AJ Lee’s Big Return, WM43 in Saudi Arabia, & WWE’s Pricey Future | The Still Real to Us Show | Episode #813 – 09/11/25

0:00 It's still real to me, damn it! [music] What up, you! [music] Welcome, everybody! Welcome to this week's And This Are This Oh Real Love Show, episode number 813 for September 11, 2025. Welcome to this week's edition of SRTU. I am one after the show, I am Jeff Peck, joined every single week of my course, you're on the lead, Dr. Craig Franklin. Dr. Trey, you could interpret this many different ways.

0:40 Are you ready to light it up, my friend? Um, well, we're already in RVD Matt Rittle, come back, like, what are we? I know the song, I know you're referring to, but I just want to make sure that's where we're going, we're not talking about, like, we're going all 420 friendly on an episode for, you know, on a special episode, we're not going to be like, "Hey, let's watch ECW December to remember while we're high." I just want to make sure that's where we're going. No, no, no, it has something totally different, and you kind of alluded to it, but hell, I was going to throw an open-ended question and see what the interpretation was, more on that in just a second, a pre-show, Dr. Trey and I, uh, kind of going into a weathercast, talking about the fall, weather changes that are going on, and Dr. Trey, you're, your Southern gentleman.

1:31 So you are not typically accustomed to the North version of fall, but are you a fall guy? Like, are you, are you pumpkin spice lattes and flannels? I mean, I'm not a pumpkin spice and flannel type guy, but I look at, like, you've known me for a very long time when you first met me. I, I was a very large man. I was a very big boy, and I don't like extreme heat. I don't like when it's really hot. So anytime I can get into a position where it's like, oh, I can kind of cover up, the weather's kind of nice. I'm not sweating anywhere that I shouldn't be sweating. I'm perfectly happy. So give me fall, give me winter, give me spring, I'm, I'm anti-summer nowadays. Yeah, and, and your fall is not like my fall. Like, what time, when do your leaves fall typically like early January?

2:36 No, actually, it fell off my trees like last, I have one tree and I swear it just said, summer's been too much. We're just going to dump all the leaves now. So I have one tree that just dumped everything last week, but typically like around end of September, October, my leaves in my my property cart are coming down. So, I mean, we like, our fall though really lasts about four weeks. We got from summer and then there's about a four week cooling up period and then we're into southern winter, which is basically, I guess, kind of like what a northern fall is like highs in the 40s and 50s lows in the 20s. Yeah, that's, that's a good way to put it. Like the northern fall is, is basically your moderate time, I guess it would be. So, yeah, that's what we like getting on November and then late February, March timeframe is what you refer to as your winter. None of the less. We'll pick that up on weathercast that'll be dropping soon on patreon.com/srtuponcast.

3:39 I was about to say we've been teasing weathercast for like a decade. Maybe we should actually put that on Patreon one day. We should do that. We should just talk weather for, I don't know how long we can probably longer than we think and we'll put that up on the Patreon page and that is your way to support the podcast folks. If you're not a subscriber over the Patreon page, please go there, support the show. You get this show immediately after it's available to download ad free along with many other exclusives. You've got SRTU classics. You've got interviews that I did with Dolph Singular that'll be dropping soon and then patreon only show of viewers choice. It'll be up on Patreon at some point this month and so much more over at patreon.com/srtuponcast. The easiest way to support Dr. Trey and I as we do this podcast each and every week for 813 straight weeks, almost fully 16 straight years of doing this show. Not missing a week whatsoever. Dr. Trey said at the beginning there it's time to light it up and if you watch Clash in Paris, you felt that the return was inevitable. It definitely started to speed up after Clash in Paris and then we saw the return on Friday night in Chicago. It was basically reminded me of when AW tip their hand and was like, you should really watch this show when punk returned at rampage. They did not make any bones about it.

5:04 This is going to be a memorable show. You should tune in. You're going to be talking about it and they deliver as AJ Lee returned to world wrestling entertainment for the first time in nearly 10 years. She signed a multi year deal since this is obviously your first contract back with the company since the 2015 retirement. There are a lot of potential dream matches on deck. We'll see you now on the ring with Becky Lynch. This is a huge boost for the women's division and star power merch sales. However, you want to look at it and this could help bring some some bridging of the gap to storylines that see him punk is involved in like the one we're currently seeing. So I ask you this Dr. Tre how does AJ Lee's return reshape the women's division in WWE and long term storytelling?

5:50 I mean right now it's kind of like whenever they brought lead a back and when they brought church back like this is kind of that you know mid to 20 you know right around 2010 2015. She was everybody's favorite female wrestler like at that time so it ties in really well with that because it brings a look you know those you know 25 30 year old females back into the WWE fold as far as wrestling fandom. It bridges the gap between the new generation and the generation that you know Nikki Belich came from as well so that it ties that Lisa Deva's era to what we have now and it does it creates a lot of potential dream matches. AJ Lee is one of the most gifted for female wrestlers I've ever seen when it comes to being able to switch from e-eel to babyface like we all love her maniacal craziness as a eel but she was super over the babyface also so the fact that as her contract runs through like there's just a bunch of different stuff that you can tie her into like you know people forget you know her character was dating Daniel Bryan who you know married Brey and one of my favorite storylines ever was the rivalry between AJ Lee and Nikki and Brey Belich when she said you know obviously talent is not sexually transmitted like some of that stuff was

7:22 so good uh it lines up a lot of stuff I mean AJ Lee and Charlotte Flair we've never seen that AJ Lee and Alexa Bliss like and those are just stars not to mention like AJ Lee and Rhea at some point AJ Lee and Eo AJ Lee and Tiffany like some of those ones are just like yes like sign me up to see how those rivalries play out because the promos in those should be fantastic as well. You kind of forget how good she was from like 2011 to 15 maybe even like 2012 timeframe when she was the general manager of raw one time always involved in major storylines was interacting with punk Daniel Bryan Kane Johnson who were were very big at that period of time um think she had the wedding angle on the one thousand edition of Monday Night Raw she was a very impactful player in WWE for a period of time and was certainly on the cusp of being a potential household name and then all the stuff with punk went down she left the company retired uh stuck around for a little bit got married to him and never really thought she she returned a professional raster I think the best case in area for me Dr. Trey it would be like one or two matches at best but for her to sign a multi year deal really opens up the potential explorations of what could be on the surface for her career like I'm already envisioning if I'm predicting WrestleMania right now I'm thinking AJ Lee versus Bayley AJ Lee versus Roxanne Perez the

8:53 people that were very closely tied to her and heavily influenced by her career now in WWE with the opportunity to wrestle her like that's a storyline main in itself. What will be intriguing about this is that some point in my mind unless Becky Lynch remains as a regular contributor to the vision stable which at this point in time leads me to believe she is how do we get AJ Lee off of punk at some point how do we get even Becky Lynch off of Seth wrongs which can be discussed in the litter tub but the AJ Lee punk thing at some point even though they're married they kind of have to go their separate ways I feel like they can't they can't be tied together forever she's not going to be a valet for him he's not going to be a valet for her there is no intergender tag team titles right now it's not like they could tag team forever they're not going to do a stable probably at this point in their career that to me is the interesting point where we've got rest of pollusa makes a ton of sense to bring her back but at some point I feel like she has to do her own thing and doesn't need to be tied to her real life husband. I mean the easiest thing is kind of like we've seen them do with other characters where it's like you know let's say she wins the intercontinental title and somebody attacks her well then that moves her away from punk because that's not tied into the vision storyline you know or you know it's it's going to be something like that where something takes her focus off of Becky so obviously with this intergender match at some point you're going to have a one on one match with AJ and Becky AJ wins the intercontinental title and then you know

10:26 Roxana attacks her because she's more concerned about what they've been intercontinental title than anything AJ has going on well then that now branches AJ off into a rivalry with you know with Roxana and Raquel and then Liv comes back into the mix and then you got a whole different dynamic as well. So I mean there are ways of moving it to separate them and then they can always come back to you. We saw you know a couple years ago when when Becky and Seth were kind of working together and kind of playing up that super couple angle and then like surely thereafter Becky was moved off into something else so it's it's it's it can be done and then you can always bring it back because you know they're not those two aren't the only married couples in WWE you got Montez de Biawga, Naomi and Big Jam like you can always circle back and do another marriage rivalry if you want to down the line. Dr. Shrey I mean this is could be a show in itself but it's going to be a very quick discussion here but when AJ Lee returned I don't know why this did it for me as a viewer at home and we've talked about this many a times here on the podcast over the last several years but when she was added on to the roster here I was like this may be one of the best women's divisions top down, Raw Smackdown NXT I've ever seen from WWE's standpoint and then I took it a step further I was like this could be one of the greatest rosters in WWE history and I know it's like well why would you think this was like just the addition of AJ Lee but it was just the

11:58 because I did not foresee this happening two weeks ago and I certainly did not foresee it happening a week ago like this would be a full-time performer back in the company but when you get an opportunity to take a look at this all and you're like there is some serious serious talent like there are women's feuds that could take place that don't need titles there are matches that could take place that don't need champion chips their storylines that could take place that don't need titles I mean top down this may be one of the greatest rosters ever assembled and it's just like when you add another big name to the roster you're like holy shit I'm watching something special right now yeah I mean you can look at the roster and as you're saying that I hadn't thought of that because we've been so fixated on how good the NXT when the roster has been that we lost I guess it says we kind of took the main roster for granted but when you look at that main roster like how many future or current Hall of Famers do you see I mean you got Nicky's a Hall of Famer AJ is going to be a Hall of Famer Charlotte Bagley Alexa like I mean there's probably potentially ten future Hall of Famers on this roster and those are the only ones that have been in with the company seven years enough and then you look at the younger talent on the roster the Lyra's the Roxanne's the Roles you know the people like that you're like man from top to bottom it is absolutely

13:34 loaded and just the sheer volume like you can say like NXT's roster is really really good as well but that's also being based on like future projecting AW has you know Tony Storm in excuse me Mercedes-Benz hey what's your obviously Hall of Fame caliber type performers but a lot of their stuff is also projection as well when you actually have the credibility that you have in WWE's women's division it's really hard to say that there's ever been a time where's been deeper I mean the only time you could probably say is you know that time when Lita and Trish were actively part-time performing just because that was two more Hall of Famers on the roster but I don't think the bottom end of the roster was as good as it is now yeah it's an amazing assembly of some of the top names performers and up-and-comers and like you said I mean you could literally name off probably ten Hall of Famers right now in the wins division and that's just a minimum the way that their careers are are going right now it's an amazing roster that makes things hard for the creative team because you want to include a lot of people that are very talented involved at all times rather than sitting on the shelves for a period of time. Speaking of that episode of SmackDown where AJ Lee returned Dr. Tray it opened up with a John Cena segment his last appearance on SmackDown full circle moment as he returned to the arena where he debuted against

15:05 Kurt Angle which was on an episode of SmackDown back in I think July 2022 which is to be July 2002 was either June or July 2002 and goes on proceed to have a match with Sammy Zayn US Open Challenge and it is an absolute banger as the match is going on I'm like this may be in the discussion if this match finishes because I'm as I'm watching the match live I'm like how are they going to do this because I is Cena got to take an L on SmackDown and they're kind of like a passing on the torch to to Zayn I don't know if they're going to do that on his way out are they going to put the title on John Cena after Sammy Zayn just recently became US champion or is Lesnar going to interfere and I did not want to see the third happen I wanted this to see it go the distance because I'm like this is one that I think I could be talking about as as a match that you're can at least from on a TV side perspective because it was so damn good and it was spreading out for multiple segments and then Lesnar came out Dr. Tray and then he laid out both Sammy Zayn John Cena match ends in in no contest so I ask you this did Lesnar's interference enhance the storyline he has right now with John Cena or did it rob fans of a classic match between John Cena and Sammy Zayn both I mean both things can be true like it furthers the storyline with John Cena because you know Brock comes out takes him out you know the last time we really saw Brock and Cena and the ring together was what summer slam 14 I think it was summer slam 15 when you know basically Cena got dog walked by John or

16:40 by Brock Lesnar yeah I mean obviously we always want to see kind of a clear finish and a who's better than who type scenario but that's not what wrestling is wrestling the wins and losses really don't matter what matters is the story so yeah fans got robbed of a clear cut winner but it did like look I don't know how I'm not super excited about Lesnar and Cena that's just kind of like my Brock Lesnar MO over the last 10 years but it does enhance the storyline so I think in that situation both things are true which one would you prefer to have seen play out what to place or the match finishing I'm fine with what happened like I didn't want Sammy taking the L I didn't want John Cena taking the L and so it says you kind of book yourself into a quarter I did not like that they said it was a no-contest because technically Sammy got attacked first which should have been a DQ and then Sammy would have the DQ who went over John Cena and that I would have been okay with but to call it no-contest I thought was just a cop out that's just the way of protecting the storyline like everybody knew that he was out there to attack John Cena basically but I agree with you that's the old school fan in us it's the same thing that I had a couple months ago when the tap out or when the pass out was used to be just forever was three arms being dropped and dangled and then they did it one time and that was and it was like wait what how did that happen and then you saw

18:14 the three drop downs of the arm when a sleeper holder something is being locked on return like shortly thereafter so it was unfortunate see does ain't have we're having a banger on Smackdown and Brock Lesnar came to interrupt it and we will preview his match with John Cena at WrestlePelus on next week's edition of the show yes Dr. Trey I wanted to ask you a question like how does you feel about Cena fusing out all the homages since he can't wrestle everybody but fusing out the end of days fusing out a GTS fusing out of styles clash like how do you feel about him doing that does it bother you or are you just in the mindset like okay I know why he's doing this so I'm okay with it in this scenario I loved it I dislike that commentary couldn't keep up I dislike that they like I think they called the angle slam like a fallaway slam it's like nope that's that's an angle slam and then when he's pulling the hair back like edge used to do when he did the spear and Michael Cole's response was that to tribute to the big dog because they had so many matches I'm like I don't remember I remember all match I don't remember so many matches I liked it I liked that he did attribute I like that he did a hat tip to those guys because they were so important to them in his career and I like that the fans wanted him to do an RKO and he did an audible on the fly I dug it yeah I didn't like like we talked about like you know we don't think we're getting another scene in AJ match which you know given AJ's weird in commercial break promo hey we fight but you know

19:51 certain guy like you're right like I mean Graves tried to correct Cole on the spear with the hair he goes or someone else like he tried to allude to it but yeah I think it's a nice way to show seeing a showing respect to those guys the funny thing is with the end of days only one person ever kicked out the end of days now Sam is they technically makes it too wow so somewhere Bishop Dwyer Baron Corbin Tom Kostik is smiling right he actually I think he actually came out on Twitter and said what a great thing it was and how much it meant and that scene actually used it it's it's cool that he played homage to the Smackdown runs that he had because I think if fans like me I don't know about you Dr. Trey but that when they did the brand split in 2022 I keep saying 2022 2002 when they did the brand split a couple months later seen in debut that was a very memorable time for me as a wrestling fan because the brand split was so cool and they took it so seriously and you never really saw them do it again where wrestlers were kind of you know they're interchangeable in the brands like you're seeing one week Jimmy Uses on Smackdown the next week he's on Raw it's like there's no rhyme nor reason like they were legitimate two separate brands there were pay-per-views that were this is Smackdown presents Raw presents and I really enjoyed Smackdown because they were the underdog and they were putting on the better show whether it be the Smackdown 6 or when the period of time when Cena debuted shortly thereafter Ray Mysterio

21:25 debuted and they made a big point that when Edge Ray Mysterio and John Cena like Clean House of the UnAmericans in that cage match the night that Ray Mysterio debuted was like this is the future of Smackdown and I always dug that time period of the show it was like 2002 to 2004 or five-ish when Eddie was champion as well and when the Smackdown 6 tag teams were performing that was a really cool time so I liked what they did back then or this past Friday from John Cena. Yeah it's funny like Edge or Cena has got the end like do I think if John Cena has a raw guy or a Smackdown guy and I'm like it's tough because of that like yeah like for me I still think of seeing it as a Smackdown guy because when he was on his rise it was on Smackdown and that was a very impactful time of my life ironically Edge I think of Edge more as a raw guy and I think a lot of it had to do with the Edge lead a mad hearty storyline. See that's funny I look at him more as a Smackdown guy because that time period I just discussed and then like after 2006 7/8 when he was rated our superstar he was certainly on Raw for a little bit but I remember him feuding with Undertaker on Smackdown. Yeah the Vicki Guerrero storyline was on Smackdown yeah it's in my yeah that might have flew me back as Edge being more Smackdown guy but like the live sex storyline was always like that was on Raw and that's to me one like the big highlights of this career.

22:48 Well back in 2002 John Cena was deemed the future of Smackdown on an episode of the Blue Brand and now there are some people being acknowledged as the future of an entirely different brand in organization A.W. Dr. Trey and that is one the current TNT champion Kyle Fletcher he is on a rapid rise with singles wins and growing my confidence that you can make a case that his Oceo open tag team partner Mark Davis who is also extremely talented is starting to become the marginetti of their tandem because Mark Davis is unfortunately out with injury again and just his rise has been really really fun to watch this is a guy that I always thought was incredibly good like I thought he was extremely talented but I did not think he was that good and it's getting to the point where oddly enough I think his career is going to be comparable and compare the rest of their careers to Will Osprey from their time working together in New Japan and also carried over NAW for a little bit as well. Dr. Trey who is more likely to win the A.W. World Championship first now is it going to be Kyle Fletcher or Will Osprey?

24:00 I'm still going to go Osprey because he's the most brandable name so I think if Osprey doesn't get it shortly after his return from surgery the longer it goes the odds then switch to Kyle Fletcher. Like I think Kyle Fletcher is extremely talented he's gotten better on the microphone he's gotten really he's gotten really damn good at it my relationship with him is the hair like he just he looks like a bigger version of Tyson kid to me I don't know what he just I don't know if it's the hair the ears the fat I don't know what it is he just looks like a little bit bigger Tyson kid but I mean it's growing on me more and more like he wears the pink as a no-mosh to the hearts so like he's he's fantastic they're in it really does remind me of Will Osprey about eight nine years ago I think you and I were on the show and I said if Osprey puts on a little bit more size he could be a world champion and he actually went out for a little more size and now you see where his career's gone not that Kyle has to put on any more size just the more experience he gets and the more higher profile matches he gets he's going to get better and better I think if I was a betting man I would say 80% Osprey gets a world title first 20% Kyle Fletcher but if neither of them have it in the next 18 months I think those odds might flip obviously a big point of this is is the injury to Will Osprey and how long he is going to be out for it balloons out there could be

25:32 an entire year doctor try but he's going to be super hot when he returns oh yeah it's going to be like we triple age came back from his quad tear it's gonna blow the roof off whatever building it's in and you then need to strike while the iron is hot and you start planning the storyline for the updated return line where you're like okay we need to put the belts on you know a heel that everybody despises and then when Osprey comes back he's going to be super over we make the flip and see how he runs with the ball after that but that's that's kind of what the M.O. and wrestling has always been like the super hot like especially on like long term injuries they come back after a year they're immediately at the top of the card right in the world title picture so that's that's kind of what I'm saying like if if Osprey doesn't get it in within 18 months especially like the first six months after he returns then I think the odds are shifting more towards Kyle Fletcher getting it first so with Kyle Fletcher he's in the world championship match for all out against hangman page which I think will be a really fun match here do you agree that this outlook that Kyle Fletcher is the future of A.W. or is he more part of the future of A.W.? I think he's I don't know if he's the future because once again I like hearing him talk but I don't I'm not that point yet where like I have to hear everything he says you know to me he's not at the MJ left MJF level on promise like he's not there he's not there he may never get there but I mean is he if you think of when Edge is

27:08 first title run was like he wasn't a great promo guy in his first title run he got better over time because he started to learn the value of you know selling the story verbally more than the in-ring stuff I think that he is a big future of it but I don't know if he'll ever be the guy because I still think other guys are just have a little more charisma than he does you don't think he is charisma? no I didn't say he has none I just say that I think other guys have more there's just something about him that it just screams star to me now when he comes on the screen like to me it's not you know they started we talked we started like during the day no grinder on the B plus players he's in A minus guy to be right like he's a guy that yeah you can put the top of the car I just don't know if he's ever going to be the guy you know it's just you know swerve has more charisma osprey has more charisma fletures just a slight tick below those guys interesting yeah it's it's been a really cool ascend because I felt like it's organic I think he is very confident and it shows on the screen and it's been enjoying a watch call fletcher really blossom because again I was someone I was like there's something with this kid just never knew like if you go back to his match at all in were him and mark davis as acy open with the ROH tag team champs and they took on MJF and Adam Cole on the pre show I mean fletcher is considerably

28:40 like maybe 30 40 pounds less weight than he is like now I mean he was not what he looks like in the ring I mean he's really worked on his body he's worked on his mic skills he's worked on his in ring performance he is exuding confidence I think the pairing with Don Calis has been really fun to watch I am a fan of Kyle fletcher I am digging what he's doing and dare I say dr. Trey I think this is somebody that could like late 2026 early part of 2027 I think this is an AW world champion that we're watching a send right now yeah now I like I said I agree I think he's in that in that consideration I mean you don't get a world title match at a pay-per-view unless they're looking to see if you have the goods to eventually pull it off like we've seen them with other guys in the past where like hey they'll get that title shot like on a B pay-per-view just to kind of see like hey can you can you run a main event can you attract viewers are our people if you're the heal our people really want to see you get your ass kicked or hey is this a guy that we can see the fans kind of getting by and that's kind of where I think they're at with Kyle fletcher because wrestling wise he wrestles a lot like a baby face like he's got the super athletic moves he does all the cool stuff you know and it's like okay is he gonna be our Seth Rollins where he can wrestle like a baby face but still get that heat from the audience or is this a guy that we need to put on the baby face

30:10 side because he wrestles so well it's hard for people to hate it but you kind of have to test it to see where it goes you can't just like blink and lee assume that hey this guy's got the goods to you know main event you know wimbley stadium in front of 70,000 people without actually testing it out virtually yeah it's it's fun to watch and it's like these one of those rare moments where you know that somebody is on the verge of doing something big and that's the kind of the vibe I get right now with Kyle fletcher which I enjoy as a wrestling fan going back to WWE doctor tre and this is something that I noticed pretty recently I tend to look at like wrestling any ticket prices when they come out just had a curiosity to see like how much they're running for what I give an opportunity to like go check it out check the show out whatever I actually most recently did this with summer slam seen well should I when I go to one or two shows it's not that bad of a drive and I wanted to go take a look and the ticket prices were astronomical and I saw a wrestle many of their and I did not pay what I pay what you would pay for like the last roll row at the very very top of the stadium and it's like this is insane and you tend to see this now more often with a lot of sports teams I just recently went through this when I was looking at Yankee tickets for 2026 as a Yankee fan it was the same thing and just this extravagment amount of money that you need to put out for these tickets where it reaches a point for a guy like myself I'm sure you feel the same way doctor tre where yeah I want

31:40 to experience this but I can experience it and get a better view of my own home as well especially the older I get and it being very choosy with how I spend my money and then I saw this interview or I don't know if it was like a press conference that Goldman Sachs was was holding was a Goldman Sachs conference that TKO president Mark Shapiro was at and spoke about TKO business and he said Vintzik Man historically kept ticket prices accessible to encourage whole families to attend shows together he emphasized that Vince wasn't focused on maximizing ticket prices while TKO intends to aggressively raise yields Shapiro pointed out that UFC events consistently break records for ticket revenue setting the standard TKO wants WWE to match WWE's 59% second quarter margin highlights that higher sight fees and ticket yields are already boosting profitability with that said doctor tre and I guess this is already happened is dough to be risking its family first tradition by chasing UFC style ticket revenue under TKO and are we shocked that we're talking about Vintzik Man glowingly where he was actually trying to do a say solid to allow us and our families to enjoy a wrestling show yeah I mean what I worry about with WWE is that they're going to run in the same problem at Major League Baseball in the NFL have ran into where like yeah it's cost prohibitive to take your

33:14 entire family out to gain now the upside about baseball and you know this look you can get Yankees tickets when they're playing uh let's like the nationals right now super cheap right because it's just nobody wants to go see the nationals at Yankee Stadium so you can still on days like that because there's more available dates making outing with the family to not be super expensive but you know Jeff you're not taking the wife in Luke and then you know the potential future child of peck to a Yankee Red Sox game on a Friday night at 7 o'clock because the ticket price is going to be outrageous and that's why baseball lost a generation of fans because kids just weren't able to go to the games the NFL runs into that now we're like yeah they're selling out but they're selling out to corporations who are buying luxury seats and 50 yard line tickets for company outing that they can expense it's not the family of five going to watch the Packers at Lambo anymore and I worry that WWE is going to run that same route where Vintz looked at it as in the same way I look at it with independent wrestling I play to the kids because the kids stay fans for life and that's how you build longevity in the brand is that loyalty that you're in in doctorated to as a child with raising the prices like kids don't have the attention span is sit down and watch two and a half hours of Monday night raw right now they kind of do like everybody else says which is like hey we'll go watch some clips we'll go watch some highlights and then tune in for

34:47 the May review like you and I growing up Monday night raw we sat through the whole thing good bad indifferent spark plug sparky plug you know one two three kid generation don't the clown deal hopper we sat through all of that stuff because we were in doctorated as a kid to how great wrestling was if you start pricing everything out of everybody's range you're gonna start losing general like future generations of wrestling. Yeah that's what's really disappointing for me doctor Tre is the fact that because they're so successful right now they are more likely to push their bottom dollar rather than do the right thing for the fans that support them and you're seeing that more and more with streaming the amount of streaming packages that you need to purchase to be a wrestling fan nowadays is out of control there was a video over the weekend of a tick-tock user that was at the Halloween Horror Nights in Universal Studios Florida and there's one of the haunted houses is tied to the the wide six and he ran into Nikon and said to him like the ticket prices are so high and Nikon was like I understand and then you've got days later Mark Shapiro coming out and saying like we want to push the ticket price is higher it's really unfortunate because that's what pushes and I'm not poor I'm not rich I am your average middle American with a family a wife and kid

36:21 we both work and whenever money we have we we like to from time to time spending on entertainment purposes I debated would I make the trek into Madison Square Garden and go watch John Cena's final appearance on Monday night we're on I was like you know what it's probably not worth it because those ticket prices are probably astronomical for a poor section of the the arena like a section that is just as a poor viewing and and I'm I'm really high up and do I really want to be part of that I don't I like to go into wrestling shows when I could and I didn't like breaking the bank to do that so it's very unfortunate to see this come out like that and the fact that these are statements that fans like you and I can read and then also then discuss on this podcast makes you wonder like what the hell are they doing like we just want to continue to expand money I mean that is a successful business model they'll make their stocks stockholders happy but the longevity of it as you point out to dr. Trey is a little bit of the unknown right now I mean do they just think all of their fans are suckers and they'll just keep coming back for more and more and more as of right now we are because the arenas are being filled so I guess until the arenas aren't filled and is when they will listen again there's a really cool business model out there I'm sure you're familiar with Savannah bananas the the baseball team that goes around they are they literally call themselves fans first

37:51 and for like really high seats it's 40 bucks even they pay the taxes all the processing fees the team handles next level 60 bucks VIP level 100 bucks and they are selling out 45,000 seat baseball stadiums dr. Trey like I don't understand why that can't be successful as well for even wrestling promotions no it absolutely can be but when you're the biggest difference is and this is that is when we would convince the random company for the majority of those years first of what tko it does they're not beholden to stockholders that all they're beholden to is are we making a profit are we making enough money to pay everybody what we tell them we're going to pay them and are we you know the owners are they making a little bit of money to keep this thing going forward you know that's one of his why Vince kind of kept the price low because he was building longevity but he was still making enough money to make sure everybody was good you know Vince didn't become a billionaire until they went public he was always just millionaire Vince until the company went public and like I have a friend of mine that's one of the male cheerleaders for the Savannah bananas and he's like yeah we we're well taken care of the owners like really gracious about that stuff um but yeah like they could obviously milk it for more and sell VIP sweet seating and corporate seating and all of that stuff and really maximize their profits but once again they're trying to build longevity they're trying

39:22 to become the Harlem Globe traitors of baseball and create that brand loyalty that last 50 60 years where it becomes an event there we want to go see when those guys are in your town so that business model can be successful but I think it's if you're a private company and not beholden to stockholders because the stockholders just wants to you maximize profits you know it's funny we all were voting and rooting on fits are being not being involved with the company one way or another creative team maybe even owning it fans were and I agree with this business model that he wanted to keep it pretty well tight for family so that they could attend and it's unfortunate that WWE is losing that site because that's what made it so successful was that they did put families first so unfortunate but not a surprise when it comes to today's corporations and what they're trying to do in in a lot of different areas and avenues of of entertainment that we all know and love in this in this world of ours speaking of which uh WWE reportedly is going to be bringing WrestleMania 43 to Saudi Arabia in 2027 down to trade that is the report out there right now this would be the first WrestleMania held outside of North America obviously huge financial implications for the Saudi partnership it raises question to mal about fan travel times owning global TV deals um the rumblings out there right now is that Saudi Arabia is willing to pay any price possible to bring back people out of retirement

40:53 like they want to put on an absolute show so this could be more like the early stages of crown jewel than the WrestleMania that we're tend to use to there's also been some discussions that they may do to WrestleMania is in one year which is lame to me uh so that they do WrestleMania United States does it moving WrestleMania overseas to Saudi Arabia grow WWE's brand doctor tray or does it risk alienating core fans that they have I mean for the for the long time fans of the diars like us it's irritating like it kind of pisses me off when I read that um and not so much that it's just Saudi Arabia it's kind of because it is the first one not in North America is in Saudi Arabia like you look at these Paris crowds you look at these London crowds I'm like yeah they really should have gone there first and then do a Saudi show like we're we've gotten used to doing the Saudi shows now a little bit but yeah it's disappointing because you know it's just like okay let the European guys have a first because they kind of deserve it then you can do a Saudi one uh two WrestleMania's in one year deletes it's like having two super balls in one year like it just doesn't make sense like there's a reason why it's an event because it only happens once a year and it goes all out for it so like I'm against it but here's the thing I think the day we're all gonna watch it just because it is WrestleMania and doesn't really matter where it is because we're just so invested in the story

42:26 and the product that we're going to tune in no matter where it is yeah it's WrestleMania right I'm not surprised by this auditory I honestly either way if this was going I'm not sure that this is happening no not all yeah I would have loved to see it like it London first before Saudi Arabia yeah but you know I mean when you're talking about the fact that the Saudis can grow I mean Jeff I mean literally like there's not a number they can't come up with and as a company it's like yeah we're probably gonna take a PR hit but look at how much money's gonna come in that's what companies do unfortunately you know so if I mean you're talking probably I mean if they were projecting you know 500 million in revenue I don't you know how much they generate revenue anymore but I mean half it could probably come from this WrestleMania alone like it's really hard to say no to that but just as you know historical fans lifelong fans is just it's kind of like you know A.W.

43:30 Least went to London and did their biggest show there like couldn't W.D. at least do WrestleMania London first and then do the Saudi one second and still make the shit ton of money yeah I guess we'll see how this all plays out Dr. Tre I'm sure an announcement is coming by the time we we record next weeks in this then show because reportedly a press release in Arabic was sent out on Wednesday and then immediately pulled back because it was done as a mistake and now seeing that WrestleMania 43 would be held in Saudi Arabia so I expect by next week's show we're probably talking about it and the test run will be Royal Rumble 2026 because that's where it's going to be this year's in Saudi Arabia and we'll see how the how they handle it so the first time they've held a pay-per-view that we were used to in Saudi Arabia a elimination chamber was held over there at one time you know when you have the the big four of Royal Rumble Mania Summer Slam Survivor Series held in one of those spots that has a little bit of a deeper meaning look at it so WrestleMania 43 reportedly coming to Saudi Arabia in 2027 more on that story as it develops and then the last thing I want to bring up here on this week's edition the show Dr. Tre I'm really looking forward to this show next week NXT homecoming at full sale university it returns to its original home and creates an nostalgia and intimacy intimate feel with the fan base it has a chance for a current roster to shine in a classic setting obviously it's going to feature guest

45:01 appearances it's could have some surprise guest appearances surprise people making a return to NXT possibly you've got DIY taken on trick mellow gang as they reunite you've got fatal influence taken on rear-ripply Stephanie Valkour and Tiffany Stratton you've got Tyler Breeze taking on Ethan Page for the North American Championship they teased appearances of Triple H William Riegel the Street Profits Bianca Belair I went to two shows at full sale university one was a like month-long tape being of NXT the other was when they were live in 2019 from one of the shows I think it was headline by Keith Lee and Roddy Strong if I remember correctly for North American champion to remember Bayley made an appearance on that show laying someone out as it was hyping up survivancy of 2019 really enjoyed going on those shows it was a really cool place to watch the shows does NXT returning to full sale university this Tuesday give you all the feels of the good times dr. Tre yeah it brings back to the style like that so full sale like I actually really would try to get my daughter to go to school there because she's a grad that's what you want to do at one point was be going to like graphic arts design and that's kind of what full sales known for but it was also that at that point full sales still the taping area for NXT and I was like oh I go visit my kid and see an NXT show so it would it worked out but yeah it's it's one of the top four or

46:34 five venues that you think of when it comes to WWE in a way like when I think of NXT I think of taping the full sale more than any other place even over the PC or anything like that like that's kind of where picture just like you picture you see done like under arena like you picture and CNA you know in Nashville at the fairgrounds or down in Orlando do the tapings there like there are just certain spots that feel like home and in full sale definitely to me is always the home of NXT what is your favorite home arena that brings you the most nostalgia man it might be the Nashville fairgrounds for T&A there's been so many like that's when T&A first started there but then it was also the home of like a lot of small independent promotions in the Tennessee area it's either that one or what's the arena name in Atlanta where they did all the center stage yeah center stage because that's where they did a lot of the Saturday night tapings back when 6.5 on the mother's year maybe we like that's those two are probably at my top too mine is the Manhattan Center in New York City where the first several months of raw were held like well I when they went back for raw 25 I was super hyped for it and then you know they barely did anything in that arena I am shocked NXT has not gone there I'm shocked that AWS has gone there

48:10 I love when AWS in the Hammer sign which is right down below literally in the same building of the Manhattan Center Hammer signs another one but that's I'm kind of being like for my territory for this but I'm I'm super hyped for full sell you sell university doctor I think this is going to be a really good viewership boost for NXT you've got we also got Izzy Dame and taking on a Tade in Paxley taking on Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss for the women's acting championship like it's it's going to be a fun show and it that may be in the history of this podcast Dr. Trey that period of time when you could watch NXT on the WWE Network the black and gold there like 14 2014 to 2019 may be some of my favorite shows we've ever covered like NXT takeovers gave me a sense of excitement that was lost for a period of time as a wrestling fan like it renewed that spirit of like I'm really excited love the crowd reactions love the in-ring stuff you found you like found all these guys that were doing different things that they were doing the WWE main roster at that period of time like I think at least in the history of the show I think that NXT black and gold brand of 14 to 19 maybe my favorite stuff we ever covered so I'm like super excited for the show full sale so does does the black and gold Eric is when you guys for when you and Eric first start the show you guys were really hot on a ring of honor and that was the generico steam

49:45 Tyler black age of the fall like that was that era so which which do you rank higher black and gold or that that era of ring of honor so I loved steam and genericos feud more than I loved like the ROH brand like I do the NXT brand if that makes sense like the feud yeah the best feud I think we've ever covered on this show oh steam in a generico I think almost second to that may be like Drew McAter and CM Punk like a very distant second like I really enjoyed that feud but as a brand as a full show that you would like watch every single week and be happy and excited and watch an NXT takeover be happy and excited like there was a period of time where I was like I don't think we've ever great in NXT takeover less than a four and you look at some of those match the years we did for each one of those years for a period of time and they were coming from NXT takeover shows I think the best brand I've ever watched during this show was that NXT black and gold brand yeah the only thing that to me rival it was and you could like you have to take trade for was that late 90s ECW run because you saw stuff there that nobody else was doing and that's kind of what kind of a fed the the fervor for that black and gold brand was that was the closest thing to ECW it was ECW without the language in a lot of ways like we saw like I still remember Keith Lee counting Adam Cole like four four rows

51:15 into the crowd like certain things like that we were like oh my god that was fantastic and some of the matches and I don't know if you saw the backstage little interview with Tyler Breeze after after the last NXT show but they're back there like Stevie Turner and the first thing she brought up was you know Tyler Breeze and Jujan Thunder Liker and that was stuff that you're like I can't believe they're putting this on NXT does Vince know they're doing this like they got away with a lot of stuff that you know because Vince just wasn't really paying attention to it until it got hot and then he had to put his amperens all over it make it 2.0 yeah it was the bad times for sure so I'm going to look forward to it at NXT home coming this Tuesday we'll take a look back at that if there's anything worth talking about on next week's edition of SRTU with that said let's get a couple plugs and sponsored out of the way you could download the show every Thursday or Friday at realguymeanie.com russicchattenatonx and the still wrote a show feed on apple spot on fire every down those podcasts you get support us at patreon.com/srtupodcast you get the show at free and immediately available to you and of course all the great exclusives that are up on our patreon page don't forget to rate review and subscribe as the algorithm is king that helps us out on all those podcast platforms wherever you got this show you can follow us individually on extra myself at SRTU Jeff and for Dr. Shrek Franklin at the Dr. Trey of course don't forget to follow the show on x@srtupodcast with that be it said what is going on the wonderful world of dr. Shrek Franklin this week well like

52:46 jib said you can follow me on x@ddrtrey you can find me on facebook and instagram just search out old drtrey Franklin when you're on facebook check out rock and city championship wrestling we just had a really big show this past Saturday night next one's coming up on september 20th so be sure to check out all those with that they post the full show you can want you can hear me doing play by play commentary ring announcing the whole nine yards for you know two and a half hours if you guys tune in the show but most importantly but there's sports sports are all love really dependent wrestling show where they still try to make sense really is still trying to get and they're not all about the bottom dollar and alienating fan bases yeah there you go support all the great things that support srt and again support this podcast over at patreon.com/srtupodcast join us next week we'll preview predict AW all out or preview predict WBC wrestle preview wrestle polusa and more enjoy the weekend stay safe enjoy in some professional wrestling save your money for wrestling tickets and until next week for dr. ray Franklin i am Jeff pack this has been the stirrold us show