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Welcome to FANTASY BOOKING WARFARE! Our esteemed panel of judges Dave Bradshaw, and special guests Michael Oku and Nina Samuels will cast their votes to determine who among our contestants is the least terrible booker of fantasy wrestling in the land! This time, it is Pete Quinnell and Laurie Blake booking Logan Paul: WWE CHAMPION!
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Welcome to FANTASY BOOKING WARFARE! Our esteemed panel of judges Dave Bradshaw, and special guests Michael Oku and Nina Samuels will cast their votes to determine who among our contestants is the least terrible booker of fantasy wrestling in the land! This time, it is Pete Quinnell and Laurie Blake booking Logan Paul: WWE CHAMPION!
Logo designed by: Lee Wildgoose
https://www.instagram.com/leewildgoose/
https://goosecreativedesign.com/
SUBSCRIBE TO partsFUNknown: https://bit.ly/2J2Hl6q
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/partsfunknown
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/partsfunknown/
Buy wrestling merchandise here: https://www.wrestleshop.com/
Read more Feature content here on WrestleTalk.com: https://wrestletalk.com/features/
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SportsTranscript
00:00 Welcome to Fantasy Booking Warfare!
00:04 It is time for the final matchup of our preliminary round.
00:08 Oli, Luke, and Tempest have all advanced to the semi-final,
00:12 but now we must learn who will be the final man
00:15 to make it out of the mud and into the spotlight.
00:19 Pete Quinnell, Laurie Blake.
00:21 Who will score one lucky punch,
00:23 and who will get dumped in the bin
00:25 like an empty bottle of Prime?
00:27 It's time to find out as they try to book
00:30 Logan Paul, WWE Champion.
00:33 I'm Dave Bradshaw, and for the past 15 years,
00:36 I have been a play-by-play commentator
00:38 in British and European wrestling.
00:39 Off the top, missile dropkick!
00:41 Can he get it? Yes, he can!
00:43 He's the champion of the world!
00:45 I am the master of the half crab,
00:47 the current reigning undisputed
00:49 British heavyweight champion, Michael Oku,
00:51 and who better to tell you how bad things are booked than me?
00:55 (upbeat music)
00:58 I'm Nina Samuels, star of the Nina Samuels Show,
01:02 and here on WrestleTalk, because of course,
01:04 WrestleTalk needs more Nina.
01:06 - Today on Fantasy Booking Warfare,
01:14 we are planning for how Logan Paul
01:17 could become WWE Champion.
01:20 And first of all, we're gonna see how Pete Quinnell
01:23 would make that happen.
01:23 You guys ready?
01:24 - I am so ready. - Absolutely.
01:25 - Let's have a look.
01:27 - So, there is one tiny bit of admin
01:29 before this booking begins.
01:30 At WrestleMania 39, Cody Rhodes finished the story
01:33 and he beat Roman Reigns.
01:34 He just did it, okay?
01:35 I'm not sorry about it, it just makes the most sense.
01:38 Cody then immediately splits the belts
01:40 with the Universal title going to SmackDown,
01:42 and Cody keeping hold of the WWE title.
01:45 Cody then defends his belt against Brock Lesnar at Backlash,
01:48 Seth Rollins at Night of Champions,
01:49 Finn Balor at Money in the Bank,
01:51 as well as some title defenses on Raw
01:53 against Chad Gable, a debut in Carmelo Hayes,
01:56 and after Money in the Bank, Ricochet.
01:58 Meanwhile, Logan Paul,
02:00 following his loss to Seth Rollins at WrestleMania,
02:02 entered himself into the Money in the Bank match,
02:05 and at one point looked like he was going to win,
02:07 but was thwarted by Ricochet,
02:09 leading to a perfectly non-botched Spanish fly
02:12 through two tables on the outside.
02:13 Following Cody's successful defense
02:15 of the WWE Championship against Ricochet,
02:17 Logan Paul comes out to face down Cody after the match,
02:20 saying that the only reason
02:21 that he's not Mr. Money in the Bank right now
02:24 is because of Ricochet.
02:25 If it wasn't for him,
02:26 he'd have a title match whenever he wants,
02:28 and now that Ricochet's at the back of the line
02:30 of challengers, it's Logan's turn for a title shot.
02:33 Cody humors him, saying that, respectfully,
02:36 he's not a professional wrestler,
02:37 and this is a professional wrestling championship.
02:41 He's got talent for sure,
02:42 but he's not a professional wrestler.
02:44 Logan responds by saying that he doesn't need
02:46 to be a professional wrestler when he's a global megastar.
02:50 Cody fires back, saying that the love he feels
02:52 for professional wrestling runs through his blood
02:55 and is what helped him earn his title.
02:57 He loves professional wrestling so much
02:59 that when he left WWE, he started his own promotion.
03:03 Logan just sees this as promotional material.
03:06 But if he wants to learn
03:06 what professional wrestling really is,
03:08 then sure, he can have Cody teach him a lesson
03:11 at SummerSlam.
03:12 Logan Paul then beats Cody Rhodes at SummerSlam.
03:15 But of course, he won't be winning clean.
03:19 He only gets the win because of interference
03:20 from his brother, Jake Paul, who debuts at SummerSlam,
03:24 knocks Cody out after a ref bump with that one lucky punch,
03:28 and Logan crawls over for the pin.
03:30 Logan Paul is your new WWE Champion.
03:34 This establishes the new duo on Raw, Logan and Jake Paul,
03:38 and they are absolute dicks about it.
03:40 They come out week after week on Raw
03:42 and establish that professional wrestling is a dirty term.
03:45 They're not professional wrestlers, blech, gross.
03:48 They're global megastars.
03:51 The side plates on the WWE Championship aren't for Logan,
03:54 they're Prime logos.
03:56 He wears the belt upside down, back to front.
03:58 He takes it on his podcast
03:59 and hands it around like an accessory.
04:00 He shows it no amount of respect.
04:03 They get interrupted on one episode of Raw
04:05 by Logan Paul's first challenger, Johnny Gargano.
04:08 Gargano says that he's wanted to be a professional wrestler
04:10 since he was a kid.
04:11 Wrestling means everything to him.
04:13 He's even called Johnny Wrestling,
04:16 and he wants the belt to be back
04:17 on a professional wrestler once again.
04:19 A match is made for the following week's Raw,
04:21 which Logan retains due to, once again,
04:23 interference from Jake Paul knocking out Gargano.
04:26 Another wrestler steps up to the plate.
04:27 This time it's Chad Gable,
04:29 who talks about his entire history of amateur wrestling
04:31 on top of his professional wrestling career.
04:33 Logan responds with, "You competed at the Olympics,
04:36 "but you didn't even win a medal.
04:37 "All you've done since is try to find something
04:39 "to replace that failure
04:40 "because you're not a global megastar like we are."
04:44 Once again, Logan retains.
04:46 This time though, Otis neuters the Jake Paul interference,
04:49 but the distraction is enough for Logan
04:50 to take a swig of Prime, spit it in Gable's face,
04:53 and hit the one lucky punch to retain.
04:55 The pair continue to be obnoxious the following week's Raw
04:58 before they're interrupted by the undisputed
05:00 tag team champions, Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens.
05:04 The two talk about their history,
05:05 about how wrestling was the thing
05:07 that bonded them for life,
05:08 the thing that made these two soulmates find each other.
05:11 It's the thing that drove them to be champions,
05:13 and it's the thing that's finally going
05:15 to make Sami Zayn a world champion on the WWE main roster.
05:19 The two attack the Paul brothers, stand tall,
05:22 and the challenge is made for payback,
05:24 Sami Zayn versus Logan Paul.
05:26 During the match, it's slightly different this time.
05:28 Logan keeps trying his usual high spots,
05:31 the big crossbody to the outside,
05:32 the buckshot lariat, a big springboard 450,
05:35 and Sami keeps countering all of them.
05:37 He always outmaneuvers Logan
05:39 and grounds him with technical wrestling.
05:41 Logan grows more and more frustrated
05:43 until he gets his opening from Jake on the outside,
05:46 who distracts the referee and allows Logan
05:48 to take control with a thumb to the eye.
05:50 Kevin Owens runs down and equalizes Jake,
05:53 running him out of the arena,
05:54 but Logan catches Sami with a low blow,
05:57 hoofing him in the dick,
05:58 and then obnoxiously smiling all the while,
06:01 locks in a Fujiwara armbar, and Sami is forced to tap.
06:06 On Raw, Owens is irate, his best friend being cheated
06:10 out of being a world champion on the main roster
06:12 the first time, so he demands a rematch on behalf of Sami,
06:15 as his arm isn't healed enough to fight.
06:17 The match is made, and in the main event of the show,
06:20 Logan Paul puts his title on the line against KO.
06:22 Once again, KO is outwrestling Logan,
06:24 putting him in all sorts of holds
06:26 that he doesn't know how to get out of.
06:27 But behind the referee's back,
06:28 Logan takes control after a thumb to the eye.
06:31 In the finish of the match,
06:32 KO throws up Logan for a pop-up powerbomb,
06:34 which is countered by Logan on the way down
06:36 into a knee strike.
06:38 KO bouncesS off the ropes but fires back
06:39 going into the stunner,
06:41 but Logan grabs his arm as he sits down,
06:43 spins him around, and locks in the Fujiwara armbar
06:46 once again to force KO to tap out.
06:49 Logan and Jake continue to be dicks.
06:51 The next time Logan defends his belt,
06:53 it's at Fastlane, and winning a Fatal 4-Way
06:55 to determine the number one contendership is AJ Styles.
06:59 On Raw, Styles confronts Logan,
07:01 saying that "I've been wrestling for 25 years.
07:04 When I had my first match, you were three years old.
07:07 And in all that time,
07:08 I've never seen anyone show as much disrespect
07:11 to that title as you have.
07:13 You've got so much promise,
07:14 so much natural talent for this,
07:16 but you're wasting it
07:17 because your brother over here keeps telling you
07:19 you've got to be a global megastar
07:21 when you could be one of the best professional wrestlers
07:24 in WWE history."
07:26 Logan seems to falter slightly,
07:28 but Jake talks back,
07:29 saying that AJ has been wrestling for as many years
07:31 as he is old,
07:33 and yet he and Logan have accomplished more
07:34 than he ever has.
07:36 You see Logan give a quick look to Jake,
07:38 almost a flash of annoyance,
07:40 before he backs him up,
07:41 saying that AJ has never had what it takes
07:43 to be a global megastar.
07:45 In the match at Fastlane,
07:46 once again AJ is just outwrestling Logan,
07:48 getting him in holes that Logan doesn't know how to get out of,
07:50 and you can see Logan's frustration building.
07:52 Later in the match,
07:53 Styles locks in the Calf Crusher,
07:55 and Logan is writhing in pain.
07:57 Jake Paul tries to run interference,
07:58 he reaches his hand through the ropes,
08:00 trying to pull Logan to safety,
08:01 but Logan stares back at him.
08:03 A look of calm comes over his face,
08:05 and he shakes his head at Jake,
08:08 before he reaches back for AJ's head
08:09 and locks in a headlock,
08:11 forcing AJ to break the hold,
08:12 which Logan transitions into a guillotine choke,
08:15 and then transitions into a Fujiwara Armbar,
08:18 forcing AJ to tap.
08:19 He won,
08:20 and he won with professional wrestling.
08:22 Logan and Jake celebrate,
08:24 but Logan looks at Jake uneasily.
08:26 On Raw, Logan and Jake come out once more
08:28 to celebrate a successful retention,
08:30 and after more of their usual shtick led by Jake,
08:32 he turns to Logan and says,
08:33 "You know, it's so great,
08:35 it's so great you're still champion,
08:36 it's awesome,
08:37 why didn't you take my help?"
08:41 Logan pauses,
08:42 but before he can answer,
08:43 they're interrupted by this.
08:48 Imperium walks to the ring,
08:50 looks of concern across both the Paul brothers.
08:52 Gunther steps up to them at this point,
08:54 having beaten Honky Tonk Man's record
08:56 with the Intercontinental Championship,
08:57 and dropped his title to Sheamus
08:59 in an awesome encounter at Fastlane.
09:01 Gunther says that what Logan has done
09:02 to the WWE Championship is disgusting,
09:04 and anytime he steps into the ring,
09:06 he is tarnishing its legacy.
09:08 He is not a professional wrestler.
09:11 Logan and Jake try to talk back,
09:12 but they are immediately taken down
09:13 by Ludwig Kaiser and Giovanni Vinci,
09:16 and placed into submission holds,
09:17 not applied to do damage,
09:19 but just to tie up their legs and arms.
09:21 Gunther steps over them and leans down
09:22 towards Logan and says,
09:23 "I will rid the WWE Championship
09:25 of your infection,
09:27 and once again,
09:28 the mat will be sacred."
09:31 Imperium walks away,
09:32 and Logan looks uneasy,
09:33 not even able to maintain eye contact with Jake.
09:36 The following week,
09:37 there's a match between Logan Paul
09:38 and Giovanni Vinci,
09:39 the man who applied to submission
09:40 on him last week,
09:41 and behind both the referees
09:42 and Logan's back,
09:44 Jake Paul uses Logan's belt
09:45 to hit Vinci.
09:46 Logan wins with the one lucky punch,
09:48 and afterwards Jake can be seen
09:49 telling Logan what he did
09:50 while they celebrate,
09:52 and Logan goes from jubilant
09:53 to pissed off.
09:55 He walks out,
09:56 Jake walking half a pace behind him.
09:58 The week after,
09:59 it's Logan Paul vs. Ludwig Kaiser,
10:00 but during this match,
10:02 Jake Paul goes to cheat again,
10:03 because it's all he knows,
10:04 but this time Logan sees him,
10:06 shouts at him to leave,
10:07 which he does.
10:08 But Ludwig hits a huge running uppercut
10:10 from the distraction,
10:11 and pins Logan Paul.
10:13 After the match,
10:14 Logan, furious,
10:15 locks in a Fujiwara armbar
10:16 onto Kaiser.
10:17 On the go-home show,
10:18 Logan calls out Jake,
10:19 angry that he cost him his match last week.
10:21 Jake gets in Logan's face,
10:22 saying that he needs to sharpen up,
10:24 use his head,
10:25 we need this belt alright,
10:26 this is how we stay being global megasaurs.
10:29 Logan fires back,
10:30 "No," he says,
10:31 "we don't need it,
10:33 you do.
10:34 You need me to hold this belt,
10:35 because without me,
10:36 you'd be nothing in WWE.
10:37 I'm the one doing all the work,
10:39 I'm the one fighting,
10:40 I'm the professional wrestler."
10:42 They both stop,
10:44 a look of shock on both their faces.
10:46 Jake shakes his head in disbelief,
10:49 places his mic onto the mat,
10:50 and walks out.
10:51 Logan, still shocked at what he said,
10:54 watches as his brother walks out
10:55 for Gunther's music to play.
10:57 He stands on the stage,
10:58 smiling as Raw goes off the air.
11:00 At Survivor Series,
11:01 it's Logan vs. Gunther.
11:04 Logan on his entrance seems more focused,
11:06 has a lot less flashiness,
11:07 he just walks to the ring,
11:09 and the match begins.
11:10 Logan, during the course of the match,
11:11 holds his own in the technical aspect of wrestling,
11:14 matching Gunther in holds and counters at this point,
11:16 having learned everything from the other wrestlers he's faced on his journey here,
11:20 Johnny Gargano, Chad Gable, AJ Styles, Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens.
11:23 Gunther locks in a sleeper hold,
11:24 but Logan wrenches at the arm and counters it into a Fujiwara armbar,
11:28 which Gunther manages to escape from,
11:30 but not before sustaining heavy damage.
11:32 For the rest of the match,
11:33 Gunther has to chop with his weaker hand.
11:36 Later in the match,
11:37 there's another armbar in what looks like it could be the end of the match,
11:40 but Gunther manages to power out of it into a Powerbomb.
11:43 Logan gets to his feet,
11:44 and Gunther bites the bullet,
11:45 chopping Logan with his stronger hand at great detriment to himself,
11:49 and hits the big splash off the top rope for the 1, 2, 3.
11:53 Gunther is your new WWE Champion.
11:56 After the match,
11:57 Gunther celebrates and shakes Logan Paul's hand,
11:59 a mark of respect.
12:00 Logan shakes his hand,
12:01 a look of dejection on his face.
12:03 He leaves and isn't seen in WWE until the Royal Rumble,
12:06 and when he comes back,
12:07 he's still a heel,
12:08 but he now has a technical edge to his wrestling repertoire.
12:12 And that is how I would book Logan Paul as WWE Champion.
12:17 Ok, I can see pros and cons here,
12:20 but Michael what are you thinking?
12:22 I really like Global Megastar vs Professional Wrestling.
12:26 The fact that we've got how he wins it,
12:27 how he loses it,
12:28 I was like well told.
12:29 And I'm just thinking about how the fans would hate each bit as we go along.
12:33 But yeah, yeah, well told.
12:35 Logan Paul to me works best as a heel.
12:38 No one hears social media influencer and thinks,
12:41 "Yes!
12:42 Love that!"
12:43 Vince Giovanni to finish you one week.
12:44 The next week Ludvig Kaiser gets the win,
12:47 the pin on him.
12:48 Yes, that does happen.
12:49 And that seems to not mean anything for Ludvig Kaiser.
12:52 So Gunther gets the title match.
12:54 What about Ludvig Kaiser there?
12:56 He's WWE Champion, yeah.
12:58 Yeah, like Ludvig Kaiser should be ahead of the line.
13:02 That's where I've got a question with that doesn't really make sense to me.
13:05 I think the way that Logan and Jake have presented is exactly how they should be,
13:11 as annoying heels who are full of themselves.
13:13 When Logan Paul wins the championship,
13:17 that is a major mainstream moment of attention for WWE.
13:22 If you're the company you want to keep that momentum going
13:26 by having the first challenger be someone very, very high profile,
13:30 and no offence to Johnny Gargano, who I love,
13:32 but I'm not sure he's the pick for that.
13:36 Because surely you want something where the mainstream media
13:39 are going to continue to report on you.
13:41 You know, Brock Lesnar or whoever you can get.
13:43 You want to still have the big names.
13:45 You want someone where they already know the person.
13:48 I think that I have an issue with the stories
13:51 I'm going to being about the Paul brothers,
13:54 about Logan and Jake having dissension.
13:56 Instead of Jake Paul, you have the fans to bounce that off.
14:00 Is Jake the guy to be the foil for Logan there?
14:05 If he is the global megastar, he should want a Brock Lesnar,
14:09 Roman Reigns type championship schedule.
14:11 So I don't see that he would be wanting to prove himself.
14:16 Doing all the media interviews maybe,
14:18 but not necessarily turning up to the show.
14:21 He probably literally can't as well.
14:22 He probably is just literally that busy.
14:24 Yeah, I think I see it as that thing.
14:26 So especially if he's using it as an accessory,
14:28 he's spending all of his time doing every podcast,
14:31 every media interview, but he's not turning up.
14:33 And if he's turning up, he's just turning up with it
14:35 as an accessory, not defending it.
14:37 So I feel like it should really be the battle of the fans
14:40 are clamouring for him to defend it because he hasn't.
14:44 I mean, it'll be interesting to see when we talk to Pete,
14:47 if he can justify some of those things
14:48 that we have some concerns over.
14:50 We'll move on.
14:51 Yeah, we got another.
14:52 And we're gonna see how Laurie would book the same thing.
14:55 So this is Laurie booking Logan Paul as WWE champion.
15:00 Right, Logan Paul as WWE World Heavyweight Champion.
15:04 Do I have to?
15:07 I mean, nobody wants it.
15:08 Nobody, what, nobody, what,
15:09 can I book something more enjoyable?
15:11 Like I would feed my nads into a threshing machine.
15:15 The agonising slow death of the heat universe.
15:17 You know, I'll put the video.
15:19 I know, I know, I know.
15:20 Anywho, couple of things.
15:21 First of all, the WWE Championship
15:22 technically doesn't really exist anymore.
15:24 So I'm gonna do the World Heavyweight Championship instead
15:26 because that's more fun.
15:27 And two, to set the scene for my booking,
15:28 existential crisis, Kendall, named Logan Paul,
15:31 joins WWE's Mojo Dojo Casa House in June 2022,
15:35 just like in real life.
15:36 This is after, of course, making his appearances
15:38 at WrestleMania in 2021, getting stammered by Kevin Owens
15:41 and teaming with and being betrayed by The Miz
15:43 at Mania in 2022.
15:45 From there, things go as you would expect.
15:47 He still faces Roman at Crown Jewel in November
15:49 and loses.
15:50 He returns for the Rumble and gets his big old spot
15:53 against Ricochet.
15:54 He gets into the feud with Rollins,
15:56 costing him the match at Elimination Chamber
15:58 and eventually losing to Rollins at WrestleMania.
16:01 Now this brings us to money in the bank
16:03 in dear old London town,
16:06 where Paul, once again, without qualifying,
16:08 is ended into the ladder match,
16:09 much to the annoyance of everyone else
16:11 who had to actually, you know, fight for their spot.
16:14 And just like in reality, during that match,
16:16 Paul is sort of the whipping boy
16:17 and the foil for this host of Triple H faves.
16:20 He's the boo to the yeas for Butch, Shinsuke Nakamura,
16:23 Ricochet, Santos Escobar and Damian Priest.
16:25 And he's the boo to the yeah for LA Knight.
16:28 I will say that him and Rick don't botch
16:29 the Spanish fly spot in my booking
16:31 because we might as well tidy up
16:33 while we're here revising history.
16:34 Now the climax of the match, once again,
16:36 teases LA Knight's big moment.
16:37 He fends off assaults from Butch, Escobar and Nakamura
16:40 and starts the slow ascent,
16:41 only to be caught in a choke hold by Damian Priest,
16:44 who then slams him to the canvas,
16:46 jumping off the ladder in the process,
16:47 buckling to his knees as he lands.
16:50 So far, so like real life.
16:52 But this is just as Logan Paul vaults the ropes
16:54 and hits Priest with a curb stomp,
16:56 essentially stepping off the back of his head
16:58 onto the second rung of the ladder
16:59 and rapidly climbing to the top.
17:01 A quick pause to have a smug smile into the hard cam
17:04 as he gets to the top,
17:05 because no one is standing to challenge him.
17:08 He then unhooks the briefcase
17:10 and Logan Paul is Mr. Money in the Bank.
17:13 But that moniker doesn't last long,
17:16 because later in the show,
17:17 as Seth Rollins faces off against hometown hero,
17:19 if we forget about borders and history, Finn Balor,
17:24 Paul comes out to ringside, briefcase in tow.
17:26 Now the presence of the internet's biggest dickhead
17:29 manages to play mind games with both Balor and Rollins,
17:31 who are collectively thrown off their games,
17:33 being distracted by Paul on the outside,
17:35 hesitating before hitting their finishes,
17:37 giving the other the chance to counter.
17:40 And finally, Rollins gets the upper hand,
17:42 knocking Balor down and lining up for the stomp,
17:44 only for Paul to slide the briefcase into Balor,
17:47 which comes to a stop directly beneath his head.
17:51 Now there's a momentary hesitation on Rollins' part
17:53 that gives Balor the chance to move out of the way
17:54 of the stomp as it comes down.
17:56 Rollins' foot slams into the briefcase
17:59 and he crumples to the floor, holding his ankle.
18:01 Now Balor seizes the opportunity,
18:03 climbs to the top rope and comes crashing down
18:05 with the coup de grace.
18:06 One, two, wham!
18:09 Balor is rocked by a springboard diving punch from Paul,
18:13 who scoops up the briefcase, hands it to the referee
18:15 before stacking up Balor and Rollins for the pin.
18:18 One, two, three, and new WWE World Heavyweight Champion,
18:23 Logan Paul.
18:26 It's the darkest timeline, it's the darkest timeline.
18:28 And yes, John Cena saying that they would bring
18:30 WrestleMania to London might now be the only way
18:32 to win back the UK fans.
18:34 You're gonna have to do it, guys.
18:36 So on the following Monday's Raw,
18:37 Logan Paul makes his entrance to a chorus of boos
18:40 and he is being a dickhead turned up to 11.
18:43 He's plugging his podcast into the camera,
18:45 he's swinging from a bottle of Prime,
18:47 he gets on the mic and he says,
18:48 "Don't think I didn't hear you on my way out.
18:51 "I get that you're unhappy.
18:53 "I get that you think I screwed Finn Balor out
18:56 "of an opportunity he has had owed to him
18:58 "since he had to vacate the Universal Championship.
19:01 "And I know that you think that I did one over
19:05 "on Seth Rollins, the guy who put this company on his back
19:08 "time and time again.
19:11 "And that's the thing, you can call this what you want.
19:12 "You can say that I'm undeserving.
19:14 "You can say it's the new heist of the century.
19:17 "You can boil it all down to just one lucky punch.
19:21 "But I know the truth.
19:23 "And the truth is that I'm the WWE World Heavyweight Champion
19:28 "in my first year in this company
19:31 "without years of training.
19:33 "I made moments talked about on social media
19:35 "by millions of people.
19:36 "And I didn't have to spend years grinding away
19:39 "on the indies to do it.
19:41 "And that just eats you guys up.
19:45 "It eats you up that WWE could see my natural talent.
19:48 "But I came in at the level I deserve to be at
19:50 "and then I turned out to be better than you thought.
19:54 "Better than Knight, better than Balor,
19:57 "and better than Rollins.
19:59 "And I'm willing to prove it.
20:00 "Because anyone who wants a piece of the champ,
20:02 "any former indie darlings
20:04 "who think they've been grinding away for years
20:06 "without being given an opportunity to go big time,
20:09 "now's your chance to take your shot."
20:13 (imitates gunshot)
20:16 It's the bullet bouncing sound.
20:18 It's a ricochet.
20:19 'Cause out walks the one and only.
20:21 And he lays down a challenge for Logan at SummerSlam
20:24 saying that he is just as athletically gifted as Paul.
20:26 And he's made just as many moments
20:28 shared by millions on social media.
20:30 And the only difference is his most vile moments
20:33 don't leave him having to make a public apology.
20:36 (crowd cheering)
20:38 So Rick is gonna take the heavyweight championship
20:43 off of Logan before he does something to disgrace it.
20:48 Now the match at SummerSlam is the expected spot to be loser
20:51 with Paul and Rick matching each other move for move,
20:53 flip for flip.
20:54 The only difference being the minutes of showboating
20:56 between each athletic marvel from Paul.
20:58 Now in the closing stretch,
20:59 Ricochet runs to the ropes for his springboard moonsault,
21:01 but midair, Paul clocks him with a surgically repaired hand
21:05 with that 40 millimeter metal screw in it
21:07 and goes straight into the pin.
21:09 One, two, three, Logan Paul retains
21:13 the World Heavyweight Championship.
21:14 Logan continues to leverage his unnatural advantage
21:17 over the coming months,
21:18 beating Kevin Owens at Payback,
21:19 Sami Zayn at Fastlane,
21:21 and Johnny Gargano at Survivor Series
21:23 with variations on the knockout punch.
21:25 Indy, darlings, all.
21:27 Bam, bam, bam.
21:28 Then we reach the Royal Rumble
21:29 and who should enter the match at number one?
21:33 But young Codicious Rhodes, the previous year's winner.
21:36 A man with a story to finish
21:38 and someone who has toiled for years
21:40 to get any sort of opportunity in WWE,
21:43 which is why he's not winning here.
21:44 Because Cody goes the distance.
21:45 He finds himself in the final few,
21:47 even after a particularly vicious beating
21:49 at the hands of Gunther,
21:50 who is out for revenge for the previous year's upset.
21:52 And the countdown starts as number 30 is about to come in.
21:56 (imitates buzzer)
21:57 Out walks Maxwell Jacob Friedman.
22:02 A man whose contract with AEW came up in January 2024
22:05 and who has said repeatedly that he will go to the company
22:08 with the deepest pockets come the time.
22:10 How are we gonna beat a dickhead like Logan Paul
22:13 with an even bigger dickhead?
22:15 It's like how you beat a kaiju,
22:16 you get another kaiju, but dicks.
22:18 Cody looks like he's seen a ghost
22:20 as his former protégé swaggers to the ring.
22:23 Both men work to throw the last few entrants out
22:25 until it is just the two of them.
22:27 And then we finally get the Cody and MJF face-off.
22:31 Now Cody shaking himself out of his stupor
22:33 does the honorable thing and offers his hand
22:35 for MJF to shake, which he does.
22:37 But he swings his leg for Cody's nethers.
22:41 I need to be caught by a quick thigh squeeze though,
22:42 because Rhodes ain't falling for that one again.
22:45 That means the brawl is on with Cody gaining the upper hand
22:48 and looking for crossroads,
22:49 but MJF manages to fight up back to his feet.
22:52 And then he mule kicks Cody in the plums.
22:55 He then picks him up.
22:56 He hits his double cross before winging Rhodes out
22:58 over the top rope.
22:59 Pointy, pointy, siney, siney.
23:01 MJF is in WWE and MJF is getting a WrestleMania.
23:06 MJF then appears on Raw to address which title
23:09 he would like a shot at at Mania.
23:11 And he says that not only is he someone
23:12 who's worked his ass off to get into this position,
23:14 but unlike Zayn, Owens and Ricochet,
23:18 he's a once in a generation talent.
23:20 He's better than all of them.
23:23 And he's better than Logan Paul.
23:25 He says, Logan, I'm more athletically gifted than you.
23:28 I'm more talked about in wrestling than you.
23:30 I make more money doing this than you.
23:33 I am all around better than you.
23:36 And I'm gonna prove it when I take
23:38 the World Heavyweight Championship from you.
23:41 Now over the coming months, the pair exchange words
23:43 culminating in a contract signing just before Mania,
23:45 which inevitably breaks down into a brawl
23:47 and sees MJF continually locking Paul into a clinch,
23:51 just like Logan did in his boxing match with Floyd Mayweather.
23:54 Because even when it comes to annoying the fans,
23:56 MJF is better than you.
23:58 It's WrestleMania, baby, woo!
24:01 And Logan Paul versus MJF hits the ring.
24:03 It's the clash of the dickheads.
24:05 And it is exactly as you would expect.
24:07 Two gifted athletes putting on a showcase of their skills
24:10 with plenty of (beep) housery
24:12 in all of the moments in between.
24:13 There's dirty tricks and deeds abounding from both guys
24:16 and then right up to a finale,
24:18 which sees Paul gain the upper hand,
24:20 finally lining up for his one lucky punch.
24:24 But MJF slips something out of his trunks, a diamond ring.
24:29 He slips it onto his finger and he swings a counter punch.
24:33 Their knuckles meet in the middle, explosion.
24:36 The world shatters, or at least Logan Paul's does.
24:40 As he crumples to the ground, holding his hand,
24:42 screaming in pain, as if the metal screw in his hand
24:45 has shattered in the process.
24:46 MJF quickly chucks his ring,
24:48 locks in the sword of the earth,
24:49 bending Logan Paul's hand back as he does so.
24:52 And Logan taps.
24:55 MJF is the new World Heavyweight Champion.
24:58 Logan Paul's reign of terror is over.
25:02 We never have to talk about it ever again.
25:05 We can just wipe this from history,
25:07 delete this video from the internet.
25:10 We'll just never talk about it.
25:11 This was a waste of 10 minutes of my time.
25:14 And as the four exercises go, it was a bad one.
25:17 I didn't enjoy this.
25:19 I didn't enjoy having to do that.
25:21 It was not fun.
25:22 All right, bye.
25:25 - Well, I enjoyed it.
25:25 I respected the going out of the, like, you know,
25:28 the MJF thing, like, something I didn't see coming,
25:31 as in like, yes, actually,
25:32 let's really push out the boundaries.
25:34 - It's a cool moment, cool rumble moment.
25:36 - Yeah, yeah, yeah, 100%.
25:37 And also the whole, like,
25:38 let's have Logan Paul beat all the indie darlings.
25:41 Let's just really anger the fans,
25:43 the hardcore fans, especially, as much as possible.
25:45 - Although it's the same problem in a way,
25:47 is that it's not really facing the high-
25:49 - Yeah, it's the same problem as the last one, yeah.
25:52 Although I guess with this one,
25:53 it was, they're specifically put in that position
25:56 for the purpose of it being the indie darlings,
25:59 not just people who happen to have been put
26:01 in that position.
26:02 I like the way he's winning.
26:04 Like, I think the money in the bank
26:06 is the perfect way to me
26:08 that he should win the championship.
26:11 - Yeah, if you had to say classically,
26:13 well, what sells a big high-profile WrestleMania match
26:17 more than dickhead versus dickhead?
26:20 Like, it's not really, is it?
26:21 You know what I mean?
26:22 A heel versus heel dynamic where it's like-
26:25 - Yeah. - You want Brock.
26:26 - Yeah, I mean, I want-
26:28 I want either someone very well-known
26:31 or I want someone who's so likable,
26:34 you know, in contrast to Logan Paul being so unlikable,
26:38 that that's the dynamic.
26:39 It's almost like they're trying to out-heel Logan Paul,
26:42 both of them.
26:43 Is it, are we really building,
26:45 we're making Logan Paul more and more unlikable
26:48 month after month after month
26:50 to have him beaten by someone who is also unlikable?
26:53 Not sure.
26:54 I would need it justifying to me.
26:57 - Yeah. - I think that's it.
26:58 - Which I think is exactly what we need.
27:00 - Yes, I think so.
27:01 - On that note, guys,
27:02 you want to bring Pete and Laurie in?
27:04 Pete's joined us.
27:05 - Hello. - Laurie's joined us.
27:07 Thank you, gentlemen, both of you,
27:08 for your efforts on how you would put Logan Paul
27:11 as WWE champion.
27:12 - Why is Michael already writing?
27:14 - He just, he likes to take notes.
27:15 - I'm just trying my pen out.
27:17 It's actually a bit faint.
27:19 It's a bit faint.
27:20 - Thought we got a chance to like make a case.
27:21 - Really faint.
27:22 - Mike was already writing names.
27:23 - That's not fair.
27:24 He hasn't even had a chance to defend himself.
27:25 - I don't like the way you were kind of pointing towards me
27:27 when you said that.
27:28 - Well, it's funny you say that, Pete,
27:29 'cause I'll come to you first.
27:30 - Okay, yeah.
27:31 - We looked at your version first,
27:33 so we have some questions.
27:35 - Okay.
27:36 - Go through your logic on how the reign begins.
27:39 - Think of the heel heat, brother, is essentially it.
27:44 Cody finishes a story, right, at WrestleMania.
27:46 Beyond that, Cody can have a decent little reign.
27:48 He's got a good few defenses on Roran at pay-fuse
27:51 and stuff like that.
27:51 It's a solid reign,
27:53 but you don't need a massive long Cody reign,
27:56 because the thing is he's won it.
27:58 That's Cody's story.
27:59 He has a solid reign.
28:00 It's not a bad reign.
28:01 It's not a short reign.
28:02 Logan Paul wins when no one expects it.
28:03 Think of the heel heat, brother.
28:05 - Oof, heat.
28:07 (laughing)
28:08 - Now, talk us through your thought process
28:11 behind choosing Logan Paul's first few opponents.
28:15 - I think that on the surface,
28:18 he is a very good sports entertainer.
28:21 He's very naturally gifted athletically in the ring,
28:25 but he might lack a slight technical edge to his offense,
28:28 a subtle psychology of things he might not get.
28:30 - You had Johnny Gargano as the first one, right?
28:32 - I sure did, yeah.
28:33 - Okay, talking about specifically Johnny Gargano
28:34 as the first one.
28:36 - Because Johnny Gargano in current 2023
28:40 is not the huge mega star that he was in NXT.
28:43 He's kind of just a guy currently, which is a shame.
28:46 I love Johnny Gargano, wish he had more,
28:48 but currently he's mid to lower card
28:52 and he can cut that fiery promise,
28:53 say I'm Johnny wrestling
28:54 and he can get over the wrestling aspect of it.
28:56 - Okay, so Logan Paul's just won the championship,
28:59 which presumably is a massive mainstream moment
29:02 in terms of media attention for WWE.
29:06 And in order to maintain that momentum
29:09 and to try and keep that story in the news,
29:12 you've gone for the next opponent to be someone
29:14 who by your own admission is just a guy.
29:17 - On Raw, not at the next pay-per-view.
29:20 - So within a pay-per-view,
29:22 you're gonna get a guy from just a guy
29:23 by him just saying, I'm Johnny wrestling
29:25 to be the number one contender for the WWE championship.
29:30 - Yeah, that's how it works.
29:31 - On a Raw. - On a Raw, yeah.
29:34 - So Logan Paul is doing his first title defense on Raw.
29:38 - On Raw, absolutely, yeah.
29:40 - Stone Cold Steve Austin.
29:41 - Uh-huh. - Okay.
29:44 - Interesting.
29:47 - It makes perfect sense to me.
29:47 Think of the narrative.
29:49 - Okay, Johnny wrestling.
29:50 - Yeah. - That's enough.
29:52 - Okay.
29:53 - Write that down.
29:54 - Yeah, I'm writing that down, yeah.
29:55 - That's the narrative.
29:56 - Again, this is no show to Johnny wrestling, just.
29:58 - No.
29:59 - From our perspective, it's a choice.
30:01 - Yeah. - As a first.
30:02 - Yeah. - No, it's not about his talent.
30:04 It's about how he's been presented over time.
30:06 - Yeah. - You said it.
30:08 - Jake and Logan as the power duo of WWE,
30:12 that's your mainstream appeal.
30:14 Their opponents, while it fits for the story
30:17 and the narrative for when Logan does lose the bell,
30:19 it's not the primary source.
30:20 You don't need to be getting the clicks
30:22 because of his opponent.
30:23 It's not that that's gonna draw it.
30:24 And when Gunther does eventually win,
30:27 that is still gonna be a big deal
30:28 because he's the guy that finally dethroned Logan Paul
30:30 down the line.
30:31 - Do you remember Ron Rousey's last women's title ring?
30:34 - No, 'cause it was bad and it was poorly booked.
30:38 Yeah. - Yeah, poorly booked.
30:39 - It was poorly booked.
30:40 (laughing)
30:43 'Cause it didn't make any sense.
30:45 There was no story to it.
30:46 - What, her opponents or?
30:47 - Yeah, her opponents, the way they were booked.
30:49 - Just probably weren't up to snuff
30:50 in terms of someone who had such a mainstream appeal
30:52 coming in, just kind of as she was there longer,
30:55 it just went down and people stopped watching.
30:58 - Speaking of things that didn't make sense.
31:00 - Uh-huh.
31:01 - Logan Paul beats Giovanni Vinci.
31:03 Then Ludwig Kaiser beats Logan Paul.
31:07 - He does.
31:07 - Where's his title shot?
31:08 - You don't get an automatic title shot, not in my world.
31:10 Not in this fantasy sport.
31:11 You know you get a title shot just for beating a champion.
31:12 - For pinning the champion?
31:14 - The WWE champion.
31:14 - Pinning the WWE champion?
31:17 - No, Triple H. - Absolutely not.
31:18 - Vince McMahon.
31:20 Jinder Mahal.
31:21 (laughing)
31:22 That championship.
31:23 - That championship right there, yeah.
31:24 - You do not get a title shot.
31:27 - You know what?
31:28 I'm gonna challenge Gunther afterwards.
31:31 Makes perfect sense.
31:32 - It's a really good thing you can't see these notes.
31:34 - Yeah, they seem quite extensive.
31:35 Quite nervous.
31:36 - The good part about this, I think,
31:37 is that you do a good job of presenting Logan and Jake Paul
31:41 as the assholes who everyone wants to hate.
31:44 But essentially, you're spending most of the title reign
31:46 establishing that Logan Paul is very unlikable
31:50 and you can't wait for him to get his comeuppance
31:52 at the hands of the conquering hero.
31:55 And then you've chosen a heel.
31:58 - He would turn babyface as part of this.
31:59 - Okay, so you're saying--
32:00 - Gunther would be babyface.
32:01 - So this would be how he turns.
32:03 - Yes.
32:03 - Do you think that's risky?
32:04 - Every time he gets the ring,
32:05 everyone's like, "This guy's amazing.
32:07 "Please let us watch him more."
32:09 People will be ready to cheer him.
32:10 If WWE presented him as a babyface,
32:12 people would absolutely cheer him.
32:13 - I completely agree.
32:14 I thought you were talking about building to a title match
32:17 between Logan Paul and Jake Paul
32:19 because what you kept referring to was looks.
32:21 They keep looking at each other.
32:22 Looks, looks.
32:23 And finally, Jake Paul kind of turns on Logan Paul,
32:25 leaves him for dry.
32:27 So were you not accidentally booking a feud
32:30 between Jake Paul and Logan Paul that never happens?
32:32 - Amen, they could totally do that.
32:34 I only had 10 minutes.
32:35 - You say.
32:37 - So you're blaming the parameters of the competition
32:39 and blaming production for this.
32:41 - It's a bold move.
32:42 - I'm just saying that they can totally do that
32:44 without the title.
32:45 That feud does not need the belt.
32:47 And this was about the title reign.
32:48 - So you're a booker who's not really responsible
32:50 for the booking.
32:51 - It's boring.
32:53 - Yeah.
32:53 - And Logan Paul's still the heel.
32:55 So if Gunther's the babyface,
32:56 that means Logan Paul is still the heel.
32:58 - Still the heel.
32:59 - Despite the fact that he's wanting to prove himself
33:01 and how good of a wrestler he is.
33:03 - He has a sympathetic edge, yes.
33:05 But he's not a babyface.
33:06 - Is he a tweener?
33:08 - You could say that.
33:08 - Whoa.
33:09 (laughing)
33:12 - He said it.
33:15 He said it.
33:17 - No further questions.
33:18 - Okay, move on.
33:19 - All right.
33:20 - I've had enough.
33:21 - Laurie.
33:22 - Hello.
33:23 - First of all, what was interesting to me was that
33:26 you said you wouldn't do this in an ideal world, right?
33:29 - Yeah.
33:30 - So before we get into what you chose to do,
33:32 why is it, just out of interest here,
33:35 that you actually think this is a bad idea
33:37 to have Logan Paul as champion?
33:38 - Well, I just think he's trash, mostly.
33:43 I think he's irredeemable.
33:45 He continually (beep) up over and over again.
33:47 And he would be someone who would probably bring disgrace
33:51 to the championship pretty quickly
33:53 because he would do something outlandish.
33:55 I mean, he's literally in WWE right now,
33:57 embroiled in a quite large bit of backlash
34:01 about Prime Energy Drink.
34:02 - Sounds like good heat, right?
34:04 - Think of the heel heat, brother.
34:05 - The heel heat, brother.
34:06 - That's what I'm saying.
34:06 - Well, that's what we're using when we have booked it.
34:09 Nobody wants it, but I booked it.
34:11 - You choose to have him win Money in the Bank
34:14 and go on same night, right?
34:16 To cash in the Money in the Bank.
34:18 Why that as a way of making Logan Paul champion?
34:22 - Because it's cheap and it's opportunistic.
34:24 You want it to be cheap for him to win here
34:27 because I want it to feel like the whole point
34:30 of this story is he's saying the whole time,
34:32 "I've got this natural talent.
34:33 "I came in at the level that I was supposed to be at."
34:35 But actually, he's taking the easy way out
34:38 every single time.
34:39 - Why did you go MJF?
34:40 - Well, mostly because I just thought
34:42 who would beat the biggest dickhead,
34:45 an even bigger dickhead?
34:46 Is that's the only way to do it in my head.
34:48 And I think the thing with MJF is he's always teased
34:52 coming across the WWE if the money's right.
34:54 I feel like it seems like the next logical step
34:56 for his career.
34:58 And I think Logan Paul, you can do a kind of
35:02 a wrestler rises up through the ranks and beats him
35:04 or someone who's just on the right side of good comes in.
35:07 But MJF is an option here.
35:09 He gets to continue to just be the MJF character
35:11 that everybody loves to hate.
35:13 And he's against the perfect person to do that
35:15 without actually having to go baby face here
35:18 in this scenario because everyone wants to watch
35:19 Logan Paul fail.
35:21 - So you're essentially saying it wouldn't be
35:24 heel versus heel.
35:25 It would kind of be baby face versus heel.
35:26 - I think people would receive MJF as baby face.
35:30 But I think he could continue to be the heel character.
35:32 He could still slag off the crowd.
35:34 He could still, as long as overall,
35:37 it all loops back into Logan Paul and taking him down.
35:41 I think people will be on his side regardless.
35:42 - Do you not think that then a better challenger
35:46 or the person to actually dethrone him
35:49 would be someone that people would know for sure
35:51 is gonna mess him up like Gunther, for example?
35:55 - I think that's a very valid point.
35:56 I just wanted to go in a different direction.
35:58 Ultimately, I thought this was the more interesting
36:00 and appealing story to me personally.
36:02 I do think the kind of the obvious choice
36:04 would have been a Gunther or somebody like that,
36:06 but that's not what I wanted to do.
36:08 - I think that's given us quite a lot to think about.
36:10 - I think so.
36:12 - Sounds like MJF would be a tweener
36:14 in that story over there.
36:15 - I don't think he'd be acting like one.
36:18 - I don't think he'd be.
36:19 Some people might receive,
36:20 some people who say the word tweener
36:22 might receive him like a tweener.
36:24 - I didn't say the word.
36:26 I said some people would.
36:27 Didn't say I would.
36:28 - You said it earlier.
36:29 - Let me stop using that one, please.
36:30 - In the interests of Michael's health,
36:32 I think you both need to stop saying the word tweener.
36:34 - Please.
36:36 - And what we're gonna do instead
36:37 is what we have done with all of these quarterfinals,
36:40 and that is to have each of you
36:42 give a final closing statement
36:45 as to why you think it should be you
36:47 who goes through to the semifinals.
36:49 - I think that in modern wrestling,
36:52 you look at like the Bloodline story,
36:53 you look at MJF and Adam Cole,
36:54 what people want are these rich characters
36:57 who have a coherent story
36:58 that people can buy into week on week.
37:00 And this is a story of Logan Paul learning wrestling.
37:02 It is a coherent story from start to end,
37:04 and it will make for more interesting characters
37:06 by the end of it, and it makes Gunther a star.
37:08 - Well, first of all, can I just say,
37:09 Nina, big fan of your work.
37:10 Michael, huge fan of your work.
37:12 Dave, I'm always impressed at how many
37:14 monsorenergy drinks you can drink in a day.
37:16 My story is obviously a different direction.
37:19 Nobody wants to see Logan Paul succeed.
37:21 This is a situation in which you can use him
37:23 to foster as much heat as possible
37:25 to then bring in a new star and put them over huge.
37:30 This is all a launch pad for MJF, this entire storyline.
37:34 I refuse to give Logan Paul any semblance of humanity,
37:37 any kind of like the villain learns to be good.
37:40 Keep him the villain, that's what people want to see.
37:42 They want to watch him fail.
37:44 Let's have him fail in a really big way
37:45 against an even bigger dickhead.
37:47 - I think we've heard enough.
37:48 If you two could both just sit and contemplate
37:51 what you've done, we will also sit and contemplate
37:54 who we think should go through to the semifinals.
37:56 (dramatic music)
37:59 (dramatic music)
38:02 - Gentlemen, we've made our decision.
38:22 And first up to reveal his choice, Michael Oku.
38:26 - Thank you, thank you Dave.
38:28 My choice, I think this is one of the most
38:32 interesting ones to do,
38:33 one of the most interesting things to book.
38:36 So much so that as it was happening in real life,
38:40 I was kind of fantasy booking myself.
38:42 Like what would I do if Logan Paul
38:45 were to win the WWE title?
38:47 And so I think I honestly just went with something
38:49 that was closest to what I would do,
38:52 as well as one that really decides to be adventurous
38:55 with the fantasy aspect.
38:57 So that is why I choose Logan.
38:59 (dramatic music)
39:02 - All right.
39:03 Both of these are flawed.
39:04 (coughing)
39:07 There's not-
39:07 - I think we discussed this.
39:08 - They're not perfect, let's face it.
39:10 But you know, perfection is not what we're looking for.
39:13 We're looking for a general vibe, a general feel.
39:16 And for all of our harsh questioning,
39:20 I think both of them did have their strengths as well.
39:23 Overall, it comes down to who I think
39:26 tells the better story in the middle.
39:29 And despite my misgivings about some of the choices
39:33 of people to fill different roles,
39:35 I've gone with Pete.
39:37 - This was a very difficult decision
39:43 because I didn't like either of them, to be honest.
39:46 (laughing)
39:49 Neither would be how I would have booked it.
39:51 I think there was some massively missed opportunities.
39:54 So yeah, it was just a case of which one I disliked less.
39:58 Pete, yours had probably more bits in it that I liked,
40:05 but also more bits that I disliked.
40:07 So in the end,
40:12 I went with Laurie.
40:17 - Which means that Laurie,
40:20 you are advancing through to the semi-finals.
40:23 - No.
40:24 (laughing)
40:27 - And we hope you will find a scenario that you love
40:29 just as much as you've enjoyed this one.
40:31 - Oh God.
40:32 - Pete, you've ended up on the losing end.
40:35 Your thoughts?
40:35 - You don't know what you're talking about.
40:37 (laughing)
40:39 - I'm right.
40:40 - Blame the production crew.
40:41 - Everyone else is wrong.
40:42 - My story's great and everyone would love it.
40:45 - If only you'd had longer than 10 minutes.
40:46 - I know, right?
40:47 - Right.
40:48 Laurie, let's hear your victory speech.
40:50 - Well, as I said,
40:51 Nina and Michael are always a big fan of your work.
40:52 Dave, you've obviously had too much monster stuff,
40:55 but the correct man won.
40:57 - And with that scathing review of poor old Pete,
41:01 Laurie Blake becomes the final entrant
41:03 into the semi-final round of our tournament.
41:06 Half the field has been eliminated.
41:08 Half gets the opportunity to prove their worth once more.
41:13 Join us next week as the second round begins
41:16 and we find out just who is the least terrible booker
41:20 of fantasy wrestling, only on Fantasy Booking Warfare.
41:25 - Thank you guys.
41:28 - Thank you.
41:29 - For taking the time to book the Hardys retirement.
41:31 And we've decided we're gonna approach this differently
41:34 to how we've approached some of the other episodes.
41:36 Unlike in some other cases, which will remain unnamed,
41:39 neither of these were disasters.
41:42 - Tempest, we did it.
41:44 - So did we.
41:45 (laughing)