Edge and Christian podcast

[BigBadMick]

So....is it any good?

 

I listened to the interviews with Samoa Joe and Daniel Bryan so far, enjoyed both.

 

What's the rest of the show like?

[The Thread Killer]

There is already a thread for this podcast, but I don't blame you for missing it. I was the only person who replied and it hasn't been bumped in ages.

 

The Pod of Awesomeness has now worked it's way onto my "must listen" list along with Killing the Town and Jim Cornette's Late Night Drive-Thru. (Not to be confused with The Jim Cornette Experience, which I can't stand.)

 

The question of whether or not you will like the Pod of Awesomeness depends on a couple of different factors. You don't have to be a huge fan of Edge and Christian to enjoy the show. To be honest, I never really cared for Edge as a performer all that much. But there are some things going for this show, for sure.

 

1 ) It is refreshingly candid. Neither host seem to care if they ruffle feathers or offend the WWE. It is obvious that they both still follow the product and are quick to praise what they like, but they are also more than happy to slag what they do not like. One of the things I am starting to really dislike about Killing the Town is the fact that because Don Callis works for New Japan World, he spends an exorbitant amount of time pimping New Japan and will absolutely not say anything even remotely critical about them. He is also personal friends with Kenny Omega, and his constant praising of Omega as the greatest wrestler in the world is getting nauseating. You don't get that with E & C. They are surprisingly objective and call it as they see it. I don't always agree with them, but I never get the feeling that they are holding back or being political or diplomatic in their choice of topics or criticisms.

 

2 ) High quality guests. It is an running joke between the two hosts regarding who they can land as guests. So far they've had a who's who. Goldberg, Shane McMahon, AJ Styles, Daniel Bryan, Samoa Joe, Bobby Roode, Drew McIntyre...these guys are definitely able to get interviews with the kind of guests other podcasts could only dream of. If you look at who they've had on the show in their brief existence, it's quite remarkable really.

 

3 ) Good interviews. It's one thing to land a good guest, it's another to actually have a productive conversation with them which is worth listening to or that is interesting, compelling and informative. (Ask anybody who has ever watched an RF Video Shoot Interview. Just getting the interview is only half of the process. You actually have to ask smart questions, follow up, put the subject at ease and draw them out.) The advantage Edge and Christian have is that they have mostly landed interviews with guys that they already have a relationship with, so there is never any real awkwardness or formality to the interviews. I would especially point to the Samoa Joe, Daniel Bryan and Drew McIntyre interviews as being segments where it came across as just friends having a conversation, but in all three interviews the subjects were refreshingly candid and discussed things that you can tell they probably wouldn't have discussed elsewhere. Another huge highlight was when they managed to get Shawn Michaels and Mick Foley on together, to discuss their classic Mind Games match in detail. This was an amazing segment they call "Anatomy of a Match" and they plan to do this with other wrestlers in the future. They have the connections to pull this off, and it's really awesome. (Pardon the pun.)

 

4 ) Knowledgeable and Experienced hosts. They're not experienced as hosts, but they have a ton of experience in Pro Wrestling, and that helps this show a lot. Like I said, I was never a huge Edge and Christian fan, but you can't deny that they were both very successful during their careers. They are both happy to talk about experiences they had before, during and even after their careers. They weave this into their interviews and it gives an insight that other interviewers might not have. They also have a deep reservoir of backstage and road stories that they are always happy to share, which you can only get from a host who has experience in the Pro Wrestling industry. One thing that has really impressed me about this show is that it is obvious that (despite how incredibly goofy they both act) both these guys are actually quite intelligent.

 

5 ) It's Fun. Now, here is where Your Mileage May Vary. These guys have been good friends since they were kids. They talk quite a lot about their teenage years, growing up as fans, and their formative years in the industry. Like many friends who have known each other for years, they are extremely comfortable with each other. This means that they have pet nicknames for each other (Edge calls Christian "Birdman" or "Bird" for example) but they also have a ton of other running jokes with each other.

 

One thing they love to do is threaten each other with physical violence, where they go into ludicrous over the top and extremely detailed threats of what they plan to do to each other. They also have a running gag with Tommy Dreamer, where just for the sake of irritating him, they repeat his name over and over (TommyTommyTommy) to drive him nuts. They have a Stone Cold impersonator who comes on to sing the theme song of their guests, prior to interviews. Their interview with Pete Gas of the Mean Street Posse is an example of them basically doing nothing but joking around and riffing on the poor guy. Another fun ongoing joke is their use of backstage wrestler banter "Brother brother" or the ongoing saga of Edge's inability to change the battery in his smoke detector.

 

I happen to find this stuff hilarious and it is one of the things about the show I enjoy the most. It is not formal or overproduced. However, it can be quite juvenile and if this type of humor is not for you, or if that kind of stuff annoys you, then I can see where you would not like this show at all. I was once listening to the show when my roommate was in the room, and she finally asked me who these guys were, why they kept insulting each other and why they were threatening to mutilate each other. Like I said, it's most definitely a YMMV situation. If you do not like goofy humor, this is not the show for you. But I feel that they are having fun doing the show, they don't take it too seriously, and it comes across as fun for them and the listener.

 

One thing about this show is that it has only been around for 5 months. It's actually pretty impressive the quality of guests and the good shows they have had over the past 5 months, and they are really getting hitting their stride now. I think it is probably only going to get better.

[ZThomas]

I like it too, they dont seem to really still be up with what's going on even outside of WWE and they dont down play there wrestling nerddome. And they dont shy away from there opinion on current guys work

[Johnny Sorrow]

I love that their adbreak reads are great.

[The Thread Killer]

Great episode this week. Edge goes on a rant about why WWE is rushing the Reigns/Cena angle, they talk about Sexy Star, we get Tales from the Indies with Tommy Dreamer. (TommayTommayTommay. Tommay.) Plus there is a fun interview with the Usos. The interview turns into a bit of a mutual admiration society, but it no less entertaining to listen to.

[Johnny Sorrow]

I absolutely loved the one where Micheals and Foley talk about Mind Games.

[Cornette's racket]

This weeks E and C podcast is genuinely LOL funny. The amount of times either hosts or guests were in fits of laugher was too many to count.

[The Thread Killer]

Yeah I can't wait to listen to this week's episode. I'm on a stretch of 4 day 12 hour night shifts, so it will be a while before I can listen to it, probably Tuesday at the earliest. (I like to listen to the entire show in one sitting and I can't do that when I am basically working, coming home, sleeping, and going back to work.) As soon as I saw that Shane Helms was the guest I was IN. That guy is legitimately hilarious, I've never seen or heard a bad interview with him. He is an incredibly entertaining guy. He was a guest on Killing the Town a couple of weeks ago and that interview was great too. Really looking forward to this episode.

[Strummer]

This show after a somewhat rough start has become a must listen. It's just working on all cylinders now. Great stuff

[Shrike02]

I've become a big fan of this. The genuine longstanding friendship of the hosts shines through and that makes for an easy listen.

[The Thread Killer]

Finally caught the episode with Shane Helms and thought it was excellent. That guy is so damn funny, they need to make him a regular like Tommy. (Tommay. TommayTommayTommay.) Looking forward to catching up on the episode with Shelton Benjamin.

[The Thread Killer]

So apparently, John Cena is the guest on tomorrow's show. I have mixed feelings about this. I'm impressed they managed to land him as a guest, and am mildly curious about what he'll say. However, I generally can't stand the guy and just the sound of his voice makes me want to change the channel. Also, Edge is on record as saying that he owes a large part of his success as a Main Event level guy to Cena being willing to put him over, so you know Edge isn't going to ask him any tough questions.

[Matt D]

I'm playing catch-up and cherry picking. The Sami Zayn episode was excellent. Sami put forward an idea that you learn so much more about how to wrestle when working under a limitation (be it a match or even an injury) and that very much resonated with me because I've always felt like you learn a lot about a worker from how they work with a limitation (including, yes, aging). I find Sami's concept of a good match having to be like Terminator 2 (Good story, Good characters, Good action) very interesting. It's a different but similar take on the workrate arguments we've had, though I think we pick things apart slightly differently. Some of the talk about the "This is Awesome" chants are interesting, but they never see them as bad, just something that they have to make sure is genuine. How he learned psychology was interesting (wrestling in a bubble in Quebec and then having Super Dragon put some pieces together for him). Little touches from Vince (he should smile, not scowl as a heel). How (according to Balor, and they sort of agree) great matches are ones that stand the test of time, which feels very anti-meltzerian.

[Cornette's racket]

This weeks episode is an anatomy of a match featuring Steve austin and Bret hart breaking down their match at WM13. Bret sounds in great form and him and Steve give a master class in breaking down a match. It's a pleasure to listen to it.

[BigBadMick]

Very nice. The Foley-Michaels episode covering Mind Games was very good

[Zoo Enthusiast]

I can't wait to listen to this.

[The Thread Killer]

People on Twitter are saying it's a great listen. I'm really looking forward to it. I won't have time until next week, but I can't wait to hear it if it's anything like the Mind Games episode with Michaels and Foley.

[BigBadMick]

Excellent episode. I'd love to see them use this format more often.

[SteveJRogers]

Granted it probably would be different if Lita was still with Edge all these years later, but am I the only one surprised that Edge and Matt patched things up all these years later, at least to the point where Matt shows up for some fun on the podcast?

 

I mean Matt was fired as a result of what happened!

 

Anyway, fun episode, Matt kept slipping back and forth from Woken and normal as he and Jeff were on to discuss their beginnings of the tag team rivalry and what the Hardy's look to do going forward in this WWE run.

[SomethingSavage]

I've had this episode stashed away for awhile, but I finally got around to listening to it today. The Austin/Bret: Anatomy of a Match show was fucking aces. Seriously. It might be my favorite single podcast since the Carlos Colon profile Zellner did with Boriqua a few years back. Tremendous listening from start to finish.

 

Austin was in top fucking form, for sure. I mean, there's some retreaded territory here and there. But the topic is presented here in one long, freeform back & forth conversation. And it's simply fantastic. Hearing Steve perk up when certain points are brought up is pure joy for any fan that lived through his peak and participated in the Stone Cold experience as it actually happened.

 

Austin jokes and cracks up a lot, but he still remains protective over his body of work. You can tell how much pride he takes in hat he accomplished with his career. He almost corrects the phrasing on one of the questions, making sure to point out that this was a meeting of TWO stars - not just one star and one in the making. At the same time, he clearly respects Bret and shows gratitude for getting him to another level.

 

Bret brings some of his usual humble bragging (which seems to be something a lot of his critics hang their hats on), but that shit never bothers me. I'm a huge Bret mark, so maybe I'm more forgiving. But, just as I mentioned with Austin, I find it endearing that these guys are so proud of what they did & continue to carry themselves as big deals well after the run has ended.

 

I don't think I've ever heard Bret come off any better than he did here though. His line about, "No animals were harmed in the making..." had me howling right there alongside Stone Cold.

 

The decision to do the blade job is something that has been covered over & over again in other interviews, but they covered it in great detail here. I feel like I've heard the point about Austin changing his mind at the last possible moment, but Bret telling him it's too late and gigging him anyway - but I can't say for sure. Maybe in the Bret interviews in the first year of Austin's pod? Either way, it sounded new enough here. Plus I got to hear the story from both sides, along with how Vince presented them the finish and his vision for the match.

 

I liked Bret bringing up the low blow and how it should always be reserved as the ultimate cheap shot. It's somewhat timely now with the Nakamura turn, but I think they've almost overplayed that hand with it already. Less is more. Replay the original couple of nut shots over & over if you want, but have the announcers constantly sell how despicable and lowly it is, and you're preserving some of that.

 

I'm glad they touched on Shamrock, too. I know Austin always talks up the post-match altercation and how crucial it was for Bret to back down from Kenny, but it was cool that they also gushed over Shamrock's ghosting in and out of the match at all the key moments.

 

So yeah. I absolutely enjoyed the shit out of this one. It's the perfect supplementary companion piece to their classic match, and it almost makes me want to go back and revisit the entire program from start to finish. I rarely ever listen to any podcasts more than once - Zellner's Colon spotlight and his SMW series being the only ones I can recall right away, actually - but this is one I will probably give another listen at some stage down the road. Just a fun conversation that had you feeling like you're in the room, listening to these guys reminisce.

[The Thread Killer]

Edge announced during today's show that he's quitting the podcast.  Christian may be continuing the show without him, they were kind of vague about it.  I have to admit, I used to love this show but it dropped out of my rotation because I just had too many podcasts to listen to. It's interesting, in this folder alone we've seen threads for Lanny Poffo's podcast, Dinner with the King, and I used to be a big fan of Killing the Town with Lance Storm and Don Callis.  Jake Roberts had a podcast which lasted for about a month. All those podcasts are gone now. 

It brings to mind Conrad Thompson's comments recently when he was interviewed by Sean Oliver. Conrad stated that in his opinion, a lot of podcasts are going to be disappearing because wrestlers got into it thinking there was money to make, but there isn't unless you're getting hundreds of thousands of downloads and have big sponsors.  When it comes to Pro Wrestling podcasts, it is getting to the point where you are either doing it because you love it, or you're one of the big podcasts that actually does generate some money, like Jericho, Stone Cold, Cornette or the Conrad shows.

Edge claimed he was quitting because he is too busy, but I have to wonder if this hasn't turned out to be as lucrative as he might have hoped.  A ton of prep work for pretty much little to no financial reward.