It's a new era in WWE | WrestleMania 40 | Wrestling Observer Radio

Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer discuss the main event of WrestleMania night two between Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes.
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[@ericwade8747]

I was stunned to find out Meltzer is married, can you imagine? " Dave, do you take this woman to be your lawful wedded wife? " " Ok well here's the thing, its like, I sorta do but ok, I think its like I want to in a sense but ya know I sorta don't, but its like if I did it'd be really great, but also bad, but its like ya know, I could? "

[@rick2373]

Perfect.

[@UncomfortableShoes]

I wonder if he got married in the Tokyo Dome.

[@user-rx2hw8up2j]

His wife is milking him for his sweet observer money 😂

[@todpolk]

He was divorced. Did he get remarried?

[@eamonnmaccionnaith5761]

Haha

[@jeremyv8647]

Dave meltzer complete a sentence challenge: level impossible

[@artdjesus6267]

Imagine him competing with beyondthetrailer Grace Randolph

[@TribalThief]

Dave rambles like there's about 50 other people in the same room with his voice

[@FilmThePoliceFTP]

It’s recockulous

[@zacthebuzzkill]

We can’t hear them because they are in his head.

[@haljordan777]

He also got the details of the watch story wrong. Dave said Nick Khan did it. Triple H said that it was Khan's idea, and Prichard found the watch.

[@juniorkhomari1850]

I think Dave is Autistic

[@GenericMan41]

I couldn’t imagine talking to him for a living. Bryan must zone out for 90% of what Dave says.

[@grantdavis5945]

Seth to Cody: Let me be your shield

[@dngn4774]

When the feud got so real that rollins went back to wearing clothes from the men's section.

[@UncomfortableShoes]

My friends while watching when the Shield music hit: Seth coming out in Shield gear? Me: Of course, Seth will never pass up another costume change.

[@grantdavis5945]

@@UncomfortableShoes Yeah, but this time his wardrobe made sense lol

[@UncomfortableShoes]

@@grantdavis5945 also me watching with my friends: We’re getting some strange new Seth figures after this mania.

[@CA_I]

Was hoping that Dean Ambrose would be back when the Shield theme hit.

[@nateputerbaugh5709]

If Austin's music hit the stadium would've been deafening. As it stands, Taker was one of the loudest stadium pops of all time. This show and match ruled

[@daveborder7751]

If Austin had joined the main event ego tripping bury the talent fest, then him, Rock, Undertaker & Cena would be a combined age of 215 years between them. What a new era we are in-presided over by a guy about to turn 55, that has been there for nearly 30 years!

[@dngn4774]

Philly was an epic crowd for those two nights. You notice it especially during the uso match.

[@sheasheagaming1660]

@@daveborder7751You must be really fun at parties.

[@jgjgrner4647]

It would of crumbled lol

[@daveborder7751]

@@sheasheagaming1660 Like Jona Lewie you will always find me in the kitchen.

[@youcantalwaysgetwhatyouwan8419]

If you edited Dave’s rambling out, this video would be 2 minutes long

[@celtic69]

Dave just cutting off Bryan mid flow at the start there so he could talk about his experience was so rude

[@paulc1553]

Dave always interrupts. So rude.

[@SanatoZen]

Bryan flats out start by saying he wanted Dave's thought, but of course you failed basic comprehension skills test in school.

[@Scott-bh2qb]

@@SanatoZen Meltzer mark

[@DavidH1]

This happens in every single video but this one he went right to asking Dave.

[@dex4463]

That nonsense about naming his kid after Cody was idiotic.

[@X_Blake]

Correction to Bryan. It was 10 years ago when Seth hit Roman with the chair.

[@quentinkaasa47]

And 2004 wasn't that damn long ago. It couldn't have been too difficult to sleuth around and find the whereabouts of a watch that was pawned 20 years ago by one of the most famous wrestlers.

[@badaboom2321]

The fact that Cole said I love pro wrestling should already make you feel like it’s a new era

[@Stelladog0311]

I thought the same thing, sports entertainment is hopefully going to die off

[@crazyvitod]

I caught at the end of the send off- “Sports AND Entertainment”

[@jimbalcombe4038]

When bruce p gone then it might be the new era😂😂😂​@crazyvitod

[@Shisui5752]

Dave is right there at the end, I mean we saw early in the week, we saw classic Ricochet, Sami doing El Generico's moveset, along with IYO doing her classic three step moonsault (which she never used, even in NXT).

[@blablablaa14]

Sami has never used the brainbuster on the top rope in WWE either

[@BenGetItIn]

Vince always let talent get a few “unsafe” spots in a WM. Doing those crazy spots doesn’t draw, especially if they are bastardized on weekly television.

[@Shisui5752]

@@BenGetItIn you're right, but Vince banned alot of shit on PPVs too.

[@rigsby1454]

Dave genuinely likes Cody. He’s clearly happy for him

[@doubles7533]

I want Vince Russo vs Dave in a "Ya know" off vs "Bro" off

[@deadlymixx]

😭😭😭

[@mikeh77]

dont forget "as far as"

[@lololololololol]

A "5 Stars on a pole match"

[@todpolk]

Savage

[@CA_I]

Livewire was far more entertaining than this show.

[@ozymandiastheking2139]

Can Dave ever say two sentences in a row without getting distracted and heading off on a tangent? He is so difficult to listen to

[@erick_solar]

So don't listen to him, it's gonna be easier for you.

[@Connax94]

Are you new here?

[@WeezyD313]

I thought I had that bad. This mofo the worst

[@mma9869]

The uhhhs ohhhs man

[@marsspacex6065]

Nobody is forcing you to listen to this. You keep watching so stop complaining.

[@albertiancu6012]

Take a shot everytime he says "ya know"

[@UncomfortableShoes]

I don’t want to die

[@SeranaTheStudent]

You'd be dead before the video ends

[@3rdFloor]

They got the same exact watch because his sister knew the person at the pawn shop and they kept it because dusty pawned it as his watch to get more from it. The guy paid way more just to have his watch. His sister told Nick Khan the story and they got the watch. Someone on Facebook who went to school with Cody and is friend with the family posted this. It’s pretty dope if this is true

[@hank7216]

Figured they knew someone from the pawn shop as it was most likely local to Dusty, and Dusty was a celebrity so the owner would remember

[@hobbesthegoblin]

The real mystery is how the son of a plumber going through hard times could afford a gold rolex in the first place

[@shoeflaps]

It's a Rolex, tracking the serial number wouldn't have been that difficult if it was available for sale anywhere in the world even.

[@hank7216]

@@shoeflaps exactly

[@chriskay1449]

@@shoeflaps If you actually have the serial number to begin with. Pretty good chance that nobody had that.

[@619AJ]

Let’s be honest, Tony Khan couldn’t book that kind of ending if his life depended on it. Triple H deserves a lot of credit but he also surrounds himself with guys like Paul Heyman and others who have had a lot of success in the wrestling business for decades. Tony Khan surrounds himself with yes men dirt sheet writers and middle aged white women who wrote for D level sitcoms.

[@IAEMThatIAEM]

the ending was most reminiscent of Starrcade 97, without the Hogan "botch" when the babyfaces in the company came out; it reminded me of fhe end of that show

[@Fezzy976]

I so wish I was there to rebook that match!!

[@UncomfortableShoes]

While that’s true. At Mania 10 Vince had the faces raise Bret on their shoulders at the end in 94’ I believe this was more of a call back to that ending.

[@duckmercy11]

Also Luger at Summerslam 93

[@nateputerbaugh5709]

I've said for awhile this match should be the way Starrcade should've been booked. Every babyface finally saying screw this crap and getting vengeance

[@matthewthomas9194]

They did it with bret at mania 10 sting at starrcade 97 luger on nitro in 97

[@springer90]

Dave is glitching out

[@shizz3086]

If I had a nickel every time Dave Says you know...

[@jmc6327]

You'd be a billionaire 💰 💰 💰

[@chamae01]

You'd be Mercedes mone rich

[@200billythekid]

You’d have a bunch of vbucks you know

[@CarlSalts]

Can we take a moment to appreciate how incredible Samantha Irvin was throughout Mania. The emotion when Cody won was all of us!

[@simonturner1]

She needs to stop trying to sound like a man. I have to skip forward every time she talks because it's so grating.

[@catchemcarlisle5655]

If you hated this you’re the issue, end of story. Insane fan service. Everyone cooked

[@Bahador.B]

Check your grammar or you're the issue.

[@gregamania1327]

The main event was more of a really long angle instead of a match. Hard to take it seriously.

[@catchemcarlisle5655]

Are you ok?

[@nityovlogs]

Cope AEW s-licker!

[@EAmotion]

@@gregamania1327who cares it’s one of the best angles ever then, amazing match prior too the twist and turns

[@111JFish]

Someone cut Dave's mic. Holy fuck.

[@PR-it2ys]

This is a sterling example of why Dave’s success came from the written word and not the spoken word.

[@rocklee2344]

As someone that has a Rolex, and only the intro one, that company keeps track of that shit. It's far easier to find than a regular watch.

[@BrainchildDnB]

Bryan said the babyfaces who did run-ins didn't interfere with the match, but Cena gave an AA to Roman.

[@reallydude111]

If he says “ya know” one more time

[@toddhall3389]

Ya know, the thing.

[@marctoad]

what, you'll stop watching his videos? please do so you can shut up and the rest of us can follow along like adults

[@disclaimer.imjokin]

Welsh people say it all the time. Annoying

[@LubbockBabesFan]

@@disclaimer.imjokin "Well ya know..."

[@KittyKatMan93]

Keep watching and commenting, that'll show him!

[@Zidane-10]

Dave Meltzer is a real life Looney Tune

[@xShoTime83x]

Daffy Dave.

[@smackdowngod]

Ya know drinking game! Oh crap…. I died of alcohol poisoning

[@IllyrianHighlander]

Dave is a wordsmith

[@KayFabe87]

Those words are: umm, uhh, ya know, ...

[@mattcrisp1977]

They never said it's the actual watch, they said it's the same watch, not the one that was on Dusty's wrist. They make it pretty clear at least three times in the press conference

[@BestWest92]

Them finding the exact watch is that crazy if they knew the right pawn shop they'd probably have records

[@LouieB615]

That's what I'm thinking. Pawn shops usually keep records. What would've been difficult is if some person bought the watch and then they died, or moved away.

[@bretthargate6852]

This was beautiful story telling. Roman choosing to hit Seth because he just couldn't let go of the past & it ultimately being his downfall was pure cinema

[@johnrigs6540]

Been watching Wrestling probably as long as Dave… ( I was there as a little kid at MSG when we all thought Dusty won the title from Superstar Billy Graham! Those were the days when big super matches with the champion were NEVER on free TV. Here in NYC we had to go pay to see them at the Garden!) But I really think that in terms of story, drama, and real emotion… …this was the very BEST finale to a Wrestling show that I’ve ever seen. Tremendous job by Triple H and WWE.

[@justinbeck6919]

About the watch, I believe Rolex watches are serialized so if they had access to the info of the watch dusty bought they could maybe track it down

[@glass_oni0n]

I'm not a watch guy so someone who is can correct me on this, but I actually think a specific Rolex is one of the easier things to track down in terms of collectibles/heirlooms. I'm pretty sure most Rolex's are sold as a complete package with the paperwork and original bill of sale. It's not easy to find, but I think it's easier than trying to find someone's specific guitar by a serial number or another piece of jewelry.

[@vlv723]

Dave’s been doing wrestling journalism for over 30 years and he still has not improved his public speaking. He’s gotta go to a Toastmasters meeting.

[@KayFabe87]

Writing is a different skill set than public speaking. The Toastmasters suggestion is a good one since Dave is definitely not skilled in the art of verbal communication.

[@bfunderb5899]

“You know, well, you know what, um, I mean. I mean, uh, um, yeah. I mean, you know it’s, um, yeah. Well, you know….”

[@gojirajenkins8528]

I totally popped when Bubba Ray Dudley came out

[@andrebdd5818]

My son was named after Cody Rhodes but he really wasn't. Good to see Dave can't even get that right

[@pegrande1504]

I would go even further than Dave. The greatest climax in the history of wrestling.

[@DJReyzor357]

Dave Meltzer makes everything about him and completely confuses 😕 the masses about the main topic of discussion.

[@BrayzenBull]

That is the closest Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks get to Mania.

[@eddiew2325]

kenny omega imo is a superstar. young bucks are trash

[@1sportsfan]

Alvarez can't even get through one sentence before Dave has to supercede him.

[@beejay271]

Night 1 was "ok" it was the equivalent of pretty good non big 4 PPV, but night 2 was EXCELLENT! My only real complaint about the entire weekend was as much as I like Sami Zayn. I believe that Chad Gable should have been the one to dethrone Gunther. With all the start stop pushes, the stupid Shorty G gimmick, and his Kurt Angel level ring ability, he's been an underdog since he debuted on the main roster. Throw in his family story he's more deserving than Sami, who's been a multi time champ and headlined a PPV for the Universal title. So, between the two, who's the actual underdog? I'm going with Gable

[@zartan215]

🎯

[@killemsoftly15]

Since they did the call back to Rocky where Sammy said he was afraid. I thought they were going to do the Rocky 4 where Gunther just pulverizes Sami Zayn and gets on the mic and tells gabel that beating him was so easy that if he wants to challenge him night 2 when he can.

[@beejay271]

@killemsoftly15 I was thinking the same thing, lol. I thought Chad and Sami were gonna do a Rocky/Apollo Rocky 4 deal minus the death lol

[@killemsoftly15]

@@beejay271 "if he does, he dies" -Drago

[@beejay271]

@killemsoftly15 That would have been one hell of a way to write someone off of TV. Looking at you, Impact Wrestling 😆

[@BlackTess-1666]

Levesque stated in the press conference that, although it originally was Nick Khan's idea, Bruce Prichard did the actual legwork tracking down the watch. I personally interpreted what Paul said as, they got Cody an identical watch, but it wasn't made entirely clear.

[@pantallica416]

Mick Foley talks about fans sending him his ring worn gear all the time because Mick wanted it. Cody getting the same watch isnt that far fetched as Bryan thinks.

[@6DADADA]

A random watch that was pawned versus a wrestler's gear that is easily identifiable and findable are 2 different things

[@malmalspur]

​@@6DADADAIf there's a specific aspect that makes it unique it's not that far fetched a fan had it somewhere.

[@dreamshakejunya]

@@6DADADAyeah. You’re right. The watch has a serial number and probably a story to go with it…

[@dreamshakejunya]

@@malmalspur lol yes. Rolexes have serial numbers

[@stevensullivan1664]

If they were going to do the Rolex storyline it should of been spoken about before hand and it should of been the Rock who purchased the watch and Cody takes it off of him after Taker chokeslams him.

[@stuka187]

Hey WWE, thanks for uploading the last 30 seconds of your main event because i thought i was gonna have to download your PLE and skip to the end.

[@Infinite47o]

Lets not forget the most important part of him shaking Codys hand and saying thank you for sacrificing everything to make this happen. Seth was tony Stark to his Cap

[@brandone869]

U do kno Rolex can be directly tracked by their serial number 🙄🤣

[@JosephGarcia-hw4of]

I was watching it with my brothers and when they announced it is time for the main event, my friends went , " wait really?!?" It was so good that time just flew by . And I was watching it with my dad for the first time ❤️

[@88smjls]

It's possible if you paid the pawn shop to tell you who bought it. If that person is a regular customer or at least you have their contact info.

[@jesterr7133]

It wasn't necessarily predictable, but they went with the most logical ending to these feuds. They looked at each match, and gave the fans what they wanted to see. They decided to send everyone home happy.

[@drobinson-uo7ic]

Dave stop interrupting Bryan you fool

[@MattAlbie]

I'm so glad to see the comments pretty universally have turned on Dave. I found this dude unlistenable a long time ago. I skip his sections to hear what Alvarez wants to say. Ya know?

[@jesterr7133]

They did a masterful job with this show. Each one of the top guys has some type of story with at least three other top guys. They can basically go in any direction that they want to.

[@uriblaketheriddimprotege]

Its soo difficult to listen to dave speak

[@adamkapas5459]

This was perfect, my only problem is that I missed Austin to come out, where was heeee

[@tomsawyer5736]

Taker is my fav wrestler so I loved it but Austin giving Rock a Stunner would have made the most sense.

[@Nodnarb518]

I mean how the heck do you even find that watch?

[@dogred431]

I thought the match was pretty much the same as their moments in night 1. The over booking of interference was ridiculous. The ending however was incredible and it was great to see Cody finally get the title. Should have been Austin in the Taker spot though.

[@JohnRigby5011]

Nights and moments like last night made me love wrestling again!!

[@shannonsmith7634]

A new era including The Rock, Cena, and Taker is WILD

[@littleCarmine]

Why is everything WILD these days

[@reset-rize]

No they ended the old era

[@HkFinn83]

The amount of mainstream coverage of WM has been a surprise and kind of amazing this year. Wrestling is in a boom for sure.

[@James9399_]

Austin instead of Taker and it would have been truly one of the GOAT moments. Can you imagine that pop if the glass shattered and we got Rock/Austin

[@Mezzala90]

That makes no sense. Austin/Rock is Finished. But Taker lost to Roman and Brock (Heyman Guy) at WM and is the real Final Boss at WM. Everything made perfect sense. Rollins as the Shield, Taker with the right WM Send off, Cena against Solo. The Usos...perfect storytelling and i love Austin, but there was NO Story.

[@SteveC484]

@@Mezzala90 Taker has nothing to do with bloodline. Last we saw Taker and Roman together they were tag teaming. Taker and Rock barely have any history together. Austin would have made far more sense and been a better moment. Guessing he couldn't do it for some reason.

[@Mezzala90]

@@SteveC484 Taker lost only 2 times at Mania, against Heyman and Roman, is the real Final Boss at Mania and Reigns "My Yard" Promo against Taker was the first "heelish" promo from Roman 2016. Austin/Rock is finished for WM.

[@Harukoon92]

​@@Mezzala90 Makes no sense? It makes no sense to profit off nostalgia of Rock/Austin - arguably one of THE all time greatest WrestleMania/WWE feuds of ALL time? We really gonna pretend like WrestleMania 17 Rock and Austin promo package "My Way" doesn't fucking hit. Like the the glass shatter for Austin's music doesn't just trigger a Pavlovian pop? Crazy.

[@Mezzala90]

@@Harukoon92 Jesus you really don't get it? Of course it would be awesome, but Austin has no history with Roman and his story with Rock is finished at WM. Use your braun. Taker is the Final Boss at WM and his losses were against a Heyman Guy and Roman. That makes all sense.

[@I_beat_up_cuckolds]

The mark era. Inside the ring , outside the ring, announcers, commentators, booker. Under triple h, its just nxt black and gold 3.0 with monster marketing

[@royalhighteatime667]

He said he son was named after cody then said he wasn't lol

[@beammeup1930]

They have that whole show where they track down all that wrestling items you never know somebody could have had it knowing that that was the watch and held on to it as a wrestling memorabilia collector

[@zacthebuzzkill]

Both nights were great, they were a lot of fun.

[@samwich852]

It's really not unfathomable at all that they were able to track down Dusty's watch. Musicians find old, long ago sold guitars on the used market all the time

[@meherenow793]

new generation > > > > > new era; by a city mile, country mile and any other kind.

[@FilmThePoliceFTP]

It’s only predictable if you pay attention to the internet. I bet people would enjoy it much more if they just watched the shows. I know I did when I knew nothing of what went on behind the scenes in the late 80s through the attitude era

[@letsgobrandon1906]

The writing is wrestling isn’t exactly Ozark. It’s written so children can notice details and make predictions as well. Anyone who has watched 6 months of wrestling or more can predict the outcomes of these shows let along casual watchers with years of watching

[@cookslooking10]

You can't forget what you already know. e.g. when they give it the "stop the match Sami's finished" schtick you know he's winning. The Cody inevitability was admittedly unavoidable, they'd booked themselves into a corner.

[@c.a.t4607]

​@@letsgobrandon1906literally a scripted soap opera for kids and teenagers...

[@danielruski5694]

@@letsgobrandon1906 ozark isn’t great writing.

[@galacticpimps4736]

Dave makes exactly the same sound when he talks as a jelly does when it wobbles. Its amazing really

[@masonteague4039]

So glad cody Rhodes finished the story

[@blablablaa14]

TK was at home furious because this show was so good

[@ebransc09]

He feared for his life at the dong and hid under his couch

[@andrewbarbarash3116]

Austin beating Shawn at 14 was the absolute best climax because it set the tone for a new era ushered in and validated Austin finally becoming a legit top guy that he thoroughly deserved.

[@joshuam4921]

I'm thinking maybe the Rolex had a special engraving on it that can help identify it as Dusty's. Also there are secondary market sellers that specialize in finding rare pieces.

[@jesterr7133]

Rolex watches have serial numbers that identify them. That number would have definitely been recorded on the pawn paperwork. It would be incredibly difficult to find the exact watch, but not impossible for a multi billion dollar company, particularly if WWE had access to that paperwork. If the person who bought the watch from the pawn shop still owned it, it would be possible to identify and recover the exact watch. It would practically impossible for any other brand, but not for Rolex.

[@bryanlegarretta3404]

How many times does Dave have to say “you know “ and just rambles on

[@gohan_j]

Did they just spend 30% of time on how did they find the watch? This is great

[@seansines]

You’d be surprised with the level of nerd in the watch collecting community it may well be the exact one

[@MADGUNSMONSTER]

I swear this was the most coherent and cogent Dave has been in years. "DAMN!!" (as relayed by Mr. Ron Simmons)

[@gromester1092]

Guy 1: “Knock, knock!” Guy 2: “Who’s there?” Guy 1: “ Interrupting Dave!” Guy 2: “ Interrupting Dave Wh…” Guy 1: “ YOU KNOW!”

[@Omerta_Pariah]

Listening to Dave talk is very painful. The man talks I'm endless circles.

[@Evans32796]

I see we are still in the era where Meltzer interrupts every 2 seconds.....

[@TheSeanmac1986]

Bruce prichard found it but it was Nick Khans idea

[@SilverScreenDudes]

Rolex’ have registration codes and cert numbers. Tracking Dusty’s watch (if it was a Rolex) would actually be very easy

[@423chart]

Dave “twists and turns” Meltzer 😂

[@RichL57]

Predictable but exactly what we all wanted. Triple h is doing an amazing job. Wwe might be the best it's ever been. Wm40 was the best ending to any wrestling event

[@rentoptional1524]

Rolex's have serial numbers. Im assuming dusty had it written dowm on a receipt somewhere.

[@johncannoli5837]

Watch collecting wrestling fan here, all Rolex watches have a unique serial number and are issued a matching set of papers. If I had the serial number and Nick Kahn’s resources there’s a solid chance I could find it.

[@user-ly4hg2jb6e]

It is the exact watch Dusty pawned. Conrad Thompson helped out.

[@mr.martnz14]

Someone needs to give Dave some speech therapy classes asap because this is a train wreck

[@bentheman1980]

Wasnt the term „kill“ considered unprofessional up until last week when Punk said he would’ve „killed“ Hangman?

[@mkultra5752]

Its important to also notice when stephanie came out she talked about the new era with hhh and thanked him ...totally distancing herself from her dad

[@1sportsfan]

someone smarten Bryan up that Pawn Shops keep records of who they buy and sell for legal reasons in case someone sells stolen goods to a Pawn Shop.

[@PiercePoloIII]

Rolexes are registered to specific users - there is a chain of ownership. So they could have theoretically found the exact watch Dusty pawned.

[@Jay_Cannon]

7:37 I think the guy at the pawn shop was like holy sh*t that’s Dusty Rhodes and he just pawned his watch, and probably kept it. Then I can see how they tracked it down.

[@jordank5328]

I would love to hear more of Daves analysis of college wrestling. When Cody was graduating high school around 2003, Penn State was not powerhouse it is now. They were good, sure, but the national title run they've been on didn't start till 2011. In 2003, Iowa, Minnesota, or OK State were the top programs

[@NexusFantismo]

Why does Dave keep cutting off Alvarez if he doesn't have a well thought out thing to say?

[@mr.y.mysterious.video1]

Rolex come with a serieal number card, if they knew the serial, or maybe the owner was told who owned it when they bought it from the pawn shop