The podcast week in review, brought to you by MeUndies but seriously by VOW’s WWEShop and Amazon affiliate links
They said it…
- “You can’t be smarter than a guy’s that’s smart.” – Ric Flair, on Eric Bischoff replacing Kevin Sullivan as booker
- “I’m past the point where I need to take any chops.” – Raven on his working style
The Usual Suspects
Talk is Jericho #157 (7/3/15): Tyson Kidd and Nattie Neidhart are the guests this week. The show was taped a few months back, so nothing about Tyson’s recent neck injury, or really anything about current WWE. The bulk of the show is old Hart family stories, including tales of Stu, Bret, Teddy, Dynamite kid, and a lot more. Tyson adds stories about wrestling on a WWE show at age 16, the fallout from the Montreal Screwjob, and putting together the Bret/Vince WrestleMania match. A great show with a lot of great stories. THUMBS UP
Talk n’ Shop #53 (7/4/15): Doc, Karl, and Rocky are back for the first time in a while, and they’re joined by Tama Tonga and Pro Wrestling Noah’s Mikey Nichols. Nichols doesn’t have much to say, as the bulk of the show is everyone deciding if Rocky should marry Doc or Karl in lieu of the recent Supreme Court decision. Gallows also reveals he watched the Talk n’ Shop movie with his parents! A good time is had by all. THUMBS UP
MLW Radio #187 (7/5/15): Court, Konnan, & MSL are back with a roundup of the week, thoughts on Lana, BET music awards, WWE lawsuits, how fans are perceived by advertisers, and Konnan makes some corrections on a report on the state of AAA’s financials. The most interesting part is a discussion of Vince McMahon and why he may not be stepping down anytime soon. But best of all is Konnan telling Court to post a paywall F4W article by “David Kaleidoscope” (our own David Bix), which gives the episode its unique name. THUMBS UP
Piper’s Pit #63 (7/6/15): Piper is back at Soundcloud. This show is a replay of episode #53, where Will Sasso imitated Steve Austin for the whole show. That show originally got taken down about 6 hours after it went up, and Piper indicates that Austin had it yanked and Piper almost got fired. Here’s what I had to say about it originally: “The title of this show promises a ‘Stone Cold’ recap of WrestleMania, and the quotations are actually accurate, since it’s Will Sasso doing a Steve Austin imitation. Steve Simeone, a comedian, is also there. Jim Duggan calls in and thinks Sasso is actually Austin. This goes on for a bit, and then everyone reviews WrestlemMania, which was 8 days ago. I feel somewhat bad because with Piper’s show being on Monday, this is probably the earliest he could cover it. But who wants more WrestleMania coverage at this point? Sasso does a good Jesse Ventura impression though. Anyway, this whole review is moot because the show was pulled off the Podcast One website and episode 53 is now a repeat of the Samoa Joe one from a few weeks back. If you missed this it’s no big loss. THUMBS DOWN
The wraparounds with Roddy and Earl are pretty dull once they get done explaining the situation. You can listen, but you will be wondering what all the fuss was about.
Steve Austin Show #233 (7/7/15): The big news is Steve addresses the rumors that got Piper canned from Podcast One. The story is that he didn’t like the Sasso podcast and had it yanked, but he had nothing to do with Piper leaving Podcast One. This news takes up the last six-and-a-half minutes; the other seventy or so minutes are pretty lame. Steve tells a tale of getting a truck stuck in the mud, and an ENDLESS story about getting a ring stuck on his finger. He also repeats the same 2 big stories about the Big Bossman (the one when Bossman forgot to do a run-in and the one where gave him a receipt for being stiff) that I swear I’ve heard a half dozen times. Read the transcript about the Piper deal and skip the rest. THUMBS DOWN
WOOOOO ™Nation #10 (7/7/15) Kevin Sullivan joins the boys this week, and Flair made have had a few before the show. Another ramshackle discussion follows covering Sullivan’s, uh, unique anatomy, a prank war with Angelo Mosca that quickly escalates, the Dusty Rhodes/Midnight Rider angle, and the endless hassles of booking WCW. Flair talks shit about the Honky Tonk Man, Marc Mero, Ole Anderson, Al Perez, Shane Douglas, and Brutus Beefcake and it’s all great fun. There are a few dicey facts that get tossed around, but really, who cares? Flair also contributes to the PODCAST WARZ by revealing Piper had his WWE Legends contract yanked over the Sasso podcast. THUMBS UP & BEST OF THE WEEK
The Ross Report #73 (7/7/15): Mike Tenay is back for part 2. He and JR discuss working for WCW, a heartfelt discussion about working with Bobby Heenan, the Monday Night Wars, TNA’s current situation (where Tenay really has no new information), and both men’s longevity as commentators. Things get less fun as they shift more into current events with Ross questioning Tenay about tag teams, female wrestling, and CM Punk in UFC. Ross pervy side breaks out discussing Ronda Roussey and Gail Kim, and the whole show isn’t nearly as fun as the prior week. <Tenay’s interview starts at 18:09> THUMBS IN THE MIDDLE
Talk is Jericho #158 (7/8/15): Slipknot and Stone Sour front man Corey Taylor is back to talk some NXT, his new book, acting gigs, the new members of Slipknot, Caitlin Jenner, turning down Rock of Love twice, child discipline, and more. Taylor come across as a nice enough guy, but there’s really nothing here of interest, and my eyes were glazing over when he was ranting about reality television. <Taylor’s interview starts at 15:38> THUMBS DOWN
Bauer & Pollock (7/8/15): B&P return to discuss the Beast in the East special, the WWE announcing handbook that leaked, ratings woes, TNA leadership problems, Global Force Wrestling’s outlook, the Dusty Rhodes special, ROH vs. NXT, the G-1, NJPW Dominion, ESPN’s possible interest in both UFC and WWE, and the potential sale of OVW. Points deducted for not mentioning PODCAST WARZ, but points awarded for both mentioning and quoting Shake Them Ropes’ interview with Tyrus. THUMBS UP
Human Podcast Machine #31 (7/8/15): Taz opens the show discussing the WWE Announcer handbook that leaked (he was never shown it, but agrees with most of the content). He also briefly mentions the PODCAST WARZ but doesn’t dive in. Then we head to a chat with Matt Striker. The interview is short at sub-thirty minutes, but they cover a lot, including commentating at Lucha Underground, announcing for WWE, and Matt’s own wrestling career. You’ll wish there was more, but Striker is always an enjoyable interview and despite being short, this is a good show. THUMBS UP
Art of Wrestling #258 (7/9/15): Lance Hoyt/Lance Archer/Vance Archer/Lance Rock/Dallas/The Shadow is the guest this week. A lot of talk about breaking into wrestling in Texas, getting hooked up with TNA, his mom and dad’s fandom, a great story of just being backstage at a WWE event, moving on to Japan and the confidence it has given him, and more. If you only know Hoyt from his run in the U.S., you’ll be surprised at how engaging and entertaining he can be. THUMBS UP
Steve Austin – Unleashed #236 (7/9/15): Steve talks to Eric Van Wagenen, former producer of Tough Enough and current executive producer of Lucha Underground. Most of the discussion is about LU, the genesis of the show, how it came together, scouting locations, hiring talent, rewriting the first handful of episodes, and the possibility of season 2. I thought the parts about Dario Cueto, how they found him, and they’re approach to using him, were really interesting. Plus we also get some discussion of working with Mark Burnett and Donald Trump. An unexpectedly strong show and a must listen if you’re a Lucha Underground fan. THUMBS UP
The Jim Cornette Experience #84 (7/9/15): Jim & Alice spend the first part of the show running down the Dukes of Hazzard being kicked off TV and GOP hopeful Rick Perry. Then they’re joined by Kenny Bolin to discuss his recent health woes and attempts at turning over a new leaf. But wouldn’t you know it, it’s all a scam. Also, Bolin appears to die at the end of the episode. If you like annoying beeps with your podcast listening, do I have the show for you! <Bolin’s interview starts at 34:52> THUMBS DOWN
Talk is Jericho #159 (7/10/15): Raven is on to discuss a litany of topics, including Saturday Night Live, partying with Bob Backlund, working with Brian Pillman, funny wrestlers, seeing movies with Jim Duggan, the Drunken 4 Horseman, letting the Raven character take over his life, his great lost WWE storyline, working with management, and the Flock. Raven bounces around topics quite a bit, but he comes across as very jovial and has some great stories. I’m definitely looking forward to part 2 in a few weeks. Jericho also has his kid on to discuss sharks and dinosaurs, if that’s your deal. <Ash’s interview starts at 3:33, Raven’s interview starts at 20:40> THUMBS UP
