The pro wrestling podcasts week in review, brought to you, of course, by DRAFT KINGS DOT COM (or our Amazon and WWE affiliate links).

They said it…

  • “WrestleMania as your parents’ company picnic is pretty awesome” – Dana Warrior on bringing her daughters to WrestleMania XXX
  • “I’m the only guy in the world who could find a massage parlor for me and Tony Schiavone in Cheyenne, Wyoming.” – Ric Flair
  • “The UK is the new East Coast” – Colt Cabana on the burgeoning UK wrestling scene

The Usual Suspects

Talk n’ Shop #62 (9/12/15): It’s another edition from the road, as Karl Anderson is in a car with Sonjay Dutt, Magnus, and PJ Black on their way to a Global Force Wrestling show. Lots of talk about wrong turns, hotels, gambling, and no sleep, and it really gives you a sense for life on the road, and how fun it can be at times. THUMBS UP

MLW Radio #195 (9/13/15): Court and Konnan combine to discuss Konnan attending BOLA, his recent tour of Bolivia, Ric Flair’s recent comments about jobbing to Konnan in WCW, Hulk Hogan’s current situation, WWE’s booking of Seth Rollins, their upcoming trip to Las Vegas, and a lot more. Konnan also finally addresses Triplemania, acknowledging the poor production and admitting there were too many older wrestlers on the show and the TV didn’t specifically build to the PPV, which is interesting. THUMBS UP

The Taz Show #1 (9/14/15): Taz goes live for his new drive time show. It’s a bit of a cluster for a first show, as the phone lines don’t work, so planned guest Paulie Malignaggi couldn’t be on and we only get one listener call (which may be a blessing in disguise). Also, anytime they play an audio clip, the sound is too low. Plus there’s a wacky soundboard playing wacky clips from Family Guy! Beyond that, it’s always fun to listen to Taz and Seth and I never burnt out over two hours. I won’t be reviewing this one regularly, since I can’t fit in another 10 hours of podcasting per week and it’s not really a show you’ll want to go back and listen to. Hopefully they’ll release a “Best of” podcast weekly. THUMBS IN THE MIDDLE

Steve Austin Show #255 (9/15/15): This is just a replay of the Edge & Christian interview that aired on the Network last week. Steve adds an intro about jet skis and people asking for his autograph when he’s lifting. If you saw it on the Network you can safely skip this, but if you haven’t experienced it at all I recommend the Network version, as you lose a little bit without the visuals. But even if you just listen to it, it’s still a funny and worthwhile listen. THUMBS UP

The Ross Report #82 (9/15/15): Here comes the Ax, here comes the Smasher…Bill Eadie and Barry Darsow join JR to talk about their lengthy careers in wrestling. They get into working for Bill Watts and both men’s time in various territories, Masked Superstar and the Machines, and Barry’s Minnesota brethren. Then they get to Demolition, how they got together (no mention of Randy Colley, oddly), comparisons to the Road Warriors, the WWE tag team scene in the 80s, what lead to the team breaking up, and the possibility of them going into the Hall of Fame. Oddly, there’s not as much about Demolition as you would expect, with a lot of focus on both men’s pre and post Demolition work. There are some real head scratching statements on the show, but on the whole it’s pretty honest. Ross is a lot better here than usual. <Demolition’s interview starts at 21:12> THUMBS UP

WOOOOO ™Nation #20 (9/16/15) Eric Bischoff is here, surprisingly enough. Bischoff, Ric and Conrad run down Eric’s rise to power in WCWE, his tryout with the WWE, some bonkers stories about the shows in North Korea, Flair buying a motorcycle for Road Wild, Rick Rude almost pulling a gun on Eric, Ric and Eric recruiting Hulk Hogan for WCW, how syndication worked for WCW, the contract structures in WCW, the Time Warner merger, and a lot more. Eric has been on a million podcasts, but this is easily his best appearance. It’s an amazing mix of behind the scenes business stories and Flair craziness. Part two is next week and I can’t wait. THUMBS UP

Talk is Jericho #178 (9/16/15): Dana Warrior, widow of the Ultimate Warrior, is the guest. She talks about how she met the Warrior, what he was really like as a person, fighting with the WWE and later reconciling with Vince, his induction into the WWE Hall of Fame and the Warrior award, and the Warrior’s ultimate passing. I wasn’t sure how this one was going to go, but Dana was tremendous here. She just sounds like a saint, and this interview humanizes the Warrior like nothing else ever has. <Dana’s interview starts at 18:05> THUMBS UP & BEST OF THE WEEK

Bauer & Pollock (9/16/15): B&P return with Court checking in from Vegas for the Combate Americas show. They discuss that show, the last Floyd Mayweather fight and the disappointing buyrate, big weekend shows from Ring of Honor, CMLL, & Bellator, the build to Night of Champions, the Nick Diaz suspension, TNA buying out Jeff Jarrett, and a lot more. Sadly, there’s nothing about the Dixie Carter Sports Illustrated article, but an enjoyable rundown of the past week. THUMBS UP

Art of Wrestling #268 (9/17/15): Former TNA champ Magnus is the guest this week. He talks about his unusual upbringing, getting into wrestling (and a great story about asking to get paid early on), the UK version of American Gladiators, how he got into TNA and climbed the ranks, his decision to leave the company, Global Force Wrestling, and more. This one starts slow but picks up after a bit, and you’ll admire Magnus’ approach to wrestling. THUMBS UP

Steve Austin – Unleashed #256 (9/17/15): Part 1 with Scott Hall. Nothing about any kind of substance abuse, just a history of Hall prior to the WWE. You get to hear about how Barry Whindham got him into wrestling, teaming with Curt Hennig and working with a young Shawn Michaels, working for Otto Wanz in Germany, teaming with Masa Saito in Japan, the Diamond Studd gimmick in WCW, and finally breaking into the WWE. Super show with lots of fun stories that would be the show of the week most weeks. THUMBS UP

The Jim Cornette Experience #94 (9/17/15): Dave Meltzer makes his return to the show. He, Jim, and Alice do lengthy breakdowns on the Jimmy Snuka saga, Nick Diaz’s suspension, the TNA situation, intergender wrestling, and the state of wrestling overall. If you’re a regular Observer subscriber there’s not a lot new here, but the back and forth between Dave and Jim remains entertaining. <Meltzer’s interview starts at 33:43> THUMBS DOWN

Talk is Jericho #179 (9/17/15): A twofer this week, as up first it’s Jericho’s cousin Chad, as he elaborates on the story of giving his t-shirt to Bruce Dickinson at a radio station. Then Chris is joined by former Playboy Playmate Jessa Hinton, who talks about appearing in the magazine, being at the mansion, Hef, the money and recognition that comes with being a Playmate, and her upcoming podcast. Honestly, nothing terribly interesting was said, and you can give this a skip. <Chad’s interview starts at 5:48, Hinton’s interview at 30:04> THUMBS DOWN

Helluva Deal (9/18/15): Drama this week at MLW Radio, as Mister Saint Laurent revealed Konnan has been blocking his shows and appearances, so he will no longer be associated with the site. Since it doesn’t have a home on the VIP site anymore, MSL has released his latest show with Kevin Sullivan for free. On this episode they start running down Bash at the Beach 1996, the famous show where Hogan joined the New World Order. They talk about the leadup to the show, why Rey Mysterio was always the most favored luchadore, Tony Schiavone’s announcing style, and more. You pick off some interesting tidbits, such as Big Bubba received big PPV bonuses if the shows drew well, whether he was on the show or not. THUMBS UP