Something to Wrestle with Bruce Prichard

[BrianB]

“When the legend becomes fact, print the legend.”

Post of the month for a timely John Ford reference that's also from a great fucking John Ford movie.

I listened to part of the WM7 episode yesterday while putting together a FOIA request (to see if they really asked the FBI for security help like Bruce said), and boy, the show sure has changed. It's a 180 from now in terms of Conrad being willing to confront his co-host/subject.

 

Yes, there's a clear shift after awhile. I could be wrong, but it's felt like once the live show business really got clicking, that's around the time when Conrad steadily backed off more and more. I think we're really only in for that now with the Bischoff podcast. I haven't watch all the network shows, but they've noticeably been less combative compared to how the prior topics were covered before, imo, and kind of contrary to the PTI-esque split format and how that usually plays.

 

The most generous way to read the shift would probably be that experiencing such success and monetizing and expanding on it would also probably make most make people be less combative co-hosts.

[soup23]

Going to download some of these for long car ride coming up whats 3-4 of the best shows? I checked out about ten episodes in.

[The Thread Killer]

I liked the "Why Bruce Got Fired" episode, and I remember laughing my ass off during the WWECW episode. There is a bit in there where Bruce imitates JR as the head of talent relations, asking prospective talent if they have any skeletons in their closet, like nude pictures on the internet, and I remember laughing my butt off at that bit, although maybe I was just in a goofy mood at the time. I also like the Houston Wrestling episode, although some people don't. Bret Hart in 96/97 is a good one too, so is Jeff Jarrett and The Macho Man. The Bobby Heenan tribute is good. I remember really liking The Million Dollar Man episode, as well.

 

Bruce's obvious biases really shine through in the Paul Heyman and Vince Russo episodes, but both are not without interest.

 

Oh...both the TNA episodes are can't miss. They are reportedly the most downloaded shows they've done, for good reason. The story he tells about the wrestlers not getting paid is mind-boggling, as is the story about Sting being inducted into the TNA Hall of Fame. It gives you a real insight into how Dixie Carter's "mind" worked.

 

I'd avoid "Austin Walks Out" (even they admit that episode stinks) and the Edge episode, which is five hours long and it feels like about fifteen.

[SomethingSavage]

+1 for the Houston Wrestling recommendation.

 

I'd also suggest checking out the Goldust and RVD episodes, if you're still in need of something to kill time after those others. Both offer some extra insight and fun stories, although they're admittedly a step or two below the Jarrett and Macho Man editions.

 

Those two TNA episodes are really interesting, too. The PPV spotlights are usually some of their worst, along with a few of their profile pieces - Punk, Edge, and Bischoff in particular being some of the weaker ones so far.

[BrianB]

I liked Houston wrestling, though I know people who know more about the territory have some issues with it.

 

Otherwise I'd recommend: WWECW, the 1st Q&A #lovetoknow episode, the Macho Man episode, .Jim Cornette, and the XFL episode. Bret Hart 96-97 is quite good, especially if you're into the screwjob story. If you watched or care about TNA, many people responded to those because Bruce goes into burial mode. I enjoyed the Heenan episode, but I might've liked the Primetime Wrestling episode more--it's also largely a Heenan episode.

 

The worst profile shows, imo, are Demolition, Cena, Punk, Edge, and the Steiners.

[flyonthewall2983]

The one on the 1997 Royal Rumble is pretty fascinating in terms of the actual business of promoting the event and everything they did to fill the place up.

[C.S.]

Something Else to Wrestle With: John Cena (WWE Network version)

 

According to Bruce Prichard, he:

 

- Discovered

- Signed

- Saved the career of

 

John Cena

 

In all seriousness, he wasn't quite that braggadocios about it. He did say that "Cena made Cena."

 

Overall, even though the arguments between Prichard and Conrad were faker than ever, I still laughed more during this episode than I have during any of the others. Their banter is entertaining.

 

Conrad tried to compare the Cena stabbing angle to Bruiser Brody, but unless I missed it, they failed to link the reason why such a comparison would be made in the first place: Carlito being "responsible" for the stabbing.

 

Fun show, with the biggest takeaway being how disorganized and haphazard the "Ruthless Aggression" era was because of Vince's constantly changing whims.

 

They've pitched a "controversial show" for next week but aren't sure if they'll get permission to do it. What could that be? TNA? Chyna? Something else?

[SomethingSavage]

I can only imagine how tame the Cena episode on the Network must've been. Their actual podcast covering it wasn't any great shakes.

 

But, unless I misunderstood the announcement, it *does* look like they'll be rolling out some original content for the Network show soon. They mentioned a Batista profile and a spotlight show for AJ Styles, which would be brand new ground for them. So at least there's that.

 

I thought the Bob Holly episode was a lot of fun, by the way. Not much new information or anything, but I loved hearing bits & pieces from Bob's book though. I've heard for YEARS that it's one worth checking out, and now I think I'm motivated enough to actually seek it out. Guy's always a blast in interviews. I've worked with countless guys who walk, talk, and act like tough guy Bob Holly over the years. They're best enjoyed in small doses, but they're also truckloads of fun to be around at times.

 

"How 'bout YOU, Dracula? Ya fat bastard."

 

Tremendous line. I'm kind of convinced I need to go back & scope out some Hardcore Holly promos now, too.

[C.S.]

The Bob Holly book is fantastic, if you're looking for confirmation.

[Word Hoard]

The Bob Holly book is fantastic, if you're looking for confirmation.

 

It really is. It's a quick read too. I was always kind of neutral on him and his work until I read his book. He seems like a regular, no nonsense guy who knew exactly what his role was on the card and went out and put in a solid performance every night.

[C.S.]

I watched the censored WWECW episode of the Prichard podcast on the Network.

 

If Benoit was mentioned originally, that was definitely taken out - not a peep about him. As for what else was axed, I couldn't say. There did seem to be some larger-than-usual time gaps, suggesting that segments were cut out wholesale - but that's simply speculation on my part. They barely mentioned the first One Night Stand at all, before jumping right to the second - or I was confused and they were talking about the second one all along?

 

Some genuinely new information - at least to me. The big one being that Paul Heyman was working in WWE creative while ECW was still in business. Maybe it was mentioned in the sheets at the time, but I don't recall ever coming across it.

 

There's a knockdown dragout argument between Bruce and Conrad over the zombie and vampire gimmicks. Maybe this is the type of stuff they do on the audio podcast all the time - I don't know - but Conrad was being bleeped every other second here. Only in wrestling can someone act like an R-rated Jed Clampett and still get paid. (I do like Conrad though!)

 

At the end, Bruce buries a bunch of people - especially Braden Walker (Chris Harris). "He sucked."

 

A fun listen, despite being censored. But since we can't say what was actually cut, other than reasonably assuming Benoit was among them, those omissions didn't take anything away from the experience IMO.

[Victator]

Conrad sounds like Huckleberry Hound. Bruce kinda does too, so its Huckleberry Hound interviewing himself.

[C.S.]

Is it just me or does the current incarnation of Prichard look and sound like JBL? Especially their teeth. Weird comment, I know, but it's true. Maybe they have the same dentist?

[SomethingSavage]

Maybe they have the same dentist?

It's gotta be... IT'S GOTTA BE KANE!!!

[C.S.]

So, Conrad is saying WWECW wasn't the original topic and the "controversial" show was actually going to be something else.

 

 

 

I did ask for a pretty controversial one, and you can probably guess what that is to what is happening this week and what is happening this weekend. I'm thinking, okay, that is what we are going to talk about, and everybody loved it at the top, but some Lawyer somewhere thought, hey, let's wait a few weeks, we said okay, let's do the ECW one. Well, apparently, there were some things that we weren't supposed to talk about in there and you can probably guess what we are talking about. They wanted to cut him out, but there were some things that they want erased from history, but I thought, yeah, but we have to talk about him, so, we did our show like we normally do, and the guys in the studio thought that we handled it the right way.

 

I assume the show they wanted to do was CM Punk, and what they couldn't mention in the WWECW episode was Benoit. Pure guesses on my part, but they're the only things that make any sense.

 

http://wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/2018/0609/641658/conrad-thompson-on-why-bruce-prichard-wwe-network-podcast-was/

[SomethingSavage]

Conrad comes across a little silly in all this to me. He understands the rules of the game he's playing, but he wants so badly to come across as this "just a fan" everyman that he's going to buck the system.

 

I didn't like the idea when they first announced a deal with the Network, and I'm liking it less & less when shit like this pops up. They can't have it both ways. If they're granted access into Vince's playgrounds, then they're going to play by his rules. Period. Pretending that they're going to get away with talking about "taboo" subjects or saying "fuck" a lot just isn't going to fly on Vince's network. I knew that from day one when Conrad was silly enough to announce otherwise.

 

Kind of hard to feel sorry for him being edited when he knew WWE wouldn't tolerate some of those things in the first place.

 

I honestly don't know what the end game is meant to be here. If they wanted a Network gig, they got it. They'll have to bend a little on some of these silly things to keep it.

 

The other option is getting booted off the Network gig (which I'm sure would upset Prichard quite a bit), and then spinning that into added publicity for their podcast feed. I'm sure they like having the Network deal, but I'd honestly rather just end this experiment and get back to the original formula.

[TheDuke]

Conrad sounds like Huckleberry Hound. Bruce kinda does too, so its Huckleberry Hound interviewing himself.

 

Hahahahahaha That's EXACTLY what is! LOL

[C.S.]

Pretty good episode of the Prichard podcast this week, clocking in at a tight 77 minutes, about AJ Styles in TNA.

 

Yes, there was footage of TNA.

 

Yes, the Global Wrestling Network got a plug at the end (talk about an identity crisis - their streaming serviced is named after a failed cash-for-gold promotion - and the words Impact or TNA are included nowhere in it).

 

I don't believe this was ever covered on the regular podcast, so it should be all new content.

 

All of the news was new - to me, at least, as following TNA was something I could never stomach for long.

 

The show covers only Prichard's time in TNA - from 2010 to a couple of years later - so it's that time period and AJ's departure that are mainly focused on.

 

They talk about the office's perception of AJ at the time Bruce came in, some of the booking decisions, and go into his contract and exit in great detail.

 

They also cover some of the non-AJ stuff going on in TNA at the time, such as Flair showing up to the WWE Hall of Fame while still under contract to TNA.

 

Maybe it's just me, but Conrad seemed pissed off in a non-working way this week. Maybe a big mortgage fell through?

 

Overall, I thought it was a fun listen.

[BigBadMick]

I think Conrad's seemed pissed off/bored for quite a while now. It seems like every time Bruce's answer doesn't satisfy him he huffs for a few seconds before moving on. Feels like a couple arguing at times.

[BrianB]

I think Conrad's seemed pissed off/bored for quite a while now. It seems like every time Bruce's answer doesn't satisfy him he huffs for a few seconds before moving on. Feels like a couple arguing at times.

 

What examples come to mind for that? To me, he's seemed less interested, going thru the motions, and bored on Bruce's show vs. his other shows.

 

I haven't watched the network show lately. I'd have to imagine between that, the bischoff pod, his regular business, and just enjoying himself doing watchalongs with Tony, that it's hard to gear up for STWW unless he's already into the topic.

[BrianB]

I think the alleged Punk thing is a worked shoot.

 

If he really wanted to rustle feathers and get edited, he'd read Sunny's book and talk about Shawn's sexual habits/a particular lipstick, intercourse, and mirror habit. Whereas, the Punk thing strikes me as something that will be greenlit in 4 months if some people are caught on the right day.

[hammerva]

 

I think Conrad's seemed pissed off/bored for quite a while now. It seems like every time Bruce's answer doesn't satisfy him he huffs for a few seconds before moving on. Feels like a couple arguing at times.

 

What examples come to mind for that? To me, he's seemed less interested, going thru the motions, and bored on Bruce's show vs. his other shows.

 

I haven't watched the network show lately. I'd have to imagine between that, the bischoff pod, his regular business, and just enjoying himself doing watchalongs with Tony, that it's hard to gear up for STWW unless he's already into the topic.

 

 

The biggest example to me was when Bruce is talking about the negotiations to get Flair in the Hall of Fame and his heart attack that happened during that time. Near the end Conrad is clearly bored, looks at his watch, and says something like "I thought this was the JJ Dillon podcast" which I didn't understand. I also think he started salty when Bruce talked about the last show and did his usual "ECW never drew and the WWE tried to save them" thing.

 

Conrad is a fan of things that quite frankly Bruce thinks sucks or is extremely overrated until the WWE did something with them

[El-P]

This show so jumped the shark with me.

It's especially ironic to hear Bruce shitting on japanese wrestling because "dirt sheet writers love it" basically and talk about it like it's a "bunch of spots with no psychology". Yeah, let's shit on the 70 years old pro-wrestling history of an entire country because "Meltz" thinks the best wrestling came from there. As far as the Trip ass-kissing goes, Conrad doesn't even try to pretend arguing with Bruce very much anymore. Those Network checks I guess...

 

Still listening to it, and the Sable episode actually intrigues me quite a bit especially in contrast to the gloomy Sunny one, but the fun is half-way gone.

[SomethingSavage]

I don't really have any feedback for the latest few shows or anything. They're all kind of retreading previously covered ground for the most part. So I'm just doubling back to say - as a result of the Bob Holly episode, I've now started on his book and have sought out several interviews, shoots, and radio appearances featuring the Big Shot himself. Gawt damn. This man's a fucking goldmine of quotes and interesting stories. I mean, it's reached a point where I'm genuinely interested in sitting & hearing his thoughts on the Wellness Policy for twenty minutes and shit. Bob just walks, talks, sounds, and generally behaves like 80% of the people I tend to socialize with around here. It's a refreshing, "no fucks given" take.

 

But I really just came here to share this - according to Bob (when asked about his favorite stuff in WWE besides the hardcore division), there was a segment that got axed for time restraints and never aired that he wished would have made it onto TV. Around 2000, apparently there was "A Very Holly Christmas" segment scheduled. As laid out by Bob, it would've revolved around Hardcore, Crash, and Molly decorating their single-wide mobile home for the holidays.

 

The segment sounds like a sort of precursor to the Slater's Got Kids stuff we got a couple of years back, with more & more members of the Fighting Holly family slowly piling into the small space of the mobile home - until it was like sardines in a can. Eventually, the scene deteriorates into elbow nudging and then shoving - until it's an all out brawl among the family. The trailer park is trashed in typical hardcore match fashion. Roll credits.

 

Oh. And there was some sort of running gag about Bob wearing one of those hideously loud, ultra festive Christmas sweaters. And he just sounded so disappointed that this thing never made air. How can you not love this guy?!

 

It really is a shame we never saw it though. Because that sounds tremendous.

[hammerva]

So the Hardy's in the next one they are doing and the first thing they mention is Bruce saying he hates TLC matches. Yeah that is a glowing endorsement for me to watch that