The Thread Killer

The first episode of the Arn Anderson/Conrad Thompson podcast was released this morning. It is not available on all platforms yet, but is available at ArnShow.com. The first episode covers Arn's early life and entrance into the business. You can tell he's a bit tenuous and nervous, but he's still a great storyteller. As others have said, the success of this show will rise and fall on Arn's willingness to be forthcoming with information - something that up to this point he has been notoriously reticent about. For a first episode, this was pretty damn interesting and the famous Arn Anderson dry wit is already starting to come across. I am curious about how this podcast is going to be received.

Well...let me think about it. Normally I'd just pay you right off the bat without even thinking about it...but I need to save some money because I want to become a paid subscriber to Vince Russo's podcast, join the Mauro Ranallo fan club, and if I have any money left over I want to buy Nickelback tickets.

I just woke up, and as per my habit I checked the website for my local All News Radio station to see if there was anything important going on news-wise, either locally or globally. The Main Story, at the top of the page, headline lead-off...is Lacey Evans getting a speeding ticket in Edmonton and then complaining about it and posting a video on Twitter. Of particular note is the part of the article where a "social media expert" opines that Lacey might be using "shtick" to bring attention to herself. That social media expert must be a GENIUS. This is what passes for headline news in 2019. Good Lord.

He's a quite a wordsmith, isn't he? It's eloquent, poetic and almost lyrical prose like that which amply illustrates why Bix is a bonafide writer, not just some message board poster.

That's not good news. When I read the reports online about Dream having back problems after the match, I assumed it was a work intended to put all of Strong's work on Dream's back during the match over, with all the backbreakers and everything. I hope he's okay and just needs some rest and physiotherapy or something. Back injuries can be brutal. While we're on the topic of backs and backbreakers, does anybody else think calling Roderick Strong the "Messiah of the Backbreaker" sounds really stupid and it doesn't even work? I can see "Master of the Backbreaker." Fine. But the dictionary definition of the word "Messiah" means "in Judaism, the prophizised King and deliverer of the Jews" or "the accepted leader of a hope or cause." Neither of those definitions apply, unless we are to believe that Roderick Strong is the savior of the Jews and will be leading them to heaven (by use of the backbreaker I assume) OR he is here to somehow be the messianic leader over all the backbreakers. It's a stupid nickname and it doesn't even make any sense.

Thanks brother. It's funny, I always keep my eye on what's going on in Impact, yet I have absolutely no recollection whatsoever of him being X Division Champion. Weird. Well, I liked his look and gimmick last night.

As was mentioned earlier in this thread, here in Canada we do not get the USA Network, so I was unable to see the debut of NXT on Wednesday. However, the WWE Network showed a replay (of the USA hour and the Network hour combined) last night, so I finally had a chance to sit down and watch the whole thing. I have to say, that was pretty damn good show. That was the best two hours of WWE produced TV I can remember seeing in...I don't even remember how long. - I could have lived without the cornball Triple H opening, but this is his baby so I guess we have to forgive him if he's a little hyped up. The crowd was very hot for this opening and the entire show, and that really helped the overall aura. Speaking of which, there are so many things about NXT that I prefer to Raw and Smackdown, one of which is the lighting. I am unabashedly old school, and I love leaving the ring lit and the crowd darkened. It's things like that which distinguish between NXT and Raw/Smackdown. - The opening Women's Fatal 4 Way was outstanding. As has been mentioned by other posters already, this match clearly demonstrated that WWE has a ton of confidence in their NXT Women's division if they let them be in the opening match right off the bat of their first Broadcast Network show. This was a super-fun match and it's so nice to see a high stakes match on TV which names a #1 contender that is actually going to pay off on TV as well, not a PPV. There's not really anything negative you can say about this match, in my opinion. - I am not familiar with Keith Lee, but based on the video package I am looking forward to his match with Dijakovic next week. I liked Dijakovic a lot when I saw him fight Moose in ROH a couple years back and I assume he has only improved since then. - The Cameron Grimes squash on Maluta was too short to be offensive. Grimes certainly has a unique look. He's another guy I have heard of but not seen. - Damian Priest vignette was good. It reminded me a bit of Aleistar Black, which reminded me that as per usual, WWE took a guy who was doing great in NXT and have accomplished exactly jack squat with him since. First he was in a Tag Team with Ricochet, and then...some vignettes, he fought Cesaro and now...nothing. And this guy was one of the hottest acts in NXT. Is he injured or something, or does "creative just not have anything for him." Anyhow, if I was Damian Priest and I was doing a dark, gothic character, I would look at Aleistar Black and pray I don't get "promoted" to the "main roster." - Surprisingly, I didn't enjoy the Velveteen Dream vs. Roderick Strong match as much as I thought I would have. I like both guys, but something about this match didn't click for me. Maybe it was too much of a styles clash. Maybe it was the fact that Dream can't keep his pants up. I dunno. I still think Dream is money and it's scary how good he already is considering how young and inexperienced he is. I think if he is brought along slowly and used properly (ha!) this guy could be big money. Then again, I thought the same thing about Aleistar Black. Wouldn't it be great if NXT on USA actually does well, and they end up getting seen as their own functional brand on par with Raw and Smackdown? Then guys wouldn't need to be "called up to the Main Roster" and they could have good careers in NXT. I know that is a pipe dream, NXT is a developmental league or the place guys like Breezeango go to die. But it would be nice if it happened. I for one don't have a huge issue with Strong taking the title here. I am kind of hoping Velveteen Dream continues to feud with The Undisputed Era but gets moved into a match with Adam Cole. And I love big heel stables who have all the belts, so I am not as tired of The Undisputed Era as others seem to be. - Now we're into the Network hour, and I just want to say that I fucking loved loved loved the match between Ruas and Dunne. LOVED IT I tell you. Ruas has an odd style which I like because it makes him different from everybody else, and Dunne found a way to work with it. The match wasn't crazy long or anything but I'd give a solid three and a half stars, that's how great I thought it was. More of this type of match, and more of both these guys, please. - Just like Cameron Grimes earlier in the night, the Xia Li match was too short to be offensive. I like the fact that they are doing a couple of squash matches on the show. It puts the winners over as a big threat, it gives the loser TV time where they probably wouldn't have gotten any otherwise, and it breaks up the pace of the show in a good way. And I was a big fan of Li, from the little I saw of her. - I was very surprised to see Imperium show up, and I never even thought about the possibility of WALTER vs. Kushida of all things, but now that I have...let's see it. I assume this is another match they're going to want to show on Network TV, and so they should. That has the potential to be excellent. And damn, is WALTER ever over. Funny how the NXT US crowd seems really into him, whereas in NXT UK he has succeeded in getting himself across as a real heel, for the most part. - Not gonna lie, I don't like Lio Rush, not one little bit. I do love me some Oney Lorcan, and I was hoping he would win this #1 contenders match so we could see Lorcan/Gulak for the title. I am very happy WWE is planning on making the Cruiserweight Division part of NXT. That can only mean a lot of good guys are going to get more work and TV time. As much as I don't like Lio Rush, he looked pretty good in this match. That spot where he got thrown through the ropes but bounces back into a stunner was crazy, I've never seen that before. I also found it somewhat amusing that the announcers were talking about Rush being gone so long because he was dealing with some mental health issues and focusing on his rap career. Apparently, being a jackass backstage so everybody ends up hating you is now a "mental health" issue. Anyhow, my anti-Lio bias aside, this was a damn fun match. - The Main Event was what it was. The Riddle/Dain feud seems odd to me, although I like both guys. I thought the huge brawl involving the entire roster was a good visual, and if you were seeing the show for the first time it would give you the impression that this will be a very unpredictable, exciting and fun show to watch. Not a fan of Street Fights in general or inconclusive finishes, but it wasn't boring. The only negative thing I can say about this show is (surprise) the horrible performance of Mauro Ranallo. He can take a show this great and make it a chore with his stupid, pointless and shoe-horned in attempts at alliteration and his needless pop culture references. I am sure he thinks that is his trademark, but it comes across as so forced and unnatural. He just doesn't get that he is supposed to be putting the matches and wrestlers over, not getting his own stupid pointless gimmick over. The show is about NXT, not Mauro Ranallo. Also, there were several glaring examples yet again this week of him interrupting Nigel and Beth while they were speaking and trying to make a point. As much as I hate Michael Cole, at least he lets his broadcast partners talk and doesn't interrupt them by screaming out the name of a manoeuvre or whatever. And did you catch when Nigel was putting over the length of Pete Dunne's WWE UK Championship reign, and Mauro just HAD to jump in there and point out that he'd already made that point? What an asshole. And finally - and maybe worst of all, what the fuck is up with his constantly shouting and screaming? Is this guy incapable of calling a match in a normal tone of voice? I'm all for getting excited, all the great announcers did it at times, JR was as guilty as anybody - but he wasn't constantly shouting ALL THE DAMN TIME. I find it really hard to believe that Triple H and whoever else is in charge there doesn't see Mauro Ranallo as a massive liability who can actually turn fans away from this product. Because he is. There was one more positive thing I wanted to mention. I fucking hate stupid overused PC buzzwords like "inclusiveness" and "diversity" and "progressive" which all have perfectly valid uses and literal meanings, but they get overused to the point of being ridiculous. However, having said all that - I was really impressed with how diverse the NXT roster and this show really was. A great women's division with American, Japanese and Chinese women...and more. And on the men's side, European, American, Japanese, Brazilian. Black and White. NXT really is a global brand that has representatives from all over the world, and I think it's really cool that we get to see people like Ruas and Li, who a few years ago we probably wouldn't have been able to see. Anyhow, no matter how you look at this show...it was definite win for NXT. If they keep putting out this high quality type of Pro Wrestling every week, I'm not going to miss it. It was a breath of fresh air, and totally different from the so-called Main Roster shows. It didn't come off as overly scripted or produced. Great stuff.

Yeah me too. I can tell it's Mauro because my TV screen is all marked up from me throwing shit at it all night. Plus my neighbors call to complain about the noise when I scream at the TV begging Mauro to shut the fuck up.

Oh man, that means the Sportsnet 360 feed is probably going to supersede the Fox feed and we won't get the original broadcast in Canada, I bet. All so we get to see Canadian commercials, meanwhile the picture ends up getting compressed so they can run that stupids sports score ticker at the bottom of the screen. The fact that Sportsnet doesn't want NXT at all is telling. Maybe the ratings are down here in Canada, too. Wouldn't surprise me.

I see what you're saying, but as I recall in the wake of the JBL controversy a couple of years ago, a lot of stories came out about Mauro behind the scenes. I picked the Cage Potato article but if you look hard enough online there is enough evidence to support the idea that Mauro is not the easiest guy to get along with backstage. In fact, Dave Meltzer himself even alluded to that very fact...and Mauro Ranallo has been a source for Meltzer in the past, and I think they even consider themselves friends. Despite that, when reporting the JBL/Mauro story even Meltzer implied that while JBL is definitely a bully, there was blame on both sides of that issue. No, there has never been unassailable proof of Mauro Ranallo doing something wrong, nothing has ever been caught on film...but I tend to believe it.

Fuck yeah. I'm a total Five-Squirrels-In-An-Overcoat mark.

The whole issue of mental health and the treatment of mental health issues is always tricky. We discussed a similar issue way back here when we debated ranking Chris Benoit in the Greatest Wrestler Ever poll. We got into discussing his mental health issues and debated if he was truly responsible for the murders or not. There are arguments that can be made on both sides. For some, Chris Benoit is not responsible for the murders because he was mentally ill. The whole "diminshed capacity" or "not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect" argument. For others, Chris Benoit knew he had mental health issues and was aware enough to get medical treatment, but he still insisted on taking a steroid (Testosterone) which he knew would make him more aggressive. You can apply the same argument to Mauro Ranallo on a much, much smaller scale. Some people might write off Mauro's alleged behavior behind the scenes because he's bi-polar. Others might make the argument that because he knows he is bi-polar and refuses to take the clinically accepted medication for his condition and instead is using cannabis as treatment, then he is therefore responsible for his actions. I honestly don't know the answer, but it's an interesting discussion/debate. All I do know, and it's something we can all agree on - is that he's terrible and should never call another Pro Wrestling match again as long as he lives.

Found the article.

It was way back during the whole Mauro/JBL debacle that I first saw the article, and I don't know if I'll even be able to find it now...but because it's you asking, I'll hunt around and see if I can find it. When it comes to Mauro Ranallo and his mental condition, here's my issue. I've seen Ranallo admit in more than one interview that yes, he has been diagnosed as bi-polar but no, he doesn't take his medication because he doesn't like the way it makes him feel. Specifically, he has claimed Lithium made him groggy and lethargic and incapable of working. Which may be true, I am in no position to judge him. That's his right, and as long he is not a risk to himself or others he has the right to refuse to undergo pharmacological treatment. Lord knows he would hardly be the first person with a mental illness who didn't want to take their medication due to the side effects. However, Mauro Ranallo has gone on to advocate for the use of cannabis as an alternative treatment for bi-polar disorder. In my opinion that is incredibly irresponsible. It is a well known, well documented, proven scientific fact that when people with a diagnosed chemical imbalance/mental illness use cannabis their conditions can be exacerbated, in some cases severely, and irreparably. If you don't believe me, google the phrase "Cannabis Induced Psychosis." During my career I personally saw people who had manageable mental illness end up having full blown psychotic episodes after cannabis use. Not always, but it happens enough to be statistically noteworthy. In one severe case, we had a kid who had previously only been diagnosed with a mood disorder graduate to full on schizophrenia after using cannabis, and he never came back from it. After he came down, from that point on he was schizophrenic. That was actually how I found out about Cannabis Induced Psychosis, the Psychiatrist treating the kid told me about it and gave me the research to read. I am not anti-cannabis. I am simply saying that THC does not react the same way with people with a chemical imbalance of the brain as it would with a person without. Hell, there have even been documented cases of cannabis actually causing bi-polar disorder, not just exacerbating it. When I saw his documentary I was disgusted that he was presenting cannabis as a treatment for bi-polar disorder. That's always been one of my main issues with him. If he is bi-polar and wants to refuse treatment and go through life in an unmedicated state, that is his choice and his call. However to produce a documentary that suggests that his condition can be managed by a substance that can actually cause the condition it's supposed to be treating - and then give publicity interviews reinforcing that theory? Not cool at all. Other people are watching that, and I cringe to think how many people were encouraged to stop taking their meds or start using cannabis because of him. In the documentary he blithely passes off his use of marijuana by casually mentioning that people may not agree with him or it's not for everybody or something to that effect...but the actual results of his words could be much more serious. You only have to watch an interview with this guy to see that he is a manic state a lot of the time, and I've even seen him say things in interviews which indicate delusions of grandeur. For example, not long after his documentary came out, I actually saw him claim that he was surprised that his film hadn't had a greater impact yet on the mental health profession yet. Yeah. Keep cashing those checks, Mauro.

There is not. They claimed they are going to be announcing a TV outlet for NXT in Canada when the announcement was made, but as of yet they have not. I would have assumed it would be Sportsnet 360, since that is the home of Raw and SD (for now.) I am guessing when SD starts on Fox, they won't be on SN360 in Canada anymore, so maybe Sportsnet will want to take NXT to make up for it. I'm not all that fussed about it either way, since they actually are replaying the complete 2 hour block of NXT from Wednesday on USA on the WWE Network TV feed on Thursday nights, so I only miss the show by 24 hours and realistically I wasn't going to watch it live anyhow. On a similar note, Cody also claimed AEW will be available in Canada, and it's two weeks before they debut and so far we haven't heard squat. So that's pretty lame too. If they don't manage to secure a TV deal up here, that will be a bigger problem than some people are going to think.

It's like @sek69 said earlier...first Luke Harper, then AOP and Rusev and now Lio. It's like Vince just figured out he had a bunch of guys on his roster that he was paying but wasn't actually using.

Vic Joseph and Nigel McGuinness are actually pretty damn good in NXT UK. For real.

The funny thing is, in reality Mauro Ranallo is notoriously thin-skinned. You only have to watch his documentary for evidence of that fact. Also, an MMA writer wrote a scathing expose about him a few years back - before he even signed with WWE, which paints him as temperamental and abusive to his co-workers, and totally incapable of handling criticism. I know many people will chalk that up to his being Bi-Polar and un-medicated, but I don't necessarily agree. Also, while many of us have been complaining about Mauro for quite some time now, I think there is actual evidence that his work is getting worse. Or it may just be that he isn't really being produced in NXT and they let him say whatever he wants. If you back and listen to him when he was on Smackdown, he really wasn't anywhere near as bad. In PRIDE he was fucking annoying, but he wasn't totally unlistenable like he is now. I have no evidence of this theory of course, but I think he's actually buying into his own hype and thinks he's really good. That's why he even hates letting other people talk and is constantly interrupting.

Man, people like to rag on some of the stupid insensitive and tone deaf stuff Triple H, Vince, and Stephanie say in interviews...and rightly so. But in fairness, Omega comes off as a total douche in that interview. Even if he really feels that way, there is little to no upside in actually saying it. Apparently Kenny has never heard of "taking the high road." I really don't understand why more people involved in this so-called "war" don't understand that this not 20 years ago, and thanks to technology people can WATCH BOTH DAMN SHOWS. It doesn't have to be either/or.

I get the impression that Sean is having problems getting the podcast carried by as many platforms as he would like. I myself had to sign up for Spotify in order to access the podcast. It finally became available on iTunes today, about a week later than he had hoped. He also tweeted today that he has no intention of posting the podcast on YouTube, which I personally think is a mistake. He would reach a much wider audience that way but according to Sean, YouTube "doesn’t count toward download stats that are shown to advertisers and Google/YouTube pay dick." So there you go. @SPS let us know what you thought of it after you checked it out, I am interested to hear your opinion.

You should check out Sean's interview with Conrad, I found it really interesting. I don't think it will be for everybody (some fans won't give a shit about the business aspects of podcasting) but I thought it was informative.

There is no point trying to discuss this with you any further, because you're either unable or unwilling to differentiate between your opinion about something and what constitutes a fact. That's a fact, by the way.

Whether you want to admit this or not, there are a lot of fans out there of traditional Pro Wrestling who don't like AEW and don't like the direction so-called "modern" Pro Wrestling is taking. That's a fact, even if you can't accept it. David Bixenspan wrote an article about it last month when AEW signed Orange Cassidy. I'm not saying it's right, I'm not saying it's wrong, I'm just saying it's a fact. You love AEW. You want AEW to succeed. You think AEW is making Pro Wrestling better. You've made that point. And that's fine, more power to you. But if you can't admit that there is a segment of fandom that doesn't like the whole comedy/performance art aspect of AEW, and if you can't see that Cornette has pretty much ended up becoming the spokesman for those types of fans, then you are the one who is being completely ridiculous.

As mentioned above, Kayfabe Commentaries is stopping DVD production, they have started a streaming service and Sean Oliver now has a podcast.

As we discussed in the Shoot Interview thread here, Sean Oliver and Kayfabe Commentaries are getting out of the Shoot Interview DVD business. They are selling all their stock at $5.00 per DVD, and once they have sold them out they are not selling any new DVD's. Kayfabe Commentaries have started an On Demand service called KC Vault, where eventually they plan to have their entire back catalogue available to stream for $14.00 a month. They are still uploading stuff so the entire catalogue is not yet available. You can also still get their Shoots at WWN Live (which is where I purchased a bunch of the "Back to the Territories" episodes when they first came out) but that is much more expensive. For the record, Sean Oliver is not claiming that Kayfabe Commentaries is going out of business, he is just saying they are going on hiatus while they focus on getting the streaming service off the ground. He claims it is still possible that KC will produce new content exclusively for KC Vault in the future. I follow Sean Oliver on Twitter, and over the past few years he has made some comments about podcasts killing the Shoot Interview business, some comments were vague and cryptic and some were quite pointed. A year or so ago, Conrad Thompson replied to one of Oliver's tweets defending the Pro Wrestling podcast (as you would obviously expect him to) and Oliver and Thompson got into a minor back-and-forth regarding Shoots vs. Podcasts. I guess Sean has decided "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" because this week he launched his own Podcast, "Sean Oliver's Kayfabe Podcast." So far it seems to be available via the usual suspects, Google Play, Spotify and Stitcher. It looks like the podcast will run about an hour and be divided between Oliver (who is flying solo at that point with no co-host) delivering a monologue, then there is an interview, and finally he will be taking Twitter questions. It should be noted that Sean Oliver has written three books over the past few years about his experience running Kayfabe Commentaries: "The Business of Kayfabe" "Kayfabe: Stories You're Not Supposed to Hear from a Pro Wrestling Production Company Owner" and "Fathers' Blood: True Stories of Pro Wrestling Dads Facing Their Greatest Challenger - Parenthood." The main takeaway here is that Sean apparently has no problem dishing dirt on the Pro Wrestlers who he has worked with over the years, who was great to work with, and who was not. So I am betting the Q&A portion of the podcast is going to be focusing on those types of questions. The first episode released this week featured none other than Conrad Thompson as the first guest. For a first podcast, I'd say it was pretty good. During his opening segment, Sean comes off a little rough - it sounds like he's almost complaining about having to do the podcast, and then he gets into a somewhat impassioned defense of Shoot Interviews in general. He makes some valid points, although I suppose you could argue some of his claims. For example, he attributes Jim Cornette's current popularity and profile resurgence to the Shoot Interviews he did with KC. The interview with Conrad Thompson is excellent, my only complaint is that is was short. We already know Oliver is an excellent interviewer, and he proves it once again here. Of special interest is the discussion they have about the financial viability of podcasts, advertising rates and the commitment required to have a successful podcast. Conrad claims that in order to have a financially successful podcast, you need to be doing 100,000 downloads per episode and obviously not many do that, but he discusses the ad rates etc., to back up his claims. It's early days yet, but I've always been a big Sean Oliver fan so I am going to keep listening. I am curious if anybody else heard it, and what they thought.