Down The Middle Episode 90: Does Triple H Watch The Show?

[00:00:15] Welcome, everyone, to the Down The Middle podcast. How's everyone doing tonight? How you doing, Hakeem? I'm pretty good. Doesn't need to be a while ago? That's why I'm checking us, though. That's why I'm checking us.

[00:00:39] Nah, you're good. You're a little lower than me, but I don't think it's too detrimental. And plus, I'm closer to my microphone than I should be right now because I'm hunched over being lazy. This episode tonight is brought to you by the Final Frontier podcast, which should look familiar because it's my face, too, but in a Star Trek uniform. And also our friends at Valena. We'll talk about both of those in a little bit. But tonight, Hakeem, I'm convinced. I think Triple H watches the show.

[00:01:12] Why are you saying that? Because there's so many things that they're doing now that we have literally called and said to do, and then they did them. And it's not one or two things like it's a lot. Probably the most recent example of what which I'm not giving myself too much credit for this because it's a logical thing to do. But like they're doing with Penta.

[00:01:35] Penta exactly what I said I would do with Penta were I WWE. Most of which, though, is you notice, at least not that I've seen yet. They haven't had him wrestle a single luchador.

[00:01:48] Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I don't respect him. Well, maybe later on later. Yeah, I wanted to. But what they're. Yeah. But what they're doing because of Penta style is Penta can lucha. But Penta's lucha is not. It's it's more hard hitting. It feels more like a fight. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:02:40] Is there putting him in there with people that don't wrestle like him. So it highlights everything he does. Exactly. And it's brilliant. I want to face Gunther. That's like one of my dream matches. I think he will. I think he will eventually. But he. So I have not. I'm a little behind. I had to watch a lot of stuff for other podcasts, but I do want to.

[00:03:08] And see, for the first time in a long time, Raw is becoming television that I don't want to miss. Not that I kind of feel like I have to watch, but I actually want to watch it because of what's going on. Also, I found out, everyone. What app can you stream Smackdown on? I saw it the other day. There's a way you can stream Smackdown and not have to watch it on TV. I can't remember what app I was on.

[00:03:37] Yeah, I know I saw it. I just can't remember what it what it was. Anyway, it's out there. You can search it. And then I also found out that you can watch NXT on the CW app. So you don't you don't have to have cable. Actually, I don't think I don't think you have to have cable for any wrestling today. Not the mainstream, because now you can watch AEW on Max.

[00:04:04] I think I think Ring of Honor, you might need cable for because I don't think that's on Max, but I know that's on true TV. But it's the same parent company, I think. So I don't know. It's confusing. Ah, dang. I wish I could remember. I see something called a sling TV. That's that's kind of yeah, that's kind of like having. That's kind of like having cable. That's like Internet TV. But no, there was a legitimate streaming app.

[00:04:33] And it's one that I have and I saw it. I can't remember for the life of me what it was, though, but I digress. Oh, it was Peacock. It was on Peacock. Peacock. Yeah, I just saw your Peacock app. Yeah. OK, I'm not crazy. I remember. And at first I checked to its recent episodes because I was like, oh, well, yeah, they've got old Smackdown on there. No, it's it's the latest. Oh, cool.

[00:04:59] So I was like, yeah, that's absolutely. So that just makes my life easier because first world problems, I know, but I don't have cable and I've got a really big TV in my living room that I like to watch things on. And then I've got a TV in my bedroom.

[00:05:15] And then I've got a TV in my bedroom that's smaller.

[00:05:44] My stubbornness has paid off. Anyway, back to my original point. Yeah. Raw is becoming must see television for me, like hardcore. That's good. Partially because of Penta, but also. Yeah. I'm still looking for more of his matches. Like everyone must see where they go with him. I'm liking what they see, what they're doing, because I know he did another match with Pete Dunne that I really want to watch.

[00:06:14] Yeah. Yeah. And then probably the this is where I think. OK, so here's the thing I even say in the description. Either we can predict the future or Triple H is watching the show, because for those of you that watch us every time we're on, you will recall numerous times I was saying stuff like, you know, WWE and TNA should really. Should really like get together on something, maybe not even an official relationship, although that would be great.

[00:06:44] And then lo and behold, they started they were teasing it for a year. You know, this all and Triple H has been trying to do this for a while because this all goes back to Mickie James showing up in the Rumble in 2022. Oh, yeah, I remember. Yeah, yeah, I remember that. Yeah. But what was. Yeah. Well, they let her come out with the belt and she was announced as the TNA knockouts champion. And I was like, oh, yeah, OK. That's interesting. That's an interesting change.

[00:07:14] I just. Like, don't get me wrong. I love it. It's got to be a way for Triple H to get more talent. Without necessarily having them under contract. It was like TNA feels more like of a, I don't know, like a job interview to get to WWE now. It's like you really don't really want to watch TNA so much because to me it doesn't transfer to more people watching them.

[00:07:42] To me, it's still the same amount of people or even less now because while I watch them, they're going to come to WWE eventually. Well, but I like that. I like that TNA is getting something out of this because there are NXT wrestlers that are showing up. There are there are NXT wrestlers that are wrestling on TNA television. And the thing is, I dig it, man, because this whole forbid like New Japan proved that the forbidden door thing is stupid.

[00:08:11] Because you always get like, dude, remember, like remember when ECW was on TV and like, I think Kane went on there once. And he got a massive pop. Yeah. And then I remember DX was on there one time. And even though DX was making fun of the show the entire time, they still got a pop. Like people showing up to where they don't normally belong is enough to get a pop.

[00:08:41] So this whole concept of separate companies just. Absolutely. It's ironically, it's. Like Coley, when Coley was going around different companies, like, you know, he was getting big pops. He was going to like TNA, Impact, or whatever it was back then. But, you know, he was happy. Well, not to mention, Cody was a menace back then. It was fun. Yeah. Because Cody would just come in and sometimes he'd be a heel and just trash the company. Yeah. It's great.

[00:09:10] Like Ring of Honor Cody was awesome. I think that was so much fun. It was good times. If only he'd been independent when Lucha Underground was around. That could have been a lot of fun. Yeah. That would have been really good. That would have been a lot of fun. Just have Cody come in there and just do straight, like, just straight wrestling with all those Luchadors. He would have been so awesome. I even liked the Brandy more back then.

[00:09:38] I, yeah, Brandy was fun back then. Yeah. She was. And that weird thing she had with Flip Gordon, where they weren't like presented as a couple or anything, but she would, like, come out as his valet and it's just kind of like, sir, you know she's a married woman, right? But, hey, Cody didn't seem to mind. But what else? Oh, and then this isn't something we predicted, although I'm not surprised.

[00:10:05] I know you said, because in our group chat, you were saying how you were actually excited for this, but Evolve is coming back. Yeah, yeah. Oh, yeah, it was. Absolutely. I don't know how I feel about it. Which way? I don't know. But, like, I want to see how far it goes. Like, what will it be? Like a new NXT? Or will it be, like, its own thing? Or? I was thinking about that today, actually. They almost need another NXT because NXT has just become a third brand.

[00:10:35] That was the only thing I was going to say, yeah. Yeah. NXT's more like it's another brand versus, like, developmental. I mean, it really is, if you think about it. Because anymore, ever since, really now since NXT has become televised, especially now, by the time you're on NXT TV, like, you're ready to be on TV. Or at least you should be. You know, everybody has, like, everybody kind of has their stuff figured out.

[00:11:00] Like, I remember back in the glory days of NXT, you had, like, the top of their card was people that were pretty much ready to go to the main roster. They might have been polishing a gimmick out or something. But a lot of the people underneath were still figuring it out. Like, one week Alexa Bliss would come out and do the fairy thing, and the next week she's with a tag team. And they were just kind of, yeah, for some people they were just kind of seeing what stuck. And I liked it a lot.

[00:11:29] But the wrestling was fantastic. But, yeah, NXT anymore. I would say, especially since Braun Breaker was NXT champion, that pretty much had the vibe of just being a third brand. Because Braun Breaker had as much drawing power, theoretically, as any of the other champions. You know? Yeah. And still does, frankly. Although... Still does, yeah. They appear to be setting something up between him and Penta. Or at least hinting at it.

[00:12:02] So, that'll be fun. But, yeah. We'll see. If Triple H watches the show, I'll know he watches the show if when Phoenix comes to WWE. They do the bit I was talking about where Penta gets into something with a cover. And he might get into it with Gable. And somebody else. And then he has to get a tag team partner. But... I don't know if it's time to go Hill. I know you won't. But I kind of want... I know it's too soon. Yeah, it's way too soon. Hill probably comes. I agree.

[00:12:32] Well, I... See, here's what I want. And we'll see. We'll see if Triple H watches the show. Because what I want to see is, again, he gets... Penta ends up getting into a tag team thing. And they're going to make it seem like he's going to pick Pete Dunne. Because I think they're doing a rivalry thing with him and Pete. And I think it'll probably be Chad Gable. And then somebody else that's going to be his tag team partner. And then Penta's going to come out. And everybody's going to be expecting Pete Dunne. And then Penta's going to do the promo where he's like...

[00:13:02] You know, when you challenged me to this tag team match... You know, I knew I needed a friend. And Penta doesn't have that many friends. But... Then I realized... I don't need a friend. And I don't need a partner. I need a brother. And then Phoenix comes out and they do the whole thing. And then they tag. Then they tag for a bit. And then I want Penta to turn on Phoenix.

[00:13:32] Or... Actually, it'd probably be more interesting to have Phoenix turn on Penta. Yeah. And just... And the whole thing... Like, again, it's so simple that it's good. Is it's like... Of course, they're brothers. And Phoenix resents him for getting to WWE first. It's the same thing they did with Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn. And it worked perfectly. You know? It's... Yeah, I can see that. That being said, I do enjoy solo Penta.

[00:14:02] I don't hate... Trust me. I don't hate Lucha Brothers tag team Penta. But I just really like singles Penta. But I agree with you. I think at some point... Singles Ray. Yeah, yeah. It's not like... Because Phoenix can do it. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That's absolutely true. It's kind of cool. I wish AEW had treated them more like singles wrestlers that occasionally tag team together.

[00:14:29] As opposed to a tag team that occasionally does singles matches. Because... Don't get me wrong. They're great as a tag team. But I think they both shine better. They were phenomenal as a tag team. Yeah. But I think they both shine better as singles competitors. But... I mean... If wrestling is real... Being a singles guy that can tag with his brother when need be... Is a lot more valuable than... You know...

[00:14:57] A tag team that occasionally wrestles singles. Yeah. And honestly, to me, they are better separate even than like Matt and Jeff Hardy. I agree. Matt and Jeff Hardy. Jeff is more of the good singles guy. But Matt, not so much. But... To me, them, they are both perfect. Singles are in tag. Yeah. And they're so different too. Like... It's kind of hard to explain.

[00:15:26] Because they go together as a tag team really well. But... Their styles are very different. Yeah. Even when they're together. Like... Penta still doesn't do much more of the Lucia style. You know... He does a little bit more. But not as much still. He's still different compared to other like Lucia doors that does like the gymnastic stuff all the time. Yeah. For... Yeah. And... I always got the vibe when they were doing...

[00:15:54] When they're tagging together that Penta's more of the muscle. And Phoenix is kind of like the finesse guy. Yeah. Exactly. It works well. Like... I've seen some of the greatest matches. Honestly, with the Young Bucks. It was a really good match between them two. Also, even... I forgot this team. FTR? Yeah.

[00:16:23] Yeah. Now, they're... I have a hard time. I have a hard time... They need to be a tag. They need to be a tag team. Not... That's not to say they can't do it, but... I've seen them when... I think Dash was hurt. It was okay, but... They need a tag team. They are tag teams. Yeah. Yeah. FTR needs... Needs a tag team.

[00:16:54] Yeah. Honestly... Most tag teams need each other. Or like... There's always some times... It's like a level where one is a little bit more popular than the other. But, you know. Yeah, but not with FTR. Yeah, it was like that with the Hardys. Oh, no, no. Not with them. Not with them. Yeah, the Hardys. Enzo and Cass. Yeah. Enzo. Yeah. No, trust me.

[00:17:24] You don't have to clarify which one was more popular. Yeah. No, Cass was definitely the... Yeah, Cass was totally the more popular one. Even like... With O's and... The other guy. Yeah. The other guy's name. Like...

[00:17:53] I get so frustrated with... I get so frustrated with Otis because it's something I should hate. But I just... Again, it's commitment to the bit. When you can... When you commit to the bit 100%, even if it's stupid, I can kind of... I can kind of get behind it. Maybe that's why I can't stand Orange Cassidy anymore is because he commits to the bit until he puts on like a really good wrestling match, which is frustrating because Orange Cassidy can wrestle.

[00:18:24] Yeah. So I guess he's not committing to the bit. That might be... That might be why. Honestly, the bit is just too out there. It's just too... It's one of those things that works fine on the indies when you're not on TV every week. Yeah. Because I'll admit... I'll admit... When I first saw it... Actually, no. I take that back. When I first saw it, I thought it was really stupid. Then I saw it a little bit more and kind of chuckled. But then it got stale really fast. Yeah.

[00:18:55] Yeah. So... Hmm. I don't know. Orange Cassidy is still a mystery to me. But I don't know if you saw this. This is actually really cool. I saw this on social media a couple of days ago. So apparently, Triple H has unveiled two new championships for WWE. But they will not be competed for on WWE television. They're going to be competed on... They're going to be competed for on the indies.

[00:19:28] Oh, I heard something about that. Yeah. Yeah. They're like WWE men's and women's indie champions. Yeah. Which... That sounds awesome. And it's a win for indies. Because... I mean, WWE's title is in your promotion. And I'm sure... I'm sure WWE is going to have say in who gets what. But if I were an independent wrestling company, why would I complain?

[00:19:59] You know what I mean? It's okay. It has WID. WID. That's like their... I don't know. Stamp of approval. Because some wrestling schools, they said they have under the WID. So... It's a belt. I don't know. It's okay. Yeah. I can't remember the specifics. But I find it... So this is another reason why I kind of feel like...

[00:20:30] Championship... WWE... WWE... WWE, not Wii. Oh, gosh. Anyway... So yeah, but this is another reason why I think... Triple H might watch the show. Because what he's talking about is an interpromotional championship. Which we started doing years ago. Oh, yeah. As a cross-promotion tool.

[00:21:03] But yeah, so this belt can be defended anywhere at any time. Literally. Not like WWE 24-7 title. Oh, okay. That's only defended on WWE television or internet. Which actually, we need to get this rolling. Because I've had this belt for like two years. And we just haven't started rolling with it yet. But coming soon. Coming very soon. But yeah, so I'm like... Wow. That idea is so great. Also sounds kind of familiar.

[00:21:33] Triple H. If you watch the show, can you just... Do like a wink and a nod reference. Just say down the middle in a promo. And then we'll know. Okay? Which, oh my god. If he does, I'm going to shit a brick. Like literally. I'm going to be like, oh my god. Record that. Put it in the podcast. And be like... I knew it. Like I'm kind of saying this half-jokingly. But there's been a lot. Like because I've also suggested that...

[00:22:01] I've never understood why WWE wasn't more involved in the indies. And this championship is literally an audition for WWE Developmental. Because you put the belt on them. And then you defend it. And since it's your championship, it's a way to expose one of your new guys before they're your guy. Yeah, I can imagine. Like I just wonder, is it going to be only like a few schools? I hope not. I know it's Booker School.

[00:22:30] It has this one on the WWID. Yeah. And I think Rikishi School. Or The Wild Awesome Moments. Or something like that. And I think it was one more school. I'm not sure how many schools is under that WWID. Well... There wasn't like a lot of them. Well, what I would envision this to be is like, okay, and WWE has the money to do this.

[00:22:57] Like, let's say that your belt starts out in Booker School. But then... And maybe they do dark matches, too. Like, there's a lot of things you can do. But like, let's say that the belt's being defended at an indie show in New York somewhere. Well, WWE just sends a camera crew there, records the match, and then they put it on WWE.com. And the indie gets exposure. Or the WWE YouTube page would probably be better.

[00:23:25] And WWE.com, of course. But if you want to follow that championship, it's totally an internet championship. Because it's expressly said it's not going to be on WWE television. So... It's a win-win. The indies get exposure. So people in New York are like, oh, damn. I didn't even know there was a wrestling company in my backyard. And Triple H understands that a rising tide raises all ships. So, if indies are doing well, there's, A, there's more interest in wrestling.

[00:23:55] There's more talent to pull from. Because the more opportunities guys and girls have on the indies, there's just more talent to pull from. And like, let's be real. Everybody knows that WWE is everybody's end goal. Like, or at least it should be. Yeah, I think there's only a few people that's probably really... I don't know. In the minority where they, like, they don't care. Or... Well, and I... It took a promotion. Well, I have a theory.

[00:24:24] I have a theory about that. Because there was a time where, honestly, like, when New Japan was at its height for me in circa 2016. I thought to myself, I was like, you know what? At this point in time, if I were a wrestler, I'd honestly have my sights set on New Japan more than WWE. But WWE was crap at the time. Like, it was not good TV. So... I can understand why, at the time, wrestlers felt that way.

[00:24:48] But I don't think there's anybody in the wrestling industry that's ever been, like, under no circumstances would I ever want to go to WWE. Like, I understand it might be conditional. If, I'm going to say, if WWE was running the way it is now, after Kenny Omega's New Japan contract expired, I think Kenny would be in WWE. Along with MJF and the Young Bucks. I honestly think that.

[00:25:16] But because WWE was kind of sucking at that time, it made sense to go with AEW. And I'll say it before, I'll say it again. I don't hate AEW. I hate what AEW has become. Only because I wanted it to be better. Oh, yeah. I saw Moose on... That was the other one, yeah. That was a good pop. I liked it. But we... I don't know if I thought Moose would ever be on... But we brought up... That was actually what made me start...

[00:25:45] I'm glad you said that, because then... Yeah, we said... We said, when are they going to bring in Moose? Yeah. And then they brought in Moose. And I'm like, okay. That's a little weird. Because that's a little out of left field. Yeah, I saw that yesterday or maybe earlier today. I was like, oh, I'm so happy. And is it just me or does Moose look bigger on a WWE camera? It looks more close.

[00:26:15] Especially NXT is more close. Yeah, I know. I'm being facetious. But yeah. Actually, it was funny. I did a double take, because at first I was like, that doesn't look like Moose. It's like, wow. Studio lighting... It was the lighting or something. Yeah. Yeah, exactly. It looked different. Actually, I was going to say he usually looks bigger on a TNA camera. But, I mean, good for Moose. I'm kind of shocked that he has to be in TNA by choice for as long as he's been in TNA.

[00:26:45] Which maybe it's a schedule thing. That's another thing. Maybe not everybody wants the whole, you know, WWE schedule surface. That's fair. That's fair. I mean, AJ Styles for a long time stayed in TNA when he probably could have jumped to WWE. And then ironically, when he needed to go to WWE, they were like, nah, we're good. And it's like, all right, man. Off to Japan. I go.

[00:27:16] Yeah. Yeah. I was really excited almost for what's going to happen between TNA stars. There's so many names that's there that I wish that people actually knew they were. And there's so many great ones. And I really, I want to see Nick Nemeth as Nick Nemeth come back in a WWE ring. I think they can do.

[00:27:37] And the thing of it is, and why I'm so excited is Triple H clearly is just a wrestling fan who, like, he's a fan first. And he understands what wrestling fans want. Because it's what he wants, you know. And now we can do it.

[00:27:56] But, so, like, yeah, if Triple H is like, yeah, I want this girl from TNA to be in the Royal Rumble, come on to NXT, and then eventually sign her to a contract. But now she's already been exposed. So it's like a real smooth transition. I was thinking, at first I was thinking, oh, Athena or Ember Moon. I thought she was in TNA. I thought she was in ROH. Nope, she's still in Ring of Honor.

[00:28:26] Apparently killing it. Yeah. I wish I could watch it. Yeah, I wish. I just, I just wish I could watch it. Honestly, she's right now one of my favorite wrestlers, like females. Like, she's that good. She went to New Japan also. Oh, did she? Oh, okay. Okay, I might need to check that out. Yeah, but Stardom's part of New Japan now, so. Yeah, yeah.

[00:28:55] Yeah, so. Gives it a bit of legitimacy. But speaking of things you should check out. Listen, if you like, if you like wrestling. I'm going to go out on a limb and say you might like Star Trek, too. And if you like wrestling podcasts, you might like Star Trek podcasts, too. You can join us every week on the Final Frontier, where we go episode by episode. Every single episode of Star Trek is our goal.

[00:29:19] But here is a brief look at what you can expect on the Final Frontier, plus a sample of our kick-ass theme song. The Final Frontier podcast. These are the voyages of Jake Boger and Justin Spurr. Our weekly mission to explore memories of Star Trek's strange new worlds. To recall the search for new life and new civilizations. To boldly go where no one has had the spare time to go before.

[00:29:47] Which actually, I have to apologize.

[00:30:41] I forgot that trailer actually says Sunday's new episodes premiere on Mondays. Now. But I screwed up. Was it Enterprise? Wasn't that one? Yeah. It was okay. Yeah, I liked Enterprise, actually. I resisted it for a long time.

[00:31:09] But when I finally did sit down to watch it, I was like, oh, this is great. But yes, join us every Monday evening for new episodes of the Final Frontier. Our goal is to go through and comment on every single episode of Star Trek and every movie. So, didn't think about that before we started. Because that will take years. Every movie? Even the bad ones. We're looking at you, Nemesis. How about the fan ones? Let's defend them.

[00:31:38] Like the one that Tuvok made or directed. Renegades? We want to get to that. And then we also want to do Star Trek adjacent, like the Orville. Oh, okay. Yeah. That's really cool. That's going to be literal years. But we're having fun doing it. So, yeah. I realized after we got through about halfway through season one. And I'm like, oh, Grant. This is going to take forever.

[00:32:07] That's a lot of Trek. Thank God we're sponsored by Paramount+. Anyway. We are actually sponsored by Paramount+. So, that's pretty cool. Yeah. That was a surreal email to get. I was like, holy crap. They said yes. Anyway. Yeah. What else? It's funny because there was a lot of stuff I was thinking about where I'm like, I'm pretty sure Triple H watches the show. So, I don't know that he, this wouldn't have been an influence thing.

[00:32:36] But like we called Jordan Grace being in the Rumble again. And we called Joe Hendry being in the Rumble. But I'm not even talking about that. That's just obvious. Yeah. I was going to say that. Maybe it had to be. Yeah. It was. Everybody saw that coming. I'm still just shocked that they're publicly in a relationship with TNA. Like, I think he probably had to fight for that one. I don't know. To me, they are more open to advertisers now. Once they saw that Prime.

[00:33:06] That's true. That's true. That's a good point. Well, and that's something that I think. It's funny. So, I have a co-host too on another podcast where we constantly butt heads about the difference between like internet, entertainment, and television models. And I think Triple H and Vince probably had very similar conversations. Because, yes. Here's the thing.

[00:33:33] When everything is streamable and on demand, you don't really have competition. Certainly not in the same way you did in the old television model where in order to watch a show, you had to watch the show. Meaning, if your show started at 8 p.m. on Monday, you had to watch it on 8 p.m. on Monday. Absolutely. Now, yeah, I kind of do too. I do kind of miss television being an event. But.

[00:34:02] Honestly, it feels like they try harder to hear a little bit more, you know, to gain your view. Well, because they had to. Now. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, but now, which I'll be honest, as a wrestling fan, it's great because I can't. I don't think I can ever watch wrestling live when it's on. Although I can for Dynamite now. But that's because I freed up my Wednesdays before. I used to do two podcasts on Wednesdays. So that was not going to happen.

[00:34:29] But it's rare that I can watch wrestling when it's on. So being able to just find it on streaming is super helpful. But. To your point, it does kind of make it less of an event. Unless there's something very specific that I'm excited about, because I remember in the glory days, back when we were doing weekly wrestling wrap up. When. I had to turn on the TV at eight. Otherwise, I was going to miss something on raw. Hmm. You know, I do kind of miss those days.

[00:34:58] And then you were high. At least I. I was a little bit more easily entertained back then. Because. Like now I have the option to just turn it off. Well, yeah. Well, it was new. It was different. You know, it was. We didn't have like YouTube back then. Speaking of that, how surreal was that to see Santino Morella back on WWE TV? Oh, he was? Yeah.

[00:35:27] Because he's the authority figure for TNA now. Yeah, no. In TNA. Yeah. Yeah. And they were doing a bit where he was like, which NXT star do I want on DNA? And I'm like, this is weird. It's like he's back in WWE, but he's not in WWE. He's in TNA, but they're working together now. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That was probably a wild backstage day. He was probably like, where is John Cena? I'm still waiting for Cena to walk into a TNA pay-per-view.

[00:35:57] That would. I would die. Yeah. I think that would be a really cool thing he could do before he retires, retires. I don't think he would do it, to be honest. I don't think he would either. But come on. A guy can dream. Just to say he did it. It would be a nice fit. Yeah, exactly. Actually, he could come out wearing the suicide outfit. That's a dated TNA reference for you guys. Oh, never mind. No, no. The actual wrestler suicide.

[00:36:28] Oh, okay. Although, that'd be funny, too. But no, he can wrestle the suicide, and then at the end of the match, he can pull the mask off and then give him an AA and lay him out. That'd be fun. That'd be really cool. It would. That would be pretty cool. And then he can go to AEW and just cash checks to not work. So, how quickly do you think we're going to see Rusev back? Everybody else does. I don't know.

[00:36:58] He was taking pictures with Sheamus, I believe. Yeah. I think it was an older photo, actually. Oh, no, maybe not. I didn't see the photo. No, I think you're right. I think it was newer. Which, to me, that just says, hey, guys, I'm coming back. Yeah. Probably. But I don't know where he's going to be. Is he going to be in XT? Or is he going to be in the main? I think you're just going to.

[00:37:28] I think you're just going to hear that old Rusev music and he's going to come back as Rusev. Different haircut. Honestly, I hope it's a little different. I wouldn't be disappointed if he came back. I wouldn't be disappointed if he came back as Miro or Rusev. I don't care. I just want him on TV. I want him to be what he was for the very, very brief time on AEW where he just came out and wrecked people.

[00:37:58] Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I don't think I've ever seen him look as good as a character. And it was just, it was great. And then they stopped. Just completely stopped doing it. I just. The thing was so stupid. What's that? It's a lot. They do that a lot with a lot of other wrestlers. It's just like stop and go, stop and go. Over in AEW. And I'm. Shame to me.

[00:38:26] I can't remember the last time I watched Dynamite. Much less Collision. Like. I just kind of can't be bothered. I have. I don't know. I watched clips. And I watch. I don't know. It's hard for me to watch wrestling in general, to be honest. Yeah. It's a two hour wrestling program. It's kind of hard to stomach sometimes. Although. The vast majority of Raws I've been okay with. But.

[00:38:54] Honestly, nothing is exciting. Like. I'm not even excited for. WrestleMania. Like. Like. Who's on it? Well, we don't know yet. But I. I think this year's WrestleMania is actually. I think this year's WrestleMania is actually going to be really, really good. We just don't know what's going to happen yet. But. And then did I see that Hikaleo is now in WWE? Oh. Probably is. Yeah. It's Tama Tonga and Tonga Loa's other brother.

[00:39:24] Yeah. Uh-huh. Yeah. I saw that he had a Titantron theme, but I don't know. I don't know if he's in NXT or if he's on. I would imagine he's in NXT, but. Don't know. Well, that's another thing. I don't know why it treats the other Tonga Loa like garbage. It treats him like a jobber. Since he got there. Well, I mean. He's never shined. He was. He was.

[00:39:54] He was. He was. I mean. He's playing his role. I know, but he was so much better in Japan. Yeah. But remember. Remember though. Remember how quickly Solo. Just. Rose. But he came in and was. Yeah. Yeah. He came in and was Roman's lackey for a bit. And then. Yeah. Like, gosh. Talk about an Ascension though. And then Jacob Fatu's already. Like.

[00:40:24] Not main event. But he's. He's. He's very popular. Although. That was. Gonna happen. That's. That's obviously. Yeah. Honestly, he's my favorite out of all of them. He's just so fun. Because he. I mean. Yeah. He is that. Like. I saw. I saw an interview he was doing. It was like. He's like, man, I'm too lazy to play a character. That's me. Like. Yeah.

[00:40:53] And I'm like, you know what? I kind of. I see it. I see it. I'm trying to think of what else. Because there's. There's been a fair amount that I'm. I think it honestly was though. Moose was the catalyst that made me think like. Oh. No, no, no, no. I think. Somebody in WWE watches this show. I'm flattered. I'm just saying. Give me. Give me a little wink and a nod. Or a sponsorship. One of the two. I'll take either. Preferably both. I was going to say that.

[00:41:23] Yeah. Yeah. Preferably both. But. I swear, dude. If on. One of the shows. Triple H says the phrase down the middle. I'm going to know. I'm going to take that. As a sign. Clip it. Clip the. I'm going to clip the shit out of it. Out of that. And just be like. Excuse me. Where's the check? Hey, Trips. I'll trash AEW on here every week. If you want me to.

[00:41:52] Send me that fat check. And a Legends deal. No. I'm kidding. Speaking of Legends though. How about Trish? I know we talked about Trish. But. Trish still got it. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Yeah. I don't think she ever lost it. To be honest. That's true. I don't. I don't think she ever had to go looking for it. I think it was pretty much like. Hey, Trish. You want to be in the Royal Rumble? Hell yeah. Ring rust.

[00:42:21] What's that? I honestly wish she was there more. Like. She brings. I don't know. Part of like the attitude error. With her. So I like it. I think it. Yeah. I think it was Jim Cornette. Who was kind of saying. It was like. Ugh. Who's saying like. Trish is almost. How old is Trish? Trish is almost 60. No, wait. She's almost 50. Sorry. No, she's almost 50. Oh, okay. Well. I got four and five mixed up.

[00:42:51] Yeah. Trish is almost 50. And Jim. I'm quoting Jim Cornette. I'm not saying. It was like. Trish is almost 50. And she's in there wrestling better than. You know, like. Over half of the. Active roster. I mean. It is Trish Stratus. Yeah. Yeah. I was kind of stoked. A couple years ago. They had that storyline with her. I was kind of surprised. That she was on TV that often. I liked it.

[00:43:22] I just kind of figured. It would be a one and done. With that rumble. But. Yeah. And then. Michelle McCool's. I wish they'd bring back. Oh, yeah. I forgot about her. Yeah. She's going to be in the Hall of Fame. Hall of Fame. Yeah. What were you saying? You wish they'd bring back. I don't know why. Yeah. Because she's married to Undertaker. Oh, of course. That's the only reason why. Can't think of one. Phenomenal.

[00:43:52] Michelle McCool match. Ever. It was funny though. Because. Hot Stuff Joey Holmes. Of. Down. Not down the middle. Of. Weekly Wrestling Wrap Up fame. Had a real. He had a real thing for Michelle McCool. Now granted. This is Michelle McCool. Circa 2007. So. It was a little different. But. He definitely. He had a. He had a thing for Michelle McCool. I had a. Kelly Kelly and Melina thing. But. Not together. I mean just.

[00:44:23] Yeah. Although. Anyways. But yeah. You were saying you wish they would bring back. Something. Yeah. Just discussing her. I forgot her name that quick. Um. She's married to. The. The. Guy on. Was it. I forgot her name. I'm thinking of it. It's like. Describe her.

[00:44:52] Paint me a picture. Oh. She. Wears a cowboy hat. She. Oh. Nikki James. Nikki James. Yeah. Yeah. Nikki James. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I wish they'd bring her back. I don't know why. Is she still wrestling? Yeah. Oh yeah. Yeah. She's married to. Nick Aldis. Yeah. Nick Aldis. So. I don't know why. They don't bring her back. Well. My only thing I could think of.

[00:45:22] Is that she doesn't want to wrestle right now. I mean. To be fair. But. She's not an active. TNA wrestler though. Not. Not now. But. Oh. Okay. I don't know. Maybe. I haven't seen her. But maybe. Maybe she's focusing on her music. Oh. I forgot she did music too. Yeah. Country. She sings country. Hardcore country. To be exact. I didn't know such a thing existed. But.

[00:45:52] Hey. Maybe just after the end of each song. They just hit each other with guitars. Maybe that's hardcore country. Jeff Jarrett style. That'd be cool. I was going to say. I'd go to that concert. At the end of the match. He just baseball swings it. Hits the dude right in the. Right in the head. It's going to get expensive quick though. Those guitars are not cheap. Yeah. I mean.

[00:46:21] I guess the ones that you're going to crack over people's heads would be. They're the like hollow ones. I think. Well. I think they're all. Well. I guess hollow is not the right word. But yeah. Yeah. Those are definitely hollowed out for splinters. You don't want splinters. Speaking of guitars though. Apparently. Elias. Now known as Elijah. Is in TNA. That was the other thing. Yeah. I saw him. He helped it out. Joe. He helped him. Help Joe. He's an injury. Yep. They had a. They had a little concert together.

[00:46:51] Which I think Joe. Joe Hendry coming to WWE is imminent. Honestly. I thought he already was in there. I thought he was too. Yeah. And I kind of. I didn't click. They said it on commentary in the Royal Rumble. Jordan Grace is now a contracted WWE wrestler. And she's on the roster page now. Yeah. Yeah. So that's cool. That's very cool. I wonder how that. Does that work? Like. Does TNA get somebody. Or would they ever get somebody from like NXT.

[00:47:21] To be like on the roster. I don't know about on the. Because the thing of it is. Is Jordan Grace did not renew her contract with TNA. Okay. Yeah. Like NXT. There are. NXT. I think Cora Jade was on an episode of Impact. Oh yeah. She was. She was. Yeah. But she's. She's an NXT wrestler who's appearing. Yeah. I don't. I don't know that anybody would backtrack to TNA. But I mean. Well I say that. Nick Nemeth. But. But Nick Nemeth got released first.

[00:47:53] Exactly. Same with Mufasa. Ali. Yeah. He did get released. Although that'd be another one. I think he should just show up randomly. And be like. I'm back. Bitches. Yeah. Both of them are look better now than they ever did. That's so. Dude. It's. They. They needed to leave. And that's. That's a thing. We've talked about it before. Sometimes you just need to go away. And. Now that they're working with TNA. Or even evolve.

[00:48:22] NXT. Like some people. Yeah. I think rotations down to NXT should become a thing again. Because they were doing that for a minute. Yeah. Right. They would just periodically. You'd go down to NXT. Oh. Speaking of. Going down to NXT. Fandango is back. Yeah. Saw him too. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. He was. On NXT. But. Still. He got a pop. Yeah. I wonder if people actually knew who he was.

[00:48:52] He looks so different. He does. Yeah. That was wild. It's kind of like when you see Tyler Breeze now. It's like. He looks the same. But. Also very different. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I don't. I can't remember if he's wrestling anywhere right now. I think he. Does he not work for WWE? Just behind the scenes? I can't remember. I know he runs like a school. Yeah. I knew. I knew he had a school. But. Don't quote me on that in the comments section. If you know. I'm. I'm having a brain fart. I cannot remember.

[00:49:23] I've also been very happy. Because it seems like. For the most part. The music department is getting better. Certainly the. The titantrons are getting better. Because they were. They were getting pretty damn generic there for a minute. Yeah. Honestly. I wish. Even like in. AEW. NWE. Like. I wish the music was much better. Like. It's kind of like. It's. It's getting there. But. It's still kind of lame. Well.

[00:49:53] I think what. I. Snappy. Yeah. Well. I think what they should do. And I've said this before. But I'll say it again. Because now I know Triple H watches the show. So. Here's what you guys need to do. You guys need to make it so. Independent bands can submit music. To be used. And. It's significantly. W. Cool. Well. Because the thing of it is. Is WWE can say. Okay. We're going to license this piece of music. I think there's a legal minimum. That they have to pay. But. I don't know. If they're not represented by a record label. Then I don't know.

[00:50:22] What it would be. I would think it'd be substantially cheaper though. But. If they can get away with doing it for free. The caveat is. It's like. Okay. Then we put. Because Ring of Honor did this for a minute. Where. A wrestler would come out. And then down on the lower third. It would be like. This is the song title. This is the band. And the people would. Look that up. And I think a brilliant candidate. Would be our next sponsor. Actually. Our friends at Valena. They have a ton of songs. That would be great entrance music. In WWE. And here's.

[00:50:52] Two examples. Right now. Two tidbits of examples. For San Records is proud to introduce. The newest album from Valena. Including the singles. Cut Me To The Quick.

[00:51:28] And Remedy. Valena. Save Me From Myself. Available now. Wherever you get your music. Yeah.

[00:51:58] I mean. Like I was saying. They didn't hear it. Because of the magic of live television. But what I was saying. Is like. There are so many great bands. That would. Hill for that spot. And in fact. There's bands that I only know exist. Because of WWE. Same here. Yeah. There's a ton. I recently saw a video too.

[00:52:27] I guess Our Lady Peace. Was in Calgary. Recently. And they played. Crispin Wazold theme. That song. And they said. We're taking it back. Oh yes. I'm like. You know what? I mean. It is their song. I'll get. But like. Bands like Rev Theory. Right? I only know that band. Because of Randy Orton's. Admittedly kick-ass theme song. Living Color. CM Punk. Cult of Personality. Turns out. They're a really good band. I just never knew.

[00:52:56] They existed before. Mm-hmm. What are some. There's. There's some other ones. Motionless and White. Never knew they existed. Until Rhea Ripley. And New Year's Day. As their first theme song. I love New Year's Day. Great band. Only knew about them. Because of Rhea Ripley's. First theme song. And now. For me. It was Bray Wyatt's song. But I think it's. The whole theme song. Who's? Bray Wyatt's?

[00:53:26] Yeah. Bray Wyatt. Yeah. Triple H. I definitely think. You should do that. Is make a place. Where people can submit music. And. Yeah. Thank. Thank us later. Because. I think that'd be a. Great idea. Because it just gets away. From the super generic. Yeah. Oh. I think you're freezing. A little bit there buddy.

[00:53:56] Oh no. You're good now. Yeah. Send me your. I don't know. All right. Okay. It's better now. Okay. Yeah. Whatever it was. But gosh. Yeah. I mean. Heck. I know. Hacking. Yeah. Hacking it. Get that feed. I want that information. Sir. You can watch it live. I don't care. But yeah. Think about it. I love the story actually.

[00:54:25] That reminds me. Because. I forget what documentary it was in. But Triple H tells the story. About how they got his theme song. And he was like. He was like. They were going through a bunch of different things. And he was just like. I don't know. I kind of want it to. Can you make it sound more like Motorhead? And then apparently they were like. Can we just get Motorhead? And they're like. Yeah. And he was like. Oh my God. And then they got Motorhead. That was back. And honestly. I think that was peak WWE music. There used to be a time. Guys. Youngins.

[00:54:55] You kids out there. Johnson. I love the gym. I don't know why. I. I think he retired. I don't think he was fired. But that was. No. He was fired. He was fired. Why? He was fired for. Being too awesome. CF. I don't know. I think it was like an argument. Or. Some kind of. Disagreement. Yeah. He was probably in there being like. Hey. Your music sucks. Have been done. Well. Well. Hire him back please. If he's still working.

[00:55:28] Cause yeah. That was. There was a time when WWE. Had a record label. Like they used to. They used to put out. Music CDs. They used to put out albums. In fact. There was one. I think. I had one. Yeah. I think. There was a few. I think one of them was called. Forcible Entry. And what they did was. They took. They took like. Established wrestling themes. But then they had other bands. Like cover them. The drowning pool version. Of Triple H's theme. Is.

[00:55:57] Awesome. Okay. It is. It's better than it has. Any business being. And then. Heck. POD does. Rain Mysterios. To this day. Like that's. That's POD. Oh yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It seems like if you're grandfathered in. I forgot the fact. Yeah. Yeah. That's POD. It seems like if you're grandfathered in. You get to keep your cool music. But nowadays. It's like. Except Cody. Cody's one of the few exceptions. That's another band. Or his own music.

[00:56:29] Oh gosh. What's the name of that band? That's so sad. Because I know. I know them. Because I. Again. Through wrestling. I was exposed to them. They did a lot of themes for WWE. It's not Def Rebel. It's. Um. I'll remember it eventually. That's really sad. Because I know. Downstate. Oh okay. Yeah. They did. Uh. Gosh. They've done a few. Uh. Another really good one was. Story of the Year. Did.

[00:56:57] The newest version of Christian's theme. Before he went to AEW. Of. Oh okay. Okay. His theme song. Really dug it. Yeah. I did. I dug the original. Because it was so different. Like you remember Christian's theme. Back in the day. Yeah. Yeah. I liked it. A lot. It was great. But it was so different. Um. It was like Evanescence. Before Evanescence. Because that was way before Evanescence. Absolutely. Absolutely. Yeah. It's a great song. But then Story of the Year did a cover of it.

[00:57:26] And they made it a little bit harder. And I was like. You know what? I'm done with this. I like both of them. Um. But they did. Downstate did Alex. That was Evanescence. Yeah. It was. Yeah. Before Evanescence. Right? Yeah. Um. But yeah. I mean there's so many. Just. They should get independent musicians to submit music. Please Trips. Do it.

[00:57:55] I guess that's why I was so disappointed with the themes. Like. I used to love the theme songs. Like. Yeah. A lot. The entrances used to be my favorite part. Yeah. I know what you mean. Absolutely. And now there's only. Like. I really like Kevin Owens theme. And I really like Pete Dunn's theme. Other than that. None of them really stick out. Yeah. It's almost like generic. Music. You know. It's free. That's what. That's why I don't like DJs man. Like Jim Johnson was a legitimate music producer. A music. A musician.

[00:58:25] He was. And all these DJs. Are just like. Oh yeah. We're just going to make a beat. And then. On my laptop. Do do do. Do do do. Do do. Do do. That's it. The last. The last great theme. I liked it was. Sean Spares. When he was the chairman. Guy who did that. I. I. I. I. Will say. AEW is a little bit better. About. Because they have. Access to the Warner Music Library.

[00:58:55] But. Oh okay. They're marginally better. Speaking of Evanescence. This is a fun fact. This is a fun fact for you. Did you know. That. Christian's. Christian Cage's theme song. In both TNA and AEW. Is just the instrumental version. Of an Evanescence song. Nope. It is. 100%. It's the instrumental version. Of my last breath. Which is. A really good song. But. Oh yeah. Yeah. Listen to it. It's. It is. It's absolutely that. Yeah.

[00:59:25] I used to be a fan. Yeah. I. I never really did get into. The new Evanescence. Like. Somebody told me. I think it was. Actually. I think it was Rachel. From Valena. She mentioned Evanescence. Touring and passing. And I was like. What? They're still touring? They're still touring. Really? No. I don't think so. I think there's. Maybe they did temporarily. But yeah. Like. They're putting out albums. And touring. And. I'm like. Good for. I think she did break away. For a bit. I don't think they ever broke up. But I think she did a solo project.

[00:59:56] A few years ago. Yeah. For sure. But. Yeah. So that's. I don't know. I miss music back then. Like. That was my era. Music. Now. Yeah. Mine too. Unfortunately. Rock is dead right now. Dude. Dude. There's like. Two bands carrying the torch. I only. My whole. Phone album. Is just like. Old music. From the last 10 years ago.

[01:00:25] It makes me feel so old. When I go and listen to my music. Because then I realize. I realize. I'm like. Oh my god. This song came out in 2000. Oh. Yeah. Yeah. Like mine's like. 2000. 2009. Yeah. You know. Like. Old Lincoln Park. Yeah. Back when it was good. Actually. I listened to their new stuff. Because the new vocalist. There was some controversy. Yeah. I don't like it. I like their new song. But that's. I kind of said.

[01:00:55] At the time. I said. The mistake they're going to make is. And I understand why they're doing it. Is they're going to go back and play all their. Their hits. But she's. But she's not. Yeah. But she's not Chester. Their new song's not bad. It's different. But it fits her. So. I kind of. I kind of figured. That's what was going to happen. And I mean. It's not like they kicked Chester out. So. You can't really have that much ill will. You know.

[01:01:24] Oh yeah. Absolutely. It is that for me. Like. I stopped liking them since they did like. Minutes to Midnight. That CD. That was. Yeah. Meteora was the last. Good Linkin Park album. In my opinion. Yeah. Yeah. And Reanimation. I liked that one. I did. But I only. I count that as a cover album. I mean. It's just a remix. It's a good remix. It's probably the best remix album. I've ever heard. Because. They're all bangers. I'm like. How do you take these awesome songs.

[01:01:54] And make them better. Like. Yeah. It's wild. But yeah. Man. Linkin Park. Um. Sad thing is. All these bands are still touring. They're just not doing much new stuff. I think it's really. Basically. Avenged Sevenfold. And Falling in Reverse. That are kind of carrying. The rock torch. And that's. Yeah. But Korn. Korn's been. Korn's been doing that. That's what I said. There's a lot of bands. That are still touring. Like. Disturbed's coming out. With a new album.

[01:02:24] Which I didn't know about. Yeah. Or new-ish. Dude. I love Disturbed. Dude. Fun story. We're rambling. Funniest. Funniest thing. We've reached a portion of the podcast. Where we're no longer talking about wrestling. But. Yeah. You're wrestling. But I hated that album. When it. Oh no. Not Believe. I'm sorry. I'm thinking of. No. No. I'm. I'm thinking of 10,000 fists. No. Believe is great. I love it. I love Believe. That's the first album I ever had. Oh. The first. Dude.

[01:02:54] Disturbed. With the symbol. Nice. Like. Nice. Dude. Disturbed was the band that actually got me into music. It was a combination of Disturbed and Styx. I know that's a very strange combination. Different reasons. But yeah. It was funny. Because. I got. I got a copy of The Sickness. Because. A friend of mine was listening to it.

[01:03:24] And. It was the first time. Because I. I listened to music. But I wasn't like. I never understood what people were like. Oh my god. I'm obsessed with this band. Everything they do is great. I never understood it. Because I was like. I kind of like that song. Or I kind of like that song. I was never big. And then I listened to The Sickness. And I was like. I get it. I did a lot. Okay. Oh no. That wasn't 2018. I forget what year that was. But. I finally. Uh. Got to see.

[01:03:55] The life. A life goal of mine. I think I saw Disturbed live in 2016. It was 2018. When I saw Rammstein live. Um. Those were the two. Two. Yeah. Those were the two bands on my list. That I said. I have to see them live before I die. Um. Both of them. Were like. Religious experiences. You have to understand. I'm a pretty reserved guy. No. No. I don't. I don't move around a lot. I don't emote a lot. Bro. At these concerts.

[01:04:23] I lucked out at the Rammstein concert. Oh dude. Dude. People were staring. And I didn't give a single fuck. I lucked out at the Rammstein concert. Because originally I bought two tickets. But then they postponed it for two years. Because of COVID. I bought them. I bought the tickets. Yeah. I bought the tickets in 2018. 2018. And that I didn't. Okay. I saw the one when he first came to New York. That was like. 2011. Yeah. Okay. So.

[01:04:53] No. I just. Yeah. Like fairly recently. Yeah. I bought the tickets in 20. No. I bought the tickets in 2020. Not 2018. When did. Yeah. But anyway. I didn't get. I didn't get to actually see them until 2022. Because of COVID. What. I had two seats originally. But I couldn't sell the other one in time. So I said. Fuck it. So I went. And then. It just so happened. The other seat. On the other side of me. Was empty too. So I had like three seats. To just go nuts.

[01:05:24] And I did. I am not ashamed at all. Zero shame. Dude. I just couldn't help it. And Disturbed was the same way. Like I. Every lyric. Everything. I was going nuts. The next day. Both occasions. I couldn't turn my head. I had no voice. I was like. I was like. Good times. Great times. Yeah. So much. I remember that band is. As good as. The CD. As in live. But sometimes.

[01:05:53] The live experience is a little different. Yeah. When the band is exactly the same. I. Yeah dude. Same way. I love that. I absolutely love that. Breaking Benjamin was. They were at the same show as Disturbed. And I'm sitting there listening to them. Like. Oh god. I forgot how good these guys are. And then it was a really. It was a really surreal moment. Because a couple rows. In front of me. I saw these two girls. That couldn't be. Like. I honestly thought they were about 14. They couldn't have been a day over 14. And they're wearing like.

[01:06:23] Breaking Benjamin gear. And I'm like. Your dad's exposed you to this. Because there's no way you found this on your own. Like. But it was cool though. I was like. You know what? They're carrying the torch. But now I kind of really want to see. Falling in reverse life. Because I. That's another one. Yeah. Because I. I resisted them. I will be the first to admit it. Eric. Was like. Dude. I'm listening to this band. They're so awesome. And then he tried to.

[01:06:51] I didn't get Popular Monster dude. I. I didn't get it. And then finally one day. I got it. Uh huh. Because I actually. I think I. I was pissed off about something. Like. Legitimately pissed off. And then that song came on. And I was like. Oh. I get it now. Jesus. I get it now. That's how it was feeling. Yeah. Like that's how I got into the music song. Like that's how. I got into Disturbed. Yeah. What? Death. Stars. I'm not heard of them.

[01:07:22] It's new metal. It's like new heavy metal. Yeah. I love Death Stars. I didn't take you for a metal head. I like it. Oh yeah. Absolutely. You seem more reserved than the typical. Which I mean. To be fair. I get that a lot too. So don't take it personally. But. I get that too. Whenever people. I totally get why. It's like. Yeah. It's all inside. That's. Until it's that good. And then it's just. I get that all the time dude. When people see like my playlist. They're like.

[01:07:51] What the fuck? Yeah. I'm like. I know. For me. It's only death. Mellow. Heavy mellow. New rock. Nice. Turn of the rock. Stumpop. No see. I'm. I'm. I'm really weird though. Like I'm all over the map. Like people look at my playlist. And they get confused. Because like. You'll. You'll jump straight from. Like literal Slayer. To. Like. Top ballads. And. And Dolly Parton.

[01:08:21] And I've been on a big Robbie Williams kick. Ever since that movie came out. Honestly. If you didn't mention that. Like. I never knew who he was. Like. Same here. I didn't know who he was. Like. Robbie Williams. Like. Oh. He's famous in the UK. He's famous just about everywhere else. Except here. And it's like. And I'm telling everybody. Yeah. I'm telling everybody. I'm like. No. Listen. Like. There's probably someone. Because he's got a. Such a wide. Category of music. I mean. Shit.

[01:08:50] He's been making music since 1990. Like. And pretty steadily. Like. There's something in there. You're going to like. Right. But. Yeah. More likely. Yeah. And I mean. Don't get me wrong. There's plenty that I've listened to. That I don't really love. And then there's some that I'm like. This is awesome. But. Yeah. So. Apparently. Hakeem's a metalhead. Didn't know that. Love it. Yeah. Hell yeah. It was a. A band called Broken Side.

[01:09:20] It was like. Emo. No. It's awesome. That is badass. Well everyone. I'm already yawning. So that means we're going to wrap the show up. Thank you for enjoying this episode of Down the Middle. Triple H. Let us know. Give us. Give us a sign. A wink. Give me a sign.

[01:09:51] A wink and a nod. Or down the middle. We'll take it. And be sure to check out our sponsors in particular. The Final Frontier Podcast. And Valena. I don't know why I said in particular. Those are the only two sponsors we had. I'm tired. I'm going to bed. Thank you all for enjoying. Please like, share, and subscribe if you haven't already. And we will see you guys next week. For another new episode of Weekly Wrestling Wrap Up. And then the following week for another live Down the Middle podcast. And we will see you guys then. Until then. Do whatever you want.

[01:10:21] Go listen to some metal. You know. Get the aggression out. Bye. Bye.