411’s WWE Unreal: Season Three, Episode One Report: ‘The Why’

-Title: WWE: Unreal Season 3, Episode One: “The Why”
-Written: 7.20.26
-Source: Netflix
-Run Time: 1:00:41

-Plug: Season Two Finale

-I am up super early to get this episode done before heading to work. I plan to do episode two after work and before Dark Side of The Ring. Repeat the same tomorrow and finish up on Thursday. This season is supposed to feature the end of Cena’s retirement tour and a lot of CM Punk and AJ Lee.

-John Cena tells us he has never put more effort into a year than he did this year. He was consumed by the farewell tour and would wake up in the middle of the night with ideas. “Why are we fighting? Start there, and everything builds.” We see him and Logan Paul working through what they want to do in their upcoming match in France.

-Cena says his why for wrestling Logan is “I believe in you and they don’t. They believe you are a waste of my time.” He also needs to let new folks come in, and they have great new people. We see highlights from the match, and Cena gets the win with the Attitude Adjustment. Cena says the “why” is everything.

-Show opening!

-HHH says the challenge is they are building the entire year on saying goodbye to one of the biggest characters in the business and then moving on. Once Cena is done in December, they have to start the push towards WrestleMania. One chapter ends, and they have to start a new one without one of the biggest focal points they had. They also need to explore things John has never done.

-Back to Elimination Chamber where John Cena turned heel and aligned with The Rock and Travis Scott. Cena has to formulate the why, and it’s because he doesn’t like the new guard. He wants to ruin wrestling and take the fun away from the fans. Sounds fun! He admits he has to do boring work. I mean, okay, that’s kind of wild. “A shitty Main Event? Yep, that’s what I was going for.” Thumbs up and big smile on Cena’s face as he says that, and he says “watch the next one.” The man was committed, I guess.

-In the writer’s room, HHH says Cena had an idea of winning by count-out. Cena admits it was too boring and too bad, and it put heat on the company. HHH: “This ain’t working, and you still have to deliver for these people.” Crazy, he tanked the Main Event of Mania on purpose. Cena tells HHH in Gorilla that he was spot on in changing the direction of the character. The new idea was Cena facing rivals and delivering good matches.

-He beats Randy, Truth, Punk, and Cody at SummerSlam. He says Cody was supposed to beat virtue into him at SummerSlam, but the fans beat Cody to the punch. He says that was Hunter telling him he was swinging too big. Cena says the audience is the show.

-HHH notes Cena walking away creates a massive void and they need to find the next big talent. He tells the writers room that over the next year they need to get the younger guys in the mix and have an idea where they are going with them.

-Down to Georgia as Bron Breakker is out fishing on a boat. He puts the time in even if he doesn’t catch anything. He says he grew up on the water as his dad fished all the time. He loves wrestling, and it has always been his dream. He says it is crazy that he gets to live his dream. We get to where he tells us his name is Bronson Rechsteiner. He is Badass Bron Breakker or The Dog! He talks about the spear: Running as fast as I can and destroying someone’s ribs or midsection. We get highlights of Bron breaking people in half with the spear, including Speed.

-He was a State Champion wrestler and then played football at Kennesaw State. In his senior year, he started to get scouted and went to training camp with the Ravens (BOO). He was cut before camp ended and told his dad it was time to do this wrestling thing. We discuss his dad and uncle being one of the greatest teams of all time: The Steiner Brothers. We saw an early promo where he says he is not here to do flippy things off the ropes. He is here for gold and legacy. SHOTS FIRED AT AEW or something.

-HHH tells him he isn’t here to be the next Steiner. He is here to be so much more and mentions how Rock and Roman paid tribute to their legacy, but created their own lane. “You want to be the first Bron Breakker.” Bron notes he is part of The Vision with Seth Rollins and seeing how they deal with this cursed group should be fun. Bron says Seth is the best wrestler in the world. Seth puts over Bron as the next blue chip talent and how he soaks up everything around him. HHH says calling someone the future can be the kiss of death, but the great ones find a way.

-Clash in Paris: HHH sits with Breakker and tells him that Roman really wants to “make you guys.” Bron is amazed, and HHH tells him people did the same for Roman, as that is the business. HHH tells us this is a chance for Bron to break out. The match is Roman vs. Bronson Reed. HHH tells Bron in Gorilla that when he sticks Roman, his demeanor should be “a cold, killer fucker.” Bron says he has looked up to Roman for a long time as they have a similar path. True! Roman beats Bronson Reed with the Spear, and we see Bron getting the black hoodie on, and he comes out to spear Roman through the announce table. Bron puts over Roman for trying to elevate him and calls it the biggest moment of his entire life. Michael Hayes tells him it was very good and it’s a big night.

-Let’s meet CM Punk. He says six months in WWE is like dog years, so it feels like 7 years. He takes us back to SummerSlam where he won The World Title and Seth Rollins cashes in on him. Seth is now The Champion, and he is on the chase. HHH says that Becky being Seth’s wife made it easy to set up the next chapter. Becky says she is running on an hour of sleep, so doesn’t know how she feels about anything. “I am existing, but it’s pretty great, I think.”

-Punk vs. Rollins in Paris and Bobby Roode is the producer on the headset. Punk hits The Go To Sleep, but another hoodie figure comes out. HHH: “Just don’t miss the ball shot.” I am sure she won’t miss that opportunity. Beck Lynch reveals and is booed out of the building. Stomp by Rollins and he retains. Punk says it is never fun getting kicked in the balls by anyone, but worse by the wife of your forever enemy. HHH says they have great things in place going forward to get where they want.

-HHH tells them for tomorrow they don’t see Rollins the entire show. Punk demands he stop hiding and face him. We cut to the next RAW, and instead of Seth answering the call, Becky comes out. HHH goes over the plan, and we cut to it happening. They all agree that Becky coming out and slapping Punk repeatedly is better heat. Punk says he can’t get revenge, but they are moving in a direction people are hoping to see, but probably don’t think is possible. The crowd starts chanting for “AJ Lee.” We all knew where this was going, but that made it great.

-Punk says AJ Lee is the funniest, smartest, prettiest, and most down-to-earth person. His partner, wife, and favorite wrestler. We meet AJ Mendez, who goes by AJ Lee. She says only family calls her April. Punk says she hates it and he calls her Ape. She says he called her that for years, and Bret Hart sent a text to Punk asking how Ape was, but Bret used a Gorilla emoji. “So I am a gorilla emoji to Bret.”

-We get some backstory as AJ was obsessed with Punk during a story years ago. They had their first kiss on screen, and soon they became a couple and were married. We get to meet Larry, and I am already realizing it’s going to get sad at some point in this season. They adopted Larry from a shelter, and Punk says he looked like Lon Chaney Jr. turning into The Wolf Man, and we get a snippet from the 1941 movie. He wanted to name the dog Lon Chaney, but AJ said she needed something better to yell if the dog got on her nerves. The character in Wolf Man was Larry Talbot, so they went with that. Any mention of Chaney, even Jr, gives me a chance to mention Lon Chaney Sr and his brilliant portrayal of the classic Phantom of the Opera. I am not just about the musical, as I love all things Phantom and have two of the Chaney Phantom figures (still in box) my wife has bought me for Christmas and Anniversaries.

-AJ goes back to her story as she came into the WWE during a time of bikini matches. She was different and says the fans helped her break through the wall. Punk notes she broke through the wall, got bloodied, and helped bridge the gap between Divas and what we see with the division today. Bayley says a lot of women got into the business because of the person AJ Lee is.

-The last year of her career was weird as she had physical and mental health issues plus her husband was on the outs with the company. That’s putting it nicely. No mention of Punk being fired on their wedding day. She felt she had hit every milestone on her 10-year list. She was not enjoying it anymore, so she stepped away and was content. She wrote her first book, wrote comic books, a film, and was positive she was never coming back.

-HHH says true stars never go away, as instead they just hibernate for a while. “What would that look like if she wanted to return, and would she be interested?” AJ says she got a call from Paul, and he threw out the idea of working with Becky, and she said yes.

-We jump to Chicago, and you can see that Punk is stressed out and excited at the same time. It’s kind of sweet. Punk starts doing pull-ups to burn off his energy, and Bayley tells him to “Rey Mysterio that shit.” Bayley is a wrestling nerd, as that is a great deep cut.

-AJ and HHH meet backstage to sign the contract. AJ says it was a boss ass moment as she fought to get women paid like the men and says she is getting paid the same as her husband. She tells HHH she is wearing jean shorts for the first time in ten years. Punk notes the women on the roster kept asking if she was here, and he could not confirm.

-SmackDown: Seth Rollins is in the crowd and introduces the “greatest female wrestler on planet Earth.” TJ Wilson: “Not on Mars though.” Funny! Becky is out, and the crowd immediately starts chanting for AJ Lee. You can see AJ in Gorilla, and she looks nervous. John Cena shakes her hand and welcomes her back. That’s cool to me! Becky heels on the crowd like a pro and here’s CM Punk. He hugs AJ before heading out and is told they have 11 minutes to go. AJ talks about finding the AJ Lee character, as she is not AJ Mendez. “I haven’t skipped in 10 years.” TJ jokes with her about cramping. TJ is great with his one liners. Becky slaps Punk around again and Punk, just casually backs away and waits. The music hits, and the place explodes. AJ says the second she walked through the curtain she could feel it. We hear that a lot from people making their return. She calls it an out-of-body experience as she fed off the crowd. Punk says it was like she was one of the Road Warriors in Atlanta in 85. “I am a fan that has the best seat in the house.”

-AJ attacks Becky and it’s one of the coolest moments of the year. Just perfect setup and delivery. AJ notes she never got to say goodbye to her fans and owed them something special. She and Punk hug and kiss in the ring as Seth carries Becky to the back. HHH says he saw a lot of little girls crying and “you weren’t alive when she was doing this.” He thought that was so cool.

-AJ gets a standing ovation walking back through Gorilla and gets a hug from Steph (I think) and HHH. He tells her she has not missed a step character-wise. She says AJ Lee was waiting out there and she didn’t feel it until she walked out there. Punk tells her he got a text that within 15 minutes the video already has over a million views on social media. Punk tells a producer you can only shit your pants so many times in a day, and he had diarrhea the minute he arrived at the building. AJ says that’s romance. These two are great together! Relationship goals man!

-We move to Wrestlepalooza and Cena is working on his entrance with a bunch of children. He tells them the goal is to have fun and be safe. That had to be cool for those kids.

-Over to Punk who says he gets to go to work with his wife and they have Larry as well. Larry is going to end up stealing this entire season. He is a little drugged up as he had surgery a few weeks ago. Yes, make the straight edge jokes about Larry. I’ve worked in the veterinary field for 30 years, so pets are a massive part of my life. Punk says Larry is a teenager and is starting to go blind. AJ says it is special to be able to push around Larry. Punk wanted to get photos with Larry, so they do a photo shoot. That’s awesome. Punk says the “why” is very different now. “Everything is better now.” He says the entire show felt like a fever dream in the best way.

-Wrestlepalooza: The first ESPN PLE: AJ and Punk vs. Becky and Seth. AJ says she is a private person and never wanted to do a story with Phil, but it’s been twelve years, and she wants to show she is proud of her husband. HHH tells them in Gorilla this is a freebie. Punk notes it was two proud husbands sharing the ring with their wives and it was more “about them than us.” True that, and I am sure Seth felt the same.

-AJ notes back in the day she had a 30-second title match and now the women can get 30 minutes. “I was terrified.” The match builds to AJ getting that first tag, and it’s magic when it happens. I thought it was a wonderful match where they worked the mixed tag formula. AJ says she always wanted to work like one of the guys, as they weren’t allowed to do that stuff. She was stunned to learn they could use the tables and says it was mind-blowing to be able to use various things. She notes she never expected to ever see any of the seeds she planted. AJ taps out Becky to get the win. Backstage, she notes she always wanted to go through a table and went uterus first, so she felt it in her entire reproductive system. “Fur Babies forever.”

-Cena vs. Brock: Cena says the reason Brock crushing him doesn’t hurt him is because he is on his way out. Brock made his return, and it was his night to dominate someone who was just champion. Yeah, we didn’t like it, but that was the story they were telling. Cena: “Boy, was the audience upset.” He says his next opponent was supposed to be Drew McIntyre, but they pivoted as they knew the fans wanted something fun. They cut back to Cena’s promo with Logan Paul and the crowd starts chanting for AJ Styles. Man, I know Drew wanted a match with Cena, and the fact that the Brock match killing the crowd cost him had to suck for Drew.

-Cena puts out the tweet asking about the possible AJ match. So yes, as expected, it was all a plan between Cena, AJ, and Hunter. Cena does give the crowd credit because of the way they responded to the tweets.

-Australia: Cena says they are going to swing big. They agree it is going to be a cool match. Cool is an understatement. It was my Match of the Year, and I go back on the ESPN app to watch it about once a month. We get sweet editing as they show the big moves hit and each person they are paying homage to hitting the move. Cena notes the crowd started calling spots. He wasn’t going to use the RKO, but the crowd called for it. He laughs that he can’t hit the 6-1-9, but they teased it, and they turn up the audio so we hear Cena telling AJ to clothesline him. Normally, no audio sweetening is needed to hear Cena call spots. I kid! I really wanted to see Cena try the 6-1-9, but he may have turned to dust. Cena: “Boy, did Perth show up.” No kidding. I love that match so much! Five stars all day long! Cena and AJ hug backstage. Rollins walks by and calls them real pieces of shit. Funny! Had to suck to follow that match. Cody and Seth did a heck of a job though.

-HHH mentions injuries can change things. Here we go! It’s Seth vs. Cody in the Champion vs. Champion match. HHH says they had great things in place for Mania, and now that is all gone. Seth goes coast to coast with a head-butt, and Seth whispers to Cody, “My shoulder is probably broken.” HHH says he thought the landing didn’t look right. Cody wasn’t sure how injured Seth was, and got optimistic that he was okay as they continued the match. HHH notes there are times they can dodge a bullet as far as an injury. HHH gets in the ring to give Seth The Crown Jewel Championship and Seth tells him, “I’m fucked.”

-In Gorilla, they discuss the injury. Seth says it could be a labrum tear. He asks what month it is, and you can see he is going through his head figuring out if he can get to Mania. He has to get a scan, but is already fearing it is going to be close to Mania. “It’s always something,” HHH says all plans they had for the remainder of the year for The Vision go up in smoke. They have to say goodbye to Seth for a little while and also have Cena about to disappear forever. That’s how we close the first episode.

-As always, I admit I am a sucker for this show. It is all so fascinating to me, and I just want more. The thing to remember is even in a show like this, the WWE is still in control and shows what they want you to see. The big thing for me was Cena breaking down his ideas for his character and how they had to pivot when it went too far in a direction the fans hated. His admitting to tanking the Main Event of Mania is wild, and it sucks that was his last Mania Match. It seems he really was in full control of what he wanted to do but was open to change from HHH when things weren’t going the way they hoped.

-This episode seemed very focused, and I enjoyed the pace. The hour flew by, and at the end I just wanted to move to the next episode, but work calls. Punk and AJ are adorable together, and I stand by the claim that Larry is going to be a star from this show, and it is going to suck when we get to the inevitable. Like watching Marley and Me all over again.

-The other main thing is seeing how they deal with the rash of injuries to The Vision and watching Bron go from a massive breakout star to being cursed and knocked down by people like Oba Femi. Good start to this one, and I will be back for episode two later tonight