Top 5 Wrestlers of the SRTU Era | The Still Real to Us Show | Episode #700 – 7/13/23

0:00 It's still leave beliving in talking talking about to believe me. Welcome everybody, Welcome to this week's edition in a Stone Real Joe Show, Episode number seven hundred for July thirteen, twenty twenty three. Welcome to the seven hundredth edition of The ass Arete You. I am one after the show. I am Jeff Pack joined every single week my cohost only doctor Trey Franklin, Doctor Trey.

1:30 We've done this for seven hundred straight weeks, my friend. Yeah, this is one of those numbers that you hit and you start doing the bath on it and you're like, well, let's see fifty two weeks in a year, fifty two to seven hundred once again, you know, twelve, that's twelve years straight. Like, if you had told me that we would do a show for twelve years, every single week, not missing a date, I would have said that the odds would be against us making it that far. So it's just a tribute to our fans. It's a tribute to our willingness to kind of work together and work through stuff. And then also just the fact that we really don't have a life outside of this. That is very true. And I'm the older we get the more of a life we don't have. So by my math, so we've done seven hundred episodes of SRTU, roughly averaging probably around an hour an episode. I know, over the last like six months or so, we're doing probably like forty five minutes, fifty minutes, whatever, but the average, and there's been years in the past where we've done episodes for like two and a half hours.

2:37 Let's say if every episode was an hour long on average of SRTU seven hundred episodes, there are enough episodes that if we released the entire library of SRTU and there was somebody out there, some listener, some fan that was like, I'm going to listen to every episode of srt I'm not going to sleep until I get to the very end, the most updated episode, that person it would take them twenty nine straight days to listen to every single episode of SRTU. So we've done enough episodes, Doctor Trey. If my math is right that we have done twenty nine days worth of episodes an hour, every hour of the day for twenty nine days, that's pretty impressive, my friend.

3:25 That's that's almost a month out of our lives. That's almost as long as an aw pay per view. True, it's it's close, but no cigar. Yeah, but I mean that's that alone. Like people wou's talk about content content content, It's like, yeah, we've got enough content that I really amazed for those people who have been with us for you know, anything more than a year, Like if you can stand listening to mine and Jeff's voice every single week, for an hour a day for a year, I was amazed at that. Uh, you know, we used to get the messages from you know, huntrees overseas. I was always like, I think I got messages from somebody in Saudi Arabia one time, somebody in Egypt. I was just blown away that, like we had reached out across you know, several oceans and things like that. So I don't think we have If anybody does decide to do the binging of twenty nine days twenty four three, we are not responsible for what happens to you at that point as well, because yeah, that's just insanity. Yeah, that that is insanity.

4:29 And to piggyback off of doctor Trey's point there, it is it has always been mind blowing to me. We've done this show for nearly fourteen years now. It'll be fourteen years in February of next year, and the reach of this has been amazing. We've met some really awesome people in our lives from this podcast. The listenership is always insane. I know, people don't tweet in Facebook like they used to when we first started doing this podcast, so listen interaction is kind of dwindled as asp realize how much of a cesspool those social media platforms can be. But from time to time still I'll get dms, I'll get messages mentions that just aren't mind blowing, Like whenever anybody reaches out to us and they take a time, literally take a time out of their day for forty five minutes to an hour to listen, and Doctor Trey and I just two wrestling fans that are friends, talk about wrestling each and every week and what things like are important to us for seven hundred straight weeks, seven hundred episodes is mind blowing at times. So you know, we started in those days where podcasting was not as big back in twenty ten, and now everybody and their mother, like literally there are probably podcasts out there that's like my mom and I talk wrestling podcasts out there, So if we fall into your podcast that you listen to each and every week, and there's plenty of other content that you can listen to. Thank you so much for us always taking time out of your day to include us in that catalog of

6:00 podcasting, because there's a lot more podcasts now than there was when we first started back in two thousand and ten. So here we are seven hundred seven hundredth episode of SRTU. The objective today is to cover each of our lists of the top five wrestlers during the SRTU era, So for twenty ten to present, we will share each of our lists on this week's edition of the podcast. We've done this once before, and we did a top ten combined top ten wrestlers of the SRTU era list for our two hundredth episode. That was back on December twelve, twenty twelve, so two years in almost three years in will I will reveal that lists momentarily. But I forgot to mention a story that's very important to this podcast. On last week's edition of the pod, as we all know, we talked about my wedding food poisoning being down in Disney, and I completely forgot about telling the story that has to do with actual wrestling. Several years ago, I mentioned on this podcast that while in Disney World, saw Kevin Owens with his family. It was it was right after WrestleMania thirty three in Orlando, and that was like mind blowing to me that he was there. It was. It was badass this go around, which I'll start with the first story, because I forgot to mention this like months ago now, doctor Trade, It's almost probably been a year.

7:23 It was back in November. Flew into the Orlando International Airport. I'm waiting outside for my dad to pick up my now wife and I from our flight. And who do I see catching a car but aw superstar Michael Nakazawa. He was out there hopping in the car and hopped in somebody's car and then left. And then this most recent trip, I'm walking in Epcot for those that are Disney World fans. I walked into the new Connections cafe that they just recently built, where there's a Starbucks. I'm walking by the Starbucks line and I see a gentleman who is probably the same height as me but with a much wider build, next to a female that has purple hair that is holding it or pushing a stroller and I ran into or saw Johnny Gargano, Candas Larrey and Baby wrestling himself in line at Starbucks in Walt Disney World.

8:24 So some wrestling stories for my most recent trip, Doctor Tree, and even one that I failed to mention several months ago when I saw Michael Nakazawa back in November. Yeah, the Johnny Gargano Kanda's Lafe still waiting. Sammy actually at Walmart a few weeks ago picked out the Cannas Lay figure that he wanted because of the purple hair. So that's my attire that I look. The fact that you recognized Michael Nakazawa is absurd, right, That just kind of shows you, like what kind of wrestling fan Jeff Peck is. Of all the people, he goes, hey, you know who I think that is? And then that name pops up. It's just like, okay, maybe we need to cut back on the wrestling a little bit because you should not be able to recognize Michael Becazowa out of a crowd. So just putting that out there for you. But I know, I know, But yeah, Johnny Gargano, Kandas Larey Baby wrestling Quill Gargano and Michael Nakazawa, all who I've seen down in Florida here in the last twelve months, did not bother the Gargano family. I don't agree with that. Uh, they're enjoying Disney World with their son. It was the Friday before Money the Bank, which was the next day. Then saw Candice working Raw that Monday night, she was working the Fatal the Gauntlet match for the Women's Tag Team Championship that the Complaint Committee ended up winning Sonya Deville and Chelsea Green. So pretty cool.

9:52 I'm a huge fan of Johnny Gargano and had a little fanboy momentum switching gears here. So top ten wrestlers of the SRTU era from two thousand and ten to present. For our two hundredth episode back on December twelfth, twenty twelve, twelve, twelve twelve, we did this episode. I think there's gonna be some laughs, gonna be some groans, and then you're also gonna be like man that was wrestling back then, but two hundred episodes under the under our Belt Doctor Trey. We did a combined list at the time. Number ten was Davy Richards from Ring of Honor wrestling at the time, So that just goes to show you. I mean, we were very high on David Richards at the time. He has had some accusations that are, if deemed true, reprehensible, and I think it's retired from wrestling, but it's still training people. But we had some high hopes for David Richards back in two thousand twelve that have never really panned out. Yeah, and I think even that one, like I have issues with Davy Richards personally, So it's like it's a weird thing. If Eddie added me on Facebook like like a year or two ago, so I was just like, okay, like I've done nothing but bad mouth at you since like twenty fourteen, but okay, yeah, if we want to be friends on Facebook, that's fine. So just just forgot how odd of a choice that was, even though you know, back then, like we were really high on not just him, but even just the American Wholves in general and everything else and what they're what their trajectory was. So it's a it is amazing how things can i'd say quickly

11:24 change. But that was like eleven years ago. Number nine, who at the time I believe he was working for tena Arsse and Jeff Hardy. H yeah, wow, Like I mean Jeff's I mean, this is a very long, very good career, just once again had his own demons and stuff pop up. I would say that if we did a Top twenty, Jeff Hardy still might make our top twenty. I just don't know if he would actually be even in our top ten. No, I don't think he's hit the top ten right now. Maybe maybe top twenty. Number eight Daniel Bryan, who was working to at the time. Yeah, still active, still one of the best professional wrestlers in the world, and definitely would probably be in our top ten if we did a top ten. By the way, I'm not yeah, don't give away. Don't give away your list. I'm not gonna give mine away either. So Number seven Bully Ray from Impact Wrestling TNA at the time. He was so hot at that time, and then it wasn't it was maybe what two years later he kind of retired and started doing the Busted Open stuff and now he's kind of back a little bit.

12:28 But uh, at that time, that Bully Ray character was just fantastic. Yeah, he ended up going back to we did that little run with the Dudley Boys. That has often forgotten about Number six was Randy Orton from w w A. Uh, if not for recent injuries, would probably like, I mean, I'd still put him in the top ten of the SRTU era. But you know, if he had not been injured the last year and a half, borderline top five, uh, number five Shamus from de Wa. You know, I I don't know how you feel that he may have had the most underrated WW career just about anybody. I've said that about Kane as well. Yeah, like just the longevity, holding almost every title except for one, and then now there's some of the brawling bruis. Just you know, you gotta remember, like if you go back, like the first time when he beat John Cena, it was because Jesse the Body of Insure introduced him that night too. That was one of those like just shows you how long he's been around, because it's been a very long time. As Jesse the Body of Venture was mentioned on w w ETV number four. I think this is going to cause a lot of groans from w w E At the time, Alberto del Rio wait I signed off on that, Yes, I love that your son streamed da by the way. Yeah, he loved some del rio, but like arguably maybe my most like most disliked wrestler I've ever covered on this show. Yeah, yeah, no, I I know.

14:00 I think it was all afterwards that there was a lot of dislike based on some choices and reports out there by him. Number three from at the time Ring of Honor Wrestling. We know him today is a different person, different name, but back then he went by his real name of Kevin Steen. Yeah. Still arguably in our top ten and maybe the I mean, I don't know where's gonna fall on your rankings. I don't know where you're gonna fall on mine. But one of the most influential wrestlers of the last twelve years for US. Number two from w w E, John Cena once again, wasn't that long after that he would fully part time. I mean, he's probably in the top ten just for what he's done, but really the last year, four or five years, it's just very very part time for US. So but Seena's like at that time, was still the workhorse of WWE. Doctor Trey. You want to take a guess at who was number one. Honestly have no clue from at the time WWE one c M Punk. Yeah, I mean that was shortly after the pipe bomb everything else, so it makes a lot of sins and he's still like, Look, the top two people are both guys that we had to make rules about on this show. We could not we couldn't talk about a heel turn We couldn't talk about a CM Punk return on this show. Those are rules that we had written off air just because we would do. I think one of those shows you mentioned that we did hours on was most of it was about a

15:31 John Cena heel turn out of WrestleMania. So those two guys right there are are like still to this day, are very very influential on this show over the over all seven other episodes. So that was the top ten wrestlers of the SRTU era back on our two hundredth episode on December twelve, twenty twelve, once again ten David Richards nine, Jeff Hardy eight, Daniel Bryan seven, Vullie Ray six, Randy Orton five, Shamus four, Alberto del Rio three, Kevin Steen to John Cena and one c M Punk. Now let's get to uh here we are five hundred episodes later. Instead of doing a combo list, we're gonna do our and doing ten of them. We're gonna narrow it down to our top five wrestlers of the SRTU era, each of us doing our list. Here we are for the seven or eight episode, so everything from two thousand and ten to present, during the history the era of the still realta show. Um, doctor, try, would you like me to kick it off? Would you like to kick it off? How would you like to do things? My friend? Well, I guess I'll go and kick it off since I'm fighting with Sammy right now because he's trying to stab a fan with a giant stick at the same time. Okay, you need to take a pause to make sure your son doesn't cut his fingers.

16:48 He's fine, it's it's it's it's he can't get his little fingers in there. But that's why he got so excited, because you get the stick to actually stick in the outer frame of the fans. So yeah, it's if he's not hitting me, he's hitting something else. That's what he always does. Long, very true, very true. But so I'll start off with my number five was our number one five hundred episodes ago. I'm going with see him Punk at number five, although he had a seven year hiatus in the middle of it. Just from the wrestling standpoint, the fan interaction, the amount of content he has created for us, even without being you know, with that seven year gap, it's hard to argue his influence on the show. And he's also one of you know, he's one of our favorite wrestlers just to watch in general. So by number five is Phil Brooks aka see him Punk? Wow? I mean that just tells you the the impact he's hand because like you said, Doctor Trey, I mean it would be two years later from our two arnth episode, our number one wrestler ranked would not return until twenty twenty one, so seven years out of nearly fourteen half of our existence. He wasn't performing in professional wrestling at the time.

18:07 But again, I think when it comes to some of the most controversial wrestlers that we've ever covered, someone that moves the needle the most that is definitely Cmpunk. I mean, there's there's not many people that when Doctor Trey and I talk about them that we get very passionate and that there's like a major story, whether it was what will Seempunk return to w W back in twenty fourteen, or will see Himpunk ever returned to wrestling again? How we'll see Himpunk perform in the UFC? Is he really signing with AW? Is he returning to w There was a period of time just before the pandemic where he joined w backstage where it was like, man, is he coming back?

18:48 And then the eventual return, his run, a first run with AW, then the brawl out, the injuries, the controversy, the dirt cheats, whether they were true or not, the stories. There's nobody that has moved the needle more on this show than Sampunk. I think the only other person I could really think of doctor Trey, that has moved the needle as much as him, and it's it's very much like kind of touching the gravity that Sampunk has had is maybe John Cena over the years. I don't think there's anybody else that is we've talked about more than Sampunk that has moved the needle like he has. I mean, seen has moved the needle, but kind of in different reasons, like it's his charity work, it's the character, it's the nature of the band's nut, all the other things that have covered with Cmpunk whether it's the lawsuits or the brawlouts, or drawing comics from Marvel or UFC, it's it's you know, seen it. They get our attention for different reasons. I guess, Yeah, no, I can understand that.

20:00 Yeah, it's it's always kind of been, like I said, more creative than anything. Um, I just from I guess from an overall standpoint, it's always been cmpunk who's moved the needle to most here in the history podcast. So number five for Doctor Trey is cmpunk from AW. For me keeping with AW, my number five was the very first AW World Champion, Chris Jericho. I think when you look through the entire history of this show, I mean when we first started, he was I believe he was. I believe he was World heavyweight Champion, had defeated the Undertaker and Elimination Chamber in twenty and ten, thanks to the help of Sean Michaels, has set up the Wrestle Many twenty sixth match. Here he is nearly fourteen years later, and he's still a prominent figure in professional wrestling, always changing his persona, changing his character, keeping himself fresh, keeping himself new and at all times, and still performing in the ring at the highest equality. So for me, doctor Trey, I gave my number five to les Champion Chris Jericho the o Choke coming in at Sinco. I like it. It's he was on my list of people. I was considering it, and even up until the show started, it was kind of like back and forth, like trying to find a spot for him because you know, not only is he one of the greatest rustlers of all time, one of the greatest entertainers, the king of reinvention, all those things. I mean, he moves the needle

21:33 like people pay attention to what he does. You know, he's just and we've talked about the show like for a long time in WB and even in AUW now he's the ultimate soldier. If he's at the top of the cards, he's viable and people believe in him, and if he's helping elevate younger talent, people buy into that. So, I mean, you look at some of the matches he's had in AW with, you know, the Orange Cassidy's, the Darby Allen, the same in gavar As, like the people that he's worked with to help elevate them as well. For the good of the companies these shows. He still has that mindset of, Hey, whatever you guys need me to do, I'm going to do. Whether it's be the world champion or be at the middle or the bottom of the card, He's gonna do whatever it takes to help out his employers. So great overall worker and one of the most entertaining people in the history of wrestling. All right, Doc Trey, let's get to number four on your list. Who came in a number four Top five wrestlers of the SRTU era. So this is where the Jericho spot was in my head. And I went back and forth between Jericho and the person I picked at number four for one reason, I felt like we need an AW person on my top five. Went back and forth. But one of the things was in the history of the show, and we had this discussion of this group way back when, god this is probably twenty fourteen, when I was like a guest host. So my number four is from AW John Moxley looking at the you know, he may not have been the most polarizing person, but consistency and going back to that

23:06 conversation about we had like a four way podcast talking about you know, the shield and how they would fit in into the wrestling world, and we had high hopes for all three of them, and you know, Max has delivered for the most part. You know, he was the workhorse in WWE, was on he felt like he was on every episode of Raw and SmackDown all the way through his time and then coming to ADW outside of the little bit of time he had takeaway to go to rehab, He's maybe one of the art of the most consistent wrestlers in the world over the last ten years. So not to mention multiple time WWE champion, multiple time a w champion, his stuff in New Japan has been great. So my number four is John Moxley. Yeah, great call there by mox Um. I mean he's had a very impactful career in general, which is basically from a mainstream standpoint, started and continued on during the entire history of this podcast, debuting in twenty twelve with the Shield and then started hitting his stride. Once they broke up.

24:15 He became world Champion, Interconinal Champion, veered off to AW where he's arguably been the best AW World champion during the promotion short history. He carries the banner of AW, the flag of aw very proudly great call there, Doctor Trey by picking John Moxley number four. So another aw wrestler making the list here on the top five Wrestlers of the SRTU era from Doctor Trey. Now for my number four, which I think to most is going to be a surprise that they're this far back on the top five list. But for me, when you look at the I've really thought about it and it was like overall grand scheme of things, like where does this person fall in there?

25:02 They're definitely top five. You can make a case for them. For number one. When we did the ten year anniversary special, Doctor Trey named this person the SRTU Wrestler of the decade the first ten years of of SRTU, and they had never won the Wrestler of the Year award in the history of the podcast, which was badass and justifiable because they like, we're a consistent top three wrestler during you know, most of our time in doing this podcast. So my number four wrestler of all time here Top five Wrestlers of the SRTU ara Doctor Trey from the we he started in RoHS Kevin Steen and he's now known today as Kevin Owens. I gave Kevin Owens a nod at number four. No, that's that's a it's a great choice. And excuse me. We talked about it last like all fair last week that you know, where do we slot a guy in that's never won our Wrestler of the Year war but obviously has been a huge part of this show, whether it's Jeff running into him in Disney World or Jeff talking to his dad, Like, this guy's been all like all around us the entire history of this show.

26:18 You know, I think I've told you before, like when I was planning on going to wrestling school back in my twenties, the character in my head that I kind of came up with is who the Kevin Owens character is, you know, like I'm not the best shape of the world. Like I'm a little bit round. It's a little bit the Dusty Rose. My belly's just a little bit too big, my butts a little bit too big. You know. Kevin Owens kind of fits that dusty stone cold kind of character that, you know, the blue collar guy that fans always kind of get behind him. And we've seen it over the years, like he's just as good at being a villain as he is being a good guy. So one of the most well rounded workers in the history of our show, right there, All right, doctor Crail, Let's get to number three. Who came at number three on your list? So number three for me is somebody who has won Wrestler of the Year twice in the history of this show.

27:07 Once again, kind of going back in that conversation I just had about John Moxley, somebody that we discussed, I guess kind of in their infancy in WWE. So my number three coming in is Seth freaking Rawlins. And I hate saying freaking that sounds weird to me, but anyway, Seth Freakin Rollins number three. Guys we talked about with Chris Jericho, one of those guys that always seems to reinvent himself, whether it's the architect in the Shield, whether it's you know, with um, you know, with dripple Age and Stephanie and and Jamie Noble and those guys backing them up, you know, all the way up through you know, the the Monday Night Messiah into the Drip King, into this evolution that he's in now one of the most consistent performers despite missing a year with the torn acl just one of those guys like where it once again, wherever they need him, whether it's top of the car, mail the car, in a tag team with Kevin Owens, like, doesn't seem to matter what they need him to do, he does it and the crowd always responds to him. So number three for me is Seth Frickin Rollins. Yeah, Doctor Treman, that's a great point. You know, he is one of the most impactful wrestlers in the history of the show.

28:22 And I think, just for the sake of other conversations here, I'm gonna skip further dialogue here because maybe, maybe, just maybe he pops up again on my list as well. Here for the top five. So number three, Doctor Trey, Seth Rollins from the we my number three, that is. I think this is gonna be funny because when we went through the top ten wrestlers of the SRTU era, doctor Trey said that this wrestler maybe makes the top ten and due to recent injuries, had had probably not made the lists. And I kind of laughed a little bit because he came in number three on my list, and it's mister consistency up until the last year and a half of the back injury. But from w it's Randy Orton from two thousand and ten to twenty twenty one, there was no more consistent wrestler in the history of this podcast in my opinion than Randy Orton. I think you can make a case for Jericho, who came in number five for me, but there were periods of time that Jericho was not wrestling and was, you know, doing the band thing or doing the family thing, staying up to you know, resting the body in the mind, and Randy Orton was always there, whether there was creative that we liked, like his most recent run with r K bro or creative that we didn't like his run with Legacy in the early stages of the podcast or later on with the Authority with Triple H and Stephany McMahon. Randy Orton has always been to me, Doctor Trey

29:56 mister consistent. So this may be a shock to you, becau is of what you said earlier on in the podcast, but I went number three. I went with Randy Orton due to his consistency in the in the history of the podcast. Yeah, I think for me, just the you know, there's a couple of guys on my list that have been you know, missed some time with some injuries and things like that, but there there really isn't a more consistent wrestler during the course of the show than Randy Orton. I mean, how the guys have what Fourteen time world champion, thirteen time world champion. I mean, it's kind of hard to to knock a guy, But for me, it was just a little bit of the injuries that kind of pushed him out of my top five. But he's actually my favorite wrestler to watch in the wrestling ring because he's kind of a blend of the old school and the new school, and he could have a good, like a really good solid match with anybody without doing a whole lot. You know, they always people used to make fun of him a little bit for like dropping that yeah that chin lock in the middle of a match kind of slow everything down. But then you know, we talked about a couple of weeks ago with uh the Brian Danielson uh uh oh, I'm sorry, blanking um from preventing or okadah. Yeah, because it was a very Randy Orton style of match and his influence among the younger generation as they come to the w system has really felt because it was a lot of those super indie guys that are super fast and in go one hundred miles an hour. You know, they

31:29 kind of watched the Randy Orton stuff and they learned to slow it down. So, um, Randy's just the consummate professional. Like jb Elsa said, like, if if you're going to build up a pro wrestler, you usually end up with a guy that was just like Randy Ortons. So it's a it's a very very solid picking. Like I said, for me, it was just a little bit of the injuries over the over those years, I kind of pushed him down just a hair. No, totally understand which, by the way, so far during all these lists, like nothing I can argue about from from your side of things either. I mean, it's these are these are folks I felt like we've named so far that would fall into a collective top ten lists. So it'll be interesting now as we reached the final two if there's a lot of similarities here with what doctor Trey and I come up with. So now it's times you get to number two Doctor Trey, who was number two on your list for top five wrestlers of the SRTU era. Well, number two for me is somebody we kind of already discussed, maybe a little high on my list because you thought he was a little low on yours. But my number two is the former Kevin Stein now known as Kevin Owens from WWE. Like, for me, when we talk about consistency over the course of this show, like there are very few people that are as consistent as Kevin Owens, whether it was his time and Ring of Honor, whether it's Hyman WWE, like, he's always been in our top five. It seemed like every single year that this show has been on the air. And then you look at you know, like what he's done in ww with multiple world title reigns or Kandel title United States out now with the

33:01 tag team titles. He's one of those guys as always right there near the top of the card. And not to mention, he's the guy that w W hands selected to have him match with Stone Cold Steve Austin. So when you look at all those things going in factoring in one of the best talkers in wrestling, one of the best heels when he's a heel, really really good baby face, I would say his heel works a little bit better than baby Face, but outside of that, like it's this hard and knocker guy that's just as consistent as Kevin Owens has been over the last you know, fourteen years. So my number two is Kevin Owens. Yeah, kay, hit on on that at all. We all know mine feelings about Kevin Owens. Spoke about him this moment ago when I had him at number four, But I feel like I could have had him number three. I could have had him number two. I could have had him number one on mind list as well. And we just spoke about consistency with Randy Orton and doct Trey.

33:54 You hit it on the head. Kevin Owens has had the same consistency as well since two thousand and ten, since we started this podcast, when he was on the rise in ROH became our OH World Champion, got signed by We, became NXT Champion, went over to the main rosters, feuding with John Cena, becomes United States Champion, Intercontinental Champions, wins the Universal Championship. He's had some injury bugs, there's been times where creative has not been that great, but overall, the creative, I don't know thirteen out of fourteen years I'm doing this podcast, probably Kevin Owens is is a top five wrestler each one of those years, so can't hit on that. Number two on Doctor Trey's list is Kevin Owens from We and Now. My number two, which could be number one on Doctor Trey's list, could be on number one on most people's list, but for me, my number two is the current Head of the Table, the Tribal Chief one Roman Reigns. It was tough of where I could put him in on this list because the last three years have in some of the best three years of professional wrestling I've seen in sometime some of the best runs I've ever seen to this day in twenty twenty three. He's been on top since twenty twenty. There's never been a time where I've been like tired of him at all. His stuff is captivating, it's amazing to watch on television. It's some of the best again and creative I've ever seen. Over a thousand days as a world champion in today's

35:25 modern era is nothing to sneeze at. I think the only drawback from him is up until this Tribal Chief, Head of the Table bloodline run Roman Reigns was kind of mediocre, Like he was great as an inn ring performer, but his character was lacking. It was like, you know, the way that John Cena was for most of his career until the end when we saw John Cena like really let it fly as an in ring performer. He wasn't jammed down our throats as the top guy, and we were able to start to enjoy Roman Reign John Cena back then. And that's how I feel like lately with Roman Reigns. They finally leaned into him being a heel and it's been amazing. It's like Hollywood Hogan esque when in w CW when it was like ninety six to ninety nine and it was just time to turn the baby face heel and let's see what they can do. And this character, this iteration of Roman Reigins, is one of the best characters of all time.

36:23 This Roman Reigns, this inner iteration, this character of Roman Reigins is the one that we're going to remember the most. We will not remember the big Dog as much or the shield as much. It's going to be the tribal chief, it's going to be the head of the table, the land the island of relevancy, the head of that all that being Roman reigns. So for me, Doctor Trey, I have him number two on my list, so I'll kind of skip my overview because when it comes to my number one, it's the same guy. It's the tribal chief head a table. Roman reigns. And for the things that you said, I don't knock him as much for the John Cena version of him that you were alluding to, Like, I don't really knock him as badly, and I'm not saying badly is in you know, you you over or you underrated him, But it's the last three years has almost made up for the first seven. Um Like this is the best performance from a professional wrestler that I've seen, Like the Hogan of Reference is fantastic, but just I mean, this is Rick Flair four horsemanesque. This is the kind of stuff that when you are trying to be a heel and model yourself, like he gets the reaction that's positive and then gets booted out of the building within the thirty seconds of each other, Like it's it's it's he constantly now has the crowd in the palm of his hand and the fact that he's helped elevate you know, other people around him.

37:57 Uh, not to mention you know, the USO and solo. Everything else he's brought to the table over the last three years is something we haven't seen in decades. I mean, this is a once in a generation performance he's pulling off right now. So and then even before that, yeah, the character wasn't great, but the consistency of being in the ring always be the top of the card a guy at least give them credit for that as well. So for me, my number one is Roman Rains, So you go, Number one on doctor Trace list is the one and only Roman Rains coming in number two on mine. My number one wrestler of the SRTU era is the same guy that I named as the SRTU Wrestler of the Decade back at our ten Years special in twenty twenty, a year that we obviously loved and adored in twenty twenty, and that is one Seth Rollins. I won't call him Seth freakin Rollins. I've always known him as Seth Rollins. Earned all this so debuting in twenty twelve from a w E standpoint, but even going back further to the beginning of the show, he had just come off of his run as ROH World Champion. I think he left in the fall of two thousand and nine, maybe fall of two thousand and ten. I can't seem to remember right now, but I think it was fall of two thousand and ten. He had become World Champion in two thousand and ten, so even when we first started, he was ROH World Champion, went over wa The run with the Shield is obviously electric in historic when they branched off and

39:29 he became kind of the guy coming out of that group, initially getting the run with the authority, getting the run as a world champion. He was a double champion at one point in United States and World Champion. He's feuding with John Cena. He had one of the greatest moments in the history of the podcast when he cashed in a WrestleMania. It was one of the best WrestleManias we've ever covered in the podcast as well. I mean, and that was a lot because of seth rownds a match at the year can in it for each year grant him when they turned him baby face towards the later part of twenty eighteen nineteen he started to get stale, and then they did the right move by changing him to a heel, and the heel run that he had was really really good as the Messiah, that was a great run.

40:20 And then you kind of saw him become a baby face again organically because the fans really enjoyed watching him. And I feel like it's kind of been like the cherry on top of everything lately. Is this current run he's had as a baby face the last two years, last two three years, and now as a world the first of this iteration of the World havyweight Championship. Running with with that title presently has been a joy to watch. He wants to be the workhorse champion. I went back and forth basically if I would go with Roman Reigns or seth Rons. I think if you ask me the way that they're going right now, what will be a year from now. It's very well possible that it flip flops where Roman Rains is one, Rawlins is two, or it could remain the same. I just feel like for me, in the history of this podcast, Rawlins and Rains have been some of the upper echelon in the history of this pod. We've watched their careers blossom and grow into who they've become and who they are nowadays. So for me, Doctor Trey, I went with Seth Rons number one on my list top five wrestler of the SRTU era. Yeah, see, my top three almost were interchangeable, Like it was that close between Rains Rawlins and like those three guys to be are the most influential people on us as far as the history of this show, I can't argue Seth rollinsby number one because literally I said,

41:50 it was like splitting hairs between those guys. For me, it's funny because, like I know we did the we played like was a lad two years ago or like at the pandemic time. We put out all the old episodes and one of my favorite ones, like I mentioned earlier, was that podcast the four of us did. It was like it was you be Bret somebody else I think Benny Lopez, Benny Lopez and we were talking about the shield and where we thought they were gonna go. And it was funny because I was the one guy that was kind of on Seth Rollins bandwagon and everybody else was on the Dean Ambrose and Roman Range bandwagon. And to see where we're at now and see that all three of those guys have had amazing Hall of Fame worthy careers. Ull I mean, god, I mean, I can't mean, I couldn't even tell you how many World championships between all three of those guys. Just like for a group to come in together and then break out on their own and set such a high bar where none of them are the Marty Janetti, you know, none of them are the ten EVIASI Junior, They're all you know worthy of praise is incredible. So and then like like I mentioned, was like the evolution of the character, always staying fresh, always save the head of the curve, not to mention landing one of those beautiful women in the world to you know, and Becky Lynch to be his wife. The guys had a great run, so kudos to him.

43:16 And like I said, it's it's impossible to argue with Seth being your number one. And I think when you look at both of our lists from a thousand and foot view, like I could make a case of putting Kevin Owens in my top three, and then you could literally have or you and I both while different spots had Rollins, Owens reigns in our top threes each. I mean I had him at number four, you had him at number two. It's it's I just feel like, while there were some differences in our lists, I think when you look at this overall, it's very well possible that every person that we named, even the guys that weren't named the same that we both didn't have in our top five lists, you can make a case would fall into that top ten wrestlers of the srt RA overall.

44:06 Yeah, by the way, we ever do that again. I'm pretty sure Davy Richards will not be in our top twenty. No, neither while Alberto del Rio. But yeah, when you look at like anybody listening to show, like I mean, like right now we're sitting here and Samy's names, one of the most influential guys on both of us not in our top five. He probably would kind of about nine or ten for both of us in the history of this show. But you know, there are just certain guys that we've always been fans of and keeps a ton of praise on, and it just kind of shows that you can kind of move these guys around. And I would say probably both your top five my top five would be in our top tens, respectively on each side, and then you know, a few more guys ad in there. But like it's basically been kind of these three guys above everybody else outside of aj aj Styles. You know, I think he won the Rust of the Year twice for US didn't make our top five. Yeah, so's it's a very interesting list that we have. When you look at like Rust, you know, we could have put you know, Becky in there, Charlotte in there as well. I went back and forth like adding new usos into my list just because of their tag team work over the history of this show, which is probably greater than anybody else's.

45:27 So like there's a lot of people that you could kind of push. I mean, even if we did a top ten, Jeff at eleven, twelve, and thirteen could be argued to be in the top ten as well. Yeah, so, great lists, great discussion here once again, Doctor Trey's list number five, Cmpunk number four, John Moxley number three, Seth Rollins number two, Kevin Owens number one, Roman Reigns My list number five, Chris Jericho number four, Kevin Owens number three, Randy Or number two, Roman reigns and number one seth rollins. So our top five rushes are the sr TU error. For the seven hundredth episode of this podcast, out Trey is officially in the books. My friend, Yeah, are we gonna get it like episode fourteen hundred. Yeah, maybe I'll I'm definitely gonna keep this list so we can always revert back to. I had to go through like my old notes to find that top ten wrestlers of srt ER from the two hundreth episode, and I've kept my notes from like important episodes over the years, so I was lucky to find that. So that was cool to look back and see how and where we came from nearly eleven years ago. For the two hundredth episode of SRTU, so five hundred episodes ago. Um, with that set, let's close up shop on episode number seven hundred, let's get a couple of plugs and sponsored out of the way. You can download show every Thursday or Friday at Real Guy Radio dot com and the still Realtive show iTunes feed don't forget to rate, review and subscribe to help us clumb shots on iTunes. You can follow us individual on Twitter for myself at SRTU Jeff and for Doctor Trey Franklin at the Doctor Trey and of course don't forget

46:59 to follow show on Twitter at SRTU podcast. With that being said, what is going on the wonderful world of door s Dre Franklin this week. Well, like Jeff said, you can find me on Twitter at the Doctor Trey. You will not find me on threads yet because I have not made that move, but you can find me on Facebook and Instagram Doctor Dre Franklin. And when you're on Facebook, check out Rockets Each Championship Wrestling. We got a big show coming up next Saturday the fifteenth, so be sure to check it out for all the videos, all the pictures, all that fun stuff as well when you're on Facebook. So there you go. Support all the great things that support the Still Real Touch show. And once again, sincere thanks to all of you who have been downloading this podcast each and every week. Thank you for making us reach this seven hundredth milestone. Cheers and salute to everybody who's been here for seven hundred episodes. Congratulations to Doctor Trey, and a sincere thanks Dam as well for doing this each and every week seven hundred straight weeks. Nothing to sneeze out here, folks. We love doing this podcast every single week for nearly fourteen years. So thank you for making this part of your week. Thank you for making us part of anything that you uh and everything you could potentially listen to. Thank you sincerely for all your support, and until next week for dry Franklin. I'm Jeff back for the seven hundredth time. This is the shopping I suppose that throughout pulls it out like get the shoes yard, it'll beware looking then listen jomp, welcome

48:30 to the less time. I'm fair, got a line on you too, don't fag well, it's always be fair. At who's checking? He even knows where the hipp has, knows that he really wanted he wants there sitting over there, supports that be underwear, who start is banding the hand, all your pretenders where you check the snake surprisingly had a snake, all the water had paint on his face, has Jim dugging and a true by four.

49:22 But with style like this man, you don't need no more. Got a lot of friends, I got a lot of falls. Quicker than the booth read, I'll be bouncing nothing bot lots of people talking. You gotta tell you you want to me that? Whoa? Who was that sitting over there sporting nothing underwear? Who is beding the hand? Are your pretenders? Will shine the flame crack Shilba be struck by lighting on the drive the finus car it dies to find the dynam didn't try to say that. Don't matter which country. Masson says, by the leg ro let's wear it styling both out all getting bud It's limousine listening on the slide. I'm not dancing on nothing, just dealings a medically only one who's that day spoke in that thing

51:05 on the wind holds the hair while you have to say where you better be a whoa whoa? Come I say a hole. Wh