411’s Talking Smack Report 08.29.20: Sami Zayn on The IC Title Controversy, Big E on Being “More Serious” and More!

411’s Talking Smack Report: 08.29.20

-Welcome to episode 2 of the rebooted Talking Smack. Last week Miz was the co-host instead of Xavier Woods and it seems it will be the same this week. Let’s get to it!

-Kayla Braxton is our host and she is joined by The Miz. They immediately jump on the bombshell dropped at the end of SmackDown as Roman Reigns is now a Paul Heyman guy. The Miz talks about knowing Heyman for a long time and how Heyman told Miz in developmental that he is not a good guy and people were going to boo him. Miz fought him on that and Paul assured him there was something about him that fans would boo and Miz says all these years later people still don’t like him. They discuss that Reigns is the only guy that has yet to sign the contract and I assume something will come of that with Heyman having something put in there to benefit Reigns in some way. Again, way on board with this new version of Roman Reigns.

-Next talk shifts to Jeff Hardy and his issues with Sami Zayn. Speaking of Sami he is our first guest and has his IC Title with him. He wants everyone to know he is still The Intercontinental Champion. I’m always a sucker for dueling champions storyline when the heel feels wronged. The Miz sucks up to Sami by mentioning that Jeff as “champion” (his quotes) couldn’t get the Title on SummerSlam. Sami says that is a very Miz point of view as he likes the fame and accolades. Sami is more about fighting against injustice. Nobody should have participated in that false tournament and then he takes a shot at Kayla by calling her “not Renee.” Kayla won’t commit to calling Sami the IC Champion and Sami is deeply offended by this. Sami believes Jeff should have called him the minute he won the title and gave it back and asked for a match when Sami returned. Going forward Sami thinks Jeff will do the right thing. He knows people have missed him and he doesn’t fault Miz for not texting him while he was away as he knows Miz has two kids. Sami just wants Kayla to call him the IC Champion and she mutters it to continue the disrespect. The Miz takes over and loudly shouts as he calls Sami Zayn The Intercontinental Champion!

-Next up is Matt Riddle and Miz immediately does his Matt Riddle impression. I kind of want to see a short feud between these two because the interviews would be fun. Riddle feels good going into Payback and has wanted this match with Corbin for a while. Miz brings up that Corbin has his number and Riddle shoots back that each time was when Corbin took advantage. Miz brings up the “King’s Ransom” and Riddle is shocked Miz didn’t try to claim it. Miz tells us that he has Cannonball money and Miz and Mrs money so he doesn’t need the ransom. The Miz wants to know the difference between Bro and Stallion. Riddle thinks Miz can be a bro, but you have to be an elite version of yourself to be a stallion. Miz jokes that his wife thinks he is a stallion. Nice! Miz wants to know if Riddle will ever gets boots or knee pads. They all joke about that as he takes his leave. That was fun and Riddle will do well in this setting.

-Our final guest is Big E and no hug for Miz this week. Big E says he asked “them” to not put him on the show again. He didn’t want to beat the discussion they had last week into the ground, but he is ok with talking about it again. Big E and Miz mention they had a discussion off camera. The Miz wants to be educated if he said anything wrong. Big E doesn’t think it is his job to educate The Miz on what’s right or wrong. He just wants to tell Miz how he feels and his perspective. The Miz believes Big E should be in the main event and he was coming from the perspective of someone who knows what the brass wants. He used to wear shorts and stupid hats, but didn’t get his big break until the WWE told him to get more serious and aggressive. He brings up Owens being put it in a suit and then taken more seriously. He wants to see more of the Big E that stood up to him last week. E understands where Miz is coming from, but he has heard this since 2014 when New Day was formed. Everyone laughed at the idea and told them it would fail. The 3 of them stayed together and they got it off the ground as they trusted each other. He shouldn’t even have a job here based on what people thought, but again the three of them trusted each other and did things their way. E puts over Miz and his path, but he is different and has to trust his gut. If he can’t do that then he doesn’t deserve to be here. He may not clown around every week, but he trusts his instincts and when to steer the ship left or right. The Miz loves this Big E. We have breaking news as Sheamus will be facing Big E at Payback.

-Big E is ready for the opportunity as it gives him another former World Champion to beat (as he mentions beating The Miz tonight). Miz mentions that Kofi and Xavier won’t be there and E verifies. E says they won’t jump in the ring for him and he doesn’t know how often he has to beat this drum but he was the second ever NXT Champion and a former IC Champion. He is down 15 lbs since quarantine and is focused as he doesn’t have a wife and kids. He also brings up the shirt he is wearing as he is doing his part to make this world a more equitable place.

-Kayla then announces that Woods will be the co-host next week and Miz jokes that he has already been replaced. E says that Woods has been promised each week and Miz mentions he was told an hour before the show last week that he had to fill the spot.

-That wraps up things for this week and again, another fun show to watch. Sami was great, Riddle was fun, and E was very passionate. At first I thought his discussion with Miz was going to focus on the idea of Kofi/E having to wait for Title shots due to their skin color vs Miz idea of just working harder, but instead it was centered on E being more serious. My guess is that is the private conversation they had, but obviously that’s between them. As always thanks for reading and look for my recap of the new episode of Chronicle on Braun Strowman dropping later.