:02:51
Speaker
Um, we want to remind you guys to use code chick Foley to save 10% on all your purchases at ringside collectibles and check out the pod foundation. The pod foundation is our network of podcasts that we're a part of along with term buckle tavern.
00:03:04
Speaker
the extra cooler show and coming down the aisle. The easiest way to keep up with all the releases from the various shows is by following at pod foundation on Instagram. So check that out and give all those guys a listen because we all kind of have our own flavor we bring to the wrestling podcast game and it's all quality. So Jordan, you got any, anything else you need to get off your chest before we get into backlash? No, you pretty much covered everything that I'd cover and more. So let's get into it.
00:03:36
Speaker
Alright, sounds good. Let's start with the
WWE's Pre-Show Changes
00:03:39
Speaker
pre-show. So this was the second straight event along with both nights of WrestleMania that we had no match on the pre-show, which is kind of weird, especially considering there were only six matches on the regular show for Backlash.
00:03:52
Speaker
I'm not really sure why they've gone away from having kickoff show matches when that's been such a staple for WWE really over the last 20 years. What's your thoughts on the no pre-show match, Jordan?
00:04:07
Speaker
So I guess WrestleMania was one thing because they just wanted to get everybody hyped up for it. This one, it just kind of felt weird to me. There was definitely people they could have got on the pre-show. I mean, I don't know. I mean, it just it seems really weird that they don't utilize that time better. I mean, I'm all for a little talk show, but we don't need an hour of them hyping up backlash, which was basically a televised house show going into it. I mean, we'll get into what we thought of it, but
00:04:37
Speaker
Yeah, I just I don't I don't like the hour pre show if you're not going to do any action because I don't need to hear what Booker T and everybody thinks for an hour. I already know what they think. So yeah, I'm kind of over this hour pre show with no matches thing.
00:04:51
Speaker
Yeah, I agree man. I, not that I didn't like what was presented on the pre-show, but if there's not going to be any matches, let's just go with 30 minutes. Cause the problem is that I'm a, I'm a freaking wrestling degenerate. So I'm going to watch, you know, I can't not have it on. And the problem is that they have occasionally over the years, just not announced to kick off match, but they still end up having one anyways. You know, you end up getting some surprise unannounced match that goes down. So like the whole time last night, I just kept expecting something to start up, you know, give us some random tag team match with the,
00:05:21
Speaker
the street profits or something just to get the crowd going and get the kinks worked out before the opening bill. The other thing I don't like if I can offer up another soft critique before we get into the matches.
00:05:33
Speaker
the video packages, you know, for kids of the attitude era and really even the new generation era, because they kind of started kicking up the the dramatic hype packages during the new gen. That was always one of the best parts of the pay-per-view, you know, kind of reliving the last four to six weeks of the feud. They always have some killer music behind it and just really gets you psyched up for the match. But it kind of kills the buzz when they use the exact same videos that are going to be used on the pay-per-view in the pre-show. You know, you've already seen all the hype videos.
00:06:04
Speaker
by the time the actual pay-per-view rolls around. I mean, correct me if I'm wrong, they didn't used to do that, right, Jordan?
00:06:10
Speaker
They did not. This is definitely a new thing. And I think we're going on. Well, cause the real rumble, they did the exact same thing cause we were there and we were just sitting there waiting for a match to happen and another hour pre-show for no reason. It's just, they just take away from like the whole aspect of the night. I agree with you. Like bring back some, uh, some video packages, a little lit biscuit and don't play them on the pre-show and get me excited again.
00:06:37
Speaker
Yeah, definitely. Let's get into the actual event.
Cody Rhodes vs. Seth Rollins Feud
00:06:41
Speaker
It started off with the American Nightmare and Seth freaking Rollins. You can't forget the freaking since that's officially part of his name now. We saw freaking take on the nightmare. The match went 20 minutes and 45 seconds and ended with Cody getting the win by cheating a little bit. I thought that was an interesting booking decision that we saw Cody get the win with a handful of tights.
00:07:02
Speaker
Do you think this was just a case of turnabout as fair play because Seth had tried to get the tights with Cody or do you think we're going to start seeing, you know, some shades of the heel version of Cody over the next couple of weeks? What do you think of that one, Jordan?
00:07:17
Speaker
I honestly liked it because they've just been hyping. Cody has this huge baby face and everything since coming back. They've done a great job with it. I know me and you have shit on this a little bit, but they really have done a great job with this. Last night, I will say this, last night felt like a big match, even though it was the opening match. I know Rollins brings out the best in everybody, but Cody definitely put it down last night and I was really impressed.
00:07:45
Speaker
I seriously think they're just trying to give you a little, uh, a little something to think about. I don't think he's going to go like full heel or anything like that, but I liked the ending. Um, I thought it was kind of neat that they did that because a baby face usually won't do it. Um, but yeah, I can't rip Cody anymore after last night. He's no longer, I'm not going to call him the mid-card Cody roads anymore. He definitely has earned his spot in WWE, you know?
00:08:10
Speaker
Yeah, they were clowning me in the live thread on our exclusive Facebook group that you can join at chickfullyshow.com. I said WWE Cody just hits different, man. I had to break down and admit it.
00:08:23
Speaker
Yeah dude, he's been, um, this, this two or basically two month run or whatever that we're on right now. Um, I guess it's only a month, but it feels like it's been two months. Um, it's been really good, man. Uh, AW Cody has transitioned really well into WWE.
00:08:41
Speaker
And as much as it pains me to say this, this version of Cody Rhodes is definitely built for WWE. The bigger stage and stuff like that definitely suits this Cody Rhodes. Dash and Cody Rhodes, Stardust, that stuff wasn't meant for WWE. This Cody is definitely meant for WWE in the main event.
00:09:01
Speaker
Yeah, I've ragged on Cody more than just about anybody to the point that it's kind of become a meme in the Facebook group how much I hate on him. But yeah, something about it, man. Maybe it's some truth to what he was saying that he kind of let his insecurities get the best of him in AEW. He just seems confident in
00:09:18
Speaker
his promos, the way he carries himself before matches and the actual in ring action. I actually preferred the match last night to the one at WrestleMania was action packed had the crowd on their feet. It was a hot crowd for basically the entire 20 minutes. And yeah, I would buy this Cody in the main event like full stop man, he is just killing it right now. And really happy to see it because it's always awesome getting another big star. I will say as much as I hate Cody, I'll remind you guys go back to October of
00:09:46
Speaker
last year at the three year anniversary episode of the chick Foley show. I was the one that picked Cody as my, you know, top wrestler of the chick Foley show era, based off all the work he did starting AEW. So I've always, I've always respected Cody. I certainly liked the onscreen character, but awesome match. Uh, did you happen to catch raw tonight, Jordan? Um, so I saw a little bit of, I saw the Cody in theory match.
00:10:11
Speaker
Yeah, so Seth comes out and interferes as it looks like Cody's on his way to become a United States champion. Gives him a pretty good beat down, hits a curb stomp on a table, which I don't really understand the physics behind that. I mean, to me, I would probably rather take a curb stomp on a table than on the floor or in the ring. Am I crazy about that one? Yeah, I didn't really understand that one either. It just looked weird when he came out. I mean, everybody kind of figured this was what was coming, but yeah, I don't know. The aesthetics of it just doesn't hit the same as the in-ring curb stomp.
00:10:41
Speaker
Yeah. I, uh, you would think, man, if, if they really were presenting wrestling as a true sport, anybody that was facing Seth Rollins, you would know, like never get in like a halfway I'm halfway down position, you know, never bend over, never get on all fours, no matter what you do against that either you're standing up or just stay down, stay down on your belly and, and, you know, roll to the outside of the ring. Right.
00:11:06
Speaker
Yeah, man, the way you just described those first three things, I thought you were going somewhere else with that. But yeah, definitely don't stay on your belly if you're wrestling against Rollins. Same thing with Shawn Michaels, man. If you ever hear the stomps coming from the corner, don't stand up. Just roll out of the ring. Do something else. He's letting you know what's coming, man. Why in kayfabe would you ever stand up if you hear Shawn Michaels stomping in the corner? All right, now we're just going to unravel a thread that's never going to stop. So we better quit it.
00:11:37
Speaker
Do you think we're looking at hell in the cell with Cody and Seth? That seems to be the logical next step in the feud.
Money in the Bank Speculations
00:11:44
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, we've talked about this before on the Chick-Fully show about how a cell match needs to be meaningful, right? I feel like this is a proper use of it, honestly.
00:11:59
Speaker
It has been a good feud, even though it's been, I mean, whatever you want to say, it has been one sided. I mean, it's two, oh, but Helen Estelle is the great burn off. And I mean, if they're going to do something big with Cody this summer, which by all indications, it looks like they are, um, that would be a great way to send them into summer. Right.
00:12:19
Speaker
Yeah, if I'm booking it, I'm looking at it as WrestleMania. Rollins had an out because Cody was the surprise opponent and he was overwhelmed. Last night, Cody had to grab the tight. So if I'm set, Cody still doesn't have a true clean victory over me. So this would be the chance to really definitively put Cody over and put him on that trajectory through Money in the Bank and SummerSlam and beyond. Do you notice Cody was the spokesman for Money in the Bank this year?
00:12:45
Speaker
I did. And I noticed they also brought up WrestleMania main event during the Money in the Bank promo too. So two interesting things to think about as we roll into Money in the Bank. Yeah, I was on some, I'm a big Reddit user on the Squared Circle forums on there. And the, I may have one or two words off on here, but basically Cody said that, you know, they'll be competing at Money in the Bank where one man and one woman will win the chance to main event WrestleMania.
00:13:13
Speaker
So either that was just a weird choice of phrasing, or maybe they're tweaking the money in the bank gimmick to where you go and wrap up a shot at mania, you know, basically nine months in advance. So that'd be kind of weird if they did that. But it was definitely interesting. What was, what was your take on that phrase? Do you think it was just some weird WWE branding thing? Or do you think they are changing the money in the bank gimmick?
00:13:35
Speaker
Okay, so here's my thing. Um, I think they want you to think that they're going to hold it off till WrestleMania. They're not going to straight up say he won money in the bank and now he's guaranteed a shot at mania. They're going to say he has a chance to main event. WrestleMania now Cody is cashing that thing in well before WrestleMania.
00:13:53
Speaker
This is also me assuming Cody wins money in the bank. I think he's cashing it in at like summer slam. I really do. I just, I don't understand what the point of doing that nine months out when we already have the Royal Rumble that leads you for the road to WrestleMania. We don't need the road to WrestleMania to start in July of the previous year that I don't understand that.
00:14:15
Speaker
Yeah, it's kind of definitely weird it may be their new thing they seem to be tying almost everything into WrestleMania somehow so maybe that's a maybe that's part of it but yeah, we're definitely something to keep an eye on because sometimes, you know, things are rarely done on accident WWE so I feel like there's at least some sort of purpose behind that that specific phrasing on the event like you remember
00:14:38
Speaker
Remember when they were first doing the commercials for the Greatest Royal Rumble, the first Saudi show? And remember how every single ad and every single time Michael Cole talked about it, they always said an event that's going to be equal or greater than WrestleMania.
00:14:52
Speaker
Yeah, they don't put things out there for no reason. I mean, you're exactly right on that. I just feel like this one is to kind of throw us off though. There's no way that they're going to make this take over as the way you get a mania main event. I mean, that would completely devalue the Royal Rumble, which is arguably the second biggest show every year.
00:15:13
Speaker
And I just don't think that they even have the ability to hold their horses and execute that long-term of a storyline. Like, think about it. Within a span of two weeks, we went from having this awesome tag team title unification match to a random six-man tag house show special.
00:15:29
Speaker
Well, yeah. And just think about everybody that's won money in the bank, dude, them holding that thing for 10 months. I mean, you're going to lose the build off of that. Like think if Brock Lesnar held that thing for 10 months, like that would have been the dumbest thing ever. I mean, part of the lure of the money in the bank is striking why the iron's hot. That's why when Otis won it and they waited too long, it just everything wore off on it. Like you have to go when the time is right. And that's why I think putting that stipulation on it would be really stupid.
00:16:00
Speaker
Yeah, it would kind of kill the gimmick as much as I'm kind of I'm over money in the bank in a lot of ways it would kill the gimmick because the other thing about it with the unpredictability it'll that's something that will keep people watching raw week in and week out because it's like you know going back to 2014 like hey, maybe tonight's the night that Rollins is gonna cash in you know, and he ends up holding it so
00:16:19
Speaker
they would definitely be killing the money in the bank gimmick. I'll go on record again. It's saying I think that they should alternate every year. There should only be one money in the bank match. So one year, let the men do it. The next year, let the women do it. Because two briefcases is just too much. And you've seen since they started doing the two briefcase gimmicks, it's been, I want to say every year, at least one person cashes in like within a week of winning a briefcase. Because I just, I don't think WWE likes having two of them floating around for whatever reason.
00:16:47
Speaker
Here's my complaint with Money in the Bank, and we've talked about this with Hell in the Cell too. I don't need an entire pay-per-view dedicated to one match. Dude, the Money in the Bank matches they did at Survivor Series or WrestleMania, those were awesome, man. It's just kind of like an unplanned thing. I don't need to circle a date of when they're doing a Money in the Bank match.
00:17:09
Speaker
I kind of like the unpredictability of it. Like a Survivor Series money in the bank match just makes sense, right? I mean, all brands are there, things like that. I just, I don't get it, man. I just, I think they kind of, I know it's technically their fifth biggest pay-per-view now, but it still feels like kind of a wasted one to me. Cause like you said, we don't need two money in the bank matches in the same pay-per-view, let alone the same year.
00:17:34
Speaker
Yeah, and if you did, if you got away from it being its own thing, you could do like a women's Money in the Bank at SummerSlam and the men's at WrestleMania. You know, I think the Money in the Bank match at WrestleMania is a great way to give, you know, six, seven, eight guys something really meaningful to do on Mania, where they're not left off the card and it's still something that matters, you know, and the matches always generally always deliver, you know, you're not really gonna have a bad eight man ladder match because it ends up being some crazy spot fest anyway, so.
Match Highlights and Surprises
00:18:03
Speaker
Yeah, if any of our moles from WWE are listening, let's maybe think about just sacrificing the money in the bank pay-per-view for the greater good of the creative product. You want to move on to some Omos talk? Boy, do I.
00:18:23
Speaker
Omos beat Bobby Lashley by pinfall. I'm not even gonna lie. This was the match where I took a break to go down to the restaurant at my hotel and grab some takeout wings and come back. And I was coming back with Omos celebrating the win. Jordan, give me 30 seconds on why this is a match we should go back and watch on peacock. No negativity allowed.
00:18:43
Speaker
Okay, so Omos gave us eight minutes and 50 seconds, which I'm pretty sure is one of his longest singles matches, perhaps his longest singles match. Bobby Lashley got him the hurt lock. And of course Omos is just too strong to be locked in the hurt lock. So got out of it. And then of course that sniveling MVP got involved and ended up getting Omos the win.
00:19:09
Speaker
That's why you should go back and watch it. And that's probably less than 30 seconds, but it'll do. I have nothing to add except that I think Bobby Lashley deserves better after the last year and a half that he's had. We could find something better for him to do. So the quicker this thing can get wrapped up, I'm assuming this probably ends with Bobby Lashley having a brand change and going over to SmackDown.
00:19:32
Speaker
The better. Let's move on to match number three. Then I had another WrestleMania rematch, third in a row. Edge defeats AJ Styles in 16 minutes and 25 seconds with a submission hold. It was a kind of like a reverse chinlock bulldog type thing that AJ ends up passing out. Really good match. Another banger again, these two guys, you just know if you put them in the ring, it's not gonna be bad. Like these guys, I honestly think they're incapable of having a bad match between the two of them.
00:20:01
Speaker
We had the hook of the stipulation being Damien priest was barred from ringside. Of course he did like something my four year old would do came all the way down to the edge of ringside. He came to the bottom of the ramp, but I guess that doesn't count as ringside. You know, uh, Finn Balor comes in to make the save. I kept waiting for it, man. I just knew that the whole save thing was going to be a swerve. And we're going to see Finn turn on AJ, but then suddenly a masked person, uh, shows up and knocks AJ at the top rope.
00:20:27
Speaker
Did you know that it was Rhea Ripley from the start, Jordan, or what were you thinking when you saw this person shove AJ off the top rope? Well, first of all, the pants were a dead giveaway that it was Rhea Ripley. And second of all, I don't think Finn's carrying around a fucking donk in the back of his pants either. So it was pretty obvious it was Rhea, but still didn't take away from it. It was awesome. I feel like this match was better than the WrestleMania match, honestly. I really liked this a lot.
00:20:56
Speaker
Dude, yeah, the ending was lit, man. The ending with the actual interference and Finn and Damien Priest are also brought at ringside was better than Damien Priest just showed up and somehow that just stunned AJ Styles into fucking up his phenomenal form.
00:21:12
Speaker
AJ doesn't really have a bad match. I mean, if you go back to since he's got to WWE, like his matches usually are pretty exciting. Dude, I got to give it up for Edge. This dude was never supposed to wrestle again and he continues to put it down. Like this one was, like I said, this one was definitely better than WrestleMania. This was probably one of my favorite Edge matches in a while. Honestly, I really liked this match a lot. I think the Judgment Day,
00:21:41
Speaker
Faction is great for him. He's a great leader of it and hopefully he can Hopefully this really helps Rio a lot And I I'm still hoping that they bring some more people into it because I really feel like edge can help a lot of them You know, I mean, there's just a lot of guys that are like floundering in mid card And I feel like edge can really mentor a lot of those guys. I
00:22:03
Speaker
I still think Finn's gonna end up in there man we've seen Finn in the orbit of this storyline twice now. I felt like he would make perfect sense with his, his Prince persona that he was working when he first went back to NXT. I think Finn would make a really really awesome piece on this and also Finn could be the world champ as part of this faction with edge just kind of being the
00:22:25
Speaker
You know, kind of like the mentor or like, you know, like the final boss for the group. They cut their promo tonight. Edge cut his hair short. Edge and Rhea Ripley are now rocking the same haircut. So that was interesting. But the promo was great tonight. And yeah, like you said, man, Edge has been on a roll. Me and Sheena were watching raw and I actually turned to her and was like, dude, Edge has been killing it for going on, you know, almost two and a half years now since his comeback. There's been no let up whatsoever.
00:22:50
Speaker
They look great together. I can't wait to get figures, man. I want to get Edge in that purple gear he was wearing last night. He'd already matched the Damien Priest Elite. And then we need to get a new Rhea Ripley with the black hair that she was rocking on Raw and on Backlash last night. Yeah, big fan of this. This could be another one, man. Do you think we're going to get Edge and AJ at Hell in the Cell? I think we're going to get Edge and Damien Priest versus Finn and AJ at Hell in the Cell.
00:23:17
Speaker
Mmm, that would be cool because I yeah, they're really gonna put fit in that faction That's the match to do it in have him turn on AJ mid match or something like that I just I feel like those four are gonna be intertwined in the storyline for the next couple weeks
00:23:32
Speaker
Yeah, one thing I love that edge does man that he seems like he's like the only guy on the roster that does it is the callbacks like that promo he cut last Monday night where he talked about people shouldn't be surprised and he reminded them that he was in the Ministry of darkness like when's the last time you heard a Ministry of darkness mentioned like in kayfabe on WWE TV, you know, that was freaking sick man. I just love everything he's doing right now and I'm interested to see how this plays out over the summer.
00:23:58
Speaker
Yeah, dude. I feel like this run is going to get, uh, edge a whole lot more appreciation than, which is sad, but, uh, more so than his previous run, just cause man, he has been so good on this run. Like there's been nothing bad on this run other than him getting hurt right after he came back, but dude, he's been, he's been solid for the last two and a half years. You're exactly right.
00:24:21
Speaker
Yeah, it's still a shame that bitch Daniel Bryan had to crowd into his WrestleMania main event back in 2021. Yeah, that really does suck. I agree with you that Edge has kind of taken up the spots on the all-time rankings on this last run. Do you think he needs to get the big belt once before to kind of cement his legacy for this comeback or is he already a made man?
00:24:47
Speaker
No, he didn't come back to win belts. I think he came back just to prove to himself that he could still do it and do it at a high level. I just feel like at the point in his career, him winning the belt, I mean, yeah, it'd be a great achievement, but putting the belt on edge at this point, like really, what does it do? I mean, dude, the dude's already a Hall of Famer. Like, I don't know how much more you can submit in your legacy at this point.
00:25:11
Speaker
Yeah, true. He's almost at the status like Undertaker was towards the end of his career where he's above the belt, you know. So that definitely makes a lot of sense. But I love this match. And this is another one. Same thing with Cody and Seth. And even Lashley and Omos man, I think the matches were actually better than the WrestleMania matches. They obviously you're never going to be able to match the pageantry of mania.
00:25:31
Speaker
but the entering product, they were bringing it last night, which brings me to the next match, which I love this one day. This was my favorite women's match I've seen probably since, since Britt Baker and Thunder Rosa last year, Rhonda Rousey beat Charlotte Flair in an I quit match. Jordan, what, how much did you love this one? This might be a hot take, but I think this is Rhonda Rousey's best match in WWE. I love this match. Yeah.
00:25:57
Speaker
There was literally nothing bad in this match. I didn't ever feel like it was dragging on or anything, which that's the problem with I quit matches and the gimmick matches. Sometimes it feels like it drags on too long. This was 16 minutes and 35 seconds and it never stopped. They all did a great job. Going into the crowd sometimes can be a stupid thing to do, but she got thrown into the, Rhonda got thrown into the hockey boards. I thought this match was fantastic, yeah.
00:26:25
Speaker
If I was given stars for matches, this would definitely be the five star match for me of the night. It was fantastic. I loved everything about it.
00:26:33
Speaker
Yeah, it was it seemed like a real fight, you know, obviously, if you're in a fight, it's gonna end up being a lot more sloppy and ugly than what we saw there. But it seemed like they both genuinely wanted to hurt each other. There wasn't any wasted moment. There was no time where they were just filling time set up for a big spot. It seemed like these two, these two women just wanted to beat the hell out of each other all night long. I quit matches are
00:26:58
Speaker
kind of a mixed bag historically in wrestling. The first one I always think of is WrestleMania 11, Bret Hart and Bob Backlund with Roddy Piper as the guest referee just screaming into the mic. What do you say every 15 seconds?
00:27:15
Speaker
The other ones have typically not been that obnoxious, but they usually are pretty bad. I thought last night was good, man. I thought they made good use of the microphone, you know, the couple of times where they did jump on there. And Rhonda just looks tremendous, man. She still brings, she's not Brock Lesnar, but she still brings that kind of air of realism to her matches that make you feel like anything could happen. I don't think she ever needs to cut a promo again. I think either just have her be a silent badass or
00:27:44
Speaker
find her a mouthpiece or something, find her a manager. They can speak for her because she's kind of got that, um, that like Seth babyface, Seth Rollins in 2019 thing going where the promos suck and you kind of lose the crowd, um, going into the matches. But by the time the final bell rings, the crowd is like, you know, into it and going nuts. John Cena had a lot of that during like 2013, 14 and 15 where
00:28:08
Speaker
People would act like they weren't excited to see him But by the time you get to the home stretch of the match that you know, people are fully engaged What do you think man? What's kind of your thoughts for how this title runs gonna go for Rhonda? so I honestly am not opposed to her not being there every week just cuz I Mean in the in the last like 10 years we've kind of grown to appreciate the champions more when they're not on every week and
00:28:36
Speaker
So I feel like this is going to do her really well. She 100% needs a mouthpiece. You are 100% right. Every time she gets on the mic, it's cringe worthy. I just, I feel like she gets so amped up when she does stuff. And then I feel like she kind of forgets what she wants to get across. So she just like starts
00:28:56
Speaker
basically spitting out anything that comes to mind and it just doesn't come out well. Also, when you're in the ring with Charlotte and she's the one cutting a promo against you, that's usually not going to bode well for you if you're not good at it because Charlotte is phenomenal on the mic. I wonder where she got that from.
00:29:14
Speaker
But yeah, it's just really hard to listen to Rhonda and take her seriously on the mic. I'm completely fine with them ringing the bell and her come out and kicking somebody's ass and then going straight to the back. I don't, I don't need to hear her thoughts on the match.
00:29:29
Speaker
Yeah. The, the entering action delivers every single time. Uh, it looked like Sonya Deville maybe got fired from being a raw official tonight and is being replaced by Alexa Bliss. So maybe find a way to recycle her and you know, she's decent enough on the mic and she kind of had some of the MMA thing going for her character before Rhonda showed up. So maybe you find a way to tie that in, just let Sonya Deville kind of be her manager. I think, I think that could be something that could work. Yeah, I would like that a lot. I think that would be really good for her.
00:29:59
Speaker
Alright, let's have a beer before we get to these last two matches. Sticking with the college dropout theme that we've had going on the pod wars the last few times. Jordan, what are you sipping on tonight?
00:30:17
Speaker
tonight I am doing a Goose Island neon beer hug or beer hug sorry it's an IPA Goose Island has always been my favorite brewery it's out of Chicago they usually don't have a mist on their drinks so yeah big fan of Goose Island
00:30:36
Speaker
Yeah, have you ever seen their like once a year beer set that they drop like in? Yeah, yeah, Friday. Yeah, I've got five of them out in the kitchen. They're definitely it's definitely like drinking a milkshake, though. It's definitely not something you drink more than one at a night because they are some hitters.
00:30:55
Speaker
Yeah, that's some serious dedication, man. I couldn't do it. They had it at Total Wine, Norfolk. That was like my number one beer spot there in Virginia. And I got the emails when they dropped because I shopped there so much. They were going to give me early access to get it. But I don't know. I couldn't quite pull the trigger on it, man. But I was always interested to try one.
00:31:14
Speaker
I am drinking some of my, I still got a little bit of my Norfolk craft beer stash left. I packed everything up that I didn't drink in my cooler and brought it to Kentucky with me. So I'm drinking from Smart Mouth Brewery. This is the Family Photosynthesis. This was an IPA that was released on Earth Day and it is 100% plant based.
00:31:34
Speaker
I've been meaning to go back and do some research on what makes a plant-based IPA, anything different from a regular IPA. I thought all beers were plant-based, so I owe you guys that. So maybe on Pod Warriors number five, I'll come back with a report on it, but it's a pretty tasty beer. To be 100% honest, I don't know that I would have known the difference between a plant-based and non-plant-based just off the taste, but maybe I'm just not a connoisseur like that.
00:32:02
Speaker
Probably. All right. So you've handled you went solo for old Moss and Bobby Lashley. I'll do the same for Madcap Moss and Baron Corbin. This match was put in the death spot of being, you know, right between a red hot
00:32:18
Speaker
championship match and right before that the six man tag in the main event. So these guys were both set up to fail. But I will say go back and watch this match because madcap Moss is a guy that has a lot of potential. And this was the first time in years, maybe ever man, definitely.
00:32:35
Speaker
it's been at least a decade since I've seen somebody went on a pay-per-view with a frickin sunset flip. So that's your hook to go back and watch Madcap Moss and Baron Corbin, you know, for all the aficionados. The sunset flip used to be a high spot back in the 80s, man. Like if you hit a sunset flip anytime before 1986, you were pretty damn sure you're going to get the 123. Am I right, Jordan?
00:32:56
Speaker
Oh, 100%. Also, this is a second straight pay-per-view. Somebody's kicked out at the end of days, which is pretty depressing, honestly, considering that move was so protected. And now we got people kicking out on it in back-to-back pay-per-views.
00:33:11
Speaker
Yeah, I was singing Baron Corbin's praises on the last episode of the Chick Foley show. I think I may have may have cursed him or something, man. It seems like the rose has definitely fallen off the bloom there for Corbin here. That's two straight high profile pay-per-view losses.
00:33:27
Speaker
Let's get to the main event, the six man tag.
Main Event Analysis
00:33:32
Speaker
We were calling it the house show special earlier. Roman and the Usos going up against RK McBro, Randy Orton, Matt Riddle, and Drew McIntyre. Jordan, I'll start with this man. Was this match better or worse than the tag team unification match would have been?
00:33:50
Speaker
I still think it's worse than what that would have been just because for the fact that six man matches kind of get muddled a little bit in the middle and they did have some spots where it was kind of like a cluster fuck right. I just feel like arcade bro on the Usos would have just created magic and thrown down.
00:34:08
Speaker
then that's not to say that this match wasn't good because the match itself was good. It was surprisingly better than I thought it was going to be. I just, I really wanted that RK bro and Usos match to end this show and I'm still kind of pissed we didn't get it honestly.
00:34:25
Speaker
Yeah, I don't even know that it necessary it necessarily would have been a better match from bell to bell because this match did rock, but it would have been more meaningful, right because that's my big thing coming away from this one the match was awesome. I mean this was six guys at the absolute top of their game like you talk about a w.
00:34:44
Speaker
or New Japan being the wrestling organizations for work rate. I don't know if you're putting together six guys in a match that could do better than what these guys were last night. They all look like gigantic stars. And it was really kind of like AEW or like PWGS the last 10 minutes, all the big spots they were doing, just back to back to back to back, all the RKO's, all the super kicks. It was just really, really action packed. But
00:35:10
Speaker
It ends up with Roman spearing Matt Riddle and once again 123 Roman wins. So, you know, I don't really think anybody's got to claim and it was clean as you know, it was clean or at least as clean as it could be in a six man tag. So I don't think none of these three guys on the other side of the ring got to claim that, you know, they got screwed over by the bloodline or anything. It's just, you know, once again, these guys are going over and they're kind of running out of people to beat, you know, I really don't know where Romans going to go from here.
00:35:40
Speaker
Yeah, it is really tough. The one thing I will say about these matches, and I mean, this is something that me and you obviously knew already, but dude, Riddle is a star. That dude is a star. That dude needs to be pushed into the main title picture. And my hope is after him and Orton finally do break up and we get that burn off, my hope is that that does put him into the title picture because that dude is a star and everyone loves him.
00:36:10
Speaker
And it's kind of crazy considering like all the talk there was about him backstage in NXT and how you would show up high and stuff, which like, dude, are we surprised by this? Like you knew this going in.
00:36:24
Speaker
Yeah, it's just, I don't know, man, the dude is just an absolute star. So, um, good for him. It sucks that he got pinned at the end, but, uh, I don't really take anything away from this match other than, yeah, who do they have left for Roman and the Usos to beat at this point? Um,
00:36:41
Speaker
Yeah, it's just, this is the problem with when you have such a dominant run like they had. The roster is smaller than it was before. They're gonna run out of challengers eventually and they're almost to that point now.
00:36:59
Speaker
You know, you talked about Riddle being the guy to face Roman. To me, man, Randy Wharton is over as he has ever been. That crowd was red hot for Randy last night. And I think Roman and Cody is a possibility. But if I was putting money down right now, I think we might be getting Roman versus Randy Wharton in the main event at SummerSlam in Nashville, dude.
00:37:20
Speaker
You have a problem is it was, yeah, he's red hot with the crowd, but wait until he turns on a rental. Like that's going to immediately get him the most red hot heat. Cause I think part of the reason he gets cheered is cause people love Riddle. Uh, and it does seem like Orton's having more fun than he's ever had. I've never seen that dude smile as much as he's been smiling. He's last couple of months with Riddle. So maybe there was something to that, but I wouldn't be mad at an Orton in rains match.
00:37:48
Speaker
Yeah, they could do a tieback because remember Randy Orton was Roman's first big singles match on pay-per-view back at summer slam 2014 so I don't know. I just I feel like Romans run through everybody and Roman and Cody's really the only thing on the horizon Right now that's a threat to the bloodline. They were talking. They already brought the unification stuff back up tonight on Raw so I'm hoping maybe we see that at Hell in the Cell just run that back
00:38:15
Speaker
Again, all the, all the dirt sheets and stuff was the speculation was that ticket sales were just kind of slow and they needed to spike them. So that's why they threw Roman and drew in on that main event. And the crowd was lit, man. The crowd was hot from the moment everybody started coming out for that main event. And I thought the guys definitely delivered it just
00:38:33
Speaker
The Indian kind of just had me feeling like, okay, where do we go from here? You know, they didn't really set us up anything after WrestleMania with Roman. And now they didn't set up anything after backlash either. We'll see what happens Friday when the commercial for SmackDown tonight just talked about the bloodline coming out.
00:38:50
Speaker
I feel like it's going to just be another, you know, four minute long entrance where Roman comes out and says, acknowledge me, which is cool. I'm not complaining. This is death. He's definitely in God mode. This is one of the, you know, most legendary runs we've ever seen from a wrestler. But I want to, I want something compelling, you know, that he's only going to be as good as his opponents. They keep putting in front of him. And like you said, they're just running out of guys with the roster as it stands right now.
00:39:16
Speaker
Yeah, and this is the other problem. Usually when they get to right after summer slam is when W really kind of takes a tailspin and doesn't really get going again till January right before the Royal Rumble. So at some point you're going to have to find something to carry you through the low months. That is basically four months after summer slam. And this year it's even longer because summer slams at the end of July as opposed to end of August.
00:39:42
Speaker
I don't know man, they definitely got their work cut out for him. I could honestly, cause I thought by now we would have one unified title. So the fact that they keep doing the two titles, I can honestly see him dropping one of those at one point, not both, but I could see him dropping one of those titles just to kind of carry you through those four months and then maybe do a unified, I don't know.
00:40:08
Speaker
I just feel like they're going to have to do something. You know, we just can't keep doing this same thing for, at some point the ratings are going to tank. I mean, you can't just keep running the same things over and over, right? Yeah. And Drew was, and I can't remember if it was Sports Illustrated or one of the major media outlets. Drew did an interview last week and was already talking about that they needed to split the titles back up. He wanted to take one of the belts off of Roman. So, you know,
00:40:36
Speaker
They've never really fully committed to exactly what the format of this new unified title is going to be. I still think that Vince just wanted to have WrestleMania end with the image of Roman holding up both belts. So it would not surprise me one bit to see Roman drop one of the belts in some sort of screwy fashion just to, to keep the rain going. We know that there's the big pay-per-view and I believe September over in the UK, you got to imagine their main event and that withdrew in Roman, right?
00:41:05
Speaker
You would think so. I mean, do them doing, I don't know, maybe this is just me hoping because we're going to be there obviously, but it just feels like this is going to be the first big summer slam in three years and they're doing it in Nashville, which is known as a party city. I just feel like they're going to do something at the end of that to like, you know, wow the crowd because like,
00:41:30
Speaker
after that yeah they're doing the uk show which that gives nothing to the american fans which is who they usually focus on um after that i mean you don't have anything again till royal rumble so i mean you got survivor series but they clearly don't take that seriously anymore so
00:41:46
Speaker
I don't know, man. I just, you're not excited for the one night of the year when a raw and smackdown superstars compete against each other for brand supremacy. No, I'm sure not. But when they added NXT to it, it was a hell of a lot better. I'll say that I just, I don't know. I feel like they got to do something at the end of summer slam. Like I just, I don't think that this two belt thing is going to go on for cause you have a UK ones in September. So that'd be five months that that would have gone on. I just don't see him carrying it out that long honestly.
00:42:20
Speaker
Yeah, I don't know where they're going to go, man. Like I said, you got Cody. Seth is definitely a little bit down on where he's typically been based off the losses he's had to Cody back to back the last couple of times or the last two paper views.
00:42:40
Speaker
Drew's out there. But like I said, we just, I mean, to me and my, in kayfabe anyways, Roman just went over, drew Matt Riddle and Brandy Orton, because there was nothing cheap about the way they won on Sunday night. We still haven't seen Brock. They could always bring Brock back, but I feel like at this point the crowd would just groan. I feel like I don't think we need to see Brock and Roman for like three years, if ever.
00:43:04
Speaker
They definitely are heating Cody up for something big though. And he did it again last night. He flashed the belt sign when he was walking to the back. So I don't know, man. If you'd asked me this a month ago, well, you and me both, do you think there's a chance that Cody could win one of the belts this summer out? I said, there's absolutely no way, but now I don't know, man. I could see it happening, honestly.
00:43:30
Speaker
I could see Cody being the champ. I don't know if I could see him beating Roman, man. I feel like, I feel like maybe somebody wins money in the bank and get some sort of screwy win to take one of the belts off Roman. And maybe we see Cody beat that person for the championship, but I don't know. Or Cody wins money in the bank after Drew wrestles Roman at SummerSlam and Romans all wore out and then comes down and cashes it in.
00:44:00
Speaker
Yeah, I can see that. I don't know. I don't know if Cody's gonna win off a cash-in though. I feel like Cody wants to win this thing clean, man. I don't know. The good thing about it is I really have no idea where things are going. And that's typically when wrestling is at its best. But Romans just, I mean, Romans really on a run that we haven't seen since Hulk in the 80s, man. And when Hulk was on his long title run like this,
00:44:24
Speaker
It took the million dollar man paying for a referee to have plastic surgery so that he looked identical to the real ref and then still doing a fast count to have Andre the Giant beat him for the belt. You know what I mean? That's what it took last time for somebody's run like this to end. So I just don't know what heel, or I guess you have to be a baby face. That's the other big difference.
Future of Roman Reigns' Title Run
00:44:44
Speaker
You know, Hulk was a face man when he did this. Roman's kind of a tweener at best, but he's still really mostly a heel, right?
00:44:52
Speaker
Yeah, but if he loses one belt, it's not really ending his run. I mean, yeah, if he loses both belts, obviously that would be a gigantic, I just don't think they're doing that. But I do feel like he's going to lose one of those two belts.
00:45:07
Speaker
If they continue this and he just brings out two belts till next WrestleMania, I think that's a mistake just because it does devalue one of the shows because Roman is not going to be on Raw regularly. Yeah, they've got him a couple times in the last couple weeks, but that's not going to be a thing that continues.
00:45:26
Speaker
dude at some point people are going to stop showing up to those shows if the champ's not there right i mean it happened a little bit the summer that lesner was the champion and was never at they had low attendance numbers at certain shows because they knew the champ wasn't going to be there so i don't know there is something to that
00:45:44
Speaker
I guess we'll see. I mean, the ratings have never been a lower for raw than what they've been for the last year. And that hasn't changed anything. So I guess he could easily do it. I just, I don't think that's the best move for him to have both belts for the next year. Yeah. What if, um, what if we get to the end of summer slam? Roman somehow beats Cody clean. And then as you celebrate and you hear this, Jordan,
00:46:14
Speaker
true or false you would have tears coming down your cheeks yeah but the problem so then we're gonna wait for that for eight months and like that's supposed to just hold people over like I don't know man I just maybe maybe the rock could come back and be like number 30 in a rumble or something
00:46:34
Speaker
Yeah, I don't. And The Rock coming back, is anyone honestly going to buy that there's even a shot and held The Rock wins the title? Like, no. That dude is not coming back to do wrestling full time. That dude is the biggest movie star on planet earth. That dude's not coming back to wrestle full time.
00:46:52
Speaker
Yeah, we said that before that rock and Roman will be 100% better if it's not for the belt that at least give you a little bit of sense of uncertainty over what's going to happen. Let's let's put a bow on this one, man. We went about 35 minutes on backlash. Now we've got about 12 minutes on what's going to happen next with the Roman verse. It's you know, lover hated is definitely the most compelling storyline in wrestling.
00:47:17
Speaker
I'm excited to see where we go. You know, there's no clear challenger for Hell in the Cell. We might not see Roma defend the belt again until SummerSlam the way it's looking right now. But yeah, we will definitely, you know, be there every step of the way and every week here on the Chick Foley show.
00:47:33
Speaker
So listeners, let us know what you guys think of this, this new format. If it's something you guys enjoy, we'll keep it going after every pay-per-view. So, you know, we're named the Pod Warriors after the Road Warriors. So Jordan, I want you to give me from one to 10, how many Road Warriors shoulder pad spikes would you give WrestleMania Backlash 2022?
00:47:55
Speaker
You know what, going in I thought it was gonna be about a two or a three, but as usual, when you don't expect anything from WWE, they deliver. I'll give this show a solid seven. I felt like it was good enough in certain spots to, there was three really good matches on it, I felt like. But yeah, a seven for that show is not bad at all, I don't think.
00:48:21
Speaker
Yeah, I was thinking six and a half because it wasn't super meaningful.
00:48:26
Speaker
but the in-ring action was really, really good for the most part, but I'm going to bump it up to seven. I'll get a half spike to match you based off the Ronda Rousey and Charlotte match. Cause I know for a fact that's a match that I'm going to go back several times over the next couple of years and watch again. It was that good. And like I said, it was one of my favorite women's matches I've seen in a really long time. So that is a wrap for our backlash review. Jordan, leave us with some closing thoughts and we'll get out of here.
00:48:55
Speaker
All right, so as usual, we're going to do a quote again, and I tried to make it backlash related. So this is a quote from Kanye West. I know how to swim through backlash. I can tread water through backlash. If anything, that's all giving me power.
00:49:30
Speaker
I had it made, I never strayed From a course with somebody else laid I pledged my fists, I never missed Take a swing now you just can't resist One night, one night You find that you can't turn back So we feel it back to the past Hear it coming, hear it coming, hear it coming
00:50:09
Speaker
Oh yeah