Insight with Chris Van Vliet - AskCVV #146 - SummerSlam Predictions, Grayson Waller's NXT Promo, Mike Santana Is Now Cruz Montana

Episode Date: July 31, 2026

What's up Real Real Ones! Welcome to AskCVV #146! On this episode, Chris Van Vliet gives his bold predictions from SummerSlam and who might be the surprise return, he also answers questions about why Mike Santana had to change his name to Cruz Montana, Grayson Waller's recent promo on NXT, early MITB picks, Mount Rushmore questions in general, emotional moments in interviews and more! Quote I'm thinking about: “The power of a sacrifice is in the cost to the person making it.” - Odyssey Please support our sponsors: HELIX SLEEP: Flash sale! Go to https://helixsleep.com/cvv for 27% off sitewide! COZY EARTH: Go to https://cozyearth.com/CVV for up to 20% off! BEAM: Go to https://shopbeam.com/INSIGHT and use code INSIGHT for up to 40% off Beam’s Dream Powder DELETEME: Use the code INSIGHT to get 20% off your DeleteMe plan at https://joindeleteme.com/INSIGHT FACTOR: Get 50% off your first box, plus Free Breakfast for 1 Year with the code INSIGHT50OFF at https://factormeals.com/INSIGHT50OFF 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 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

Now streaming on Disney Plus, the Hulu original series Furious follows FBI agent Alice Black, played by Emmy Rossum, on the hunt for a mysterious and calculating serial killer. Both walk their own paths toward justice, and as their lives start to intertwine, the line between right and wrong begins to blur. New episodes week over week. Watch the Hulu original series Furious, now streaming only on Hulu on Disney Plus. Go welcome back, my friend, to another one here on Insight. It's me, CV-Double, Chris Van Fleet. How's your week been? Hope it's been a great week for you.

Thank you for keeping me company on this Friday as we chat a little wrestling. And as always, thank you for making Insight the number one wrestling podcast on the planet. If any episode of this show has ever brought you any stratasolm. FIT a chick kick on that follow button on Apple or Spotify or wherever you're listening right now. I teased it last week. I said we'd be announcing an Insight Live in a city that's very near and dear to my heart and with a guest who is well known for that city.

Perhaps you saw the announcement earlier this week. Trish Stratis is my guest for Insight Live in Toronto on Friday, August 21st. I am pumped for this. This is my first time ever sitting down with Trish Stratus for a long form interview. I think it's her first long form interview in, I don't know, do the research, check it out in a long time, perhaps ever. I'm not sure, but there's so many things to dive into with her. Tickets are on sale right now at CVVTicks.com. And this is a special one because the VIP ticket holders get a meet and greet with Trish Stratus. So photo autograph with Tristratus.

You also have the option to buy multiple autographs, if you'd like. And it's right across the street from where Smackdown's happening. So we're doing Insight Live starting at 4 o'clock. Smackdown starts,

they say 7.30, and you're obviously going to get there with plenty of time to be there at 7.30. The show goes live on TV at 8 o'clock. But again, it's right across the street. We're doing Insight Live at the legendary second city in downtown Toronto and then walk across the street to Scotia Bank Arena and we'll

watch some wrestling together. So I can't wait to see you there. CVV ticks.com for that. What a week we've had on the show. Fantastic conversations with Matt Cardona and also with Nick Aldus. I was already so excited about the Nick Aldus Gunther match at SummerSlam this weekend. You've heard me talk about that one for weeks, I couldn't be more invested. I could not be more invested in that match after this conversation that we had. And you could just tell how much it meant to Nick. So if you haven't checked out either of those interviews, if you've got some time today, if you're looking to get hyped up for SummerSlam, the Nick Aldous episode, that's an all-timer and a great chat with Matt Cardona and just like interesting to see where his mindset is at. I said this during the

interview with him. I've interviewed Matt Cardona many times. I've never interviewed WWE superstar Matt Cardona. So interesting to like, if you think back to the conversations we had a year ago, two years ago, five years ago, what his mentality was then, what his headspace, where his headspace was at then compared to where he's at now. The goal in a roundabout way was to get back to WWE or at least have them notice him. He's back. And he's been back now. for six months. So interesting to see like where his mentality is now because he's accomplished his goal. And he gets to work with his wife every single week. So amazing. So check out those if you have some time. I am in Minneapolis right now. I just landed a few hours ago. I'm here

for the slam of the summer. I got a few interviews lined up this weekend. And I've all also got a few that are like, just waiting on confirmations. So we'll see how many we end up recording two for sure. And one of them, oh, how can I say this in a way that doesn't give it away? It's a tag team. It's two wrestlers who had very successful careers independently and also a very successful time together as a tag team. I don't know if they've ever done. a podcast together as a tag team. But I'm sitting down with them later tonight. And I'm so curious if you can,

have I given you enough hints to allow you to figure that? That could be a few different tag teams, I guess. But when you see that one come out in probably two-ish, three-ish weeks, you'll go, oh my gosh, I can't believe CVV got them on the show. Oh, yes. CVV got them on the show. I can't believe it either. If you were watching Backlash,

you might have seen a face that you recognize sitting behind Michael Cole and Wade Barrett. Not only did I have those awesome seats, I also got an impromptu interview with The Miz and Kit Wilson. Check it out on my Instagram. Shout out to Seat Geek for the great tickets and shout out to Seat Geek for sponsoring this episode. With over 35 million downloads,

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And of course, I've got a code for you. Use the code CVV for 10% off your next set of tickets from Seek. That's 10% off any tickets with the promo code CVV. Make sure to click the link in the description to download the app, and that code will automatically be applied to your account so you can use it later. Big shout out to Seatkeek for sponsoring this episode. Summer heats up in FX's The Shards. Set in 80s, Los Angeles,

the Shards follows a group of beautiful privileged prep school students who are preyed on by The Trawler, a serial killer targeting teenagers across the city. This fever dream of youth, beauty, sex, and mystery is a must see. FX's The Shards, streaming August 5th on Hulu on Disney Plus. Sign up now at Disneyplus.com. Welcome, my friend, to Ask CVV number 146 Sides of Steel Edition. Also, Ask CVV number 140 Damien 666.

6 edition. Send in your ideas, sending your questions for next week. Ask CVV number 147. Man, we're closing in 150 of these, just us hanging out every Friday. I love it. Send them in on Spotify by leaving a comment on there.

Send them in on Chrisfanfleet.com. Or, of course, send them in on social media using that hashtag Ask CVV. SummerSlam weekend is upon us. We're going to kick this one off from this question on Instagram. Zachary B-013 says, CVV, what's your predictions for SummerSlam? So we got 12 matches for SummerSlam here.

Where do we start? Well, obviously we start with night one. So let's look at, I think Obafemi versus Brock Lezor is either going to be the opening match or the second match, like the match that will be on ESPN. Hell in a cell. I'm pumped for this. My bookie has Obafemi as a massive favorite, the biggest favorite out of everyone on the entire card here. And I can understand why. This is the rubber match here. I got the rubber match. The trilogy match here. They're one in one right now. What's going to happen in this match? We already know if you peel the curtain back a little bit. You know how much

Brock Lesnar respects Obfemi, how much he sees in Obafemi and the potential there. Triple H talked about it this week. I'm busted open how Brock Lesnar's just been sitting with Obafemi, working with him. I think that Brock Leser sees this as an opportunity to kind of like pass the torch from like one monster, one beast to another. And there are a lot of similarities, I think in the style here with Brock Lesnar and Obafemi. But there's also the idea here that this could possibly be Brock Lezler's last match. And I think that if we're going to go with that mindset here, it's the time-honored tradition

that you go out looking at the lights, that you go out putting somebody else over. And it seems that Brock Lezzer really wants to make Obafemi look as great as he possibly can. This is going to be one hell of a hell-in-a-cell match. I think yes. Obafemi wins this. And then I think Obafemi's probably a world champion or WWE champion within the next like, what, 12 months? Like, I don't know how you get the rub from Brock Lezor like that. It'd be two wins from Brock Lezzer in two of the biggest stages, WrestleMania and then

SummerSlam. You ride that momentum. Who are you going to who's going to beat you now? Who are you going to lose to at this point in time? I think Obafemi could get this win from Brock Lesnar and then continue on and be undefeated for like a long period of time. That's the way I see this one going. You know, for all the talk of Brock Leicester being Mr. Somerslam, his SummerSlam record is six and six. It kind of feels to me like HBK. He's Mr. WrestleMania, right? He's had so many of these iconic moments, iconic matches.

but when you look at Sean Michael's WrestleMania record, it's six and 11. But you're not remembering the wins or the loss as you're remembering the moments. And I feel like it's the same way with Brock Lezzer.

Whether this is his final match or his final SummerSlam, he will go down as the guy who has main evented more SummerSlams than anyone else. This, I don't think, will be a SummerSlam main event. Actually, we know it that it won't be. but it'll be a memorable match for sure.

It just, I keep thinking about why he left his gear in the ring at WrestleMania. I keep thinking, what did that moment mean? And was that moment just, was that his last WrestleMania? Is that what that was? He wanted to have this send off to WrestleMania. Thank you for allowing me to perform at WrestleMania all these years.

This is my final one. Or, and I keep wondering about this, was that him going, I'm done, and them going, well, actually, could you do Clash in Italy? And could you do SummerSlam in Minnesota too? All right. Okay. Okay, good. Well, we'll go from there.

We got the Bella Twins and Page versus Fatal Influence here. Who do we like on this one? I feel like fatal influence continues to have this, I guess, They just got this push. I feel like fatal influence continues with this. I feel like they've got a lot more to gain from this wins. So I'm going to go fatal influence on that one. Liv Morgan, finally defending her women's world championship against E.O.

Sky. She's had the championship for over 100 days now. And this is her first title defense. My bookie has her as the favorite. And I don't know if I agree with that. I feel like when you look at the story going into this, E.O. Skye's already beaten her. E.O. Sky's the queen of the ring. I think Eoskei has the momentum here. I'm actually going to go against the odds in this.

I'm going to pick Eoskai to win this one. The Bloodline, Jacob Fawtu, Jay Uso, and Jimmy Uso, taking on L.A. Knight. Yeah, Royce Keys and Solo Sacoa. The bloodline is back here, and I feel like they're not going anywhere. The odds on MyBooky have the bloodline winning this. Of course, when you sign up with MyBooky, use my code. CVV, you'll get a nice welcome bonus on there. I take the bloodline to win this one.

The match we just talked about, I am pumped for this. Gunther taking on Nick Aldus. I think anybody who hasn't seen Nick Aldus work in TNA or the NWA or anywhere else he's wrestled around the world, you are in for a treat when you see the National Treasure wrestle for the very first time. And this is his WWE debut. That's crazy to think about. It's his WWE debut at SummerSlam inside a stadium.

And I think that we talked about when Nick Aldous was on the show yesterday, but this one feels personal. Like it's been a great buildup to this. You can also tell how much this match means to Nick Aldus. He's been in WWE now for a little over three years, absolutely crushing it in this Smackdown GM role. I think he always wanted to have this match. He made it very clear that he always wanted to have a match.

And there were some opportunities here where they kind of flirted with the idea and it didn't end up happening. He said there was maybe fleeting ideas of him being Randy Orton's mystery opponent last year at WrestleMania when it ended up being Joe Hendry in that moment that we had. There was also talk here of maybe it could be Nick Aldous versus Drew McIntyre at some point in time. Well, we're getting it now. And I think when you look at all of the different scenarios that we could have had, whether it was Randy Orton or whether it was Drew McIntyre,

this is the one that makes the most sense. This match just makes a ton of sense and their styles match up so well. Nick Aldous said, this is a little bit of an exclusive for you. He said, like, he's coming out in wrestling gear. Like, he's not coming out as, like, some corporate executive GM type wrestling in, like,

dress pants and no shirt. Like, this is the national treasure. and it's going to be one hell of a match, but I still think that Gunther wins this one. And maybe he ends up holding that over Nick Aldous's head. And maybe he uses that in the future to get what he wants. But I don't think that this is one and done for Nick Aldus. I think that this plants the seat of like, don't cross the boss.

And there may be more matches down the line. Maybe more matches with Gunther. But I think that a WWE debut for Nick all this long overdue, and this match is going to show what he's capable of. But I think the Gunther still gets the win here. And that brings us to the main event of Saturday night one, CM Punk challenging for the WWE under Speedy Championship against. Did I say, they say CM Punk challenging?

It's CM Punk versus Cody Rose. CM Punk's the champion. Cody Rose is challenging for the. And it's been a long time since CM Punk and Cody Rhodes have battled each other one-on-one. Their last one-on-one match, 2008, December 29th on an episode of Raw. Cody won via Countout. Their only other singles match was on Raw that same year, 2008. It was on September 22nd.

So this has been a long time coming. Cody obviously red-hot since returning to WWE in 2023. He's 3-0 at SummerSlam. In 2023, he defeated Brock Lesnar, 2024. He beat Solo Sacoa, and last year, he defeated John Sina to get the WWE championship back from him. Punk has only lost one match this entire year. And it was that World Heavyweight Championship match against Roman Rains

at WrestleMania 42. So punk red hot as well. I think when you look at this though, the summer of punk is upon us. And I just don't see that ending anytime soon. The odds have CM Punk winning this. And I agree. I think CM Punk walks out of this,

walks into this as the champion, and walks out of this as the champion. But I don't know if it's going to be a clean match. And what I mean by that is we know SummerSlam is known for the big returns. We haven't seen or heard from Randy Orton in over 100 days. We last saw him after his match with Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 42. Haven't seen him since. I think that there's a way he inserts himself into this match here.

I think that Randy Orton could be the big return here at SummerSlam. And I think that there's a way. this idea of like, oh, it's got to be Randy Orton and Cody Rhodes finding a way to work together again. You know what I'd love to see? I would love to see Randy Orton challenging CM Punk

for that WWE championship. The last time that those guys feuded was 15 years ago. Like, they had another match in like 2013, but like the last time they had a feud was 2011. WrestleMania match, actually. WrestleMania 27.

Randy Orton beat punk in that match, but all of this is to say, I think Randy Orton comes back this weekend, and I think that he finds his way into this WWE title picture. I think that if we're talking about big returns that are going to happen, that's my pick. Although that's not to say

that we're only getting one return. I haven't seen or heard from Stephanie Vacare in also over 100 days, that one feels like a real possibility here. I know there's a lot of chatter online about Zillifah 2. Is he going to finally make his WWE debut? Well, that bloodline match feels like the perfect spot for him to put himself right into there, immediately get some heat, and just be part of the bloodline.

That seems like another conversation that might be happening. But this is night one. Let's dive ourselves here now into night two. And we'll start with, let's start with Finn Baller versus Sammy Zane, the number one contenders match. So whoever wins this ends up being the number one contender for the championship that CM Punk now holds. Although, I guess at the end of night one, it may not be CM Punk, although I'm predicting

it will be CM Punk here. I love that Finn Baller is in this spot. And I love that he's in this spot 10 years. after winning the WWE championship at SummerSlam in 2016. It's been a while since we've seen Finn Baller in this position, and I love it. I'm here for that. But at the same time, Sammy Zane had that championship win so quick, and it was taken away from us, and then it kind of felt like Sammy Zane was forgotten about, and they moved on.

Well, I feel like Sammy Zane is going to get himself back in there. I think it's time for Sammy Zane to at least have a rematch here. And with the way that Finn Baller is working, I think that we could revisit things with Finn Baller down the line, whether that's a few months from now. But Finn Baller getting this opportunity, I feel like, is a win in itself. I would obviously love to see Finn Baller get there,

just because I feel like this is a spot that he has certainly earned. but I just, I don't see it happening with the current way that things are being booked right now. My bookie has Sammy Zane as the winner in this match, and I'm going to agree with that. I think it's going to be Sammy Zane as the number one contender when this is over. How about the interim WWE Women's Championship ladder match? This is going to be one of the best matches of the weekend. Tiffany Stratton versus Jade Cargill versus Chelsea Green versus Charlotte Flair versus Julia versus Julia or Lash Legend. We'll find out tonight who that ends up being.

I think there's a lot of different ways that this one could go. I think that if we lean into the fact that it's happening in Tiffany Stratton's hometown, it's happening in Minneapolis, there's a real chance here that they could lean into that, give her that moment. I think also like, how could you possibly ignore all of the momentum, all of the excitement, the fans behind Chelsea Green? Like it's a matter of when Chelsea Green becomes a champion, not if Chelsea Green becomes a champion. I just don't think she does it here. What I end up think, what I think will end up happening here is I think Chelsea Green doesn't

get it here, but ends up being Miss Money in the Bank. And then we have all kinds of fun with Chelsea. Rossi Green walking around with the briefcase, teasing cash in, then eventually becoming the women's champion from that. I think it's going to be Charlotte Flair. I think that Charlotte Flair wins number 15 here. And for all of the talk online of Charlotte Flair always has the championship, she hasn't been the women's champion in over three years.

She's been doing a whole bunch of other stuff, tag team stuff, all kinds of stuff that hasn't had her really in that main event picture. I think here's a chance to put her right back into it. And then when Ria Ripley is well enough to compete again, we instantly get Charlotte Flair and Ria Ripley. He writes itself. Let's go with Charlotte Flair for number 15. Danhausen versus Dominic Mysterio in the human monies on a pole match.

I feel like Danhausen continues the winning streak here. What is he? 17 and 0. in WWE since making his debut, there is, the crowd is just so behind him. I think that Danhausen finds a way to win this one for sure. And I'm interested to see how this ends up playing out

because Dominic Mysterio, we can't forget here, is the reigning AAA mega champion. Like, he's, he can go. And we know that. But we also know that Danhausen can go for the fact that he's a comedy character or very entertaining with all the behind the scene stuff, the backstage stuff that he's doing and the promos, when he needs to go in the ring, he absolutely can. And I think that when you put these two guys together here, we're going to see a great match here.

And I think this might be one of the most underrated matches of the weekend. But I think that Danhausen picks up the win. Man, I can't wait. for this Intercontinental Championship match between Penta and Chad Gable. First of all, I just want to say I have loved this I.C. title run from Penta. He is the longest reigning champion on the main roster right now. He has held the championship. Let me look at the exact number here. He's held the championship for 153 days going into this match on Sunday against Chad Gable. This will be his 10th title defense. I love that he's been a fighting champion through this,

but it is Chad Gable's time. Crazy to think that he's been on the main roster for, what, 10 years and still hasn't won a singles championship. This is his time, and it couldn't be more perfect. Happening in his hometown in front of his family, Chad Gable is going to put on one hell of a match here with Penta, you put these two guys together, it's just going to be magic. And I am so happy for Chad Gable to have his crowning moment here. So congrats in advance to Chad Gable. I'm going with him. He's also the favorite on my bookie. Then what's next? Where do we go from here with Chad Gable? Can we obviously he's going to have an amazing run as the IC champion. I don't see how he couldn't. But then can we give Chad Gable a world title?

Let's make that happen at some point in time here soon. I can't wait. Can't wait for this match. And then cross your fingers, cross your toes that we can get Chad Gable on the show at some point to talk about how amazing this match is and all of the things he's done over the last year or so. Like, what a year it's been. Like to think that he was given this gimmick that pretty much feels like it was meant to fail. You give him El Grande Americano, which you give him El Grande Americano, which you're just, you give him. El Grande Americano, which is like this joke of a character.

And then he turned it into what he turned it into. One of the best matches of the year, one of what will be one of the most talked about matches of the decade. El Grande Americano versus OG. El Grande Americano. What a match. What a story. There was just so much emotion in that. And he took this character in this storyline that was,

destined to fail and he turned it into greatness. What can he do now that he's Chad Gable again? I can't wait. Trick Williams is putting his WWE United States championship on the line against the returning Baron Corbyn. I don't feel like anybody had Baron Corbyn on their bingo card to re-sign with WWE at any point in 2026. That was like one of like a legitimate surprise.

I'm happy for Corbyn. happy he's back. I love his finisher, one of the best finishers in pro wrestling today. But I think that you've got so much popularity behind Trick Williams. He's having one hell of a run here with the U.S. title. And I like the custom title. I think it suits him and his character so perfectly. I think let him keep that for a little while longer. I think we're in for a great match here, but I don't think that Baron Corbyn defeating Trick Williams is going to happen here. I think Trick Williams retains the title. He's the favorite, and that's who I'm going with. And that brings us to the night two main event, the WWE World

Heavyweight Championship is on the line. Roman Raines versus Seth Freaking Rollins. Their first one-on-one match since the Royal Rumble in 2022. I'm pumped for this match. I think that Roman Raines is doing the best work of his career right now. I think that Seth Rollins is doing the best work of his career right now when you put those guys together in the ring. What a match this is going to be. I'm just so curious how this is going to play out. These guys win a lot at SummerSlam.

Roman Rains going into this match is looking for his sixth consecutive SummerSlam victory. Most recently, he and Jay Uso defeated Bronner and Bronson Reed in the opening match. Last year, Roman Raines has an overall record of seven and one at SummerSlam. Who beat him? Who's that one?

You remember? 2017, Brock Lesner in that fatal four-way match was a fatal four-way with Roman Reins, Bronzeman, Samoa Joe,

and Brock Lesner. Seth Rollins has eight wins at SummerSlam. Last year, Rollins with the cash in, with the heist of the century, the ruse of the century, heck of a moment. A heck of a moment.

I feel like Roman Rain's reign is not done here. I think we are in for an absolutely incredible match, but I think that Roman rains will be victorious. And I think that Roman Raines holds on to this for a while. I talked about this last week, but I think there's still this like old school mentality of like oh roman rains is going to be promoting street fighter in october he's got to lose the title i think with the type of schedule that wrestlers are working these days especially someone like roman rains he can absolutely still be the champion and go on a

press tour a global press tour for a film like street fighter cody rose also in the film like could be a chance come october that two of the actors in that movie are world champions in WWE. Could you imagine that? You imagine the red carpet shot of Roman Raines with the world title? Cody Rhodes on the other side of the cast photo with the WWE championship. I'm saying there's a chance that could happen here, but I don't think that Roman Raines is going to lose his title. I think he walks in as the champion. I think he walks out as a champion. And I think when you look at both of these knights here, which card am I most excited for? I think it's night too. I'm pumped for Roman versus Seth. Can't wait for the

wrestling festival and technical clinic we're going to get with Penta and Chad Gable. And then I'm just really curious about Sammy Zane and Finn Baller. Like above all else, I don't really care who wins that match. I just know that we're going to get a great match from that. Those are probably the three matches a night two that I'm most excited for. But let's see how it goes. I think me going 12 for 12 with these predictions is going to be tough, especially when you got a six woman tag team match and you got a six man tag team match and you got five way ladder match, like a lot of different ways that things can go here. But really interested to see how this goes. And then most interested to see how these surprises are going to work their way into the current storylines that there are.

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But I do it to get all of the videos and all of the content that you won't find anywhere else. scrolling with Haley. Just search that up and I will be there. Follow and listen on your favorite platform. Jim Rome takes on sports. I will always have a complicated relationship with this game. But people evolve. So do sports.

Do not make me regret this. Do not make me devolve. Back to that guy that so many clones wish that I still was. And do not embarrass the entire country. Now, I can go back. I can get there fast. Lose tonight. and you got a real problem.

Do not blow it. The Jim Rome Show podcast. You've been warned. Follow and listen on your favorite platform. Spencer Bauer sent this in on Chrisfanfleet.com. My question for Ask CVV number 146, do you think fans will be okay with both men's world titles being retained by the champions? Because I can't see a world where CM Punk or Roman lose here.

Spencer, I'm on the same page as you. I can't see a world where either of them lose. as well. And I think it's going to be those surprises that, is it Randy Orton finding his way back here? Is it, I've seen some talk online about is Kevin Owens coming back? I would love to see Kevin Owen's healthy and able to compete again. Could that factor into this? But I don't think it's just going to be two straight up wrestling matches to end both nights. Like, I don't think that we're going to get two straight up matches with no funny business or no interference. I think there's going to be something there. And I think that one of the big things about wrestling, I heard Stephanie

McMan talking about this on her podcast when she had Finn Baller as a guest. And she was talking about like, sometimes it doesn't really matter how the card goes, but it matters how it ends. And she likened it to a movie. The movie can be just okay. But if the ending is amazing, then you walk out of the theater going, oh, wow, what a great film. So, like, you could have an okay main event match, but then you have a huge return or an impactful return that means something. And you go, oh, man, that main event was great. Can you believe so-and-so came back?

I think that's what's going to happen. And I think that there's also the possibility here that maybe something that happens on night one factors in to what happens on night two. And that's the really interesting thing about doing the two-night thing with WrestleMania and now SummerSlam is things that happen on Saturday could possibly impact the things that happen on Sunday. So I just, I don't see either title dropping either. I just, I don't.

In fact, when you look at the whole card here, there's not a ton of titles that we're talking about changing hands here. I'm saying the intercontinental championship for sure. I feel like that one's a foregone conclusion and again, a great match that we're going to see. I'm on the fence about Liv Morgan and E.O. Sky, but I like the storyline of E. O. Sky being the champion more here,

but I don't know if that one's going to happen. So we get, I guess, one title change. Because Trick Williams, I don't think he's losing the U.S. title. and like I said, like you said, Roman and punk retain. So, yeah, I think fans will be okay with it. It just matters on the way that it's told here. Noah Grant on Instagram says,

what did you make of Grayson Waller's promo and NXT this week? And do you think more main roster men slash women should or will follow that path to get used more? what a promo. I feel like Grayson Waller, the character was getting a lot off his chest. And I also feel like

Grayson Waller, the individual, the man, was getting a lot off his chest as well. I feel like he lit a like he lit a fire in that NXT locker room. Because a lot of what he was saying there was true.

In fact, pretty much everything he was saying in that promo was true. and it's a nice reminder that Grayson Waller can cook on the mic. And on Tuesday night, he was cooking.

And I think that he's going to take this and he's going to parlay this. Like I feel like it's a feud now with Cruz Montana, aka Mike Santana, but I feel like this finds its way into him getting that NXT championship at some point in time.

And it kind of reminds me of like, you've seen some great stories of people going back, going from the main roster, going back to NXT and just like rejuvenating a little bit. We saw it happen with Dolf Ziegler. We saw it happen with Finn Baller. We've seen it happen where you go back to NXT and you just, it helps you, because you end up leveling up. You go from maybe mid card or low mid card on the main roster to being right at the top of the card in NXT, and also in being in the NXT locker room and working with these young men and women there, some of them who've only been there in months, some of them

who have been there for maybe a year or two, you end up helping them out by bringing that veteran mentality and the experiences you've had that you can share with them, and everybody ends up winning from this. I think that Grayson Waller is NXT champion. I was going to say by the end of the year, but I think it's going to be like sooner than that. Like, I really feel like he gets talked about so much of how Grady is on the mic and how you can give him anything. You can say two minutes, Grayson, go, and he can just take it and run with it. Reminds me a lot of Ms. How, like, Ms. can take anything and just make it an entertaining promo and can make you care. But I think the thing it gets slept on with Grayson Waller is that he can wrestle. And maybe he

hasn't had the chance to like really showcase that over the last man i'd say two wish years like he wasn't really doing much with the new day and i feel like a town down was a solid tag team but i don't know if it really allowed him to showcase what he could do but there are some great singles matches that he's had that like if you go back and watch them you'll go oh my gosh like man he's good and i feel like this is going to be the inflection point in his career, where he went from, like, being viewed by the average fan is like, just okay to, like,

it's going to, like, people are going to go, oh my gosh, like, Grayson Waller is fantastic. But, like, this is maybe just a personal thing. Can we stop calling every work shoot promo, a pipe bomb? Like, there was truly,

only one pipe bomb. Okay? We all know the one when CM Punk sat on the stage, cross-legged. But like, I feel like any time someone says something

that's like, oh, I know what he's referencing. That's a real life thing. He's referencing. It's instantly a pipe bomb. And like, I understand what you're doing with it. Like, I understand

you're using it as like a descriptive word. But, yeah, they're not all pipe bombs. There's only one pipe bomb. This is just a great promo, a great, very real promo that made you feel something. It doesn't need to be called a pipe bomb.

Okay, that's just, maybe that's just me getting something off my chest here. Scott Carlson emailed this one in. Hey, CVV, I know you have a lot of fun doing Mount Rushmore's on Ask CVV, but I got to ask, why do you ask so many Mount Rushmore questions in your interviews? Scott, I've seen this comment online a bunch that I ask Mount Rushmore questions in every interview. And I was trying to figure out, like, because I don't, I was trying to figure out where this was coming from. And I think I figured it out. Clips from the interviews that we post get put up on social media a lot.

And for the record, I love it. Like, you are absolutely well. to clip any interview that I've ever had as much as you like. I think it's so cool seeing how creative people get when they clip fun or interesting or insightful moments. I don't see what I did there. So feel free to clip as much as you'd like. I think the Mount Rushmore discussions that we've had on the show seem to get clipped more than anything else. And I think number one, it's easy to clip those, super easy clip. And then you end up getting all kinds of people in the comments,

talking amongst themselves, oh, can you believe they chose this person? And they didn't choose this person. Why does this person always get overlooked? But I also think it's fascinating, like, just as a question in general, because someone that you look up to, someone who's your favorite of all time,

seeing who their favorites are, seeing who their influences are. Or maybe they're just looking at it completely objectively. Like that's kind of, I didn't ask, I asked John Cena about like, he doesn't consider himself the greatest of all time. So who to him is the greatest?

And he's like, well, you know, and then he gave me like this Mount Rushmore question without even being asked about it. But I understand that those clips from other accounts get posted a lot. So I think that that might be where it's coming from. But it, like, it's not like I ask that question every interview. I asked the gratitude question every interview

for the last five years I've asked what are three things you're grateful for. And I ask it of myself every single day as well. But it's just so interesting that there's just like misinformation, I guess. Because I think I've asked the, so we're on episode number 950 of this podcast. It started in the summer of 2019. So we're going on seven years here. The YouTube channel started in 2011. So before that, we've got eight more years of interviews. So in the thousands of interviews with wrestlers,

they're up on the YouTube channel and you can check them out. Or thousands of episodes, right? I think I've asked a Mount Rushmore question 15 times. in total. It's like if we go through all of the episodes here, I'll just go through, I'm not going to go through every single one, but Nick Aldous was just on the show. Nope, Matt Cardona, no, Dragon Lee, no. AJ Stiles, no, but I will say I did ask him last time his TNA Mount Rushmore. And that's probably the question I asked the most. I am such a huge TNA fan that I asked the TNA Mount Rushmore question, a pretty good amount. I've asked it of like, AJ, Jeff Jared.

Christopher Daniels, Samoa Joe, Eric Young, maybe one or two more, Frankie. I've asked the ECW Mount Rushmore question probably just as many times, maybe five times as well. I've asked it of Sandman, RVD, Paul Heyman, and a few others there. But that's about it. Like as I continue going here, Gangrel, no, Ethan Page, no, Finn Valor, no. Great Collie, no. No, Big E. No. Layla, no. Hydenrek, no. Kathy Kelly, no. L.A. Knight, no. Brian Myers, no. Carlito, no. Like, you get the point here. I think the, I've also asked, what's your comedy Mount Rushmore? I ask that to our truth.

In fact, I've probably had more people get emotional and open up and be extremely vulnerable and cry. That's probably happened more on the show. than a Mount Rushmore question. But for some reason, that doesn't seem to be the narrative. That doesn't seem to be the stuff that goes viral. It's so interesting. But I appreciate the question, Scott.

And that's not to say there's not going to be another Mount Rushmore question here or there. Like, if we get another TNA great or another ECW great on the show, sure. I'll probably ask that. I don't see why I wouldn't. I think that it's always fun to, like, hear how someone breaks it down. The RTG podcast, respect the game podcast on Twitter, says,

do you think Jacob winning money in the bank would be a good angle? He acknowledges the OTC, but doesn't want to be in the bloodline. Having him just staring down Roman all the time with the ability to cash in whenever he wants could be a great story, in my opinion. I love that. That might be the most compelling Money in the Bank storyline that I've heard for this year.

I think that Chelsea Green lots can change between now and it's October, right? Money in the Bank in October this year, the latest they've ever done Money in the Bank, and of course the day before. Insight Live in New Orleans. I'll see you there, CvVTicks.com.

A lot can change in the next three-ish months, but I think that Jacob Faw too, yeah, that's one that could make a ton of sense. And it's also a way the bloodline keeps printing money. Whether you like it or not, the bloodline is here to stay. It's another way to make the bloodline storyline have a little bit more life injected into it and buys it some more time. I think you could also finally give L.A. Knight, his opportunity, give him money

the bank that he probably should have had a few years ago. I would love to see that. Brom Breaker holding money in the bank could make a ton of sense. Dominic Mysterio with just nuclear heat could be brilliant. So I don't know. I like the case that you're making here, but it'll be interesting to see how this plays out over the next few months as we get closer and closer and closer to money in the bank.

Rob underscore K-306 on Instagram says how did talks with Roman go about an interview? I'd say they went pretty well. We don't have a date plan or anything like that, nothing concrete, but like I casually asked him, and he said he would like to. So he says he sees the interviews all the time.

He's like, well, yeah, like, they're on Instagram all the time. I see the clips from them all the time. So we shall see. That's one I would love to do. He goes, we ever done anything together? I said, I think the only interview we ever did was like, it was part of the Shield. It was like, WrestleMania 29? Yeah, it was. It was WrestleMania 29.

I interviewed all three members of the Shield for like a minute and a half. That's it. So, there's a ton to talk about with Roman Raines. And that's the thing. Like, do I, do I get Roman Raines or do I get Joe? Because there's a lot to talk about with the man behind Roman Raines as well. Also, like right after I chatted with Roman Raines for, I don't know, it was like three minutes or something, I ran into Logan Paul. I was, I was walking out of the bathroom. He was walking into the bathroom. We chatted for 23 seconds. But I was like, I'd love to have you on the show sometimes. He's like, that'd be great. We also talked about Cleveland very briefly because he's a Cleveland guy, Cleveland, near and dear to my heart.

I lived in Cleveland for five years, so we chatted very briefly. That could be an interesting one as well. So we'll see. We will see what happens. Stephen Moore on Facebook says, why did Mike Santana change his name to Cruz Montana when he already showed up in NXT as Mike Santana? Well, they never said his name on air. They never said, oh my gosh.

Mike Santana is here. I think that that's, like, they did that intentionally to see what his name was going to be. Vic Joseph was very careful with his words. If you watch that debut back, he's saying things like, the former TNA world champion is here. Look who just crossed the line. Tony DiAngelo, locking eyes with him. They never said his name.

So I think what happened here, and Joe Gacy's going to be a guest on the show next week. He actually talked about this because he owned the name Joe Gacy. He wrestled under the name Joe Gacy for years and years and years on the Indies, then went to WWE and got to continue to wrestle under that name. He no longer owns that name, and that's a whole story in itself. But the idea here is, W.W.E wants to own the name of the person. who's under contract with them. That's why you see people like Ricky Starks become Ricky Saints.

That's why Blake Monroe has a new name now. It's why Mike Santana is not Mike Santana anymore. And Mike Santana, by the way, it's not his real name. His real name, his government name is Mark Sanchez. So he's now going under the name Cruz Montana. He put out this great post about why he chose this new name and how much it meant to him, and I loved reading this. He said, Cruz Montana, a name I put together

is a tribute to honor my late father, who I've always made sure to keep as close as possible to my journey. Losing him six years ago is what sent me on the spiral that I'd eventually rise from to become the man you see today. And today, that man is addicted to greatness. Here's to this next chapter. Let's get it. So there you go. I love the idea behind it.

And also, it's so interesting that when a wrestling fans hate change. Like, I don't think there's any more simple way of putting it. Wrestling fans hate change. Don't believe me? Go look at the comments from like, however many years I was, 14, 15 years ago when Brian Danielson made his WWE debut and people were so upset that his name is, why is his name Daniel Brian now? Why couldn't he just keep his, that's his real name?

Why couldn't he just keep his real name? Now there's a whole entire fan base that think his name is Daniel Bryan. So you're going to get used to Cruz Montana, and that's going to end up being the name that people associate him most with. There are obviously some exceptions to the rule. I think one of the big exceptions to the rule that I can think of is Ethan Page. but Cruz Montana it's actually a pretty badass name

when you think of it, especially when there's like this sentimental reasoning behind it for him. Nick Silag on Spotify says, Chris, I've got a question for you. You often ask wrestlers who are deep into their careers, have you thought about how much longer you want to do this? I'm going to flip that question on you

and ask you the same thing. Have you thought about how much longer you want to do this? Adding to this, would you ever sell the show and let another host take over or is Insight synonymous with you. Thanks for making my work commutes easier. Well, I don't think Insight with Chris Van Fleet works unless your name is Chris Van Fleet. So I think that whenever the show comes to an end, I think the show comes to an end. The reason I've asked that question, and you've heard it five-ish times over the last year or so,

the reason I've asked that question is because I'm sitting across from someone who is 20 years, 25 years, 30 years into their career, someone who clearly has more years behind them than they have ahead of them. And then sometimes you get great answers from people, very honest answers when you ask that question and they have thought about it. Think about when AJ Stiles was on the show last year. Have you thought about how much longer you want to do this? Yeah. I've thought about it a lot. And I don't want to wrestle into my 50s. Oh my gosh, really? This is news. What makes you say that? And then it opens up this entire conversation. I also think that when you talk to someone who's accomplished a ton in their career, like Seth Rollins when he was on the show last year,

he talked about like, yeah, I've thought a lot about how much longer I want to do this. And I don't think that people like, especially as you're approaching what, let's say, a milestone, like 40. I don't know if everybody's thought about like, I'm not going to wrestle past 40. I know Cody had famously said that and then got close to 40 and went, I'm actually feeling pretty good. And I'm doing some of the best work in my career.

So yeah, I'm going to keep wrestling past 40. The reason I've asked that is because I think your mindset shifts a lot in your 20s, your 30s, and your 40s. and that was something that Finn Baller talked about when he was on the show a few weeks ago. In your 20s, you're doing whatever you can to just like get those opportunities. You're working for free, especially as a wrestler.

You're working for free. You're tagging along. There's an open seat in the car. You're going to that town that's six hours away with your gear bag just on the hope that maybe you could have something on that car. You're doing whatever you can to just like, take as much as you can to maximize those minutes, as the late great Dusty Roads would say.

If your career is going well, you get into your 30s and you're like, okay, yeah, I can maybe pick my spots a little bit more. I've had some cool opportunities, but let's grow. Let's maximize the opportunities I have with bigger names or bigger shows. And then as you get into your 40s, you're like, well, maybe I can pick my, maybe I can pick my spots a little bit here now, too. Maybe I don't need to bump around and be as crazy as I was 20 years ago. Obviously, I'm on a very different path. I have the ability to just do this for as long as I want, really. I'm not taking bumps in the ring.

I'm not hopefully getting injured doing this. I guess if I pissed someone off, bad enough, maybe I get injured, but you can talk as long as you want. And you've seen some great broadcasters do that. Howard Stern's still going. Larry King did this till the very end. So I don't think that much about how much longer I want to do this. But it is interesting to note that I have now worked in broadcasting in some former fashion for over 21 years.

So as of next year, if you do the map, I will have spent half my life doing this. And I've never put it in perspective like that. I've never really thought about it like that. But when we talk about perspective, I think what changed

for me was becoming a father. When my daughter Logan was born on May 29th, 2023, everything changed. And I think if we rewinded a little bit before that, when I met the beautiful, wonderful love of my life, Rachel Van Fleet, Rachel Lynn, I met her as Rachel Lynn, she's Rachel Van Fleet now. When I met her, my focus and my why changed as well because I fell in love so quickly and like I knew this was it. And we were both on the same page about each other and about life and our future and everything.

Now I just think about like how we're going to provide for these kids. And I'm so incredibly grateful that I get to do this. I get to share fascinating conversations with people that I look up to and somehow call this a job. Like I am the luckiest person in the world that I get to do this. Like, I am sitting in a hotel room right now in Minneapolis, Minnesota. I'm going to go to both days of SummerSlam this weekend and somehow call this a job. Like, I want to do this forever. Can I?

Would you guys be okay with that? Like, as we approach episode 1000 here, would you be all right if we hung around for another thousand? And then another thousand after that? Then another 1,000 after that, I'll keep putting these episodes out as long as you keep listening to them. I think that's what it comes down to. But if you've watched WWE Unreal this season, you know that in that first episode, John Cena talked a lot about his why.

And I think a lot about my why. And my why is my family. It's Rachel. It's my daughter Logan. It's my son Cooper. And like, they're young right now. And I'm trying to do whatever I can to capitalize on every moment that I can with them. So I'm doing things like, yeah, I could stay a little bit longer and attend that event or maybe try to book that interview.

Or I could grab a flight tonight. and get to wake up and see my kids in the morning. And like, I'm in a stage of life right now. I'm like, it's an interesting balance. And I'm, I'm sure I'll get into that more in future episodes. But there's an interesting balance of like, I love being a dad so much. And I love being around my kids, but also like, I never want to miss out on a great opportunity.

If someone who I've always wanted to have on the show is available, let's make it happen. Let's do it. So no, I don't really think about how much longer I want to do this. I think my answer is going to be like the answer that Paul Hammond gave forever. How lucky am I that I get to be that that quote. That quote you've heard so many times. If you find a job that you love, you never work a day in your life. And ever since I became a board operator at 570 News in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, while I was still in college, I was going to Wilford-Lorea University. Ever since I had that opportunity, I have just felt like the luckiest person ever.

So, no, I want to do this forever. Is that all right? Would that be okay? All right. Let's hope that we can. Davies underscore underscore R on Instagram says, hey, CVV, Reese here from Wales, but currently living in Winnipeg, Canada.

I'm from Winnipeg, you idiot. What are the chances of Brock Lesnar or Gunther coming on your show? Well, Gunther's been on the show via Zoom. It was two, three years ago, and he is, like, surprisingly way more funny than you would ever expect. A Brock Lesnar interview still feel,

like it's probably not going to happen. He just seems really guarded with his time and certainly guarded with like letting out details. Like, yeah, I know we've seen some interviews here and there. He did spitting chicklets, which, as I understand, was supposed to be just like a few minutes of him talking about hockey and then it ended up turning into him chatting about his wrestling career. And then he had that fascinating interview with Pat McAfee, but that's a, bit of a different angle when he's doing it with someone else who was the commentator in WWE at the time. So I feel like Brock Lesnar feels unlikely. Gunther, I feel like could happen. I feel like that one, yeah, yeah, I think we'll, that one could probably happen. Not that I've

set anything up or have anything in the works, but yeah, I could see that one happening. Montgomery dot macho on Instagram. Blake Cobb says, I got a question for you for Ask CVV. I just finished the Nick Aldous episode. He got emotional at the end when you talked to him about SummerSlam and how the community of wrestling fans are pulling for him. He mentioned how you got Mickey

and now you got him too. Several guests have become vulnerable, letting their guard down and opening up to the point of tears on your show. You handle it with such grace and honor allowing for them to feel comfortable in that moment. What does that mean for you?

not only as an interviewer, but also as a fan and even sometimes as a friend of the guest. Blake, thank you for pointing that out. Thank you for the kind words there. I think it just reminds me that like, these aren't interviews. They're just conversations. And I think that my favorite thing about the medium of podcasting is that, sure, there's three cameras there and there's a big Shura, SM7B mic in front of our face. But I think that the deeper you get into the conversation and the more it starts to flow, the more you forget that the cameras are there.

And it just turns into it's like two people hanging out. And I also think that there's a lot of situations in our life where maybe you haven't put these thoughts into words. And for a lot of people who have really opened up on the show, I think it's them putting those things, thoughts into words for the first time and realizing, man, that's an overwhelming idea. Wow, I've never, I've never said these words out loud. And it makes me emotional. I feel so blessed to be able to share those moments and to be able to be a sounding board for

someone who's finding a way to articulate the way that they feel. And there have been some really, been some really powerful moments. This chat with Nick All This was one of them. Grayson Waller got emotional when he was on the show. Finn Baller recently got emotional and just tell how much he loves wrestling. Mickey James, Mark Henry, Snitsky, there's been quite a few.

Then I'm obviously leaving a bunch out here. But those moments mean, a lot and I will never take that trust for granted, that trust that, first of all, your time is your most valuable asset. You'll never get it back, right? So for someone to trust me with their time is such a gift. But then to be able to open up on such a personal level, yeah, it means the world to me. and like, I don't feel like I've ever, like, gone searching for, like, a Barbara Walters moment. I don't feel like I'm ever like, so, you know, tell me about this, like, really terrible thing in your life. But there have been some, like, really touchy subjects that we've talked about.

Mike Santana on the show talking about rehab and how a letter from his daughter is what got him sober and turned his life around and has made him the man that he is now. Man, Mike also shared a story. Mike Santana also shared a story where when he was deep into addiction, he would brush his teeth in the shower because he couldn't look at himself in the mirror. I was like, man, thank you for sharing that. And I feel like hearing those stories can help people, even if it just helps one person. I feel like that's all that matters.

So, Blake, I hope that you have enjoyed these conversations. as much as I have know that there's nobody who loves them more than I do. Like there's nobody that loves hearing these chats, hearing these conversations more than I do. Like I feel like so lucky, blessed, grateful, whatever you want to call it to be able to sit there and hear these stories, whether there are stories that make you emotional, whether there's stories that make you laugh, whether there's stories that make you think. whatever it happens to be. Nobody appreciates it more than me.

That's our final question on this. Ask CVV number 146 Sides of Steel Edition. And Ask CVV number 140 Damien 6666 edition. Send in your questions for next week. Leave a comment on Spotify. Send them in on social media using that hashtag Ask CBV or visit chris fanfleet.com, click on that contact form.

You can send them in on there. You can also get recaps and see exclusive photos from the interviews by going to the website, chrisfanfleet.com. As we head into the weekend, I have thought a lot about the Odyssey

since seeing it. And I think it's objectively a great movie, beautiful cinematography, a wonderful score, great performances, a deep message. It's certainly not my favorite

Nolan film. And don't misinterpret that as me saying, I didn't like the movie. I'm just saying there are a lot of other Nolan films I much prefer. But there's, man,

there's a lot of quotes from that movie and there's a lot of like symbolism in Odyssey that I just can't stop thinking about. So I'm going to leave you with a quote from the film. The power of a sacrifice

is in the cost to the person making it. Be great. Be grateful. Happy Summer Slam weekend. Have a great weekend. We will see you on the next one for some more insight. We've got the Undertaker next week. And Joe Gacy, make sure to hit a chick kick on that follow button so you don't miss out. The United States Soccer Federation presents the U.S. Soccer Podcast. The place where I, Megan Klingerberg, a World Cup expert, teaches you everything that you need to know. for this summer's World Cup. How special is it that we've been able to follow this young group of guys? It's been such a roller coaster of emotions.

You can feel the intensity. Quite a bit of time, energy effort, everything along the way on these guys making the country crowd. And I think they will the summer. The U.S. Soccer podcast, presented by Henko. Follow and listen on your favorite platform.