Should Roman Reigns Be Champ? Who Wins at WarGames? | The Pin Down

And since we're being honest tonight, that title would look.

So much better on my shoulder.

Welcome to the Pin Down, the Sports Illustrated Pro Wrestling show.

Kent Brown alongside Gene Sherry.

You just saw the clip, so I'm gonna go right to you, Gene.

Which title should Roman Reigns go for, CM Punk's world title or Cody Rhodes' WWE title?

Why not both at this point, man?

Like, Roman Reigns, if anything, he just proved to you why he is still the face of the WWE even without a title.

I would not mind seeing double champ Roman Reigns back in the WWE.

And honestly, if you would have told me two years ago, I never would have said this.

The WWE was a lot better with Roman Reigns as champion.

He was a super villain.

Cody Rhodes had purpose, but uh, but it seems like ever since WrestleMania 40, uh, everything's just been very stagnant as with Cody Rhodes as champion.

Not saying he hasn't put on great matches, but his story has not hit the same.

With Roman Reigns as champion, he's clearly the bull's eye.

He's clearly the guy that people wanna beat, and I don't feel that same energy for guys like Cody Rhodes or CM Punk for that matter.

And here's the other thing too, he got over as a heel, and everyone booed him as a baby face.

Now he's still the biggest star, but he is a baby face.

So it'll be interesting to see if Roman Reigns wins the title, whether it's against Punk or Cody Rhodes.

Is he a baby face that everyone embraces, or do the fans start to boom a little bit more and say, we don't like it.

I think he's so over that he's not gonna get the boos, he's gonna get the cheers, and this.

Also be a perfect time, let's be real, to turn CM Punk heel or turn Cody Rhodes heel, because it's hard to do that if Roman Reigns is not in the picture, and he's only there 4 or 6 times in a year.

But if he's one of your champions, and now you have a heel Cody against Roman, or a heel CM Punk against Roman, that opens up great storylines, that probably makes their character more interesting, and it also makes Roman Reigns for really The first time in his career, a superstar babyface champion that's embraced because he's never been that.

As weird as it sounds, he was always the baby face that people kind of said we don't like, or he was the heel that everyone loved.

So I would love to see it.

My personal opinion though, I would rather see the CM Punk angle because we saw him and Cody Rhodes have in some facet, 3 different WrestleMania main events.

Against each other, one in LA and both nights in Philly.

Him and CM Punk only had their match last year on night one in Vegas, and that was where Seth Rollins stole the show.

So we have yet to see CM Punk and Roman Reigns go head to head in the signature moment.

And with Seth Rollins out, more than likely, Tasmania, why not set up a Roman Reigns CM Punk title feud going forward?

To me, that's an absolute no-brainer.

Yeah, I can't disagree.

I think these guys, they've shown they have chemistry.

That Triple Threat match was one of the best Main Event matches you've ever seen as far as WrestleMania Main Events.

CM Punk, Roman Reigns, I think CM Punk , he has a special ability to get the best out of his competitors.

We saw it with Drew McIntyre.

You know, we saw it briefly with John Cena.

We've even seen little glimpses of him, them teasing him against Cody Rhodes at times.

So, him against Roman Reigns, I think would be money.

You got the Paul Hamon angle in there.

There's a lot of history there with these guys to tell a fascinating story.

So, CM Punk, Roman Reigns, sign me up.

Let's go to our 2nd count, and 3 of those guys we just discussed are teammates.

Saturday night in San Diego.

We have war games.

It's those 3 along with the Usos matched up against the vision, Logan Paul , Drew McIntyre, and Brock Lesner, assuming he doesn't fall on his entrance again the way he did Monday night where he tore the back of his talk about that just a little bit.

bit.

What do you think when Lesnar just busted his ass like that, man?

That was crazy.

I like that he flipped back instantly and had so much fun with it that he removed his hat and put it right on Braun Breaker.

So I'm glad no one was hurt.

It's funny because it's the opposite of what Brock Lesnar's persona is, where he's all about business, he's all about no-nonsense, and for him to stumble in that moment.

Hey, it's live.

Remember back in the day, Sid's cutting a promo, he says, oh, hold up, we gotta do this again.

And JR goes, we're live, pal.

That's a we're live, pal moment where Brock Lesnar for the first time ever that I can remember, does something like that, but I enjoyed it.

I thought it was funny.

And the fact that he reacted so quickly and got up, kind of fits Brock Lesnar cause he's that type of guy.

He's like, I'm getting back up.

I don't care.

I'm not gonna look like an ass.

I'm gonna make sure I move forward, but, uh, overall, I thought it was funny, and again, it's pro wrestling, it's live.

Well, I, I loved it too.

And the cool thing about being a guy like Brock Lesnar is you can do that and no one's gonna say anything to you, right after, man.

Like you're not about to get into this guy's face and say ha ha, but like, he's still a scary.

A human being.

And that was as funny as it was, I was like, oh my God, he's really about to make up for it in this next segment.

Cause, you know, I saw a lot of posts saying, oh, he lost a lot of oral points.

Come on, this guy's been in the business for over 40 years.

He's still one of the scariest human beings on the planet, but this is hilarious to put on his highlight tape.

And I hope they use this going forward.

I think that'd be pretty dope.

Yeah, it's not quite like the Titus O'Neill where he stumbles under the ring at the Royal Rumble in Saudi, but it is a funny moment that they can work with.

And no matter where he goes going forward, I, if you have to think that's gonna be written into a promo at some point by who'sever against him, and it probably ends with that person getting.

You know, suplex citied all over the ring shortly after, which also summarizes a good storyline, but we said with the Bra Breaker storyline, he put the hat on Braun Breaker.

If I'm Bram Breaker, how dare you put a cowboy hat on me after you just humiliated yourself.

Maybe you tie that in there, man.

Like, if I'm Bra Breaker, I feel highly disrespected if Brock Lesnar would just try to use me as one of those little coat hangers or whatever right after you just busted your behind.

That could be a good one too.

If we end up having a couple title feuds where let's say Bra Breaker isn't in the picture, that would be a nice WrestleMania build-up is the whole Braun Breaker versus Brock Lesnar, have there be some sort of falling out or whether it's War Games or a Royal Rumble elimination.

Paul Hayman has his hands in every cookie jar possible.

He's probably gonna be a part of like 4 WrestleMania matches at this point, but that would certainly be, that could easily be an opener or a headliner for.

Night of WrestleMania, and I, I would be all for it.

I mean, again, we've, from day one on this podcast, I've talked about, we love the fact that Braun Breaker is a future star, and there's no doubt about it.

If you put him against Lesner, that's on all the posters, that's on the billboards, that's gonna generate a lot of revenue.

You can also send Brock Lesnar to ESPN to cut promos, you can put him on other entities, have him on The Tonight Show, and now all of a sudden, he's building up.

Rick Steiner's son, Scott Steiner's nephew, this guy, yeah, yeah, exactly like this, this, it's right there.

Let's, let's make it happen.

Also, how about Cody's promo on SmackDown the other night where he starts, he cut into all five guys, and the one line that he said is, when you look at history, a Steiner has never been better than a road.

I thought that was great.

Logan Paul, he ripped.

Drew McIntyre, I keep beating you.

I'm done with you, but I wanna kick your ass one more time.

And then, of course, Brock Lesnar, the last two times we went head to head, I beat you both times.

I thought that was as good a promo from Cody as I've ever seen, but War Games should be a lot of fun, Gene, on Saturday night.

Let's briefly go through the card and then we'll talk about what we're most looking forward to.

We have the men's war game match.

We have the women's war game match.

We have John Cena and Dominic Mysterio for the Intercontinental title, and then the women's world title match, Stephanie Vacca against the heel, Nikki Bella.

What's your bold prediction for what we're gonna see Saturday night?

I think if I were to make one bold prediction, it would be, I think Don Mysterio beat Cina clean.

I think that's what's gonna happen.

I don't think it's gonna be a line clean.

I think he beats him clean.

I think this will be the last clean L of Siena's career.

I think they tried setting up with Brock Lesnar, but that to me that storyline made no sense.

I think it was.

Just the ESPN Russell Palooza, you know, advertisement.

They wanna get Cena, they wanna get Brock.

It is what it is.

That was a business move.

But if you're, if you're trusting Don Mysterio, you're giving this man 3 of Cena's last 4 matches, he has to beat him clean, man.

He has to.

You cannot.

To me, it, it would make no sense to have Dom take all Asina's matches and not give him a signature win over this guy.

Cena doesn't need to beat Do Mysterio again.

He doesn't need to lose in a cheating fashion.

Letting Dom Mysterio and Cena put on a classic cause Cena's proven that he can put on great matches.

You put him, give him a good dance partner, he can hang.

I think Dom is missing that signature match of his career, and I And I think this could be the moment that we look back at, OK, Dom Cena, this was a classic, and Dom wins, and that, this catapults him from being one of the top guys to maybe the guy of the WWE.

Yeah, could you imagine the year he has, he wins the IC at Mania, now he defeats Cena in Cena's second to last match, and he wins the Intercontinental title again.

Man, it's so hard to believe that that's where we're at with Dominic Mysterio, but he's as over as anyone, and he's in that over period where he gets the right boos, he gets the right cheers, the crowd, like, if you had to just cut, like a twenty-minute clip of what pro wrestling is and show it to somebody, he's the guy you would show right now, because the in-ring stuff's fun, he's constantly building on the heat.

And yet when his music hits, it's kind of a cheer, but then as soon as he talks, it's a boo, and anyone in the ring against him, it's that whole, you cheer the good guy, you boo the bad guy, and that's what pro wrestling is when it's at its best.

And you're right, Don Mysterio, he's probably not headlining any WrestleMania match coming up, but his match is gonna be as remembered as anyone's, and it would be great.

You're right.

If he wins clean, that would be something.

I have a feeling he might win.

I can't think clean just because he's dirty Domb and that's not the way he does it, but I, I, I can see him leaving with the strap.

Just imagine the next, the first Monday Night Raw.

I'm the last man to beat John Cena, and he just says it, and that just becomes his catchphrase going forward, you know, like kind of how Becky does, you know, I'm not the only one who says it.

Sports Illustrated says it.

Like this is how you keep that star and you keep John Cena needs to pass the torch to somebody.

I don't think it's.

Gonna happen in that last match.

I think he wins that last match in Washington.

I don't think he, yeah, the way that tournament's setting up, it almost feels like it is a scene of celebration, and it's not, and he just deserves it.

So this is a perfect opportunity to put over a star while he still gets to ride off into the sunset in Washington.

I would love to see Dom beat this man as maybe not, all right, maybe I'll take it back.

Maybe it won't be clean, but it'll be as clean as it can be considering who, uh, Dirty Dom is.

Yeah, he leaves with the title, and it doesn't make Cena look bad in the moment, by any means.

I think that that's totally fair.

Mine would just be that there's going to be some major chaos with the men's team in the War Games match that leads Roman Reigns, CM Punk, Cody Rhodes, and the Usos in complete disarray.

I would be pretty surprised.

If we're not seeing Paul Hayman and his group celebrate at the end of the night, to me, if they lose, I don't really understand it.

I don't really get it.

I don't think anyone on the good guy team needs that win.

So when you look at Roman Reigns, CM Punk, Cody Rhodes, Jay Uso, Jimmy Uso, they're not leaving in the ring, looking upset.

And probably pointing fingers at each other, or if Roman Reigns doesn't end up spearing one of his teammates, or if CM Punk doesn't put one of them to sleep, or Cody doesn't put one of them in the crossroads, I think that's a missed opportunity.

I feel like it has to end with Paul Hammond celebrating with his 5 and the other 5 looking distraught in the ring thinking, what the heck just happened?

So that's my bold prediction, Gene.

You think that's possible?

Are you with you?

Uh, uh, uh.

I, I agree.

I think that's the only outcome that makes sense.

These, you've got the champ, the Cody Rhode's already a champion.

Roman Reigns is already the face of pro wrestling.

CM Punk's already a world champion.

They don't need a win over these guys.

Who needs a winner?

You need Braun Breaker.

You need Bronson Reed.

These guys are the future.

They need to win this match in a decisive fashion.

Drew McIntyre has been taking so many losses.

I don't think he can afford another loss.

And if you're telling me, and if Logan Paul is your future, he needs another, he needs a win.

To, these guys need this win more than anybody.

I fully expect, as you said, for the men's team to just beat themselves.

Not necessarily get beat by the heels, but to beat themselves and the Heels take advantage.

And you got a guy like Brock Lesnar, who is the ultimate equalizer who could make sure all this makes sense ultimately.

So, I think the match is gonna be fantastic, but if the Heels lose again, cause I can't remember the last time we saw a Heel team win one of these big war game matches.

It's been a couple of years, uh, then , Yeah, I, I, I just don't see it happening.

I am rooting for Team Hill.

I would love to see Logan Paul standing obnoxious with Paul Hammon, all hands raised, and as we get forward to the road to WrestleMania.

Yeah, and frankly, I'd like to see Drew get the pin ultimately.

I think he, he's earned it.

We said months ago we thought he should have won the title over Cody , and to me, at least get this pin.

He's not gonna win a title tonight, but, or on Saturday night, but man, he needs a win as much as anybody needs a win.

So I think if you're gonna give the pin, let's have Drew McIntyre finish it off.

Let him pick Cody.

Let him get that Cody pin, man.

Let him pin Cody.

Let him, let, let's, let's make it happen.

Let's now go to our third count, wrapping it up.

It is Thanksgiving week.

It is Survivor Series week.

It used to be on Survivor Series when they first started this back in 1987, but Gene, memories.

There's so many memories from Survivor Series over the years.

I've been fortunate enough to attend a Survivor Series.

What is your favorite Survivor Series memory throughout your time as a WWE fan?

If I had to pick one moment, it would have to be 2001 Survivor Series, WWF versus Team Alliance.

To me, that match was everything to me growing up .

I love seeing the invasion angle.

As a kid, I thought this was the dopest thing ever.

Looking back at it, I know it's not seen as fondly as far as that storyline goes, but the moment I saw the Rock pin Stone Cold at the end was everything to me.

Months Earlier, Stone Cold had screwed the Rock over by aligning himself with Vince McMahon and WrestleMania 17 .

So to see the Rock finally get that pin over Austin and win it for Team WWF as a kid brought nothing but joy to my face.

I don't know if you remember the final shot of that pay per view of Vince McMahon coming out with both hands raised, triumphant.

Look at Austin, looking like, what the hell just happened?

Then you got the Rock with the WCW championship.

Arms raised, to me, it was complete chaos, but it was the perfect ending.

I loved everything about that moment.

Yeah.

Anytime I saw the Rock beat Austin, man, I, that was, that brought nothing but joy to me.

Well, look, and also, those are two of the biggest stars ever.

I know Vince McMahon right now is not in the picture, but when he was rolling in those storylines, that's probably the biggest hill turn ever.

I mean, I guess you gotta go Hogan when he turned NWO just because of what it meant, but Stone Cold aligning with Vince McMahon and then having that next run for the next several months was as shocking as anything I think anybody could have expected because they were as bitter enem.

as anybody in wrestling history.

And even now, I almost feel like a lot of people forget it even happened.

That's how much that, that was shocking and huge to everyone.

For me, I'm gonna go a decade earlier.

I'm gonna go 91 Survivor Series because as a kid, and I'm gonna be eating Thanksgiving meal tomorrow with my aunt Cindy, for some reason, I don't know why she had a tape, an old VHS tape that was Survivor Series 90.

One, and then this Tuesday in Texas together that me, me and my brothers got from her.

I don't know if she got it from a neighbor or a flea market or what have you, but we must have watched that VHS tape like 300 times.

And so 1991 Survivor Series is etched in my memory.

And I mean, you had the opening match, you just had, here's some of the names in that match.

You had Ric Flair, you had Brett Hart, you had the British Bulldog.

You had the Million Dollar Man, uh, Rowdy Roddy Piper, you know, those type of legends, just in the opening match.

Then you had the title match, mid-card, was Hulk Hogan against the Undertaker, and The Undertaker beats Hulk Hogan to win his first ever WWF title.

Now, of course, he lost it a few days later, because it was cheated because Ric Flair put a, a table or chair underneath.

And then, Later in that pay per view, you had the Rockers fall apart in what was Shawn Michaels' last match before he became the Heartbreak Kid Shawn Michaels and the heel.

So he had his falling out with Marty Janetti, and then you also had Jake the Snake Roberts in it, Legion of Doom, the Nasty Boys.

You just had from top to bottom, it was outstanding.

And I always remember that pay per view because as a kid, I did not see and to this day.

I have never seen any pay per view more than Survivor Series 1991, and that was a young Undertaker.

That was Ric Flair coming to WWF.

Shawn Michaels about to ascend into his singles career, Brett Hart, right before he became the guy shortly after.

It was just awesome.

And then, of course, Hulk Hogan in a signature title match, losing it to the end.

That was the first ever time that Hulk Hogan lost.

A singles title match since he became champion back when Macho Man beat him at WrestleMania 5.

So it was forever that he did not win one or lose one, I should say.

And so I'll always remember that pay per view.

And Survivor Series to me, it signifies Thanksgiving, it signifies the build-up to WrestleMania season, cause remember, shortly after that title got vacated, and that was the first Royal Rumble where the title.

was on the line and Ric Flair wins it in '92.

So that whole Survivor Series meant so much to the business at that time and Undertaker made his stance, Hulk Hogan's music, Shawn Michaels, Brett Hart, you name it, Ric Flair.

It was just an awesome watch and I'm Looking forward to Survivor Series in San Diego on Saturday night.

It should be so much fun.

That's gonna do it here for our show.

Have a great Thanksgiving.

Have a great war games watch.

We'll be back next week.

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