No VIP Lounge or Bret Hart shows this week.

The podcast week in review, brought to you by Blue Apron (but seriously by Mack Weldon (use coupon code “VOW” to get 20% off your next order!)

They Said It…

  • “Where was that in the timeline, and I’m not trying to get you to date yourself or anything, although somebody has to do it.” – Jim Cornette to Brian Spears
  • “Kevin, this is an actual quote from somebody, they said honestly, no lie – they said that Kevin Gill was the second best. Everyone else was tied for first.” – Disco Inferno, as he, Konnan, and producer Kevin Gill were debating who the best part of episode #1 was
  • “Let’s Netflix and chill tonight with The Resurrection of Jake ‘The Snake’” – Chris Jericho during an ad read, perhaps not understanding the meaning of the term “Netflix and chill”

The Usual Suspects

The Tiki Bar #3 (7/9/16): Part 2 with Tanga Loa, picking up where last week left off. We join Tanga playing college football and Tama joining the Air Force before things take a welcome turn into pro wrestling. We hear about both men training, the lean days of paying their dues and the devastating story when Tama found out his brother was taken by the WWE and he was passed over. Again, Loa is a total zilch, but the stories are so good you won’t mind. THUMBS UP

Eastern Lariat (7/9/16): Tournament time for Strigga and Dylan, as they run down DDT’s King of DDT tournament, Zero One’s Fire Festival, and a deep dive on Dragon Gate’s King of Gate, plus some thoughts on recent All Japan and the Wrestle-1 exodus. The usual good discussion and I was glad to see DDT and Dragon Gate get spotlighted when there has been so much focus on New Japan lately. THUMBS UP

The Card is Going To Change #6 (7/11/16): The company’s popular Girls Night Out shows are the focus of this episode. We hear about the show’s bizarre origins as a shot at a rival promotion, the instant popularity of the endeavor, hanging out with Isis the Amazon, working a camera with a pencil, performers like Allysin Kay, Athena, and a lot more. It’s an interesting story of an unexpected success. THUMBS UP

Steve Austin Show #341 (7/12/16): Steve visits famous hot rod designer Chip Foose. Yes, it’s another car show. There are some mildly interesting bits about Foose’s forays into reality TV, but unless you’re big into cars there’s nothing here. Also, Steve reveals he had to put down his dog Shona for an extra sad ending. THUMBS DOWN

Deep Blue Something #1 (7/12/16): Chikara gets in on the podcast game with a show named after a mid-90’s one hit wonder for some reason. Also for some reason, the show follows a “something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue” format, which is weird, but it leads to some fun discussion about the recent Chikara UK tour, memories of Demolition and One Man Gang working King of Trios, and Bryce going to see Weezer. Even if you don’t follow Chikara, Bryce and Mike are very genial audio personalities and this was a fine little listen. THUMBS UP

MLW Radio #235 (7/12/16): Court and MSL start things out talking about MSL being quoted in the Wall Street Journal, Brock Lesnar’s big win and future booking, Hulk Hogan’s potential return, the attempted humanizing of Roman Reigns, potential GM’s for Raw and Smackdown, the Final Deletion, WWE morale (high), Cruiserweight Classic bracketology, and Ring of Honor morale (low). Then Jim Ross shows up to talk about being a part of WaleMania III, UFC, and the booking of Lesnar/Orton. Ross doesn’t add a lot (and repeats a lot of it on the monologue to his show), and the show was going along fine without him. [Ross comes on at 42:41] THUMBS IN THE MIDDLE

The Ross Report #125 (7/12/16): Eric Bischoff is back for part 2. This one is basically split into 2 parts, with the first one discussing current WWE and what putting on a live show feels like and whether Goldberg should ever return. The second half is a grab bag of questions, focusing on his relationships with Bobby Heenan and Hulk Hogan. Nothing really directly about WCW, but that’s well hewn territory at this point and I appreciated the stories here. [Bischoff’s interview starts at 17:13] THUMBS UP

Talk is Jericho #264 (7/13/16): Comedian Paul Scheer in on TiJ to talk about his time on “I Love the 80’s,” his love for Arsenio Hall, auditioning 4 times for Saturday Night Live, his podcast “How Did This Get Made,” and thoughts on Ghostbusters, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Diff’rent Strokes, and a lot more.  This is a funny show with some genuine laughs sprinkled throughout; the only downside is the audio is pretty bad, with an annoying crackle throughout. [Scheer’s interview starts at 5:36] THUMBS UP

Ric Flair Show #2 (7/13/16): After a brief (and fairly useless) rundown of the news, Cody Rhodes comes back for part 2. They talk about Dusty Rhodes, Goldust, his mom, Legacy, the aborted feud with Goldust, the Stardust gimmick, the Final Deletion, and more. Cody comes across as very honest and Ric sprinkles in a lot of great old school stories. Then we get a look back at Ric leaving WCW in 1991 and why he started using the figure 4 leglock. Fun show. THUMBS UP

Art of Wrestling #309 (7/14/16): Colt talks to Evolve’s “All Ego” Ethan Page, discussing Page’s own podcast, adult film starlets, nearly representing Canada in the Olympics, backyard wrestling, his love of the Rock, running his own promotion, signing a contract, and more. Page is an interesting guest as he certainly has a healthy opinion of himself, and Colt even calls him out on it at times, which makes for an interesting dynamic. THUMBS UP

The Steve Austin Show – Unleashed! #342 (7/14/16): Vampiro is back on the show to talk to Steve about watching wrestling as a fan, the Will Ospreay/Ricochet match, the lack of selling in today’s wrestling, filming Lucha Underground vignettes, an idea for a comeback match, Krav Maga, and more. The parts about current wrestling style is just stuff we’ve all heard before, but the other bits like Vamp freaking out over Steve cutting a promo on him are worth hearing. THUMBS IN THE MIDDLE

Jim Cornette Experience #137 (7/14/16): A lengthy intro sees Jim and Brian give listeners a taste of the Drive Thru by taking listener questions on Jimmy Del Ray and who has bled the most (still nothing on the Final Deletion though). They they’re joined by Kayfabe Memories’ Brian Spears to discuss having Stephen King as an English teacher, seeing classic Mid-South wrestling, getting into announcing, wrestling autographs, saving Jim Melby’s life, the Kayfabe Memories message board, and more. Spear’s interview is interesting, and even the intro is much better than usual as it’s focused on wrestling. [Spear’s interview starts at 34:29] THUMBS UP

Keepin’ it 100 #2 (7/14/16): Konnan, Disco, and Kevin Gill open the show breaking down the Wyatt compound match and the remainder of Raw, UFC drug testing and UFC 200, the mixing of MMA and pro wrestling, basketball, and the time Disco headlined against Sting. Then Kevin Kleinrock shows up to discuss the rise of Pentagon Jr and Juventud shows up at the end to discuss meeting Paul Heyman in London. I really like the format and Disco Inferno has been a lot more palatable here than on other podcasts.  THUMBS UP

Marty & Sarah Love Wrestling #5 (7/14/16): M&S talk about their Freelance Wrestling announcing gig, plot out Freaky Flair-day, and play F/M/K with the Wyatt Family. The usual nonsense. This episode was apparently a big hit on the iTunes chart, so I would really be curious to hear from people who enjoy it. THUMBS DOWN

Talk is Jericho #265 (7/15/16): It’s a Talk n’ Shop reunion, and Jericho sets the mic down in front of Karl Anderson, Doc Gallows, and AJ Styles and lets them loose. It’s basically an extra long version T n’ S, with all the silly voices (I missed the Fink, I have to say), talking over each other, stories that go nowhere, and funny anecdotes (like Gallows at a nudist camp). Jericho sticks out a bit, but it doesn’t derail the show, and there are some big laughs to be found. [The interview starts at 5:22] THUMBS UP & BEST OF THE WEEK

MSL & Sullivan Show (7/15/16): Kevin and MSL discuss Sullivan’s upcoming participation in a War Games match, Florida booking, flamboyant gimmicks, the possibility of Rock vs. Brock at Mania, and Darren Young. Then it’s a mailbag concerning Triple H’s stature in the industry, Hulk Hogan possibly returning to WWF in 1997, the Tower of Doom match, Continental Wrestling, and whether Hogan did more harm than good in WCW. No Nitro review, but it’s not missed and the show flew by. THUMBS UP

Bauer & Pollock (7/8/16): B&P are back from a week off to talk the UFC sale, the WWE Draft and second screen programming, Bryan Danielson as a commentator for the Cruiserweight Classic, Shaq/Big Show, the canceled ECW DVD, a price increase for the Network, Hoodslam, Brock Lesnar, John Cena at the ESPYs, and TNA. OK show, hampered by the fact a lot of the topics here have already been talked to death. THUMBS IN THE MIDDLE

Not enough podcasts for you? Here’s what the Voices of Wrestling team put out this week:

Lucha of the Hidden Temple (7/8/16): Chris and Miles review part one of Ultima Lucha Dos.

New Japan Purocast (7/11/16): The boys not only predict the opening night of the G1, but run down the lineups for BOLA and the Super J Cup as well.

Wrestlenomics Radio (7/13/16): Chris Harrington makes a surprise return to podcasting to discuss the UFC sale, Brexit’s effect on UFC, and the loss of Gerrit Meier, the head of WWE International.

Shake Then Ropes #160 (7/14/16): A day late but not a dollar short, Rob and Jeff talk NXT Power Rankings, the Cruiserweight Classic, future GM’s for Raw and Smackdown, and Cactus Jack/Triple H from Royal Rumble 2000.

Voices of Wrestling (7/14/16): The flagship sees Joe and Rich talk the G1 Climax, backstage turmoil in Ring of Honor, and answer listener questions.