Something to Wrestle With is a Voices of Wrestling flagship-esque three hours this week, so I’ll just include it in next week’s column so I can get this out.

The podcast week in review, brought to you by MVMT Watches.

They Said It…

  • “Someone told me tonight ‘You look like Finn Balor but with love handles.’” – Pat Buck
  • “There are some guys that I met in there, that dude, I bullshat you not, they are in there for mutder, but I would trust with my buck neked wife and a duffel bag with a million dollars in cash in it, because they’re stand up dudes.” – MVP on prison life
  • “With all due respect, you’re not…how would I say this nicely…you’re not the most fun individual to hang around. So when you tell me something’s terrible I automatically assume it’s probably pretty fun.” – Don Callis on being booked in Lebanon after Lance Storm had a terrible time there
  • “The people with the money don’t know how, and the people that know how don’t have the money. And for some reason, those people never find each other.” – Jim Cornette on TNA and wrestling

The Usual Suspects

VIP Lounge (10/16/16): MVP tells prison stories on this episode. We get to hear about working the chain gang, hiding joints from guards, and a big prison escape (which MVP was not involved in but happened at the prison where he was incarcerated). Sounds great, but this should have been riveting audio and it was merely decent. THUMBS IN THE MIDDLE

Conversation with the Big Guy #8 (10/17/16): Ryback and Pat go after online trolls (including calling some out by name) and talk about their respective family situations. The first part is pretty lame, and nothing really stood out about the second half. I listened only an hour ago as I type this and barely remember anything about it. THUMBS DOWN

The Card is Going To Change #19 (10/17/16): Another alumni rundown, as the gang talks about a variety of wrestlers who have appeared for AIW over the years. We get tales of Ricochet, Chris Hero, Drake Younger, Brian Kendrick, Hailey Hatred, Cherry Bomb, and a lot more. Some great stories here, especially Drake Younger’s love for Bone Thugz N’ Harmony, and the episode gets touching at the end as they thank Hailey (who has apparently disappeared off the Earth) for everything she’s done for the company. THUMBS UP

The Steve Austin Show #369 (10/18/16): Steve welcomes Jesse “The Body” Ventura for part 1 of a two-parter. There’s a good amount of wrestling talk here, from Jesse working in Central States, ripping off Superstar Graham, suing Vince for royalties, and more. There’s also movie talk and some wacky conversation about Jesse hanging out with whales in Mexico, but Jesse is such a good storyteller you’ll go along with it. THUMBS UP

Killing the Town #1 (10/18/16): Don Callis and Lance Storm debut their new show on the Jericho Network. They about the title of the show and the time they killed a town on a Death Tour, as well as the TNA Grand Championship and the return of Goldberg to the WWE. The two clearly have great chemistry together, and Lance is more palatable here because Callis takes some funny shots at him. But the sound quality is pretty bad, and why are you previewing RAW on your show and then have it come out afterwards? THUMBS IN THE MIDDLE

MLW Radio #249 (10/18/16): Court is back from working on the New York show for Combates America (which MSL calls the #2 MMA organization, oy). They talk about the Goldberg return to Raw, Paige & ADR getting engaged, Survivor Series trumping Hell in a Cell, Linda McMahon giving Donald Trump some big bucks, and the state of TNA. Decent enough listen, even if I was hoping for more Conrad and MSL.  THUMBS IN THE MIDDLE

The Ross Report #140 (10/18/16): Legendary Horsemen manager JJ Dillon is the guest this week. When he talks about his life in wrestling, from refereeing to wrestling to working with Dusty Rhodes, it’s all very good. And then JR has to go and ask Dillon about current wrestling. Do we really need to know JJ’s thoughts on the state of TNA? As usual, some good stuff, but Ross can’t help but step over his own interviews. [Dillon’s interview starts at 18:01] THUMBS IN THE MIDDLE

Talk is Jericho #292 (10/19/16): Another music show for Jericho, as this time Vivian Campbell and Phil Soussan of Last in Line talk about their band and their experiences playing with Ronnie James Dio, Ozzy Osbourne, Def Leppard, and more. Some OK stories (especially about Hear N’ Aid, the hard rock equivalent to Live Aid), but the show never comes together as a consistently compelling listen. [The interview starts at 6:06] THUMBS IN THE MIDDLE

Bischoff on Wrestling #13 (10/20/16): Back to two guests this week, as first Eric and Nick welcome Court Bauer in a rare podcast appearance. The interview is better than you would expect, since it’s about Court building his podcast empire and comparing notes with Bischoff on working in WWE creative. James Ellsworth then shows up to discuss working with AJ Styles in a short segment that doesn’t amount to much (his appearance on Talk is Jericho was much better). [Bauer’s interview starts at 18:50, Ellsworth’s interview starts at 50:26] THUMBS IN THE MIDDLE

Art of Wrestling #323 (10/20/16): Billy Gunn makes his AoW debut (he was on a previous live show, but this is his first full episode). The episode basically covers him breaking into wrestling through the Rockabilly gimmick, and then jumps to his battles with addiction (nothing about the Ass Man, much to Colt’s chagrin). Colt says at the start he’s very proud of this episode, as he should be, as Billy is open and honest about his career. THUMBS UP

The Steve Austin Show – Unleashed! #370 (10/20/16): Part 2 with Rob Van Dam. Rob talks about his time in the WWE and the politics he encountered, his burgeoning stand up career, and a good chunk on the benefits of marujana (which gets pretty detailed at points). This one’s all over the map with little wrestling talk, but RVD ‘s honesty about wrestling is refreshing. [Van Dam’s interview starts at 10:17] THUMBS IN THE MIDDLE

Jim Cornette Experience #151 (10/20/16): No guest this week, as Jim and Bryan catch up after Jim’s trip to the UK. They talk about said trip, the sad state of TNA, and the ongoing foibles of Donald Trump. That’s really it. If you close your eyes and try to imagine the podcast based on the above description, that’s pretty much what you get. THUMBS IN THE MIDDLE

Keepin’ it 100 #16 (10/20/16): The program includes: Shane Helms talking politics and UFC, Angelico discussing possible AAA roommates, Lance Storm on his new podcast, Kevin Kleinrock doing the Lucha Minute, football chatter, Jeff Hardy for the third part of his interview series, Demetrious Johnson on Connor McGregor, CM Punk, and his favorite fights, and Juvi being Juvi. Another good show where most everything worked. THUMBS UP

Ric Flair Show #16 (10/21/16): Something different this week, as Hurricane Helms is a guest for the entire show, meaning he sits in on the top stories of the week segment. They also get into his time in WCW, WWE, and current role as an agent in TNA. I liked Flair just flat out telling Helms he should go work WWE as an agent. Helms is OK but Flair is always best with one of his peers from the 80’s. [Helms’ interview starts at 1:46] THUMBS IN THE MIDDLE

Talk is Jericho #293 (10/21/16): WWE Cruiserweight champ TJ Perkins joins Jericho to discuss his career. And there’s a lot to discuss, including wrestling at 14, working Japan as a young boy, finding himself as a worker in Mexico, ending up homeless, hooking up with TNA, the Cruiserweight Classic, and more. As encompassing as you would hope, this is the kind of interview you wish they would air on the WWE Network or splice into RAW. [Perkins’ interview starts at 8:56] THUMBS UP

MSL & Sullivan Show (10/7/16): MSL and Kevin discuss the recent Sabu Go Fund Me and the idea of retirement plans for older wrestlers. Then we crack into the mailbag for questions about working Hawaii and the Miz’s haircut. Then they start a review of Starrcade 1996 and make the show sound so awesome I want to go home and watch it right now. [The Starrcade review starts at 46:53] THUMBS UP

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

New Japan Purocast (10/17/16): Collin and Damon review King of Pro Wrestling and preview the Junior Tag League and Power Struggle.  

Open the Voice Gate #10 (10/17/16): The gang reviews the big 10/12 Kouraken Hall show.

K&P #29: Jon and Rich break down the NFL’s ratings swoon and the ongoing 2016 MLB postseason.

BritWres Roundtable (10/19/16): Arn and Robin are joined by the “Queen of German Graps Scoopz” Sarah to run down the WXW World Tag Team League

Lucha of the Hidden Temple (10/19/16): Chris and Miles review the 10/12 episode of Lucha Underground, and declare Sexy Star had a decent match

Voices of Wrestling (10/21/16): Joe and Rich break down the recent Dragon Gate Kourakuen show, discuss Sasha/Charlotte at Hell in a Cell, reveal their Wrestling Observer Hall of Fame ballots, and answer listener questions.