WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.700 Okay, picture this. You are lying flat on your 00:00:02.700 --> 00:00:05.219 back on a canvas mat. Your lungs are already 00:00:05.219 --> 00:00:07.519 burning. You can barely breathe from the match 00:00:07.519 --> 00:00:09.859 you've just wrestled. And you look up. And coming 00:00:09.859 --> 00:00:12.240 down from the top rope, which is, what, five 00:00:12.240 --> 00:00:14.939 or six feet in the air? At least. Is 330 pounds 00:00:14.939 --> 00:00:18.600 of humanity. Gravity is doing its job. And this 00:00:18.600 --> 00:00:22.350 man, this literal human boulder. is about to 00:00:22.350 --> 00:00:25.769 crash directly onto your chest. It is not a pleasant 00:00:25.769 --> 00:00:28.449 image. In fact, it's a terrifying one. It is 00:00:28.449 --> 00:00:31.070 terrifying. But that is the daily reality for 00:00:31.070 --> 00:00:32.909 anyone stepping into the ring with the man we 00:00:32.909 --> 00:00:35.469 are talking about today. Bronson Reed. We are 00:00:35.469 --> 00:00:38.049 doing a deep dive into the career of Bronson 00:00:38.049 --> 00:00:39.890 Reed. And look, if you're tuning in right now, 00:00:39.929 --> 00:00:42.990 in February 2026, you absolutely know the name. 00:00:43.090 --> 00:00:45.850 He is everywhere on the Raw brand. Oh, yeah. 00:00:45.950 --> 00:00:48.530 He's fresh off that chaotic Royal Rumble performance. 00:00:48.689 --> 00:00:51.869 He's terrorizing the roster. He feels like a 00:00:51.869 --> 00:00:54.409 final boss in a video game. He does. It feels 00:00:54.409 --> 00:00:56.570 like he's finally reached the summit he's been 00:00:56.570 --> 00:00:59.429 climbing for, what, nearly two decades now? He 00:00:59.429 --> 00:01:03.570 is the king of monsters. Exactly. But what I 00:01:03.570 --> 00:01:06.129 didn't realize until we dug into this stack of 00:01:06.129 --> 00:01:09.069 sources, we have articles from Japan, interviews 00:01:09.069 --> 00:01:12.400 from Australia, the whole nine yards. is just 00:01:12.400 --> 00:01:14.980 how weird his path was. It's not a straight line 00:01:14.980 --> 00:01:16.719 at all. Not at all. We're talking about a guy 00:01:16.719 --> 00:01:19.620 who grounded out for 11 years on the independent 00:01:19.620 --> 00:01:22.579 circuit, made it to the big leagues, got fired, 00:01:22.780 --> 00:01:25.420 went to Japan to reinvent himself, and came back 00:01:25.420 --> 00:01:27.379 to beat the biggest names in the industry. It 00:01:27.379 --> 00:01:30.260 is a classic story of resilience, sure, but with 00:01:30.260 --> 00:01:32.780 a very modern and honestly a very violent twist. 00:01:33.079 --> 00:01:35.420 So let's unpack this. Our mission today is to 00:01:35.420 --> 00:01:37.599 trace how a kid from Adelaide, South Australia, 00:01:37.819 --> 00:01:40.319 went from wrestling in local community halls 00:01:40.319 --> 00:01:43.930 to... pinning Roman Reigns. Where does this story 00:01:43.930 --> 00:01:46.010 actually start? It starts in Adelaide, South 00:01:46.010 --> 00:01:49.370 Australia, born Jermaine Haley in 1988. And right 00:01:49.370 --> 00:01:51.230 off the bat, before we even talk about his training, 00:01:51.310 --> 00:01:54.030 you have to look at his heritage. He is of Samoan 00:01:54.030 --> 00:01:55.989 descent. Which in the world of pro wrestling 00:01:55.989 --> 00:01:58.530 is practically royalty. It is. You look at the 00:01:58.530 --> 00:02:01.069 Inouye family, the Rock, Roman Reigns, the Usos, 00:02:01.150 --> 00:02:03.609 Olisakoa, there's a lineage of powerhouses there. 00:02:03.769 --> 00:02:07.430 So Reed has that in his DNA. He does. But interestingly, 00:02:07.650 --> 00:02:10.150 his athletic background wasn't just wrestling. 00:02:10.539 --> 00:02:12.580 The sources mention he played Australian rules, 00:02:12.819 --> 00:02:17.520 football, rugby, soccer. He was an all -around 00:02:17.520 --> 00:02:19.419 athlete. Okay, for the listeners who haven't 00:02:19.419 --> 00:02:21.919 watched Australian rules, football Aussie rules 00:02:21.919 --> 00:02:25.560 is chaos. Complete chaos. It's fast, it's physical, 00:02:25.780 --> 00:02:28.939 no pads, and you have to have incredible cardio. 00:02:29.139 --> 00:02:31.599 Exactly. And that is key to understanding Bronson 00:02:31.599 --> 00:02:34.939 Reed. When you see him now at 330 pounds, he 00:02:34.939 --> 00:02:37.150 doesn't move like a lumbering giant. No, he's 00:02:37.150 --> 00:02:39.229 adjunct. He has this explosive agility. He can 00:02:39.229 --> 00:02:41.870 climb the ropes. He can move laterally. That 00:02:41.870 --> 00:02:44.229 comes from those sealed sports. He learned footwork 00:02:44.229 --> 00:02:46.430 before you learned how to take a bump. So despite 00:02:46.430 --> 00:02:48.310 the sports background, wrestling was the goal. 00:02:48.430 --> 00:02:52.120 He debuted way back in 2007. And for the next 00:02:52.120 --> 00:02:55.500 11 years, 11 years, he was grinding as Jonah 00:02:55.500 --> 00:02:58.719 Rock or J -Rock. 11 years is a lifetime in athletic 00:02:58.719 --> 00:03:01.280 years, especially in wrestling, where every bump 00:03:01.280 --> 00:03:03.180 is a minicar crash. And looking at the notes, 00:03:03.219 --> 00:03:05.780 this wasn't exactly the glamorous life of private 00:03:05.780 --> 00:03:09.219 jets and catering, was it? Far from it. We're 00:03:09.219 --> 00:03:11.139 talking about the Australian independent scene 00:03:11.139 --> 00:03:14.300 in the late 2000s. Promotions like WrestleRampage, 00:03:14.500 --> 00:03:16.860 Explosive Pro Wrestling, Melbourne City Wrestling. 00:03:17.039 --> 00:03:19.659 Right. At that time, Australia was effectively 00:03:19.659 --> 00:03:23.650 an island. literally and figuratively isolated 00:03:23.650 --> 00:03:25.810 from the major wrestling markets in the US and 00:03:25.810 --> 00:03:29.289 Japan. So you were just stuck there in a way. 00:03:29.409 --> 00:03:31.229 You were. If you were wrestling there, you were 00:03:31.229 --> 00:03:33.210 doing it for the love of the game, not the paycheck. 00:03:33.550 --> 00:03:36.009 But he wasn't just participating. He was dominating. 00:03:36.550 --> 00:03:39.389 The notes say he hit triple crown status. What 00:03:39.389 --> 00:03:41.969 does that actually mean in this context? It means 00:03:41.969 --> 00:03:44.280 he won everything there was to win. The heavyweight 00:03:44.280 --> 00:03:46.919 title, the tag team titles, the secondary titles. 00:03:47.039 --> 00:03:49.419 He cleared the board. He was the big fish in 00:03:49.419 --> 00:03:52.280 a small pond. Exactly. But he realized that to 00:03:52.280 --> 00:03:55.240 get noticed by the global powers, WWE, New Japan, 00:03:55.460 --> 00:03:58.080 he had to leave the island. I saw a note here 00:03:58.080 --> 00:03:59.900 about him wrestling internationally during this 00:03:59.900 --> 00:04:02.000 time, too. It wasn't just Australia. No. And 00:04:02.000 --> 00:04:04.020 that's crucial. He started touring. He went to 00:04:04.020 --> 00:04:07.460 Pro Wrestling NOAH in Japan, PWG in the U .S., 00:04:07.460 --> 00:04:10.759 RPW in the U .K. Hold on. Let's talk about PWG 00:04:10.759 --> 00:04:12.699 Pro Wrestling Guerrilla for a second. That's 00:04:12.699 --> 00:04:15.120 sort of the cool kids table of indie wrestling, 00:04:15.259 --> 00:04:17.759 isn't it? It is the tastemaker. If you get booked 00:04:17.759 --> 00:04:20.560 at PWG in Reseda, California, it means the hardcore 00:04:20.560 --> 00:04:23.240 fans respect you. It means you have work rate. 00:04:23.379 --> 00:04:27.339 Okay. But honestly, Japan is where I think the 00:04:27.339 --> 00:04:29.540 Bronson Reed we know today was actually forged. 00:04:29.839 --> 00:04:32.420 Why Japan specifically? Because of the style. 00:04:32.600 --> 00:04:36.240 In Japan, specifically in NOA, they wrestle what 00:04:36.240 --> 00:04:38.990 is called strong style. Define that for the listener 00:04:38.990 --> 00:04:41.290 who might just watch WWE casually. What is strong 00:04:41.290 --> 00:04:44.569 style? So in a lot of American wrestling, the 00:04:44.569 --> 00:04:47.589 emphasis is on the show, the character, the drama, 00:04:47.730 --> 00:04:50.569 the facial expressions. The catrics? Right. Strong 00:04:50.569 --> 00:04:53.050 style is about the struggle. The hits are harder. 00:04:53.170 --> 00:04:56.449 They are snug, which is industry speak for that 00:04:56.449 --> 00:04:58.870 actually hurt. Oh, wow. It's about showing fighting 00:04:58.870 --> 00:05:00.870 spirit. You don't just sell a move by rolling 00:05:00.870 --> 00:05:03.430 around. You absorb it, you grimace, and you keep 00:05:03.430 --> 00:05:05.660 coming forward. So for a guy like Jonah Rock, 00:05:05.860 --> 00:05:08.399 who is naturally thick and durable. It was perfect. 00:05:08.740 --> 00:05:11.339 He learned how to use his mass as a weapon, not 00:05:11.339 --> 00:05:14.000 just a visual. He learned how to inflict pain 00:05:14.000 --> 00:05:17.600 realistically. By the time WWE finally called 00:05:17.600 --> 00:05:20.199 in 2019, he wasn't a rookie. Not at all. He was 00:05:20.199 --> 00:05:22.759 a seasoned veteran disguised as a new recruit. 00:05:23.000 --> 00:05:26.160 So 2019 rolls around. He gets the call. He signs 00:05:26.160 --> 00:05:28.439 with WWE, reports to the Performance Center in 00:05:28.439 --> 00:05:32.379 Florida, and becomes Bronson Reed. Was it smooth 00:05:32.379 --> 00:05:35.680 sailing from there? Not exactly. His debut was 00:05:35.680 --> 00:05:37.579 a loss to Riddick Moss. Yeah. He had a bit of 00:05:37.579 --> 00:05:39.920 a slow start. Yeah. He bounced around the midcard, 00:05:40.079 --> 00:05:42.560 had a brief feud with L .A. Knight, who we know 00:05:42.560 --> 00:05:45.120 becomes a major player later. But Reed really 00:05:45.120 --> 00:05:47.779 started to find his groove in 2020 and 2021. 00:05:48.300 --> 00:05:51.439 I remember this era. He wasn't the monster he 00:05:51.439 --> 00:05:55.079 is now. He was marketed as the Thick Boy, spelled 00:05:55.079 --> 00:05:58.060 with two Cs. Yes, the Thick Boy era. Right. He 00:05:58.060 --> 00:06:01.209 leaned into his size. But in a fun, almost babyface 00:06:01.209 --> 00:06:04.029 way, he was the big, lovable guy who could fly. 00:06:04.250 --> 00:06:06.589 The crowd rallied behind him because he was unique. 00:06:06.750 --> 00:06:08.350 And that leads us to the steel cage match. This 00:06:08.350 --> 00:06:09.990 felt like the moment he finally arrived. May 00:06:09.990 --> 00:06:12.790 18, 2021. He's in a steel cage against Johnny 00:06:12.790 --> 00:06:14.930 Gargano for the NXT North American Championship. 00:06:15.269 --> 00:06:17.910 Gargano is a genius. Technically brilliant, a 00:06:17.910 --> 00:06:20.550 smaller, faster guy. It's the classic David versus 00:06:20.550 --> 00:06:24.370 Goliath dynamic. But in this story, Goliath wins. 00:06:24.629 --> 00:06:26.970 And the sources highlight this as a historic 00:06:26.970 --> 00:06:30.930 moment. First Australian, first non -American 00:06:30.930 --> 00:06:34.230 to hold that specific title. It was huge. And 00:06:34.230 --> 00:06:35.870 if you remember the visuals from that night, 00:06:35.990 --> 00:06:39.189 it was incredibly emotional. His wife, Paige, 00:06:39.490 --> 00:06:41.930 came into the ring to celebrate with him. I remember 00:06:41.930 --> 00:06:44.209 the confetti. There was confetti. It was presented 00:06:44.209 --> 00:06:47.870 as this deeply emotional, boyhood, dream come 00:06:47.870 --> 00:06:50.550 true moment. He had arrived. He was a champion 00:06:50.550 --> 00:06:53.430 in WWE. It felt like tenure. Like, okay, I made 00:06:53.430 --> 00:06:57.329 it. I'm safe. Exactly. The record scratch. The 00:06:57.329 --> 00:07:00.910 fall. August 2021, just a few months after winning 00:07:00.910 --> 00:07:03.250 that title and only 42 days after losing it, 00:07:03.310 --> 00:07:05.910 he gets released, fired, contract terminated. 00:07:06.089 --> 00:07:07.870 This is where the story usually ends for a lot 00:07:07.870 --> 00:07:10.089 of guys, or at least where the major league story 00:07:10.089 --> 00:07:12.490 ends. Why did they cut him? He was popular. He 00:07:12.490 --> 00:07:14.370 was a champion. It didn't make them to a lot 00:07:14.370 --> 00:07:15.670 of people at the time. Well, you have to look 00:07:15.670 --> 00:07:18.129 at the corporate context. At that specific time, 00:07:18.310 --> 00:07:20.730 WWE was going through a massive restructuring 00:07:20.730 --> 00:07:24.980 regarding NXT. Oh, right. NXT 2 .0. They were 00:07:24.980 --> 00:07:26.939 changing their philosophy on who they recruited. 00:07:27.120 --> 00:07:29.899 They wanted younger, taller, collegiate athletes 00:07:29.899 --> 00:07:33.259 they could mold from scratch. Reed, despite being 00:07:33.259 --> 00:07:37.339 great, was an indie veteran in his 30s. He didn't 00:07:37.339 --> 00:07:39.500 fit the new spreadsheet. That has to be devastating. 00:07:39.660 --> 00:07:42.220 You grind for 14 years, you get the title, you 00:07:42.220 --> 00:07:43.879 get the confetti, and then you get a phone call 00:07:43.879 --> 00:07:45.879 saying, sorry, we're going in a different direction. 00:07:46.240 --> 00:07:48.639 It breaks people. We see it all the time. Guys 00:07:48.639 --> 00:07:50.860 get better, they go on podcasts and complain, 00:07:51.100 --> 00:07:53.500 or they go back to the local indies and just 00:07:53.500 --> 00:07:55.620 phone it in because they feel the dream is dead. 00:07:55.839 --> 00:07:58.519 But Bronson Reed didn't fade away. This is the 00:07:58.519 --> 00:08:00.259 part of the story that I think is the most impressive 00:08:00.259 --> 00:08:02.439 and honestly the most instructive for anyone 00:08:02.439 --> 00:08:04.610 listening. For sure. He didn't just go back to 00:08:04.610 --> 00:08:07.410 the indies and do the same old act. He reinvented 00:08:07.410 --> 00:08:09.910 himself. He went back to the name Jonah, and 00:08:09.910 --> 00:08:12.410 he went straight to New Japan Pro Wrestling and 00:08:12.410 --> 00:08:14.970 Impact Wrestling. And he didn't go there to be 00:08:14.970 --> 00:08:18.610 a good hand. He went there to be a monster. There 00:08:18.610 --> 00:08:20.790 is one specific match in the notes here that 00:08:20.790 --> 00:08:24.110 jumped out at me. The G1 Climax 32 tournament. 00:08:24.649 --> 00:08:28.160 He faces Kazuchika Okada. Okay, we need to pause 00:08:28.160 --> 00:08:30.300 on this because it cannot be overstated. Okay. 00:08:30.420 --> 00:08:32.419 For the listener who might not follow Japanese 00:08:32.419 --> 00:08:35.480 wrestling closely, the G1 Climax is the most 00:08:35.480 --> 00:08:38.360 prestigious tournament in the world. It is grueling. 00:08:38.899 --> 00:08:41.840 And Kazuchika Okada. He's the guy. He is the 00:08:41.840 --> 00:08:43.879 Michael Jordan of modern Japanese wrestling. 00:08:43.980 --> 00:08:47.019 He is the standard bearer. He's the former IWGP 00:08:47.019 --> 00:08:50.299 World Heavyweight Champion. So ex -WWE guys don't 00:08:50.299 --> 00:08:52.779 just walk in and beat him. Never. It doesn't 00:08:52.779 --> 00:08:55.139 happen. Foreign talent usually loses to the ace 00:08:55.139 --> 00:08:58.500 of the company. But Jonah, Jonah pinned him. 00:08:58.620 --> 00:09:01.440 He pinned Michael Jordan. Clean. In the middle 00:09:01.440 --> 00:09:03.879 of the ring with the tsunami splash. It was an 00:09:03.879 --> 00:09:07.389 upset of massive proportions. What's fascinating 00:09:07.389 --> 00:09:09.870 here is what that win signaled to the rest of 00:09:09.870 --> 00:09:12.549 the world. It was a fax sent directly to Stanford, 00:09:12.710 --> 00:09:15.629 Connecticut. It said, you made a mistake. It 00:09:15.629 --> 00:09:17.389 proved he wasn't just a developmental talent. 00:09:17.509 --> 00:09:20.230 He was a world -class heavyweight capable of 00:09:20.230 --> 00:09:21.929 beating the very best on the planet. And he's 00:09:21.929 --> 00:09:23.730 doing crazy stuff in impact wrestling too, right? 00:09:24.139 --> 00:09:26.580 I see Monsters Ball match here. Yes, against 00:09:26.580 --> 00:09:29.639 PCO. A Monsters Ball match is exactly what it 00:09:29.639 --> 00:09:31.960 sounds like. It's a hardcore match. Weapons, 00:09:31.980 --> 00:09:35.519 thumbtacks, darkness, violence. Okay. He also 00:09:35.519 --> 00:09:39.179 had a debut where he left Josh Alexander. The 00:09:39.179 --> 00:09:41.759 face of Impact Wrestling bloodied in the ring. 00:09:41.899 --> 00:09:44.500 He was stripping away that nice guy, thick boy 00:09:44.500 --> 00:09:47.559 persona and building a reputation as a guy who 00:09:47.559 --> 00:09:50.200 genuinely hurts people. So he proves his point. 00:09:50.259 --> 00:09:52.879 He dominates Japan. He dominates impact. And 00:09:52.879 --> 00:09:54.659 inevitably, when you make yourself undeniable, 00:09:54.820 --> 00:09:57.480 the phone rings again. It always does. December 00:09:57.480 --> 00:10:01.580 2022, he returns to WWE Raw. But this time he's 00:10:01.580 --> 00:10:04.120 different. Yeah. He's not smiling. He came back 00:10:04.120 --> 00:10:06.639 as a mercenary. He helped the Miz win a ladder 00:10:06.639 --> 00:10:08.860 match purely for the money, essentially. Yeah. 00:10:08.899 --> 00:10:10.539 But you could tell he wasn't there to be the 00:10:10.539 --> 00:10:13.100 Miz's sidekick. No, he was just using that spot 00:10:13.100 --> 00:10:15.360 to get back in the door. Exactly. He had a pretty 00:10:15.360 --> 00:10:18.759 solid run through 2023. He won the Andre the 00:10:18.759 --> 00:10:21.580 Giant Memorial Battle Royal in 2024, which is 00:10:21.580 --> 00:10:24.100 fitting given his size. Right. Fitting. But let's 00:10:24.100 --> 00:10:26.259 be honest, that trophy often sits on a mantle 00:10:26.259 --> 00:10:29.000 and doesn't lead to main event success. It's 00:10:29.000 --> 00:10:31.379 a nice accolade. But it's not a world title. 00:10:31.500 --> 00:10:34.679 Not at all. He was briefly branded as Big Bronson 00:10:34.679 --> 00:10:37.379 Reed, which, well, thankfully they dropped that. 00:10:37.500 --> 00:10:38.659 Yeah, we can see he's big. We don't need him 00:10:38.659 --> 00:10:40.820 in the chyron. But let's fast forward to August 00:10:40.820 --> 00:10:43.700 2024. This is the moment where I think the nice 00:10:43.700 --> 00:10:46.899 guy was completely erased from history. The attack 00:10:46.899 --> 00:10:50.440 on Seth Rollins. This was visceral. Seth Rollins 00:10:50.440 --> 00:10:53.000 is a top -tier star, a former world champion, 00:10:53.200 --> 00:10:55.929 and Reed didn't just beat him in a match. He 00:10:55.929 --> 00:10:58.490 executed him. The notes emphasize the number. 00:10:58.590 --> 00:11:01.389 Six. Six tsunamis. Let's break down the physics 00:11:01.389 --> 00:11:03.070 of the tsunami again. We talked about it in the 00:11:03.070 --> 00:11:05.690 intro, but six times. Think about it. He climbs 00:11:05.690 --> 00:11:09.049 up. He jumps. He lands flat, chest to chest. 00:11:09.190 --> 00:11:13.110 That is 330 pounds of mass accelerating downwards. 00:11:14.090 --> 00:11:16.669 Taking one knocks the wind out of you. Taking 00:11:16.669 --> 00:11:19.769 two probably bruises your ribs. Taking six, that 00:11:19.769 --> 00:11:22.330 is intended to cause internal bleeding. That 00:11:22.330 --> 00:11:24.529 is intended to crack ribs. He was overkill. It 00:11:24.529 --> 00:11:26.860 was a statement. It took Rollins out of action 00:11:26.860 --> 00:11:28.679 and established Reed as the most dangerous man 00:11:28.679 --> 00:11:31.480 on the roster. It wasn't about winning. It was 00:11:31.480 --> 00:11:34.200 about ending a career. A crucial turning point. 00:11:34.340 --> 00:11:37.860 For his brutality, yes. And that brutality caught 00:11:37.860 --> 00:11:40.679 the eye of some interesting people. Late 2024, 00:11:41.100 --> 00:11:44.500 he links up with the bloodline. Briefly, this 00:11:44.500 --> 00:11:47.860 is for war games. Solisakoa needed a fifth man, 00:11:48.039 --> 00:11:50.639 a heavy hitter, to go to war. Reed fit the bill 00:11:50.639 --> 00:11:53.580 perfectly. Okay. But, and this is a key detail, 00:11:53.840 --> 00:11:55.940 he suffered a foot injury during that match. 00:11:56.100 --> 00:11:59.019 Which explains the gap in the timeline. He vanishes 00:11:59.019 --> 00:12:01.419 for a bit to recover. Exactly. And when you're 00:12:01.419 --> 00:12:03.460 a guy like Reed, sitting on the shelf while the 00:12:03.460 --> 00:12:05.379 world keeps turning, while other people are getting 00:12:05.379 --> 00:12:08.159 your TV time, I think that's stewed in him. So 00:12:08.159 --> 00:12:10.940 now we get to the Vision era. This is 2025. He 00:12:10.940 --> 00:12:14.139 returns in May. And this alliance, it just sounds 00:12:14.139 --> 00:12:16.960 like a dream team on paper. Seth Rollins, Braun 00:12:16.960 --> 00:12:19.600 Breaker, Bronson Reed, and Paul Heyman. The Vision. 00:12:19.860 --> 00:12:22.340 Okay, we have to talk about Paul Heyman. If Paul 00:12:22.340 --> 00:12:24.379 Heyman is standing next to you holding a microphone, 00:12:24.580 --> 00:12:27.000 it is the ultimate stamp of approval in this 00:12:27.000 --> 00:12:28.840 industry. It really is. Look at his client list. 00:12:29.059 --> 00:12:32.639 Brock Lesnar. Yeah. CM Punk. Roman Reigns. Paul 00:12:32.639 --> 00:12:35.519 Heyman does not manage mid -carders. If he is 00:12:35.519 --> 00:12:37.679 advocating for you, the company sees you as a 00:12:37.679 --> 00:12:40.620 main eventer. It's instant credibility. But wait, 00:12:40.779 --> 00:12:43.820 he aligned with Rollins, the guy he crushed with 00:12:43.820 --> 00:12:46.340 six tsunamis the year before. That's the nature 00:12:46.340 --> 00:12:49.340 of the business. The enemy of my enemy is my 00:12:49.340 --> 00:12:52.659 friend. They had a common goal, likely centering 00:12:52.659 --> 00:12:54.799 around the power vacuum left by Roman Reigns 00:12:54.799 --> 00:12:58.039 and the shifting landscape of WWE. And speaking 00:12:58.039 --> 00:13:00.899 of Roman Reigns, this leads us to the biggest 00:13:00.899 --> 00:13:05.799 win of Bronson Reed's life, October 2025. Crown 00:13:05.799 --> 00:13:08.440 Jewel. The venue matters here. It was in Australia, 00:13:08.679 --> 00:13:11.580 Reed's home country. The homecoming. He had lost 00:13:11.580 --> 00:13:13.720 to Roman Reigns in Paris a few months prior, 00:13:13.879 --> 00:13:17.330 a clash in Paris. But in Australia... The atmosphere 00:13:17.330 --> 00:13:20.070 changes. Oh, yeah. You have 50 ,000 people chanting 00:13:20.070 --> 00:13:22.250 for the hometown hero. Even if he's a bad guy 00:13:22.250 --> 00:13:25.389 on TV in Adelaide or Melbourne, he is their guy. 00:13:25.590 --> 00:13:27.850 And that night, Bronson Reed did the unthinkable. 00:13:28.009 --> 00:13:30.629 He defeated the tribal chief. He pinned Roman 00:13:30.629 --> 00:13:33.029 Reigns. That is a long way from the community 00:13:33.029 --> 00:13:35.509 halls in Adelaide. It's the full circle moment. 00:13:35.629 --> 00:13:37.629 The kid who grew up watching, who grounded out 00:13:37.629 --> 00:13:39.889 for a decade, finally standing in the center 00:13:39.889 --> 00:13:41.909 of the ring in his home country, having beaten 00:13:41.909 --> 00:13:43.350 the face of the company. It should have been 00:13:43.350 --> 00:13:45.149 the happy ending. Should have been. You'd think 00:13:45.149 --> 00:13:47.309 they would ride that wave of positivity forever. 00:13:47.649 --> 00:13:51.549 The hero returns home, wins the big one. But 00:13:51.549 --> 00:13:54.769 Bronson Reed, he just can't help himself, Kenny. 00:13:54.870 --> 00:13:57.269 He is not wired for happy endings. Literally 00:13:57.269 --> 00:14:00.210 the next night on Raw, the confetti has barely 00:14:00.210 --> 00:14:02.450 been swept up. The nature of the Scorpion, right? 00:14:02.529 --> 00:14:06.049 The very next night on Raw, Reed and Braun Breaker 00:14:06.049 --> 00:14:08.169 turn on Seth Rollins. They beat him down, kicking 00:14:08.169 --> 00:14:11.429 him out of the vision. It's brutal. Why? Why 00:14:11.429 --> 00:14:13.809 destroy the most powerful alliance in the company 00:14:13.809 --> 00:14:15.870 immediately after the biggest win of your career? 00:14:16.230 --> 00:14:18.110 Because Bronson Reed isn't looking for friends. 00:14:18.409 --> 00:14:21.269 He's looking for the spotlight. I think he realized 00:14:21.269 --> 00:14:23.409 that as long as Seth Rollins is in the group, 00:14:23.570 --> 00:14:26.090 Seth Rollins is the leader. Reed would always 00:14:26.090 --> 00:14:28.509 be the muscle, the number two. And monsters don't 00:14:28.509 --> 00:14:31.289 like being number two. Exactly. By taking out 00:14:31.289 --> 00:14:33.690 Rollins, Reed, and Breaker assert dominance. 00:14:34.190 --> 00:14:37.230 It cements his reputation. He serves only his 00:14:37.230 --> 00:14:39.429 own ambition. He doesn't care about the group. 00:14:39.570 --> 00:14:41.909 He cares about the gold. Which brings us right 00:14:41.909 --> 00:14:44.929 up to the present day, early 2026. He enters 00:14:44.929 --> 00:14:47.809 the Royal Rumble at number 16. A solid showing. 00:14:47.970 --> 00:14:50.690 He tossed out some names. Royce Keyes, Dragon 00:14:50.690 --> 00:14:53.110 Lee, showing that dominance over the smaller, 00:14:53.129 --> 00:14:55.269 faster guys again. Before getting eliminated 00:14:55.269 --> 00:14:57.490 by LA Knight. Which is a nice callback to their 00:14:57.490 --> 00:15:00.009 NXT days, actually. Wrestling loves a callback. 00:15:00.129 --> 00:15:02.029 True. And now he's heading toward WrestleMania 00:15:02.029 --> 00:15:04.629 season, presumably with a very angry Seth Rollins 00:15:04.629 --> 00:15:06.509 hunting him down. It's a volatile situation. 00:15:06.809 --> 00:15:11.159 He has enemies everywhere. But honestly... That's 00:15:11.159 --> 00:15:13.620 where Bronson Reed thrives. He wants the chaos. 00:15:13.940 --> 00:15:16.480 So what does this all mean when we look at this 00:15:16.480 --> 00:15:20.419 trajectory released, reinvented, returned champion? 00:15:20.519 --> 00:15:23.100 What is the takeaway? The takeaway for me is 00:15:23.100 --> 00:15:25.539 that Bronson Reed is a study in betting on yourself. 00:15:26.359 --> 00:15:30.159 When the WWU system spat him out in 2021, the 00:15:30.159 --> 00:15:32.480 easy path would have been to change, to lose 00:15:32.480 --> 00:15:35.179 50 pounds or change his style to be safer or 00:15:35.179 --> 00:15:36.919 try to be what they wanted. To fit the mold. 00:15:37.139 --> 00:15:39.039 But he didn't. He doubled down on who he was. 00:15:39.100 --> 00:15:41.460 He amplified the size. He amplified the violence. 00:15:41.659 --> 00:15:44.019 He forced the industry to change for him. He 00:15:44.019 --> 00:15:46.240 proved that you can take the long road, the hard 00:15:46.240 --> 00:15:48.480 road, and still end up at the destination if 00:15:48.480 --> 00:15:51.259 you are undeniable. It's that refusal to be defined 00:15:51.259 --> 00:15:54.330 by a failure. He took a firing and turned it 00:15:54.330 --> 00:15:57.110 into the fuel that got him a win over Roman Reigns. 00:15:57.190 --> 00:16:01.009 Precisely. It's inspiring, but there is a darker 00:16:01.009 --> 00:16:03.669 side to it, too. Here's where it gets really 00:16:03.669 --> 00:16:05.429 interesting for the listener to think about. 00:16:05.750 --> 00:16:07.850 We've seen him align with the bloodline, and 00:16:07.850 --> 00:16:10.629 that ended. He aligned with The Miz, moved on. 00:16:10.850 --> 00:16:13.309 He aligned with Seth Rollins and Paul Heyman, 00:16:13.409 --> 00:16:16.259 and then stabbed Rollins in the back. He has 00:16:16.259 --> 00:16:19.059 proven he can beat the best, sure. But he's also 00:16:19.059 --> 00:16:22.879 proven that his loyalty has a price tag or maybe 00:16:22.879 --> 00:16:25.100 no price tag at all, just an expiration date. 00:16:25.200 --> 00:16:27.759 He burns bridges for sport. Exactly. So here 00:16:27.759 --> 00:16:29.679 is the provocative thought for you to chew on. 00:16:30.460 --> 00:16:33.279 In a business that is historically built on factions, 00:16:33.360 --> 00:16:35.559 on having people want your back, on I scratch 00:16:35.559 --> 00:16:37.779 your back, you scratch mine, is Bronson Reed's 00:16:37.779 --> 00:16:40.159 mercenary mindset actually the smartest strategy? 00:16:40.559 --> 00:16:42.440 That's high risk, high reward. Is looking out 00:16:42.440 --> 00:16:45.419 for number one the only way to survive? Or has 00:16:45.419 --> 00:16:47.620 he burned so many bridges that when he inevitably 00:16:47.620 --> 00:16:50.220 stumbles and everyone stumbles, there will be 00:16:50.220 --> 00:16:52.740 absolutely no one there to catch him? That is 00:16:52.740 --> 00:16:54.960 the question. When you climb to the top by stepping 00:16:54.960 --> 00:16:57.700 on everyone else, it's a very lonely view and 00:16:57.700 --> 00:17:01.379 usually a very long fall. A long fall or maybe 00:17:01.379 --> 00:17:03.919 just a giant tsunami splash waiting to happen. 00:17:04.640 --> 00:17:06.779 That's all we have for this deep dive into the 00:17:06.779 --> 00:17:09.039 Monster of Oz, Bronson Reed. Thanks for listening 00:17:09.039 --> 00:17:10.079 and we'll catch you on the next one.