Tag: Mat Men Podcast

Mat Men: Cody’s road to WWE WrestleMania, looking ahead to AEW Revolution

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Andrew Zarian and Rich Stambolian are back with another episode of Mat Men, discussing all things professional wrestling.

On this week’s WWE Raw, Paul Heyman and Cody Rhodes had an all-time promo exchange setting up the main event of this year’s WrestleMania. The question: did it work and will people get behind Rhodes despite the popularity of Sami Zayn? We discuss.

On AEW Dynamite this week, Bryan Danielson defeated Rush in one of the best TV matches so far this year and officially punched his ticket to face AEW World Champion MJF at Revolution in an Iron Man match.

Speaking of MJF, he told a very controversial story that apparently warranted police calls. Also, the Gunn Club became the new AEW Tag Team Champions despite the displeasure of the crowd and fans watching at home.

Plus, we talk NXT paying homage to their past, Jerry Lawler’s health scare, WWE SummerSlam coming to Detroit, your questions, and more.

Watch above on YouTube or click below to listen.

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Mat Men: Samoa Joe dominates, WWE signs Dragon Lee, a plea to CM Punk

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Andrew Zarian and Rich Stambolian are back for the last episode of the Mat Men podcast for 2022.

This week, FTR’s Dax Harwood made a plea to bring back CM Punk and for everyone to get along. We talked about the scenarios that need to happen for this to be possible and what’s the likelihood that it does actually happen.

After winning the AAA Tag Team titles from FTR alongside Dralistico, Dragon Lee announced he was headed to WWE and will report to NXT starting in January. Andrew explains that this is the beginning of NXT’s new approach to talent development and talks about who might be next to come over.

AEW put on a strong Dynamite this week which included match six in the best-of-seven series between Death Triangle and The Elite, and Samoa Joe giving Wardlow a haircut.

Plus, Tony Khan talks ROH, Tyson Fury may not be able to do WWE WrestleMania, we ask whether AEW could add another hour of TV, and answer your questions.

Happy New Year!

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Mat Men: The Bloodline dominates WWE Survivor Series WarGames

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Andrew Zarian and Rich Stambolian are back with a special Sunday Mat Men to break down the latest in professional wrestling.

We run through Saturday’s WWE Survivor Series WarGames where the big story was Sami Zayn solidifying his stance with The Bloodline by turning on friend/rival Kevin Owens. We talk the women’s WarGame match, which was filled with highspots for good reason, and the new United States Champion.

We run through all the highlights from AEW this past week including Jon Moxley’s promo on William Regal, Chris Jericho defending his ROH title against Tomohiro Ishii on Dynamite, and Preston Vance turning on the Dark Order on Rampage.

Plus, CM Punk’s current AEW contract status, Logan Paul’s injury timeline to return to WWE, your questions, and more!

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Mat Men: The MJF era in AEW begins

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Andrew and Rich are back for a special Sunday episode of Mat Men, breaking down all the things that happened from the Saturday’s AEW Full Gear.

We have a new AEW World champion in MJF as William Regal turned on Jon Moxley to help MJF win. We talk about the match and who will be the guy to win the title next.

The Elite returned to face Death Triangle for the AEW Trios titles and it was later announced to be the beginning of a best-of-seven series between these two teams. We discuss what they can do to make all the matches interesting.

Plus, there’s a new interim AEW Women’s champion, Saraya’s in-ring return after five years, Sting and Jeff Jarrett wrestle against each other in 2022, and more!

(Main Image courtesy of JJ Williams)

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Mat Men: WWE Crown Jewel fallout, AEW builds to Full Gear

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Andrew and Rich are back after a two week break, discussing all the latest news in pro wrestling.

The guys talked about the fallout from WWE Crown Jewel which included several mentions of both NJPW and Bullet Club. They gave Logan Paul his verbal flowers and discuss what his ceiling is if he were to commit full-time to wrestling.

We go into AEW Dynamite from Wednesday, including the announcement of the in-ring return of Saraya, MJF’s radio appearance, and The Elite returning possibly at Full Gear. Also, Andrew explains his odd perversion for all things Jeff Jarrett.

Plus, Shibata wrestled on last week’s Rampage, Sasha Banks teases something big, and more.

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Mat Men: Bray Wyatt and Gallows & Anderson return to WWE, AEW’s new titleholder

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After a week away, Andrew and Rich are back with another episode of Mat Men recorded prior to all of Friday night’s action.

We discuss last Saturday’s WWE Extreme Rules and, of course, the return of Bray Wyatt at the end of the show. What form will his character take this time and is the Wyatt 6 faction happening?

Rich has excitement for Gallows and Anderson returning to WWE on this past Monday’s Raw and wonders if this might lead to some sort of working agreement with New Japan.

Also on Raw, The Bloodline made an appearance, undisputed Universal Champion Roman Reigns continues to be the best act in WWE, and Sami Zayn is probably the most over he’s ever been in his Honorary Uce role. We ponder if this might lead to a Daniel Bryan style organic push for him.

AEW Dynamite saw Orange Cassidy win his first singles title in the company, and Chris Jericho retaining the ROH title over Bryan Danielson. We give praise to Hangman Page’s strong promo ahead of Tuesday’s title Match against Jon Moxley and Renee Paquette’s debut as an interviewer.

Plus, Ariel Helwani complaining about interviewing Tony Khan, NXT viewership rises, The Rock kind of teases a WrestleMania match, your questions, and more!

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Mat Men: AEW Grand Slam preview, big WWE announcements

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Andrew Zarian & Rich Stambolian are back with a special episode of Mat Men previewing AEW Grand Slam, plus the latest in WWE.

AEW Grand Slam is taking place tonight in our backyard of Queens, New York, at Arthur Ashe Stadium. We break down the card and what matches we are looking forward to the most. We also give you a local perspective if you plan on going yourself.

WWE had some pretty big announcements this week with Survivor Series now featuring War Games matches and the Crown Jewel main event with Roman Reigns vs. Logan Paul.

We get into all that and talk a little bit about Monday’s Raw with the news of the Fight Pit returning and exactly what this White Rabbit stuff is all about.

Also, the guys do an extended Q & A session including bonus content featuring what our favorite gangster movie of all time is.

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Mat Men: The post-Vince McMahon WWE era begins, SummerSlam preview

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Andrew and Rich are back for another episode of Mat Men, talking about the latest pro wrestling news.

Watch on YouTube above or scroll down to listen for free.

Now that Vince McMahon has resigned from WWE, there was a lot of fallout this week, including Paul “Triple H” Levesque being named head of creative and WWE announcing the rewriting of financial statements to account for McMahon’s hush money payments.

SummerSlam is this Saturday and we run down the card and give our predictions. We also speculate what big moments might happen knowing HHH is booking the show.

ROH Death Before Dishonor was last Saturday when Claudio Castagnoli won their world championship from Jonathan Gresham…who then asked for his release after the show. We discuss the fallout and what it means for Gresham going forward.

AEW Dynamite focused a lot on getting younger talents over, including Jungle Boy and Ricky Starks both giving career-altering promos. We also look at the possibility of guys maybe wanting to go back to WWE now that leadership has changed.

Plus, we break down the card for the Ric Flair’s Last Match pay-per-view on Sunday, the newly-announced AEW Trios titles, your questions, and more!

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Mat Men: The next generation of wrestling stars has arrived

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Andrew Zarian and Rich Stambolian are back with another episode of Mat Men, discussing all the latest news in professional wrestling.

Just as we were set to record, a story about new allegations against Vince McMahon dropped via a new Wall Street Journal story. We try to break it down and give our thoughts on what this means going forward. Including the possibility of Vince being removed altogether.

WWE Money in the Bank was last Sunday and we discuss the fallout from the show including Theory winning the men’s MITB briefcase and Liv Morgan walking away with the SmackDown Women’s title. Will they give her a proper run?

We also give some late thoughts on the recent AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door pay-per-view and Blood & Guts from last week as Rich gushes over Claudio Castagnoli.

This week’s AEW Dynamite was another solid show that included Warlow winning the TNT title and being part of the next generation of stars in wrestling. Also, Jon Moxley defended his interim AEW title and Christian Cage is the new “hot” heel.

Also, we talk about Ric Flair’s Final Match card, ROH Death Before Dishonor, New Japan allowing cheering, your questions, and more!

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Mat Men: Major Vince McMahon allegations, Sasha Banks WWE release rumors

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlaptwBZz-s

On this edition of Mat Men, Andrew Zarian and Rich Stambolian are back after a week off to bring you the latest in pro wrestling news including what might turn out to be the industry’s biggest story in years.

Vince McMahon is being investigated by WWE’s board of directors for allegedly paying hush money to a former employee. What is the latest and what are the possible implications going forward?

Reports are coming out that Sasha Banks has been released by WWE. Although we don’t have any official confirmation, we discuss what’s next for Mercedes Varnado if this is true.

We break down Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite that featured a whole lot of Chris Jericho, haircuts, new alliances, and a heel turn we all saw coming. Also, we have thoughts on the Forbidden Door build as the pay-per-view is starting to take shape.

All this, your questions, and more! 

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Mat Men: The impact of Bullet Club in pro wrestling

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Today on Mat Men, Andrew Zarian and Rich Stambolian are back for another packed episode.

NXT had another round of cuts last week and the guys discuss who the surprises were and how frequent they think these cuts will happen.

NJPW had an eventful weekend between the announcement of the Best of the Super Juniors lineup and Wrestling Dontaku where the new-look Bullet Club emerged at the end.

Speaking of the Bullet Club, AJ Styles and Finn Balor aligned on Raw this week, connecting more lineage. We talk about the BC’s long-term effect on the business will be when it’s all said and done.

AEW Dynamite this week continued to build to Double or Nothing with some great Owen Hart Foundation Tournament qualifier matches. Also, William Morrissey (fka Big Cass) wrestled Wardlow and looked great in doing so which might have gotten the attention of other promotions.

All this, your questions, and more! Click to listen below or watch the video above.

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Mat Men: New AEW TNT champ, WWE stadium shows, Hangman vs. Punk

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Andrew and Rich are back for another packed episode of Mat Men talking about the latest news in pro wrestling.

WWE is planning on running more stadium shows going forward and Andrew breaks down their philosophy on why this makes sense.

The guys discuss WWE Raw from this week including Randy Orton’s 20th anniversary celebration and what is going on with Finn Balor.

Rich gushes over the New Japan/AEW Forbidden Door pay-per-view as they discuss what matches we might see. 

AEW Dynamite was last night and featured the main event of Double or Nothing being made official along with a new TNT champion after a wild ladder match.

All this and plenty of other shenanigans, your questions, and more. Click below to listen or watch on YouTube above.

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Mat Men: WWE WrestleMania 38 aftermath, Samoa Joe’s AEW debut

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On a special Friday edition of the Mat Men Podcast, Andrew and Rich are back to talk about one of the busiest weeks in wrestling in years.

WrestleMania had its share of surprises including a returning Cody Rhodes, a Steve Austin match in Saturday’s main event, and celebrities having better matches than expected. Also, we discuss what happened in the Reigns vs. Lesnar main event.

ROH’s Supercard of Honor featured one of the best matches of the year and the return of Samoa Joe. How will he be used in AEW and ROH?

Rick Steiner got inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame and was “abducted” all in the same week. All that while his son, Bron Breakker, regained the NXT title on Monday’s Raw.

We also recap AEW Dynamite which featured both another classic from FTR and maybe a new member for the House of Black?

We even break some news while answering your questions and get an unwanted visitor in the studio. Watch on YouTube above or click below to listen. 

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Mat Men: WWE WrestleMania 38 news, Bret Hart to AEW, potential CM Punk title chase

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Andrew Zarian and Rich Stambolian are back for another jam-packed episode of Mat Men.

This week, we continue to see the build to WrestleMania 38 as Kevin Owens might have given us the greatest troll job ever. We go into the build itself to his confrontation with Steve Austin and how we think it’s going given the storylines.

Seth Rollins lost his mind this week as he doesn’t have a path to WrestleMania which begs the question: where’s Cody Rhodes?

AEW and DDT have come to a partnership agreement. What does it mean and is it leading to their video library coming to an AEW streaming service?

We also discuss another great episode of Dynamite and the hints that we might be seeing Bret Hart return soon in AEW. Also, is CM Punk the next title challenger for Hangman Page?

All this, your questions, and more! 

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Mat Men: St. Patrick’s Day Slam

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We are back for another jam-packed episode!

Scott Hall passed away this week due to complications from hip surgery. We reminisce about his career and impact on the business. We also play “what if” on Hall never leaving WWE in 1996.

Big E suffered a broken neck in a scary scene on SmackDown, but it appears he got lucky and won’t need surgery.

AEW Dynamite last night saw the crowning of a new Women’s Champion in Thunder Rosa on a very exciting episode.

WWE continues to build to WrestleMania, despite stars like Seth Rollins being teased to be off the card. We discuss this, the lackluster build, and if it leads to Rollins facing Cody Rhodes.

Plus, thoughts on Raw, SmackDown, and NXT, your questions, and more!

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