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Something to Wrestle with Bruce Prichard


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I'm much more looking forward to the RVD episode on Friday. Of course, Bruce will vehemently deny that Triple H held RVD down, even though RVD himself has said that it's a fact - but I'm still looking forward to the show anyhow.

 

I guess that RVD would have asked Bruce to pick a hand pretty easily.

 

And yeah, not listening to a "clean", WWE approved version of the podcast. I'm afraid it will take its toll on the original one.

 

RVD said as much in a shoot and Bruce said he understood why RVD would dislike him.

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That Joey Styles would have been his first choice for the ECW podcast shows that he didn't really learn his lesson from the Tony Schiavone podcast. Joey Styles was with ECW through most of everything, but he was strictly on-air talent. He wasn't office, he wasn't involved in any day to day decisions, and would likely have little useful input. Assuming Heyman wasn't willing to do an ECW podcast, I think the best get for something like this would be Tommy Dreamer, who was there for the entire run and was considered office for most of his time with the company. Or you could try to get Gabe Sapolsky, who was Paul's assistant booker for a large chunk of the ECW run, and you would also get the added benefit of getting to do podcasts about early ROH and about some of the stars of ROH who are now current stars with WWE. If Dreamer or Gabe are too busy or don't want to do it, you probably don't do the show. Styles would have turned into another Schiavone where by the end, Conrad and Styles are watching old ECW PPVs or TV shows and doing alternate commentary while Conrad tries to bait Joey into telling terrible Trump jokes.

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I actually enjoyed the RVD episode more than I would have guessed. Some solid insight into situations, some fresh backstage takes, etc.

 

You can practically skip the first 20 minutes or so. It's mostly shilling for their Network deal, but once it gets going - it's really worth the listen.

 

I think there's a fascinating underlying theme threaded throughout it all. You really get the sense that WWE resented Rob's attitude or demeanor - as if they were upset that he wasn't a total mark for the business. That's certainly the mentality that seems to come across to me anyhow. There's a reoccurring theme of them prodding him to show personality, needling him to show more appreciation for working with Shawn, and so on.

 

They don't exactly do a deep dive analysis on the subject or anything by any means. They just scratch the surface, but yeah. It clearly comes up again & again.

 

Also found it ironic that Prichard could clearly side with the WWE logic of Rob not being enough of a showman on one hand, but then he would turn around and gush over how impressive RVD was when he was allowed to speak naturally & just be himself.

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Solid episode of the podcast on WWE Network this week about the Mega Powers exploding. I'm sure it's a repeat of something they did on audio before, but it was new to me.

 

No breaking news or groundbreaking shockers, but it was a fun listen nonetheless.

 

The idiotic sleaze thread Steph bullshit rumors are brought up without really being brought up. I was glad to see Bruce firmly deny it. Hopefully that bullshit rumor fucks off and dies now.

 

The production values, thank heavens, are miles better this week. Some slight hiccups, but not the catastrophe last week's show was. The ugly bright blue border and crooked window boxes are still there though.

 

I still think WWE is extremely lazy with the video clips. There should be a lot more, especially when Benn Hinn is describing a match or angle in great detail. I'd rather see what he's actually talking about instead of a split-screen with Pavarotti nodding along.

 

 

 

I think there's a fascinating underlying theme threaded throughout it all. You really get the sense that WWE resented Rob's attitude or demeanor - as if they were upset that he wasn't a total mark for the business. That's certainly the mentality that seems to come across to me anyhow. There's a reoccurring theme of them prodding him to show personality, needling him to show more appreciation for working with Shawn, and so on.

 

I haven't listened to the podcast, but I always got the sense in general that they didn't trust RVD and saw him as a weed-smoking hippie who couldn't really be counted on.

 

And they weren't wrong...

 

When he finally got his big push, wearing the WWE and ECW World Titles simultaneously, he and Sabu were caught with drugs in their car like two degenerate Woodstock rejects.

 

RVD screwed RVD.

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Indeed. But fuck "watching" that on Youtube. >>> Convert to mp3.

 

The RVD episode was really good. I happened to agree with Prichard quite a bit, especially about being unique like RVD (or Cena) being very important. The HHH running gag was funny (although it seems obvious that HHH did contribute to hold RVD down at one point where he was one if not the most over guy in the company).

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Indeed. But fuck "watching" that on Youtube. >>> Convert to mp3.

 

I listened to it on the YouTube app on my phone, while watching the Network version.

 

My one complaint is that it goes into unrelated stuff quite often, especially during the Rumble match itself. But there are some solidly funny moments, and at a few points a nice glimpse into their personal chemistry too which was cool.

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They've covered the Mega Powers angle at least three times before this - the Savage specific show, Hogan's 80s breakdowns, and the very early episode on just the angle itself. So yeah. Can't imagine anything new out of that one.

 

Regarding RVD, you really should listen to the episode. It's refreshing to hear Prichard praise RVD's uniqueness and gush a bit over a guy you wouldn't normally expect.

 

And with RVD getting popped for possession at the speed trap, Prichard hinted that it was pretty much common knowledge in the back that Rob had been "cutting corners" and finding ways to beat the policy. And really, if you know anything about piss tests, they've become increasingly easier to beat. Hair follicle? Not so much. But piss tests ain't really no thang.

 

So yeah. Some blame obviously falls on Rob. But the company clearly knew what they were getting into there, too. Besides, regardless of what Bruce says, there's no way I'll ever be convinced that they were ever 100% all in on RVD as the guy. At best? His WWE Title reign lasts into SummerSlam. They were always going to be back at Edge/Cena in time for Unforgiven in Toronto. I think it's plain to see the WWE Title reign was just a way to kick start his ECW Title reign anyway. I could see Rob getting a lengthy run with *that* belt - probably into the December 2 Dismember deal - but his WWE Title reign wasn't long for this world anyhow.

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Listened to the Austin/McMahon episode at the gym this morning, and Conrad asked about the reasons why more wasn't done with PCO - who was still only 30 years young by '98.

 

Taken out of this conversation's context, Bruce's answer sounds like something that could be said about Seth Rollins, Finn Balor, or a dozen other "dream match" main event level guys today.

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Besides, regardless of what Bruce says, there's no way I'll ever be convinced that they were ever 100% all in on RVD as the guy. At best? His WWE Title reign lasts into SummerSlam. They were always going to be back at Edge/Cena in time for Unforgiven in Toronto. I think it's plain to see the WWE Title reign was just a way to kick start his ECW Title reign anyway. I could see Rob getting a lengthy run with *that* belt - probably into the December 2 Dismember deal - but his WWE Title reign wasn't long for this world anyhow.

 

Oh, I agree that they were never going to be "all in" on RVD, but that was true of most people not named Hunter and Cena in that era.

 

Still, even if he was never going to be "the guy," I could have still seen RVD eventually getting another WWE World Title reign or two. Getting caught with drugs probably killed that for good.

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I watched about half of the network show this week (I guess if the acronym for the podcast is "STW" then for the network show it's SETW?) but I gave up on it. For somebody who has heard most of the original podcasts, this week's network show was really just a rehash of stuff they've already covered in much greater detail elsewhere. I know they are trying to appeal to a new audience but for people who have been following them for a while there really isn't much reason to watch if they're going to be re-visiting stuff. Also (and maybe this is just me) I'm finding the banter and interaction between Bruce and Conrad to be much more forced and less genuine sounding on the network show, as if they're trying too hard or something. I'll be curious if the show does as well this week as it did the first week. Glad they got the video issues sorted out, though.

 

I already know next week's show will be a hard pass for me. I really don't need to hear Bruce Prichard pontificating about how great Shawn Michaels is (or was in 1996) for another two hours. I couldn't survive the six hours they devoted to him from 93-95 so I know for sure I can't do any more. No way, no how.

 

I haven't been able to get through the entire RVD episode either, so maybe I'm starting to experience STW burnout. I may try the 92 Rumble watch-along they released this weekend as a YouTube exclusive bonus show, since that was a great Rumble. Then again, I still haven't recovered from their 87 Royal Rumble watch-along, which even Conrad admits was awful.

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I have no idea why Bruce has such a hard-on for the Kane character. His insistance on defending everything about the awful fire match at Unforgiven was really baffling. He seems really serious about it. It's funny going through all these old shows though, as the more you think of it, the more Taker's career seems marred by truly awful matches, gimmicks and angles, which is something the Mania Streak kinda helped brush off quite a bit.

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Yeah, it's a bit odd. But the Kane saga was a really big deal back in the day. Hokey as all hell? Sure. But, for whatever reason, people dug it. The episodic nature of it all meant it had some sense of tension, drama, and anticipation attached to the whole thing - enough that they were willing to overlook all the campy supernatural elements at a time when the business model was mainly leaning into the "realism" stuff. It's odd, but it's what happened.

 

As far as Taker angles go, I'd actually rank it among his best. Faint praise, maybe, but still...

 

With Bruce, I don't know. I think it's a combination of things. He gets along with Glen as a person, he felt like he had some hands-on contributions with laying the foundation of the character, and he has at least *some* personal affinity for the name going all the way back to Taker's debut. Plus he named his kid "Kane", right?

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Yeah, it's a bit odd. But the Kane saga was a really big deal back in the day. Hokey as all hell? Sure. But, for whatever reason, people dug it. The episodic nature of it all meant it had some sense of tension, drama, and anticipation attached to the whole thing - enough that they were willing to overlook all the campy supernatural elements at a time when the business model was mainly leaning into the "realism" stuff. It's odd, but it's what happened.

 

Hell, *I* enjoyed that sitcom back in the days. But I began to divorce from the angle as early as KOTR when they took the belt off Austin to put it on Kane, who was too much of a gimmick to me. Then during the Summer the brothers getting back together was kinda fresh, but once you reach the fall with Kane being thrown in all these super boring matches on top, the character (and worker, who never impressed me much) jumped the shark. From there it's almost 20 years of worthless matches and angles. Quite a run.

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Oh, for sure. When I said the original Kane saga, I meant all the hype and buildup from April '97 to the Mania 14 match. It fell apart for me after that. All the partnerships/betrayals and constant changing of the back story really killed my interest.

 

I *do* think he's almost underrated as a comedy character though. It's sometimes hard to tell because their concept of humor is so fucking awful, but the Team Hell No stuff was especially good and actually enriched by his involvement there.

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I enjoyed the Shawn Michaels 1995 episode of Something ELSE to Wrestle on WWE Network - although I'm sure it's all old news to the podcast listeners - but my God, the Bruce/Conrad arguments feel really fake and forced. Conrad accusing Bruce, who is essentially of BOSS, of kissing WWE's ass feels beyond manufactured for the sake of drama. I'll give them both credit for being great actors though - their "put upon" expressions look genuine, if nothing else.

 

I would love for Vince to listen to one episode of this show and say, "Damn it, no more Meltzer! You're banned from mentioning him ever again, pal." Every other word out of Conrad's mouth is Meltzer this and Meltzer that. It's lame and obnoxious. With that said, I don't want it to sound like I'm bashing Conrad - I think he does a pretty good job (and a thankless job at that) of steering the ship of the show.

 

Otherwise, these shows are a fun trip down memory lane and a great reminder of some classic angles I had almost forgotten about - like the Shawn-Owen "post concussion syndrome" collapse on Raw, which was incredible stuff at the time and absolutely seemed real to me, or at least cast enough doubt in my mind.

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Do they mention the idea of the Shawn post-concussion stuff being a Watts concept?

 

I'll probably give this a listen (in mp3 format) one day this week. There's alot of overlap between stuff they've already covered on the podcast in the past & what they've done so far on the Network. Initially, I thought I'd skip these altogether. But the shorter run times coupled with converting them to mp3s for on-the-go consumption means I'll probably be checking them out anyhow. I've got plenty of time to kill each week between commutes, long shifts, and the gym.

 

Is there a reason you haven't checked out the show up until now? There are some older eps that offer plenty of insight and some really fun stories.

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Do they mention the idea of the Shawn post-concussion stuff being a Watts concept?

 

I'll probably give this a listen (in mp3 format) one day this week. There's alot of overlap between stuff they've already covered on the podcast in the past & what they've done so far on the Network. Initially, I thought I'd skip these altogether. But the shorter run times coupled with converting them to mp3s for on-the-go consumption means I'll probably be checking them out anyhow. I've got plenty of time to kill each week between commutes, long shifts, and the gym.

 

Is there a reason you haven't checked out the show up until now? There are some older eps that offer plenty of insight and some really fun stories.

 

Watts was credited for the Survivor Series '95 Wild Card Match (which was subsequently buried by the hosts), but I can't remember if he was also credited for the Shawn-Owen angle.

 

As for why I haven't listened to the previous podcasts, it's because I don't listen to podcasts in general. But now that I have a car that can connect to my phone automatically, I should really start. As you've already pointed out, there's really very little reason to have video on these things - I'm not sure there were even any clips this week - so I'd lose nothing by listening in the car.

 

BTW, how are you getting the Network podcasts in MP3?

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I found the Big Boss Man episode to be really enjoyable. The first portion is much more fun than the second half - mostly because I prefer his earlier years over his Attitude Era stuff.

 

A lot of the stories are retreads that Bruce has referenced on previous shows, but this was still good fun. I really dig the times Bruce will talk about producing vignettes. You can tell he really relished his role in the company at that time. He always seems to liven up a bit when discussing the TV production side of stuff.

 

One of the stories retold here was the Hogan in handcuffs scenario, with Boss Man putting a beat down on the Hulkster. It's kind of fascinating to think about when you consider where the company's priorities are today versus back then when it comes to that sort of stuff. The measures and lengths they went to in order to protect Hogan's image & presentation is Vince at his finest. It makes me wish he'd be half that protective over ANYBODY in today's landscape.

 

There was another line that had me cracking up. Conrad mentioned Boss Man leaving JCP after he felt shortchanged on a payout - reportedly $5,000 as a bodyguard in a scaffold match in which the actual participants were paid $10,000 apiece. Conrad seems to indicate that Boss Man should have received equal pay and noted that he *was* voted Most Improved Wrestler in the Observer that year, after all.

 

Bruce's response? "Because we base all our payouts on Observer results."

 

Loved that. With all the recent discussion here, I couldn't help but get a kick out of it. The whole exchange felt like a total lay-up. But anyone that listens to the show is used to that sort of shtick from Conrad and Bruce. They totally lean into it.

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Yeah, it was a good episode, although most of the second half had already been discussed in earlier episodes. It's pretty amazing how atrocious Bossman's second stint has been actually after the few first months with the infamous Taker (hanging) / Snow (dog feeding /kernel match) / Big Show (funeral) feuds back to back. Just all-time worst WWF TV. And Bruce doesn't even try to defend it, he absolutely hated all three of those too.

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I liked the episode too, and I could tell from previous episodes that both Bruce and Conrad had been wanting to do a show on him for awhile. He was a great performer and underrated as a worker, and overall a value to the company. Looking back, it's kind of sad how WCW didn't know what to do with him after being forced to change his gimmick. They had the same thing with John Tenta. They had these amazing talents that were ultimately squandered.

 

I guarantee you nobody here hates the Attitude Era more than me but even I have to say that despite how much bad taste permeated the Al Snow and Big Show angles, that Boss Man was committed enough in his role as the heel that in retrospect I can't help but be impressed by that alone.

 

I'm surprised they didn't bring this up

 

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