The Rap On Wrestling

Are darker days upon us? Literally darker days. After Cody Rhodes got way personal during his confrontation with Jacob Fatu on SmackDown, will we soon see The American Nightmare return to his heel ways — when he used to sport black hair and turn his back on the fans? Regardless, heel or face, the team is divided on who will win and how as he takes on The Samoan Werewolf on Saturday Night’s Main Event. Meanwhile, the belt Cody used to hold — the Undisputed Championship, now being worn by Drew McIntyre — has a group of contenders a mile long, starting with Randy Orton, Trick Williams, Damian Priest, and Sami Zayn. Hear who we think will emerge from the pack victorious in the Fatal Four-Way No. 1 Contender’s Match on Saturday Night’s Main Event. SNME also features a Women’s World Tag Team match, as well as AJ Styles fighting an old foe, Shinsuke Nakamura. While our ROWP crew feels AJ will win tonight, we’re not so sure if he can beat the Ring General, Gunther, in their upcoming Royal Rumble match — where The Phenomenal One has his career on the line. Will AJ get put out to pasture before he can have his John Cena–esque, year-long retirement run? That’s the darkest outcome of them all.

MJF’s plate is fully loaded. He has a handful of competitors—Hangman Adam Page, Swerve Strickland, Samoa Joe, and now Brody King—all stepping up to challenge him for the AEW World Heavyweight Championship. Will we see another relatively short title run at the top of AEW, or does the current champ have the wherewithal to enjoy a long reign? We weigh in. Also, there’s a debate going on within our crew about whether playing hot potato with a world title makes a company’s main-event landscape look stronger or actually lessens the relevance of the strap. Over in WWE, we break down the flawless start CM Punk has had on Raw and why Jacob Fatu’s reemergence on SmackDown is poised to turn the title picture upside down.

Big things are on the horizon. Now that Drew McIntyre is the new Universal Champion, we’ll tell you what implications it has not just for the immediate SmackDown big-belt picture going into the Royal Rumble, but also WrestleMania in April. Cody vs. Jacob Fatu? We’re here for it, and our crew also smartens you up on why we think Oba Femi is not just the crown jewel of the recent call-ups, but why he’ll be a long-term difference-maker no matter which main roster brand he ends up on. On Raw, Bron Breakker lost his Heavyweight Championship match and was suspended indefinitely over two consecutive weeks. Despite his recent downturn, we break down why he’s still a main-event factor for the foreseeable future. Also, CM Punk vs. Finn Bálor is coming up, and our prediction is here as well.

New year, but it’s your same favorite crew. The ROWP family was in the building for the first WWE Raw of the year, and besides getting a chance to chop it up with the likes of Rey Mysterio, Penta, Je’Von Evans, Dragon Lee, and Ivy Nile, we kicked it with our homies DJs Juanyto and Pretty Lou. Juanyto and Lou are featured special guests on this episode as we talk about CM successfully defending his World Heavyweight Championship against Bron Breakker, Rhea Ripley and Iyo Sky winning the tag straps, and Becky Lynch taking her Women’s IC strap back. All that and some early predictions of dream matches we think we can see and where the WWE is headed in 2026.

There’s a lot to unpack this week, but nothing larger than John Cena’s retirement match. The ROWP family dissect Cena’s upcoming match against Gunther as well the how big of superstar Bron Breakker is building up to be. All that and more. Tune in now. Special cameo’s by N.O.R.E, Fabolous, Jadakiss, Kenny Smith, Speedy Morman, Stalley & Coremega.

A Lie: The “Survivor Series: WarGames” 2025 Review and Recap

A little late, but we are back. We hope everyone had a great holiday weekend. We spent it watching wrestling of course. But before we get to “Survivor Series 2025” let’s take a great look back to WWE’s Raw (Nov 17) and “Smackdown.” We were in the building full force for John Cena’s last time on Raw and last time wrestling at Madison Square Garden. We’ll recap our wild, Unforgettable experience.

Let the bodies hit the floor — and the flaming tables! This week in wrestling was pure chaos in the best way possible. From an impromptu WWE title match where John Cena made history again, to AEW featuring enough bloodshed to make a Leatherface get overcome with glee. AEW delivered a pay-per-view–level spectacle with “Blood And Guts” that just raised the stakes for WWE’s Survivor Series. Meanwhile, “Raw” served up an instantly iconic moment with their GOAT John Cena making the arena shake as he won the Grand Slam title that has eluded him in career, the Intercontinental Championship. On this episode, we break down all the carnage and championship drama. We get into why the AEW women flat-out stole the show, and why WWE’s women’s division is gearing up to do the same when the lights go bright at Survivor Series. Tap in — this week’s wrestling was wild, and we’ve got all the receipts.

In the words of the great philosopher Shawty Lo, “There must be two siiiiidddes!” Logan Paul went from heel to hero to victim and back to being bad—all in one episode of Raw.

The Brons put the kibosh on Paul’s World Title hopes (for now) and made the multi-media maven have a great epiphany: if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em. Now, with Logan aligned with The Vision, is he officially down with the clique, or just a temporary teammate for the upcoming WarGames?

Even more questions abound—if they are teaming for the next PLE, who else will join their squad, and what combination of babyfaces will they square off against? Jey Uso and CM Punk seem like locks for two their collective will have to fight. Hear our takes here.

Also, the ladies stay shining—we assess the state of play in the women’s division with some in-depth analysis of Jade Cargill, The Kabuki Warriors, and more. Keep it locked on The Rap On Wrestling Podcast.

The look, the talent, the charisma, the determination — Jade Cargill’s got it all. And now she’s fulfilled the prophecy, of winning the Women’s World Title. We break down what we’d like to see from her reign (hopefully a long one) and why a dream one on one with Bianca Belair should be held off until WrestleMania. We also show love to the woman Jade squashed for the strap at SNME, Tiffany Stratton. Despite back to back major losses to Jade and Stephanie Vaquer, Tiffy spent most of her time on top during an incredible 2025 campaign thus far.

Speaking of new champs, C.M. Punk is back at the pinnacle after beating Jey Uso for the vacated World Heavyweight Championship. We get into what’s next for Punk, and what direction Jey should go after taking such a tough loss.

 And of course, you can’t talk WWE without mentioning Roman Reigns. His shadow is still looming large, and our crew debates which title we’d like to see him go after when he returns — Cody’s or Punk’s.

lus, that big announcement about the upcoming tournament involving all WWE brands to decide who faces John Cena in the final match of his retirement run? Yeah, we’ve got thoughts. The ROWP family breaks down why this is a total game-changer and who we’d love to see compete for the honor of closing out The GOAT’s legendary career.