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Episode 46: Low Key Rebel
58 Plays7 years ago
On this week's hangout Derrick accuses Garrett of betraying him and he might be right. They're also talking All Elite Wrestling rumors, Progress's 24 Hour Progress People, NXT, DDP Yoga, Nick Gage (of course) and more!
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Transcript
Chris Jericho Twitter Block Saga
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 I'm pretty sure we were unsuccessful in getting Chris Jericho to unblock him, Derek Halpin.
00:00:14
Speaker
I checked for like a day or two and then I just gave up. I don't really think there was a movement that got behind me getting unblocked, but that's okay. I wasn't really expecting anything out of it. You know, I was just hoping that he was going to have the holiday spirit and just think maybe this guy's okay.
00:00:32
Speaker
I may try again in the coming weeks. I may record a personal video and post it through our Twitter account and see if I can get some action. The thing is, I don't want to get our Twitter account blocked because I like getting news from Jericho. And are Twitter accounts the only place you can get that right now? Unless you start a burner account just to follow Chris Jericho.
00:00:53
Speaker
It's possible I would have to resort to that. But the focus on that podcast was just soaking in the career of Chris Jericho. And it's kind of a bummer that I don't get to personally let him know how much I appreciate how wonderful his career has been. And I have to go essentially through my work account, if you want to call this work, to find out what he's up to.
00:01:17
Speaker
I think that our next plan of action here is to get you to a Fauzi show and his VIP meet and greets like 30 bucks and it guarantees you some time alone with Jericho. The amazing thing is I think I've had two or three chances in the last year, year and a half to go to a Fauzi show and I still haven't done it. But according to you, that's not a loss because you hate Fauzi.
00:01:42
Speaker
See, now you're just trying to get heat from Jericho onto me, and me and Jericho have no heat. I feel like there's more reason for Jericho to have heat with you than heat with me. I have said nothing to the man. You said, Fauzi sucks. I didn't use those words one time. You said it to me. You fucking traitor.
00:02:07
Speaker
You fucking traitor. What is this? What kind of way to start the show is this? It starts with a betrayal. Then what happens? You rub my nose and shit because I can't follow Jericho on Twitter and then expect me not to throw you under the bus? Those are just facts. They've been discussed here. What happens off mic stays off mic, you son of a bitch. We have talked so often about stuff that happens off mic.
00:02:31
Speaker
But you know what? The funny thing is we do have Jericho news to kind of talk about, so there is a transition into this episode from last week's episode. So hit our goddamn music? Yeah, hit our goddamn music.
00:03:15
Speaker
Hey everyone, we're back. Just a reminder, if you haven't already, we're in desperate need of some likes on the iTunes. So if you can give us a five star rating and give us a nice little review there, you'll really be helping us out this holiday season. And also, if you leave us a review,
Engaging with Wrestling Media
00:03:33
Speaker
you can submit something for us to listen to or watch a movie. As long as it's pro wrestling related, we'll do it.
00:03:41
Speaker
If you can tie it back to pro wrestling, we're contractually obligated to watch whatever you submit to us. We had a recent review from Mortarround that says, this is one of the better podcasts for wrestling. Derek and Garrett know how to produce and speak. They make it entertaining and informative. Now you all need to watch Marine Six. That is the review. So we're watching Marine Six sometime here. I have a feeling that you and I might watch it together over Christmas.
00:04:10
Speaker
Is that a thing you think we'll have time for? I mean, I don't see why not. I can always- You're saying we need to make it happen. Hey, your favorite wrestler, Becky Lynch. Mine, Miz. Somebody we're both okay with? Shawn Michaels. Meeting in the middle.
00:04:26
Speaker
Becky Lynch is now my favorite wrestler. You have raved about Becky for years. I have, but I didn't know she was my favorite wrestler. I'm not, I mean, now's as good a time as anybody to be claiming that. Oh yeah, I mean- Even though she can't wrestle. You should say that you've been, she's been your favorite for years and years. Becky Lynch has been my favorite WWE women or women superstar for a few years now, yes. So you gotta be pretty proud of that lady.
00:04:55
Speaker
I am, I wish she was able to get in the ring and do her thing right now. And Nia Jax hadn't punched her in the face, which I'm pretty salty about, still. Well, at least your favorite female wrestler is doing things right now in the WWE.
00:05:11
Speaker
I just made an announcement earlier today on social media. I have not watched anything WWE other than NXT TakeOver WarGames since evolution. I have not watched a Raw, a SmackDown, an NXT show. I didn't watch Survivor Series, didn't watch Crown Jewel.
00:05:28
Speaker
I've been detached from WWE. I have held up my end of the bargain and keeping them in time out. Have you? Have you done it? This goes straight back to the pact that we had when I said in high school, I haven't seen Goonies. And you said, I haven't seen Goonies. Let's make a pact. Let's never watch Goonies. Like 48 hours later, I had seen that fucking movie that I had gone so long without seeing. And you're howling about me betraying you?
00:05:57
Speaker
This pact means nothing to me. You letting Jericho know that Fozzy is not my favorite. You said they sucked. I did not say they suck. I could probably dig through my texts and find exactly where you
Wrestling Allegiances and Promotions
00:06:12
Speaker
said it. Oh, we're going there. You know what I could dig through my texts and find that you said? What did I say? I wouldn't do that to you on air. I'm doing it right now.
00:06:25
Speaker
I don't know if I have it in me to do this right now. We have a show to do. We got lots of stuff to talk about. Where do you want to start, dude? Well, you had mentioned we were just talking about Becky Lynch and how well she's doing. My favorite wrestler, I don't even know if I can call her that anymore. It's weird that, I don't know, how long can you retain a favorite wrestler when they stop doing anything good?
00:06:48
Speaker
You and I have been talking about pro wrestling on a regular basis for a little over a year now. And I will say this, I feel like in that time span, I've heard you say that like eight different people are your favorite wrestler.
00:07:02
Speaker
I feel like I've kept Candice LeRae as a pretty constant favorite. Is she still a favorite if she's not really wrestling very often? Well, she's wrestling. She just loses every fucking match. She's she's my favorite loser over on NXT, which is I can't even be mad because they have so many of so just so many people I love, but there's really only two people
00:07:25
Speaker
that were, you know, indie favorites that aren't doing well over there. And it is her, and it is Chris Hero. But I think Chris Hero's just there to lose anyway. I think he knew that. Well, you kind of figure when he came back and got his second run with NXT, I mean, I guess there was a chance they could have done something with him that time, but nah, I think he's kind of settled for that role, like, that's what he's gonna be. He's gonna be the NXT Valvenus.
00:07:53
Speaker
He's gonna he's gonna hang around there for a while to do jobs. See now if they Reinvented him as Val venus's kid one. He's way bigger just a tall tall man I don't maybe he's as tall as Val venus. I I would imagine taller. I want a seat hero do the towel thing Do you think Val venus's son is a gimmick that would work in? Today's political climate. Yes
00:08:21
Speaker
Like, when you say it'll work, what do you mean? And what about today's political climate would make it work? Because my instinct is that it wouldn't. Well, didn't Valvenus get his dick cut off at some point? We've talked about that multiple times on this pod. Yes, choppy choppy. Well, choppy choppy again. Fuck him.
00:08:40
Speaker
And Cassius Ono is the man for the job. Wait, no, no, I don't want to cut off Chris Hero's dick where this is. Chris. Chris Hero is dead, man. It's Cassius Ono. Yeah, it's over. I'm having a hard time with that. I sometimes have trouble transitioning to a name I'm not ready for. You know what, though? There's a guy that you've claimed is one of your favorite wrestlers that I think has a bright future in WWE, and his name is Keith Lee.
00:09:06
Speaker
Oh, fuck. Yeah. And actually, I mean, we wouldn't have seen it yet because it's on. We're recording this on Tuesday and this airs tomorrow, but we get Keith Lee versus Lars Sullivan. I think this is the beginning of the end for Lars Sullivan. Yeah, I'm pretty sure he's heading up soon. But yeah, keep heading up.
00:09:28
Speaker
You think he's going to get called up? I think he's getting called up to the main roster. I think he's getting jobbed out and then released. Oh, I disagree with you completely. I bet we see him on Raw sooner than later. Oh, that'll really improve the Raw product.
00:09:42
Speaker
Well, let's face it, I was watching NXT last night. I actually watched quite a bit of NXT. I watched the last couple weeks of it to betray you and to just be entertained. Can you expound upon the fact that when we agreed to not renew our network subscriptions, that WWE gave you a free month of the network?
00:10:03
Speaker
Okay, and they didn't give me shit so I ended mine and then Like the next actually as I was canceling it They're like you sure will give it to you for free and I was like no I'm sure you need to know I'm mad click and then and then like two weeks later like what about now and I'm like well I kind of would like to watch survivor series you son of a bitch
00:10:28
Speaker
You should apologize. To you or to the listeners? Both. The listeners aren't mad at me right now. You don't know that. Listen, listeners, I love you guys. You support the show and Garrett likes ya. I'm not gonna lie, he's a fan of you guys too. You love him, Garrett likes ya.
00:10:46
Speaker
You already buried me. The point I'm making here is this guy stood beside me and said, we're putting WWE in a timeout because of the crown jewel debacle. And Garrett was like, yeah, fuck him. And then within days is going back on his word. No integrity. No integrity whatsoever. Kurt Angle would be massively disappointed in you. And he has bigger things to worry about than being disappointed in me. Maybe so.
00:11:15
Speaker
I'm just saying he's not disappointed. You tell me I can't do something. I want to do it worse than anything I've ever done. Like if that is a fucked up trait to have. Oh, well, like right now I have no interest in this new Robin Hood movie that's supposed to be trash. But if you said, hey, man, let's make a pact that we'll never watch that the rest of the night, I'd be like, fuck. I do kind of want to see that. No, you don't, though. That's fucked up.
00:11:39
Speaker
Are you trying to be some low-key rebel? The moment somebody says, you can't do it. Did the drug abuse resistance education program fuck you up? Oh yeah, I thought smoking SIGS was the coolest shit when I was a kid. I was like, look at that guy. Why would I not want to do that?
00:12:00
Speaker
Man, can't even give the fellow good advice because it just has the opposite effect. So, yeah, but I don't think that, I guess it would make me like a media rebel, because it only involves things that I can and can't watch. Well, you know what?
NXT's Evolution and Competition
00:12:16
Speaker
Don't like the new Fozzy stuff. Don't enjoy Fozzy at all.
00:12:21
Speaker
It's bad for you. Oh my god. I just, as we were recording this, I just received a text from a friend that said there's a rumor that in 2020, St. Louis, Missouri will have an XFL team. Yeah, I just retweeted that a little while ago, actually. It's true. Well, then I have a new sports team. God damn it. The St. Louis Who Gives a Shits. The St. Louis Who Gives a Shits football team. It's an edgy name for an edgy team.
00:12:51
Speaker
Why don't you go. Why don't you go on with your story that you're going to tell. What was I on to. What a what a what a traitor you were. What were we talking about that led to you berating me for the last 15 minutes. Something about Lars Sullivan. Oh yeah. No I just I see him as a main roster guy that. Well obviously Vince just would like him because he's huge. Vince likes a big boy.
00:13:14
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, that's Vince's thing. He's not very good, but that's never stopped Vince before. You don't think they're gonna bring him up there to be the Braun Strowman of SmackDown? I think they just got their future Braun Strowman, and his name is Walter. Walter ain't touching the main roster.
00:13:31
Speaker
Walter's gonna touch the main roster. He isn't doing it, he doesn't want to. He's already- He will eventually. He turned down WWE and he turned down New Japan because he wants to live in Germany and he doesn't like their schedules. That's how it starts until they start offering him big boy cash. I feel like they offered him big boy cash the first time. You don't know, you weren't there. That being said, I would love to see Walter kill everybody on the roster. Wouldn't you love to see Walter go face to face with the Undertaker?
00:14:01
Speaker
He's the one that retires The Undertaker. Wouldn't that be amazing? I've seen that guy walking around in flip-flops and just shorts. He's just a delightful man. I don't know. He's so intimidating in the ring, but just a goddamn delight in person. He has wonderful entrance music too, by the way.
00:14:20
Speaker
Oh, and I like watching him play air violin. Yeah, he's got everything. I think the perfect situation for him right now is signing to NXT UK. If they're letting him still work progress, and then he can still work his company in Germany, which I think has some ties to there, which I believe is where Ilya Dragunov is from as well, which I think, who was, I think Kayla.
00:14:43
Speaker
sent me a message the other day showing me Ilya Dragunov in a like a performance center trying out. They got a lot of deals with people who wrestle for progress, I'll tell you that. I'm not mad about it. I honestly like being able to watch NXT UK and progress as two separate things and get to see both. Cuz like I said, I spent a lot of time just watching NXT in general, and this might sound crazy to you.
00:15:09
Speaker
I think I right now enjoy NXT more than I'm enjoying New Japan at this moment. I think New Japan came out of a tag tournament and went into another tag tournament. I'm just like, all right, I get it.
00:15:26
Speaker
Yeah, no, why would anybody complain? We've talked about this so many times before, which is that we wish companies could cross over with other wrestling companies more often. And the fact that Progress and WWE have this relationship is awesome. I'm glad, I hope they keep that up. And the other thing is, we watched Progress's 24-hour Progress people
00:15:48
Speaker
show in preparation for this podcast and I watched several matches on it. I do think it's interesting that part of the show when they cut promos on each other is running down guys relationship or lack thereof with WWE. Like, do you think that's fair game?
00:16:05
Speaker
I think at this point it is. They are clearly working together well because I just watched the most recent episode of NXT UK and they refer to people as former progress champion or the current women's champ. It's kind of nice to see two companies actually working together and referencing each other.
00:16:25
Speaker
I agree. I think it's awesome. Um, my question though, why, well, what not, not that I'm disagreeing with you. I don't want it. I've got plenty of beef I can have with you if I want, but, uh, what happened with new Japan and NXT that suddenly NXT is, is a head of them by so much that they have your attention more.
00:16:44
Speaker
Well, I think it honestly that could end up changing week to week with promotion But I've kind of taken a couple the last couple weeks off in New Japan just because I'm not super interested in the tag tournament Somebody's gonna be like fuck you you fucking traitor. You're recording this podcast wearing a New Japan hoodie I'm not gonna stop wearing it. I still like the boys over there I'm just I Don't know NXT is just in this perfect spot I
00:17:13
Speaker
I had a few people over for the last Joey Janela show and I think I talked about meeting other Garrett at the Southern Underground pro show. Okay. And he, him and his wife Kelly came over and he was saying, he's like, you gotta watch NXT please. Just watch it. It's really good.
00:17:32
Speaker
And after checking out TakeOver, I went back and started watching. They have such a good roster right now. They have so many guys that they can mix and match for main event matches and they're all still exciting and fresh.
Shifts in Wrestling Dynamics
00:17:47
Speaker
And it took NXT a while cuz it seemed like we had such a good roster for a while and then people just started disappearing and they had to rebuild. And I feel like they've rebuilt it into this kind of perfect wrestling show right now.
00:18:02
Speaker
I read something the other day where they were discussing something that we've talked about before which is just making it its own brand and as their roster gets better and better and bigger and bigger it becomes the kind of thing where it seems inevitable and maybe it just should happen and the question is
00:18:19
Speaker
With a name like NXT, which is the implication being that it's supposed to be the next generation, did they need to rebrand and call themselves something else? If they're going to become their own brand, do they need to be making reference to them being developmental?
00:18:34
Speaker
I don't know, to me that name almost evolved into where you don't even think about it anymore as being developmental. You think about it as these are guys in their prime at the top of their game. Or at least most of them are at this point. These are veterans. I guess they could redefine the NXT, I mean like the next era.
00:18:55
Speaker
Like the new, you know what I mean? Like, as in meaning like, this is the future of wrestling. Not a lot in the sense that these guys are gonna make Raw on SmackDown, but this is the future of pro wrestling as a whole.
00:19:07
Speaker
I think it really is, they've done a good job of collecting so many people from all over the place. And at this point, if NXT threw a new Japan guy in there, I know like they did with Nakamura, we saw kinda how that worked out. But I don't know, while I was watching this, I'd always looked at it as them competing with Ring of Honor. WWE basically giving you an alternative to like, you want Ring of Honor, just watch our version.
00:19:33
Speaker
But now I feel like Ring of Honor has slipped a little bit. And after watching the last takeover, I felt like they were competing with New Japan. That Kairi-sane Shayna Baszler match, there was some crazy shit that happened in that that I was like, fuck, that's that's a New Japan move. That's something I wouldn't expect to see over there. You know, like her, I think Baszler took a DDT off the apron and it just looked so devastating and awesome. It just felt a little more hard hitting.
00:20:00
Speaker
Would it be fair to say as we get further and further away from September 1st, which was all in, has the landscape of professional wrestling as a whole, has that changed? Cuz to me it feels like we're in a really weird time right now. And like I said earlier, I haven't watched or on SmackDown in a while. I haven't been keeping up what's going on on the main roster for WWE.
00:20:24
Speaker
But I got the sense coming off of last night's Raw, there were a lot of people who were pissed off again by what they got. And I saw some people making comments about being done with WWE for a while the same way we've said it, even though I'm the only one that's really held up my end of the bargain on this point. Yeah, what a few days. Anyways, the point. Anyways, the point I'm making is.
00:20:48
Speaker
Are we in a weird era where you just recently were talking about how your attention span with Ring of Honor has started to slip? And now you're not necessarily saying anything bad about New Japan, but now you're saying essentially that WWE NXT is kind of the top wrestling brand out there right now.
00:21:08
Speaker
I really, honestly, after watching a lot, I mean, I absolutely love Progress. To me, Progress is the closest feeling I get to watching a PWG show. Those rooms just have such a cool vibe, and I can sit there and enjoy a show beginning to end on that.
00:21:24
Speaker
Yeah, the crowd's definitely hot for it, too. That adds a lot to the show to me. I love Jim Smallman coming out and talking to the crowd. It makes it feel like you're part of a community. Yeah. When the guy comes out and just has a real casual, jokey conversation with the crowd and then is like, all right, fuck it. Let's have some wrestling. And he doesn't look like your typical promoter, does he? He looks like your buddy.
00:21:49
Speaker
It looks like somebody would run into it a Breaking Benjamin show. I feel like that's not nice. Is it? I mean, it'd probably run into the same people at the Fauzi show. So you have, so you have, oh. See, all Garrett's musical tastes coming out on this show. I'm just saying. I didn't mean it as an insult. Oh, okay. Fair enough. I'm not hip to that scene. I was just making a joke. Well, don't make...
00:22:20
Speaker
I apologize. I feel like it's such a weird time because now that it's kind of out there that the Bucks and Cody and Kenny are kind of splitting from Bullet Club, we're kind of left in this weird no man's land where nobody's really happy with WWE's main roster. I'm assuming there's other people who share your opinion of Ring of Honor. New Japan's doing tag stuff and waiting for Kenny to defend the belt against what, Takahashi?
00:22:51
Speaker
Tana Hashi. Tana Hashi, sorry. Actually, we got an update on Takahashi.
00:22:56
Speaker
Yeah, how's that? What's that? What's that fella up to? How's he doing? No bueno. No bueno? Really bad? One of the dirt sheets was reporting they don't know when or if he will be back. Really? It seems like I guess he's still trying to recover from that neck surgery. And I mean, this is dirt sheet talk. So take it for what you will. But it didn't sound it wasn't reassuring that we were going to see him, you know, make a surprise return at Wrestle Kingdom or something.
00:23:24
Speaker
So we're just in a holding pattern until Wrestle Kingdom between Tana Hashi and Omega and then Jericho and Naito. Is that fair to say? That's kind of what it feels like and I'm very excited for Wrestle Kingdom. I just the build of I just I'm not super excited about watching tag matches I'm more into their you know one-on-one bout so I'll kind of I'm sure that those are still happening at the end of the shows but you know I just
00:23:49
Speaker
I like what I like and I've got a lot of wrestling I can be jumping around to until they get back to something I want to watch. So right now NXT in progress are your jam. Yeah, yeah, 100%. And it's fun. I don't know. When you talk about this being a holding pattern, just knowing what the elite is going to do kind of throws everything off right now to me.
00:24:10
Speaker
Do we know what they're gonna do? What's going on right now? Because the big rumor is that they might have a deal with the owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars. Aren't they called the Conn family? Is that their name? Yes. I don't know anything about them except their name.
00:24:31
Speaker
Yeah, my sister was an NFL cheerleader and when she was in St. Louis working for the Rams, she said she actually met him. Said he was super nice. Alright, fair enough. So that's all I need, it's official. So what's the big rumor here? So the rumor is that Jericho and JR have been in talks with him to start something.
00:24:52
Speaker
And then on, what was it, Friday, right after Thanksgiving, there was, or maybe it was right before, I don't know, it was last week sometime, it popped up that out of Jacksonville, to an address that linked to the Jaguar Stadium,
00:25:07
Speaker
that there had been trademarks on a bunch of different wrestling things, like All Out, All Elite Wrestling, AEW, you know, just trademarking different names. And since it's linked to there, maybe it's somebody fucking with us, but it does seem like something's gonna happen.
00:25:26
Speaker
The last thing that I had read before we did this show was that the involvement between Jericho and JR with whatever this is that's that's building Should be downplayed because supposedly it's not being funded by Jericho and Jim Ross
00:25:42
Speaker
and that there's more links between Cody and the Bucks, and that this is their next venture, is making their own promotion. That they did all in, they were able to do a show, and now they're trying to get outside funding to have their own promotion, and Jericho and Jim Ross have agreed that if they can get it off the ground, they'll be involved.
00:26:00
Speaker
which at this point, if that were to happen, would it be the main cast of the elite and maybe like SCU and Flip Gordon and those guys? There's so much we don't know right now. Well, the Bucks, supposedly the Bucks contract with Ring of Honor is up in December and it's been known for a little while now that they're advertising Cody versus Jay Lethal for the Ring of Honor Championship as Cody's last match in Ring of Honor.
00:26:27
Speaker
So a lot of this news would line up. I mean and just the name all elite wrestling. I mean obviously like I don't know about you but it gets me really excited. It gets my little mark boner running.
00:26:42
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. I mean, especially if they can get a nice little TV deal for themselves. Which I could see them, whatever they do would be huge. But then it's got me looking at, well fuck, if these guys are out in December, one, what's gonna happen with this Madison Square Garden show between New Japan and Ring of Honor? Because if none of those guys are there, I am substantially less interested in that show.
00:27:10
Speaker
are you so you're just worried about it from a personal standpoint because you were looking forward to that show well no I mean obviously if this means we get this amazing new wrestling company that's gonna be the future of wrestling where wrestlers have fucking health care and stuff that's awesome love that and and supposedly Cody's been scouting for people who are not signed to major companies
Potential New Wrestling Promotions
00:27:30
Speaker
Man, it's so hard, I mean, that could be why they're just grabbing everybody at this point before these guys can get them. But I don't know, so many people are over in Impact right now that I would love to see on that. But Impact's got a good thing going. Ring of Honor is the one that I think is most in limbo. Because I could still enjoy a New Japan show. If New Japan were doing Madison Square Garden by themselves, I'd be just as excited.
00:27:56
Speaker
But with it being New Japan versus Ring of Honor, without the elite, that doesn't leave a lot of people that I give a shit to watch the New Japan guys take on. Yeah, I don't want to say that the wind has been sucked out of my sails. A lot of any negativity I have towards wrestling right now has to do with me detaching myself from WWE and being firm on it.
00:28:23
Speaker
But I'm not going to let it go. But it does feel like since all in like that would be the next logical step would be if you know you can put on a show that sells out like all in dead and draws that much attention and you're able to get that many people from different promotions involved. And it was just it was just a high profile event. The next step would be to have your own promotion.
00:28:46
Speaker
and that would be so typical. I mean, if Cody's following the footsteps of his dad, that's absolutely what would happen. Would be for him to get outside financing, to start his own company, to do things his own way, and to have the backing of the bucks. I mean, it's the only thing that's
00:29:06
Speaker
It's the only thing that makes sense to me as the next step for those guys, because what are they gonna do? I mean, they drop the bullet club thing. The next big thing for them to pursue would be to have their own company. Which would really follow the elites change the world. For sure.
00:29:23
Speaker
And in the meantime, we're sitting around waiting. I don't know. Like we talked about it before the post all in depression is real on multiple levels. Well, if they ended up going to WWE, I think everybody would be bummed because they kind of talked up.
00:29:41
Speaker
they kind of talked up something bigger than just joining the other company. And this just makes so much sense to me. I still stand by, you know, if NXT were on television, like if they had put that on Fox instead, I bet it would end up getting huge ratings.
00:30:00
Speaker
It's just so exciting that I feel like if somebody flipping through saw what was happening on NXT, they would be more willing to stop and watch than what's happening on the other show. Is that true? This is the thing that I struggle with as somebody who watches or follows at least pro wrestling regularly is that when people talk about the casual fan,
00:30:24
Speaker
when they talk about people who tune in for big stars or will buy a pay per view because Brock Lesnar or Ronda Rousey or The Rock or somebody like that's on the card. If you're just flipping through the channels, what is it
00:30:40
Speaker
To that person, what is it about NXT that's gonna make you stop and watch? Does that person really care about the quality of the match or the production level or the fact that it's more athletic or whatever? What's your take on that? Okay, well, think of it like this. If you're flipping through channels as a casual viewer, you're just flipping through channels and you go by and you see Alexa Bliss doing Alexa Bliss, this is your, Bailey, this is your life, or just a talking segment.
00:31:08
Speaker
And then you flip to the next channel and you see Ricochet upside down getting kicked in the face. And, you know, just an amazing feat of athleticism. To me, I'm gonna stop if I just saw some crazy shit happen on the TV.
00:31:23
Speaker
And NXT is mostly matches. I mean, there's build the things, but it's a good length. And since they don't have a pay-per-view every month, there is a longer build to get to things and also TV title matches. So you're gonna see the NXT Championship defended on television in a match where they could feasibly lose it.
00:31:46
Speaker
I guess I'm playing devil's advocate because I agree with you in that I'm more excited about that latter, but maybe this is a moot point because it's coming from the attitude Arab. It isn't the highest rated segment in the history of raw the rock mankind. This is your life segment.
00:32:02
Speaker
Yeah, and they tried it again and it didn't work. It's... Well, I guess the point I'm trying to make is, to the casual fan, that's what I thought was so interesting about the way they booked Survivor Series. Now again, I did not watch Survivor Series. I heard good things and bad things. But they made SmackDown... What, did SmackDown basically lost every match at Survivor Series? And that's the show that's about to get that big deal from Fox and switching networks.
00:32:30
Speaker
Like, am I being too much of a mark and caring about wins and losses? Not that I care about them all the time, but you would think you would want to make that show look strong if you're getting ready to ship it over and a company's investing, or a network is investing a lot of money in
Impact of Casual Fans on Wrestling
00:32:43
Speaker
it. I truly don't understand the thought process behind that, and I don't even know if I want to begin to, because I didn't see what there was to gain from that. We're just rehashing the same shit that we always do when we talk about WWE, which is that
00:32:58
Speaker
the guy who has final say in everything is probably not qualified to be doing that job anymore. But it's also his show and he can do what he wants. And until then, I think NXT is in a cooler direction. But maybe that's just me because they took all my guys and threw them on one show, but they're still being used in a way that is exciting. That my guy isn't getting over there and just getting jobbed. Like they're bringing them in and having some shit happen. And it seems like
00:33:27
Speaker
to at least some extent they're listening to fans. Because, you know, the Matt Riddle, Chris Hero match got dropped from the card and a lot of people complained about it. Maybe this was all a work to begin with, probably was, but they still brought them out to do, you know, the one second match or whatever. Which, I don't mind. I kind of enjoy that they do the squash.
00:33:48
Speaker
And that the entire show, this week's NXT or last week at this point, was just what happened before the pay-per-view. And it was just a series of squash matches, a Keith Lee squash match. Who else had one? I don't know, a couple other people had squash matches on there. And it's just kind of fun to, you still get to see your guy, he comes out and he does his thing and gets his shit in.
00:34:11
Speaker
I guess what I'm saying is I agree with you that I would rather watch what NXT offers, but then I stop and I think, are we in the minority? Out of everyone that watches pro wrestling, do the people who care about that stuff, who care about it being more athletic, being more about matches than segments, do they make up not a big enough portion of the wrestling fan base to warrant getting a prime time slot?
00:34:41
Speaker
I mean, I don't know if it would, but I think there's more potential to get new viewers with that. I think especially right now with, you know, everybody has such short attention spans and I think newer wrestling is more exciting, more high flying, just more straight to the point in the action to grab somebody's attention rather than sitting through a 15 to 20 minute segment of talking, regardless of how funny it may be.
00:35:05
Speaker
I hope you're right. I would like to see that. And that's from what we've said this before. Supposedly that's what Fox wants with SmackDown. They want it to be more like NXT. They want it to be presented as more of an athletic competition. And that fucking rules. I mean that's one of the main things I like about watching New Japan. We will see if we get that though. When does that transfer take place over from USA to Fox? It's October next year.
00:35:32
Speaker
God damn, we still have like a whole other year
Progress Wrestling's Unique Appeal
00:35:34
Speaker
of this shit? Oh yeah, oh yeah, you're in it man. I was under the impression, I was under the impression that was taking place in 2019, like in January. I was actually just reading about this right before we started recording and I read it October 2019 is the official day. Fuck me. So literally right before next year's Survivor Series. Yeah. They can fix all this. If they so choose. Yeah.
00:36:04
Speaker
Oh, God. Hey, let's go back to that progress show.
00:36:09
Speaker
Yeah, 24-hour progress, people. We watched a few matches from this. You said you ended up watching the whole show. I watched the whole show, and one of my favorite things happened right at the top of the show. They had a debut over at Progress, a guy I absolutely fucking loved watching in the States, and he is no longer allowed here. I think he's still got a few more years before he's allowed back, but that is a Speedball Mike Bailey.
00:36:35
Speaker
Yeah, he made his progress wrestling debut, didn't he? Yeah, and that's fucking awesome, because he's Canadian, so I hope our friends in Canada are still getting to enjoy the shit out of him. He didn't pay his taxes down in the US, and he's out for a while. There were a couple of debuts on this show. Didn't Lana Austin make her debut? Yeah, she did as well. She was ridiculously over with that crowd, too. Yeah, I think that was her hometown. I think they actually announced her from being in the town they were in.
00:37:03
Speaker
Yeah, it was Manchester, wasn't it? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But yeah, the show happened all the way back on November 11th, which if you're a part of the current news cycle, feels like that was ages ago. But we hadn't had a chance to talk about this until now. So I think it just came out, too, because they release their they don't live stream these. So they end up being released, you know, a week after they air or so.
00:37:25
Speaker
Well, one of the matches you definitely recommended to me was David Starr versus what? Ilja Dragunov? Ilja Dragunov, yeah. Ilja. Okay. Yeah, this one was pretty brutal. God, it was good. This was an epic match. I told you that Dragunov looks like an evil Alex Wright to me. You did? God, yeah, he does. He just looks like a psychotic Alex Wright.
00:37:49
Speaker
I think it was creepy, man. I've seen David Starr wrestle a couple times now. So there was somebody on the show that I'd seen live, and this was a good match. If you haven't seen this show, definitely make sure if you watch it to check this one out. What did you think of this match? I love it. I absolutely loved this thing.
00:38:05
Speaker
I had been kind of raving about Ilya Dragunov since Bola. I had not heard of him prior to that. And I have been paying a lot more attention to this guy since then. He is just, he's so fun to watch for me. And I don't even know if I can put my finger on it, but it's just, he seems so unhinged.
00:38:26
Speaker
Yeah, and his eyes are terrifying, by the way. Oh, when I went to talk to him after his match with Walter, he's just fucking welted up, and I go over, and I didn't realize he had red contacts in, so that made it even scarier. And I don't even think I realized that until halfway through the match, when they did a close-up on him, I'm like, good lord. They made him look like a demon. And the match was so good that I didn't even mind that it ended on a fuck finish.
00:38:52
Speaker
Yeah, I was gonna bring that up, but there wasn't a true victor in this match. Yeah, Travis Banks, the Kiwi buzzsaw, he was back from injury. He interrupted and fucked everybody up.
00:39:06
Speaker
The other thing that you told me to check out was Trent Sevens open challenge for the Atlas title. And somebody who has ties, another guy who has ties to WWE came out to accept the challenge. So when I saw Zack Gibson at Progress in New Orleans, he came out, same thing happened. Seems like the gimmick there is he starts talking and the crowd just has to get so loud that you can't hear anything he says.
00:39:34
Speaker
Well, he had a fuck ton of heat with that crowd and it was pretty funny. And this is I think this is what I was referring to when I was talking about guys in progress being able to cut promos that reference WWE. This was definitely that. Oh, I loved when Zack Gibson told Trent seven what he says. Like you're the guy that they book when they can't afford Peter Tyler.
00:40:01
Speaker
Didn't he make some comment about like you got scanned for WWE 2K19 but they didn't use you? Yes, yeah. And then actually my favorite part of that is as he says that Trent just falls straight back like he just got shot.
00:40:18
Speaker
It's funny what I guess sticks and stones break my bones. Oh, yeah, and then they go through what has to be 15 to 20 minutes of promo and For sure and this is injured by definition. What'd you say? I think Trent's injured right now
00:40:33
Speaker
Well, they gave him enough time to do a squash match. And that's what this ended up being. Did he just do a cross body? Did I miss something? No, that's all that happened. Zach Gibson says, ring the bell while taking his jacket off. And he's still mid-taking jacket off bell rings, gets cross-bodied and pinned. I think the match lasted, they said, four seconds. Yeah. Yeah. He retains the Atlas title.
00:41:01
Speaker
But I mean, that was just kind of a quick fun thing. I just thought that you would be surprised that you sat through all of that to get a four second match. Now that works for me. That was a fun segment. Oh, and the crowd popped huge. I mean, there are times that things like that work that absolutely work to that crowd. Speaking of things that work, Walter versus Mark Haskins. Holy shit, man.
00:41:25
Speaker
I didn't know that Mark Haskins career was basically almost over recently. I didn't either. He was a guy that I used to see at PWG. I didn't actively dislike him or anything. He just never really, he was never one of the standout guys to me. And after seeing his last couple matches in progress, cause he had the number one contenders match, was that at Wembley last?
00:41:49
Speaker
That would make sense and then he had this match against Walter and they had that promo before showing That he basically kind of had he got Daniel Bryant Looked like he had like a two-year on the shelf and then found out that he could come back Absolutely, so he tore it down with Walter and we use this all the time, but it's true. God damn when Walter chops you It's like you can see their soul leaving their body every time every time it's
00:42:16
Speaker
It's insane that a big man like that moves the way he does, has the moveset that he does, has just overall more skills than a wrestler of that size maybe ever should have.
00:42:31
Speaker
Absolutely, everything about his look is perfect. And I don't know if there's anything that you could change. He's got a good thing going and even if it's just NXT UK, that's a good grab for WWE because he's gonna. That's the thing, I think they'll eventually offer him enough money and promise to make him a star because he's got the look. I just hope they don't make him in two years sing songs on Raw.
00:42:57
Speaker
Yeah, I just want to see him be a fucking monster. And I'm hoping what they do is kind of what they've done with Pete Dunne, because Walter said he's willing to come over for tapings and things. He just doesn't want to tour the US forever. Right. So if they had him come over, do a weekend of tapings, do a takeover, god, just the people you could match Walter up with right now in NXT,
00:43:23
Speaker
It's so, so many. Like I, you could pretty much put him up against anybody right now and I would want to watch it. That means, you know, at some point, I mean, this has happened on the Indies, but you could get Matt Riddle versus Walter and just watch two monsters chop the shit at each other.
00:43:40
Speaker
Yeah, I really hope that we get to see a lot of fantasy match ups over the next couple years. Again, another good get for them. And the more I see a Walter, the bigger fan I become. My favorite moment of this entire match. Walter does those shotgun drop kicks to the corner. Yes. And there was that one where he ghosted him. Oh, they just look. It's like when Braun Strowman did one for the first time. Yes. It catches you so off guard to see that much body moving through the air.
00:44:08
Speaker
Well did you see the spot where he wrapped him over the top turnbuckle and then stood on his face? Just everything looks like it sucks coming from that guy. But there was that one shotgun dropkick to the corner that Mark Haskins jumped in the air and double stomped Walter's chest while he was in the air. Yep, that got me to pop so hard.
00:44:32
Speaker
this is a brutal match this was a fun show though from what i from what i saw i watched like four of the matches on this show
00:44:39
Speaker
Do you know a bunch of people who have progress wrestling accounts to where they can watch progress? Or is that pretty rare? Honestly, I've only talked to maybe one other person that has it. But to me, this has my highest endorsement right now. I think it's like seven bucks a month and it ends up have, I think you end up kind of getting one show a month out of it. But you also have access to like AAW and some other promotions on there too.
00:45:03
Speaker
Yeah, it seems like they have a good working relationship with some other places that you get to check out some other stuff. And to me, it's very worth it right now. I mean, especially if you're like Derek and falling off of WWE a little bit, just looking for something to scratch an itch while you wait for something a little better to come along, definitely hop into progress. I think you're gonna have a great time.
DDP Yoga Challenge Stakes
00:45:26
Speaker
I would recommend it. There's some good stuff going on over there. And, in a way, it's tied to WWE on some level. So, it's not that far removed.
00:45:44
Speaker
So I'm finding out about this live on the podcast. Yes. Okay. I am offering my, I'm giving myself a challenge. Okay. I'm basically it's, it's going to act as a challenge and also a product review. But if I fail, you get something out of this. So I've decided that as of this very moment, I am going to follow DDP yoga.
00:46:12
Speaker
to a T. I'm gonna follow you're gonna do you're gonna do the diet and everything I'm gonna do fucking everything I'm going at my life like how much fun I have outside of this now is going to be based upon DDP yoga like I'm gonna not be junk anymore and that fucking sucks for me because I'm a huge secret eater I don't know if you you secret eat ever
00:46:36
Speaker
I don't know what that is. Oh, that's where I'll just get a ton of junk food and eat it in my car before I come inside. Because if it happens in the car, it's like it never happened. Yeah, I don't do that. I do that at work. I do that in my car. My pants don't fit as well. I am out of breath all the time. And I need to get better, Derek. You do know that my roommate, Christopher Kelly, who I've lived with for a number of years,
00:47:01
Speaker
Watched him do DDP yoga For oh, I think this is like maybe three or four years ago He committed to doing this and I got to watch his dedication and he was dedicated to it And I don't know if I've seen him do it since we moved into our new apartment But I know for a long time there He was still occasionally pop that out and do some DDP yoga to get his get himself back in shape But the diet was the hardest part of doing the program and that involves basically eating or not eating a lot of stuff
00:47:31
Speaker
There are so many restrictions. You're giving, I mean, I guess giving up milk doesn't bother you so much, but I don't even know if you can do the substitutes. I remember all he could do was drink goat milk. He couldn't have flour, white flour. He couldn't have sugar of any kind. I've done paleo before. When I got to my heaviest, I did paleo and I dropped from 225 to 175 over the span of several months just cutting out sugar.
00:47:56
Speaker
Yeah, that was the hardest shit for me because I fucking love cookies and nothing makes me feel more insane Than just sitting here thinking about them. I Didn't know that you loving cookies was a thing Oh Derek I'm constantly secret eating cookies in my car, but can I tell you okay? So here's the plan I am going to do this exactly the way it's intended to be done for a full year
00:48:23
Speaker
And if I don't succeed and you need to set some kind of goal for me, but you're going to be able to check through the app that I'm doing shit because it's going to DDP is going to hold me accountable on this. But here's my other accountability backup plan. If I am not under whatever weight we said I need to be at by the end of this, whatever wrestler you can find, I will take a chop from.
00:48:49
Speaker
So if you don't do it, I get to pick a wrestler to chop you? Yeah, we need to figure out a way to set this up to where I need to be held accountable for things. And I want to be alive long enough to keep doing this show. And if I keep secret eating in my car and just being unhealthy, that ain't going to happen. So I need to fear something. You do need to fear something, but I'm also going to give you extra incentive.
00:49:16
Speaker
Again, I didn't know anything about this until we started this podcast, so I'm rolling with the punches, and here's what I offer back to you. I'm going to reach out to your wife to monitor your behavior, to make sure that you're not cheating, and you're going to be posting, what, stuff in the DDP Yoga app to prove that you're still doing it? Oh, it keeps track and lets you know if you're fucking up.
00:49:38
Speaker
Like it knows if you've done it because you have to play it through the app. Maybe Craig Mitchell will be who I select to chop you. Maybe I'll get somebody scarier. Maybe I'll actually be willing to reach out to Walter and see if I can arrange something there. Would you be an accessory to murder at that point?
00:49:54
Speaker
I at this point, I wouldn't care because this would be entertaining as fuck and the podcast would have quality entertainment for our listeners and they deserve it. Here's what I offer back to you. If you can do this for a full year and it's going to be hard as shit. I'm going to hate this. I'm going to have to wake up earlier. Probably this sucks. Yeah, it's going to fuck you up and it gets harder as you go along.
00:50:17
Speaker
If you can do this, I will go to a GCW show by myself when they come to Chicago and cheer against Nick Gage. From the front row? From the front row if I can get front row. I will get you front row, baby. Can you say it like Dusty at least? Oh, baby, you're going to get front row. You're going to get a little glass in your eyes.
00:50:43
Speaker
So is that enough incentive for you? So if I succeed in this, you go to GCW by yourself front row and cheer against Nick Gage. I will cheer whoever Nick Gage is fighting, essentially.
00:50:58
Speaker
Whoever loses, somebody wins here. The audience wins because we're gonna get to hear another GCW story from you. And throughout this, by next week, when you check in with me, I'm going to be so fucking mad from not having sugar in me. You don't understand how much I love eating garbage, Derek.
00:51:19
Speaker
Well, when I've gotten into your vehicle anytime you've come up to Chicago, I see a lot of junk laying around in your car. So, I would believe it. I didn't know that... What did you call it? Invisa eating? Secret eating. What the fuck? Secret eating. You don't know how many times I've gone to the grocery store to pick stuff up, secret ate a donut in the car, and then walked in like...
00:51:40
Speaker
Hey, I haven't eaten anything today. My girlfriend accuses me of secret eating all the time. She doesn't use those words, but if I don't see her for a day or two, and she comes over to my place and suddenly I have a box of s'mores pop tart in the cupboard, she thinks that I was obligated to tell her that I purchased that and had some. That's insane. She thinks, she's not mad about it, but she pretends to be mad that I didn't tell her everything that I ate. You know what, you need to start telling me what you eat.
00:52:10
Speaker
Like every week? Well, if you're gonna tell her, you gotta tell me too. This will be a fun segment on the podcast going forward. While Garrett's doing DDP Yoga, every week I get to tell him something really fun that I was able to eat that he couldn't. God damn it. And you know, if any listeners wanna join me in this and not secretly eat in their cars and let Diamond Dallas Page ruin their life for a year, hop in.
00:52:35
Speaker
Are you starting that today or have you set like a date? Are you going to try to do it like after Christmas? Is there something like do you? Because I think it's be fair for you to have a last hurrah before you do this. Derek, it starts right now. You I feel bad for you. I didn't eat garbage today. I went out of my way to not eat garbage today.
00:52:58
Speaker
Do you think you're gonna be able to make it through Thanksgiving? You realize you can't cheat. Or the bet's off. Yeah, I know. No Christmas cookies. Yeah, I know. No pie. Yeah, I know. You're ruining Christmas for me. I'm ruining Christmas. This was your idea. You realize that partway through this, I'm just gonna be blaming you. Yeah. This is your fault. What happens when I embrace it?
00:53:20
Speaker
What happens when you fucking fail and I get to, I get to email somebody. We're gonna make this a thing. If you're listening to this podcast, we're gonna hold Garrett accountable, especially for all the shit he talked about Fauzi and then denying it. We're going to make him pay because I'm gonna let you guys pick who chops him. I'm gonna let you guys reach out and figure out who's gonna be the one that punishes Garrett for going back on his DDP yoga diet. I'm already mad about this, Derek. Yeah, you're gonna pay.
00:53:50
Speaker
It's like that Undertaker's alternate music that he had when he was biker taker. You're gonna pay, you're gonna pay. You broke your DDP yoga commitment. I think that's how the song goes. Well, either way, that's what's going on. That means for the next little while or the next year, every once in a while we'll check in with you and let you know how that's going. Maybe I'll give you some real sexy before and after photos.
00:54:18
Speaker
Yeah, tonight, take your shirt off. Post a picture on our Twitter account. Don't body shame me. I'm not body shaming you. We need proof. We want to see the before and after. Well, can I take the before and give it to him in a year when I'm not sad? I guess. You need to send it to me, though, at least. I need to have that on my phone so I can get creep. Yeah, let that be the background of your phone for a year.
00:54:42
Speaker
Before we wrap this podcast up,
Extreme Matches Discussion
00:54:44
Speaker
there's something we gotta talk about. We had a listener submit a match for us to watch from FMW between Kombat Toyoda and Megumi Kudo. Garrett, did you watch this? I have now watched this match three times because of the series of events that led to this just being a weeks long thing. This is from Rand. Rand submitted this, what would you call this?
00:55:11
Speaker
Well, I mean, we've talked about FMW. It's a death match.
00:55:16
Speaker
It's a- It's something else. I'll put it there. There's a lot of gimmicks in this thing. It's, you know, cause we talked about the Oneida versus, uh, what was it? Oneida versus Terry Funk. So this match was supposed to be, which love the fucking name, Combat Toyota. I wanted to comment, can, how do you not smile while saying Combat Toyota? Yeah, that, you know, that, it shouldn't be the Mae Young classic anymore. It should be the Combat Toyota classic. Cause now it sounds sponsored.
00:55:46
Speaker
No, that's her name. She has a beautiful, like, okay, so she kind of has more, the way the match is set up, it is a David and Goliath kind of situation. Combat Toyota build a little more like Nia Jax, for sure. And she has a beautiful red flat top. And this was going to be her last match, and she wanted to make Oneida proud, who was sitting front row. Well, that didn't end up happening, but the rest of the match,
00:56:15
Speaker
We gotta let them know what kind of match this is. This is a no rope, electrified barbed wire match. Between two women, one of which looks like she could compete in this kind of match, the other looks pretty like a normal wrestler.
00:56:32
Speaker
Yeah, Magumi Kodo. Just a cute little wrestler. Cute wrestler. And, fuck. Pink tights. So there is something with these matches where you go in expecting it just to be all blood and gore, and barbed wire exploding ropes or whatever you want to call it, does make for an interesting story. The story being, I don't want to get thrown into that. Right. And you as the viewer waiting for when are they going to get thrown into that.
00:57:03
Speaker
I don't know how to convey how this match made me feel, but I will say, since I don't speak Japanese, I don't know what the announcers are saying. I do know that when they finally hit this electrified barbed wire, the announcer sounds like he's climaxing right there at ringside and holds one word while yelling,
00:57:29
Speaker
and I wish I could replicate, but I don't know, I don't know, I don't know. I don't know what I heard. I just know that it was a tense moment when it finally happened, and that fucking rope, not rope, but that barbed wire explodes, and the announcer loses his mind, and the crowd's losing their minds. Is Derek losing his mind when that happens? Derek was laughing. Derek was enjoying this. You were laughing at poor Kudo, like with all of her burn marks all over her back?
00:58:18
Speaker
Imagine you spend years training to be a pro wrestler and the whole idea behind it you've mastered the craft of making it look like you're hurting your opponent but you don't and you're really good at it and you're having a great career and you're healthy and then you show up for work one night and the promoter says alright so we replace the ropes with the barbed wire and it's electrified can you work with that?
00:58:22
Speaker
This is what they signed up for, right?
00:58:39
Speaker
and you have to be like, uh, yeah, I guess. Do I get paid more? No, but it's a show. The crowd's gonna love it. You are saying things about this promotion that I don't think are true. I don't think they just sprung it on them day of. It seemed like they had an idea that this was gonna happen. Even if they didn't spring it on them day of, they still had to spring it on them. They still had to come up, even if they gave them two weeks notice.
00:59:05
Speaker
Like, all right, you weren't expecting this, but this is what we had an idea for a match. And Jesus, there were a couple spots where people got dropped straight on top of their head. Yeah, that's what I wanted to bring up. It reminded me of that other match that we watched where that was a big thing, the Masada versus Kawada. Yes. Yeah, that seemed to be the finish of the match was how many times can you just directly dump somebody on top of their head? Well, it's an effective finisher.
00:59:31
Speaker
Yeah, I'm gonna make sure to use that next time I'm in a real fight. Yeah, oh yeah, you just pick somebody up, drop them on their head three or four times, they're done. I might find a wrestler who's willing to do that to you as punishment for breaking your DDP yoga commitment. So if I don't fulfill my DDP yoga commitments, Garrett Calendar, Nick Gage, exploding barbed wire death match. And maybe I'll be cheering for you. You're gonna be in my corner like, I'm so sorry I did this to you.
01:00:02
Speaker
And meanwhile, it'll be like a comedic movie where I'm sitting there like, Nick, he didn't say this. And I'll say all these horrible things that you didn't say about him to get him amped up. Well, eventually, partway through the match, I'm like, Derek, get in here. And Nick Gage is like, what the fuck is this? I'm like, this is lucha house party rules. Garrett versus Nick Gage. Two men enter, one man is for sure going to die.
01:00:27
Speaker
Oh man, fuck. So the question Rand gave us about this, oh, just to wrap it up real quick though, there is a brutal spot at the end of this where Kudo runs to bounce Toyota into these things, but somehow gets caught in kind of a German suplex and they both go into it.
01:00:47
Speaker
Yeah. Everybody explodes. Yeah. Either way, Toyota loses, and then Oneida comes in and just slops a bucket of water all over her face like he's pissed about it. He was disappointed. He had higher hopes for her. Could you believe how many fucking people were in that arena?
01:01:05
Speaker
Could you believe that a man with a bucket of water felt comfortable slinging a bucket of water and in a ring surrounded by electrified metal? So Nita, he's been through it. He knows how it works. He's like, it'll be fine. But Rand wanted to know, he said, is there any female wrestler that you can picture now putting like being them being put into that match? I'm sure there are, but none in like WWE.
01:01:32
Speaker
I don't know. Sumisakai. Sumisakai and Liv Morgan. Oh my god. I don't know. There is a female deathmatch wrestler. Remember our old buddy from GCW, Schlack?
01:01:47
Speaker
Yeah. His lady friend is also a death match wrestler and across her stomach in what appears to be carved out letters, she has a tattoo that says man eater. I think that lady'd be in. What's her name? I follow her on Twitter, but now I'm blanking on her name. Yeah, I was hoping that you could remember, because I don't off the top of my head. I know there's a listener at home yelling at us. And guess what? You guys are idiots. You're not even real pro wrestling fans. We're not, man. There's a lot of people to memorize. It's hard.
01:02:17
Speaker
Life is hard, and we're just two guys talking at the internet, hoping somebody listens. Life is hard, and Garrett, you're about to make your life a lot harder with this diet. Well, hopefully pro wrestling gets me through this. You do know that we're all behind you, right? I bet there's some of them that's hoping I fail. If you want Garrett to fail, reach out to him on Twitter. Hashtag Garrett. He is at Gartet. Garrett.
01:02:44
Speaker
Oh, God. Man, this is exciting. We have a thing to work on over the next year. Oh, but I do want to... So after this match was over, I've been kind of just enjoying FMW lately. I feel like I've been on a little bit of a deathmatch kick.
01:03:01
Speaker
The true wrestling fan in you is coming out. This is what you really like. And there was a match where it was kind of electrified barbed wire, but they were also in the middle of a pool and all the wrestlers had to take rowboats to get to the ring. And when you're thrown in the water, you're eliminated, but there's also an explosion from the water when you hit it. What the fuck is this, battleship? Yes, man. This is battleship brought to pro wrestling.
01:03:28
Speaker
but I did watch another FMW match today that I have to bring up. It was just too weird. It said that it was a shoot fight, like not a pro wrestling match, a shoot fight and a no ropes cage match between Vader and Ken Shamrock. Like them legit fighting each other. Yes, that's what it claimed it was going to be. It still felt a little gimmicked.
01:03:57
Speaker
but there were moments where I'm like, they're not hitting each other as hard as they can. And then there were moments where I'm like, oh fuck, they're hitting each other as hard as they can. And then it goes back to like, there was the moment that I'm like, I don't know about this. Vader tries to put Ken Shamrock in a power bomb and Ken just like falls to the mat. He doesn't take it. And then he's like, well, I guess I should. And takes the power bomb. Can a promoter let a real fight break out like that in the ring? I mean, if you're promoting it as that, that was kind of what FMW was.
01:04:26
Speaker
If you could pick two wrestlers right now to just have a shoot fight, can you think of anyone off the top of your head that is like, I kind of would like to see who goes. Would you pay money to see Brock Lesnar versus Nick Gage?
01:04:41
Speaker
See, that came to mind too, where I'm like, if it were in Nick Nick's rules, he could probably win. Well, yeah, if it's like a street fight, like a shoot street fight. But the fight I would like to see, I think if we could get Matt Riddle versus Brock Lesnar, I would like to see if Matt can do it.
01:05:01
Speaker
Do you wanna see like a clean UFC style fight though? Well, I guess with that, but if I just have to pick two guys who aren't actual shoot fighters, who would... I'm assuming that the two people we're picking are trying to kill each other. Yeah, I mean, I guess if you had a UFC style match where they are fighting, but between Dean Ambrose and Baron Corbin, I don't know, just... Is this the question that you wanna... I gave my answer.
01:05:31
Speaker
Nick Gage and Brock Lesnar? That's what I wanna see. I wanna see a guy who can basically ragdoll anybody in the world, fighting somebody who's not afraid to use a stick as a knife. Did you, oh my God, did you see what, oh my God. They just, Black Label Pro is putting on a show mania weekend and they just announced a match. And I'm, I can't, Derek, they're doing Nick Gage versus Swoggle.
01:06:01
Speaker
Yeah, you want to go see that, don't you? Well, obviously, but isn't it Gage just going to start getting booked in comedy matches that people instantly realize aren't funny?
01:06:16
Speaker
I don't know. Has pro wrestling become self-aware? I don't know. I mean, you heard John talk about what happened at the Janela show last time. That thing with David Arquette was a fucking mess. It was a nightmare. It was terrifying. And everybody in the room that was here for the pay-per-view was screaming. But that's not professional, though. That's kind of what I don't like about it. To me, the whole art of it is that you're not hurting the guy.
01:06:47
Speaker
And when it's just a guy just kind of essentially being a legit bully, there's a point where it's kind of gross because you're legitimately rooting for somebody to get harmed. Yeah, but also don't take a fight against Nick Gage if you don't want that to happen.
01:07:03
Speaker
Because what would his fans think? And I'm guessing in his mind, he had to have been like, I am the champion of this company. This is the type of match I do. Just because I'm against a rich Hollywood actor doesn't mean I'm gonna change the way I do this. I saw Hurricane Helm's online defending. Arquette though, he said the promoter's job is to know the talent he has and what they can do. And he essentially just threw Arquette to the wolves.
01:07:33
Speaker
So are you blaming Janela for this? A little bit. He wasn't even there. He was in New Jersey or whatever.
01:07:43
Speaker
I'm just saying, if I could have a, we can joke about this all you want, that's fine, but if I'm being serious about it, I don't want to see, unless he's fighting you, I don't want to see Nick Gage kill me. Unless he's fucking hurt by Nick Gage. He's like, I fucking love Deputy Dewey, I saw him get cut up in three or four different movies, I don't need this. I don't know, do you think it would have played out the same with Joey Ryan?
01:08:11
Speaker
See, this is what I don't get. Like we've been talking about Nick Gage a lot on this podcast. And is, is it a work is how brutal it is supposed to be part of the appeal. Like, but it's not like everyone's in on it.
01:08:27
Speaker
Or is he just blindsiding people and like really hurting them? Because people give JBL so much shit for what he did to Blue Meanie and how many times he's bullied or picked on or hurt people and they justifiably are angry with him for being an asshole. Why is it cool when Nick Gage does it in the ring? Okay, so Nick Gage and Arquette had dinner with each other before that match.
01:08:50
Speaker
there's a photograph of them at a restaurant together like Chattin. Which leads me to believe they had a conversation about what was going to happen. I don't know, I don't know the answer to this. But David Arquette made that, you know, I think he won over a lot of people that night. Well, one, he rolled out of the match and was gonna leave and then looked back into the ring to see an ex-con staring at him and thought to himself, well, I guess I gotta get back in there. So good on him for that.
01:09:20
Speaker
And then he made an announcement and he apologized to GCW and to Nick Gage and said that he doesn't hold anyone accountable for that but himself for not really knowing what a death match was going into it. But like you said, they had dinner together. I don't know, maybe it was one of those things where he thought he could do it and then once you were there it was just too real. I guess so, yeah.
01:09:46
Speaker
I don't know, I don't want to see any, like to me that's what I'm so iffy with on death matches is that if both guys agree to what they're doing and they know what they're getting into, that's one thing. I don't know if it's necessarily on David Arquette to... I don't know, I mean, yeah, I guess he agreed to do the appearance.
01:10:01
Speaker
But the promoter had to know, this is David Arquette. He's never done this before. He's going to get murdered if he just goes in there and we don't inform him like what's going to happen. So while I was watching that, I was like, OK, here's the exact moment that David Arquette clearly realizes he fucked up.
01:10:18
Speaker
and it's while his arms are tangled up in the ropes and Nick Gage is running a pizza cutter across his face, then untangles his arms, tangles him up on the next side, gives everybody a four corner view so that everybody gets a little shot of Nick Gage carving him up. What do you think Courtney Cox thought when she saw that headline? Fucking good.
01:10:41
Speaker
She's like, this guy takes, she's like, we get divorced, this guy takes half of my money so we can go be a superhero on the weekends, let's let him play. She thinks he got what he deserved. Yeah, he's in there thinking that he's hanging out with the suicide squad. Here he is just getting, getting carved up. I, you know, she had to have watched a video of it and thought, my God. Yeah, I hope she did. I hope it made it across her feed.
ECW Match Reactions
01:11:11
Speaker
Or maybe he called her right after the match was over. David, are you okay? The whole cast of friends actually called him. David Schwimmer was first in line. Oh, God. So we had another match to watch.
01:11:28
Speaker
We've, yeah, which one were you referencing? Because I watched a lot of fucking wrestling over the last couple of weeks. Well, we had another listener submission. Our buddy Chris from the Best There Ever Was podcast left us a review. Thank you, Chris. And he wanted us to watch one of his favorite matches. Chris, Garrett informed me of this match that you submitted to us. And I'll be honest with you, I was only able to watch a little bit of this match because I don't have the WWE Network anymore.
01:11:56
Speaker
I have held firm on my protest of WWE, unlike some people on this podcast who go back on their word. Garrett, you watch this match. Why don't you?
01:12:11
Speaker
Why don't you talk about it since you were able to watch it with your free month of the WWE Network still going on. Okay, so it was from ECW Hardcore TV 170. It was Chris Jericho is the TV champ versus Shane Douglas, Too Cold Scorpio, and Pitbull II. Garrett, how much ECW have you watched in your time?
01:12:37
Speaker
I thought that I had seen a good amount, but I feel like, cause as kids, we didn't really have access to ECW. There was nowhere for us to watch it, right? Yeah. So anything I've seen has been later in life, you know, since the internet. Was it occasionally on TNN? I mean, probably not this early of stuff though, right? Probably not.
01:13:01
Speaker
I mean, this match was fun. It was a TV title match and it was one of those, what kind of match do you call that where you have four people going but only two can be in the ring at a time and you gotta like reach in and try and tag somebody to get in? I don't know if I've ever seen a match like this before, honestly. I've seen this with like tag matches before. Or is it a four corners elimination match, I think is what it's called.
01:13:24
Speaker
Essentially, but only two people are allowed to be in the ring at the same time and in order to get into the match you have to tag yourself in and it's an elimination so Yeah, it's just it's funny that watching the FMW match and this back-to-back the commentary on the FMW match was so subdued other than when they were getting thrown into that like it honest to God could have been It sounded like it could have been a Japanese commentary of like the pianist
01:13:51
Speaker
it was just such a just a calm two people talking like they're describing just some boring shit and then you get Joey Stiles who has to always be at 11 and occasionally he does this oh my god I can't can you do a Joey Stiles oh my god like there's sometimes I'm like okay it was good and there's other times I'm like come on man cool it you even you know you didn't mean that one
01:14:20
Speaker
But also couldn't get over the name Pitbull 2. Didn't know enough about that guy. It just made me think that Mr. Worldwide somewhere like that's goddamn right you're Pitbull 2. He knew in advance. He didn't want to be Pitbull 1 because that that name went to somebody else.
01:14:36
Speaker
I'm guessing it was a group of guys. But yeah, this was a long match, especially because this match was the entire TV taping. Didn't you say this was about 40 minutes? Yeah, the first pin in it ended up being Jericho. Jericho got pinned about 27 minutes in. Was it weird seeing a girl just kind of rip off her clothes in the middle of a wrestling match? Because it'd been a while since you'd seen something like that, right?
01:15:00
Speaker
Well, I mean, I'm used to it. I've... I've seen... I'm familiar with the female body. I wasn't... I wasn't, uh... I wasn't appalled.
01:15:09
Speaker
But no, it is weird now watching wrestling and just she was there to be objectified. I also thought it was funny that so she's coming. She is a friend. Yeah. Francine Pitbull to his manager. She's coming in to interfere. Shane Douglas throws her in. Her head gets caught in the ropes and she smacks her face straight off of it.
01:15:32
Speaker
Already thought that was weird, but then she takes off her pants to show that she's on his side. Probably one of my favorite moments of the match, Pitbull 2, one of his signatures I guess is this super powerbomb, which is essentially a top rope powerbomb.
01:15:53
Speaker
and he would make it super oh it is it is super my friend he gets too cold Scorpio up on his shoulders and just launches him across the ring in a powerbomb it looked fucking devastating and then it ended up that he did the exact same thing to uh Francine that her name yeah yeah he ends up doing that to her through a table so even though he's betrayed by his manager he walks out on top
01:16:21
Speaker
I don't know, I would have liked to have gone to an ECW show. I mean, Progress the crowd makes the show, and was that kind of the case at ECW? But in a- You hear that a lot that the crowds at ECW Arena were fucking hot. But was it, it was kind of a different way. Like, were the Progress crowds there to have fun? The ECW crowd's still there to have fun, but they're there for something much more violent and sexy. Yeah, it was a different time.
01:16:50
Speaker
Do you think you would have been in the front row screaming with those guys? I don't know. Not at that age. I would have been terrified. Like you're up there like when that lady took off her pants, you're just like, whoa, whoa. The WWF was edgy enough for me at that time, I think. You got all the edge you needed. Now you got to reach further. It's not edgy enough. You got to go get your GCWs. Thanks, Paul Heyman.
01:17:16
Speaker
Is that all we got this week? I don't know what else to say about that match, Derek. I wish I had funnier things to say, but it was just, it was a very athletic, good, long match. And that was submitted by our friend Chris from the Curtain Jerks Best There Ever Was podcast, right? Yes, and I appreciate the submission. Like I said, I feel like people have been more on the edge of like sending us weirder shit. And this was just a good, long wrestling match, which I also appreciate and enjoy. There was a moment where I couldn't tell if Chris Jericho botched,
01:17:46
Speaker
or if it was part of the
Wrestling Blunders and Botchomania
01:17:49
Speaker
match. You know when somebody's running and they do like to throw themselves up in the corner to let them go under? He did that, the other guy didn't run at all and he just splat down on the ground and then got picked up and punched in the face.
01:18:03
Speaker
Oh, speaking of botches, my friend. Holy shit. Do you ever keep up with botchomania? A little bit here and there. I don't watch it when Matthew releases a new one. Well, the new one that's up, you get to see one of my favorite botches of the year. So PWG's Bola is now on Blu-ray, and you can watch it, which means all of these clips of Brody and PCO are going around the internet again. And getting to watch PCO, try and do that...
01:18:32
Speaker
do the senton from the top rope to the apron, but get himself tangled up in the ropes and just hang up like laundry. God damn it. I don't think there's been a higher profile match that failed so miserably this year.
01:18:50
Speaker
So you're saying people can go watch that clip now? Yes, you can absolutely seek out that match. Rand actually watched it and I think he sent back like, Jesus Christ. I like both of those guys and I don't want to shit on either of them, but that wasn't good. But it was easily one of the most memorable matches I saw this year and I could never thank them enough for that.
Podcast Community Engagement
01:19:17
Speaker
Garrett, you want to plug our social media and get us out of here? Yeah, let's get out of here. Hey, everybody. Thanks for listening. Hop on the social media. Follow us at Wrestle Hangout on Twitter, at Wrestle Hangout on Facebook, and at Predetermined Podcast on Instagram. I would also love to hear from you.
01:19:32
Speaker
Like we said earlier, if you could, get on iTunes, give us a five-star rating, leave us a nice review. You can submit something for us to watch. As long as it's related to pro wrestling, we'll watch it and we'll talk about it on the podcast. Thanks for listening, guys, and we'll be back next week. And if you want to see Derek break down Hulk Hogan's sex tape, this is your chance. Oh, God. This is not what I signed up for. Hit our goddamn music.