WRESTLING SOUP

Joe and Anthony break down a chaotic Monday Night RAW, tearing into WWE's last-minute WrestleMania card-building in Madison Square Garden. From Dan Hausen's "merch goblin" gimmick to the rushed Oba Femi vs. Brock Lesnar build. They also dig into the Seth Rollins/Gunther pairing that came out of nowhere, Cody Rhodes getting embarrassed by Stephanie McMahon, CM Punk vs. Roman Reigns feeling backwards, and the overcrowded celebrity situation at WrestleMania. Plus, a tribute mention for Kevin Castle.

0:00 – Intro & WWE Building the WrestleMania Card Last Minute
0:54 – Is There a Reason WWE Holds the Card Back?
1:52 – Dan Hausen / The Merch Goblin Debate
5:01 – Dan Hausen as a Meme Wrestler & Internet Crossover
5:58 – WWE Signs Ricky Starks & Ethan Page
13:31 – MSG Raw Recap: Half the Mania Card Announced in One Night
14:32 – The Names on the Ring Canvas Stunt
17:50 – John Cena as WrestleMania Host — Desperation or Strategy?
20:16 – Seth Rollins vs. Gunther: Where Did This Come From?
42:17 – Oba Femi vs. Brock Lesnar: Rushed & Poorly Built
43:30 – "Obama vs. Barack Lesnar" & OBA's Potential Wasted
48:34 – Penta & Kofi / The WrestleMania Ladder Match Clusterfuck
49:27 – The Vision vs. The Usos & LA Knight Getting Buried Again
56:06 – Jelly Roll at WrestleMania: Does It Make Sense?
56:23 – Bad Bunny vs. Celebrity Wrestlers: Who Actually Works?
58:40 – The Celebrity Royal Rumble Idea
1:04:18 – Cody Rhodes Segment: Stephanie McMahon Slaps & Embarrasses Him
1:12:14 – Finn Bálor vs. Dominic Mysterio Promo
1:15:31 – CM Punk vs. Roman Reigns: Who's the Heel Here?
1:17:29 – Roman Should Be Younger to Sell the "Old Man Punk" Angle
1:20:39 – Raquel Rodriguez & Eo Sky Scare Moment
1:25:43 – Outro & Kevin Castle Memorial Tribute Mention @iamjondraper

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Anthony and Joe kick off with a wild story about a guy who returned an anime figure to eBay — covered in bodily fluids — and claimed "item not as described." From there the boys riff on WWE's $11,500 pasta dinner package at Clash in Italy, the growing list of AEW women who haven't wrestled in years, Ricochet's social media drama, the Bella Army's toxic fandom response, Willow Nightingale's thoughtful take on fan harassment, foot fetish culture, the Roman Reigns/CM Punk/Jay Uso mess on Raw, Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch launching a coffee brand, TKO's private equity stranglehold on WWE storytelling, and much more.

0:00 – Intro: The eBay anime figure return story
6:39 – WWE/MMA crossover: Ronda Rousey & CTE jokes
11:40 – WWE Clash in Italy: The $11,500 pasta package
14:21 – Which WWE Superstar is making the pasta?
26:40 – Breaking angel hair pasta as a heel spot
28:44 – Grayson Waller's match on Raw
29:40 – TKO's quiet releases & roster bloat
30:59 – Motor City Machine Guns wasted in WWE
34:23 – Oba Flair references Joe Rogan & Elon Musk
37:21 – Conspiracy theories used to be "cute"
38:32 – The "jizz" promo on Monday Night Raw
39:57 – The Bella Army responds to "most toxic fanbase" list
42:49 – Willow Nightingale on fan harassment & AEW security
44:33 – Tiffany Stratton's foot guys & the foot fetish community
46:48 – Pitch for a foot-fetish slasher movie: "This Little Piggy"
55:00 – Willow's thoughtful quote & wasted potential in AEW
57:14 – AEW women who haven't wrestled in years (Charlotte Renegade, Ruby Soho, etc.)
1:02:43 – WWE as private equity: nobody cares about storytelling
1:05:30 – JTG: the all-time king of doing nothing on a contract
1:06:37 – Chris Hero told Ricochet to delete the tweet
1:11:30 – The Usos promo mess on Raw: who's a heel?
1:14:56 – Theory: Jay Uso has a drinking problem storyline
1:16:50 – Roman Reigns cheered despite being a clear villain
1:17:59 – Gunther has no WrestleMania opponent
1:18:39 – Seth & Becky launch "Ammo Coffee"
1:20:43 – Roman & CM Punk WrestleMania build: Seth interference prediction
1:23:11 – WWE creative isn't bad — they just don't give a f***
1:29:59 – AEW as a bottomless money pit vs. WWE as a dried-up sponge
1:37:44 – Roman won't insult Punk's dog to protect his merch sales
1:39:17 – Outro & Patreon plug

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0:00 – Cold open / Anthony & Joe react to Dave Core; Johnny Ace autograph talk
13:57 – Official show intro: "Wrestling Soup, I'm Anthony Thomas, he's Joe Numbers"
14:10 – WrestleMania season talk
16:12 – AEW's latest PPV: "best PPV ever" discourse & death match wrestling debate
21:25 – WWE Night of Champions in Saudi Arabia — should it happen amid Middle East conflict?
36:59 – **Main Topic: Ricochet's Twitter controversy** — mocking a fan's MS diagnosis
40:30 – What prompted Ricochet's tweets? Full breakdown of the situation
56:29 – AEW's silence on Ricochet;
57:20 – Sean Ross Sapp defends Ricochet;
1:17:28 – **Ted DiBiase Jr. fraud case** — judge denies motion to dismiss; $3M stolen from Mississippi charities
1:25:13 – Wrap-up / outro; Gunther has no WrestleMania plans; tomorrow's Frank & Gus episode preview

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0:00 — Intro: Joe getting into the DanHausen thing; the show's chaos
0:58 — WrestleMania build losing steam; San Antonio crowd praise
2:15 — Randy Orton as the potential savior of WrestleMania's main event
2:50 — Stone Cold Steve Austin's no-show on 3:16 Day in Texas
5:34 — WWE's 31.6% ticket discount; bad sign for WrestleMania
7:07 — Las Vegas WrestleMania costs; hotel prices skyrocketing
8:18 — WWE slot machines; Whitney Houston jackpot story
10:59 — Road Dogg returning to the ring? OVW referee injury incident
14:43 — RAW recap begins; San Antonio crowd was the best of 2026
15:50 — Seth Rollins opener: henchmen, Brock Lesnar, Oba Femi breakdown
19:15 — Oba Femi vs. Brock: rushed booking; should've been saved for SummerSlam
20:53 — WWE's impatience problem: the "cookie" analogy
22:11 — WWE's new creative director from CBS/NHL background
26:52 — Oba Femi's Goldberg comparisons; concern about misuse
27:59 — Natty Neidhart vs. Maxine Dupree feud falling apart
31:24 — Becky Lynch vs. AJ Lee; Bailey discussion
35:00 — WWE's lack of blowoff matches; feuds never ending
40:23 — Roman Reigns' terrible promo vs. CM Punk; "old" insult from a 40-year-old
43:52 — Roman/Punk feud has no story; call for someone to turn heel
47:00 — "Make someone a heel, you cowards"; Punk as potential heel
49:16 — Roman's dentures; teeth jokes
54:11 — Oba Femi possibly tearing up after powerbombing Brock
55:37 — Wrapping up RAW; good matches (Stephanie Vaquer vs. Raquel); Latino appreciation night
59:23 — Ricochet segment; why making fun of him gets big views
1:03:05 — Sign-off; Patreon plug; see you Thursday

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2:00 – State debates: Oklahoma, Florida, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Idaho
8:00 – Mortgage situation & refusing to give up that 2% COVID rate
12:00 – BlackRock's rent-to-give-back communities / modern sharecropping
16:00 – Wrestling Soup intro
17:00 – Sol Ruca on Stephanie McMahon's podcast; toxic masculinity & male vulnerability in wrestling
24:00 – WWE's boomer creative problem & Kirsten's promotion to Raw writer
30:00 – Ricky Saints' concert segment pulled from YouTube (w/ clip)
37:00 – Zoe Stark promo comparison; conspiracy theory: creative sabotaging indie darlings
43:00 – WWE's financial machine vs. creative bankruptcy; WrestleMania apathy
50:00 – Nostalgia as WWE's only product (Blink-182 analogy, Reese's cups lawsuit)
55:00 – UFC vs. WWE audience divide; WWE trying to be Applebee's
1:02:00 – WrestleMania card breakdown: Dominik, Finn Bálor demon, Grande Americano
1:07:00 – WrestleMania Vegas attendance concerns; Wrestlecon ticket sales tanking
1:12:00 – WWE casino slot machine "Road to Gold" announced
1:18:00 – Idea for a "Why Did They Get Fired?" wrestling card game
1:22:00 – Dan Hausen debut/interview clip; WWE setting him up to fail
1:31:00 – Cody Rhodes losing momentum; Jar Jar Binks / Star Wars prequels analogy
1:37:00 – Sam Roberts' transformation; Joe Rogan's moral drift
1:42:00 – Dave Chappelle & Bill Cosby extended riff
1:29:00 – Sign-off / Patreon & Spitball Media shoutout

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