SomethingSavage

Again, I love Funk. But I'm definitely higher on Nash than you, and I'd certainly suggest that you're downplaying his "cool factor" contribution by quite a large margin - at least from 96 to 98. I think his cool stock dropped off a cliff real quick in 99. But, beyond all that, what you need to know is that Eric examines matches, angles, and wrestling in general through a different lens. I recognize & appreciate that. It's a unique perspective, but it's not empty or hollow. It's never different simply for the sake of being different. In fact, Eric often goes to great lengths to provide some deep, thought-provoking explanation on his opinions & viewpoints. It's great listening. Here, Eric puts himself in the shoes of the casual fan. And I agree with him. It seems supremely far-fetched that anybody would buy Nash selling for Funk at that stage. I realize it's wrestling - and you can spin the story anyway you like - but it's much more credible that Nash (arguably a year removed from his physical prime, cause dude was crazy jacked in early 99) would destroy Funk. Even setting aside the believability factor, this booking also plays into the logistical strengths of both performers. Funk is more adept at selling. Plus the story of the sympathetic, beaten down old man makes for higher drama than any "your turn, my turn" exchange. Again, there's no right or wrong answer. I found the match compelling enough as is, and Eric was able to convince me that it was actually the best possible pathway out of a poor booking decision.

This is going to sound supremely superficial and shallow - and that's because it is - but I really dig Ricochet's presentation in NXT. Pick apart his pacing or his matches if you want, but the guy carries himself like a star. The entrance is especially awesome. His theme isn't one of those that has crowds singing along or anything, but it seriously sounds like the cinematic score to a superhero battle scene or something. And it's fitting, because the dude looks like a Marvel character come to life. Of course the same applies to Dream (x ten), but I just thought I'd shed a little light on the lesser-recognized of the two for a change. That's all I got.

I seemed to have lost my way & tuned into Tout about halfway through the third quarter of the second semi-finals match. Orrr am I doing it wrong..?

To be clear, I don't do watch-alongs either & didn't follow along with this one. I should've been more clear. I meant to say the audio podcasts (of watch-alongs) are normally hit or miss with me. That's why I asked if the Buff/Page match held up at all. They both seemed to like it during the show.

Watch-alongs can be hit or miss for me, but Souled Out 2000 was tremendous. There's a truckload of good stuff packed into that episode. Bischoff really brings it. He offers up some great, thought-provoking discussion on a lot of subjects. The nature & the timing of this show allowed him to touch on some new material, which was cool. I thought Eric made some good points about viable money gimmicks versus worthless, pointless gimmicks. His point of contention was with the trio of David Flair, Crowbar, and especially Daffney. While I personally enjoyed the hell out of Daffney later on in her TNA "zombie hot" run, I can definitely see what Eric was saying here. Not only are the characters too aloof and wacky, but none of the three individuals really stood a chance of developing into higher profile stars. They weren't going to headline cards. Plus the presentation of this trio was never anything great. They weren't relatable. You could *sort of* make the case that they appealed to a certain segment of the audience, because I know Daffney had some fans. But WCW didn't know how to market much of anything unless it fell into their lap, AND this group just played everything for laughs. It was far too over-the-top and hokey to ever really resonate or reach fans in a way that would cause them to part with their cash. They're harmless enough as bit players on a show, but I *think* that's the point Eric was raising here. They were given a metric TON of television time, and the act just didn't warrant that treatment. It was clearly a Russo pet project, but beyond that? There's no justification for the exposure and the amount of time that was being fed to them in this period. Later in the year, we would see more of that from Russo. Guys like Big Vito and General Rection would go on to dominate way more TV time than anyone demanded. These guys were fine for a specific spot on the card, but nobody needed to see them in six or seven segments per Nitro at any point. I learned that DDP is to blame for initially reaching out to Eric and attempting to play "matchmaker" between Bischoff and Russo. Curse Page and his obnoxious, unwavering optimism. I also found out Bischoff received the call to come back within 48 hours of the Radicalz debuting on Raw. I'm sure he's probably mentioned that a thousand times before, but this podcast has really been the first time I've sought out ANY Bischoff stories. So it's all new to me. There was a moment of unintentional comedy when Eric CLEARLY confuses Asya for Midajah. Conrad either doesn't catch on or simply doesn't correct him. Eric continues to give zero fucks, as he fires more shots at Bagwell, calling Buff a "metrosexual germophobe" here. To be fair though, with the way they were talking up this match, it has me wondering if it's one worth seeking out? I know I've seen it at some point before, but is Page/Buff Last Man Standing really worth a look? Can anyone confirm or deny? SUCKAHZ GOTZ TA' KNOW! Of course, he wouldn't be Eric Bischoff if he didn't take offense with Jerry Flynn for being a kickboxer & not a real karate guy. Christ. The same guy who gave us dozens of meaningless undercard matches on pay-per-view pauses to contemplate whether or not Flynn/Abbott belonged on this card. Anyway, I actually agreed with everything Eric had to say about Nash versus Funk. It was just a mismatch from the outset. It's a case of a match that shouldn't be booked in the first place, but if you've got to do it? Then this was absolutely the way to go. I love Funker, but nobody needed to see Nash sell for his offense here. I realize history has discarded Big Kev as lazy & lethargic - with good reason. But the guy is still a beast. He's a jacked giant, and (for better or for worse) he's the guy that ended the Goldberg streak. In WCW canon, he's something fierce. As such, he should totally dominate & decimate a guy like Funk. Full disclosure though - I enjoy the hell out of Kevin Nash garbage matches. Good Friends, Better Enemies with Shawn is nothing short of awesome. Hell in a Cell with Hunter and Foley is a guilty pleasure as well. It's messy. It's cluttered. It's smoke & mirrors. But it's violent & it's MILES better than Shawn/Hunter in the same setting. And Foley/Nash in TNA was a fucking blast up until the repulsive, repellant Russo finish. And fair enough. Nash doesn't do much, but he does play his part to a T. And I actually think his facial expressions are wildly underrated. I especially love it when he kicks into pissed-off maniacal mode. Some of his expressions are genuinely terrifying. It's easy to forget that this guy could be legitimately dangerous if he wanted to be. Eric's reflections on the hardcore division & hardcore matches in general are worth hearing. I agree to an extent, but I fully believe it was an inevitability of the era. The 90s were all about extremes, gratuity, anti-heroes, etc. There was no way wrestling wasn't going to ride that trend until its wheels fell off. In hindsight, he's right though. Hardcore matches only diluted the violence and desensitized the audience. It made injury angles and selling much more difficult than it needed to be. Worst of all, it led to super silly shit like sledgehammers as weapons. Because once you've seen chairshots and kendo sticks in the Hardcore Championship opener, you can't just have your top guys use the same tricks. You have to differentiate between a mid-card comedy "Hardcore Match" and a main event, money-drawing "Street Fight" or whatever. Now don't get me wrong. Hardcore matches were over like rover with kids at my school back during the peak of backyard wrestling & bullshit. But yeah. It was bound to reach diminishing returns and eventually fizzle out. It is kind of crazy that it stuck around for as long as it did in the major promotions though.

There's a very good chance we're going to see a Women's Title match as the main event of WrestleMania in 2019. That shit was un-fucking-fathomable three or four years ago. Never say never...

I didn't see any of this, but I wanted to see if they'd go with Dream in the end - so I scoped out their YouTube channel for the finals results. Sounds like they were experimenting with different feeds and sources, which seems unnecessarily frustrating for people who'd just like to maybe watch the show like a normal person? I don't know. Maybe this is the future. Maybe the youth want to jump from platform to platform in order to pursue a cohesive story. But, to a thirty-year old dinosaur like myself, that sounds like a lot of legwork for something that's... Not really worth the work. Just wait for their answer to Black Mirror, where you get to Choose Your Own Adventure & the next match you watch is based on your previous viewing selection or some shit.

He needs you to know he "knows" people. To be fair, it's actually probably the LEAST annoying part of his shtick. It's okay though, guys. Because I had breakfast with my good friend Becky Lynch this morning & she agrees. His cryptic, impossible-to-decipher posts are the shits anyway.

Chops are a staple in pro wrestling nowadays. They're like Irish whips to me. I just accept them as a part of the game. But yeah. If we're being honest, they're just ridiculous. They usually hurt like hell, but they look no more impressive than a phony strike of any kind. In fact, nothing beats a nasty-looking punch or an elbow that really looks like it lands. Wrestlers have found ways to seriously elevate their striking game in modern times, leaving the chop looking like some relic from the past. And yeah. Chops are not something anyone would EVER do in a shoot environment. ESPECIALLY if we start talking grudges and blood feuds. No two men are going to stand there and slap chest meat. It's beyond fucking silly to imagine, and it's downright embarrassing to be caught watching it in front of anyone outside the wrestling bubble. They're going to tackle, punch, kick, knee, and maybe even claw. But ain't nobody going Wahoo on a motherfucker's pecs in an actual fight. Chops are nonsense. Glorious, inexplicable pro wrestling horseshit. It is what it is.

Jeff didn't really even "hold them up" for money. It was a case of Jeff demanding payouts ALREADY OWED to him. It takes months for wrestlers to receive some of their big money payouts off pay-per-views, etc. Jeff was afraid they would stiff him on his pay or just outright not pay him if he jumped right behind Russo the way he did. Whether or not he was justified in that fear is perhaps debatable, but the whole deal about him "holding them up" like he's Warrior circa '91 is horseshit. It's fake. It's revisionist history. It's their truth; not the truth. Dude demanded what he was owed upfront in one lump sum, instead of waiting for months & months on end, wondering whether he'd ever see any of it at all. You can absolutely still frame it as a dick move, but I ain't mad at it.

The show Conrad referenced a few times - Sid appearing on Sean Mooney's podcast - really is the perfect companion piece to this episode, by the way. The first hour is tremendous. It's just Sid being basic, simple Sid. And it's a GOLDMINE of great stories. Sid's first night in the Mid-South Coliseum, his first trip to Japan, his negotiations with Vince, etc. all gets covered. The second hour takes a... unique turn. Things get a bit rocky from there. The fun stories just sort of stop, and Sid starts talking about a lot of uninteresting stuff. He's apparently writing a book, found religion, etc. So yeah. It's really a tale of two different podcasts. Sid seems SUPER appreciative of Eddie Gilbert though. He even credits Eddie for "creating" the Sid character and aura. He's also grateful to Bischoff for that sweet contract he received in '99. Sid says it set him up for life, which is cool. Sid has an interesting outlook on his career, because he seems to regret most of his WWF stuff. Conversely, he made the majority of his money with WCW and reflects more positively on his time there. He's also an outlier in that he claims WCW was a more professional, business-like operation. You usually hear it told the other way around. Just judging by the way he talks about life & what he enjoys, I really get the sense that Sid would line up nicely with a guy like Lesnar today. He likes a routine. He values his space & his independence. You can definitely understand why he got along so well with Bob Holly. Sid doesn't seem big on fraternizing or making friends, which is a common trait among a lot of top guys. But yeah. If nothing else, check out the first hour of Sid on Mooney's podcast. Listen to how he first got smartened up by Jonathan Boyd. Hear about how Japan hoped he could be a Brody clone. And laugh as he talks about Vince getting pissed when Sid couldn't pronounce "WrestleMania" during promos. There's no shortage of fun stuff in that first hour, for sure.

It's trendy. The beard is over with the boys the same way the high & tight/tribal tat combo was over with the boys in the mid-2000s. I actually like this match-up a lot. Lashley had some fucking BANGERS with smaller dudes in TNA - Aries and Edwards specifically. So I'm certainly interested enough to check out a bout with Balor. This is a decent way to capitalize on Finn's big match with Brock right away. The issue I have with what they did here is that it's just another example of why I can't watch modern WWE regularly. The whole setup for this rivalry is so weak. Lashley just trots out, insults Finn, and the champion basically challenges the challenger. Because reasons. No subtlety. No rationale. No logic. No actual effort in setting things up. Like a lot of their creative ideas, it feels like something ASSIGNED TO these guys, rather than a genuine situation. Nothing feels authentic in their little universe. Nothing. And that is a huge problem for me. I just can't invest in any of it. I can cherry pick & select certain matches from their big shows, consume them without ANY context, and just move on until the next thing catches my eye. So there's that. But they do absolutely nothing to convince me that their weekly shows are worth watching.

Excalibur + Chuckie T doing commentary on a weekly show for all of ever, plz&thnx. I realize they're no JR & Tony. But that'll do, pig. That'll do.

That's a great point about Conrad not relying so heavily on results. That stuff becomes such a chore on a lot of these profile pieces. It's also something you don't get on Bischoff's show. Their spotlights are a lot more business and negotiation centric there. Anyway, I still need to seek out the two specific Sid promos Conrad suggested. I'm sure I've seen them at some point, but clearly they didn't stick with me or anything.

He injures my soul every single fucking match, because it's kind of hard to tell he's injured when he's Powerbombing people left & right. ... Seth is shit. I *did* like your idea of Finn coming back out as the Demon to win the thing though. I'm far from the biggest Finn fan, but that would've told a more engaging story. Coming fresh off the Brock match, it could've accomplished a lot actually - cementing him as the "never say die" challenger, galvanizing him at the upper echelon, and making the Cena endorsement truly MEAN something all in one swoop. Sweep? Swipe? Whatever. ... Fuck Seth, either way.

Forgot to mention - Daniel Bryan continues to shine. This heel act is morphing into Bray Wyatt, if only Bray cut coherent promos on tangible targets. It's Bray, if only that character upheld actual ideals and spoke about specific values instead of vague nothingness.

Well, this was a fairly fun show that stirred up similar vibes and comparisons to WrestleMania 30 for me. There were great things; there were meh things. And my overall perception pretty much hinged on a singular booking decision. So yeah. Just a fairly fun show, to be honest. Maybe you guys are down on some things that don't bother me, because I don't have any intention or obligation to actually tune in and watch the next few weeks or whatever. I don't have to deal with the fallout of the Kingslayer winning or whatever. I just watched this standalone show, LOVED (most of) it, and I'll be back for next year's Rumble. The chances of me catching an entire 5-6 hour WWE show between now & then are extremely, incredibly slim. I'm stoked that they went all in on Becky. And, truth be told, if they hadn't? My overall opinion of this show could look drastically different. Same deal with Mania 30 really. If they'd fucked that up by making the wrong decision, then the entire show would be perceived as damaged. But they made good here. They went with Becky, and it was a magnificent moment in time. I sincerely hope they follow through now & bring it to the rightful conclusion. I have my doubts. Their bizarre booking of previously molten hot acts like Braun and Rusev leaves me baffled. There are still areas (even evident here in this show) that resemble 2014 or 2015. The booking hasn't improved all that much in the grand scheme of things. But this one night felt like an enjoyable outlier for me. The matches weren't all home runs. And the booking CLEARLY wasn't flawless. But, as one big card, I mostly dug it. WWE struggles to deliver with these super show slogs, so the fact that I actually watched the whole thing and didn't end up loathing life when it was over is just about the greatest compliment I can give it. Of course Seth winning is hell on earth. Dude will probably pick up another ridiculous nickname off this win, and so that means they'll probably print another shirt that will be every child's last resort at the merchandise stand - the item their parents buy when all the good shit is gone & sold out. Expect to see a lot of teary-eyed kids, pouting as their parents make them wear these awfully dull "Rumble Master Rollins" shirts or whateverthefuck these next several weeks... While the world's only Architect who can't draw a house hisses his way through promos about burning down things. Or something equally stupid. And fans will continue to respond as they always do. They'll cheer his Davey Richards spots, and then promptly chant "Boring" around the body of his matches. Because his matches are all predictable, fast-paced Plug & Play routines. Seth is the obsessive-compulsive kid who MUST turn the doorknob a dozen times before he leaves the house. Except Seth must dive three times, hiss like a snake, and slap his knee like it's a nervous tick. He's got OCD for shitty, meaningless, white noise wrestling. And he is your WrestleMania headliner, I guess? *shrugs* Oh! But let's talk about Sasha versus Ronda! That one fucking rocked my socks. Ronda's selling was incrrrredible. Sasha's submission game was fiyah. Everything in the universe combined just right for this fight, and it was glorious. I mean, sure. You can get overly analytical about some timing issues or some slips here & there, but nah. Fuck that noise. This was awesome possum. I'd watch this match about fifty-eleven times & still call for more rematches. I understand we're working on a ticking clock with Ronda right now, but I'd be all over a series between these two. Sasha showed the fuck up here - in total walking, talking, romping, stomping BOSS mode. I feel like I'd forgotten how tremendous she could be in these big match situations. She's reckless, but there's a specific kind of charm & appeal to that. Always has been. Plus she brings personality in spades. Foxy is one of a kind, but it's like Sasha channels the same sort of eye-catching charisma and COMBINES it with all the in-ring tools as well. She really should command a higher position in the division once Mania has come & gone. So yeah. This show was worthwhile. I went in, basically banking on the goodwill from last year's Rumble. To their credit, they didn't totally disappoint. Doubt I catch another full main roster show until next year's Rumble, because fuck a Seth Rollins push. I lived that trauma twice already. Life's too short. I'm going back to selective viewing until they figure out fan-service should be the new booking strategy in today's economy.

I thought Souled Out 98 was a lot of fun, too. Again, Eric was engaged and offering up answers for everything. Plus he's forever unafraid of hot takes or sharing his unpopular opinions. I know it's been said plenty recently, but this show has seriously found its stride. Every week is a win at the moment. An underrated part of this project has been hearing Eric's thoughts on certain workers, their styles, and their contributions as performers. I never would have guessed Dean Malenko would rank among Eric's favorite wrestlers to watch, for instance. But hearing him explain in-depth why he digs Dean's work is just cool. Here, we find out Bischoff was a big fan of John Nord. I just love that. It's too bad Nord never amounted to much on the big stage, really. But it's neat to know Eric wanted to give him that chance. There's an alternate reality out there, where the nWo remained true to the original premise & was strictly comprised of WWF castoffs only. In that universe, yeah. Maybe we still get stuck with Virgil as the slimy, toady underling. But perhaps we also get bizarro berzerker John Nord, in black & white Viking gear, hussing his way to a few PPV paydays by way of some hoss fights with the Giant. Oh. And of course Gene Okerlund as the more stylized MEAN Gene, personal publicist & exclusive interviewer of the nWo, shilling merch like nobody's business. But I digress... I liked hearing Eric show some love for Waltman and Konnan. I know their popularity hasn't exactly aged well, but man. Those guys were fucking cool up until some point in '99. And Eric's right. They helped the nWo at different points with that. I do think he's discounting Big Kev and Hall a little bit there though. Those guys seemed incredibly cool in their heyday. Whether it's popular opinion or not anymore is irrelevant. There was a time & place where the Outsiders were ruling that roost like the biggest cocks in the henhouse. Eric seemed to go a little hard on Bret at the end there, but that's nothing new. Like the Raven situation, I still get the impression that it's an unfortunate case of people crossing paths at a particularly miserable time for one (or even both) of those involved. Eric pulled no punches with the Louie/somas story. And I can appreciate the honesty there. Some people may take the stance that Bischoff shouldn't speak about someone he didn't know personally or whatever, but I'm not bothered by it. Eric is making some assumptions, but he also specifies it as hearsay told to him. The story about watching guys pass out while sitting next to him really struck a nerve, because I've lived that. I've seen friends pass smooth out in a bowl of cereal. I've had to carry friends out of hallways, into houses, etc. And I've mentioned my own experience with painkillers & muscle relaxers before, so stuff like this always spikes my interest a little more than most I guess. Now this was only a small portion of the podcast. It didn't approach the same territory as something like Del Wilkes on Austin's podcast or anything. But it does illustrate something that I appreciate about Bischoff - he doesn't shy away from speaking his mind very often. The guy is fairly upfront and vocal, regardless of the topic. He even had to backtrack & correct himself after he realized he had told a lie about his own recreational drug use. There was a small moment of unintentional comedy for me when Conrad touched on the comparison of Flair/Bret to Flair/Steamboat. Eric quickly noted how he never saw Flair/Steamboat. Conrad QUICKLY pipes in, "Wait. You NEVER SAW the Flair/Steamboat matches?!" Eric, like he's fearful for his quality of life, quickly fires back that he MEANT TO SAY he hadn't seen them by that time in 1998. But he's since seen them. Because, ya know. He clearly knows Conrad by now & didn't want to get roped into watching fifty-eleven Flair/Steamboat matches on Patreon for the next nine weeks of his life.

Totally. The Sid show was a winner. I wouldn't call it a full return to form or anything, but it was much better than a whole batch of recent episodes. Best one since the Regal profile, maybe? Sounds about right. The conversation flowed nicely, and they touched on everything substantial. I was surprised to hear Bruce give so much praise to Sid, especially once they started covering his departures & disappearances. Damn decent episode. Definitely a refreshing change of pace from the 97/98/99 stuff. The Rumble 2004 should have achieved that, but it was just so mundane and meh. This was good stuff though.

I'm not exactly afforded a ton of free time around my work schedule right now, so I'm working my way through this show bit by bit. I loved the gimmicked up War Raiders entrance. I haven't been able to follow any weekly wrestling show in awhile, so this is the first time I've seen them in some time. I dig the "war" chant and devil's horns hand gesture. I'd love it if that got really over & stuck. Their music's a great fit for the act, too. The tag match was aces. Killer pace, awesome teamwork, and just a hot, crowd-pleasing opener all around. Nothing to overly analyze or criticize here. I don't want to be a pessimist, but part of me has to worry about how these guys will fare on the main roster. It's all too easy to imagine them getting over like gangbusters, because they looked tremendous here. But it's just as likely that they could be the next AOP. Or, worse yet, the Ascension. Of course there's a canyon of difference in terms of experience there, but I just have such little faith in this company anymore. I'll be rooting for them though. I've been backing Rowe since I first saw him in my neck of the woods way back in the day, and Hanson is phenomenally fun as Bigelow 2.0. Riddle/Ohno was okay. Just okay. I think I need to lower my expectations when it comes to Ohno in NXT. I keep thinking I've adjusted accordingly, but I guess I just haven't. Realistically, this won't ever be the Hero of 2015 again, despite how much I want him to show up like that again. And look. Ohno's put on weight. It's noticeable. He never used to carry any of the weight gain around his face, but even that is starting to round out. I fucking LOVE Chris as a performer, and his body of work belongs among the very best in the business. But it's a tad silly to pretend not to see obvious things. I hate that we're suddenly supposed to not react to things we can plainly see. Yes. Some folks are fat. Yes. Some women are unattractive. People have ugly features. Others might notice them or point them out. This is human nature. Human beings notice attractive features, and they notice unattractive features. You can pretend you don't, but it's simply untrue. You do. We all do. It's just human nature. Plus, we *CAN* appreciate someone's positive attributes and still point out things that are clearly eyesores. One doesn't always directly correlate to the other. Yes. Hero is fat (and growing). But he's also one of the smartest, most engaging workers of the last 20 years. Is what it is. Anyway, Riddle's presentation doesn't do anything for me. I realize I may be in the minority on that, but yeah. It just looks, feels, and functions like an unpolished, unfinished act. Everything - from the entrance to the poses to the nickname - just seems undeveloped. His work is solid and has been excellent at times. But this character and the way he's presented? Woof. Call me crazy, but I believe it'll die a quick death on the main roster if he's called up with this act. It's not a main event gimmick. It's a pre-show gimmick. I could see Vince putting it on par with the Hype Bros or the Fashion Police. It feels like that's the ceiling with this thing. Work will only get you so far on the main roster, and I don't know if it's enough with Riddle to overcome what looks like a truly goofy presentation. I'm sure some of you will disagree, and that's fine. But seriously. The first time Vince sees him do that silly shoe-kickee spot and then strike that super-dramatic Orton pose on his knees? Fuck me. Game over. Right then & there.

Nah. The original was Nigel's own project. This is very much a WWE production. Very good though, man. Highly recommended.

I haven't watched a full WWE main roster show since last year's Rumble - unless you count Evolution. But yeah. I'm here for this show. Looks soopah solid on paper. I realize it's only January, but no Seth singles match automatically makes this a strong contender for WWE Card of the Year. ... Now watch them fuck it all up by booking this Ace of White Noise Wrestling to go the distance & win the Rumble. Might as well get ready for 60 minutes of hissing and knee-slapping, while the crowd pays more attention to the buzzer sounds and counting down. ... So basically just a repeat of Seth's AWFUL Iron Man match from last year, where people cared more about anything & everything else besides what he was doing.

I know Hogan carries a lot of negative baggage, but I don't care. There's a certain charm to hearing how he still loved the business up until the bitter end of his in-ring days. I believe every bit of it, too. Watch him in that TNA BFG 2011 match with Sting. Hulk is practically devoid of every ounce of athleticism by that point, but he's a total fucking superstar. He gets by on sheer showmanship and TRUCKLOADS of charisma. I go back and watch that one fairly regularly, and I still get goosebumps watching him in the post-match angle there. It never fails. I mean, it isn't Rock-Hulk at X8 by any means. But it ain't Sting-Hulk at Starrcade either. And yeah. You can tell the poor finishes are really an issue with Eric. He mentions it often enough - like Jimmy Hart - to the point that you're completely convinced he wishes he would've addressed it sooner. I would like to hear Eric go more in-depth about Johnny Ace coming in and everything that surrounded that move. I know I recall hearing him talk about it VERY briefly at least once, but it was mostly just to say that Johnny was brought over specifically to fix the issue he had with Sullivan and Taylor's weak, lackluster finishes. Actually, now that I think about it, he may have said that as recently as the Starrcade '98 episode. Pretty sure it was surrounding the discussion about the Nash/Goldberg finish. I don't know if Bruce would ever allow himself to give Johnny any actual credit for reshaping the way match finishes are laid out or anything over on the other side, so it would be cool to hear Eric speak on the subject a bit.

Yeah. Sorry to hear about your health issues, brutha. Hope all's good for you again real soon. Meantime? Keep us posted on what Eric's doing with the watch-alongs & whatnot. I listen to a lot of pods, but it's always on the go - at the gym & commuting mostly. So Patreon won't ever be my thing, although I have been enjoying Eric's stuff immensely as of late.

The "Bad Blood, Good Business" episode toward the end of the series is tremendous. When people have called UFC the new pro wrestling over the last decade+, this is what they mean.