The Arn Anderson podcast

[Matt D]

6 hours ago, El-P said:

After a few weeks, I can safely say this is Conrad's best podcast. Arn is just a pleasure to listen to, it never goes too long, it doesn't sound like any of his other podcast. Also, when Arn is confronted with something from the Observer that is obviously wrong, his answer : "Whoever told this to Meltzer was setting him up." Wow. Imagine that. How refreshing.

Yeah, I was wrong, this podcast is great, and I'm glad I can finally hear of one my top favourite wrestler ever go into shoot interview mode without restrain. Another cool thing is when they insert one of those classic promos. Arn was so ridiculously great on the mic.

I wouldn't want Arn reacting to things he didn't know firsthand every week but him giving logical thoughts on things he didn't know about was very interesting.

[El-P]

24 minutes ago, Matt D said:

I wouldn't want Arn reacting to things he didn't know firsthand every week but him giving logical thoughts on things he didn't know about was very interesting.

Agreed. Much like also he did not dismiss the whole Shane Douglas conversation about Flair in ECW, just doesn't remember it happening but can see how and in what context it could or may have happened.

[WingedEagle]

3 hours ago, El-P said:

Yes it is. Search for "Arn". Or you're gonna find it directed from Conrad's other podcasts.

Awesome, thanks.  Looks like its not entirely current there but hopefully it catches up soon.  Odd that the 10/7 episode is the latest.

[El-P]

7 hours ago, WingedEagle said:

Awesome, thanks.  Looks like its not entirely current there but hopefully it catches up soon.  Odd that the 10/7 episode is the latest.

Odd. It is current and updated every week. Are you sure you're on Itunes and not Apple Podcast or something ? Or you need to refresh the thing maybe.

[WingedEagle]

9 hours ago, El-P said:

Odd. It is current and updated every week. Are you sure you're on Itunes and not Apple Podcast or something ? Or you need to refresh the thing maybe.

Good call.  It is the Apple Podcast app, I just refer to them as the same even though that's clearly not the case.  I found the additional episodes -- they were somehow grouped as part of an "unknown season" so now I've got the entire run on my phone.  

Halfway through the first episode and I'm definitely enjoying it.  Arn's a great storyteller who, at this admittedly early point, doesn't seem interested in overselling himself.  The biggest plus is that it isn't using old Observers as a crutch.  As long as they avoid that this looks like a home run.

[Matt D]

On today's podcast, Arn talks for a couple of minutes about the first Owens vs Cena match and I'm not even sure what to do with that info. 

i always felt like Cena's indy pairings, new moves, and shift to excess there was on him as a way to finally shake the Cena Sucks chants, which ultimately worked, and what you do hear here is that a lot of the biggest spots in the match were done against Arn's wishes.

[BigBadMick]

Are you saying you assumed Arn approved of that change in Cena?

 

I'm not sure what you mean, Matt.

[Matt D]

19 minutes ago, BigBadMick said:

Are you saying you assumed Arn approved of that change in Cena?

 

I'm not sure what you mean, Matt.

Primarily I'd love to hear more about the specifics as I've always utilized guesswork on it here. That Arn was opposed is a new piece or information but we don't have enough knowledge to create a framework to understand that information in context.

But what I want as much as anything else with this podcast is to hear about the Arn/Cena wrestler/agent relationship.

[Ricky Jackson]

Highly recommend the Survivor Series 88 ep, which is barely about the show itself. Mostly it's Arn giving his opinions on working, drawing, gimmicks, all the different wrestlers on the card, and all kinds of other stuff and backstage insight. Really good stuff here 

[SomethingSavage]

Absolutely agreed. I particularly enjoyed hearing Arn share his "aha" light bulb moment about hierarchy and how to gauge his bumping/selling for underneath acts versus top guys. It's a distinction that even some all-time greats and Hall of Famer have struggled to properly grasp (or maybe even learn altogether), so that was cool.

This show all around has been such an interesting, easy listen. It's my favorite pro wrestling podcast by far at the moment.

I love that we finally get Arn divulging on some of his own personal stories (as promised when the show was announced), but we also get him touching base on a ton of other topics. There's plenty of variety in the multiple Q&A episodes, which have all been enjoyable.

Conrad gets a nod here, too. Dude isn't quite a chameleon in the host chair, but he definitely feeds off the energy of his co-hosts.

Here, with Arn, he comes across more attentive amd studious. The dick jokes are still there, but they come across more like levity, and Arn's deadpan timing actually drives them home in a way that has to be heard to be fully appreciated.

I specifically dug it when Conrad asked Arn to compare & contrast the touring schedules of the Fed and Crockett from the 80s. It's something you've heard people comment on a hundred times, but Arn breaking down the details of 6AM flights and that one insane loop around the entire country was awesome.

[Beast]

On 11/28/2019 at 8:57 PM, Ricky Jackson said:

Highly recommend the Survivor Series 88 ep, which is barely about the show itself. Mostly it's Arn giving his opinions on working, drawing, gimmicks, all the different wrestlers on the card, and all kinds of other stuff and backstage insight. Really good stuff here 

Thanks to you and Savage for the rec. This was my first attempt at Arn's Show and I'm blown away by how great he is in this format. Love that the pre-PPV discussion led to a stream-of-consciousness description of working at that time, rather than Bruce and Conrad's usual "here's a random wrestling news story from that era, react to it".

[Afro Steel]

My favorite part of that episode was him pulling no punches about the Red Rooster gimmick and other similarly awful gimmicks being a rib for "an audience of one." A refreshing contrast to Prichard's continued insistence that it didn't get over because Taylor didn't embrace the gimmick. 

I'l admit it's a bit of an adjustment to get used to Arn's soft-spoken approach to the podcast after we've been conditioned through Conrad's other podcasts to expect the opposite. 

And unlike Bruce, Arn seems believable when he says he doesn't know or wasn't aware of something, rather than it being an attempt to avoid addressing certain subjects. 

[El-P]

I for one love Arn's soft tone voice. I could listen to him talk for hours.

[flyonthewall2983]

It confirmed that the only time him and Tully faced the Bulldogs was at that Survivor Series match. I also didn't know that their first WWF match was where the whole shenanigans between the Bulldogs and Rougeaus took place. It's too bad the Brainbusters didn't work some of the heel teams they had at the time, I'm particularly thinking of the Rougeaus who they would have matched up perfectly with. 

[Matt D]

I hope someone asks him about the Usos at some point, because they are guilty of the "If you're not going to follow the norms of tag team wrestling, just make it a tornado tag match in the first place" statement as much as anyone. Their matches tend to be a full half finishing stretches, great action but at a big cost. I'm curious if he was too close to see that or not. 

[Ricky Jackson]

Love this show. Pretty daming opinions on Vince and WWE culture on the latest ask Arn ep. Last question:

"Any funny Vince stories?"

(Pause) "No" 

[El-P]

On 12/5/2019 at 1:04 AM, Ricky Jackson said:

Pretty daming opinions on Vince and WWE culture on the latest ask Arn ep. Last question:

"Any funny Vince stories?"

(Pause) "No" 

Yeah, it's interesting to hear him say that despite spending 18 years in the E, he never really thought he found his place, or even that they made a place for him, often demining his opinions and experience. Also interesting to hear basically what Meltz says often, is that they basically are doing the shows for an audience of one. 

Yeah, love the show, Arn is a pleasure to listen to.

[SomethingSavage]

Arn really is an all-time great storyteller.

It was so interesting to hear him address his final four or five years with WWE. I'm not surprised by any of it, but it's really telling to actually hear everything confirmed. You get the feeling is was very deflating to have his feedback and opinions dismissed so regularly.

Most of all, I enjoyed hearing Arn address the grueling schedule of 80s WWF. He really digs into the details & gives you a glimpse at how burnout was a real issue.

It hits home for me. Not that I'm bumping and feeding for a living, but I had my fatigue days waived last winter and worked 50 straight days. This year, I put in 43. And I can only imagine figuring in flights and travel and unfamiliar cities, new co-workers coming in, etc.

Particularly, I was glad to hear Arn address how some guys were more than justified in just getting through house show matches with basic, minimalist work. Why the fuck not?

It's one of those things that made me cringe during the GWE process - hearing how guys like Bret Hart or even Greg Valentine would get knocked for "coasting" through some random fucking house show match that was never intended for worldwide consumption and painstaking analysis, 30 years after the fact.

It's easy to forget these were real human beings, with real bumps & bruises and miles on their minds and bodies - probably smack dab in the trenches of an insane travel schedule. But yes. Please tell me again how Bret was a lazy piece of shit for running that same spot on back to back nights again.

[The Thread Killer]

3 hours ago, SomethingSavage said:

Arn really is an all-time great storyteller.

It was so interesting to hear him address his final four or five years with WWE. I'm not surprised by any of it, but it's really telling to actually hear everything confirmed. You get the feeling is was very deflating to have his feedback and opinions dismissed so regularly.

I am way behind on Arn's podcast.  In which episode did he discuss his last 4-5 years in WWE?  Is it the most recent one?

[El-P]

16 minutes ago, The Thread Killer said:

I am way behind on Arn's podcast.  In which episode did he discuss his last 4-5 years in WWE?  Is it the most recent one?

Yeah, Ask Arn 4, from last week.

[The Thread Killer]

Thanks for letting me know, I am going to try and check that out today.  I usually catch Cornette's Drive-Thru and Sean Oliver's podcast every week, then after that I try to find time for Grilling JR, then Arn and if I am interested in the topic that week, The Jim Cornette Experience.  Unfortunately, most weeks I only have time for the Drive-Thru and Oliver's podcast, because they are usually only around an hour.  Maybe I need to move Arn up in the rotation, considering the feedback in this thread.  It sounds like I am missing some good stuff.

[JazeUSA]

On 10/9/2019 at 11:15 AM, Matt D said:

The key to finding this is searching only for the word "Arn", not Arn Anderson or The Arn Show or anything else.

I just found it and am 25 minutes in and am enjoying it so far. A lot I didn't know colored in a way that is fresh. At this stage I can hardly imagine Bischoff or JR telling me big things I really didn't know. It's all about the little ones.

With Arn, there are still primal things we just haven't been let into first hand.

Tremendous! Thx for that, i found it

[Matt D]

So in the last month we have Darsow giving Anderson crap about giving too much offense to the Young Stallions to make the matches good/exciting and Taker telling the story about Jake being criticized by Vince for giving babyfaces too much offense early in his run because he wasn't there to have good matches but instead to "get over." 

[Dooley]

18 hours ago, Matt D said:

So in the last month we have Darsow giving Anderson crap about giving too much offense to the Young Stallions to make the matches good/exciting and Taker telling the story about Jake being criticized by Vince for giving babyfaces too much offense early in his run because he wasn't there to have good matches but instead to "get over." 

And they were both right. 

[SomethingSavage]

Yep.

The Stallions story, in particular, is what I was referencing as Arn talking about as a sort of "Aha" light bulb moment about hierarchy.

I do think that's one of the criticisms you could place at the feet of Flair and other NWA guys who put this weird emphasis on having long, "great" back and forth matches - regardless of the opponent.

I realize it's kind of glamorized that they can "work with a broomstick" or whatever, but that doesn't mean it makes sense. Because it doesn't. If you're getting your ass whipped by a George South or a Sam Houston just as easily as you're begging off for Hulk Hogan or a Dusty, then where's the line? You need to establish the framework for future developments.

If you bump around for a Mulkey or a no-name one week, then what does it mean when a rising Magnum or a Ricky Morton stands up to you and seems like they've got your number? It means nothing, because you also just got your ass kicked a week ago by a guy nobody knew.

I get it. There's a pride in being able to work with lesser skilled guys, but that doesn't mean you always SHOULD. It's flexing for no rhyme or reason. Leave that shit on training drills. It lends nothing to the story, more often than not.

I also think that's led us to the current state of "back and forth, equal Even Steven" bullshit where guys feel the need to flex their athleticism & their cardio - regardless of face/heel dynamic or card placement - but that's an even deeper discussion altogether.