The podcast week in review, brought to you by AVG Cleaner.

They Said It…

  • “Kid, if you want to make it in wrestling, you gotta have a shitty job, so you can quit it and go make a town.” – Karl Anderson, remembering the great advice a wrestler named Psycho Sam gave him.

The Usual Suspects

Talk n’ Shop #32 (2/7/15): Doc and Karl are back in Japan and pick up right where they left off. Discussion of Bud Light Limes, superfan Takanori, advice from Big Slam Vader, Doc literally running away from a construction job, and a hotel shoot fight between Doc and Scott D’Amore. Both hosts end up giggling maniacally at the end; you’ll likely have the same reaction. THUMBS UP

MLW Radio #166 (2/8/15): It’s Court and Alex Greenfield this week. The first half of the show doesn’t amount to much, as it’s about the duo’s adventures in Hollywood, making pitches, and the time Greenfield wore a hideous suit to lunch with JBL. Much better is the discussion of the Triple H podcast with Steve Austin and the future of the WWE corporate structure, strengthened by both men’s recollections of their time in the company. THUMBS IN THE MIDDLE

Piper’s Pit #45 (2/9/15): Luke Williams of the Bushwhackers is back for part 2. This one isn’t as much fun as part 1, as they tend to jump around a bit more. Still some good bits on Luke and Butch making the jump to the WWF and transitioning into babyfaces, but the discussion on the modern death of tag team wrestling drags the proceedings down. THUMBS IN THE MIDDLE

Human Podcast Machine with Taz #7 (2/9/15): Mike Tenay returns for another 10 ten list (again called a draft), this time the top 10 wrestlers of all time. There’s some really interesting discussion about how past legends would fare in today’s wrestling environment. I have to give producer Seth credit, he hangs in with Taz and Tenay and actually contributes to the conversation. Taz and Tenay have great chemistry and give each other endless shit over their picks. THUMBS UP & BEST OF THE WEEK

Who’s Next With Goldberg #36 (2/10/15): Hey, Bill’s back! No mention of last week’s no-show, as we jump right into an interview with King Mo. The entire interview is too short to really amount to much (the whole episode goes under 40 minutes), and the MMA stuff really isn’t anything you haven’t heard before. Much more interesting is the pro wrestling talk, especially Bill’s recollections of working in Japan. Mo puts over the Young Bucks hard again, and it’s clear Bill has no idea what he’s talking about. THUMBS IN THE MIDDLE

Steve Austin Show #193 (2/10/15): Hot 97 DJ and co-host of the Cheap Heat podcast Pete Rosenberg is the guest this week. Not much in the way of wrestling talk, as they spend the bulk of the show discussing hip hop and the Washington Redskins. They do delve into wrestling at the end, but it’s really no different from talking to any longtime fan. This is a 2 part interview for some reason. Steve opens the show by telling some amazingly dull car stories. THUMBS DOWN

Talk is Jericho #116 (2/11/15): Jericho visits Shawn Michaels ranch for the first of a two part interview with HBK. The interview jumps around a bit, talking about parenting, working as a smaller wrestler, how the Rockers originally got fired from the WWF, the influence of Pat Patterson, and the famed Jericho/Michaels feud in 2008. A fun show that covers some topics you haven’t heard a million times before. <Michael’s interview starts at 23:27> THUMBS UP

The Ross Report #52 (2/11/15): JR is joined by Adam Cole, baybay, talking his start in wrestling, competing in ROH, traveling to New Japan, and the 7 opponents he’s want to have a match with. Cole is always a good guest, but JR drags down the whole interview by bringing up his same tired talking points (guys should slow down, TNA needs better lighting, TNA and ROH should work together, no territories are hurting the business, etc). There’s steering an interview, and then there’s driving it into a wall. Also, in the intro Ross touts Cole as a future guest, the future being about 10 minutes later. <Cole’s interview starts at 27:11> THUMBS IN THE MIDDLE

Art of Wrestling #236 (2/5/15): Cody Deaner, formerly of TNA, joins Colt this week. Interestingly, his time in TNA isn’t really touched upon, as the theme of the show is reinventing yourself as a wrestler, and it’s an interesting discussion. There’s also talk of Deaner’s carny gimmick, having Tito Santana bump for you, teaching with a mullet, and a Canadian government sponsored blindfolded cage battle royal. Surprisingly great show. THUMBS UP

Taz Reaction Show #3 (2/12/15): True to the title, Taz reacts to the NXT: Rival show the prior night in a short 19 minute show. I appreciate Taz keeping up on things like this and beating other wrestling podcast hosts to the punch, but he doesn’t offer any great insight into the event. THUMBS IN THE MIDDLE

Steve Austin – Unleashed #194 (2/12/15): Part 2 with Pete Rosenberg. All wrestling talk this time, none of it all that great. They discuss the Royal Rumble, the origins of the Cheap Heat podcast, 3 hour Raws, Randy Savage, and more. Again, there’s not much here that you wouldn’t get from your average fan. There is a nice story about Rosenberg reaching out to Bret Hart after the death of his brother-in-law, but it’s not enough to recommend the show. THUMBS DOWN

The Jim Cornette Experience #64 (2/12/15): Lance Storm joins Jim and Alice to talk about the WWE’s relationship with their fans and the current booking situation. Spoiler: they don’t like it very much. Imagine a show with these three talking current WWE storylines – that’s exactly what this was. Both Storm and Cornette have espoused these opinions in many other places there’s no real need for this show. <Storm’s interview starts at 19:21> THUMBS DOWN

Bauer & Pollock (2/12/15): B&P wisely waited a day to do their show, as it allowed them to cover the WWE’s fourth quarter report, the NXT Rival special, the NJPW New Beginnings show, and the possibility of Vince Russo in Lucha Underground. Court also reports that he heard NJPW is only helping out NOAH, and has not bought into the company. Finally, there’s a brief discussion with lawyer Joseph Dugan discussing the recent class action lawsuit filed against the WWE. THUMBS UP

Human Podcast Machine with Taz #8 (2/12/15): Taz talks to TNA Knockout Gail Kim. The interview is mixed; Gail’s honest thoughts on her time in WWE and intergender wrestling are quite interesting, while her story of breaking into wrestling and being married to a chef are not. Similarly, Taz’s Taz Tale about coming up with the Taz gimmick is great, but his intro about people being mean on the internet is borderline embarrassing. THUMBS IN THE MIDDLE

Talk is Jericho #115 (2/6/15): Part 2 with Shawn Michaels, with more on the HBK/Jericho feud from 2008 (including a detailed rundown of Jericho punching Shawn’s wife), putting angles together, some fascinating discussion of Vince McMahon, and a pretty wrenching retelling of Montreal from Shawn’s point of view. Shawn can come off as defensive over people’s perceptions of him, but this is still another interesting outing. <Michael’s interview starts at 24:30> THUMBS UP