Tag: JNPO

JNPO: MLW’s Rich Palladino on 31 years of ring announcing, road stories & ECW memories

Posted on by Josh Nason

On a brand-new Josh Nason’s Punch-Out, I am joined by first-time guest Rich Palladino, a 31-year veteran of ring announcing in the Northeast United States in addition to MLW.

Ring announcers are such a key part of the live show experience and are often overlooked which is why I wanted to have an extended talk with Rich on why he does what he does and why he’s done it for so long.

Some of the topics:

  • The unusual way in which he got his first opportunity in the business
  • How he got hooked up with MLW and how it’s taking him to places he has never been before
  • Working for Paul Heyman as part of ECW’s New England events
  • His connections to the many wrestlers seen on national TV every single week
  • What it’s like to work a WrestleMania weekend string of shows
  • His method going into events and memorization vs. reading cards
  • How The Sandman and Bobby Cruise helped change his career

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JNPO: AEW All In game day preview, early All Out card predictions

Posted on by Josh Nason

With less than hours to go before the kickoff of AEW All In from London’s Wembley Stadium, allow me to present a Josh Nason’s Punch-Out special audio version of my preview & prediction column from Sports Illustrated this past week with some additional thoughts.

I talk about how despite what the haters (Hayters?) will say, Sunday is a massive accomplishment for both AEW and the wrestling business. I go into why there is so much hand-wringing about the show which is actually pretty simple: the fact All Out is seven days away.

I give full predictions on today’s show and how I think it will play into All Out, including some early thoughts on next Sunday’s card.

I also give some thoughts on the passing of Terry Funk and Bray Wyatt and how both men made their way into my wrestling viewing life.

It’s one of the biggest days in pro wrestling history and I’m here for it.

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JNPO: AEW Q1 investors call with Wrestlenomics’ Brandon Thurston

Posted on by Josh Nason

Roughly a month after every financial quarter ends, WWE (like other publicly traded companies) holds a quarterly call for investors and analysts where they announce how they did financially. The call, and the reports issued prior, include key performance indicators and plenty of detailed information on attendance, merchandise sales, and other interesting factoids if you want to really dive in.

Analysts ask questions, high-ranking executives answer, and investors & the stock market do their thing like they always do.

After listening into one of these calls last year, I jotted down a note that read ‘AEW investors call.’ I had the idea that as viewers and media, we spend a lot of time investing thoughts and words about wrestling’s top challenger brand to WWE so why not do something similar with the information we have available to us?

That’s why I tabbed Brandon Thurston of Wrestlenomics to be my co-host for this endeavor. This is the launch of what I hope will be quarterly conversations where we look at everything business-wise from the last quarter and where things might be going: ratings, attendance, KPI, new deals and everything in-between.

If you would like the KPI document Brandon put together, subscribe to Wrestlenomics for just $5/month to get access to that and a ton of other great stuff.

Let us welcome you to our first-ever AEW investors call covering Q1 of 2023.

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JNPO: The violent & peaceful world of GCW’s Cole Radrick

Posted on by Josh Nason

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Just over a year ago, I saw this clip circulating around social media and was fascinated not only by the gruesome visuals but that they were inflicted on someone I wouldn’t have expected. 

That someone is Cole Radrick, a 25-year-old who has made GCW his primary home for the last few years and has been seemingly on a non-stop tour of wrestling throughout the world with 1000+ matches under his belt.

But he’s not just a deathmatch wrestler which is just one of the things we talked about in our near hour-long conversation on this week’s Josh Nason’s Punch-Out.

Some of the other topics:

  • Finding a home in GCW
  • Making a name as a traditional wrestler against the likes of Mike Bailey, Konosuke Takeshita, Alex Shelley and others
  • Dealing with negative feedback online
  • His friendship with Shigehiro Irie
  • Whether he has to psych himself up differently for a deathmatch vs. a regular match 
  • Learning the ropes as a promoter
  • Reflections on his world travel given his humble upbringing
  • His love of MMA and, yes, sumo wrestling

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JNPO: The Lapsed Fan goes Hollywood

Posted on by Josh Nason

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Let’s face it: The Lapsed Fan going Hollywood was inevitable, given their propensity for limos, plastic surgery, and jet setting among the elite.

On this week’s Josh Nason’s Punch-Out, I go deep with Jack Encarnacao and JP Sarro into their maiden voyage out west for a special post-WrestleMania live event in Los Angeles — their first-ever full-on live show.

Why now? What’s in it for them? Will there be a salad bar? All that and more is discussed on this episode in a way that will excite you and perhaps titillate you if the TLP guys have their way.

We talk about the show, whether it’s a template for future events, the lamenting that will take place after WrestleMania and why, and plenty more. 

Plus, there’s imitations. I can’t tell you who, but you will be familiar, brother.

We also talk about TNA Law, why JP made it come to life, and how it connects with the current run of TLP podcasts.

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JNPO: WardLOW, QT Marshall Twitter war, fallout show rules

Posted on by Josh Nason

After a two-month break, Josh Nason’s Punch-Out has returned following last week’s head-scratching edition of AEW Dynamite.

Joining me is past guest Jesse Collings of Wrestlenomics and Voices of Wrestling.

The main focus is Wardlow, who lost the TNT title on Dynamite just days after regaining it at Revolution. After last year’s Double or Nothing win over MJF, I felt like he was tabbed for stardom in AEW. Then, we got what we got. We discuss the timeline with some differing opinions on where things went wrong or if they were even destined to go right to begin with.

Jesse actually wrote a column on this very topic.

We then delve into the bizarre Twitter war between AEW vice president & wrestler QT Marshall and Wrestling Inc.’s Raj Giri, and whether it’s a bad look for a company VP to be conducting himself in such a manner on a public forum.

We also talk about my personal rules/desires for PPV fallout shows, whether ROH HonorClub numbers are disappointing, taking WWE for granted for their levels of production, and more.

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JNPO: Pro wrestling year in review – The grand finale

Posted on by Josh Nason

I regret to inform you that the Josh Nason’s Punch-Out journey through the year that was in pro wrestling has arrived at its final stop.

And while the topics covered this week did just happen less than 40 days ago, there’s still a lot to sift through from the final 31 days of 2022 — 90 minutes worth.

Joining me for this look at December is Davie Portman of POST Wrestling and co-host of the Poisonrana podcast (the former upNXT) with Braden Herrington.

The headline doesn’t just indicate the grand finale of this year’s series, but for that of William Regal in AEW and Mandy Rose in NXT. We discuss the much different situations about their departures and what led to them.

We discuss the beginning of the Vince McMahon power play to return to WWE as that news emerged in December as did legal demands from two women wanting financial restitution for McMahon allegedly assaulting them.

The rumblings of Sasha Banks heading to NJPW began as we approached some closure (we think?) from she and Naomi walking out of WWE in April.

We talk the great action from ROH Final Battle and the womp womp announcement about their upcoming (?) TV product that followed.

Plus, the best of the rest from WWE, AEW, Japan, Impact, the indies, and more.

If you have missed any of this or the MMA year in review series, check out the archives. You can also subscribe to our free show RSS feed and get them in your podcast app of choice.

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JNPO: MMA year in review – The Nate Diaz UFC circus comes to a fitting end

Posted on by Josh Nason

The MMA year in review series on Josh Nason’s Punch-Out continues with a stop in July, August and September — a raucous three months that saw big title changes and a crazy lead-up to UFC 279.

Joining me as always is Wrestling Observer ratings writer and Fight Game Media podcaster Paul Fontaine.

The big story of this three months was the bizarre situation around UFC 279 which originally was set to have Nate Diaz vs. Khamzat Chimaev in the main event. That was, until Chimaev missed weight and there was a day-long effort to shuffle three fights around that actually made for a better show.

We also talk about one of the feel-good stories of the year when Leon Edwards knocked Kamaru Usman out cold with a head kick at the last minute to both win the welterweight title and end Usman’s epic winning streak.

Over 1200 headlines were scanned for this show, so we hit up plenty of other stories as well.

If you have missed any of this or the pro wrestling year in review series, check out the archives. You can also subscribe to our free show RSS feed and get them in your podcast app of choice.

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JNPO: Pro wrestling year in review – Logan Paul shows out at WWE Crown Jewel

Posted on by Josh Nason

The heralded JNPO pro wrestling year in review series continues with a stop in November 2022.

While our time here is almost done, there’s still more fun to be had as Rich Kraetsch of Voices of Wrestling makes his return to talk over this recently completed 31-day stretch.

On the topic board:

  • WWE held two big events with Crown Jewel and Survivor Series. One featured Logan Paul putting on a great performance against WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns while the other saw the main roster debut of the WarGames match.
  • MJF highlighted AEW’s month as he won their World title at Full Gear which also saw the return of The Elite, the “interim” being awkwardly dropped from the Women’s title, and Saraya’s return.
  • Speaking of awkward, we talk about The Elite mocking CM Punk in their return to Chicago.
  • GCW announced their move to FITE+ while the NWA said Nick Aldis wasn’t welcome there anymore after he made some inflammatory comments.

Plus, the best of the rest of WWE, AEW, Impact, Japan, the indies and everything else.

If you have missed any of this or the MMA year in review series, check out the archives. You can also subscribe to our free show RSS feed and get them in your podcast app of choice.

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JNPO: Pro wrestling year in review – WWE’s White Rabbit is revealed

Posted on by Josh Nason

The famed pro wrestling year in review series on Josh Nason’s Punch-Out arrives in October 2022.

Acting as my co-pilot for this look at the 31 days that were is the great Trevor Dame of ThROH The Years and Wrestling Inc.

Here’s a few of things we discuss in this 90-minute long episode:

  • The end of the road for the White Rabbit mystery as Bray Wyatt officially returned to WWE at Extreme Rules. But then what?
  • More AEW drama as a war of words between Sammy Guevara and Andrade El Idolo spilled over from Twitter to the real world as they fought prior to Dynamite.
  • The continued fallout from AEW All Out
  • The passing of wrestling legend Antonio Inoki at 79 years old.
  • The saga of the DX reunion and Billy Gunn’s non-appearance
  • Plus the rest of the month in WWE, AEW, Japan, Impact, and everything else.

If you have missed any of this or the MMA year in review series, check out the archives. All shows are free.

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JNPO: Pro wrestling year in review – The fallout from AEW All Out

Posted on by Josh Nason

While the Vince McMahon WWE story was the biggest of 2022, coming in a close second has to be the situation involving CM Punk, the Young Bucks, Kenny Omega, Ace Steel, and the Brawl Out after AEW All Out.

We talk about that and more in the latest entry in my 2022 pro wrestling year in review series, specifically looking at the month of September. Joining me is first time guest Colin McGuire, a columnist and writer for ProWrestling.net.

Colin and I discuss the event itself and all of the fallout which was shrouded in mystery and shoulder shrugs as no one knew what was going on, perpetuated by a questionable narrative of legal reasons that prevented anything from being said.

We also talk about the highly-successful WWE Clash at the Castle and, perhaps, a missed moment for the company as it relates to Drew McIntyre. We also talk the debut of the much-ballyhooed White Rabbit social media campaign.

We chat about the second annual AEW Grand Slam Dynamite & Rampage, more WWE returns, the constant drumbeat in NJPW, Impact, the indies, and everything in between.

If you have missed any of this 12-part series, catch up here.

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JNPO: MMA year in review – The scale knocks a UFC champion out

Posted on by Josh Nason

The second installment in the annual Josh Nason’s Punch-Out MMA year in review series has arrived with a look at April, May and June 2022.

Joining me as always is F4Wonline writer & Fight Game Media podcaster Paul Fontaine. I scanned nearly 1500 headlines to find the top news stories, fight results, rumors and such to find the best of the bunch.

Leading the pack is the controversy around May’s UFC 274 which saw the first-ever UFC champion lose their title on the scale as lightweight kingpin Charles Oliveira missed by half a pound. We discuss what happened, the fallout, and what happened in the fight itself.

That show also featured one of the most boring UFC title fights in UFC history followed by one of the most exciting in company history just a month later.

We also talk about some Bellator headlines, including AJ McKee losing the featherweight title to rival Patricio Pitbull in their rematch.

Hear all that and more on this hour-long episode looking back at the second quarter of MMA in 2022.

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JNPO: Pro wrestling year in review – A very unusual month for AEW

Posted on by Josh Nason

The Josh Nason’s Punch-Out 2022 pro wrestling year in review series says farewell to summer with a final look back at August.

Joining me on the beach is first-time guest Kate Elizabeth of Fightful.

It’s a heavy AEW month with the build to All Out which saw the return of CM Punk to confront Jon Moxley leading to a title unification match first on Dynamite instead of at the pay-per-view.

And then, the result and shortness of that first match had fans wondering what the deal was. We discuss all that, plus the return of Kenny Omega after a long absence due to multiple surgeries.

Kate and I also talk about all the internal issues for AEW in August which included WWE contract tampering, talents growing tired of issues backstage, and an all-hands talent meeting.

It was a quiet month for WWE as the Paul Levesque creative era began to take effect with multiple returns including Johnny Gargano, Hit Row, Karrion Kross and others.

Plus, the best of Impact, Japanese wrestling, the indies and more.

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JNPO: Pro wrestling year in review – Vince McMahon resigns from WWE

Posted on by Josh Nason

One of the most interesting year in pro wrestling news history peaked in July 2022 with Vince McMahon announcing his retirement/resignation from WWE.

We talk about that and more in the latest installment in the pro wrestling year in review series on Josh Nason’s Punch-Out.

Joining me is past guest and wrestling podcaster Jon Alba.

Jon and I talk about the McMahon announcement and the fallout (coincidental considering this week’s news) including a newsworthy WWE SummerSlam that saw returns…and a forklift.

While it was a quiet month for AEW, the path to September’s All Out began to cleared which included the announcement of the new Trios titles.

ROH held their second pay-per-view under the Tony Khan regime with the well-regarded Death Before Dishonor, headlined by FTR vs. The Briscoes in a two-of-three falls match.

We also talk about the Ric Flair’s Last Match pay-per-view and the uncomfortableness of watching Flair compete — hopefully for the last time.

Jon and I also talk all the news from Japan/NJPW, Impact Wrestling and the indies.

If this is your first time here, check out the rest of the series!

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JNPO: MMA Year in Review – The Francis Ngannou/UFC feud continues

Posted on by Josh Nason

On a new Josh Nason’s Punch-Out, I take a break from the award-winning pro wrestling year in review series to return to the granddaddy of them all: the MMA year in review series.

In the first of four parts, the returning Paul Fontaine (also a granddaddy) of this website and Fight Game Media joins me to recap the first three months of 2022.

Headlining the January through March news was the growing dissension between the UFC and its heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou. Ngannou began the year by unifying the title with a win over interim champion Cyril Gane and then had surgery on his knee, all the while being very vocal about his contract situation and wanting to do boxing.

It continued with the Colby Covington vs. Jorge Masvidal feud — both in the Octagon with a lackluster February fight and out of the cage with Masvidal punching his rival outside a Miami restaurant that resulted in charges being filed.

Paul and I also talk about Israel Adesanya’s middleweight title defense over Robert Whittaker, the Joe Rogan controversy that saw him out of UFC 271, and plenty more.

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