Insight with Chris Van Vliet - AskCVV #77 - CM Punk's Favor, Cena vs. Cody, Rey Fenix's WWE Debut, Jey Uso's WrestleMania Moment

Episode Date: April 4, 2025

https://cvvtix.com - Get your tickets for INSIGHT LIVE in NYC & Las Vegas with VIP Meet & Greet! Welcome to AskCVV #77! On this episode, Chris answers questions about the favor that Paul Heyman owes CM Punk, the recent promo between John Cena and Cody Rhodes on Raw, what will happen between Jey Uso and Gunther at WrestleMania, the "Immortal Moment" being added to the WWE Hall Of Fame, the possible return of Malakai Black, the debut of Rey Fenix and much more!Quote I'm thinking about: "Life is a matter of perspective: either you complain because roses have thorns, or you rejoice because thorns have roses." - Tom WilsonPlease support our sponsors!   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/?ref=tibclouxSEAT GEEK: Get 10% off your next SeatGeek order*: https://seatgeek.onelink.me/RrnK/CVV Sponsored by SeatGeek. *Restrictions apply. Max $20 discounthttps://seatgeek.onelink.me/RrnK/CVV   TIMELINE: Go to https://timeline.com/insightto get 10% off your order of Mitopure!  STASH: Go to https://get.stash.com/INSIGHTto see how you can receive $25 towards your first stock purchase and to view important disclosures   MAGIC SPOON: Get $5 off your next order at https://magicspoon.com/cvv   VUORI: Get 20% off your first purchase! Get yourself some of the most comfortable and versatile clothing on the planet at https://vuori.com/cvv  FABRIC: Join the thousands of parents who trust Fabric to help protect their family. Apply today in just minutes at https://meetfabric.com/CVV   ROCKET MONEY: Join Rocket Money today and experience financial freedom: https://rocketmoney.com/cvv  HUEL: Get 15% off plus a FREE Gift for NEW customers with the code INSIGHT at https://huel.comMIRACLE MADE: Upgrade your sleep with Miracle Made! Go to https://trymiracle.com/CVV and use the code CVV to claim your FREE 3 PIECE TOWEL SET and SAVE over 40% OFF   ZOCDOC: Instantly book a top-rated doctor today at https://zocdoc.com/insight   BONCHARGE: Use the code CVV to save 15% off your infrared sauna blanket at https://boncharge.com/cvv   BLUECHEW: Get your first month of BlueChew for FREE at https://bluechew.com   PLUNGE: Get $150 off your Plunge with the coupon code CVV150 at https://plunge.com   For more information about Chris and INSIGHT go to: https://podcast.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

Ladies and gentlemen, Chris Van Fleet. And here we go. Welcome back to another one here on Insight. I'm CBV. Chris Van Fleet, hope it's been a great week for you. Thank you for being with us on this one. You're a real one for listening to an AskCV episode.

And thank you for making Insight, the number one wrestling podcast on the planet. Hit a 450 splash on that follow. button on Spotify or Apple or wherever it is that you're listening right now. And thank you for all of the ratings that you've left on Spotify. We were at like, 9,200 last week. And I'm like, you know, I bet we could hit 10,000 by WrestleMania. But I'm like, realistically, I know we could hit it by like the end of the weekend because

there's so many people that listen on Spotify and didn't even know that ratings were a thing. So thank you. We're now at 10,100 ratings on Spotify. We're one of the top sports podcasts out of all sports podcasts on Spotify. So thank you in advance for that. And if you still haven't left a rating, there is time. I mean, there's no time limit on leaving a rating, but you can still leave a rating. Just go into the show's main page.

You'll see the three little dots there, dot, dot, dot, then the option to rate show will come up, click that, and then you'll see the stars. So I appreciate you. Thank you. You're awesome. We've got two live shows on the way. So if you want to be a real, real, real. real one. Join me in Las Vegas, Thursday, April 17th. We'll be announcing the guest for that in the next,

I would say within the next week, we should be announcing the guest for that one. VIP tickets, I believe, are sold out. There might be a handful left. So if you go on to CVVTix.com, and there is still the option for a VIP ticket, I would grab them because that's definitely going to sell out. Then we've got SummerSlam weekend. We're going to be a new York City, baby, start spreading the news Friday, August 1st. Those tickets are also on sale right now, CVVTX.com. And I think we might have another one or two before the years over, but it's been a blast. Doing these live shows, been a blast, hanging out with you guys, doing the special Ask CVV

before the show, meeting up with you guys after the show. So if you live in or around Las Vegas or New Jersey slash New York, or if you're going to WrestleMania or SummerSlam, I would love to see you at either of those or possibly even both of those. I think there was someone at the, so I've done three live shows now. I think there was someone at the third live show in Toronto that's now been to all of the live shows.

I don't know what special designation we will have to give you, real, real, real, real one. I don't know what it is, but you're awesome. All of you guys that have come out, you're awesome. I appreciate you just for listening to the show in general and for trusting me to spend an hour with you on your Friday, whatever you're doing right now, whether you're driving to work or you're working out or walking the dog or whatever it is. Thank you. Thank you for allowing me to be part of your day every single week, which is, it's just amazing to me.

We've got some big things on the way for this year. Three months are already down. so a quarter of the year is already done. That's it. It's gone. We've had some massive guests already. There's some really big ones right around the corner, and I can't wait for you guys to see who we have coming up.

But welcome, my friends. Welcome to Ask CVV number 77, the Luca Donchich, Paul Coffee, and Ray Bork edition. Now, a couple hockey references. You can tell I'm Canadian when I throw in the, The old school hockey references there. Paul coffee, Ray Bork. I love it.

If you have a question for next week, ask CVV number 78, leave a comment on Spotify. It's always so fun going through those comments on Spotify and seeing what you guys have to say on there. Shoot me an email. CVV at chris fanvly.com or leave it on social media with the hashtag ask CVV.

And we will, man, we've been getting so many questions. It's been such a cool thing to see. We're trying to get to as many as we can on this episode. So let's just dive right into this. Buda 013 on Instagram says, what are your thoughts on the Cody Sina promo from Raw? It might be Cody's best yet. Well, I can tell you this. I'm going to miss those European crowds. It has been so fun on this European tour, seeing the crowd play a huge role

in these promos. I said it a few weeks ago, but Sina's first heel promo is going to be such an important moment for this era of WWE and also such an important moment for like the early stages of this WWE Netflix relationship. It was amazing to see a promo that wasn't punctuated by theme music. It was punctuated instead by the crowd singing or chanting or doing whatever they were doing. And we saw that again this Monday in London. Cody, Cody Rhodes. I just, I don't feel like, I love American audiences. and of course I love Canadian audiences. I just don't think that one's going to carry over here.

So I'm going to miss that. I'm going to miss that. Also, wasn't it so funny when Cina's music, but right before Cina's music hit. So the very start of Raw this week, they cut to that shot of the crowd. And the crowd is going, let's go Cina,

Sucks. My wife actually pointed it out. Rachel pointed out, she's like, why are the same people saying that? Like, why are they're cutting to these shots of the face? fans and the same fan is saying, let's go Sina. Sina sucks. Like, which side are you on here? I thought it was just such an interesting observation that it's become just a thing to like, that's, that's the thing. Let's go Sina Sina sucks. It's supposed to be the crowd that doesn't like Sina

is saying Sina sucks and the crowd, part of the crowd that likes him saying let's go Sina. But when it's like just everybody in the audience saying it, I don't, I just don't get it. But the last two weeks of promos were focused on John Sina versus the crowd. John Sina explaining how the crowd never appreciated him. The crowd turned on him years ago, and he just went with it. He just continued going along the path that he was on. Well, this week, we got Sina versus Cody. And that Sina that people were looking for came out here.

That Sina who eviscerates his opponent with words. That's who we saw. but man, Cody stood toe to toe with him. And it was, it's a very interesting tactic. And this is like a sales tactic, actually, where you approach, you approach the situation by saying, all right, well,

here's all the reasons you might not want to pay for my service or buy the product I'm telling you. That's exactly what Cody did. You disarmed Sina right away. Look, there's lots of things you can make fun of me for. Now, I've got a bit of a lisp. when I say words with an S in it. I'll give you one right now,

Stardust. So he's like, boom, there's two right there, Lisp, and I used to be stardust. I've got an arm tattoo on my neck. Boom, there's another one. I got booed out of the company I created. Oh my gosh,

wow, he's referencing A.E.W. This is crazy. So like Cody getting all that out of the way kind of like takes the ammo out of, away from Sina, which I thought was just such a brilliant move. Whoever's writing these promos, and I'm sure it's definitely John Sina,

it's definitely Cody Rhodes, and then there's definitely a lot of writers slash producers slash other people that are all coming together on this. It's really smart the way that they're structuring these. I also think that it's so smart they've been kicking off all these shows with John Cena. You don't have to wait.

Is John Cena going to be at the top of the second hour? Is he going to be, are they going to end the show with a John Cena promo? Nope. The show opens with John Cena. And I think that's been a really smart move to just set the tone of like, we announced these were the dates on the John Cena retirement tour thus far. Let's do it.

Welcome to Monday Night Raw in London and then John Cena's music hits. And I think that's been really smart. With that said, as of right now, there are no other dates announced, no other dates between now and WrestleMania announced for John Cena. So that could be, it sure seems like it is the last time we'll see John Sina before that WrestleMania night two main event. And if that's the way that we're going to go out, if that's what the buildup is, I love where this is heading. But if that's the last time we see John Sina, do we still see Cody Rhodes over the next few weeks? I would have to think the answer to that one is yes.

Like Cody is in that position right now on that champion schedule where he's there every single week. Not just every single week. He's there almost every single show. And let me digress for just a second here because you guys know how ridiculous I think the WWE draft is. Cody's a Smackdown guy. Why are all these big memorable promos happening on Raw? We all know the answer to that. It's because Raw is on Netflix and they're trying to do whatever they can to pop those numbers for Netflix and impress Netflix. But how are we supposed to take the draft seriously if the main person, the champion?

who is drafted to Smackdown is doing all these memorable things on the other show. So silly to me. So silly. The line that really stood out for me from John Cena on Monday was they've been saying for years

John Cena Barry's talent. I don't bury talent. I am talent. And then it gets right in Cody's face. I bury mediocrity. Whoa. And it's just so funny that like John Sina knows.

John Sina knows what the crowd in the arenas have been saying or chanting about him for years. He's obviously aware of what the dialogue has been online about him for the better part of a decade, if not more. And it's funny that he just addresses those head on. But then Cody at the end of the promo was like, yeah, you know, they've said some things about me too. But they've never directed a chant at me that says,

you can't wrestle and it was like oh my gosh like just shots fired and i mean like you could say a lot of things about cody roads whether you like him or you don't like him you know there's plenty of discussion online about that same with john cina that really happens with anybody who's in that kind of marquee position but one thing you could never say about cody rose is he's not a great wrestler like cody roads especially i would say since leaving WWE and especially like his stuff in

Ring of Honor. Like that's where I feel like he really started to come into his own. I remember specifically, I went to a Ring of Honor show in Fort Lauderdale. It was in November 2017 at the War Memorial Auditorium.

Cody was in the main event. He was the Ring of Honor champion at the time. I actually did an interview with him earlier that night. He's wearing a red blazer and he has the dark hair. So, I mean, if you've been following along for a while, you know exactly the interview that I'm talking about.

We shot it on my iPhone probably six or iPhone seven. I don't know, whatever it was at that time. But I hadn't seen Cody wrestle. I'd seen clips here and there, but I hadn't seen him wrestle since leaving WWE. And I remember specifically sitting in that audience and just being like, man, like he brings it. Like he brings a sense of like realism to what he does. And like there was just a real intensity that he was wrestling with. It was a match against Rocky Romero.

That's who his opponent was. There was a real intensity there that I hadn't seen before. And he's carried that through with him ever since. And you see that in his promos too. And this is the thing I've always been impressed by not just Cody or Sina or Rock or punk or Drew McIntyre. Anybody who's great at promos, the thing I've always just personally. been impressed by as a communication studies major, as a broadcaster who I've been doing this now for over 20 years. And also on Fridays, I talked to you guys for about an hour, just me and you

hanging out. I'm so impressed when someone is able to speak their emotions so bluntly, so directly, without ums and ahs and pauses. And I know that these promos are scripted out to. And I know that these promos are scripted out to a certain point. But when you're talking about segments that are 15, 20 minutes, sometimes 30 minutes with all the crowd interaction they've had, I'm just so impressed by, there's no stumbles. I mean, they happen on very rare occasions, but they're so rare that I feel like it makes them stand out so much more because we're not used to seeing that happen. But when I see people like this, especially this past Monday, that are just professional speakers. And you see John Sina and Cody Roach just being able to speak to each other like that. It's just so impressive.

Like, it's on a whole other level. And I think you also see these moments. And I think Sina did a few times this Monday. I can't be sure. I don't know how these promos were written out. But I feel like there's some moments where, oh, the crowd's starting to say this. Huh. Okay. Well, if I say this, that will really lean into what they're saying. Like, remember what was it two weeks ago when Sina, like, was, was notice? seeing the what chance. And then he said something about the what chance. And then the crowd said what? And it's like, ah, he got you. I find that stuff just so amazing. Just from a pure communication standpoint. I think that it's so impressive. But where does it go from here?

Do we see Sina again? It feels like we don't. Do we see Cody again? Yeah, I feel like we do. So then is it a, is it a Cody promo where Cody's just talking right to the camera, talking to John Sina who maybe he makes some sort of remark about John Cena not being a full-time or John Cena not being on every single show. I don't know. But we've got some heat here. We've got some real momentum going into WrestleMania. And as you are listening right now, we're 15 days away from WrestleMania. And things are really starting to come together, which leads us into this next question here. Andy Guadalupe on Spotify says, now that CM Punk will be main eventing his first WrestleMania, in the triple threat match against Roman Raines and Seth Rollins on night one.

What do you think CM Punk's favor is from Paul Heyman? Do you think it could be a future WWE championship match that he inserts himself into with John Sina and Cody Rhodes? Or is it Paul Heyman turning on Roman Raines and becoming a CM Punk guy? We'd love to hear your thoughts and keep up the great work. Been listening to you since 2020. Since 2020? Andy.

Thank you. Wow. this is the big question. And I love that they keep calling back to it. What is the favor that Paul Heyman owes CM Punk? And I think there's a lot of different ways that this could go. I think you hinted at a few of them here. And you got to think about this just from a storyline perspective. Paul Heyman's, he's just an advocate. He's just a manager, right? So he's not someone like Adam Pierce or Nick Aldous who can just snap his fingers and make a match. But storyline wise, Paul Heyman could pull some strings.

Paul Heyman could get in somebody's ear and Paul Hamon could make some things happen. And I also just appreciate that extra layer to this that, sure, Paul Heyman might just be a manager, but the fans know the levity of the position that he has. They know Paul Heyman carries some weight with who he is in the wrestling business. So maybe Paul Maybe Paul Heyman pulls some strings and gets CM Punk a future title shot.

Okay, that doesn't sound too sexy. That doesn't sound too appealing, but that is certainly a possibility. And we'll run through a few different possibilities that I've kind of thought out here. There's a possibility here that maybe he pulls some strings and somehow gets CM Punk inserted into the title match of the main event of night two. I've seen this theory floating around. I can't see that happening, especially because the buildup has been so much here. for John Sina versus Cody Rhodes, I don't see that being a possibility,

but I also think that whatever ends up happening, whatever the favor is that is owed and is going to be paid to see M Punk, it's going to be a big moment. Like, it's not just going to be some, like, throwaway thing. Like, I feel like there's going to be a big buildup to this. Think of, like, when Sammy Zane turned on the bloodline

or when Seth Rawlins turned on the shield. I'm not saying the moment is going to be as big as that, but there's going to be a build up to that moment. I don't think it's just going to be a throwaway thing. The possibility of CM Punk being a Paul Heyman guy, that one seems to make a lot of sense. Maybe it's like you choose him or you choose me, although that doesn't seem like just a favor.

That feels like a like a career move. You know, you're going to leave the guy you've been with for, five years to now be me, be with me, and I'm going to be a Paul Heyman guy. I don't know if that's it, but this could be it. This could be very interesting. What if it's like, you owe me that favor, night one, WrestleMania, that triple threat match, I want you in my corner. Hmm. Or maybe, because right now this is just a grudge match. And it's going to be an incredible match when you've got three guys that talented

and a match together. What if it's that there's some stakes for this match? Because as of right now, this is, it's just, it's a match. It's a match. What if there's some stakes here? What if it's the winner gets a title shot, maybe the Monday after Raw? Or the winner gets a title shot at SummerSlam?

Or something like that. That also could be a possible. It's also the chance here. This doesn't seem likely to me. I feel like we're going to get an answer in the next 15 days, maybe 16 days. Takes us tonight too. I feel like we're going to get the answer before WrestleMania. But what if what if he kind of like keeps this in his back pocket like he has been doing now since Survivor series?

What if he keeps this in his back pocket and uses it a little bit like a money in the bank briefcase? Like anytime, anywhere, like he just pulls this out and goes, hey, remember that favorite? you owe me well it's time to pay up now that's a possibility as well like maybe we go through into russomania and on the other side of russomania and that's still that's still just a lingering thing and they keep building on it and keep building on it and it becomes something because cm punk versus roman rains feels like a feud that's brewing here and i i think that after night one of russlemania that could like really start we could start to see where that goes from there. But either way, this is going to be big when this comes together. And also, just think about

this, just as a whole. We are talking about a favor. We're not talking about a title shot or money in the bank or something like that. We're talking about a favor. And there's been so much buildup to it that it's become like a main part of not just this storyline, but a main focus of what's going on with WWE right now. A favor. That is brilliant writing. Big underscore, Mike F, on Instagram says, thank you for your hard work. Your Friday episodes start off my weekend. Well, heck yeah. Question. Do you feel the Jay Uso versus Gunther storyline is completely overshadowed by the Sina Rhodes and now punk Roman and Rollins storyline? I have been really excited about Jay Uso from the beginning of the year, but now I feel like his story is being put on the back burner.

Love to hear your thoughts and keep up the great work. I felt that way until the segment that we saw in Raw. And man, it got personal with Jimmy and Jay and Gunther and Jimmy, bleating like a stuffed pig. Wow. Like that added so much that storyline that I feel like didn't have much. But I think there was this misconception and perhaps a misunderstanding. that there is a guarantee that if you win the Royal Rumble, you main event WrestleMania. It's not the case.

Okay. The agreement is you win the Royal Rumble, you get a title shot at WrestleMania. And this year, neither of the winners, neither the men's winner nor the women's winner are main eventing WrestleMania. And this is not a new thing. Like the precedent has been set here for many times in the past where you win the Royal Rumble, you get a match at WrestleMania, it's not necessarily the main event match. I've been saying for a long time, I've been saying since the Royal Rumble, have a little

bit of patience. Maybe you didn't like the way that was booked. Hey, look, when we look back two months ago to the Royal Rumble, when we look back at that, John Sina was still baby face at that point in time. Okay, people were like, well, how did John Sina not win the Royal Rumble? It doesn't, I don't understand it. It doesn't make any sense. How could Jay Uso win it? Well, all the final people in the Royal Rumble are now in great spots in WrestleMania. You've got AJ Stiles, who was eliminated by Logan Paul, boom, they've got a match together now. Seth Rawlins, who was eliminated by CM Punk, Roman Raines eliminated by CM Punk. Well, there's a match there. C.M. Punk eliminated by Logan Paul, interesting, but Logan Paul, eliminated by John Sina and John Sina eliminated by Jay Husser.

So everybody there has a big match at WrestleMania. And that AJ Stiles and Logan Paul match, that thing is going to cook. Say what you want about Logan Paul, the individual, but you would be absolutely lying to yourself if you aren't saying that Logan Paul as an in-ring performer is incredibly talented and amazingly gifted. That new finisher? The pulverizer? Oh, when he pulled that out of Ron, we saw it a few weeks ago as well when he did it on Ray Mysterio. There are so few new or surprising moves in wrestling for him to be able to do that. And I get that it's a move he can't do to everybody. Like, he has to do it to a relatively speaking smaller wrestler. But man, that is an impressive looking move.

So I feel like with the Jay Uso storyline, there was, this isn't just a throwaway match. I think it may be an opening match, but I also feel like that sets the stakes really high where, and we don't know if this is night one or night two, and I don't know if we will know that. Maybe they'll let us know that, but I think that that's going to be a fantastic match. Jimmy being kind of a pawn in this or being part of this just makes me kind of wonder. Does Jimmy play a role in this match when WrestleMania comes around? Does Jay win the title and it sets up brother versus brother for the championship? I don't know.

Also, this is a big thing I've thought about a lot. If Gunther does lose at WrestleMania, where does that leave him? Where does he go from there? Like he has become such a top-tier player since winning the world championship. And he's elevated that. He's elevated himself in the process. Where does he go from there? I feel like he still has to be part of that picture.

So I don't know. There's a lot of questions there that need to be answered. But when we talk about being overshadowed by those other two matches, those other two matches are the big marquee matches. When you look at the card and it's not complete just yet, but when you look at the card they have right now, the official card, and you look at the matches that are probably going to end up coming together in the next two weeks, those are the two biggest matches. We're talking about the triple threat in John Cena versus Cody Rhodes. I don't think that it's the fact that

the world championship match is getting overshadowed here. It's just that those are the two bigger matches. So they rightfully are going to be the main event matches. But have a little bit of patience on this J Uso match because I think it's going to be, it's going to exceed your expectations. And I understand from talking to a lot of you guys, expectations are quite low. So keep them low. Yeah, keep them low because that way it'll be easier to blow them away. Rob Reid on Spotify says, at this point, with no more mention of the final boss, I believe he's out of the story.

And I think that Sina is going to win at some point and retire soon after with the belt. Cody will take a break for a bit. and WWE will unveil a new belt design. That belt might have a Netflix theme to it. Well, look, John Sina is with us till December. So the retiring short after, yeah, sure, if you consider not that long after being December. John Sina is with us till December.

Cody taking a break, I'm not so sure about that. Cody has been the guy, and I think that he's happy to be the guy, happy to be the guy that they lean on for appearing on Smackdown and on Raw and the meet and greets and the live events and creating those moments for fans when he's walking down the entrance. I'm not sure about that. The final boss, though, is interesting. How does the Rock factor into WrestleMania of 41? The last time we saw him was Elimination Chamber that really hasn't been, there's been mention of him. He was mentioned

by Cody Rhodes during the promo on raw with John Sina. But where is the Rock? And what role does he play here? Because I don't see any world where the Rock isn't part of this, WrestleMania, especially since he was such a pivotal part of the John Cena heel turn. But do we get an announced appearance by the Rock? Like, hey, you got to tune into WrestleMania because the Rock's going to be there on

night too. I don't know. Or does the Rock's music just hit at some point? and he plays a role there, I'm not sure. And that's a real interesting unknown at this point in time. But I think The Rock for sure will be part of WrestleMania, but it just feels like we're not going to see him between now and WrestleMania. So he just pops up at WrestleMania at some point in time.

I guess so. But that's kind of a, you know, there are, in this world, there are known unknowns. there are unknown unknowns. And I feel like this is a known unknown. The fact that the rock, he plays a factor here. He plays a role. Where and how will he get inserted into WrestleMania? That's the big question. JJ on Spotify says, hey, CVV, how do you think the WWE can unheal Sina and the fans get back on his side before the end of the retirement tour? I just can't see him going out as a bad guy. You can't see him going out as a bag.

I see what you did there because we can't see him. I'm with you, JJ. I can't see him retiring as a heel either. But I was wrong with this whole John Cena turning heel thing. I said, they could never do it. They can't pull it off. They don't have enough time. Well, and here we are a month into it.

And it's been fantastic. And I am loving every second of it. There's still some moments, like I mentioned. You've still got people that are just a long, for the ride going, let's go Sina Sina sucks. It's the same guy chanting it. And there was even a moment during the promo on Monday where the fans cheered something that Sina said.

So like, we're booing him because he's a bad guy. And I think there's also like a section of the audience that's booing him because he's still wearing the same clothes and he's still coming out to the same song and I wanted a different song. But for the most part, I think we're just going, man, we are watching something special here. And if John Cena is saying heelish things, well, then heck yeah, I will boo for those healish things. I don't know how they unheal him. Unheal. It's not even a real phrase, but I'm going to, I'm going to keep going with you. I don't know how they turn him baby face, but I think it happens

at some point in time. Does it set up John Cena versus the Rock again? I don't know. That could be a possibility. But I think that Sina, and I've been saying this for a few months, I think that Sina's heel run is like, call it three to six months and then he ends the year as a baby face. I've been wondering, every time he comes out, he's wearing the new John Sina retirement tour shirt with the new John Sina retirement tour towel. I wonder, since turning heel, And I would love if we could somehow find out the numbers on this. I wonder how much his merch sales have gone down. Because, yes, he's still pumping out the merch.

Yes, he's still changing it up for every single appearance that he makes and doing the hometown colors for wherever he goes. But it's a well-known thing in wrestling that fans don't buy heel merch. And I totally understand there are many, many exceptions to that. But that is just a general rule that, like, you sell much more merch when you're a baby face. And look, the very first, yeah, it was the very first wrestling t-shirt I ever bought was the green Triple H, I Am the Game T-shirt with like the smoke on it. And on the back, it says, because I am that damn good. I love Triple H. Massive. Heels, I'm buying his merch. So I get that that is an exception

to the rule. But I just wonder, I wonder, because there's a lot of kids who like genuinely, genuinely had their heartbroken when John Cena turned heel. So if you're going to that show and you were planning like, oh, man, I love John Sina. I'm going to buy his merch. Well, now I don't like John Sita. I'm going to instead buy the merch of somebody else. I wonder how many of those have happened. How many, how much have sales gone down? It'd be just an interesting little tidbit to add into this. But I don't know. I don't, I can't see the scenario right now. We're 15 days away from WrestleMania night one, 16 days away from John Sina's next match. I still think at this point in time,

John Sina wins that championship at WrestleMania. I have loved being surprised over the last bunch of months. I've been wrong about a lot of big things, and it's been great. We've all been wrong about a lot of big things. There have been a lot of huge moments that we haven't seen coming. If John Sina does lose WrestleMania Night 2, there's something to it there.

Because also, whoever wins or loses in that match, whether it's Cody or it's John Sina, is it just over then? Like, if Cody loses the championship after holding it for over a year, is it just over? It's a feud over? And like, Cody then goes back to like trying to find a way to get that championship and John Sina likely moves on to another opponent. I'm still thinking it's going to be Randy Orton at some point in time. I don't know.

There's a lot of questions here. But I will hold to this that I don't think John Sina. Sina ends the year as a heel. There's more to this storyline. Maybe it's, I don't know. I don't know, but I am, I am buckled up and I am along for this ride. Joey Gilbreath on Facebook says, should CM Punk get another world title run in WWE? I think it's a matter of when he gets that title run, not if.

I think that there's three, call them veterans, legends, whatever you want to, whatever title you want to attach to them that are going to win the championship in the next call it year or so. And it's John Sina, it's Randy Orton, and it's CM Punk. So, yeah, I think CM Punk will be winning the championship at some point in the next year or so. And I think we'll get a real indication for what's going to have. happen with CM Punk based on this triple threat match and whatever that favor ends up being from Paul Heyman. But CM Punk, WWE champion, yeah, that just feels inevitable. Taxi legend on Spotify. Come to St. Louis for backlash. Interview the homeboy as well. My homeboy being Randy Orton,

I'm guessing. I will be in St. Louis for backlash. I already bought my flights. So I will see you guys in St. Louis. Can't wait to be there. I've never, I've driven through when I moved to California. I drove through St. Louis. I saw the arch. That is about it. So I haven't actually stopped in St. Louis. So I'm excited to spend some time there. I can't wait for that. A Randy Orton interview has to happen. He sent me a message and said that it's got to happen at some point in time. So I think it's just a matter of figuring out when and where. I would imagine a PLE in his hometowns going to be busy. But I'm looking forward to trying to make this happen at some point.

So yeah, I'll see you guys in St. Louis. Will I see Randy Orton there? Probably not. But we'll see. Stuart Lang emailed this one in. Hey, Chris, real, real one from Scotland here. Can't think of a wrestling question that you haven't been asked a thousand times, but I do want to know.

What are you going to name the episodes once you run out of Jersey numbers? Love the show. Listen to each episode the day it drops. Much love to your family from mine. Well, thank you, Stuart. I don't know. I think the simple answer is it ends at 99. That's what I've been saying for a while now.

But I think that we go out with a bang, lots of famous people wore number 99. And I feel like if we start trying to attach different meanings to 100 and, well, I guess 101's an easy one, that's the Dalmatian edition. But I just, I don't want to be reaching. Like right now, they're so easy. There's a famous person or a legendary person that's worn every jersey number from zero all the way up to 99.

But I think after that it would be forcing it. And the last thing I want to do with anything on the show is to try to force it. So I think that it ends with 99. And we just remember the good times that we had from Jersey number 23 to 99. Because I only started at 23. Just as like, I just threw it out that it was the Jordan edition and also the LeBron edition, the LeBron James edition. but I didn't even think about like, oh my gosh, well, now 24.

Well, that's the Kobe edition. And then we went into 25 and 26. And then it was just, we kept going. And I watched so much sports as a kid. Like sports center was like my thing. I would wake up. I would watch it on TSN, right, in Canada, the sports network. ESPN, of course, now that I live in the U.S.

but I woke up, played baseball for 20 years, played hockey for almost as many. Sports was my thing. I still love watching sports. But we talked about this when Rachel came on the show last week. We're not watching as much on TV that's not like kids programming right now. And what a wonderful phase of our life that we're in right now. It's just a, what a blessing to see our kids grow. It's been so much fun.

But I think that when we get to 100, that's it. It's just welcome to CVV. Ask CVV number 100. And that's it. That's going to be, it's going to be it. But at least with 99, we'll be going out with the Wayne Gretzky, JJ Watt, Aaron Judge, Rick Vaughn edition. Yeah?

Like that? Major league reference. So I think that's it. Crazy underscore Damon 18 on Spotify says, it is Chad Gable. How do you not get it? Wait, are you saying that El Grande Americano is actually Chad Gable? I don't, I don't see it.

How could it be Chad Gable if he was sick and had a doctor's note, a very legitimate doctor's note? Also, the fact that, I pointed this out last week, but Chad Gable speaks English. El Grande Americano speaks Spanish. So like it just doesn't add up here. It has to be somebody else. And I think that a match that I can't wait to see just because they're matched up so perfectly,

Chad Gable versus El Grande Americano is going to be just an all-timer. And it feels like we're building. Feels like we're building to that match at some point in time. It's great that you took me seriously, that you actually think. Yeah, let's not ruin it. Yeah. How do I not get it? How can I, I cannot figure out the identity of that mass luchador.

But I hope that we find it out soon. I hope. Oh, this is such a tough name. Let's give this a go. Shehen Padayachi. I am so sorry. I'm sure that I have got this wrong. Ask CV number 77.

I'm watching the London episode of Smackdown right now, and I'm curious, who do you think is behind the smoke and snake-themed vignettes? They've been teasing it for weeks, and I'm certain the payoff will be at Mania or the week after, any ideas. So yeah, we've been seeing these vignettes for the last three weeks on Smackdown.

The latest one had a voiceover that said, you will be. And that's it. That was our only hint. You will be, and then we didn't even, like, see who this was. It feels like this. this is Malachi Black making his return to WW.

And I think that early on, people were like, oh, maybe it's Ray Phoenix, but then Ray Phoenix had his actual Ray Phoenix vignettes. So it's like, okay, cool, we got Ray Phoenix. He's coming to WWE. I think it's Malachi Black. And I don't think the answer is mania, but maybe the answer is the raw after mania. And that cannot be understated. The fact that, like, we, like, yes, we're looking ahead to Russellmania night one and night two.

But you got to remember how many big things, how many huge surprises, how many returns. All of these things happen on the raw after mania. So I think that it's Malachi Black and I think it's the raw after mania. And it feels like maybe it's a different iteration of the character. But I guess we'll have to see. Now that leads us very perfectly into this one from Jonathan McDonald on Spotify. Hey, CVV, real one from Calgary. Well, hello, my fellow Canadian, wondering what you think of Ray Phoenix signing with WWE?

Will they reunite the Lucha Bros? And if so, will this hold back Penta with the lack of emphasis in the WVE tag divisions? I've loved them solo in Lucha Underground and has tagged champs in AEW. But personally, I would like to see Penta follow the path that he's on. Maybe put Ray with the OG Ray in the LWO. It worked out in Lucha Underground. And we are mutual fans of that. I'm a huge Lucha Underground fan, and you know that.

it feels to me the fact that Ray is getting his own vignette, the path that Penta has been on, and man, what an amazing push that he's had since debuting in January, it feels to me like they are going to be two separate superstars. They are not going to be forming a tag team, at least not yet. Like, sure, that might be something that ends up happening down the line. But if you've never seen Ray Phoenix wrestle. And I said this before, Penta debuted. But if you haven't seen Ray Phoenix wrestle, like, oh, my gosh, he does some things in the ring and he just makes them look so effortlessly.

Like, he does them so effortlessly. He's so fluid with the movements that he does and the way that he pulls them off. You're in for a treat. And in fact, if you haven't seen Ray Phoenix wrestle before, don't go and look him up yet. Like, look him up after he debut. using WWE, but I just want you to be blown away. Because when he has his first match and he starts doing some things that you've never seen done before, or he'll do things that you have seen done before, but he does him in a way that

you've never seen done before, you're just going to be like, oh my gosh, where this guy come from, then go back and watch Lucha Underground or some of the stuff that he did in A.E.W. Man, Lucha Bros. versus Youngbucks might be one of the greatest tag matches ever. Oh, like, so good. But the fact that Penta is on raw and Ray is, Ray Phoenix is clearly going to be on Smackdown, it's a great move. Like keep them separate,

let them do their own thing. Don't have them be tied to each other. Because I feel like that happens a lot of times with tag teams where it's like, well, this is the better, this is the better brother or this is the better member of the tag team. Like, this is the weak link. Like, just have them be completely separate.

so that for WWE fans who haven't seen them wrestle anywhere else, they can go, oh, wow, that Ray Phoenix guy is really good. He wears a mask like Penta, but that might be the only thing

that they think about. Like there is probably a lot of fans, maybe you're one of them listening right now, that don't know that they are actually brothers. Like, not just storyline, they are actually brothers. But keeping them separate,

I think, is the best move. Let Ray Phoenix become a star, on his own on Smackdown and let Penta continue to be the star that he's been on Raw. Riefton emailed this one in. I hope I'm saying your name right. Look, as someone who has had their name mispronounced and butchered for my entire life, I think a little word of advice here is if you want me to say your name correctly, and I'm trying. I want to say your name correctly. Could you please spell it out phonetically? Like I would spell mine like, It's Chris Van Vleet, like V-L-E-E-T.

It rhymes with meat or feet. So I would love to pronounce your name correctly. But anyway, hello and greetings from Germany. I've been listening to your show for about a year now and quickly became a real, real one. First time sending in a question and I wanted it to be special because this is the Ask CVV number 77, the Luca Donchich edition. with the sports world in shock by the Luca to LA trade in February, I want to ask you, what is your most shocking moment in wrestling history, like match outcomes, returns, twists, etc.

Thank you for all of your passion and work that you put into your interviews and shows. Well, thank you for sending in a question. There's a lot of them. There's a lot of shocking moments and outcomes to matches and returns. There's lots of them. but I think that if you think about just the word shocking being attached to a wrestling moment, it's the streak ending at WrestleMania 30. That was there.

And it was like with the returns like I talked about last week, I think the biggest return ever was CM Punk going to WWE. There was a visceral reaction there. There was a cheer like of excitement. or we also talked about the Hardy Boys returning at WrestleMania 33. It's a cheer. It's excitement. What we got at WrestleMania 30 was just pure shock.

Like there was no reaction. There was no cheers. There was no booze. It was like someone had just sucked the air out of the Superdome. And I vividly remember. I had floor seats. I was like, if you're looking at the stage, I was to the right of the stage.

I don't know, maybe 10 or 15 rows over from there. So my good friends, Alex and Jason and Brian. And I just remember us looking around at each other, looking around like the people seated in our row and people seated behind us. Like, what? Wait, wait, did they just do that? Like what that actually?

What? That actually happened? It was almost like confusion. Like, did they get it? wrong? Did they mess that up? And it wasn't until they put 21 and 1 on the big screen in the stadium that we all went, oh, oh, no, that was like intentional. Remember the shot, the very famous shot of the guy sitting front row wearing the Daniel Bryan shirt with just like the shocked reaction on his face? I feel like that was all of us. So that's my pick. You. You know,

You may have another pick or another moment for you, but we will not see something like that in wrestling probably ever again. And sure, John Cena turning a heel was surprising. But also, like, my reaction was like, oh, they're doing it. Oh, they're actually going for it. Like, cool. Wow, I can't wait to see where this goes. With The Undertaker Brock Lesnar, and like, that was 10 years ago. 11 years ago now.

Not crazy. 10 years ago is the heist of the century. Man, time's just flying. That was WrestleMania 31, but WrestleMania 30, which ended up being Yesselmania. Like, those are the two things you really remember. I guess the opening as well. Hogan, Stone Cold, Rock, like, huge surprise to open the show up.

But the streak ending and then Daniel Bryan, the confetti, the two like real big like match moments. But isn't it funny that 11 years later people are still like, yeah, they shouldn't have done that. I mean, Hunterdaker himself like, yeah, I didn't want the streak to end. And what didn't, didn't think it should be shouldn't have ended with him. So I think that's, that's the pick for me. That's the moment where it was just like, whoa. And like you might have remembered watching it in the moment, but go back and watch it this weekend.

You don't have to watch the whole match, but just go back and watch the end of that match and just watch the reaction. It's almost like it's something bigger than wrestling. That's the last time that I feel like wrestling was talked about outside of the wrestling bubble. People were talking about that as just being such a huge, massive, like surprising moment. And I feel like they were doing that with the John Cena heel turn as well. it kind of reminds me of like when a character gets killed off on a TV show and like someone you never thought when I end up getting killed off. And even if you don't watch that show, you know that it's just like in the cultural zeitgeist. Like people are talking about it. It becomes

like water cooler talk. Like, oh man, can you believe that they killed off so and so? It's like, man, I don't watch the show, but that's pretty crazy. Like that's the main character on the show. How could they kill that person off? Justin Shork emailed this one in. Hey, CVV. Soon to be a real, real, real one here since SummerSlam rolls around, or one SummerSlam rolls around. Awesome. Look forward to seeing you there. My question for the Ask CVV number 77, the Luca Donchich, Tyron Smith, Pudge Rodriguez edition, is with WWE announcing immortal moments in the Hall of Fame, aside from Austin Brett,

what are your top five or your next five matches slash moments to go in? Mine off the top of my head. you've got Andre and Hulk the slam, not the match, the slam, Austin 316 promo, take her mankind hell in a cell, Savage Steamboat WrestleMania 3, and Hogan's heel turn. Appreciate you keeping my one and a half hour commute bearable on most days. Take care, looking forward to seeing you at the live show in New York City. Thanks, Justin. I appreciate that they're calling these iconic moments or immortal moments rather than

immortal matches. So that really opens it up for like, like wrestling's all about the moments. Everybody talks about that. And I appreciate that it's not just the match. It's not just not just a match that's going in. I do have a question about this, though. Does, and I've seen these posts, not from WWE, I've seen posts from a lot of wrestling websites saying that, well, now Brett Hart is a three-time Hall of Famer. I don't technically think that is right. Because I think that this ends up being kind of like its own category, kind of like the Warrior Award. So if you win the Warrior Award, you're not a WWE Hall of Famer. You just won the Warrior Award. And I feel like that's what this is too. Like you are recognized with an immortal moment. It doesn't make you a, I don't

think you get an extra ring for this. I think that it's just another category. This also means, by the way, that Ken Shamrock is now Hall of Fame adjacent. Because, he was the referee of that match, WrestleMania 13 between Brett Hart and Stone Cold. So now Ken Shamrock is being recognized in this immortal moment, which I think is pretty cool. And look, it's just a matter of time.

It is just a matter of time before Ken Shamrock gets his rightful place in the WWE Hall of Fame. He's in like every other Hall of Fame. He's in the TNA Hall of Fame. It's in the UFC Hall of Fame. He's in all these other Hall of Fame. Come on. About time.

he goes into the WWE Hall of Fame. I think you've named a lot of immortal moments. The Andre Hulk slam is a huge one for sure. I think Rock and Hogan, WrestleMania 18. That's one absolutely. Taker, mankind, I would assume that one goes in in the next year or two.

Like that one just feels like such an easy one, like such a layup. But if they're only going to do one of these every single year, you've got endless possibilities. endless, endless possibilities. But it's a cool thing and also a really good way to continue to build some, or put some star power into the Hall of Fame. Like, you know, sometimes depending on when you watch wrestling,

you may not be that familiar. Depending on when you started watching wrestling, you may not be that familiar with who the entire Hall of Fame class is each year. But you definitely know who these people will be in any iconic. moment that gets awarded, I guess. I was going to say gets inducted, but it's not really an induction. But it's a good way to go, all right, so you got the Hall of Fame class of 2025. It's Triple H, Michelle McCool, Lex Lugar, and the natural disasters, and also you've got Stone Cold Steve Austin and Brett Hart. And it's going to be really interesting where they go with these immortal moments because there's some huge ones.

And it gives us the opportunity as well to relive some of those amazing moments. So I like your picks. And I think that if we were to go, you know, if it's going to be just one a year, that really limits it. So, you know, it's not that many that are going to go in. But if we were to look back on this list and call it 10 or 20 years, I think that everything that you picked on that list will be in at some point in time. Dalton K. emailed this one in. Hey, Chris, long-time listener and first-time question asker here with not so much of a question, but a discovery that I found. I was playing WWE 2K25 and noticed the voice actor who

voices the male character in the My Rise game mode. Sounds awfully familiar. Let me know what you think. And thanks for putting out such great content. P.S., my last name is a doozy. So however you pronounce it is fine with me. Dalton, however I pronounce it, this is a, I want to want to pronounce it correctly. There are a lot of, there are a lot of consonants here. Dalton Kraschkovic? I hope I'm close. I hope that I am close. So I've had a lot of people send me this and tag me on Twitter that you think the character in my rise is me. It is not me. Okay? I was just as surprised as you guys were to hear this, but I don't think. think it sounds that much like me. I'll let you guys take a listen to this. I'm going to play it

from my computer speakers here. I'll let you take a listen to this and let me know what you think. So that's Adam Pierce. Pay no attention to the crazed mask attacker. Understood. Pay no attention to the crazed mask attacker. I don't, I don't actually think it sounds that much like me. But you're not alone. You are one of dozens of people who have sent that to me and who think that that's me, which also means you must know my voice pretty well because you're hearing it a lot. I guess we hang out every Friday, so it makes sense. But no, it is not me.

I wouldn't mind getting a little WWE 2K money. I wouldn't mind recording a few lines and having it be in a game that lives on forever and ever ever. But no, that is not me. That is not me. My voice is in some other things. Like, if you listen other podcasts, you'll hear my voice like doing ad reads or, and you guys know this. I've been in a few different movies. That's always a fun thing. I was in these movies. I guess I was in one in 2019 as an extra, but I was in the love guru. We filmed that in 2007, came out in 2008. I was in a movie called Cherry. It was in the background of that.

I played a reporter in a movie called Love Fines You in Sugar Creek. I played a reporter in the bronze. I played a reporter in criminal activities, a John Travolta movie. It's always fun. Ten or so years later when someone goes, is that CVV? Is that CVV wearing a green shirt behind Mike Myers in The Love Guru? Why, yes. Yes, it is.

in the scene with Vern Troyer. I'm right there. I'm in a bunch of scenes in that movie, but no, this is not a fun little Easter egg. I am not in WW2K25, but I am in all those other movies. Go watch one this weekend. Take a shot, take a screenshot,

take a photo of your TV and tag me in it and let me know that you were watching that. That, my friends, is the last question here on Ask CVV number 77. Thank you for hanging out with me. on this Friday. Can you believe we've got two weeks until WrestleMania? I can't wait to see you guys in Las Vegas. If you're going to be there, it would be amazing to see you at Insight Live Thursday, April 17th. Grab those tickets at CVVTicks.com. What a quote from Tom Wilson to end this episode. Life is a matter of perspective. Either you complain because roses have thorns or you rejoice because

roses or because thorns have roses. That's good. I love perspective of how can just change your whole, the whole way that you look at life. Be great and be grateful. Have an amazing weekend. We will see you on the next one for some more insight. We've got Gabriel Iglesias joining us on the show on the show on Tuesday. I can't wait to see him or I can't wait for you guys to see him. It was awesome hanging out with him. He is a WWE mega fan. So join me on Tuesday with Fluffy. We'll see you right back here for that one. The Hammer Alley podcast, an 80s flashback mockumentary.

Back in the 80s, there were a thousand bands trying to make it in the world of rock. But there was one band that had it all. Hammer Alley. Whatever happened to Hammer Alley? How did they go from top of the rock? I'm looking for a music video. They're a band from 1987. Hammer Alley.

Ever heard of them? To Rock Bottom. Dude, I was born in 19. I can't believe he's doing this. Hammer Alley. Follow and listen on your favorite platform.