Original subtitles

[sighs]

Phil and I process very differently,

and so I am kind of a hard-ass, and I'm the complete opposite.

I have my guard up at all times, don't tell anyone how I feel,

and, uh, and I don't ask for help.

Phil is very much a heart-on-his-sleeve kind of guy.

He seems like, you know, he's scary and tough, but…

And he is, but on the inside, he's very vulnerable.

[producer] How'd it go? How you feeling?

Uh…

I feel good. [chuckles]

[producer] What's on your mind, man? Looks like something.

Mm…

I'm doing my best to not fall apart,

but after…

The night's over. I can fall apart now, and…

I got a… I got a heavy heart right now. It's…

[producer] Can I ask in what regard?

Uh…

You can ask. I don't gotta tell.

I don't have the best poker face,

uh, and I tried my best to, to hide it, because we didn't tell the world yet,

and I made a… we promised each other we weren't gonna tell anybody.

[sniffles] Um…

[inhales shakily]

[sighs]

[taps hands]

We waited to…

[sniffles]

…announce to the world that, uh…

[sniffles, sighs]

You know… [chuckles]

…I like to say Larry went back to his home planet.

[solemn music playing]

[CM Punk] Larry was a very special little dude.

He, he came with a bite on his record, so he was a little criminal.

He was a perfect example of… a little misfit

that needed to find his people.

No different than me. No different than AJ. [sniffles]

They warned us, they said, you know, if he gets another bite on his record,

you know, by law, they have to put him down.

That's why I was always so protective of, uh, of Larry. [sniffles]

We don't have kids. We don't have a lot of family.

You know, it was just us and Larry for a decade.

Um, so it was like losing a family member.

Larry was this emotional support for me.

And the past few years as he turned to a senior dog,

I became his, like, emotional support human… [chuckles]

…and he never left my side.

Larry got sick, and it took him pretty fast.

[CM Punk] That Survivor Series,

the very last minute that day,

I just asked to get a patch put on the jacket that said "Larry's Dad."

It might not seem like a big deal, but,

uh, you know, it's a big deal to me. So I just…

I love the little dude. So I just wanted him to…

[sniffles]

…I just wanted him to be with me that day, that's all.

[music fades]

[intriguing music playing]

[crowd cheering]

[music fades]

So we can try to do the best job possible

of laying out long-term story arcs,

and then life happens.

Plans change.

Sometimes, it's for amazing reasons.

Reasons that you are happy about, talent are happy about,

but they derail everything you have.

Like Naomi having to vacate the WWE Women's Championship in August.

You know what? All the women back there in the locker room,

y'all should be thanking one person.

One person.

[Jimmy chuckling]

- [Naomi] Mm. - [Jimmy and TJ laugh]

Yeah. They should be thanking Big Jim,

because without him, y'all know y'all wouldn't have a chance

to take this title off of me.

But thanks to Big Jim…

He like to Netflix and chill, if you know what I mean.

[TJ laughing]

[crowd chanting] Baby Uso! [clapping rhythmically] Baby Uso!

I'm gonna leave my title here,

and I'm gonna give you heifers nine months and some change.

And even if I gotta come back breastfeeding with my baby in my arm,

I'm coming back to pick up where I left off.

[crowd cheering]

[crowd chanting] Baby Uso! [clapping rhythmically]

Baby Uso! [clapping rhythmically]

Baby Uso! [clapping rhythmically]

Baby Uso! [clapping rhythmically]

Like everything in life, when one door closes, another opens.

Um, when Naomi has to vacate her championship,

it opens up an opportunity.

And the opportunity happens to be for a new talent.

[in Spanish] My real name is Ana Stephanie Vaquer González.

My ring names have been Dark Angel and Stephanie Vaquer.

[rock music playing]

[Cole in English] "La Primera" Stephanie Vaquer

has taken WWE by storm.

[in Spanish] Maybe a lot of people say my first language is Spanish.

But I say no, it's wrestling.

[Cole in English] Stephanie Vaquer has her where she wants her.

And here we go!

Devil's Kiss!

I've never seen a move activate the WWE fans quite like the Devil's Kiss.

[in Spanish] The people's reaction was amazing.

[Booker T in English] Are we gonna see it?

Here we go.

Huh! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!

Ah yeah!

♪ The torture began… ♪

It was kinda thrilling! [chuckles]

[crowd chanting enthusiastically]

The ass to the face might have been the crowd's favorite moment.

[music fades]

[in Spanish] I was born in San Fernando, Chile.

My dad has always supported me my whole life

and was always there with me watching WWE on TV.

When I was 19, I moved to Mexico,

which was the most accessible place at the time to train for wrestling.

I had no idea how dangerous the path I was taking could be.

[kids chanting in Spanish]

[Vaquer] When I was starting my career,

I had a facial fracture.

[tense music playing]

[dramatic music sting]

My nose was in many little pieces.

Three fractures in my nose

and part of my cheekbone.

It was very painful. I remember I spent a month sleeping sitting up.

And now I was in a country where I didn't know anyone. I was alone.

I couldn't train. I couldn't wrestle. So I couldn't make money in any way.

And I started working as a waitress at a restaurant…

[ceramic shattering]

…waiting for it to heal while I slept in the kitchen

and worked during the day as a waitress.

Many times, I thought about calling my dad to tell him I was giving up.

But he always had a word of support.

He was always supporting me.

Like my hero.

[intriguing music playing]

[Vaquer] I kept living in Mexico but went to Japan for a few months.

And I learned a great deal of life philosophy, like kintsugi.

The idea of kintsugi

is sometimes pieces become stronger than they were before.

When a plate breaks, they put it back together.

A plate that's put back together has more value

because it was rebuilt, and that has a different beauty.

They put it together again with gold or silver.

It has a unique value.

And that stuck with me deeply.

That philosophy teaches that

the scars shouldn't be hidden

Because they are beautiful. They make you stronger.

And I wanted to expose it by doing this makeup on my face

exactly on the side where I had fractured it.

A lot of experiences, not only in my personal life,

but also in my career,

made me break.

But I'm stronger now. I'm a unique piece.

I was reborn just like kintsugi.

[music slowly fades]

[Vaquer] My title match, Wrestlepalooza.

The producers had an idea for the end that was the Devil's Kiss.

Then I said, "But no."

"This is the most important match of my life."

I'm going to do the thing that's hardest for me to pull off.

[in English] We decided on Stephanie's finishing move to be used that day.

Whether you hit it or not, or…

AJ Styles used the Spiral Tap.

This is, I would say, Stephanie's variation of it.

But it's unique to Stephanie.

[Vaquer in Spanish] To be able to do that move, I had to overcome many fears..

Because every time I was on top of the third rope,

I kept telling myself, "I'll fall. I'm going to break my neck."

"I'll fracture something again."

[Williams in English] Want her head there or here? It doesn't matter? Okay.

I've never seen that move executed in that fashion,

and it's very dangerous, very impressive.

They're probably gonna want you to use, when you go over from now on,

the… the Spiral Tap.

[in Spanish] I really want to achieve my biggest dream with this move.

[suspenseful music playing]

[Cole in English] Stephanie Vaquer debuted in WWE just over a year ago.

Tonight, an opportunity to win the Women's World Championship.

Her father is here tonight from Chile.

[Vaquer in Spanish] It was the first time he had ever seen me wrestle live.

But he was able to be present in the moment

when I fulfilled the greatest dream of my career

and the greatest of my life.

[Barrett in English] Vaquer is the real deal,

and tonight could be her biggest moment so far.

[Vaquer in Spanish] This isn't choreography.

This is something you feel, live, and create.

To listen to the people, feel the ring, feel the vibe.

To feel the wrestling,

to let it flow.

[in English] All right, Devil's Kiss time. Devil's Kiss, her old finish.

[Barrett] Oh, here we go. We're going bouncy-bouncy!

[Cole] The Devil's Kiss!

[crowd chanting enthusiastically]

[suspenseful music playing]

[crowd cheering]

All right. Here comes the finish now.

[Cole] Stephanie,

going up to the top rope!

[crowd chanting] Stephanie!

[in Spanish] I started practicing that move many years ago.

But before WWE, I never wanted to do it.

[suspenseful music building]

[crowd] Oh!

[Vaquer] Because I always thought

that the move had to happen at a special moment.

[Barrett in English] Stephanie Vaquer adds a new wrinkle to her playbook!

[McAfee] And hits it perfectly.

[Cole] And she delivers the version of a Spiral Tap!

Stephanie Vaquer wins the championship!

[Taylor] …World Champion,

Stephanie Vaquer!

[rock music playing]

[pensive music playing]

[in Spanish] When I was a little girl, I told him,

"One day, I'm going to be champion of the WWE.

And he saw me become champion.

- I love you. - [Hector] I love you too.

[Vaquer] Happy birthday.

[Cole in English] Tremendous family.

Her dad and mom supported her as a teenager

to follow her dream, which she has done tonight.

[Barrett] Yeah, Héctor has a hand in that championship.

- Congratulations. - [Vaquer] I don't want to cry anymore.

Please, let it out. Let it out.

[Vaquer sobbing]

[Hayes] Okay? You did great.

Man, you nailed that fucking finish.

- It's emotions. - [Vaquer] This?

- Yeah. - All my life, this is my dream.

[Hayes] I'm so happy for you.

Okay? But this is just the beginning.

[in Spanish] The moment I won the belt…

[sniffles] …it was the dream of my life.

My dad was there… [sniffles]

…always just, like… always supporting me.

[delighted laughter]

[sighs happily]

- You're beautiful. I love you. [kisses] - [Vaquer sobbing]

I dreamed so much about this.

[Hector] You did it, beautiful.

[music fades]

[Hunter in English] All these situations have positives and negatives.

Sometimes, it's an amazing opportunity for somebody,

uh, like in the case of Stephanie Vaquer.

Other times, that opportunity goes away for somebody like Bron Breakker,

who has basically the world at his feet in front of him.

And then all of a sudden, all comes off the table.

[Cole] Live on Monday Night Raw,

Bron Breakker has made his way out to ringside tonight.

And, uh, I don't like the look on his face, Corey.

I was supposed to destroy the set. Get as mad as I possibly could.

[uneasy music playing]

[Breakker] Had nothing to do with physicality or anything like that.

It happened when I was screaming.

You wanna ruin my Royal Rumble?

I'll ruin your entire show! Screw Monday Night Raw!

My entire midsection locked up.

I went to the back. We still had one more shot to do.

I was in the locker room, and

I was just kind of, like, hunched over, kind of holding my stomach,

like, "What the hell just happened?"

And when I went to stand up to do the second shot,

I couldn't, couldn't stand up. My stomach was…

Like, I couldn't… couldn't come out of, like, this hunched-over,

feel-sorry-for-me crap, so…

Ultimately, I went into medical.

I said, "I think something's going on. I think it's a hernia."

Breakker got a hernia.

- [Roode] Oh shit. - Yeah.

- Tonight? - I don't know. He said it just popped up.

Can't get it to go back in.

The doc took one look at it, like, "Yeah."

"We need to go to the hospital right now, get surgery."

So I was like…

I just kinda let everybody down.

[sighs]

It sucked.

'Cause I'd gone on this journey… for a year.

[sniffles]

[music fades]

Put all this work in, done all this stuff.

[inhales deeply, sighs]

My body quit on me.

There's nothing I could do. Otherwise, I would have done it.

[Hunter] If they have to put him back into surgery, how long?

- [Prichard] How long until he's back? - Yeah.

[Prichard] Same thing as Austin Theory.

Several months.

It's the same injury as Austin Theory.

[Hunter chuckling] Fuck, man.

Our doctors and our medical… still feel the same way.

Six weeks of doing nothing. Healing.

At which time, you can start to… do some stuff.

Not six weeks back in the ring. It's six weeks before he can get in the…

No, six weeks before he can even start to train.

Where are we now from Mania? How many weeks?

- [Prichard] Eleven. Ten now, right? - [Ward] Ten.

The feeling is, is if he were to try to push to come back earlier,

he runs the risk of fucking it up even worse.

[Hunter] The Vision is under attack from real-life events

on a day-to-day basis at this point.

When Seth goes down, we pivot to mostly Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed.

We add in Logan Paul.

We add in Austin Theory to form this four-man group.

But before that can really get rolling,

Bron Breakker goes down with an injury.

We now have to pivot to Bronson Reed.

[Koskey] It seems like the next natural one would be Bronson.

Bronson was part of the attack. They have the history,

if this is all playing out like it is Seth.

This is setting up in a story with Bronson Reed out of this

who kind of usurps it a little bit.

And now maybe Bron, if he can,

comes back and actually costs Seth the match at WrestleMania.

When I asked earlier, like, "What is Bron's…? How many weeks?"

I wasn't asking for Mania.

I was asking, "Can he do a run-in at Mania,

fuck over Seth, and could he go to Backlash?"

Now that… [sighs] …we have lost Bron Breakker,

we decide to pivot and put the full weight of The Vision behind Bronson Reed.

[intriguing music playing]

[Hunter] And let's see what he can do with it.

But this thing is falling apart. It's snakebit.

[Reed] Fucking… I tore my bicep.

[crowd] Oh…

[crowd cheering]

One, two…

[Reed] Hey, ref.

I tore my bicep.

Bronson tore his bicep.

His tricep. His tricep. Tricep.

[indistinct chattering]

Bicep. Bicep. Yup. Yup.

[Cole] And Reed, uh, rolled out of the ring after that German suplex.

I think it shook Reed up a bit.

[woman] We continually were like, "Why do they keep getting cursed?"

It was just one after one after one.

But for them, it's devastating.

Like, you have a goal or something that you think you're going to achieve,

and it gets ripped out from under you.

Then you have to go home and watch someone else slide into that spot

because the show never stops.

It was awful.

Yeah, I… I felt it tear, and I was like, "Fuck!"

And then I had to take the German, and I was like, "Okay, that's fine."

I took the German, and then I just rolled, and I said to Spider,

I'm like, "My bicep's fucking torn."

- Damn. - Yeah, fuck it. Yeah.

Damn.

- The group, man. Is it cursed? - That's what I said.

- Fuck. - The Vision's cursed.

Be careful.

[Hunter] Injuries are beginning to pile up.

So as Elimination Chamber now looms on the horizon,

which is the last big stop before we get to WrestleMania,

we have big plans for CM Punk and AJ Lee,

but they are still processing their loss.

After Larry passed,

the fans, without provocation,

started donating so much money to PAWS Chicago,

which is where we adopted Larry.

And so we donated,

and then the company donated,

and we wanted to go to PAWS to deliver this check.

I love, you know, animals so much,

so I found it to be a comforting experience.

I don't think Phil did. I think Phil…

It brought up a lot, so he needed a moment.

[AJ] It's either "I'll never get a dog again," 'cause I am dead inside…

This is not easy.

- [AJ] There's nothing left. Larry took it. - [woman] Yup.

I anonymously, and now it's not so anonymous, obviously,

but I… I donated a lot of money then because it's just a special place

'cause that's where we all found each other,

and I think they do amazing work

and I'm very much somebody who thinks dogs, more often than not,

are, are better than most people.

So I think it's a good cause.

Oh! Oh my gosh. I'm not gonna make it.

Oh my goodness! [chuckles]

I cannot walk two feet.

Hi!

[CM Punk] So where do you wanna buy a farm?

- I know, just pack them up. - [CM Punk] What do you think?

- Tennessee? - [AJ] Yeah, you know.

That's what I was saying. It's either no dogs ever again or 40 dogs.

There's no in between.

The way you're behaving, one of those is an option.

[laughter]

[AJ] I think being around any dog for a while is gonna be really hard,

but it also feels like healing in some ways, too,

just to, like, have that puppy energy or old man puppy energy.

That's my favorite.

[CM Punk] She's a little girl.

'Cause they're so special.

With Larry, we got to experience just how magical senior dogs are,

and there's so many that need love and care and homes.

So when we're healed,

maybe one day we get 30 seniors. [chuckles]

[CM Punk] I'm not a religious man. I don't say this about many places.

We are in church right now.

This is a holy place,

the home of, uh, the Chicago Blackhawks and the Chicago Bulls.

I'm nobody without this place.

The CM stands for "Chicago Made." I'm at my best when I'm here.

They push me to go harder, to go farther than I probably would on my own.

They carried me through

some of the greatest moments I've had here in WWE,

I think tonight's gonna be one of those moments.

[Hunter] This is sort of the last big stop for us on the way to WrestleMania,

knowing where we were going to get here to CM Punk in this venue,

in his hometown, as champ.

There's nothing else like it on the planet.

It's a huge night for me and my family. It's a huge night for AJ,

her first singles match in over ten years.

She's taking on, uh, old crazy Becky for the Intercontinental Championship.

You know, those are… those are high stakes.

Is there a way to get smoke in this?

Sure.

[Hunter] Can you pop the little hole here and you stuck a small tube to fill this?

[Trick] Yeah, man, tonight I got something special.

Triple H pulled me to the side and said,

"We wanna do something different for the Elimination Chamber."

"Now let me know what you think."

One upgrade I'd like to do is… pop a hole or something

so we can fill this…

we can fill this, uh, glass chamber with some smoke

and get some little holes here so when you're on it,

smoke is kind of billowing up around you. You know what I mean?

Even, even if it's filling up your coat.

I think everybody's gonna go crazy tonight, so we got one.

["Whoop That Trick" playing]

[Hunter] The only thing you gotta be cautious of is looking like a star,

getting off that motherfucking shit. Not like "Oh shit!" You know?

- [man] Trip Williams. - [Hunter] Trip Williams. There you go.

One positive happening here

is Seth Rollins is right at the line of ready to return,

and Seth's return is a big surprise.

So we have Seth hiding out.

[Rollins] It's just something I've been doing for so long,

and I get accustomed to that feeling of hearing the music

and feeling that reaction and that energy

and that relationship you build with a live audience.

And so when you don't have that for so long,

people have asked, "Are you ready to go back?"

"Are you excited to go back?" There's a lot of things I miss about it,

but that feeling of being the man in the arena,

being the one out there doing the thing, that's the thing that I miss the most.

I've never seen anything like The Vision

and the injuries that have been dealt,

but it is part of the game. That's the nature of what we do.

There's always an element of excitement that ups that

when you're making your return off an injury,

and there's kind of some hype, and…

I mean, couple that with WrestleMania season,

it's, uh… it's a good feeling.

There it is. It's not too bad.

Not the worst, not the best.

Seth's going to return as a masked man with a big reveal,

but in order to make this work and make sense,

we need a decoy masked man that will come in first,

allowing Seth to make his big, grand entrance.

Logan eliminates LA.

As they're getting LA out, that opens the fucking door.

- Masked guy, they catch him. - Faux masked guy.

- Faux masked guy, they catch him. - Okay.

Masked guy comes in.

There's down… whatever they're gonna do. Bang.

Seth comes here. Seth reveals as he's going to back out.

He sees security coming. "Oh shit."

Drops down. They go, chase, out, out.

Run through the people and just go out that vom.

- [suspenseful music playing] - [chuckles]

I'm getting too old for this shit. [chuckles]

My wrists hurt.

Kind of scared, but kind of calm, and I think me being kind of calm

is making me a little bit more scared, to be honest.

I don't think people realize how high that actually is,

because, yeah, it looks all good and fine

when you're down here looking up, but when you're up there looking down,

it's a completely different story.

Like, it's high.

I'm scared.

It's really high, and, like, I don't like heights that much.

I like to do stupid shit,

but I don't like the fact that I have to look down.

So hopefully adrenaline, uh, will kick in

and, uh, make everything a little bit more smoother.

- [man] Push. - [man 2] Oh my God!

[Ripley] Yes!

[screams playfully]

I'm supposed to get…

[tense music playing]

[crowd cheering]

[Cole] It is a menacing steel structure

known as the Elimination Chamber.

Two miles of chain link.

It will surround the ring.

This is an elimination match.

At regularly scheduled intervals, a pod will open.

Once you lose, either pinned or submitted, you gotta head back to the locker room.

The last woman standing goes to Wrestlemania.

[bell dinging]

[Cole] Oh!

And Kiana rolled out of harm's way, and Tiffany headfirst into the pod.

[Barrett] Welcome to the Chamber.

[Prichard] We can start that count.

[crowd counting] Six, five,

four, three, two, one…

[buzzer sounds]

[Cole] Rhea Ripley!

Oh!

Stay with Rhea.

[Cole] Stratton now runs into a headbutt by Ripley.

[Barrett] Rhea "Bloody" Ripley is starting to steamroller towards Wrestlemania.

[chuckling] Ooh!

That was awesome.

Now stay with Kiana and Bliss.

[Cole] No eliminations thus far.

Kiana James caught.

And a mist! A mist by Asuka to Bliss!

Kiana rolls her up!

Kiana eliminates Bliss!

[announcer] Alexa Bliss has been eliminated.

[man] This door is stuck.

DA, just talk to me now. Only on this channel.

What's wrong with the door?

[DA] The pin's broken on it.

[Prichard] Door's broken. The main door.

It's stuck closed.

Stuck closed right now.

They're working on it.

[Barrett] This is the danger zone right now,

as soon as you leave the inside of those ropes.

[Cole] And now a running powerslam through the pod!

Catching Asuka.

In her arms, Tejana Bomb modified!

Stacking up both women.

Raquel eliminates James and Asuka.

Is that door open or not?

[DA] Not yet. Not yet.

Roll them to the apron.

[DA] Copy, told him.

We gotta get that motherfucker open.

Give me that crowbar.

Yeah.

[Hunter] We've just gotta get that door open.

Get everybody working on that.

- It's fixed. - [Prichard] We are clear. We're clear.

[Cole] We are now down to three.

Will it be Tiffany Stratton? Will it be Rhea Ripley?

Will it be Raquel Rodriguez?

High stakes, high pressure here tonight.

We're coming up on that spot where Rhea comes off of the pod.

Stay with Raquel.

She's gonna set Rhea up.

[Barrett] The powerhouse Raquel. What the hell is she cooking up here?

[Cole] Rhea caught.

Raquel now trapping Rhea Ripley in the steel chain link.

[Jordan] Now you can start losing Rhea.

Lose Rhea as much as you can. Rhea's gonna start climbing that pod.

This is to set Tiffany up, and then Rhea's gonna come off the pod onto Raquel.

[Cole] Raquel Rodriguez mauling Stratton.

Meanwhile, Ripley on top of the pod!

Cannonball to take out Raquel!

[crowd chanting] Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit!

Tiffany, Tiffany, Tiffany.

[Barrett] Wait up, Cole. Oh, look who's on the top rope!

[Cole] Stratton! Prettiest Moonsault Ever!

Raquel is eliminated.

We are down to two.

[suspenseful music playing]

[Cole] Tiffany Stratton gonna head up to the top rope.

Oh, went for the swanton. Rhea Ripley rolled out of harm's way.

Catches Tiffany now with a kick. It could be Ripley's opportunity.

- [Barrett] Just pure power from Ripley. - [Cole] Look at this.

- Boom! - [Barrett] Ooh, jeez!

[Cole] Stratton face-first. Cover now by Rhea.

And a kick-out.

[Prichard] Tiffany okay?

Bloody nose, she's fine.

Okay, seeing the blood. Don't worry about it.

[Barrett] The wounds obvious on the face of Tiffany Stratton now.

[Cole] Tiffany Stratton up top.

Looking for the Prettiest Moonsault Ever. But driven into the pod by Ripley.

Ripley…

Riptide! Cover.

[crowd counting] Two! Three!

[Cole] Rhea's going to WrestleMania.

[triumphant music playing]

[Cole] What an incredible performance by all six women tonight.

[Hunter] You okay? That was amazing. You break it?

[Stratton] I don't know. I'm kinda worried.

- [Hunter] It doesn't look fucked up. Yeah. - [Stratton] Okay.

Not that it's great, but it's worth a broken nose if you did.

- It was great. Amazing job. - Thank you.

- Congratulations. - Thank you.

Let's get Doc to look at it to make sure.

It looks beautiful and straight, still.

[TJ] Yeah, yeah, yeah. It is straight.

- Yeah. - My lips feel fucking numb.

- [TJ] I think you probably ate it on the… - Yeah.

It came down so fast.

[TJ] How'd the cannonball feel?

It felt great. Better than the rehearsal.

- Yeah, it's because you had adrenaline. - I was like, "We're going!"

[Hayes] Awesome. I mean awesome.

Every one of you nailed it.

Now we gotta go try to top it.

- [Ripley] I know. - That's what I wanted though.

So Rhea fricking Ripley got me up in the fricking electric chair,

and I did not anticipate the bump being so hard,

and I did not catch myself.

[crowd] Oh!

[Stratton] I just face-planted.

Basically, almost broke my nose and chipped my tooth again.

Isn't that lovely? A little WrestleMania throwback.

- Toodles! - Toodles!

When it happened, I was gushing blood, but it's not broken.

Doc pressed on it.

He said he pressed on it pretty hard, so we're in the clear.

Thank God! I like my nose.

I'm totally fine. Totally fine.

No, it's not your fault. I just… I did not anticipate coming down so fast.

I know. It's okay.

I'm gonna put my grills in and take a cool pic.

[TJ laughs]

Can you show the blood on your fingers as well?

[Stratton] Yeah.

[camera shutter clicking]

One word.

Four letters.

Ouch.

[intriguing music playing]

- [Williams] Is April doing okay? - [CM Punk] Yeah. Why?

[Williams] Just trying to engage her.

- I know she's nervous. - She's stressed. Just nerves.

I wanna make sure she's comfortable.

- It's just butterflies. - [Williams] Okay.

- [CM Punk] I haven't heard anything bad. - [Williams] Great. Okay.

Puts a lot of pressure on herself, like we do.

First singles match in over ten years, just so you know…

- [Williams] Yep. - I know how she feels. [chuckles]

[Hunter] You haven't forgotten how. You went away for a little bit.

- Go out there and tear it up. - Thank you.

We had 20-something minutes at our disposal,

which… I don't know if you added up all of my title matches,

if they even equaled 22 minutes. [chuckling]

So I was scared I actually wouldn't be able to do it.

Have fun, AJ. You got this.

Just breathe, and you'll be fine.

[uneasy music playing]

[announcer] The following contest is for the Women's Intercontinental Championship.

[crowd chanting] AJ Lee! AJ Lee!

AJ Lee!

[upbeat synth music playing]

♪ Let's light it up ♪

♪ Light it up, light it up Light it up tonight… ♪

[Cole] The woman who now calls Chicago home, AJ Lee,

will have the backing of the majority of this crowd.

♪ Like the night, like the diamonds As they shine in your eyes ♪

Just as an athlete, I was pretty scared of what I was gonna be capable of.

And mostly I was just, like, worrying I was gonna need my inhaler out there.

[uneasy music playing]

[Barrett] The nerves in AJ Lee are gonna be through the roof

in this position.

[Cole] Here comes Lee. AJ Lee unloading on Becky Lynch.

[Lynch grunts]

[Cole] Becky just took out Jessika Carr!

- [Barrett] Inadvertent. Don't spin that. - [Cole] She didn't seem to give a damn.

And now AJ Lee with a Black Widow.

Becky's other side. Other side, so she can tap with her hand.

- There we go. There we go. - [Cole] Becky's tapping!

[Barrett] The ref doesn't see it!

[Cole] Well, AJ Lee should be the Intercontinental Champion right now.

AJ…

Connecting knee-first with a steel chair.

- [Barrett] That was an ugly landing. - [Cole] Oh, and now the DDT.

AJ may be out.

Manhandle Slam!

The cover.

[crowd] One, two…

[Cole] AJ kicked out!

[crowd cheering]

[Cole] And Becky can't believe it!

[Barrett] Well, it might be starting to dawn on the champ

that tonight is just not your night, Becky Lynch.

[AJ] She wants to be the best bad guy in the world.

And she knows you need a really good babyface

to make that happen.

- [crowd chanting] AJ Lee! AJ Lee!! - [AJ] She makes you look like a star.

And I feel like we nailed it.

[suspenseful music playing]

[Cole] Nice takedown by AJ Lee. Continues here.

And Becky colliding with the exposed turnbuckle.

Oh! Black Widow!

Becky taps out! AJ wins the Intercontinental title!

Her first championship in 11 years.

How sweet it is for AJ Lee.

I feel like I was in another world, because I was like,

"Okay, I can feel everything. Am I healthy?"

"I am safe. I'm safe, and I'm champion now."

I don't think I ever thought, coming back, I would have a title.

I thought I was just gonna have some fun. And it has been a blast,

but I'm so excited to be trusted with this responsibility.

So hopefully I can take this to Mania.

Oh yeah, these? Yeah, okay, here's the thing.

When you haven't wrestled for a long time, your skin gets thin. Normally it calluses.

And all my hair is real.

And so what happens during wrestling is it falls out. [laughs]

Because Becky's a bit, uh, a bit of a bruiser.

I had to really earn this.

[Cole] Ladies and gentlemen, coming up next,

the conquering hero returns home.

CM Punk defends the World Heavyweight Championship

against Finn Bálor.

- You good? You got all you need? - Yeah.

[crowd chanting] CM Punk! CM Punk!

[Cole] It has been a long time coming.

[crowd cheering]

Thirteen long years since CM Punk has had a WWE match

in his hometown of Chicago.

[crowd] CM Punk! CM Punk!

[Cole] Father Time is undefeated.

He understands that this could be the very last match that he ever has

in his career here in United Center.

A main event at WrestleMania hangs in the balance here tonight.

[bell dinging]

[suspenseful music playing]

[Cole] Oh!

Punk off the top rope with a flying clothesline.

[CM Punk] I got kicked in the face a bunch.

Top of my lip got split open.

[Cole] I believe Punk's been busted open in the mouth.

[CM Punk] I think that just heightens the experience.

It makes my night better.

I want my matches to be thought of as fights.

I don't want to look the same post-match as I did walking to the ring.

It's a little detail that makes those stories that much more meaningful.

[Cole] CM Punk,

Go To Sleep!

GTS.

Cover.

- [crowd counting] One, two, three! - [bell dinging]

[Cole] Punk will main event WrestleMania!

[announcer] Here is your winner,

and still World Heavyweight Champion,

CM Punk!

[Barrett] And now a double celebration from a couple of champs.

[CM Punk] I won the match,

and then the newly crowned Women's Intercontinental Champion,

my wife, came to the ring, and we had a little bit of a moment.

She wouldn't kiss me 'cause I was bleeding.

We were not trying to give the fetish sites any material. Mm-mm.

Not for free.

[Cole] Case can be made as the new power couple of WWE.

[CM Punk] If you walked into my house, you wouldn't know what I did.

If there's ever a framed commemorative picture

of, like, that moment,

the two of us with our belts in Chicago, sold-out United Center, holding them up,

I… I might hang that one in my house.

[Cole] And now we turn our attention to WrestleMania.

CM Punk versus Roman Reigns.

- Oh, you got scratches all over your back. - [CM Punk] Yeah.

Oh my goodness. Bubba.

[CM Punk] Super proud of April for having the courage

to come back to give the place a second chance.

Going to WrestleMania with her, uh, as champ, me as champ,

it's just another adventure that I get to have with my best friend.

[producer] How do you guys celebrate that?

We plan on, uh, getting the pizza that was named, uh, named after Larry

that helped raise, like, over $50,000 for, uh, PAWS.

This is my second Larry tattoo.

It is obviously his paw print,

and it's just a fun way to… to remember him.

He would stand on me if I was laying down and he needed anything.

He would get up, and he would kind of beat me a little bit.

I would ignore him playfully,

and then he would just stand on my chest and stare at me.

Until I would finally say, "Do you wanna go for a walk?"

And he would get all excited. So his foot would go right there.

And it was painful. And I, I think that's kind of beautiful in a way too.

Because, you know, he… it was the worst day of my life.

But he gave me, uh… He gave me so many great days.

So it's just a… It's just a way to remember him.

[intriguing music playing]

[bell dinging]

[announcer] The following is the men's Elimination Chamber match!

[Cole] An emotional rollercoaster during WrestleMania season,

49 nights away from the start in Las Vegas.

- All right, babe? - [Lash] Yeah.

- What entrance are you? - First.

- [Lash] Oh, you first? - Yeah.

[Lash] Oh, we need to pray. All right. Dear Lord, thank you for this day,

for giving Trick the opportunity of doing what he loves.

Please lead, protect him, and direct him.

Let him have fun and let your light shine through him. Amen.

- [Trick] Amen. - Bye, baby. Love you.

- [Trick] I love you too. - I'm going out to watch you.

- Okay. - [Lash laughs]

He's first.

- Here we go. Enjoy it. - [Trick] Let's do it, baby.

["Whoop That Trick" playing]

- [screaming] - [crowd cheering]

[Lash] Oh my God!

- [crowd chanting] Whoop that Trick! - Yeah!

- [crowd] Whoop that Trick! - Oh my God!

[Cole] The man who has taken Friday Night SmackDown by storm.

[Lash] Yeah!

[crowd] Whoop That Trick! Whoop that Trick!

[Cole] Quite the aura surrounding this young man.

- Just oozing confidence. - [Lash] Yes!

Oh my gosh, he's climbing!

He's crazy! Be safe, babe!

[crowd] Whoop that trick! Whoop that trick!

- Whoop that trick! - [laughing delightedly]

[Heyman] This motherfucker's gonna be a monster.

Yes, he is.

Just in time too.

This next year is a breakout.

[Cole] First time ever testing out the Elimination Chamber.

When are we… When are we bringing…

Seth in?

[man] Seth's asked for a second mask.

A second mask? For him?

- [man] He wants one that covers his mouth. - [Roode] Okay.

- He'll more than likely have layers on. - He's gonna take it off himself.

- As long as he's comfortable. - [man] You're right.

[Rollins] I put on the other one. My beard was sticking out.

[man 2] I already knew it. I said, "His beard shows."

[Rollins] My beard is poking right out. I was like, "That's just silly."

I think this should do the trick.

[man 2] You can walk in and go straight to your own.

[suspenseful music playing]

[Barrett] Welcome to the real world of WWE.

You wanna make it to WrestleMania, you wanna compete for the biggest prizes,

this is what you have to deal with.

But it only gets harsher from here.

[Cole] There are no count-outs. There are no disqualifications.

- The last man standing heads to Las Vegas. - [Barrett] Ooh, okay! Ooh!

[crowd] Five, four,

three, two, one…

[buzzer sounds]

[Lash] Oh, it is!

[Cole] Trick Williams.

[Barrett] Time for this Elimination Chamber

to get a little flava.

- [crowd] Ooh! - [Lash] Ah!

[Cole] That chop just drops Evans.

Now Trick with a double chokeslam.

Watch Logan come in, think he's gonna kill everybody.

Look at him and throw him right back through his pod.

[Cole] Three on one against Logan Paul,

wanna take out Logan as they send him… driving him through the pod!

And out the other side.

Jesus. Um…

Heyman and Theory are kind of right where I'm coming over.

I told them to sell down to the front neutral corner

when, uh, Trick gets beat.

- Perfect. Perfect. - I told them to move there. Yep.

[Cole] Logan Paul is not one to shy away from risks.

Je'Von Evans scaling the Chamber as well.

LA Knight now scaling the Chamber on the other side.

And now Logan Paul sent into Cody and Trick!

[Lash] Okay. Okay.

[Cole] The steely eyes of "The Viper."

[suspenseful music building]

[Cole] Randy Orton enters this match for the tenth time in his career.

Randy Orton now…

Vintage Orton with the draping DDTs.

Bodies are everywhere.

Logan Paul now.

Here it is! Paulverizer!

[Hayes] Is he okay?

[Cole] Logan eliminates Evans.

He's okay.

[Cole] Every man for himself inside the Chamber.

Aaah!

[Cole] Oh, and a low blow by Logan Paul. Completely legal in this match.

And Paul with another elimination!

Cover now on Williams.

No!

- [Cole] A third elimination! - Boo!

Get moving.

[Cole] Logan Paul has eliminated Williams, Knight, and Evans.

All right, send the masked man. Send him.

[Austin yelling inaudibly]

[Cole] Oh my God, who the hell? That's…

That… that… The masked guy's back.

[Barrett] Where the hell is he going?

Go, guys, go, go, go!

[suspenseful music building]

Not so fast. Slow them down!

- [Hayes] Slow them down. - Slow them down.

[Hayes] Slow them down. Get the mask off.

Slow them down. We wanna see the mask come off.

- Who are you? Get him out of here! - [Roode] Stand by for Seth.

Get Trick going. Get Trick going. Get Trick going.

- Send Seth. - [man 2] Go, go.

[Cole] Wait, who the… Now another one.

Another hooded figure. Another masked man,

walking in through the open door!

A kick to Paul.

Stomp!

- [Roode] Don't miss the cover. - Get the cover. Reveal's behind it.

[Cole] Cody into the cover.

Paul eliminated!

[announcer] Logan Paul has been eliminated.

We wanna see Heyman's reaction. He should be over by announce table.

[music building]

[crowd cheering excitedly]

Oh my God!

[Cole] The man who gave birth to The Vision.

The man who has payback on The Vision.

Seth Rollins is back!

Stand by, Drew.

No! No!

Oh my God! Oh my God!

[Cole] For the second straight year,

Seth Rollins has completely changed the complexion of the Elimination Chamber.

- Tell him don't go yet. - Don't go, Drew. Do not go.

[Rollins chuckling]

Tell Cody and Randy to start selling. This should feel like a reset.

[Barrett] There's only one question left in this Elimination Chamber.

Is it Rhodes, or is it Orton?

Send Drew. Send Drew.

- [Barrett] Oh! - [Cole] Oh no! McIntyre!

See Randy in the background here if we can. Randy in the background.

[Cole] RKO!

Cody.

- Cross Rhodes! - [Roode] Stay wide.

[Cole] RKO!

- [Roode] That's our finish! - [Cole] Cover!

- Orton did it! Orton did it! - [bell dinging]

[announcer] Here is your winner

of the men's 2026 Elimination Chamber,

"The Viper" Randy Orton!

[Cole] Randy Orton is going to WrestleMania.

Fuck yeah, that worked. Fucking great.

I didn't know how long to linger or stop.

Because I… it felt so good, I just wanted to sit in it.

[Hunter laughing] Yeah.

With all this real-life chaos happening,

one of the wonderful constants that we do have

is Cody Rhodes is around holding down the ship.

As Chamber ends, I have no title,

which means the clock is ticking on WrestleMania main event.

But there's a real champagne problem that was developing of "Oh my gosh."

"Am I not gonna main event WrestleMania again?"

[Hunter] He's the team captain.

He's QB1.

But the next most important thing that we have to do

is to get Cody Rhodes to a main event at WrestleMania.

[music fades]

[intriguing music playing]

[music fades out]