The Pope's Point of View
Pope's Point of View Episode 275: AEW Revolution
Breaking news, and this one is almost unbelievable. Yeah, it's all about new customers at Bet365. Because they get $150 in bonus bets when they bet $5 win or lose. And even better, bonus bets can be used on the spread, totals, and player props. There you have it, Bet $5 to get $150 in bonus bets win or lose. And see why. It's never ordinary at Bet365. Win one for someone, must be physically located in Colorado. Gamlin Toplin, Qualitex, Win 100, Gamber, TNC Supply. [music] Welcome to the Pulse point of view. In your home, Elijah Burke. [music] What's up everybody? Thank you for joining your boy yet again for another edition of Pulse point of view. And of course, I am your host of Host Your God and like your Paragon of Virtue, your former NWA World Television Champion, The Pope. Elijah Burke, and you are listening to the podcast that is indeed known as 45 minutes of fire. And then some, and then some. Everyone get to that some in just a moment or two. But before you boy do allow me to do my due diligence and bring in and on right here right now, none other than the manager, champion, champion of managers, the drag queen, the extraordinaire, political activist. QWI Multiple Time Award winner, PWI columnist, and contributor. Who the hell am I talking about? I am talking about none other than the sensational one, him and herself. Polo freakin' Del Mar, welcome back. It is Puyo Del Mar, listeners. Welcome to another edition of Pulse point of view. Well, thank you Polo for that grand introduction of welcoming everyone back to Pulse point of view as if I didn't do a good enough job myself. But that's kind of how it is when you want to be on the forefront of inducting and announcing this that and the other. You know what? There's been a few announcements that's already been made one in particular that we want to talk about and discuss right here right now. So, Polo, before we cover this AEW revolution edition of Pulse point of view, let us go ahead and do what we must do. And that's sit back. That's relax. That's buckle up and prepare for the ride that is known as the fantastic voyage because Polo me my long and ride on this fantastic voyage ride. Polo, you know what we're about to do there because you are already in the groove. We're going to dive, delve and jump into the news with the letters D. And you heard me talking about Polo and his announcement. Well, the announcement that I want to talk about here, Polo, is one that I talked about last year in 2024, one that we've had multiple discussions on here on Pulse point of view. And it has finally came to fruition, if you will. Of course, we got a month or so before it happens in real time. But nonetheless, the total package, Polo, Les Luger has finally received his Hall of Fame nod into the WWE's wing of celebrity or of legacy, if you will. Lex Luger is finally being inducted into the Hall of Fame. Polo, what are your thoughts on that? This is certainly fitting. And it is a beautiful nod and gesture because Lex Luger's health is not in peak condition, right? We are all fully aware of that. And WWE has a long history of waiting to give people their flowers until it is too late for that person in their lifetime to enjoy that opportunity. So for many people, this was a wonderful addition to the Hall of Fame. And certainly when you're talking about Lex Luger, who has had some of the most iconic feuds and professional wrestling has had every accolade that you could win in WCW. And had a memorable, if not championship worthy reign or run in WWE, this is certainly worthy. >> Yeah, I mean, wait, remember running WWE or WCW, he was never champion WWE. >> That's what I said, a very memorable, if not championship worthy run. >> Got it. >> Well, listen, it's long overdue, long overdue. I think back to the induction of the horsemen and one of my favorite. Which, because I came up during that time, it was my second, if not first favorite. Obviously nothing out does the original horsemen because it's the original butt, man. And that version with Lex Luger in there, it was something fantastic. And for him not to even be considered into that induction, with the four horsemen, I found that to be highway robbery, you know, because he should have been there, as well as Ollie Anderson. >> Right. And for me, the situation is that the Lex Luger version of the horsemen is the number two version of the horsemen. The one with Barry Wyndham, in my opinion, number one. >> Well, it's the number one per wrestling wise. It's not the number one, because the version. >> Yeah, I mean, the version with Barry Wyndham didn't cause as much havoc as the, you know what I'm saying, as the one with Ollie Anderson. But I get why WWE. >> I don't really feel to understand, too, that that version with Ollie Anderson barely lasted a year before they replaced him with. I mean, Lex Luger was part of about a third of that time, even as an associate member, and that was in air quotes or whatever. But look at the fact that they inducted Sting into the Hall of Fame how many years ago. And Lex Luger and Sting had careers that ran parallel to one another for the majority of their time. Both of them were coming up onto the national scene in late '85, '86, onto the national scene in '87. So I think that they should have simultaneously, you know, qualified for that. So this is, in fact, overdue because Sting was, what, six years ago, seven years ago, ten years ago? >> Well, I mean, Sting was also with WWE for what a hiccup? I mean, come on, let's call it a spade a spade and say it like it is. I mean, you know, it's a work, you know, it's, again, it's another way to obtain and make money. It's a money-driven business. And at the time of, you know, the horse been being inducted, especially with Vince still in charge, there was no way Oli was going in anyways, even if that should have been the case. So it's all about, you know, politics. And that's something that's always existed in the world of wrestling business and any other form of entertainment. And that is going to continue, but I'm so happy. Lex Luger, for me, Polo, I don't even know who went in last year. I can tell you there. >> So I can promise you, though, I'll be watching this for Lex. With everything that he's gone through, with everything that he's endured, his life journey and turnaround, it's something remarkable. And you know what, believe it or not, it's long overdue, but the timing is just right. And you know what, you know, I know we all got to believe, and he wants this, Sting will be inducted in him into the WWE Hall of Fame. >> I think that would be very appropriate. That would be very appropriate. >> And Sting is still under contract to AEW for merchandise purposes or whatnot, but I'm pretty sure Tony Khan will allow that to happen for Lex Luger. Who was there for Sting's final farewell match at Revolution, which, of course, we're going to again, again, we're going to get into here momentarily. But speaking of legends and Hall of Famers, who boy, Chris Van Blee did it again. He sat down with Scott Steiner and screwed all of the worthy information that came and is available to be talked about, because there's only one thing that is ruling the airwaves of social media, if you will, Polo, and that's the fact that, well, Hogan's a piece of crap. The news coming in from Bet365, where every nail biting overtime win, breakaway, pick six, three-point shot, underdog win, buzzer beater, shoot out, walk off, and absolutely every play in between is amazing. From football to basketball and hockey to baseball, whatever the moment, it's never ordinary at Bet365. >> Gambling problem? >> Call or text 1-800-Gambler, 21 plus only must be physically located in Colorado. >> It's time to pile on everybody. >> Like all those things that you used to not be able to say because he was in a position of power or authority, you can now say. You can tell the truth or your version of the truth, however you want to see it, and nobody is going to penalize you for it. >> Scott Steiner has never meant this word when it came to Hogan. He's always been outspoken when it came to Hogan, when it came to Flair, he did not give a crap. Even when Hogan came back to TNA, he still spoke out. It may have been after he was out of there, but nonetheless, he spoke out to Scott Steiner. This interview is getting a lot of attention across social media, wrestling websites, and the list goes on. >> What I took out of that poll over something of little-known knowledge, and that's the fact that Scott Steiner was the first wrestler, believe it or not, to do the 450 inside the ring off of the top rope. Are you surprised to know and learn that? >> That does surprise me. I would wait for the fallout for other people to be like, that's not true. >> I don't think it's going to happen because there's video evidence. There's a time stamp, there's video evidence, and he actually did it. That's the crazy part because I would have been one to say, well, much like the Hurricane Rana, or the Frankenstein, that Scott got that from Japan. He was the first to do it over here, but Scott got it from Japan. However, when it comes to the 450, it makes you wonder. It's not really something going back to the days of Great Mooda and all the legendary Japanese wrestlers. We were seeing moonsaws, we were not seeing them to frontward flips off the top rope. So this is highly likely the case that Scott Steiner was the first to do it. >> Something people forget about Scott Steiner too is that he wasn't always that roided-out monster that he is known for when I first saw him- >> Or was known for? >> Because he was known for past tense because right now, if you saw Scott Steiner from 2010 and look at him now, if you saw Scott not even going back to his peak in 1998, if you saw Scott Steiner from 2010 or '15 to where he is now, you go deer heaven, Scott's sick. He's not sick, he's just old. >> Well, I actually worked on an event with him maybe three years ago and he was still pretty jacked up. So, I mean, old, but- >> You ain't seen them lately, Polo. >> I mean, one of your padded thighs make him- he can hide behind it, let me just say that. >> Okay, anyway, y'all, anyway, y'all. When I first saw Scott Steiner, he was Scott Rex Steiner and he was working for a promotion out of Detroit called WWE and he was the hot young rookie back then. And he was very trim, very muscular, but much smaller. So, it was something where I could see him having the athletic ability to do those things a lot more easily than the beef cake he became. >> Well, hey, sticking with legends and Hall of Famers, let's talk about a future Hall of Famer. And no, I'm not talking about Mickey James. I'm talking about the future Hall of Famer that's going to be inducted, Michelle McCool, who has replaced Mickey James on season two of AEW's LFG. This calls quite a stir as well because it came out that Nikki James will not be a part of season two. And then after some digging and more information became available, Polo, he was found out that Undertaker was stepping away. They wanted Undertaker to stay. Undertaker said he would continue if Michelle McCool, his wife, could have a part of the show. Now, this was not meant for Mickey James to be off the show. He just wanted his wife to be included. And now the future Hall of Famer Michelle McCool, who set the world of wrestling on fire, has set the LFG show on AEW ablaze with this recent announcement. Polo, your thoughts. >> Will the WWE's disrespect of Mickey James never end? Will it never end? I am with as much respect as I can muster for Michelle McCool, who I don't believe had any part in this. Personally, Mickey James has a career that far surpasses what Michelle McCool has done. And I think that for these young talents to truly learn from somebody who has traveled the world in and outside of WWE, Mickey's a far better choice than Michelle would be. But what it shows is the desire of WWE to keep Undertaker happy at the expense of pretty much anybody else. >> Well, that's nothing new. That's what I spoke about earlier. The business has always been political. And if it keeps this person happy, that's just the way it works. And it works like that in several other fields. Can you see Michelle McCool training some up and coming 18, 19 year old? People told him this is the way you do this. This is how you should do that. >> Michelle McCool's career was at its peak during the Divas era of women's wrestling, which is not what any person in professional wrestling today should aspire to have as the foundation of their career. >> Well, you know what? Hey, kudos to all of them. And if there's enough of an outcry, I'm pretty sure they'll find a way to get Mickey back in the mix. But then again, guys, this is a collaboration, it's an AEW, it's not an AEW, it's an A&E show that that's part of WWE's brand. And obviously WWE is behind it. So we'll see what happens with that in the future. But speaking of A&E, we're going to talk AEW revolution right after this commercial break. >> Breaking news, and this one is almost unbelievable. >> Yeah, it's all about new customers at Bet365, because they get $150 in bonus bets when they bet $5 win or lose. And even better, bonus bets can be used on the spread, totals, and player props. >> There you have it, Bet $5 to get $150 in bonus bets win or lose. And see why, it's never ordinary at Bet365. Winner one for someone, must be physically located in Colorado. Gambling problem, call attack 1-800-BEMBER, TNC Supply. All right, guys, we are back. And now, well, you know what time it is, you know what show it is. We're talking AEW revolution, we gotta give these folk their due. And AEW revolution polo came from the crypto.com arena in Los Angeles, California. Yeah, they had that place booked while my boys were over in Boston, if you will, playing the Celtics and getting hurt in the process. >> Got Taylor Brown, get well soon. So yeah, so I followed the Lakers. I was watching the Lakers while revolution was going on, apparently. But there's a lot of people in LA that showed up, they turned out to support AEW. It is estimated polo that they had over 11,000 in attendance. That's pretty doggone good for their venture into that area and more importantly into that arena because that's a pretty doggone big arena. >> But it is a big arena and they did well, the, you know, attendance looked good. And I remember telling the listeners that one of the benefits of being in a place like Los Angeles is that it's only a three hour drive for those people who wanted to come in from Vegas. It's a couple hour drive from Palm Springs and a few hour drive from San Diego, it'll draw a lot of people. And I do think that they have a significant following in that area and they showed up for AEW, which is fantastic. >> So before we get into some of the matches, we're not going to talk about all of them. I don't have enough breath to cover that six, seven hour span of time, okay? I'm so, I mean, if I tried to cover that, you'd actually grow full head of hair by the time I finish. >> No, that's not true. >> Well, partially. >> I might grow a mullet. [LAUGH] >> So, Polo, it is totality from your opinion before we get into this. What did you think of it? >> I think for an AEW fan, this was a pretty ideal card. And what I mean by that is they program to a very specific individual. And I feel that it had all of the names that they would have wanted, really, truly wanted on it. And for more casual fans or fans of specific key stories and characters, I thought they did pretty well making sure that everybody was in, everybody that they were really focused on was involved. >> Okay, well, the reason I asked that is because you got to remember last year, almost 20,000 people in North Carolina for Stings farewell. Revolution stood on its own ass like that main card of Sting and his retirement, obviously. So, they wanted to make Revolution a special type of event. There's pay-per-views, as we all know, but then there's the headliner of pay-per-views. You got your Royal Rumble, you got your WWE, WrestleMania. You got all those summer slam. So, they want to make this a marquee. So, compared, like all in, is a marquee for them now. So, compared to last year's Revolution, do you think it stood up? Now, not just because of the Sting thing. Obviously, nothing's going to compare to that, not even all in, in my opinion. But, do you think you had that same type of special feel as, hey, this is an event, a pay-per-view presentation that I need to watch because it's Revolution? >> Name value. >> Name value. >> Well, I feel that the Tony Storm or IMA story really carried this. I do think of all the matches on this card. That was the one that- >> Name value of the show is what I'm talking about. >> No, Revolution is not- >> Thank you. >> Revolution is not the name value. It's not a WrestleMania, it's not a summer slam, it's not a survivor series. >> Not all in, not, not so, okay, so I'm asking you that. >> This is one of those like- >> You still see it as a throwaway? >> Yeah, like a fast one. >> I don't see it as a throwaway, but I would say among- >> Yeah, I like the battlegrounds, like the lore. >> Again, what we have to remember is that it takes time for these events to gain that kind of thing. For example, back in the day, they used to really worry about what the marquee match at WrestleMania would be because they wanted to make sure they sold out. Now WrestleMania sells out before a match is ever announced. >> Why the hell did I even ask this question here? Let me put it this way, then we'll move on. What WWE pay-per-view name would this be? >> It's above and in your house. >> No thank you, man. >> But it is- >> That was a pay-per-view back when Polo was 50 years old, guys. So if you don't know what that is, geez. >> There were like 30 of them in your house, 19. >> Okay, so let's go ahead. >> Yeah, it's a secondary tier. >> Gotcha, all right, gotcha. Well, hey, let's go here to talk about some of the stuff that I was going to cover MJF and Adam Page. I don't really need to now. We know it took a lot of time just trying to get an answer from you on the level of this revolution pay-per-view. But hey, MJF loss, Polo, do speak of it a special. Does MJF still have that special feel to him? >> He does not. >> I don't think so. It's not there. >> He does not. He, for me, part of what plays into that is that his shtick has grown stale. The shtick is stale. And you can only have his character dependent on saying shocking things. >> I was just going to say that his stick is shock value. >> Yeah, you can only have that be your shtick for so long without there being some level of character development or something interesting coming to play. I do believe that we have seen characters in a similar vein in the past, not with the shock value part. But I know he wants to have parallels drawn between him and a Ric Flair, where Ric Flair's character stays relatively static. But there's something that put Ric Flair on an entirely different level that I'm not exactly sure what it is other than he was simply Ric Flair. I think MJF can be probably reheated, but right now, no, not for me. >> Well, it looks like he's going to be tied according to Dynamite, and guys, we are recording this on the 12th immediately following Dynamite. So we'll kind of interweave back and forth between the two, but it looks like him and Adam Page are going to be tied together somehow some way moving forward. But still a great talent for AEW is MJF. >> Breaking news, and this one is almost unbelievable. >> Yeah, it's all about new customers at Bet365, because they get $150 in bonus bets when they bet $5 when or lose. And even better, bonus bets can be used on the spread, totals, and player props. >> There you have it, Bet $5 to get $150 in bonus bets when or lose. And see why, it's never ordinary at Bet365. 21 for someone, must be physically located in Colorado. Gambling problem, Colotect 1-800, Denver. TNC's apply. Let's talk about the tag team titles that was defended at Revolution Bobby Lashley and Shelton Benjamin. The Hurt Syndicate, they would defeat the outrunners in eight minutes, eight minutes and 40 seconds, Polo, but it felt a lot longer. It felt actually longer than the nine minutes that they, you know, it took for them to defeat private party for those very titles. Should this match in your opinion have been shorter? >> I understand why they didn't make it shorter. I do think it should have been shorter. The outrunners looked so phenomenal. I loved their presentation. I love the fact that they are an organically driven team. I love the fact that the audience truly is beginning to want to see these to succeed. They're not in a place where they should have provided a challenge as much as they necessarily did. >> And I'm glad you brought that up because the thing about the outrunners is that they know their roles. They know their roles, they embrace it, and personally I'm happy for them. They're OVW guys, Polo. >> I know. >> So to see them champion. >> With Shiloh Jones, I've been watching him for years in OVW. >> What a great cage match with Shiloh at OVW. The only cage match I ever had in OVW was Shiloh Jones, and it was one of my favorite matches that I've ever done with him. So I'm happy. They tapped into their fun side. They pay homage. Actually to a throwback performer from OVW as well named, gosh, what was the guy named, Scoob Slam, Rod Steel. That was his name. And so they do a little throwback, pay homage to him, and they just get it. They get it, does the outrunners, and for me, Polo, that's why they got the opportunity. Much like you're taking a liking to him, like other people are taking a liking to him. That's why they got the opportunity. You know, they switched things up, and those boys have been applying their trade for a minute or two. So my only thing here, Polo, was the match itself. Now, Shiloh Benjamin, he's no slouch. But I wish he would have been a little bit more susceptible to the offense that, you know, in the beginning, that was being delivered by both of the outrunners. It was almost like we were watching the World Warriors versus the Italian style in the George South. You know, and this is the main event tag team title match. Excuse me, a pay-per-view tag team title match. Save the no selling for Bobby Lashley. All right. And so that gives a fans a sense of belief that maybe these two have a chance of winning those two being the outrunners. But speaking of Bobby, Polo, I'd make Bobby Lashley champion yesterday. I'd make Bobby Lashley, AEW champion last week. I mean, what are they waiting on? Don't wait. Keep the tag team titles. Pull a Goldberg. Let Lashley win both of them. And then let Lashley be the World Tag Champion, be the AEW Tag Champion, and be forced with a decision on him having to keep one and give up the other. Obviously, he gives up the tag team titles. Shutting, bitch. Just as Cedric Alexander comes into to replace him. Thanks for just jumping ahead of me, Polo. I appreciate it. I'm trying to tell the story here. I think the fans follow as well. Thank you, Pope Point of Viewers, for being patient. I like Polo over there, pissing himself to get that out. But so I'm so smart, y'all. So yes, put him in a situation. Lashley becomes a champion. He can't do both. Management, or Tonnekon says, is one or the other. He gives up the tag team reign. Shutting has to find a partner. MVP says, don't worry, we'll find a partner. Nobody around wants to be the partner. A shut and Benjamin come time for him to defend the title. And all of a sudden, when it's time for him to defend it, outcomes. Who, Polo? Cedric Alexander. Well, he won't be called down, I don't think, but maybe he will, because he was using that beforehand. So yes, he was. He was that ring of honor. So we'll see what happens there. But Polo, I understand, after watching Dynamite, they're not necessarily going to go that route unless things change, or they hear this and get an idea because they want to go to Osprey. So it seems like Osprey is going to headline all in after winning the O&R Cup tournament, which is the calm, that's a spoiler, guys. But if they hear this, I hope that somebody says, great idea. Let me get this to Tonnekon. That needs to happen because if not, I don't know, Houston, we have a problem. Draw 11,000 people for all in at that Texas stadium or even 15,000. That ain't going to be good. Yeah, that stadium is enormous. You know, reminder that that is, I think, a 50,000 seat stadium. So more than that, I believe. And that is, you know, 10, 12,000 in an arena that seats 15,000 looks like a pack, pack tiles, 10, 15,000 in an arena that seats 70,000. You look like it goes town. Well, how about this? It's crazy because I'm looking it up now. And right now, according to Russell ticks, the current amount of tickets that are sold are 11,000. Ain't done something. That's pretty amazing. Yeah, 11,304 tickets has been, well, not sold, but distributed. Let's just put it like that. And it's only signed up for 18,000. So there you go. There you go. So they got about 7,000 tickets, you know, still available. And you got to know that even more going to be handed out. So we'll see what happens. It's going to be interesting for myself. And probably you and a lot of other people to see exactly how this arena is going to be set up for that, for that very purpose. I'm interested. I want to know what's going to go on. I want to know how it's going to go down. You're excited for Ospreida finally headline and become a world champion. It's almost foregone conclusion at this point. It is, I think a foregone conclusion. What I am happy about is that it wasn't done as quickly as I think many people would have expected it to be. They allowed him to come in acclimate for the fans who were not familiar with him to become familiar because God knows they didn't do any kind of promo packages to introduce him beforehand. And now he's somebody familiar and beloved by the viewers. And if he does take that title away from John Moxley, it will seem like the timing is right. Timing is right. The time is now screwed. I mean, according to the way, AEW fans feel. Not just those on the outside looking in, but according to the way all of the AEW followers feel when it comes to John Moxley. Breaking news. And this one is almost unbelievable. Yeah, it's all about new customers at Bet365 because they get $150 in bonus bets when they bet $5 win or lose. And even better, bonus bets can be used on the spread, totals and player props. There you have it. Bet $5 to get $150 in bonus bets win or lose. And see why. It's never ordinary at Bet365. Winner one for someone. Must be physically located in Colorado. Deming problem. Call attack 1-800-BEMBER. TNC's apply. Does it ever feel like you're a marketing professional just speaking into the boy? Well, with LinkedIn ads, you can know you're reaching the right decision makers. You can even target buyers by job title, industry, company, seniority, skills. Wait, did I say job title yet? Get started today and see how you can avoid the void and reach the right buyers with LinkedIn ads. We'll even give you a $100 credit on your next campaign. Get started at linkedin.com/results. Terms and conditions apply. Much like John Cena, the time is now. But we'll see what they do with that. I mean, I don't understand why. Wait, but hey, maybe they got something in store that we are not quite aware of. But I can tell you this, Polo, I know something that I was aware of and that's the fact. That Tony Storm, the timeless one, is hands down the AEW performer of the year. Of ever, in my opinion, the performer of ever, like the whole five years. Okay, and then just give me time. Let me, well, let me finish dressing it up here. And this match with Mariah May Polo, it could have easily, easily close AEW's revolution. And it should have, it should have the main event and should have. And actually in my opinion, but just let me finish, Polo, because you might not be ready for this. Are you ready? Listen, I'm ready. Okay, even though we heard J.R. mentioned repeatedly about his 50 years in the business during the match. 50 years, 50 years, I've never seen something like this in my life. So we had that constantly, even though Mariah May got hit in the mouth with the glass cover tape fist of Tony Storm, rolled out of the ring and came back up with a bloody head instead. Yep. In my opinion, Polo, this was the match of the night. And, and wait for it. This Pope's personal favorite as well. Of the, of the event, of the entire event. Yeah. Y'all, Pope is all it. We shouldn't know. And the women's match always helps favor. Polo, the reason being though, those two worked so well together. And, you know, once it was all done and they ended it in the interest way, and I'm going to let you talk here in a second, they ended it with that, that power driver through that Hollywood table, which I just love, by the way. The overhead shot of them laying there, both bloody and that table set, the Hollywood ending. And then the end appeared on the big screens, you know, above the entryway. It was well done, well produced, kudos to everyone involved in that match. Am I right, Polo? Absolutely. This, you know, this is the third match in this trilogy. A classic storytelling trope. The reason specifically that I feel that this match should have ended the entire pay per view should have been the main event. Is because this is the match specifically that fans are most invested in. They've been playing this story out for almost two years now. And that is something that we don't get to see as often in wrestling. Give them that Hollywood ending, right? Like, give this whole event, the Hollywood ending. These women put it all out there. It was a phenomenal match. The false finishes. The escalation, the brutality that it went. I remember watching and the next match after this, there was also blood. And in my mind, I was like, okay, there's blood, but it can't compare. But you know what? And that's the next talking point here, Polo. But I will say this, what I thought about throughout this matchup was, and certainly the ending because it lived up to, you know, there wasn't a certain standard. They sought the standard. Okay, there wasn't a bar. They sought the bar. And in my opinion, this can become, I don't know how long AEW will be around. I don't know how long Timeless Tony Storm will be at AEW. But this can become a marquee matchup for all of her feuds, much like Undertaker and the Casket match. This is it for her. If you're listening, this is her match. You got to keep this going when she gets intertwined into a major feud with another competitor. But Polo, here's why a lot of things that AEW does not feel special. Because as you just pointed out, immediately afterwards, listen, I'm spreading a extraordinary talent as well as Cal Fletcher. He's a special talent in his own right. And you have this gimmick of the cage that you can use and you're in there so you already have an advantage. It's the cage, you know, you're going to go to the top. You're going to use all these high-flying, death-defined maneuvers. If I'm Tony Storm, excuse me, Tony Khan, if I'm Tony Khan, I'm going to all of my talents. And I am saying, are my producers no blood? Period. Yes, it did not compare, but there shouldn't have been any. Because that was such a moment, no blood. It wasn't needed to get the story across, which wasn't really, you know, no knock on them. A story is just a match. Maybe a story for the AEW fans who follow their careers. But, and then as soon as this cage matches over, Polo, they went right back to the highlight of the bloody match between Mariah and Tony Storm, which just proves my point. That should have stayed and been the only blood on that show and kept special. And it still, as to your point, was special. It was special and I do think that not having any other blood anywhere, especially with the blood back that it particularly was, would have made it even more special. And that is something in many regards that we talked about previously when Mox was bleeding literally every match, it didn't feel special. Right. You know, when you have the opportunity for two women, and it's particularly, I know that someone out there is going to be like, well, this is misogynistic, but women don't bleed in professional wrestling. That's not something that they do very often. It's not, you know, they're, they're, we're not seeing blood baths from them like we are most other competitors. So these two men. No, please, no more blood, no more blood. The amount of, you know, the amount of brutality in this match was made extra special by the competitors. And if it really was the only thing that was like this on the show, it would have, it would have just stood out even more. Absolutely. And then, Polo, they went to the crowd to speak to the ladies that was a part of that. What we made reference to on the last edition post one of you, you know, they had that big premiere for the Queen of the Ring, you know, Mildred Burke and you know, even. Oh, Jim Quinn, that was at the premiere because it was a little. I saw, I went and saw the movie over the weekend, Pope. Yeah, I did, and I wanted to think about it without going too far without going too far into it. I enjoyed seeing several of our friends, our, our mutual friends. Of course, Camille plays a huge role in it. Mickey James is featured in it as well, which I didn't know. Of course, I, as soon as I saw it and I saw Mickey, I sent her a text and congratulated her. I enjoyed it. I thought some of the writing was a little intentionally slanted towards getting a reaction from wrestling fans who are like, wink, wink, nudge, nudge. But, but Boo and I enjoyed the movie. Well, I tell you what, this got a reaction from wrestling fans for sure. When the young lady, I don't necessarily remember her name, Demeria, or something to that degree. Oh, yes. When Tony, when Tony, all these Tony's, Tony Khan, Tony's, Tony Shavani goes up there with the microphone. Right, Tony, Tony, Tony. Yeah, Tony, Tony Braxton. And shout out to one of the members of Tony, the guitar player, Tony, Tony, Tony, he passed away. This was a week, but going back and rest in peace to him and shout out to all of his fans and supporters and family, of course, our condolences. But Tony Shavani is interviewing the director of the Queen of the Ring, and he's interviewing to the females that were a part of it. And hey, what did you think of what you witnessed so far? This is after the Mariah Mae package. And she goes, you know, one thing, she just came straight out and said it, y'all know you're going to win before anybody else does. Thank you for teaching me that. And Polo, that calls and stirred up a whirlwind of remarks. It is much so that Camille had to take the social media to defend her co-star in this movie because so many were up in arms about, you know, the disrespect. Right? And then I'm going, are you freaking kidding me at this point? At this day and age, when the rock is sitting and telling you, you know, I think this is a good role for John Cena, you know, it was time and, you know, he was ready for it and he did it. Like, do you think really? And on the backstage, I saw WWE show Solo walk up and hug Jimmy when he wins the, you know, his match in WrestleMania, like, what? Backstage. At this point, the fans know it shouldn't be, you know, as a, I'm old school now, Polo, you're older school. But at this day, at this day and age, it's like, the curtain is so far pulled back, who cares? And don't you dare go watch Queen of the Ring in theaters now because they literally talk about, you know, pre-determining the matches. Literally, she's, you have one of the things I would hope that people would remember about this, this woman is playing a professional wrestler in a film. She's coming from it from the perspective of an actor and the subject matter that she's working with in the script literally spells out that this is predetermined. She presumably didn't realize how disrespectful, for example, some people might find that. It was, she just thought it was a stated fact. Yeah. Yeah. And, you know... Or Demerys Lewis. Yeah. Oh, I had her name, right? Holy... Yeah, Demerys Lewis. I mean, that's just off memory, you know, so that's pretty cool. But none of that... Oh, she's a beautiful woman. So, Pope usually might remember her first name. Moving right along, I can't wait to stream Polo as I do the bunny ears. I can't wait to stream Queen of the Ring. Boo and I went for date night, saw it at the theaters. I, you know, I wanted to... I'll be watching from the comfort of my own home in my own Pope Manor, if you will. Thank you. I'll be streaming it. Like, y'all, I will, quote, stream any kind of horror film or whatever. But when it comes to wrestling related stuff, I actually want some box office numbers for this because I would like to see more. I'm not going to sit up in there. I know, Pope. I haven't been to, you know, I can't even remember. The last time I went to the movie, it was, it was to watch me and a friend, we went to watch this movie. Going with the wind, I remember the ice cream that was. You were so excited. I'm so excited by that performance of the first-hour African-American woman to win an Oscar. Oh, Pope. He was, y'all, he was there in theaters like, "Go, girl, go!" Yes, it was the werewolf movie that just came out. And that was the first time I've been to the movie in years. It's like, "Oh my gosh, our horrible was this." The only saving grace was that we went on the Tuesday and there was nobody in there and it was pretty comfortable so we could snuggle up and, you know, whatever. But that was it. I, Boo and I go to the movies about once a month. I love, we go to the same theater. They have recliners. Yep, yep. Here's your seat in advance. We went to an early showing. There was like eight people in the theater. I hope that's not indicative of the numbers. That's the way I love you. Yeah, it was perfect. I mean, I was walking into the store after leaving the gym tonight. We'll get back here to AEW's Revolution, Polo, 'cause he always takes us off course. But I was walking in the door and this dude was walking behind me and as we both get ready in and he's stopping like me going in and he's on the phone and he's like, "Hey, hey, man. Hey, hey, bro." And I just keep walking 'cause you don't have my mask on. He's like, "Hey, no. Hey, big guy. Yo, you, big guy." And I was stopping like, "Hold on, man. He puts his phone down. Hey, man. You remember me?" And I'm like, "Huh?" And I'm looking at him. He's like, "Yeah, we used to work out together, bro." I'm like, "It's your soul. So, ain't you the guy that the wrestler and whatnot?" I'm like, "Huh?" And he's like, "Man, my bad. You look just like a freestyle. You look just like somebody I know." And I just kept walking. Now, that's just the way I am sometimes. I do apologize. Y'all, what you're hearing is that he is shady all the time. I do apologize. I do apologize to that gentleman. But, you know, if I do that, then, you know, sometimes they like to tell everybody around, "You know who that is?" And it's like, "Hey, I'm just in here to grab me some walnuts and... and... and... and... and co-tax." [laughter] And you, back to AEW revolution, you know, I put the walnuts in my ice cream polo, so I love my walnuts and ice cream. And we know where you put the co-tax, so just stop right there. Please, don't even... Breaking news, and this one is almost unbelievable. Yeah, it's all about new customers at Bet365, because they get $150 in bonus bets when they bet five dollars, win or lose. And even better, bonus bets can be used on the spread, totals, and player props. There you have it, Bet5 to get $150 in bonus bets, win or lose. And see why, it's never ordinary at Bet365. Winner one for someone, must be physically located in Colorado. gambling problem, call attack 1-800-gamper. TNC's applied. So, AEW's sing-along continues for the main event, and that main event is co-t, obviously, versus mocks for the AEW world title. And, you know, one thing about AEW fans and wrestling fans, which you got to love, you know, they saw what happened when AEW went down to Australia. And, of course, you want to be a part of that, so everyone in AEW picked up on it properly. And the only edge did, aka coke, you know, because now they stop. They stop his music like they do Chris Jericho's? Absolutely, and so now that they're doing it, and, you know, they're singing along and finishing, you know, all these years. And I've been a fan since the '80s, right? And I've watched Edge when he debuted. The 1880s, y'all. You are all sarcastic. I knew it had come. And I still don't know that song, do you? I certainly don't, and what's wrong with letting them just sing over the music? Let them sing to the music. I guess because it encourages, you know, the crowd who is watching. Oh, I want to do that when I'm there. And so, if you look at the audience, you'll see some people have the lyrics pulled up on their phone so they can sing along. And that's the cool thing about wrestling. But hey, I'm not going to talk about this match, per se. We want to try to cover a little bit of the happiness that happened in WWE. But we got to talk about the match of Revolution, the main event match, which we've already really talked about that, but Tony Storm. But this main event match is the closer. And Polo, we're going to go straight to the finish here. We saw a lot of heavy book in here, Polo. We saw, oh, yes. We saw, you know, interference. Of course, you can't have that. A Moxley's match without that, I should say. And in fairness for Mox and co, this was a horrible spot for them to be in. The match because the crowd was already exhausted after six plus hours. Exhausted. And it was noticeably exhausted. Yeah. So they had already seen a lot, but they were able to get them into it towards the end, particularly speaking, when Coke catches, you know, Mox with a couple of spears. You think it's going to be over the referee counts the one too. But wait, he's pulled out of the ring, Polo. The guy that's wearing a hoodie, which of course is revealed to be Chris Cage. Now, here's the time foolery for me to have me going, what? The referee who has just got pulled out of the ring by Christian Cage gets ready to ring the bell. Call for a DQ. And as he raises his hand, Christian Cage catches it and pulls out, you know, he has metal, whatever you want to call it. And it's like, I'm about to cash my contract. I'm about to sign my contract. And the referee is standing here with his mouth open. He's shocked that, oh my God, are you really about to do this? So he signs, but before he gets ready to sign, over comes Coke, who notices he didn't get his three count after hitting two spears on Moxley, sticks his head through the middle rope. And what happens? Cage whacks him with that metal case. And you know what? It wasn't a DQ. What? Right in front of the referee's face? And then he goes ahead. He's been Christian Cage. He signs it. The referee acknowledges it. Christian Cage gets in there. He has the spear. He has the kill switch before he gets the three count. All of a sudden Mox grabs Christian in a choke hole and chokes him out. He's a flat finish. What stood out to me about this match? I would actually have thought this was a clever way to end this scenario. If they were going to move back to the cope versus Christian saga and exit Moxley from this scenario because now it's very similar in many regards to what we're seeing in WWE between Seth Rollins and CM Punk where you screwed me out of my big title opportunity. But to my knowledge, they're going to go right back into cope getting another match. And so why this? I would have to imagine that Christian is going to get involved again and they're going to have Christian cope at the next pay-per-view, whatever they call that pay-per-view that's coming up. I got it in the forefront of my mind, but I can't think of the name of it. And again, if Tarny Khan want to get the rest of the world talking, they can do that switch. He got plenty of time before July gets here. They can do that switch. They can have Christian Cage come to interfere and it backfires. You know, I'm so sick of this Yuta stuff, by the way. I mean, we know he's a puppy. He's never going to, you know, it's like, why keep teasing it? He's not. And by the time they do pull the trigger and have Yuta to change or, you know, to fight for himself and stand up against John Moxley, no one's going to care. Well, nobody cares now. I mean, I mean, it's so much. But, and more importantly, they are really pushing hard to get Wheeler Yuta to another level in his career. And it's just not working. And I don't know that there's a soul out there who watches AEW even religiously who perceives Wheeler Yuta to be a legitimate threat in any capacity because of the presentation. You want to know my thoughts, you want to know what I thought should have happened here? I honestly believe in my opinion, they should have had Christian Cage with. That's just my honest, like, listen, you want to get people talking and people are talking after the revolution, but they're talking about the main event for the wrong reason. First off, that was the first little contract thing that they've ever done in AEW. You got to get that over. Make it count. So that way everybody else that come out to do it, if they get back to doing a contract in the briefcase, whatever, whatever that was, people think like money in the bank, it's about to happen. You know, you have to sell that. And thanks to the money in the bank, that's the only reason they thought it was going to happen anyways, because, you know, it's a tried and true thing that everyone AEW fans have watched for years in WWE. But this match goes on once it's over with the angle. You know, now you got more Moxley and Swerve. Swerve is backswerve up in the rafters. You just knew that Moxley was going to exit that way and, you know, not anew. And it was just too much. Why to build towards dynamite? You're building from a pay-per-view to dynamite when it's supposed to be your bill from your dynamite, it's the pay-per-views. But again, as I said, Polo, so many people are talking about the main event and this pay-per-view, but particularly the main event. And therefore, I'm going to let you hear, Pope Point of Viewers, what the sportster had to say about this main event. The sportster decided to give their views. And I'm just going to highlight some of them. The audience was hot all night for AEW Revolution 2025, except for the main event. You can hear a pin drop at times in the main event. The match sucked the energy from the arena in the main event. The match wasn't great from an entering perspective was the main event. Everything done between Moxley and Coke was simple in the main event. The pacing let the match down a lot. It needed a faster and more intense pace, said the sportster of the main event. And then lastly, but not least, even outside of some terrible booking, this was the worst AEW, pay-per-view main event from purely entering action alone said the sportster. Now, as far as the audience and the energy, we've already established why that is because this match could have came on first and it would have been super hot. But what say you about this particular write-up by the sportster? I agree with you in regards to the fact that the audience response would have been better earlier in the show because they wouldn't have been exhausted. But I also feel that there is a level of exhaustion around this John Moxley story all on its own. The whole element of John Moxley is, I don't think it inspires a lot of interest in people. And the reason that people are very excited about any match that he's in is, I think, the potential of really getting this title off of him so that the company can go in a different direction. And I did find the match pretty rudimentary and not very engaging. So my personal response while watching at home was very similar to what was described as being the audience. There, I was not interested. All right, well, hey guys, you got that? That's our AEW coverage of Revolution. I'm going to take a pause for the calls for stationary identification. When we come back, we're going to leave out of the galaxy and enter into the universe, very briefly, to talk some noteworthy things from WWE. Make sure to go to Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Twitter, Stitcher, iHeartRadio, and Google Podcasts. Just subscribe today. All right, guys, we are back. I'm going to do what we normally do here. We want to move right along here. But don't forget to go to thelove-alive.org, guys. Check out Bob's charity and know what we do for you, for the community as we continue to try to be the change that we wish to see in the world. Over on SmackDown, we had a heart-felt, long-end-ring emotional confrontation. I mean, it was full of screaming. It was full of sniffling, and it was full of crying. But the only thing that was missing from all of that was tears. [laughs] Yet, all that crying, all that sniffling, and no tears when it came to Bel Air and Naomi regarding the J. Kargill attack. And after some back and forth, Naomi admits it was her. You called that by the way, Polo. Said it was Naomi. And so Bel Air says, "Hey, look, you know, this is it. We're done. I'm leaving." And as Bianca Bel Air is leaving, guess who just so happens to be pulling in the arena at the exact time? Like, boy, her timing couldn't have been more perfect. Of course, I'm talking about J. Kargill, who goes to the ring and lays out Naomi. This was like a scene directly out of a Real Housewives of WWE episode. Yeah. It was high drama, lots of screeching. I still very much believe that it will come to pass that Bianca Bel Air is the mastermind behind this. Now you want to try to take Pope Thunder because I'm going to come back and tell you. I still think that is Bianca Bel Air. So now you want to try to get it on. Okay, Polo. I see what you did there. I literally said last time. You did not. Nobody said Bianca. You agree? You said you think Bianca was the one. I said that I think it was Naomi in concert with Bianca. I don't know about that guys. Go back and listen because he was like, "Remember, Naomi was so relieved when they found the show. That's what Polo says. See, I pay attention to everything. But nonetheless, move right along, Polo. Your boy won the US title from Shinshay. Shinshay. Shinshay. Shaka Maara. And there's a lot of talk around Shinshay. You know, whether or not he's going to say Shaka Maara. But there's a lot of talk around whether or not he's going to be there or not. I think his time is up. Kudos to Ellie Knight, by the way. And that match felt special too. I want to say that. He gave it a big time feel. I'll say you with Shinshay. I was shocked, shocked Shinshay. It was shocked that they said that it was only his second title defense. I'm like, what is up with this? Why would you emphasize how few times he's defending the title? That's crazy. Don't tell them how many times. Let them imagine it's been dozens of times. I think we've seen his time is wrapping up. It just kind of feels that way. And it feels like we're going to be heading. If you're talking about what happened in a row. Look like we're going to get that Roman Reigns into that Seth Rollins type match. I still see Jake Paul or Logan Paul going with Punk. But it's going to be interesting. That's a great thing about the WWE right now. They're just playing with all type of scenarios, knowing that they can go any type away. Polo, you got 10 seconds. What's that you? WrestleMania is going to be sold out no matter what they book. And they can play with these pieces right up to the final moment if they need to. Indeed. Well, Polo, hey, this was a great addition to post point of view. And I thank everyone for joining us and listening. Any last words you got, Polo? Y'all April 12th and 13th. NWA is coming to Sacramento, California for the Sacramento Grilled Geez Festival. All right. With that being said, guys, it's our time. It's our time. Come in. We got a termship. It says sell in the opposite direction. So for the defense of the God light, I'll come in the house for the management champions here with herself for the privilege of one red. Boy, I'm not Mario. I'm supposed to host you. Thank you, Frank. I got to first you. You're forming the heavyweight world. Tell me the champions up, folks. Your lives emerge and take care of yourself. Take care of each other. And always remember if you can't change the people around you. Change the people around you. The people around you. Breaking news coming in from Bet365, where every nail biting overtime win. Breakaway. Pick six. Three point shot. Underdog win. Buzzer beater. Shootout. Lock off. And absolutely every play in between is amazing. From football to basketball and hockey to baseball, whatever the moment. It's never ordinary at Bet365. Gambling problem. Call or text 1-800-Gambler. 21 plus only must be physically located in Colorado. (upbeat music)
Ep. 275: Pope and Pollo Del Mar discuss AEW's Revolution including why The Hollywood Ending should've closed the show, Naomi's Cofession, Lex Luger WWE Hall of Fame Announcement and more!