The podcast week in review, brought to you by Dollar Shave Club (seriously, go to dollarshaveclub.com/voices to start your free month today!).

They Said It…

  • “No offense to Curt [Hertz] but he is potentially the worst professional wrestler of all time.” – John Thorne
  • “He says nothing about his plans, he gives no details, he sounds like the drunk at the bar that’s fixing the world over beer, when he does give details they’re not true, and when people prove that they’re not true and they’re lies, he ignores them and blames someone else – Vince Russo is running for President!” – Jim Cornette on the Trump candidacy
  • “I already hated liver, so imagine something called liverwurst.” – Konnan

The Usual Suspects

Something to Wrestle With #7 (9/16/16): The steroid trial of 1994 is the topic of this show, as Bruce and Conrad take us through the charges, all the various testimony, the verdict and the toll the whole thing took on the WWF. This one’s not up to the usual standard, as there’s a lot of information Bruce wasn’t privy too and Conrad seems to have a harder time than usual getting him to open up. The show contains rants on dirtsheets (not surprising) and Jerry Jarrett (surprising) that you may have heard about. THUMBS IN THE MIDDLE

The Ric Flair Show #11 (9/16/16): No guest this week, as Ric and Conrad run over some current events and dive into the mailbag. Topics include the famous vignette where the Horsemen attacked Dusty Rhodes in the parking lot, whether aliens exist, a modern Four Horsemen, Sid Vicious coming back to WCW, Jim Herd,  his early 90’s WWF run, partying, and more. The This Week in History segment is about his return to WCW in Greensville and contains the audio, which makes the show worth a listen by itself. THUMBS UP

The Tiki Bar #10 (9/17/16): After a month long hiatus, Tama Tonga is finally back with three big guests. First he quickly chats with his dad about his early days and wrestling in Mexico and New Zealand, then Yujiro Takahashi to talk his gimmick progression, and finally Kenny Omega discusses winning the G1 and his views of modern wrestling. The Omega stuff is really interesting, the rest just passable. THUMBS IN THE MIDDLE

VIP Lounge (9/18/16): No guest this week, as MVP and Alex discuss Colt Cabana, the time MVP had a run in with alligators, Kenny Omega’s purported beef with MVP, the Cruiserweight Classic, getting shot down by Vince McMahon, the Beastie Boys, and a crazy store about a women MVP met in Japan that had a bad trip on Spice. Some good, some bad, as is the case with most guestless shows. THUMBS IN THE MIDDLE

The Card is Going To Change #16 (9/19/16): Renting your ring out to fringe groups is the theme of this episode. We get to hear about the recent bachelor party AIW show (a hysterical story that produced the quote above), getting requests from fetish wrestling fans to use their ring, and the time Coheed & Cambria used their ring for a show. Very funny episode on the stranger side of independent promoting. THUMBS UP

Conversation with the Big Guy #4 (9/19/16): Ryback and Pat are back to let us in on The Secret. The whole show is basically how their lives were in the dumper and how the book The Secret helped them turn it around. There are some interesting insights into the politics of Ohio Valley Wrestling (and we find out Ryback did customs as Gorilla Man), but at times it comes off as an infomercial for the book. THUMBS IN THE MIDDLE

Eastern Lariat #28 (9/19/16): Something completely different this week, as Strigga and Dylan take a look at the cult pro wrestling group Big Mouth Loud that ran in 2005-06. They run over several cards featuring names like Katsuyori Shibata, Kazunari Murakami, Yoshiaki Fujiwara and…Petey Williams? It’s a fun diversion about a subject not well tread on podcasts. They close up with a review of the first NJPW Destruction show and the Kushida backlash. THUMBS UP

Steve Austin Show #361 (9/20/16): Steve talks to Nita Strauss, the current guitarist for Alice Cooper. They discuss her youth, falling in love with the guitar, influences, various bands she played in and hooking up with Alice, getting clean, her fitness routine, and solo work. Some interesting stories, but the interview is overlong and I could have done without her boyfriend coming on at the end to hawk his t-shirt line. Weirdly they never really address what it’s like to be a woman in the testosterone fueled world of hard rock. THUMBS IN THE MIDDLE

MLW Radio #245 (9/20/16): Court is back, so the aliens must have returned him. He and MSL get caught up on the news, including Raw’s falling ratings, a Clash of Champions preview, could Hulk Hogan return to the WWE, the possibility of Sting/Undertaker at WrestleMania, Shibata’s injury, the Cruiserweights cone to Raw, an Alberto Del Rio update, and a lot more. Fun show, the highlight of which is MSL catching Court up on all the absurd goings on during his absence. THUMBS UP

The Ross Report #136 (9/20/16): Adam Cole, BAY-BAY. The Ring of Honor Champ makes another stop on the Ross Report to talk about his upcoming title match with Michael Elgin, his program with Jay Lethal, the allure of PWG, and wanting to work ROH. There’s an interesting bit at the end where he discusses the possibility of signing with the WWE, but as usual JR derails the interview with the usual complaints of no one selling and working too fast. Cole himself is a great interview so pulling a mediocre show out of him is quite a feat. [Cole’s interview starts at 20:36] THUMBS IN THE MIDDLE

Talk is Jericho #286 (9/21/16): It’s another Talk n’ Shop reunion, as Jericho is joined by Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson, as well as Karl’s friend Jacko. You know the drill – lots of hilarious stories, belching, interruptions, and asides that go nowhere. Jericho tries too hard to fit in at points but he can’t derail the insanity. Some stories are repeated from Talk n’ Shop (namely the Gallows sharting story) but at least it’s a great story. I nearly drove my car off the road laughing at a wrestler named Jerkface. [The interview starts at 5:59] THUMBS UP & BEST OF THE WEEK

Bischoff on Wrestling #9 (9/21/16): Eric and Nick talk about politics in wrestling, the Cruiserweight lineage, and Eric’s views on house shows. Then they’re joined by former NFL tight end Russ Francis, which sounds like an odd fit. But Francis grew up as the son of a promoter, and what you get is a brief overview of the Hawaii territory, with namesdrops of Andre the Giant and Rikidozan (Francis even held the NWA Hawaii tag titles). Really a must listen, but the interview is so short and the rest of the show middling I can’t give it an enthusiastic review. [Francis’ interview starts at 20:15] THUMBS IN THE MIDDLE

Ric Flair Show #12 (9/21/16): Bruce Mitchell is the guest this week, and yes, they discuss the recent controversy with Bruce Prichard. Bruce also adds in some memories of Jim Crockett Promotions from back in the day and some thoughts on current WWE. We also get some Q&A on Flair’s Christmas cage match with Kerry Von Erich and what it was like to be in the ring with Wahoo McDaniel. Mitchell is always good for some interesting discussion. [Mitchell’s interview starts at 11:46] THUMBS UP

Deep Blue Something #5 (9/22/16): Mike and Bryce discuss approaching wrestlers at shows (centered around asking Billy Gunn about the Smoking Gunns’ old finisher), their recent live show, the trials and tribulations of King of Trios, and the laborious process of naming their shows (where I learned a series of shows were named after Morrissey quotes). Fun show that again strikes the right balance between being a fan and revealing interesting tidbits. THUMBS UP

Keepin’ it 100 #11 (9/22/16): Segments include: Broken Matt Hardy dumping on Disco Inferno, Kevin talking about his interview with Vince Russo, Juventud Guerrera is back to talk the WWE’s Cruiserweight division and plays another song, Jacob Mystakidis discusses Australian nightlife, some guy raps, Shane Helms talks more TNA, and Disco closes it out discussing luncheon meats. The usual chaos that doesn’t quite congeal into a whole. THUMBS IN THE MIDDLE

Art of Wrestling #319 (9/22/16): Kenny King makes his AoW debut. There’s nothing here about TNA (except a brief talk about the locker room) or Jim Cornette’s rant, but what we do get is a lot about Ken’s early time in wrestling, including being on Tough Enough and continuing in wrestling after that, wrestling in Thailand, and being a Chippendales Dancer. Kenny doesn’t do a ton for me in the ring, but he certainly has some interesting stories and comes across well here. THUMBS UP

The Steve Austin Show – Unleashed! #362 (9/22/16): Ted Fowler. Most of the show is about a 10 hour trip Ted is taking with some friends to fish. Can you even imagine being in a car with him for 10 hours? THUMBS DOWN

Jim Cornette Experience #147 (9/22/16): No guest again this week, as Jim and Brian chitchat about Terry Funk’s health, Wild Wild West, Jim’s birthday, Donald Trump, and a discussion of Ted Dibiase as NWA champion and the politics of NWA back in the day. As usual with non-guest shows it’s a mixed bag, but I really liked the wrestling talk at the end. THUMBS IN THE MIDDLE

Talk is Jericho #285 (9/23/16): Renowned agent (and subject of a Mike Myers documentary) Shep Gordon is here to regale Chris with tales of Alice Cooper, Raquelle Welch, John Lennon & Yoko Ono, the Beatles, and a lot more. If these names don’t mean a lot to you, you likely won’t get much out of this show. But I always find old show biz tales fascinating, and like Jericho said, Shep may be the nicest man in the world. [Gordon’s interview starts at 3:52] THUMBS UP

MSL & Sullivan Show (9/16/16): MSL & Kevin has a winding conversation to start the show on the hazards of life on the road and the difficulties in not resorting to self medication. Then we get a review of the first hour of the September 23rd, 1996 Nitro and the odd appearance of David Sammartino. A quick mailbag, including a question on why Doug Furnas never hit it big in the US, closes out the usual good show. [The Nitro review starts at 26:37] THUMBS UP

Something to Wrestle With #7 (9/23/16): The topic for this show is the Radicalz jumping to the WWE. The actual talk about the negotiations is fairly short, and the rest of the show is about the fates of all four men. The Dean Malenko and Perry Saturn bits are fairly short, as the focus is on Chris Benoit and Eddie Guerrero and the tragedies surrounding them. Not surprisingly, things get really heavy by the end, but that part is well worth listening to. Just skip the first half hour, which is more Prichard vs. Meltzer which accomplishes nothing. THUMBS UP

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

New Japan Purocast (9/19/16): Collin and Damon review the 9/17 show and preview the remaining Destruction shows.

Lucha of the Hidden Temple (9/19/16): Chris and Miles break down the 9/14 episode of Lucha Underground featuring the Weapons of Mass Destruction match

VOW Rewind (9/19/16): Joe and Rich talk to TJ Perkins in an interview taped in May 2013

Shake Them Ropes #175 (9/21/16): Rob and Jeff discuss the Cruiserweights debut on Raw, preview Clash of Champions, and review Bret Hart vs. Mr. Perfect from Summerslam 1991.

BritWres Rountable (9/22/16): Robin and Ole run down PROGRESS Chapter 36, the biggest show in company history.

Voices of Wrestling (9/16/16): Joe and Rich review the first two Destruction shows and preview the third, talk the Cruiserweights debut on Raw, preview Clash of Champions, and touch on some odds and ends in Japan.