WWE Unreal Season 2 Review! AEW Dynamite Review!

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Or you can do what uh Blake the Ninja suggested. Uh said, Holy, please, please, please stop the QR bits. I thought it was gonna be gone forever when you guys mentioned the fans dislike it, but it still continued it. Yeah, I mean here's the thing. I I was walking to work today and as I did, um really sad and I'm sorry to start the podcast in such a downer but I was just I s I saw this like lump on the floor and I was like this is not good so I went over and I thought and it was a it was a haul.

It was a horse that w had taken its last breath. Oh no. I was really sad about it and because obviously there's a build

It it was just absolutely covered in in debris and in in in, you know, soot and and all of the building materials and I was really I mean that's no way for a majestic creature like a horse to be laying through. So I don't you hate to see that. Yeah, so I grabbed a branch and I and I started to try and sort of like bash away all of Dust and I realized that as I was beating this dead horse,

Underneath all of the dust was a QR code. What? Yeah, and I I clicked it and I arrived in this chair I materialised out of nowhere. It's incredible the lengths that we will go to, including including animal cruelty. Like that that's what we'll do to put to push this butt. Can't trust the YouTube algorithm. So we have to go to some extreme lengths.

Gotta do what you gotta do. Uh and uh apologies once again uh for those who wanted to hear our trades discussion. Uh we did the the twenty minutes on it before we start recording. Sorry about that. It's we got it's like premium, premium content. You can't even get it on Patreon.

But speaking of Patreon, hello. We will be having a Patreon bonus podcast coming out today as well. Because on this episode, we're going to be giving our thoughts, feelings, vibes, reactions to Unreal Season 2 on Netflix. WWE Unreal. As well as reviewing AEW Dynamite, but over at Patreon. Slash Rust Talk. Myself and Dad Late will be doing an episode by episode breakdown of the show, giving our thoughts as each episode uh individually.

uh thoughts and feelings on it going through certain moments that come up there. But with for this episode, it is going to be more of a generalized thought. On the series. Uh so Dan Leighton, uh as someone who actually didn't finish the first series of Unreal until just the other day. Yeah. Uh what are your thoughts uh on the Unreal formats in general and then season two? So I uh am from the generation who absolutely devoured DVDX.

Like I love a behind the scenes documentary. I love a making of that's a real lost art. Is this a three disc DVD collection? You know what I mean? I will have that though. Thank you kindly. Oh, it's the an ultimate steel book? Pfft

I'm in. Sorry, is this a Dutch cut of of Blade Runner? Yes, I will have that one, thank you, because I would like to see what slight differences there might be. What's that? You're gonna show me a behind-the-scenes documentary that's longer than the feature length of your production? Um I'm taking it. So like you got your parrot.

the Caribbean special box set, you've got your um extended editions, uh the the hour and a half long documentary about the making of the social network, all about it. Kevin Smith bloody loved a DVD extra for hundreds of hours at the I love them. So this this is right up. Um, I don't think this series is as good or interesting as I found the first series. The reason I didn't finish the first series was. Just simply because I was really busy.

I was, yeah, I don't mention it very often. But like I was I was really busy at that particular time when it came out and um I have object permanence issues, so once uh I the conversation had moved on, so had I. Um so I never got around to I I I should finish. Should finish it. No, no, never did. So the incentive to this podcast was quite helpful. So I I uh broke the habit and binged the whole thing. And I do think that it was less um

There was less for me to sink my teeth into this series. Yeah. The reason I bring up the DVD extras is because it feels like this is this is that. Um but because we don't have DVD extras anymore and everything is monetizable, this is DVD extras being given a big feature on Monday Night Raw and a whole series with Netflix.

You know,'cause for all of this, like, it's peeling back the curtain like you've never seen before. I do think it was more or less the same sort of stuff. WWE twenty four. I that's exactly what I said. Yeah. It feels like WWE twenty four. But every now and again you'll get a scene from the writer's room. Yeah. That and and that's it. You're like once per episode, maybe twice per episode, you'll have a what feels like such a staged conversation between the creative team about

This. This is a thing that my my wife and I talk about when it comes to reality TV shows uh called fake stakes. Oh yeah. Which is when a TV show has to Th there was a great one at Christmas when uh there was a documentary of Legoland at Christmas and that is actually such a well oiled machine. There isn't a lot of drama about doing this. So the show has to fake some drama. Has to create some fake stakes for the show to keep you hook.

So there was a bit like when some trees were being delivered in and a truck just Slu couldn't quite get round a corner. And it was like, Whoa, tune into the you know, for the next beer because gotta see if the truck goes round the corner. Comes back, the truck got around perfectly fine. Uh they were doing an outside stage show, but then it started to rain and it was like, Oh man, this weather might come in Windsor. We haven't got a lot of time.

To to complete all of these, you know, doing this in like November in Windsor. Yeah, of course you got a bit of rain. And you come back no, it didn't affect them whatsoever. It's like pure fake stuff. And I felt like this um when they were doing the some of the backstage like creative me. There were some fake stakes on show.

The biggest one being when uh Bruce Pridge was like, What if Pat McA what if Pat McAfee beat Gunther? Yeah. Bug her off. No, you didn't have this conversation. And yeah, I believe that they did because how many times have we talked about this? Like I d you know, I found this actually so

I found those scenes quite illuminating this series. I quite like that there was a bit of conflict. There wasn't much conflict in the writer's room last season, but there was a bit of it there here, and we'll we'll go into more depth on the deep dives in each episode. But um I There was a uh I r so you you use your twenty four comparison. I really like WWE twenty four. Me too. I really like seeing inside a writer's room specifically. There was a documentary about

uh how a friends episode gets put together. It's called the one that goes behind the scenes. I think I might have mentioned it before. Um but it's available on YouTube. It was also available on the season ten DVD extras. Uh-huh. Um but it came out just before the launch of the sixth series because it's to do with the uh pi premier episode of the sixth season of Fred.

Um which don't jog my memory was was when they come back from Vegas. So Ross and Rachel are doing them with having got drunk married. Great storyline. Yeah. And I um watched it, I must have been all of ten, I think, and I absolutely devoured this episode. Because I found it to be Like I was getting a peek into Santa's workshop. Um

every aspect of it, but specifically the writer's room. It starts with them coming back from the summer break, having a look at what sets they've left up. And then they realize pretty quick. They're like, we'll leave all these sets up because the episode will be invased.

And then they realise pretty quickly that there does not a lot of story in Vegas. So like how do how do we deal with that and what do we do? And then they spend long days around the these this big table, no laptops out because, you know, there weren't many laptops. It's the nineties. It's the nineties. Of all of these, and the way they describe it is I'm surrounded by incredibly smart people making jokes. And I just was like, Oh my God, what uh what

like heaven that must be. I and I and ever since then, that's what's brought me into this. I my dad was always like, You'll never get a job watching telly. Ha! I uh Um but I always wanted to be involved. somehow in making. Um, which I think is gonna be really interesting about this. I I described it upstairs. I think you and I are gonna come at this from completely different perspectives. Cause I'm coming at it from the perspective of a performer.

and uh sort of a writer and all the rest of it, and you're coming at it from the perspective of someone who is a a fan and a critic and and is a really good at putting everything in its context Mm-hmm. Yeah. reactions to different bits. The thing I was also so curious about was how WWE presents themselves. Exactly. That's the context of like in particular when they were talking about the R-Truth situation and it was like a pure PR spin episode about how the R-Truth situation was handled.

Even though they do have like Cody Rose being like, You don't do that and Rhea Ripley being like, I was gussing when they did. But they were like, We never released him. It was never released. It was never actually fully released. It was a negotiation tactic. Yeah. Which like is the thing. I get. I understand. But but also I but I s I would say

I don't know I don't know if I believe you. Right, right. Well that's that's that's what I'm saying. I I think you sold you told him, we're not gonna renew your contract. And it was like and he might have read that as we told him of release. And he was like, Yeah, I read it as being released. And that's because I think I think they told him we're not gonna renew your contract. And I would argue that he's wrong.

Because he's not being released if we're not renewing his contract. Which w we when we uh do then he's well within his rise to be like, I'm being let go because they don't want to renew my contract. And that's if it is a negotiation, they tried to call his bluff and he called it right back. And that's what's I mean, um you know me and workers we'll we're Save it with a deep dive. Save it with a deep dive. Because I I I found it all fascinating.

Or like the other side of it is um Ed Koske not saying the name Sasha Banks. That was really interesting. But then showing Sasha Banks, like that. I was tagging with Sasha Banks. But Ed Koske, WWE's you know, longtime writer Ed Koske, very well WWE trained.

Yes. Don't say certain things. And this is this is where it ties back into your other point about the the production stakes and things like that. I always find it really interesting, um with reality T V. If you if you well when it gets to a certain point, people start to come wise to tricks because this is so common in all um Reality TV, right? It it's it's reality as far as reality goes. Like Total Divas was a reality show that was

Do you know what I mean? It's Essex is is staged to a degree. Exactly. And and like it's it's in Drag Race is a great example. If you look at the early seasons of Drag Race, there's a fantastic um Bit in s uh so Kelly Mantle is uh drag queen who was eliminated in the first episode of season.

Which was like twenty thirteen, I think it was. It was a long time ago, when it was still trying to hatch what it was what it was. Um and she ri says she's telling the story of her putting on her makeup or whatever, and the producers are like, Kelly, why didn't you ask vivacious about this?

And Kelly's like, Oh, I'm trying to do my makeup. Like I I'm sorry, I I'm up against the clock here and they're like, No, you you have to ask her about this. So she's like, Oh, what was it like growing up gay and like and where you came from? Like whatever. She d she's told to ask a question, so they start having that conversation.

Yeah. So but it's presented on telly like it's a very organic, like, oh we're just having a conversation. Tell me about what this was like. And then they might not even include the bit where she asked the question. It might just be uh constructed into a conversation. And that's how reality TV works. Um there are other people who are then able to try and like

play that game. The later the seasons go, you start seeing the Queens come in with their canned bits in the confessionals. They're they know how to produce their own drama. There there's a season season six is a season of

Quite free of drama, but quite high on high art, good drag, many competitors. Like who no you don't know who's gonna win because there are so many good queens and it's largely thought of because they came in and they were like We're gonna play you at your own game here and we're gonna produce ourselves kind of thing and we're gonna control the narrow

Then you also have it in the all-winners season, which is All-Star Seven, where they were originally apparently they filmed it like they film every season a drag race, but then they chose in the production of it to turn it into a a full celebration and none of the queens were going to be given negative criticism. It was only positive.

And this and then that became a different season that but they filmed it with negative critiques. Yeah. So that's again how the producers and how do how does everyone play their part in the production of this show. And that Ed Kosky example is a real good example of we're gonna tell this story Someone, the person it happened to, the performer, is gonna tell it in a very different way from someone, the company guy toe and the company line.

Because even like he wouldn't say John Laurenitis. Yes. The head of talent relations at the time. And I had to go like who was that? And then I remembered It was John Laurenitis. They won't say Vince McMahon. It was a different creative regime at that time. They wouldn't say Vince McMahon was in charge of it. Because it they it is The other thing to remember from this is like the the Beckham documentary uh or artist. Or the uh

Different in context now, isn't it? Like Jesus. Or the the Robbie Williams one. They are also producers on the show. So It is fitting is there. It's not like um though we had the Sabu documentary on Rest Talk Extra on Rustalk's Patreon. That was a documentarian approach Sabu about doing a documentary about him in the lead up to his retirement match. Like Rob Van Damme is a producer on that show because he came on and he sort of like you know helped arrange a

And they do a very warts and all story. But it's not like Sabu said, I want to do a documentary about my retirement year, and also I want it to present it be presented in this way, which is what this is. This is WWE's like we want it presented in this way where we look like this.

The Beckham's we want to represent it like this in this documentary. We want approval of the edits and and things like that. I want to have approval of the edits. So you're never actually really getting a true look at something because you're getting the subject matters. what they want the outlook to to look

And it's always I mean I always say uh I quite subscribe to that notion of there being three sides to every story. You know, the truth is somewhere in the middle, there's one side, the other side, and the truth is in the middle somewhere. Um it might be leaning more towards one side than the other, but you know, everyone has a perspective.

Um I I actually the bits that I enjoyed the most in this series were the ones that did feel a little bit messier. You know, let's be honest, the people watching WWE Unreal are unlikely to be people who were not familiar with the previous creative regime. Yes. Which is fascinating though, because it's not made for.

Is but and yet let's be honest, who's gonna be watching it? Like I haven't watched an F1 documentary. I was a childhood F one fan. I don't really watch it in the in in the modern era where it's become a big thing, but I don't necessarily watch them. I do watch the sort of well, I have watched the All or Nothings, the football documentaries, because I'm a football fan. Yeah. But would I necessarily watch the I'd maybe watch a show about the Dallas Cowboys here?

But that's what this is, right? This is a show like that Dallas Cowboys, like the F one documentary, which is which is very much what this is based on. I think it might even be the Peyton Manning is Peyton Manning is an exact producer, yeah. Like I don't know if he did the F one one as well, but the idea of this is to try and capture that same zeitgeist thing of

This is a show designed for non wrestling fans to get a look, to get a peek behind the curtain of how to understand why we watch what we watch. Well not even someone watch, how we put a show together. In like this is how F one gets put together. This is how the Dallas Cowboy chill is. You might not be a fan of football at all, American football at all. But you're watching a documentary that's sort of about that a an adjacent thing to it to get a peek into that weird world.

And that's what this is designed to be as well, which is why they can say things like a previous creative regime and you don't have to dive into what any of that means. When Brock Lesnar is on this show later on, revealed in the last thing, they're just like, He's not wrestled for two years. Why is that Michael Hayes?

There was a moment. Sorry, so we don't have to say because it's not important to the narrative of what Unreal is presenting as to why he's not wrestled for two years. I'll I check the clock when the SummerSlam ending episode was happening'cause I was like, Are you gonna even address Brock coming back? I thought it was just glimmering on the scene of it. Me too. And so I was like, Oh, okay. And then you know, Unreal will return. Yeah. In Doomsday. Yeah. Um

I i it is it is interesting to think about the audiences and to think about what they're trying to put across. I personally found the s sort of the personal bit. The bits where there was a bit of a struggle, the bit where there was a bit of a conflict. Far more interesting. I really enjoyed

seeing Lyra Valkyria be very honest about her match going wrong. Yeah. I really found it interesting to talk about the ending of Money in the Bank going wrong. I found it very interesting to see Road Dog and Triple H have a Barney over R truth hair. Yeah, well I uh this series really went out of its way to make Rodot look like a massive idiot.

So it's your favourite pit of television of all time. It was constant to be like, how can we make Road Dog look stupid in this scene as well? There's gonna be a lot on the deep dive. Which I I grant you, I don't think is entirely unreal's file. I think there's probably a little bit of that. That is the road dog Jesse.

James, who actually I am a a big uh uh bones of bic with as well,'cause when he was running down his list of names, he did not say BG James. Did he not? I some sometimes people leave names out and I'm like, hang on, you've you've got me cross there. There was that there was You know what Becky didn't Becky did

She didn't say Rebecca Knox, that got on my nerves. Yeah. But if we're gonna do it, not because I'm like no I'm not like you calling me Chin Jade or whatever, I'm like or like insisting like it's it's Brian Danielson, even if we're talking about the Daniel Bryan era. Yeah, you you love a TNA name. I'm like, I don't really care about that, but if we're gonna establish that

Like here are all of the names we've gone by, you're missing some. Yeah. I'm a completionist. Yeah. Oh interestingly, I thought no TNA footage in the show whatsoever. There was triple A footage in the show. There was no TNA footage in there. The closest we got stuck out to me. There was Lucha Underground. Because they they talked about Chelsea versus Penta from Lutra Underground, which I was really surprised about. And I'm glad that they did.

Um I mean it sort of added nothing to the episode, but I'm glad that they did it. This is what is is it was it was a very nice bridge between talking about two characters. But there was an awful lot of this season that I felt like Are you gonna leave that there? And I and I wonder if they're gonna pick it back up in the third's instalment, but

It doesn't feel like it. There was a th there's a lot I was like, I'm I'm not the reason I didn't enjoy this series as much as I enjoyed the first one was I wasn't it didn't quite scratch as much of the As I wanted. The other thing I would add to that is that it's missing a lot of through lines. Yes, I agree. It is got one thing. It felt like it was going all over the place. Which is g it's got one thing. We are running from WrestleMania three to summer slime. Show never ends

You know, we gotta it's twenty four seven, we've gotta do more stories. The the show must go on. So with that's cool. So we're starting we ended the last series at WrestleMania and we're going through to this year's SummerSlam. But they did a lot of stuff about Chelsea Green. Chelsea Green's not on the summit. So like Chelsea Green's the the main character of Unreal though, let's be honest.

Her and Rhea Ripley. Yeah. Well then there was nothing in Rhea Ripley in this series because Rhea Ripley d had nothing big to do with SummerSlam. But we still had Chelsea Green be like, Here's my big house. We had nothing on J U so. Yeah, Jay Uso wins the world title at WrestleMania forty. There's no follow up to that whatsoever of like so what's the fallout of him? You so you said in series one, you you gain gas, we're not sure if we can really put the belt on you. You gotta show yourself.

Where's the follow up to that? There's no follow up to it. Instead, we'd like no we spend half an episode celebrating Pat McAfee wrestling. We celebrate two episodes on Jelly Rolly Roll wrestling. So this series, Sean Rossapp sort of brilliantly said that this show was going to be the We're Smarter Than You series, and it does come it's a very smug

I felt the W came across so smug in. I didn't get smug. I particularly around the Seth stuff I came across very smug because it's their version of reality. But it's also for me it was like it it I felt very smug, we are better than you, but also look how cool we are because we've got Pat McAfee and Jelly Roll ready.

I got that. I definitely I don't I don't know that I think smug i so this is what's gonna make the sort the conversation around that episode interesting, Patreon.com for Rather, because um

We'll talk about it when we talk about the episode. I think you can say your point now, because I I do have a point that I want to make about that episode. It's just that I don't I don't I I I I have read other people say this, which makes me then think like maybe we just watched it in different ways or maybe we come at it. I didn't get smug from them trying to Do a work.'Cause that's wrestling. I thought the Paul Heyman um

stuff was was really funny. It was very carniv. I really enjoyed it. Paul Ham you talked about like how the the drag race people uh had sort of pre planned pre pre planned things to say, like within the can. Yeah. You can see who are the best media trained people within WWE and Ed Koske knows exactly what he needs to say in those moments. Cody Rhodes.

knows exactly what he's not an I I don't know actually who Cody Rhodes is because I don't believe anything I ever see on TV involving him. Oh I do, which is that's interesting about perception. But Paul Heyman is another one. Paul Heyman didn't talk. Paul Heyman cut a probe.

Yes he did. And so I don't know if Paul Heyman can actually talk. I think he just cuts promos the entire time like he's a great promo. So yeah, I think that's because he only ever talks exclusively in promos. My uh my favourite thing I've ever said about uh ever heard about Cody Rhodes is Kevin Mahan said that Cody Rhodes is such a good liar because he's the son of Amer he's the son of Dusty Rhodes, who is the greatest liar in wrestling.

If c if it came out that Cody Rhodes was not the son of Dusty Rhodes, I would not be surprised'cause it'd be such a good lie. But the only way it can be such a good lie is he is the son of Dusty Rhodes. That's very funny, that's very funny. But it's like it's I mean that's that's the the sort of consumer. professional in Cody Rhodes. I I believe him in most of the things he's saying. And I think the you know, talking about truth and talking about Cena, there was an awful lot

I felt a lot of authenticity from the performers especially. From the from the people up top, I felt a lot more control, which was interesting. Smug is something that I just didn't feel. I absolutely felt the look look at us were cool. I absolutely can see the um uh how the sa not how the sausage is made, that's not the right phrase, but them sort of protecting themselves by

It's all well and good when you give us an Unreal saying he's getting gassed, but we're gonna you know, it's up to him now to get himself together. Well, we now know that that didn't happen. And this was actually a conversation we were having upstairs about um Uh

the job of the creative team when it comes to Look who ultimately when you're trying to push someone to a ps to a a a top spot, how much of that responsibility is the creative team and how much of that responsibility is the wrestler based on the fact that Michael Hayes said

Um, Chelsea Green's got a ceiling. And I went, You're you shouldn't be in that job then. Because for me, if someone is of the talent of Chelsea Green, uh and you believe that they've got it and they can make anyone and they are so committed and their their commitment to getting themselves over their commitment to character and understanding and their passion for this business and their understanding of this business and you don't you can't then let your creator break.

Okay, well how can I push you to the top? I don't think you're doing your job properly. And the other side of that coin is If if I say let's get let's get you to the top level, but then you don't do your job properly, then we need to reconsider that and actually maybe maybe we do need to lower your ceiling again. And that was where Jey Uso's storyline

i or or absence thereof, where we all saw what happened, where he becomes the world champion and it and it doesn't light the world on fire. He said for seven weeks on top. For a number of reasons. And they have to pull back from it. Where was that storyline? That's an interesting storyline in Unreal, but I suppose that one has to make them go, we don't always get it right. And then then the fan perception is gonna be

Jey Uso's not it, and they're telling us in Unreal that Jey Uso's not it. So how then do they heat Jey Uso up in the main show if they're gonna tell us in Unreal that he's like? So that's where it's interesting, where it's like it's not fully a behind-the-scenes documentary, is it? Because you still have to control your narrative.

Exactly, yeah. And and not in the same way that Braun Strowman and EC three tried to control their narratives uh when they did their shows. Um what unfortunately control your narrative was their promotion that they had, yeah. Uh with the rants room. Um unlike the the Chelsea Green thing.

I do think it was very bold of WWE to put out a a documentary where they expose that they have got a lack of depth on on their SmackDown and they are bad at their jobs. Like it was wild. That's why I'm saying I c I don't see it as fully polished and smug because There are nuggets in there where I'm like

You're showing uh you're showing your hands. But I don't think that they see that they are lo uh their hands. Like if anything, Triple H comes across as some there's two times in this show where someone goes up to Triple H and says, I've got an idea and Triple H is like, Hm, why don't you do my idea? And they go, Yes, boss, that's a great

idea. Like it's like that conversation happens twice in two episodes. That's the sort of smug bit. Like and then Rodog's like haven't we all had to do that at some point or another? And then like Roadogs like we should put the belt back on Chelsea and and Triple H is like, why?

Because like who's she gonna face? People she's already faced already. I was like, Yeah, that's kind of that's your problem. It's like and what's she gonna face against people who are above her? Then she's just gonna have to take losses and they're not gonna lose her. And I was like, Well that means you're bad at your job. Yes. And then it comes to Michael Hayes being like, the problem with the create

is that they've got a lot of ideas, but they don't see the long game. Triple H sees the long game. This is the smug bit that I sort of I I come across as. Like it feels like Triple H is is seen as like this all powerful, all knowing, never gets it wrong, ends And then you tie that into the Seth injury. There's a moment in this that Sean Rossap, I think, quite rightly has taken against, which is the perception of how it was reported on afterwards. And they use a tweet. That was it.

That was an aggregated tweet that was incorrectly aggregated. Right. FIFA never reported or confirmed that Seth Rollins was injured. They said there are a lot of people backstage who said it is legitimate, but they never reported he is actually. But the person who aggregated that said P W Insider, who I believe actually did report.

And fight for our reporting. And Sean said, and I've got the tweet put out here, uh, Elite Club SOB incorrectly aggregated us. He deleted the tweet. WW and Netflix saved it immediately and used it. We never reported what they said, which is why there's no tweet of me saying. That's where I think it what I then find frustrating is there is a second half to the story then that is interesting. You had this big elaborate work.

And you was a r and you did it so well in keeping it away from people, only a handful of people knew what was going on. You told Cody'cause he's the top guy, but we have to tell Seth because if Seth didn't know or had to tell LA Knight because if you know if the other way around then Seth you'd be furious about The second half of that story then is, but it still got out. There's only so much we can control. And then you can actually tell the story of how frustrating that is.

That a few people did get find out and it did turn into this other thing. And we've worked around it by doing this, that, and the other. And we try to control it this way. But instead they just play it off as nope, the Dutchies reported that it was real, and then we fooled them all, aren't we great? This is then another thing when it comes to the w the way that reality TV produces, and I'm I'm so loath to make this a uh unique to unreal thing. This is an all reality TV.

That serves their narrative far better. than an extra bit on top where that stuff, which I also find interesting, um, gets looked at. I do think that's something that's left on the table. I think like exploring that would be interesting. I think I think the I I think it it you would it People like mess. Why do we have big microphones in front of our faces? Why does Any any TikToker you watch have a tiny money.

It's to let you know that we're not polished. It's to let you know that we're a little bit you know, while we put a lot of effort in, no one likes to see someone put too much effort in. People don't like to see you be too polished, yeah. So showing us when you get things wrong actually works to your advantage.

Um that's why the Lyra Valkyria stuff really like I really felt for Lyra Valkyria because um I've been in literally her not literally her I wasn't in front of sixty thousand people, but I've been in her position that everything that goes wrong could go wrong. Um and she comes across as raw and honest. Honest. Do you want me to be real? I can't be more real than this. And I can I believe you 100%. And people respond to that. People like when you aren't

Perfect. It's the best stuff in the series. Um and I think that they could do with putting a bit more on that. The the problem then becomes, as I said, if you if you admit a fault like we picked Jusso and it was the wrong choice. That's hard to then lift Jey Uso back up. i like it's not impossible, nothing is ever impossible. Yeah. But it it is shooting yourself in the foot. And that then begs the question, so what

what are you looking to achieve? And if what you're looking to achieve is Um a little bit of intrigue and a nice DVD extra to put on while you're having your toast. You've done that very well. Yeah, because it then raised the question of like, well what's the point of this show then? Like is this show just pointless if you're never looking at any of your own flaws? Case in point, you know, we talked about how like there's no there's few through lines

through this. Like the Seth one is probably the most through line that they have. But they conclude that right at the e or right at the start of the last episode because that happened on night one. And then it's Lyra Valkyrie and they conclude that in the middle of the episode.

Then the last part of the episode is dedicated to Cena's heel turn and like Cena vs. Cody. And it's the first time they've mentioned it. Yeah. And the reason why it's the first time they've mentioned it is because you can't say the heel turn didn't work. You can't go into detail across episodes about how fans are rejecting this. It's not working.

So you just concise that down into one Cody Rhodes thing where it's like, John's too much of a babyface and the fans don't the fans didn't really the fans are never gonna boo him. Plus I had to go film Street Fighter, so we had to do this promo segment where he said I'm a babyface. No. Like A, you shot Street Fighter after SummerSlam anyway, so that Yes. B. Well, I'm gonna push back on you a little bit because what they actually said and th that was um

How do we do this baby face turn? We'll have him shake his hand. I think they the what it sounded like to me was Triple H's or someone's intention was um Cena turns babyface at the end of the SummerSlam match, and then that is affirmed in the way he interacts with Cody going forward. That was that was what they seem to say to me. So then when it's like, well, Cody's not gonna be here, so we can't do that, so we have to do it now. Cody tanks with Cena shortly after SummerSlam. Right.

So he was there. I don't remember, I was busy. Yeah. So like it wasn't like oh we had we it was also you've only got a few dates with Cena after this anyway, so it wasn't like I had a ton of TV. I think it's a real BS excuse of what they did. For me, I think the reason why they did the turn on SmackDown the way they did it is because Brock Lesnar was coming.

Right. And so because you need Brock Klesner to be the heel in the feud, turn him heel now turn him babyface now, then he can be attacked by Brock Klesnar and that sets up the WrestlePalooza match. I think it was more of a means to an end.

as opposed to it being like this well thought out thing. But also you can't like i if anything that exposes you for being a lack of cre like a lack of creative. And are you sorry, are you gonna tell me as well that a a film randomly told Cody Rhodes you gotta come and shoot this movie? No. You would have known those dates were coming up because movies don't get made that way where someone just be like, Actually we're gonna shoot it next week. Are you free?

Are you are you free?'Cause actually I've I've spoken to some of the other cast members and they can do next week at U.S. I don't know, there was a guy in the coffee shop I was just in getting my flat white who had an awful lot to say about the film productions that he's been on. I was I was eavesdropping, he was like

I don't believe you. I think all we're just saying, bro. Yeah, and I to in all fairness, in the defense of Cody Rhodes and the defense of WWE, this Street Fighter movie looks like it was made for about five pounds. So there is every those costumes, mate. Honestly, that film looks Dog S. It looks dreadful in the best way possible. Um like there's a reason why we don't sometimes go too uh too faithful of an adaptation, because it looks like

Crap. That Cody Wigg is not the one. Oh my everyone looks horrendous in that movie. No one looks good in that movie. Um'cause it was made for a packet of peanuts. Anyway. So that's so I think that there's a there's a missed opportunity because you can't say we did a bat. You can't say that we did this thing and it did not work. In the first series you had that we had the big heel turn and it was this epic thing and we still have the thing. But if then the follow-up's not epic?

Then you can't focus four episodes on that. And this is where I'm like, Well I think you can. I think you should if you if you wanted to make an actual real documentary you would. No no I I'm I you don't even have to make an actual real documentary. You can still PR it, you can still control the narrative and say We didn't work, but we were able to pivot.

Like you can st you can spin it's not working in such a way that makes you look brilliant if you want to, because it's controlled reality TV and you choose the narrative. It doesn't have to be a Gorilla Gonzo documentary, like to have it be a a a good insight and and to be something that can ultimately end up doing them good. As I said, we as people like a little bit of humility and a little bit of Yeah, it didn't work. I think a lot one of my things is always like

I respect you for giving it a go even if it doesn't work. I will never criticize or judge you harshly for taking a punt on something and it would not work. J Uso is world champion. I don't criticise you for trying that. In fact you should have over as like rover. I I s when we did our best catchphrases, I was like yeep.

w is on my top ten uh list of catchphrases, it won him a world title. Yeah. It's like it's like even even in the first season of Unreal when they do the bit about Chelsea Green winning the Royal Rumble. Yeah. And coming in number thirty. There's a world there's one there's one wrestler in the entire company where that storyline could work.

It's Chelsea Green. Chelsea Green. And the and uh you could argue you'd never do that with a men's rumble. I'd never do that with anyone other than Chelsea Green. You'd like it would just make a mockery of the whole thing. Well, not if you follow it up, ask the question. Your job as a creative person.

Yes, it's all made up. You can do whatever control of the narrative. You can do whatever you want. Try it. If it doesn't work, it doesn't work, but at least you tried it. I will never judge you for trying something. And I think that's most people's response, right, is you gave it a go and it didn't work, but at least you gave it a go and you can hold your hands up and say that you didn't it didn't work. And I think you can tell that in a in in an controlled unreal environment.

And still make yourself. Yeah, that's where it's left on the table. Well the the the Chelsea green one, which I think they have sort of like omitted or don't realise how foolish they have made themselves look. Is the Chelsea does that uh her thing where it was like, I thought it was a bit early to when the title ran. I thought you know, I'm not I'm I'm not upset about it because it's fake, it's it's not real.

It's not it's not. Yeah, it's it's not real. Like it's a fake title belt and a fake wrestling match and a fake loss on stay looking up at the lights. That's not the issue. I just thought that there was more story that we can tell.

In the creative room, I'd triple ideas be like, Well we've tried nothing, we're all out of ideas. Put the belt on uh Zelina Vega. And then when you get Zelina Vega's like, Well we tried nothing, we're all out of ideas, put it on Julia. And then we've tried nothing, we're all out of ideas, just put it on.

Yeah. I guess it exposes them a little bit, but I don't think they see them if any then Triple H watch that'd be like, Well, Rodot looks stupid, so we could put that one. Yeah, yeah. Rather than it looking like we've tried everything and failed, it looks like Rodot can't do its job, which is

You know, I that's not my place to say it's yours. Speaking of which, you know, you mentioned that see uh that um Rhea Ripley and Chelsea Green were the main characters. Uh I disagree. Chris Parks uh is the the main character and uh he finally makes his return in this in the third episode in the most beautiful way possible. Can I can I say this before you go in there? Chris Park gave me you energy for over the course of this.

show. I love him so much. Also, my other question, is this show sponsored by Sour Patch Kids? Like every Oh no,'cause in a couple of episodes they had gummy bears. And can I say also, uh we do do that in in the in the backstage. We well Sour sweets get you saliva, so um most West End performers will have them in their reduction room. run off stage, pop in a thing and go back out. But Chris the his introduction to this series or his reintroduction to this series

is him telling Bruce Pritchard all the plans that he's got and Bruce Pritchard has this look on his face with like, Please stop talking to me. I cannot stand being around you. And me and Melissa Kieran watching this together I was like Oh, the show's gotta go out of its way to make

Chris Park look like a doofus the show's back. The thing is I don't think it's necessarily going out of his way. I think this is one of those rare examples where they're using the footage he gave them. Do you know what I mean? Because he's the lovable idiot. Exactly.

They should just make a documentary about him working in WHO. When I talk about the humility and the honesty, this was a really nice moment where like he's he's sorry that the ending of the match went wrong and he goes over to Triple H apologies and Triple H goes hear this. It's not your fault. It's LA Knight's fault. We all know it's LA Knight's fault.

Beat by beat walking through what the ending of the match should have been and I know I f it. I would have I literally would have wanted the ground to swallow me whole. In all fairness to LA Knight though, I won't go to back from get better on what we saw as well.

Chris Park walks up to Triple H and be like, here's how we're gonna win the match. It was like, actually I've got a better idea. Chris Park says, Yeah, okay, great boss, we'll do that one. But Triple H is a better idea is like an effing guy goes here and the effing does the

goes down there and they're like, Oh no and you go this and then you grab and then go up down you got it? Sure. Absolutely sure. Got everything you just said. Of course, LA Knight. Say yes now and figure it out later. That's the that's how you do it. But no I I I I thought that was a genuine like human moment from both of them. Like it was really nice to see that interaction and to see him sort of be like, hear this. Because haven't we all been that person?

It's again a humanity. Chris Parks is a human. We're g we're again saying he's not a monster abyss. Show it's at its best when they are showing flaws. This is corporate Kane. I just realized. Chris Park is corporate Kane but in real life. Yeah. He's wearing trousers now. Yeah.

The show is at its best when it's showing flaws. Yeah. When it is showing how not everything goes right, how you have got this sheen across everything. And even though fans thought and actually I remember thinking that the ending to Money the Bank did fall a little bit flat. But like showing us then what was supposed to have happened and stuff. Like that to me is when the show is at its most interesting and it does feel a bit more real, a bit more vulnerable. But those ha moments happen.

So few across five episodes. Like there's probably one or two moments. It's that one and Lyra Valkyria. And the other thing then is like there's other questions you have. Like Becky in the first episode about Becky making her return, but they just palm off Bailey. Well th this is and I'm like, are you gonna bring this up? And then they do, but not for ages. Not for ages. Like it's in episode five, there's like, oh yeah, we took Bailey at the WrestleMania match.

Where's he didn't want to? Where's that story? A in episode one. And B, where's the follow-up to that? That's where it feels pingpongy. It does feel a bit pingpongy. And yeah, like it's the Cena Cody thing ending off the series. But being largely ignored. Cena's title run is actually just it's the backdrop to our truth.

And and it's the backdrop to our truth. It's the backdrop to our truth in the Saturday night's main event and the money in the bank main events. It's got absolutely nothing to do with Cody, nothing to do with Cena, all to do with truth. And it's interesting um It m it makes me feel like they didn't know they were doing that.

Because if they planted they were like, Oh my god, we're making another one, okay, quick, we'll put it together because there's actu that that Bailey thing could be seeded in episode one and then you bring it back in episode like five or whatever. You could have those conversations with Bailey more with that. I I I think I think there's yeah, an awful lot of stuff left on the table and that's why it doesn't feel like I've eaten a full.

Also, um the the contrast to all of the things that feel a bit real and a bit raw that we all like are the things that made me feel like the most like I'm I'm um eating empty calories here is when I have the uh Secret conversations that are. Um, we had it to a degree with like, I want to put a rocket up your ass to J Uso. I I didn't mind them in season one, but I think because and there were two in particular. Um Triple H pulling Cody to one side to be like,'Cause you're our guy.

Yeah. There are so few people clue that in this, but I you know, I'm telling you this. The amount of people who said like only a few people know this and they're just telling everyone. They're just telling everybody. But also the I want to see the watertight NDAs that the sound crew of Unreal.

Because it's like the only people who know this right now are you, me and the six people working for Unreal Ivory. You might if you look over there you can see them. Like they all know And Miss Joy. And Miss Joy Miss Joy by the way. Like I stand Miss Joy. Where was her talking about? I absolutely cackled through that story. Rue Lopez is among like she's in my Matt Morrow wrestling. It's great. Um I'd be like, Don't tell anyone I got a fake boo boo.

I told someone Miss Joy what you're gonna do about it. What are you gonna do about it? You f legend. You absolute legend. They're gonna be a tag team by the like if they're not winning a WrestleMania like sixty two, ruin Miss Joy. Come on. That's gonna be Miss Joy. Yeah. Although Ru was wearing a Miss Rachel T shirt, so she is basic. Well, that was Come on now. There are way better shows to get into kid.

Yeah, I d I don't even like kids, nor do I know what she does, but she seems she seems like she's got a head screwed on when it comes to the world of life. She is a business woman and she has got a small Miss Rachel is a big there are some people who dislike Miss Rachel for some of her politics and stuff, but I I look at her just for her p uh for her business side of things.

She sold Netflix, her YouTube show. She didn't have to make any new episodes of anything. She sold things that were already made for a load of money. You you roll roll rake in good for you. Uh but Uh the other conversation was um in uh Seth's bus. And maybe it's because the episode started with Paul Heyman's promo, but there's a bit where Heyman it sounded like I was in I was listening to a conversation where they were just like.

reading the script that they'd written for each other rather than a genuine conversation. It sounded like two people plotting the cash in rather than them talking through the plans for the cash in. That's exactly it. I really do get the impression That the Seth injury angle was Unreal first, WWE seconds. Yeah. So it it's like, how can we orchestrate a storyline that'll work really well for an episode of Unreal that will then play out on WWE television?

And that's empty calories. As opposed to we've got a really good idea for an angle and then it's caught it's captured on camera by WWE Unreal and then becomes an episode. Yeah. That's where uh it's almost the tail the snake is eating itself uh a little bit. And it's also why then you can't go into the second half of that story which is it got out.

Mm and you know, uh the s the day it happened, post wrestling John Pollock's being like, Oh no, this was a plan since Thursday and Dave Meltzer was like, Yeah, no, I this was told to me as well. Which no one like by the way, no one will ever give them credit for. No one will ever give them the credit for they actually caught this ahead of.

And then like it was a couple days later when I was like, Oh yeah, it turns out it was a work. Notice how there were loads of like streamer reactions to Our Truth coming back, but there were no streamer reactions on screen to Seth Rollins. It's cause every streamer's reaction was, Oh yeah, it's a work.

Just like we we all knew it was. And there is an interesting conversation to be had around how much that pisses me off that we can't just you know that's where I stop being a a context person and I start being a a performer and that's Infuriating to me. Yeah. We're really gonna tr we're gonna try this thing. And instantly there are gonna be people who are

trying to expose the thing. That f me off. It's and it's not it's not Meltzer and Pollock. It's whoever's whoever it's whoever stooched them off. It uh yeah, it it f me off with everybody. It f me off that that that ecosystem exists that there are people who know that. I am a bit Because I just because it's like I I know K Fabe is dead and all the rest of it and I and I see that but like I don't I don't wanna I don't want

We're watching the traitors. I don't wanna know who how tonight's episode goes, but I could if if there was a if there was a an ecosystem of people Guys, on my radio show I'm gonna tell you who goes from the traitors tonight. And anything interesting, we can talk about the plan that like I don't wanna know. I wanna watch the episode. Well I think the difference with there is that the people who work on the traitors

Are so good at not telling people things because they believe in the show and they want to see it. Which is not me saying there's no need for a for a a meltzer, there's no need for a reporting. Obviously we all uh we all like to the but there's a certain thing where I'm like They're gonna try a big storyline. Don't spoil it for me the day it happens. Like like can and and who is it that's giving you that information?

Probably one of the twenty six thousand people you told. Then there's like twelve shots of them telling five people. So it's so it's an inelegant uh thing for me to f to use as an example of frustration. It's a frustration I have, but That because the unreal first of it all. And it's and it's a frustration that a lot of people have. And I'd imagine you know, top brass and WWE have is that stories keep getting out. 'Cause they keep leaking and it WWE's a very leaky ship.

But then you've got like uh Paul the temerity of Paul Heyman to be like our people's stew job was like, Yeah, you did that Like in the nineteen nineties you're telling me you weren't feeding Meltzer information about ECW? Of course you were Paul Heyman. You know how the game works. But ultimately this show is. And I you know it's it's really interesting that one of the big show long stories is the worst. The whole show's a work. Yeah. The whole thing is a work. And as a work

I I've I'm trying to think if there's any other notes. Oh yeah, okay. I guess the final the third season when uh Unreal will return, Avengers Doomsday, will be based around Cena's last date. Yep. Because it ended up with Brock attacking him and it's like there's twelve dates left. That will be the next five episodes will be scenarios run through to Saturday night's main event.

Uh also got a shout out um Cody Rhodes' hand solo yoga mat. He's got a hand solo and I what a dork. Yeah. Love that about. But um actually can I uh also talk about as well? Like one of the other things I I find uh interesting about this show is the white ball.

Love the whiteboard. And when they've got like matches written out. Do you see the the SummerSlam matches? Uh I I always see the whiteboard, but I forget to pause it and forensically look at it. So one of them was um Tristrats versus T B C. Yeah. Which was a five or slick report actually that she was going to do more matches uh at some point.

Roman Reigns versus Bron Breaker, Seth Rollins versus Sami Zayn, Rhea Ripley versus Aska, Jay Uso vs Rusev, Demon Finn Bala vs Dominic Mysterio, Bailey versus Becky for the End Cornell Championship, and the Bella Twins versus the Judgment Day. So they put it all.

Oh yeah, I mean every single one of those could pretty much go. I mean like uh Roman and Bronn get turned into the tag match, uh which then takes Jay out of that. Rusev, I don't think, does anything uh uh uh uh SummerSlam. Sami faces characters. That sounds like more matches that were on Summer. Yeah. More matches than e ended up on the card. Yeah.

Um'cause that was the other like when I was thinking about the SummerSlam matches that they could have focused on. Can't do Carrion Cross because he'cause he's gone. Um and he was going, so you can't do the Sami Zayn thing there. Um

Can't really do anything around like Alexa Bliss and Charlotte Flair? Like you could have done, but there's like not a huge amount to dive into it. I think it could be because that was a really interesting thing about Charlotte Flair in the last episode. It was talking about setting up Tiffany Stratton as the new As the new future. And there was a real like twinge of like, Am I not the future anymore?

And she had a rough year that led to this tag division. And you could have dived into the negative reaction that she was getting and how they've spun it into a positive. of now people really liking her and like the the the turnaround that Charlotte had in twenty twenty five I think should be studied. But they they did and it came out that they purposefully filmed superstars being happy that Charlotte Flair was back. Like they got all of the women's locker room together to all jump and go,

Yay. So they could put that into the Unreal episode to spin the narrative that Charlotte Flair is back and that's a good thing. Yeah. Did it again with Naomi? Well I don't know if they I think I I I can't this is this is okay. Maybe I'm drawing it to a close and maybe this is a flaw in my part and I do accept that there are gonna be some people who think I'm a twat because of it. I can't live in a world So cynical to believe that people being happy for people

Only for the camera. I can't live in the case. like that all of this is fake. Yeah. So to add on that, the report was they were happy to do it because they were happy to see it. But it was a staged shot. Yeah. But like I I think there's an el this is this is this is where i in all of it. Like I don't just I'm not even that specific shot. I mean all of it. Like I can't live in a world so cynical to not be able to take Cody Rhodes.

some of what you do is a says a face value to live in a world that um Paul Heyman doesn't believe with full Throw what he's saying in that moment to believe that Um when you know Naomi is saying I don't really want to talk about this too much, that that's not genuine something that's quite painful for her. And it's a really good promo, it's a really eloquent.

one. And Cody, I think he's just too he's too savvy. I think he's too smart. He n I think he is the he knows what to say in those moments. Where's where the point was like, I don't actually know who the real you is, which I admire about him actually if It's very good at what he does. Um how long have we got?

Oh man, fifty minutes on on the show. It's gonna be the episode by episode breakdown. I am gonna steal not steal'cause that's that's a strong thing, but I am gonna uh almost repeat what uh Larson's review of this was on uh Stephen Larson. Great review. I would highly recommend everyone go and check out Going In Raw. Larson made the point of and I'm gonna apologise to prequels fans if that's what you grew up watching. But he said Unreal is the prequel soul.

Uh I went to go see the Phantom Menace and it came out of being like, No, that was interesting.'Cause it was new and it was novelty and it wasn't it was nice that we got to see this new look. But then you go see Attack the Close, you're like, Oh no, I think these are just bad and and I'm not into these. I'm not to that degree. I think that this show is fun. I think it is a broadly fine.

I think it is a D V D extra and I thoroughly enjoy watching D V D extras, so I will happily watch the next series of this show. This season felt like empty calories in a way that's a little bit more than a little bit I completely agree. Particularly in that last episode, I was looking at my watch. Wait I was like, why are we stu I'm no man's episode not finished yet? I was re I got really bored in the last episode. Um that might just be because I was desperate to go home. Not a jelly roll fan.

I uh Jenny Roll seemed like a nice chap. He does. He does seem like a nice chap. And I didn't really appreciate him. I told Luke this this is the final thing I was like. I told Luke this on the way down. Yesterday I got home, we didn't have any water and our West London there was a pipe broke somewhere so a lot of our houses didn't have water. So I was like, Oh, shall we just order a pizza? So I ordered this big

filthy pizza and I ate every scrap of it. I really want pizza now. And it was delicious. It was so good. And then I felt guilty immediately afterwards because it was one of those things I was like, I didn't need to eat or I could have saved some of that for lunch tomorrow, whatever. And then Jelly Roll starts losing like four hundred pounds and I was like oh jelly roll you're making me feel bad about my belly Let down jelly roll Grammy award winning ass is jelly roll.

But yeah, if you want to hear us do a full episode by episode, if you thought fifteen minutes was not enough chat about Unreal and you want like another hour or so as we go. Uh we do more of that over at patreon.com forward slash restalk. Uh and how the show it cannot make him look bad, even though it keeps trying. When everything is moving all at once and

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Or you can use code ACAST30 at checkout. That's thirty percent off your first order at SundaysforDogs dot com slash ACAST30. Or use code ACAST30 at checkout. A lot like last week, I enjoyed this episode. Some really good wrestling on this show. It f you can feel that. They're not building to a pay per view at the moment? Yes. I don't there's not a pay per view until March. This episode was a a very entertaining episode of television with Very little to write home about.

Do you know what I mean? I completely agree. Because we are we're not building to a pay per view. So what we're doing is big matches on T V. But when you do big matches on TV, that's sort of like a two week build or something. You know, like with F T R and uh Doyle and Davis. Like that's happening on next week's show. So we did the setup for it last week. FTR win a match here. Doyle and Davis will win a match on collision. Then we'll have that time out next week.

uh Tecler attacks. I they beat um Tony uh Chris Statlander in the the the six woman tag and then here they make that layout the challenge then there's the match. So it is very nice and episodic, but it is not And it'll be very good to appointment television. But it's not appointment television. Like next week does feel like exist two title matches on it. Yeah. But also those title matches will end and then we'll just move on to what happens next week after that.

So you I you're right. Like it is good television with not a lot to write home about. But I haven't said that, like, you know, Josh Alexander vs. Kenny Omega was an awesome match. Yeah. I really enjoyed the six man street fights. Yeah. Yeah. It's it's like it's a great Premier League action where like I've I've watched a really great Football match this week uh between two teams that I don't have a personal connection to, so for neutral it was really entertaining. Whereas like

this past weekend. Uh you know, Man United have just appointed Michael Carrick against the Manchester Derby. And then suddenly they I they they wake up and become Man United from nineteen ninety nine again and we two nil and it's incredible and they should have won seven nil like if it weren't for dodgy off side calls and yeah though all the rest of it. But uh and then Donna Rummer suddenly decided

to prove that he's one of the best goalkeepers in the world. But like that was that was appointment television. The n the other the other matches that I just enjoyed as a neutral were like pleasant to watch. Yeah. This was more on that side. And I do think Just because we're not building to a pay per view doesn't mean you can't do um non pay per view stories. Of course, yeah. That that

start and resolve on your weekly television to make it appointment television. Yeah. And I don't I don't feel that the title matches like next week for instance um are enough of an incentive to feel like appointment television. And that's because for me, they're not doing hot angles. Yes. They are just doing very simple I won a match, I laid out a challenge, and we're having the match next week. We won a match.

We laid out the challenge. We're having a match next week. Which is fine. Like that is you don't have to reinvent the wheel. It's nice, simple, episodic storytelling. I don't mind it whatsoever. But if you're not doing anything big elsewhere on the card, which is why next week, although there are two title matches on there, with two title matches I'm very much looking forward to.

It doesn't feel like event television because there's no real meat and depth to this storyline between FTR and Doyland Davis. There's no meat to Tecla versus Chris Statlander. There was no meat to MJF versus Bandito. Great matches they will be and and they were with MJF and Bandito. But there's no like hotness to them, the way that you often do when you're building to a pay-per-view, because you do your big hot angles to make people want to buy the pay per view.

Are you am I gonna sit down and watch the show or am I gonna wait and see if the match lived up to the hype and then watch the match afterwards. Do you know what I mean? Like how do you encourage it? Like'cause like the stuff between Techno and Chris, the promos they cut, real good. If I find out they had a real good match, I'll probably then go and watch the match. Yeah. Rather than being like, oh Yeah.

Uh the show opened with MJF. Uh Tony Shivani brought him out for an interview where he then got to play Mike Stand while MJF cut a promo saying, I'm the best uh change the channel and if anyone else tells you they're the best'cause they're not, I'm the best. Bandito was just the first of a line of losers. This brings out Brody King, uh, and Tony just hands MJF the most.

And MGF's selling of Brody King being in the ring was so wonderful. This is where Max is great. And he's just got this like real I'm trying not to show you that I'm afraid, but you can see that I am afraid of it. And Brody's like, I saw what you did to Mandy last week, and all it made me want to do was push my hand straight through your chest and rip out your spine. And I thought about doing that, but I'm not gonna do that. And MJ Fledger goes, Breathe a sigh of relief.

And he's like, no, what I want is a match'cause that's gonna I'll I want that world title off your shoulder. And Mac's like, I'm gonna think about it. No, we're not gonna have this match. Uh and it's not'cause I'm scared not because I'm scared of you, Brody King. Uh it's because you're all Bark and no bark. Because sure, you've like beaten some jobbers, you've beaten some jabroni. When you've beaten some elite level talent, Then we can't

Which I feel like is a little uh maybe is a hint towards we're gonna get a Brody King, Kenny Omega match down the line. I don't know if like I've maybe a number one contenders match. If the the first pay per view match back is gonna be Kenny uh MJF versus Kenny, yeah, then we can build to Kenny versus Brody King, that's your number Contenders match. I really like this for setting out your stall and saying here's a potential future contestant.

for this ch for this championship. As long as you then follow it through. Like we talked about it on the Raw Review with with Finn Balor where it was just like he ca came out, asked for a title shot and got one, kind of thing, and it's only because Punk is a fighting champion rather than because he actually earned it, kinda thing. And then the two week storyline where they kind of were like, I want this

hometown and Ireland and then the match quality of that Balapunk match was able to hook me into believing that Finn Balor's gonna become well champion by the end of the year. If you're gonna set up Brody King I quite like it'cause it it would be a bit like, Well, what have you done to earn this title shot? Sure, you want one. Well so does my aunt Linda. Like, you know what

What do you want? I like that him being like, Come back when you've done something because I fully believe the Brady King can, and I fully believe the Brady King will, and I like the idea of watching him boss about a bit. Absolutely. Take on some elite level talent and earn a shot. It's also what I I constantly ask for with Monday Night Raw in particular is if you are going to set people up as contest uh as contenders for the site

make me believe that there's a chance they can win the bats then. Like with V Thin Ballor it was like you just did one promo. Like it's it's not enough. And a large portion of that rested on us on member berries. Like Yeah, absolutely, yeah. And then in the match itself, punk and baller being so great that they can do near falls where they think maybe there is a

And I'm a mug, so I I eat those berries. Like whereas like this what I like about this, and I also don't necessarily love the idea of just like show me This show don't tell, but by telling in this scenario, you've now given me something to show. So, like by saying, go do this.

I'm now watching for Brody King to do this. Exactly. Whereas in the past I might have just been watching Brody King win some matches and not really thought about it. Doing a backstage when it was like, I'm gonna win the title. Yeah, sure, you and everyone else. By saying you haven't earned this, go off and do it, and then we'll talk. And even Max being like, Because I don't think you will, is enough for me now to buy into a Brody King quest. Yes, absolutely. And I think that's really effective.

Backstage, uh Jet Speed and Hangman Andam Page, your Nutrius Championships. Mike Bailey suggested that they call their team Horsecock. Okay. And then and then what happens? What you what encouraging chant lowest common. Not like not like my WWE The bastions of highbrow art W World Wrestling Entertainment. Um Samoa Joe then took on Speedball Mike Bailey, which featured

uh like Walter level chop on the outside crowd what did Mike Bailey do? Like that's you know it was one of those gunshot shops. Oh it was incredible. Absolutely like the crowd exploded for it. I enjoyed this match because Speedball making his comeback was great. Joe's awesome, but I very frustrated with this.

Shabata and Hook come down too much interference. So like if you did one bit of interference or one bit of distraction, that's one thing. It was constant throughout. Anytibay started to make a comeback. He would get caught by Hook and Shabata. One of them would cause distraction, the other one would cause interference.

There's a bit when Shabata did this amazing bit of interference where he suplexed uh Mike Bailey onto the ring and transitioned to that just e uh instantly just rolled off and suplexed him on the floor. It was beautiful. Yeah, it's great. Awesome, great, wicked spot. But it was like the fifth bit of interference and distraction you'd done in the Mac.

Where a hangman Adam Page? Yeah. Where's where's Kevin Knight to come down and run them off or neutralize this interference? So Bailey just gets chumpetized and just like and gets beaten. This did nothing for Samoa Joe. It did nothing for Bailey, it did nothing for the trio championship. And did nothing for Page and Jet Speed being the tag champs.

I just felt this was a really disappointing thing. And even if and maybe I missed this, the Hangman Page and Kevin Knightbacksage were like, But we're not gonna come out and back you up because you really go out there and do it on your own. Like I don't recall them doing this.

Or like, oh well Kevin Knight had a match later on. Marine Shafir was involved in the the the six man tag and she came out later on. Yeah. I it just I don't I didn't like this much. No, I think the As as you say the comebacks and and you know, speeble

showing what he's got and it was and it and it's not just about being athlet athletic. I I loved me lucha libre and I love me high flying and things like that a little bit of gymnastics here and there, but I love it when it's followed up with like a great strike. a good uh uh a a move that feels like

the the impact ultimately is devastating and things like that. And I think Speedbull was doing that brilliantly. The comeback was fantastic. But when you've got Hook and Shibata playing whack-a-mole like popping up and down on the hard cam side all the time, it it's not just distracting for the wrestler. It was distracting for me. It looked messy. It looked ill, ill thought out, like they were ill timed.

And ultimately, one bit of interference at the end for Joe to hit the muscle buster, and you've done the job. You re you'd have accomplished the exact same thing. You've accomplished the exact same thing by making it much less. I think I think And it wouldn't have then been like wear a page in the night.

Because they it appeared right at the end of the year. Right at the end of the sh and like ultimately you don't give me a match that is less than the sum of its parts. Yeah. I can I completely agree with you. I I think this was a a misstep because it was Far too much interference. Action between those two was great. I love that Shabbata spot. I love the third shop, but the interference and distraction was too much.

The Death Riders there of Moxley, Garcia, Renuta then took on the Doncallas family of Hetchera, Rocky Romero, and Lance Archer, the the Don Kallas B team, if you will, uh, in a six man street fight and I I adored this. I loved everything about this. Who would have thought the babyface Deathriders would be so awesome?

Not this guy right here. Who would have thought that the Deathriders are actually so good at babyfaces? They can have interference on the numbers game advantage and make it feel like a babyface spot. It was When Claudio and Pat came out to run off Lance Archer, the crowd were Claudio coming out of the dark. Marina Shafir. Why did you just say nuclear? Nuclear. Okay. For a second I thought you George pushed it. That's a bit uh oh roll the tapes.

I really, really enjoyed this. Lance Archer was awesome. Like this unstoppable monster, like just like choke slamming you to that gave them the numbers advantage while they were beaten down. uh Garcia and Moxley. Moxley even the comeback, the barbed wire board with glass on it being put through the table.

I loved this. I had a really, really fun time. I think the the the babyface Deathriders versus the heel death riders is a fascinating conversation to have because I think Maybe it was in the dourness of them, maybe it was in the sort of like It's not real, lads, and you're trying to make me think you're the artist people in the world. Like, I don't know. Maybe it was in the in in the self seriousness of it all. I don't know. There was a little bit of like What actually is your mission statement?

It wasn't fun. Like it wasn't like a a group of hard ass baddies that's fun to hate. No. It just was. It just became a they became every heel faction. Yeah, and it and it and oh oh but what makes you different is that you come out from somewhere in the depths of the arena, like big whoop, like you've been doing that the whole time. There's something but but there's but the there's enough goodwill and talent within this group that It it was fascinating that it never connected.

And and it's not only that it didn't connect, that it's it dragged everything down. It d only connected when Hangman Page got involved. Right. And then like at the end of Moxley's title run. was awesome. And how much of that how much of the the the cheer was for the quality of of what uh the end and how much of it was for relief that it was finished, you know what I mean? Absolutely. And then as post that was when the Death Riders got interested. Yeah. Because it then it it's the six month story

of Moxley's baby face turn. Yeah. And it was that was like the best stuff. I actually think of some of the best stuff that AEW did in all of last year. And now we're getting into the second half of this where now we're going into twenty twenty six where there are baby face units. Yeah. Marina Shafir, like, you know, reversing the the Lance Archer chokeslam into the Triangle Hull.

This crowd were going so nuts for it. Which actually then why I found it quite frustrating that she came out later on to align herself with Megan Bain and Penelope Ford. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Because and and that speaks to a sort of lack of okay Uh the same thing you're talking about, what's your mission statement? What you're doing. What are we doing? Yeah. Right. What what is our plan here? So I hope I hope that they've got one because there's clearly

something in baby face death riders. Yeah. People like badasses. I th I feel like there is a plan in place because they did such a good slow build of this through the C two. Yeah. Like this has been a yeah, this has been such a good slow build since basically October to get us to this point here. That it kind of just been like, Well, we'll get to this point and then we'll figure it out. I think there is and I I'm so into the idea of Don Callis family versus the

There's a lot of meat to be had within that. Um but I do I've if I can have some quibbles with it, I'd I wouldn't align Marina Shafir then with Mega Beta Perry for later. Uh muddies the water. situational face and heel turns should not happen on the same episode. One hundred percent, yeah. Triangle of Manus got a promo backstage, a Tecla you brilliant it was like I'm gonna give you one

Yeah. Your affairs in order and say your goodbyes'cause I'm going to take the sile off you next week. And Julia Hart uh challenged TBS uh challenged Willow for the TBS title. Yeah I've said it m so many times on this show, Tekla is awesome, the Sisters of Sin make her a bit lame. I think Tecla is so cool for the Sisters of Sin man, uh Sisters of Get in the Bin.

FCR then took on Alex Price and Jordan Oliver, who are new signees to AEW. This is one of those really fun squash matches, which is where the people who are getting squashed get some offense in and get some fun near falls. But the people who are squashing them never look like they're ever gonna take a loss. Yeah. But y because they're heels as well, you have that moment where they're like, Whoa, did I kick out in time? And then they won. Never in trouble, won very easily.

Love this. Yeah, very nice. Just as I I have I have no real notes on this because it just It was. And it builds to the tag match next week, which I'm sure is going to be really, really, really, really, really Good. Yeah.

Chris and the Babes cut a promo backstage. So the world title match is made official for next week between Chris Atlander and Tecla and Julia Hart vs. Willow be taking place on collision, which I think they might have already taped. It was supposed to be live, but then there's been bad weather, so they had to cancel that taping and do Did you see who was on the dark match?

Oh, Baron Corbin. Yeah, presume I'm presuming'cause he was in the air. Like he lives in Orlando, so I'd imagine like, you know, it's getting local talents. And he's doing um the Ring of Honor Maple Leaf show. Yeah. Uh the the crossover show in March. And and apparently gre uh got a really good reaction from the crowd. Good.

Really onto something in NXT and I don't know why they didn't just follow it through. Kenny Omega took on Josh Alexander. Man, you want to talk about like superstar reactions for people. No, that Kenny Pop. Kenny Pop. He comes out, he's like on a completely other level from a lot of people. And he looked good. Great. And he was awesome in this match. Josh Alexander was awesome in this match.

I loved this match. If I can have my one negative about it, I don't think it needed the exposed concrete stuff on the outside. I d it didn't land though. It didn't in every sense of the word didn't land. Added nothing to the match. Everything else. Added to the match, added to the drama. Kenny chasing Don off, um uh Josh targeting the diverticulitis, targeting the knee. All of that actually elevated the match and added something to it. The concrete added zero to it apart from doing a a big spot.

But outside of that, I thought this was a great match and it looked awesome. I d I think I um This show needed it a little bit,'cause while again, nothing was bad to this point, uh you know, other than the too much interference, I was e still enjoying what was going on in this people Joe Match etc. Um at this point during the course of the show, I had arrived at knowing that this wasn't event television. And I was just a bit like just just watching without uh feeling. Yeah. So it was nice to

Yeah. Um by that I mean that entrance alone, you know. He m he makes you just like self-pay attention. Yeah.'Cause he he's got superstar aura. Yeah. Like he is a he is a star. I really enjoyed this. Uh did did the end did they lose the hard camera?'Cause like so much of it was just being filmed by like the floor camera in one shot. Yeah. Give this like real frenetic, like mad, chaotic energy to it. But what do you mean like

Where's your hard cam? Where's your hard cam at? And then they cut to the hard cam for the one winged angels. Like, oh I got it back. Or you just lost the hardcam for a bit. Don't go to the hardcam, we haven't got it. I I think it's probably that one. Knowing AEW, it would be the latter. Kenny Carpromo afterwards saying he hasn't felt this good in years, targeted Don Callis and he said, Go away and lick your wounds.

Send your guys after I've won the title. Another little gauntlet for like, you know, Kenny's got line'em up one after the other. Taz had a technical look at the submissions of MJF. You can tell he's back. Skipped it. Sorry. It's it's a way for Taz to say that he knows what the real names of all the holds are. Yeah. I love him.

Yeah. I did like hearing his voice again, but it was wonderful having him back on commentary as well because he's just taking up that heel role. Yeah. The the commentary I think you do kind of need on commentary every now and again. You do need that balance. And he can there to put over the Don Callis family and like the stuff the Don Callis does. Yeah. Which then is fun because then Don Sar is like finally a r a respectable j who's actually been in the ring. A good example of that is um

Uh when Stokely's there. Yeah. And he's talking about his website. Help st help big stoke.com. Help big stoke dot com. And then Taz goes, I like the website, I use it all the time So I went on it. And it is It's a legit website. And I know, but I was like What e what exactly do you use Taz? Donating. Well this is is like it's to donate but you don't use the website all the time. So I that for me is a great example of Taz being like, I'm just gonna support the heels regardless.

And even though I then follow it up and go like, Well, Taz, you're lying, that just makes Taz look funnier. Yeah, Taz look better at at doing his heel job. I loved that. I went to the website.

And yeah, it is just it's it's it's a donation page, but it's just got a flat figure on it's like one point one million has already been donated and it's in Times New Roman as well. So it's like in by the way, what what we let down Times New Roman. It used everyone used to love it and then it got replaced by Calibri. Yeah. And then if you click the donate link.

It takes you through to a page that says you weren't gonna donate enough, buy a t shirt. And it's just and it's just got Stokes merchandise. It's superb. Super it's uh I like this. More of this please. Uh Megan Bane and Pananda before took on the timeless love bombs. Uh at the start of this, Bane picked up Muriel Shafir to throw her onto Tony Summer on the outside. In the literal sense of the word.

yeeted her to the point where she went over Tony Storm's head. And so she was like, ah, I missed. So she picked up Penelope Ford and we're like, Abbott. Have another go. Have another I love Megan Bay, man. I'm a big fan. And I love the whole presentation of her at Penelope. Like the their music, their aesthetic. It is it's right up my street. Megasus is is so great. I I loved this.

And then we got the Doomsday device by uh Bain and Ford to get the win. But as Tony Saun was crawling back into the ring to get the to break it up, Marini Shafir appeared out of nowhere and locked in Mother's Milk to what it's called Mother's Milk. Why? Shadow. You're not a big fan of big mummy milkers? Sorry, I tried to get through that with a straight face but I couldn't at the end. That was a strike Luke.

You only get three. I just think also because I think because years and years ago my friends and I had a joke where she would just go Mother's Milk. Like like an Enan Blyton character expressing surprise. No, she's never one of their albums. She's locked in the mother's milk just makes me then go like, What are we talking about? Like what are we doing here? But okay. So

It makes sense in a way of Marina Shafir was aligned with Megan Bain while Penelope Ford was injured. But did I need them to be a trio together? Particularly as Shafir started doing this babyface stuff with the Death Riders? Also, you don't have to be um If we're look if we're talking about Death Riders being baby face battles, You don't have to be a a white meat baby face. Like you can still come out and start a program with um

Timeless Tony Storm by by choking her out. Like what I loved about the Death Riders is that they are babyface now, but they've changed nothing about their acts. Like you you can still come out and do that, but but doing it in this context where you help

The other the heels win rather than just doing it after the match where you came out squared up with her and chosen her out. I I don't I don't know what the what the program is gonna be, if it is gonna be a program between them two, or if it's gonna be a trios, but if it's gonna be if it's going to be trios

you're you're muddying waters that don't need to be muddied at this moment. That shows to me a lack of like long-term foresight. Yeah. Um whereas if you're gonna do a singles, do this in a slightly different way. Don't even change the choke. Just do it in a slightly different way. Uh we've got a promo for Roderick Strong versus Claudio Castignoli, which is taking place on collision, I think, for the CMLL championship. Oh, it is, I've written it my notes.

Uh and because AEW are back into that habit of announcing so many matches ahead of time, Excalibur got to do his Micro Machines Man uh bit where he just runs through and just like it doesn't stop for breath. Takes it to our main event of Swerve Strickland versus Kevin Knight. This is a really, really good main event. Kevin Knight's superb. Swerve Strickland's great and there was an amazing comeback bit from Knight.

where it was the top rope hurricane rana straight into the coast to coast, which is how he beat Derby in the C two. uh straight into the UFO splash. Crowd whipped up into a frenzy with each one to make it look like and think night's gonna beat swerve here. Before we get to the end can I just sort of say that I think I started

And I was a little bit like, what are the point of those titles if we're not gonna be a division? And yet I came around by the end of the night to the showcase for each of these this tag team individually. Um remind us that they're like really great as i as individuals as it

It I came round to it in the end, but I do have a little question mark over there. I completely agree with you. If anything, the trios championships are often used as the same way I use the tag titles in my GM mode, which is just to give them a plus five popularity buff. Yeah. Um but not actually build a division around the belts. Yeah. And these trio titles I would say that's an AW problem. Like it's been the whole time. It has. The trio titles haven't

It because they were invented just for the elite the elite, they were d invented so Kenny and the Bucks could win them, and they did, but then the day that they won them they all got suspended because brawl out happened. Yeah. And it felt like from then from that moment on They've not actually cared about these belts. Yeah. Then they put them onto the uh the elite.

And they had their best of seven series with the duh Death Triangle. But that's pretty much been about it. Like House of Black had them for ages, the Orps had them for ages. Scissor the bang bang gang. Bang bang. Yeah. Like what you know, whatever. Yeah, did they Oh yeah they did, didn't they? I was there for it. They were there when they when they won them. Who else has uh had them though? Oh the the Death Riders just had them for a bit. Like they are just they are the most proppy of prop belt.

within AEW that has always had the problem of prop belts. Mm-hmm. And that's a shame as well, because I love the trio. I love a six man tag type. So do I, but I think the pr the problem is that like when you're gonna create belts for a division, that hoovers up six people at a time and

Finding space for all of it becomes a bit tricky and it feels like if every match is a title match, then no title match feels special. Right. Yeah. And if everyone walks out with a belt, then people walking out with belt And I think there's a lack of cohesion. So I I I while I do think that Both Speedball and Night got a showcase here, and certainly have me. I completely

Yeah. Probably. Well I mean at this point it he'll introduce women's trio styles as well. Yeah. Right. I overall I can agree with the point you made earlier. This is a really good show. It is not must-watch television, but as a two hour wrestling show, I did I enjoyed myself.

weeks it's like you know collision is not must watch television, but I do get some good wrestling off the back of it. Yeah, you haven't finished your rundown of the match'cause there was a little bit that I wanted to to talk about. Oh uh okay so we got the uh swerve one, so I should say sorry. Uh we've got the inversor breaker and uh big pressure to get the win. Um I was quite I had to re watch those moves at the end there'cause I was like are those

Is he? Hello. And it just was interesting to me that both of those moves in a row looked like variants of Hangman and Uh can't be a good one. Like it looked like the deadeye a little bit.

And it looked like the Woman Angel a little bit. I see what you're saying. And I was like, that was a nice little So Swerv swerves use big pressure a lot. Like, no, I'm not saying they're like doing GML driver. But I but I but I I was just interested that last week there was a stare down with the three of them and this match ended with one, two, three in a row. And if you're not looking properly, that looks a bit like a dead eye. If you're not looking properly, that looks a bit like a woman.

There was something quite nice about that. I'm trying to compliment that. Like I thought it was a really cute little Easter eggs vibe thing. Also MJF sat up in his box having champagne and watched the match. That's how I want to watch wrestling. It looks great. In those moments, sort of what I I I always spot. Why is there a lamp there? You know, you go to like a corporate box. Why do they get lamps? I've been invited to sit in a box, uh a royal box.

Oh, I've been in the Royal Box at the Albert Hall, somewhere I carry. To go see uh some a ballet later this year, which is on my forty before forty list, although now it's my forty while I'm forty list. Um'cause I've never seen a ballet live. And and a friend of mine was like, Oh, I can get you into a Royal Box. Should do they have lamps?

Um so so yeah, I uh also you can actually get quite cheap tickets for boxes at theatres because they're such a restricted view because boxes were for people to be seen rather than to be seen. Um that actually they're quite a bargain. But the the added advantage of them is You have your own little chair so you can fidget as much as you want and

behind you is gonna be open and rustling some sweets, so it's great. Um some of them have little lamps, some of them have side tables. Oh, hello. But the ones to put my book on at the um at the O two have a whole little section where you can be in there milling about and schmoozing. You don't even have to watch the show. And then you can come out and watch the show if you want. So yeah, so we did that when Ollie and I did RAW last year, he got tickets on Twitter.

that ended up being in sort of like a box area.'Cause I was texting someone um who uh gets quite a lot of access to these sorts of And they said, Oh, I think he might have been scammed'cause there's like like getting into that box cost you like Great like thousands of pounds per year together sort of like because it's a company's box. Because it's a company's box thing, right? But we were in them, and it was like you at your own bar, and then you sort of like go out and we.

Yeah we were then I was the whole time watching. No, th so they have like a little s uh platform that comes out of the O two. Ah and you can get your photo on there and it's sort of you're standing like just uh like just above the ring. So like a very cool photo to to get. So I'm I'm very grateful that we got that done. Um but there was no lamps. No lamps.

So uh you know where what delineates where a lamp is in and when a lamp is not? I guess being the world champion. I can't use MJF had a a little lamp next to him. Maybe he was making notes.

Maybe you wanted to see what year the champagne was? I I guess so. I mean it was a fairly well lit area. Yeah but you would have been struggling to read. So i it's a long day your eyesight goes by the end. That's it. Like you know, I put my my bedside lamp on when I'm reading of an evening, so I want the big lights on. I can't read it. time because of the lamp being so dark. Yeah. I was just it's'cause I'm knackered by the end of the day.

I got a bed at like two in the morning. What? Yeah. Emacs. Get a bed at ten, man. Yeah. That's what we do. We try and make it to ten. And then we'll read for a bit. Ten is when I come to life. Or we'll go to bed at half past nine and then we'll read. Yeah, I will like start work at six AM. Actually well, the kids will even think I'll start work at six every day. Calm herself down. Yeah.

Uh and then go to bed. I once had a nap at nine PM Honestly, the trait is being moved to eight PM has been the best day. It's been it's been an absolute joy for me because it finishes at nine. Yeah. Watch a little bit of Uncloaked, see who's on it, see if I want to watch it or not, then I can get a bed. Yeah. Great stuff. Walmart Business is in the business of helping your business, regardless of whether you're building bridges, building spreadsheets, or building lesson plans.

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Speaking of actually,'cause it's time to do uh comments from last week's uh episode. Uh and we did get this one from um Belle Pearson that says, Please do a podcast on Traders UK. Wow. You know, it's about to finish, but maybe when it comes back. Well you can do recap, uh you know, retrospective podcast, go back to some hours in the day. I'm not watching that back.

Um Camo Mustafa WWE um says one of my main problems last year was understanding the design and direction for a story just for it to not finish or pause. John Cena's heel turn, Naomi versus Jade, Sami Zayn moving to SmackDown for no reason. The Dominic Ro uh Roxanne story. You're selling me something just to not commit to it at the end. It played a role in killing my investment for future stories.

Delete Naomi versus Jade from that list. Because it had three conclusions. That's absolutely fair. None of which Naomi Naomi won. Yeah. Yeah. I was when they had their match at Evolution, I was like, Really? Still we're doing this again, are we? Um but I agree, like that that storyline did have a a finish. The only finish has not had his Bianca's involved.

it because Bianca was there as a special guest referee, but I guess that her broken knuckle Can I tell you, when her music hits at the Royal Rumble, I am going to ascend to the heavens. I've missed that tune so much.

Um, Britt Baller says I might have a problem because I've watched both of the invasion podcasts and now both weekly podcasts. Who needs a social life anyway? It's a good point. Yeah. I mean that's pretty impressive actually to have watched because we we did like two hour and a half podcasts last week. six hours like it's what maybe twelve hours to uh worth of stuff. It's nice to do it when you're cleaning. Mm. Yeah. I listen to it while I'm cleaning. Oh mate, I mean I was doing all my DIY

Together, you know, a chest of drawers. So I wouldn't call it DIY. But I I we did have a big move around of the kids' bedroom. I took I took apart an Ikea day bed. Uh we moved her bed around. I built this chest of drawers, we put some Calax units down, completely revolutionized her bed.

Podcast galore. Oh yeah. Oh'cause sometimes it used to be T V shows, but then when you watch them a lot and it's like oh I don't I don't really feel in the mood to dive into the fourth season of the West Wing for no reason. And I'm gonna be in the other Yeah, podcast it. I did have music on for a little bit and then uh my wife was just like, Your music is too aggressive. And I like the level of deep dive within. This is one of the things that's so good about Extra is that it's so uh

It's got so much that it's really it's six hours but doesn't feel it. It's like active. Thank you very much. And lastly here, Morgan says, Rustalk are getting lazy. A sub four hour podcast, unacceptable at the best of times, but especially when you have the professor Dan the Tangent Leighton. I want you to know that I'm facilitated and encouraged by the man sat opposite me.

I do feel like I encourage it. I'm just excited, all right? The dangent though. Stop it. I d that's not not allowed to be a thing. No. I don't mind. I can't afford a therapist again. That's not no no no. Uh, do you have any recommendations for this week?

Um what have I been watching this week? What have I been doing this week? I'm reading a book uh about it called Enchitification by Corey Doctoro, which I find really um horrifying. I'm hoping that soon I'm gonna get to the bit where he tells me how 'Cause I know it's coming'cause I've read the chapter lists. Yeah. Um But what I do know is one of them is the user search engine that you have to pay for. Well so this is the th this is the thing is that ultimately it's all about how uh

Basically it's like you know that thing that was really good like like social media apps where they start really good, they get they provide the user with something that makes you know their life better. Enriches. And then they start doing more for the business side. Yeah. And then they ultimately screw us both.

And they they don't the it becomes bad for all of us. And it's that over and over again. And the problem is, and it's the same thing with the Spotify book, The Mood Machine that I was about to read, which is that ultimately we have arrived in a world where convenience is king and it is convenient for us to pay nine ninety nine a month to have access to all the music in the world. Even if that money is being used for heinous things and even if the data that they're getting

So how do we convince people to go back to what it was before where it was a more expensive but ultimately better um thing where like I bought a CD and I owned it. If I stop paying Spotify, I can't listen to that. kind of thing. If I ha if I buy order audiobooks on Amazon, um I can't ultimately

If I and I stop using you don't own them. And Amazon can choose to take them away from me if they want to, because they can do whatever they want. You know, it's this it's it's a really interesting insight into um how we're in the position now where wealth inequality is so big.

and businesses are being stretched and and, you know, monopolies are a thing and and it's just a it's a bit horrific to read a lot of it. Um but yeah, I find I find it quite interesting and I'm a g I'm go I'm going a bit activist in my old age. Well I I yeah I I think one of the reasons why I enjoyed Andor so much, uh, which I thought was a tremendous show, is not just because it's set in like, you know, really the only interesting part of Star Wars, which is a around the first three movies.

Um, is that it was a lot about sort of like standing up against the establishment and sort of like rebelling against the establishment. So like that rage against the machine. Uh

like attitude that we s we had during the nineteen nineties, which I which I've I I still very much uh subscribe to. And I feel like we are getting to a point now where particularly people our age, I feel like it is like no and I'm trying to say too much our age'cause I'm a couple of years twenty seven but you're twenty seven.

Um but we are like uh sort of getting off social media. We're switching off social media. And if anything, I I start to feel like social media is just gonna be used by people in their six. Like it's gonna be used by my mum basically because I don't think like i i if to if the the laws pass here and kids can't get onto it until they're sixteen, it is gonna like much like smoking, just sort of kill off a bit of an industry there.

And there's not gonna be much of a market for it. Like I I I'm starting to get really frustrated with Spotify. A I feel like Spotify doesn't make people appreciate music. Yeah. Because I think if you just have access to everything then

Yeah, like is it w art has value. When I used to buy a C D back in the day, I would listen to that C D multiple times and over again because I listened to less music because it cost me fifteen quiz to buy. I'm not just gonna sack it off like the int I bought it, but man, I if I'm like three tracks in I'm like That's not for me. Uh it makes me not appreciate albums. There's no mean so I'm trying to do much better at listening to albums in full A when I go for a run.

But B, if I can rag on Spotify for a little minute uh for a minute. Please if I delete a song from a queue, don't put it back in. I've asked you to remove it from the queue. For a reason, you broken thing. Do you know what else it's starting to do now? This is another thing that playlists are are broken with. If I like Pause a playlist and I come back to it the following day. It sent me back about thirty songs. Yeah.

And those songs that I I'd listened to previously, those thirty songs, are in the exact same order. So every day if I want to listen to it is glitchy. I have to look and it was like, Okay, how far's it throw me back? Scroll, scroll, crawl, right, I was at this point in the playlist.

If you're so broken, why am I paying for you? And it's a thing where like it it's extended to everything. Like you might buy a a a light bulb that changes colours, you control it with an app on your phone, but in a bit they're gonna change the app on the phone so that you have to pay to be able to do it. Like in things like that.

It's all of these business practices that ultimately are about upping the value for shareholders and providing us with a less good experience. And I think we're at a sort of a tipping point a little bit where and I think the reason the social media example is really interesting is that um it wasn't older people on there to begin with. And so they didn't understand it. So they would they would see us on the social media and be like, What are you on that Instagram for

So then they join it at a time when it's already begun the entitification process. So for them, it's the same as it ever was, and they don't. they're not as as savvy or aware. Whereas for us we're like, Oh, it used to provide us with something. This used to be good. This used to give us something. And the internet used to be good. Well I think we're reaching a point where so little in the w it would be one thing if we were making more money. But the reality of the situation is we're not.

And the things that we're using and we we believe that we own, we no longer own because even if you buy that light bulb, you're gonna then have to pay to use that light bulb rather than just being able to plug it in and have it work. So

I think that I think that it we're we're getting to a point and th and it's just a really interesting book and there are loads of other other uh avenues and and people to listen to on the topic. I just find it really interesting to we're getting to a point where where things aren't working for us anymore.

And things aren't starting to work for some of the businesses anymore. So what are we gonna do about it? Yeah. I mean we came to that realisation with YouTube. It's like, you know, further we g this was uh a big last year thing. is is that w for ten years we've been working for YouTube. Now actually it's we're gonna make YouTube work for us because their payout

Suck. Because I do believe that there is still an audience of people out there who want to find the the things like I'm a creator on Instagram where it's like I'm not your shiny, you know, influencer type. I'm just a person and I've been doing this for ten, fifteen years. There's still people looking for It's just harder for them to find it. So you have to make it work for you. But it's so I'm I'd I I'm curious. Highly recommend and shidification. Algorithm uh based system.

stink. Yeah. Because they're actually they're not really designed for you, the user. They're designed for the they're ultimately designed for the company who makes the algorithm. No not designed for the businesses either. They're not designed for you, they're designed for your attention. Yeah. Um

And and that is really what it what it comes down to. So I was chatting to uh a chap about this yesterday when I'm out for coffee with him. Um I'm well against algorithms. Actually, do you want it's why I I really like Patreon. You know, it's not just because I'm trying to, you know Patreon.com forward slash Rustalk I'm doing the the usual plug. Legit.

When the they posted up a video uh their their founder posted this video for I think it was the New York Times, that really was and I I I I want to believe that it is a l a genuine look at things because I have, you know, my my cynical heart, my my

not quite Gen Xer I I I I'm a millennial with a Gen Xer attitude um and a gen and a a a Gen X mindset. I want to believe that he is truthful when he says, I want the internet to go back to the way the internet used to be when it was good and it was designed for users to get the content that they actually wanted as opposed to an algorithm thinking it knows what you want.

Yeah, exactly. It was the point that he makes. It's like I used to make music for YouTube and I cultivate an audience for it now. Now if I make music for YouTube, I've gotta try and like make songs that will fall into an algorithm to help people find me. And Patreon is is is You know

a community, like as well. It's what wherein you can connect with people and and I I think anyone with a Patreon can do always do more to try and make sure that community is'cause it's it's not just you know,'cause those people then fund the work that you do. So there's there's lots going on there but you want to make sure that that is that that funding is being met with that reward of that space and that community and things like that. So

And you can do free memberships on there as well. I just think it's a really interesting um time. Yeah, I'm not sure if this book that's why this book is my rec at the moment. Uh I've got one that's a bit lighter, so I'm gonna have to Oh he's got props today. I've got props. I just need to bring up my phone just to remind me of what the album was called because I I do want to uh uh recommend an album.

Tag the uh the end of the episode with a bit of news that's that's lately come out. Prue Leith is leaving Bayhouse. I saw that this morning. That sounds like heaven on earth. I mean like I I think Bake Off is a show that Don't need rag on Bacoff. Not on my not I'm not on my time. He's put his phone down. I'm sorry everybody. I've I've tangented us again. Look how about we enable each other. The dangents uh No

Here's my thing with Bacoff, right? I think Bacoff is a good show. I think Bacoff has gotten too big and now it is not a case of can you make a nice Victoria sponge? Now it's a case of can you make twelve Victoria sponges in the time you were but only gonna allow you time. Bring make bake off great again is what you're saying. Make bake off great again. That's all I'm asking. Yeah. Uh and also I'm really sick of just like, I can't believe I'm in the tent. Get over yourself. Yeah.

Oh my god, it would hand shake. Oh yeah, they're just popping you know, they're just popping for the spots in the show now. If they if they do get Nigella, Nigella giving you the eye is far better. Honestly, if Nigel if Nigella's on that show, like I'm I'm gonna be taping and I'll be watching the multi- Oh dear. But but you me, you and me both, but for very different reasons. So my album recommendation is by a band called Fion, and the album is called Scut.

uh with a full stop at the end. Uh it's really good. I d I actually, you know, I'm sort of ragging on the the the algorithm and stuff, but I s I actually did discover them through the algorithm. I was I was recommended a video of them and it was them doing a cover of System of Down's Toxicity.

And it was a beautiful cover of the song. They have released it as a single and it made me want to listen to the album. Really, really good. It's got a it's it's very like um uh Olivia Rodrigo. Oh yeah. Um it's it's got a lot of sort of like pop punk a a attitude to

Really, really great. They seem like wonderful people. Go check out Fion. It's F-I-O-N-N. And the album's called Scum. Uh I save quite a few songs to my uh now that's what I call Luke playlist. Perfect. Uh so that's my recommendation. I don't think I've recommended it before. It what it came out last year. Yeah. And I did listen to it last year but I've been listening.

That's gonna be it for this episode. Patreon.com forward slash wrestletore. Go and support us over there. It is the best way to support this channel, actually. Uh because you can go and see us right now reviewing Unreal series season two. We should do it the American way. Episode by episode.

Series series two. Um go and check out over episode by episode breakdown over at patreon.com forward slash wrestle talk. We're back on Tuesday with the raw review, but no wrestlers podcast next Friday, because we're gearing up for the Royal Rumble and because of the way the YouTube algorithm works.

Completely swallowed up come Saturday, so there's literally no point us making one. And so uh no episode next Friday, but there will be an episode on Tuesday where we'll be doing the raw review, and then an episode on Wednesday where we're doing our Royal Rumble production. And then on uh that coming Saturday.

Myself and Ollie Davis will be on patreon.com forward slash Rustalk doing live reactions to the Royal Rumble from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. You're gonna be in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia? Uh yeah. Wow. Via um a hackney.

We'll be doing it here in studio. It's Oli Those the Triumphant Return. And then we'll be on Sunday reviewing the Royal Rumble on the Rest Talk Podcast. So go check out calendars. Yeah, market calendars indeed. Uh patron.com forward slash Rest Talk. Thank you all. Love you. Goodbye. This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Do you ever find yourself playing the budgeting game?

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