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-Welcome to live coverage of WWE Backstage.  As has become a trend, Big East Basketball is running long so the show is going to start late.  Join me once Marquette and St John’s wrap up their game.  A quick note as I want to thank everyone who posted well wishes for my step-dad last week.  I am happy to say that he is home from the hospital and doing well.  Also, I just wanted to note my 49ers are heading to The Super Bowl and my high school alma mater, Uniontown Red Raiders, won their 1800th basketball game in school history (Top 10 all time in Pennsylvania).  Thanks for indulging me with all the shout-outs and as long as we don’t get OT, Backstage will be starting soon.

-Show opening!

-Renee Young welcomes us to the show and she is joined by Christian and two empty chairs.  The Rumble buzzer goes off and Paige’s music hits as she makes her entrance to the set.  She jokes about being in the Men’s Rumble and eliminating Lesnar before Punk enters at 30 and eliminates her.  The buzzer goes off again and now CM Punk makes his entrance as it’s Clobbering Time.  Renee mentions he is training and Punk says he wants #30 and they are only offering #28.  Booker T is not here as he is busy training for a Rumble spot as his deadline for the WWE to call him is ticking away.

-Week in Review: SmackDown sees John Morrison return to in ring action, Bryan get revenge on The Fiend thanks to Kane, and Reigns pick a Falls Count Anywhere Match as the stip for his match with Corbin.  On RAW, Asuka gets one up on Becky again, Rollins and Murphy win the Tag Titles, and Andrade beats Rey in a ladder match.

-They talk about the tag titles and Punk knows the tag titles are sometimes seen as a prop.  He is happy to see the tag titles involved with the top story on RAW and he gives this a thumbs up.  Christian loves the story of Murphy losing over and over again and needing a leader like Rollins.  Christian jokes he is the leader of Backstage as he anoints himself Backstage Buddha.  Paige is old school as she think s a tag team should win the tag titles.  Punk jokes that maybe they will make 2 guys that hate each other the tag champions.

-Next topic is the ladder match and Christian knows a thing or two about ladder matches.  He loves that Andrade has hit every opportunity he has been given out of the park.  Paige loves Vega as Andrade’s manager and that she isn’t afraid to get physical.  Punk thinks Vega is great as she played his wife in Paige’s movie.  Outside of that he does think she is amazing and brings something different to the table.

-We see video of Asuka attacking Becky on RAW last night.  Paige wants Asuka to win on Sunday and loves that she finally has a real obstacle in her way.  Punk compares it to Batman having The Joker and wants to see this feud continue.  He wants Asuka to continue to be the thorn in Becky’s side.  Christian is all about the story being told as even with her amazing year, Becky knows she isn’t the best because she hasn’t beaten Asuka.

-Commercials!

-Becky Lynch hype video and she is given a proper introduction as she joins Renee, Punk, and Paige on set.  Renee asks when Becky felt she had morphed into this man role.  She brings up SummerSlam when she “turned heel” and slapped Charlotte.  This was when she felt freedom and was able to finally let loose.  Punk says it all sounds so familiar and brings up iconic moments that are engrained as still shots: Hogan shaking hands with Savage, Austin bleeding in the Sharpshooter, (Renee brings up Punk sitting Indian Style on the ramp with a mic) and that leads him to bring up Becky standing in the crowd with a broken nose.  He wants to know if all the frustration was worth it, and she says the anger is good if you can do something with it.  Paige wants to know why The Man character has worked compared to everything else she has done.  Becky knows it’s because she was angry and wasn’t going to take any crap anymore.  She also made sure to use social media to continue her message and get it out there 24/7.

-Renee brings up that Becky was going to quit wrestling and the last match she had for quite some time was against Paige’s mom.  She says her mom was so sweet as she took care of her and then after that match she didn’t wrestle for 7 years.  She managed Paige and her mom for a bit.  They bring up Lynch and Punk knowing each other for 14 years and Lynch mentions they first met in SHIMMER.

-The talk switches to Asuka and Becky calls her phenomenal.  She talks about Auska being booked so strong and then kind of having the rug pulled out from under her at Mania last year.  She felt bad for her and without getting too inside, she wants to make Asuka look like a monster again.

-Twitter poll as they ask who wore the Mist better: Lynch or Paige.  Punk calls it equal as they are both rather pale, so the green soaks in rather easily.

-Commercials! Including XFL on FOX Feb 8th!

-Back with a flashback to the HHH/Cactus Jack feud in 2000.  That leads to HHH and Foley discussing their legendary Street Fight at Royal Rumble 2000.  Man, it’s been 20 years?  HHH says it doesn’t get much better than a WWF Title Match in a sold out MSG.  Foley said he always felt at home in those types of matches and brings up HHH getting punctured in his calf by a piece of wood from a suplex on pallets.  They show footage and it was gushing blood.  Foley thinks HHH deserves a ton of credit for continuing the whole way through the match and for bringing out the best in Cactus Jack that day.  The match was just a war on every level.  HHH says he felt a ton of pressure to step up to Foley’s level in that type of match.  HHH gets the win after a pedigree on thumbtacks.  HHH says to this day it is one of his favorite matches in his career.  Foley says they knew they killed it but it always takes the audience letting you know if a match stands the test of time.

-Renee and Christian talk about the match as she has goosebumps listening to them talk about it.  Christian was there that night (Tag Table Match with Dudleys, which was also awesome) and he says all the boys were watching to see if HHH could step up in that environment.  He mentions that Mick put the match and the crowd above his own self and that’s why he is a legend.  Renee throws it to Becky, Punk, and Paige and wants their favorite matches.

-Punk mentions his match with Cena in Houston as one of his favorites.  He was sick with the flu and was irritated he was a stepping stone to The Rock.  Punk says for him that match was his WrestleMania that year and all he told John before the match was he wanted to use a piledriver.  He calls Cena one of the best dance partners he’s ever had.  The Undertaker match wasn’t talked about yet, so he thought that was going to be his high point for the year.  Paige brings up her SummerSlam match in 2014 with AJ Lee where she won the Divas Title for the second time.  AJ was hurt and was going to be out the following day, so she had a great match with her without having her take a bump.  Becky brings up her match with Charlotte at Evolution and her Hell in a Cell match this past year with Sasha.  Punk was a fan of that apparently as he calls that match brutal.  He then asks Renee if she has a favorite and obviously she hasn’t had a match, but she has been able to get a few slaps in.  She brings up Maryse slapping her and wishes Maryse a Happy Birthday.

-Commercials!

-Pay It Off: Punk gets asked who should win the Men’s Royal Rumble.  Punk thinks Keith Lee should win The Royal Rumble.  He puts over the showing he had at Survivor Series.  He thinks they need to follow up on what happened there and that he needs to eliminate Brock and win the whole thing.  Paige wants Otis to win the Rumble as she loves him. Christian thinks Brock should win as he wants to see him run The Gauntlet and he wants to see what he will do after winning.  Punk wants to read Twitter reactions from fans if Brock wins.  Renee is upset everyone is sleeping on Drew McIntyre.

-Now for the ladies and Paige wants Kairi Sane to win (if Paige herself can’t win).  Punk asks Renee and Paige if they are in it and both say no.  He will go with Sasha Banks to see how things play out with her and Bayley.  Christian wants Shayna Baszler as he compares her to Brock.

-Renee brings up the death of Rocky Johnson and speaks for everyone on Backstage as they offer The Rock and his family condolences.  They show Rock’s Instagram message thanking everyone for their love and support.  RIP Rocky!

-Commercials!

-The Main Event: Becky and Punk join Renee to discuss the state of the Women’s Division.  Renee brings up that Punk has called the Women’s Division the best thing in the WWE.  Becky thinks they are past making history and just wants things to be normal and it shouldn’t be “well this is the women’s segment.”  Punk says he is all about representation and looks at how all these different women out there can watch people like Becky, Sasha, Bayley, Asuka, and see all the different doors that can be opened.  He is excited to see women who aren’t used as just “pieces of ass.”  He isn’t knocking the guys who are awesome, but we always see that, and he just likes seeing the women being used the way they are.  Becky brings up that the pools are shallow on RAW and SmackDown but they need to find a way to tell new stories with the same people.  That is what they are trying to do with her and Asuka right now.  Becky is obsessing over how to make this feud different and how to stand out with all the wrestling content that is out there.

-Commercials as someone photoshops Christian’s head on a statue of Buddha.

-Next week WWE Backstage will be live in Miami for Super Bowl Week as FOX has the rights to the Super Bowl this year.  Once again, Go Niners!

-Becky wins the twitter poll on who wore the mist better by a 52-48 margin, and with that we are quickly out.

-I continue to enjoy this show and this one was no different.  Punk continues to fit in well and seems invested and it’s just nice hearing him talk about wrestling again.  Sure, we expect him to throw in snarky one liners, but the story about his match with Cena was great as was his explanation of why he loves the women’s division.  Becky was good as well and this was just a fun show that didn’t rely on celebrities, and games, and promo school like we’ve gotten in the past.  Sometimes it’s nice to get a break from reoccurring segments and just have pros talk about wrestling.  This show continues to chug along with good stuff and is made even better by the great chemistry everyone seems to have together.  As always, thanks for reading!