Renee Young comes on the show and introduces John Bradshaw Layfield as her cohost for this episode of Talking Smack. They briefly talk about the American Alpha winning the Tag Team Championship. JBL is surprised that they beat the Wyatt Family because he thought they would be champs for a long time.
First Guest: John Cena
Renee Young welcomes John Cena back to Talking Smack. He tells her that it is good to be back not only on Smackdown but also in Chicago. He adds that Chicago has some extremely vocal fans.
John Cena believes that the talent on Smackdown is great and that this era should be called the New Era. He says that this is the best talent that WWE has had in over 15 years.
JBL joins the conversation and brings up some of the negative things that John Cena said to the Rock about being a part time wrestler. He asks Cena if he considers himself a part time wrestler. Cena does not answer that question but he does say that what he said to the Rock was stupid and that he has apologized for it. He admits that he just wanted to get the Rock back in WWE and it worked. He acknowledges that the Rock has done big things.
John Cena says that he is sick of all of the gossip that goes on in WWE. He is tired of people saying that the WWE is upset with him or that he is upset with WWE he wants to take all of the opportunities given to him like SNL. He also does not like the looks that the people in the locker room give him and that they treat him like he is already gone. As he is finishing his sentence, AJ Styles slams his title on the table in front of John Cena.
AJ Styles felt like John Cena tried to punk him out by coming out and trying to shake his hand. He also tells him that he took his best shot at Summer Slam. Cena tells Styles that that was not his best shot because he was just coming back from an injured shoulder. He adds that he wanted to shake his hand out of respect but if he wanted to punk him out he would and it would be easy.
Cena is confident that he will take the title from Styles at the Royal Rumble. Before leaving, Styles tells him that he is going to do what he does best and that is beat up John Cena and that we all know Cena cannot beat up AJ Styles.
John Cena says that he is not focused on winning his 16th title but instead focused on earning back the respect that he has lost. He does not like people thinking about him and saying that he had a great career because his career is not over yet. He understand why people sees him that way but he reiterates that he is not going anywhere. He adds that he is stronger than he has ever been and that his shoulder is fine. He knows that 2016 was the year of AJ Styles but 2017 is a new year.
JBL asks Cena is this is the same John Cena who started in WWE. Cena tells him that this is not the same person. This John Cena has the same aggression but has more experience. Cena says that this is not the New Era but instead the My Time is Now Era.
After John Cena leaves, JBL says that Cena has chip on his shoulder because he is not at the top anymore. He believes that will be his motivator during his match at the Royal Rumble.
Second Guest: The American Alpha
Renee Young congratulates the new Smackdown Tag Team Champions. They tell her that they are excited and they are relieved the finally have the titles. Jason Jordan is from Chicago and had his parents and his niece in the front row. Chad Gable’s family was also there but he was the most proud that his daughter was there.
Jason Jordan is proud to have beaten the Wyatts but were confident that would. JBL tells him that he wants them to drop the Ready, Willing, and Gable catch phrase because it is stupid. He tells them that he loves them but the phrase should end. Chad ends by telling JBL that there will be no more of that catch phrase.
After the new Tag Team Champions left, Renee Young and JBL talk about the Women’s Championship match. Renee Young asks JBL who La Luchadora was. JBL rambles before getting to his point. Ultimately, he does not know who it is under the mask because last week it was Becky Lynch and before her it was someone else. He adds that there were multiple Sin Caras so it makes it hard for him to know.
JBL also says that he thinks Alexa Bliss is doing an incredible job as champion. They also talk about Alexa Bliss’s arm which looks to have popped out of socket. They were amazed because she could cover Becky Lynch.
Third Guest: Dean Ambrose
As they were talking about Alexa Bliss, Dean Ambrose walked on stage. He talked about how good he looked in a collared shirt. Renee Young tells him that he should start wearing suits. JBL adds that he should get a haircut so he does not look like someone who just crawled out of s trash can. Dean Ambrose was not so amused with his advice. He tells him that he will “slap the piss” out of him on Talking Smack. He says that nobody should make him upset and that is why he has a problem with the Miz.
JBL asks Ambrose about Renee Young slapping the Miz. Ambrose does not feel like it was inappropriate. He says it was the Miz’s fault. JBL also asks them both if they consider their relationship a conflict of interest. They both do not believe that it is. Ambrose adds that the Miz should learn not anger women. He reiterates do not anger women. He adds that he is always trying to educate the kids.
Dean Ambrose ends the show by saying that during his Intercontinental Match he is going to knock the Miz’s Vanier’s down his throat. He also adds that he is glad that he gets the chance to beat the Miz because he is quietly putting together a hall of fame career.
