This isn't WWE Anymore ...

This isn't WWE Anymore ...

From Turnbuckle Talk Wrestling by Alexander the Great and Aiden Haystack

April 6, 2026 · 1h 42m · Season 2 · Episode 18

About this episode

The episode discusses the changing nature of WWE and the implications of Randy Orton's heel turn in the context of WrestleMania storytelling.

Sometimes the things you love stop loving you back, For us, its our first love that stopped loving us back. This isn't the WWE that I fell in love with. This isn’t WWE anymore ... And that’s not just a hot take… it’s starting to feel real. This week on Turnbuckle Talk Wrestling, we break down a SmackDown that should have been building one of the most personal WrestleMania main events in years… …and somehow turned into something completely different. Randy Orton vs Cody Rhodes should feel like history. Legacy. Violence built on 15–20 years of storytelling. Instead? We get outside noise. We get distractions. We get decisions that don’t feel like they came from the people who understand wrestling. And that’s where the real conversation starts. Because this episode isn’t just about Orton turning heel… it’s about what that moment means in the bigger picture. Is WWE telling the story? Or is something else pulling the strings? We break down: 🐍 Randy Orton’s heel turn — and why it still works despite everything around it 🩸 Cody Rhodes saying what everyone is thinking — and then walking it back 🎤 The Pat McAfee reveal — and why it made a massive story feel smaller 🧠 The growing…

People in this episode

Hosts: Alexander the Great, Aiden Haystack

Topics covered

  • WWE
  • Randy Orton
  • Cody Rhodes
  • WrestleMania
  • storytelling
  • heel turn
  • overbooking

Keywords

  • WWE
  • Randy Orton
  • Cody Rhodes
  • WrestleMania
  • heel turn
  • storytelling
  • TKO
  • overbooking

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: WWE, TKO

More episodes of Turnbuckle Talk Wrestling

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Turnbuckle Talk Wrestling podcast page.