Insight with Chris Van Vliet - AskCVV #121 - Royal Rumble Review, AJ Styles' Retirement, Roman Reigns vs. CM Punk, What's Next For Drew McIntyre?

Episode Date: February 6, 2026

Welcome to AskCVV #121! On this episode, Chris Van Vliet gives his thoughts on the Royal Rumble, the surprises we got and the surprises we didn't, Liv Morgan winning the women's Rumble and Roman Reigns winning the men's Rumble. What's next for Drew McIntyre? Will he face Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania? Chris also answers questions about the interview that changed his life the most, Mount Rushmore of women's entrance themes, favorite moment as a fan and much more! Please support our sponsors: HELIX SLEEP: Flash sale! Go to https://helixsleep.com/cvv for 20% off sitewide! DELETEME: Use the code INSIGHT to get 20% off your DeleteMe plan at https://joindeleteme.com/INSIGHT CAR GURUS: Buy or sell your next car today with Car Gurus: https://cargurus.com HIMS: For simple, online access to personalized and affordable care for Hair Loss, ED, Weight Loss, and more, visit https://hims.com/INSIGHT PURE PLANK: The future of core fitness! Use the code CVV to save 10% on Pure Plank designed by Adam Copeland & Christian: https://gopureplank.com/cvv AMERICAN FINANCING: NMLS 182334, nmlsconsumeraccess.org. APR for rates in the 5s start at 6.196% for well qualified borrowers. Call 866-721-3300 for details about credit costs and terms or visit https://Americanfinancing.net/Chris SEAT GEEK: Use my code for 10% off your next SeatGeek order*: https://seatgeek.onelink.me/RrnK/CVV Sponsored by SeatGeek. *Restrictions apply. Max $20 discount NORDVPN: Exclusive deal! https://nordvpn.com/cvv Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee! PRIZEPICKS: Download the PrizePicks app today and use code INSIGHT to get $50 bonus credit in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup! For more information about Chris and INSIGHT go to: https://chrisvanvliet.com If you have ever enjoyed any of these episodes, could I ask you to please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcast or Spotify? It takes less than a minute and makes a huge difference in helping to spread the word about the show and also to convince some hard-to-get guests. Follow CVV on social media: Instagram: instagram.com/ChrisVanVliet Twitter: twitter.com/ChrisVanVliet Facebook: facebook.com/ChrisVanVliet YouTube: youtube.com/ChrisVanVliet TikTok: tiktok.com/@Chris.VanVliet Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Chris! Greetings and salutations. Welcome back to another one here on Inside. It's me, the three numbers on the back of your credit card. CVV, Chris Van Fleet, hope you've had a great week. Happy Super Bowl weekend. We had the Rumble last weekend. We've got the Super Bowl this weekend.

And I don't have a dog in this fight. My team, the Cleveland Browns, have never been to the Super Bowl. So I just, I love watching the Super Bowl and just seeing the best to the best play it out. Because, again, it doesn't matter who wins. It doesn't matter to me who wins. But if I had to make a prediction, if you're curious, the odds on my bookie favor the Seahawks. And of course, if you sign up at my bookie, use my code, CVV. You'll get a very nice welcome bonus.

The odds favor the Seahawks. But I'm going to go with the Patriots. I just think Drake May has had such an unbelievable season, and I got a feeling. I got a feeling about the Patriots. And if it's a feeling like any of the feelings I had about the Royal Rumble, yeah, that'll be a good thing because, man, I nailed a lot of predictions for the Royal Rumble. We will get into that in just a little bit here. But slap the walls of Jericho on that follow button on Spotify or Apple or wherever it is. that you're listening right now. I just got back from Las Vegas. A.E.W. was there for dynamite,

and I did an interview with the AEW world champion. Yes, after almost seven years, MJF is coming back on the show. And I have to say, he went from being one of my least favorite interviews of all time, last time around, 2019, we did the interview double or nothing weekend. Just, I mean, it was everything, right? Was the room service coming during the middle of the interview? He threw a piece of toast at my head. Just, it wasn't a fun experience. Certainly one I would not recommend you go back and rewatch.

But this time around, this was one of my favorite conversations. It's introspective. It's honest. I think we get a really good glimpse. at just the way that he thinks about pro wrestling and his mindset about it is just fascinating. That episode comes out next Thursday. It's one you definitely do not want to miss.

So make a mental note. Next Thursday, CVV, and MJF. Actually, he told me that only one person in the interview can have the letters, can have the initials like that. So it's MJF and me. Next Thursday. welcome, my friend, to Ask CVV

1.21 gigawatts edition. I've been waiting so long for that. You know how much I love back to the future. 1.21 gigawatts. Also, ask CVV number 1 in 21 and 1, Brock Lesnar, edition. If you've got an idea for next week, Ask CVV number 122 if you've got a question for Ask CVV number 122.

Send me an email, CVV at chrisfanfleet.com. I will also say my website just underwent a lovely redesign. Shout out to James Ryder, who works on Chris Jericho's websites. He did a fantastic job with this. So not only can you send me an email, CVV at chrisfamily.com, you can visit chrisfanvlet.com, and you can fill out the contact form on there if you'd like to send in your question for AskCVV. We've got a new way of sending in questions.

And of course, you could always leave a comment on Spotify. Also, give me your Super Bowl predictions on Spotify, if you're listening on there and drop it in the comments. And of course, you can also send them in on social media using that hashtag AskCV. We have a ton to get into this week. So let's start this off with this one from Jeff Schmitz-Habs. on Instagram who says, who were your biggest

Royal Rumble omissions? So much to talk about with the Royal Rumble. Yes, there were some hits. Yes, there were some misses. Yes, there were a lot of things they got right. Yes, there were a lot of things

that they didn't get right. If we're talking about omissions, my mind is blown that Kit Wilson was not in the Royal Rumble. Even if Jeff's, for what I predicted, His music hits, huge pop. He comes out.

Maybe he gets eliminated quickly. He hits the ground with both feet. His music keeps playing. It would have been an amazing spot. It would have been memorable that night. It would have played out on social media in the days after that. I just don't get it. I also don't understand if we're talking omissions here.

How was Joe Hendry not in this? Especially with the fact that Joe Hendry became the new NXT champion on Tuesday night. What a ladder match that was. Oh, my gosh. what a match. But like to continue to give Joe Hendry this momentum. Joe Hendry was one of the biggest pops last year in the Royal Rumble, and he wasn't even signed to WWE.

He was a TNA star last year when this happened. And this was like before like the major stuff was happening with TNA and WWE. Like, yeah, there were some, there was some, a little bit of talent sharing here and there, but not the relationship that they have now. I just don't understand. How was Joe Hendry not in there? And then I think we can from there play like Fantasy Booker and like, sure, there's some situations that could have made sense

and couldn't have made sense. I would have liked to see maybe another legend or two. I think that's always a fun thing, like whether it's Santino Morella coming out or maybe we had someone like Kevin Nash coming out. Like, it'd be cool to see just that legend pop. We didn't really get that. And I understand that there is so much talent right now between Raw and Smackdown and

NXT, also AAA, TNA. There's so much talent. And I also understand that there's so much talent on the men's side and the women's side, and there's only 30 spots here. I get that. But let's dive into the Rumble as a whole. We'll start with the Women's Rumble. I predicted a dominant performance by Lash Legend.

What did we get? We got a dominant performance by Lash Legend, the most eliminations in the Women's Royal Rumble with five, man. Also, what a star-making performance for Soul Ruka. Man, she looked like an absolute star in there, and also in the final three, so cool to see that. I predicted Liv Morgan winning. I had been saying that for weeks,

and I think that this is an issue a lot of people have is like, oh, we knew who was going to win. Like, it was so predictable. Yes, but I think it's like, who wins is part of it, but then it's where does the story go from here? Because I'll take you back to last year. Heavily predicted that John Cena was going to win the Rumble last year. Like, I would say that if you asked most of your friends

and they were being honest with you, they thought John Cena was going to win last year. Who ended up winning last year? It was an unpredictable one. It was kind of out of left field. It was someone that people maybe had, maybe if you were thinking like, all right, one of these five people could win the Rumble,

maybe J. Uso was on that list, but he certainly wasn't your favorite to win. And if you like J. Uso, I understand why you might have been rooting for him, but if you were just looking realistically at storylines, it didn't seem like J. Uso was going to win last year. So last year, we got to, an unpredictable winner, and people complain. This year, we get the two favorites, at least according

to the odds, winning the Rumble, and people complain that it's too predictable. Crazy. You just, you can't win. You cannot win. But I will say this, there is not a single person on the planet that would have predicted those final four, the men or the women's match. Like if you knew who the final four was for the women's match, and you knew who the final four was for the men's match, go buy yourself a lottery ticket tonight, and congratulations because you're going to win tens of millions of dollars. I don't think there's a single person that woke up on Saturday morning and said, you know who the final four women are going to be? Liv Morgan, Tiffany Stratton, Sol Ruka, and Raquel Rodriguez. And you certainly did not wake up on Saturday morning. You said, you know who

the final four men are going to be? Randy Orton, Roman Raines, Logan Paul and Gunther. Yes, some of those make sense now in hindsight, but you're telling me, you're telling me on Saturday morning, you didn't have Braun Breaker in your Final Four. You didn't have Cody Rhodes in your Final Four. You didn't have Brock Lesner in your Final Four,

and like, we'll get into all of that and the storylines that may end up spawning from this and those eliminations and everything, but I thoroughly enjoyed the Women's Royal Rumble. What a lovely surprise with Bree Bella returning. I did not think that was a possibility. I just thought that with her being married to Brian Danielson and him being so ingratiated into AEW,

I just didn't think it was a possibility. I even asked him about it when he was on the show a few months ago, and he said, really the only way that Bree would go back is if she was doing something with her sister. So I guess we're going to see the return of the Bella Twins, and it'll be fun to see what this turns into this time around. I think the only thing for me missing from the Women's Royal Rumble is maybe one or two other surprises. Like, would have been cool to hear Trish's music play.

That would have been a cool one. Or it would have been cool to throw in another legend in there. Like someone who you just, you know is not going to win this thing, but you know can just go. And there's always been a lot of really fun surprises, especially in the Women's Royal Rumble. like you see someone like Michelle McCool entering from the front row or like someone like Tori Wilson. There's always been so many fun additions to the women's Roy Rumble, but I think at this point in the game, there's just, the rosters are so stacked.

It is an embarrassment of riches. But I love that Liv Morgan wins. I love that we're lining up for Liv Morgan, Stephanie Vicar. And I love that there's some tension here with Liv Morgan and Raquel Roe. Rodriguez. Oh, man. I really enjoyed how the women's rumble played out. On to the men's Royal Rumble, and we'll talk about the other two matches separately. Everyone who was picking Bronbreaker to win probably felt a little confused when he was eliminated during his entrance. So who's the new masked man? Delivered a super kick, delivered a stomp, just like the previous masked man

when it ended up being Austin theory. Who is it this time around? And I know there's a lot of people that are tired of, man, we keep seeing a masked man, or we're getting sick of this. If that's the case for you, that's fine. I love that we have this like, who done it. And is this going to get solved next week?

Is this going to get solved the week after that? Are we going to have to wait until something like elimination chamber? I like that it's a constant question. I also appreciate just like, like with Austin theory, is the person who was the masked man at Royal Rumble? Is that going to be the person who gets revealed? Like, this is the thing. It can shift.

It can change. The entire storyline around that could shift or change. We've seen plenty of examples of that in the past. I will give you a few of them now. The anonymous raw general manager, they just at the last minute went, uh, it's Hornswoggle. who was Vince McMahon's illegitimate child? At the last minute, it's Hornswoggle. Obviously, that was not the original plan.

Mr. Kennedy was the original plan. He's talked about that at great length. Wait a second. Maybe the masked man who took out Bronbreaker is Hornswoggle. I mean, he seems to be the answer every single time when there's one of these storylines where we're guessing who it is. So it's either Hornswoggle.

Maybe it's Austin theory. That might make sense. Maybe he's trying to take down the vision from the inside. But I think there's quite a few people that it could be, and I like that, like, there's some question marks here. Is it Seth Rollins?

That one seems obvious, although I don't think that person really moved like Seth Rollins. Is it Logan Paul? Kind of look like Logan Paul-ish. I saw some theories online that it could be just. Jake Paul? Jake Paul did, like, throw out a teaser of like he had something big on the way and,

like, if it came together, we'd know. Maybe it was Jake Paul? And this is leading up to something at WrestleMania. Could make sense. Jake Paul does a lot of stuff with Netflix. Netflix, the home of Monday Night Raw, the home of PLEs around the world. That one could make sense. I also saw, and this one could be interesting, what if it's Adam Pierce? I don't think the person looked like Adam Pierce I don't feel like they were moving like Adam Pierce

but what if it ends up being revealed that it's Adam Pierce like he was so mad at Braun Breaker and then all of a sudden like he's no no just go be in the rumble it's all good and then he gets attacked when he's walking out to the ring I don't know

but Bronbreaker eliminated I think that ruined a lot of people's predictions I think that ruined a lot of people's picks for the final four. Obafemi, what a standout performance, just like I predicted. Tied for the most eliminations. He had five. The other person who had five ended up winning the Royal Rumble,

Roman Rains. Quick sidebar here about Obafemi. What a raw debut this past week. He is just an absolute monster, and he's being booked like a monster. He absolutely destroyed the War Raiders. He was throwing around Ivar, who is no small man. I mean, Ivar and Eric, both of them, no small men.

Throwing them around like they were nothing. Kind of reminded me a little bit of Brock Leser when he first debuted, and he was just tearing up tag teams. Obafema. Oba Femi, what a star. Javon Evans, standout performance for him. Javon Evans was the Iron Man in the match. He lasted longer than any other man, 40 minutes, 58 seconds on the women's side.

You know who the Iron Woman was? She lasted almost exactly an hour, 11 seconds short of an hour. Charlotte Flair, 59 minutes, 49 seconds. I had Charlotte Flair in my final four, especially since she won it last year. And not in the final four. But for all the people saying, man, there weren't. any surprises. I understand they just weren't the surprises that maybe you were looking for. All of us, myself included, were expecting Chris Jericho to come out. If we're to believe the reports

that are online this week, Chris Jericho is still under contract for AEW, which would explain why he wasn't at the Royal Rumble. Will he ever be in WWE? That's another big question that I guess we'll find out the answer in the week's months to come. We'll see. But we had some surprises. We had the debut of Powerhouse Hobbs. His name flashed up, then it switched to his WWE name, his new name, Royce Keys. He looks fantastic.

We had the WWE debut of LaParka. We also had Mr. Aguana entering the Rumble for a little comedy relief. there were some fun moments in there. But again, going back to what we were talking about earlier, I can't believe we didn't get Kit Wilson. I can't believe we didn't get Joe Hendry. We did, also as predicted by yours truly. Chad Gable returned, or should I say,

original El Grande Americano returned. What a fun moment that was. El Grande Americano, the taller, leaner one comes out. And then who comes out next? original Al Grande Americana, who now has a beard and also looks to be in the best shape of his entire career. What a fun moment with the Spider-Man meme and the pointing. So cool. Where does that one go? I'm not sure, but I can't wait to see where that goes because both of those guys can go in the ring. But definitely a few missteps here. Like Brock Leser getting eliminated while Jay Uso's song was playing

didn't make a lot of sense. And I think that Brock Lezor went in there and did what he did, but like, it should have been a thing that he got eliminated. Maybe the timing was just off on that by five or ten seconds, but that one definitely didn't make a lot of sense.

Can someone explain to me why Finn Baller couldn't be in the Royal Rumble? Like, can you explain it to me like I'm five years old? And what is to come of this? Like, where do we go? go from here with Finn Baller and why couldn't he be in the Royal Rumble? I just, I don't understand that.

I also like that we're cooking up something with Cody and Drew McIntyre. I'm sure we'll find out more about that tonight on Smackdown, but Cody not being in the Final Four was surprising to me, especially when they kept typing up the fact that like, you know, he could be only the second person in history to ever win three Royal Rumbles. He would join Stone Cold Steve Austin. He won two in a row, can he win another one here? And then he doesn't make it to the final four because Drew McIntyre takes him out.

So are we getting Drew McIntyre versus Cody Rhodes? Is that happening at Elimination Chamber? Is that something we're leading up to at WrestleMania? For as predictable as the winners might have been for the Royal Rumble, I feel like right now as we're heading into WrestleMania, things are a little, like, unpredictable. And I love it. Something changed.

When we flipped the calendar over to 2026, something changed this year with like titles changing hands on weekly episodes, like just storylines. Like, we'll get into this in a second, but I wouldn't have thought that we would be getting Roman Raines versus CM Punk. And for everybody that was upset that Roman Raines, Roman Raines won the Royal Rumble on Saturday, by the time that Ra rolled around and that segment

happened, my goodness, we're all excited about Roman Raines versus CM Punk for the World Heavyweight championship. Man. But Roman winning the Rumble is, it's just different this time around. The last time Roman won the Rumble was 11 years ago. He was the big dog. He was still wearing the shield attire. He got booed like crazy when he went out there. Not even the Rock could save the Royal Rumble win in 2015 for Roman Rains. You remember that? Booze like crazy. And Roman Rains, I'm sure you've seen the stat online,

Roman Rains will now main event his 10th WrestleMania with this Royal Rumble win. And this is what's so interesting about Roman Rains. Roman Raines never got a rematch after he lost the WWE Championship. So he lost the WWE Championship, Russellmania 40, Cody finished the story. There was not a single match ever again for Roman Raines for that title. So for everybody saying, this is played out, this is predictable. Roman Raines hasn't been part of the title picture in two years,

and he's not even going to be part of that. title picture moving forward. So it's a, we're getting a really different version here, but the thing with Roman Raines is he just can't win with fans. Like, if he's there, people complain. Oh, man, Roman's here all the time. If he's not there, people complain. Oh, man, Roman's never here. If he's the champion, people complain. If he's not the champion, people complain. It's such a funny thing that he's like that big of a star. that he draws love and hate almost in equal portions. And that all brings us to Raw.

What a segment was CM Punk and Roman Raines. What a promo! If you had any questions as to why Roman Raines won the Rumble, I feel like that promo on Monday answered them all. I love how it instantly elevates the world Heavyweight Championship. The World Heavyweight Championship will be contended for

in the main event of WrestleMania for the first time since WrestleMania 24. Edge versus Undertaker. And fun fact, this is only the fourth time ever that the World Heavyweight Championship will be in the main event at WrestleMania. Do you remember them? Do you know

them? WrestleMania 20, 21, 24, like I just mentioned, and now 42. It just instantly makes this match feel big. And it's also interesting because all the way up until last week, we were all talking, myself included, about like, it's going to be Roman Raines with Cody, right? Like, is that what we're getting here?

We're getting Cody versus Roman Raines? I don't think there was even a thought that it would be C.M. Pong. I feel like it was like, all right, it's going to be CM Punk versus maybe Braun Breaker. Things just got real interesting. Like, I don't even think outside of the matches we already know right now, I don't think we can even try to predict what the card is going to be for Rustmania 42. And I think that that's exciting. I think that's a super exciting thing.

The United States Soccer Federation present the U.S. Soccer Podcast. My name is David Goss, and I'm a very good. I'm joined by my co-host, Megan Clemenberg. And now we're giving people an inside look at the World Cup. Times ticking. I think you can feel the intensity. All the guys are wanting to really stake their claimant, and they want to be on that World Cup roster.

There's no doubt about it. Hosting the World Cup on the home soil comes with its pressures, but we're just really excited just as the people are. The U.S. Soccer podcast, presented by Henco. Follow and listen on your favorite platform. J. Mark Lucas on Spotify says, hey Chris, happy Ask CVV-21, one-on-one with the great one. It's all caps how you wrote that.

I hope your week is going well. I hope your week is going well too. AJ Styles losing and retiring from a WWE ring during the Rumble was the last thing that we all thought was going to happen over the weekend. Now that it's all said and done, do you truly believe that Stiles is done with in-ring competition, or do we see him in a TNA or AEW ring? for one last run before he truly calls it quits.

Boy, I did not see that coming at all. And I'm sure you've been listening to the show long enough to know that I love AJ Stiles. AJ Stiles was my guy in TNA. I know, I know that this wasn't the way that I thought it was going to go down. It was the one match I got wrong. I got everything else right. I predicted Drew McIntyre retaining.

I predicted Roman Raines winning the Rumble. I predicted Liv Morgan winning the Rumble. I predicted so many things within that and throughout that. AJ Stiles did not win the match. AJ Stiles passed out. And the legend of Gunther continues. This career killer moniker, he is certainly living up to it. Goldberg, John Sina,

and now A.J. Stiles. A.J. took the gloves off at the end of the match, went to put them down in the middle of the ring, and then stopped himself. And he kind of explained it. He was a guest on Stephanie McMahon's podcast this week. And he kind of explained that, like, he's done for now. But what if his son wants to be a wrestler? What if he wants to get back in there? And then they were joking about, like has anybody ever retired and like stayed retired? When you think about the big names, of course, like everyone jokes about Rick Flair retiring, you know, 14 times or whatever it was, or Sean Michaels having his last match and

then having another one after that. But when you really think about it of like the Hall of Fame level talent, I think John Cena will remain retired. I truly do. I also understand it's only been not even two months but the only one

you could really think of Sting, but that's pretty recent although I think Stings is final, but it's Batista. Do I think AJ Styles is done? My heart of hearts says no.

My heart of hearts says he still has more in there. But at the same time, if this was his decision and I would imagine that everything's surrounding that match, that storyline, and everything leading up to it was his decision,

I would have to think he's really happy about this. What a match that was with AJ Stiles and Gunther. And if A.J. Stiles is done, he left it all in the ring. Like, he never lost a step at any point throughout his career. Unbelievable. But I just feel like, like for everybody, saying he's going to go to AEW, I don't think that's the case. He might make another appearance in TNA, but it seems like right now, unless this is part of this

massive, elaborate thing, it seems like he's done, it seems like he's pretty content with it. But the thing is, it's wrestling. And in wrestling, like, there is that, I know that people say K-Fab is dead, but there is that sliver of K-Fabe. Seth Rollins, the ruse of the century, SummerSlam this year. Right? There's that sliver of like, I know he said that thing.

I know he did that thing. But does he mean it? And I don't know. I would love to selfishly see more from AJ Stiles, but man, what more is there for AJ Stiles to prove? Sure, it'd be great to see him have another championship run. I would love that. But AJ Stiles has truly done a.

all. And John Cena says that AJ Styles is the best to ever do it. That is high praise coming from someone who they call the goat. So I don't, I just don't know. Something felt very incomplete about what we got there. It just, it didn't feel like the retirement moment of the locker room emptying out and everybody standing around the ring and applauding. It just didn't, it didn't feel like it had all of those elements. And perhaps that's by choice. Maybe that's AJ Stiles saying, this is the way I want to do it

and do not get in the way of that. That's possible. That's a real possibility here. But I just feel like there's more. And I guess this will just be one of those things where we'll sit back and wait and see how it plays out. Derek DeGier on Facebook says,

who is the next superstar to be retired by Gunther. Like I said, Goldberg, John Sina, A.J. Stiles. He's just been retiring Hall of Famers. Who's next? And I didn't even mean that in terms of a Goldberg catchphrase. It feels like Brock Lesnar could be next. And if we're to read between the lines of what John Sina said during the interview that we did in December. He was so quick. It was like half a sentence. I don't know if you caught it or not,

but it did make some headlines. It got picked up, certainly by some wrestling websites. John Cena alluded to the fact that Brock Lesnar would be ending his career and riding off into the sunset in Minneapolis this year. Well, what's in Minneapolis this year? Other than Insight Live, which we'll be announcing hopefully in the next few weeks, that'll be Friday night. But SummerSlam is in Minneapolis. this year. So it would feel poetic. And if we're talking about poetic things like with AJ Stiles, debuts at the Royal Rumble, 2016, 10 years later, it's the Royal Rumble 2026. It's poetic. Brock Lezzer doesn't look like he's lost a step at all. But if we're to read between the lines

there, was there a hint given? Is Brock Lezzer retiring at SummerSlam? And if so, man, what a feather in Gunther's cap, that would be, to retire the beast, Brock Lesnar. And I just feel like it would make a lot of sense. And I see the comments, I see the fantasy booking online of like, well, man, look at all the people who are on their way out the door. Gunther's going to retire in the mall. He's going to retire our truth. He's going to retire Randy Orton. He's going to retire Seamus. It's like, all right, some of a home. Hold your horses here, buddy. A lot of those people, like,

Seamus probably going to wrestle for at least another four or five years. I'm sure Randy Orden has several more years left. Brock Leznor feels like a real possibility. And I think that as we see how the matches play out for mania, it'll be interesting. Like, who's Brock Lezor going to be with at WrestleMania? Who's Goonther going to be with at WrestleMania? As we continue down that whole line,

there's so many different things. There's so many different questions, but like, where's Braun Breaker going? What's that? What's Cody Rhodes? What's that match? What's happening with Drew McIntyre?

Does he remain the champion? What's going on with Jade Cargo? Does she remain the champion? Like, is Jordan Grace going to be in the picture here? There's so many fun questions. And again, I love that it's not clear. I love that it's just going to play out here. an elimination chamber this year.

And I know it's early. We've still got almost a month to elimination chamber and also a month to Insight Live. Friday in Chicago, which is almost sold out. CVVTicks.com if you're going to be in Chicago for elimination chamber. But I feel like elimination chamber this year, the stakes are high.

And the stakes are high every year, but I feel like especially this year, feels like it's that much more important. But to end, answer your question, Derek? Maybe it's Brock Lesnar. Email from Corey Johnson that says, hey Chris, real, real one here. I've been listening to your podcast for a few years, and I absolutely love it. You're a great personality and have great insight in your interviews. Well, thank you. My question is, who do you think on the

current WWB roster needs a character revamp? The two that I can think of, Sammy Zane and L.A. Knight. Yeah, although you wrote here, so tired of the yeah. Wow. Both seem to be decent mid-carders, but can never get to the top. I think Sammy is turning into the new Dolph Ziegler, where he's constantly the underdog, and it's the same backstage interviews where he needs his title shot.

He gets it, and then he doesn't win. L.A. Knight. L. is over, but I think his on-screen talking isn't helping him, i.e. the CM Punk bit. It just seems like he says the same thing, over and over again. What are your thoughts? Thank you,

Corey, from Massachusetts. I think if we're looking at character revamps, I don't think Sammy Zane or L-A-Night, they all need to change anything. I think that Sammy Zane had a hell of a match at Royal Rumble with Drew McIntyre. I feel like he's constantly just like he's right there. And I understand what you're saying with both of them.

And I feel like before both of them, their careers are done, they're going to be former WWE champions or former world champions, or maybe even both. Maybe they'll hold both titles. But I don't think either of them need a revamp. I think more like it's a slight pivot on someone like Otis, for example. Like look at the Kit Wilson basically took what they had in pretty deadly, got himself a banger of an entrance theme, an absolute earworm that you can't stop. singing. Kit, Will, son, so good. Look what it's done to his character. Like if Kit Wilson was just doing the like, I'm one half of the pretty deadly thing with the same type of gimmick, it wouldn't

work, but the slight change, slight pivot. And I feel like you could do the same with Otis. Like give Otis a little bit of a mean streak. He could still be funny, but give Otis a little bit of a mean streak. And I think that things could really change there because Otis is actually dangerous. Like a very accomplished Greco-Roman wrestler, like was a prospect for the 2012 Olympic Games like Otis is dangerous. And maybe if we saw a little bit of that. Or like Tazawa, I feel like we're kind of on the verge of something new with Tazawa. Those are the type of characters I would love to see just something slightly different that like would elevate them in such a big way. And I know I keep using Kit Wilson as this example over the last few weeks, but I don't think

there's a better example, especially with what we're looking at on the roster right now. Like, Kit Wilson, if I told you I had an interview with Kit Wilson two months ago, you might have gone, oh, that's cool. That's interesting. When I said I had Kit Wilson on the show two weeks ago, I was inundated with messages and tweets and emails of people saying, I can't wait to hear this episode. Kit Wilson is my new favorite wrestler. And that's what I think. I think that if we see just a slight change from someone like that, it doesn't necessarily need to be Otis, doesn't necessarily need to be Tazawa. But those are two great examples that I'm thinking of that I think would like really start to change things. Like look at Maxine Dupree. Like just a slight change there. And all of a

sudden she's the women's intercontinental champion. And like it's not just a slight change. because there's more aggression in what she does, she has been working so hard. Like, the improvements she's made, even just over the last six months, are huge. And all of the success that she's currently having, she deserves it in spades.

It's amazing to see. That's the type of thing I'm talking about. I have zero problem with Sammy Zane and zero problem with L.A. Knight. Like L.A. Knight's one of the most over-superstars in all of W.E. nothing needs to change there except for the fact that he needs the money in the bank briefcase

way too early prediction because Money in the Bank is in September, a late one this year, and I'll be doing a live show in New Orleans as well. So keep your Saturday night free because Money in the Bank is a Sunday. But I would love to see L.A. night win Money in the Bank

and just kind of constantly just be in the back of everybody's mind. that's what I want to see. I think that would elevate him. Pete Schmidt on Facebook says, Ask CVV number one in 21 in one. Oh man, I love that we are on the same page with that, Pete. Now that Roman has selected C.M. Punk at the showcase of the Immortals,

who do you think will challenge Drew McIntyre for the WWE Championship? Will Drew even be the champion walking in to WrestleMania? That is the million-dollar question. and again, it was so obvious last year. We knew exactly who the champion was going to be. When Cody Rhodes started the year with the championship, it was like, all right, he's going to win this. John Cena's going to find some way,

oh, John Cena didn't win the Royal Rumble. Okay, okay, there it is. John Sina won an elimination chamber. Oh, but my goodness, he just kicked Cody Rhodes in the nuts. Well, that's interesting. But, like, last year it was obvious. The year before that, Roman Raines had had the title for, well, he held the title for 1,316 days.

So at that point, he had held the title for 1,200-ish days. It was like, all right, Roman's going to continue this. I love that this is even a question right now. Will Drew McIntyre still be the champion? And honestly, I don't know. I don't know. If I'm going to give you my guess two and a half months right now before WrestleMania, I'm going to say yes.

Drew McIntyre is still the champion going into WrestleMania, and I think it feels like after what we saw at the Rumble, I'm sure it'll be fleshed out a little bit more tonight, but I think it's Drew McIntyre versus Cody Rhodes, and then maybe it's Cody winning his third championship at WrestleMania, but I think there's a lot of matches. I mean, it would just be pure speculation, it would just be pure fantasy booking,

but I think, like, surprised Bianca Bellaire didn't come back, By the way, I should have mentioned that earlier when we were talking about the Rumble. I'm thinking she must not be ready to go or maybe don't put her in the Rumble if she's not going to win that. But Jade Cargo versus Bianca Bel Air,

my goodness. It feels like what we're looking for. It feels like a match that we're going to get at some point in time. Also, kind of teased during the Rumble, but Obafemi Brock Lesnar?

Like maybe it's Obafemi Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania and then Brock Lesnar Gunther at SummerSlam. But man, if Brock Leser doesn't have that many more matches left, if he is in fact going to retire this year at SummerSlam, we got to get Obafemi

versus Brock Lesnar before he retires. Oh, man. Can't wait. Can't wait. Email from Jonathan Smookler who says, C.V.

Yeah. Since 21 is your favorite baseball number, I had to make reference for that for the upcoming AskCTVV. It's true. 21 was my baseball number. What do you think is the best slash most influential slash most career trajectory changing gimmick change in wrestling history? I'd say Steve Austin going from the ringmaster or stunning Steve Austin to stone cold Steve Austin has got to be it. What are your thoughts? Thanks, Jonathan. that's a great choice for sure, because if it's not for Stone Cold Steve Austin, then he doesn't have the career that he has. Like that character, he made that character, and that character made his career. And it was just a perfect combination of all of the things.

Like, right person, right time, right place, all of it together, just right, like, just atmosphere of where wrestling was at, and that, he was the perfect character in the Monday Night War, as the perfect character to lead the charge during the attitude era. So that's a great choice. And especially when you look at who stunning Steve Austin was and the ringmaster and that guy became Stone Cold,

there were hints of it. Like we saw a little bit of it. Like there were certainly promos that Austin cut in ECW where you went, okay, yeah, he's got some edge to him. I like this guy. I think the biggest one is Isaac Yankham to Kane. Isaac Yankham is a gimmick that's going nowhere. And Kane is a gimmick that he's given, but like it's not a guarantee.

It's lined up for success. You're going to be paired with at that time one of the hottest stars of all time, who ends up being one of the greatest of all time, The Undertaker. You get thrust right into a main event storyline. That's got to be Kane. Vince McMahon saying that, not J.R. I think a lot of people hear that and go, Oh, yeah, what a great call by J.R. Vince McMahon, the one who said that.

I think it's that. I think, like, if you look at the Isaac Yankham character, that's not a world champion. That's not a Hall of Famer. Kane is all of those things. And it's also what they were able to do with the Kane character over time. Also, fun fact, Kane without a mask wrestled for longer than Kane with a mask. That was one of those videos I saw on Instagram where, like eight wrestling facts that sounds so crazy, they don't even sound like they can be true.

And that was one of those. I was like, oh my goodness. I looked it up and I went, huh, that's true. But that's what I'm going to go with. I'm going to say, Isaac Yankham is someone that like, yeah, it was a character you remember now, but not one that you would ever think would be a Hall of Famer.

And you look at it now as Kane. Incredible. This is an email that actually came through on the contact form of chrisfanbley.com before I even put that out into the world. This is from Greg Orino, El Delangelo, or something along those lines. Hey, Chris, I love the podcast. I enjoy all the episodes. I consider myself a real, real one. At least I hope.

Well, all you need to do is listen to an Ask CVV episode until the very end, and you become a real, real one. That's it. It's all you have to do. So hang on here for another little bit, and you'll be a real, real one. So I'm sure you already have been a real, real one if you're sending this in.

I have a Mount Rushmore question for you. You know, I love a good Mount Rushmore question. We talk about Mount Rushmore theme songs, but what about your Mount Rushmore of female superstar theme songs? Ooh. Oh, we're cooking with this one. Okay.

Female Superstar theme songs. How the heck am I going to narrow this down at just four? Huh. This is going to be tough. A lot of honorable mentions coming your way. Ria Ripley. Of course, she will kick off the list here. This is my brutality.

Oh, man. It's starting to be a little bit, starting to be a little bit kind of like Cody Rhodes where the fans sing along, or like Randy Orton, or like C.M. punk, fans are definitely singing along to This Is My Brutality. You're bopping along. What a theme song.

Bianca Bel Air. That one just hits. I love that. What a great song. Oh man, this Mount Rushmore's going to fill up real quick. I mean, how can we talk about Mount Rushmore's and theme songs without talking about Trist Stratis? What a great theme song.

Just so fitting for her and that character. and as soon as that hits, it's just like, oh, we'll go rock. Yeah, you know. You know, it's so good. I'm going to give you a deep cut here. Mickey James, hardcore country. And, like, it played in WWE when she was in the Rumble, but, like, that was her main theme song in TNA.

What a theme song. And she's the one singing it, Hardcore country. Again, so fitting. for that character, so fitting for just the badass that she is. That's my four, but so many honorable mentions here. Sasha Banks theme song in WWE was phenomenal. Kelly Kelly?

That's an underrated theme song. Hala, halla, halla. Michelle McCool? The theme song and the words of that theme song? Like, come on, you're not enough for me. Like, this whole song is basically saying, like, yeah, you're not good enough for me. It's, oh, there are, look, there are, there are, so many. You can look, but you can't touch.

That was definitely on key. Bella twins, oh, so many. So, we'll go with those four. Those will be my four with just plenty, yeah, plenty of honorable mentions. Jay on Spotify says real, real one checking in. Always listening on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday all the way until the end. That Jay makes you a real, real one for sure. Quick question.

What interview changed you most as a person, not just professionally? Appreciate you, Chris, Jay. Well, Jay, I appreciate you as well. I think the answer is actually going to be, it's the interview that changed me the most professionally and also personally as well. It was the interview I did with John Sina in 2019. It was WrestleMania 35 weekend. He only did one interview that entire weekend. He wasn't there in any sort of official capacity. He wasn't advertised to be part of WrestleMania. He ended up coming out wearing the Yankees jersey. Word life is basic thuganomics. He came out.

The doctor of thuganomics came out and had a little, like, quick little segment. But like, John Sina was not advertised to be part of Russellmania. It was just a surprise. We had set up this interview through a mutual friend. And every interview I'd done with John Sina up to that point was like, it was a junk in interview. So he was promoting, I did an interview with him when he was promoting Bumblebee. I did an interview with him when he was promoting American Grit.

They were quick. The American Grit one was virtual. So, like, I didn't even get to see John Sina when I did that. the way that they do some virtual interviews is you're on the phone and that person on the other end is staring into a camera and like answering questions. They can hear you in their earpiece. But I've never said this before. So I did the interview with him. But it's on my YouTube channel. You can check it out. It was from 2017, I believe. It's the first time I interviewed John Cena. I actually reshot my interview questions because the way.

way that we recorded that interview was me just on the phone and him staring at a TV camera wherever he was. I was in Miami. He was in, I think, Los Angeles. So I reshot the questions, and then we edit it together so that it looks like it was happening in that moment. But the actual questions I asked were over the phone. All of this is to say, all the interviews I'd done with him before were like four or five minutes. This one I knew was going to be at least a little bit longer. He told me to meet him. I feel like I've told this story again, but it's worth retelling. He told me to meet him at a gym in Manhattan. So like right in the heart of everything in New York City, there's a private gym. Like go up this elevator and then like text me when you get

there. All right, great. I think we had like 10 minutes, which would have been twice as long as any interview I'd ever done with him. So I get up there. I text him, hey, I'm here. He texts me back and says, I'm here too. I can't see you. And I'm not trying to be funny. And I'm like, ah, he used his own line.

This is great. But then we did the interview, and he kept extending it. So it was supposed to be 10-ish minutes. And I went to wrap it up. He grabs his phone. He looks at the time. You can keep going.

I said, how much longer? How much longer can I talk for? He goes, just keep going. I'll let you know when, when you're done. And then I was like, oh, I want to be respectful of his time. So, like, I went for like five more minutes. So now we're like the 15-ish minute mark or 16 minutes, something like that. And I go to wrap it up. And he goes, hold on. You've got time for one more. I'm like, okay, one more. And then we just, again, kept going. So this 10-minute interview turned

into like 20-ish minutes. And it was just the way that he was so composed during that interview. I'd never seen him in this light before. And, like, it was also the first time that I had heard John Cena curse during an interview. And I was like, oh, wow. Like, that's not the John Cena character that we're so used to seeing. And if we take it back to where John Cena was just in his career in 2019, a blossoming, very successful movie career. His WWE career was, like, sporadic at that point.

So this is 2019, WrestleMania 3rd. He did some work that January, that December and January, did a lot of house shows, appeared on Raw, like a few times, but like it was very much in a part-time capacity. So like, here we are in April. He's three-ish months removed from his last WWE match and his last, like, WWE televised appearance. He was just not part of like the storylines that they had going on. And I just feel like we, it was my first glimpse into like, man, he is so thoughtful with his answers.

And like, go back and watch that interview. Like, I asked him about like Nikki Bella and they had recently broken up. I asked him about AEW, which had been just recently announced at that point in time, but hadn't had their first show. And John Cena Baskas said, I see everything as competition. Like, that's competition. Everything's competition. We talked about a lot of things, but he was just so thoughtful in everything he said, and I felt like he was dropping so much wisdom.

And he said the three words during that interview that I think about every single day, control the controllable. You can't control what other people say. You can't control what other people do. All you can control is how you react to those things. And it's something I think about all the time. So I think when we're talking about just most impactful, interviews and the one that changed me most as a person was that one. Number one, his, his kindness.

And like, seeing how kind he was to me, he didn't need to say yes to doing this interview to me, with me. He certainly didn't need to continue to give me more time. He could have just, when I went to wrap it up, he could have wrapped it up and said, yep, nice to meet you, snap a photo, and then got out of there. Instead, he squeezed it in between a, work out and that I think he was doing a signing for his kids book. So like for him to find the time to do that meant so much to me. And it was this lesson learned of like, it's this quote the rock always says that I love. It's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice. And that was a real lesson learned there of like, man, he's just,

it's beyond nice. He's kind. And he's generous with his time. And then it was also the words that he said throughout that. And like his perspective on like, I asked him, did he want to win number 17? Like, I, man, it's so funny. We're looking back. That was seven years ago. And I'm asking him these questions, like,

especially the one about winning 17. He's like, it doesn't matter to me. Like, it's not up to me. And like, he was just very thoughtful in his answers. So like, change me a lot as a person and my perspective on things, but also that interview at that point in my career, when I was still working my day-to-day job as an entertainment reporter in Miami,

that was an interview that did really well on my YouTube channel and started to continue to give me the confidence of like, well, if I could do an interview like that and it could get these kind of views, maybe I'm on to something here. Maybe I'm on to something. And it was six months later that I ended up quitting my job in Miami and betting on myself and seeing what would happen if I leaned all the way in

and just did this podcast and YouTube channel and see where it would go. And here we are now. And because of you and the fact that you listed, we are the number one wrestling podcast on the planet. So thank you for that. Caleb 2472. What's your most enjoyable WWE memory

or fan interaction before you got big. Well, I still haven't got big yet. So the interaction could have happened like last week. But there is a moment from when I was 17 years old that was, I think that was my favorite fan interaction. February 1st, 2001, I went to the XFL kickoff party at Pladium in downtown Toronto. When I say party, this is.

not like a nightclub party. This was just a, the XFL is kicking off. They brought in some WWE superstars. Here's like a photo op. That was basically it. I waited six hours with my friends Mark Taseghi and Kyle Rutledge. It was February in Toronto. I can promise you, it was not warm. We waited six hours because it was an event that was going to be attended by Kurt Engel, who was the WWF champion at the time, Trish Stratus and Christian. Little did we know that they would just be attending this, and this was not a meet-and-greet,

this was not an autograph signing, this was just them showing up, and it was like a photo opportunity for them to be at this kickoff event. So we waited six hours outside to then get inside and to be like crushed up against this guardrail where they would be entering. And I remember, I remember being so excited because there were like

a few security guards that if you squinted a little bit looked like wrestlers. So we were, I still have the photo album in my office. I printed out all the photos because that's what you did. You printed out the photos back then. This was before digital cameras. I still have the photos of like the random security officers, random security guards that I thought kind of looked like

WWE wrestlers. So silly, but we were close enough to them. We're crushed up against this guardrail. We're now inside. It's obviously warmer, which is nice. And they come in one by one. Christian comes in, and then Trish comes in, and then Kurt Angle comes in.

They walk through the crowd. The guardrails are set up. They walk through the crowds, a couple of high fives. They get on an escalator. And then they disappear. And that's it. So, like, we waited six hours, then got crushed up against this guardrail, taking pictures of security guards who kind of maybe possibly looked like wrestlers,

but certainly weren't, to just see them. And then that was it. They were gone. And we were like, oh, that's it. We took the train into the city, waited in the cold, just to get a glimpse of them. that's it? And this is where the story takes a drastic turn for the better.

There were these, a group of young girls that were about our age. So we're 17, a group of other high school girls. They were like, hey, are you guys wrestling fans? We're like, uh, yeah, like huge wrestling fans. Are you? No. I think this one girl, her dad worked for like SportsNet, which was and is a major sports television channel, television network in Canada. I think her dad worked for SportsNet, so she's like, I don't know, I'm here because like my dad's part of this event.

Maybe it was the score. I think it was the score, actually. It wasn't Sportsnet. The score does not exist anymore. It was a big television network. she's like yeah no my my dad like uh i'm here because my dad's part of this event do you want wristbands to go to the vip area and we're like do we want wristbands yes is kurt angler is christian there is tristratus there yeah the wrestlers are up there do you want the wristbands to go in there we're like uh

yes so our day just went from we caught a glimpse of these superstars as they went up an escalator to now we're going to go into the VIP room with them? And it was just like that. They gave us these wristbands and we were in. And it was so funny because it's not like we spent the rest of the evening hanging out with our new friends who got us into the VIP area. They got us in and they were like, all right, have fun. And that's it.

Then we waited in some very short lines to get autographs and photos with Tristratus, the WWF champion, Kurt Angle, and Christian. And I've now showed that photo to Christian and Kurt Engel. I have yet to interview Trish Drattis. She's still on the wish list. So I need to not only show her that photo, I need to tell her this story as well. So just that was my favorite moment because it went from like absolute, like, heart shattered to like, we're going to meet them and, out in the room with him. I also remember meeting Carl DeMarco, who is the president of

WWF Canada. I also met Michael Landsberg. I have a photo with Michael Landsberg, who was like the original, like, long-form wrestling interviewer when he hosted Off the Record. Like, he was always interviewing different athletes, and, like, the main idea of Off-The Record was, like, let's get four people in a room and we'll chat about different sports takes and, like, just see where the conversation goes about baseball, hockey, basketball, football, whatever the case may be. But he also had these amazing in-depth interviews with wrestlers. So I met Michael Landsberg, met Calder Marco, and got to meet the WWE superstars that we lined up to see. So that day ended up being an amazing day. Also took a lot of photos with Budweiser girls. Remember when

Budweiser girls were a thing? Amazing. And that is a, I'm so glad I brought a disposable camera and took all the photos that I took. I'm so glad I put them in a photo album. I look at that with, I look at that a few times a year and just remember, like, what a cool thing that was. And it is never lost on me when I get to go to WrestleMania, or I get to sit down at the Broken Skull Ranch

with Stone Cold Steve Austin and share a conversation with him. it's never lost on me that any of these things, getting to chat with The Undertaker on camera or off camera, like none of that's lost on me. Like I'm still such a massive fan at heart. I'm sure you already know that, but like all of this stuff is still immensely cool.

And when's the next wrestling show I'm going to? Oh, it's Wednesday. Ontario, California. If you live in and around Ontario, I will see you at AW Dynamite in Ontario, California next Wednesday, and then I think Elimination Chamber is the next show, and of course, Insight Live the day before. Axel Pereira emailed this one and said,

Hi, Chris, greetings and salutations from Puerto Rico. Greetings and salutations, Axel. Hopefully we get another PLE here, and hopefully we get a CVV live show too. Oh, I would love that. Would you rather take a... Every finisher from every superstar, including the women's from the WWE roster. Obviously, this includes NXT, Evolve, LFG.

What's that you ask? AAA and TNA as well because they have that partnership? Sure, let's add them to the list. A.W said too. Well, if you're asking for it, okay, let's add it to the list. I'm reading this email. I'm not asking for this. Would you rather take all of those finishers for,

a two to three hour interview with Sting. Or never do this interview with Sting, even if he's trying really hard to do an interview with you. No shortcuts. Finisher after finisher. You've got some work to do here to get this done ASAP. Or you're going to have Sting sending you text and emails like, hey, buddy, please can we do an interview?

Or, hey, it'd be really great to do an interview with you. you, man? And I have to be like, sorry, man, I just can't. Keep up the good work. Don't let this, would you rather question, die. Best regards, Axel. Best regards. What a question. Would I rather take every finisher from every superstar? One after another, after another, after another. I don't even know how many finishers that is. If we're talking raw, NXT, Smackdown, Evolve, LFFRA, Triple A, TNA, A-W. I mean, are you trying to get me killed here? Like, I really want the interview with Sting,

especially if it's a two to three-hour interview. He will be at the very top of the list of people that I want to interview. And I don't even know if it's possible. I don't know. Why does Sting need to do any interviews right now? Sting's a legend. one of the most iconic characters in the history of the business. But every single finisher,

like some of those are rough. I would like to take a soul snatcher. What a move that is, man. And I was a guest on the Joe Volpus podcast earlier this week. I'm actually going to ask Joe if we can take the audio from that and make it a bonus episode in the next week or so. Joe asked so many great questions. I always love hanging out with Joe.

I think it was the third time I've been on his show. But he said, what's the most underrated finisher? And I said, you know what finisher doesn't get talked about enough? Leon Slater's Swanton 450. Because in and of themselves, those moves on their own are crazy. The Swanton bomb, the 450. But put those together, man, it's taking every finisher. Axel, I'm going to do it for you.

I'm going to do it for me and I'm going to do it for wrestling fans all around the world. I'm going to take every single finisher back to back to back to back to back to back. You get the point to back. To sit down with Steve Borden one on one. It's not going to be two to three hours, Axel.

It will be exactly three hours. It will not be, it's not a range here. I just took every single finisher, all right? I may have to hobble into this interview. I may have a broken bone or two, but nothing is stopping me from sitting down with sting. What a would you rather keep them coming. I love it.

That was the final question for this. Ask CVVU. 1.21 gigawatts edition. And ask CVV one in 21 in 1. Addition. Send in your questions

for next week. Visit chrisfanfleet.com to send in your questions. Email me, CVV at chrisfanvleet.com. Send them in on social media using the hashtag. Ask CVV or leave a comment on Spotify, along with your Super Bowl predictions. Am I crazy to think the Patriots are going to win this? Either way, I think we get a hell of a game.

This is going to be like a shhaping. Seamus match. It's going to be just a banger. This is like when on paper you saw Seamus versus Rusev in a good old-fashioned Donnybrook match at Clash in Paris. That's what this is. I love it. And by the way, since you're a real, real one and you've listened all the way until the very end here, I will tell you this. I sat down with Rusev today for an interview that was like an hour and 15 minutes. What a conversation. That one I think you'll see in. like two-ish weeks. But next week, we have my good friend BDE, who recently signed a contract with TNA and has been absolutely crushing it. Me and Brandon, BDE, go way back. Brandon used to

make thumbnails from my YouTube channel years ago. And I couldn't be more excited for the success that he's having, not just as a content creator with like a million and a half subscribers on his YouTube channel, but also the work he's doing chasing that dream of being a pro wrestler. So many people talk about it. So many people dream about it. So few people actually put the work in to making it happen. Not only is he making it happen, he's now a TNA star and just signed a contract. Can't wait to catch up with BDE.

That episode is Tuesday. And then MJF on Thursday. That's one that you do not want to miss. We'll leave this with a quote. from Seneca. We suffer more in imagination than in reality. That feels like something John Sina might have said to me during that interview in 2019. Be great and be grateful.

Have an amazing weekend. We will see you on the next one for some more insight. Jim Rome takes on sports. Why? Because I have a job to do. With rapid fire takes. So I don't want to hear from you lava pigs on this notion today. No idea what you're talking about.

You're complaining more than you like to breathe air. It's like you get up in the morning only to complain and cry and moan on social media about things that you don't even understand. He's the spitfire of sports smack. Take advantage of it. Get up in here. The Jim Rome Show podcast. What should be? Follow and listen on your favorite platform.

You've been warned.