The WRESTLEMANIA Main Event goes deeper than you think…

[@Luc.Hewett]

Never been a wrestling person and never really understood it but using it to talk about nepo babies made me understand XD

[@DanLayton]

Education is about being relatable 💅✨

[@Charlotte-hv6ll]

I never thought I'd say this, but please describe more wrestling arcs to us!

[@Lex_brooke]

I just want to say, I feel like these video essay-esque videos on somewhat niche celebrity culture are some of your best work

[@DanLayton]

All those years reading gossip and entertainment websites led to something!

[@Lex_brooke]

@@DanLayton years of academy training put to good use my friend

[@Tessothemorning]

I know you said you were a bit anxious about this one, Dan, but it was bloody lovely. You are engaging, entertaining and told a beautifully constructed story. My entire interest in wrestling comes through watching smart, funny people talk about things they love in the Wrestletalk extended universe. Seeing the whole industry through your eyes (all of you) has been a total revelation to me and opened up a whole world of stories I knew nothing about. Is there anything more fun in life than that?

[@chrishowell6469]

Yes, Dan! Loved this! Your point about Nepo Babies saying "I have to work twice as hard" really resonated with me. Yes, they do. But not FOR the job, but rather, FOR their legacy. They are working hard because they probably have some unfair standards put upon them by their family. But they still get the jobs. Every time. Even if they fail, they fail upwards. And that, if anything, is more an indictment of society's views on nepotism. You're judged by your family. Nepo Babies may be judged hard, but if your family isn't famous; you're barely worth judging.

[@Milksword]

As a wrestling fan it's really fun to see it explained in a way non-fans will understand and still be compelled by; it's definitely worked, going by this comments section. Great job, Dan!

[@willowh9975]

This is such a clever lens to use to talk about this - and thank you for showcasing some of the high camp of the wrestling world, which I know absolutely nothing about but am fully invested in based only on Gold Dust's entrance at 12:28

[@DanLayton]

Goldust 4 Life, no takebacks

[@theboringkaren]

Feeling proud over you sneakily making this a wrestling video.

[@DanLayton]

Tee - and if I may - hee

[@hattietaylor2548]

I was genuinely disappointed that this video ended. You got me so invested in the stories of those wrestlers that I need to know how it ends. I need more!

[@goodnighttheskye]

I can't believe you made this video so engaging that I nearly yelled "Wait!! When is the fight?? How can we watch it?? I have to know how it ends!!" out loud after that cut to black. A real testament to your storytelling ability - I'm hooked despite not being at all invested in the art form, or at least I wasn't.

[@barbaraj1163]

I am sitting alone in my studio and just exclaimed: "That was a great one!" I really enjoyed this video. Not only the message but also the style! Well done!

[@Dr.Tectonic]

God *damn*, dude. That was compelling! I watched a bit of wrestling back in the '90s, but never really cared much about the story. You have made me care. And then you went and wove it into a cogent sociocultural analysis seasoned liberally with humor. You know that you're really good at this, right? *This* is why I subscribed, even though you don't have a well-articulated niche beyond being yourself. Your channel may be eclectic and even a bit haphazard, but it's quality entertainment through and through.

[@heartmonk7737]

This is a lovely bit of content. Using pro wrestling storylines to examine a vastly disparate topics is pretty cool. Would love to see more along the lines of drawing unexpected connections between things.

[@bortoverbakke]

I have never watched wrestling, and I'm not sure I ever will, but wow I got so invested when you started explaining! I love listening to superfans explaining their interests, the passion is so contagious😍 Also, you're a marvellous storyteller Dan👏

[@LouIMissU123]

I have fallen in love with wrestling in the last 3 years, my partner had loved it for his whole life. We both watched this video and were so emotional. It perfectly sums up the excitement of wrestling and the importance of this year's wrestlemania ❤❤

[@alenaz2081]

Holy moly, that was a BOMB! A) I am now invested in wrestling lol but more importantly B) the last part made me really emotional. Thank you for sharing your talent and view!

[@MorganPBandJ]

Daniel J Layton: the only man that could make me watch (and appreciate) a 20min video about wrestling

[@YouMeEvery1]

I know absolutely nothing about current wresting but when you said "undesirable to undeniable" I almost teared up. You are a great storyteller.

[@valerieel2131]

This was so good! Never loose your niche Dan, you’re a damn good storyteller & your passion always shines through. Thank you for doing what you do!

[@absolutelycukoo]

Had you told me I would devour a video about wrestling up and scrape the bowl for more before I watched this I would never have believed you. Daniel, you’re a god damn legend!

[@9thgalaxy778]

Urgh Dan this video is excellent! I love how passionate and insightful you are. The jokes are funny, and the writing is so truthful and sharp. Thanks for the video!!

[@aoifemcdonnell8401]

Not going to lie, been waiting for this video all day❤

[@UMNIA]

freakin' love doing this through the Wrestling lens. You nailed it!

[@Harri_James]

Ugh, what an ending. Beautiful video Dan.

[@ricky999doc]

This video was phenenomal! The ability to succinctly distill two Wrestlers arcs was amazing! More of this please x

[@joopeyjelly9947]

Came from the Mania stream. Hi Dan, lovely video.

[@annabelledavis2389]

I didn’t want this one to end!!

[@TamaraJayne85]

Awesome video! My husband is wrestling mad, so I have adopted it through osmosis. I would happily listen to you talk wrestling each week. Thank you!

[@dawnhazell2697]

Was looking for a way that I could emotionally connect and relate to the whole wrestling thing and then you presented stardust and I was sold.

[@MattEvuns]

those ad breaks were placed disgustingly well

[@Harri_James]

I haven't watched WWE in years but that is a genius heel turn! So smart. ETA: Never knew that about Gold dust, that's fascinating. Thought he was just another weird character in a show full of weird characters. I love BTS stuff like this. Guessing your podcast focuses on more current stuff but as I said I don't watch anymore....some sort of video series on WWE history could be kind of cool...if that's something you'd be interested in making. I get it if not though, especially when not all your viewers are interested in wrestling

[@20129010334251]

so now i'm crying over wrestling storylines?! you've definitely got a gift for storytelling!

[@goldfish1646]

‘this is stardust’😂 - was staying till the end anyways, but that solidified it xoxo

[@Alex-vj1tj]

Also your cardboard signs in the background are absolutely fantastic!

[@DanLayton]

THANK YOU FOR NOTICING I spent too long on them 😂

[@estherdunlop2010]

Brilliant perspective as usual Dan! Getting in the room is 80% of the battle most of the time

[@Alex-vj1tj]

Honestly didn't know wrestling had characters like that, or even had story lines... I'm intrigued.

[@bobbysheila]

Such a great video. We are lucky to have you sir!

[@beansprout9261]

I have never seen a wrestling match in my life, gonna be honest I didn’t know there was lore??? I knew they wore fun costumes but there are actual storylines and character development? Thats wild. How does the narrative fit around the fights, like do they talk doing matches? A narrator? can someone give me a summary bc I’m intrigued now

[@julischrier]

Rewatching this after a year of diving deep into wrestling and it’s such a good angle for this story. Punched the air in excitement when you brought Sami into it lol

[@jamielou]

I watched this and zoned out every time you talked about wrestling so didn't actually get any of the point you made but honestly I could listen to you narrate paint dry so thanks for providing my audio content whilst getting ready for the day 🤣

[@GreenGiantJG]

Fantastic video Mr. Layton. I wish beyond hope we can get a video like this again but with the production value of that one video from a few years ago "Wrestling Is Wrestling". You'd be such a great star of that kind of project. 😁

[@jacthwakk8328]

Funny that video was made by another nepo baby

[@randomguy019]

As a life long wrestling fan, seeing the comments filled with people who would've never given it a second look in the past being entertained by what you've told them about it fills my soul with joy. Wrestling, when it's good, can be the most electric, energizing form of entertainment ever. Edit: Alsi, SUPPORT WRESTLETALK!

[@ProdigalGeek]

I expected to be entertained. I was! I did not expect to be educated as well. Excellent work Dan!

[@meganhafwriter]

Daniel J Layton!! What a bloody brilliant video. I never knew that Wrestling had so much depth and storytelling to it... I am INVESTED! What a fantastic video. It perfectly encapsulated my feelings towards "nepo baby drama", your writing and video execution is excellent

[@jamielou]

What I got out of this is that wresting is essential Drag

[@Thetechnicolorchild]

I love this format!

[@GKForwhatisworth]

Commenting for the algorithm but honestly such a good video, wrestling storytelling is faschinating!!!

[@sabs939]

Never thought I’d emotionally invest in wrestling! Great video 👍🏻

[@holycrocs3670]

This was so good! I'm not into wrestling but you made it super interesting

[@rahuanch]

Watching this video mede me 300 times more mad at that WrestleMania main event

[@ianwhitsitt8189]

as a WrestleTalk/pFk viewer who popped huge when Dan joined the team, this is perfectly full circle hurts like hell post-Mania though! lmao :|

[@BBXcompany]

the new season is still coming out so i wouldnt say youre too late on this topic

[@sk8witch_]

loved this video dan! i haven't really been looking forward to mania but now i'm super excited for roman v cody!!

[@LisEibh]

Bold choice to tell the nepo story via the wrestling world nepo babies, bravo Dan, as a non-wrestling fan, I enjoyed that 👍

[@a.westleywilson5687]

So incredibly well put, and well illustrated in an effective if unconventional way. This has been the general opinion of myself about nepo babies across the board, like a lot of identity labels that denote specific privledge - either you accept that you did have privledge, or you don't. Nepo Babies who don't, who protest the title, often either are not of the talent that would be required of them to make it if they didn't have their name backing them, or they are uncomfortable in the face of their own privledge despite their talent. Neither are good places to be. Who you are is who you are, and everyone has a leg up somewhere. Some people have a lot more of a leg up, and denying that is pointless.

[@honeybee592]

This is one of my favourite videos of yours!! You might have got me into wrestling 😂 I'll check out your wrestling show 😊

[@zecher9]

Nicely done! I am not a wrestling fan but enjoyed your explanation.

[@cathlighting]

Excellent as always, your thoughts are always worth the wait 😊

[@MrJakewray]

Literally just yesterday I found out Clairo is a nepo baby

[@isabelchmontuenga]

So. I dont watch, neither im interested in wrestling. But it sure is just another entretainment industry. And im glad that you got to showcase the case of nepotism through it, bc its a diferent take.

[@DanLayton]

Thanks for watching!!

[@dombajoria4634]

This is an utterly brilliant video Dan, top work

[@grace3112]

I really did not know you had so much wrestling knowledge

[@DanLayton]

Watching religiously for 25 years will do that to you 😉

[@grace3112]

@@DanLayton that’s very impressive

[@SmallBlogV8]

I haven't watched wrestling since it was still called WWF (and even then it was only because people I knew watched it) so I low-key found that set of stories quite interesting. As a Formula 1 fan, meanwhile, I have witnessed and partaken in contempt for nepotism for... as long as I haven't watched wrestling? One current example would be Lance Stroll driving for the team his billionaire dad (who resembles a Mafia Captain Birdseye) owns, despite repeatedly being shown-up by successive teammates. However... I am also (barely) old enough to remember a time when it was the other way around, with Damon Hill determined to match his tragically dead father Graham's achievements (driving for a team that also-tragically lost its superstar driver in 1994) and ultimately winning the title in 1996. *That* is a great story, the winning moment immortalised by one of the late great Murray Walker's greatest lines, to boot. So yeah, it can go both ways. But yeah, there are plenty of drivers with their own non-Nepo stories who should be in that Aston Martin seat instead of Lance... so I get all of this from my own little corner.

[@DanLayton]

I wanted to be Damon Hill when I was a kid!!

[@Plunkcown]

wrestling stories always sound fascinating but i feel the same way about it as i feel about comic books; i dont know where to start to get into it. how do i start getting into wrestling?

[@illmakeuhowell]

thoughts on rhea ripley? 🥺

[@km2924]

How did you react to the main event? Part of me can see that they're gonna have the Bloodline slowly unravel and Roman have to go to Mania alone this time, maybe Cody finally gets his win, but I can't help feeling that Vince coming back ruined what was supposed to be Cody's moment. It doesn't feel right to me

[@pisto30]

It didn't feel right to me either. But, I'm choosing to trust the storytelling. LOL. If they decide to have Cody win at Summerslam, I won't be ok with it but, I'll accept it. The main event was really the only blemish to an otherwise really good show.

[@CraigStevenLikesStuff]

Support WrestleTalk.

[@fallfromreality5864]

This was actually supposed to have pyro, but Cody nicked it for mania tonight. Nepo babies winning once again

[@thekarategirl5787]

So What do you think of night 2?

[@ncisbuffyvmfan]

i was always so scared of golddust as a kid

[@goofpastemoth]

I LOVED THIS VIDEO SO MUCH

[@torbenh.9250]

before hitting play I wanna complete the prompt by saying WHY AM I NOT ONE OF THEM edit: okay so 14 seconds in and you indirectly asked the same question too so yea anyway

[@juwankane5150]

For those of you aren’t wrestling fans who enjoyed the Roman Reigns story; SuperEyepatchWolf has released a video this week about the entire storyline in detail which is fantastic 😊

[@FroggSocks]

DAN!!! IT PAYED OFF!!!

[@atlaspagura8838]

I can't believe i was genuinely moved by wrestling lore

[@RocketBabyDolls1]

Dude, I didn't name my kid Cody just to not click on your Wrestlemania video.

[@GlowAds]

How.. you’ve made this link together is.. welp gg! Also Cory Rhodes FTW 🙌🏼

[@DanLayton]

Cody Rhodes FOR THE WIN.

[@GlowAds]

@@DanLayton I hope you will be live tweetingg

[@TokkiYamaguchi]

Literally anything you wanna talk about makes sense

[@laurenambercla]

nepo baby here to tell you healthcare is a world of nepotism. yes you can go into without medical connections and succeed but is is soooo much easier with a strong family tie? absolutely

[@DanLayton]

See. They’re EVERYWHERE.

[@funkmachine_]

i have not watched yet so I'm here to make a guess about the conclusion of this video to see if I'm right later: general idea is that it's obviously not the fault of these kids that they're born into wealth or fame, and of course they CAN be very talented. however they're a first choice for many amazing opportunities because of it regardless of skill or talent, meaning those not born into fame miss out on them. this causes the hollywood (etc) talent pool to be very closed off and incestuous, making it harder than ever for anyone outside of it to break through. we'll see if I'm close in about 20 minutes!

[@jrthepinwitch1911]

Awesome!

[@sarahw9709]

Wrestling is opera! I love it! Please describe different wrestling story lines!

[@DanLayton]

It ABSOLUTELY is! It’s melodrama of the highest order!

[@theoneandonlymichaelmccormick]

18:22 Well, there is ONE man who’s like Zayn in and out of the ring, his mentor, El Generico. Tragically, however, El Generico has been presumed dead after his orphanage burned down.

[@DanLayton]

Similar. But of course very, very different people.

[@theoneandonlymichaelmccormick]

@@DanLayton History does not repeat, but it does often rhyme.

[@ottakringcalling]

I legit forgot Roman Reigns and Cody are nepo babies. Also Dan, I'm just here because you were on the Wrestletalk podcast, so I'm beyond excited you've just mentioned wrestling and Succession, aka all I consume right now within the same video.

[@DanLayton]

Given that Vince appears to be working from the Logan Roy playbook, we at least know vaguely what’s coming…

[@myfeelisfunnyxd5314]

I feel like it would definetly help to have even a single clue how wrestling works...just to fully understand what's going on...but still how you connected it all was great! even if I got no idea who these people are lol

[@DanLayton]

Have you ever watched a TV show? Then you know how wrestling works! It’s a scripted entertainment show. It’s got more in common with Succession than it has with MMA or Boxing. There are blurred lines with the stories and reality, which is what makes it such a unique art form. But the best way I’ve ever heard it explained is that “WWE is a TV show ABOUT a wrestling show.”

[@myfeelisfunnyxd5314]

Okay theres obviously a lot of layers to it, but does that mean that technically the live audience is "in" the TV show?? Like extras? ^^"

[@bluereadingdolphin]

I know nothing about nepo babies or wrestling but this was a very interesting video nonetheless!

[@fallfromreality5864]

Not me crying over the Sami Zayn section.

[@TheLucySmith123]

Off topic but I love your jumper! looks so comfy, where is it from?

[@DanLayton]

LITERALLY TESCO.

[@TheLucySmith123]

@@DanLayton NO WAY

[@richardbrown3055]

Wait…Daniel, did you just gloss over Roman having been away during the early days of Covid in 2020 because he wasn’t medically cleared to work due to being immunocompromised, having recently gone through chemotherapy to battle cancer for not the first time….as a Roman Holiday, you cheeky little sod….haven’t finished watching the video yet…do carry on this is wonderful.

[@Charlotte-hv6ll]

Leaving a comment for the algorithm

[@DanLayton]

The algorithm thanks you 🙏🏻

[@koji6745]

God I love to hear wrestling told narritevely

[@mr.jtophat]

what a perfectly summed up video about the story of Cody returning and rising up to be the hero to defeat gargantuan villain champion Roman on the grandest stage of them all... _if only WWE watched this video before booking the ending to the actual match where Roman beat Cody, WHICH IS STILL SO FUCKING STUPID_

[@shannonmarie3525]

Follow me on this here: wrestlers are the best performers in the world. Why? They are actors who do their own stunts... All while wearing underwear 😂 And they get to be called Legacies too.. Damn it lol Also, am I correct in assuming that anyone related to someone that has been there before is a Nepo baby then? Roman isn't a son of a legacy wrestler, just a cousin. Fun fact too: WWE currently has 20+ Nepo babies on their roster-if any family member counts that is. Love the vids, glad I found ya today!

[@thebestame3582]

Im glad to see so many new fans indoctrinated. Join our wrestling Cult guys. If we love it, you must love it too 😂

[@dandydeadpool]

Honestly, Nia Jax is the foremost example of a Nepo baby for me, not very talented and in fact dangerous, but keeps getting work 🙄 I'd argue that there is something wrong with being a Nepo Baby when it actively threatens people's lives and livelihoods

[@aztecwrrior1997]

Good thing i ain't a Nepo baby cuz that seems like a foreign concept to my life

[@KeyMan158]

Haha Stardust is a hard take for non-wrestling fans.

[@DanLayton]

You really have to commit

[@CarlaGReads]

as a wrestling fan who hasn't had the time to watch it (approx 8-10 hours of content per WEEK) I really felt drawn to watch it again... like my passion has been reignited

[@xxxcrazyducksxxx]

Even though I know minimal about wrestling, I could listen to you talk about it forever because you’re so passionate about it and make it so interesting!

[@Isellsimpsandsimpaccessories]

People say we have to stop letting Nepo Babies in but like your thumbnail mentioned, they're everywhere. And they've been everywhere for so long you can't escape them. And I genuinely don't think they'll stop any time soon.

[@DanLayton]

We don’t have to stop them at all! As I said at the end, they have important stories to tell. What we do have to do is consider how we create space for people from different backgrounds, perhaps at the expense of the nepo baby who doesn’t quite fit the bill.