1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:14,000 Welcome to the ring, it's rich and atom. 2 00:00:14,000 --> 00:00:20,000 Breaking down the fights with flair and passion. 3 00:00:20,000 --> 00:00:26,000 Tag teams grappling, belts are clashing. 4 00:00:26,000 --> 00:00:34,000 Finishes and factions catching action. 5 00:00:34,000 --> 00:00:38,000 And welcome back to Finishes and Factions. 6 00:00:38,000 --> 00:00:42,000 Does the Royal Rumble 2025 7 00:00:42,000 --> 00:00:46,000 What an absolute barn burner of a PLE this was. 8 00:00:46,000 --> 00:00:50,000 This week it will just be myself Adam 9 00:00:50,000 --> 00:00:54,000 as my normal co-host Rich is off with illness 10 00:00:54,000 --> 00:00:58,000 but we will get straight in. 11 00:00:58,000 --> 00:01:02,000 Me and Rich already did live watch along versions of the women's 12 00:01:02,000 --> 00:01:06,000 and the men's Royal Rumble match which you can already find 13 00:01:06,000 --> 00:01:10,000 uploaded. This is coming to you at touch late 14 00:01:10,000 --> 00:01:14,000 which we'll apologise for. We were hoping Rich was going to recover enough 15 00:01:14,000 --> 00:01:18,000 to record but he is well on the road to recovery 16 00:01:18,000 --> 00:01:22,000 and will be back shortly so we just need to 17 00:01:22,000 --> 00:01:26,000 keep some good thoughts going for him and he will be back soon. 18 00:01:26,000 --> 00:01:30,000 In the meantime we have the rest of Royal Rumble to cover. 19 00:01:30,000 --> 00:01:34,000 The wrestling world does not stop so you guys are going to have to 20 00:01:34,000 --> 00:01:38,000 make do with just me this week. 21 00:01:38,000 --> 00:01:42,000 As we already know the Royal Rumble came to us on the 1st of February 22 00:01:42,000 --> 00:01:46,000 in the Indianapolis, Indiana in the Lucas Oil Stadium. 23 00:01:46,000 --> 00:01:50,000 This was the 38th Royal Rumble 24 00:01:50,000 --> 00:01:54,000 in history with a 70,000 plus 25 00:01:54,000 --> 00:01:58,000 fans in attendance. 26 00:01:58,000 --> 00:02:02,000 This was actually the third biggest WWE gate in history 27 00:02:02,000 --> 00:02:06,000 which is a phenomenal amount. 28 00:02:06,000 --> 00:02:10,000 We have two matches to cover. We've got the Cody Rhodes vs Kevin Owens 29 00:02:10,000 --> 00:02:14,000 match for the 30 00:02:14,000 --> 00:02:18,000 WWE Championship 31 00:02:18,000 --> 00:02:22,000 and we've got the 2 out of 3 falls match for the 32 00:02:22,000 --> 00:02:26,000 Motor City Machine Guns facing off against current champions 33 00:02:26,000 --> 00:02:30,000 DIY. 34 00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:34,000 We start off the pay-per-view with an in-ring promo where Stephanie 35 00:02:34,000 --> 00:02:38,000 McMahon comes out and does the normal bit of are you ready? 36 00:02:38,000 --> 00:02:42,000 What an honour it is to be in Indianapolis 37 00:02:42,000 --> 00:02:46,000 talking about WWE's growth 38 00:02:46,000 --> 00:02:50,000 and we had 39 00:02:50,000 --> 00:02:54,000 Stephanie was out promoting her new show 40 00:02:54,000 --> 00:02:58,000 Steph's Places where I think the general premise is that 41 00:02:58,000 --> 00:03:02,000 she goes into superstars houses as a 42 00:03:02,000 --> 00:03:06,000 snoop around and report back sort of thing. 43 00:03:06,000 --> 00:03:10,000 We then went into a Pat McAfee VT where he goes through the 44 00:03:10,000 --> 00:03:14,000 Royal Rumble concept. Those that have been here before 45 00:03:14,000 --> 00:03:18,000 will know. Those that haven't done it before 46 00:03:18,000 --> 00:03:22,000 watch the VT. 30 men, 30 women enter a ring 47 00:03:22,000 --> 00:03:26,000 to start every 2 minutes somebody new enters. 48 00:03:26,000 --> 00:03:30,000 I think we covered this at the beginning of the Royal Rumble episodes 49 00:03:30,000 --> 00:03:34,000 themselves so please do go and have a listen. 50 00:03:34,000 --> 00:03:38,000 We then went straight into the women's Royal Rumble 51 00:03:38,000 --> 00:03:42,000 again we covered that one. We saw that we had 52 00:03:42,000 --> 00:03:46,000 a whole bunch of big names in attendance at the Royal Rumble. 53 00:03:46,000 --> 00:03:50,000 The Godfather bought the whole train 54 00:03:50,000 --> 00:03:54,000 to attendance in the 55 00:03:54,000 --> 00:03:58,000 Lucas Oil Stadium as well as 56 00:03:58,000 --> 00:04:02,000 Mickie James one of my personal favourites from over the years. 57 00:04:02,000 --> 00:04:06,000 Kurt Angle had some fantastic outings in the Royal Rumble 58 00:04:06,000 --> 00:04:10,000 previously was in attendance as well with his daughter who's 59 00:04:10,000 --> 00:04:14,000 also an amateur wrestler. Could we see her in 60 00:04:14,000 --> 00:04:18,000 WWE in years to come? We'll only have to wait to find out. 61 00:04:18,000 --> 00:04:22,000 We also had a few non-wrestling names 62 00:04:22,000 --> 00:04:26,000 in the crowd. We had Marcus Freeman, the Notre Dame 63 00:04:26,000 --> 00:04:30,000 head coach. Rich would be able to probably 64 00:04:30,000 --> 00:04:34,000 talk you through more about that than I would unfortunately I am not an NFL 65 00:04:34,000 --> 00:04:38,000 fan but feel free to google Marcus Freeman. I know 66 00:04:38,000 --> 00:04:42,000 I did just to find out the bits that I know about him 67 00:04:42,000 --> 00:04:46,000 which is that his name is Marcus Freeman and he's the Notre Dame head coach. 68 00:04:46,000 --> 00:04:50,000 That's about as much as I know about the man. 69 00:04:50,000 --> 00:04:54,000 We also had Stephen Amell whose most notorious 70 00:04:54,000 --> 00:04:58,000 role is for his role in the DC TV series 71 00:04:58,000 --> 00:05:02,000 Arrow. He also had some brief stints of 72 00:05:02,000 --> 00:05:06,000 wrestling fame as well where he's wrestled, I believe he's wrestled 73 00:05:06,000 --> 00:05:10,000 WrestleMania but I didn't go into the detail for that one. 74 00:05:10,000 --> 00:05:14,000 We then dived straight in to the 75 00:05:14,000 --> 00:05:18,000 first traditional match of the night. So we got the 76 00:05:18,000 --> 00:05:22,000 women's Royal Rumble out the way. We all know how that one ended. 77 00:05:22,000 --> 00:05:26,000 We then got match two which was for 78 00:05:26,000 --> 00:05:30,000 the WWE Tag Team Championship 79 00:05:30,000 --> 00:05:34,000 and was a two out of three falls match. 80 00:05:34,000 --> 00:05:38,000 Now this is a unique match type. We don't see this very 81 00:05:38,000 --> 00:05:42,000 often outside of the Heritage Cup and the idea 82 00:05:42,000 --> 00:05:46,000 is that whoever scores the best 83 00:05:46,000 --> 00:05:50,000 two out of three, it's a best two out of three match where they 84 00:05:50,000 --> 00:05:54,000 can submit pinfall. It's the 85 00:05:54,000 --> 00:05:58,000 accepted falls of the match and it's 86 00:05:58,000 --> 00:06:02,000 whoever walks out with it with the most at the end 87 00:06:02,000 --> 00:06:06,000 is declared the winner. Now 88 00:06:06,000 --> 00:06:10,000 we started with quite a lengthy VT recap which are quite well known 89 00:06:10,000 --> 00:06:14,000 for, which are quite well known in WWE's PLE 90 00:06:14,000 --> 00:06:18,000 PLE's where they recap the history of what 91 00:06:18,000 --> 00:06:22,000 brought us to this point. This was the Motor City Machine Guns 92 00:06:22,000 --> 00:06:26,000 Championship rematch as far as I'm aware. They lost it 93 00:06:26,000 --> 00:06:30,000 to DIY before the Netflix era began and 94 00:06:30,000 --> 00:06:34,000 it showed, I was actually quite 95 00:06:34,000 --> 00:06:38,000 quite a 96 00:06:38,000 --> 00:06:42,000 surprise. They showed a wide shot where during this match there were quite 97 00:06:42,000 --> 00:06:46,000 a few empty seats. Now I don't know if this was people that hadn't arrived yet 98 00:06:46,000 --> 00:06:50,000 if they had. They'd already missed a good majority or 99 00:06:50,000 --> 00:06:54,000 if it was people who had just come to watch the Rumble matches and weren't really that 100 00:06:54,000 --> 00:06:58,000 fussed about these other championship 101 00:06:58,000 --> 00:07:02,000 matches which will have huge ramifications on storylines to come 102 00:07:02,000 --> 00:07:06,000 which, or maybe just loads of people decided to go and take a bathroom break grab some 103 00:07:06,000 --> 00:07:10,000 refreshments but really odd to see so many empty seats 104 00:07:10,000 --> 00:07:14,000 in the arena. But what a match this 105 00:07:14,000 --> 00:07:18,000 was. I mean Motor City Machine Guns seemed to take control pretty early 106 00:07:18,000 --> 00:07:22,000 on which is very much their MO as it goes with 107 00:07:22,000 --> 00:07:26,000 the Royal Rumble or with their matches sorry 108 00:07:26,000 --> 00:07:30,000 and we see 109 00:07:30,000 --> 00:07:34,000 Motor City Machine Guns pull out a lot of their classic moves early on 110 00:07:34,000 --> 00:07:38,000 in the match which to me didn't really seem like a 111 00:07:38,000 --> 00:07:42,000 it didn't seem like a good way 112 00:07:42,000 --> 00:07:46,000 or a good sign as we see 113 00:07:46,000 --> 00:07:50,000 Motor City Machine Guns pull out these classic moves like the suicide dive 114 00:07:50,000 --> 00:07:54,000 through the ropes and everything along those lines once they're on a 115 00:07:54,000 --> 00:07:58,000 winning streak once they're about to finally secure that dub 116 00:07:58,000 --> 00:08:02,000 and we saw these early on so I think this sort of told 117 00:08:02,000 --> 00:08:06,000 the tale of the tape as we saw it if you looked into it in that much detail 118 00:08:06,000 --> 00:08:10,000 but yeah I mean 119 00:08:10,000 --> 00:08:14,000 this became personal really quickly as we know from previous weeks 120 00:08:14,000 --> 00:08:18,000 gone by. DIY have done everything within their power 121 00:08:18,000 --> 00:08:22,000 to try and rig the match endings that they've had 122 00:08:22,000 --> 00:08:26,000 and most recently as this week 123 00:08:26,000 --> 00:08:30,000 has gone by they've had an 8 man tag team match 124 00:08:30,000 --> 00:08:34,000 where they teamed up with Pretty Deadly somebody at a team that they've used 125 00:08:34,000 --> 00:08:38,000 to their advantage on a number of different occasions 126 00:08:38,000 --> 00:08:42,000 but no such luck this evening at the end of that match 127 00:08:42,000 --> 00:08:46,000 they Pretty Deadly said you're on your own you get this done 128 00:08:46,000 --> 00:08:50,000 and we'll go from there 129 00:08:50,000 --> 00:08:54,000 but first full came pretty quickly 130 00:08:54,000 --> 00:08:58,000 was awarded to DIY after 131 00:08:58,000 --> 00:09:02,000 I will be honest a genius fake tag manoeuvre 132 00:09:02,000 --> 00:09:06,000 between Tomasso Ciampa and Gianni Gorgano 133 00:09:06,000 --> 00:09:10,000 where Alex Shelley's 134 00:09:10,000 --> 00:09:14,000 focus on Gorgano where Ciampa was the legal 135 00:09:14,000 --> 00:09:18,000 man so yeah they got 136 00:09:18,000 --> 00:09:22,000 DIY showed early dominance in this match 137 00:09:22,000 --> 00:09:26,000 which was actually quite nice to see as we tend to see 138 00:09:26,000 --> 00:09:30,000 the challenger coming out quite quickly in this 139 00:09:30,000 --> 00:09:34,000 quite quickly in these match types trying to really 140 00:09:34,000 --> 00:09:38,000 wear down the champion so for the champions to 141 00:09:38,000 --> 00:09:42,000 for the defending champions to pull that first full 142 00:09:42,000 --> 00:09:46,000 was a really nice thing to see 143 00:09:46,000 --> 00:09:50,000 I mean there were some other rather underhanded tactics 144 00:09:50,000 --> 00:09:54,000 that were used during this match 145 00:09:54,000 --> 00:09:58,000 Ciampa ducked under the ring to sneak up on Saban 146 00:09:58,000 --> 00:10:02,000 to 147 00:10:02,000 --> 00:10:06,000 yeah sneak up on Saban then distracts the ref 148 00:10:06,000 --> 00:10:10,000 who doesn't see Shelley tag Saban and Saban 149 00:10:10,000 --> 00:10:14,000 sort of argues while 150 00:10:14,000 --> 00:10:18,000 Shelley bless him is absolutely laid to waste by the defending champions 151 00:10:18,000 --> 00:10:22,000 I mean 152 00:10:22,000 --> 00:10:26,000 Shelley does get his own back on Ciampa with a 153 00:10:26,000 --> 00:10:30,000 phenomenal DDT on the apron which 154 00:10:30,000 --> 00:10:34,000 is bound to have rattled Ciampa's 155 00:10:34,000 --> 00:10:38,000 Bell there and then we see 156 00:10:38,000 --> 00:10:42,000 Offer Skull and Bones, Motor City machine guns 157 00:10:42,000 --> 00:10:46,000 secure the second full this brings them to one each 158 00:10:46,000 --> 00:10:50,000 yeah Saban 159 00:10:50,000 --> 00:10:54,000 and the match sort of continues from there so 160 00:10:54,000 --> 00:10:58,000 it comes down to the absolute last full 161 00:10:58,000 --> 00:11:02,000 so Saban knocks Ciampa off the top 162 00:11:02,000 --> 00:11:06,000 turnbuckle into a tree of woe now for 163 00:11:06,000 --> 00:11:10,000 sort of new wrestling fans that are coming to this the tree of woe 164 00:11:10,000 --> 00:11:14,000 is an instance where 165 00:11:14,000 --> 00:11:18,000 a wrestler is hung by the rope upside down 166 00:11:18,000 --> 00:11:22,000 where one of their ankles is hooked in over the top turnbuckle 167 00:11:22,000 --> 00:11:26,000 and they are left pretty much defenceless 168 00:11:26,000 --> 00:11:30,000 while their opponent is able to do pretty much anything they want 169 00:11:30,000 --> 00:11:34,000 it's not a nice position to be in I'm sure but 170 00:11:34,000 --> 00:11:38,000 this is where Chris Saban found himself 171 00:11:38,000 --> 00:11:42,000 and was subjected to a sequence of missile 172 00:11:42,000 --> 00:11:46,000 dropkicks and being 173 00:11:46,000 --> 00:11:50,000 and sort of launching Johnny Gargarra 174 00:11:50,000 --> 00:11:54,000 and just having the tag champions just completely go 175 00:11:54,000 --> 00:11:58,000 absolute ape on them 176 00:11:58,000 --> 00:12:02,000 I've got to admit one of the bits and pieces that I saw here 177 00:12:02,000 --> 00:12:06,000 was Ciampa with a setup for a power bomb 178 00:12:06,000 --> 00:12:10,000 that was converted into a back breaker 179 00:12:10,000 --> 00:12:14,000 for a near fall on Saban which was a 180 00:12:14,000 --> 00:12:18,000 phenomenal bit of business it was really impressive to watch 181 00:12:18,000 --> 00:12:22,000 and only a few more high spots as we end the match here 182 00:12:22,000 --> 00:12:26,000 it's a case that Motor City Machine Guns hit a beautiful 183 00:12:26,000 --> 00:12:30,000 power bomb stroke blockbuster on 184 00:12:30,000 --> 00:12:34,000 Tommaso Ciampa from up high for a near fall on Ciampa 185 00:12:34,000 --> 00:12:38,000 and the headline of this match 186 00:12:38,000 --> 00:12:42,000 realistically Motor City Machine Guns look to have the win but 187 00:12:42,000 --> 00:12:46,000 you see the street prophets who have been out on injury for quite a while now 188 00:12:46,000 --> 00:12:50,000 come running in absolutely assault them 189 00:12:50,000 --> 00:12:54,000 with crutches the same crutches that they've had to be 190 00:12:54,000 --> 00:12:58,000 using since they were put on the injured list and 191 00:12:58,000 --> 00:13:02,000 just absolutely decimate 192 00:13:02,000 --> 00:13:06,000 Motor City Machine Guns and allow DIY to retain 193 00:13:06,000 --> 00:13:10,000 but the street prophets are not done there 194 00:13:10,000 --> 00:13:14,000 they are not showing any allegiance because they go and take that 195 00:13:14,000 --> 00:13:18,000 exact same ferocity to 196 00:13:18,000 --> 00:13:22,000 DIY after the match ends they are coming in 197 00:13:22,000 --> 00:13:26,000 hot off this match and 198 00:13:26,000 --> 00:13:30,000 we will have to wait and see exactly how that all sort of 199 00:13:30,000 --> 00:13:34,000 plays out and comes out in the watch for it 200 00:13:34,000 --> 00:13:38,000 but it will be exciting to see where the tag team championship 201 00:13:38,000 --> 00:13:42,000 goes from here and we'll 202 00:13:42,000 --> 00:13:46,000 be here to report all of that as it comes in 203 00:13:46,000 --> 00:13:50,000 now we come to a section of the podcast that we always do 204 00:13:50,000 --> 00:13:54,000 because WWE always include it in their programming and it's 205 00:13:54,000 --> 00:13:58,000 a fact about where they are 206 00:13:58,000 --> 00:14:02,000 whether that's Indiana 207 00:14:02,000 --> 00:14:06,000 Indianapolis or just the stadium that they're in 208 00:14:06,000 --> 00:14:10,000 they included some facts about Lucas Oilfield 209 00:14:10,000 --> 00:14:14,000 which was that it's hosted a 210 00:14:14,000 --> 00:14:18,000 Super Bowl, the Super Bowl 46 that was in 2012 211 00:14:18,000 --> 00:14:22,000 an NBA All-Star Saturday 2024 212 00:14:22,000 --> 00:14:26,000 they've hosted three final 213 00:14:26,000 --> 00:14:30,000 4s, one CFB national championship 214 00:14:30,000 --> 00:14:34,000 the US Olympic swimming team trials in 215 00:14:34,000 --> 00:14:38,000 2024 were held there, an NFL 216 00:14:38,000 --> 00:14:42,000 combine and an 217 00:14:42,000 --> 00:14:46,000 NCAA men's basketball national championship in 2015 218 00:14:46,000 --> 00:14:50,000 this is an all sport arena 219 00:14:50,000 --> 00:14:54,000 but it's an all sport arena that has the exterior 220 00:14:54,000 --> 00:14:58,000 facade, it's open exposed brick and it's made up of 221 00:14:58,000 --> 00:15:02,000 over 980,000 bricks 222 00:15:02,000 --> 00:15:06,000 I mean just think how much the bricklayers would have got 223 00:15:06,000 --> 00:15:10,000 paid per brick to lay that exterior facade 224 00:15:10,000 --> 00:15:14,000 and of course Lucas Oilfield is the home of the NFL 225 00:15:14,000 --> 00:15:18,000 in NFL's Indianapolis Colts 226 00:15:18,000 --> 00:15:22,000 and again not a huge 227 00:15:22,000 --> 00:15:26,000 football fan, it's something that I don't 228 00:15:26,000 --> 00:15:30,000 know a massive amount about so I'm not going to sit here and try and 229 00:15:30,000 --> 00:15:34,000 wax lyrical around that one 230 00:15:34,000 --> 00:15:38,000 we then treated to see that a few other 231 00:15:38,000 --> 00:15:42,000 former superstars and celebrities are in attendance 232 00:15:42,000 --> 00:15:46,000 we have Ron Simmons, damn 233 00:15:46,000 --> 00:15:50,000 in attendance we've got Rick Steiner 234 00:15:50,000 --> 00:15:54,000 Bob Van Damme, the whole F in show 235 00:15:54,000 --> 00:15:58,000 just a few 236 00:15:58,000 --> 00:16:02,000 former names, I mean some real hard hitting hall of fame is there 237 00:16:02,000 --> 00:16:06,000 and we've got 238 00:16:06,000 --> 00:16:10,000 Bilal Muhammad, the UFC welterweight champion 239 00:16:10,000 --> 00:16:14,000 in attendance as well as well as John Mellon Camp 240 00:16:14,000 --> 00:16:18,000 a Grammy award winning singer songwriter, now I did some research 241 00:16:18,000 --> 00:16:22,000 along John Mellon Camp and I'm not going to lie 242 00:16:22,000 --> 00:16:26,000 I don't know him, I'm never heard of him, I'm sure he is a phenomenal 243 00:16:26,000 --> 00:16:30,000 singer songwriter but I just do not know who that man is 244 00:16:30,000 --> 00:16:34,000 so yeah I'm not going to try and tell you 245 00:16:34,000 --> 00:16:38,000 who he is, what he's written or anything like that just because honestly 246 00:16:38,000 --> 00:16:42,000 I don't think I've ever heard any of his music so 247 00:16:42,000 --> 00:16:46,000 we're going to come to a close 248 00:16:46,000 --> 00:16:50,000 on that particular part, now 249 00:16:50,000 --> 00:16:54,000 the next bit that we come to is the 250 00:16:54,000 --> 00:16:58,000 Men's WWE Championship match 251 00:16:58,000 --> 00:17:02,000 this was a ladder match, now again for anybody 252 00:17:02,000 --> 00:17:06,000 that's new to the professional wrestling world, ladder match is a classic match 253 00:17:06,000 --> 00:17:10,000 type which sees the championship 254 00:17:10,000 --> 00:17:14,000 in this case suspended from the top 255 00:17:14,000 --> 00:17:18,000 from sort of a rigging apparatus above 256 00:17:18,000 --> 00:17:22,000 the ring, the only way to reach this is to 257 00:17:22,000 --> 00:17:26,000 set up a ladder, ascend the ladder 258 00:17:26,000 --> 00:17:30,000 and the winner of the match is the person that brings the title 259 00:17:30,000 --> 00:17:34,000 back to earth, and in this match we saw 260 00:17:34,000 --> 00:17:38,000 Cody Rhodes as defending champion, the American 261 00:17:38,000 --> 00:17:42,000 Nightmare versus Kevin Owens 262 00:17:42,000 --> 00:17:46,000 now we did another sort of 263 00:17:46,000 --> 00:17:50,000 VT recap, because it's a championship match we need to make sure we know 264 00:17:50,000 --> 00:17:54,000 where we're going with it, but this match was 265 00:17:54,000 --> 00:17:58,000 put together, well 266 00:17:58,000 --> 00:18:02,000 this match sort of culminated in Kevin Owens 267 00:18:02,000 --> 00:18:06,000 deluding himself running around thinking he's the champion because he managed to get the 268 00:18:06,000 --> 00:18:10,000 winged eagle title, the historic title 269 00:18:10,000 --> 00:18:14,000 even Cody Rhodes' dad, the late great 270 00:18:14,000 --> 00:18:18,000 Dusty Rhodes American Dream had won back 271 00:18:18,000 --> 00:18:22,000 in his heyday, it was brought out of retirement supposedly for 272 00:18:22,000 --> 00:18:26,000 one night only for a Saturday Night Main Event 273 00:18:26,000 --> 00:18:30,000 Saturday Night's Main Event event 274 00:18:30,000 --> 00:18:34,000 back in December and yeah Cody Rhodes lost 275 00:18:34,000 --> 00:18:38,000 that title to Kevin Owens, but this did not 276 00:18:38,000 --> 00:18:42,000 make Kevin Owens an official champion, no matter what Kevin Owens 277 00:18:42,000 --> 00:18:46,000 was going round professing to everybody 278 00:18:46,000 --> 00:18:50,000 now original stipulations for this match that was both titles were going to be suspended 279 00:18:50,000 --> 00:18:54,000 from both title belts were going to be suspended from 280 00:18:54,000 --> 00:18:58,000 up high, now in Friday Night SmackDown Kevin Owens 281 00:18:58,000 --> 00:19:02,000 decided he didn't like this stipulation, came into the ring 282 00:19:02,000 --> 00:19:06,000 removed his winged eagle 283 00:19:06,000 --> 00:19:10,000 title from the rigging apparatus 284 00:19:10,000 --> 00:19:14,000 and took his toys and went home basically 285 00:19:14,000 --> 00:19:18,000 so he enters the ring with his winged eagle championship 286 00:19:18,000 --> 00:19:22,000 now this is Kevin Owens 10th career 287 00:19:22,000 --> 00:19:26,000 ladder match and yeah 288 00:19:26,000 --> 00:19:30,000 I mean the stipulation was that they were both supposed to be stripped of their 289 00:19:30,000 --> 00:19:34,000 belts, this was broken by KO on Friday Night, now we didn't actually 290 00:19:34,000 --> 00:19:38,000 see Cody Rhodes have his belt returned so 291 00:19:38,000 --> 00:19:42,000 for Cody to walk out with his 292 00:19:42,000 --> 00:19:46,000 belt as well, I mean it only seemed fair but there seemed to be a bit of 293 00:19:46,000 --> 00:19:50,000 discontinuity there for the story I would have thought 294 00:19:50,000 --> 00:19:54,000 they would have kept, I mean I suppose it's part 295 00:19:54,000 --> 00:19:58,000 of the pomp and circumstance of a ladder match that they 296 00:19:58,000 --> 00:20:02,000 take the belt off the champion, suspend the belt above the ring 297 00:20:02,000 --> 00:20:06,000 send it up high, it's all oooh and ahh 298 00:20:06,000 --> 00:20:10,000 but yeah it felt a bit 299 00:20:10,000 --> 00:20:14,000 it didn't feel like there was a lot of continuity in the storyline for me there 300 00:20:14,000 --> 00:20:18,000 now we were told that 301 00:20:18,000 --> 00:20:22,000 Cody Rhodes up to this point had been champion for 300 302 00:20:22,000 --> 00:20:26,000 days and that tonight, and that this 303 00:20:26,000 --> 00:20:30,000 match was his 8th title defense and it was 304 00:20:30,000 --> 00:20:34,000 last defended at Saturday Night's main event in December versus Kevin Owens 305 00:20:34,000 --> 00:20:38,000 which was where Kevin Owens picked up the winged eagle 306 00:20:38,000 --> 00:20:42,000 title and 307 00:20:42,000 --> 00:20:46,000 Cody sort of thumbing his nose 308 00:20:46,000 --> 00:20:50,000 at superstition here on his way to the ring as he decides he's 309 00:20:50,000 --> 00:20:54,000 going to pass under an open ladder on his entrance and 310 00:20:54,000 --> 00:20:58,000 do you know what, I'm not a horrendously superstitious 311 00:20:58,000 --> 00:21:02,000 person as it goes but I actually enjoyed this little bit, it was 312 00:21:02,000 --> 00:21:06,000 quite nice to see because wrestlers 313 00:21:06,000 --> 00:21:10,000 historically if you look back at some of the big names 314 00:21:10,000 --> 00:21:14,000 I've all been very superstitious people 315 00:21:14,000 --> 00:21:18,000 they've all got their own little good luck 316 00:21:18,000 --> 00:21:22,000 rituals that they do before a big match or anything like that 317 00:21:22,000 --> 00:21:26,000 and yeah to thumb your nose at superstition in such a blatant 318 00:21:26,000 --> 00:21:30,000 way is that it would be previously unheard of by 319 00:21:30,000 --> 00:21:34,000 the boys in the back so it was nice to see 320 00:21:34,000 --> 00:21:38,000 but this match started as 321 00:21:38,000 --> 00:21:42,000 we all sort of knew it would, there's been a lot of animosity 322 00:21:42,000 --> 00:21:46,000 building between KO and Cody Rhodes on the 323 00:21:46,000 --> 00:21:50,000 run up to this match and yeah, they don't disappoint 324 00:21:50,000 --> 00:21:54,000 let's face it, it's 325 00:21:54,000 --> 00:21:58,000 different, there are spots where Cody's attempting to 326 00:21:58,000 --> 00:22:02,000 suplex Owens through the ladder 327 00:22:02,000 --> 00:22:06,000 Cody takes a beer off 328 00:22:06,000 --> 00:22:10,000 a member of the crowd and throws it in Kevin Owens face, they are, this is 329 00:22:10,000 --> 00:22:14,000 not a match, this was an absolute 330 00:22:14,000 --> 00:22:18,000 war 331 00:22:18,000 --> 00:22:22,000 they put each other through 332 00:22:22,000 --> 00:22:26,000 nothing is off limits in this match, it is a no DQ 333 00:22:26,000 --> 00:22:30,000 style, ladders can be used as weapons, other things 334 00:22:30,000 --> 00:22:34,000 can be bought in as weapons as well, I mean the ref is only really there to count 335 00:22:34,000 --> 00:22:38,000 a to ensure that the title is brought back down 336 00:22:38,000 --> 00:22:42,000 to earth and that nobody ends up dead basically 337 00:22:42,000 --> 00:22:46,000 it's an absolutely, it has 338 00:22:46,000 --> 00:22:50,000 been in the past an absolutely brutal match type 339 00:22:50,000 --> 00:22:54,000 and we see that Kevin Owens is the first to attempt 340 00:22:54,000 --> 00:22:58,000 a climb obviously doesn't go to plan otherwise this would be a 341 00:22:58,000 --> 00:23:02,000 really short match for a PLE and 342 00:23:02,000 --> 00:23:06,000 ain't no way they're about to do that to us so 343 00:23:06,000 --> 00:23:10,000 yeah, I mean the crowd start chanting about 344 00:23:10,000 --> 00:23:14,000 wanting tables and everything along those lines 345 00:23:14,000 --> 00:23:18,000 it's a mini ladder is playing a massive part, I mean they've got a 346 00:23:18,000 --> 00:23:22,000 step ladder, this thing was never going to be used to obtain the title 347 00:23:22,000 --> 00:23:26,000 this was put there to be used to be 348 00:23:26,000 --> 00:23:30,000 this was put here to be used as a 349 00:23:30,000 --> 00:23:34,000 way to do some serious, serious harm 350 00:23:34,000 --> 00:23:38,000 and do some serious, serious harm 351 00:23:38,000 --> 00:23:42,000 it certainly does, I mean 352 00:23:42,000 --> 00:23:46,000 Cody ends up at one point making a climb, looks like he's going to get 353 00:23:46,000 --> 00:23:50,000 the title, he's hanging from the title, from the top of the ring 354 00:23:50,000 --> 00:23:54,000 and we've seen people win ladder match types 355 00:23:54,000 --> 00:23:58,000 with this in the past, not just in WWE but in other match 356 00:23:58,000 --> 00:24:02,000 promotions as well 357 00:24:02,000 --> 00:24:06,000 Cody attempting a dive in DDT but was 358 00:24:06,000 --> 00:24:10,000 reversed into a powerbomb by KO, I mean these guys 359 00:24:10,000 --> 00:24:14,000 absolutely went hell for leather against one another and I'll be honest 360 00:24:14,000 --> 00:24:18,000 I was here for every last minute of it, I truly enjoyed 361 00:24:18,000 --> 00:24:22,000 this match type and the crowd 362 00:24:22,000 --> 00:24:26,000 seemed really, they were really getting behind it, not just where they chanting 363 00:24:26,000 --> 00:24:30,000 for tables, they were sort of split which surprised me 364 00:24:30,000 --> 00:24:34,000 because Kevin Owens has not been getting the nicest of receptions 365 00:24:34,000 --> 00:24:38,000 up to this point but we've got the crowd chanting let's go Kevin 366 00:24:38,000 --> 00:24:42,000 let's go Cody, yeah just absolutely 367 00:24:42,000 --> 00:24:46,000 mayhem in the Lucas Oil field 368 00:24:46,000 --> 00:24:50,000 yeah, I mean 369 00:24:50,000 --> 00:24:54,000 Kevin Owens being his normal sort of heal, disrespectful 370 00:24:54,000 --> 00:24:58,000 self, I mean props to Kevin Owens, he plays a phenomenal 371 00:24:58,000 --> 00:25:02,000 heal part and really does 372 00:25:02,000 --> 00:25:06,000 the part justice, it's really nice to see 373 00:25:06,000 --> 00:25:10,000 a mox duster 374 00:25:10,000 --> 00:25:16,000 that then uses the ring 375 00:25:16,000 --> 00:25:20,000 on Cody, really sort of suckers Cody 376 00:25:20,000 --> 00:25:24,000 in for it, I mean 377 00:25:24,000 --> 00:25:28,000 KO even goes for his patented package pile driver 378 00:25:28,000 --> 00:25:32,000 which Cody counted with a back body drop onto 379 00:25:32,000 --> 00:25:36,000 an upturned ladder which, oh I mean 380 00:25:36,000 --> 00:25:40,000 it looked brutal when it happened 381 00:25:40,000 --> 00:25:44,000 and yeah, I don't think it did Kevin Owens 382 00:25:44,000 --> 00:25:48,000 any good and will not do Kevin Owens any good in the long run 383 00:25:48,000 --> 00:25:52,000 Kevin Owens viciously slams the back 384 00:25:52,000 --> 00:25:56,000 of Cody's head off a ladder wedge between the bottom 385 00:25:56,000 --> 00:26:00,000 and middle turnbuckle, I mean as I said these guys 386 00:26:00,000 --> 00:26:04,000 absolutely went hell for leather 387 00:26:04,000 --> 00:26:08,000 and then put Plexus Cody onto another ladder and officials come out to see if the match 388 00:26:08,000 --> 00:26:12,000 can continue, there were points at this match where 389 00:26:12,000 --> 00:26:16,000 even WWE officials were like are these guys still alive 390 00:26:16,000 --> 00:26:20,000 are they gonna survive, are we gonna have to inform widows here 391 00:26:20,000 --> 00:26:24,000 and 392 00:26:24,000 --> 00:26:28,000 yeah, I mean at some point we've seen a lot where 393 00:26:28,000 --> 00:26:32,000 I mean if you've watched WWE for a long time you know Kevin Owens 394 00:26:32,000 --> 00:26:36,000 and on again off again best friendship with one 395 00:26:36,000 --> 00:26:40,000 Sami Zayn who comes out to check on his friend 396 00:26:40,000 --> 00:26:44,000 come out to check on his friend, not just Kevin Owens though 397 00:26:44,000 --> 00:26:48,000 because Sami Zayn is also friends with Cody Rhodes and 398 00:26:48,000 --> 00:26:52,000 this has caused some contention between Kevin and Cody 399 00:26:52,000 --> 00:26:56,000 it's a whole twisted 400 00:26:56,000 --> 00:27:00,000 mess of wires trying to get into this for it 401 00:27:00,000 --> 00:27:04,000 Kevin Owens eventually ends up getting some colour 402 00:27:04,000 --> 00:27:08,000 after being bounced repeatedly off that reinforced 403 00:27:08,000 --> 00:27:12,000 announced desk as they keep sort of harping on about 404 00:27:12,000 --> 00:27:16,000 I think they're trying to really put across the point that we're not gonna see that many 405 00:27:16,000 --> 00:27:20,000 superstars go through the announced desk anymore 406 00:27:20,000 --> 00:27:24,000 and Cody 407 00:27:24,000 --> 00:27:28,000 at this point in the match they are beaten, they are broken 408 00:27:28,000 --> 00:27:32,000 it's a wonder that either of them are still standing at this point 409 00:27:32,000 --> 00:27:36,000 Cody hits a desperation, Crossroads 410 00:27:36,000 --> 00:27:40,000 Kevin Owens 411 00:27:40,000 --> 00:27:44,000 ends up hitting a low blow to Rhodes 412 00:27:44,000 --> 00:27:48,000 KO tries the package pole driver again which is reversed 413 00:27:48,000 --> 00:27:52,000 into an Alabama slammer through the 414 00:27:52,000 --> 00:27:56,000 ladder off the announced desk and this was the scene 415 00:27:56,000 --> 00:28:00,000 that if you've seen social media since the event you will have seen 416 00:28:00,000 --> 00:28:04,000 so many times before this is Kevin Owens being 417 00:28:04,000 --> 00:28:08,000 absolutely folded in two 418 00:28:08,000 --> 00:28:12,000 intertwined with this ladder and 419 00:28:12,000 --> 00:28:16,000 the man wasn't moving, he genuinely was 420 00:28:16,000 --> 00:28:20,000 not moving and this was the point in the match where 421 00:28:20,000 --> 00:28:24,000 Rhodes re-enters the ring 422 00:28:24,000 --> 00:28:28,000 and climbs the ladder, brings down the title to retain 423 00:28:28,000 --> 00:28:32,000 and remains the WWE 424 00:28:32,000 --> 00:28:36,000 heavyweight champion 425 00:28:36,000 --> 00:28:40,000 and yeah it's a case that 426 00:28:40,000 --> 00:28:44,000 Rhodes even went as far as to say 427 00:28:44,000 --> 00:28:48,000 you know what this is done, I'm drawing a line under it 428 00:28:48,000 --> 00:28:52,000 celebrates the win over, standing over 429 00:28:52,000 --> 00:28:56,000 Owens's lifeless body and I mean it was a sight to behold 430 00:28:56,000 --> 00:29:00,000 watching Cody Rhodes sort of stand over 431 00:29:00,000 --> 00:29:04,000 this man's lifeless body, not sit 432 00:29:04,000 --> 00:29:08,000 and no hint of remorse in the champion 433 00:29:08,000 --> 00:29:12,000 as well he shouldn't, this got personal, this was visceral 434 00:29:12,000 --> 00:29:16,000 and it was a fantastic story told by both 435 00:29:16,000 --> 00:29:20,000 Kevin Owens and Cody Rhodes 436 00:29:20,000 --> 00:29:24,000 but yeah I mean 437 00:29:24,000 --> 00:29:28,000 two traditional match types in 438 00:29:28,000 --> 00:29:32,000 or two traditional matchups in this PLE 439 00:29:32,000 --> 00:29:36,000 as the Royal Rumble is always there about 440 00:29:36,000 --> 00:29:40,000 the Rumble match so we went 441 00:29:40,000 --> 00:29:44,000 we had a small VT about a new developmental show that 442 00:29:44,000 --> 00:29:48,000 WWE are bringing in and 443 00:29:48,000 --> 00:29:52,000 yeah it's WWE Evolve 444 00:29:52,000 --> 00:29:56,000 premiering on Tubi 445 00:29:56,000 --> 00:30:00,000 which is a free streaming platform 446 00:30:00,000 --> 00:30:04,000 so if you guys are interested in seeing the next generation of NXT 447 00:30:04,000 --> 00:30:08,000 go and find Tubi spelt 448 00:30:08,000 --> 00:30:12,000 T-U-B-I and this will be 449 00:30:12,000 --> 00:30:16,000 uploaded on Wednesday night to 450 00:30:16,000 --> 00:30:17,880 the 451 00:30:17,880 --> 00:30:21,880 all Elite Wrestling or as we all know it 452 00:30:21,880 --> 00:30:25,880 AEW 453 00:30:25,880 --> 00:30:28,880 but yeah this sort of brings us to the end of our 454 00:30:28,880 --> 00:30:32,880 Royal Rumble coverage and uh, do you know what? 455 00:30:32,880 --> 00:30:36,880 I've really enjoyed the rumble I always really enjoy the 456 00:30:36,880 --> 00:30:40,880 Rumble but I've really enjoyed the Rumble this year 457 00:30:40,880 --> 00:30:44,880 you've been a few questionable decisions which you will have heard me be very vocal about 458 00:30:44,880 --> 00:30:52,880 And I'm not sure that WWE have done the best thing in some of those decisions. 459 00:30:52,880 --> 00:30:59,880 We'd love, me and Rich would love to hear about what you guys think. 460 00:30:59,880 --> 00:31:05,880 We are in the process of setting up social medias for the podcast moving forward. 461 00:31:05,880 --> 00:31:08,880 But please get in touch. 462 00:31:08,880 --> 00:31:09,880 We've got an email address. 463 00:31:09,880 --> 00:31:13,880 It's finishesandfactionsatgmail.com. 464 00:31:13,880 --> 00:31:14,880 Drop us an email. 465 00:31:14,880 --> 00:31:16,880 Let us know what you think. 466 00:31:16,880 --> 00:31:20,880 Let us know what you think of the podcast, of the matches you've seen. 467 00:31:20,880 --> 00:31:27,880 If there's any matches that we need to go away and watch and you'd like our comment on, drop us that email. 468 00:31:27,880 --> 00:31:33,880 We're looking for ideas for some short form content for some other social media platforms, 469 00:31:33,880 --> 00:31:38,880 which I will be more than happy to take a look at and see what we can do. 470 00:31:38,880 --> 00:31:43,880 Now, the next time obviously we will be releasing an episode is for 471 00:31:43,880 --> 00:31:46,880 Finishes and Factions Does Monday Night Raw. 472 00:31:46,880 --> 00:31:49,880 The Raw that follows the Royal Rumble. 473 00:31:49,880 --> 00:31:56,880 And this is where we will get all of the fallout of tonight and everything else that goes along with it. 474 00:31:56,880 --> 00:32:01,880 But for now, I've been Adam and this has been 475 00:32:01,880 --> 00:32:06,880 Finishes and Factions Does the Royal Rumble. 476 00:32:06,880 --> 00:32:08,880 Thank you for sticking around. 477 00:32:08,880 --> 00:32:37,880 Come back soon to catch some action.