podcasts

Talk is Jericho Recap w/ Bo Dallas – Conspiracy Theories, JFK Assassination, Reptilian People, More!

Jericho welcomes Bo Dallas to the show.

Dallas informs that this is his first podcast appearance and the first time fans will hear him talk out of character, so he’s a little concerned with how people with react to how crazy he is. Jericho says he and Dallas bonded on a bus ride during a recent European tour, and he realized that they had a lot of things in common. Dallas says those long trips to Europe are often when people bond with each other.

Dallas says the blind refusal of facts is what really bothers him about various conspiracy theories. The minute you talk about any conspiracy theories, people automatically think you’re crazy and ignore everything you say. People are led by mainstream beliefs and anything outside of that norm is simply wrong, despite how many facts there are to support these theories.

He says that one big conspiracy that he believes in is the ‘Hollow Earth’ theory. This theory states that the Earth is hollow and there is a race of people living there. He says that while scientists claim the centre of the Earth is all molten lava, we’ve never dug to a depth that can prove this.

The Taz Show Recap – NXT Analysis, Effective Commentary in Wrestling, Will Taz Return to the Announce Booth? More!

Block 1:

Taz opens today’s show speaking briefly about last night’s episode of NXT. He says that Velveteen is a very captivating character with a terrific look, great size and a ripped body. He thinks Velveteen Dream has a plethora of potential moving forward, and if he had to pick two NXT Superstars who he believes will become legitimate stars he’d choose Dream and Aleister Black.

Speaking about the NXT commentary team, one line in particular really bothered Taz during last night’s episode. After Velveteen Dream dropped his elbow finisher from the top rope, Mauro Ranallo said, “The elbow was Macho like Randy!”. Taz cringed at that line, and he really wishes Ranallo wouldn’t have compared Veleveteen Dream to ‘Macho Man’ Randy Savage.

Taz understands that Ranallo is not making this comparison maliciously and he’s doing his best to get Velveteen Dream over, but Taz doubts Vince McMahon is aware that this type of comparison is happening on a weekly basis on NXT. He doubts McMahon would approve of these young talents being compared to some of the business’ all time greats, and Taz believes Ranallo is simply trying too hard to get these guys over.

Bischoff on Wrestling Recap – Rey Mysterio’s Future, Taking Controversy Too Far in Wrestling, Relationship with Rick Rude, More!

Bischoff is joined on today’s show by his co-host Nick Hausman.

A listener calls into the show and asks Bischoff where the line is in terms of what is too controversial for the wrestling business. Bischoff says that he always drew the line at anything involving race or religion. He admits that while you’re caught up in a ratings war it’s very easy to do anything imaginable to create controversy, but we must always remember that there is a line we must not cross.

Another listener asks Bischoff what he thinks about GFW’s current product, and if he thinks the company can ever turn the corner. He says that he doesn’t watch GFW, so he doesn’t have an opinion on the current product. In terms of if they can turn the corner, Bischoff says it’s hard to know unless you’re involved in the company and you understand what their goals are moving forward.

He points out that GFW are in a tough spot right now because their only revenue source is through their international television licensing. Bischoff says if they lose their deal with PopTV and therefore their presence on U.S. television, their demand overseas drops dramatically and that could become very problematic.

The Taz Show Recap – RAW Analysis, Angle & Jordan Storyline Feels Strange, Tweaking Cass As A Heel, More!

Block 1:

Taz opens today’s show speaking about last night’s episode of RAW.

Taz thinks the progression of this Kurt Angle/Jason Jordan storyline is getting a little strange. The storyline as a whole doesn’t bother him, but he way Angle and Jordan are performing is really weird right now. Taz thinks there’s another part of this story that hasn’t been revealed yet, and a part of him thought Jordan was actually going to turn heel during his debut RAW match last night.

Taz also thinks that WWE should change up Jordan’s ring gear. He doesn’t think Jordan should be using the red, white and blue colours for his entrance or for his ring gear. Instead, he should use gold as his primary colour, so there’ll still be a connection to Angle while he establishes his own brand as well.

A listener calls into the show and asks Taz how he’d fantasy book a Shield reunion. Taz says he wouldn’t book a Shield reunion at all, and he wishes WWE would stop teasing it. He wouldn’t have even had Ambrose and Rollins team up last night, because he doesn’t see a reason to reunite those three men. They’ve all gone out on their own and have become singles stars, so there’s no reason to reunite them right now.

Another listener calls into the show and talks about how good Roman Reigns is at selling, especially for a big man. Taz agrees entirely and says that selling is just another thing that Reigns does not get enough credit for.

Vince Russo’s The Brand Recap – Joe Going Off Script Against Lesnar, Cena Putting Over Styles, Samson’s Botched Guitar Shot, More!

Russo is joined on today’s show by his co-host Jeff Lane.

To open today’s show, Lane plays a clip of Dave Meltzer who’s discussing Jason Jordan’s upcoming push. Meltzer says that while having the spotlight on you is good, WWE is a tricky spot to receive a big push because if Vince McMahon decides you don’t get over during your big push, you have a black mark on you for the rest of your career.

Russo says that this can be said about any profession because if you have an opportunity at your workplace and you don’t succeed, you’re going to be taken out of that spot. Meltzer and these other dirt sheet writers mightn’t understand this because they’ve never worked in the real world. He also says that if you don’t want to have the spotlight on you in the biggest promotion in the world, you’re in the wrong business.

A clip of Wade Keller presents him discussing the Brock Lesnar/Samoa Joe angle. Keller says that Joe came off as someone that could kick Lesnar’s ass during the entire program, and we haven’t really seen that before. There were a couple times when Keller thought Joe might get in trouble, specifically when he told Lesnar to ‘look at me when I’m talking to you’, because that wasn’t scripted.

Bischoff on Wrestling LIVE Recap – Talking Smack’s Cancellation, Favourite nWo Member, Lesnar Returning to UFC? More!

On this special ‘1 Year Anniversary’ edition of the show, Bischoff and his co-host Nick Hausman go live in order to answer fan questions.

To start the show, Bischoff says he’s very grateful that Shane McMahon emerged without injury from a forced landing in a helicopter yesterday. He says he doesn’t know McMahon well, but he knows how much McMahon loves his wife and kids and he was certainly thinking about them during that situation yesterday.  In typical McMahon fashion, Shane didn’t really sell anything during his news interview, and Bischoff says that only Shane could top his Hell in the Cell leap by falling out of the sky in a helicopter.

A listener calls into the show and asks Bischoff how WWE can get back to the days when they were doing 6.0 and 7.0 ratings. Bischoff says that things have changed so much in the world of entertainment since those days, and there are so many alternative ways to consume programming these days. He doesn’t think we’ll ever see those types of numbers again, and with respect to the current television landscape, Bischoff thinks that WWE is ‘blowing it out of the water’.

Another listener calls into the show and asks Bischoff who his favourite member of the nWo was. He says that Hulk Hogan is his best friend, but he also really enjoyed Scott Hall’s performance as a member of the nWo. Hall brought a lot to that group, and then his pairing with Kevin Nash resulted in a terrific tandem. Hall and Nash’s pairing is a perfect example of 1+1=5.

Conversation with the Big Guy Recap – Surprises at Live Events, Ripping Dirt Sheets, What Move Has Ryback Stopped Using? More!

Ryback is joined on today’s show by his co-host Pat Buck.

Ryback informs that he just finished another stem cell procedure, which is helping him with injuries he suffered over his career in professional wrestling. He is having issues with the discs in his neck/back, and for this reason he says he is done performing any type of stunner manoeuvre. He says that even executing a leg drop is very hard on your body when you do it for multiple years.

Ryback comments on some negative buzz that he has received on the indie scene, with some people thinking that he’s failing on the indies simply because they don’t see him wrestling for certain promotions. He informs that he’s simply choosing not to wrestle for some promotions, because he’s not wrestling for free or for a discount since he knows his value.

He says that people can criticize him all day long but he knows how hard he works, and if any of these critics spent any time with him they’d see it too. He says that this past year has been a terrific year for him financially both with wrestling and with his supplement business, and while he continues to let his body heal, he’s not focused on working for any and all promotions that inquire about bookings.

Vince Russo’s The Brand Recap w/ Kristian Harloff – Writing for WWE, Relationship with Roddy Piper, WWE Limiting Their Talents, More!

Russo welcomes former WWE writer Kristian Harloff to the show.

Harloff says that he was always a huge wrestling fan, and his favourite performer was ‘Macho Man’ Randy Savage. He moved to Los Angeles to become a writer and a stand up comedian, and he met Paul Heyman through a WWE event one evening. He asked Heyman how to get a chance to write for WWE and Heyman told him to write a letter. He told Heyman he already did that, so Heyman told him to write another one.

He wrote the company again, this time including his take on an in-depth ‘Invasion’ angle. This caught the attention of Stephanie McMahon and she flew him into Stanford for an interview.

Russo asks Harloff why he’d want to make the jump from being a stand-up comedian to writing professional wrestling. He says that he always wanted to work for WWE and he had to take the chance. Unfortunately, shortly after arriving in WWE he realized that it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows behind the curtains.

Harloff informs that he got on management’s radar quick, but not in a positive way. During his first pre-show production meeting which was led by Vince McMahon, Harloff raised his hand to ask questions on multiple occasions. Coach came up to him after that and told him to settle down a little bit, because you don’t want to be ‘that’ guy.

Talk is Jericho Recap w/ Sheamus & Cesaro – Best-of-7 Series, Tagging Together, WWE Travel Woes, More!

Jericho welcomes Sheamus & Cesaro to the show.

Jericho asks how their Best-of-7 series came to be. Sheamus says that prior to the WWE Draft, he was World Champion as part of the League of Nations and Cesaro had returned from an injury on absolute fire. Somewhere along the way they both lost some momentum, and at the Draft they were selected second last and last.

Cesaro says that he was quite angry that evening and Sheamus agrees. They felt that they should have been drafted higher, and they were both very motivated to prove doubters wrong. The company decided to pair them up for a couple of matches, and after that Mick Foley told them they’d be doing a best of 7 series.

Sheamus says that they kicked the shi* out of each other in every one of those matches, and he recalls one uppercut in particular from Cesaro when he actually felt his jaw move. Jericho says that as the series progressed every match got better and better, and Sheamus agrees. They capped off the series with a double count-out in the 7th match.