Wrestling Podmass Thread

[Joe Gagne]

This is something I post Fridays at the F4W board and figured I'd throw it up here too. Basically it's a take on the Podmass column at the AVClub, where I listen to all the wrestler hosted podcasts and tell you what's what. Basically, I listen so you don't have to.

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No Art of Wrestling yet. Goldberg’s podcast isn’t up yet either but I’ll add it when I can. Also, this was a good week for podcasts.

The podcast week in review, brought to you by MeUndies.com

Something a little new – now and then I’ll throw in an Outlier, which will be a podcast outside of the usual coverage that caught my eye.

Outlier
Where the Big Boys Play: WTBBP is a WCW themed podcast covering the PPV’s, Clashes, and random TV. This is a big one as Chad and Parv are joined by Will (of Good Will Wrestling fame) to break down the notorious Great American Bash 1991. Is the show as bad as advertised? Plus, they run down the news at the time around Ric Flair’s firing and ask if it was justified. A very long show that flies by.

The Usual Suspects

Talk n’ Shop (8/9/14): Karl and Doc check in from the G-1 tournament. Good stories about independent promoting, Doc getting smashed before his PPV match with Kane, and the Bray Wyatt/Shinsuke Nakamura appreciation society. The “friends cracking each other up” vibe really comes through in one of the better shows they’ve done. THUMBS UP

MLW Radio (8/10/14/14): Q&A with Konnan and MSL. I usually like that pairing best, but I don’t know if Konnan went to Iran too much or had Triplemania on his mind but he seems largely disinterested in most of the questions. THUMBS DOWN

Piper’s Pit (8/11/14): “The Grappler” Len Denton is back on to promote his book. You can tell Piper really has fun around Denton, but they repeat a lot of stories from the Grappler’s prior appearance. They rehash the “Len didn’t get paid for working the Superdome” story that Dave Meltzer refuted, and I guess refute the refutation. THUMBS IN THE MIDDLE

Steve Austin Show (8/12/14): Steve talks to “Superstar” Bill Dundee about his career. It’s an OK interview, but a lot of it felt rehashed from Dundee’s appearance on Cornette’s show. THUMBS IN THE MIDDLE

Talk is Jericho (8/13/14): Jericho has a long chat with Chael Sonnen. Chael is very open (or at least comes off that way) about his trash talking mentality and recent drug suspension. MMA talk of course, but a good amount of wrestling as well, including a great story about Chael getting cold called by the WWE. THUMBS UP & BEST OF THE WEEK

The Ross Report (8/13/14): Bully Ray is on the show this week, talking his time in ECW, WWE and TNA. They don’t get into the future of TNA at all, but Bully Ray is really a solid, well spoken guest. He has been on a bunch of podcasts, so while there’s some repetition, there’s also a lot of good conversation, and JR doesn’t steamroll Bully like he does most guests. THUMBS UP

Bauer & Greenfield (8/1/14): Court’s on vacation, so Alex Greenfield steps in and acquits himself nicely. Greenfield admits he’s not an expert on things like New Japan, which is nice, and they run down the G-1, Summerslam, and Alberto firing. THUMBS UP

Steve Austin – Unleashed (8/14/14): Mick Foley stops by and chats the early part of his career in the first portion of a 2 part interview. Pretty much all wrestling talk and they go a lot into about the mentality of Vince McMahon. A lot of the info is in Foley’s books, but I still enjoy hearing Mick talk wrestling. This would be the show of the week most weeks. THUMBS UP

Jim Cornette Experience (8/7/14): The main crux of the interview is a talk with “Exotic” Adrian Street and talk of classic British wrestling, a very interesting topic that doesn’t get much play. Skip the beginning portion of the show where Cornette discusses the Robin Williams suicide and has embarrassingly outdated thoughts on depression (essentially “if you’re rich and famous why are you so sad?”), made even worse by the fact his co-host has apparently suffered from depression. THUMBS UP

Talk is Jericho (8/15/14): Jericho talks to James Durbin, who finished 4th on the 10th season of American Idol. It starts OK, talking about the Idol audition process, but quickly peters out. The big news is Jericho takes some calls, and who should call in but Bray Wyatt? The two cut cringeworthy promos on each other (Actual Jericho quote: “You’re a big dark, black spider, filled with poison. And I know, I tasted that poison on Sister Abigail’s kiss many times.”) and probably cost the Network some buys. THUMBS DOWN

[Zoo Enthusiast]

Oh man. I didn't know there were podcast call-in promos. Eww.

 

Love this thread on F4W, by the way. Glad you brought it here, too.

[soup23]

Cool concept and thanks for the WTBBP shoutout.

[Matt D]

The funniest thing about Jericho was how he kept repeating what was going on, like he often does when he's talking to a guest and summing something up.

[Joe Gagne]

Goldberg’s show hasn’t popped up yet, but it didn’t show up until Tuesday this week.

Also, maybe no column next week.

The podcast week in review, brought to you by Meineke.

The Usual Suspects

Talk n’ Shop (8/9/14): AJ Styles joins Karl and Doc for a chat about how much the IWGP title weighs, sponsors in Japan, and TNA experiences. It’s an OK interview but nothing earth shattering. THUMBS IN THE MIDDLE

MLW Radio (8/17/14/14): Court is joined by Alex Greenfield and Ed Ferrera, as they break down Summerslam 1998 and 2005, which they were (separately) involved in creatively. Ex-WWE writer shows can be…troublesome, but this one was actually great, with a lot of insight and fun tangents about Brawl For all and a forced screening of the Marine. THUMBS UP

Art of Wrestling (8/17/14): A tale of two shows. Jeremy Borash joins first to talk the returning British Boot Camp and tells a great story about Tank Abbot not being able to pull his punches. Then comedian Mike Lawrence joins the show for an unfunny appearance. Turn this one off halfway. THUMBS IN THE MIDDLE

Piper’s Pit (8/18/14): Jim Duggan is back yet again (3 times in 20 episodes!). The two have obvious chemistry together, but do we really have to rehash more Legends House, a show that ended months ago? THUMBS IN THE MIDDLE

Who’s Next With Goldberg (8/18/14): Bill interviews Darius Rucker, country star and singer of Hootie and the Blowfish. This is life in 2014. Nothing here, even if you’re a diehard Hootie fan. THUMBS DOWN

Steve Austin Show (8/19/14): Steve talks to James Harris, aka Kamala. Stories about the Kamala gimmick, run-ins with Andre the Giant and Big Daddy, and wrestling in Mexico makes for a good listen. THUMBS UP

Talk is Jericho (8/20/14): Jim Norton comes on to discuss his friend Robin Williams and his similar issues in a very interesting show. Jericho has basically cut out the terrible comedy bits, so someone must’ve had a come to Jesus (™Steve Austin) meeting with him. THUMBS UP

The Ross Report (8/20/14): Ross welcomes Celtics commentator Sean Grande. Grande is a fan back to the Backlund era and a knowledgeable guest but the talk veers into “everything used to be better” territory too frequently. JR can barely contain his contempt for his fans during the opening monologue. THUMBS IN THE MIDDLE

Bauer & Greenfield (8/21/14): Court’s still on vacation, so Alex Greenfield is back. It’s a WWF heavy show, with rundowns on Summerslam and Raw, plus thoughts on the Network in Canada and TNA’s move. It’s another enjoyable show, and I wouldn’t mind if Court extended his vacation. THUMBS UP

Art of Wrestling (8/21/14): Another live show with ICW wrestler Jack Jester and comedian John Hastings. Another OK outing but I can’t wait for Colt to get back to the States. THUMBS IN THE MIDDLE

Steve Austin – Unleashed (8/21/14): Mick Foley part 2, as Mick gets into his ups and downs with the WWE, terrible matches with Owen Hart, and a really interesting discussion about promo work. Great stuff. THUMBS UP & BEST OF THE WEEK

Jim Cornette Experience (8/21/14): Cornette vents about Vince Russo to start the show, then has comedian Jamie Kilstein on to discuss Ferguson and atheism. Little wrestling talk here, so you know what that means. THUMBS DOWN

Talk is Jericho (8/22/14): Jericho talks to his kid about Shark Week, then KISS guitarist Ace Frehley stops by. Frehley talks too much about his current work and there aren’t enough interesting KISS stories to make it worthwhile. THUMBS DOWN

 

 

 

 

[Steenalized]

Thanks for the podmass, Joe! I'd hoped someone would do this.

[Matt Farmer]

Enjoy your rundowns too. These are most of the podcasts I listen to as well, though I do skip some if I'm not interested in the guest or if the guest has made the rounds a lot.

[rovert]

The Austin & Foley podcasts are particularly outstanding. Have really complicated feelings towards Foley. At one stage far and away my favourite Wrestler but that changed after Hardcore Diaries and surrounding/subsequent events but ultimately he has immense positives. This was one of his showings than made me feel guilty about having "animosity" towards him.

[SteveJRogers]

I know they are covered for in this very forum, but no love for Kevin Kelly and Steve Corino?

[UKWildcat]

Great stuff and I've found myself agreeing with most (except the Dundee one, since I'm a Memphis guy, I'm biased, but rehashes will happen on different podcasts. It's the ones that are on the same one like Grappler and Piper).

 

I've learned to FF through the Cornette and Ross monologues, but someone mentioned on Twitter about Cornette's suicide rant, so listened. Very awkward moments in that rant with his co host Alice trying to be diplomatic, but probably wanting to say "Shut the eff up asshole."

[UKWildcat]

I know they are covered for in this very forum, but no love for Kevin Kelly and Steve Corino?

Personally, I'd rather hear Kevin and Justin talk rather than the interviews. It's not knocking Kevin's interviews style because he does a good job, but because he and Justin gave good chemistry.

 

Not sure if I'll like a ROH (I get he's promoting his company)guy every week, but as long as he mixes it up as well.

[Joe Gagne]

I moved and still filed this report. I’m a hero!

 

The podcast week in review, brought to you by Amazon.com.

 

The Usual Suspects

 

Talk n’ Shop (8/23/14): Adam Cole and Scott D’Amore join Doc and Karl on the eve of the G-1 finals. There are sparks of a great conversation, but not one shuts up and everyone’s continuously talking over each other. As Rocky notes in the intro, nothing got accomplished here. THUMBS DOWN

 

MLW Radio (8/24/14/14): Steve Sims joins Konnan and MSL for a discussion of the early days of AAA, focusing on 1994 and the When Worlds Collie PPV. Not sure why they did this (I guess the 20^th anniversary of WWC), but it’s a fascinating listen, with stories of talent jumps, sabotage, deportation, and bribing judges. THUMBS UP & BEST OF THE WEEK

 

Piper’s Pit (8/25/14): Jim Duggan is back yet again, as we inch closer to being the Piper & Duggan show. Duggan’s appearance is a highlight, as he details his arrest with the Iron Sheik in 1987 and the fallout. Piper is later joined by the guys who make his soda in a dull segment. THUMBS IN THE MIDDLE

 

Who’s Next With Goldberg (8/25/14): Bill interviews former K-1 kickboxer Ray Sefo. It’s a decent interview with some OK stories, and Bill enthusiasm helps a lot. Bill takes some calls but we don’t learn a lot, except Bill doesn’t see eye-to-eye with Hunter and Vince, so don’t expect him in the WWE anytime soon. The guy asking if Bill would be DLC in 2K15 was pretty funny though. THUMBS IN THE MIDDLE

 

Steve Austin Show (8/26/14): Jim Ross stops by to talk current wresting events. Ross comes off better in a conversation than solo, but he’s just hitting the usual talking points (we need time limits, Undertaker should have retired undefeated, etc). THUMBS IN THE MIDDLE

 

Talk is Jericho (8/27/14): Batista joins the show to talk about his journey in acting and his recent return to the WWE. Big Dave comes off as very cool (if thin skinned), and his progression in Hollywood is an interesting story. THUMBS UP

 

The Ross Report (8/27/14): Tony Schiavone joins the show as he and Jim swap stories about their announcing days. Tony’s very open about his own failures (like his falling out with Bobby Heenan) and comes across very likeable. Ross still isn’t a great host, but kudos for getting a guest no one has really heard from in well over a decade. THUMBS UP

 

Art of Wrestling (8/28/14): Last of the Edinburgh shows, thankfully. Comedian Des Clarke is great (and a true nerd fan), wrestler Noam Dar is OK, and I lost interest when ICW owner Mark Dallas came on. THUMBS IN THE MIDDLE

 

Steve Austin – Unleashed (8/28/14): Take 2 with Paul Heyman, talking his career and current wrestling events. Steve tries to veer away from stories on the DVD, but there is some overlap, so get ready to hear about Studio 54 again. But there’s also a fascinating bit about the booking mindset of Eddie Gilbert (including the crazy tidbit about his first wife). Probably one of the lesser of Heyman’s podcast appearances, but still a great listen. THUMBS UP

 

Jim Cornette Experience (8/28/14): No Alice this week, so MSL joins the show as Jim runs down ice buckets, developers, and Burger King, which is about as entertaining as it sounds. Then Kenny Bolin joins the show to give Jim grief. If you like Bolin, you’ll like the last half of the show. If you don’t, you won’t. THUMBS IN THE MIDDLE

 

Talk is Jericho (8/29/14): More from big Dave, and a quick overview of his wrestling career, focusing on a cage match with Jericho where he bled and got fined 100K. Dave voices his displeasure with the PG era and it’s another good show. We also learn Dave’s gimmick was almost that he was a product of rape, which makes Deacon Batista seem pretty OK in hindsight. THUMBS UP

[Joe Gagne]

The podcast week in review, brought to you by Naturebox.com.

 

The Usual Suspects

 

Talk n’ Shop (8/30/14): NOAH’s TMDK of Shane Haste and Mikey Nichols stop by talk their journey from Australia to Japan, with lots of tales of debauchery. Also, Karl’s son breaks the TV with a Ninja Turtle sword. THUMBS UP

 

MLW Radio (8/31/14): Court, Konnan, and MSL are back together for the first time in ages, and run down all the recent news. It’s a lively discussion, highlighted by a lengthy discussion (and mix-up) of Chrisley Knows Best, of all things. THUMBS UP

 

Piper’s Pit (9/1/14): Mr. Anderson joins the show to talk about his career in WWE and TNA. I never cared much for Anderson as a performer, but he comes across well and his story about breaking in is interesting. Piper doesn’t have all the facts straight (like thinking Anderson quit WWE rather than got fired), but there’s enough interesting backstage stories here to make a worthwhile show. THUMBS UP

 

Who’s Next With Goldberg (9/2/14): Frank Shamrock and Randy Couture join the program to talk about their new Gym Rescue show. The three have decent chemistry, but the show is so forgettable I barely remember anything about it. THUMBS DOWN

 

Steve Austin Show (9/2/14): Austin talks to Tommy Hackenbruck, the winner of the Broken Skull Challenge. They talk Crossfit and break down Tommy’s winning run in an aggressively dull show. THUMBS DOWN

 

Talk is Jericho (9/3/14): Triple H joins the show to talk about his early days in WCW and WWF. No business talk about the current WWE, just early tales about being interviewed by a drunken Gordon Solie. I’m sure the material has been covered elsewhere, but the stories are fun and it’s a very enjoyable listen. THUMBS UP & BEST OF THE WEEK

 

The Ross Report (9/3/14): Stan Hansen joins the show to talk his career. It’s a lengthy interview that covers a lot of ground, from his early days to All Japan, and Hansen comes across as someone who knows they were a big star, but still remains humble. THUMBS UP

 

Bauer & Pollock (9/3/14): Court’s back, and he and John talk some news, including a lengthy discussion of what’s going on at Lucha Underground, and why the project does not sound promising at all. THUMBS UP

 

Art of Wrestling (9/4/14): Colt talks to Ariya Daivari, independent wrestler and brother of Shawn. I had never heard of Ariya before this show, and his stories of being an up-and-coming wrestler (and the brother of one who was in the WWE) makes for a different talk than Colt’s more usual high profile guests. However, I started to lose interest near the end of the show. THUMBS IN THE MIDDLE

 

Steve Austin – Unleashed 9/4/14): Steve answers questions for the whole show, talking wrestling, hunting, and fitness. Nothing of note except he likes Bo Dallas and why he stopped using the Stun Gun. THUMBS DOWN

 

Jim Cornette Experience (9/4/14): After Jim rants against religion for a bit, he and MSL are joined by Pat Laprade & Betrand Hebert (authors of the Montreal wrestling history book, “Mad Dogs, Midgets, & Screwjobs”). Jim’s always at his best when he’s just talking old wrestling, and he’s in his element here. THUMBS UP

 

Talk is Jericho (9/5/14): Part 2 with Triple H, quickly going through the Monday Night War and early 2000’s, as well as his rise backstage in WWE. Again, you’ve probably heard some stories before, but it’s another breezy discussion. THUMBS UP

[soup23]

Disappointing week for Austin as this was probably the worst two show stretch for him in forever. I did love the interviews of Hansen and Laprade and Hebert and would be split on those as my shows of the week. The HHH interview with Jericho was also good and breezy but didn't break a lot of new ground which holds it back slightly for me. I didn't really dig the stream of consiousness aspect of the latest MLW show as Konnan rambling on non- wrestling topics isn't my forte.

[Sidebottom]

Great thread idea! I'll be checking every week to make sure I haven't missed anything worthwhile. Thanks

[Joe Gagne]

Podmass has a new home at Voices of Wrestling:

 

http://www.voicesofwrestling.com/2014/09/12/wrestling-podmass-912/

[soup23]

Rough week of pods with nothing on the Austin, MLW, Jericho or Ross front for me. Tried the Russo show and made it 20 minutes in. I will give the Total Divas show a shot since you recommended Joe.

[bradhindsight]

Nice Titans plug this week. Thanks to our friends at VOW for throwing the link in.

[Joe Gagne]

http://www.voicesofwrestling.com/2014/09/19/wrestling-podmass-september-19/

 

New column for everyone's perusal.

[Joe Gagne]

New column is up:

http://www.voicesofwrestling.com/2014/09/26/wrestling-podmass-september-26/

 

The Cubs Fan has started a page with every thumbs up review:

http://wrestlingpodmassthumbsup.wordpress.com/feed/

[Joe Gagne]

A new Podmass column is up, recapping a GREAT week of audio.

 

http://www.voicesofwrestling.com/2014/10/03/wrestling-podmass-103/

[JNLister]

Just want to say thanks for this great feature.

[soup23]

Best week of audio in weeks with the Sullivan, TA and JJ shows giving a good dose of old school rare voices on podcasts.

[cheapshot]

Just came across this and I must say great work!

[cowboy hats]

Yes, this is a great service. Thank you from the cowboy hats family.