The podcast week in review, brought to you by Drop Stop.

They Said It…

  • “It’s not quite as pure of a sport as it used to be.” – Colt Toombs on today’s wrestling
  • “I love me way too much to commit suicide.” – Buddy Landel on how his rock bottom differed from the Von Erichs.
  • “He’s a sumo wrestler but skinny.” – One of Chris Jericho’s daughters describing Cesaro.

The Usual Suspects

Talk n’ Shop #32 (2/14/15): It’s all hands on deck, as Doc and Karl are joined by the Young Bucks and Tama Tonga. Tonga is making his podcast debut (well, he was on other shows, but they were all destroyed) and he fits in well with the rest of the gang, and it’s the usual half hour of silly fun. THUMBS UP

MLW Radio #167 (2/15/15): It’s another full house, and Curt, MSL, Alex Greenfield, and Ed Ferrara talk all manner of wrestling, from WWE to NXT to Lucha Underground (Ed adds Vince Russo hasn’t mentioned anything about wanting to write for LU, for what it’s worth). I usually don’t care about the asides, but the story of MSL at the Wale concert and his feud with a listener named Masturbator Keith provides some good yuks. And yes, they did put over Voices of Wrestling again, but even taking that out it’s still a very enjoyable show. THUMBS UP

Piper’s Pit #46 (2/16/15): Piper’s twitter seemed to indicate Robbie E as a guest. The show pops up, and no Robbie E. The show description indicates the whole show is about the Wrestlemania XII Backlot Brawl match. That match is discussed for about 3 minutes. The rest of the show is Piper and his son Colt talking about zombies, Frank Sinatra, today’s wrestling, and Bruce Jenner. Needless to say, you can skip this one. THUMBS DOWN

Who’s Next With Goldberg #37 (2/17/15): Ken Anderson is the guest this week. Yes, an actual pro wrestler. Bill says he and Mr. Anderson and good friends, but I don’t know how, as they never wrestled together to my knowledge. Anyway, the wrestling talk is fine, but they spend just as much time on parenting and football. No mention of the rumors Bill is going to fight Alberto El Patron in a kickboxing match, in case you were curious. THUMBS IN THE MIDDLE

Steve Austin Show #195 (2/17/15): Shawn Michaels finally returns to the show to plug his new book. If this sounds exciting, it isn’t, as the vast majority of the conversation is about hunting, home schooling, Shawn’s faith, and his hunting show. Things definitely pick up in the last half hour as Shawn talks his return to the ring in 2002, his bumping style, and his current outlook on life. Stick to Shawn on Jericho’s shows last week. THUMBS IN THE MIDDLE

Talk is Jericho #116 (2/18/15): WWE Diva Paige joins the show first to talk about her and Jericho’s mutual friend Drew McDonald, who recently passed away. Then Chris’ dad Ted Irvine joins the show for the third time to discuss his time playing professional hockey. I wasn’t looking forward to this, but Jericho’s dad has some good stories, and there’s a hysterical bit where the senior Irvine rattles off the nicknames of his old teammates. However, the interview runs very long and runs out of steam by the end. <Paige’s interview starts at 9:05, Ted’s interview starts at 26:07> THUMBS IN THE MIDDLE

The Ross Report #52 (2/18/15): JR is joined by former WWF and current ROH announcer Kevin Kelly, as they discuss how Kelly got his WWF gig, working with the Rock, the upcoming ROH pay-per-view, and lots about the current wrestling scene. Kelly actually breaks down the situation with the lighting, and provides a valid counterpoint to why Sinclair might not be in a hurry to upgrade. Hopefully JR won’t bring it up again (yeah, right). Kelly is a game guest and has lots of great stories. <Kelly’s interview starts at 29:26> THUMBS UP

Bauer & Pollock (2/18/15): B&P cram a lot into an hour, as they talk about UFC cracking down on PED’s, Samoa Joe leaving TNA, the build to Fastlane, NJPW New Beginnings, and a lot more. Court drops a scoop about AXS renewing New Japan for 2 more years (which may have been premature) and Global Force Wrestling’s potentially bringing NJPW back to PPV. THUMBS UP

Art of Wrestling #238 (2/19/15): “Nature Boy” Buddy Landel joins Colt to discuss breaking into wrestling, his sister dating Barry O, his reputation as a troublemaker, a crazy story about quitting Jim Crockett promotions, being in Puerto Rico when Bruiser Brody was stabbed, and the peace he’s found raising his grandson. Some will shake their head at Budro, others might wince at the stories he tells, but you’re going to want to hear more. THUMBS UP & BEST OF THE WEEK

Steve Austin – Unleashed #196 (2/19/15): Steve and his wife talk about the Walking Dead, trying to buy liquor in Texas on a Sunday, and more road stories. Austin then takes some listener questions, which includes lengthy asides on RV’s, dead raccoons, and owl poop. Steve briefly stumps for Michael Hayes in the WWE Hall of Fame at the end of the show, which is the only wrestling talk you’ll find on this 90 minute outing. Pass. THUMBS DOWN

The Jim Cornette Experience #64 (2/12/15): Lance Storm is back for another fun filled carnival. They talk about training, Lance’s students, inter-gender wrestling, New Japan, and the quality of today’s work. It’s better than last week, but nothing you need to go out of your way to hear. Kenny Bolin does a run-in at the end to tell an unfunny story about cockfighting. <Storm’s interview starts at 21:55, Bolin comes on at 1:06:08> THUMBS IN THE MIDDLE

Human Podcast Machine with Taz #9 (2/19/15): Taz’s TNA commentating partner Josh Mathews joins the show. To Taz’s credit, they address the kerfuffle with Jim Ross on twitter right away (Mathews apologizes but hints at some sort of past beef with JR). They go into discussion about the travails of commentating in the WWE, his transition from the ring to the broadcasting table, and his upcoming men’s fashion podcast (seriously, and don’t ask me to cover it). It’s actually a two part interview as Taz checks right back in as Josh recounts his call to JR to apologize personally. We finish with a Taz Tale about Taz beating Mike Awesome for the ECW title while under contract with the WWE. THUMBS UP

Talk is Jericho #119 (2/20/15): Pat Patterson joins Jericho in his first ever podcast appearance. The two discuss breaking in back in the day, traveling the country to wrestle, being gay in the industry, Pat’s philosophy of wrestling and a lot more. Patterson brings a different kind of story to the show and his little stories about the wrestling business in the 60’s and 70’s are illuminating. This came oh so close to being the podcast of the week, but I found Landel just a hair more engaging. Still, a great listen. Jericho’s kids also join the show at the beginning to discuss their road trip seeing their dad wrestle. It’s a cute but not essential segment. <Pattersion’s interview starts at 31:53> THUMBS UP