Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Episode 78: Freddy Got Fingered, X-Pac Got Torn (NJPW's G1 Climax, GCW's Backyard Wrestling, Callahan Vs. Blanchard)
49 Plays6 years ago
On this weeks hangout the boys are chatting Garrett's trip to Dallas for the G1 Climax, GCW's Backyard Wrestling, Sami Callihan vs Tessa Blanchard, Derrick's KO Climax, a Carly Rae Jepsen concert and more!
Recommended
Transcript
Tribute to Rip Torn
00:00:00
Speaker
Hey everybody, welcome to another episode of Predetermined, a pro wrestling hangout. I'm your host Garrett Callender, and with me, as always, a man who even though he's 32 years old and can eat a chicken sandwich, will be eating roast beef tonight. Derek Halpin.
00:00:15
Speaker
Rest in peace, Rip Torn.
00:00:35
Speaker
and actually this caught me off guard that I guess this happened like what late last night or early this morning and I got like pretty good chunk into the day before I realized that Riptorn had passed away and made me sad
00:00:50
Speaker
especially
Sneaking into a Movie
00:00:51
Speaker
since there is a Twitter page dedicated to Riptorn called Riptorn Outlives. And all it did every day was update you on people and things and concepts that Riptorn had outlived on a given day. And today that Twitter page had to make the announcement that it was done and that Riptorn had outlived human existence on this earth. And here's the thing.
00:01:18
Speaker
As an actor, I guess he made a significant impact on my life, maybe our lives, but I can say for sure mine. And it's funny because I don't know him from more than just a few movies. I know Freddie got fingered, but probably Men in Black would have been one of the first times you saw Riptorn. What else you got? What's another Riptorn memory? Dodgeball?
00:01:46
Speaker
My dad quotes that movie all the time. Does he really? He does. Something I would have expected. He constantly says you're about as useful as a poopy flavored lollipop.
00:02:00
Speaker
Yeah, I think we've told the story on the podcast before for my birthday. I think it was 2001 or two. Whenever Freddy Got Fingered came out in theaters, your parents, Bruce and Robin, wouldn't allow you to go see the movie, but my mom allowed me to take a group of friends to go see Freddy Got Fingered in the theater. And I snuck you in. And what movie did you say we were going to see, Garrett? Mummy Returns, starring Dwayne. That's right. Starring Dwayne.
00:02:29
Speaker
Cause you know you gotta
Wrestling Talk and Reactions
00:02:30
Speaker
make it about wrestling somewhere so that people think that's what the show's about. I actually just tried to look up and see if Rip Torn had ever done anything even remotely pro wrestling related. And when I googled Rip Torn pro wrestling, the very first thing that came up was Wrestler Rips Anison match.
00:02:51
Speaker
Oh, should I watch this now and hear my reaction to watching a man. Yeah. You know what? Do it for sure. All right. I'm opening this up. Let's see. How old am I? I want to know what what age range I'm in so that it can, you know, give me specified ads here. All right. Let's watch this guy rip his ass open. Oh, no.
00:03:19
Speaker
Wait, this is... Oh, it's X-POC! OH!
00:03:27
Speaker
He is sitting in Bronco Buster position holding his asshole in the corner. And then this other man doesn't know that his asshole hurts and comes up behind him and hits him with a steel chair. X-Pac is currently on the ground banging his fist on the ground while holding his asshole with the other hand. Oh, what's funny is I've actually heard the story and I should have known that this is where this was headed, but...
00:03:50
Speaker
oh and they're still beating on him i didn't realize like i don't think i could have my asshole torn and can jesus he's trying man but you can tell his butt hurts so it's not freddy got fingered it's expat got torn
00:04:06
Speaker
This has been an interesting intro to this edition of Predetermined to Pro Wrestling Hangout. And then he just fell backwards, got dumped onto a table, onto the outside. I don't even get to see how it ends, but good word. Rest in peace, ripped horn. Rest in peace, expo.
Listener Engagement and Podcast Promotion
00:04:22
Speaker
And hit our goddamn music.
00:04:59
Speaker
How can we haven't incorporated you just Googling and YouTubing things while we're on the air? How can we have it done that more often? I don't know. I guess I should watch more disturbing things for the first time. That wasn't that disturbing. It was more the idea. It's such a tame move that seeing the Bronco Buster go so wrong, but you can't see what's happened inside X-Pac shorts. But I have to imagine it's fucking awful. Yeah, I bet.
00:05:28
Speaker
I have definitely heard him tell that. I'm probably the reason we don't do it. Why, because it makes me sad and makes my butthole pucker? No, I was going to say, probably the reason we don't do that more often is because we both can't watch it simultaneously like this. Well, I mean, we could have, but that was good lord.
00:05:42
Speaker
Alright, well, Jesus, I lost my full train of thought from that. On with our regularly scheduled programming, if you can remember what it is. Yeah, thanks for tuning in, guys. You know, why don't we do this up at the top? Rate, review, subscribe, hit that five star, leave us a review. If you leave a five star review, we'll talk about whatever you want as long as it can even be remotely pro wrestling related.
GCW Backyard Event Chaos
00:06:08
Speaker
So there was a thing going on for a while where if we had gotten seven reviews, I was going to get my hair cut like Kota Ibushi. Guess what? Got my hair cut this past Friday. That's not happening. You're like, I didn't even ask for it. Motherfucker gave me a Kota Ibushi. No.
00:06:26
Speaker
It's got my regular haircut. We didn't get the number in, so I felt safe. And I went on with my life. You said we had until mid-July. I did. And you got one. There were two. I said July 15th. That's five more days. There were 72 five stars. There was one actual review and a rating. Sure. I'm not trying to say anybody let me down in particular other than you.
00:06:52
Speaker
Are you saying I should have gone on there and left a bunch of phony reviews? I don't want to... It's obvious to me that you don't care enough. I don't want to tarnish the name of this pro wrestling podcast that so many people adore.
00:07:22
Speaker
We had a party, but you know, if we're having a party and there's a pro wrestling pay-per-view, that means you can either be part of the party, you can sit in this room and watch a pay-per-view with me. Calling it a pay-per-view may be a stretch, but it was GCW's backyard wrestling event that took place in a backyard somewhere in New Jersey.
00:07:30
Speaker
I think you did that with the intro.
00:07:42
Speaker
So while most people were binge watching Stranger Things season three, you, while you and your wife were hosting a party, decided to be like the kid who's excited to show all the strangers and guests his collection of toys, and you broke out a fucking GCW, air quotes, pay-per-view, where they're doing the show in a backyard
00:08:06
Speaker
with kind of a backyard wrestling slash fourth of July theme? Oh, not just kind of a backyard wrestling theme, 100%. I mean, they had a GCW ring, but then on one side they had a trampoline and on the other side they had trampoline trampoline pool. And I think the thing that my party guests were most shocked by is that this was a pay-per-view that was happening live.
00:08:36
Speaker
This wasn't a DVD you got off the television, you know, like 12 years ago. Oh yeah. At one point somebody's like, wait, this is happening now? Like this is happening in New Jersey as we speak. And you paid money for this. Yes. And you proudly exclaimed, hell yeah. Hell yeah, I did, man. I can't think of a better way. Yeah, I can't think of a better way to spend $13.99 on the 4th of July.
00:09:02
Speaker
So it was a bunch of wrestlers, some bigger name people going by their backyard names. Joey Janela going by Kid Suicide.
Party Reactions to Wrestling
00:09:12
Speaker
And this was probably the most entertaining to me. Schlack, our old buddy Schlack was on this show. He was under a hood and his name was El Schlacko. El Schlacko. So yeah. I'm assuming he didn't do backyard wrestling because I doubt he went from El Schlacko to the Schlack.
00:09:33
Speaker
What the fuck? So, actually, all of that is less interesting to me than the idea. Did you have people sit with you? Like, guests come and stay with you for this whole show? Um, actually, people kind of trickled in and out, but there were a couple that stayed for pretty much the entire thing.
00:09:53
Speaker
Do you want to give them a shout out on the podcast? Oh, they're not listening.
Rising Fame of Wrestler Craig
00:09:57
Speaker
Well, maybe. So they'll stay for the show, but they won't stay or tune in for your review of the show. Well, there's a difference between it being really hot outside and the better option being sit inside with me and them having an option other than listening to this podcast. It must have been really hot outside.
00:10:20
Speaker
So the highlight of this show to me, there was an actual like very, I thought a good wrestling match between Tony Deppin, who we've seen a bunch on GCW shows, and Alex Zane, who I wasn't familiar with, but is actually making his Southern Underground Pro debut at next month's show against our good buddy Craig. Man, I feel like Craig has caught fire in the last couple months.
00:10:46
Speaker
He's got a show named after him up here. Are you shitting me? Mitchell Palooza. Where's it at? I'm not sure. I would have to look up the information. I don't have it with me right now, but yeah. Craig's got a show named after him. Absolutely. Well, you go. Go
GCW Event Stunts
00:11:03
Speaker
to that. We got to support Craig. I would like to. I just want a Craig shirt. Well, fuck. If Craig has merch,
00:11:13
Speaker
I would probably buy a Craig shirt. I actually, when I went to that freelance show last time, I went over to the merch table hoping that Craig would be over there and he would have merch, but he didn't have anything and he wasn't over there. The fuck, Craig? I thought you and Derek were cool. I thought we were cool too, but apparently not as cool as I thought. Still a fan. So one of the weirder things that happened on this show, the main event of this was Jimmy Lloyd versus G Raver.
00:11:44
Speaker
You're familiar with both of these gentlemen, as we did see them in Chicago. At one point, they both disappeared from camera view, very far out into this yard, and all you heard is that the cops had shown up, and it sounded like they were getting arrested. Then G-Raver comes running back to the ring, followed by Jimmy Lloyd, who is driving a car.
00:12:08
Speaker
Chasing him and I was I was really excited for g raver to either You know, I'm sorry g raver, but I was excited to see you get struck by a vehicle when I realized like This is gonna be they're gonna do the happy gilmore spot. They were yes. Yes
00:12:25
Speaker
Yes Chubbs was there it was gonna be awesome And what ended up happening is that G raver jumped into the above-ground swimming pool at the edge of the trampolines and Jimmy Lloyd Very gingerly tapped it with the car and then he backed up like he was gonna ram straight through the pool Which I was very excited to see to me. This is you know
00:12:46
Speaker
This is something you don't see every day, a car driving through a swimming pool would've loved it, but I think whoever's- they didn't really fully flesh out that idea. I think he got in the car and then realized, well I can't fuck this car up for real for a GCW backyard show.
00:13:03
Speaker
that people paid $13.99 for yeah so uh that did not happen but they ended up getting on top of the house of the backyard they were at they were pretty fucking high up and they kind of had you know like one of those uh it almost looked like painters scaffolding but it had three doors stretched across it
Planning to Attend Wrestling Events
00:13:21
Speaker
And it ended with Jimmy Lloyd laying on the ground under that G-raver climbing to the top of this house and doing like a senton through all three of those doors to the ground.
00:13:34
Speaker
but really he didn't hit that third door or Jimmy Lloyd like he should have. He really kind of just went from one door, two door, flat back on that fucking ground. And- He said he was high up. Oh, he was very high up. I shrieked. I shrieked. I was like, he is unconscious. He is dead. Immediately after he hit the ground, Jimmy Lloyd penned him and the show was over.
00:14:04
Speaker
I was fully concerned that he was either dead or going to the hospital. What was Joey Janela's role in this show here? Joey had a match. And what happened? Yeah, I heard there were shenanigans. Oh, man, I'm sure this was so long ago at this point. Fuck. Well, let me you you asked me a question. I wasn't ready for what the fuck did Joey Janela do in his match?
00:14:34
Speaker
He was up against- He thought something with a pool was involved, right? What, did I text you something about it and I forgot now? I thought that he was, did something with a pool. I mean, there was a pool. People wrestled in the pool. The Gage Brothers- not the Gage, I looked at Gage's name. The Stunt Brothers wrestled. And I will say, maybe my least favorite match on the show because it was a joke that just went way, way too long. But then they did start smashing some light tubes and there was a fair amount of blood.
00:15:05
Speaker
I think Marco does look prepared for his match here against Nick Gage.
00:15:12
Speaker
Now, can you explain to me, because I didn't really get a good look at what the show looked like. I've only seen screenshots in short videos. How many people were there in attendance? It was really hard to say because they were so scattered across the backyard. I mean, even in the pool, there were like ladies and bikinis in
New Japan Event Experience
00:15:33
Speaker
the pool, but there are probably maybe 100 people around it. Because I know the show was invite only, so you had to be invited.
00:15:41
Speaker
to this backyard. So it was like friends and family of the GCW participants. I would imagine so, but I did see some people in the crowd that I have seen at wrestling shows all over the country. Really? Yes. I saw a few people in the crowd. They're like, holy shit, I have seen you literally everywhere. So they get special invites that the pre-determined podcast doesn't, Derek, no matter how big a fan's a GCW we are.
00:16:07
Speaker
Well, maybe you need to put out a feeler and get us on that VIP list. I think we should. We, uh, we talk up GCW and we actually, we just got tickets to two nights of the AAW shows while we're up there for all out. But then immediately after those went on sale, they announced that there's going to be a GCW show in Hoffman estates the same night.
00:16:29
Speaker
Yeah. So our goal is to go to AAW, see as much of that as possible, then drive, what, an hour to Hoffman Estates so that we can catch the GCW show at 11 p.m. the night before. Is the GCW show Friday night? Yes. Yeah, it is. OK.
00:16:47
Speaker
So I get a text barrage from you telling me about this. Well, we got the ticket for AAW, the two-night tournament, which is Thursday and Friday before all out. And then you're like, oh, there's another GCW show. What we'll do is we'll do, here's what I'm assuming at this point. You start telling me about this GCW show, you're like, we can just go to this after. And in my mind, I'm thinking, do you have any idea that that's not within the city limits? 100%.
00:17:17
Speaker
You knew that? 100% I knew that. I knew that we're going to have to leave AAW very early to drive an hour. We're going to have to go from where we saw Tetsuya Naito to the same place we saw all in. Yeah.
00:17:37
Speaker
That's gonna be interesting. And that's- I know. And you know, even if we only see a couple hours of the show, hey, we have general admission for AAW. Buddy, I got us VIP front row for GCW. Of course you did. Hey, there's no way of knowing. I'm guessing it's probably not gonna be a deathmatch thing. It seems like GCW, they kind of, you can kind of tell when it's gonna be a fun GCW or a deathmatch GCW. And the font and everything on this poster looked a little more fun.
00:18:07
Speaker
All right, we'll see what happens. That's going to be a long few days for us. I mean, at the very least, what we'll probably see, Orange Cassidy, Nick Gage, Janela, some other people that we love, you know, I think it could be a good time. GCW is putting on some of the best shows right now, and I don't want to miss a chance to see an awesome GCW show if because especially it seems like the ones they're tying in to big weekends, they make even a little bigger.
00:18:32
Speaker
So I'm, I don't know, I'm all for it. I, I'm excited to see what they bring to us. That's going to be a fun weekend. You're coming up here, I think on a Wednesday and we're going to have some quality podcast time together. The fact of the matter is that that trip is at the end of next month. This past weekend, you made a trip to Texas for new Japan.
00:18:57
Speaker
And you took your sister to her first pro wrestling show. I really didn't know how she was going to react. I mean, obviously she knows what pro wrestling is and has seen, you know, some of it with me like I know she's watched. I actually I watched Hell in a Cell, the Charlotte versus
00:19:16
Speaker
Sasha match at her house. She was there. I don't know how much attention she was paying, but now she's in an arena. She has to give it her full attention. And I flew into Austin late Friday night. Then Saturday morning we woke up, drove to Dallas, which is about a three hour drive. I was told by some Texas people that I needed to stop at Bucky's. Have you heard of Bucky's, Derek? I have not heard of Bucky's. Bucky's is a gas station.
00:19:46
Speaker
a chain of gas stations, and I was like, why do I need to stop at a gas station? This was the biggest mistake of my entire trip. Why? At a minimum, this place had 50 gas pumps. At a minimum. It is packed. This is like best buy of gas stations, Derek. There's so many people at this thing. It is all of the lines of Disney World mixed with all the fun of being at a gas station.
00:20:16
Speaker
Did you just make a dated Best Buy reference? What's a dated Best Buy reference? They're still out there? Nobody goes to fucking Best Buy anymore though, man. So if your intention was to tell me about how busy it was...
00:20:30
Speaker
Best buy, isn't it? We're getting sidetracked here, but the point is I couldn't let that go. So I gotta hear, why was it a mistake going to this really busy gas station called Bucky's? There were so many people at this thing. It was the busiest gas station I've ever been to. If I wanted to stand in a line and buy a bottle of water at this gas station, it would have been a minimum of 20 minutes. Why is that worth doing?
00:20:58
Speaker
I'm trying to figure that out. People recommended it to you. I'm sure they told you why. They didn't. They just said it's awesome. It's a gas station the size of a fucking supermarket. I don't care. I don't think it was
Convincing Sister to Attend Wrestling
00:21:10
Speaker
that awesome. I didn't because I went in and the fucking bathroom line was like, what is this? This isn't amusement park. This is a gigantic gas station. Who gives a shit?
00:21:19
Speaker
So you were not amused with Bucky's and you continued your journey from Austin to Dallas. Everybody's probably yelling at me like it was 4th of July weekend motherfucker. You didn't get Bucky's at Prime Bucky's where you just walk in and have the time of your life. I agree.
00:21:36
Speaker
Either way those people we gave we get to the venue and Also had a problem trying to figure out what time doors open and everything because the only number I could find for anything was just 5 p.m. Everything just listed five is the doors of five show up. I don't know who cares we get there We're walking through the venue
00:21:59
Speaker
My sister goes, hey, there's Scott Norton. And I'm like, oh yeah. And then I walk two more steps and I turn and just go, what the fuck? Why do you know who Scott Norton is? That's a fair question. Was she doing research for your trip? Well, then she goes, oh, the guy next to him is holding a sign that says Scott Norton.
00:22:19
Speaker
Oh, fair enough. He was. Yeah, but I think it was a fair hearing my sister even say the word Scott Norton really kind of you off guard. Yeah, that fucked me up. That's something that like, you know, I'll never hear say Scott Norton again.
00:22:34
Speaker
So I had to really take that in. He was sitting there signing books or something. He set up a table in the lobby. I should have set up a table and you know, pimped our shit. You should have. Didn't think too. My question, I feel like there's something we skipped over here. You're taking your sister to her first pro wrestling show. How did this come about? Was this something that you asked her to join you on? Or was this like a thing where she wanted to go?
Wrestling Merchandise Etiquette
00:23:00
Speaker
Or what happened here? So pretty much.
00:23:03
Speaker
Pretty much every single one of these wrestling trips I go on, I buy two tickets for.
00:23:08
Speaker
thinking, maybe I'll find somebody to go with me. In the case of like San Francisco to that show, sold my ticket, went alone. It was really starting to seem like this was gonna be the case. I was gonna be in Texas. My sister lives in Texas. I never get to see her. I figured I would invite her and see if she wanted to. Initially, she said no. And I think she realized, well, he never comes here. And I think maybe both of us felt obligated out of this.
00:23:40
Speaker
We're brother and sister, I gotta go. But we went, she did like Will Ospreay. The one thing I was a little worried about, so she comes downstairs before we leave and she's like, okay, here we go. She was full on in all bella gear.
00:23:56
Speaker
Brie Mode. Full on Brie Mode. And she's like- Give her figure out if you bought her that shirt or if she got that. I did not figure that out. I'm guessing I probably got her that. She watches Total Divas. And I know you and I had a discussion about wearing WWE stuff to other companies' shows. Yes. I think it's fine now. I think at that time, wasn't I? Like, no, you can't do that.
00:24:23
Speaker
Yeah, that was kind of your take. Like, why would you show up to fucking Ring of Honor with a Ruth of shirt? How could you do that? And then I think I said, well, if you look in the crowd at Raw, there's about 70,000 Bullet Club shirts. And I think you let that digest a little bit and you went, yeah, and here we are. And now nobody's wearing Bullet Club shirts.
00:24:46
Speaker
Actually, even in New Japan, when I'm watching them in, you know, in actual Japan, I feel like you don't see as many. There were a lot of Bullet Club shirts this time, a lot of, you know, old Omega Bullet Club shirts, stuff like that, and a lot of WWE shirts. But I've definitely come around on, you know, wrestling's wrestling. We all like the same thing. Wear whatever you want. I don't care anymore. I think I must have been an angrier person at that time in my life, Derek, even though, what, that may have been six months ago, eight months ago.
Missing G1 Climax Merchandise
00:25:14
Speaker
That was about a year ago, I think.
00:25:16
Speaker
Well, hey everybody, I'm sorry if I said you couldn't do that. Who the fuck am I? Wear whatever you want. I saw a lot- I- Okay, other than this, I did see a guy wearing a new Enzo Amore shirt.
00:25:30
Speaker
Yeah, that's relevant. Is that something that anyone should wear ever? Do you think it's okay to still be a fan of Enzo? Who are these Enzo fans? Who are these people? I don't know. I don't know. Are there people who were big fans? Well, first of all, Enzo and Cass, when they were in WWE, moved a shit ton of merchandise.
00:25:53
Speaker
Which means presumably there was a lot of people who considered themselves fans. And maybe they felt like, I don't know when they left, that was WWE's loss. And maybe there are actually people who are following their careers to this day.
00:26:09
Speaker
Well, see, if they were going to come invade another wrestling company, wouldn't it have made the most sense to invade where they debuted after Mania and Dallas? I guess. That's the only other time I've been in that building. That was up until the main event of this G1 pay-per-view. That was the biggest pop I had ever heard in that arena. And so in Cass' debut.
00:26:37
Speaker
So they've got a place in your heart is what you're saying. No. I think you're saying a little bit, especially after what fucking happened yesterday, which God damn it. The last thing I was expecting to read when I turned on my computer this morning was that Enzo Amore and Joey Janela got on a fist fight at a Blink 182 concert.
00:27:01
Speaker
And you may have been there for the beginning of that fight. I had to have been, right? I mean, the first time he had ever even spoken to Enzo was that prank call. He'd said he had never met the guy. So, you go to Joey Janela's spring breakfast.
00:27:19
Speaker
while you're in Vegas for all out weekend and that's when he makes the prank phone call to Enzo and it ends up that they meet at a blink 182 concert end up having a fight it's a big story going on right now and you think you were there for the beginning of this this feud I mean I most certainly was right I mean if that's the first contact those two had which is weird because the call
00:27:41
Speaker
I don't know what Enzo would be mad about, because if anything, he seemed like a nice guy for trying to help a neighbor plunge his toilet.
00:27:53
Speaker
Anyway, it's back to your story with your sister, you, American Airlines Center, Dallas. Scott Norton goes by, you're going in. What's going on? Pass Scott Norton. Immediately get in line for merch. Stand in line for about 45 minutes. Finally get up there. They're out of the shirt I'm trying to get, Derek. They're out of any merchandise that says G1 Climax on it.
00:28:17
Speaker
you texted this to me that seems like a bitch move that does why sell so little of it or why not mark out the sizes you no longer have so that I don't have to keep waiting in line or make an announcement if anybody's in line for this size shirt it's out
00:28:35
Speaker
Yeah, like the main thing that most of you are probably waiting in line for, the shirt that has the New Japan logo next to the state of Texas and then on the back says all the information about the G1 saying I was there.
Spotting a 'Parks & Rec' Actor
00:28:47
Speaker
That's the only shirt I wanted. Can you buy it online now? I don't know, probably.
00:28:52
Speaker
I haven't even... Do you not give a shit? Not really. Honestly, if I don't get the shirt there, I kind of forget about it and there'll be another shirt in the future. Fair enough. Weird thing though, while I was standing in line, I know you don't watch Parks and Rec, but some people do. I was standing next to maybe the weirdest possible cast member from Parks and Rec. There is a character named Oren.
00:29:15
Speaker
who was a goth boy on the show. He was standing in line wearing a bullet club shirt and people actually let him cut the line to get this piece of merch he wanted. That's really weird. I sat next to that dude at a screening of Monsters University in Burbank, California. I almost wanted to ask, hey, do you remember that? I do. You should have said something. Do you remember the guy you were sitting next to at that? I do, it was you.
00:29:43
Speaker
He'd be like, hell yeah, good to see you again. Hell yeah, man. Monsters, you was good. But you did see somebody else there. You saw a friend of the show. Yeah, I saw a good buddy, Fax. He was actually sitting one section over from us.
00:29:58
Speaker
Did you have a conversation with him? Yeah, I actually used one of the matches as a break to just go out and talk to him. And you left your sister all alone? I did. I said, are you okay if I leave for a minute? I didn't realize it was going to be the entire match.
Sister's Reactions to Matches
00:30:13
Speaker
Keep in mind, I have not gone back and re-watched this match, so my sister has seen a match of the G1 Climax that I have not seen.
00:30:22
Speaker
which was bad luck fall a versus evil i just that was a match i couldn't have cared less i had two bathroom break matches during this one that was one the other was whatever match that j white and chase owens were a tag demon those were two that i definitely skipped over when i was going through the show
00:30:39
Speaker
I couldn't have, like, I just, you can't make me care about Jay White and Chase Owens, and when you put them together, oh boy. Ooh boy. That's a bathroom break. What are you trying to do to me, man? And they even lost the match. So, I mean, good, I guess, but... So, tell me about the things on the show that you did like. I definitely watched a couple of the matches from the show, but you had your sister there. What did she like? What were you into? What was the environment in the building like? Because I know it wasn't as packed as I think people thought it was going to be.
00:31:09
Speaker
but they were still a good crowd?
00:31:27
Speaker
and he basically realized, he tried putting on StubHub, didn't get anything, and his other option would have been maybe drop the ticket down to 20 bucks, but he decided he'd just rather have an empty seat next to him than $20.
00:31:45
Speaker
The crowd was really good though. I mean, the crowd was super hot, watched a guy get escorted out by the police.
Ishii's Unique Viewing Spot
00:31:51
Speaker
So that was fun. I'm wondering if that's even- For what? It was a guy in the front row. The entire crowd was sitting, except for this one man. And the guy behind him asked him to sit down and he turned and put that middle finger as close as he could to that man's space and said, I paid for my seat. Go fuck yourself. Wow.
00:32:15
Speaker
And then that guy is obviously not happy that that was the response to asking him to sit down So everybody around started yelling sit down and he told everybody to go fuck themselves That's a really bold move when you're somewhere alone
00:32:30
Speaker
Like he came to that show ready to fight over. He wanted to die on that hill. Yeah. Even after the community had voted and said, no, dude, you need to sit down. He was determined to stand a security guard or like an usher came over and asked him to sit down. He also told that man to go fuck himself.
00:32:49
Speaker
A security guard came over who he also told to go fuck himself. He was really telling people to fuck themselves. This guy had a night. He didn't even look, he wasn't holding a beer or anything. He was just a small aggressive man. That's insane to me.
00:33:06
Speaker
That's such a weird hill to die on. You paid all this money to sit in the front row. Why get kicked out like that? You're just being an asshole. You're wrong. You're wrong. Sit down, man. Everyone voted. You're out.
00:33:21
Speaker
You got to see him get escorted out. I really thought I was going to see this guy getting a fight with the police, and it more seemed like they were escorting him to a new seat, but they took him in the back, bully Ray style, where I assumed they worked him over. I hope so. If you could pick one guy on the new Japan roster to be the guy to put him in... who?
00:33:41
Speaker
Ishi.
Scott Norton Sighting
00:33:43
Speaker
Speaking of Ishi, after the show's over, Fax runs over to me and goes, you have to see this picture. And he showed me it is an entire empty section of the arena, one full empty section, dead center in the middle of it.
00:33:59
Speaker
Ishi. Just hanging out watching the show? He was watching the main event from super far away and he zoomed in and got this perfect picture and right before we started recording I rewatched the main event and I could see way off in the distance an empty section with one man sitting in it by the curtain and it made me so happy knowing that it's just Ishi hanging out. Is this one of the boys who's like cool I got a whole section of myself thank god they didn't sell out. He's like no one's gonna bother me over here.
00:34:28
Speaker
Trust me, sir, no one's bothering you. There's a handful of guys that I'm not approaching. Ishii is one of them. So the crowd was loud. Was your sister into it? She was. I think she enjoyed, you know, because it started off with all those multi-man matches, which I do enjoy that New Japan does that so that when you go to one of their shows, you still get to see the guys. You get to see everybody.
00:34:51
Speaker
So it was cool seeing, you know, LIJ and their match against Juice, Juice and Thunder Liger, which at this point, Juice and Thunder Liger's days are limited. So it's nice to get to see, you know, one last Liger match. Right. He's on his retirement tour, right? Yeah. They were even selling, you know, Liger retirement to her shirts or whatever. I believe his final match is supposed to be Wrestle Kingdom. That makes sense. I wonder who gets to go out. Who gets to be the guy to retire Liger?
Ospreay vs Archer Match Recap
00:35:21
Speaker
Jericho holy shit That could be good he's still working New Japan right yeah as far as we know and as long as it's you know overseas I mean they do go back so But did I yeah, I thought I saw that Wrestle Kingdom was two days this year or something I don't know I thought they were doing multiple shows there this time I
00:35:47
Speaker
Anyways, highlights from the show. What would you like to- The first match that she really dug that I also enjoyed a lot was Lance Archer versus Osprey. I checked this match out. I thought this was a really good one.
00:36:02
Speaker
I didn't realize how big Lance Archer was. Like how physically, like how tall he actually was. I think they said that he was 6'10". Yeah, and he looked every bit of it. Because New Japan doesn't really have any monsters like that, do they? I mean, other than, I assume bad luck Falet is pretty tall. He looks like a tall man.
00:36:24
Speaker
Yeah, no, I guess so. But I mean, Osprey hits the ring. It is immediately doing flips. I think the very first thing that happened was, you know, like a standing Spanish fly. And then he's one of the first things. Yeah. And I think he is a great person to be a first match to get you excited about something. He just he works a style that's really hard to not be entertained by.
00:36:47
Speaker
So my question to you about Osprey or I guess just about flippy shit is do you feel like if you're going to watch a show with somebody who's not typically a fan of pro wrestling or if you're going to watch a match with somebody who's not typically a fan of pro wrestling, do you feel like the best way to get them hooked or to get them invested or to at least get them to appreciate and respect
00:37:08
Speaker
how it works or what it is is to show them like matches with guys that are like super athletic like like doing the flippy shit like high spots after high spot like honestly for me i would say yes i mean i don't know what to go to
00:37:27
Speaker
I don't know a lot of wrestling or non wrestling fans that I could say, hey, this match is really good. Will you sit down and watch it with me? Okay, this is Okada versus Kenny Omega. It's one hour long. I can't imagine anybody being like, I have to watch these two wrestle for one hour.
High-Flying Wrestling Styles
00:37:45
Speaker
Just show them some flippy shit. It might not be the best example of what pro wrestling is, but you know what? Maybe it is. Right now, that's pro wrestling. People fucking love it. Do you feel like it's the flippy shit and then the TLC match from WrestleMania 17? Oh yeah, fuck yeah. If I could just watch a match. Like go to the two? Yeah, absolutely.
00:38:07
Speaker
Any flippy shit match with Will Ospreay and WrestleMania 17 TLC? Yeah, oh, that's gonna be my go-tos now for sure. That's your pro wrestling name. For sure. At one point my sister laughed really hard out loud and I looked over and I'm like, what the fuck? It was during the Sonata Zack Sabre Jr. match and I said, what did you laugh at? And she described to me, she said, well, I just watched two men have really intense eye contact with each other.
00:38:36
Speaker
that ended with them holding hands. And yeah, I guess we've watched enough lockups at this time that we're unfazed. But yeah, she's 100% right. That is what happened. They exchanged very intense eye contact for an extended period of time, followed by holding hands double.
00:38:58
Speaker
it is funny though like if you're a fan you just immediately give a pass to certain people like there's things that you don't even think of anymore like pro wrestling matches start with lockups of course they do to somebody who's already coming into that match and into that form of entertainment with the idea of well i know that pro wrestling is fake let's see how they try to convince me that it's real
00:39:20
Speaker
And then that's where it starts. This is how a fight starts. See, Osprey didn't come in there and hold hands. He came in there and did a flip. That's why I'm...
00:39:34
Speaker
Do you feel like you can get, I guess for a lot of people like during like the, you know, Monday night wars era, people loved the cruiser weight shit on WCW nitro. Like, and I think that like people would watch for like the, like the marquee value of like the NWO and Hogan and all that stuff, but then they would stay for the cruiser weight stuff. So it makes sense that like a lot of the flippy shit, the high spots,
00:40:00
Speaker
that for somebody who doesn't necessarily watch or care full time, that that really gets them.
Okada vs Tanahashi Match Recap
00:40:05
Speaker
But the question is, is it enough to get them to stick around? That person then turn around and watch Okada Tanahashi. I will say I don't think my sister subscribed to the New Japan Network.
00:40:23
Speaker
Did she get another Breemode shirt? Uh, she actually got a New Japan shirt while we were there. Did she really? She did. She picked up a New Japan shirt. Um, yeah. So I was, that was, I was proud of her for that. You know, she's going to be repping New Japan down in Texas. Good for you, Morgan. You didn't get a shirt. She did.
00:40:42
Speaker
Yeah, well, you know, I waited in line that long, had to get something. What did you think of the main event? The main event was incredible. And it was one of those things that while I was watching it, it felt really cool. And I was hoping that it looked that it actually was that cool. Or was it just, you know, I'm what I'm getting to see this.
00:41:04
Speaker
The crowd was so hot for this match. I mean, they were on their feet well past the bell. These guys got a stand innovation a couple times. And it's not often that you get that. The crowd was really hot for this. And like you said, it gave you goosebumps. Well, when I went back and watched it. Yeah, me too.
00:41:22
Speaker
It was like people were excited for what they were about to see. How often is it that you see a crowd that excited for a main event? I mean, even if there were only 4,500 people in that arena, it did not sound like 4,500. They were loud as hell, like red shoes even got a chant. And when he got a chant, both wrestlers stopped and looked at him, and then he just kind of shrugged. How would Vince fuck up red shoes?
00:41:49
Speaker
Over as hell. Oh, he would bury Red Shoes for getting more over than his top guys. Next week, Red Shoes, you're drinking out of a toilet. Red Shoes, you're teaming up with Baron Corbin. Red Shoes, you're gonna win the women's Royal Rumble. Red Shoes, you're gonna win the first ever women's Money in the Bank ladder match.
00:42:16
Speaker
It should have been a bigger hashtag and meme than our listeners made it. Shame on you guys. It's okay, I'm not that mad at him. I'm mad at him. I'll tell you the match, I was a little disappointed in though. I had Abushi versus Kenta built up in my head as match of the year. I was ready to see one of the best wrestling matches I had ever seen in my life. And it was good, not great.
00:42:42
Speaker
But I will say this, after going back and rewatching it played a lot better on TV than it did in person, I think the strikes just don't look as hard from far away.
00:42:53
Speaker
How far back were you from the ring, I guess? I was in the 100 level section fourth row. So I wasn't that far from the ring. I had great seats, but it's still, you know, getting the cameras that close really lets you see how hard the strikes are. And I think that match was all strikes.
Tanahashi's Career Longevity
00:43:12
Speaker
I was a little surprised that Kento went over.
00:43:16
Speaker
I was surprised that Lance Archer went over Waspre.
00:43:40
Speaker
Yeah, I guess so. It's just Will Ospreay seems like he's all the rage these days, so it was an interesting decision. I didn't know, I guess it makes what you saw even more special with the Okada Tanahashi match. They have met in the G1 tournament, what they say, three times. This was their fourth time meeting, yeah. But all the other three times they went to a time limit draw.
00:44:02
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely, that's pretty fucking cool. And you saw the only time that it ended with a clean fall. That's, yeah, that's pretty awesome. That is, yeah, I don't even have, I'm trying to find words for it. This was one of those matches that I'm going to remember.
00:44:19
Speaker
being at just it felt important, you know, even though I think they talked about this, how it might be the greatest rivalry in the history of pro wrestling. And they said like Flair, Steamboat, you know, Austin Rock, Okada, Tanahashi. And even though it's a match that's happened a bunch, it's one that felt special to see, especially because it was at the G1. Does it signal anything that Tanahashi took the pinfall clean in the middle of the ring at this stage in his career?
00:44:49
Speaker
It has to, right? I mean, the dude's... how many surgeries has he had? He's... He still looks great in the ring, but you know that guy hurts later. Do you think he's gonna have his own farewell tour coming up relatively soon? Well, how old's Liger?
00:45:05
Speaker
God, I don't know. I don't know. I don't think right now is the time to see Tanahashi go. I mean, I don't want the guy to hurt forever, but, you know, I feel like he's got a couple years left in him because he's still putting on that caliber match nearly every time he's in a singles match. Well, I said relatively soon. I didn't know if he was at the John Cena stage of his career where it's a big deal when he wrestles, but you also know he's not winning.
00:45:30
Speaker
I don't know if we've ever talked about Tanahashi's Instagram account on here, but god damn it, it's awesome. It's usually him taking glamour shots of himself or his poodle.
Post-Wrestling Carly Rae Jepsen Concert
00:45:42
Speaker
Where did that transition come from? What's the follow up?
00:45:46
Speaker
I have nothing to go from there. It's just like, that's a good fucking Instagram. You just want to glove that out? I feel like we don't give enough credit to some really good wrestling Instagram accounts, and one of those is Tana Hachis. Fair enough. I mean, Okada posted the second he landed in Texas a picture of himself in front of a Bass Pro Shop. That also made me really happy. What would you have done if he posted a picture of himself at a Bucky's?
00:46:14
Speaker
in line he's in line like can't wait to get these bugles guys some combos dude you could have gone to the shell across the street there's no line I know but there's not as many people there it's not a buckies man if fucking a bushy went in there he would have been lost for years a bushy might still be at Bucky's
00:46:40
Speaker
Okay, so after this show, I have to get in a car, drive back to Austin. Three hours. Yeah, my flight is now at 7 a.m., so I ended up getting four hours of sleep. The reason I have to get back to Nashville so quickly is I have a meet and greet with Carly Rae Jepsen, Derek. Oh, buddy. I had to get there for it. I'm not gonna miss that. What's the story behind the Carly Rae Jepsen thing? This is weird to me.
00:47:09
Speaker
Did I not really talk about that on here? Is that something I kept to myself? Like a lot of things, I'm guessing so. Like in your mind, you thought you were being completely open with who you are as a person. And I didn't know that there was such a strong tie between you and Carly Rae Jepsen. What's the fucking deal?
00:47:26
Speaker
Her new album's great. She makes catchy pop tunes. It was actually because of her that Spotify. Yeah, Spotify started recommending me a whole bunch of shit because of Carly Rae. So I got to tell her she was my gateway drug into pop music. All right. How does that sit? Good for you. So this thing, I had to get to the Ryman at 3.30 and I know everybody's like, I'm not in for this Carly Rae Jepsen story. Well sit down because I think you should be.
00:47:53
Speaker
Why? Because I was there and I'm telling you about it. So
Bonding with Wrestling Fans at a Concert
00:47:58
Speaker
I get to this place and I'm thinking, okay, for this meet and greet, I had to get there an hour early and I'm waiting around. I thought, this is gonna be me and a lot of 14 year old girls and this is gonna be really, really awkward.
00:48:11
Speaker
That was not the case, Derek. It was all dudes. It was all dudes, my friend. Instead of it being all children, it looked more like a goddamn sex offender registry. And I say that, but I met some very nice people. As I'm sitting on this bench, a guy walks over to me who looks like a shaved Mark Haskins.
00:48:34
Speaker
All right. What are you wearing to the Carly Rae Jepsen show? I had on a Kim Petras hoodie because it was the only pop star thing I had. And I felt like, you know, if it were a wrestling show, I'd wear a wrestling shirt. So I got to wear something. But I had on a new Japan hat.
00:48:50
Speaker
As I'm sitting there, this guy walks over and says, wasn't expecting to see a New Japan hat at a Carly Rae Jepsen concert. So guess what, Derek? I got a buddy. I got a buddy now that I get to talk wrestling with for three hours while we wait for this show to start. So I didn't realize that the New Japan Carly Rae Jepsen crossover was this strong. Nobody did. You didn't.
00:49:16
Speaker
Oh, oh yeah, I didn't know. I thought I was gonna be there alone. There were a lot of dudes, I saw several dudes with like little weird Amish haircuts. And I'm like, you know what? The main- You mean neck beards? The neck beard equivalent for a Carly Rae fan. The Amish cuts. So yeah, I don't know. I think the thing that hurt the most about that show was really finding out who I am.
Intergender Wrestling Debate
00:49:44
Speaker
I'm sorry? A creep. I guess I'm a creep. A little bit. Yeah, a little bit. But I enjoyed talking to this guy. This guy's name was Matt. And we seriously talk like Chikara. We talked everything. He told me Chikara is what I need to be checking out. He said I need to get on powerbomb.tv, which is now independentwrestling.tv, and check out 2007 to 2009 of Chikara. He said it's all gold. Well,
00:50:11
Speaker
You made a new friend, Matt. He's going to get you into some wrestling that you haven't seen before. I guess, I guess at the very least, that's one of the things we're getting out of this podcast back from our listeners. They're providing us with some quality stuff to check out. And this guy wasn't even a listener yet. Not yet. I think he is now. Hey, Matt, how you doing, buddy? I know you follow us on that Twitter account. We exchanged information. You know, you meet somebody at a Carly Rae Jepsen concert. Derek, you're friends for life.
00:50:41
Speaker
Will he call you, maybe? You can't see, but my hand is over my face right now. Why? Because that was so good. You like that? Yeah. I wish I could hit you back with another Carly Rae Jepsen joke, but I was not prepared. I wouldn't have got it, because that's the only one I know.
00:51:03
Speaker
But this was not the end of your pro wrestling overlap with this experience. After the Carly Rae Jepsen show, I go catch an Uber to get home. Uber driver pulls over, picks me up, turns around, goes, holy shit, nice New Japan hat. Holy shit, now I've got another 20 minutes of talking to a new wrestling friend. Thanks, Mike. Thanks for the ride home. You got me home safe and you gave me good conversation the whole way.
00:51:31
Speaker
What'd you guys talk about? Did he recommend any promotions to you? Well, he did ask if I listened to a podcast called We Watch Wrestling. And you're like, yeah, I'm friends with one of the guys that's on that. Though I feel weird naming any other wrestling podcast on here, because what if they go check it out and like it better than us? Don't do it. Don't do it. Not as good as ours. But yes, I do very much like Matt and
Kevin Owens' Impactful Promo
00:51:53
Speaker
Vince. Went to PWG with those guys. Always enjoy seeing Vince at a show. Actually ran into them mid Dallas.
00:52:00
Speaker
But I did ask Mike who's favorite wrestler was, he said all time stone cold, currently Osprey. So we've got another Osprey lover. Osprey's all the rage now, like you said, and I think you used those words exactly. Yeah.
00:52:19
Speaker
This feud with Seth Rollins really took him to the next level. So I was part of a Carly Rae Jepsen Q&A and I had to fill out a question to ask her and it let me know that not all questions would be answered due to time. I immediately knew that was going to be my question. This Q&A, not great, Derek. People were asking her what her favorite color is. You know what I asked? Who's your favorite wrestler? Guess whose question didn't get red.
00:52:45
Speaker
I can't report back to you on who her favorite wrestler is because some handler in the back doesn't want us to get the real news.
00:52:54
Speaker
Her favorite color right now. What would you have done if she said Will Osprey? I would have popped so hard. Just the one guy at the back of the room. Yeah. Yeah. Except I was up front. I was a real fucking creep. Wow. Yeah, you know what her favorite color is, Derek? Orange. Who gives a shit? Me. Orange is one of mine. Well, now you and Carly Rae have that in common.
00:53:16
Speaker
Yeah, I wouldn't have bothered her with pro wrestling questions. I would ask what her favorite color was. And my question would have got asked. You know what you and Carly way probably don't have in common. What's that? That you both what I'm sure she did not watch Callahan versus Tessa.
Smackdown Highlights
00:53:30
Speaker
No, she probably didn't. But we did. Yeah, so which I found out I did not realize Slammiversary was in Dallas.
00:53:40
Speaker
Yeah, so I started watching this match and I'm like, wait, this was fucking in Dallas. What was that, Friday? That was Sunday. Was it? Honestly, if I had known that, I would have still come home and saw Carly Rae Jepsen. Fuck you, Impact. I'm just kidding. Impact, I do enjoy you. This was the first ever intergender main event of a pay-per-view, from what I'm doing. I mean, that is a big deal.
00:54:06
Speaker
Yeah, I guess impact is doing what they can to get people to see like I guess it's making some noise if they're if they're gonna be the first because obviously we just talked about this last week with AEW kind of putting the kibosh on the idea of them doing intergender wrestling and their promotion. I guess impact is like now we'll do that.
00:54:28
Speaker
I have always said I enjoy intergender wrestling. This was the first time that while I was watching it, I think my opinions might be starting to evolve a little bit.
Anticipation for Extreme Rules Event
00:54:40
Speaker
Well, you had me watch this, so I'm assuming there's a good reason. So what did you think of the match and tell me why your opinion might be different now? It did make me uncomfortable. I think there can be good and bad intergender wrestling. And I'm not saying they had a bad match. As far as a match goes,
00:54:58
Speaker
I guess, yeah, it was pretty good. There were a lot of really exciting spots in it, but I felt so uncomfortable a handful of times. And I think it's because it is a wrestler like Sammy Callahan, somebody who's super aggressive and, you know, has a hard-hitting match with dudes. And seeing, I
Kevin Owens as a Babyface
00:55:18
Speaker
don't remember though, he never punched her, did he? I don't think so. Kicks, clotheslines, suplexes, yeah.
00:55:27
Speaker
I guess though is, yeah, you're right. They didn't throw punches, but he did boot her head off a couple times. See to me, that's what's so interesting about this is what is it exactly that goes over the line for you? I think it was very early on in the match. They were fighting outside and she did a Topay. She ran back to do another one, but he caught her.
00:55:51
Speaker
And then he swung her into the guardrail. Then he swung her into the guardrail and she held her arms up and that was clearly like going to protect her. But he swung her kind of the wrong way and it looked like she just went face first into those bars. If a woman had done that to her though, would you feel the same way?
00:56:09
Speaker
No, I probably would have still cringed if she hit her face, but watching, I don't know, there's just, like, watching, I watched an intergender match with Keith Lee a while back from, I think, Wrestle Circus, we maybe even talked about it, where the story of that match was Keith Lee was booked against an opponent that he was, he didn't know.
00:56:29
Speaker
He comes out, it turns out he's in an intergender match. And the whole time he's like, no, I'm not doing this. But then his opponent starts beating him up and he's trying not to do it. And then he slams her and feels bad. Because he's so much bigger. And I don't know, I think there can be like a wrestling match is good.
Kevin Owens Stuns Shane McMahon
00:56:48
Speaker
Moves, slams are fine. When you start throwing fists, that gets weirder. But I mean, in this he hit her in the face with a baseball bat at one point.
00:56:59
Speaker
Yeah, which is, so I can't remember, I feel like I'm bringing this up for reference and then I'm going to be like, but I don't know the details. I saw an exchange, I think it was last week and I can't remember if it was like Jordan Grace or if it was like Jessica Havoc and somebody was trying to outline why intergender wrestling is okay and why you should fucking get over it and why it's not a big deal. And somebody said that the difference is consent.
00:57:31
Speaker
Like the idea is that this character or this person is a pro wrestler by trade and they are consenting to doing this match. It's not domestic abuse. It doesn't even really simulate domestic abuse. This is what they do for a living, right? It's fake combat sport. Yeah.
00:57:50
Speaker
So essentially what you're really appealing to is the idea that a man under no circumstances should cause any physical harm to a woman.
Upcoming AEW and WWE Events
00:58:03
Speaker
I guess this match, the different, yes, obviously no one should get a woman. I just want to know where your line in the sand is. I'm trying to figure that out myself. And I think that's what was confusing is because when she was having those comeback spots, it was really fucking exciting. Because you're okay seeing the woman get offensive, but you don't want the guy to.
00:58:24
Speaker
But I guess to get that excited, do I need to see Sammy Callahan? I guess I have to see him beat the shit out of her first. Yes. I would love to explain the nature of professional wrestling to you. 78 episodes in. Yeah, right. Yes. And I knew that there were points where I'm like, I don't like this because I'm getting worked right now.
00:58:43
Speaker
but I also can't figure out where the line is for me. And I was talking about I disagree with Jordan Grace versus Brian Cage. I look at Jordan Grace as like a powerhouse wrestler and I see her holding her own. And the thing is with this, fucking Tessa Blanchard's awesome.
00:59:02
Speaker
I thought she held her own, too. I think she looked like a badass in this. I think she looked badass, too, because she was getting her ass kicked, but she always got up. Man, I don't know. I just I kind of was on a roller coaster through this match of like, hell, yeah, and no. But then I realized, oh, that's just fucking wrestling. Let's have this interesting conversation. I don't care if we go over our time.
00:59:28
Speaker
Are you okay with portrayals of domestic abuse on Law and Order or on television? I mean, if the whole show is revolving around that, I'm probably not going to watch it because I don't want to sit there and feel bad.
00:59:47
Speaker
But I'm saying that like, do you feel like real life situations should never, like, if it's a heavy real life situation based on something that does actually happen, you feel like the best way to deal with that is to not acknowledge that in the world of fiction. Oh man, now you're making me sit here and think like, well, how upset were you in Atomic Blonde when she was in, when Charlize Theron's in fights?
01:00:14
Speaker
I guess the difference is one is being presented to me as a real-life sporting event, and the other is clearly fiction. Is it? I knew that Atomic Blonde was not real. Right, but you also know pro wrestling isn't. I guess, Derek, I don't really know what makes me feel bad all the time. I think that's a perfectly fine conclusion to come to. That you can't quite figure out why it triggers feelings in you. Because I mean, I would share that. I just like...
01:00:43
Speaker
I like the act of digging to see why we feel this way about it. Because there's a lot of people who, like, you get online and there's people who feel passionately that it's fucking trash, that it's filth, and that under no circumstances should you ever support intergender wrestling. And then there's a movement right now of people who are really into it. And you've got Joey Ryan advocating it for it, like, basically every other day.
01:01:11
Speaker
So, I don't know. I don't know if there's necessarily a right answer. I know that it's... I guess once again, it's different flavors of ice cream. It's like there is this very brutal version of it you can see, and there's also a tame version of it. And I feel like Joey Ryan's version of it is a little more fun-spirited. I guess. But it wasn't one of your favorite matches where
01:01:40
Speaker
Yep, go ahead and say it, go ahead and say it. I knew it was coming up anyway, so just go for it. No, you fucking own it. That's yours, man. Why do you love that one so much? Because she walked away looking so badass, but it also ended with her winning.
01:01:59
Speaker
But I don't think that was your problem with the Sammy Callahan Tessa Blanchard match. You don't think my problem was that she didn't win. You think I agree. I just think you were made uncomfortable with the level of extreme violence. You didn't. You were made uncomfortable by the fact that the character that's known for hyper violence was put in a situation where he's facing a female character and it just felt
01:02:24
Speaker
You were on edge, which is what their goal was. They succeeded fully in that. Correct. And they still made a match that I did enjoy watching it. But like I said, at the beginning, I started out like, I don't think I like this. And then I feel like every three minutes, my mind changed from like, no, I think I do like this. No, that makes me feel bad. But really, it was just me getting worked of what me just being so uncomfortable watching him boot her head off.
01:02:54
Speaker
Yeah, I don't know. It's an interesting conversation that we will just have to continue to have, especially like I said, last week we talked about why AEW is not going to be doing it. So I don't know. I don't have an answer for you. I know that there were times that made me feel uncomfortable during the match, especially when they went outside and I thought he was getting ready to power bomber into the crowd.
01:03:18
Speaker
Um, yeah, that was that spot. I was so afraid I was about to watch her just crash into a row of chairs from up. Yeah. That was what I thought too, which to a board. They think that that's also part.
01:03:32
Speaker
It's genius in the sense that it's like a horror movie director knowing exactly the thing that you don't want to feel and see and then taking you right up to the edge of that and making you wary and then pulling you back. They really made me peek over the edge of the cliff. Yes.
01:03:51
Speaker
which was the goal. And then the question becomes for everyone else, is that an okay goal to have, which is make you wonder if this psychopathic male asshole is gonna murder this fucking monster beast wrestler of a woman. I wanna know what our listeners think. I feel like the listeners don't really chime in that much on intergender wrestling. Or is this something we've talked about in the past? It's hard to remember. We're on like episode 78.
01:04:21
Speaker
Yeah, I think I would love to hear from, and again, I'm not gonna shout you down if we have a different, again, I don't even know what my opinion is. I wanna know if everyone else feels as mostly okay and partially uncomfortable as I do. I don't know. Well, one thing is for sure. This week on SmackDown, it wasn't just Jizz coming. It was me. It was Derek and Jizz coming. I was definitely,
01:04:52
Speaker
So I didn't pay attention to Smackdown at all, and when you told me to watch this, this bit actually caught me very off guard.
01:05:00
Speaker
So I think you and I had similar reactions. First of all, I don't know if you watched last week, Kevin Owens is back to being a babyface. Everyone who listens to the podcast understands that KO is like my favorite, but he's back to being a babyface. I'm excited about it. And he's got a thing going on where he's got a rivalry with Dolph Ziggler, apparently. And then coming into this week, you assume you're getting Ziggler versus Owens. I really didn't care because I feel like I saw this four years ago.
01:05:27
Speaker
That's why I didn't tune in. I saw the advertisement for that and just was like, OK, I can skip this one. But can I say that? Do we agree that that's because of who he was facing? 100 percent. Is ever like, is anyone hyperenthusiastic about Dolph Ziggler? Like, I'm just I know I'm being a dick. I would be scared to say this if I was in the same room as him because I would come across as such an asshole.
01:05:54
Speaker
i just don't know like he's the only person i've only wrestler i've ever seen where i've looked at and said i don't know if there's any way you can fix this like he's just got that
01:06:05
Speaker
It's not even go away heat, it's just fucking like I've seen you do everything I can imagine, I'm just not into you. It doesn't matter if you go away for six months, it doesn't matter if you come back in the title picture, I just don't buy in, like I'm done. He's at a point where he is like slightly higher, he is in like a position that Zack Ryder wishes he was in. Yes. Like getting to lose in big spots.
01:06:31
Speaker
Yes. So when this was announced as like the main event of SmackDown this week, I was sitting there thinking, I don't really care. Like I don't know what they're going to do. I hope this isn't the next feud or whatever. Well, here's the thing. So Bischoff is supposed to officially take over directing duties next week.
01:06:52
Speaker
That said, SmackDown this week felt like the old, or at least the intro of SmackDown this week, felt like the intro of an old nitro, where an angle started in the parking lot at the top of the show.
01:07:07
Speaker
Did you get that at all from watching this? I did. I actually thought about that too. You know, it gave us before you even get into the building. Right. Which, I mean, happens sometimes, but to start a show. Yeah, I guess I could see that. Like, you know, it's fine. I enjoyed that.
01:07:25
Speaker
So, Dolph Ziggler's doing a promo, Owens shows up in his car, honks the horn, interrupts, says, oh, you're doing your thing where you say it should have been me. Which I thought was hilarious. Yes. Plus, I just thought...
01:07:41
Speaker
Do you feel, let me ask this question. This is not a New Japan style of wrestling. Does it add something to WWE or to American style wrestling when you see the guys arrive to the arena like they're showing up for work? Like a reminder of like they're here to compete.
01:08:01
Speaker
Like this is their job. And then just seeing the Singh brothers standing in the background of the parking lot and just, yeah, I do enjoy that. There's something about it. It's like a reminder of, oh yeah, they actually, what they're supposed to be doing is showing up here and getting paid to wrestle matches.
01:08:16
Speaker
I mean at the core that's what pro wrestling is and it's funny that you forget that after you watch for so long. They have the fight out in the parking lot. Kevin Owens gets kicked out and then it cuts to Smackdown and Smackdown opens with Kevin Owens coming out and cutting this epic promo.
01:08:34
Speaker
talking, he's basically the fan, the voice of the fans at this point, or as everyone's been making the joke in the last 24 hours, he dropped a pipe bomb promo and he's now the voice of the voiceless, whatever, cuts a promo, yelling, saying, you know, the McMans came out and months ago said that they were gonna do things differently, they were gonna listen to the fans, and then proceeds to list off all the people that Shane McMahon is taking away TV time from and nobody wants to see that.
01:09:01
Speaker
says, I mean, and I think that was what made it so cool was he listed off like Buddy Murphy, Apollo Crews, Liv Morgan, Asuka, Kairi Sane. He lists off all these people that like don't get enough TV time. It's basically all the complaints the fans have had. What did you think about this and why did it get you excited after I told you to check it out?
01:09:21
Speaker
Well, once again, it is you, you know, he's the voice of the fans. He is out there saying everything that we think is wrong with it. And it's just weird to hear them acknowledge it. Like they know. Because you watch it and think, how don't they know that this sucks? But then hearing them hearing a character go out and be like, these are all the things that sucks and all these people know it. And then everybody cheers. How what the fuck? It is weird.
01:09:50
Speaker
It is really, really weird. It's like they have a problem that they feel like they can't fix. Like they feel obligated to get. Anyways, the promo worked. It was hot. Kevin Owens is getting cheered like crazy. The rest of the show was good too. I did like Nakamura and Balor. That was a good match. I think it reestablished Nakamura. He looked dominant. I didn't even know they had a match.
01:10:15
Speaker
Yeah, I think it was a non-title match or whatever, but it involved Nakamura. Nakamura and Balor haven't been on TV in like a month. And they had a match against each other and Nakamura reestablished himself. He beat Balor clean.
01:10:33
Speaker
Nakamura needs something or is Nakamura just fucking happy to just be hanging out in the US surfing every weekend? I have no idea. I know that he can really sink his teeth into a program with Finn Balor though. They've gone back, you know, like years. But once again, I don't, you know, I get excited for matchups that I've seen Shinsuke have, but they need to prove to me that they can show me good versions of these matchups.
01:11:02
Speaker
That's true. Here's the thing. If you go and look at the card for Extreme Rules this Sunday, there are some matches on here that I'm excited to watch. I honestly don't even know what the matches are. You're gonna get Usos and Revival for the tag titles. That'll be fine. That'll be good. You're gonna get Samoa Joe versus Kofi Kingston for the WWE Championship.
01:11:28
Speaker
Joe loses. Maybe. There's rumors that Kofi's hurt right now. Oh shit, you're right. She didn't work a house show. So I don't know.
01:11:38
Speaker
I don't know. They keep planting the seed that Lesnar's going to show up. They're obviously doing Undertaker and Roman Reigns against Shane McMahon, Andrew McIntyre, and it feels like there's a million different characters because of Shane McMahon that could be tied into this, and now Owens has been added to the mix. They're going to be doing Nikki Cross and Alexa Bliss as a team against Bayley, and they're doing Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch against
01:12:05
Speaker
Baron Corbin and Lacey Evans. Is that the main event? I don't know what's going to end up being the main event. I don't know. I do know I am kind of looking forward to the show.
01:12:16
Speaker
But SmackDown this week ended with Dolph Ziggler vs Roman Reigns in the main event. And obviously Elias and Drew McIntyre were causing shenanigans on the outside of the ring. At one point they go out of the ring. Shane climbs in the ring. Owens comes out gives Shane an epic attitude era level stone cold stunner that Shane sells to perfection.
01:12:38
Speaker
and rain spears ziggler, rain winds. It was a good smackdown and that seems to be the consensus. Everyone was buzzing about this the other day and it's got me excited about what directions they can go in this and keep in mind, like I said,
01:12:56
Speaker
I don't know what they did this week to fucking hit it out of the park with Smackdown, but next week supposedly is when Eric Bischoff takes over. And this episode already had a feel like an old nitro to me. In some ways, I guess.
01:13:10
Speaker
Do you, I've never really asked you this, because I feel like you know how much I love Owens, and I try to bring it up as less often, what's the best way? I try not to bring it up that much. I don't think you need to hide that from us. I think that you need to embrace your love and let us know. Well, I'd say my 10 T-shirts that I have totally advertise how much of. My question is, I've seen,
01:13:37
Speaker
A lot of enthusiasm over a Kevin Owens babyface run. Did this show get you on board for that? It seemed like they were setting him up to be a badass babyface. Do you feel like that's something he's gonna excel at? I think it is. I think if he still gets to shit talk people...
01:13:56
Speaker
and still be the good guy, that we're all gonna cheer him. And I'm excited to hear him cut this type of promo. Because like you said, I just watched this clip before we recorded. I didn't realize, as he was watching it, I did think of the pipe bomb. It felt like that's what was happening, but it felt like WWE cutting the pipe bomb on themselves.
01:14:18
Speaker
But that's what they've done with other, they've, you see, it's not the first time they've done this. Even the CM Punk pipe bomb was approved by Vince McMahon. Yeah. Every, I feel like every few months they come out and tell us that things suck and are going to be different. And then they haven't. So we'll see if the Paul Heyman Eric Bischoff factor makes a difference here. I guess after extreme rolls is when they get the reins. So I'm, I'm excited.
01:14:44
Speaker
I was so disappointed when Owens came back after Mania because I was so excited to see him have a baby face run and then Daniel Bryan got hurt and they didn't know what was gonna happen with Bryan so they nixed that and they turned Owens heel with the new day thing which was entertaining and I'm kind of exceeded excited to see if they can let him be that guy.
01:15:05
Speaker
Especially if Kofi ends up being hurt and they need another top babyface for the show. Yeah. So... I came. I came all over myself this last Tuesday. Derek's coming! Yeah, and speaking of which, Heavy Machinery is getting some serious TV time and people are digging it. I saw that Jizz had a triple threat match.
01:15:26
Speaker
Oh yeah. That's a big match too. What was it? Him and Daniel Bryan and Xavier Woods? Yeah. That's hilarious. Yeah. Jizz win? Heavy machine. I didn't see who
Weekend Pay-Per-View Excitement
01:15:40
Speaker
won. No, I'm sitting here thinking about it. Who gives a shit? In our hearts, Jizz. Oh, I'm sorry, go ahead. Yeah, Jizz always wins. Is that the only pay-per-view you're excited for this weekend?
01:15:53
Speaker
Is there another pay-per-view this weekend? Fuck, man. There is AEW's Fight for the Fallen, man.
AEW Event Matches
01:16:00
Speaker
Oh, I forgot. Yeah, that is this weekend. Holy shit. And once again, free on Bleacher Report. Well, this time I'm signed up, so it shouldn't be such a hassle.
01:16:09
Speaker
And we've got some matches that have me intrigued. We have Sonny Kiss versus Peter Avalon with Leva Bates, which I thought it was funny on this week's BTE that it opens with the librarian stuff. I loved the librarian stuff.
01:16:25
Speaker
yes i loved that so much it seemed like leva baits was getting ready to tell the bucks that they have the shittiest gimmick but then she raves about how much she loves it and then the fan then what uh basically matt turns into to venture we're gonna give give him a baron corbin like push
01:16:42
Speaker
as they bleep out Baron Corbin. We also get SoCal Uncensored versus the Lucha Bros. I think this is gonna be good for SoCal. This is the match I'm most excited for. I don't know, there's something about the Six Man that has me really excited.
01:17:13
Speaker
The six man. Wait, what?
Anticipating Six-Man Tag Match
01:17:17
Speaker
There's a six man tag match happening. That's the team of Jimmy Havoc Darby. Oh, okay. Janela versus MJF, Sammy and Sean Spears. Yes. How? Wait, I just realized Sean Spears and MJF are on the same team.
01:17:37
Speaker
That's not gonna work out. I guess we'll find out.
Main Event Predictions
01:17:40
Speaker
But yeah, I think the Bucks versus Cody and Dustin will probably be match of the night, right? You would think. That's gonna be the main event, no doubt, right? Has to be.
01:17:51
Speaker
Has to be. Because everything else is Kenny versus Seema and Brandy versus Allie. What time is this show on Saturday? Great question. Don't know. Let's go ahead and say around six. You should have said five. All I know is five. All I know is five. Five. Just try at five. If it's not there, keep trying.
01:18:15
Speaker
That was a lot of pro wrestling to digest this week. We did watch a lot of pro wrestling this week, and I love it. I love every second that we get to talk about it together, and I enjoy every second that we watch pro wrestling, Derek.
Intergender Wrestling Discussion
01:18:28
Speaker
We should encourage our listeners to give their feedback on intergender wrestling, and if it has a place in this world, because Rip Torn is no longer in this world, and maybe Xbox's asshole.
01:18:40
Speaker
Xbox asshole that's a little ripped and torn and Maybe people are ripped and torn over how to feel about a future of Ron Smackdown with Eric Bischoff and Paul Heyman running the show
Request for Listener Reviews
01:18:55
Speaker
Well, no matter how they feel about that, they should get on Twitter and give us a follow at Wrestle Hangout on Twitter and Facebook at Predetermined Podcast on Instagram. Get on iTunes, give us that five star review, write a night. Yeah, we'll talk about whatever you want. Like always, just leave the review. We love you. We love you to death. Love every single one of you that listen to this.
01:19:15
Speaker
And also, if you've made it this far into the episode, we're going to be doing another watch along episode later this month. We need some suggestions from our listeners on matches that you think we should do a watch along to. Doesn't matter if it's a five star classic or the shittiest match you can fucking imagine. If you think it'd be something funny that we could review and watch along together for an episode, send that to us. Another way to reach us is predetermine podcast at gmail.com.
Closing Remarks with Humor
01:19:40
Speaker
Garrett, anything else to add this week?
01:19:44
Speaker
I feel like lately I've been ending every episode with just a weird story. Well, I would settle for you singing Call Me Maybe. What's weird is I just tried and I froze. I got so scared about singing. I can't carry a tune, Derek. But you love that pop music. But I love that pop music. Speaking of music, hit the goddamn.