The Ariel Helwani Show

Jason Solomon is back and has mixed feelings on this year’s WWE Hall of Fame ceremony, as well as changes needed for it going forward, and ESPN's Andreas Hale not being credentialed for WrestleMania (05:47).

He reviews both nights of WrestleMania, focusing in on how TKO does business, writing off the dumb Pat McAfee angle, ending strong with an outstanding Sunday main event, and Brock Lesnar’s possible retirement (15:52).

Plus, a new opponent for Roman Reigns heading into Backlash, a big tease for a future Cody Rhodes vs. CM Punk match, and a series of NXT callups on Raw (45:01).

Then, thoughts on Darby Allin squashing MJF in two minutes to win the AEW world championship on Dynamite, the way they built up to it, and why this was not a “burial” of MJF (55:32).

Closing out with news on why former UFC champion Josh Barnett is shuttering his Bloodsport shows, and the death of a former WCW star (1:05:07).

Ariel Helwani begins the show by touching on the NBA playoff battle between his New York Knicks and GC’s Atlanta Hawks, as well as Jiri Prochazka’s latest statement (02:25).

Youssef Zalal is back to preview his UFC main event against Aljamain Sterling, talking about how the fight came together, having trained with Sterling in the past, wanting to win by submission, his “receipts” for Alexander Volkanovski, planning to be champion by 2027, and more (18:14).

Old friend Darren Till stops by to discuss leaving Misfits and signing with BKFC, whether he’ll eventually fight Mike Perry, facing Aaron Chalmers in his BKFC debut, Dana White’s ego when addressing the media, the “disastrous” state of UFC, Tom Aspinall teaming with Eddie Hearn, and more (49:36).

Charles Jourdain joins after a big win over Kyler Phillips to talk about his online persona, his disappointment about not being ranked, calling for a fight against Marlon "Chito" Vera, the upcoming UFC debut of his brother, and more (1:39:18).

Renato Moicano returns, discussing his promo after beating Chris Duncan earlier this month, his relationship with the fans, content strategy on his YouTube channel, the White House card, his thoughts on AI, Conor McGregor’s next fight, and the usual plunge into economics, religion, and politics (1:57:48).

Jasmine Jasudavicius is our final guest of the day, recapping her victory over Karine Silva in Winnipeg, revealing what was in her mouth during the fight, then talking about the mysterious “Jas Choke,” who she wants to fight next, and more (2:41:12).

Ariel and The Boys in the Back cover some recent news (3:06:11), before closing the show with your Super Chats (3:16:16).

Ariel Helwani kicks off the show by reacting to the biggest moments from UFC Winnipeg and WrestleMania 42 (12:53).

Mike Malott is back after his big win over Gilbert Burns in Winnipeg, recapping the fight, then touching on the experience of headlining again in Canada, receiving support from Pierre Poilievre, controversy surrounding an incident with the Canadian flag after the fight, the success of teammate Jasmine Jasudavicius, and more (59:07).

Josh Barnett returns to discuss his decision to wind down Bloodsport, coaching UFC fighter Victor Henry, his thoughts on the state of the wrestling industry and WrestleMania 42, and more (1:26:00).

RAF founder Chad Bronstein joins to talk about the promotion’s rapid growth, UFC allowing its athletes to participate, the signing of Khamzat Chimaev, potential for a meeting between Chimaev and Bo Nickal, his level of interest in signing names like Jon Jones, Georges St-Pierre, and Brock Lesnar, and more (2:06:42).

Urijah Faber stops by to break down his RAF match against Arman Tsarukyan and the viral moment where Tsarukyan tackled him off the stage, before discussing competing for RAF, GFL potentially coming back, his own promotion A1 Combat, Cub Swanson’s retirement as the last remaining WEC fighter, and more (2:34:50).

UFC lightweight champion Ilia Topuria returns to the show, talking about his mental state after dealing with personal issues, his upcoming fight against Justin Gaethje at the White House, rooting for Paddy Pimblett at UFC 324, still wanting to fight Islam Makhachev and even submit him, not being threatened by Arman Tsarukyan, a potential fight against Conor McGregor, his ownership of WOW FC, and more (3:01:24).

The Boys in the Back join Ariel to cover some news and notes (3:38:04), before answering your Super Chats (4:35:10).

Solomonster is back with a WrestleMania 42 recap for Night 2 in Las Vegas with an incredible main event capping off a much better show and Roman Reigns winning the World Heavyweight Title.  He also has news on Roman's schedule moving forward on Monday nights.  Plus, a MAJOR surprise with Brock Lesnar seemingly retiring after his loss to Oba Femi, Rhea Ripley and Trick Williams with big title wins and a crazy ladder match.  But as with Night 1, the show was not without its issues.

First up, Dan Canobbio and Chris Algieri discuss Ben Whittaker’s puzzling professional career after another one-sided win. What is his true potential and who could he fight in the next few months to get him ready for world-class opposition (02:17)?

Alycia Baumgardner picked up a hard-fought win over Bo Mi Re Shin on Friday night in NYC and continued to call out Katie Taylor for a mega fight in Ireland. With Caroline Dubois lurking at lightweight, could we get that fight in the fall (29:55)?

As expected, Conor Benn signed a multi-fight deal with Zuffa Boxing, which will cover his next five fights. The question now is – will Eddie Hearn and Matchroom threaten to sue over breach of contract (46:26)?