Is Cody Rhodes the next "guy" for WWE? | The Still Real to Us Show | Episode #737 – 3/28/24

0:00 It's welcome everybody. Welcome to this week's edition It's No Realta Show, episode number seven hundred and thirty seventh of March twenty eight, twenty twenty four. Welcome to this week's edition of ass Our Team You. I am one after the show, I am Jeff Peck joined every single week of my past the onely Doctor Tray Franklin. Doctor Trey is a romantic You get bloody in the rain, my friend. I'm pretty sure when fred Is Stayer just singing in the rain, I don't know if the blood was running down his suit, But there is something very John Woo poetic about that type of situation. Yeah, A lot of people say, like kissing in the rain, holding hands in the rain very romantic. How about a good beat down followed by blood pouring out in an era of PG wrestling, I mean does that I guess that's romantic from a wrestling fan standpoint. Well, I mean if you're talking about if you're talking to somebody's mama while you're doing it, maybe, I don't know, Maybe maybe Mama Roads is a milth that we don't know about.

1:23 I mean, we've seen her. Very beautiful woman, very beautiful woman she stitched Cody back up from full Gear twenty nineteen when she got busted open by Chris Jericho. I remember that video. I think she was like a nurse there well, I mean if she was married to Dusty, I mean, Dusty was not known for coming home very clean himself. I mean probably, I wonder if that's how Dusty and Mama Rhoades met, was actually at the hospital of Dusty getting stitched up from a show? I mean, I wanted to dig into that. You know, the weird wrestling fandom in me is I probably know because I saw the A and E biography of Usty Rhods that they did. I think it was last season that Cody produced, or maybe it was something that was aired on Peacock. I think it was A and E and I feel like they covered that. So I probably somewhere in this brain of mine can remember how Dusty Rhodes met his current or his current wife, and how they came about and led to Cody and Teale being born from that marriage I believe from Dusty Rhodes. But that's another story for another day. When we look back at Dusty Rhodes getting married, that's gonna be a special edition of sr T you next Valentine's Day Special? Is I really wish to be like a fly on the wall when Dusty and Flaired hang out at bars when they were both single. Oh you know they didn't do that.

2:45 Come on, they're old school. They didn't hang out together. So the stories always was like if Flair got a fur because they lived on the same street for a while. Yes, I do remember that story. Get it Flair would get it like a new road, Dusty, you have to get a better coat, or Dusty get a car. So I just imagine them like both at a bar trying to pick up women with their you know, like Flair do with the Flair style promos on a woman, Dusty lego come back to if you will, I make you're fucking like a monkey. That's a good Dusty. That is a good Dusty. Yeah. The internal strife that would be between Rick Flair and one Dusty Rhodes, who had both a professional and personal rivalry, which I think was always very friendly when they would try it out to one another, from the fur coats to the gear, to the cars, uh to the jewelry what have you. That was always a very fun story to hear from various different stories and iterations of Dusty Road's life and career in the world of professional wrestling. Speaking of the Road's last name, there, Doctor Trey Cody Rhodes is less than two weeks away.

3:55 A week from today, you and I will sit down and we will preview and predict WrestleMania forty four zero. Forty editions of WrestleMania we will cover on next week's edition of the podcast, and obviously, once again we enter year number two of Cody Roads going after the undisputed Universal Heavyweight Championship and to win the lineage of the w Championship and bringing it back to the Rhodes family Cody Versus Roman Part two. And we've debated this very often since he's come back to two years ago, back in Wrestle Maana thirty eight in twenty twenty two. We talked about a little bit last year, We've talked about it over the summer, and I figure, here we are less than two weeks away. Let's have the discussion again, because what is the braminter on this right now, and that is the discussion of whether or not Cody Rhoads is the next quote guy in we Roman, Sena Austin Rock, Michaels, Heart, Undertaker, Triple h They've all been the guy at one time or another.

5:05 And I know it's often debated the lineage of the guy in w WA. My lineage goes Hulk Cogan. They tried with Ultim Warrior, failed, Brett Hart, Sean Michaels, Steve, Austin Rock, Lesnar Sina for twenty years rains. That is my lineage of the guy, and that's often debated and often discussed. We are entering a very big WrestleMania again four zero Doctor Trey. WrestleMania one, it was the birth of WrestleMania, Russemania ten. It was the torch kind of being passed a little bit to Brett Hard and the new generation. Wresselmania twenty was Chris Benjan Eddie Guerrero closing out the WrestleMania show on MSG that night, WrestleMania thirty it closed with yessel Mania of Daniel Bryan. They always try to end the big ones, the ones that end in zero with a memorable moment. Is that memorable moment going to be Cody Rhodes being crowned the guy? And is he in your mind? Right now, less than two weeks away the next guy for w w WA. Yeah, I think with what happened on Monday night, with it kind of harkening back to a little bit of the attitude air, a little bit the ruthless aggression area, with the spilling of the blood, that to me, that's

6:39 the one thing we've I've always talked about, like he had to overcome obstacles, he had to overcome adversity, and you wanted to put this on a personal level. And I think they accomplished those goals, you know, over the last two years and especially kind of hammering it home Monday night. So I think, to me, right now, it just makes sense if this is the route you're going to go, if you guys have that, if they have the faith in Cody Rose to be the guy, and on paper, Cody checks all the boxes. He's eloquent, he's handsome, he can do all the publicity stuff. I mean, hell, the guy could probably edit his own promo video if they asked him to. You know, he's the guy that you can build this company around for the next you know, five or ten years. If that's the route they feel, then is right.

7:25 The odd thing is is we have the changing up the guard from it's the Triple H in the middle of it, and it still feels like this is the route they're going, so that means they've got Triple H buying on it as well. It's an interesting discussion because I would say seventy five percent of me thinks that Cody is the next guy, twenty five percent of me thinks he may not be. And then it's like, well, if it's not Cody, well then who's the guy? And I don't think there is one. I think it's still the Roman Reigns era of being the guy in t WA, and I feel like we're gonna really emphasize just continually saying the guy on this week's edition of the podcast. But that's truly how I feel like you look around. No disrespect to Rollins, no disrespect to Punk McIntyre, whomever. I just don't think the next torch bearer of World Rest Entertainment for the next ten years is on the roster if they're not named Roman Reigns or Cody Rhodes right now. And it's like, well, if Cody's not the next guy right now, then who will be? And when will that take place, and that's the part where I'm like, well, maybe this is the time. In the moment, it's RESTMANI A four zero Romans schedule is dwindling. He's become more of a part timer over the last two years than ever in his career. We've slowly seen him work like maybe every other or every two other pay per views to working just the big ones. His last singles match, Correct me if I'm wrong here. Doctor Trey was back

8:58 in Saudi Arabia November against La Night. He worked the fatal four way at the Royal Rumble. He hasn't wrestled since then, and he's holding the championship. And as long as they've been doing this type of like part time champion really since Lesner, I've never been a big fan of it. I think it takes away from the championship, It makes holes in their programming, It kind of slows down creative, which is the reason why I think the bloodline storyline has really taken a hit until the last six weeks. Heading in a Wrestlminia, which is no shock or surprise there. They need somebody who's regularly there as a champion. Is the face at we love him or hate him seeing it was for that fourteen to fifteen year run. Never a part time champion. He was always there week in and week out. Sometimes he held the tide a little bit too long, sometimes he wrestled a little too much, sometimes he was too much on the screen, but the end of the day, you got to give that hat tip that he was there. And I've loved and appreciated everything that realmand Rains has done during this run since he became champion in August of twenty twenty. Uh, but I feel like it's time doctor Trey and if if they're going to drop the title to anybody significantly, And we talked about this, uh throughout the last couple of years.

10:13 If if you know who's gonna be the one that finally dethrones Roman reigns. Really the only true name that we can really sign our name towards was always Cody Roads. Yeah. And so those people that you mentioned when we're talking about like the history of being the guy, you know, and going from Hogan all the way up through John Cena, you know, they always had a supporting pats. You know, even during the Hogan days, you know, he had Savage and dBase and Andre and all those guys kind of floating around. You know, you look at the Austin Rock era, they always had a strong attitude of air supporting past even you know, Sean and Brett, they had the Pastils and the Razors and the Bulldogs. They had the same supporting pass. So you look at it right now on paper and you're like, you know, you and I talked about Alio, like, is this the deepest professional wrestling's ever been? And aw's got a great roster, but ww's got a great roster. And if you're gonna have Cody be the guy and you have set you know, if you have Cody, Seth and Drew as your one A, one B, one C, I mean that's not far off from Sina having edge ordinan Batista around him. So, uh, if you're gonna transition away from this dominant world champion that you have in Roman Reigns to go to a guy like Cody, but having the depth around him that, hey, if Cody should happen to fumble the ball, we've got two or three other guys that can pick it up and carry it and run with it. And not to mention you guys, you know we got the guys in NXT like the Bronz Breakers, the Carmelo Hayes, and I'm

11:48 crazy if I'm saying it, but the Opa femes of the world that hey far down the line either that they could step up and take the ball as well if it came down to it. Yeah, you look at guys like bron Breakers, who's now and smacked also still work in NC a little bit here and there. He seems like somebody that could beat one of the guys in w WE five, you know, two three, The window is definitely not short of like two to five years from now. It seems like Obafemi has a special factor that we've only seen with a bunch of you know, small groups of dominant wrestlers. I immediately think of brock Lesner and if they gave Opa Femi a brock Lesnar two thousand and two, like push it when it's shocked me at all. There's something special there and the future is certainly bright still for w WE. But it feels like it may be time and we'll find out in less than ten days if it is in fact time where they crowned Cody Roades the guy. You know, I've thought about this I think if scenarios like they really leave Philadelphia with Roman retaining again, I think that could cause a near riot. And I think about I think about what they do with these these Wrestlemani's end in Doctor Tray. There's been very special moments, whether it's now granted, I know WrestleMania one didn't doesn't start with or end with zero, but it's the first one and that was obviously special.

13:11 Wrestleman E ten. They made a statement with Brett Hart in the New Generation twenty I said again, you know, I think the plan was ben Jan Guerrero to move forward to the next decade and then really resumated. Twenty one became the one that was the catapult with Batista and John Cena. Rustamane. Thirty was an impactful Yesselmania moment where the people really pushed Daniel Bryan into the main event sphere of wressell. Maani became world Champion, and I think you have to end these Wrestlemans with zero's with special moments, and there's nothing more special right now. Doctor Trey then putting that championship on Cody Rhodes and shining him on as the next guy for World wrestling entertainment and letting Roman do his next chapter in his career at this point forward, so special times ahead, we would think, really intriguing times. But it's it's feeling closer and closer that we may be seeing a torch pass in less than ten days at wrestlemaning Ford between Roman Reigns and Cody Rhoads. Speaking of the build here, doctor Trey for a resume a forty. Here we are ten days out from wrestum Ay starting, and I want to look at this build up and grade it. There are people that are saying that the ending from Raw this past Monday was one of the best of all time. They're calling an iconic.

14:30 I love the Rock. I love Cody Roads more than you know, just like the next fan. I'm a die hard fan of Dainne the Rock Johnson. I thought it was very good. Is it the great one of the greatest Raw endings of all time? I don't know about that. I think it would be very memorable. I'm not here to crap all over it, but for a guy who's watched, you know, thirty plus years of Monday night raw wrestling, maybe that one right now cracks the top ten. I think a lot of other things have to move into place when it comes to endings for Monday Night Raw. But the build has been really really interesting, Doc Cray and I think it's time to grade it right like, looking at everything heading in the rest of many forty Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, give it a letter grade? How are we looking right now as you as the wrestling fan, Because if we're going off on attendance for the last what was it ten television tapings, uh, people seem to be given an A plus right now.

15:28 Uh So if we're grading the overall build to WrestleMania B plus a minus, it's it's it's been really really good. It's got me interested in a bunch of different matchups because the intrigue is there, like I'm not quite sure you know where they're going with this and this is this, And I think those are always good signs. I think that you know, when you get to a WrestleMania season and you and I now have was this like the twelfth one we've predicted together? Thirteenth when we predicted together, yep, yep, first one would be WrestleMania twenty eight, So twelve yeah, so twelve years of pretty and there's been a lot of those shows that you and I have looked the rest of many card and we've score pretty high on our predictions. You know, we might go, you know, fourteen and two, thirteen and three. When you look at this card on paper, it's there's a lot of matches here where it's fifty to fifty, and that makes that increases the intrigue and the build for some of these matches. You know, overall the you know, the build may not have been great, but I think there's a lot of depth in the build as well. I think they're doing a really good job of even from the matches that are supposed to in quote unquote at the bottom of the card, all the way to the top.

16:40 They've all gotten their moments to shine. And I don't think we can say that about a lot of the wrestlemains we've covered. There's been a few where we've been like, man, the build's been great from top to bottom. But there's been some other ones where it's like, Okay, the top has been built really well, but the bottom is not so much. I think this one's been pretty solid all the way throughout. I think what they try to do on Monday night Raw was try to hit that home run that just got everybody to think their teeth into it. I think they did a good job. I think a lot of people are really intrigued by I think that some of the older fans are like, like you said, is it the best, like there's been some I mean, it's it's hard to beat business Limo blowing up like that's one of those ones I always remember. But you know, it was really good. It sends a message. It was the first time we've seen blood on Raw in a very very very long time.

17:33 So yeah, be plus a minus so far for the skill For me, Yeah, I think collectively at a minus is pretty good. I would give it the same as well. I tell you what, they will knock it out of the park if I tune onto Raw or smack Down next week and they decide to use olympiscuits. My way to build towards uh the entire RUSTMANI card. If that song is playing and they're doing the high package for WrestleMania for whatever how long Lent's onest three minutes, three and a half minutes, I am in freeing nostalgia freaks out there, Russe many seventeen. My way by Limp Biscuit. It is considered probably to me, the greatest wrestleman of all time. Russe Many seventeen was phenomenal. I always talk about the trilogy of seventeen, eighteen and nineteen as some of my favorites in recent memory.

18:22 Obviously we loved thirty eight. We loved thirty nine as well. Thirty one always has been very popular here on srt TU as well. Those always have seemed to be like the ones that we've really enjoyed. Was like thirty one, thirty eight, and thirty nine in recent memory. Overall build up again, I would give it a minus. I'm right there with you, doctor Trey. But I think when you collectively look at the card here and I want to go through some of these matches, and I want to get your quick letter grade, and you know, when the timing is right here, will you know maybe well we'll chat it up a little bit more. But if I look like EO Sky Bailey, I kind of give that build like a B minus right now. Yeah, I was gonna say a B.

19:08 I think it's gonna depend if they splinter it off and then you add in Bianca and Naomi against you know, Oscar and Kyrie, and I could, I could kind of give it a bump up because you took one match and made it into two, because you're kind of splitting it between all four members of Damage Control against Bailey for the most part. But yeah, coming off the rumble, in that first backdown after the rumble, I would have thought it would be a little bit higher, but it is. It has been kind of lacking a little bit. So yeah, I would say B B minus on that one. I give Roman Reigns, Cody Rhodes, Seth Freaking Rollins, Drew McIntyre, Roman Reigns in the Rock versus Cody Roads and Seth Freaking Rollands those three matches, and I would have just had two of the three, and I would have had Seth Freaking Rollins Drew McIntyre step below until that segment this past Monday with Punk involved, I would give all those three an A right now. When it comes to built if I'm doing all, I would say, no, I'm and I'm looking at them individually, but I'm saying I would give each one of them an A. See, I would actually give Cody and Roman an A minus like notationally because it's funny because I've been saying I think you can quote me if you can tell me if I'm wrong here, but I think I've said a couple times on this show that Rock has kind of overshadowed Roman and all this. There are a lot of people that feel that way. Yes, you have said that. I literally saw Mark Henry and Nick Neemoth came out and some one of them called Roman reigns Rock's side chick. Yeah. I know there's been like little brother

20:41 stuff being said as well. So yeah, and to me with that supposed to be going to be your closing out Night two match, I feel like that match has kind of fallen down a level, and manly it's because of how good Rock has been and the frequency he's been there. So I would give the tag match probably an A. Drew and Seth probably an A, and a lot of that was because it brought it up Monday night, and then maybe Roman or stupid coding and Roman maybe an A minus. Uh Ria and Becky I would give them like a B maybe maybe B B minus. I'm it's been a lot of en ring promos and I don't know if that's because it appears Ria Ripley's hurt. She had a cast on her arm this past Monday. I don't know how that's kind of slipped through the cracks with all the news. I just noticed that on Monday, and I was like, she's got she's got a cast on her arm, like a soft cast, like and this is nowhere on the dirt teach right now unless something happened one of the live shows, because I didn't, I mean, she didn't have it last week, so it was kind of like a surprise as well.

21:42 But I also saw Riya Ripley try to do the stink face to Naya Jacks at a house shows weekend, which kind of wants me bump up the letter right a little bit because I was enjoyable the few So I what Ria said on Monday night about it felt like Becky was fighting everybody else except her kind of rang true to me, like she was having all these other battles with Live and Naya, you know, even though she already had the spot against Rhea at WrestleMania. So yeah, I would probably go beat for Ria and Becky. I think the anticipations better for the match than the build has been gun through Sammy Zain. I would give it a C right now.

22:23 Uh, yes, I was kind of a C. Plus I think a lot of it. I don't know. It's the first time I think I've ever been disappointed that Sammy Zay actually got a match to WrestleMania, because I think we were kind of especially when you read that Gauntlet match. I think a lot of us were hoping for ched Gable and then we got Sammy and it was kind of like, oh, Okay, Sammy's good. They're doing an interesting twist with this though, is what we saw on Monday, where like Gable now maybe mentoring or coaching Sammy heading into this one. Does Sammy really need a coach? Like that's that was My only thing is I'm like, yeah, it's great, but Gable didn't beat gun Through, Like it's not like Gable beat Gum. That's why I don't understand this storyline. That's why I'm kind of I'm with you, like, A, it should have been maybe Gable in the spot, not Sammy. B We've already seen these coaching things before. What's the upside out of this? Like if Sammy wins, we get Gable and Sammy for the interconderal title, or is Gable turned heel, which I don't think anybody really wants, so I don't. I don't really know what the upside of this story if Sammy wins and we give credit to Chad Gable for coaching them up, you know, I don't.

23:30 I don't. That's the whole problem of the story lines. I just don't see the upside coming out of it, regardless of the outcome, La and Night and AJ snyle styles. I give it a sneaky B plus because I love that segment on Friday SmackDown where they had the cop bodycam work going on. I thought that was great and I was very much outside the box. Yeah, it's a it's been a B plus for me. Also, like just how huge AJ. Like, AJ's just gotten ascid, Like this not the This is not the AJ styles from TNA or even the the w c W run when he was it was Air Paris and Air Styles or whatever. It was like, this is a jacked AJ, which I love because it's like, this is him going I need one more run as a world champion, and I got to look the part Jimmy and Jay Uso. I think I'd give it like a C plus. It's been kind of disappointing. I liked the promo stuff Monday night, so that helped. I kind of gave it a B minus because once again, this is one of the matches where like, I don't know how much build twin brothers fighting at WrestleMania really need, knowing the history of these guys and you gotta feel it though, bretton Owen going on Wrestleman E ten that was pretty awesome. Yeah, but the funny thing was in a lot of ways that was still the afterthought because it was still about the world title, so you know, but I know you're a huge part fan, so I can't diminish that match either. That was really really good. I don't know how much hype you you can get put on this match. Knowing that they got this is like almost a three year

25:03 build of this match as well. I mean that this entire blood line run for the USOS has led to this match, So I don't know how much bill it needs. But I do love the fact that they're twin brothers and they're playing the big brother little brother feud in there who got out first Logan Paul Randy Aren't and Kevin Owens. I would give it like a B minus right now. Uh, I kind of gave I'm a little bit higher on this match because I loved the owens orton interactions up and you know, and even when Nick Allays announced the match, uh like they were all buddy buddy and even beating up pretty deadly and stuff like that. So uh and I think everybody just I don't think any I think most fans don't care who wins the match as long as it's not Logan Paul, which is great for Logan because that's east means he's doing his job. So uh yeah, I'm probably a beep. I'm at a solid B for that build. I feel like this feud is one that you know, kind of becomes bigger in a couple months time because I think triple threats make me think that Logan will walk out of Wania retaining, especially against two former world champions who or some of the best in the industry. Uh And then finally the tag team match, I would give it a B plus. I've really enjoyed how they put a ton of emphasis on this match, the interactions in this match, the participants in this match, it is all made sense and they've done a really good job of building to this, uh, you know, ironically the last couple of months to this match at WrestleMania. So I'd give it like a B B plus Doctor Troy I always thinking about Like for me, I was at an A minus because I've really enjoyed it. Plus it makes the tag belts feel

26:33 really really it makes Yesterday feel desperate to keep the tag Belts, which then increases the importance of the tag belts. Plus you got we got a DIY New Day match because of this. I mean, some of this stuff really great. Well, we got a DIY Cree Brothers match, which was amazing in itself as well, But it does it does make me go back to my prediction from a few weeks ago where I feel like one tag team will grab the Blue belts and one tag team will the Red Belt. We shall see, we shall see. So going through match by match there we went into this conversation saying about an A minus B plus. I'm gonna stick with my Ami and is still the Doctor Traven though we broke it down by match by match and kind of rethought a little bit. It's a weird gracecuff you look at if you're at like a B like, I mean, we had some we had a couple of season there a lot of b's and B plus is a couple of a's, But it's the totality of how solid the build has been for all those matches is what makes MI grade B and A minus because it's like we've had wrestled mains where we've had a lot of A A plus builds and then the rest of the car be like d's and f's.

27:41 You know, it's like, oh, yeah, they forgot six matches on the card, or they shoved four matches in at the last minute. You know. Uh, this has been very very solidly built throughout the entire card. Yeah, and we have three more shows left Tomorrow Night smack Down, Monday and then the following FRAUDAYDA SmackDown, and they can get a lot of these matches up to higher levels and put a little bit more focus on them in the go home editions of Monday Night Raw SmackDown and this upcoming Friday SmackDown as well. So all next week will be resumating Raw Wrestmania SmackDown, and on next Thursday we will preview and predict everything for WrestleMania thirty excuse me forty weekend with Standard deliver w Hall of Fame, and of course Night one and night two for WRESTLEMANA forty. It is a marathon. I've already told my family on Easter here coming up that I will not see them next weekend because it all starts on Friday, SmackDown, Hall of Fame, stand and deliver Saturday morning, Night one, Saturday Night Sunday. I don't know if they're airing this, but the Slammys are supposed to be taking place, so I don't know if that'll be on Peacock, but of course Night two of WrestleMania forty and then the following night of Monday Night Raw. It is always a world win weekend for wrestling fans. But it's a lot of fun top to bottom, and we will all preview it for you all and predict it all on next week's edition of SRTU. Doctor Trey. You mentioned earlier in the

29:14 show about like how good wrestling is right now and how popular it is and everything like that. And we're hearing a lot that the sold out television tapits that I referenced earlier. I think they're at nine or ten straight the crowds are really red hot. The crowds are large. I mean, they had to have a different stage in the All State Arena in Rosemont, Illinois this past Monday, which is really cool to see. It is early reminiscent of times that you and I were part of of the Attitude Era of we But when you look at it all that late nineties Golden era professional wrestling, whether it be the Attitude Era or Monday Night Raw or excuse me, the Monday Night Wars battles between w and WW if you want to bring aaw as well into this all, when you look back at that era and you look at what's going on right now, does this really feel like to you the Attitude era or Monday Night at Wars eras of professional wrestling where wrestling was in fact cool again, do you agree with that belief that it is entering that phase right now? It's I think we all long for those days so much that anytime wrestling gets fun, we think we're right back there. But I mean, Jeff, I remember those days and you could walk in a store without seeing wrestling t shirts, and you know, wrestling was everywhere and front and featured everywhere, and they were on the covers of everything, and I don't

30:48 think we're there yet. I think this is a much better tie in period than the early Ruthless Aggression days and for a lot of a lot of the John Cena run. I think rustling is more popular, but it's hard to put wrestling right now at the same level it was during the Monday Night Wars the Rock Austin days. So I mean, like I said, I mean, how many like our kids getting kicked out of school for saying the things they see on TV? No, But I mean I don't know about you, but I knew a couple of kids that got thrown out of school for dropping it across shop and telling the teacher to suck it, not knowing even what it really meant. I mean, that's it was everywhere in that the late nineties, you know. I just I don't think we're there yet.

31:33 But I think we could be on the cusp. If the television presentation keeps trending the way it's doing that it could become that really cool thing that everybody starts watching again. I think it's better than it's been since we've been doing the show, but I don't think it's at that era, yet where we were at during the the att of Two Days and the Monday Night Wars, you hit the nail on the head. I keep hearing everybody talk about how popular professional wrestling is, Rockets cutting promo saying wrestling is cool again, and from a wrestling fan standpoint, with what's going on with WW, how good they've been lately, what's going on in AW have been very solid and putting on a good product lately, and being a really good competitor at W and pushing them to be better, and W pushing AWW better. From a wrestlings fan standpoint, it does feel that way where it's reminiscent of the Monday Night Wars the late nineties of professional wrestling. The part where does it really feel like the attitude era is wrestling really cool again? Is exactly what doctor Trey said when I was in middle school, because that's what it was at the time. In early high school, everybody knew what was going on in WWW.

32:51 I was on a basketball travel basketball team, and every single one of us had a nickname of professional wrestler. We like portrayed a professional wrestler. Me and my friend were the New Age out Laws. He was Badass Billy Gunn. I was road Dog Jesse James. I remember coming in after Survivor Series nineteen ninety eight when the Rock turned and won the tournament, and a bunch of friends and I getting in trouble for talking about it like NonStop and not focusing in our art class. At that period of time, everybody was walking around in school with wrestling t shirts DX Austin three sixteen, whether it was the Classic Austin three sixteen or the Bloodstone one where he's bleeding on the back, or the nWo shirts Sting shirts. People were into wrestling. You would go to the mall, you would go out to restaurants. People were saying, you know, it doesn't matter, and if you're not down with that, I've got two words, sucking and can I get a hell Yeah.

33:51 Everybody in like malls and stuff were and restaurants were all wrestling fans. And that's when it was cool to me. That's when it was at a peak. Right now outside of the wrestling fandom bubble. I don't think it's touching on the surfaces, Doctor Tranny. Before the show, we're talking about how like kids nowadays. When we were growing up we're really into sports, and kids nowadays are more into watching Twitch and people playing video games like your your children, Doctor Trey, Like they don't know what's really going on in wrestle Mania Sees right now to the fullest agree I would expect, right, No, I mean they've all like Peyton's mentioned, you know, pays my seventeen year old for those who don't listen frequently. But my seventeen year old is a sophomore in high school, and you know he knows The Rock is back. He likes watching the stuff The Rock does. But if I ask him, you know who EO. Sky is, he might go, oh, she's the girl that looks like an anime character, right, Like that's that he still doesn't know the depth of what's going on for WrestleMania sees.

34:58 The kids at his school aren't walking around and Cody Road shirts or Seth Rowland shirts are rowing. There's a few, you know, just like you know, you and I when we were in school, right before the Attune Eric kicked off, you'd see the occasional kid with a trapper keeper with a wrestling poster in it, and you know, we would go seek out that one kid because Ooh, that's that's something I can talk to you about wrestling when he's one of us, or she's one of us, he's in our tribe, you know. Yes, But when the attube Eric kicked off, it was everybody. You know, it was literally like, I mean, I wasn't. I wasn't a preppy kid, but the preppy kids knew that I was a wrestling fan, and you know, they'd be like, hey man, did you see what happened with Austin in the beer truck? You know, like it was everything you know. Uh, By the way, I have to bring this up because it's been blowing my mind since you said this.

35:49 You were on a travel basketball team. I was, Yes, yes, very good at basketball. Yes, if I do say so myself. Just going off the short ginger thing was that would not have been my thought. I would have thought, dude, I'm white, I could shoot the three. Okay, So you and I, you and I should start a basketball league. If you remember that movie I do In that movie, that's where you and I would excel I could shoot the three better. That's how that's how the name Trey came from. Part of that. So but yeah, but I digress back into you know, wrestling lore. From those days, it was everywhere. I mean you couldn't turn on a late night show without being a wrestler on it. They were making cameos in everything they were hosting. I mean, you're gonna like The Big Show helped host Saturday Night mm hmm, The Rock, The Rock hosted Saturday Night Live. The Rock is expected. But I mean that was nineteen ninety nine. I mean that was heading in a WrestleMania sixteen and I mean Triple H, Big Show and Mick Foley were there because they were that main event. But that was a really big deal because at that point the only one who had hosted SNL in the wrestling world was Hulkogan and Mister t And I think the way that came about was like a short notice thing heading into wrestling Mania one at that point.

37:02 But I mean the point that I thought that you made their Doctor, Trey, is that like your your step son knows what's going on in professional wrestling to a degree. He knows that like The Rock is back, but it's not that popular yet where he's like, hey, can I sit down and watch raw with you tonight? Can I sit down and watch SmackDown with you tonight and want to know what's going on because my friends at school are talking about it, like everybody's talking about like what's going on in we right now. From a pop culture, mainstream standpoint, it's not there yet, But in the wrestling fan bubble, and maybe this is the beginning of that that you know, wave of popularity, Doctor Tree. In the wrestling fan bubble, I do think that there's a lot of similarities to the late nineties and the Monday Night Wars, because amongst the in the world of wrestling fandom, it's really good right now and it's it is reminiscent of that. But from the outside of wrestling fandom bubble, it's not mainstream like the Attitude era was. I mean, we're right now if you want to compare timelines, we're in between Luger's showing up at the Mall of America for the first Nitro and Holla Nash showing up on Nitro. H interesting point there, Yeah, where the fans are like, oh my god, this is really cool, and you and I would be on our message boards or with our little rest fan clicks AOL chat rooms. Yeah, who's gonna show up next on Nitro or Who's gonna jump to rawl? Like that was those early days. That's where the buzz started. And then you know, Hogan Bash at the beach whenevery Wain Hogan turned heel what the heck and everybody had to go find the

38:36 video somewhere. And then you do, dude, doctor Trey, you're forgetting calling one nine hundred numbers. Oh don't remind me of my dad still like brings that up and I did that. My Grandma got really mad at me about doing that once. That was the one time I got whipped with a belt was over that stuff. So cause I thought, I don't know. I thought I was outsmarting the system because it said two dollars of the first minute, So I'd hang up after thirty seven seconds, not knowing, and then call right back and listen for thirty seven more seconds and did that over and over again because I thought I was outsmarting the system because I was not on the phone for a minute, so they couldn't charge me for it if they did anything. So yeah, but dear guy, there's one of the things I'm I have to look forward to that, you know, Sammy Franklin's gonna do to me because he's kind of the same mindset. But yeah, I mean it was just the proliferation of wrestling was everywhere. But this, I mean, to put it in comparative terms, it would be like, you know, if you watch season or one of The Walking Day and you were like, this is a really damn good show and you knew a few people that were really into it. Also, this is not like season six or season seven when everybody was like flipping it on even if they didn't know it was because it was the cool thing to do. Like you're still in the early seasons of what that became. This is kind of the same thing.

39:54 This is that launching point, that kickoff point. This is you know those early nWo days, those early WCW days of people jumping back and forth. This is Austin you know, Austin Brett Hart posts WrestleMania thirteen or twelve, thirteen thirteen, I think you're going thirteen there. Yeah, with the double switch, you know, and leading into fourteen when the you know Tyson Show, when Tyson showed up is when it got everywhere, right, I mean, that was ESPN had it everything else. So so what we need, right, now is a screwjob. We need Paul Triple h Levec to come out at wrestleming A forty and when Roman has to figure for leg lock on, Cody Rhoades to ring the bell and get everybody pissed off, and then Cody Truck goes back to a W. Oh my gosh, that would be that like Cody spits on Triple Ah and then the black Eye he spells a W in the air in the air yes, and then jay Uso joins him over, but Jimmy stays and in reality, they send they send Cody back to AW just to help bury AAW even more than it's Some people think that so yeah, I mean, I think from the wrestling fandom world, it does feel like the Attitude era, Monday Night War era of professional wrestling.

41:10 Is wrestling cool yet on the mainstream No, But I do love the parallels that you've pointed out their duty that we may be in the wrestlmanting A thirteen era of the build up. It's Luger coming out to Nitro or Hogan turning heel at Bash of the Beach. It's building there and it has the potential, but can it connect mainstream I think WWE is a really good shot at that with stuff that The Rock is doing. I mean, I have been so highly entertained. Again, I'm a huge stand for the Rock, so that's a given. But him doing the install Jack, I mean him as a heel is like perfection to ma. I mean, this is it's just so good, it's so creative, it's so damn entertaining, and it's been a lot of fun and it's a good time as always to be professional wrestling fan. To close up here this week'sition of the podcast, Doctor Trey, Let's look at the latest wrestlming he forty card roundup. So no confirmed matches since we last recorded, however, we will see by next week.

42:06 On Friday's SmackDown, we have the New Catch Republic UH, Pete Dunn and Tyler Bate taking on Legato del Phantasma of Angel and Humberto UH. One of those two teams will be in the six pack ladder match of the Nispeed Attack Team Championship, and then the other team would either be a town down under Theory and Waller or the Street Profits. UH. I feel like New Catch Republic and the Street Profits will get into this match. Doctor Try so I think it's new Catch Republic and Waller in Theory, okay, and you think the Street profits get it gets that's that leads to your Final Testament Pride match, right man match with the Pride against the Final test That's a good point.

42:49 I think a Razor his name. I think because I really don't think you can't have Waller in theory and Wrestler. You gotta have those guys in the Wrestler media match points. Yeah, that is a good point rumored expected. We did see Dominic Mysterio interfere in the Ray Masterio Santos Escobar match on Friday SmackDown, which to me felt like a match that could be taking place at WrestleMania. So I'm sorry to want to hear Doctor Trey that Santos Escobar and Dominic Masterio will tag with one another, one another take on Ray Masterio and a partner, And I think the partner would either be Andrade based on the build with Andrada and the Judgment day over the last couple of weeks, or maybe we get a celebrity appearance by Bad Bunny. Do you agree or disagree with that possible build? Yeah, no, I don't know if you pull the Andrade card yet because you still have the Andrad Judgment Day stuff going on in the well. So I mean, if you can pull Bad Bunny out of thin air, I think you and I and most Mozy fans really enjoy when Bad Bunnies on the card. And you know, Bad Bunny has his history with the Judgment Day, so it'd make a lot of sense.

43:59 And then finally here, Jade Card Gill is set to make her SmackDown debut as official member of the roster, which was announced on Friday, that last Friday that she was signed to the SmackDown brand. She will come out on Friday SmackDown. You would have to imagine that there would be some sort of Wrestlemani implications there, and I feel like it's gonna be one of two things. It's either Jade Card Gill as the host of Wrestmania forty or we see the ground start to be built for a Jade Card Gill Bianca bell Aer match, which I've been pushing. And I know you seem to think Bianca and Naomi would be taken on the Kabooki Warriors or WrestleMania. I think you can go either way, right, now thoughts on Jade card Gill on the potential impact she may have on the wrestmaning card on Friday SmackDown. I think Jay, I think you'll see a Jade Beyonca interaction, but I don't think it's leading to a match at this point because they said she's making a pear.

44:50 She's not wrestling on No, that's correct. She's making her debut as a member of the roster, leaning leaning towards you. I think she'll probably be a host of WrestleMania and then coming out of that, you know, into the New Year, and I use that as the wrestling season New Year. Uh, you'll see her and Biaka have those interactions leading up to either summer or next year's wrestleming sore you go. So some of the rumored expected Doctor Trey has been on that Final Testament, Uh take it on the Pride of Bobby Lashley and the Street Profits in a six man match, Raymond Stereo Andrade Bad Bunny maybe something there versus Santos and Dominic, Jade card Gill and Bianca Belair maybe or Bianca Belair and Naomi versus Kabooki Warriors. But I feel like those would be the matches right now that round out this card, Doctor Troy.

45:38 Yeah, I mean we mean the having you mentioned the Battle Royals or anything like that yet, And I don't know really, I mean, well, Gott would. I mean, there's really not anybody I maybe, I mean Alpha Academy in LW are tied up in n XT stuff right now, so they'll probably be part of Standing Deliver. So I don't know there's anybody else really on the roster that we're kind of missing that needs a spot on the card somewhere. So I think we're pretty set right now. Yeah, I think we are as well. So we talked about a last week's show would be about seven matches each night, so that would be about fourteen And yeah, I'm just getting really emotional thinking about it. Okay, I mean do we need to do you need a break? I mean to clear your the road confident. I'm trying to give you the ability to use the mute button on your microphone. So I'm kind of ranting about nothingness right here.

46:31 It is allergy season, so yeah, I mean, welcome back, polling ladies and gentlemen, So thank you for making a return right around restlming season. All right, that we'll do it for this week's sestion the podcast. With that said, let's get a couple plugs and spots out of the way. You could download show every Thursday or Friday at Real Guy Radio dot Com, Wrestle chatnett on X and It's still Real to show iTunes feed diffree to rate, review and subscribe to help us come the charts. On iTunes. You can follow us individually on for myself at Start to You Jeff, and for Doctor Trey Franklin at The Doctor Trey. And of course don't read the fall show on X at sr to You podcast. With that being said, what is going on in the ononeful world of Doctor Trey Franklin this week?

47:12 Well, like Jeff said, you can follow me on X at the Doctor Trey. You can find me on Facebook and Instagram Doctor Trey Franklin. When you're on Facebook, be sure check out Rocke SA Championship Wrestling as we got a huge show coming up of course, of all nights April sixth, so we'll have our next show the same night as Wrestling Madia at Night one God Love Barry call Off, but also check out Spartan Championship wrestling. They got a couple of shows coming up here in the next couple weeks as well. Those are the two shows I work with here at Alabama. But most importantly, guys, it's also not always the wrestlming seas. That means this big indie show season, So you have a lot of your favorite indie shows will be traversing their way to Philadelphia. A lot of your top indie guys will be out there. I just saw that Matt cardonus coming to work a show here at Alabama in the next next few weeks as well. So get out there, see your favorite see those top guys from AWWW there are able to actually get on the independent SHANEA Baslers Wrestling at GCW match during WrestleMania weekend.

48:08 So get out there, see your independent shows and find those stars of tomorrow today. So there you go, support all the great things that support SRTU and join us next week. Next Thursday, folks, it will be the first show of the month of April. It is our WrestleMania preview show and we will bring that to you on Thursday, April seventh. Unbelievable times here, ladies and gentlemen, that we will be here talking professional wrestling with all of you. So thanks for making us part of your week. Episode number seven undred thirty seven from March the twenty ninth on SRTU. We will be back then. Excuse me, no, wait a minute, I have all my dates mix up here. It is not next. We are on Thursday, April fourth. This is our next edition of the podcast. Thanks jeez.

48:55 I was looking at earlier this month. I was looking at a March. So this is what happens when you get older, folks. So we will be back next week for Thursday April to fourth, wrestum and forty first show of the month. Really looking forward to it. One of our biggest shows of the year. The next two weeks is nothing but wrestling a forty week and we are your spot to download and discuss everything that is leading into and coming out of wrestle Mania forty. So thank you for downloading, thank you for making this part of your week, and until next week. For doctor Trey Franklin, I'm Jeff Pack. This is the stor real the show