Due to scheduling, Bruce Prichard’s show will be covered next week. Ric Flair’s show is also late, so if that does surface it’ll be included next week as well.

The podcast week in review, brought to you by Omaha Steaks.

They Said It…

  • “Kevin Gill is so ugly, Hello Kitty said goodbye.” – Don Callis, busting out the dad jokes
  • “Linda McMahon is like the Marilyn Munster of the McMahon family – she’s the normal one.” – Jim Cornette
  • “It never dawned on me that I couldn’t do it.” – Sean Waltman on getting into wrestling despite his size

The Usual Suspects

Something to Wrestle With #19 (12/9/16): The final episode of Monday Nitro won the poll this week, so Conrad and Bruce take us through the entire sale process to Bruce being backstage at the final Nitro, what was planned for the future, and so on. It’s a decent episode, but Bruce’s tidbits and anecdotes just aren’t super interesting this time. THUMBS IN THE MIDDLE

VIP Lounge (12/11/16): MVP and Alex are reunited to just run down a variety of topics, including Chris Masters pushing MVP in a wheelchair, Kyle O’Reily winning the ROH title, trolls, Westworld, Atlanta, Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Samoa Joe, and even more on frontmen in rock. Nothing to see here.  THUMBS DOWN

Conversation with the Big Guy #16 (12/12/16): The Big Guy has his CM-Punk-on-Art-of-Wrestling moment, as he details the fallout from breaking his ankle during the Nexus run. We get to hear about botched surgeries, incompetent WWE staff members, Sin Cara breaking his ribs after getting cleared, and Ryback almost getting released, as well as some shade tossed on John Cena and Simon Gotch (who’s apparently a huge weirdo). A thoroughly compelling listen. THUMBS IN THE MIDDLE

The Card is Going To Change #23 (12/5/16): First off, there’s nothing on the recent Matt Riddle situation. Instead, this show is part 2 of a recap of the recent AIW Double Dare tag team tournaments. There are a lot of stories with a bizarre cast of characters, but the true stars are the Headhunters, who announce on the day of the show that one of them is in jail, and things go downhill from there. A hysterical show. THUMBS UP & BEST OF THE WEEK

The Steve Austin Show #385 (12/13/16): Former WWF referee and timekeeper (and beer thrower) Mark Yeaton is the guest. He talks about finding his way into the wrestling business, driving the ring truck, what goes into constructing a ring, life on the road, getting out of the business, and throwing all those beers to Stone Cold. Yeaton is a bit dry as a guest, but this is overall a genial and pleasing episode.  THUMBS UP

Killing the Town #8 (12/13/16): A bit of a format shift, as Konnan joins the show first for a quick chat about his career in Mexico, transitioning to WCW, and Teddy Hart’s cats. Then we dive into the mailbag and learn the truth about that Lance/JBL confrontation from a few years ago. And then they close things out with a review of the Living Dangerously ’99 show, and both men are very honest in their thoughts, especially about Lance’s match, which gets buried 6 feet under. THUMBS UP

MLW Radio #257 (12/13/16): Kevin Sullivan fills in the co-host chair for this week’s news, including New Japan’s plans to run the U.S., Cena on Saturday Night Live, Steve Corino and Nigel McGuinness heading to WWE, and more. I wasn’t totally sure about Sullivan in this role, but they formatted the show to play to his strengths (when discussing New Day breaking Demolition’s record, MSL asks Sullivan what the industry thought of the Demos during their heyday). I enjoyed this. THUMBS UP

The Ross Report #148 (12/13/16): JR welcomes fellow Podcast One stablemates Cyrus and Lance Storm for some cross promotion. They run through the current wrestling scene (with Cyrus pointing out how wrestlers need to slow down and sell, and you can hear JR salivating), WWE verbiage, the British scene, Roman Reigns, Matt Hardy, and more. There’s not a lot of positivity on this show, and the real fun with Cyrus and Storm is them busting on each other, and there’s none of that here. [Cyrus and Storm’s interview starts at 20:46] THUMBS DOWN

Talk is Jericho #308 (12/14/16): Gary Spivack and Clay Busch are the promoters behind rock festivals like Carolina Rebellion, Rock on the Range, and Northern Invasion, and they’re also the guests on this episode of TiJ. They explore the nuts and bolts of putting together a festival, which acts to book, and more. They tell some stories but they’re not as entertaining as you’d hope, and by far the best part is the last segment where they discuss their own favorite live experiences. [Spivack & Busch’s interview starts at 5:30] THUMBS IN THE MIDDLE

Bischoff on Wrestling #21 (12/14/16): Sean Waltman is the featured guest this week, talking to Eric and Nick about breaking into the business, working with larger men, whether he ever thought about toning down his style, and Eric firing him from WCW. Waltman was just a guest on Jericho’s podcast last week so I wasn’t looking forward to this, but they cover enough different ground to make it a worthwhile listen. That interview is only half the show, as the rest is the usual uninteresting look at the headlines and Eric’s new “Playing in the Dirt” segment. This week, Eric guffaws at a report from August 1992 saying Ric Flair had no plans to leave the WWF at that moment (Flair didn’t leave for five months). [Waltman’s interview starts at 34:11] THUMBS IN THE MIDDLE

Art of Wrestling #328 (12/15/16): Bull! Bull! Bully Dempsey is the guest this week. There is quite a bit about his time in NXT, but not surprisingly a lot of the show is about coming up through the independents. We hear about his training, going to Taz’s finishing school, getting cut from NXT, and making his way in wrestling after being let go (again, not surprising with Colt). I’m not the biggest Bull fan, but he came across well here and I liked this one a lot. THUMBS UP

The Steve Austin Show – Unleashed! #386 (12/15/16): More Ted Fowler, as this time he and Steve go on what sounds like the most uninteresting road trip of all time. Steve feuding with skunks is pretty funny though. Steve’s wife is here too even though she’s not mentioned in the description, but it’s not enough to keep it out of the tank. THUMBS DOWN

Jim Cornette Experience #159 (12/15/16): Still no guest, which I assume is the new norm. Jim and Brian cover a variety of topics, including Linda McMahon in Donald Trump’s cabinet and if women can be ring announcers. But two big topics stand out – Jim retelling the angle the Midnight Express did with Bill Watts in Mid-South (which is tremendous audio) and Jim railing against modern wrestling, using Will Osperay vs. Matt Riddle as a template and wishing death upon Kenny Omega. That latter topic is, uh, less than tremendous. THUMBS IN THE MIDDLE

Keepin’ it 100 #24 (12/15/16): This week’s docket includes: Juventud answering listener love questions, fallout from Konnan’s appearance on Killing the Town, Mr. 450 arrives to discuss Puerto Rican dishes and video games, Kevin Kleinrock discussing Alberto el Patron vs a Ninja Turtle, the gang discusses Colin Kapernick, Jeff Jarrett talks some more football, the gang discusses Wrestle Cirus, ECW, and SNL, Dave Meltzer talks Ronda Rousey and UFC, and Chael Sonnen talks meeting Scotty the Body in a fun segment. [Meltzer comes on the show at 1:16:43] THUMBS IN THE MIDDLE

Talk is Jericho #309 (12/16/16): Jericho is adding another show to his network, a supernatural themed show with Dave Schrader and Tim Dennis, so we get a stealth pilot of sorts here. Jericho’s supernatural shows usually leave me cold, but this one was actually really good. Schrader and Dennis are radio professionals, and they do a great job telling not only urban legends, but personal stories of their own encounters with the bizarre. I probably won’t check out their show regularly, but as a one off this was good stuff. [Schrader and Dennis’ interview starts at 5:10] THUMBS UP

MSL & Sullivan Show (12/16/16): A bit of a missed opportunity to start, as MSL and Kevin talk about ITV’s upcoming World of Sport show and whether the WWE could retaliate in some way (apparently this was taped before Thursday’s big UK announcement). We do get solid discussion of Vince’s approach to the cruiserweights and the possible return of Hulk Hogan, as well as questions on syndication and the WWE’s trend of copywriting names. Some good stuff, even if the first part of the discussion feels out of date. 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 (12/12/16): A double shot this week, as Chris and Miles run down the 11/30 and 12/7 episodes of Lucha Underground featuring Pentagon Dark vs. the Black Lotus Triad.

New Japan Purocast (12/12/16): Colin and Damon talk about the Tag League finals and preview Wrestle Kingdom 11.

Voices of Wrestling (12/16/16): The flagship show sees Joe and Rich break down Jack Gallagher, the New Japan tag league finals, Wrestle Kingdom, Tokyo Sports Award, Samoa Joe/Shinsuke Nakamura, and preview Roadblock: End of the Line.

Shake Them Ropes (12/16/16): Rob and Jeff preview Roadblock: End of the Line, Emmalina, Zack Ryder’s injury, Total Nonstop Deletion, and more!