Charles Richardson | Matt Connarton Unleashed

0:00 Speaker 1: WMNH rip the novels What Matts wakes up in the morning, he gets into the shower and to the top of his lungs he sings, want because I.

0:19 Speaker 2: All right back to the radio show now, all the best, Jemmy, thanks, Jerry, Welcome back everybody. We have entered our number three Newmarrow trace of Matt Connorton Unleashed. We are live from the studios of wm NH ninety five point three FM and Glorious Manchester, New Hampshire. Of course, you can stream the show from anywhere. Go to Matt connorton dot com, slash live and if you are listening live of course, today is Saturday, February twenty eight, twenty twenty six. Nice have you with us, And I'm gonna go ahead and bring this up because we also have joining us online Charles Richardson from The Charles Richardson Show.

0:56 Speaker 3: Hello, Charles, greetings, and thanks for having me on last day of February.

1:01 Speaker 2: Absolutely so uh. I know this doesn't affect you because you are in Florida, but I like to think of the last day of February as being the last day of winter. And I'll tell you why, because my something, my Dad taught me he likes to think. He liked to think of winter as really only being two months long, just January and February, because most of December is technically still fall, so then you have January and February to contend with, and by the time you get to March, it's technically still winter.

1:26 Speaker 2: But at that point, you know, whatever happens happens, you don't care because any day now it's all gonna warm up and everything's gonna melt and it's gonna be fine. So in my mind, tomorrow, March first, is the first day of spring. Okay, but where you are, it doesn't matter, right.

1:42 Speaker 3: It don't matter. It's spring except for a few fragments of really really chilly air. I'm not gonna say cold, because I am I am northern or by blood. I was the one that went out here in t shirts and shorts wets forty degrees, and I see the rest of the people bundle up like it's gonna be a blizzard soon. So it's if people look at me weird, I look at them weird too. Like in the fifties, people are still bundling up with with layers and layers like are you crazy, right, Come on, it's it just doesn't bother me.

2:13 Speaker 3: Maybe also because I like three hundred pounds, so it's like me a little bit more so.

2:18 Speaker 2: You don't get cold as easily as uh no, maybe other other folks.

2:22 Speaker 3: No, everybody else. Everybody else is turning on the heat Monday, and it's like thirty five degrees over here. I got the window open and I'm sleeping in my normal thing. So it's like I was, I was in heaven.

2:34 Speaker 2: How how cold is it in the winter there?

2:37 Speaker 3: Like that?

2:37 Speaker 2: Is it getting down to thirty five? Is that normal?

2:40 Speaker 1: Uh?

2:41 Speaker 3: In about so the cumlative days that it gets into the thirties, I have two hands to count the days. Really, yeah, it doesn't. It doesn't happen that often. And when it does, they have a thing called falling iguana warnings that are down here. Really kid you not. I'd use another word, but just that, that's how ridiculous it sounds. Is Literally, if it gets below forty degrees, the i guanas will literally freeze, frozen and fall from trees. They're not dead, why, they're just frozen and they fall. And there's that's literally a thing down here.

3:21 Speaker 2: I'd never heard of this before.

3:23 Speaker 3: So when you go ahead and hear, well, have you never heard of it, then I'm not gonna hear it.

3:27 Speaker 2: Right.

3:27 Speaker 3: But every time you hear a frozen to guana warning down here in Florida, it's literally things like don't don't, don't kill the iguanas or anything. They're still alive. They're just they're hibernating warms up again.

3:40 Speaker 2: I'll be damned. Oh that's wild. Yeah, I had no idea. I had no idea.

3:44 Speaker 3: Yeah, it's crazy.

3:46 Speaker 2: Speaking of iguanas. By the way, I don't know how you feel about him. Jenny and I are both very big fans of mister Iguana.

3:54 Speaker 3: Yeah I heard. I heard. Listen to me, that was a wasted row rumble spot. Oh he didn't. He didn't do a whole lot. And he looked like he looked like doing the clown to me.

4:06 Speaker 2: Oh.

4:07 Speaker 3: Yes, he's very Listen, he's very athletic. I'm not gonna say anything, but it's like, listen, give him bring him up to to to nxt LIMB. See what he can do on that. You know, I know he's in triple A and everything. So okay, it's fine. He's gonna get his fair share. Of exposure. But to me, mister Iana, it sounds like a Vince mcman gimmick name. It really does. I'm not gonna say. I'm not gonna say he's not talented or anything like that. Yeah, I'm just saying that the first exposure I have mister Guana.

4:36 Speaker 3: No, it's just it doesn't rub me the right way. It really doesn't. We love, we love this, apparently I have. I have very quick judgment to the name. Well, not not the man.

4:49 Speaker 2: Well, I'll tell you what, I got a bunch of crap for it. On So on Friday nights, I'm a co host on Retrospectrum Radio with poly C and they they they they recently gave gave me a bunch of crap about my love for mister Iguana. But I think he's great. I say, put the belt on him, make him the champion.

5:07 Speaker 3: What do you think, Yeah, definitely put a belt on him so you can go ahead and hold this tights up a little bit better. Belt. Well.

5:16 Speaker 2: Part of why we're talking today, of course, aside from the fact that we always love to have you on, of course, and you are the host of the Charles Richardson Show. But today, speaking of shows, is elimination Chamber. Now, I should tell you that Jenny and I have not yet watched SmackDown. And the reason we haven't watched SmackDown yet is because on Friday nights, I, of course, am on retrospectrum radio, so we usually don't get to smack Down until Saturday, and then we won't even get to Elimination Chamber until either later this evening or possibly even tomorrow, so we may be a little bit behind.

5:52 Speaker 2: Now. I'm not putting any limitations on our conversation, of course, but I'm just offering this as a spoiler alert. Jenny doesn't like spoilers, so if we're if we talk about SmackDown at all, which I assume we will, because that will affect the elimination Chamber. You know, Jenny might want to tune out because I don't mind spoilers. Uh. But Jenny, of course, Uh, I know she doesn't want any, so this will give her a chance to, uh to shut this off if she's listening. But but I, but I I think something you got good?

6:21 Speaker 3: You got you got three seconds, two seconds, one second, And I have just one word for you. It's three letters, and it's USO and the reason why I say USO is because USO is out of the elimination chamber. Okay, thanks to the very first part of SmackDown. He got beaten down in an ambulance and the rumors were it was Drew McIntyre. Okay, So that opened up a spot for Jacob Fattou and a part of the Vision which probably guests doing one that's not injured. It's Logan Paul. Actually he should be austin theory is not injured, but do we really count him right anyway, But so Logan and Paul and Fatu went ahead and got into a match, and the final elimination Chamber of spot goes to Matt I'm gonna give you a guess.

7:18 Speaker 2: But Jacob Fatu, no, oh, Logan.

7:20 Speaker 3: Paul because du Bac and Tyre has to.

7:24 Speaker 2: Wait what say that again?

7:28 Speaker 3: It is the final entrant in the elimination chamber. So Jay us So is out, Logan Paul is in.

7:34 Speaker 2: Just fyi, oh okay, gotcha? Gotcha. By the way, what do you think of Logan Paul? Because I know he's he's kind of divisive. I think I think he's incredible as a I mean, I'm not I'm not so sure about some of the other things he's gotten involved in in terms of business practices and so forth. But lot of people call him a scammer, this and that. But I think as a professional wrestler, I think he's incredible.

7:56 Speaker 3: I think Logan Paul is actually mister Iguana.

8:02 Speaker 2: He's too tall, too tall.

8:05 Speaker 3: I'm just saying he's very athletic. I mean, definitely, he has all the characteristics of being a WWE guy. He really does. And I'm not gonna call him a superstar or a wrestler because I guess they're neither, you know, so, But Logan Paul's got everything. He's dazzled us in the ring. He really does. Now he's becoming a full time thing because I guess his YouTube channel making money anymore. I don't know. But you know, he's obviously been an influencer, which that's a thing nowadays. That's a that's a career choice along with only fans.

8:39 Speaker 3: That's a career choice now. And now he's turned in he's actually making himself full time, which I am very happy to see. That way, you can really see what he's like in the ring three hundred and sixty five days a year and We'll see how he handles himself with his character, and I think put him in in the vision is a good way to kind of mask any oopsies that he may do because he's with a group, and who better to mentor than Paul Haymon. Paul Haymon is done, CM Punk done, brock Lesner, he's done, Roman Reigns.

9:20 Speaker 3: All those careers basically took off with Paul Haymon involved. And you got to give the Walrus his due. We really do so. I think Logan Paul, I think he's going to be excellent. As a matter of fact, I don't doubt that he wins tonight.

9:37 Speaker 2: Oh you think really? You think he's going to win the elimination chaper.

9:41 Speaker 3: I don't have a solid bet on that one, but he's I mean, he could be built up to it because I think a lot of I think a lot of the storytelling has tooken some turns because of injuries. I think it should have been Bronson Reid in that last spot, but get injured.

10:01 Speaker 2: Uh Triceptare, Yeah, I believe it is tricept or Bicptar. Yeah.

10:08 Speaker 3: I know it had something to do with the tries. So I think he was supposed to be one in there, but I think they had they had to make a pivot, and that's why jay Us he won, wasn't supposed to win. That's why he's beating up now and that that's the that's the swagger, that that's the swing they're doing. So I don't I wouldn't be surprised if Logan Paul is set to go ahead and uh and win, or at least be in the final two.

10:32 Speaker 2: I think it's very unlikely that he wins because they're not gonna want to send him to WrestleMania the main event, right, I mean not yet. Maybe next year eventually, but not yet.

10:43 Speaker 3: You no, no, no, I mean you take take a look at if you take a look at the men's chamber, that the chamber match, you got Cody Rhoades, Javon Evans, l a Night, Logan Paul, Randy Won, and Trick Williams, a lot of new lou faces. I like Trick, Oh yeah, Trick. I like Javon. Javon could do some amazing things in that in that chamber.

11:07 Speaker 2: Yeah, Jenny loves him too. Yeah, Evans incredible.

11:12 Speaker 3: I really hope and I know this is probably not gonna be true, but I really hope it is not Cody, and it's not Randy.

11:21 Speaker 2: Okay, somebody else.

11:23 Speaker 3: Take this rein somebody that, somebody that's a face if you take a look, really, all of these people are faces except Logan ball.

11:34 Speaker 4: Well.

11:34 Speaker 2: Trick Williams is kind of I don't know what to think because he he acts like a heel. Everything about him is a heel, but the fans love him.

11:43 Speaker 3: I'm saying, it's like, if you want to go, I think Trick is all about Trick. He doesn't care about anybody else. He's so I don't call him a face or a heel. I think he's just he's just for himself. Yeah, So does that make him a heel? I don't think so, I think, but it definitely doesn't make him. You know, him being a crowd favorite, I think automatically puts him into that face category.

12:06 Speaker 2: Yeah, because the crowd explodes when his music hits. I mean, that's the bigg he gets the biggest. He gets a bigger face pop than most of the babyfaces, even though he acts like a heel. He kind of reminds me of the rock, you know, the rock, even when the rock was a baby face early on, you know, he was he was all about himself. You know, he wasn't the most empathetic babyface, and I think Trick Williams is probably a very similar to that. I certainly don't think it's going to be Randy Orton. I think it's most likely to be Cody Rhoads, but they may also If it's not Cody, then that means they're going to use tonight's match to because they've been teasing it for so long, there's finally going to be some sort of a breakdown between Cody Roads and Randy Orton.

12:51 Speaker 3: Do you think so?

12:52 Speaker 2: I do. I think that they're They've been teasing that and teasing it, and I think I think this is going to be the moment.

12:58 Speaker 3: It's finally about time, right, It's about time to see heel Roads roseby and a heel or.

13:04 Speaker 2: Well or the Randy Orton heel turn. But the problem with turning Orton heel is he is so and he has been since he came back for the past couple of years. He is so over as a babyface. The way the fans sing his song, I've never seen him as over as a babyface, even though he's an excellent. Heel so you think so okay, So you think tonight they pulled the trigger on the Cody Roads heel turn.

13:31 Speaker 3: I didn't say that. I was asking you if you think that's the Oh, okay, I I don't.

13:38 Speaker 2: Know if they it's so there's so much risk in doing it. I want to see it. Jenny wants to see it too. She was saying she's ready for it. I think it would be great. I have long speculated because we don't know. They've never told us who actually is responsible for the attack on Jacob fat too, And I've said all along, what if it's Cody. Hmmm, what if it somehow is revealed that it was Cody.

14:04 Speaker 3: That's interesting. I think that's really too far off. But you know what, it would be the first time that w W surprised me.

14:09 Speaker 2: They dropped a hint though they opened the door. Right after it happened, there was a conversation between Cody Rhoads and Nick All This where Cody Rhoads said to Nick All this, by the way, I'm really sorry about what happened to Jacob. I like Jacob, it's terrible, and then he moved on to something else in their conversation. But I remember him saying that and thinking why did they have him go out of his way to say that and to say how much he likes Jacob Plot too? Why?

14:35 Speaker 3: Yeah, you're right, because because fat two cost Roads to Belt literally in that that match. So they they've had some beef. But hey, you know what that that's that makes a lot of sense too. If they will go ahead and pull the trigger, all right, I wouldn't be I wouldn't be too shocked on that. Yeah, I don't think why would it make Roads a bad guy? That was just one guy that he has a thing against it.

14:57 Speaker 2: Yeah, but if it turned out he's the one responsible for the attack, I mean, that's a heel thing to do. That's that you know, a baby face wouldn't do that.

15:04 Speaker 3: So yeah, that's true, that's true.

15:06 Speaker 2: Yeah, but it is but it is risky there, there's there's always a risk to it. But but the shock of it would be a lot of fun.

15:12 Speaker 3: Yeah, if you're gonna if you're gonna make a heel turn, listen, don't be like, don't do to Cody like you did John Cena And just like eh merchandise is up, You're just gonna keep your face and face. No, turn him, turn him, if you're gonna do it, turn them.

15:27 Speaker 2: Yeah.

15:27 Speaker 3: I mean Cody even said he came out and said, the next contract you gets to WW is gonna be his last.

15:32 Speaker 2: Yeah, so you know what, let's just do it, Just do it. Yeah, But what's it.

15:37 Speaker 3: Really gonna hurt? You know? Orton's on the end of his career, Cody's on the end of his career. Man love to see La Night win. I would love to see l A Night. I think he's overdue a push for so long. I love to see him against Drew.

15:53 Speaker 2: I would love to see it too, And I think most of the fans would love to see it. I just don't think they're going to. Did you watch well? So let me ask you this because it's has to do with my thought on La Night. Do you think they lost confidence in him? Because I assumed Did you watch WWE Unreal?

16:11 Speaker 1: No?

16:11 Speaker 3: I didn't.

16:12 Speaker 2: Oh you haven't seen it.

16:13 Speaker 3: Oh, I've seen. I've seen two episodes of the first season. I am so behind on that. Oh.

16:19 Speaker 2: Jenny and I ended up binge watching it because it's so good and I know a lot of it. There's a lot of negativity negativity online toward that show, and I don't quite understand it. I think it's I think it's fantastic. I know, I know a lot of the podcasters don't like it. James Romero hates it. I think it's really good. But but there's a moment you might be aware of this. There's there is a moment where, because when they did money in the bank, l A. Knight apparently made a mistake and it screwed up the ending of the match.

16:46 Speaker 2: And there's a scene in Unreal where Triple H is kind of telling l. A. Knight, Look, you really mess this up. Here's what was supposed to happen. I don't know what you were thinking, that kind of thing. And so it has a lot of people speculating that they may have confidence in L. A. Night and that's why he remains He's always like on the edge of being in main events, but he never quite quite gets that push all the way to the top. And uh and and the speculation that that might be why Eric Pilch and Austin and I we talked about it on Touff Bumps recently.

17:17 Speaker 2: You know that that may be the reason.

17:21 Speaker 3: Yeah, there's a lot of politics to go on behind the scenes too, whether you get a push or not. And you know, my my question has always been listening. He's over with the crowd. You know, we enjoy I enjoy his matches. I think he has a love of athleticism. He's not a typical three moves of doom type of person. You know, he's got he he he's got a good finisher. Why are we not pushing him?

17:42 Speaker 1: What?

17:42 Speaker 3: What? What's the what's the hold up? What's going on? And stuff like that behind the scenes when you're not cooperating with what was supposed to be planned, and they're kind of like saying, you know what the deal is, Yeah, that can hold you back, That really can't so uh And and to backtrack, listen, Unreal is for the person that kind of wants to see what's going on. Paul Haymon's come out and says he absolutely hates it.

18:07 Speaker 2: He says it right on the show.

18:09 Speaker 3: Yeah, Yeah, he hates it because it's literally, you're pulling the curtain way too far back and that's supposed to be kept sacred, right and steam punk kind of feels the same way a little bit, he said. He he refused to do a couple of things that they asked him to do or he asked them to cut it out or something like that. So yeah, it is really one of those things where it it polarizes the industry a little bit because it's like, you know, a lot of people are against it and listen to what's kept behind that curtain, should be kept behind that curtain?

18:41 Speaker 2: M out Yeah, I love all that stuff even you know, even if but see, I would enjoy that show even if it didn't pull back the curtain as much. But it just kind of showed you behind the scenes how things work, you know, and gorilla position and everything. You know, even if they even if they didn't give anything away really, even if it was a little bit more k fame, but still it showed you kind of kind of just how things work behind the scenes. I would still even find that really fascinating, just because I love that kind of stuff anyway.

19:11 Speaker 2: I always have.

19:12 Speaker 3: You know, Yeah, who do you think of when you see Drew McIntyre on camera? You think of him as,

19:20 Speaker 3: you think of him as not a nice guy, you and now you take a look behind the scenes and it's like, oh, well, you know he's he's he's a loving husband, father or whatever they whatever he is, you know, and you know he's actually gotta got a human side to him, right, you know, say, you know the same thing with Solo Socoa Solo was you know, just he's he's a he's a bad guy, but you know, behind the scenes, you know, he's got a family, just like everybody else does, you know, And and and that's that's the way, you know, you need to take a look at I mean, a lot of people, they they want just the image on TV, so they can generally hate somebody or like somebody based on what they see on the camera.

20:04 Speaker 3: But I think you know, there's a lot more people that know that, listen, this is a character. Yeah it's not really them, right, But you know, but what does that do to the character that now it's kind of like a little bit clouded? Do I cheer for him or do I do I hate him? Because you know who they are behind the scenes and how they are as a real person, but they're playing a bad guy.

20:31 Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean to me, it doesn't bother me, It never has. I compartmentalize it pretty easily because I just look at it the same way I look at anything else. You know, they're they're they're actors, so so I you know, I'm not the slightest bit bothered by seeing, you know, somebody like Drew McIntyre who's supposed to be a bad guy. You know, when I when I see him outside in a different context and it turns out he's actually a nice guy, it's like, well, yeah, I actually kind of assumed that already.

20:56 Speaker 2: I assume he's not the character that he plays on television, just like with that anything else. So it's it's never bothered me.

21:03 Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, exactly. You still have you still have these simple minded people who are just getting into wrestling thinking, oh my god, well, why are they allowed to do that called the cop?

21:15 Speaker 2: Yeah, oh, relax, it's a show. Yes, yes, oh my word.

21:20 Speaker 3: They said wrestling was fake. This looks so real. It's fake because the outcomes are predetermined.

21:26 Speaker 2: It is weird to me, though, that in the year twenty twenty six, because as a wrestling fan, I've been dealing with this my whole life. And I'm sure you have two as every wrestling fan has. Even today, I'll have a conversation with someone who doesn't like wrestling and they will say to me, well, you know, it's all fake, right, It's like, no kidding, Really.

21:49 Speaker 3: It's scripted.

21:50 Speaker 2: It's scripted entertainment. Wow, No, I thought it was all real. I also thought Star Trek was real. I thought it was a documentary about going into outer space. I thought of Thrones were real. I thought those dragons were real dragons. Like, it's so insulting. It's like because when somebody says that to me, to me, it's like, what they're really saying is either they think I'm an idiot or or they they just or they just look down on something that I happen to, Like it's just because they don't like it.

22:19 Speaker 3: What's the sacond one? It's yeah, they're not calling you an idiot. I think it's them they're being idiots. It's it's like, you really think that we don't know. You really think we don't know? Oh, yes, we know they're going through tables and yes, how do you prevent that from being fake? What is it?

22:39 Speaker 2: AI?

22:41 Speaker 3: It's table to AI. This is just a character that's that's dropping on tails. It's really a big mattress pad that they fall. We know that they listen. It's it's fake to a point. Listen, you get bumps and bruises. That's the reason why there's injuries.

22:57 Speaker 2: Now, the injuries are real.

22:59 Speaker 3: You are taking risk, but it is calculated risks.

23:04 Speaker 2: Yeah, it's not.

23:06 Speaker 3: We're not gonna throw somebody off of still cage and they're gonna land on concrete. No, there's gonna be something to break the fall. So there's not a serious injury, right, you know, it's it's that point there is still bumps and bruises, you know, it's people still deal with pain.

23:21 Speaker 2: Yeah. I may have told this story. I know I've told. I can't remember who I've told this story to and who I haven't, So I don't know if listeners have heard this yet or have heard this before, or if you have. Charles. But when I was a kid, so I had a friend who really looked down on wrestling, and we're having a conversation about it and uh, and he pulled that with me. He's like, well, you know it's fake, right, And I'm like, yeah, I know obviously, even when I was a kid, I mean I knew, I understood it was scripted entertainment.

23:50 Speaker 2: And I remember he said to me, he goes, well, if there's a if, it's all if it's all predetermined. Where's the integrity in it? That's literally what he said to me, where's the integrity? And I knew about him, And there's by the way, there's a horrible irony to what I'm about to say, But this is how the conversation went. I said to him because I knew he was a fan of the Cosby Show. So I said to him, I said, well, you like the Cosby Show, right, and he goes yeah, And I said, well, did you know that that's all fake?

24:21 Speaker 2: Did you know that Cliff Huxtable, that his name is an actually Cliff Huxtable, and that it's really Bill Cosby and he's an actor and that's not a real family. They're all actors and they're just pretending. Where's the integrity in the Cosby Now? Of course, again, what we know about Bill Cosby today, that's the part that makes it horribly ironic, uncomfortably so, actually, But we didn't know that. But I just remember saying that to him. It's like, yeah, well, where's the integrity in the Cosby Show?

24:48 Speaker 2: That's all fake? You know, it's all scripted, you know, But but again, you know, and that was when I was a kid and you know, here we are in twenty twenty six and people still come at us with that, and it's like, yeah, we know, it's fun.

25:00 Speaker 3: It's just it's just now, it's it's the circle of life. It's the circle of disbelief. That's what it is. You got these new new kids that are like it's fake, you know, yeah, And and you know what, in twenty years, it's gonna be the same thing. It's gonna be the same thing. But hopefully by then, maybe we you know, evolve from these apes of people that you know, would would like we would go to humans to understand that this is all entertainment. It's all it is. But it's fun. It's fun, just like you know, you ladies out there like your soap operas.

25:36 Speaker 3: You realize that Salem is not really a place. It's based on a place, but it's not really a place.

25:42 Speaker 2: Salem.

25:44 Speaker 3: Oh, I don't even know if it's Salem. Master. I think my wife says, like Illinois, they they they're based in Salem, Illinois. What day of our lives?

25:51 Speaker 2: Oh, days of our lives?

25:52 Speaker 3: Okay, yeah, you know it's like, you know, you got the I just love this, I love it. I don't watch it, trust me. But I've seen things that she watches on that soap opera. Literally, if there's like a fight and there they're holding some hostage at gunpoint, that gun point last for five episodes.

26:13 Speaker 2: Well yeah, you got to fill five.

26:17 Speaker 3: Where you gonna pull the trigger or lose control? What's going on here?

26:21 Speaker 2: Well well, yes, yeah, soap operas are paced a little differently than a weekly show because it's on five days a week. And I understand that because you know, I like I I grew up watching General Hospital.

26:32 Speaker 3: Uh.

26:32 Speaker 2: I blame that on my mother. She got me hooked on it one summer. And but but the thing is, yeah, well the thing is though General Hospital had and still does from what I understand to this day. You know, it had it had all the tropes of a soap opera, but it also had like this really strong action adventure element to it, you know, with with Russian spies and mob stories and you know, so uh so that's why, even as a little boy, I was able to get hooked into into that. But it also it's worth noting that some of those same elements about General Hospital are probably some of the same elements that got me hooked on wrestling.

27:14 Speaker 2: Because wrestling, so much of that is, you know, inspired by In terms of the storytelling soap operas.

27:20 Speaker 3: It is a soap opera is a male action soap opera that involves guys dressed in tights fighting each other in a ten by ten ring. Yes, and women too, speaking of those, Speaking of those athletes and tights, let's go over the matches tonight, Yes, yes, please, obviously I want to go ahead and get your picks as well as mine. Okay, it's gonna be a little odd to pick these because we're not picking one on ones. It will least for two of them. It's going to be which one of the five or six do you think is going to walk out of here?

27:54 Speaker 3: Okay, we already kind of you know, mentioned a little bit about the men's Cody, Javon Night, Logan, Randy, and Trick.

28:03 Speaker 2: Yeah. I think it's gonna be Cody.

28:05 Speaker 3: I I do too, But you know, if I had to go ahead and man, yeah, I after you told me what happened on Unreal, I don't think they have Ellie Knight doing it, and I think Trick and Javan they're too young right now. Yeah, Yeah, it's gonna come down to the two older people. When I really hope they fool us. I really hope they fool us and they go ahead and do Night or they do Javan.

28:31 Speaker 2: I really hope so yeah.

28:33 Speaker 3: But yeah, if I'm gonna put if I'm gonna have to put money on, it's Cody. Yeah, it's sad to say, and.

28:39 Speaker 2: It's definitely not gonna be Javan. They're not gonna be He's not gonna be in the main event of WrestleMania already. But he's got a long career ahead of him. He's got plenty of time, and so does Trick.

28:49 Speaker 3: I wouldn't be surprised if Logan. I'm seriously if the Vision gets involved, even though it's a cage match, you never know that that still hasn't stopped people from getting involved. Yeah, Logan would be my outside choice.

29:04 Speaker 2: Okay, okay, it would be interesting for.

29:07 Speaker 3: The women's here's what we got the lineup his Oscar, Alexa Bliss, Keana James, where Calvidriguez, Rhea and Tiffany Stratton.

29:18 Speaker 2: I think it's going to be Ria Ripley. You think so, Yeah, they want to get her into a women's main event, Yeah, I think so. Yeah.

29:28 Speaker 3: And another spoil she dropped the tag team titles to uh Nia Jackson Lash legend really stupid? Oh wow he lost last night?

29:40 Speaker 2: Okay, what happened after the uh and again spoiler alert, But so what happened after the match, because what I assume where they're going long term is, you know, Ria Ripley and E O. Sky obviously are very very buddy buddy, but eventually there is going to be a split. I'm curious what happens after the match. Did anything happen after the MA between them?

30:01 Speaker 3: I was reading it. I didn't watch it, but I was reading it at the time, the timetable of the blog. Uh, nothing exciting happened afterwards. They just celebrated.

30:11 Speaker 2: Okay, nothing happened between Io and Rhea, right, gotcha?

30:15 Speaker 3: Okay, so yeah, I kind of see Ria, But you know what, Tiffany came back from injury. I think she wants to take back her her rightful spot.

30:24 Speaker 2: There could be I could see that too. I could see them going with Tiffany Stratton.

30:28 Speaker 3: I'll go ahead and put my put my dollars on Tiffany.

30:32 Speaker 2: It's not going to be Alexa Bliss. It's obviously it's certainly not going to be a Keana James, uh who else? It's not gonna be It's not gonna be Oscar.

30:43 Speaker 3: Saying it should be nice though Alexa Bliss has been waiting a long time too since she came back.

30:50 Speaker 2: True, it's not gonna be her, though, I'd be very surprised. I think it's going to be either uh Tiffany Stratton or uh Riha Ripley one one one of one of those two.

31:00 Speaker 3: I'll take Tiffany's my horse.

31:02 Speaker 2: Okay, all right, all right.

31:05 Speaker 3: One of the two singles matches that is booked, This one here is for the Women's Intercontinental Championship. Is Becky and AJ first singles match for AJ in over ten years. Yeah, against the greatest of all time. It's not just me saying it, it's What's Illustrated saying it's.

31:25 Speaker 2: Meg TV saying the Bleacher Report says it.

31:29 Speaker 3: I'm so done with everybody else to say it. Oh my god, you're annoying as hell.

31:36 Speaker 2: Oh my god, Okay, Charles, hold on, we got to talk about this. I love Becky Lynch's promos. Yeah, oh my god. I have never been such a fan of Becky Lynch as I am right now. I love her promos I love when she does. That whole thing is not just me saying it's Sports Illustrated says it. I I Becky Lynch as a heel, and by the way, I only as a heel. As a baby face. I think she's dull as dirt, but as a heel I love I could. I wouldn't care if they just let her go out and talk for twenty minutes. I love everything she's doing as a heel right now.

32:10 Speaker 2: But it sounds like you're you're over it. Did you want to know the reason why I hate her promos? Why?

32:17 Speaker 3: It's just I cannot stand the stuttering. I cannot say it is a minor thing.

32:24 Speaker 2: Well, it's not. She doesn't stutter. She stammers.

32:27 Speaker 3: Well you know what I'm talking about.

32:28 Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, it's just people sometimes people say stutter when they mean stammer. Yeah.

32:32 Speaker 3: Yeah, it's a stammer. We'll do that.

32:33 Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah.

32:34 Speaker 3: But I can't stand it. I really, It's just it makes your sound really dumb, really like she doesn't know what she's talking about. But it's just like, you know, I kind of listen. AJ since she's came back has blown her away in every shape and form. She's kept it funny, comical, and she puts it. Oh man, she lays down facts.

33:00 Speaker 4: Oh it's that's just a fantastic, amazing on the mic. Oh, I agree, I agree. So, but coming back one on one match after ten years, no, I don't.

33:15 Speaker 3: See it, No, no much. I'd love AJ to go ahead and just take that title and make a run. I gotta put Becky on that, especially especially if Seth Rollins in that crate.

33:30 Speaker 2: You think it's Seth Rollins in the crate.

33:32 Speaker 3: I don't think it's uh Jericho because Jericho is still in the contract.

33:36 Speaker 2: Well, there's a rumor that it's Dan Housen, which would make sense, and I hope it is.

33:40 Speaker 3: That's another room. I actually, I actually, while I was waiting to get on the air, I went ahead in and a hide the question who is in the air. It came down it's either Chris Jericho, Dan Housen, Seth Rollins or Bianca Belle Air.

33:57 Speaker 2: It's not gonna beyond.

33:59 Speaker 3: There is the rumors of a person named Evil from New Japan.

34:06 Speaker 2: Well that would be a letdown. Nobody. Nobody's gonna know who that is.

34:09 Speaker 3: Nobody. Yeah, I think that's way out there. Yeah, so I think it's gonna be wouldn't be these four? I weiy these three now, Dan Housen, seth Rollins, Bianca Beler. I think they originally wanted Jericho in there, Yeah, but then they found out it's contracts frozen. Which how do you not know that when you make these plans and sign them under contract?

34:28 Speaker 2: Yeah, well unless somebody put that out there deliberately to throw us, because Jericho is a master of that. But but we don't even know. It might not be a person in the crate. It might be something an object in the crate that refers to the person who will then come out on stage. But if, but if, if someone literally emerges from the crate, it's probably Dan Housen. Yeah, and I hope so because that would be awesome because I've only seen a little bit of Dan Housen's work in aw but the little bit that I've seen I loved.

34:55 Speaker 2: He's fantastic. I hope it's Dan Housen, all right.

34:59 Speaker 3: Yeah, I'm kind of looking forward to that. I haven't seen much of him, so yeah, but yeah, if he's half as incredible as I heard, yeah, then yeah, it would be nice to see.

35:08 Speaker 2: He's a lot of fun. That would be fun anyway.

35:11 Speaker 3: I got Becky on this match.

35:13 Speaker 2: Yeah me too, Me too say.

35:16 Speaker 3: And finally this match, which I kind of think is just a fluffer match really for seeing Punk Punk and Balor. I don't see Balo winning and him being the headline for WrestleMania, although I've gone back and forth and thinking see him. Punk has always wanted to headline WrestleMania. He did it last year. He's not as selfish as he once was before. Right, He's actually come back and helped out a lot of people. He's willing to go ahead and take bumps for people. He might do this because Finn Bauer earned it.

35:52 Speaker 3: He may drop the title for him. So Finn and Roman Reigns going at it.

35:58 Speaker 2: That's a problem, no, okay?

35:59 Speaker 3: So well, I mean they could always and this is what I said on my on the other show, I'm on, they can always pivot like they pivoted if with WrestleMania forty when it was supposed to be Rains against the Rock and everybody chanted Cody, you know, and Cody should make the decision. Blah blah blah. They can always pivot like they did. Then they can put the title on Finn and they got a month and a half before WrestleMania. They can get him rematch somewhere in there where Finn drops it again.

36:34 Speaker 2: That's a rumor that's out there. I hate that idea, and i'll tell you why I don't. First of all, I don't want anything interrupting the build between Roman Reigns and Sampot because that first face to face promo that they did was fire. I loved that promo. The other they can fight, I know. But the other problem but no, actually yet, well not at WrestleMania, because then it's going to be Roman Reigns versus Finn Balor if Baler's the champion. The other problem I have is I really don't like the idea of Balor wins the belt and then see him punk wins it back sometime between now and WrestleMania.

37:15 Speaker 2: Then you're hot shotting the title. I really don't like that. That's something I hated during the Attitude era, and I don't want to see it now. So I don't like that idea. I think what happens is Balor loses again, but he's clearly on his way I think to a to a full on baby face turn, and I think he will lose again. I think he will be humble about it and that will be his face turn and he'll he'll go back to being a babyface. That's what I think is gonna happen.

37:44 Speaker 3: Yeah, I've definitely seen the writing on the wall there where Finn is. Just listen, I don't need you guys. You know I want to do this alone. Yeah, let me do it while on what you know that that's the sign of a heel a face turn right there. Yeah, but yeah, I just let's see. Here's the thing. He's doing everything that Punk is telling him to do. You would think doing what he says that would make him champion. Dude, I don't know, man, It's it's tough. It's the heart wants to see Finn with the championship, but the timing right now is just not there yet.

38:25 Speaker 3: So I'm gonna go ahead and say Punk is gonna win. Yeah, Punk will win at Mania, and then Finn will get another chance at after Mania. Hm.

38:35 Speaker 2: Maybe, but I am. I am intrigued to see where they're going with Finn Balor. But but I don't think he wins the I don't think he wins the title tonight. Uh what what did you think of the promo? But between uh punk and Roman reigns.

38:49 Speaker 3: Oh, I agree with you. It was spot on fire. It was it was a volcano erupting on both ends. I loved it. I mean just to the point of, you know, is like I picked you because I hate you, yep, And this is gonna be the best ne of my life because I'm just gonna go ahead and beat you, to give you the beating you deserve. And am I take back my title? Blah blah blah. You know, I'm just waiting and waiting for the tribal chief to have a tribe again.

39:19 Speaker 2: Mm hmm.

39:20 Speaker 3: He hasn't had one yet. Yeah, And I think that's kind of I think somewhere along the line, I think it does come to where we finally get all the Samoans in line. I think we get fought too, we get the usos. I don't see Solo coming back on there. I think he's got his MFTs, which I will. I will go ahead and tell you I like Solo as that gangster, a gangster ither two.

39:47 Speaker 2: Jenny's commented on that too, that he's really grown in the role. I have a problem. I have a problem though with the MFT gimmick. I hate the face paint. It makes them, It makes them look like juggalos. This isn't this isn't supposed to be ICP. It's supposed to be MFT. It looks ridiculous on them, especially on Tomatonga. And I'll tell you why, because the great thing about Tomatonga is he's got a very expressive face and why would you want to hide it under all that makeup so much of what like, so much of what his character is is you know, he's got that weird sound that he makes, but also just his facial expressions that that's what makes him compelling as Tomatonga.

40:31 Speaker 2: And then you slap all that makeup on him and he covers his face and it looks I know, And I did read online that I guess that he and Tongala they wore the war paint when they were the Gorillas of Destiny in Japan. I just I just think it looks awful. I think they look ridiculous. I think it's they look like Juggalos. And again, no disrespect to the Juggalos. I played in a band one where we actually had some jugglers who were into us. So whatever, I'm.

41:05 Speaker 3: Laughing not has mean disagree. I actually can agree with you on that, but it's it's it's given them the identity. It really is that, you know, granted call them, you know, they look like jugglers, whatever the case may be, Juggles is still pretty. They're pretty bad Like that isn't good. Okay, I was gonna use you know, I was gonna use bad a, but you know we're in FM. You can say badass. That's not a problem. Bad ass. They're badasses. So that the paint, I don't think, like, you know, lowers their standard.

41:38 Speaker 3: I think it's just it is a look that they're going for.

41:42 Speaker 2: It's so bad. I think it looks so silly, like cringe when I say, it's like, what are you guys doing?

41:51 Speaker 3: They need they need I like this whole thing that they're doing against with the Wyat sixes. There needs to be more. There needs to be more cond texting that and to some point where hopefully there's still time that there is like a five on five family versus family match. I'm kind of hoping for that.

42:15 Speaker 2: They haven't done that already.

42:16 Speaker 3: No, they they've done Tag Team Champ because the not the uh the sixers are still tag Team Champions. I guess so many times they've defended that, how many like one? It's like, come on man, it's like nobody's really doing anything about these tag team titles. That's the that's the one downfall I have with with WW. Right now, Jake Carghill has defended the title twice once twice something like that.

42:45 Speaker 2: Yeah, where is she?

42:46 Speaker 3: Then she's over here talking about how she is the b now WW.

42:52 Speaker 2: I love her promos though, I love her. I love her as a heel. She's fantastic as a heel.

42:56 Speaker 3: I love her, But the point is fight.

43:00 Speaker 2: Yeah, you need to fight. That's okay. Though she's a heel. Heels are supposed to be a little bit cowardly, you know, to all time little bit.

43:06 Speaker 3: She is complete. Yeah, she's complete.

43:08 Speaker 2: Talk Yeah, loving her character though she she's believable too, Like when she delivers that line that we can't say on the air, she like you believe it, right, Like she's so good. She is so good.

43:23 Speaker 3: Yeah, promo wise, she's great. I keep hearing that she's really green. I mean I see her work. She's not that green.

43:31 Speaker 2: No, I think she gets a lot of unfair criticism. I've said I've said this from the beginning. I think she's better in the ring than she gets credit for. And I will also say she's improved a lot I had. Yeah, and she doesn't get the credit for it, though people online just crap all over. I think she's I think she's much better than she gets credit for.

43:52 Speaker 3: Yeah, no, I agree, she she's she's cleaned up love. Listen. I've seen her in some of these matches before. Oh yeah, I've seen botches all over the place. Sure, I see just like things like, oh man, is she gonna get up after that?

44:07 Speaker 2: Uh?

44:07 Speaker 3: But yeah, it's and again, like we had mentioned before, fakeer real, this is real, It is calculated, real. You are trained to take these bumps in a certain way. And with Jade doing the stuff she was doing when she first got called up, which is why you saw her sporadically, you know why, because her behind was down there in the performance center trying to work on her craft. Right, you know I could see why AW got rid of her. I mean, with the little the little integrity they have over there, a w Yeah, they needed they need to go ahead and just say all right, we can't have you injuring anybody else.

44:46 Speaker 3: Go get out of here, be gone. So but no, they they w W sees that the the talent there, and you know, they've worked with her, giving her chance after chance, and they saw something. That's why she was made Queen of the Ring, right, that's why she's currently a champion. Right.

45:05 Speaker 2: Oh, one other thing we had to wrap up soon. But just as we're talking about Jade Cargill and her being better than what she gets credit for, what do you think about Chelsea Green Because there's also been some controversy And again, I know you haven't watched the new season of Unreal, but one of the things that's come up, I'm sure you've seen the chatter about this online. You know, Michael Hayes kind of makes some comments in there indicating that Chelsea Green is you know, upper mid card, but that's kind of her ceiling.

45:29 Speaker 2: But she's you know, she's great at what she does. But but there's a lot of people who are saying, no, she should be in main events, like she's that good, she's that entertaining, and I tend to agree with that. I'm curious what you think because it seems to me everything she's ever been given to do, Chelsea Green, she knocks it out of the park. I mean, she's so good. And she's another example too of a heel. She's supposed to be a heel, but obviously the fans love her because she's so talented, and she's so good at everything she does, and she's so likable and funny.

45:56 Speaker 2: So I think she's I think she should be. I think she deserves a bigger push than she gets.

46:02 Speaker 3: What do you think There's a lot of people we could give pushes too that we want, right, we all thinking I should get a bigger push. You know, Chelsea Green, she You're right. She goes ahead and with what she has been given as the quote unquote you know president in her in her, the secret hervist, the hervest. Yes, yeah, I'm like, I'm thinking, that's such a stupid name. But that it's like, you know what she's running with it. Let's go ahead. I get it, I get it.

46:35 Speaker 2: Yeah, it's fun and she's a heel, so it can be stupid.

46:39 Speaker 3: But here's the thing. I think she's been put into a position of she's on an island where she's goofy, and it's like, you know, you can't take a main event or that's goofy. That's the problem with that is you know you and to to kind of retrospect on everything you take. You take like the Olsen Twins, there were child actresses. Yeah, you can't seriously as an adult actresses anymore, even though they're not coming back, but still you can't take them seriously. Yeah, they're always gonna be labeled child actresses.

47:17 Speaker 3: So are you gonna cast them in a leading role? No? Chelsea Green is put into this category unfortunately that she is a goofy, goofy character.

47:30 Speaker 2: Yeah. I think with a little bit of creativity, though, I think they could.

47:33 Speaker 3: She needs yes, and she needs to basically have her character redone. She can't go ahead with the harvest. She would have to be another another version of Chelsea Green to go ahead and make any type of serious move.

47:47 Speaker 2: I don't think it's so much another version as just take her, just evolve her in a way, maybe make her a little bit more serious, maybe maybe do a babyface turn.

47:58 Speaker 3: But but if you if you were to go ahead and be creative to Chelsea Green, how would you go ahead and pivot that baby face? I don't think would be enough.

48:07 Speaker 2: Yeah, but I think I think they can get there. With her because I mean, it'd be worth taking the risk because, like I said, everything they've ever given her to do, she succeeds. Yeah, you know, I kind of I kind of think of her the way I used to think of Live Morgan, because for a long time, I would think, why isn't Live Morgan in main events? She's got everything, she is so good. I was saying this a couple of years ago and then but fortunately in the case of Live Morgan, they did finally figure it out, and now she's a main eventor and she's incredible.

48:35 Speaker 2: But she's she's kind of in that same category in my mind where I used to think Live Morgan. She's perpetually stuck in the mid card. But everything they've ever given her to do, she succeeds. She's so good, she's good at everything, promos or in ringwork, everything she does is so good. Why isn't she in main events? But she did get there.

48:54 Speaker 3: They got there with her, and she probably went ahead and voiced her opinion, and Chelsea Green may not be her opinion as much as she should.

49:02 Speaker 2: Yeah, maybe, who knows.

49:04 Speaker 3: So probably it's a lot of back at politics type stuff. That's probably where you're hearing all this.

49:09 Speaker 2: Yeah, well, Charles, we are rapidly approaching the top of the hour. We got to go. But I appreciate you so much. It's always wonderful to speak with you. Great to have you on the show. And I know we do have you booked for another appearance coming up, but Elimination Chamber.

49:24 Speaker 3: What WrestleMania coming up? In a boy, I'm gonna come on on Saturday and we'll we'll talk both nights.

49:30 Speaker 2: Absolutely, No, I can't wait and tell us too before we go. So you've got, of course, the Charles Richardson Show, and you do a wrestling podcast, so go ahead and tell us about this.

49:40 Speaker 3: So my current show, the Charles Richardson Show, because of personal things I've had going on, has been on hiatus. When we return, we're going to be on Wednesday's eight to ten on Facebook. Okay, So just to go ahead and look us up on Facebook, the Charles Richardson Show, and also the Charles richardsonow on YouTube and the wrestling podcast that we have again no no, no trying affiliation with Tough Bumps. It's a little bit different of a show that we do. It is called the Josh Zodiac Podcast. Josh Sodiac is the one that hosts I am co hosting Okay, Bud.

50:12 Speaker 3: You can go ahead and find them on all social media platforms the Josh Zodiac podcast.

50:19 Speaker 2: Very good, very good, and while we're at it too, I will mention tough bumps. Of course, Eric and I will be on. Eric Pilcher and I and Austin Hicks usually joins us most weeks as well. We'll be on tomorrow night, Sunday night, I think at seven pm. No, I'm sorry, six pm Eastern. It changes every week, but you can find that of course on Facebook and YouTube and subscribe, like and subscribe, and subscribe on your podcast platform of choice, as you should with this show as well, because once we're off the air here, this goes up into the podcast dost sphere, and of course you can find it on the wmn H website and my website Matt Connorton dot com.

50:56 Speaker 2: But Charles again, thank you so much, my friend. Always great to talk to you, and I look forward to the next time.

51:01 Speaker 3: Thank you very much.

51:02 Speaker 2: Have a good one, all right, brother, you gotta take care