The podcast week in review, brought to you by the TV show Tyrant.
They said it…
“What would that be, the title of it…Real Fuckups of Wrestling?” – Jim Cornette on Dixie Carter’s proposed reality show
The Usual Suspects
Talk n’ Shop #49 (6/6/15): Doc & Karl hang out with Pepper Parks, Cherry Bomb, and Hulk Hogan (the dog). There’s discussion about going bald, how Cherry and Pepper met, how Cherry got trained in wrestling, and more. Not the greatest Talk n’ Shop, but the moment where Gallows asks Cherry bomb if she leg cocks is one of the show’s best. THUMBS IN THE MIDDLE
MLW Radio #183 (6/7/15): An eclectic cast this week, as it’s MSL, Alex Greenfield, MVP, and Ed Ferrara. They spend the first TWENTY-FOUR minutes discussing the latest Mad Max movie, which is overkill even if you’ve seen/liked the movie. MVP also doesn’t offer any real comment on the current TNA situation if you’re wondering if that pops up. The rest is actually pretty decent, as they discuss the Kevin Owens and Samoa Joe situations, and in a very interesting segment detail what lead each of them (except for MSL) to leave the WWE. THUMBS IN THE MIDDLE
Piper’s Pit #61 (6/8/15): Jim Cornette joins Roddy and Earl to talk mostly current events. In other words, it’s no good. They run down the TNA situation, WWE’s booking of Sting (still?), ROH’s prospects, Samoa Joe, NXT (which Piper still doesn’t know the name of), Lucha Underground, and more. Earl is just brutally unfunny on the show, to the point where even Cornette points it out. The few moments where Jim and Piper discuss the past is OK, but not enough to justify the whole show. THUMBS DOWN
Steve Austin Show #227 (6/9/15): This is just an audio version of the Paul Heyman interview that aired on the Network last week. In one interesting note, Austin downplays the idea of a match against Brock at WrestleMania XXXII. Is it part of the story? Is Austin angling for a bigger payday? Or is he sincere? That’s to be determined. As for the show, the interview is excellent, but if you watched it last week there’s no reason to listen to it here. THUMBS UP
Human Podcast Machine #27 (6/9/15): A monster show (nearly two hours) this week. The first hour plus sees Taz and Seth run down Monday Night Raw, as well as various and sundry other topics (Taz won a trophy!). Then Chris DeJoseph joins to discuss his time as a writer in the WWE, being the lead creative for Lucha Underground, and the techniques and approach they use for the show (no confirmation of a second season, in case you were curious). The show plays like a mashup of one of Taz’s normal shows and a reaction show, and it comes across like a fun wrestling version of drive-time radio. THUMBS UP
WOOOOO ™Nation #6 (6/9/15) Flair has a chat with career rival Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat. Not so much a chronological history of Steamer’s career, but rather just two old friends swapping stories of partying and working back in the day. Producer Conrad chimes in with some interesting questions about Ricky’s time in the WWF. Another solid show, and to his credit, Flair smartly keeps his podcasts in the one hour range, which leaves you wanting more rather than waiting for the show to end. THUMBS UP
The Ross Report #69 (6/9/15): A twofer this week, as up first is Kimbo Slice to discuss his upcoming fight with Ken Shamrock on June 19th. Kimbo talks some decent trash, but the segment is so short (sub ten minutes) it’s barely worth it. Then James E Cornette shows up to talk about the recent death of Tommy Rogers and the upcoming NWA Fanfest in Charlotte. Cornette also comments on Kevin Owens success, saying he must have learned to take orders and have a better attitude, and Ross swallows this line of thinking right away. Both men soon delve into their most annoying habits (Ross complains about selling, Cornette taunts the Young Bucks) to end the show on a down note. <Slice’s interview starts at 9:54, Cornette’s interview at 22:21> THUMBS IN THE MIDDLE
Talk is Jericho #150 (6/10/15): Jericho sits down with Mark Tremonti, the former guitarist of Creed and current guitarist of some bands that aren’t Creed. This sounds terrible in theory, but it’s actually a pleasant surprise. Tremonti comes across as a great guy and diehard guitar nerd (listen to the segment on rare amps). Throw in some stories of Scott Stapp being a dummy and you’ve got a winner. Not exactly a monumental 150th episode, but an almost shockingly good episode. <Hull’s interview at 16:37> THUMBS IN THE MIDDLE
Bauer & Pollock (6/10/15): You name it, it gets discussed here, as the duo break down Money in the Bank, Tyson Kidd’s injury, the Best of the Super Juniors final, Kimbo vs. Ken, and the Wednesday Night War ratings. All this is covered in under an hour, and the brisk pace makes the show fly by. THUMBS UP
Art of Wrestling #254 (6/11/15): The second live show from Wrestlecon, this one features a great lineup. First up is Brian Kendrick (talking his crazy angles in Hoodslam), Excalibur (the success of PWG), Tomasso Ciampa (moving to Milwaukee and his status as a pro wrestler), Evan Bourne (who the hell knows), and ODB (being ODB). No Freight Train, but Marty DeRosa does a fine job as a second banana. Pretty much all killer no filler here. THUMBS UP
Steve Austin – Unleashed #228 (6/11/15): Steve rambles for a while and takes some listener questions. There’s some wrestling content, and a lot more non-wrestling talk, neither of which is terribly revelatory. It’s an OK show, fine to listen to but if you skip it you’re not missing much, outside of a weird segment where Steve recalls meeting a Sasquatch. THUMBS IN THE MIDDLE
The Jim Cornette Experience #81 (6/11/15): No guest this week, so it’s an hour of Jim and Alice riffing. They touch on a lot of their usual topics, including Vince Russo, Dixie Carter, and a new segment detailing Republican Presidential nominees (Dr. Ben Carson gets the spotlight this week). This isn’t a very good show, in case you hadn’t figured that out. What’s more frustrating is there’s a brief few minutes where they talk about classic wrestling (including a great Ray Stevens story) and it’s excellent. It’s everything the show should be but stubbornly isn’t. THUMBS DOWN
Talk is Jericho #151 (6/12/15): Jericho sits down with Bill DeMott about their time together in WCW, the WCW Invasion, his new Youtube show, and oh yeah, that whole NXT training scandal. They dismiss any possible criticism as from wrestlers who never made it, and DeMott only resigned because he didn’t want to sully the good name of NXT. Jericho chimes in that he went through some shit during his training, so it’s completely OK now. I do recommend listening to the show, because it is interesting, and I’m sure they’ll be plenty of rebuttals to it in the coming weeks. Jericho, master of analogies, compares it to R. Lee Emrey’s drill instructor in Full Metal Jacket, who put his troops through hell but made them prepared for war. Never mind the fact that (a) this isn’t war, (b) those were fictional characters, and (c) one of the solider committed suicide after SHOOTING HIS TRAINER. <DeMott’s interview starts at 22:40> THUMBS UP
Human Podcast Machine #28 (6/12/15): Taz pays tribute to Dusty Rhodes in a somber opening, and then talks to NXT star Enzo Amore. Enzo talks about playing college football, getting signed without any wrestling training (!), the NXT brand and its growth, and his hopes for the WWE. The interview is decent, but I wish Enzo went into more detail (Big Cas really isn’t mentioned at all). I do find it interesting that Taz not only has access to NXT/WWE talent, but he’s playing WWE clips (in this case the Blow Away Diet sketch) on his show. THUMBS IN THE MIDDLE
