Ricky Jackson Posted February 28, 2013 Report Share Posted February 28, 2013 Let the glut of the podcast market continue unabated! So I've started a podcast with my friend Moss called the Fringe Scholars. Moss actually deserves most of the credit--all I do is blather about wrestling, he does most of the leg work. Anyway, the concept is two over-educated, under-employed guys talking about neglected forms of pop culture. Mostly nerdy stuff, but we're mostly nerds, so it makes sense. On our show, I am (surprise!) the wrestling guy, Moss is the games/literature guy. We've recorded two episodes, but only the first has been posted so far. In the first episode I discuss just what this crazy professional wrestling thing is exactly and probably talk about Bret Hart too much for the liking of many on this board. Because the idea behind this podcast is for us to be "teachers" (Moss actually is, I'm looking for work in the field), I approach the wrestling side of things as though I'm talking to an audience made up of non-fans, or at least non-crazy ass obsessed fans like us. Give it a listen. It's only about 40 minutes long and is really well-produced by Moss. I plan on establishing the fundamentals of wrestling in early episodes, then explore more of the historical and international aspects of wrestling (that is, non-WWE stuff) in the future. The plan is to alternate episodes between my journey through the wonderful world of wrestling and Moss' look at games and literature. There will likely be lengthy discussions on comic books at some point. The next episode features Moss explaining D & D while I pretend to be interested . Our blog with the first episode and some supplemental bits is here http://fringescholars.wordpress.com/ Our Facebook page is here https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Fringe-S...405371989549325 Enjoy. Any and all feedback is appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerryvonKramer Posted February 28, 2013 Report Share Posted February 28, 2013 Ricky, we had great fun talking to you about GAB 89 for 3 hours the other night and so my initial reaction to this wasn't one of despair at yet another wrestling podcast, but one of delight that we'll get to hear more from you. I have only listened to the first 4 minutes (REALLY good production by the way), but I had to pause it because ... well, I might just be the only person out there that intersects with your Venn diagram exactly. I don't just mean a little bit, I mean I'm a 100% match. I mean I'm an academic, a literary scholar, that's my job, but the areas your buddy had outlined -- wrestling, comics, video games, board games -- those are exactly my interests. I've stopped the recording chiefly because I wanted to take some pictures from around my little office / man-cave here to demonstrate just how thoroughly this is the case: The wall I'm looking at: Suffice it to say, I'm looking forward to this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerryvonKramer Posted February 28, 2013 Report Share Posted February 28, 2013 So I've finished this now and it was a very enjoyable intro ep. I liked the dynamic of Moss not really knowing much about wrestling and you breaking things down for him. Can you just go over exactly what those four basic segments to a match are? I only counted three (Shine, Heat, Comeback/Finish). Are you counting the hope spots as a segment? Or is the first segment "equality"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricky Jackson Posted February 28, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2013 I had a hunch you and Moss might have a lot in common. He has a collection of board games to rival your own. One of the highlights of his life was working in a board game store in Australia for a year. I also love the comic book posters on your wall. I remember having a copy of that Detective Comics issue when I was a kid. I meant to mention the Fringe Scholars when we did the Bash 89 show but I totally forgot. Maybe some day we can do a crossover show. The four segments of a match thing was inspired by a friend in Victoria, BC who used to teach a class at the University of Victoria called "Pro Wrestling as Theatre" (I met him when I attended the class in 07) and how he, as I remember, outlined a basic babyface vs heel match. Basically it goes 1) Equals/Shine 2) Heel Heat 3) Hope Spots 4) Finish. I think he took it from what Jimmy Snuka once said when asked about working a match. Or maybe I took it from Snuka, I can't remember anymore. Thanks for listening, man. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt D Posted February 28, 2013 Report Share Posted February 28, 2013 That would easily be the most coherent thing Snuka ever said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricky Jackson Posted February 28, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2013 I believe all he said when asked his thoughts on working a match was "equals, heel heat, hope spots, finish". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerryvonKramer Posted February 28, 2013 Report Share Posted February 28, 2013 Can't really think of many matches that actually have an "equals" portion. 9 times out of 10 it's a shine sequence with the heel bailing early doors to break momentum and then doing some cheap (e.g eye gouge) to transition into the heat. The other 1 out of 10 times, is when they skip the shine with a jump start. Stan Hansen does that a lot. Obviously, I'm talking mainly about 80s matches here, no idea what they do on tv nowadays. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricky Jackson Posted February 28, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2013 Yeah, I wasn't sure about the equals part either, that is why I added the "/Shine" segment. I think there are examples of matches starting with equals, probably a lot of them, but I can't pull one off the top of my head right now. It is/was maybe used more in babyface vs babyface "scientific" matches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricky Jackson Posted March 15, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2013 Episode 2 is now up on the wordpress site. WARNING: NON-WRESTLING EPISODE http://fringescholars.wordpress.com/ In this episode the Fringe Scholars enter some hardcore nerd territory, as my colleague Moss raps about his love for fantasy role-playing games, like Dungeons & Dragons. I mostly mumble and giggle my way through the episode, but I think Moss provides a fairly interesting look at the history, concept and appeal of role-playing games. Next time, around April 15th or thereabouts, wrestling-talk returns to the Fringe Scholars, as my planned ongoing exploration of alternatives to WWE/mainstream wrestling begins with a look at (mostly historical) Japanese wrestling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soup23 Posted March 20, 2013 Report Share Posted March 20, 2013 Late getting around to this but listened to the first episode and enjoyed it a lot. The production was top notch and the introductory you did Kelly was well done to wrestling novices. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricky Jackson Posted March 20, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2013 Thanks a lot, Chad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricky Jackson Posted April 15, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 15, 2013 Episode 3 is now up for your listening pleasure. Rejoice! Wrestling talk returns to The Fringe Scholars as Moss and I explore Wrestling from Japan http://fringescholars.wordpress.com/ I promised non-WWE talk in the past, so here we go. I do not profess to be an expert on puro, although I do love to watch it and research it. In this episode I give a general overview of the history of wrestling from Japan, hitting the major points and names, and examine some of the differences between Japanese wrestling and North American wrestling. Then, Moss and I review two matches --Terry Funk/Hansen, 4/14/83 and Misawa/Kawada, 6/3/94--becoming almost giddy in the process. So enjoy, guys. As always, any and all feedback is welcome. In the next episode I deconstruct one of the great classics of the art form, the Chamber of Horrors match from Halloween Havoc 91. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soup23 Posted May 8, 2013 Report Share Posted May 8, 2013 Another fine episode Kelly and gang. Good primer for Japanese wrestling that I can use as a cliff notes reference point and I think would be very informative for anyone who is a US fan wanting to integrate into Japanese wrestling. I loved your choice on Funk vs. Hansen to show. I was less sure on 6/3/94 even though that is the "intro" match for many but I was glad to see that Moss really enjoyed it and picked up on the major themes of the match. Chamber of Horrors breakdown sound sickly entertaining. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricky Jackson Posted May 8, 2013 Author Report Share Posted May 8, 2013 Thanks again for listening Chad. 6/3/94 is a cliche pick amongest puro experts for sure, and it was really hard to narrow it down to two matches to represent all of Japanese wrestling history, but, damn, it really is an awesome fuckin' match. Definitely a crowd pleaser. Thanks so much for the complements. I know we talked about this before, but if the spot is free, you can pencil me in for Havoc 91 with you and Parv on Big Boys, whenever that may happen. I had a blast doing Bash 89. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricky Jackson Posted May 15, 2013 Author Report Share Posted May 15, 2013 In episode 4 of the Fringe Scholars, we attempt a three-way dance with the inclusion of Moss' friend Davis to the show. http://fringescholars.wordpress.com/ The topic this time is Horror (not whore) and wrestling-talk makes up approximately 33.3 % of the episode. Moss discusses the adventure gamebook House of Hell, while Davis looks at John Carpenter's Halloween. I undertake (pun intented) the most frightening challenge, though, as I dig up the 1991 Chamber of Horrors match from the grave of WCW and lead the others through an exploration of some of the sweet, sweet cheese only our dearly-departed Atlanta-based promotion could produce. For those interested only in pro wrestling, my discussion of the Chamber of Horrors starts at 35:30 and goes to 54:27, so you only have to waste a quick 20 minutes of your day listening. Please enjoy. Next time, with Moss otherwise occupied indefinitely, I begin a projected run of guest Scholars every month by welcoming my wonderful wife Julia to the show. Unfortunately, she thinks wrestling is junk, so we will not be talking about that. Instead we will engage in a thorough discussion of one of her geeky interests, the existence of Bigfoot. Yes, she derides wrestling as being phoney but believes in Bigfoot. And I'm the loser. Also, since Moss has left the show in my hands to do as I please, if anyone around these parts is interested in joining me on a show for some serious wrestling talk, please let me know. I'm basically open for any and all ideas for episodes. Plus, I would love to talk wrestling with some of the fellow obsessives around here. I would like to record episode 6 in late-June, and would also record episodes in July, August, September, and possibly later without Moss. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerryvonKramer Posted August 21, 2013 Report Share Posted August 21, 2013 I was just listening to your Japanese Wrestling ep, drinking a cup of tea as one does at 4am, and your buddy just made me almost spit out a mouthful. "Now, is this really going to be interesting, or is this going to be Kelly interesting?" Genuinely had me cracking up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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