Dave Meltzer and I are back on Wrestling Observer Radio talking all the latest news in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter including his lead story on Vince McMahon, including his thoughts on this morning’s news that Vince McMahon was stepping down as Chairman and CEO and his daughter Stephanie McMahon was replacing him on an interim basis.
We also talk about AEW Dynamite’s low rating and what it means, the Forbidden Door pay-per-view, Dave Hebner’s passing, TripleMania, Sasha Banks, and a story on the Ultimate Warrior from 1997.
I talk about the news itself, the twist that Stephanie McMahon is taking over in the interim, the further twist that Vince will remain on as head of creative, and the further twist that he will be on tonight’s edition of SmackDown.
What do WWE’s partners think? What does Wall Street think so far? What do you think?
I also speculate why one long rumored potential suitor to buy WWE is likely out, but not due to any of this news but their own issues.
Click below to listen to this quick 15-minute episode to get caught up on an already wild Friday in pro wrestling.
On this edition of Mat Men, Andrew Zarian and Rich Stambolian are back after a week off to bring you the latest in pro wrestling news including what might turn out to be the industry’s biggest story in years.
Vince McMahon is being investigated by WWE’s board of directors for allegedly paying hush money to a former employee. What is the latest and what are the possible implications going forward?
Reports are coming out that Sasha Banks has been released by WWE. Although we don’t have any official confirmation, we discuss what’s next for Mercedes Varnado if this is true.
We break down Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite that featured a whole lot of Chris Jericho, haircuts, new alliances, and a heel turn we all saw coming. Also, we have thoughts on the Forbidden Door build as the pay-per-view is starting to take shape.
John LaRocca and I are back with another episode of the Fight Game Podcast.
Before we break down the Road Rager episode of AEW Dynamite from Wednesday, we look at the big Wall Street Journal piece on WWE’s board of directors investigating Vince McMahon.
We also talk about New Japan’s Dominion show, including Jay White beating Kazuchika Okada for the IWGP Championship.
Then, we review AEW Dynamite, focusing on the following:
The silliness of the Wardlow vs. the plaintiffs
The great Dax Harwood vs. Will Ospreay match
The overbooking (and why) of the face-off between Jon Moxley and Hiroshi Tanahashi
Britt Baker playing possum and why that spot doesn’t work like it should anymore
The main event ladder match in which the Young Bucks and Jurassic Express put it on the line
You can now subscribe to The Fight Game Podcast on Apple Podcasts and follow us on Spotify or click below to listen.
This is about as close to a therapy session as you’ll hear on Josh Nason’s Punch-Out.
For the better part of two years, I have found my interest and love for the UFC (and MMA in general) dying out after falling in love with it back in 2005.
I learned last week someone else is having the same issue: MMA and wrestling writer/author Jonathan Snowden who did this fantastic column as he comes to grips with what is happening to his fandom which dates further back than mine does.
We talk about the ESPN era and comparisons to the WWE/NBCUniversal/Fox deals, the loss of transcendent crossover stars like the Lesnars, McGregors and Rouseys, the death of the fun fights, and why the influx of Dagestan/Chechnya/Russian fighters isn’t as fun as when the Brazilians took over years ago.
We then wrap up talking about our shared frustrations about AEW today compared to three years ago and some new project Jonathan is working on including an unauthorized Dusty Rhodes biography.
Click below to listen and join us in our therapy session, followed by an unplanned solo rant about Jeff Hardy, drunk driving and Tony Khan’s Busted Open appearance Wednesday.
2:10: catching up, new projects (Dusty Rhodes book)
14:00: UFC therapy session
46:00 – 1:08: AEW frustrations
1:09 – end: A rant on Jeff Hardy, Jey Uso & Tony Khan’s Busted Open appearance
The following is a free show. Click below to listen.
Mike Sempervive and I are back to talk all the news from a memorable week across the Japanese wrestling landscape on this 75-minute edition of the Big Audio Nightmare.
Topics include:
Satoshi Kojima winning the GHC Title at CyberFight Festival
THE SLAP and its ramifications on DDT, NOAH, Tetsuya Endo, and Katsuhiko Nakajima
Our initial thoughts on this year’s G1 Climax 32 lineup
A review of NJPW Dominion and how Jay White’s title win impacts the AEW Forbidden Door PPV
Hear all this and much more on the original alternate: The Adam and Mike Big Audio Nightmare!
We continue our series of 100 of the darkest moments in pop culture history and this week, I am your father who is very disappointed in you.
No, this week nobody died. No tragedy has befallen a cast member (aside from a few arrests) but I discuss the general state of a show which was very popular — predicated on laughing at the lowest common denominator.
Here Comes Honey Boo Boo is truly one of the darkest moments in pop culture history. How did we come to this?
Dave Meltzer and I are back on Wrestling Observer Radio talking all the latest news in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter including stories on Stephanie McMahon, a possible Vince McMahon autobiography, John Cena’s return to WWE, and NJPW Dominion.
We also talk about Paige’s last day in WWE, UFC 275, AEW Dynamite ratings, and Forbidden Door.
On a new Wrestling Weekly, it’s all about Cody Rhodes with a little AEW Dynamite recap thrown in.
Les Thatcher and I talk about Cody’s incredible match at last Sunday’s Hell in a Cell and his future before getting to a very shaky edition of Dynamite.
The following is a free edition of the show. Scroll down to the bottom of the post to listen.
Mike Sempervive and I are back to talk all the news from another eventful week across the Japanese wrestling landscape on this 90-minute edition of the Big Audio Nightmare.
Topics include:
The build to the AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door pay-per-view on AEW TV
A preview of NJPW’s Dominion show coming this Sunday
The final word on this year’s Best of the Super Juniors Tournament
Discussion of BUSHIROAD’s blockbuster announcement of a joint NJPW x STARDOM supershow in November
A preview of this weekend’s CyberFight Festival supershow featuring Pro Wrestling NOAH, DDT, TJPW, and more.
Hear all this and much more on the original alternate: The Adam and Mike Big Audio Nightmare!
Andrew Zarian is back to follow up on the Stephanie McMahon story.
We wonder why Stephanie is being talked about negatively after taking a leave of absence from WWE and how it could be a changing of the guard at the company.
We talk about Cody Rhodes’ injury and what WWE will do now to create a top babyface.
Lastly, we look at the World title picture at AEW after CM Punk’s injury and go over the scenario scheduled for AEW Dynamite and NJPW Dominion.
Enjoy the latest We’re Live, Pal, in podcast form below or on YouTube above.
We kick off with the buzzworthy Hell in a Cell match from Sunday that saw Cody Rhodes wrestle with a torn pectoral muscle. Should he have or should we not worry about this stuff?
From there, I air my confusions and frustrations with the botched announcement and situation from last Friday’s AEW Rampage that saw CM Punk announce he was injured but without much clarity, Chris Jericho say he relinquished the title when he didn’t (twice!) and Excalibur later speed read through what actually was happening while a match was going on — all while Twitter was completely confused as to what was happening.
Then, we arrive at our main event topic: the AEW World title run of Hangman Page. What worked? What didn’t? Did it accomplish its goals and what happens with Page now?
We discuss CM Punk’s injury this past week and what it means for the AEW World title picture going forward. We now know how they will determine an interim champion and we give our thoughts.
Besides Punk’s injury, there were several other injuries this week including AEW’s Scorpio Sky and Bryan Danielson and on the WWE side, Cody Rhodes tore his pectoral muscle while weightlifting.
With Hell in a Cell tonight, we run down the card and talk about how little interest there seems to be for this premium live event.
We also talk Friday’s Rampage, NXT In Your House, MJF’s promo Wednesday and plenty more.
Where were you when JFK was assassinated or when Elvis died or when a man landed on the moon?
How about when the OJ Simpson verdict came down?
The NFL football star and actor was accused of murdering two people, including his ex-wife. This case has been discussed a million times (or more), but here as part of our 100 darkest moments in pop culture history, we look at how the OJ Simpson case impacted pop culture.
