Welcome back to the Rajah.Com recap of the WWE YouTube show The Bump! Kayla Braxton is the host of the show, and she will be joined by her co-hosts Matt Camp, Evan T. Mack, and Ryan Pappolla. The guests on today’s show are Big E, Riddle, and Ron Simmons. Now that we’re all caught up on what’s going down, let’s take a look at The Bump!
Kayla welcomes everyone to the show, and gives a quick run down of today’s guests. The co-hosts appear for the first time, and they all share their thoughts on everything that has happened since the last edition of The Bump. The crew focuses on the Elimination Chamber event and the following episode of Raw, before Kayla brings on the first guest, Ron Simmons.
Ron Simmons
Damn! One-half of the APA makes his way onto the show, and he’s here to talk about Black History Month. Kayla wonders how important it is to him, and Ron tells her “it’s very important”. Ron talks about being the first black american World Champion, and Evan asks him about the “new era” of WWE Superstars. Ron talks about being a veteran in the wrestling game, and tells the crew that “things are forever changing, but what hasn’t changed is that it takes a lot of fortitude to stay in it”. Matt asks Ron about a conversation he had with Lex Luger, before wrestling, and Ron talks about making the transition into wrestling. Simmons thought “it would be a breeze for me, but it was a lot harder than I anticipated”. Matt wants to know about Simmons time in the tag team Doom, and Ron talks about teaming with Butch Reed, calling himself “fortunate”. Simmons credits Reed for “guiding him”, and Kayla takes Ron back to his historic win Championship win over Vader. Ron tells the story of finding out he would be going over in the match, before calling the win “a real moment in professional wrestling history”. Ron says “every time I look at that the feeling is the same”, and Kayla takes Ron back to his first meeting with Vince McMahon. Ron talks about learning he would be named Farooq, and how he thought the gimmick “sounds pretty cool”. Ron follows up by saying when he first put everything on, he thought “oh man, and I tried to act really enthused, thinking you’ve got to be kidding me”. Matt gives his thoughts on the Nation of Domination, and Ron talks about how the group came together. Ron says “the Nation of Domination didn’t care about anyone, we just wanted to win”. Evan asks about The Rock, and Ron tells him “he already had the pedigree from the beginning, we just had to find the right mix for him”. Evan brings up other former black world champions, and wonders how each one made him feel when they won. Ron tells him “it goes back to the things people told me after they saw my world title victory”, and how he felt the same thing fans felt when he won. Kayla wonders what Ron Simmons favorite “Damn” moment is, and Ron talks about when he began using it. Ron mentions that it started when he would yell “damn” after an injury or if he got mad. Shortly after that, the fans began yelling “damn” at him, and the rest is history. Kayla then brings in the other half of the APA, Bradshaw. Bradshaw and Farooq share a nice moment, and talk about a few “Ron Simmons stories”. Kayla tells them both “it’s so apparent that you guys have excellent chemistry”, and asks about the symbols the pair used to draw on their chest. Ron tells her his art skills were poor, saying “I couldn’t draw”. Bradshaw adds that “we generally had no idea what it was, they said do it so we did it”! Kayla mentions a few of their infamous backstage sketches, and Ron talks about how “I could be on an airplane after the show and just start laughing, thinking did we really do that”? Bradshaw throws his two cents in, and talks about working with Joe C, saying “he was so fun to work with”. Ron adds to that, saying “celebrities called us, and wanted to be playing cards back there”. That reminds Matt of the “emotional moment” when Ron got fired by Paul Heyman, in storyline, and Bradshaw tells him “if JBL had never happened, and I retried after the APA, that would be fine”. Ron tells Matt “when you’re in a tag team, everyone hopes to have the run that we had”. Bradshaw thinks Ron has been teamed with so many “awesome” people, and calls the run he had with the company “incredible”. Bradshaw continues, and says “his presence in the ring, and the little stuff” is what made him like watching Ron. Bradshaw finishes up his thoughts on Ron, calling him “the Jackie Robinson of WWE”. Kayla thanks Ron “for everything you’ve done for the business”, and sends Ron off.
After Ron leaves, JBL and The Bump crew talk more about the Elimination Chamber event. They also talk about the upcoming WWE Championship showdown between Bobby Lashley and The Miz, and JBL calls Lashley “a very dangerous man”, before adding “you can build a company around Bobby Lashley”. The Crew and JBL talk quickly about the Universal Championship showdown at Wrestlemania between Edge and Roman, which Bradshaw calls an “incredible classic matchup” and “a legacy match”. JBL exits stage left after that, and Kayla plugs “Stump The Bump Trivia”. She then brings on the next guest, Big E.
Big E
Samoa Joe and Big E are sitting down for a “Grit and Glory” interview. Samoa Joe gives a run down of what the show will be like, and asks E questions. Joe wants to know what it took for E to make it to this point, and he says “for me it was just finding my voice”. Joe wonders when E realized he had “physical toughness”, and the Big man talks about his “love for the gym”, which he has had since he was a kid. Joe takes E back to his first Intercontinental Championship run, and how it ended unceremoniously. E tells Joe that “I knew I hadn’t shown everything I was capable of yet”. E continues, and says he had to “keep working and creating opportunities for myself”. Joe wants insight on how the New Day came together, and E explains “it was not easy at all for us at first”. E tells Joe “I didn’t want my career to dissolve by me accepting something subpar”. E ads to that, saying “we didn’t quit, we wanted to get better, and we became more passionate”. Joe fast forwards to the second Intercontinental Championship win, and E talks about how that “was a big moment for me”. E explains that he knew “during this run I’m here to make a difference”, and that “it’s something you just don’t forget”.
After the segment, which is absolutely awesome, Freddie Prinze Jr. joins the show. Freddie is here to plug Punky Brewster, which premieres tomorrow on Peacock. Once Freddie moves on, the crew welcomes on the next guest, Riddle.
United States Champion Riddle
The new US Champion joins the show, and Kayla shows him a few comments he had from Sunday’s “watch along special”. Riddle tells her “I had a late night celebrating like bros do”, and Kayla asks about his night on Raw. Riddle tells her about the game plan, and how he wanted to “let them beat each other, then I could capitalize”. Riddle talks about breaking the crutch over the back of Lashley, because of the way he had been “locked in the full nelson for months”. Ryan shows some footage of the last time Riddle held singles gold, which was three years also in Evolve. Riddle explains that the difference between then and now “is the level of competition of going up against”, calling his co-workers “giants, and big personalities”. Riddle continues, and tells the crew “I work multiple times a week sometimes now”, and being a champion in WWE “is just harder”. Kayla asks Riddle for his thoughts on what happened between Lashley and McIntyre, and Riddle thinks Lashley “is moving on to greener pastures”. Riddle then talks about the post match cash-in by The Miz, and how he thought “oh no it’s going to happen”, adding “it shocked me”. Riddle tells the crew “The Miz rubs me the wrong way, but he is sweet on the microphone”. Matt joins the conversation, and wants Riddle to predict how road to Wrestlemania. Riddle tells him “it could go so many ways right now”, and talks about all of his possible opponents. Ryan shows Riddle a few comments Santino Marella had about a R-Truth/Riddle segment, and Riddle agrees that he and R-Truth would make a good team, saying “we would be really happy with that”. Evan throws in his two cents, and wonders why The Hurt Business “has such a problem with you”. Riddle explains that they “have a problem with anyone who seems like a threat”, and “I honestly think that the real problem was MVP”. Ryan follows up on that, and talks about a possible Fight Pit match between Riddle and Lashley. Riddle tells him “I don’t think the cage could contain me and Bobby, but that match down the road could be money”. Evan brings up a possible “Riddle Invitational” similar to the John Cena US Open Challenge, and Riddle tells him “I would absolutely love that”. Kayla shows Riddle a clip of a few positive words Lashley had for him, and Riddle responds, telling Kayla “it feels pretty good to hear that from him”. Riddle closes by saying he’s been waiting to be able to ride his dirt bike with his new title on, and Kayla thanks him for joining the show.
Once the new champ moves on, Kayla and the crew tells the viewers goodbye, and the show fades to black.
That’s all for this weeks episode of The Bump! Thanks for stopping by, and enjoy the rest of your day!
