WWE After the Bell Podcast Episode #3 “Here Comes The Big Dog”

This was released on November 13, 2019

It is hosted by Corey Graves

Guests include Roman Reigns and Finn Balor

The run time is 57 minutes long

Graves once again talks about it being another crazy travel week in the WWE then talks about Survivor Series. He cannot wait for the Shinsuke Nakamura vs. AJ Styles vs. Roderick Strong match and promises it will deliver in the ring. However, he does talk about how the WWE could do the Survivor Series show better and recalls how the matches used to involve guys who had conflict and was not about the brands. Graves then questions if any WWE fan only has an alliance to one brand while saying he gets that NXT has more of a niche audience while talking about the brand supremacy stuff being not something fans can get into. Graves then talks about MLB making the All-Star Game have stakes and pitches the idea of whichever brand has the most wins have something like the #30 Entrant in the Royal Rumble Match or main event spot at WrestleMania instead and not something intangible like bragging rights. Graves then says as a wrestling fan he has no doubt the matches will be awesome but cannot be the only one that thinks there are too many titles in the WWE and make the matches winner take all to consolidate the belts into one title. He also says multi-man matches used to only occur at Survivor but you see multi-person matches almost weekly and they have lost their luster over time. He then talks about being excited for the show but could be more excited and how he gave constructive criticism without being negative in a way that made him seem like he was telling fans the proper way how to express their feelings about dissatisfaction with WWE. However, his criticisms here were perfectly valid although these have been expressed by fans throughout the past few years.

He now talks about how much he loves watching The Revival and his favorite matches to call in NXT were there’s against DIY. He then talks about the New Day and despite how they talk about never breaking up he feels that Big E needs to become a singles star and talks about his World Title potential. He also puts over Big E as one of the funniest human beings he’s met in his life.

Roman Reigns

Both guys talk about the crazy traveling they’ve done this year all around the world and Reigns talks about balancing that with his family life.

Graves asks Reigns about being the locker room leader and what that entails in 2019. Reigns talks about leading by example and gives the line of “selling in the ring, but not outside of it “and how you cannot sweat the small stuff and stay level-headed during tough times such as flight cancellations.

Reigns is now asked about experiencing the crowd reactions he has had during his career and how Seth Rollins is going through that currently and if he’s talked to Seth how to deal with the crowds. Reigns said they talked briefly but they are on separate brands and it makes it tough to talk on a regular basis. Reigns says that Rollins has all of the intangibles and knows how to carry himself then says to just continue to go out and bust your ass. Reigns talks about how loud the fans were who hated him but you have to remember that the people loyal to you will be there and tells Rollins to continue to performer at a high level.

They now talk about Baron Corbin and how he was not a favorite of anyone when he first arrived in FCW but worked hard and is now in a top spot. Graves asks Reigns about the next guy in the locker room he sees that can take a similar path and this just leads to a conversation about Corbin as we learned his nickname in FCW was “Football Tom” (real name Tom Pestock) and how back then they never would have thought he’d be in the main event of the European tour. Reigns also jokes Corbin got better after cutting his hair and getting rid of the TGI Friday’s outfit and how Corbin’s reactions make his job easier. Reigns then says there are a lot of guys in the locker room who are just a step or two away.

Graves now asks Reigns what is next since he has done just about anything and asks what “Joe” is looking forward to in WWE. Reigns talks about loving the crowd reaction and wrestling against his friends.

Unlike Rollins, Reigns is able to come across as a leader on a podcast. He never called out people on Twitter or blamed fans for getting booed and just said to keep working hard and remember you have people that are on your side too. He also talked about leading by example and no matter how hard things get to just relax and grind through as it will be worth it at the end. There was no shots at others or telling people to put on their “big boy pants.” Reigns always comes off as likable when doing media spots and this was no exception.

Graves mentions Randy Orton re-signing with WWE for five more years and calls him one of the all-time greats. He also says Orton can teach the young guys and still a valuable member of the locker room that can perform at a high level.

He then talks about watching Monday Night RAW. Graves says he’s a huge WALTER fan and loves Imperium but wanted Rollins vs. WALTER one-on-one. He also talked about the Viking Raiders being wasted on TV and calls their title reign a missed opportunity as they are both “outrageously” talented. However, feels that the triple-threat tag team match at Survivor Series could save the show.

Graves now talks about the Rusev/Lana/Lashley storyline and how he doesn’t care for it but people do since it gets high amount of YouTube views. He wants both Lashley and Rusev to fight and misses ice-cold Lana but despite all the complaining on Twitter its here to stay.

After a short break, Graves talks about the Women on NXT always delivering at Takeover shows and says its the best Women’s Division in WWE today. He calls Shayna Baszler the best female wrestler today.

Finn Balor

After reminiscing about their brief time together in NXT, Graves asks about his return to NXT. Balor said a few months ago he was not happy on RAW and Smackdown and talked with “Hunter” then took some time off. Balor said that asking for time off is almost taboo in WWE but he wrestled 172 matches last year, most of anyone in the company, and after 19 years wrestling all over the world he decided to take time off for himself and reassess where he was professionally and personally as he also mentions getting married.

Graves asks Balor about having injuries as Balor said he has always made the best of what he was given and had fun of RAW. Balor said he was guilty of not speaking up and talks about doing everything from your character and entrance by yourself then coming into the WWE machine is a big adjustment where you’re told what to say and do and said he was guilty of towing the company line and how that effected his performances and creativity as he was not believing what he was doing. He now talks about not playing ball and doing what he wants going forward and tired of pretending being something he is not.

Balor is asked what he could go back and change on RAW or Smackdown and why but said he wouldn’t change anything as they were all learning experiences.

He talks about how he only had about four matches in his first year on the main roster he was still learning and “green” to the WWE style. Balor talks about how its different than any other style and was learning while on live TV.

Balor laughs and says the NXT schedule is great and just happy to be back in the ring and the time away was great both physically and mentally. He also talks about only being in competition with everyone in NXT and not anyone else while saying the wrestling business loves the “us vs. them” mentality.

Graves brings up Balor learning to drive and how Dusty Rhodes took the credit for teaching him how to drive as it led to some story about Dusty taking a photo with Balor in a car. Balor said he grew up in a small town in Ireland where it was not a necessity to drive then when 18 he toured the world and wrestled.

On who he is excited to wrestle in NXT, Balor said he’d love to wrestle Adam Cole again. He’d also love to wrestle Johnny Gargano and Matt Riddle and puts over the roster for being “stacked.”

Graves now asks the odds of a reunion with the “Bullet Club” on WWE TV. Balor says people always want that to happen but they all talk off camera and wants to know if the tease of the reunion is better than trying to recapture the past. Balor said he’d personally rather create something new and fresh others would talk about.

Balor said a lot of WWE fans are probably surprised that he was a “villain” for the majority of his career and how there is only so much of a squeaky-clean babyface the fans can take and it easier to be the villain.

The main takeaway here was Balor saying he took time off to care for himself and that he suggested going to NXT due to unhappiness with his character direction on RAW & Smackdown due to being the smiling babyface for the past couple of years. It was at somewhat in character explanation of his current NXT persona. Not a bad listen but also nothing you need to immediately seek out.

Graves then talks about how grateful he is to have this awesome job in WWE and a great view throughout the company and how that is not expressed enough. Graves

Final Thoughts: After the first two weeks of yelling at fans who criticize the product and obsessing over Twitter reactions, this podcast was much tamer. Graves did criticize some of the current product although did mentions Twitter a few times but just not with the same amount of venom as the past. Reigns gave an interview that showed he is an actual leader and unlike his pal while the Balor stuff was forgettable although not as dull as Adam Cole’s performance last week. Wasn’t much to recommend here but this was much less grating than the past few podcasts.