North Florida Sports Network Podcast
North Florida Sports Network Podcast
Wrestling's Biggest Weekend: WrestleMania 41 Preview
the north florida sports network. All right, welcome back a special wrestlemania 41 preview as we look ahead to the annual mega event. And I got none other than my wrestling insider. Basketball extraordinaire. Wrestling extraordinaire. Miami extraordinaire, Justin, with me, Are you excited?
Speaker 2:I'm a jack of all trades, baby yeah.
Speaker 1:What you? You just can't wait. You got your miami heat playing tonight and you got your friday friday night.
Speaker 2:What smackdown oh yeah, dude, it's like college football season for me right now. Man, I got, I got the heat and the hawks and the plan, the final episode of smackdown. There's not going to be a lot of quote-unquote violence at SmackDown tonight because you got WrestleMania starting tomorrow. So SmackDown will probably just be a lot of shit-talking like people cutting promos on each other and whatnot, but still it builds the hype. But I'll be focused on the heat Early on in the night, hopefully.
Speaker 2:Honestly, I don't want the heat to win. I don't want to make the playoffs. This team is not making a run dude. As good as we looked the other night Against the Bulls, I mean, tyler Hero ain't dropping 40 on everybody For the next two months. And if the heat lose and we're in the lottery, we got a 2 percent shot at getting cooper flag with the number one pick. But, more importantly, we got a 10 chance of being in the top four. And the heat, the way they're constructed right now, um, we, we need to be in the top four. There you go. We need to get a. We need to get a young guy that is cheap, uh, that we can bring in, uh, bring into the team and then go after a whale of a free agent, maybe next year. That's that would be my dream scenario well, geez, I mean thanks for you.
Speaker 1:Thank you for that. That bonus round, uh. But let's get back to wrestlemania. Big time event is going to be the two-night event, is that correct?
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's been two nights for a couple of years now, which is great, except Sunday night is when the actual like the big main event is, and God damn it. You know I hate staying up late for these god damn things on Sunday night because I got to be up early for work. But I will definitely be staying up for the main event on Sunday night, which is going to be Cody Rhodes, who is now one year into his title reign since defeating Roman Reigns last year at Mania, and he's going up against John Cena, who is back for his final year run in wrestling. And for those who haven't been watching the storylines, um, a couple of pay-per-views ago, john Cena did a Hulk Hogan style heel turn and is now a bad guy for the first time in his career. The crowd booed him relentlessly. When he comes out, he cuts promos, ripping the fans. He was ripping on like a 12 year old kid a couple weeks ago at Raw that was sitting in the front row Like Cena is leaned full on into the heel persona and the Rock has pickedina to be his champion. So you know the rock's going to be there.
Speaker 2:And then what I was? Uh, I noticed I was watching today on McAfee, cause you know, pat McAfee is one of the announcers for WWF or WWE, yeah and so on his pre WrestleMania show today he's had a bunch of guys come on there. He had Roman Reigns was there and he had Stone Cold show up. And my prediction because WrestleMania always has this stuff, like last year, the Undertaker showed up out of nowhere and chokeslammed the Rock. So my big WrestleMania surprise Sunday night the Rock interferes to help John Cena win the WWE title and right before the ref counts three, you're going to hear that glass break and Stone Cold shows up. I know it's going to happen. It's going to happen, dude. He's going to be chugging beer, riding his four-wheeler down, middle finger at everybody, and then just stun the shit out of every single person in the ring and leave, and then cody rhodes is gonna somehow get the victory, but I'm predicting a stone cold steve austin run in wow, that'd be worth it, the whole thing right there oh, absolutely, man.
Speaker 2:I mean, that's my childhood there. The rock and stone cold, that's my childhood there. The Rock and Stone Cold, that's my childhood. That's what got me hooked on wrestling more than anything else. It's what got me back into wrestling. It was last year when the Rock started making appearances and had his match at WrestleMania last year. That's what got me back into watching wrestling.
Speaker 1:So the Rock's going to be there this one.
Speaker 2:They haven't officially announced it. He's going to be there. This one? They haven't officially announced it.
Speaker 1:He's going to come in for who?
Speaker 2:Well, he's kind of like the character that got developed for the Rock right now because he holds some shares in TKO Productions, who is part owners of the WWE right now. So he's been playing up since last year at WrestleMania, playing up the version of the old Vince McMahon evil Mr McMahon guy where the Rock is like I'm your boss, I can get you fired. He's like firing referees and crap. I'm your boss, I can get you fired. He's like firing referees and crap. So he's going to be in the corner of John Cena as the evil Mr McMahon, I can get everybody fired.
Speaker 1:Character okay so then Stone Cold is going to come out for for Cody Rhodes, because Stone.
Speaker 2:Cold ain't doing no heel turn yeah, that would be awesome that's what I see coming, man, and I just wish it would happen Saturday night, because when that happens, at like 11 o'clock on Sunday night, I'm not going to be able to fall asleep for a long time, and I go to work on Monday and if Stone Cold shows up is Sunday.
Speaker 1:It's not pay-per-view event is Sunday.
Speaker 2:It's not pay-per-view anymore.
Speaker 1:Oh really.
Speaker 2:That's another thing that's got me into wrestling, back into it is that these big events aren't pay-per-views anymore. All you've got to do is sign up for the Peacock app and you get all the content for free. You can sign up for Peacock right now for $4.99 a month and watch WrestleMania tomorrow and Sunday for your $4.99 monthly subscription.
Speaker 1:Wow so no pay-per-view.
Speaker 2:Yeah, they got rid of it. They went to a completely different model, and that's another contributing factor to getting me back into wrestling is all the pay-per-views are free, all right?
Speaker 1:Well, that sounds like a long night.
Speaker 2:Oh, it's going to be a long weekend.
Speaker 1:John Cena, Tony Hill trying to be the bad guy, Stone Cold I would love to hear that glass break.
Speaker 2:Oh God, dude, I will lose. I'll be like I was when I was like 16, 17 years old, watching so I'll jump off the couch. I'll start fist pumping like the Canes just won the ACC championship for the first time. I mean, I will be so fired up if my prediction of Stone Cold showing up comes true because, my God, dude, I had a dog in high school I named Stone Cold. Nice when you look back at all the WrestleManias.
Speaker 1:So you go back to what stands out.
Speaker 2:Oh well, definitely yeah.
Speaker 1:WrestleMania 41, so there's been a lot.
Speaker 2:Yeah, definitely. Wrestlemania 6, hulk Hogan vs the Ultimate Warrior Classic one From when we were little kids, that was the match of all matches that one stands out. And then Wrestlemania 10 Another big one that kind of changed the industry Was Shawn Michaels and Razor Ramon had the first ever ladder match, which is still I mean I still might be the best ladder match ever. Um, I mean, it was phenomenal to do what those guys were doing. I mean you see people now I mean ladder matches been around forever now and people have done some like innovative things with the ladder match, but they're still doing a lot of the same moves with the ladder that that HBK and Razor did at Wrestlemania 10. That match was way ahead of its Time.
Speaker 2:Wrestlemania 13 the greatest match ever in WWF history Stone Cold versus Bret Hart. Basically what Made Stone Cold the star? He was In the I Quit match where he got the Iconic photo of blood Dripping down Stone Cold's face In the sharpshooter and he passed out Before he said I Quit, it would skyrocket him To what he became. It was Wrestlemania 13. Then Wrestlemania 15 Rock versus Stone Cold for the title. Amazing WrestleMania 25, you got HBK, shawn Michaels and the Undertaker in a phenomenal match Some say the best match of WrestleMania. I fell in upon the brakes on that, because that's Stone Cold versus Bret Hart.
Speaker 1:Which one was Andre the Giant.
Speaker 2:That was WrestleMania 3. If you actually I mean other than that, I just saw the documentary on it. That wasn't even the best match on that card, dude, it's just because he was so huge, you know. Yeah.
Speaker 1:So he was just like a draw, being just so big, and it was what he was trying to lift him up.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and he was, uh, yeah, like the storyline, uh, behind all of that, um, because Hogan and Andre had worked together for years right. They just never had a big match in WWF and Andre had never actually held the title, because he never cared to have the title, because everybody knew that nobody could beat him right, I mean he's a giant and that was kind of like the deal, like the andre was like his own thing and then everybody else would fight over the belt so what about none of them?
Speaker 1:where does goldberg go? Was he in there, oh?
Speaker 2:well, goldberg was mostly a WCW guy.
Speaker 1:Oh wow, I got that wrong.
Speaker 2:Yeah, well, he did come to WWF, but it was after WCW went under. A lot of the WCW talent didn't immediately come over to WWF because they had guaranteed contracts and it's like, hey, you got two years left on your contract. Yeah, ddp was actually one of the ones that did come over. It was like DDP, booker, t, chris, benoit, like a handful of the guys did come over but Goldberg sat at home and collected his money and then eventually did come into WWF. But Goldberg was just a hype machine guy man. He wasn't a good in-ring worker. His move set was very, very, very basic.
Speaker 1:He could only do a couple of things.
Speaker 2:Yeah, he injured a lot of guys while wrestling just because he wasn't a good worker, but the hype around Goldberg when he was in WCW in the late 90s was awesome. Yeah, I can't deny that. I used to get real fired up for Goldberg.
Speaker 1:All right, so we went over the history Lately, though nothing recently you've mentioned as being up there.
Speaker 2:No, no, nothing like earth shatteringattering. I also took a handful of years off. I hadn't been watching wrestling all that much. Well, that's probably, um, really, until the rock came back last year that's what they're probably looking back in.
Speaker 2:I, I love me some stone cold damn what got me back in the rocks, what got me in. But um, I gotta give uh, I gotta give triple h credit, because triple h is now the head of creative and he's writing all the storylines and he's doing a hell of a job. And the uh, the roster the roster that wwe has right now has got a lot, a lot of talent on it. These guys aren't as good on the mic as the guys back in the Attitude Era were, but their athleticism is off the charts. Man, the first night, saturday night's main event, is going to be a phenomenal match. It's a triple threat match with Roman Reigns, who's the Rock's cousin, the original tribal chief, roman Reigns versus CM Punk, versus Seth Rollins, in a triple threat match. That match is going to be phenomenal.
Speaker 2:There's so much bad blood between all these guys. Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins' bad blood goes back to Florida championship wrestling when they were first trying to break into the business in their early twenties, and they've had beef ever since then. Then, when it got into WWF, seth Rollins turned on Roman Reigns at one point when they were members of the shield. I think that, uh, this, this main event, I think it's got another run in coming. I think Dean Ambrose comes back in that triple threat match because he was the other member of the Shield back in the day and he's been wrestling for AEW for a couple of years. And I think Dean Ambrose comes back at Mania too on Saturday night. I think he gets involved in that triple threat match.
Speaker 1:So, other than the main event, what's the match you're looking forward to the most?
Speaker 2:the match. There's a couple I'm I'm really looking forward to. Um, you got it's a uh, they're calling it a thin city, which I mean it's basically just a no-rule street fight, but since it's in Vegas, it's a Sin City Street Fight and it's with this guy, Drew McIntyre, who is like a six-foot-eight Scotsman who is a badass dude, and he's fighting Damian Priest, who's another like six seven-type big-ass dude that are going to have a street fight. It should be good and violent, but I'm really, really excited for what they call a fatal four-way match. It's four guys all fighting for the Intercontinental Championship.
Speaker 2:The current champion is a guy named Braun Breaker, and this is probably why I'm so fired up about this one. Braun Breaker is Rick Steiner from the Steiner brothers Son, and he's built like a brick shithouse and he's awesome and he ties back into the childhood stuff, so I love him. And he's going up against this Mexican wrestler named Penta, who just showed up in WWE a couple of months ago, and Penta has got some moves that I've never seen. He's inventing new wrestling moves, which is really cool to see, because I mean, he's so many belly-to-belly.
Speaker 1:What's he?
Speaker 2:look like. Well, he's got a mask on.
Speaker 1:He wears all that.
Speaker 2:Because he's one of the Lucha Libre guys, but he's a bigger Lucha Libre guy so he could do some more stuff. No, not that you can't really tell he's got like almost like you can't really see how he's built. He's just super athletic. He flies around the ring. You've got a huge following down in Mexico, obviously. So you'd say he's not fat. No, no, no, there's not very many fat guys on the roster right now. No, no, no, all right, there's not very many fat guys on the roster right now, oh I know, I know, I know, but that one, yeah man, he's fighting.
Speaker 2:And then Finn Balor, who's this other guy? I don't understand why he gets a push. He's like a little dude, I don't get it. And then Dominic Mysterio, who's Ray Mysterio Jr's son, who I don't know why he's in this match either. It should just be Braun Breaker versus Penta, but it is what it is.
Speaker 2:Well, daggone man and then one that non-wrestling fans could get excited for is this guy. Aj Styles, who's a veteran now at this point longtime wrestler, you know, kind of down towards the end of his career is going against Logan Paul. That's right, Not Logan Paul, that's right, Not Jake Paul. His little brother, Logan, has been working for WWE for a while now and he, of course, he plays an obnoxious douchebag heel. I don't know if he plays that or if that's just what he is.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:But he's so good at it and he's actually really, really, really athletic and he's a really good in-ring worker and, uh, that AJ Styles Logan Paul should be another really entertaining match. Well then, we got a bunch of chick matches which I mean these girls are way better than they used to be, but I mean I watched wrestling for way better than they used to be. But I mean I watch wrestling for you know the fake brutality and I can't really buy too much brutality from a bunch of 5'1" 120 pound chicks.
Speaker 1:Alright, well, we had to go. Well, that was it, folks. Wrestlemania 41. It's going to be hell of a ride, hell of a show. I appreciate that, justin. It's going to be a big weekend for you. What do you say? Like a college football tailgate up.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I haven't heard anything out of Miami, out of spring training, I haven't heard anything.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I wish I had something for you on that. You got some Trash the Portal stuff out of spring training. I haven't heard anything. Yeah, I wish I had something for you on that. I mean in all seriousness. I mean everyone knows what happened recently and the baseball and all the athletics have been canceled with the shooting, and just prayers go to the victims of that. Nothing really else to say. It's just really, really tragic At my school, you know, at a place where I remember going to classes. So Well, just saying it hits and you just feel for everyone. Akeem Williams he's in the transfer portal.
Speaker 2:Florida State's going to have a completely new roster next year.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's a good thing, Because they only won like what? Two games. They can't get worse than they were last year, so I would be pro anybody transferring right now if I'm on the floor to take that, so maybe another receiver on the look You're going to look out for that. We'll have Jimmy Ringo back in here. We'll go over some transfer portals next time.
Speaker 2:Hey man, go old school and get you a walk-on little white guy, wide receiver like Matt Pryor.
Speaker 1:There you go, and then NBA playoffs. The playing games are tonight the final ones to decide the eight seeds. In both conferences you have the Grizzlies versus the T-Wolves and then the Heat versus the Bulls to decide the eight seeds.
Speaker 2:Oh no, heat versus Hawks.
Speaker 1:Hawks sorry.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we already beat the Bulls. That's right. Those will decide that's the plan team in history the Miami Heat.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we'll decide They'll be able to play the Cavs and then, on the other side, the Thunder. We'll watch it. It's going to be exciting. We'll react to it and we we'll watch it. It's going to be exciting. We'll react to it and we'll talk to you next time right here on the North Florida Sports Network.
