Bumps, Backlash, and the XFL Collapse | Reading the Ring Ep.2

We’re back for week 2 of There’s Just One Problem by Brian Gewirtz, and if you thought last week was chaotic… buckle up.

This stretch (Chapters 5–9) covers everything from Brian taking a literal bump courtesy of Bubba Ray Dudley, to the culture shock of writing promos for The Rock and Vince McMahon at the same time. We get into the rise of SmackDown, the disaster of the original XFL (and what it was like watching that trainwreck from the inside), and a backstage power struggle with Paul Heyman that somehow ends in friendship…?

We also talk about:

-How to survive a writers’ room with Vince Russo (spoiler: don’t),
-The glory of Hollywood Rock and why he still lives rent-free in our heads,
-That one wild SmackDown watch party in Vegas that none of us will ever recover from,

And the moment Brian realizes just how high the stakes are when you're scripting real-life beef between wrestlers who actually want to kill each other.

Next week: Brian climbs the WWE ladder, Vince goes full Vince, and yes—we talk about that chapter. You’ve been warned.

🎧 Stream now and read along with us.
📘 Because wrestling is real, and books are too

The New To Wrestling Podcast follows two friends who enjoy wrestling but are in different stages of their fandom. Xavier Cruz serves as your guide through generations of professional wrestling while Kelsey Silva experiences these matches for the first time. Climb into the ring weekly to relive the famous matches beginning with the Attitude Era!