Afro Steel

The entire Dino Bravo/Andre The Giant team from Survivor Series '88 is now dead. I'm too young to have watched even Harley's king stuff, but really became a fan of his selling in that gimmick when I got into the old Coliseum Videos.

Boy, Bruce can really spin some shit. Claiming the JR/Dr. Hiney bit was "done out of love." That's like a play right out of the abuser handbook.

Only kind of keeping up with it, but it seems like there's a segment of people online trying to get Corny "cancelled." This gaining any traction? One of the wrestling history related Instagram accounts I follow seems obsessed with taking down Cornette the last few weeks.

Forgot to mention I liked Mox's story about the first Shield in-ring promo where they were all so focused on nailing down the delivery of their script that it wasn't until the adrenaline rush had worn off backstage did they all realize they had no idea what they had even talked about. It's almost old hat at this point, but the emphasis on having non-actors recite scripted promos really strips away any genuine emotion or natural storytelling most of the time.

Jericho's transitions to ads are weird, but Wade's are so awkwardly dropped in there that it really broke up the flow of the interview for me. And I never want to use Uber now! I didn't get through it all, but I think the Jericho talk was better. You can tell when Moxley is less comfortable, because he just rambles on and on.

OK, but Moxley sounds like a guy of relatively simple means. There are plenty of people who could make great money and still have trouble turning down a big payday (just look at Goldberg, Shawn Michaels, etc. doing those Saudi shows), where as Moxley has attained his idea of financial security and doesn't sound like he can be bothered to compromise his mental well-being for a bigger check. As for the line, I imagine it being something like that horrid Stephanie McMahon "you're going to die" jab at Freddie Blassie during the Invasion angle.

Great interview. He pulls no punches, but doesn't sound at all bitter. His discontent doesn't sound like it stems from payouts or not being elevated on the card, and I think that helps lend credibility to his account. Some standout points for me: - Sounds like Dean hated a lot of the characteristics of his post-Shield character as we did. Having to say and do things that didn't make him sound unusual; just like an idiot. - The creative process is totally broken. It all runs through Vince, but the flow and structure of the creative process seems like it's not clear, even to the talent that works there. - The scripted nature of promos in WWE often fail to help tell a story or move things along. Moxley says something like, "It's just words. I don't even know what I'm talking about" when describing what the average scripted promo given to him was like. - Being a talent for WWE sounds absolutely draining, mentally and physically. Not necessarily because of the wrestling, but the micromanaging. Jericho says at one point, "The wrestling is the easy part." - Moxley's payoff for that final Shield appearance was basically what someone gets just for being in the building on a given night. - He's got a great perspective on life in general. He sounds thankful for the experiences of being with WWE, but he's pretty much set financially and can now just focus on renewing his love for wrestling outside of the WWE bubble. Maybe it's because I've had these realizations myself in recent years, but life really does improve a lot when you identify what makes you content and embrace that versus chasing the stereotypical vision of what success looks like. (i.e. piles of money and lots of fancy toys)

Anything notable from the RAW watch-along? I think this makes the first time I've skipped consecutive episodes, as I've found their watch-along episodes to be bland regardless of the subject.

Probably my only complaint was the "LGN Wrestling Superstars" flub. I've actually got my mom watching this, as she loves these docu-style shows. It's helped keep perspective on how this series comes off to non- or passive wrestling fans. She wasn't familiar with the Montreal Screwjob at all, so all of this was riveting to her. Hall seemed out of place on this episode after coming off pretty well in the Savage episode.

That's probably the first episode I've just let sit without listening to any of it. So much of the Attitude Era feels well-covered territory, so I'm not sure why we need even more focus on it, especially when it's about the era's biggest star. Weren't they supposed to do a Bundy episode? I remain disappointed how much of Bruce's earliest WWF years slip under the radar.

Just watched the Savage episode. I've watched too much Snapped over the years, so the recreations didn't feel that out of place. A couple of them were a bit odd, mainly the one with the wrestlers squatting over the suitcase to drop a deuce. Co-sign that Linda came across really well and like someone who genuinely cared for Elizabeth. Actually, I think everyone came across pretty well. Prichard was great at explaining some of this stuff in the way that a non-fan could understand and appreciate. And hey, Jake and Scott Hall both looked great, which is nice to see given their past struggles. I thought even Lanny Poffo came off a lot better than he did in that Savage doc WWE did a while back, where he just seemed totally delusional about Randy and some of his questionable tendencies. Not really anything new, but I don't go into these programs really expecting too much in the way of revelations. These things should be accessible to people who haven't immersed themselves in wrestling history, and through that lens, I thought this episode did a wonderful job.

I'm intrigued since Conrad won't be able to lean on dick jokes and "What might it sound like if..." prompts. But hopefully they tackle some stuff besides the Attitude Era, since the Prichard podcast has beaten that horse to a pulp.

Probably helps he's got a background in the news industry, so he's better at picking up on those opportunities. Finished the show. Like the Mania 20 show, not really anything too illuminating. Got a chuckle out of Bruce saying he kept pestering Tazz to add another "Z" to his Taz tattoo in order to "really commit to the gimmick." And hey, Bix got his question read at the end!

Still digging into the Wrestlemania X-7 show, but the rodeo story reminds me of something I cannot stand about Conrad: He fucking sucks at building off of a lot of Bruce's stories, unless it's low-hanging fruit like asking for a hypothetical Vince response. Bruce goes through the whole story about the politics of that rodeo and Conrad's response is to jump right into one of the ad spots. It's not like I need a big back and forth about this rodeo, but it reminded me of how often Conrad does this where he won't even give a one-sentence response to a story Bruce tells. It reminds me of an inexperienced journalist going in with a set of questions and being too naive or "focused" to see opportunities to ask other questions about things that emerge from a conversation/interview.

But enough about some wrestling podcasts...

They explained that logistically, the live shows just aren't going to work. It's not unreasonable to think there will come a time when they decide they can't deliver with a weekly podcast, but for now, keeping that going isn't unrealistic the way continuing the live shows would be. Didn't get much out of the Austin episode, mostly because they've covered pretty much every 1997 show at this point. Not a bad episode, but if you've heard those episodes, a lot of this felt like retread.

I had one of those awful non-WWF-licensed Bundy figures from the mid-90s up for sale on eBay for ages and got a notification around 2:30 a.m. that someone had finally bought it. It didn't even occur to me why someone was finally buying it after a year. I actually didn't hear about the news until early this afternoon when a couple friends texted me about it. Oddly enough, I somehow landed on a 20-man battle royal from RAW October 1995 last night and Bundy was the first one dumped. I didn't even remember him still being with the company that late into the year. Bundy was long gone the first time around by time I got into wrestling in 1991. But from his various appearance in Coliseum Videos I rented to me desperately wanting his weapon-like LJN figure for years (before finally getting one for Christmas 1996), Bundy was just one of those larger-than-life types that I have fond childhood memories of. As I get older, I try to have a more optimistic view of death. It's too bad he's gone so relatively young, but it sure seems like Bundy made the most of those years.

Tired as the show has been in stretches for a while, it would be unfortunate for the show to end before we could get more episodes focused on the periods book-ending the Attitude Era.

I never liked the American Bad Ass character, but listening to the latest episode and also thinking back to most of the 1991-95 Undertaker stuff, you really get a sense of how brutal most of the in-ring fare is because of Taker getting paired with every lunk around. Solid episode, though, as it's always enjoyable to listen when Bruce can admit something wasn't good, especially if he was directly involved in it. The 2004 GAB stuff was especially good, with the classic Vince logic popping up. (e.g. Undertaker being the one to kill Paul Bearer will make him a bigger face)

That Rusev/Lana appearance on Lilian Garcia's podcast was a good look at why Lana probably rubs a lot of people the wrong way. By her own admission, the cultural differences growing up where she did instilled a lot of self-doubt and feelings of isolation that she seems to still be dealing with. Not excusing her, but it seems clear she has yet to really work out all of the baggage that sort of upbringing gave her. Shame for Rusev's sake, because he seems like a relaxed kind of guy on top of the obvious skills he has to offer within the wrestling industry.

I'm shocked, shocked I tell you, to hear that the guy who fetishizes personal responsibility has committed the granddaddy of spousal betrayals.

I was legit shocked to hear Corbin was going to be in the main event last night. It seems like any time I've seen him since he became Corporate Kane, he's just getting squashed like a geek, so I couldn't understand why he'd be main eventing a show where pretty much every big name on that side of the roster was there. Does Brock even really move the needle anymore by traditional metrics? Seems like they've got a guy in Braun who can pretty much do what Brock does from a physicality perspective, was able to cultivate quite the aura when booked properly, and he's a lot less expensive and more available than Brock. I don't even watch week to week and I've been tired of Brock for at least a couple of years.

Got free tickets to the RAW house show last night, and thought I'd jot some notes as someone who is only vaguely following the current product over the last two years: - Opener was a six-woman tag match with Dana Brooke, Bayley, and Natalya taking on Nikki Cross, Alicia Fox, and Mickie James. James didn't actually work the match, not even standing on the apron, even though it was billed as 3-on-3. I don't really "get" Cross. She seems over-the-top in a WWF New Generation way. Pretty lethargic stuff, but Bayley was really over and she made some kid's life by signing an autograph for her after the match. - Dean Ambrose vs. EC3: Confession time. I had no idea who EC3 was, and even thought maybe it was Eric Young's new name when reading about "EC3" over the last few weeks. Is he a face or what? Crowd wasn't into him and definitely favored Dean throughout. Neither guy seemed terribly invested, which wasn't shocking given Dean's current circumstances. EC3 reminds me of a Chris Masters type and seems kind of out of place in 2019 WWE. Dean jobbed and then refused to leave the ring, saying he would retire that night unless a ref came out to restart the match. This brought out... - Zack Ryder and Curt Hawkins to get Dean out of the ring. Dean attacked both guys and made them look like schmucks, which I guess is sort of Curt's deal anyway. Ascension came out and we've got a tag match. I can't believe Ascension is still around, but I guess it doesn't hurt to have some lower-tier tag teams to make others look good. Bad, slow moving match. - Bobby Lashley was slated to take on Seth Rollins for the IC title, but Seth wasn't there. This Lio Rush guy is hilarious and the perfect companion for a dude like Lashley. Lashley was the first heel of the evening to really play to the crowd effectively. Finn Balor came out to challenge Lashley for the IC title, saying he'd face both Lashley and Lio. Some bald dude who none of us knew came out and said none of them had the authority to make the match, but he did, so... OK? Still no idea who the guy was. Decent match, but man, Finn is really small. Shredded, but tiny. It was funny to see the ref look like he could take both Finn and Lio. Balor did a clean job, but got his finisher in on Lio after the match. - Ronda Rousey vs. Nia Jax: Rousey is crazy over, obviously. I think Nia kinda sucks, but Rousey worked in some cool submission spots to make the brief match tolerable. I guess if nothing else, it was cool to see Rousey in person, which is obviously something I never thought would happen a few years ago. - Elias came out after the intermission and brought out No Way Jose to "party," but Drew McIntyre came out and destroyed Jose before he even got to the ring. Both guys look physically impressive in person, but the match plodded along. Elias is one of those gimmicks that is crazy over with the fans, but I haven't really seen much in the ring that suggests he's much more than the opening match spiel. Maybe I've not seen the right stuff. - Revival vs. Roode/Gable. Holy shit. This was at least my 10th house show since 1991 and this was hands down the best house show match I've ever seen. Revival does those little heel things so damn well that you can't help but love to hate them. On the way to the ring, Dash Wilder pretended he was going to sign an autograph for a kid at ringside, but just tossed the kid's Sharpie back several rows. Roode's a pretty dull singles wrestler, but I like the pairing with Gable. I wasn't sure what to expect, but maybe 10 minutes it hit me that this was a pretty incredible match. My buddy then leaned over and said, "This is the best house show match I've ever seen," so it wasn't just me. Just one of those beautifully worked matches that shows how great tag team wrestling can be. Obviously Revival wasn't winning, but even I got suckered in for some of the near-finishes. The crowd, which had been mostly quiet during the matches were absolutely in the palm of the wrestlers' collective hand by time we got to the finish stretch. Great stuff, and it's a shame the Revival hasn't been able to stay healthy, because I could watch those guys all day long. - Braun Strowman beat Corbin in a street fight. I was surprised Corbin got in the majority of the offense, which I wasn't sure how to feel about. Braun isn't really the type who should play the face in peril role for most matches. Pretty standard gaga match stuff, but it was cool to see some table spots in 2019. Overall mostly a one-match show, but god damn, it was the consensus among six or seven of us that it was easily the best house show match any of us had ever seen. I've been to a handful of house shows since 2015 and always come away feeling good to know it's something that's really geared toward the kids, with faces being much more fan-friendly with ringside kids, usually signing autographs and all that. Well, except Bobby Roode, who pretty noticeably looked like he wanted to get the hell out of there after the match.

Lana definitely comes off as a ditz on social media, but doesn't seem like she'd be overly dramatic backstage about this stuff. Wasn't the scuttlebutt years ago that Vince didn't think Rusev was good looking enough to be with someone like Lana? Even if true, 2019 Rusev looks a lot sharper than 2014/15 Rusev.

Listening to the Gorilla episode made me think: I kind of like the episodes that have Bruce getting a bit choked up or crying talking about a dearly-departed colleague. Maybe it's that it helps chip away at the blowhard persona that froths over Dave Meltzer, but I like seeing that human side of Bruce. It really drives home how much personal loss you have to endure if you put enough time in to the wrestling business.