Clash in Paris, AEW’s Big Move, Punk’s Goodbye & Nitro at 30! | The Still Real to Us Show | Episode #812 – 09/04/25

0:00 It's still real to me, damn it! What are we doing? Welcome everybody! Welcome to this week's edition of the Sto Real Estate show, Episode 812, for Toppatter 4 2025. Welcome to your WWE clash in Paris, Recap and review edition of SR 2U. I am one after the show, I am Jeff Beck, joined every single week by Closed-alone.trieth Franklin. Dr. Trey, I was going to ask you this last week, my friend.

0:41 But I'm going to ask it now, Michael Parsons, Green Bay Packer, my friend. Congratulations, when I saw the news, you're the first person I thought it, which is crazy, because half my family are Packer fans, all out there in the Nevada area. My good friend, Jeremiah Plunkett, who wrestles for NWA, huge Green Bay Packer fan, but I saw the news, and the first person I thought of was my ginger husband, 15 years, Jeff Beck. Yeah, you know, it's funny, I had friends of mine, like, text me, congratulations. Which always feels weird, like you're congratulating somebody on their sports team during something, doing something, but I guess it's, I could get away with it because I am part owner of the Green Bay Packers.

1:28 Well, if you remember, I texted you earlier, so I reached out to you in the summer, or in the fall, when the Yankees got Clay Belinger. Yes. I'm a huge Cody Belinger guy, and I was like, "Hey, you're going to love him. He might strike out a lot. He might hit 240, but he plays good defense, and you'll have him on the team." And I was like, "And that's kind of how we roll." Like, I don't ever, I don't have any hatred towards the Packers, even though they are a rival of the Niners. Yeah, you guys kick our ass. Why would you hate us? Well, in the regular season, you guys kick our ass in the playoffs, we do okay. That's what matters most. That's what matters most. You know, but I mean, it was, it was, it was just one of these like, I've never had any animosity towards the Packers.

2:10 I've never had any animosity towards the Yankees, and so like when your teams do well, I get really happy for you, and I think you kind of reciprocated that back, is my teams, the Cubs, in particular, hardly ever do good. And the Niners suck for like a decade. So it's only been the last five years I've been decent again. I loved when the Cubs won the World Series in 2016. One of my favorite games of all time, mind you. I mean, that was a rare moment. Game six, 2016 World Series. I'm sure you felt differently. I'm sure Cleveland, then Indians, fans felt differently. I just watched it as a baseball fan. I'm like, I cannot believe what I'm watching. Like, this is one of the greatest baseball games in my lifetime.

2:53 And I still feel that way. And I mean, thank God I'd had nothing on the line for that game. So very happy for the Cubs. I cannot reciprocate the love towards the Niners, because like you said, I think the last four or five times they've met in the playoffs, they've been absolutely, their asses have been kicked by San Francisco. I'd like to get that monkey off my back, but I also like to get super bowl. So yeah, it was like an hour. Last week when we did the recording time, it was like an hour before we, I think the parsons news had dropped. And I was still on Cloud nine. I know a mid-car picture on member from the show, EJ Reed is a Cowboys fan.

3:33 He was chatting up in our fantasy football draft that took place last night. And he himself not happy. I don't know what to tell you. I mean, 29, what is it? 30? How many other teams are there? 32 NFL teams? 31 other NFL teams. Love the Jerry Jones is your general manager. But and I don't know if you have flashbacks at this, but that you're reminding me not so much of the Reggie White signing for the Packers, but the Julius Pepper signing. Like that. That changed the defense for a few years. I know we're getting into NFL podcast, but it was like, wow, the Packers are getting Mike. They always every like 10 to 15 years, they get that great defensive end from another team to just wreak havoc on quarterbacks for a few seasons.

4:18 Yeah, I'm fans of franchises where people always are looking for a comparison to yesterday years. So yeah, I've seen the Mike apart, it's straight obviously compared to Reggie White coming over for age and signing Charles Woodson for age and signing. Julius Pepper, same vein didn't lead to a Super Bowl. But yeah, same comparison. It reminds me of like when Anthony Volpe became shorts off of the Yankees and like this kid's like Geter. He grew up a Yankee fan in New Jersey. And it has been the complete opposite of Derek Geter so far. But that is for another story for another day. Yeah, football talk here to kick off. But then again, as you and I record this, we are what time is it?

4:59 Six, seven hours away from the NFL season kicking off tonight. Dr. Troy. Oh yeah, you know, here's the crazy. I was telling you off. I like how crazy my last really my last three weeks have been with having the two jobs and everything else going on. I literally forgot the season kicked off tonight. I was like, Oh, I explained why we did why we did the draft last night. And I couldn't get on it because Sammy was a little under the weather. So I take care of a little man. Well, at what point does he take care of himself, Dr. Troy? I mean, give me a break, right? I like, Hey, I like this is a proud dad moment. I know we're getting off topic here again, but this is what we do. Took him to the playground the other day after we had the funeral for great grandpa and everything else took him in the new puppy to the playground.

5:42 They're playing around. But for the first five years, like I've been hover parents at the playground and like been like right there by the swings in the slides. And this week I'm like, you know what? I'm a let him do his own thing and just see how he does and let him run wild. He was out there playing with other kids. He was playing with other parents like other parents like like them. And we're swinging around just to get from that. They were actual parents for sure. Yes, yes. They just make it sure. But like he was like, Hey, chase me and these parents were like sure. And like they were much younger than me, you know, in their early 20s. So they're chasing him around with their kids and everything else. And I was super priced climbing everything. And if that looked up for a second, he disappeared and he walked over to the splash pad, which like 50 yards away just to check it out and then came back.

6:29 And I'm like, All right, he's starting to really kind of figure stuff out on his own and be kind of self-reliant. I told you off air, he's really learning how to read and he'll get mad at you. He planted where he's like dead. That's six letters. That's a lot of letters for a word. So Alabama education, they guess? Yeah, no, I mean, it's, you know, I just want to make sure because lately I've been seeing these things online. We're like people go and and lower pedophiles and then beat them up. Oh, yeah, yeah. There's also great episode. There's also a great episode of the show Psych. If you remember that show where they're actually investigating a bunch of like nannies. And so the two main characters, Sean and Gus are hanging out at this playground where nannies are.

7:14 And this was like, oh, which boys are you? He's like, oh, no, I'm just watching all the boys. And like all of a sudden the cops get called, but like that was kind of like. I think that's why I used to hover a lot was because that way people knew I had a kid there. And I just wasn't some just creepy weird old guy hanging out. Yeah, that's always a good thing. That is certainly a good thing. So I don't know how to segue from a borderline pedophile thought. Speaking of creepy weird old guys. Two clashing. Yeah, let's say about clashing Paris. Yes, yes. This past weekend, Sunday afternoon, clashing Paris in petty France. Dr. Tray, did you take French in school? Speaking of schooling. So one to one year. Okay.

7:54 I know how to say I am very happy. And my name is Sam. Do you want to do you want to say that for everyone? Just sweet trickle, that means I am very happy. And Jim, I'm Sam is my name is Sam. There you go folks. Stay tuned for more French talk from Dr. Tray, right? But it's a new podcast French French chat. I think the only French I knew was La resistance. So, and then the classic 70 song, who like Voucou Che effect, what? Yeah, that was big in the 2000s when they redid it for Mulan Rouge, which we will recap that on movie podcasts. Coming up soon on our page. Hey guys, that's just, thank God it's not just the Mulan Rouge podcast.

8:35 No, it's like two episodes. Yeah, it would be, they read, they did a movie that was big and yeah, we'll be back next time. They do Mulan Rouge. All right. W.E. Clash in Paris. Recap review this past Sunday from Paris. Lot of defense arena in Natia France, not Paris France, not the air. I guess W.E. Clash in Natia is not something that rolls off the tongue. First match here, Dr. Tray, Roman Reigns, the Featsbroncin Reed. And I both had Roman Reigns in this one. Reigns gets the win over Reed, but the real star I came after the match, Brom Breaker and Brom's Reed absolutely destroyed Roman, even J.U. So trying to help with Reigns heading off to film the Street Fighter movie. This feels like it could be the angle to write him off W.E. TV until the Royal Rumble. Potentially, send up a resonating program with Breaker.

9:17 The only other spot I could realistically see him coming back this year is that Survivor Series for War Games. Either way, this segment elevated both Breaker and Reed to another level. Your thoughts here, Roman Reigns, the Featsbroncin Reed. All right, first off before we get into this. How awesome is the Paris crowd? Oh, like they are absolutely the best crowd in the world out of it. And I wish America would step their game up. Maybe we're too jaded and that's why. But those guys are fantastic. But yeah, a really strong opening match made both guys look great. Never felt like Roman though was in danger of losing, but it did elevate both guys and the beat down was great.

10:04 And now we get to look forward to Roman talking about Street Fighter at some point. But yeah, I'm with you. I think it's either Rumble or Survivor Series. I could see Survivor Series because that way they can put Roman and Seth in a match together and Seth's titles not on the line. So that could still lead them up to a Royal Rumble match. Yeah, if you're a long time list on the podcast, you probably know that I love thinking about the War Games match this time of year because I think everything that they do booking wise is starting to shape that up. And I think we have a decent picture where the men's War Game match is potentially heading to come late November because it'll be here before we know it. I mean, it's eight to ten weeks away and it's one of the bigger shows of the year.

10:47 San Diego California should be done upon. Next match here is the Wyatt 6 defeat in the Street Profits retain the WWE Tag Team Championship. We did not predict this match as this match was announced on Friday's edition of SmackDown before Clash of Parish and After we recorded. I'm not the biggest fan of teasing the Street Profits break up at this stage. They could cement themselves as one of the all-time great tag teams instead of splitting over force tension. If WWE does want to split them, an amicable break up where they chase singles goal but still team wouldn't make sense would be a fresh angle. Meanwhile, the Wyatt 6 once again interfered in an attack, title defense and it feels clear they're being positioned as heels.

11:27 The entrance is cool but beyond that the crowd reactions to their involvement have been pretty lukewarm as of late. It pains me to say that, Dr. Treg, because I am a fan of the Wyatt 6 who retained on Sunday but something's not connected with me as a viewer at home. Yeah, I mean, that's something we talked about almost a year and a half ago when this whole thing for Star Wars. It's hard to book a stable as baby faces because somebody's going to get involved and if somebody gets involved then you're like, "Oh, they're cheating. Cheaters are bad guys." So yeah, it's hard to connect. The match itself was fine but even the Street Profits ever since they came back and took out the motor submachine guns, like almost nine months ago I think it was.

12:10 This new harder edge for them doesn't really work for me. I like my fun loving Street Profits and the serious edge to them just really hasn't connected me. So it's two tag teams that are fantastic to watch in the ring but I just feel like both groups, their characters are kind of not really fitting with who they are. And like how many times are going to tease Montez and Angelo breaking up? I mean, this has been going on for almost two years now that we've been talking about this. I mean, everybody says Montez is a future world champion. Angelo, I think it'd be a top mid-card guy but either, what's he was saying, "Poop or get off the pot?"

12:50 That's kind of where I'm at with this whole breakup scenario for the Street Profits. The direction was back in 2022 when Mick Mansl had the book that they were going to remove... they were going to move separate Ford and Dawkins as a tag team. And they were going to position Montez Ford as a single star. I mean, there was a lot of momentum on the commentary table that was saying future world champion, future world champion, and not much for Dawkins. And then, you know, you can make a case obviously that Montez is someone that was affected deeply like an Austin theory was when Mick Mansl was no longer in charge of the book. I think Montez Ford has absolute single star potential. He has the athleticism, the personality, the charisma, what have you.

13:38 Is he a world champion material? Who knows. I like Dawkins a lot, but I think keeping them together, I like the Street Profits more as a tag team than I like them separated. And I don't, because I've such a long time wrestling fan, we've seen this happen before, where team split up and it's not. It doesn't work out well. There's always the Marty Genetti factor in the entire thing. Somebody becomes the Marty Genetti. We've seen that phrase said a lot. I would rather see that these guys decide, listen, we're going to put the tag team on pause. We're going to go chase singles gold and let them do their thing and let it go from there. I don't need some sort of turn, but that was certainly teased during this match. That's the whole thing with the Y6.

14:18 I did not love the match. It was, it was all right. And I just want to see the tag team division kind of get back to the era of what it was a couple months ago. Pre wide six, quite honestly. I feel like the wide six edition is not been one of my favorites. Next match is Becky Lynch defeating Nikki ballots, retain the WWE Women's Intercontinental Championship. We both have Becky Lynch in this one. To me, this match was sloppy at times and show that Nikki is still rusty against Becky. I think she'd benefit from working more tag team matches to shake that off and get her timing back. That said, I'd like to see them run this match back down a line when Nikki's sharper because the chemistry has potential. It certainly appears Becky is headed towards another direction. We'll talk about that a little bit, but Dr. Trey, your thoughts here is Becky Lynch, retain against Nikki Bella.

15:03 Yeah, this match, it wasn't good. The finish was fine because it kind of protected Nikki because she is a hollow famer. But yeah, like you would think with having enough time to put this together, it'd be a little more cohesive. But yeah, it really wasn't good. But I mean, there's so much potential because Nikki really hasn't lost the step. It was all just their timing was off more than anything else. I'd love to see them run it back again at some point, but it's kind of, it's, where does Nikki go from here? Like, how active is she going to be on the roster? Is she in that part-time role? And it is Nikki Bella really a part-time draw like some of the other part-timers we've seen over the history of WWE.

15:48 So I don't think you put her on the level of what Trish or Lita was, maybe a notch below. So does she have to be more semi-active than those leggings? Yeah, it was, it was a tough one. You could just tell she was rusty and I never thought Nikki Bella is a terrible worker. She was just a step or two behind Becky and it certainly showed in the match. Next match here, Rusev to Feet Shamus in a good old-fashioned Donnie Brook match. We both had Rusev in this one. What a fun, hard-hitting, physically demanding match both guys delivered. And I love seeing the feud carry over to a PLE. This win should absolutely elevate Rusev up to the card, up the top of the card. To me, he's an upper mid-card or even made of that level talent. And this felt like a step in that direction. Dr. Tray, this was a fun one for me, your thoughts, Rusev to Feet Shamus.

16:35 Oh yeah, at this point, like I liked the first match, the next two were okay to, eh, this one kind of saved and parked it up for me. Like these guys beat the living hell. This is why I love, we've talked about it for the majority of the, like the majority of the history show. When you get two guys in the ring that are best friends or really close friends and we talked about three weeks ago, like, they've been in each other's groomsmen part. Like, they've been groomsmen for each other when they got married. These guys are really close. When these guys go out, they trust each other so much that you just throw anything out the window. They just almost beat the hell out of each other. It's just, it's the Sammy KO stuff. It's Drew and Shamus. You know, it's Johnny Gargano and Tomas of Champa. It's those kind of matches where you're just like, yeah, I know in real life these guys are super close, but this match was just fantastic.

17:25 It's the best Donnie Brooke match we've seen by far. And that's saying something because almost were really fun bangers, but, uh, yeah, just overall top party match. It is weird when you look at the, at the WWE at the Monday night Raw and you're like, all right, where does Rusev fit in if you're elevating him because obviously he can't challenge Seth. You can't challenge Dom. What do you do with that guy because there really isn't that mid-level baby face? I mean, unless you jump him into the stuff with, you know, time off with, you know, a J Uso or an LA Knight at some point, but we kind of feel like that's where we're headed for Survivor Series.

18:05 So what do you do with the Rusev coming out of this view and if you're elevating him? Yeah, it's the, the Rusev factor is very intriguing here because I think, again, they have that upper mid card, the end of that level talent. I think a match and a feud that these had with Shamus helps elevate him up the card. I'd like to see him utilize more. It's just a matter of what type of feud that is. He feels like someone that's just kind of getting his sea legs back in the WWE landscape. And he needs that right opponent to carry him each level up. And I think Shamus was that person is going to be interesting who that next opponent could be to help elevate him.

18:49 I think a Rusev baby face her and having him feud with guys like Bronson Reed and, and Brons Breaker would be really instrumental to him. Yeah, and where you move him to that group, Dr. Trey? Yeah, and that's, and that's maybe the direction we're headed for more games because when you think about we usually have four on four or five on five, and there's only three people in the vision. So you're going to have to add a couple, kind of like they did a couple years ago, Bronson Reed joined the bloodline for a survivor series, which I sure Brons doesn't want to remember because of the broken ankle. But, you know, something along those lines, like they have to form an alliance with somebody to head towards survivors. So whether that is a Rusev tying in because you could almost play on the history.

19:34 I mean, even though there's not a lot, but you know, punk and Rusev are both in a W at the same time. You're not going to mention it, but it could be that, you know, wild card they bring in to add to the group to head into survivor series. Yeah, that would be just talking about that. I was like, that would be pretty interesting to add him to that group because that's, that's the one thing when I think about war games, it's like, all right, so there's three in the vision. The other side, you can mix a match. Well, who are they? I would add to a Macatar Logan Paul, maybe. Would they have Rusev? That'd be great. I mean, it was like the Bronson Reed factor last year having, having him join solos bloodline, to help elevate him. And unfortunately, he had the foot injury there thereafter. So yeah, good stuff from Rusev and Shamus, really, really fun match at Clash and Paris. Next match here is John Cena, feed in Logan Paul. You and I both had John Cena this one.

20:22 Logan Paul wants to get improved. He can hang with one of the all-time great in John Cena. The match felt like a classic Cena formula, slow build him working as the underdog. And then a really strong back and forth finish that had the crowd hooked, really fun match and while it may not tie into storylines, I just want to shout out Cena, record styling with that Belgian fan and giving the kid front row seats. It was a pretty classic touch. I enjoyed it. I'm glad they tied that off. Your thoughts seem to defeat slogan Paul. Yeah, I didn't know if it gets out of Donnieburg match, but this was a really fantastic match. We talked about it a couple times with Cena's PLE matches. The guy has not had a bad PLE match since he came back. And even though Logan Paul lost, once again, it's Logan Paul in the ring with one of the greats of all times.

21:07 Shining on a stage, only three years into the business. Just a fantastic match, great storytelling. Those knockout punches look so vicious. He is really, really good at selling that punch. He is literally knocking people out. It's really, really good. But yeah, just an absolutely fantastic match between Logan and John Cena. As you and I record this, WrestleVotes is reporting that some within WWE are quietly expecting tomorrow, Friday night to be John Cena's final Smackdown. According to a source with only seven remaining dates left and just two yet to be announced, it's unlikely another will be a Smackdown event, meaning Cena will update but ended his run on the blue brand in the very same building.

21:52 And Chicago's All-State Arena. We could do an entire show on John Cena's run on Smackdown because he's been one of those guys that's been like the faces of that brand for some time. But kind of wild to hear that out loud from WrestleVotes. Yeah, I don't know. Did you watch the Clasian Paris Post show? I did not. So he was on there and he brought that up. He was going back to Chicago for Smackdown. That's where I debut, that's where the whole angle thing was. And he kept bringing up. He's like, I've only got eight dates left. And you could kind of feel like it was hitting him, you know? And it makes sense.

22:32 If you're going to close out the Smackdown run and save the last seven for Rawls and PLEs, it makes sense. Yeah, the whole Rapper Cena era, that was all Smackdown for the most part. That's where he honed his craft and kind of came what he turned into. So it is weird. He is synonymous with that brand, even though I say brand, but the show almost more so than anybody else outside of maybe the Rock and maybe the Smackdown 6 during that time. It's like those little groups is what when people ask me about Smackdown, that's what I think.

23:15 And then finally, main event match here, Seth Rollins defeats CM Punk, J.U. So in LA night in a fatal four-way match to retain the World Heavyweight Championship both Dr. Tray and I had Seth Rollins in this one. Becky Lynch helped the man's man Seth Rollins retain the World Heavyweight Championship. When we all thought that the vision was either at the hospital or out of the arena, classic heel tactics that make it feel like a Seth Becky versus Punk AJ Lee match is coming, potentially as early as tomorrow night. The match itself was fine, but honestly the baby faces never really looked like they were walking out of France with the title. This was more of a match to set up a storyline. I talked about it in the previous show last week. I felt like Punk, J.U. So LA night, those could be some names that are involved in a war games match.

23:59 When surprised if we see Punk, the Uso's LA night and maybe the returning Roman Reigns take on the vision and two other members in their corner. Dr. Tray, your thoughts on this one as Seth Rollins retained the fatal four-way match and retain the World Heavyweight Championship? Yeah, like I always used to say, when I go back to the first match of the night, the Bronson Reigns Roman Reigns match, I never felt like Roman was actually in trouble. It was kind of the same thing here. I never felt like the title was absolutely about the change hands. I always felt like there was something else. I just didn't have that hook, that "Oh my god, moment." It was a solid four-way match. Everybody got their spots in, everybody still came out looking pretty good. It led to the tease between...

24:44 We saw it on a RAW between LA night and J.U. So... But yeah, the finish was unexpected. It caught me off guard. Like we've talked about this over the times of Seth's heel runs. Like when would he up with Becky? And the one time they did it, it didn't go very well. So we kind of thought that ship might have sailed. So linking her in with the group kind of gives them a little bit of a little added firepower because there's another title in the group as well. So... And if it sets up their turn of AJ Lee, I'm here for her. She is my second favorite female wrestler of all time. So if we get AJ Lee out there, I'm for it. That'll make me super excited.

25:25 All right, PIP Review Prediction Record here both Dr. Shren. I went 5 and 0. We are now 49 and 15. Both of us tied in 2025 for the PIP Review Prediction Record. I guess we should change that some point to the PLE Prediction Record because PIP Review is basically gone. And we'll talk about that in a little bit. "Match of the night and event rating, I gave clash in Paris a solid 4.0. And my match tonight, Dr. Shren, was Rusev and Shamus. What's A.U." I went a little low U because those two matches in the middle were kind of bad and then the fatal 4.0 was kind of good but just not up to expectations. I came in at a 3.8. And my match tonight, it's a 1A1 B thing for me. I gave it to Shamus and Rusev because I didn't know what to expect and they exceeded all my expectations but the Cena Logan Paul match was a very, very close second.

26:13 Yeah, both good, very good matches. So there you go. Clash in Paris, recap and review. Feel free to share your thoughts over at facebook.com/thestorothashow SRTU podcast on X or if you're a Patreon member patreon.com/SRTU podcast. Moving along here Dr. Shren speaking of pay-per-views. We've been asking for this. We've heard some rumbling that this was happening. And it was finally announced as A.W. pay-per-views are coming to HBO Max and all out will be the first show. And it's also moving to the afternoon time slot now instead of going head to head with Russell Paloza which will be debuting on ESPN. All out will be on September 20th. It's the first A.W. pay-per-view on HBO Max. It's price will be 39.99.

26:58 For subscribers on HBO Max cheaper than the usual 49 or 59 bucks that usually comes in there. It will have a six month replay access for anyone who has an HBO Max subscription. And there is also a one time pay-per-view purchase that you could get as well. So they're doing a big promotional push in A.W. They'll have September to remember a block on TVS with Dynamite collision in the countdown show. There will be a Saturday tailgate brawl special on TNT before the pay-per-view. It's start time again 3pm eastern to avoid head to head with W.R.C.P. on ESPN. But I would imagine that that will bleed into Russell Paloza if we know anything about Tony Khan.

27:39 A big picture here at Dr. Trey. This is now a cheaper price. It's easier access and a strategic schedule removed by A.W. A.W. is finally adapting to compete directly with WWE in the streaming area. Streaming era. Obviously still more expensive than what we can expect from WWE PLEs because if which mind you sidebar for anybody that was wondering at home. My ESPN unlimited account finally got activated so I should be good to go for rest of Paloza. I will keep everybody abreast of that on the podcast. Anybody else who has to pay over 200 bucks a year or 22 bucks a month for the ESPN product it is still cheaper than what you would be getting if you did HBO Max because my understanding here is you would pay the HBO Max subscription.

28:25 You could also pay additional $39.99 which kind of roughly comes out to what the paper view would be which would be like $49.59 bucks for A.W. on a standalone. So they're getting into the streaming era. It's not quite where a price point maybe where we like it to be. But nonetheless Dr. Shere your thoughts here on the move going to HBO Max finally for paper views and all out moving to the afternoon. Yeah I think the move to HBO Max is a smart move because it gives both platforms a chance to kind of work hand in hand. So hey those HBO Max viewers who may have never checked at A.W. that you see the promotion for all out. Hey I may check this out. It's a little cheaper than what I thought what you can use art.

29:12 If you're an A.W. fan and you're watching some of them acts like oh wow they have this and they have this and they have this. I have HBO Max I'm a comic book nerd. The DC universe being on HBO Max is pretty cool plus all the animated movies and shows they've done are on there. So that's all pretty cool. I just wish the price point would come down for subscribers because it's like you know you're paying you guys for this catalog and now you're paying almost almost the same price because I think HBO Max is like 12 or 15 bucks a month. Yeah so it's in that ballpark range. I get mine for free because I have AT&T.

29:53 Oh sweet. Yeah so I get that one for free. It's kind of like your ESPN stuff with DIT. No. Direct TV. Yeah so like that I think it's a good move. I just hope that they further lower the price point because you need those casual viewers. You need those comic book nerds to jump over and watch your pay reviews and if they have a you know so pay 30 bucks a month or 40 bucks for it it might be you might be pricing yourself out. But the move for the pay for yourself going to an earlier start time to combat the W.W. It's a very very smart like why go ahead and if you can move it earlier great. I also love that they're doing like the live show lead in on T&T because he reminds me of the days of when you watch Sunday night heat.

30:42 Yes. Before a pay review and you're like you know call your local your cable subscribers and get you know get Royal Rumble right now is kind of the same thing is that free T's to lead into the purchase which makes a ton of sense. So I love those moves is very very smart very strategic and it's almost in a sense of acknowledging like yeah the counter programming is working but then we can still adapt on the fly as well and make it's where it's not going to hurt us that bad. The people who are getting tickets are still going to go the shows people who are going to watch the show or someone to watch the show. And for guys like you and me and most of our listeners you can watch both shows and not feel like you're having to pick your battle and miss one for the sake of the other at least.

31:27 Yeah it's it's nice it's something that I certainly now will consider a little bit more if I want to add HBO max to my streaming plate. And also you know take advantage of an easier way to see the the shows now so it it was long overdue and it was a much need to change for a w so it's nice to the matter in the streaming era I would love to see a w have its own platform at at some point quite honestly but I just don't think that's in the cards anytime soon paste. On their business model they are very dependent on the pay per views while w can can not you know they could lower their price point and make it more piezing and for people to to tune in on a monthly basis for PLE's or.

32:10 Raw smackdowns whatever they need to do for the streaming side of things so there you go a w moving finally the pay per views to HBO max and speaking of a w dr. Tray it was about two years ago around this time that CM punks a w run came to an end he was fired two years ago after backstage fight with Jake Jack Perry all in London a w said the incident quote endangered people backstage termination for cause after legal or. Review announcement was made on collision with Tony con addressing fans directly this had followed prior drama all out 2022 brawl or brawl out punks run defined by conflict as much as big matches many in a w felt like a dark cloud was lifted once he was gone and a mark the definitive end of punks a w chapter paving the way for his eventual w return so looking back at this now two years later dr. Tray how do we remember CM punks a w chapter compared to his w return now.

33:08 Was it a missed opportunity or an unforgettable chaotic era. I'm so going to miss opportunity and I think we alluded you might have alluded to on on the you were choice podcast like my might dream match for a w w one of them is Kenny Omega for the CM punks because of all the stuff going on backstage and we've seen it now where. Punk can work with guys he doesn't like he's been work was set the wrongs for over a year now in this rivalry so he can go out there for the sake of good business and have matches with people that either he doesn't care for that don't care for him and the fact that. A w didn't capitalize on that is a huge missed opportunity and you know kind of led to where they kind of fell off for a while like you know obviously now we talk about the products much better now than it was you know at the end of punks run but.

34:00 When you look at you go man at one point I had CM punk Cody Rhodes on the same roster and never made that happen never made punk Omega happen never made punk and FTR versus the elite happen. That's a huge miss and would have brought a lot of viewers to your show especially when you're still you know getting started at that point they're only three years in three and a half years in when you're still a fledgling brand something like that could really catapult you in to the mainstream and I kind of feel like that's kind of been across to bear for the last year and a half at least it just feels like in the last six months they've actually been able to kind of recover from it and move forward.

34:41 Yeah it's it's it's shocking how long it took right I thought it was almost a death for CM punk to answer our own question here I think it's a missed opportunity is also because there was so much talent on that roster and the difference between his run WWE presently in his a w run previously was that WWE capitalized on real life drama while a w decided to not capitalize on it at all. And just do some business like in that type of world we're not asking for people to be best friends we're asking for people to suspense suspend disbelief and give us kind of what the fans wanted and when punk came back I thought that it was a slam dunk you have him feud at some point with hangman at a page and the members of the elite and it is going to be gangbusters it is going to bring us money it's it's edge versus Matt Hardy less than 20 years later in a w real life tension that leads to significant fallout on our televisions it's basically what you saw with CM Punk and your Macatar and certainly see to this day with CM Punk and Seth Rollins.

35:52 A&M you didn't go in that direction they decided to separate them and it just completely damaged their company the way that they handle that situation creatively the way that they handle that situation as a company the Tony Khan like I feared for my life stuff the airing of the video the backstage video from from all out or all in I should say London with Jack Perry and punk is was extremely lame not a good situation and like you point out that really the only time that we've seen them come out of this and consistently come out of it has been last several months and I think you make a strong case for the calendar year of 2025 it's that's what they focused on I've been pointing out in recent discussions about AW it's like they're not worried about WWE right now they shouldn't be just do your own thing I don't agree with w we doing counter programming to what they're trying to do like I think it's bullshit I think there's plenty of room for everybody in professional wrestling but like Tony Khan the Harvey Weinstein comments take you things so personally the way he handled punk it was like this is a joke of a promotion and they're they're kind of getting away from that and going back to the company that we know and love so I'm happy to see that I hope it continues that way but I just feel like all in all this was a complete missed opportunity for all of the wrestling dr. Tray and I can't believe it's been two years Yeah it's it's weird though because like right now I feel like all these wounds have kind of not fully healed but they're at least kind of they're healed like we don't think a w doesn't worry about seeing punk not to mention on drawdays drama

37:30 Bruce Ev you know Alistair Black like all those guys that came back to wwe like their time they're always felt like it was just out of sorts and contentious and now all those guys look way happier in wwe and you kind of feel like yeah you're absolutely a w just said hey we're going to go back to being an Arlay we're going to do our thing if you like it great if you don't watch the other guys and that's when they've always been successful like early on from the launch up in the first couple years that's when they were successful is like we're just going to do our own thing you know heller high water that's what this is who we are and then they got away from it so it feels like both companies actually are in a much better place now then two years ago as far as like the health and happiness of each brand's rosters yeah no I mean they're just focus on their own business and that's what it should be and I like the direction a w's gone where they're not really too focused on x wwe people the people that are x wwe they seem to be great fits for a w and that's perfect and Tony Conn has pointed out I saw recently an interview with Miro Bruce Ev and he talked about his time in a w and and basically this was an opportunity for him to take everything you learn from wwe and apply to a w and see if you could hang and then he was like I'm using this time to get back to wwe at some point and build myself up to become a world champion I'm sure a w doesn't like to hear that like you're just using me as a stepping stone to get back collect a paycheck get back to wwe but you know Tony Conn has pointed out we're going to be a little bit more choosy with the people that we bring on to the company if sure they be released from wwe and you're seeing that they did not go run inside Baron Corbin Bishop Dyer he's he's not there die Jack who everybody thought was going to land in a w never land in a w so it's unfortunate that some of those guys aren't getting big work

39:25 but nonetheless they are being choosy with the rosters they should be and I really like the focus I really like the program and the doing lately and I love the residency thus far at ECW arena or 23rd arena I hope we continue I hope they do it again someday really really soon Last thing here doctor we talked about something happened two years ago we'll have about 30 years ago today's unircorded show WCW Monday Nitro debut 30 years ago today on tnt It launched the Monday night legendary Monday night wars at its peak Nitro was the number one primetime cable series and defeated raw for 83 straight weeks I don't know if anybody ever knew that it was 83 straight weeks It changed wrestling forever with live TV with live TV shocks you had Lex Luger surprise debut the formation of the NWL the Cruiserweight Division Showcase and Nitro's success push WWE to evolve and led to the attitude era As we look at the legacy of Monday Nitro 30 years ago today was Nitro's rise more impactful than its eventual collapse what lessons does it leave for a ww today Dr. Trey let's start with the rise was it more impactful than the eventual collapse of WCW Oh yeah absolutely because it caused this big man to alter his direction in WWE I mean if if anybody is old enough to remember 1995 WW you said sparky plug and bastion booger and you still had those got you had all the wrestlers that had part time jobs you know and that was always TL hoppers of the world

41:00 And Nitro launching kind of made also made him change how they did business because Lex Luger was scheduled to be teaming with Davey Boy Smith to challenge the tag team titles and Lex just up and left which then caused Davey Boy to turn heel against diesel And then eventually led to the hard foundation so it changed their business model completely because now you couldn't just do handshake deals you had to have a contract And then it led Vincent Vince Russo and that team to kind of go into eventually the attitude air because of Nitro's birth with the NWO so the rise of Nitro to me is way more prevalent when you think of the death of WCW I think about as you know Shane on Nitro talking about the contract and then the really horrible invasion angle that played out afterwards because you couldn't get half the guys you wanted to play into the invasion angle so Nitro changed their like I still remember watching the episode Luger coming out in the Seinfeld Puffy shirt in the mall of America which I've been to and walk through like a couple years after that episode of Nitro is just like I remember thinking myself like this is where they did Nitro Like that to me was really really cool so yeah Nitro is hugely impactful on the world of wrestling Yeah if I remember correctly I think raw was preempted or not preempted it was taped the day before and I thought Luger did Luger perform on that show of raw?

42:27 No so the story was he must have worked a house show the day before Yeah, okay They had just teamed Luger and Davy boy up as the allied powers. Yeah the whole side of that tight team yep Oh USA and England thing and that was going to be their thing is that they were going to push them as the top baby face tag team Like just a different version of I don't know if I said the road wars but just big strong power power houses type tag teams that Vince love And then all of a sudden their slacks on Nitro and if I remember the story Linda McMahon told Vince to never let Lex back into the company ever again Because he gave Vince his word that he wasn't going to WCW Yeah there was a lot of animosity between Lex and WWE so it was actually a very big deal that he was brought back to work the all of fame Because there were plenty of time to bring him back and they didn't and even as he turned his life around but yeah the legacy there I think it's rise is definitely more impactful than its eventual collapse the eventual collapses is a sad state in wrestling Now looking back at it when WWE bought WCW was like the coolest thing in the world but then as we know that was completely botched with the invasion angle It transcended professional wrestling and made WWE be better and I think there's a case to be said that that's what A.W. Dynamite did as well when it launched in 2019 WWE is so much better than it is now that it was back in 2019 which actually led to the birth of A.W. quite honestly because people were just done with WWE and the way that they did business quite honestly

44:06 In regards to lessons that it leaves for A.W. and WWE today and after try I think there could be some things that are said for A.W. now that they are doing similar to WCW did I think WCW had way too many XW.W. guys and it felt like early 90s, late 80s WWE in the late 90s when WWE was pushing a new talent It kind of feels like A.W. was doing that for a little bit and then they kind of were like this isn't working and we're losing wrestlers to going back to WWE Let's basically do what WWE did in the late 90s and create new stars or create stars that are established from overseas international like Will Osprey Or create new stars like Swerfs Strickland and kind of ride them and to the next echelon so I mean that for me is like a lesson that at least A.W. takes today with Nitro's eventual collapse 30 years ago or debut from 30 years ago And we've seen this with every other one of the companies that when they try to rise up against WWE like we saw it in TNA and we see A.W. is like oh we can capitalize on the quote unquote WWE rub to bring in some named guys but it never really works out well Like those those WWE guys when they cross over to their shows they're so conditioned to the WWE style and methodology that when you go somewhere else it's not there

45:39 I deal with with my work and I'm sure you've ran to the times as well when you're in a big corporation and they do things a certain way you get accustomed to it And when you jump to a smaller company those resources aren't always there so it takes a little while to get adjusted to it but the same thing with A.W. now is the same thing that TNA has gone through over the years is basically like hey we are an alternative Let's get back to what we do really well If we can supplement it a little bit great but we don't want the focus of the show to be all these X.W.W. guys because it's never really worked I mean it was what kind of killed WCW It's what you know led to a hogan and bish off leaving TNA it's what led to that you almost two year window of A.W. where the show wasn't that great It just doesn't really work I'm glad I'm seeing these companies be way more selective about the who they bring in like a guy like Tom Pestock, Baron Corbin Like he would be an asset to anyone these companies but he doesn't fit the mold of what A.W. is or what TNA is He's like a hijack kind of the same thing he doesn't really fit what they're kind of what their lane is that they're staying in so I'm glad as he both these companies being way more selective about it Although I feel bad for the wrestlers it is actually the best for the business as a whole Yeah let's feel old 30 years ago today that was going to be a Monday night sure day viewing on TNT

47:13 You just you just reminded me my 30 year anniversary is coming up in October 30 year anniversary? My I was on my 30 year high school graduation reunion Oh yeah yeah it's it's fun Dr. Trey I mean I'm already looking at next year and turning 40 years old and knowing that like when I first started Podcasting I think I was 22 and Bower and cause who I did the wheelhouse with who Dr. Trey knows did the bowershow with They were the age that I am now and I was thinking how old they were so yeah that's How it is we just we just get old folks we just get old with that said let's get a couple plugs and sponsors out of the way you could support us over at patreon.com/srtupodcast You can get this show add free along with so many more exclusives we had our viewers choice episode that is up there patron exclusive is up on the on the page We'll have some SRT classics that'll be up there some other individual shows will be taking place as well all in the month of September So if you want to support the podcast please do so by going to patreon.com/srtupodcast You can download the show every Thursday or Friday at realguymedia.com Rinse chat net on X and the show will show feed on Apple Spotify or wherever you download this podcast Don't forget to rate review and subscribe and helps us keep keep charming keep climbing the charts on all those podcasts platforms You can follow us individually on X for myself at SRT you Jeff at for Dr. Franklin and the Dr. Trey And of course don't forget to follow show on X at SRT podcast with that being said what is going on the one for world of Dr. Trey Franklin this week

48:48 Well like Jeff said you can follow me on X at the Dr. Trey you can find me on Instagram and Facebook Dr. Trey Franklin When you're on Facebook be sure to check out Rockets City Championship Wrestling we get back into the mix This Saturday night September 6 big show coming up As not only are we on Royal Rumble season we're on Rockets City Rumble season just coming up here in December So excited about that but most importantly go out and check out your own local independent wrestling shows Where you too can go out there and see somebody knocked out by the son of a UFC fighter and watch that person get put into the hospital Yeah there you go so part of the great things like like that that supports SRTU Yeah that's one of the things we have not touched upon is Roger Jackson and psycho's doing quite honestly I don't want to I think you get anybody who's seen the videos and kind of seen the backstory it's just to very very strange chapter in professional wrestling I don't think anybody is capitalizing off of this No and I didn't know that Roger Jackson was until that video came I didn't know Rampage had a kid Yeah I just didn't know I didn't know as a thing Yeah we certainly know now who he is so there you go Thank you for tuning in thank you for downloading this week's edition of the Storerow the Show We will be back next week all here for you on SRTU Once again go help us out support the podcast Patreon Don patreon.com/SRTUpodcast

50:18 And until next week for Dr. Trefreiklin I am Jeff Pek This has been the Storerow the Show