SomethingSavage

Agreed. I'm up to the Mania 1 main event talk, and I'm absolutely enjoying the hell out of this so far. Glad you guys decided to take your time in fleshing out all the details. Plenty of Johnny impressions, plus the little nuggets of nostalgia make this a great "feel good" show.

I love 'em all to some extent. Just a whole lot of nostalgia and plenty of fond memories tied up there. The big time angles, the quick clip intro promos, and the "themes" of those early episodes are what still stand out to me the most.

I like Sheamus a lot from bell to bell, but his character has just been hot garbage since the return last Spring. The look ALREADY needs upgrading. With that being said, I'm not at all opposed to "heating him up" again and using a blood-feud with a babyface to get the gears turning toward that goal. That *used to* be a big thing within the Fed. They'd take guys at or near the same level, pit them against each other, and allow them to rise up the ranks TOGETHER. Rock and Hunter are a prime example of that. So yeah. It's definitely something I'd like to see done. But it's a matter of not JUST booking them in these endless 50/50 rematches. They've got to get over on plenty of guys outside of the confines of their rivalry against each other. The most likely candidate as that "over, fresh" babyface - to possibly oppose Sheamus - would probably be Ambrose. Having Dean as the IC Champ at the moment kind of muddies the field a bit, but I would be on board to see a whole host of gimmick matches between Dean and Sheamus. It could eat up a good chunk of time and give both guys something substantial to do on the Mania card. I don't think it does them any favors to do into the deal with tunnel vision on using it as a vehicle to propel Sheamus back towards Reigns, but it's a decent endgame to have in mind for him. They've got to be open-minded about what it could do for Ambrose as well - and that's what could lead to them ultimately creating TWO new top contenders for Reigns in the aftermath of the feud, really. Present it right, and both guys will come out looking stronger. Of course, I can't help but feel like Rollins was originally slated to be the "Edge" to Roman's "Cena" throughout these months. Seems like a pretty obvious statement, but I guess I'm mainly bringing it up to the pose the question of whether or not you think that would've worked as well? I know Seth had his share of supporters throughout the Cena stuff, but I don't know. The booking headed towards their Survivor Series match seemed pretty solid, and I almost want to believe it would have worked in getting Reigns his fair share of fans. The booking of Roman at HIAC, the night after, and in the SS elimination match on Raw wasn't too far off what they just did this past week. Maybe we would have gotten "badass brute" Roman Reigns a month earlier. Seth could have played scummy, smarmy chickenshit heel as the foil. It's too far off to really know when or how they'll bring Rollins back, but I'd much rather see him be the guy to solidify & cement Roman's reign. Of course, they can't exactly just spin their wheels until then or anything. So we'll see.

The fresh uploads are incrrrrredibly appreciated, man. I've been meaning to dive into SMW from the beginning all over again for about five or six months now, but I've been entirely too lazy to go looking for my external hard drive with all the old shows. Your channel, combined with the holiday time I'll have away from work, puts it on my must-do list in the next few weeks. Thanks a truckload. Glad to hear you guys will be back in business soon, too. With Zellner tackling SMW over in his Exile series now, I'd advise listeners to check out this show as a fun companion piece. Easy, light listening that breaks down Smoky Mountain TV in smaller doses. Good stuff.

I would counter that it worked (for the short time it did) because the dynamics were reversed, where Piper was the face and Hogan the heel. Definitely. It doesn't feel as dynamic out of context, but it worked for a lot of people in that place & time. There was something very cool and appealing about seeing your childhood hero - now the number one villain - being called out by his former nemesis... the once most hated man in the sport - now the redeemed good guy. You can call it a "WCW move" or whatever, but really - they built the bulk of that (majorly successful) run on the back of everything the Federation did in the 80's. Hell, practically the entire WCW 90's boom was like this fan fiction Bizarro World Booking of the WWF. They took the same stories, characters, and acts... and either updated them to better fit the times, outright flipped their allegiances, or whatever. But a lot of the running themes and narratives were kept in place or expanded upon. I realize WCW gets a lot of criticism for doing just that - signing up all the former WWF stars and whatnot. But for awhile, it certainly worked and proved to be a sensible business strategy, at least in the beginning, for them.

Triple H was a Kowalski trainee - not a DeNucci guy. Thought for sure Dan was going to correct the course when you guys started to move onto Foley. Super fun show though, as always. That "What If" segment could have gone on for the rest of the show and STILL had a little left in the tank. Will's "Ed Whalen can SUCKADICK" line had me cracking up. Truckload of F-bombs in this one, too. Good stuff.

Either way, Titans is tremendous. It, along with Goodwill, was the gateway pod that got me hooked. The entire Titans crew is active elsewhere and delivering great listening material in the meantime. It's not like they aren't producing quality content outside of the Titans series. Fuck it. Titans is the "That 70's Show" of podcasts. Only instead of launching the careers of Ashton Kutcher, Topher Grace, and Mila Kunis... we got spin-offs projects from Johnny, Pete, Parv, and Kelly.

I haven't gone back and watched it in awhile, but I remember REALLY digging the Candice & Joey versus Young Bucks Guerrilla Warfare match. I can completely understand why it isn't for everyone - or even why it'd turn some people away entirely - but I think it's a shining example of them playing to their strengths in that environment. Candice's selling and sympathy seeking were on another level for a change. I get why her blading would have some people cringing, but the fact that she's getting dropped on her head and selling it like a fucking champ is (at least) worthwhile. Her hand's shaking, she's quivering and acting woozy... Even her offense feels almost entirely impulsive and reactionary from that point up until the finishing stretch. Perhaps I'm overselling it. And if so, then I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest. But hey. It's a case of me having a blast when I originally saw it, PLUS it managed to catch he attention of an entire room of friends - all of whom are casual fans (at best) and haven't followed anything "pro wrestling" regularly since WM25 or so. They catch the annual Manias with me, and I got them to check out a couple of PWG shows off the buzz Lucha Underground was getting at some point last year. But yeah. I've successfully talked myself into going back and revisiting the match again. So there's that.

no logic of any description can redeem that turn, the only way I think this went down was that Ed went down on Terry and was promised a PPV main event for swallowing The subsequent match set a new record for back rakes Christ. Really?

Yeah. In the shoot interviews I've seen him questioned about it - specifically with Kayfabe Commentaries, I believe - Ferris seems totally fine with the idea and even brags a bit about how it was such an easy night for such a huge payday. That's what makes it even more startling that he never took the payoff to let Beefcake shave his head like they'd originally planned. He's admitted to nixing that and offering up Jimmy Hart's hair instead.

Agreed. Bravo, guys. That was some god damn glorious entertainment. Felt like totally random talking points, but it had me cracking up a number of times. Gotta request the Hales Bros. combo on more pods now. Put 'em in matching gear & turn 'em loose. Book it.

Exactly. It's that careful, hands-on, attentive booking that gets them over within the NXT landscape. But it's also the lack of that same careful, hands-on, attentive booking that usually kills them dead after the dreaded call-up.

Awesome possum. Greatly appreciated, man. Should be an excellent resource & a tremendous tool for catching up and filling in the gaps with any shows that I've missed.

Well, I can't speak for anyone else, but the thread's title DOES just say - "#1"... On first glance, people might think it's just one episode that's being discussed - rather than realizing that a new episode has been uploaded or whatever. I don't think it hurts to create new threads for each episode, but it's entirely up to you.

Awesome possum. Always a fan of these, man. Just went back and listened to the drama TV series & NES episodes a week or so ago. Hoping for more of those alternative shows in the future, but this one's definitely appreciated.

I've seen their podcast referenced here & there. If you had to sell someone on it, what would be the pitch? I'm always on board for new stuff, but there's already SO much great content out there - and only so many hours in a day.

I haven't listened to the latest episode with Keller on Austin's show, but I know Austin originally seemed to be a fan. He praised Big E finding his groove in particular, and he even seemed high on Kofi's potential as a surprisingly solid heel. But he also expressed a little concern about Xavier distracting from in-ring action at times & felt like he was being "coached" to be TOO over the top at times. Other than that, all I can recall Austin saying is that he thought the long-term appeal in the New Day is to serve as a vehicle that (eventually) gets around to launching Big E as a singles guy.

I feel like Maddox got more screen time sitting ringside at PWG shows last year than he did on actual WWE television anyway. I enjoyed his FCW run well enough. He was doing a bit of a Chris Jericho '98 tribute act there and was kept (almost strictly) in tags. I hardly think they had him pegged as anything special though. Callihan is a stranger case. The guy was making MAJOR waves just a few years ago. The fact that they didn't hotshot him onto TV - even just developmental TV - has always seemed odd to me, especially with the backing he had from Finlay and company. Count me in as someone that doesn't see much long-term value in a "hacker" gimmick. Plus, if you're familiar with Callihan at all, then it REALLY seems like a stretch. The guy's basically a fired up country boy. I get the impression that someone walked in on him checking his Hotmail account at Full Sail one day or something equally "outdated", and so this gimmick was a rib or something. It was just never going to click. Back when they were teasing a new member of the Wyatt Family around SummerSlam, I posted my thoughts & suggested Callihan as the guy. Introducing a smaller member of Wyatt Family would have offered an interesting dynamic in my view, and Callihan could have certainly fit the bill. I was just checking out Naylor's mini-rant on Twitter this week when I noticed that he referenced a similar idea for Sami, and it reminded me of that. At least it's cool that Callihan left on his own terms, at least in some capacity. I sure as hell hope he makes his way back to PWG soon.

Awesome story, kHawk. Just wrapped up listening late yesterday evening, and the closing felt like a cliffhanger. Meant to check out the thread to see the story with Bock - so I'm glad ya shared it here. Good stuff, guys.

I enjoy the hell out of all the subjects you guys tackle, but this is perhaps my favorite sub-series by a wide margin. Not sure if I'll get around to listening before the holiday break or not, but I'm looking forward to it.

I'm gonna be all over that Jumbo episode. My interest has always been there (passively), but it was really piqued after hearing Parv and Charles talk him up so much in their recent Fair For Flair show. I've seen matches here & there over the years, but I've admittedly never committed a lot of time or energy into watching Tsuruta's best stuff. As far as puro goes, "my guys" came with the New Japan juniors, Michinoku Pro, 90's All Japan, and peak Hashimoto for the most part. So I'm absolutely stoked to soak up whatever info & history lessons you guys can toss my way regarding Jumbo. Here's hoping for some awesome match recs, playlists, etc.

Awesome possum. Greatly appreciated, man.

As much as I enjoyed the bulk of the Cesaro/Reigns bout, that pre-match promo from Reigns was the shits. Brought me right back to his hype promo for the HIAC match with Wyatt actually. They pretty much trotted Roman out there to make all the same mistakes all over again. Second verse, same as the first. He was just basically stating facts and telling the story - scene by scene - of what had happened since the HIAC event. It was fucking terrible as an "interview." Why don't they just use a video package in place of this shit? Why do the only Roman interviews consist entirely of him telling a live audience about things they've already seen? There's no spin and zero personality put into any of it. It's fucking awful for ANYBODY - let alone a guy that's being branded as the next top star. If it's a case of them not fully trusting him to go out there and put a little life into his own story - in his own words - then that's a surefire sign that he isn't ready. I guess I just don't understand the thought process behind that approach with the guy.

Toss up a download feature on the latest episode & I'm all over it, man. There's a fun chemistry among you guys, and I always get a kick out of some of the off-the-wall insults and comments. Very fun, easy listening each and every time. Any chance of more shows being added to your YT channel? Or do you just plan on adding 'em as you get there with the reviews?

Enjoyed the heck out of this one, guys. Johnny's Bock was on point, like Will said. Main Event went by the wayside for me a long time ago, so it was refreshing to hear Scott interact with someone other than Justin again for a change. Call me crazy, but I tend to enjoy Scott much more when he's discussing his fandom of the older stuff.