The podcast week in review, brought to you by Birksun Backpacks (or our Amazon, WWEShop, SeatGeek affiliate links).

They said it…

  • “You’re always a phony wrestler until you go to court. Then you’re a trained killer.” – Jim Duggan, discussing altercations with fans in Mid-South
  • “Call-in shows always suck.” – A caller during Bauer & Pollock’s call-in show.
  • “It was a colorful experience. The check bounced. I went out there and I did a lumberjack match with Snuka that lead to a double count out. Only double count out in lumberjack match history.” – Mick Foley on working for Herb Abrams’s UWF

The Usual Suspects

VIP Lounge (3/6/16): MVP and Alex are joined by Shelton Benjamin to talk about his move to Pro Wrestling NOAH, why he has mixed thoughts on the Raw match with Shawn Michaels, working with Mama Benjamin, frustrations in the WWE, the house show match with MVP discussed last episode (which Alex acts like he’s hearing about for the first time, so either this was taped before or he’s not a good listener), and more. There’s also a solid discussion about race and racism in pro wrestling. Good show. THUMBS UP

Steve Austin Show #305 (3/8/16): Part two with Vinny Ru, bro. He goes into his thoughts on the current product, his brief run in 2002, a critique of today’s work style (allowing Steve to talk about DDTs again), and how the WWE lost the casual viewer. Russo basically stumps for a writing tradition at the end. He also says Vince is trapped in the wrestling bubble and out of touch with fans, but doesn’t know what the term “millennial” means. Russo has a couple of good points, but the show is such a complaint fest that it’s just no fun. THUMBS DOWN

MLW Radio #217 (3/8/16): Jason Powell of ProWrestling.net calls in to Court and Konnan (who is late to the show YET AGAIN, although only a few minutes this time) to chat all the recent news. Topics include the Hogan/Gawker trial, the sad state of affairs in TNA, the Balor Club possibly coming to the WWE, Ronda Rousey’s current status, Dragon Lee/Kamataichi and changes in wrestling styles, Konnan’s trip to IWS, Konnan in the Sudan, and more. I wasn’t feeling this one at first (the humor is terribly lame), but the spin-off discussions on music and promoting in 2016 are worth hearing. THUMBS UP

The Ross Report #108 (3/8/16): Jim Duggan, who’s quite a popular podcast guest, makes his debut on the Ross Report. He and JR talk about the good old days in Mid-South (easily the best portion of the show), Duggan wrestling in 2016, the Iron Sheik incident, the Team Canada angle in WCW, and being cancer free. Ross asks Duggan about current WWE, which just seems silly but is a minor quibble. You’ve probably heard Duggan on a myriad of other podcasts, and there is some repetition, but he remains a fun and surprisingly witty podcast guest. <Duggan’s interview starts at 20:37> THUMBS UP

Talk is Jericho #228 (3/9/16): Wes Germer, host of The Sasquatch Chronicles, joins Chris to discuss the legacy of the band Dio (just kidding, he talks Sasquatches). Germer tells the lengthy story of an encounter he and his brother had with some kind of creature, and how it lead to him starting his podcast. There’s talk of other monster sighting and some conspiracy theory talk. If you’re really into this kind of this you’ll probably really enjoy the show; it’s not my bag but it was passable to me. <Germer’s interview starts at 3:43> THUMBS IN THE MIDDLE

The Sharpshooter Show #2 (3/9/16): Bret & Nick first run down the recent news, including a discussion of the McMahon family dynamic & who Bret thinks should be in the WWE Hall of Fame (his list includes the Hart Foundation, because of course it does). Then his son Blade joins the fun as Bret discusses the classic WrestleMania XIII match with Steve Austin. You get some interesting insight and it’s just nice to hear Bret so enthusiastic about wrestling. Then we get a baffling segment as they’re joined by MMA fighter Micah Terrill, who’s competing on an upcoming Shogun Fights card. No clue why the Hitman is interacting with a lower level MMA fighter, but there you go. THUMBS IN THE MIDDLE

Bauer & Pollock (3/10/16): This is the promised (threatened?) call-in show, although B&P just gab like normal to open the show. Topics include the Hogan/Gawker case, Takeover vs. WrestleMania, Kota Ibushi coming to America, the New Day’s singles prospects, UFC 200 ideas, and more. Call-in shows suck (as one caller explicitly stated in what was easily the highlight of the episode), but this was OK. Court also mentions he had a meeting with Triple H in December, which I had not heard before. THUMBS IN THE MIDDLE

Art of Wrestling #292 (3/10/16): Missy Hyatt sits down with Colt. They have a breezy conversation about how she got into wrestling, Eddie Gilbert, her brief run with the WWE, life after wrestling, and why she’s quitting making appearances. Missy then turns the tables on Colt and interviews him about wrestling in Japan. Nothing sleazy on the show, just a fun discussion of an interesting career. Missy remains a national treasure. THUMBS UP

Steve Austin – Unleashed #306 (3/10/16): LA Lakers center Roy Hibbert takes a trip to Steve’s crib. Lots of talk about his career, and when they discuss the Lakers’ poor record, trash talk (with a great Kevin Garnett story), and what it’s like to be so damn tall, it’s interesting. But this is a long show, and the parts about growing up and why he naps on game day just aren’t that interesting. If Steve is looking at branching for interviews out like Jericho, this is a decent start. THUMBS IN THE MIDDLE

The Jim Cornette Experience #119 (3/10/16): Lengthy intro this week, but wrestling centric as Jim and Brian discuss the Hogan/Gawker farce, and Jim berates Roman Reigns for using a blood capsule and not slicing his head open with a razor blade (seriously). Mick Foley then joins the show for a brief interview and to plug his RAINN raffle. To everyone’s credit, they ask about some obscure topics, like Mick’s early run for WCW, working for Herb Abram’s UWF, and his independent feud with Eddie Gilbert. Some different topics and really funny stories (especially the UWF stuff) make for a great show. <Foley’s interview starts at 40:09> THUMBS UP & BEST OF THE WEEK

Talk is Jericho #229 (3/11/16): Cody Rhodes and Xavier Woods make a dual appearance, stemming from Woods’ appearance on TiJ a few weeks back. What follows is a Rashomon style retelling of the time the two met in a high school wrestling match and the fallout (both men have different memories of the events at hand). It’s all bizarre but really quite funny, especially 11 year old Xavier begging a jealous boyfriend not to kill him until Monday so he could watch Summerslam. I appreciate using the podcast medium for out of the box ideas like this. THUMBS UP

MSL & Sullivan Show #24 (3/11/16): You know the drill by now: some discussion to start the show (mostly about weight classes and the importance of staying in them), a retro review (the back half of Fall Brawl 1996), and a mailbag to close out the show. The content is fine, but the audio gets out of sync as the show progresses (so there are long pauses when MSL throws it to Sullivan, and it sounds like MSL keeps cutting Sullivan off) that makes for a challenging listen. THUMBS IN THE MIDDLE