15 YRS AGO LIVECASTS: Foley and Flair's notable verbal exchange, Hell in a Cell, TNA working around Hogan's health issues, concussions

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
One benefit of VIP membership is access to our back
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(00:43):
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Speaker 2 (01:48):
Now, PW Torch and Spreaker bring you the Wade Keller
Pro Wrestling Podcast.

Speaker 1 (01:58):
On Today's Wadekeller Pro Wrestling Podcast from Monday, oct Cover six,
twenty twenty five, we're jumping back fifteen years to a
doubleheader of PW toorchs live cast episodes. First up, Greg
Parks and James cauld We'll talk with live callers about
t and IMPAC from the night before, including the good
signs and the bad signs in the final thirty minutes.
Also the premiere SmackDown Mick Foley and Ric Flair's verbal

(02:18):
exchange and the sad reality of the promo. In the
big picture, potential WWE pay per view changes including brand exclusivity,
also pay per view discussionbout which matches could be added
to Helena sell which young stars could be main eventing
WrestleMania in six months. That's an interesting discussion to look
back on, and also how TNA works around Hokogan's health

(02:39):
issues in the Bound for Glory will lineup in the
bill to the show, Also comparisons regarding concussions and WWE
MMA and the NFL, all that and more, and then
in the previously VIP exclusive after show, they break down
the Helen of cl card, look at potential twists in
the results, and then Pat McNeil joins in for a
pre recorded McNeil mail bag with listener quest and the

(03:00):
discussion of the mcfoley book mentioned on wwbe's website.

Speaker 3 (03:06):
Okay.

Speaker 1 (03:06):
Then the October fourth episode from the following Monday I
hosted with Bruce Mitchell. We took live calls and the
lead up to Raw, including our incidentt reaction to Linna
McMahon's televised Senate debate, the hell in us celle pay
per view on Sunday and expected follow out on Monday's
Raw and how WWE could spark interest in Raw going
forward and more so, there's an overview of what's coming up.
Let's get to it first up the October first show

(03:27):
with Greg and James.

Speaker 2 (03:31):
Perro listening to the PW Torch live cast. This is
PW Torch Assistant editor James Caldwell hosting today on Guess
Says Friday, Friday, October the first twenty ten and I
will be joined by torchs colmnist Greg Parks momentarily and
Greg will be joining us in a few minutes as
we get over one on the live cast today, A

(03:52):
ton going on in the last literally the last ten minutes.
Just posted two stories, one on the SmackDown premiere. The
lead in show has been changed for an NXT replay.
It was supposed to be a countdown to SmackDown show tonight,
and also just got the DNA Impact ratings for the
last night's show. We just posted the highlights of that
on to be towards dot com, uh literally two minutes ago,

(04:16):
so those stories were off the ratings for Impact last night.
The show did a We'll get it again at one
point two rating, up from a one point oh one
last week. Looking at a spreadsheet, that's the highest numbers
since the one point two to one on August the fifth,
so a good sign there. The first hour did a
one point two to three ratings to an hour did

(04:37):
a one point one sixth rating, which is not a
good sign if you look at a quarter hour ratings
did The show peaked with a one point two to
seven and the third quarter hour that was for the
Rick Flair and nck Boley segment. The show dropped a
little bit in Q four, up a little bit in
Q five. It started for second hour down in in

(05:00):
Q six, and then a big drop from Q six
to Q seven. It went from a one point two
to one in Q six to a one point one
in Q seven, and then again another drop to a
one point eight in Q eight. So uh not a
good sown the end of the show. You don't want
to end with UH. Two of your lowest rated quarter

(05:22):
hours of the show in the last half hour of
the show. UH.

Speaker 4 (05:25):
Again.

Speaker 2 (05:26):
It goes back to promotion events. Current angle Steelcage is
your main event that you promoted on this show with
no advanced hype. You know, and you can attribute to that,
you can attribute to other programming, you can attribute to
people tuned in for Abyss and I'm sorry for Folly
and Flair and that was your big angle that everybody

(05:46):
was tuning in for. Uh, they didn't stick around for
the main event whatever it is. But it's an indictment
of TNA style of you know, not hyping main event
stipulation patches in advance and trying to hype it on
the course of a show, and the audience says, just
can't get extended for it. It doesn't feel special. It
wasn't hyped in advance, It's just was thrown out there. Reaction,

(06:10):
we have the viewership for Reaction. That show drew six
hundred eighty three thousand viewers on average, which was slightly
above last week's lowest viewership total for Reaction. Reaction. Last
week it drew six hundred and thirty eight thousand viewers
on average. Last night showed six hundred eighty three So

(06:33):
not a you know, they got the big the ratings
increase for Impact, but Reaction was barely up just slightly.
So again it goes back to those last two quarter
hours for Impact lost the audience was down to one
point eight, and that's how they concluded. So that's that's
kind of the first looking impact. And so that's that's

(06:57):
that's our first looking impact. And we'll we'll get Greg
on the one here momentarily. Uh So let's go ahead
and go ahead to our first phone calls today. Let's
go to the nine three one area code ninety three one.
Welcome to the show. Please stay te him where you're from.

Speaker 3 (07:12):
Hey James Gans, Tennessee.

Speaker 2 (07:14):
Hey Ian, what's going on today? Well?

Speaker 5 (07:17):
I had two questions. The first one, what what do
you make of WWE dot com doing.

Speaker 6 (07:25):
That interview with Nick Foley.

Speaker 2 (07:27):
It's very fascinating, very very fascinating to me. I believe
it politically motivated and in this sense that mc foley
came out and defended into McMahon and several interviews on
several couple a couple of interviews over the last several months.
Ww took notice assuredly.

Speaker 7 (07:47):
Uh.

Speaker 2 (07:47):
And it wasn't just a matter of well, you know,
he said to nice things, Well WNDA, he defended us
when we're facing on his criticism. Uh, you know, he's
not that bad of a guy. Uh So I think
it's one of those things where just one of the
you know, quote unquote do the right thing and give
a nice nods. It's to fully uh give them a
little plug, little rob a little little book plug. You know.

(08:10):
I just think it's sort of a that's all the
earliest to it, I think. I mean, it was fun
order on the weak when I thought maybe there was
some sort of conspiracy theory or the main man's would
be they uh, you know, that sort of thing. But
I just think it's one of those things where Folly
for the Night said some nice things about Linda, and uh,
that's funny he decided to go ahead and give his

(08:30):
book a plug. I think that's probably most of what
it is. So did you did you have a thought
on Indian?

Speaker 5 (08:38):
Yeah, my thoughts initially were I guess it really speaks
the truth as far as how they really feel about TNA.

Speaker 8 (08:46):
If they could go.

Speaker 5 (08:47):
To the links of promoting one of their featured performers
books with the name of one.

Speaker 3 (08:52):
Of their pay per views on raw and not take twice.

Speaker 2 (08:55):
About it, Yeah, exactly. I mean it shows that's when
the top stories this year is that w has has
no real fear concern TNA and they'll gun and promote
a I mean, obviously it's not a TNA published book.
You know, fully went through an independent book publisher, but
it's a TNA wrestler. It's you know, you're you're inadvertently

(09:19):
you're indirectly promoting a TNA pay per view. Was because
Lockdown isn't the name of the title, and they didn't
put TNA that those three letters in that Nixfoley story
on w W dot com, but they had Lockdown and
that's the TNA pay per view. So, uh, it's just
it's really fascinating to me, it really is. You know,
like you said, I don't think w B fears TNA.

(09:40):
I don't think they're worried about them. But I think
it's just we're gonna help out McK foley. And if
Foley wasn't even in TNA, I think they would still
do this. I just don't think they really are concerned
about TNA at this point.

Speaker 3 (09:53):
Yeah, totally.

Speaker 5 (09:55):
My My other question is, uh, I watched a little
bit of Impact last night and I was kind of
cute your assistant.

Speaker 3 (10:01):
How how Holk Cogan is gonna be on Impact? Is
he gonna be in a wheelchair or how does that work.

Speaker 2 (10:08):
That's a good question, and I'm gonna go ahead and
bring on Greg. Greg, are you on with the sum.

Speaker 6 (10:13):
I am, I can hear you finding Dandy excellent?

Speaker 2 (10:16):
All right, Greg, I'm going and toy right in the fire.
What do you think of obviously that they're setting up
the six man tag match for next I guess for
the pay per view, not for this Impact but the
live Impact, but for the Battle for the Lord's pay
per view. Hulk Cogan, he's said he's got the back issues,
He's got the wires in his back.

Speaker 7 (10:32):
Uh.

Speaker 2 (10:32):
He's been in and out of the hospital throughout the
month of September. What do they do? Do they do?
They just maybe have him get beat down backstage and
write them out that match, and then what do you
do with Hogan with his back condition?

Speaker 9 (10:45):
Yeah?

Speaker 6 (10:46):
I'm not a doctor, but I don't think he's going
to be able to participate in any kind of action.
You know, even before.

Speaker 3 (10:53):
This, he was so limited in the ring is what
he could do, And now.

Speaker 6 (10:56):
With the chafe he's in now, it seems even more
unlikely that he'd be anything kind of physical. The last
time he was involved in an angle, then to turn
the lights off to pretend he was beating down because
they couldn't even I mean, they couldn't even give him
to that point. And now it's because.

Speaker 3 (11:15):
It's has so much worse.

Speaker 6 (11:17):
It's it's the point where you know, they could he's
putting him in the six man tags kind of pop
a rating to see what his response would be. The
other thing is they could put him in the sixth
man tag match. It just not has him really do anything.

Speaker 3 (11:29):
I mean, he could be the Bret Heart of TNA,
so to speak.

Speaker 6 (11:32):
Although brat Art at this point it seems like can
do more than Hall of Coogan can. But you know,
either way, no one should expect anything fitsical out of
Hall of coging right now. He's cruising our name value
he because you know, it's kind of sad that he's
at the point where he really almost literally cannot do
anything in the ring right now, and it hurts to

(11:53):
watch him even.

Speaker 4 (11:54):
Walk to the ring.

Speaker 6 (11:55):
So to me, it's inconceivable that he'd be able to
do anything physical.

Speaker 2 (12:00):
Yeah, I don't see it happening. Drugs, if someone you
think could replace Hogan, I mean it's a hey, I
mean tena relatively speaking, it's a big spot for that
match up in the pay per view with you know,
the angle that they have been talking about in circles
for months and it seems like years, with staying in
Nash and the Pope against Joe and Jared and jowing

(12:21):
the blank. If it's that Hogan, who's another guy you
think could could slide in there and perhaps get a
rug from being in that spot.

Speaker 6 (12:28):
That's a good question because whoever is going to be
sign work for Hull Cogan has to be a name
that the fans will understand as being obviously no one's
on part with Hull Coogan and especially in CNA, but
they can't get too upset by Hogan not being in
there and.

Speaker 3 (12:45):
Being replaced by this guy.

Speaker 6 (12:48):
And this this whole angle has been so ill conceived
from the beginning and so hard to follow that there
isn't one person who you can look at and kind
of follow the clues to say, Okay, this person would
make sense because they're a placements for Hull cloth and
within the angle. So it's so tough to try and
pick for somebody that would that would make sense in
that context.

Speaker 2 (13:08):
It's almost like the raw GM you know, I mean,
when we get that reveal I don't know any of
the clues makes sense, and I'm sure what WB would
do is they'll just take like two, two or three
of the clues and try to retro fit that to
whoever the reveal is a GM. I mean, even though
they give it out, you know, twenty five or twenty

(13:29):
different hints or red herrings along the way. I mean,
I just don't see how anybody can fit that. So
the same applies there as well. It's a good points there, Greg,
and any other thought or commoner question.

Speaker 3 (13:42):
Uh yeah, just just one more question. You can put
me on hold.

Speaker 5 (13:46):
I watched for Raw and SmackDown every week, and I
could be wrong by this, but it's the only SmackDown
brand match for Hell and filling out kanaan undertaker.

Speaker 2 (13:56):
I believe so, and so imagine Greg. I mean, we'll
probably get some matches announced on Smackdowns tonight. Uh, maybe
even a tag table rematch Craft and the Kobe Roads
and MacIntyre.

Speaker 3 (14:09):
Uh.

Speaker 2 (14:10):
The probably will be a women's match. I believe it
was hinted at the American Airlines Center website. Was a
cool and I guess Italia since she's a number one
contender based on that battle Royal which all which we
all just so enjoyed so much. But yeah, I mean.

Speaker 3 (14:30):
Worse than the one on one matches. I don't know,
I don't know how to me battle Royals would be
are so easy because.

Speaker 6 (14:36):
I don't know, you have so little focused on you
that you can get away with being uh Overtheless, yeah
a little more spoppy, but I guess when everybody's doing it, it
seems out even more than some one on one match.

Speaker 1 (14:48):
But you can support us on Patreon and get these
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Weight Keller Prossing post shows and the PW Torch daily
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(15:12):
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upgrade to other tiers and receive even more benefits through Patreon.

Speaker 6 (15:20):
Anyway, sorry to interrupt with that, No, it's fine.

Speaker 2 (15:23):
What are some matches you see that could be added
to that pay per view on Sunday from this backdown side.

Speaker 6 (15:28):
Well, you got the tag team match, like you said,
you know, if Christian were healthy, I would say him
and Alberta del Rio And you know, I know WWE
is that high on A lot of fans have been
high end Alreo's perponment. So I don't know if they
try and stick him somewhere in the card. I mean
they could have come out and interrupt almost, but you
know that would be certain length something to think about.

Speaker 3 (15:52):
Hopefully they don't feel those to be Dell particular KOFE Custon, Well.

Speaker 6 (15:55):
Once again, I'm kind of I'm.

Speaker 3 (15:58):
Could have done with that.

Speaker 6 (15:59):
With that feud as terrible as I had to say.
You guys, guys like CM Punk are still on the card,
and Punk's got a big match against the Undertaker tonight
w W dot common advertised big show is another person
doesn't have the match, you know, So there's a lot
of different ways they can go. Coval, maybe he gets
his title match against self Higgler for the US title

(16:22):
or the Inner pat On title.

Speaker 3 (16:24):
Sorry on the card, because by virtue of winning I
believe he.

Speaker 6 (16:28):
Does get a title match on a pay per view today,
right Okay, they could almost put that on here after
thought and trying to build an undercard here. So there's
those of some possibilities that I think could happen.

Speaker 2 (16:43):
I like that idea of coping of a Ziggler, and
I think that'd be a pretty good matchup to see.
Another thought was perhaps I mean kind of stinking with
that three way being because they had in the US
title matches MS and Brian and Morrison. I don't know,
maybe those those little uh, they won't go so far
in the rematch the rematch and the rematch of the

(17:05):
rematch direction with Kofe and Ziggler, maybe throwing Jack Swagger
into the mix because of you know, the program Koche
and Swagger have had recently. It's that's a possibility. It's
not that that's exciting, uh, because we don't I mean,
I'm just don't. I'm just over three way, four way,
six way matches. But that might be a team they
try to carry over from wrong. But we shall see

(17:25):
very interesting in US Smack to tonight and great. That
kind of leads into a discussion of tonight's show. You
will be covering live on peb Torch dot com, as
you do every Friday night, you get a very relevant
show to cover tonight, right, So what are you kind
of you you trying to talk about some of the
highlights of tonight's show. What do you make of Seeinga

(17:46):
and Nexus being part of the show, and uh, do
you expect Edge to be involved perhaps playing up that
raw GM feud, uh, maybe even hinting that he could
be coming over SmackDown. What's something that you're looking forward
to although from what you've already talked about when tonight, Yeah.

Speaker 10 (18:01):
Well, one of the.

Speaker 6 (18:02):
Things I'm looking forward to is you mentioned it. Snack
Gun is irrelevance for one night again, so that's something
to as forward to.

Speaker 3 (18:10):
I think.

Speaker 6 (18:12):
You know, you look at the guys on the offer
are coming over obviously to hop that big rating on
Sci Fi with its first episode, John Cena and Nexus.

Speaker 3 (18:20):
Unfortunately, when you do that, it takes.

Speaker 6 (18:22):
Time away from the guys that are actually on SmackDown
and that people will be seeing on Sci Fi.

Speaker 3 (18:28):
Hopefully Sena and Nexus.

Speaker 6 (18:30):
Can do a little rub some of the guys on SmackDown.
Hopefully it's not Hopefully we don't get a twenty minute
in ering segment between Seena and Nexus that was normally
start off for all, but they're just putting on a SmackDown.
Hopefully we see some smack Gun guys.

Speaker 3 (18:44):
Get involved in.

Speaker 6 (18:45):
I'd like to see some snack GWN guys interaction with
with Next to remember, it was only a month or
two ago that Nexus interfered in the coolby Kingston Deult
Zigler title match on pay per view I believe was
that Summerslams. Yes, yeah, okay, So I mean they could
choose to follow that up on some sort of fashion

(19:05):
or it could be you know, next to seizing it
as a scouting for new members or.

Speaker 9 (19:09):
Something like that.

Speaker 6 (19:11):
I just think there's there's gonna be some way to
intertlying the SmackDown guys in with the raw guys who.

Speaker 3 (19:15):
Will be there.

Speaker 2 (19:18):
Yeah, you mean, this is something that it should be
concern to WB is that you don't want to thraw
all the attention to the raw wrestlers on tonight's show
and then they're not gonna be there for the rest
of the fifty one week said young Men. Obviously there's gonna
be a draft and then the rest was gonna change.
But you're not gonna have that that raw cameo invasion.

(19:41):
Whatever you wanna call it. You're not gonna have those
professional guests from Raw fifty one weeks out of the
year after tonight's show, So I mean, you've got to
put the interests on the guys who are gonna be
featured week in and week out. Otherwise it's just, you know,
not gonna be relevant now after a while. You know,
that's kind of been the concern for a while now

(20:01):
on My network TV, just because all the preemptions and
can you really emphasize it?

Speaker 6 (20:05):
Shown thing that sci Fi is a bigger and much
more well known network than Minetwork TV, So maybe WW
is not going to get behind SmackDown more and uh,
you know, plug it a little more on Raye and
do and do things to time and make it relevant again.
Because My network TV was was a network that's dead
in the water for so long it was carrying SmackDown.

(20:26):
WW probably didn't think it was even worth it to,
you know, to put a lot of effort into effort
and SmackDown Snack on the Lame Duck Show.

Speaker 3 (20:34):
W W and My.

Speaker 6 (20:35):
Network both knew that it would be leaving the network
at the end of the season quite a while ago,
so perhaps we'll get a renewed push for smack Down
on sci Fi.

Speaker 2 (20:45):
You're listening to the PW Torch Live gast. This this
PW Torch Assistant editor James Caldwell, joined by Towards Caliss
Greg Parks. This is episode number two hundred of the
live cast. So a pretty big dag today with the
SmackDown my premiere in them. Two hundred hit a milestone
for the live cast. We want to thank everyone for
your support of us over the last several months, almost

(21:07):
a year now we're closing in on about a year.
So well, I thank everyone for their support. Well, let's
go ahead in and grab another phone call Ian things
for your call. Let's go to the three three sixth
area code three three six Welcome to the show. Please
say today where you're from.

Speaker 3 (21:23):
This is Brian from North Carolina.

Speaker 2 (21:25):
Hey Brian, what do you have for us today?

Speaker 3 (21:28):
I was wondering if you thought Bret Hart would make
a good play last play, commented No, I wish, why not?

Speaker 2 (21:40):
I think that, you know, with a concussion and the stroke,
he just he's a little bit slow on the mic
and and even kind of watching.

Speaker 3 (21:48):
Uh.

Speaker 2 (21:49):
He had about a nine minute interview backstage of MSG
that at last Saturday. I believe it last Friday, but
for the Industry show last Saturday, and you know, you
just he wasn't sharp. He was fine, and he had
a normal conversation, but to kind of get up, you know,
fifty two weeks a year to do a color commentator commentary,

(22:10):
I just I just don't know that he's sharp enough
to do that at the stage, Greg, do you see
it differently? Do you think he could add something even
though he might not be doing, you know, the sharpest
announcement they could put in that position?

Speaker 3 (22:21):
Yeah, you know, play left play or color commentary.

Speaker 6 (22:24):
I just don't think he's shit right now, obviously for
the reasons he said, but also because let's remember that
it wasn't that long ago that Vincement Man and Brett
Harder mended senses, so to speak, and kind of repair
their relationship. So there are a lot of fans have
been looking forward to for so long, and we know
what commentary can do to a relationship with mcfoley and

(22:48):
in his new books, and you know, Vincent Man starts
getting out of bread on the headset. You know, Brett
isn't the type of guy who I don't think he's
willing to put up with that, and that could strain
the early should even more now after it's been amended, uh,
and tickets so long to do so. So I just
think that would be a bad idea all around.

Speaker 7 (23:07):
Uh.

Speaker 3 (23:08):
You know, I would love for Brett.

Speaker 6 (23:09):
To be in the condition to where he could contribute
in that way.

Speaker 2 (23:14):
Uh.

Speaker 3 (23:15):
You know, if this was Brett of.

Speaker 6 (23:17):
Nineteen ninety seven or something like that, I think he could.
But unfortunately, with the injuries and the accidents that that
he sustained, I just don't think his mind is sharp
enough to keep.

Speaker 2 (23:27):
Up with.

Speaker 6 (23:29):
The commentary.

Speaker 2 (23:32):
Yeah, Brian, did you see Did you have a reason
why specifically you thought he was Hart would make for
a good commentator or was it just someone that came
to mind trying to fix the the announcing situation in
WW the latter part. Yeah, just just kind of trying
to come up with someone to fix it. Yeah, I
mean hard obvious to bring that. That name recognition is

(23:52):
kind of like a you know, jbl did and SmackDown
and Paz did and mc folloyd for a second and
Jim Ross on SmackDown. Yeah, they don't have that that
name brand color commentator on TV, right now. I mean,
Jerry Waller's been around for so long, but you know
he's lawless. You know, he's just he's just kind of
he's part of the crew, he's part of the scenery.

(24:13):
They don't have that that name brand. So I know
where you're going with that. I'm thinking about Brett Hart.
I mean, honestly, I would say see him punk if
he wasn't so good as a wrestler. I mean, that's
that Punk was awesome on the next a couple of
weeks ago, and he's got a bright feature in that
area whenever he decides to shift away from Russ and
whenever that is. Yeah, Brian was did you ever have

(24:35):
a thought on on Brett Hart as a commentator and
any able to fall up on that?

Speaker 3 (24:40):
I was gonna have.

Speaker 11 (24:42):
One few younger guys I have gotten a flush this year.
Do you see any of them besides maybe shameless meaning
the main event or the main event worthy mansion WrestleMania.

Speaker 2 (24:56):
Good question. We're about let's see October, six months six
months out from uh yeah from uh from WrestleMania. Yeah,
there you go, you know, kind of looking six months ahead, Greg,
do you see anybody that stands out as uh, maybe
a shameless type or a Miss or a McIntire of
some of one of those younger wrestlers who could realistically

(25:18):
be in a top match or WrestleManias.

Speaker 6 (25:20):
Well, if either asked me six months ago, I would
have said, no doubt, no hesitation Drew McIntyre, But he
can kind of fall by the wayside lately in the
last few months. To me, obviously, the one that stands
out right now is miss And I think that's even
been discussed within WWE. I think I've read that they
talk about him in a headline match, maybe not the

(25:41):
title match, but a match that would get top billing,
which is big for him. And you know, everybody who
is in his position now, are you know kind of
he He had to go through the ranks and he
had to earn his spot, and I think, uh, putting
him in that kind of position WrestleMania certainly gets hope
to the guys who are kind of toiling on the

(26:02):
undercard right now. But other than that, right now, it's
hard to see.

Speaker 3 (26:07):
I mean, it could be anybody.

Speaker 6 (26:08):
Uh, Kobe Kingston got a got a real good push
there for a few months, and uh, you know, injuries
could dictate some things getting switched up. So but right now,
the miss is really the obvious one that that.

Speaker 3 (26:22):
Stands out to me. I think you've got Jack Swagger over.

Speaker 6 (26:25):
On SmackDown who proved that as a world champion.

Speaker 3 (26:29):
He carried that SmackDown brand for a month or two
and I think he did well. So there, he's.

Speaker 6 (26:35):
Someone that can always turn to if injury is hit
or if they need a fresh body in the main
event come WrestleMania time. I think he could be plugged
into that that match or that.

Speaker 3 (26:47):
Main event picture, and you know, no one will bat nine.

Speaker 6 (26:50):
I think people people see him as that big star.

Speaker 2 (26:54):
Now, yeah, I agree with Miz being a guy who
I think is right eat for that squat. I just
don't see I don't see anyone else, you know, six
months from now, I don't see anyone else unless or
less have to be just put that person on just
the most amazing win streak and the the you know,
the best type they've put beyond a young talent in

(27:15):
a long time. I don't see anyone being ready to
kind of headline or carry a Rustlemania pay per view,
especially when w's business on paper view is so down
right now, that day. I mean, they're gonna have to
go with headliners, and they're gonna have to create you know,
Triple H and and Randy Orton and John Seen an
undertaker tight matches involving those those guys. You know, they've

(27:36):
gotta have that.

Speaker 6 (27:37):
It's funny that you say that because the pay per
view is in the toilet, and who's headlining those.

Speaker 3 (27:42):
Pay per views that are in the toilet. It's John Cena,
It's Randy Orton.

Speaker 6 (27:46):
And yet, and I'm not disagreeing with what you're saying.
You're right, w W is gonna say we gotta go
to these proven main eventors. But those CUBN main eventors
are main eventing the pay per views that are getting
some of the worst by rates in years. So what
would it hurts to call it the younger guys? You
know what I'm saying?

Speaker 2 (28:02):
Yeah, I agree with you. I think that they are overexposed.
I mean, Orton's overexposed on pay per view. Big Show
is one of the default top maybe faces on SmackDown.
He's overexposed on pay per view. I mean, seeing as
overexposed Triple H was for a while now he's been
off that that might seem fresh to see him in
a WrestleMania Men event, especially when he was just curd

(28:23):
of the undercar with Shamus this year. But yeah, they
might sit down there and say, well, we have two options.
One is WI can try to put you know, Daniel Bryan,
depending on where he is in six months or you know,
four months leading into the pay per view. They can
sit there and say, well, we can take a risk
and put Brian in the headline match and see all
that does, because that might do just as good as

(28:45):
one of our overexposed top stars and what might feel
like a repeat WrestleMania match. But I think that would
Cithern said, well, we've got to go with our privet
main spinchers because it's WrestleMania, and maybe we're not going
to take a risk. I mean may I think they
don't take risks anymore. They don't have anybody trusting this,
especially no one's challenging them with.

Speaker 6 (29:05):
That, especially a Wrestlemantia at time.

Speaker 2 (29:08):
Yeah, yeah, they do not take risks, and that's what
they should be doing. You know, why not strive something,
especially when you can, I mean you can have you
don't have to depend on just one match, just out wrestling.
I mean, you could have several different matches that are
you know, kind of like the Big Four this year.
You know, they had the Big Four, You had the
attraction match with Harda McMahon. You had uh well I'm

(29:31):
already forgetting the car, but you had uh had Jerikna. Yeah,
you had u Yeah, you know, I mean you had
a lot of different matchups. You had Michael's in taker.
That was your other big matchups. So you know, you
don't just have to have okay, everything rest on Jameel
Bryant versus the mid the headline Wrestlemingia, and you could
have several different matchups that hopefully add up to being

(29:51):
wrestlingia worthy just forever reason, they won't take a risk
with one of those you know, big three Big four slots,
and this might be the year where there are four too,
just because of how overexposed their stars are. And I
think it's also hurt Gregan is the concept paper views.
I just I don't see those working long term. I

(30:12):
think when you create six way matchups and four way
matchups and there's no real reason for it, that also
overexposes your talent and it doesn't make it feel special
to see Ran j Org in the same title match
as John Tina, It just feels like another match and
a lot of those different factors kind of come into
play with that. But Miss, yeah, I'd say Miss is

(30:34):
your young star. Maybe look at look forward to beating
in rust of many headline match Other than that, like
I said, I don't see them taking a risk with
anybody else unless somebody just catches fire in the next
four or five months at the end of the year.
But who knows, Maybe maybe Christian comes back and when's
the rumbo and he's in a title match that that
would seems pro fresh. I just I don't see that

(30:55):
happening though, with McMahon not really buying Christian as a
top star. But stranger things have happened in so.

Speaker 6 (31:03):
Highly unlikely, indeed highly unlike.

Speaker 2 (31:07):
Very good.

Speaker 12 (31:10):
Need an extra dose of positivity in your wrestling podcasts,
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Paradise at Peterboo Torch vip as we mask on the
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(31:31):
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(31:53):
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Speaker 2 (32:16):
Uh, good call, Brian. We appreciate that. Let's go in
and grab some more phone calls. Let's go to the well.
First of let me give out the phone number I'm
going to join us on the live cast and join
us in the last half hour of the show. The
number to call is six four six seven, two one
nine eight two eight. You can jump on and call
us in live, or you can just listen if you

(32:36):
want to just listen and eaves drop on the show.
You can call that number and not have to be
in line to be on the show. Let's go to
the two six to seven area code, two six to seven.
Welcome to the show. Please take you name where you're from.

Speaker 9 (32:49):
Hey, I'm Brian from Philadelphia. Hey Brian, let's go on
today and now much. I got a few questions here, sure, well,
I was looking at SmackDown's ratings. You know that that
can you know five and stuff? Right when they were
in the in the high threes, and and now recently

(33:12):
their ratings are in the high ones. Why don't you
think WWE had I mean, why don't you think they
pressed the Japanic button on on SmackDown when the ratings
you know went Belottle two point zero.

Speaker 2 (33:28):
Greg, I'll feel a suit in a second. I think
part of it is, like you said, they're on a
lame dug network. I mean, my my network TV is
not anywhere near the level that you know, other broadcast
shows that that are broadcast networks that w has been
on the past, the SmackDown, it's just not at that level.
It's not even close. So that's part of it. Also,

(33:49):
just it just they haven't made it so relevant. But Greg,
what are you summer thoughts some of your thoughts on
why that thing, you know, gas difference, and why do
you think w W has not really bride did the
panic button? It really blow out up and started over
with SmackDown.

Speaker 6 (34:05):
One of the reasons is I don't really think they
care that much about SmackDown. The SmackDown ratings don't get the.

Speaker 3 (34:13):
Scrutiny that raw ratings.

Speaker 6 (34:14):
Get from not only with NWWE, but from.

Speaker 3 (34:19):
Wrestling journalists.

Speaker 6 (34:20):
I mean, I can't remember the last time I saw
a smack Gun rating posted anywhere, so it's certainly not
as big of a deal. The other thing is you
got to remember that five years ago, what what what
station was smack Down on?

Speaker 3 (34:34):
Were they on the CW then?

Speaker 2 (34:36):
I believe, Yeah, I believe they were gone. I guess
they got from UPN to CW at that point. Yeah, right,
And CW was.

Speaker 6 (34:43):
A lot stronger networks than Minork TV is, So you've
got to take that into account too when you're when
you're comparing the two ratings.

Speaker 2 (34:53):
Yeah, I agree with that. I also think that a
lot of preemptions, I mean, my network TVs preempted a
lot places, you know, CW and upn where as well.
But I don't think anywhere near the level of My
network TV being cranted pretty frequently, and especially in key
markets in New York City and other markets like that

(35:13):
on the East coast of Uh. Just my network TV
is just not a strong network. It's kind of like
it was a placeholder while DOM to be trying to
figure out what to do and where to go with SmackDown,
and they just kind of settled on moving to moving
to sci Fi and trying to sit within that NBC
Universal family. And you know, I don't think they were
really concerned with the ratings on SmackDown just because the

(35:36):
network they're on there. I think they're just happy to
have an audience. So I think that's kind of answer
to that. Brian. Did you ever another question or follow
up on that? Oh?

Speaker 9 (35:44):
Yeah, one more would then it wouldn't it be better?
Is the w w EE pay per views where where
brand brand exclusives again they grow in SmackDown having their
own pay per views.

Speaker 2 (35:58):
You know, I mean they did that for a while,
they had the Row pay per view, then the next
month they had the SmackDown paper. You know allowed that
every other month type, you know, it made it a
little more special. I think the problem is that there
just isn't enough talent roster death on either show. I mean,

(36:18):
I couldn't even imagine a smack and only pay per
view right now. But it was hard watching some of
those in the mid two thousands. And then they had
you know, Undertaker Versum three to Dars the Dudleys was
a pay per viewing event. They I mean, they had
some some undercard matches that barely belonged on TV they
I mean, Greg, could they go back to brand exclusive

(36:38):
and then they had to just shake up the roster
and call all the developmental guys just to fill out
the card has some unique matchups and then could they
go back to that as a solution.

Speaker 6 (36:51):
I think in theory it's a good idea, But I
think with the sinking Rad's and the sinking Battery, there
are a lot of people calling for end of the
brand splat not to extended even more to have brandleing
pay per views. With WWE really in the boat they're
in right now with buyer raids, I just don't see
how they can convince themselves that leaving a John Cena

(37:11):
or a Randy Orton off.

Speaker 3 (37:12):
Of a pay per view is a good idea.

Speaker 6 (37:15):
The first thing they would have to do is take
a long term approach in building more guys up. Like
you said, James, they need to build up the top
of the cart if they would want to do this,
and that would take months, so.

Speaker 2 (37:27):
Certainly that's what they would have to look at.

Speaker 3 (37:29):
It would have to lower the pay per view prices.

Speaker 6 (37:32):
That's that's another thing that they would absolutely have to
do here. The other thing is, you know, they have
to be careful and I think this is a problem.
They may have run into it at the time, and
this is one of the advantages of not having a
brand exclusive pay per view is you run the risk
of the pay per view feeling too much like an
episode of or Smackdowns because you're seeing only the guys

(37:53):
you see on those shows. Ideally, the TV shows wouldn't
be giving away the keep natch up and it would
feel more special to see them on pay per view.

Speaker 3 (38:04):
But when you get a pay per view.

Speaker 6 (38:05):
That mixes Raw and SmackDown, it doesn't seem as much
like one of those shows as the other. But if
you go brand exclusive, you may walk away from a
saying I just watched a three hour episode of SmackDown,
and you know that's that's not something that's not a
feeling WW he wants you to leave with.

Speaker 10 (38:22):
But I think in theory it's.

Speaker 6 (38:23):
A good idea, But in the climate that WWE is
in right now, I just don't.

Speaker 3 (38:29):
See where it's a good idea from their side to.

Speaker 2 (38:33):
Look back and do that again. I agree, and they
would have to give away fewer matches on TV, and
that's going to challenge them, especially when a lot of
guys just don't have that prob ability to go out
there for ten minutes and sell a match on pay
per view. Obviously some guys doing the miss to go

(38:53):
sell a match, but they would have to reduce the
number of matches on free TV and make it special
to see X wrestler versus Y wrestler in a matchup
that's compelling with something on the line, uh and hopefully
is an overWe dependent on gimmicks and stipulations. I just
you know, I don't think that would be disciplined enough
to do that. I don't think they have the foresight

(39:15):
to do that. I don't think they have the I
don't feel I don't think they feel the pressure to
make wholesale changes, to to change the way they operate
in terms of a production of production and marketing, and uh,
you know, planting out matches in advance, you know, hyping
that at TLC you're gonna see X match versus Y match,

(39:35):
or x X wrestler versus Y wrestler in this type
of match. And you know, some people say, well, I
don't want to know what advance, what that type of matches,
or what that match is gonna be. I like the
episodic nature of of of programming where you find out,
you know, sort of as you go along, what's gonna
be on the next pay per view. I just I
just don't think it works anymore. I mean, when the

(39:56):
pay per view buys the way they are, they've got
to do something different. And if that means that, you know,
they hype a UFC style where you know, three months
in advance that brock Lesser is going to be defending
the UFC title at you know, UFC one twenty one.
That might be something they just have to explore because
they have no other option because whatever they're doing right
now is not working and it would take a major change,

(40:19):
and that might be where they are right now. They
just need to do something totally different and revamp and rehaul,
but an overhaul. But I just I don't see them
doing it. I don't. I don't think anyone's pressing them
to do that, even though they are a publish trading
company with steadily declining buy rates and pay per view revenue,
so I think that's where they are. Good call, Brian,
appreciate that good topics you brought up. Let's go the

(40:42):
four to one five eerie code four one five. Welcome
to the Sherrifflee Station anywhere you're from. What's going on guys?
As Johnsons goes Hey, Johnathon m'slata So not much. Just
got two quick questions like what was the deal with
the uh with the interview that uh Rig player and
Mick Boley did when they're just beating the crep at

(41:04):
him literally out of the fields, which really didn't like,
didn't sell me at all. Greg, What was your take
on that promo and Impact last night?

Speaker 6 (41:14):
Unfortunately, James, I gotta I gotta admit that I have
not seen Impact. Yeah, it's in my queue right now
and I'll probably hopefully get watching after this Live Past,
but been a little bitty. I have heard about it,
and I have heard people, uh complimenting that. So I
that's that's the one segment from U t NA last
night that that I have heard about and that I

(41:34):
am actually.

Speaker 2 (41:35):
Looking forward to. Yeah, I watched it this afternoon, you know,
I cover Reaction last side. I caught up on Impact
this afternoon for the Live past and and my I
had two different thoughts on that promo. One is very
compelling and Rick Flair was hilarious. That that's one thought.

Speaker 7 (41:57):
Uh.

Speaker 2 (41:58):
The other part is that it's too bad. Nobody cares
and no one is not gonna make anybody any any money.
You know, It's just to me, TEENA is in such
a position right now where it doesn't matter what they do.
Nobody cares. No one is emotionally investing in the product.
No one's gonna spend money on your product. It's just
they have done so much damage to their product in

(42:20):
twenty ten that nobody cares.

Speaker 7 (42:24):
You know.

Speaker 2 (42:24):
It's just it's sad to me because I thought that
was a pretty compelling promo, very engrossing. Sold a free
TV match though not even a pay per view match.
That's problem, you know, forty five here, So I mean
that's an issue, and it's just, you know, Teenage Front,
they've done so much damage to it. They've tried so
many tricks and twists at storyline plot twists that nobody

(42:48):
cares anymore. They've just done so much damage though to
themselves that Bowing and Flair are going out there like
looking for reaction. You know, it's kind of like going
out on stage and just like in a theater and
and you can't see the audience. You know, you have
no idea what the audience is reacting. The lights are
kind of you know, the lights are positioned in a
certain way where you can't see the audience. And so

(43:11):
you do this really compelling scene and you get all
wrapped up into it and you get to the client
next of it, and then it's like the houselights come on.
You look out in the audience and there's nobody there.
You know, it's like you were just doing this, this
this act, this performance, and nobody cared and nobody was
interested because of how much damage TEENAG has under the
product this year, and I respect, I felt kind of

(43:33):
bad to them because it seemed like they were trying
to make this feel really important, but in TNA just
you know, just kind of the grand picture of things,
whatever they're doing is not important, it's not relevant. Just
they've done so much damage, so uh, that don't come
on my my my thoughts individually and in big picture
on that promo stuff. But Johnathan, what was your take

(43:55):
on it? It was just kind of strange because like
I'm watching it, you know, with kids in the house
and stuff, and they're just watching this guy punch hi
stuff until he leads. So he was bleeding from the
mouth and I'm pretty sure he bit his you know,
he did his time to give you know, the effect
and everything, but it was just kind of a little
graphic to the point where you gotta be like, hey,
y'all gotta get out of here, because I don't want

(44:16):
to I don't want y'all to go punch yourself in
the face and think this is gonna sell something because
realistically it's not gonna do anything for the product at all.

Speaker 13 (44:24):
I mean, I get what they was doing, like, you know,
like they.

Speaker 2 (44:26):
Wanted to make this feel like really serious and everything
like that, but it didn't come across like that. It
was just all over the place.

Speaker 13 (44:33):
And then and it's just impact with the forty minute
promos and all that. It's like, we got forty five
minutes or nothing, but you know talk and then you
got beer money, and beer money's out there and they're
trying to have like a five they gotta five.

Speaker 2 (44:48):
Six minute match that ended in a brawl. To you,
who else wrestled? I can't. That's the thing.

Speaker 10 (44:53):
I can't even.

Speaker 2 (44:53):
Remember who wrestled because all I can remember is all
those promos that made no sense.

Speaker 1 (44:59):
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(45:20):
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Speaker 2 (45:39):
You made a great point, and I'll kind of give
my my my example that really hits your point, which
is went out Thursday night and came back to watch
the last I think I got the last fifteen minutes
of the Impact on Spike before cover and Reaction, and
I turned on the TV and then there's Pope and
staying in Nash talking about WCW. The audience is dead quiet.

(46:03):
They just go on and on and on for like
ten minutes. Okay, I'm like, okay, well, I'm used to that.
Covering covered impact. We're used that. Next segment is backstage
with the beautiful people in Miss Tetlocker and quite possibly
weren't the worst the worst five minutes of television ever contrived. Ever,
it was just yelling at each other.

Speaker 6 (46:24):
That would be saying. That would be saying if you
said the worst five minutes in for wrestling, because there's
a lot of stuff like ever take a backseat. But
to even cover all of television, I mean, that's huge.

Speaker 2 (46:37):
It was, I mean, it was that bad. I mean
I cannot wait.

Speaker 3 (46:39):
I cannot wait to see it.

Speaker 2 (46:40):
Now you have to watch it and that it was
just it was it was screaming over each other. It
was like they were five year olds sitting around and
the Preks class arguing with each other for nothing, you know,
with miss Petsmoker trying to all of a sudden, she's
at Tracy Brooks GM at the Knockouts division and she's
trying to do whatever she's doing, and they're all just

(47:03):
talking over each other. It's just you're piersonally bad television.
It's just you go from WW talk to the one
of the worst segments I've ever seen on TV, and
then you have I don't even remember what the next
match was, but the point is that from from nine
to ten Central Time and so nine thirty one, there
was no confluent. It was just those segments and commercials,

(47:25):
and that just summed up TNA for me right there.
That's just epitomized TNA. That's the first hour. When I
went back and I watched the first hour today, well
the first hour is pretty good. I still don't feel
like the matches mean anything. I still feel like all
the talking segments are given the most emphesis and that's unfortunate.
But you go to the main event, get you get
angling abits and an unhigh steel cage match with no

(47:49):
finish that ends during reaction and nobody cares. The announcers
don't draw attention to the non finished it's just the
match in and they go to the reaction intro and
just and he's been doing with Nexus and John Cena
and their TV beding adventure, they don't even announce a finish.
And I'm like, this is why par wrestling is losing

(48:10):
viewers right now because of these types of things where
they hype a match, they they they deliver about, you know,
five tenths of it, and then they don't even bother
to tell you what happened in the very end. They
don't give you any explanation. They don't even bother to
tell the audience what's going on. They just assume the
audience doesn't care.

Speaker 6 (48:27):
Or if the winner doesn't matter, so the point match
happens matter more, or Jackson, you will just come out
the next week and cut a joke about how he
lost and then move on.

Speaker 2 (48:36):
You know, yeah, yeah exactly, And that's that's what's so frustrating.
And as a viewer, you're sitting in here, you're saying, okay,
you hype this match, and I got a little bit
interested in seeing Angle and Abyss, but but then I
don't get a finish. There's no payoffs to the match,
so you're not gonna pay attention the next time that
match happens, or a similar match, or the next time

(48:57):
Tenae hikes a matchup of two big stars. You're just
not going to pay attention. And then on the same
show they give away Samoa's Joe versus Mister Anderson. That's
a pay per view main event, and they just gave
it away on free TV with no height of advertisement.
They didn't draw attention to it. They had a couple
of backstage segments on sort of that reaction style, but

(49:17):
all the emphasis was on the Pope and Nash and
Sting and their little program conspiracy Theory, uh with with
with Hogan and bishof they're they're on commentary during that match,
and there was like maybe a minute discussion of the match.
The rest of the time was Pope and Today in
Past talking about their conspiracy theory storyline. I just I

(49:37):
just don't get it, and it's so frustrating. I mean,
w mean, did the same things during the tag title
match on Raw. You know, and I rated it on
that earlier this week. I'm not gonna do it again,
but I mean, it's just does anybody have a clue
promote wrestling these days? I don't think anybody doesn't. It's
so frustrating when this does not have to happen. You know,
it's just in confidence. So there you go. So Jonathan,

(50:01):
you got to get a rant out of me. Good job, Greg.
Any of those thoughts to add on to that sort
of sort of big picture discussion of how matchups are
treated in terms of the dog finishes that we see
all far too often on TV these days.

Speaker 6 (50:16):
Yeah, I think he said, you know, not only the
non finishes, but the finishes that don't mean anything, and
those are what's hurting the competitive aspect of pro wrestling,
which I think is is W pro wrestling promoters underestimate
how many people even though it is quote unquote.

Speaker 2 (50:34):
Not real pro wrestling.

Speaker 6 (50:36):
I think there is a lot of people that come
to see winners and losers, and I think WW or
not w W Pro Wrestlings in general thinks, well, the
fans know it's fake, so you know, it's more about
the story being told than the winners and losers. Well,
I don't know necessarily that I agree with that. You know,
everybody has a favorite wrestler wanted to do well and

(50:56):
wanted to win the title. And you know when there's
no contests or matches that don't mean anything, or you
know that that have a finish, that that is in
the background by the end of the night or not
even mentioned in the next week, it kind of trivializes
the whole entering aspect of what they do. The other
thing I was gonna say is now you have gotten.

Speaker 3 (51:18):
Me thinking about conspiracy theory?

Speaker 6 (51:20):
Is justicsan Tourist Season two coming up soon?

Speaker 3 (51:22):
When you mentioned the conspiracy theory with.

Speaker 6 (51:24):
Hault Cogan and I am looking forward to that, James,
I will be in front of my TV watching that.

Speaker 2 (51:28):
I will say that, Yeah, I remember that story came across.
I guess those last week was when they now season
two is coming back. Uh that that show was so
frustrating speaking of no playoffs and it was just prop training.

Speaker 6 (51:43):
James, Come on, you just gotta sit back and enjoy
it for what it is. If you're looking at any
kind of if you're looking for any kind of grand
uh you know, uh finish or our grand idea that's
going to be sprouted by the end of the show.
You're looking at the wrong show. You got to pick
up for what it is, camp value with Jesse Ventura
as the hero.

Speaker 3 (52:03):
I mean that's really what it is.

Speaker 2 (52:06):
I need a payoff. I just you know, the payoff
for me is not just.

Speaker 10 (52:11):
The payer for me is seeing Jesse Ventura in this.

Speaker 6 (52:15):
I mean just all his bluster and all his glory
and everything that makes him. You know, it's just Ventura
and you know, intimidating people and you know, bossing around
his his his fellow researchers. I mean that's what that
is about, right there.

Speaker 2 (52:30):
Oh, there you go. I'm glad you enjoy Greg is
I do. I'm glad you do it. We'll have you
review it. So thanks for volunteering and appreciate it. No, absolutely,
I tried. I found a two episodes. I said, there's
no payoff of this, so I'm glad you found one. Greg,
So I hats off to you. Definitely, definitely hats off

(52:51):
to you. Let's go. It's another cultor and this is uh,
this is a c R A P. Sorry I'm living
from an internet call. So c R A P G
A Let us know your name and where you're calling from.

Speaker 14 (53:07):
Hey, guys, it's Jeff from Los Angeles.

Speaker 2 (53:10):
Hey, Jeff, let's go on today.

Speaker 14 (53:12):
Uh, good show, guys, one of the three. Just a
little bit mildly on because I wanted to talk also
about the flair fully uh promo. Uh fully always compelling
when he kind of peels the curtain back a little
bit and goes a little bit real love it. And
I say this with a lot of pain and suffering

(53:33):
and having been a mid Atlantic fan for many years,
I hate this Rick Flair. I hate crazy old man
Flair comedy at yeah to me, to me, he ruined
this promo because I mean he was. I mean, there's
Fully being all intense, and here's Flair getting half naked

(53:56):
and dropping moves on a book and doing Telvick's thrust.

Speaker 3 (53:59):
To the audience and stuff like this.

Speaker 14 (54:02):
And the other part and the other part of it
that really just angers me to no end is that
Flair should be kind of this golden lion enjoying his
glory and stuff like that as a manager and going, Okay,
here's what I am and I'm going to make fortune
into this him being a comedy act. Just to me,
it undercuts everything they're trying.

Speaker 3 (54:23):
To do with the Fortune group as well. Agree.

Speaker 2 (54:28):
Yeah, I agree with that completely. Yeah, I think the Flair.
You know, it's kind of one of the reasons why
I thought Flair was hilarious was because I already don't
take this seriously. You know, I don't take it seriously
that Flair, especially fully trying to promote this as you know,
the greatest story ever told. I'm like, it's d and A.

(54:51):
It's it's unfortunately they had their chance to be relevant
in twenty ten. They dropped the ball. They're not relevant.
So Flair, I mean, fully hiding this up the the
biggest thing ever. It's almost like jets Ventura hyping his
show is the biggest thing ever, and it's just complete
farce to me. But great you find the redeeming quality
in it.

Speaker 6 (55:09):
That's That's a good caveat to me, James, because I'm
gonna I'm gonna jump right down your throat as soon
as you said that, But luckily you gags that on
the end.

Speaker 2 (55:19):
I had to put that on there because I mean,
I see your perspective. That's kind of why I like
player in this in this I mean, and I agree
with Jeff's saying that it's not productive for Player because
he's playing the comedy role. No one takes him seriously
as a threat. No one takes Fortune seriously as a threat.
And they're they're supposed to be getting over fortune, They're
supposed to be getting over beer money and a j

(55:40):
because Ring and Matt Horrigan and Doug Williams supposed to
be getting those guys over as your future stars. Who
are these ominous threats that are you know, that have
destroyed E C and EV two faction and they've done
all these things. You got Player, your leader, out there
taking them all the TV time in this sort of
comedy attempt. It's like a it's not even supposed to

(56:01):
be funny, but it is because it's Flair being Clair
version six, being the old the old crazy man. So yeah,
it's it's a mess. But Gregor, what's your reaction to
what Jeff had to say about the way Player's portrayed
and also fully just trying to present the sort of
serious angle just in general speaking, Well, the difficult.

Speaker 6 (56:24):
Thing was Flair being a leader of any faction, is
he's going to overshadow the group for the most part.
Now when he was an evolution. You had Triple h
H and you have up and comers and Randeordan and Batista,
and there was a hierarchy there that was established. You
don't really have that in Fortune, and you have Flair

(56:44):
being presented as a bigger star than Fortune, And when
you have a semi retired manager, which he's become, having
him overshadow the actual guys in the group is not
a good thing.

Speaker 3 (56:59):
And that's that's the way I feel about it.

Speaker 2 (57:02):
Yeah, I agree. And they've had times when they've had
that balance where they'll have aj doing most of the
talking and Player's kind of in the background, not even long, improvingly,
But then when Flair comes out and he does his
long promos and Fortune is kind of in the background
and doing nothing. Yeah, I just I don't think that's
the way to go. So it's unfortunate, but kay. So

(57:23):
there you go, Jeff, good call. We appreciate that. Good,
good point to bring up there on Kolee and Flair,
So we appreciate that we're trying to squeeze in three
more callers in the last seven minutes of the show.
Let's go to the eight sixty five area code eight
six five. Welcome to the show, please station in where
you're from.

Speaker 15 (57:39):
Hey, guys, you who pretend to see what's going on.

Speaker 2 (57:42):
A whole lot of Steven, what's up today?

Speaker 15 (57:45):
I have a much manager raised for the right of
the weekend and daff works anyway, I wanted to call
him ask With even more and more research coming on
obviously about head crumbray concussions and professional wrestling, I just
kind of wandering since the fancas she's kind of been
a stats.

Speaker 2 (58:02):
Guy for of course you kind of you guys know.

Speaker 3 (58:05):
It's that comparison by numbers, at least as cases.

Speaker 15 (58:08):
That are more more current, like NFL and n m
A to W like if there's one that those two are.

Speaker 3 (58:13):
Higher than if they're about the same.

Speaker 2 (58:18):
I wish we knew these numbers, and this is kind
of why I've asked for more transparency from them with
how they apply to their policy to you know, actuality.
Just they don't report numbers, they don't give any indication.
I mean, we know that Teddy Bianski had a concussion
a couple months ago during that paper VW match with
Our Truth where he continues to wrestle even though it

(58:40):
was obvious that he had something going on, I would
imagine NFL has a lot more. I just should have
said the NFL has a lot more injuries this year then,
And I see a lot of guys banged up with concussions.
I'm not sure about how they convert in the many
And you know, without a lot of specifics from across
all these industries know mm A and the NFL and

(59:01):
w W UH thing TNA, I mean, we don't know
any about TNA and their concussions, so it's kind of
hard to tell. But Greg, what's kind of your thought
on how through those three industries or organizations or genre
is gonna compare with with recent concussions. Well, if you're talking.

Speaker 6 (59:18):
About a wrong numbers, obviously the NFL is gonna have
a higher number simply because they have a higher number
of UH players than than wrestlers on at w W
or T and a roster. And the other thing is
the NFL has some sort of transparency with injury reports
to come out each week, and they have the list
the players that are injured, and you know their status
and you know if they have a concussion.

Speaker 2 (59:39):
They have to report.

Speaker 3 (59:40):
It's it's the league wide rule.

Speaker 6 (59:41):
Whereas WW doesn't, TNA doesn't, every independent promotion in America doesn't.
Uh So it's really tough to guess.

Speaker 3 (59:50):
It's even ballpark how many how many wrestlers. Uh, it
happens too.

Speaker 9 (59:55):
But I would say.

Speaker 3 (59:57):
That, you know, despite the protection of the NFL, where
I would say that the.

Speaker 6 (01:00:03):
The issues that they deal with are quite similar because
the style, even though for wrestling is quote unquote fake
again I use that term, Uh, do you still have
the you know, whether even when you're taking a bump,
you have that whiplash effects on the neck and you
have a lot of those kinds of injuries even for
the safe that they're moved and in the NFL, you're
you're basically throwing.

Speaker 3 (01:00:24):
Your body around. And they've both companies.

Speaker 6 (01:00:27):
The NFL has done a lot to ensure players safety,
from you know, making the equipment better, the helmets thicker,
to you know, barring tackles on defensible's receivers and you know,
ww has tried to improve the wellness policy.

Speaker 3 (01:00:44):
But again WWE, when they do that.

Speaker 6 (01:00:47):
They don't offer a lot of information voluntarily, whereas the
NFL they make it quite clear, uh what they're doing
and how they're going about it.

Speaker 2 (01:00:58):
Yeah, exactly right. And that's why I hope that eventually
WWE does advance toward more disclosure. And shareholders kind of
asked for that because I guess they feel like they
do enough disclosing their actual impact concussion policy.

Speaker 5 (01:01:14):
Uh.

Speaker 2 (01:01:14):
And then so that's all they need to do without disclosing.
Then are those closed names just numbers? It could even
be the names wide it out just just we just
need an idea of the numbers. Uh, just to get
a read on whether this is actually working from go
to b's perspective and how they're applying it to you know,
actuality of guy gets injured in the ring, what happens?
So h good call Steven. We appreciate that. We're gonna

(01:01:36):
try to squeeze in two more phone calls in the
last few minutes of the show. Remind everyone pw TOWRTS
dot com Tonight for Greg Parks's live coverage is SmackDown
and also vip audio this weekend. The Hell on the
Cell pay per view is on Sunday. We'll have live
coverage of that on the site and wake kel Or
Bruce Mitchell Pat McNeil with the post audio Post pay

(01:01:57):
per view Audio Roundtable discussion for VIP members. That info
is at P two B torch dot com, slash go
vi P. Let's go to Juli one area code of
we probably Jay out to Houston. Jay.

Speaker 8 (01:02:11):
How are you doing to I'm doing right and you
doing good?

Speaker 2 (01:02:15):
What do you have?

Speaker 16 (01:02:15):
Of course?

Speaker 2 (01:02:15):
Say? Okay?

Speaker 8 (01:02:18):
As you guys know, card Angles signed the one year
contract with TNA to keep going for it, which is
pretty surprising to me, which tells me that they're obviously
going to put up a title on that bound for glory.

Speaker 2 (01:02:29):
But my question is about the other older.

Speaker 8 (01:02:33):
Wrestlers in TNA, you know, the forty and up club.

Speaker 3 (01:02:38):
Why aren't they.

Speaker 8 (01:02:40):
Forced to wrestle as much as card Angle does and
card Angles more broken down? And do you see Jeff
Jarrett ever getting another title run?

Speaker 3 (01:02:50):
Please no, please know.

Speaker 2 (01:02:54):
Nothing in TNA would surprise me anymore in terms of
who might get a title run. I think with Angle,
you know, I don't know the specifics of this contract,
but I think he wants to wrestle and team he
wants him to wrestler because he is their tough or
I could one of the top wrestlers, other wrestlers like
a Sting and a Nash. They have a certain number
of dates that they're contracted to during the year, so

(01:03:17):
TEENA doesn't want to use up all their dates kind
of with rbd uh, you know, in the first six
months and then having to pay them more you know,
later on in the year. So, Dreg, what's your take
on sort of the balance of the older stars and
kind of what Jay was talking about with Angle and
some of the other stars on the roster.

Speaker 6 (01:03:36):
Well, the simple answer I think with me would be
that pud Angle is in much better shape. You say,
he's maybe more broken down, but he's more able to
get a really good match out of someone then say
Kevin Nash or a Sting or the other older wrestlers
on the roster. So that would be That's my immediate.

Speaker 3 (01:03:52):
Answer to that.

Speaker 6 (01:03:53):
But as for Jeff Cherre getting unentitled, I could definitely
see it happening. I could see the turning him into
some sentimental baby States, who you know, is in the
last year of his wrestling career and you know, wants
to get to the top of them mount one more time.
I could see some storyline like that coming up down
the pike. Not necessarily within the year or anything like that,

(01:04:13):
but it is something that I think I can definitely
see them doing.

Speaker 2 (01:04:18):
Yeah, I could see it happening. I mean, I would
hope that Tomow with Joe Raijio would be ahead of
Jared Lyone, but I could see it happening if you'd
on the storylines to play out. W seen one.

Speaker 3 (01:04:30):
One thing.

Speaker 2 (01:04:30):
Everyone for listening to us today and joining us on
a live cast. Stay tuned for Peteretoris dot Com covered
a SmackDown and live cast next Monday.

Speaker 17 (01:04:42):
In twenty twelve, NXT transitioned into the developmental system and
ultimately the brand you see today. On the Torch VIP
podcast NXT Eight Years Back, we'll be taking a weekly
look at this page in NXT's early history.

Speaker 18 (01:04:58):
Join Kelly Wells and me tooms out from PWT Talks
NXT every Saturday as we go eight years back to
the day to track NXT's rising talents and why they
did or didn't work out exclusively for PW Torch VIP members.

Speaker 2 (01:05:27):
All right, Greg will go ahead and keep it here
for these I guess we'll call it a free VIP
after show. A little sample of what we do after
the live cast. Every day and Monday through Friday, we
have a VIP exclusive after show after the sixteen minute
live cast that's made available on the PW tourch VIP section. Gregor,
We're just gonna run down the Hell of the Cell

(01:05:49):
pay per view lineup. I know who want to talk
about the pay per view on Sunday. During the live cast,
A lot more talk about SmackDown tonight and PNA last night,
especially looking ahead to the Bound for Glory pay per
view next Sunday. This Sunday's pay per view held and
Cell from Dallas on October the third, Greg is this
is this a pay per view that's I guess special

(01:06:11):
enough versus not a champion two weeks ago? Doesn't have
enough compelling matchups to where you know it's worth an
order if you can gotta get a couple buddies together
to split the costs. What would your take on the
value of this payer review on Sunday?

Speaker 15 (01:06:26):
I think Hell and the Cello still has.

Speaker 6 (01:06:28):
Enough value as a concept to WWE that it can
come in handy and I think that it'll do a decent.

Speaker 3 (01:06:36):
Number of guys. I personally love the United.

Speaker 6 (01:06:39):
Champions concepts because I don't think the championships were emphasized
enough throughout the year. In WWE plus, it also gives
the opportunity to do regular matches without having stipulations kind
of stuck in there.

Speaker 3 (01:06:53):
Although you get more.

Speaker 6 (01:06:54):
Multi mn matches because you know, with all the titles
being defended, you only get maybe one match that's that's
not for a title and you need to stick and
you can't do you know, we talked about this last week.
I think I was on you can't have John Cenavers
or Andy or and then a one on one match
for the title and leave a guy like shame Us
Off or Edge or Jericho, So you kind of have

(01:07:14):
to combine them unfortunately. But I think Hell on the
Cell as a concept and as a match has enough steams.

Speaker 3 (01:07:24):
Still a lot, and by next year they might not.

Speaker 6 (01:07:26):
Even by this year they might not. We might get
the by ray and say, you know what, it's tough
to say whether it would be the two week window
of the pay per views or with the Hell the
Cell concept and of itself and whether or not it's
still a viable pay per view concept.

Speaker 2 (01:07:45):
Yeah, yeah, you make good points on that. Yet look
at you know, Bragan Rights in three weeks, how do
they make that special? You know, Hell in the Cell
is a unique matchup and they I mean it's it's
far enough away from the Nation Chamber where it doesn't
feel too similar to that they could if they were
closer together and in the pay per view schedule. But

(01:08:08):
the most intriguing match to me is John Cena versus
Wade Bear. I'm not really intrigued by Orton and Seamus.
It doesn't really catch my interest. Uh Cain Undertaker in
a little bit. It kind of depends what happens on
SmackDown tonight. It's kind of add in that that structure.
We're not gonn gonna eat blood though, so it's not

(01:08:29):
gonna feel like, you know, Sington's playground as far the
their their marketing, which implies what happened to kurr Angle
and Impact last night, which was he's bleeding like a
stuck pig with blood just covering the ring. You're not
gonna get that in the pay per view. But to me,
the most intriguing match is Seena Beart just because what happened.
What potential twist is there? Does Sina join Nexus Nexus

(01:08:53):
done after this pay per view? Uh? Greg, what's your
what's your taken on that? Mex is gonna play out,
you know, especially looking forward or two the story one
the rest of this year.

Speaker 6 (01:09:05):
I don't know how serious WWE is about turning Johnson Hill.
I know it's in discuss. I think what they could
do is have Barrett win Sina reluctantly joined Nexus and
whatever all that entailed, and then he kind of gets

(01:09:26):
indoctrinated into their ways and kind of you know, begins
to see things from their side and maybe is a
weakened to the Nexus side of things, and really you know,
softly at first, because I think if they want to
turn John Seena, they want that hult Cope and Bash
to beach moment.

Speaker 3 (01:09:44):
And I think that's really something they could do.

Speaker 6 (01:09:48):
And it would have been great at Summer Slim if
you know, Seena had been attacked backstays and you know
it's it's two on one Nexus against you know, Daniel
Bryan or something like that, and I've seen as being
the kids and he runs down and then he attacks
Daniel Bryners.

Speaker 19 (01:10:00):
I like that.

Speaker 6 (01:10:00):
I think that, you know, kind of mirroring the Halt
ColoAd intern. I think that would have been really interesting
to see the reaction on that. But I just don't
have the confidence in w W to do it like
we talked about on the show, they like to play
it safe and playing it safe with John Cena winning,
Wade Barrett and Nexus, the spending and the return of
the Tash quote a rock. I'd like to believe that

(01:10:23):
the buyers and the ratings that are scaring WWE and
not to change things up, But I don't know.

Speaker 3 (01:10:30):
I I would love to see Wade Barrett win.

Speaker 2 (01:10:33):
I would love to see that. Yeah, you see it.
You see a potential for uh that Max to start
and seen it just laid down and and have Bear
just pin him and seeing a you don't even have
to reveal that he's like a higher power, but just
have him uh say that he was convinced by Nexus

(01:10:54):
and he decided to join the group on his own
admission or his own volition whatever. Is Is that a
possibility as that big Hogan esque kind of heel turned
for Sina.

Speaker 6 (01:11:06):
I suppose it is. The problem is logistically just with
the pay per view, not even with the angle is
you've only got about five or six matches books fellows.
If you or something like that, you wouldn't need something
a long postmatch, or you would need to add a
lot of matches the day of the show to make
up for the twenty to thirty minutes that that match
and the postmatch would not be getting that it would

(01:11:28):
usually get.

Speaker 2 (01:11:30):
Yeah, because that to me, if you do that angle,
it has to be the main event. There's just no
there's no way you can go from that to Orange
Seamus or Undertaker Caine in your in your main event.
It's just that would be the biggest story, but one
of the biggest stories of the year of seeing his
character will only turned heel obviously the biggest story of

(01:11:51):
the pay per view. So I mean you you basically,
I mean it's hard though, because then they kind of
we would be giving away that something's gonna happen like
that if that match starts at night, you know, at
ten forty or nine to forty Central, and then you
know something's up because there's there's no way they're going
to start the main event that late.

Speaker 6 (01:12:12):
They do a big interview segment explanation afterwards, that's true.

Speaker 2 (01:12:17):
Yeah, like you said, and then you know that that
could be what they do. I mean, it could be
the Bash of the Beach. I mean that that long
interview segment with Hogan and Hall of Nash. So I'm
really intrigued by this. I mean, I think a lot
of people are intrigued bite as well, but perhaps not
at that I'm intrigued enough to spend forty five dollars
to see what's gonna happen. I think it's more of

(01:12:38):
a TV storyline of intrigue to see what happens, you know,
kind of tune in on Raw on Monday to see
what happened in the pay per view. I think that's
kind of where the intrigue is with this right now.
And maybe they don't help the rating. I'm gontly opinion
a lot of help with the rating on next Monday show,
just to do something to build some momentum. So I

(01:13:00):
don't know, we will see very fascinating time this weekend.
So Grego, I'm gonna let you let you get ready
for SmackDown tonight, Big Show'll let you get through dinner
and I'll get my dinner in and uh and we'll
be watching SmackDown any any falling dogs before we wrap
it up today.

Speaker 6 (01:13:17):
Uh No, I think we hit on a lot of
this topics today and like I said, I'm really looking
forward to SmackDown for the first time in a while,
most spoilers out there, so everybody's going in with a
fresh set of eyes and uh hopefully it'll be uh
kicking out the sci Fi era with a bang, because
SmackDown has been kind of logi the last few weeks

(01:13:39):
or months, So hopefully this term things around a.

Speaker 20 (01:13:41):
Little of the debut on sci Fi.

Speaker 2 (01:13:44):
Yeah, Greg, you didn't have to avoid spoilers this week, so.

Speaker 7 (01:13:47):
That was right.

Speaker 21 (01:13:48):
I know.

Speaker 6 (01:13:48):
That's that's the tough part, especially if something big happens,
like the Paul Verry spoiler.

Speaker 3 (01:13:52):
I ended up running into somehow.

Speaker 6 (01:13:55):
On the internet, and I was really disappointed in that.
So you know, if you don't see any spoiler, then
you know nothing big happen, and that's kind of disappointing
to go in with that mindset. But if you run
into spoilers, that's something big happening. Yeah, you see, that's
something big is happening.

Speaker 10 (01:14:08):
But now you're not surprised, so you expect it.

Speaker 6 (01:14:10):
So it's a double edged toward seeing the doing the spoiler.
So that really makes me excited about being a live
show tonight.

Speaker 2 (01:14:19):
There you go kind of overthink it, you know, you're like, okay, well,
if I don't hear anything. That must not be that
hustband is not a good show.

Speaker 3 (01:14:25):
But if I doesn't happen for so long, James, that
just comes natural, right now.

Speaker 2 (01:14:31):
That's true, so we'll see. I mean, it's a big
night for to Me and SmackDown tonight, so lots of
lots of is fascinating wrestling the breakdown over the next
you know, the next ten days. It was batter for
glory and day and whoever. That is so alight, gurd
thanks for thanks you for joining me to on the
live cast ro. I appreciate it and we will look

(01:14:52):
forward to your report tonight on SmackDown. We're now joined
by Worts Comma is Pat m'neil for the VIP after
show portion today's podcast How are you doing today?

Speaker 10 (01:15:06):
Hello you people, and of course I'm joined by the
head coach of the Indianapolis Colts, James called.

Speaker 2 (01:15:12):
My dad is not on the line. No real name
is actually Jim And this is very odd when when
I'm watching a Colts game and they say my dad's name.
Just WHOA.

Speaker 1 (01:15:27):
Anytime you're watching ww E RAW or SmackDown or AW
Dynamite in particular, send us an email if you've got
thoughts on the show or a topic you want us
to address, or a question for us, Wade Keller Podcast
at PW torch dot com. Wadekeller Podcast at petw torch
dot com. If there's anything else going on in pro
wrestling that you want us to address on our main

(01:15:47):
podcast during our mailbank segments, that same email applies Wade
Keller Podcast at PW torch dot com. We invite that interaction.
Let us know what you think of what we're saying,
and let us know what you want us to talk
about and ask us specific questions. Wadekellor Podcast at PW
tours dot com.

Speaker 2 (01:16:06):
Anyways, Pat, we've got the mail bag from the McNeil
zone and towards VIP form, And just a note for
the VIP members listening to this update, you can drop
an email, a question, a thought or comment, a tweet
and I guess maybe a tweet in the McNeil zone
and the listener thread and he towards vip form and

(01:16:26):
we'll get to that. I'll retract to this every Friday,
so that's can make it consistent that we will attract
to attempt to listen and to listener questions. So Pat,
Well we have today.

Speaker 10 (01:16:38):
Well, my first question was actually texted to me from
a mister Johnny Fairplay, who apparently is at some sort
of wrestling show in Winnipeg, Canada this weekend. Johnny asks
who gets the worst fan reaction in Philadelphia, John Cena
or Donovan McNab, And Uh, my answer, of course is
it'll be Donovan McNabb because there'll be more fans of

(01:17:00):
the Eagles game and there will be in a w
W show.

Speaker 2 (01:17:03):
He didn't come out this week and say if he
expected to be cheered in Philadelphia. Uh, yeah, yeah, you.

Speaker 10 (01:17:14):
Know, you know what I think. I think maybe when
he comes out during the pregame warm ups he'll get
he'll get a round of applause, the one he's introduced
when he comes out in the field for his first series.

Speaker 9 (01:17:23):
I mean, he's you know, he's the enemy.

Speaker 10 (01:17:25):
I mean, he was playing for the Eagle and how
he playing for Mepicans.

Speaker 22 (01:17:27):
He's gonna get boot.

Speaker 2 (01:17:29):
Yeah, he could get boot, just.

Speaker 10 (01:17:30):
Like Tony Romo would get boot, or or Eli Manning
or any other opposing quarterback. And if he's not expecting that, he's.

Speaker 2 (01:17:37):
Fully Yeah, yeah, I agree with you on that. That's
kind of what I've been here in the ESPN is
they think that, you know, I'll get cheered in the
intros because of you know, he helped turn that team around.
But like you said, he now he's part of the Redskins,
so now he's the enemy. So I imagine that.

Speaker 10 (01:17:52):
I mean, they you know, if they think about it,
but you know what, you know, they know that mcnapp
didn't ask to be traded. But you know, I mean,
this is this business and the business of football is
you boo the you bow the other team's quarterback. And
that's that's what the Eagles are gonna do.

Speaker 2 (01:18:06):
Eagles fans anyway, Yeah, the Eagles players started doing and
that would be a good. Now that we're just talking football,
what's your prediction on the outcome of it this weekend?

Speaker 10 (01:18:17):
Well, the Eagles are are favored and deservedly so. Now, however,
I already decided the season I was not gonna pick
against the Redskins. So I'm gonna I'm gonna take the Redskins.
And if there was ever a time for the Redskins
to step up their game, this would this would be it.
After their frankly embarrassing performance last week at Saint Louis.

Speaker 2 (01:18:35):
Yeah, it certainly, it certainly is. I mean it's that
time when you when you feel like might nav's got
to step up and be leader of the team and
get some wins.

Speaker 10 (01:18:41):
So, and I'll say this, you know, the Eagles looked
good the last two weeks, but they they were playing
against a couple of bad teams. And they played one
good team this year, which is the Packers, and they lost.
I mean they they played them well, but but they lost.
So there is a possibility. I mean, I don't think
the two teams were too far apart. Callum Wise, Yeah,
the Eagles have to be the favorites.

Speaker 2 (01:19:02):
Yeah, Michael Vick has been able to look good against
an inferior competition, you know, so it'd be interesting to
see how he looks against better competition if he holds up.
So our football discussion part of the after show, h Pat,
you know who do you think would be?

Speaker 7 (01:19:17):
Uh?

Speaker 6 (01:19:19):
Who?

Speaker 2 (01:19:19):
You know? Johnson? Obviously in Philadelphia, the East Sey Arena
would be booed. And we saw that kind of a
glimpse of that in the averside ballroom. And oh at
five or six, I guess five.

Speaker 10 (01:19:30):
Well, mean, we we've seen glumps of glumps of it
at pretty much every war in the past two years.
I mean, they're gonna have to it does have his
attractors in the audience, and he has people who follow him,
and uh, that's you know, that's the way it is.
I mean, we'll see after Sunday. Uh, if they're gonna
pull the trigger on turning John Cena, he'll I would
be very surprised if they did it right now.

Speaker 2 (01:19:50):
Yeah. Where I was going with that, which is do
you think they I mean, do you think it's the
right time to do that, to even consider it and
even you know, take that next step and actually pull
the trigger on it. Is that? And now the is it?
You know, is it would have to just be a
knee jerk reaction.

Speaker 10 (01:20:04):
No, And you know, using the using the system of
watching the Attitude era which we uh, which we did,
and the wrestling that's come after that. They they sort
of laid the groundwork for something on Monday.

Speaker 3 (01:20:14):
If you if you saw the show.

Speaker 10 (01:20:16):
Which is which is Ron Killing is coming up to
scene and says I will always have your back, brother,
which is huge usually wrestling speak for I'm going to
turn on you first chance I get. So, I mean
I mean I am throwing you out there as a
possibility that that Our Truth might cost John Steen of
the match and might you know, might end up being
the new leader of Nexus, which would well, it'll be

(01:20:37):
a come down for the Nexus, frankly, but uh, it
would be a big step in Our Truth's career and
you know, Sina versus Our Truth man. Yeah, I don't
know about turning him either, Frankly.

Speaker 2 (01:20:47):
But my other thought was Darren Young returning he kind
of disappeared after I mean, this would not be a
big deal. I mean Darren Young.

Speaker 10 (01:20:55):
No, I mean, if you know, if you tell people
didn't know who Dangl Bryan was and he came back
in summer sliming, he like, oh Darren Young?

Speaker 3 (01:21:02):
Really?

Speaker 2 (01:21:03):
Yeah, I mean something that that came to mind today,
and then I'm just trying to think of ways.

Speaker 10 (01:21:09):
I mean, yeah, it would just be out of context.
It would be out of context like Boogeyman showing up
and interfering in the Undertaker versus Kane match. You know,
it's just it just doesn't fit the situation.

Speaker 2 (01:21:21):
It would have fit sci fi and PG though.

Speaker 10 (01:21:26):
Done well, well, we'll talk about snack down the moment.
I am curious to see what they're gonna start tonight,
because you know, one way or another, I figure that
they are. Once you do with Helena Cell match with
Undertaker and Kane, there's really not too many other places
to go with those two, so they they have to stand.
This whole month has been built around Undertaker and Kane
and you know, meeting up the Helena Cell and and

(01:21:48):
rightfully so that h they have to start something new.
And the problem with having Undertaker and Kane wrestling for
the world title in Helena Cell is after the match,
either Undertaker or Kane will your world champion. Undertaker you
have to be very careful about how you have him
lose the belt and Kane is Kane, and.

Speaker 2 (01:22:09):
Yeah, yeah, that's kind of why. I mean, my instinct
says Undertaker captures the title, but then you have to
do the rematch with Kine, so part three and I
imagine that.

Speaker 10 (01:22:21):
Now now there, Well see, now there you go, because
you have a I mean, you got in this already,
but you have a pay per view coming up in
three weeks, but frankly, no one's watching anyway, so that
might be a good time to get that one out
of the well.

Speaker 2 (01:22:34):
Yeah, you know, and the way they've been presented, it
does feel like sort of they.

Speaker 3 (01:22:39):
Also ran medium in or so perhaps.

Speaker 2 (01:22:41):
I mean, my thought was that they could skip that
pay per view and have Kane or Undertaker being that
whatever rovers SmackDown versus nexts, whatever cup of match they
come up with. But I mean they might even do
it on SmackDown, just give away the rematch next.

Speaker 10 (01:22:55):
Well, A have a hint for them, if they're listening
next year, they should skip that pay per view and
get down on the twelve pay per views a year,
because you know, I mean, the whole reason they added
more pay per views was because was when they thought
they would be running WWE and WCWS separate companies, which
of course never materialize, and they thought that they'd have
no competition, you know, that nobody else would be runing
wrestling pay per views, which again also is not the case.

(01:23:16):
So yeah, you know, you're not trying to go up
to twenty pay per views a year now, and thank
goodness for that. So let's let's get it down to twelve,
which is a more manageable number.

Speaker 2 (01:23:26):
Very much. So I just take it once a month,
make it easy, you know, It's just it's you know, yeah,
I mean they were at sixteen, fourteen, thirteen, just just
slice it. Let's you know, let's make it twelve.

Speaker 10 (01:23:38):
I'm gonna get to I'm getting be gonna get to.
The other listener, Maile. Question, all right, if this is
from Ed Carr in Norfolk, otherwise known as a notorious
nine to ten. If you were starting in developmental territory,
who would you hire to train the wrestlers to wrestle?
Or that's this question. One question too is who would
hire to train the wrestlers to do promos? Okay, would
you like me to go first?

Speaker 2 (01:23:58):
Teams?

Speaker 10 (01:23:59):
I know, I know, hope they want to hear from you.

Speaker 23 (01:24:00):
But is this anybody in the world or anyone one
in or you know, I'm gonna just treat this as
anybody in the world, and it may in might me him.

Speaker 10 (01:24:11):
I mean that might influence how much it cost. Is
open in the developmental territory if you if you hire anybody, yeah, yeah,
let's see train the wrestlers to wrestle. That's a I mean,
that is a tough question. I don't mind saying. So
let me I think that at Seahn Michael's school, he

(01:24:32):
had Rudy Boy Gonzalez doing the training. Does that sound correct?

Speaker 2 (01:24:36):
That sounds right? Yeah, Okay, So.

Speaker 10 (01:24:40):
So he's the guy who was training you know, Daniel
Bryan and Brian Kendrick and a few Lance Cade and
a few of those other guys. Yeah, that that might
not be a bad pick. And frankly, when when you
go to a wrestling school and and Bruce's since Bruce
has mentioned Jimmy Vallians wrestling school, you know, the fame
of the semi famous guy at the wrestling school is
not the one who does the training. He might t

(01:25:00):
up to you or you know, step up and do
a few things with you, or critique from the sideline,
but you know there's somebody else who does the training.
And I think in that case it was Rudy Boykenzalez
and not Sean Michaels. So that's just that's just something
to keep in mind. After Jimmy Valliant camp. You know,
Jimmy Valliant is over sixty. He's not going to get
in the ring and stretch you out. So I mean
one of his guys, either Bruise or Graham or somebody else,

(01:25:21):
I don't know who's who's doing it now, does the
actual training and teaches the guys to be wrestling with
somebody who can still you know, who can still bump
and move around and a sort of move around halfway
as we're doing the promos. I was thinking about this
during the during the draft issue we did this past
week and with this past lead. Yes, it was Yeah,

(01:25:45):
I was thinking about this, And the guy I would
pick right now to train wrestlers how to do promos
is Chris Jericho. Assuming you're not, assuming you're not gonna
use Chill Summon or any of the MMA guys, I think.
I think Jericho puts a lot of thought into his
promos and it comes across and he can do all
sorts of different styles, I think, and teach a guy
how to do a heel promo without, you know, without
trying to be a cool heel, which is a problem

(01:26:07):
I see with a lot of the heel wrestlers nowadays
that they grew up on the n W and d
X and they they don't want to be heels. They
want to be cool heels. They want to be the
sort of heels they want to do all the nasty
things and have people cheer for them.

Speaker 3 (01:26:17):
Anyways, right, he more heals more fun than thing of
any case.

Speaker 2 (01:26:23):
You want more leeway to do things right exactly, but
that's not that's my pack. Yeah, I'll sort with the promos.
I think, you know, Jericho's really good. I think Sean
Michael is just to me the when I when I
think of promo in twenty ten, I also have to
think about Uh, facial expressions and body language that. I mean,

(01:26:43):
it's just so important in today's errors. I'd say Sean
Michaels would help in that very night. You know, I
don't know how much of a like you said he
didn't really teach. I mean, he wasn't the guy on
the mad teaching in tw A it was Gonzales. So
much is more of that, you know, kind of on
the sideline giving pointers. Uh, you know, almost like a
manager or you know, sort of a football coach who

(01:27:06):
kind of stands in the background and gives pointers but
isn't exactly doing the drills. Michael's would be someone that
I would say could help in teaching that facial expression
and body language. Uh. And yeah, Jericho's a I gree
with you on that. Pat Jerk was really good to
teach the prop I can do both Uh he went
and baby well maybe not baby Face problem me. It's
had a lot of success with maybe Face promos, but

(01:27:27):
he can certainly teach you how to show range in
a promo, and range is so important when you're trying
to get that emotional roller coaster in WWE. Yeah, I'd
say Jericho and Michaels are probably to two guys who
have a lot to draw from from their career. So yeah,
that Michaels, that would add to that to that category.

Speaker 10 (01:27:45):
Okay, so we're okay, then thank you to that. Okay,
we're gonna talk about Snackdown, will we not?

Speaker 2 (01:27:50):
We sure were a big, big show tonight coming up
in about an hour hour and a half. So uh
path they've already announced Undertaker and CM Punk, they've hinted
hinted at Raymis versus Alberto Delrio. Also appearances by John
Cena and Nexus and of course your heights for the
hell in the self pay per view? Uh, Pat, what
do you expect you for this? And I mean, do

(01:28:11):
you think that this this show has a potential to
be more relevant on Friday nights? Being on sci Fi
there's no preemptions. Is this gonna make a difference? At
all in SmackDown's relevancy going forward.

Speaker 10 (01:28:24):
You know, I was thinking about this. The only way
that SmackDown's gonna be relevant is if WW goes back
and treating it like you know, show number one A
instead of the instead of the B show. Because I mean,
and and you wrote about this, and I wrote about
this for a couple of years there they would take
the exact same storylines that they were doing on Raw
and plug SmackDown wrestlers into it and pretty much do

(01:28:45):
the very same storyline going on on SmackDown at the
same time, right, And that was that was a problem.
And I think SmackDown. I think that WW should do
what they should have. You know, if they're gonna keep
this brand split, which I'm not convinced they're gonna do,
they should do what they should have done eight years ago,
which is actually having the brand split. Actually have different

(01:29:06):
people in charge of doing creative for Ron's SmackDown, and
you know, and they are trying to compete with each other,
I mean, not to the detriment of ww's business, but
in order to put it on the best show that
they can.

Speaker 2 (01:29:20):
Right.

Speaker 24 (01:29:21):
Yeah, searching for more great pro wrestling talk then join
me Jason Powell, host of the three weekly Pro Wrestling
Boom Podcast. Each week you'll hear the latest news and
analysis from me and my team at pro wrestling dot
Net along with other pro wrestling media members. Plus, the
Pro Wrestling Boom Podcast features long form interviews with notable

(01:29:42):
names in the pro wrestling industry. Subscribe and iTunes, Ditcher, downcast,
and all your favorite secondary apps, or visit us directly
at PW boom dot com. Once again, that's PW boom
dot com.

Speaker 2 (01:29:56):
Yeah, I agree with that, and I imagine, I mean,
what's your prediction for a rating? I mean, I've I've
kind of tossed around at two point five in my
head for tonight's show, but I think realistically for this
series going forward in a week by week basis, I
think at two point oh is realistic if they're If
they're below a two point oh consistently, do you think

(01:30:18):
that's gonna put more of an urgency to either end
the brand split or have more cross promotion, which you
know in effect the water down the brands, But uh,
you know what turn on those two things. What's your
prediction for a rating consistently and how do you think
how do you think that's gonna affect a brand split
a long term.

Speaker 10 (01:30:37):
I think they're gonna draw a two point oh tonight,
and I think that's probably gonna be the number for
a little while. And I mean the fair part is
that's up from what they're drawing on my network. I
think people have gotten out of the hamlet the habit
of watching Friday Night SmackDown, and unless they see a
legitimate reason to tune in every week, they're gonna go.
You know, I didn't need to see that this week.

(01:30:57):
Of course, if they have a group of rustlers that
they're not excited about, you know, they're I mean, you'll
you will read the spoilers and say, oh, Kane versus Christmasters, Okay,
I don't have to watch Snackdown. Ye, I mean I
think that they will have to, you know, I think
there's going to be some talent switched around, and and
there has to be because I mean, even following the

(01:31:19):
past few months, WWE has had to cancel shows, and
he shows that they've passed to cancel and reschedule, more
often than not have been SmackDown shows because people weren't
interested in seeing, you know, oh, the big show versus
Jack Flanner, and you want me to say forty bucks
for a excellent They're just not interested in doing that.
Mysterios back tonight. I don't know if he's I mean,
I don't know if he's gonna start back already full time.

(01:31:42):
But that's they hustle them off. They hustle him back
on stage.

Speaker 6 (01:31:45):
Now that Christian is out.

Speaker 10 (01:31:49):
I mean, they're gonna have to They're gonna have to
do something, and I mean they're they're top craws right now,
are Undertaker and.

Speaker 3 (01:31:54):
Kane an Undertaker.

Speaker 10 (01:31:55):
Doesn't do house shows. I mean, he won't be at
the househo tomorrow nite, for example. So they they need
to find a top baby face and get him over there.
And there's speculation with Edges going over or you know,
he's going over to SmackDown, or maybe the Nexus will
go over to SmackDown but see us, or maybe Mysterio
just comes back full time. But there's something's gonna have
to happen where you know, there's gonna have to be

(01:32:16):
another baby face besides Kote Kingston on the Roster, on
on on SmackDown, to to move things along on a
consistent basis in the Cell househod tickets.

Speaker 2 (01:32:25):
Yeah, yeah, they don't have that. I mean, like you said,
Undertaker does not do the tours full time, and they
try to position Big Show, but I think Big Show
is so overexposed as an attraction. You know, He's just
he's got something.

Speaker 10 (01:32:38):
He's been there, he's been there. He's been on TV
for sixteen years or sudden, and we've seen him and
we've seen him and we've seen him, and I mean
there's what, I mean, what matchup is.

Speaker 3 (01:32:48):
Left for him?

Speaker 10 (01:32:48):
He's I mean, he's feuded with the Great Colleague and
Undertaker and Kane and uh Sina and you know, Pretty
and Edge and Pranta pretty much everyone in.

Speaker 2 (01:32:58):
Displine, right, Yeah, And that's why it kind of gets
to the problem with w's business model, which is they
overexpose their top acts, especially on pay per view, and
then there's just no incentive to go see them live.
You know, it's just well, you know, is the right
worth of the effort to go down in the arena
and see something that I'm gonna see on TV or
pay per view, not even pay per view, just TV. Uh,
you know, there's no real attraction aspect to it, and

(01:33:20):
big shows overexposed easier to fall at top touring Babyface.

Speaker 7 (01:33:25):
Well, I mean the lot.

Speaker 10 (01:33:25):
The last time we had a last time I went
to a house show was here in Richmond, and it
was a SmackDown house shows a couple of years ago.
The main event was Jeff Hardy versus Edge, which is
sort of different from what they're putting together.

Speaker 2 (01:33:36):
Now, right. They need Jeff Harty bag I'm sure they'd
like to have him back.

Speaker 10 (01:33:41):
Well yeah, okay, that's I mean, yeah, but you see
my point, which is they need to start, you know,
they need to start planning for the future because I
mean when you I mean, look at how much they
dislike seem Punk and they've been burying him, and all
of a sudden tonight they need, uh, they need a
main event for their first show on SmackDown. They're left putting.
They're left putting. OT see them pumping at the Undertaker,

(01:34:03):
which they did, by the way, two or three weeks ago.

Speaker 2 (01:34:05):
Yep, yep.

Speaker 10 (01:34:06):
They shouldn't even they can't even put together They can't
even put together a fresh match for that. So they
need to have different people in charge of ron SmackDown
doing different things with these shows. Vince can still sign
off on both of them. But I mean he's got
a yah. I mean, if it's okay to tell the
public if there's one way to do wrestling and it's
devinsic Man's way and it's sports entertainment, that it's what's

(01:34:27):
worked for the past decade. But when you start believing
that crap, that's.

Speaker 3 (01:34:30):
When there's the problems.

Speaker 10 (01:34:32):
So I mean, start start experimenting with things. Put different
people in charge of ron Smack Them. Don't let the
wrestlers cross over from ron Smack Them. Don't have John
Cena going over to SmackDown just to yeah, it's SmackDown at.

Speaker 3 (01:34:43):
The debut show.

Speaker 10 (01:34:43):
Don't have the SmackDown guys show up for a three
hour row just because you don't have you don't feel
comfortable doing a three hour show with just the wrestlers
you have on law. I mean, just just stop doing.

Speaker 2 (01:34:53):
That crap exactly. And what you're en up with is,
you know, SmackDown Tonight show, they're gonna have Scena next
to and special appearances and it's gonna be live. And
then after that, you know you kind of mentioned this earlier,
after that it's just okay, Well it's back to regular
old SmackDown you know, you redisplose, you see Kane Masters,
and it's skippable. You know, there's no Scena, there's no nexus.
I mean, they're in such a desperate position where they

(01:35:16):
have to have these special appearances on the first show,
but they don't have a fallback plan to keep momentum
and keep interest. After tonight's show, it's just back to
regular old programming. And in regular world programming's fine, but
it's not enticing, and it's definitely not much c TV
right now, So that's un If you can't do it.

Speaker 10 (01:35:33):
You can't do that. You have to go back to
what work during two thousand, which is, you know, get
rid of the brand split. And you know, if you
start a storyline between John Cena and Edge on Raw,
you know, then you then you stay at the end
of Raw, no no, And then you say, if you
if you've ended the brand splip, if John Cena Measure
are bickering at the end end of Raw, you say,
oh my god, they're gonna meet. You know, they're gonna
meet in four days on SmackDown, and that give us

(01:35:55):
a Raw viewers and send it to turn over to SmackDown, which,
by the way, they don't have right now, if you
like law, there's no reason to to watch Snackdown, right.

Speaker 2 (01:36:05):
And and from what w B says, people don't. I
mean they said there's very little crossover between the two audiences.
So yeah, I don't know. I mean, they've got so
many business issues to address right now, pay per view,
pay per view buys, TV ratings, house show business. It's
not good right now. It's over exposure, it's lack of stars,

(01:36:27):
not planning for the future. Like you said, so interesting
interesting times has for the rest of the year for
w B, especially in SmackDown stuff.

Speaker 10 (01:36:35):
Well did they didn't. They didn't create It took them
eight years to create semester, and now it's gonna take
them a little while to get out of it. They're
not gonna do it overnight.

Speaker 2 (01:36:44):
Yep, yep, exactly. All right, let's talk about one last topic.
Nick Foley. His book is out today officially in bookstores
and online. I guess, uh. And he has an interview
on w b's website today and they publicize his book.
They're not mentioned the letters TNA, which is no surprise there,
but did not mention TNA, but did talk about his

(01:37:05):
time in WBE leaving for professional dispute or I guess
a professional dispute with with Vincent Man was the how
Joey Stall has described in the interview, Uh, what do
you make of of w B between so much emphasis?
I say so much because he is a Tenia wrestler
and they don't even acknowledge that TNA exists, So it

(01:37:26):
does feel like a lot of emphasis on somebody outside
of ww What do you make of VIM emphasizing the
book and just the fact that McK foley is on
WB's website with a pretty lengthy interview today.

Speaker 10 (01:37:40):
Well, I mean, I think it's one of those things where,
you know, it's the simplest explanation, simple succination explanation is,
you know, Vince McMahon saw mcfoleys stick up for Linda McMahon,
not because mcfoley is a conservative Republican, but because you know,
mcfoley knows Linda McMahon and he believes and he and
his heart cut lend is not a bad person. And

(01:38:00):
then says like, well, you know, let's let's uh, well,
you know, I've always sort of liked Nick. We've thought
a little bit, let's let's plug his book, and they
legitimately have no fear of tn A at this point, right,
I mean, you know, I mean if they were worried.
Maybe they were worried at the start of the year
with what was gonna happen, but after tn A just
fell apart the first few months and became a laughing stock.

(01:38:22):
But yeah, I mean they're not worried about you know,
they're not worried about what TNA draws on Thursday Night. Yeah,
they're not worried about their monthly pay per view buys
because t and A barely has one of them. You
why not do something nice for Nick Boley? And the
best part of it is if you mentioned man, you
don't have to pay any more. TNA is doing it.

Speaker 2 (01:38:44):
Yeah.

Speaker 10 (01:38:46):
Yeah, he doesn't cost me any money. He doesn't him.
I mean, I I think that you know, WWE just
doesn't they They don't take tn A seriously nothing. Maybe
maybe that fully will end up back in WA and
if he's living in Long Island, I you know, I
don't see why Nick Boley couldn't be Well, maybe he
won't want to go back to announcing, but he could

(01:39:08):
be one of the many consultants that they use when
they're when they're announcing new ideas off them, although given
some of the ideas that Nick has proposed in DNA
so far and some of the things he's done, maybe
that's not a good idea either. But yeah, I mean,
this is just this is just a vin should see.
This is repaying a kindness and that's and that's about it.
And the you know the story. I mean I read
the story to Joey Styles interviewing Nick Boley, and there's

(01:39:31):
there's not a lot to it. McK buley doesn't think that,
doesn't think that Linda McMahon's responsible for everything that's gone
wrong and pro wrestling for the for the past twenty
five years. And really he's right, because that's more bensic
Man's problem. I mean, that's made all the serious decisions
in w W A right.

Speaker 2 (01:39:47):
It's just you know, Linda her entire track records on
she was ww CEO, so she oversaw the business and
that's all we have to go by evaluating whether she's
a candidate for us in it.

Speaker 10 (01:39:58):
And it's weird times because you know, Nick Poley is
saying nice things about Linda McMahon. Howard Stern endorsed Lena
McMahon everything that you know, everything that the Democrat candidates
said about Linda McMahon is and Howard's you know views
of all that just names she's a good business woman,
so you know she's smart.

Speaker 2 (01:40:17):
Yeah yeah, and then she but then she gets herself
a little bit of hot water by talking. I mean,
she's been protected the whole time. And yesterday she gets
the men on the wage flap and uh, and the
campaign comes out, we've gotta we've gotta cover, we gotta cover,
and we've got an issue and uh one of those
things with it. They've been able to limit her exposure

(01:40:38):
where she I mean oftentimes in these press conversations don't
seem to have the answers, either because she wasn't prepared
or she just generally does not know the answer to
a lot of pertinent questions. So she's been protecting that aspect.
But I mean, I don't know. I mean, she has
the Teflon McMahon RepU, the Teflon Linda nickname now, so
I don't know. I mean, I don't I don't know
if any of this stuff is gonna affect her. I

(01:40:59):
guess we'll find out.

Speaker 10 (01:41:00):
I mean, I look, I don't want to get dragged
and talking so much about the campaign. I think Linda
McMahon gets conservative Republicans a bad name. And I'm conservative,
so I'm a little annoyed by that.

Speaker 2 (01:41:11):
Yeah.

Speaker 10 (01:41:11):
Yeah, what's going on right now is Linda McMahon has
a huge cash advantage, you know, And and Bloomenthal got
started late. He came into this campaign late. So it's
been two or three months, Linda McMahon ads and Linda
McMahon mailers and more, Linda McMahon ads and Bloomenthal. You know,
his response is not getting on television. He's that he's
not buying TV commercials, he's not sending out the mailers.

(01:41:33):
So they're hearing they've been hearing one side of the
story for the past couple of months, and the voters
are like, yeah, you know, and they're starting to come.

Speaker 2 (01:41:38):
Around on one. Yep, yeah, yeah. She's blanket in the state,
in the area, with enough campaign to add to this
an entire country.

Speaker 10 (01:41:46):
So it's and yeah, and I mean we're I mean,
as amazing as this would sound to somebody who's not
versus in American politics, you know, the battle to the
United States Senate right now is more or less we're
at the point where it's, yeah, a difference of two
or three points and a few races, we'll tip the
balance of of the United States Sunday, but the Democrats
of the Republicans. So we're in a situation where once

(01:42:09):
again the McMahons might be deciding a national election.

Speaker 2 (01:42:13):
The comfort, Yeah, very very comforting. It's it's McMahon's desire
to have control over the entire h the entire world
one way or another.

Speaker 10 (01:42:22):
Either through w it's McMahon's desire to have his wife
moved through to his different hip code. Let's watch.

Speaker 2 (01:42:30):
Yeah, that's also true. Yep. All right, Pat, great, great
discussion today, appreciate it. Any any final thoughts before we
wrap it up today?

Speaker 10 (01:42:39):
Uh, go Redskins, Go Clemson, and uh we'll join the
back Sunday night for the Hell and Cell roundtable.

Speaker 2 (01:42:45):
There you go. Yeah, you can hear Pat and Bruce
and Wade on Sunday night after the Hellmet Cell pay
per view here in the Torch VP audio section. And
I'm sure a fascinating pay per view to discuss on Sunday,
So we'll look forward to that. Yes, that is torchcom.
It's typing Neil. This is Torch Assistant editor James Caldwell.
Sign it off.

Speaker 1 (01:43:08):
Give yourself a reason to look forward to going to
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Speaker 4 (01:44:05):
Why pat I Am Promssport editor Wade Keller Joined today
by Torch senior columnist Bruce Mitchell.

Speaker 2 (01:44:11):
Bruce, how you doing today?

Speaker 3 (01:44:13):
On the Monday morning, Yes, Monday morning.

Speaker 4 (01:44:17):
All right, well we're I'm sure we'll, uh, we'll have
plenty of calls talking about tonight's RAW two weeks worth
of ratings well under three point.

Speaker 20 (01:44:27):
Oh.

Speaker 2 (01:44:28):
We haven't talked to you on the live past since
those ratings came in.

Speaker 4 (01:44:32):
The pay per view last night for WWE helen us
cell with a great uh with it with a major
storyline with John Cena Havy to join NEXTUS tonight. There's
a great YouTube video out there of a little kid
reacting to Sina losing, which is hilarious. It's a lot
like fourteen seconds and it's kind of lurry, but boy
did he throw a fit. If WW we could just manufacture,

(01:44:53):
you know, a couple of million more people like that.
But I just got done watching the linament Man blumis
all debate, and so I don't even think I know
Blumenthal's first name, right, thank you, yes, thank you Richard
blumensoalgins lineament, Man, just watch that. I missed the opening statements,
but cops caught about the last fifty minutes of it.
I mean, you know, it's it's it's so many of

(01:45:13):
the usual talking points. They agreed on the death penalty,
and a couple of things on I don't know, the
war in Afghanistan and General Petreu. So that was about it.
But otherwise, you know, basically a lot of talking points.
So wrestling wise, what was interesting is Blumenthal called her
out for not classifying wrestlers as employees and not offering

(01:45:37):
them insurance. And you know, the debate format, which was
very rapid fire, tried to get a lot of topics
in one hour, didn't really allow for any kind of
informative intellectual extrapolation of what is right or wrong about
their various positions on this. But she claimed that or
she said that all six hundred employees at WWE headquarters
do as health insurance and their contractors, the men and

(01:45:59):
women tractors as you called them, do have health insurance
in that they pay for any injuries that are sustained
in the ring. Blumenthal either didn't have the knowledge or
the time, given the format to address, you know, address
that issue. But it's really stretching it to say that
they have insurance because WWE volunteers to pay for their

(01:46:21):
surgeries and injury rehab. That doesn't exactly you know, cover
you know, the reason all of us have insurance who
aren't at risk of injuries at our jobs because we
put our bodies on the line. But the other issue
that came up wrestling wise was shipping jobs overseas. I
think it's kind of a bum rap on WWE to
blame them for the fact that they have a licensing

(01:46:43):
deal with the number one toy manufacturer in the country, Mattel,
and that WWE action figures are produced overseas. But I
guess you could make the case that WWE, if they
truly were interested in moving jobs to America, as someone
running for Senate should be in favor of, they could
have insisted to Mattel, hey, let's to the difference, let's
cut the difference on the loss and profit, and let's
build a factory to produce those right here in Connecticut.

(01:47:06):
And I've bet had you don't actually.

Speaker 3 (01:47:07):
Well wait, I mean, I mean they took took ten
million dollars of tax money to keep their movie productions
in Connecticut, of Connecticut tax money. So I think that's
you know, I think that's at least a legitimate issue
to bring up. And you know, they weren't exactly out

(01:47:27):
of money when they did that.

Speaker 2 (01:47:28):
No, no, but I'm blindling.

Speaker 4 (01:47:30):
I'm saying in WWE's defense for it seems opportunistic to
blame WWE for a business relationship with a huge, established
toy company that they didn't as a relatively small partner
with Mattel demanded that they changed their business practices overnight
and produce WWE toys in America. I'm just saying that's
pushing it a little bit. I mean, that's that would

(01:47:50):
get in the way of a lot of business fields
if you had to completely reshape every business that you
worked with.

Speaker 2 (01:47:54):
That's my only point.

Speaker 3 (01:47:56):
Again, like I said, but they had the choice of
shooting the movies in Connecticut, are out of Connecticut, and
they took ten million dollars of taxpayer money to do
that when they were, you know, a pretty slush company
even with the recession. So when they're taking tax money
to keep cheap business in Connecticut, the fact that they
they are associated with a big company that that shoots

(01:48:19):
their stuff overseas, that's you know, she's running on her
business record.

Speaker 2 (01:48:23):
That's part of her business records.

Speaker 4 (01:48:24):
So that's what no womenal could have used you to
score point in that regard. In his closing statement, Blumenthal
also said that that line, mc man continues to insist
that steroids are not harmful to one's health, and and
set in in so many words that that's kind of
absurd and that they disagree in that regard.

Speaker 2 (01:48:44):
From a stylistic standpoint, we.

Speaker 4 (01:48:46):
As wrestling fans watching her for years, kind of know
what to expect.

Speaker 2 (01:48:50):
I don't know.

Speaker 4 (01:48:51):
Outside of the embarrassing minimum wage press conference audio last
week or transcript and all the TV commercials this people
really haven't seen Linda McMahon and so this was their
first chance to see her for a full hour be herself.
And the impression I had and I'm not I think
I know her better than Connecticut voters do, just because
we've seen her on television. I've met her, you know,

(01:49:11):
as the vinsick Man's stera trial. I met her and
talked to her in person. I mean, I kind of
know what she brings and what she doesn't bring in
terms of charisma. I thought in the debate she started
off terrible. She looked nervous. She was stopping mid sentence
on one talking point and going to another talking point
and trying to slip in things, and it felt very
scripted and the audience for However, it worked out, and

(01:49:34):
it was a Fox sponsored debate parried on Foxnews dot Com.
I don't think they sacked the audience with conservatives, but
it certainly didn't seem like it was stacked with Democrats either.
But the crowd laughed at Linna mcmaon a few times,
just literally just outright laughed at her when she would
avoid subjects constantly and say she'd give a quick, short,
blowoff answer or say, first, I want to address what

(01:49:56):
my opponent just said, and she was defending herself, but
for whatever reason, not even saying.

Speaker 2 (01:50:01):
It was proper.

Speaker 4 (01:50:02):
The audience would laugh at her for seemingly avoiding answering
the questions when what she was trying to do was
have a full fledged debate and actually respond to Blumenthal
and get her talking points in. But she came across
really stiff and nervous.

Speaker 2 (01:50:14):
A lots on the line.

Speaker 4 (01:50:15):
The race is close enough for this community siding factor,
I thought though. The second after the debate, she loosened
up as much as Linda McMahon loosens up, which isn't
very much. But she got back to the level of
what we've seen on WWE RAW with her. She talked
about being a grandmother and a mother and a businesswoman.
They got into a bait about who creates jobs, and
Blumendal said, as breaking in government, I've worked with people

(01:50:38):
and gave very specific examples, and she challenged him on
and what causes a job to be created? And he
didn't really know what to do with that question because it's,
you know, just very basic opera products. Sell it and
hire people to help.

Speaker 2 (01:50:51):
You produce it.

Speaker 4 (01:50:52):
But by the end, I thought she was passable. She
wasn't a disaster. I don't think the I don't think
MSNBC shows are gonna have a field day with with
gfar with you know, major miss statements or missteps that
I caught, and I caught other than the opening statements,
probably ninety eight percent of everything that was set. So
I thought that she came away unscathed, But I.

Speaker 2 (01:51:12):
Don't know that he was.

Speaker 4 (01:51:13):
And we knew this going in, knowing her as a
charisma machine. She wasn't good enough people socks off with
seeming like this warm, charismatic person ready to go in
there and change Washington. And you know, I thought that
on certain points, having nothing to do with her charisma
or or yeah, I think that's I think.

Speaker 3 (01:51:31):
That issues that have been blown with politicians, I mean
a lot of times that doesn't seem to make as
long as they stay as long as she stays on point,
that's her. That's her game plan. As long as she
stays on point, as long as she doesn't say it's
something way too stouthely right, then you know, the people
that are watching this for an hour are not the
people are looking forward, you know, a whole lot of

(01:51:51):
charismas no.

Speaker 4 (01:51:52):
But they're gonna but everybody's gonna get highlights in Connecticut
on the local news. You know, there's a lot of
swing voters who are going to pay attention now where
they're going to see clips that the debate on the
news tonight, you know, in.

Speaker 2 (01:52:01):
The ten or eleven o'clock news. They're gonna see that,
you know, and they're gonna see.

Speaker 3 (01:52:05):
They're gonna but they're gonna vote on the on the
on the issues that they're gonna vote on the on
the anger issues and the flustress. I think it's pretty
funny someone says it either Willamasal's tallous. I just think
McMahon's whole career, you know, it's one of mc man's
whole career is about.

Speaker 2 (01:52:19):
Being tallous there talking about the cat room.

Speaker 4 (01:52:21):
But yeah, look at the chat now, I'm not quite
sure where that Womenthal came off as as callous.

Speaker 2 (01:52:25):
I guess I'd be interested in knowing what you're talking about.

Speaker 4 (01:52:28):
You know, I'll disagree with you, Bruce in this respect.
I think Blumenthal is well known in the state, has
a lot of good will built up for being a
liked a politician who who had a good reputation, and
the Vietnam comments are the one black mark that I
know really is you know, you can kind of combat that.

Speaker 2 (01:52:44):
But he's got good will built up. The state knows him.

Speaker 4 (01:52:46):
The state doesn't know Linda, And I think this debate
if you look at the line, Linna mcman's approval rating
still isn't great, but the but the it's it's a
three to eight point difference in the polls, and it
was thirty points back in February.

Speaker 2 (01:52:58):
So the more people who've.

Speaker 4 (01:52:59):
Gotten to Knowlinda, the more perhaps you can make the
argument they like her or are willing at least to
vote for her because of the issues you said, I'm
saying in a close race for someone who isn't well known.
This is the first extended exposure for potentially a lot
of voters. It's more more important than if it's too
well known republic too well known politicians in the state.

(01:53:19):
Lynn is not well known.

Speaker 2 (01:53:20):
That's where I think this debate means a little more
than you're giving it credit.

Speaker 3 (01:53:23):
You know, I just don't think so. I mean, I
think for this, I mean it means something. But this
is about this is about her getting swept in as
a candidate that's just not on the Obama list, and that's.

Speaker 20 (01:53:35):
What it is.

Speaker 3 (01:53:36):
I mean, the scene is not from Washington, and that's
all in all.

Speaker 4 (01:53:40):
She doesn't have any other And I would say she
reached that threshold in the debate tonight. I mean, I
think she looks competent enough in the debate for people
who are going to vote on that respect. Yeah, they
watched the debate. Nothing is going to stop that. But
I don't think she blew people away with her her
knowledge of the issues. I think the fact that she
got laughed at three times for seemingly avoiding subjects wasn't good.

(01:54:00):
She got beat up early over the minimum wage comment
when she was abs would you lowered the minimum wage.
She said, we'd have to look at the minimum wage.
She insisted that she just meant we should look at
whether we should raise it. Blumenthal insisted, and she says,
the go look up the transcript. If you doubt me,
look at the transcript. She's not gonna tell you to
look at the transcript. I'm telling you look at the transcript. Unequivocally,
she said we need to look at the minimum wage.

(01:54:21):
When asked about lowering it, she.

Speaker 3 (01:54:23):
Says something about it says something about her. That's the
one issue that she apparently talked off the cuffs that
she wasn't prepared on by her advisors to to talk about.
And she, you know, excepted whatever extraneously extremely really is
the word, said something. So that's just something about a qualifications.
I don't think the people that are that are that

(01:54:43):
are candis to vote for her care about that kind
of stuff. I mean, there's just this isn't she's gonna
be She's gonna be the beneficiary. I think of a
large no vote and it just and whether it's enough
of enough just to get her in the office, I
don't know, No.

Speaker 4 (01:55:00):
No, And the Republicans need her to win in order
to take over the Senate, and the taking over the
Senate is considered quite unlikely, but possible certainly if they're
going to lower the sixty to sixty to forty lead
that or the fifty nine forty one lead that Democrats.

Speaker 2 (01:55:15):
Have right now. The I talked about the style points,
who's passable there?

Speaker 4 (01:55:22):
I don't Yeah, Like I said, I don't think this
is a debate that's gonna that's going to close the
gap anymore, but it won't widen it anymore either. Bruce,
let me ask you this and and and I know
on the Bruce Mitchelladia Show on the VP website, I
can ask you a question. We can talk to twenty
and you can give a twenty minute answer, and that's fantastic,
and that's what people pay for. We've got a limited
time here, and I do want to talk about other things, but.

Speaker 23 (01:55:41):
I want you to tell me, wait a minute, talk what.

Speaker 2 (01:55:48):
Because I saw that as you get your timents as
well as you get.

Speaker 25 (01:55:51):
Your comments, some debate, okay, because I can't understand you
just treat the debate because I thought the debate and
that just and that's news ready, so you don't really
score them anymore.

Speaker 2 (01:56:02):
There if that's what you're looking for.

Speaker 4 (01:56:03):
But anyway, I'm just saying I want to ask you
this question, and I want to, but I don't want
to spend too much more time on politics. But give
me the concise pros and cons from somebody who knows
a lot about her wrestling career, which is everything you
would vote for her on, other than maybe her family
life a little bit, because she's been in WWE, herold life,
has nothing else in her resume. What are the main

(01:56:24):
pros and cons that qualify her that that should persuade
someone to vote for or against her if they aren't
just blindly going to vote Democrat or Republican.

Speaker 3 (01:56:34):
She's not qualified to be in the Senate. She's not qualified.
She and her family and that company are disingenuous as
a matter of policy, as a matter of day to
day policy, and they have had to been pulled in
kicking and screaming the pointed even in twentyd and ten
with all the dead people that have come through that
company in a way that not comes to any entertainment

(01:56:56):
or sports companies in the world that have come through
that they are still dodging whether steroids are are a
health issue or not. And you know that they're not paying.
They're not you know that they have independent contractors that
that that they consider insurance to be not what people
like an insurance policy that people have on themselves of

(01:57:17):
their full time employees who risk who risk life and
wombs for their money.

Speaker 18 (01:57:22):
But just the way but a.

Speaker 3 (01:57:24):
Paternalistic will choose which injuries to to pay for you.
But if you get a long term illness and you
get whatever all the other things that insurance cares, well,
you know that's that we may or may not pay
for that. And they do that to get people back
into the ring to make that money back for them.

Speaker 9 (01:57:40):
I mean, it's just, you know, as as.

Speaker 3 (01:57:42):
A day to day things, I didn't care of their
own employees.

Speaker 4 (01:57:44):
Let me INTERTECTU, let me intertect, Let me intertect briefly.
And I a probably ahead of time for doing it.
I think Blumenthal would have been because they had a
chance to ask each other question. Blumendal should have said,
in what way other than profiting WWE Because we know
classifying your contractors as anythindic contractors benefits you tax wise,
social Security.

Speaker 2 (01:58:02):
Tax on that type of thing.

Speaker 4 (01:58:03):
How does it benefit the wrestlers? Name one reason other
than you wanting more profit that it makes sense for
the wrestlers that she said they care deeply about. And
she said that name one benefit wrestler's gain from being
causfied as any pendent contractors in shut of employees. I
would love to hear that answer, because there isn't one.

Speaker 26 (01:58:25):
I'm Kelly Wells, host of PWT Talks NXT, the longest
running NXT podcast anywhere. Join me along with Nate Lindberg,
Bruce Lee, Hazelwood and special guests live every Tuesday night,
just minutes after NXT where we cover the good, the bad,
and the ugly on the way to becoming a star
in WWE. Check us out live on YouTube or stream

(01:58:46):
later wherever you get your podcasts, and.

Speaker 3 (01:58:56):
And everything you may have done for the benefit of
RUSSOW and wellness policy and the rest of those things
they have been dragged kicking and screaming into doing by
the death of major stars that have that have embarrassed
them and a heard the bottom line. So I mean,
it's just what how is you know? She's a person.
She's a person who who ran a nonpartisan get out

(01:59:21):
and vote campaign and on the last night of it
had had had people go off on national television this
used to be illegal, went off of national television and
made a speech to try to swing the election to
one bar And this is a person that ran in
the year two thousand. This is a person that ran
a get out the vote campaign and traveled across the

(01:59:42):
country and made national television appearances of the Republican national
provision and don't correct nationalization, did not vote herself. This
is a person who is who has shown no you
know nothing that you know, no kind of citizen or
doing things the community except for the things that that

(02:00:02):
they can put on TV like they have this week,
and done from time to time to make it to
make the company look better.

Speaker 2 (02:00:09):
No, this is this is the person with blood on
her hands.

Speaker 3 (02:00:11):
So I don't see where she qualified to be to
be the statesman that will do something to help this
country with the problems that it has, and to do
something more than just help her company and help herself.

Speaker 4 (02:00:23):
I thought that the part, the part that I didn't
mention in the debate from having watched it, that that
jumps out at me or made me shake my head
the most was when she talked about how much WWV
cares about.

Speaker 2 (02:00:32):
It's wrestlers.

Speaker 4 (02:00:33):
It's men and women who perform in the ring, in
the in the athletic soap opera. That is WWE, as
she called it. And she said, and then she listed
all the things they do for them. We do physicals,
we do concussion tests, we do blood tests, we do
this and that. And I'm just thinking to myself, you know,
where's Richard Lumenthal's response to that, which is, yeah, that
happened in the last several years, But what about the

(02:00:54):
years between between WW the competition when you were in
competition with WW, and you rocked all your testing and
waiting forever, even years and years and years after they
want out of business. You didn't start testing until wrestler
started dying. And that was years after people were saying, screaming, going,
your wrestlers are gonna die unless you do something. We
resty're gonna die unless you do something. And you didn't
do anything until Chris Benlock killed his wife and his

(02:01:17):
son and himself. And it was it's ogetty grill to
get the wellness testing back to even to even a
similar level to where it was back in the mid
nineties when you had the short run of doing supposed
stringent tests. There wasn't any specific from Lumidal, but for
her to start gregging about all the things that they've
started doing now in the last few years, when it

(02:01:39):
would became no choice for them to do it, just
it's you're running on your twenty year records, kept talking
about twenty plus years creating jobs for Connecticut. Well, how
about how about eighteen of the last twenty five years
that you or eighteen of the last twenty three years
that there was that you weren't testing for concussions, that
you weren't testing for steroids during the majority of that time,
those points weren't brought up. You would think, if you're

(02:02:00):
listening to that debate, that she's always done these things.
And I think the huge issue that you and I
have a major issue with is breaking about something that you.

Speaker 2 (02:02:08):
Did way too late. Yes, you get credit to now,
but they wasn't. But that doesn't be raised in the doing.

Speaker 3 (02:02:14):
Yeah, you're forced, We were forced in the doing, and
that we were on the front line of covering all
that and talking about that way before it came, you know,
while it came just I mean, just something I didn't
see the debate, but but to have kind of this
this thing about okay, steroids do there's a steroids done
when there are people there are dozens of people who

(02:02:34):
have died under their watch way more than.

Speaker 4 (02:02:37):
And did not reiterate that Bluementhal has pointed it out.
It wasn't brought up in the debate til.

Speaker 3 (02:02:41):
Here with what I'm saying is blue Withthal's instead of
saying like a bloodless uh. You know, some people see
the steroids or they still still think steroids don't have
don't have a bad effect on your health. That's not
that's not an issue that's gonna get gonna be gonna
shake people up. What would shake people up is, you know,
how they've taken care of their of their employees and

(02:03:02):
their independent contractors over the years, and how they have
kept tax money away from state of Connecticut with the
independent contractor thing, and the complain and the complains that
they'd never been investigating before. Well, you know what, that's true.
They they should have been investigated all along. And just
the fact that that she ran for you know, yes
she did run for office, and yes that's shined the
spotlight and made people care, made some powerful people care

(02:03:26):
who did not care before. That's they should have cared before.
But the issue has always been there and we'll see
how it how it shapes out this time, but it's
usually it shapes out usually in favor of the more
the more powerful management and more powerful, more rich management
in w w E than it does for the rank
and file wrestlers who you know would go through those systems.

(02:03:46):
You know how many you know, how many families and
how many wrestlers would say something otherwise then you know,
WWE is not known for its care of its wrestlers,
except for the people that some of the people that
speak up because they weren't because there's sired of the
power was there? So no, I mean, you know, if
you look at it in any straightforward sense, So what
does it take to be a good senator? The thing

(02:04:09):
about making jobs? They took tax money to keep jobs
in Connecticut while they cut jobs in Connecticut, while they
had hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars
in the back. Was it a good business move? Perhaps?
But were they working to keep jobs in the state
and altruistic sense?

Speaker 6 (02:04:28):
No?

Speaker 2 (02:04:29):
Yeah, all right, very good.

Speaker 4 (02:04:32):
You and I can talk a lot about this, and
I can point out again that to b W didn't
start testing for prescription drugs or even addressing the issue
until the last couple of years, and after Louis Kolei died,
I wrote an editorial in the late nineties saying, the
number one issue that's going to kill wrestlers, it's prescription drugs.

Speaker 2 (02:04:48):
Not to discount.

Speaker 4 (02:04:49):
Steroids, not to discount a lot of other health concerns
with wrestlers, but prescription pills is what we are entering
into a real danger zone on. And that's when, and
that's during a time when their top star, Shawn Michaels,
was collapsing hotels and needing to be carried to his
room because of this pill problem and many other examples
of that. He was one of the most extreme examples,
and it took them until after Chris Benwat died. That's actually,

(02:05:09):
in any in any substance of serious ways rest prescription pills.
Ten years later, you know, it's just it's a it's
a terrible record. And as somebody who's been real disappointed
with WWE's putting profit over the health of wrestlers and
knowing and having friends die over the last twenty five
years that I've known wrestlers personally, it's it's I would
have thought it would be have been a bigger issue

(02:05:30):
by now in this campaign, but I'm glad it's at
least an issue that's being brought up. All right, let's
let's go to the full lines. If you want to
join us here at the PW Swarts live cast, we've
got forty minutes to go. The number is six four
six seven to one nine eight two eight. Certainly, in
no way do you need to talk politics.

Speaker 2 (02:05:47):
Or the debate.

Speaker 4 (02:05:48):
We want to talk about last night telling us sell
pay per view, want to talk about tonight's Raw. Talk
about two weeks in a row now that Raw has
done a lower than three point zero rating, which has
not happened since a stretch of off falling on Christmas,
even New Year's even before that. It's been many, many,
many years, pretty scary.

Speaker 2 (02:06:05):
Time for WWE.

Speaker 4 (02:06:06):
Bruce, you and I talked for a couple hours or
the better part of two hours about that over the
weekend on the VIP Bruce Mitchelle Audio Show. We want
to hear callers thoughts on that subject. As we move
forward in the show, Let's begin with area code four
zero four. Thanks for being the first caller. Please state
your name and where you're from.

Speaker 2 (02:06:22):
Hey, guys, it's Elliott in Atlanta. Hey, Larry, good, hear
from you. What's on your mind today? I said it
was Elliott, not Larry.

Speaker 4 (02:06:31):
Oh, Elliott, Okay, I don't quite hear you, and we
have Larry, So go ahead, Elliots.

Speaker 2 (02:06:35):
What about that?

Speaker 27 (02:06:36):
So great discussion so far, and I really enjoyed the
Bruce Mintl Mitchell audio show this weekend.

Speaker 2 (02:06:43):
A lot of good stuff that he has talked about.
I'm a lighter note.

Speaker 27 (02:06:48):
I just had a quick question with John Cena joining
the Nexus. Do you think he's going to be horse
to repel on his underpants?

Speaker 2 (02:06:53):
Now?

Speaker 4 (02:06:56):
That would be uh, that would be good. That would
be I'm I'm I'm not for the gene shorts look,
so if yeah, they made seen a change his clothing,
that would be actually pretty funny. I have no idea
though they I mean, they're not gonna actually humiliate him.
They're just going to pretend to humiliate him, So I
don't know if that would necessarily humiliate him.

Speaker 2 (02:07:15):
He wrestled in tights before, so I.

Speaker 4 (02:07:17):
Think I think I think people are anticipating on tonight's show,
how the result. If you if people didn't hear it,
or if they just read about it, I think they're
they're they're interested to see the reaction of Nexus gloating
and Sena having to deal with now having to join
the Nexus. Bruce, do you think I think you? And
I talked with Pat McNeil in the roundtable last night
for in the one hour post game show that we
did for the VP members, you commented that you liked

(02:07:40):
the way the Scena Nexus angle played out, especially after
the match.

Speaker 3 (02:07:44):
Well, I mean I did see that, acted like it
was a big thing and acted pretty crushed. I do
think though that you know, I do think that there's
gonna playoff and kind of a shit like soap opera
lay and it's not gonna you know, it's gonna be
sort of regislous because basically, you don't get to take
somebody in a contract and make them, you know, make

(02:08:06):
them less on their underwear and bring you know, and
grab your clothes and wash your clothes for you and
all that stuff unless you're you know, an NFL rookie
for about two weeks, and so that I mean, it's
gonna be played out. You know, it's gonna be kind
of played out where you'll laugh and maybe you'll be
amused by it. But it's more the more of this
thing that's kept this company flat, which is, you know,

(02:08:27):
we're telling a funny story, we're entertaining our fans because
we're entertainment, and maybe we'll get jobs's comedy writers instead
of pushing buttons to get that real visceral emotion going
where people just can't. People are furious, and people want
to see, you know, to see the triumph of the babyface,
so we'll see. The other thing is, you know, you know,
when they do the comedy of John, Steena tricks them

(02:08:50):
at every every point where they can't really necessarly can't
really prove it, but he's sabotaging their effort. And again,
that's something for a twelve year old and I think
they've got what a twelve year old audiences are going
to get, and that twelve year old audience can't my
pay per views, and it's not going to really push
them to anything more than what they've got right now.
So it's it's a real challenge for them to do this,

(02:09:12):
and I don't know whether this is going to do it.
I like it because of The other choice was break
up Nexus. And you know, while they did do some
things that you talked about last night, that they did
lay some groundwork the way there at down the line
being out of Nexus and either being a baby Pace
or at least being independent from them, I think the
more interesting choice was to keep Nexus together. So you know,

(02:09:35):
we'll see this is a really to me, this is
a really important show. This just grab viewers. Are people
interested in go well, I need to see this because
I need to see what happened or is it just
another day where they just kind of looked where they
looked and watched.

Speaker 2 (02:09:47):
So and it's a two point eight elliot anything.

Speaker 14 (02:09:51):
Else for us?

Speaker 2 (02:09:53):
But if man, oh the other game that was great.

Speaker 4 (02:09:56):
I just remindered everybody, I'll leave always leave everybody on
the hold if you want to up you ken. But
as a policy, I know a lot of you are
listening on the phone and not online, so we I
always just looking back on hold. Let's don't go to
area coach five five nine things calling you? State your
name and where you're from.

Speaker 22 (02:10:10):
Hey, this is Steve from California.

Speaker 2 (02:10:12):
Hey Steve, good do for you? What's in your mind tonight? Hey?

Speaker 22 (02:10:15):
I was just wondering if you guys think I got
a conspiracy theory here that maybe WW switched up the
ending to the John Cena Way Barrett match because of
the decline in the ratings and just on the fly
just made Johnsena lose the joinney to sparked interest any
Santi Peros, I'm.

Speaker 3 (02:10:36):
Not doing the match or not. I mean, I think
I think they did this whole angle to do that.
I mean, I think this was this was their first
shot at doing that. So yeah, I mean I think
the first part of conspiracy theory is right. I just
don't think that they did it you know, during the
show or pants or anything. I think this was you know,
I think that Sina clearly had it. Had it figured
out how you were going to react and what you
were going to do, And they clearly did a good

(02:10:58):
job of you know, some twists and turns during the match,
of having the whole row SmackDown roster, heels and faces,
flows come out and the beat up you know, beat
them up and make it look like they were goes
to you know, make it look like the Sooner was
going to win. So I think they think they had
to figure it out.

Speaker 2 (02:11:13):
I just I just think it.

Speaker 3 (02:11:15):
I think that it's right there, So.

Speaker 4 (02:11:18):
Yeah, Steve, Steve, I don't I don't think they changed
the finish at the last second. I'm not sure that
if the ratings are down that you know this. I mean,
breaking up Nexus is something that you can celebrate.

Speaker 6 (02:11:28):
It.

Speaker 2 (02:11:28):
It shakes up the foundation of of of the top
heel group.

Speaker 4 (02:11:32):
Everybody has to scatter and change them, and I think
you can do quite a bit with either finish. I'm
not quite sure that Seena joining Nexus is in and
of itself more of a ratings juggernaut than than having
him win and just fand Nexus and have the Heels
kind of have to regroup.

Speaker 2 (02:11:45):
I think it. I'm not sure that finishes is guaranteed.

Speaker 28 (02:11:48):
The pop ratings, Well, I guess my point was is, uh,
you know they they recorded the two episodes of Raw
and then they didn't have any feedback until the ratings
came out, and you don't think they like the Tuesday
after they well, well we were gonna go this way,
so let's try to go this way.

Speaker 2 (02:12:07):
Or do you think the whole plan was the whole time?
The fore my thinking is a plan was the whole time?

Speaker 4 (02:12:12):
Was they did I mean that that's my I can't.
I don't know for sure, but my inclination is to
think what we saw last night is what they wanted
to do. I think they were almost going that direction
with Raymonds Speial and and the Straight Edge Society and
the ideas that they had in their minds with what
to do with with that, they if they went the
other way with it. They're applying to Scena, and I

(02:12:33):
think they've got, you know, probably a pretty elaborate storyline
in mind. Hopefully it's better than Bruce is imagining. I
think the odds are good at Bruce is right. I
hope it's better than that, and I hope it's not
just you know, stuff that just makes you shake your
head and go back that's not believable.

Speaker 2 (02:12:45):
I mean, I think one of the holes in the
storyline has been what does it mean that Sena joins nexus.

Speaker 4 (02:12:50):
We're whole long what does he have to do?

Speaker 7 (02:12:52):
You know?

Speaker 2 (02:12:53):
Does he have to actually participate?

Speaker 4 (02:12:54):
They're they're leaving the storyline at a point where anybody
over age sixteen is going to have a weddin is
about it, and anybody under age twelve is just going
to think, oh my god, John Cena is going to
be as evil as wait Barre. And that's why there's
that YouTube video that Hilarys YouTube video that of that
kid under age ten having a huge fit. You know,
it was a storyline that that I think resonated with

(02:13:15):
the younger crowd. Obviously, the crowd reactions if you didn't
see the pay per view, the close ups of the
fans crying and shaking their head and holding their I
mean it was it was as if an airplane had
just crashed through the roof of the building and everybody
burned in front of their eyes. I mean, it was
genuine emotion and trauma at at this and it was
I thought a real sign of success that that moment worked,

(02:13:38):
that there were enough fans who bought into it at
that level. Certainly there were other fans who are just
smiling and laughing, going, hey, that was entertaining. I look
forward to the next thing. But a number of people
really got wrapped up in it, and they found those
fans and it made for good televisions.

Speaker 28 (02:13:50):
And do you think, yeah, do you think they're going
to bring in Umguillicutty and and Ritundo into the next
as well?

Speaker 18 (02:13:59):
Now?

Speaker 2 (02:14:00):
I think so Yeah, they're gonna be a wrong again.
I think they need to be.

Speaker 4 (02:14:05):
I mean, I can't remember how long Skip Sheffield is out,
but I think they need more members to be believable.
Since it's a bunch of rookies essentially or sophomores, I
think they need to have more strength and numbers. It's
been too even of a fight lately. So I think
adding Husky and McGillicutty, hopefully with a new name, will

(02:14:26):
help Bruce.

Speaker 3 (02:14:28):
Yeah, I think so. I mean, I think those are
those guys have potential and their legacy people they're not
They're not going to give up on so easily. So
how do you get them back on TV? That's a
good way to do it. And they both of the well.
I think Husky Harris has more of the personalities so far,
but I mean there's both have personality. It's not gonna
help much to.

Speaker 2 (02:14:48):
I wonder.

Speaker 4 (02:14:48):
I wonder if over time, uh of Bruce and Steve,
if what we're gonna see is Sina is going to
be part of Nexus and at first be miserable but
eventually win over the Justin Justin Gabriel Michael grabs Michael Tarbor.
Perhaps more likely he's later and maybe even you know,
one of the two new new guys from last night.

(02:15:09):
He might win over two or three of them, and
we end up with a couple of guys breaking away
from Nexus at some point when Sina wins a match,
because it's that that allows him to break free and
go on his own again. I'm I'm I'm assuming seen
against the Leave Nexus will be a match coming up
in the next two three months, and that's how they'll
end the storyline. And I wonder if he isn't gonna
turn a couple of them babyface along.

Speaker 2 (02:15:29):
The way like a four on four Survivor series. Maybe, Yeah,
I could see it as soon as as soon as November.

Speaker 4 (02:15:35):
Yeah, they could even run, you know, to the angle
where it's seen us later Husky Harris and and Justin
Gabriel against Wade Barrett, Otanga, Michael Tarbor and uh In
McGillicutty or something like that, you know, and and winning.
If Seena wings, then yeah, that he thought of the
next I mean, there's a lot of ways they can
do it, but that would be one of them. Steve,

(02:15:57):
thanks for your call, Thank you appreciate it.

Speaker 1 (02:16:01):
We're about to go to a commercial break. Whyles'sen to
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(02:16:22):
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VIP or Patreon membership.

Speaker 4 (02:16:35):
Let's now go to Uh, doctor Tucker is how it
shows up? You must maybe seeing us calling us by Skype.
Go ahead and stay your name and where you're from.

Speaker 2 (02:16:44):
Yeah, yes, how are you doing it?

Speaker 9 (02:16:46):
It's d R.

Speaker 2 (02:16:46):
How are you doing? Oh? Sorry about that?

Speaker 3 (02:16:48):
Dr?

Speaker 2 (02:16:49):
Yeah, that's okay. I don't want to.

Speaker 19 (02:16:53):
Get too heavy into the politics, but I just wanted
your your response to something I've heard usually talk my
friends about about the Linda campaign. And it's my friends
who are wrestling fans and who were following the Linda
campaign and whenever it's argued by you or others that

(02:17:14):
Linda is not qualified, they always they always argue their
response is, how is she any less qualified than, for example,
Minnesota Senator Al Franken. I want to know what your
response is that sort of right?

Speaker 4 (02:17:30):
Well, I disagreed with Bruce in the sense that I think,
and Bruce, you can defend yourself with I mischaracterize you
here obviously, But I don't think running a business for
twenty five years and only doing that disqualifies you from
being fit for public office. I think running for senator
is a pretty high level to start at, and the
only reason that's possible is because of the tremendous profits
that she made, and when you take into consideration how

(02:17:51):
those profits were made and at the expense of life
and health and safety, it's it's it's not you know,
it's it's not a real, it's not a real rallying
cry for her campaign when you think of those terms.
But in a generic sense, I have no problem with
people who don't spend their careers in business running for senate,
And I think running a successful business actually is pretty
good qualification to be sent to Washington for four years

(02:18:15):
or six years or eight years and represent your state
if you can speak on the issues with an intellect
and show that you know the issues in side and out.

Speaker 2 (02:18:22):
I don't think merely being.

Speaker 4 (02:18:23):
An entrepreneur, a successful entrepreneur who hasn't been in government
disqualified her for running for office. I think knowing the
issues and resonating with viewers should count. And so that's
what al Franklin did, That's what normal.

Speaker 3 (02:18:35):
Let me I want to answer that question specific please too.
Al alf Franklin from the tom that he was a
writer for Saturday Not Live and came out of a
police Harvard, was writing about political issues and was very
well versed in political issues, not just domestically, but and
had a point of view and a real point of
view domestically and internationally for many years, even during his

(02:18:58):
entertainment for in fact, he segued into being a political writer.
I mean in a comedic way, but he had a
real point of view based on the real issues and
based on researching those issues. And Wyna McMahon in the
twenty five thirty years, I mean the twenty five years
I've known of her and the twenty years I followed

(02:19:21):
her pretty closely, has not spoken out or shown any
real knowledge of political issues. To this day, she's very's
she's running a discipline campaign and that she is saying
very you know, very you know points that she's given
by some very expensive political advisors, and the only time

(02:19:43):
she's gone off of message has been on the on
the minimal age issue and that didn't work out so well.
So I mean, they're not do to me. Is not
a political entity in any way, but and her as
a part of it anyway, but to their own benefit,
into their own business.

Speaker 2 (02:20:01):
And that's fine for.

Speaker 3 (02:20:01):
Their own business, but it doesn't show that she has
any knowledge of it or any kind of passion or
any kind of vision for being a senator from a
conservative side or from any other sides. So the commncer
to Al Frankin is kind of a as a surface one.
He was an entertainer and she was this. But even
if you look at Alrald Schwarzenegger or our Surzernegger had

(02:20:23):
and came out with political views long before he before
he ran for governor of California, she really has not
had serference and political contributions on both sides of the hour,
which is normal for corporate for rich people in corporate citizens.
She really has no rep So that is another in
my sense, is another way. It's not that she's a

(02:20:45):
business person that she just doesn't have any kind of
political doesn't seem to have any kind of political philosophy
or any kind of record to back up what she's
saying to jump right into being a senator except for
a huge campaign. Ches she would not if she even
run by saying, by saying I'm going to get the
support from all these powerful people and rich people and

(02:21:05):
people who get pot hundred dollars apiece to see me
as a viable Canada, she would not be a Canada.
So that's I mean, that's the truth. So that's kind
of and this is my you know, this was my view.

Speaker 4 (02:21:17):
But I think I can back up the view, right, No,
And I just don't think simply running a business just
qualifies you for being qualified for Senate. But I nor
does like not having engaged in political discords in any
public way and not even voting in the last election
or multiples, not the last elections and the last several yeah,
last several I just corrected myself, and the last several elections.

(02:21:40):
That does that does under cut your credibility when you're
simply funding the campaign without you know, individual contributions.

Speaker 2 (02:21:46):
So I agree with that. I think al.

Speaker 4 (02:21:48):
Franken is very qualified to run for Senate. I don't
I don't think the fact that he dressed up and
did skifs it works against him, or that he was
a comedy writer works against him. I mean, I think
it's placed the idea that you've got pretty good intellect.
I think you got to be pretty smart to be
pretty funny.

Speaker 2 (02:22:04):
But Bruce is right.

Speaker 4 (02:22:05):
Al Franken has been a very political figure for a
long time and has definitely had a point of view
host at the radio show, has written political books, has
really put himself out there. But and Dr, I didn't
even know where you were coming from, pro Conna Linda
or or al Frankin. But does that kind of at
least address are the question and maybe give you something
to work with when talking to your friends.

Speaker 22 (02:22:24):
Yeah, it does, I mean, I I.

Speaker 19 (02:22:28):
Mean, I'm not sure if she if she's going to win.
I mean, I kind of have my own partisan inclinations there.
But but my my friends feel more strongly throw her
than I am, and they regard her as being no
different than say Carly Fiorina, which I always caution is
a bit of an issue because if you look at

(02:22:49):
the stuff in California, Carly Fiorina and her record at
HP isn't the.

Speaker 2 (02:22:54):
Greatest record in the world.

Speaker 19 (02:22:56):
So it's all about who is considered truly qualified to
run for public office. If you're a successful business person,
are you qualified? If you were successful in entertainment field,
are you qualified? Are in the abstract, are Franklin and
Schwarzenegger and Linda McMahon Are they all truly qualified to
hold up to hold office.

Speaker 3 (02:23:15):
It's a great thing about Chase three. You go by
a case by case basis.

Speaker 2 (02:23:19):
Yeah, I agree that there's more too.

Speaker 3 (02:23:21):
There's more too that doesn't disquality, doesn't disqualify them. I
agreeculate about that those things I would say. But the
thing that I just cautioned people is I'm very suspicious
of people who are form limit man because they really
love wrestling and they really you know, WW is their
home team. There's got to be a better reason to
vote for somebody than that.

Speaker 2 (02:23:42):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (02:23:43):
Well, then the FEN appreciation Night a few days before
the election, a couple of days before the election is
is quite a coincidental occurrence when when when when Linna
McMahon and Tonight's debates, Uh, said Richard bloom You know,
said rich Bloomsal is pretty convenient that after twenty years
in business in Connecticut that now we're suddenly being investigated
for our classification of our of the independent contractor status.

(02:24:03):
I think Richard Blumenfelt should have said, well, it's pretty.

Speaker 2 (02:24:05):
Convenient you've decided to discount.

Speaker 4 (02:24:06):
Wrestling tickets for wrestling fans two days before the election
of Ran a fan appreciation night. I wonder how political that? Well,
I wonder if that'll turn into a political rally. How
convenient is that? And and well do you plan to
have a fan appreciation night when you're not two days
away from asking people to vote for you? With with
ticket price prices slash? That would have been a possible
comeback to, but there wasn't as much tit for.

Speaker 2 (02:24:27):
Tat in there in the debates as that.

Speaker 4 (02:24:30):
Anyway, let's let's go back to the phone lines. We're
in our final twenty minutes of the show here and
go to aera code seven to one nine.

Speaker 2 (02:24:36):
Thanks for calling you stay your name and where you're from,
and it's Daniel from Colorado. Hey, Daniel, good doing for you.
What's up tonight?

Speaker 7 (02:24:45):
Well, I you know I've heard you guys tease about it.

Speaker 2 (02:24:49):
And uh, at least on.

Speaker 7 (02:24:52):
Reading the app, the iPhone app and how they could
actually be McMahon. Now, personally, I don't think so if
the stranger things doesn't happen.

Speaker 2 (02:25:05):
And this I I haven't, I haven't, I haven't.

Speaker 4 (02:25:09):
I don't know who you got to differentiate between the
writers because I haven't said for well.

Speaker 7 (02:25:12):
I I'm not quite sure which writer it was. I
get so into it so I forgot, but it was.
But it did have to do with the shout out
to mc foley, and uh, I just thought that that
would have been hilarious.

Speaker 4 (02:25:31):
But let's just say I wouldn't let it out, but
I put the odds at less than one percent.

Speaker 2 (02:25:35):
Daniel, Oh yeah, I would.

Speaker 3 (02:25:37):
Okay, let me tell you this, let me rule number one,
let me run did what he did had a shout
out to mcfoley left and his new book and this
new book count down the Lockdown, let Me Not Raw
in direct as a direct thank you for mcfauley not
saying anything negative about his life and that's say anything positive.

(02:26:00):
Wife one political writers major political writers called and also
attacking the media, which is going to put you into suspins.
Does that mean that he likes Nick Foley? Now know
he doesn't like Nick Foley. He thinks that Nick Foley
is useful to them, and so he did that as
a thank you and as knowing that political writers could
call Nick Foley again in the next month. And Foley

(02:26:24):
is articulate and also willing to play ball, and he's
sending him that to two other people who made benefit
from having a relationship with this a man such is
mc foley. This is chid for Patt is not. It's
a classy guy. It's not that he has changed in
his you know now he's sixty five years old. It's
not that he's about to turn up in TNA. That's

(02:26:45):
the explanation for it. He's not about to turn up
in TNA. There's no reason for him to buy TNA.

Speaker 2 (02:26:50):
And Dixie Carter isn't mom.

Speaker 3 (02:26:52):
Carter isn't selling. They may pulled it out of does
this someday, but no, there's no reason for that.

Speaker 4 (02:26:57):
Yeah, and and anything Universal isn't don't want to have
since the man be part of a show on TV.
Their competitors they're just there's really no benefit. I think
the call out mcfuley was Morris sign for everything. It
was everything worse said but also confirmed sinsc Man doesn't
want get TNA as much as a point. Even though
the ratings gap is closed, that's mostly due.

Speaker 2 (02:27:18):
To the drop in raw interest.

Speaker 4 (02:27:20):
Anyway, Daniel, go go ahead and.

Speaker 2 (02:27:22):
With with your point, because we've kind of jumped into
a couple of quick spots on our well that that's okay.

Speaker 5 (02:27:26):
I agree.

Speaker 7 (02:27:28):
Well, I just had a couple of points first.

Speaker 2 (02:27:31):
First one was let's just.

Speaker 7 (02:27:33):
Say, yeah, I know it wouldn't happen, but if it
did happen, would do you think that Vince would probably
just liquid datum like he would wcw.

Speaker 2 (02:27:45):
Uh Yeah, I think so.

Speaker 4 (02:27:47):
I mean, CNA's just not a big enough name to
occupy his time interrupting his own storylines. And that's frankly,
what I felt about the WW invasion angle that some
people thought was this dream scenario. I'm like, it was
three years past the green scenario. You know, WW was
a damaged product by the point that Vincent Man acquired
Booker T and Buff Bagwell contractually and a few other scraps.

(02:28:09):
He wasn't getting the big names, and even the big
names were worn out by that point and and and
greatly damaged. I think TNA is even less than that
right now because they don't have that that long name
brand identification where you can just put w W versus
W'D off on a poster and people would would at least,
you know, peek their head and to see what's going
on TNA versus w W E. I mean, I think

(02:28:30):
Nexus is more famous than TNA. And they've been around
for six weeks, you know, for for eight weeks or
whatever it is, so or twelve weeks.

Speaker 2 (02:28:37):
So yeah, I don't think so, Yeah, I agree.

Speaker 7 (02:28:41):
Now, Yeah, My next question was actually about uh, the
Big Show.

Speaker 2 (02:28:48):
I was you know, there are some books.

Speaker 7 (02:28:49):
Out there by the old shall we say, legends, the
old guys and one of them, and they always seem
to bash Big Show, including Bobby Heeman, and they I
think they always compare him to Andre the Giant. And
one thing Bobby said, and I think others have said
this is well, the problem with Big Show is he

(02:29:11):
sells and Andre didn't sell, and that's a giant. But
I think, I mean, I don't want to speak ill
of the dead.

Speaker 3 (02:29:19):
Nobody ever does.

Speaker 7 (02:29:20):
But I think Big Show is more exciting to watch
than an Andrea match because in an Andrea match, the
other guy always had to carry or had to do
all the work pretty much. And who do you what,
who do you think is the better wrestler between them?

Speaker 5 (02:29:36):
And who do you think is the greatest giant wrestler?

Speaker 4 (02:29:40):
Ruth, I mean it's a fair question. I mean I
go ahead and address Big Show in his athletic prime
and Under the Giant in his athletic prime, and their differences.

Speaker 2 (02:29:50):
And then also how they're they're giants during.

Speaker 4 (02:29:54):
Different eras and wrestling and therefore makes them quite in
my mind, not really comp coverable to even compared, you know, suddenly.

Speaker 3 (02:30:03):
What Bobby Heenan said about Big Show and comparing on
to the Giant, Under the Giant was a complicated guy
to work with. He was in pain a lot of time,
he was an alcoholic, He wasn't the nicest man in
the world, and he could be a real handful. The
thing with Big Show during the w c W days,
there were a lot of guys that were unprofessional and
really didn't bring their best who kind of lost who

(02:30:24):
lost faith in management? And Big Show was one of
those guys, So that might be what it was there.
But the idea that the idea that Big Show didn't sell,
Big Show did sell more. He had to sell more
because he was out there every week. He saw him
from week to week. Where Andre was a touring attraction
where he would come into a territory, stay for a
few days, and then leave before you got before you

(02:30:46):
got used to it, and that was how that deal worked.

Speaker 2 (02:30:51):
Big Show was a better worker.

Speaker 3 (02:30:52):
I think overall over the course of his career, Andre
with his agronomie, with the disease that made him big,
that slowed him down, and the fact that he didn't
take care of himself floated down even further. As the
career went on, he was a bigger attraction. He was
something special as far as something at at the Gates.

(02:31:13):
But but you know, it was just a different time.
I think Big Show would have benefited from being able
to come in and being seen or you know, being
seen as something special. Everybody talked about like it was
a really big deal. As you came in, then you
would win whatever match you were in, and you know,
the baby stations you teamed with would be grateful to
see you there and you were you know, you had
even though you weren't undefeated, you had an undefeated storyline

(02:31:36):
around you. And just wrestling can't work that way. Now
there's one big company this worldwide and and the Internet
doesn't work that way. And you know, the ass can't
make the hard growth hond before a giant, so a
giant has.

Speaker 2 (02:31:49):
To do more.

Speaker 3 (02:31:49):
That's like big show.

Speaker 2 (02:31:50):
It's just not as big a deal.

Speaker 3 (02:31:52):
As Andre the Giant was. And it's just you know,
right time, right place and everything in this content. So
I mean, both of them, I think the show has
regained a reputation for professional with them because he respects him.
It's a man, and McMahon isn't gonna put up a
lot as much crap and say Eric Bischofferer, Paul Cogan

(02:32:13):
and all the all the people in turn of broadcasting
who had their finger in the pot would So you know,
this man isn't gonna let some some big giant walk
out smoking a cigarette because he thinks it's funny. And
you know that that did go on the show.

Speaker 2 (02:32:28):
So there's yea.

Speaker 3 (02:32:30):
Giants are harder to harder to come by, I think,
because you know don Leo, Jonathan was a giant. Was
the size around around Andre the Giant. Ernie Ladd was somebody,
I mean, kind of a version of with the bad knees,
kind of a version of Kevin Nash, and that was
big and looked really impressive.

Speaker 2 (02:32:50):
And could talk like crazy.

Speaker 3 (02:32:52):
Anybody was a great talker competitively Kevin Nash. But you
know when he got into the ring, it was the
size that kind of carried him. And that's you know,
those guys had to come in and come out of
different of different errors and different promotions, and Kamala and
Kamala sort of in that league. Bruce Brady was sort
of in that league, but Andre was probably the most

(02:33:13):
famous and the most effective as far as box office.
Big show is a big show of the modern air.
If you look at Great Colleague, if you look at
the guys that have been in the late John Gonzales
and guys that have been big, he's been the best,
longest lasting performer. But he's at that top of the
mid card, you know, lower main event level. He's not

(02:33:36):
He's not a ticket seller by himself. The way Andre the.

Speaker 24 (02:33:39):
Giant was.

Speaker 16 (02:33:45):
Longing for some Mistalna or maybe you want to learn
some wrestling History. Don't miss the Nineties Past cast every
Friday on the PW Towards Daily Cast Feed. Alex and
Patrick will transport you thirty years into the past by
taking through the Torch issue from that very weak follow
news from the WWF and WCW and all the happenings

(02:34:06):
from across the wrestling industry in real time as The
Torch reported it thirty years ago. That's the nineties Pass
cast every Friday on the PW Torch Daily Cast Feed.

Speaker 2 (02:34:26):
Daniel, any any comments on that comparison.

Speaker 7 (02:34:30):
Uh, yeah, I I I should I agree with you.

Speaker 2 (02:34:34):
I do think that.

Speaker 7 (02:34:35):
Uh, I just think that Bobby Heenan. I just thought
that was really unfair and I really didn't know where
he was coming from and and just kind of attacking.

Speaker 3 (02:34:47):
Was one of the things that Bobby Unton about Bobby
Junten was he was, you see, have a drinking problem.
He was miserable in ww so a lot of his
memories of people in w W are not the father.
He wasn't working and he wasn't working in WWA when
show kind of got his show got some discipline and
started acting more professionally. So he probably does, but I

(02:35:10):
guarantee you I don't really wrote about it. If I
guarantee you all these members of Vandre of the Giant
weren't just you know.

Speaker 2 (02:35:17):
Rolla and pleasant ones.

Speaker 4 (02:35:18):
Yeah, Daniel, thanks for your call. Please call again.

Speaker 2 (02:35:22):
Thank you, You're welcome.

Speaker 4 (02:35:24):
All right, before we go back to the phone line,
just a quick plug. You've heard us talk about the
Bruce Mitchell audio show and also the post pay per
view audio roundtable. I encourage you if you like the
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(02:35:46):
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(02:36:09):
and years and years of audio shows. If you want
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(02:36:29):
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(02:36:52):
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Speaker 2 (02:37:03):
We love what we do and we'd love to have
you as a member and listening and reading what we
produced each week.

Speaker 4 (02:37:08):
All right, let's go back to the phone lines and
go to area code nine one four.

Speaker 2 (02:37:12):
Thanks for calling. Please state your name and where you're from. Oh,
Steve from Florida. Hey, Steve's good, hear from you. What's
on your mind tonight? Well?

Speaker 3 (02:37:20):
Well, uh, thanks? Really?

Speaker 2 (02:37:22):
Well? What do you think the w W he's doing
with Edge right now?

Speaker 4 (02:37:27):
Good quessic The Edge of the guy who goes from
baby face to heel, to baby face to heal and
he never turns. He just shows up one day and
suddenly where he's kind of positioned in a different way
than he was before. Bruce, what do you think of
the way Edge is being used right now? Wanted to
tell us about physic man's opinion of Edge.

Speaker 3 (02:37:45):
I think they know that Edge has value because he
does have value. He's a good rough for he's a
good talker, he's got whose money, he's got experience. But
so she's come back from this injury, he just has
not seemed comfortable in the roles that he's implying. Whether
it was davy face when he came back that flop
and then they put he puts some thought into Jack
turn where the fans turned on him first, and he

(02:38:07):
had a good reason for turning, you know, sort of
that that heel self justification thing that's kind of nasty,
and he just didn't seem to get over that well
as a as a heel on rass. So I got
they look at SmackDown, SmackDown me something, and there's nobody
really descend, nobody they want to send that they're that
they're willing to risk except for him, And he's just

(02:38:29):
he's missing something athletically. Since I think since that time
and way kind of talks about it, he's at that
point in his career where, uh, he's made a lot
of money, He's he's hopefully banked a lot of money.
I think he has. He's openly talked about retiring, you know,
at a reasonable age. A lot of those guys do
and then they don't retire, but he really has thoughts
about it. And living in Ashville actual North Carolina, which

(02:38:51):
is kind of a Bahomian community now and pretty cool
place to stay and up in the mountains, and he
may be and okay, I'm just going to I'm going
to be professional, and this what he talked about not
going to give that that extra ten percent. It might
get me hurt, but I'm going to do a good
job and make that that top of the mid card,
bottom of the bottom of the main event money for

(02:39:13):
a while.

Speaker 2 (02:39:14):
And I don't think that.

Speaker 3 (02:39:15):
I just think they're looking for a place where he'll
spark a little bit. I also just think that Spear
just is not convincing. Now there's something. I mean, she's
not putting any humps into.

Speaker 2 (02:39:24):
It at all, and that's a problem to see anything
else for us today.

Speaker 20 (02:39:30):
Yeah, based on the events with his storyline with the
general manager, do you think that ultimately it will be
somebody that he knows from his parents that will be
the general manager or do you still think there's a
chance trip relationship the field it's a.

Speaker 2 (02:39:47):
General manager, you know.

Speaker 4 (02:39:50):
I mean, I wish I could trust all the clues
that Leads laid out and we could kind of, you know,
put them all together and come up with a good theory.
But I don't know that anyone manager's gonna makes sense.

Speaker 2 (02:40:00):
I think he could be Vince mc manon. It could
be Triple Ah, could.

Speaker 4 (02:40:02):
Be Stephan McMahon, could end up being Michael Cole, could
end up being like Adam Lee, Bruce any we get
asked this a lot, but any any new thoughts on
who the GM might be and Steve's thoughts on that
subject except for Michael.

Speaker 3 (02:40:15):
Cole, which is the obvious one. I don't think that
they have anybody in mind. I think that basically they've
got a shoot gimmick going with that laptop, and the
clues that they have don't hang together in any real way.
So I think they're just hoping they can pull stuffing
out of their butt when the time comes, and that's
what it will seem like when the tom comes. I
don't think it's coming to any time soon.

Speaker 4 (02:40:34):
If Kevin Nash's contract comes due, they could bring him
and he might fit. He's kind of a smart ass
you would can imagine messing with people.

Speaker 3 (02:40:43):
I don't think they're they're looking to be in the
Kevin Nash business in that way.

Speaker 4 (02:40:47):
I'd yeah, well, I'm just throwing I'm just saying, I mean,
you know, there's nothing inconsistent with that. Its possibility, and
personality wise, he could be the type who would mess
around with people the.

Speaker 2 (02:40:55):
Way he has. I mean, that's what I'm saying, is
I mean, you can come up with any.

Speaker 4 (02:40:59):
Theory and most make it fit because of WWBE has
been so vague about it. All Right, let's go back
to the phone lines in case you want to join
us here in the final minutes of the show, the
number six four six seven to one nine A two waight,
don't forget if you listen to us lide. You can
also subscribe in iTunes. Just do a search for PW
Torch and also don't forget to join Jamie pennicin gang
for the MMA Torch live cast every Tuesday night.

Speaker 2 (02:41:20):
At eight o'clock.

Speaker 4 (02:41:21):
Look it up at blogtalkradio dot com slash MMA Torch.
Special big name guests, roundtable discussions, live calls. All part
of our sister publication, MMA Torch. Go to blogcockradio dot
com slash MMA Torch, or search MMA Torch and iTunes
to listen to previous podcasts. Back to the phone lines,

(02:41:41):
DA code seven oh three.

Speaker 2 (02:41:42):
Thanks for calling. Please state to your name from where
you're from.

Speaker 21 (02:41:45):
Hi, This is Page from Atlanta. You all mostly know
my boyfriend Larry right anyway. Hi, So I was really
kind of impressed with the Sina lose last night and
the way that they kind of kept the drama going
or at least Sina did a really good job selling
the drama for a lot longer than I thought you
would sitting on that stage forever basically, And what I

(02:42:08):
was wondering is this, do you think now is the
time to turn scene a heel or do you think
they're gonna let it develop in fester a little bit
more or you know, or do you think that he's
he's just gonna stay babyface.

Speaker 2 (02:42:22):
I think it's say babyface.

Speaker 4 (02:42:24):
I don't think they're gonna pull the trigger on the
Hill turn for quite a while. I could be wrong,
but I just I don't really see a reason as
a reason that turning him now makes more sense than
waiting quite a while.

Speaker 2 (02:42:35):
Bruce, you said one of the reasons.

Speaker 4 (02:42:37):
Do you think ratings are down and Seene has lost
a little bit of lesser as a draw. Does that
make you more inclined to think they might even consider
him seeing the dark side and liking it and maybe
turning Hill as part of the angle.

Speaker 3 (02:42:48):
No, I don't, because even John's seen an eighty and
I think it's a real problem that he's starting on
the going down the.

Speaker 2 (02:42:56):
Bell curves in the traction.

Speaker 3 (02:42:59):
He's still their major merchandise seller by far, and it
would be it would be a big risk to messe
morals that, particularly with kids, because kids take what they
see pretty much literally, unless, of course they're Tommy Dreamers
act actor children, so they're going to you know, they're
you know, they may not buy the merchandise. They may
not they may not do that. So the money is

(02:43:21):
still very much in Johnson to be in a Vega station.
They're gonna stick with that. If you notice with the
very big top acts they do, the Triple Ages and
the John Cenas, they will keep them in the same
slot for a long time. I think they learned something
from Steve Boston turning to Heal.

Speaker 4 (02:43:38):
Yeah, yeah, I paint any other well they could they
could learn from Houlkogan turning heel Tubers by the Saint Oven.

Speaker 3 (02:43:44):
Yeah, like he's going to do Sunday Night, that's what.

Speaker 2 (02:43:47):
Yeah, go ahead.

Speaker 21 (02:43:52):
Well, I just I mean I first was exposed to see,
you know, when he was doing the Street Battles of
Eddie Guerrero and and I mean, as cheesy as that was,
I really liked it. And I don't know if there
maybe isn't their happy medium where you know, maybe seen
as a little darker but not you know, but still
a good guy or something like that. But but that

(02:44:13):
that was my one question. The other question I had,
if there's time is why do you think there really
hasn't been enough development in the store of the divas storylines?
Because you know the pay per view last night, nobody
cared about that match.

Speaker 2 (02:44:26):
Yeah, got that, we're short on time, and I'll let
you get a dress that real quick.

Speaker 4 (02:44:30):
I think they're called a diva storylines, Bruce, real quick,
because I want to get one more calling in the left.

Speaker 3 (02:44:33):
Well, ever since China and and Sable, who made them
a lot of money and were really big stars and
wrestling to cause a lot of headaches, I think there's
just been a corporate decision that it was going to
be all the divas are going to be equal, and
they're going to be interchangeable, and they're going to provide
a six minute match in between the main events, and
that's their role. And they've got some roles backstage, four

(02:44:54):
of them too, but that's their major roles.

Speaker 4 (02:44:57):
And they're doing more with them than they did in
the mid nineties. I'm and it's it's not below stepper,
But anyway, real quick got eric code seventy six.

Speaker 2 (02:45:03):
Thanks for holding. Please state your name and where you're from.
Her name is Johnny from Dallas, Texas.

Speaker 4 (02:45:08):
Hey, Johnny, real quick for not about thirty seconds.

Speaker 3 (02:45:10):
Oh not much, dude.

Speaker 9 (02:45:11):
I was at the show last night, dud.

Speaker 6 (02:45:13):
You could you could hear You can see all the
kids crying left and right.

Speaker 23 (02:45:17):
Fat.

Speaker 15 (02:45:17):
It was fat scene out and we've seen a lot.

Speaker 6 (02:45:19):
I couldn't believed it, and they will.

Speaker 2 (02:45:21):
It was.

Speaker 7 (02:45:22):
It was just funny at the same time, but all
the kids are going nuts naming up, families are storming.

Speaker 2 (02:45:27):
Johnny. Thanks for a call.

Speaker 4 (02:45:28):
We literally had twenty second or even the twenty seconds.

Speaker 2 (02:45:30):
We are out of time.

Speaker 4 (02:45:31):
Please call tomorrow on behalf of Bruce Mitchell. This is
Way Keller, thanking all of you for listening, and the
countdown to Ross starts on Rock Start right now.

Speaker 1 (02:45:46):
Invite you to email the show with feedback or questions
or comments. That email address is Wade Keller Podcast at
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Speaker 24 (02:46:08):
Searching for more great pro wrestling talk, then join me
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(02:46:30):
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Speaker 12 (02:47:03):
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(02:48:28):
moment out for us and do us favor and give
us a five star rating and Apple Podcasts. That helps
us on search returns and helps us grow. And if
you want, you can add a few comments about what
you like about the programs in the comments section. Thank
you so much.

Speaker 17 (02:48:44):
In twenty twelve, NXT transitioned into the developmental system and
ultimately the brand you see today. On the Torch VIP
podcast NXT eight years Back, we'll be taking a weekly
look at this page in NXT's early history.

Speaker 18 (02:49:00):
Wells and me Tom Stout from PWT talks NXT every
Saturday as we go eight years back to the day
to track NXT's rising talents and why they did or
didn't work out Exclusively for PW Torch VIP members.

Speaker 1 (02:49:13):
PW Torch VIP membership doesn't just give you ad free
access to these shows and a ton of other VIP
exclusive podcasts throughout the week, but you also gain access
to our unmatched vast library of wrestling history, our contemporaneous
week to week coverage through our progressing Torch weekly newsletters
dating back to the late nineteen eighties, along with streaming
and download access to hundreds of retro radio shows from
the nineteen nineties, including some of my interviews with wrestling's

(02:49:36):
top newsmakers in the nineties, and also our podcast library
dating back to the year two thousand and three. There's
no larger, longer spanning pro wrestling podcast library than that
that comes with a PW Torch VIP membership. Now approaching
twenty years of podcasting, Go VIP and dive into our
post pay per view roundtables are covered with some of
your favorite eras of wrestling, top name long form interviews,

(02:49:59):
and special format podcasts that we've done throughout the years.
PW torch dot com slash go VIP. We have a
streamline sign up for me and you can pay with
PayPal or directly with your credit card or debit card.
In one or two minutes from right now, you can
be a VIP member and diving into our library. PW
torch dot com slash go VIP,

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