SomethingSavage

Agreed. I genuinely enjoyed almost everything between BFG '11 and BFG '12. The Bobby Roode title reign, the James Storm retribution saga, the rise of Aries, Bully Ray reaching the peak of his powers as a scummy, dirtbag heel, Christopher Daniels finally putting all the pieces together and fully EMBRACING his showmanship as a character, etc. It felt like they were onto something for a moment there.

Yes. That rant was tremendous. I've stayed away from Corny's podcast for awhile - dating back to Alice being on the show, but I'm gonna have to backtrack and catch up on everything since Brian joined the show now. Awesome piece of audio here though. Highly entertaining listen from start - with the rant - to finish - with Ricky telling some great, genuinely engaging stories of his own.

Lucha Underground is easy binge material. Season 1 was an absolute blast, and they definitely approach their storytelling with specific arcs in mind. There's a truckload of awesome episodes that absolutely stand up on their own - and would make for easy access points to jump on in midstream - but yeah. If you're a crazed completist when it comes to that stuff (like myself), then you'll definitely want to go back and start from day one. Last I checked, CubsFan's site had a nifty little guide - with the best episodes from Season 1 listed AND ranked. So that could help, too.

That sounds tremendous. I'll take what I can get here though. This one's a big win, guys.

It definitely felt different at the time that it actually happened, but I don't believe the Survivor Series finish was ever designed to do anything for Dolph anyway. Without Reigns going down to injury that Fall, I doubt Dolph would have ever fallen into that spot in the first place. But it certainly seemed like they were stuck on keeping Ziggler involved in the mid-card mix - linking him right back up with Luke Harper and the IC Title as his followup program.

Any chance of this one getting a P2B site link? Hate to have to ask, but Soundcloud can be a bitch on my phone sometimes.

Yeah. You can clearly feel things shift with Bret and Shawn - immediately after SummerSlam. They're going all in on Shawn as the top heel from then on. Bret is put on the back-burner instantly. In a couple of weeks, Bret is almost totally phased out. The Hart Foundation go from being the centerpiece of the shows throughout the summer... to doing nothing of note, all the way up until Bret is weaved back into the Shawn and Taker stuff, right before the Hell In A Cell. I'm not really sure when things reached a tipping point, but I'd safely say it happened right around then. The title change almost had to happen, in order to get to the Shawn and Taker story. But once the belt was on Bret, it was just hanging around in a holding pattern until Hell In A Cell.

Regarding the plans for Hunter vs. Roman at Mania, I thought JR's pitch on his podcast with Madden recently sounded surprisingly decent. For those that didn't listen, it involved Rock being in Reigns' corner again - with Vince standing in Hunter's corner for the big title match. The big endgame is a double turn by the end of the night. To that end, McMahon eventually betrays Hunter. Reigns picks up the win and the title. Rocky comes in and questions Roman about his motives and actions. Roman lowers the boom on the Rock and hightails it out of there with the belt. Vince sticks around for a moment to gloat, but Rocky recovers and gets his shit in. Rock Bottom. People's Elbow. Show closes with a (somewhat) upbeat scene. The hook for RAW could be Vince's explanation. And I'd hope that they'd keep in relatively simple. Hunter is getting too big with his aspirations and plans to "push" Vince out of the picture. What's best for business is what Vince *decides* is best for business, etc. Ultimately, I think it helps to prop up the Mania match itself. Hunter is sure to get the majority of the cheers anyhow. This plays directly into that. Rock could be there, enhancing the "in-between" moments with his facial expressions, his look of shock and awe anytime Roman does something dirty or heelish, etc. I really think THAT aspect of having Rocky react on the outside would be tremendous. And then you've got a truckload of fun with Vince hamming it up on the other side. It'd probably take a lot of convincing and explaining to get Rock on board at this point, but I don't know that he'd be totally opposed to participate in something that SHOULD - in theory - strike him as familiar territory. It keeps him firmly positioned as the babyface (and in a favorable light) by the end of the night, unlike that dismal debacle at the Rumble. It's not exactly my favorite option, but - from those that have been presented and put forth for consideration - it's not all that bad.

I enjoy Corny's enthusiasm for tradition and the old days. Some of his stories of the way it was and the old "Wild West" are tremendous. But his views on current day stuff can be hard to get through. I'm hardly the biggest Bucks fan in the world, but I can appreciate their game and what they bring to the stage. Plus I had to crack up when they pointed out that Cornette's done countless shoot interviews, radio appearances, and now podcasts in the last decade - ALL exposing the business and breaking kayfabe - yet he'll shit on anyone or anything that does the same. At some point, I just wish he'd loosen up and find SOMETHING to like in the here and now. Otherwise, yeah. I'd just prefer to hear him gush over the stuff from yesteryear.

I want to believe that they're willing to go all in on Ambrose. I really do. At this rate though, I'd be really surprised to see them switch away from the Roman vs. Hunter plans at Mania. Recasting Reigns as the hellbent, bitter, super driven guy to go out there and challenge Taker to a Mania match - with them selling it as some sort of "death wish" in terms of Reigns wanting to make his mark or die trying - sounds better than another month of the same, stale strategy they've been employing. Unfortunately, I think the more likely scenario will have them booking Ambrose to go that route. They'll probably try to keep Dean borderline babyface and just sell it as him losing everything in the march to Mania - failing to beat his best friend to secure the top contender's spot, dropping his IC Title, etc. Plus their love of buzzwords and the "lunatic" tagline means it'd be an easy sell to promote him as crazy enough to call out the Deadman without any actual creativity or effort involved. It would totally be the most tone deaf thing they could do - keeping Roman as the defiant babyface, while casting Dean as the subtle heel (even if only for the month of Mania) - but it's also something I could absolutely see them doing.

EDIT: Moved my post over to the WrestleMania 32 thread. Seemed more in tune with the talk over there.

I'm being lazy here, but link? Don't judge me. It's the weekend.

Sunny's Black Scorpion-esque huffing and heaving makes it sound like she's been gargling with battery acid or some shit. It's rough.

Yeah. I guess. I was honestly thinking something more along the lines of Foley's and Regal's "Commissioner" gigs back in 2000 and '01. Something that could feature him weekly, allow him to contribute to the product overall, and give him opportunity to interact with guys all up and down the card - sort of the same way Mick would have segments with Kurt, The Rock, Edge & Christian, and everyone in between. Plus Bryan KILLED it in those Team Hell No skits. People tend to overlook that stuff when it comes to his "body of work", but it's a huge part of what got him over to another level with some of the fans. Bryan projects such a unique charm and charisma. I think it'd be the best way to utilize him. And sure. One could argue that there's a chance of him "overshadowing" the guys he interacts with, but that would always be the risk with The Rock, Foley, or anyone else really. I know I'd personally be all on board for segments of Bryan interacting with the New Day, Ambrose, Owens, etc. on a weekly basis. Of course, that goes back to my other concern - that maybe he'd just want to totally distance himself from things for awhile. This role would call for the exact opposite of that - thrusting himself back into the mix full bore and just being submerged in it all over again. Sometimes, it's just too disheartening to deal with that - having everything you want exist right outside your reach like that. Wouldn't fault the guy one bit for wanting to separate himself from the situation.

Exactly. It's not at all surprising that fans of Bryan would take his side and happily paint the picture with WWE being the bad guys for not letting him rejoin the reindeer games. Can't really fault anyone for that. But if they're sticking by that sentiment knowing what's being let out now? Well that's something else entirely. I had no idea about the seizures. Haven't exactly followed the rumor mill closely by any means, but I'm all for the guy hanging it up and finding a new passion in life. I'd imagine it's heartbreaking to have his dream taken away like that, but he's in a great spot relative to some. In a perfect world, Bryan and WWE would find a way to feature him, provide him stable job security, AND allow him to contribute. The guy is clearly STILL incredibly over. There's no need to waste that, especially when (it seems) like he is still so invested in the business. On the other hand, it wouldn't really surprise me to see him totally distance himself from things. WWE doesn't strike me as his one love above "wrestling" in the broader sense. And I'm not sure where his head is at with all this stuff.

Pete detailing the breakdown, especially with the transition to the go-behind WITH THE HAMMERLOCK HELD INTACT, should be a magnificent moment in podcast play-by-play history indeed.

I've been revisiting a lot of '97 WCW and WWF this year, and it's really interesting to see Austin finding his voice in that early phase of the Stone Cold character - especially surrounding Mania and the fallout of the face turn. There are three or four interviews early on where he is an absolute beast. He's spitting this visceral venom, but he's also making little mistakes and flubs occasionally. He'll get so fired up that he'll trip over words, stumble over insults, or whatever. That doesn't take anything AT ALL away from the work, of course. If anything, it adds an organic layer of realism. He comes across as this guy that's chomping at the bit, foaming at the mouth, and just WAITING to break off the chain to get at Bret's throat. It's insane. But yeah. There are times you can see him getting visibly frustrated with himself for making a minor mistake. Or even when he says something stupid? You can IMMEDIATELY see a light go off in his eyes, and he'll go into recovery mode automatically. There's one interview in particular, in which he starts to go down this goofy path of ranting about being the RULER OF THE WORLD. It's some cheesy, Sid-like shit. And it's well after the Mania match. But it's full-blown heel spiel. And you can see he regrets it instantly. But there's a compelling, charming element in exploring this time of BOTH guy's careers from this time. I'd definitely say they were very much driving one another forward - spurring each other on. It's a trailblazing rivalry on several levels, if nothing else.

Sets the table for the obvious question then... Does it make the next Titans Special?

Agreed. It's cool that you're open to suggestions and feedback, regarding the format of the show going forward. I get a kick out of your chemistry and free-form reaction to things. The awards are always a nice touch, too. I'm backlogged on the most recent episodes, so I can't offer much in terms of immediate feedback at the moment. But I'll be listening and catching up as I can. Definitely appreciate the video uploads to go along with the pods, by the way.

Looking forward to listening. Love the trial series. This is actually a topic that I fully expect to take an interesting turn - for better or for worse - by the end of this year, too. The MMA Summer of Punk is going to have fans talking, and I'm curious to see if & how that reflects on perceptions of him overall to be honest.

I remember REALLY loving that Larryland timeline. Ditto on the Bruno and Duggan editions. Haven't kept up with the series over the last year or so. Should probably scope out some of the more recent ones.

Valiant's interviews are money. The beard-cutting issue that kicks off the Jones Army stuff is incredible. It strikes a raw nerve, and he invokes all the right emotions - even if he walks right up to (or right PAST) that line of over-the-top zaniness at times. The term, "promo" gets thrown around left and right like it's applicable to every interview or 20-minute monologue they tape these days. But if it ain't selling a show, pimping a ticket, or hyping an end date - then how's it a promo exactly? Valiant's interviews were very much promos. They promoted shit. They sold shows. They pimped tickets. They hyped dates. They made you want to mark your calendar and see what the fuck goes down when he gets his hands on Jones, the ragtag misfits of the Army, or whatever. Does he lose a bit when it comes to the bell-to-bell action? Sure. I'd buy that. But I'll be damned if he doesn't hold the God-given, natural charm and charisma to pull me back in and sell me on the SAME shitty fight scene all over again in time for the next Boogie Woogie match.

Come on now. The comparison of relaunching Bill Goldberg in 2003 to launching Braun fucking Strowman in 2016 is a bit of a stretch. And that's being all kinds of generous.

The story with Rock's ex-wife convincing him to return and mend fences with his WWE fan base is all fine and well, but he's moved beyond that now. That goodwill has been re-established, and I don't see it being a problem for him again. He's over the hump. Rocky's a legitimate top-tier star in Hollywood now. I don't think there's any risk of him dropping back to Tooth Fairy status. The guy's got a full schedule of projects for the next year-plus already. He's box office. If WWE were to phase out Rocky's annual appearances eventually - down the long haul, then I could actually see that being perceived as a poor decision on WWE's part. It's not like mainstream media would give a shit that Rock isn't going back to play in the pro wrestling sandbox every now & then. I don't think it stands a chance of putting a dent (or even a ding) in his blockbuster rep at this point. Rocky's a made man. It'd almost take a succession of shitty roles and a serious drop-off in his projects' profits to do any lasting damage. He's raking it in right now. WWE pouting and opting to not use him once a year isn't exactly going to be a big blip on the radar.