Roman Reigns Is Overrated?! Punk & Owens Get Personal | The Still Real to Us Show | Episode #861 – 8/13/26

0:00 It's still prudent to be damaged in this! [Music] Welcome everybody! Welcome to this week's This Is Still Realest Show, Episode 861 for August 13th, 2026. Welcome to this week's edition of S.R.T.U. I am one episode show, I am Jeff Packard. Typically joined every single week. I might also only Dr. Trey Franklin, and typically asked here, "Dr. Trey, what makes up my friend?"

0:41 We are Dr. Treyless, a little bit of a family emergency going on with his dog this evening, wishing him and his family nothing but the best. But when we sat down here to record tonight, Dr. Trey had to handle stuff at home, which is most important. So just keep him in his family and your thoughts right now is as they navigate issue with the family pet right now. And anybody who has a dog, I'm a dog lover, I have a dog. Actually, she barked about two seconds before I hit the record on this entire thing. Notice that pets are just as equally important to a family structure than anyone else.

1:22 And I always say this all the time with my own dog that I wish there were more dogs. Or actually that I wish that dogs lived longer than people because we just have them for such a short amount of time and they're very, very special parts of the family. And just nothing but the best of Dr. Trey and family right now. No easier way to segue into a wrestling conversation after a pretty interesting and serious family matter going on with one of our own, Dr. Trey, then to try to transfer this over to professional wrestling talk this week. So it's going to be a solo dole show. And we're going to break it all down from this past week, some of the news and notes that have come out of the world professional wrestling.

2:08 And yeah, just kind of give my thoughts for the next 30, 45 minutes, however long this takes. It's been a couple solo shows that I've done as of late. So yeah, I talked to myself typically. So why not just talk to myself now here in the microphone. Let's start things off here where Friday of last week, Conrad Thompson got a lot of wrestling discourse going. Conrad Thompson, as I'm sure all of you know, famous wrestling podcast host, something to wrestle with, with Bruce Pritchard, 83 weeks with Eric Bischoff, JR show, Jeff Cherichow, Conrad Thompson basically become the godfather of wrestling podcasting.

2:51 And he has some great takes. I always enjoy stuff when I listen to his shows. And he put it out there that he thinks, Conrad Thompson called Roman Reigns potentially quote the most overrated main eventer in WWE history, and then doubled down by arguing that Paul Heyman deserves enormous credit for changing how fans perceived Roman back in starting in 2020. Conrad specifically pointed to the hostile reactions Roman received before the travel chief, era and asked what Roman's career looks like without Paul Heyman. So Roman was unquestionably rejected as WWE's hand-picked babyface for years from 2014 to, I would say, 2020, right? And heading to the pandemic.

3:32 But does finally, finding the right character actually strengthen his legacy rather than weaken it? Because I think we could all agree that the travel chief character that he has found is extremely entertaining, extremely fun, and more him than anything we've ever seen before. And I think a lot of people may think that this is like a creation of Triple H and the current creative team. But this was going on when Vince was still at the helm. So they made the change from the big dog to the travel chief and ran with this bloodline storyline. I would debate, I think, that the bloodline storyline got better once the Triple H and company took over creative from 2022 onwards. But it has. It has strengthened his legacy, I should say, because as a babyface, he was not any good at all.

4:19 I mean, Codratatops and Points Outdo, do we remember the WrestleMania is that fans were walking out of the one specific one, WrestleMania 34. I wish he was here on the podcast tonight, Dr. Trey. He was in attendance. And he has spoken several times that he walked out on the Brock Lesnar Roman Reigns event. You don't do that at a WrestleMania. They tried really hard from WrestleMania 31 to, cheese 34 to really get Roman going. Roman had a real serious issue, medical issue with his cancer returning and came back in 2019. And after an outside in 2018, and he wrestled Drew McIntyre at WrestleMania.

4:59 And I think people weren't as vitriol. There was not as much vitriol towards Roman Reigns as there typically was. 2020 happens with the pandemic. You set the face goal bird backs out because of health reasons. Braun's Roma takes a spot. Then we don't see Roman come back until just around. Was it at SummerSlam 2020? I think so. Then they had that match like a week later on payback paper view, which I found very weird. Defeated Bray Wyatt, late Bray Wyatt, and Braun's Roman to win the then universal championship. And then he held on to that for four plus years at that point. And it just kind of begs the question. I mean, he found the right character.

5:40 And that did strengthen his legacy to me. I mean, there's similar parallels to Hogan in a way. Hogan was responsible for the wrestling boom in '85. One of the major reasons for the wrestling boom in '85, rock and wrestling. He was starting to get very stale in the early '90s. And by the time he got in the WCW, I mean, it was like pulling teeth. People did not enjoy Hulk Hogan matches. If you watch any of those old nitros on the WWE fall through whatever club WWE's got going on right now, you could see how much people were rejecting Hogan. And then the Hollywood Hogan character revitalized him, rejuvenated him, gave him more legs for his character moving forward.

6:22 And he kind of still had that Hollywood Hogan type character when he was wrestling when he came back to WWE. And obviously, certainly with the NWO stuff, but even beyond that. And then when he would periodically return here and there. And he kind of embraced more that Hollywood Hogan-esque character than the white, babyface that we were accustomed to pre-1996 for the rest of his career. So I don't think that finding the right character is a bad thing. I don't think it weakens it at all. And I think it did strengthen his legacy. So I don't understand why overrated main event during WWE history for that period of time. I think you could certainly say that.

7:02 But it changes his legacy and the main aim and influence. I'm not sure. Because then we ask ourselves, how much credit should Paul Hamon get versus Roman himself for making the tribal chief work? It goes hand in hand, right? I think Hamon was from what we're told him. And I believe Michael Hayes were like the people that were set as the creative team for Roman's work during that tribal chief era. But you still need to execute it, right? I mean, that's the thing with, I'm a baseball fan. You know, Barry Bonds took steroids. Barry Bonds hit 73 home runs in the season. But if I took steroids today, I can't go to the major leagues and hit a 104 mile per hour from Jacob Mizorowski, the Milwaukee Brewers and hit 73 home runs in a season.

7:45 Plus, like I just don't have that talent and credit to do that. Like it definitely takes something to, you still have to execute what's going on. And Roman wasn't just this board of wood that showed up and was like, show me what to say, Paul Hamon. It worked both ways. I think Hamon was a great sounding board for him. I think Hamon helped validate the tribal chief character. But I think Roman deserves a ton of credit for making the tribal chief work. And people have just kind of eaten that up. And when you look at other things as well, like could anyone have turned that opportunity into one of WWE's defining runs or did Roman still have to deliver once the pieces were finally right?

8:26 I don't think anyone could have delivered it. And yeah, sure, he had the right pieces. But the reason why the Blon-Lide worked is because they were legitimately their bloodline. Like I don't understand why we would try to take that away and say that he's overrated. And then the ultimate test in his entire things is if you take Paul Hamon out of the Roman Reigns career in 2020, where does Roman Reigns historically today? I don't think that he could launch as the tribal chief without Paul Hamon. What we're seeing right now with Roman Reigns on his own without Paul Hamon is how can he run with the ball? And if there's any doubters out there about this clearly Conrad Thompson as one with them, that he needs Paul Hamon to be successful, how successful can he be?

9:08 Is he as successful as he was from 2020 to 2024? Absolutely not, I don't believe so. But there's something about this current error of the tribal chief that is refreshing, rejuvenating and fun as well. But what I will say is it does feel a little bit recycled, which is something we see often professional wrestling. But I think he is proving that he could still run with that character and be successful. He is not just kind of like out in La La Land. Was there a weird transition phase with Paul turning on Roman? Absolutely. Was there a weird transition phase where Paul wasn't around when Roman finally came back and like confronted Sagoa? Absolutely. But eventually Roman Reigns made it work.

9:51 There's been plenty of superstars, wrestlers in the history of professional wrestling that when they first lose that mouthpiece that we are associated them with, that there's a little bit of a struggle because you see them as a pairing, you see them as an act, you see them as something that you find entertaining. So it's just, it's not like, well, what if, you know, would have Andre the Giant been successful as a heal without Bobby the Brain Heenan? Absolutely not. But was Andre the Giant successful as a heal once? He did turn. Absolutely. You know, there's some comparables as there. And you know, would, oh, you're going to have been S successful as a heal without Hall and Nash. Absolutely not. But was he successful as a heal? Yes. So it just, you know, sometimes it takes a little bit to make things work.

10:35 So, you know, I think to say what he accomplished in the Travel Chief Era is just solely on Paul Heyman, I just kind of disagree with. And then just like lastly here is, if Roman Reigns is overrated or are people now, is Roman Reigns overrated or are people now underrated Roman because they're giving Paul Heyman too much credit, I don't feel Roman is overrated. I don't feel he's underrated at all. I think there's a case of the underrated more than overrated if you're looking at both things because Paul Heyman's not involved because we are seeing how well he is as a character. But I don't think Roman is overrated at all. I think his run from 2020 to 2024 is one of the most recent errors of professional wrestling that rejuvenated people that got people to watch wrestling.

11:23 Has it fallen off a little bit? Absolutely. But people were really invested in what he was doing. And that was because he was part of it. And he was like watching a mafia movie, the way the bloodline was operating, the way that he was, he was the godfather of WWE at that point. And you wanted to see somebody, anybody, finally take him down. And when it finally happened, it's taken about two years to rebuild everything. And I think he's getting there right now. I certainly do. Certainly my complaint about Roman Reigns isn't if he is overrated. My complaint about Roman Reigns is when he is at the top, when he is the champion. It does kind of keep things at a level that, I don't find it entertaining previously.

12:04 I guess I should say, because I would love to see oboe family break out. I would love to see Bronbbreaker break out. And we can't get that right now in the month of August because it just feels like Roman's gonna be holding on that title until WrestleMania. And the payoff may be amazing and it may be great, but in the time frame right now, I mean, there's just, it just kind of hold water at that point. All right, if they're aiming for LA Knight versus Roman Reigns, which reportedly may be happening Louisiana, I believe it is, New Orleans. For money in the bank in October, I don't sit here today on October 13th. I think that LA Knight could pull one out. So yeah, that would probably be my biggest complaint. It's just kind of Roman, his creative, keeping people down.

12:44 But being overrated as a professional wrestler presently, no, I don't think he's overrated. Was that period of time 2014, it's 2000, early 2020, one of the most overrated main eventers in WWE history? Absolutely, but he saved face, he saved his legacy. And I think he has proven himself as the travel chief to prove that he is not actually overrated. He's a good in-ring worker. I know Conrad went into about his in-ring work. I've never watched Roman Reigns match and felt like this is boring as hell. I don't think it's five moves of doom, anything like that. So I was surprised though, but everybody's entitled to their opinion. And that is one that we certainly want to hear from all of you. If you want to comment below, hereover at patreon.com/srtupodcast.

13:28 We would love to hear your thoughts. Or even at facebook.com/thestorealtheschel. If you feel Roman Reigns is overrated or not. Switching gears to Friday nights back down this pack past week, we had CM Punk and Kevin Owens in the ring for a felt face to face. And I felt uncomfortably real, because I think a lot of it was. That punk Owens face to face was easily one of my favorite things WWE did this week, because it stopped feeling like two wrestlers performing a wrestling promo. It felt like Phil Brooks and Kevinstein finally getting to say things they probably wanted to say for years. WWE leaned directly into their history, Owens called Punk and Eric and sociopath. Punk argued that he helped pave the road that allowed wrestlers like Owens to reach WWE, and Owens ultimately portrayed Punk as someone whose ego had made him miserable.

14:14 There is some real life facts right to this. Punk and Owens history goes back to Kevin scenes earliest ROH appearances. There's a famous 2005 incident involving Punk criticizing Steam for wanting to wrestle on a t-shirt and later dressing him down backstage. Owens has referenced that story periodically over the years. There are enough genuine historical ingredients here that WWE doesn't have to manufacture animosity. There's also the story that's been floating out there. Previously, I think it was on Reddit, but like Meltzer talked about on the wrestling observer newsletter over the weekend. That when Punk and Kabbana, Cole Kabbana were going through their stuff with WWE and they were being sued. Punk basically had an edict not to talk to anybody from WWE. He cut them off all cold. He talked about it, right? Cut off Jericho, cut off Kofi Kingston, and he was friends he did not speak to.

14:57 Well, NXT was in town, and this is when Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens were on NXT. They were doing a loop through Chicago and they hit up Cole Kabbana who they're very good friends with and said, "Hey, you wanna grab some pizza?" According reports, Punk found out about it, and that is what set off Cole Kabbana being acts from the friendship of one CM Punk, which then you can make a case catapulted a lot of things in AW. That pizza dinner changed the course of wrestling history for a lot of people. Would CM Punk be back in WWE right now? Had that pizza dinner ever taken place, taking place in what, 2014, 15? It's amazing, I never heard that story before and then I did a little more digging out. I was like, "Oh, this has been something that's been going around for some time."

15:39 So we can't know how much genuine personal animosity exists between them today, but the history of their mining is real, and that's exactly why that segment worked. The big question coming out of this was this a work shoot promo, or were we watching two guys finally get permission to settle a 20 year argument on WWE television? I hate to ride the fence here. I think it's a little bit of both. I think it's 75% work shoot promo. I think it's 25% getting the ability to get some things off their chest that they've been meaning to. It was great, it was a great segment. And if you go back and you watch it and I was really in for all of it because punk and Kevin Owens are some of my favorite wrestlers of all time, love those guys. I mean, as long as I'd be doing this podcast, those two guys have really defined this generation that we've covered in professional wrestling.

16:26 As I'm watching it, I could tell two things. One, if Kevin Owens, if he is, if he has a great wrestling bitch face, he should go into acting, right? 'Cause it did not look like he was having any fun with the promo. Punk on the other hand, I think he loved that Kevin Owens went where he went with the promo and reacted as such because it made things fun and it made things interesting. If there's anything that we've learned from the CM Punk return to WWE in the last, was it three years now that when there's real life animosity surrounding CM Punk, we as fans benefit from it.

17:09 The Drew McIntyre feud is one of the best feuds we've covered in the last five years. This stuff with Seth Rollins would have been amazing. Had this moment, the injury's kind of derailed everything. But those things is what made it important and they're going to that well again. I was quasi bashing them going back to the well with the bloodline, but here they are going back to the well again with CM Punk animosities, issues we have with certain wrestlers and I'm eating it right up because the realness of it makes it all worthwhile. I mean, this is a dream match scenario in general. Let these guys pan out a little bit more. Let them play a little bit now. Let this feud go on. I think that's something that I hopefully that they've learned from this because I think Owen said, I want a challenge for the title.

17:51 I think on from Friday in two weeks in Toronto, which makes it so a week from this Friday we get Punk versus Owens. For the title, like, man, push this out a little bit now. We've got something here. This is fun. This is entertaining. So I think it was a work shoot promo. I think that both guys put a lot of asses and seats and I think they sold some tickets and I cannot wait for CM Punk versus Kevin Owens two of the best Mike workers, two of the best in-ring workers. We've covered here in the history of the show. It is a dream match scenario and they really catapulted it off perfectly this past Friday on SmackDown. Talking about setting up some for some future matches here in World Wrestling Entertainment.

18:32 Another one that I'm looking forward to going to Monday Night Raw is Oba Femi versus Braun Breaker because I feel like we may be watching WWE's next John Cena/Betista generation. I feel like it's that Cena Batista and I throw in Randy Orin generation in there. After Oba Femi and Braun Breaker came face to face again on Monday, I am increasingly convinced WWE is showing us its two potential franchise players for the post-Roman Punk Cody generation. You can throw Seth in there as well. WWE deliberately separated the two during Monday's confrontation rather than giving them way, the fight immediately. But all things considered, I almost don't want Oba versus Braun yet because I want us to go back to 2005. Batista became the guy on Raw.

19:14 John Cena became the guy on SmackDown coming out of WrestleMania 21, Cena defeats JBL, Batista Feats Triple H. Those were the guys. They came down to the final two Royal Rump 2005, as we know, Vince tears his quad, they had the perfect botch of all time when they both won, and then ultimately Batista won that match. WWE allowed both men to develop independently, rather than immediately defining one against the other. And think about it. So if WrestleMania 21 was the long point, where they had their first WrestleMania match was WrestleMania 26, five years later. Prior to that, I think they had one match at Summerslam, which may have been maybe a year, year and a half beforehand, but they really kept them separated apart as the guys that were the faces of each brand.

19:57 And that's what I would have loved for Braun and Oba. Put one on wall, Raw, put one on SmackDown, give both world championships, let them build their separate legacies. And then several years from now, when they finally collide, it feels enormous. But given the situation that I just talked about with someone like Roman Reigns at the top of the championship, and I also see him punk, that just cannot happen, which stinks. WWE is not a transition era like they were, or even that transition era that were, they were desperately seeking for in 2004, where they needed to pass the torch. They needed to find the next top star after several years away from the Stone Cold Steve Austin and Rock Air. They needed to find someone, and they chose John Cena and Batista.

20:39 They don't have that problem right now. We're in the midst. This isn't the tail end. We're not searching for a new face of the company. We have Roman Reigns, we have Cody Rhodes, we have Seth Rollins, we have CM Punk, we have Kim and Owens, we have Drew McAttire, we have plenty on the men's side. So it's not the same thing in a way, but I wish it was, because I think it could be something special, in just a few years, basically. So then that poses the WrestleMania 43 question that I have. Is Oba Femme poised to become the defining star of WWE's next era at WrestleMania 43? Or should that position ultimately belong to Braun Breaker? And maybe the better answer is, why does WWE have to choose?

21:19 Right? You have two brands. You have four brands overall. You got raw, you got SmackDown, you got NXT, you've got Triple A, right? Why do we need to choose? Between these guys, why can I not be the co-faces like Patisse and John Cena or? And when we get to WrestleMania 43, I truly believe that maybe these next several months are going to be Oba Femme versus Braun Breaker. Money in the bank maybe is that match in October. And then from that point forward, how long does that feud go on for? Because when we get to Royal Rumble season, I truly believe Oba wins that rumble. Oba chooses Roman Reigns, we get Oba versus Roman at WrestleMania. There's a reason why we are not getting Oba versus Roman at Summer Slam after Oba won the King of the Ring where he had that right to face a World Champion.

22:06 It's because they want to hold it off for something bigger. Let's do it in Saudi Arabia. Let's do Oba versus Roman, let's pass that torch. And that may be the year of the Tribal Chief Era. And we could sit here and say maybe in essence, I'm asking for WrestleMania 21 launch now. But maybe WrestleMania 43 is that launch. Because who's to say, right? It felt like an earlier this year, Braun Breaker could have gone to WrestleMania and challenged the Ampunk for the World of the Way Championship. And one, I've not watched this season unreal, but from what I gather, there was some discussion about that that Braun Breaker could either enter WrestleMania's World Champion or become a World Champion at WrestleMania. They wanted him in that spot and they didn't do it.

22:46 So maybe we are on the verge of that. Maybe we get that teaser match at Money in the Bank. Or maybe both of them are just in the Money in the Bank match, which I would be all in favor for. Keep the one-on-one match off to the side. Let's save this for something when it counts and let it grow organically and let the build be fun. So I just want to see it to be the next petite John Cena because I think we could really, really benefit it as professional wrestling fans. And the more I think about it, maybe WrestleMania 43 is this generation's WrestleMania 21 launch. Speaking of young stars, young and up in coming stars, there is a young gentleman out there named Avery Styles, son of Hall of Famer AJ Styles, who I believe just wrestled his second match.

23:28 And I believe he did so at Game Changer Wrestling, GCW, if it wasn't his second, it's like third or fourth professional match. And there's a big discussion right now about pain or dues, or if it's an outdated wrestling gap keeping. And I really wish Dr. Trey was here with his experiences on the Southern Independent Wrestling scene and get his two cents on where this stands. Because this story has become way bigger than somebody helping put away chairs. Veteran Independent wrestler Eric Cannon, who actually just got shouted out by CM Punk recently, during one of the post shows from Summerslam. Publicly criticized AJ Styles 19 year olds on Avery after a GCW appearance, alleging Avery, avoided helping with tear down, and AJ Styles fired back on X on Twitter.

24:09 That's where we have our normal discourses human beings nowadays. That his son was booked and paid to wrestle, not dismantle the ring and argued that a veteran should have approached him privately instead of embarrassing a teenager publicly. Cannon later claimed Avery had specifically been asked twice to help with chairs. GCW promoter Brett Lauderdale, subsequently defended Avery, saying he's still a teenage rookie who will make mistakes in arguing that Avery earned his bucking because of his natural ability, not nearly because he's AJ Styles son. So the big question coming out of this, should Avery Styles have to quote pay his dues, exactly like an unknown rookie, or has professional wrestling outgrown that mentality? So I'm gonna come into this twofold. One, let's start from the way that it was taken place.

24:50 Erickan and getting on X, getting on Twitter and blasting Avery Styles. This guy is still 19 years old, and the last thing he needs is the internet to come at him. He's already going to have that problem in professional wrestling and being a figure with the way that people are online. Like he did not need this added story, pressure to now follow him around. There's certainly an obviously a big opportunity here to make some money off of this. I would not be surprised if Avery Styles makes some money off of this and makes a joke of it. The next several independent wrestling shows where he folds a chair and puts it away, or even if it leads to a match with Eric Cannon at a GCW show. This is professional wrestling controversy creates cash, and this is controversy that can make some money very early in the career of Avery Styles.

25:35 And who knows, we may be all getting worked because here we are talking about a young rookie on a wrestling podcast because it's newsworthy. Newsworthy is, yeah, he made his debut. He looked pretty good. Everybody has had some rave reviews, but this is newsworthy. That's the first part. The second part, I just turned 40 years old, and I come from the mindset that when I was growing up, you had to pay your dues. Whether it be on a sports team or in a company or in the military, whatever you came from, you needed to pay your dues and show that you belong and that you were just as equal as everyone else. And I feel like nowadays that mentality has been lost.

26:18 I deal with a lot of younger folks. And what you're teaching them nowadays is, like when they're in that high school, and that college air is still a young college, and they're getting closer and closer to the workforce that they've been extremely coddled. Sorry, if you're in that age group, you've been extremely coddled. They cannot take being yelled at. They cannot take being reprimanded. If you give them constructive criticism, and the only reason why somebody gives someone, at least in my perspective, constructive criticism is to help make them better. I'm not in the business of tearing anyone down. I'm not in the business of making someone look bad or think that they're stupid or make them feel stupid. However, if you show me in what I do that you give a damn, I want to help you out.

27:00 If you have that thing where you give a damn, I will help you out. The only thing is, is that if I tell you something and you don't listen or you give me attitude, there will be receipts and repercussions for that type of behavior because that is how I learned, and that's what made me a stronger and tougher, thick-skinned individual. I had to pay my dues in professional broadcasting. Back in 2009, I went on a whim and started getting into broadcasting with Mike Bauer. And we started hosting this radio show called The Wheelhouse. And I would go on to a train into New York City, do a two-hour round trip to go downtown, get into the office about 6.30, go live on blog talk radio at seven o'clock and by eight o'clock the show was over.

27:45 I'd stay for a couple of minutes, pack up, leave, get on the train and do it all over again, and I was getting home at 11 o'clock. Then I was going to bed. It's going to bed shortly thereafter. I was getting up at 6 a.m. for my job. I'd get off my job, get on a train at five o'clock, get in there by 6.30 and do it all over again. And why did I do that? Because I believed in the mission of what was going on. I was cutting my teeth, I was paying my dues, I was doing something that would have cost thousands of dollars to do. You could go to a broadcasting school, you could go to college and do it, but I wanted to get some real world experiences to what was going on. And that was in 2009. In 2012, I got hired in a radio station. Over at 97.9 ESPN Hartford Connecticut Bauer had a show.

28:26 He thankfully brought me on. I earned my way onto that. I wasn't getting paid for the first seven months. And then even when I did, finally start getting paid in the year and a half, two years, I was getting paid. I was getting paid part-time salary. We had to carry over my hours. So I went away on vacation. I was getting PTO. That way that I heart radio, whenever the company is nowadays, they didn't hire somebody full-time or they needed health insurance. And why did I do that? Because I was earning my keeping cutting my teeth. And what did that lead to for me? When the show ended in March, I let Bauer go. Shortly thereafter, I got hired at ESPN Radio in Bristol, Connecticut. And I was there for four months. When I shortly thereafter found out and thought I had a great opportunity, a full-time opportunity closer to home that I could make in completely a different structure outside of the broadcasting field.

29:12 And what I learned in that period of time is if you continue to work hard, I got to my dream job, or if the ESPN Radio, whether it be for four weeks or four months, four years, I was able to say that I did that. And it all started in 2009 by cutting my teeth and earning my keep. And I think that is something that a lot of people don't do nowadays. And it's unfortunate. And I think it has made for weaker, mind-ery, younger folks to be in the workforce. And I'm concerned about how long the last. So it's twofold. If Avery was legitimately asked to help out with chairs, he should have done it. He should have shown I'm not a J's kid. There is more to me than this. I am as equal as you are, and I will earn my keep. I will cut my teeth.

29:53 Will he get opportunities that no one else absolutely get? 100%. There was a photo of him backstage at the WWE PC for the NXT taping this week, I believe, with Birthright. Talking about the folding chairs and a bunch of second-generation stars that were with him. He's going to get those opportunities. But in the meantime, when you're on the road, or you keep showing them, pay your dues. This is what you're gonna do. Would not surprise me if Avery Styles is under a WWE contract in the next year, and he never has this experience whatsoever. But while you're there, or you keep, pay your dues. With that said, again, I preface this all by saying, you don't blast someone online publicly. I hate that when people do that. I always do it privately if I've ever had those conversations because I think it means something more.

30:36 You're doing it privately where you like, hey, this is what you're doing wrong. You should try this. And you're showing them that you give a shit. In this situation, I think Eric Cannon was in the complete wrong, and could have done it and handled it a completely different way. As could Avery Styles. It's a very odd thing that's taking place in the world of professional wrestling that we're here we are talking about it. Just folding chairs. But paying your dues is important, but also giving off that message is just as equally important because you don't want to lose the message in S to I, pull them aside, pull the kid, listen. You got to target on your back. You're AJ Styles kid, right? You're going to be very, very successful. You're probably going to make more money than me, so be it. But while you're here, show everybody back there like who you are.

31:19 You know, you're at the bottom, work your way up to the top because as you go back down the ladder, you're going to see those same faces. So I think there's anything wrong with that. Again, it's just the delivery that I had the issue with. And then lastly here, we're talking a little bit about AW. We've got AW has all in coming up here in London. I think it was 18 days they said on Dynamite. So it's now 17 and we are as record on Thursday night. And I wonder if AW is making Omega versus Osprey bigger or over complicating it because with only 17 days remaining for all in London, AW put multiple pieces of its world championship picture into motion on Wednesday night. We'll Osprey called out Kenny O'Mega, the Don Cal's family attacked Omega made a save, but then essentially told Osprey that that was the last time he was helping him.

32:07 Meanwhile, MJF won the number two position at the casino gaula while continuing to proclaim himself as quote the one true champion. Omega versus Osprey should theoretically sell itself. Does AEW actually need MJF and Don Cal's orbiting the story? Absolutely not. Let them sell the story itself. You're over complicating it. MJF having the number two casino gaula position gives him enormous potential role at all in. Does that intrigue enhance Omega Osprey or distract from it? I don't think it does either, honestly. I think even mentioning MJF and the spread makes me think, so if he wins the casino gaula, could we not close with Will Osprey getting that moment at all in in London where he's the world champion?

32:49 Because that's how I feel like it's going in. And MJF decides to come out and cash it. I think that's starting to, this is some foreshadowing that could be a very, very real possibility. AEW has rarely had trouble delivering the match itself. The bigger question has been whether the television makes you need to see the match before bell time. And I think that's a really good question. Does the television make you need to see it? On paper, Osprey versus Omega is a dream match, right? But we've seen it before. My issue, by the way, I did not think that I might this past Wednesday was a solid episode. I thought it really, really lacked build towards all in. And I think it's too centered and too focused right now on the continental challenge cup.

33:31 I guess they can't call it the continental cup anymore because of maybe some trademark to copyright infringements. Like you need to build all in more. And they had three matches on this past Saturday's collision. They had three matches on Dynamite and it's just completely overshadowing everything else. Good opening segment with Osprey, good opening segment with Omega, but I would like to see more. So I do think that they need to make the television deliver making me want this, right? I mean, that's the issue with AW. If you want to really like zone in and go, why is AW not a successful WWE? It has always been their entertainment in the creative. The match stuff is there. There is no question, Omega and Osprey are gonna deliver a great match at all in London.

34:13 But give me the build that makes me give a shit. You can't always just go off on the history. You can't just go off and say, these are two great superstars. These are great technicians. You gotta have the entertainment. And that's something that I think really AW really needs to sort of hone in on. And it makes me wonder if the entertainment aspect of this entire thing is that MJF hovering around the Omega Osprey situation. And if it is, that's not great. Make Omega Osprey entertaining just outside of like, yeah, I expect these guys to deliver a five star match. So here's the prediction question then. Who should leave all in as AW world champion? Omega Osprey or somebody else? For me, it's Osprey. Give him that moment. Give him that moment in his hometown in his home country in front of his people where he is celebrating fireworks to Laura and we go off the air.

34:59 I don't need to see MJF become a four time AW world champion. Will that add to some heat for MJF? Absolutely. Does MJF need that heat? No. Is that gonna add some intrigue for Will Osprey because he couldn't, you know, he wins a big one and then drops it immediately? Absolutely, interesting storyline. But does MJF the right guy for that? Absolutely not. Like we don't need that at all. So it makes me wonder man, the more I think about it, like are they with this one true champion? Oh, do you see a storyline with MJF bringing out the title? I know people are saying that this is basically what they wanted to do with CM Punk. When he was saying that he was the real world champion, they're doing it again. They're rehashing out now with MJF. I just don't think they need to do it right now.

35:40 He could call himself that. Don't hold the championship when they can see him gauntlet and then go face each other at all out in Chicago in September. Like just give me the Osprey Omega moment. I don't need that stuff kind of hovering around and it'll be interesting on all in day. Like as we watch it, if MJF wins, I can see no gauntlet match. I'm like, oh boy, there's a possibility he may execute this to close out the show and that's how we close out. And there could be a near ride in London that night if it's Will Osprey winning the championship and then immediately drops it to MJF. Last thing I want to talk about here in regards to this topic here, last question for this week's edition of the show is does AEW finally have genuine intrigues surrounding its world championship again heading into all in?

36:21 They absolutely do. I mean, Omega and Osprey are some of the best. But to that point, I don't wanna see MJF again involved here with the world championship at all in, but I will argue that the most entertaining the world championship has been since MJF won the championship from December, dropped the title to Darby Allen in April, won it back and then dropped it again to Kenny Omega. I think that was one of the better runs with the AEW world championship I've seen from any superstar, any wrestler on the AEW roster on the men's side since its inception. I thought it was a really, really good run with the championship that he had. But overall, I mean, look at the names that are involved with it right now. That's been the issue. When AEW was in its down year, look back at that roster and see how many people were on the injured list, Omega Osprey.

37:06 They lost a lot of guys, Adam Copeland, people that we care about were hurt. MJF was not on television and it was a little bit boring at that period of time. And once all those guys came back and they were healthy, here we are again with a really, really strong AEW. Right now, it's just basically Omega Osprey and MJF hovering around it. I'd love to see some more people just kind of be on the periphery, is on Draw Day on the periphery. It's worth struggling on the periphery. We know Hangman Page cannot be. Who else could be lingering around out there? Because how they come out of all in London is gonna be very, very, very intriguing. I truly believe we get Osprey versus MJF because if on Draw Day wins though, I can see him on Gotland Match.

37:49 Like is that a match at all out that sells as tickets as much as MJF versus Will Osprey? Probably not as much as I like on Draw Day right now. So I think that's the direction they go. Keep going that well, keep going to that heel, MJF because he defeats his mentor. Will Osprey in Kenny Omega, but then he gets that heel, then he needs an MJF. And then the entire thing of like, where's the death writers play a role into this entire situation? Because there were nowhere near the Will Osprey infrastructure in Bubble this past Wednesday on Dynamite, which just makes the whole death writers Will Osprey thing weird. I can't wait to see like a month from now when we look back at everything to place it all in and the stuff with Will Osprey and the death writers if it actually ended up making sense because if it didn't end up making sense and we just basically got a month of him and the death writers, there was a pretty good build to him joining for all of a sudden and just to go away.

38:42 I think it's gonna be a little bit confusing and go, okay, well, what the hell was the point of that? Which we said from here from time to time when it comes to the creative and all elite wrestling. With that said, that will do it for this week's edition of the Sto Realta Show, a solo edition of the Sto Realta Show. Hopefully I entertained you guys for the last 35 to 40 minutes talking professional wrestling here by myself. Hopefully everything's okay with Dr. Trace Family again. He will be hopefully back here next week and we'll be talking about professional wrestling as we get closer and closer to AW all in London. We're a close up shop on this week's edition of the show. Let's get a couple plugs and sponsors out of the way you can download the show at patreon.com/srtupodcast and the Sto Realta Show feed on Apple Spotify or wherever you download this podcast.

39:29 Don't forget to rate, review and subscribe. You can follow us individually on X for myself at SRTUJF and for Dr. Trace Franklin at the Dr. Tray. And of course, don't forget to follow show on X at SRTU podcast. Usually I say, with that being said, what's going on over the world of Dr. Trace Franklin this week. However, what I will say is a little bit of a call to arms to all of our diehard listeners out there. First and foremost, thank you for listening to the show each and every week. Now the reason why we do this 861 straight weeks is for people like you that tune in and want to hear what Dr. Trace and I have to say. And if you've been on this ride for us with us since February 2010 or even a little bit later on, thank you. Thank you for making us part of your regular, I say that every single week, but thank you for making us part of it.

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40:51 It would mean a lot to us if we can help continue to grow and expand this great community. So if you can grab five of your friends that are wrestling fans and have them just tune in and check this out, we'd really, really appreciate it. And we could start doing some pretty cool stuff together as a wrestling fan community. So that's a little bit of call to our arms here as we go in the weekend and get some support from all of you. Great listeners that tune in each of your week and are part of that die-hard core of SRTU each and every week. So until next week for Dr. Ray Franklin, I'm Jeff Pack. Enjoy the weekend. This has been The Stillerless Show.