E&C Pod of Awesomeness with “The Boss” Sasha Banks
Release date: January 18, 2019. (1:21:12)
Recap by: Samantha L. Sayre
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Christian has been doing a lot of L-I-V-I-N since we last heard from them. He says he had just been walking around. Edge interrupts to ask if it is on the street where he has bought all the houses. Christian says yeah, of course, talking to myself. Edge, by his choice, has been home and being a dad. This pod is his only responsibility right now. Christian says he is saving Edge with his adult conversation. Edge responds all the kids are over 2 1/2 years old, so better conversations with them.
NXT Takeover: Blackpool
-Christian was really excited to watch Pete Dunne especially after having him on a couple weeks ago. It was very cool to go back to where they had had the original tournament to kick it all off. Crowd was super hyped. Really good show.
-Edge thought it was a fun and amazing crowd. If the crowd isn’t into it then it isn’t a good show. He thought the inaugural tag team tournament was good, but he can’t believe he saw the brand new belts these guys are working for sitting on the ground at the feet of the ring announcer. They don’t seem that important with them on the ground. It’s a small thing, but it’s the first time someone is winning these belts. They need to be on a velvet podium. Christian says maybe it was a camera shot they weren’t supposed to get, but he agrees.
-The thing that Christian liked was that all the matches had the time to develop. No one threw matches on the card for them just to be there. Edge said he doesn’t think the roster is big enough to do that. It is a great time to be there. You want that time. Christian says time is an enemy. You are always fighting for more time. He says he was better at 20-30 minutes than he was at 6-7 minutes. He didn’t know what to do with 6 minutes. Edge says you are just starting to feel the crowd at 6 minutes.
Joe Coffey vs. Pete Dunne
-Edge talks about how it isn’t a pretty match and that Coffey isn’t very fluid. It was different by being ugly. Coffey isn’t rehearsed. It feels like a Rocky movie. Christian liked it a lot, but little details matter. Christian doesn’t understand why Coffey rolls back into the ring when Dunne is hurt to wait. You are supposed to be desperate. Dunne has held the belt for over 600 days. Go get him. Just didn’t make sense. You have to show a real intent to win it.
Also, Dunne stomped on Coffey’s weapons…his hands then they went right into something then Coffey hit a punch. You have to sell things. That comes with experience. Christian believes there was far more good than bad. He liked Dunne’s facials especially when he didn’t know the camera was on him. Edge said it was his favorite match on the show with the pacing of it.
Finn Balor
-Finn showed up in Blackpool then became the challenger for Brock Lesnar on Raw for the Royal Rumble. Edge really likes Finn as a person. He has his head on straight with a great outlook on life. He is a very good wrestler that deserves this opportunity. It is nice to see a guy that the audience wants in that position. The entire audience does his opening moves when he comes out. Edge hopes Brock has his working boots on. Christian liked the promo segment with the nuggets of truth in them. Finn said to Vince McMahon that it is no secret that you’ve never believed in me. Perception can become reality. Vince came back with Finn not being able to handle the beef. Finn overcame it all that night. Christian is glad he is getting a shot at Brock.
Revival Asking For Release
-Edge says it us breaking news as they were coming on. Christian says he hadn’t heard it. Edge says we have obviously touted them time and time again. They are phenomenal and given the chance would be up there with the Usos. He understands if true because what can you do in a 6 minute match? It’s hard especially with something like the Lucha House Party Rules. Asking for your release whether true or not shows you are ready to do something and that you want your shot. Edge says he isn’t sure how much Vince will ever focus on tag teams because he doesn’t see much in it. There can be, but Vince doesn’t. It happened by accident with them, Hardys and Dudleys. Christian believes shows were better with them on it. Edge believes it has to be frustrating for them.
Sasha Banks -“The Boss”
-Edge says she is finally getting her opportunity against Ronda Rousey at the Royal Rumble like Finn is against Brock. Christian says she is super talented and has been at the forefront of women’s evolution. This has a different feel than all the other matches Ronda has had this year.
-Sasha says it feels kinda crazy and she found out the day before Raw out of the blue. Last year she opened with the first ever Women’s Royal Rumble and lasted 54 minutes and now this year faces Ronda in the title match. Edge states Sasha has been part of a lot of WWE firsts. What keeps you hungry? Sasha says it is cool to have a first time ever, but it is never enough for her. She wants consistency of longer storylines and longer matches. She wants to always be the best. Sasha wants the women’s matches to become normal, not first time ever things. There’s always something more to strive for. She loves it.
-Christian and Edge have talked about women possibly having a main event at WrestleMania and Christian thinks it would be fitting. There’s a huge difference in getting to WWE and getting somewhere in the WWE. You want to drive the car. That’s the sense he gets from her. Sasha says Absolutely and she strives to be #1. She doesn’t get how people can sit around and wait their turn. You have to knock down those doors to get what you want. Sasha wants to steal the show.
-Edge says but that attitude can rub people the wrong way. Sasha laughs and says absolutely it can. Edge says sometimes you have to do it by the Chris Jericho rule and just be an a**hole to get noticed. Edge wants to know who caused you to want to do this with your life. Sasha says being crazy helped her to start. She started at age 10 watching Eddie Guerrero Frogsplashing. At 12 years old, she emailed every wrestling school and all told her that you had to be 16-18 years old. Then she saw a RVD MMA tape and started MMA training at 16 years old. At 18, she enrolled in Chaotic Wrestling and was trained by Brian Fury. Dusty Rhodes really helped her and got it to click for her.
-Tyler Breeze told her to write 10 different characters with different names and backgrounds. First one she wrote was “The Boss” with a larger than life attitude and about being #1. Christian asks when was it that being “The Boss” was natural? Sasha says that’s so hard, but being part of the group BFFs with Summer Rae and Charlotte. Summer Rae taught her little things like the camera being on you for five seconds and camera angles when she was going to the main roster then coming back down for tapings with NXT. The wrestling came easier for Sasha than the character work. Christian says you have to be in the moment and not think. Sasha responds with I overthink, but agrees with Christian.
-Edge asks how long is the transition between the BFFs and the Bailey takeover match? Sasha says Charlotte breaks away and she has a takeover match with Nattie. Sasha says she was jealous because she knew she was better than her. Charlotte ended up winning the NXT championship and then Bailey faced her. Then Sasha faced Charlotte. There was a fatal 4 way with Bailey, Becky, Charlotte and Sasha and Sasha won the NXT title. It was unreal because she was doing main roster live events plus tapings in NXT. The character clicked from being under used to being champion. This is what I deserved.
-Edge watched the Bayley match at NXT Takeover: Brooklyn live and thought to himself something just changed. Sasha says she knew she was getting called up permanently to the main roster. Just wanted to have the greatest match ever. The crowd was awesome and going to be easy as she stepped out to her entrance. Story was easy to tell because she was such a bully to Bailey forever and Bailey was a role model to everyone. Sasha is the opposite of Bailey which made everything click. Christian says when Bailey’s struggle paid off the roof blew off the place. Edge says he remembers thinking no one can follow that.
-Does Sasha prefer being a face or heel? Sasha says being a heel, but is there a true heel anymore? She says she has been a babyface longer than a heel in WWE. She thought being a babyface was a struggle. She loves being a heel.
-Edge: “How is the main roster different than NXT? What’s the transition?” Sasha says like night and day. In NXT, you do tapings, some live events and you train every day. You are protected at NXT. You travel as a team. Whereas on the main roster, it is up to you to get hotels, rentals, flights and restaurants. You have TV Live Monday and Tuesday, but live events throughout the week. Driving 5-6 hours on no sleep. Things changing on TV five minutes before you go out and you adapt. Sasha likes the independence of main roster.
-Christian asks how long did it takes to adjust to scheduling her own things? Sasha says she is still finding her way. When she first came up it was harder because she was 22 which is too young for a rental car. Eating healthy on the road is also hard. Hotels can be expensive and they pay for them.
– Edge asked when Bayley was called up did it get easier? Sasha says yes, and that her life is so much easier now. But Sasha is a morning person while Bailey is a night person. Their schedules don’t match up. She is always yelling at Bailey to get up. Sasha says in NXT they didn’t travel together. Only when Bayley got called up did they get closer. She thinks it is because of the NXT Takeover match.
-Sasha says they have talked about being the best tag team ever. They have been training together, watching tape together and have matching gear. Sasha said she is smiling ear to ear just talking about it and listening to E&C talk. Edge says the tag belts are cool looking. Sasha said they are beautiful.
-Christian asks what it means to see a little girl dressed like her? Sasha says it isn’t real to her. She feels like she is still a superfan living her dream. It is surreal to her especially when the fans come up balling and crying to give you letters. It makes it even more special that she could be an Eddie Guerrero to someone. It is overwhelming.
-Edge asks how does it feel because she brings a different dynamic to the Rumble match with Ronda? Sasha wishes there was more time to build up the story. She feels like there are way too many PPVs. It is three weeks to Elimination Chamber then three weeks to Fastlane than four weeks to WrestleMania. You need to have storylines. It is going to be hard for both of us because we have never trained together or worked together. Sasha doesn’t know her movements other than by watching her on tape. Ronda comes in differently because she is a fighter, not like a wrestler. Sasha felt better after the promos with Ronda.
E&C wish her good luck and tell her to have fun
Rating: 7.5/10
I was ready to dread this podcast. I wasn’t a big Sasha Banks fan, especially after Paige got hurt. I found this pod with her to be intriguing. She really opened up at points and was honest. Her stories were good and sounded like she was comfortable.
About Samantha:
Samantha is a long time wrestling fan from WV. She quit watching during college and the first part of her career, but now is back full force. One of her goals is to be a host on one of PW Torch’s WWE or All Elite Wrestling post-show podcasts. Check her out on Twitter @Sam4413
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