Month: April 2020

Conrad Thompson, who is now best known as a promoter of the Starrcast fan convention, was basically an outsider to the wrestling world before becoming one of its most prolific content creators. Thompson now presents shows hosted by the biggest names in pro-wrestling including “Something to Wrestle” with Bruce Prichard, “83 Weeks” with Eric Bischoff, “What Happened When” with Tony Schiavone, “Grilling JR” with Jim Ross, and “The Arn Show” with Arn Anderson. Thompson’s curatorial skills are reflected in the quality of each show he produces.

Current AEW Champion Chris Jericho will likely be remembered as one of the greatest wrestlers of all time, and his podcast provides a unique look at his sometimes surprisingly open-minded personal worldview. Groundbreaking episodes featuring Jon Moxley and Nyla Rose exposed audiences to unseen sides of the business, with Jericho himself purposefully playing the innocent interlocutor while also dropping in bits of old school wrestling wisdom here and there. Sometimes Jericho’s naivete gets the best of him — like when he somewhat inexplicably had Donald Trump Junior on as a guest — but we can forgive him his transgressions if he keeps providing us with more kindhearted content.

Brian Bell’s “LGBT In The Ring” wrestling episodes on Outsports’ podcast channel feature interviews with openly queer pro-wrestlers and provide in-depth analysis of events featuring predominantly queer talent. Bell’s passion for diversity and inclusion is apparent in each episode, as is his attention to narratological detail in each match he reviews. It’s clear that Bell’s goal is to carve out a path for LGBT athletes to be taken more seriously and booked better — as they deserve to be.

Former Deadspin writer David Bixenspan and wrestling critic Kris Zellner have an encyclopedic knowledge of wrestling history — and their weekly Monday show rightly claims to be the “deepest dive into wrestling history that you can find.” It’s rare to see this kind of meticulous meta-analysis of any media — Bixenspan and Zellner are taking a look at coverage of wrestling as much as they’re watching the wrestling itself — and their thoroughness and fact-checking is almost unprecedented in a world defined by kayfabe.

Helmed by comedian Danielle Radford and writer Lindsey Kelk (and with a cast of regular contributors that includes nerdcore rapper Mike Eagle), the delightful pop feminism of “Tights and Fights” balances insightful social critique and lighthearted humor. The gang covers indie wrestling and TV wrestling in equal measure and regularly features guests from all corners of the industry. Their enthusiasm is certainly infectious.

What started as a collaboration between sharp-tongued social critics Rachel Millman and Kath Barbadero has since expanded into a collective effort featuring some of New York’s best underground comedians doing deep dives on specific athletes or moments in pro-wrestling history. The show started as a way to explain the appealing aesthetics of pro-wrestling to unfamiliar outsiders but has more lately evolved into thoughtful — and always funny — explorations of pro-wrestling Obscura.

Rob Pasbani of Metal Injection is one of the key documentarians of rock music on the Internet, and his Squared Circle Pit side project approaches wrestling the same anti-authoritarian ethos — and with smart winks toward queer culture here and there, too. Pasbani has a chill and breezy interview style and is pretty good at getting the gossip out of top-level stars without having to twist their legs. He also always is sure to ask about music tastes, a fun hole to go down despite so many wrestlers’ penchant for butt rock.

The jolliest trio in all of wrestling is also pretty great at podcasting. The power of positivity may have started as a heel gimmick, but it has since transformed into a real-life motto, as Kofi Kingston, Big E, and Xavier Woods cheerfully meander through a plethora of pop-culture topics including their own triumphant careers. All three members of the group are also not-so-secret video game nerds, so there’s plenty of obscure references to get the otaku popping.

Stella Cheeks and Erin Cline are presenting wrestling content from a distinctly feminist position, specifically flaunting how they’re not often catered to by mainstream wrestling products. Episodes feature smart (but not humorless) criticisms of WWE and AEW alongside some occasionally raunchy fanfiction and fantasy booking. The conversation sometimes veers towards the literary, which is a welcome changeup from the podcasts more lowbrow pleasures.

Now better known as AEW’s Butcher and Blade, Andy Williams (who also happens to be a member of the legendary punk band Every Time I Die) and Jesse Guilmette amble their way through hyper-masculine topics including horror movies, 80s action tropes, MMA, and of course pro-wrestling. But despite their proclivity for machismo, there’s a lighthearted sweetness to their dialogue — even when they occasionally veer into more libidinous territory in their “Tug Time” segment.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the Attitude Era. Kefin Mahon, Adam Bibilo and Billy Keable traverse through some of the sleaziest and most lascivious bits of WWF’s torrid history in their systematic appraisal of events from between the late 90’s and early ’00s. There’s obviously a huge nostalgia factor at play here — this was when wrestling was at the height of its cultural ubiquity, at least for a certain generation. Have our rose-tinted glasses caused us to forget how rotten that epoch truly was — or does it actually hold up?

Nick Stapp (FKA CPA), Mark Sterling, and Troy Nelson are three indie wrestling personalities in the Northeast who also happen to share a passion for craft beer. Each week, the trio pairs a new brew with a wrestling match and then explain the aesthetic reasoning behind their selection. It’s the delightfully lowbrow equivalent of pairing wine with gourmet cooking. They “break down the hops and pops” every Thursday.

The Zombie Princess Jimmy Jacobs, a former WWE writer, and an esteemed wrestler in his own right gets philosophical with weekly guests from the indie scenes and TV wrestling circuits. There is, of course, chatter about wrestling — but topics tend to range from big meaning-of-life questions to favorite fast foods. Jacobs is pretty good at leading conversations into unexpected territories, meaning you’ll get plenty of unexpected fun facts from the biggest stars and up-and-comers in the business.

It’s not really enough to describe Dave Meltzer as the world’s most respected wrestling critic — in fact, there isn’t really a parallel to Meltzer’s criticism in any other sport or artistic medium. His wrestling reviews and critiques have become the industry standard by which all wrestling is judged, despite his increasingly out-of-touch worldview. After a lifetime of investigative reporting and insider analysis (long before kayfabe was considered dead and buried), his bizarrely accurate memory of wrestling minutiae is now completely unparalleled. Along with his younger yet even more curmudgeonly co-host, Bryan Alvarez, Metlzer reports the news, behind-the-scenes gossip, and offers his well-informed opinions.

All Elite Wrestling is still finding its footing, but one thing they’ve been expertly pursuing since before they even became an officially recognized brand was creating semi-kayfabe content and storylines. This pursuit started with the Being The Elite YouTube show and has since extended into their recently-launched podcast, “All Elite: Unrestricted.” In it, universally adored referee Aubrey Edwards and commentator Tony Schiavone interview AEW’s rising stars, executives, and athletes with a sincere frankness and openness that would have been unimaginable a decade ago. To the surprise of no one who actually watches AEW, the breakout star is the aforementioned Aubrey Edwards, who is perhaps the most charming person currently working in all of wrestling.

Radio personality Dave LaGreca has amassed an impressive cast of rotating co-hosts including WCW legend Tommy Dreamer and Hall of Famers Bully Ray and Mark Henry for the “Busted Open” podcast. Currently running on Sirius XM, the gang discusses not only WWE but also the goings-on of New Japan Pro Wrestling, Ring of Honor, and more. Although the viewpoint is distinctly from an older generation, it’s nice to hear experienced vets offering mostly unbiased opinions from a technical perspective.

Colt Cabana has been the voice of independent wrestling for years, forging his own path without any official company alignments and making endless friends around the world on his journey. In his sometimes personal, sometimes silly podcast he features brief daily interviews with whoever he runs across during his travels. The warm-hearted banter is always affectionate and gives great insight into the behind-the-scenes of the business while also elaborating on the artistic merits of wrestling as a storytelling medium.

One of wrestling’s enduring cultural icons, Stone Cold Steve Austin remains as charismatic as ever on his radio program, with multiple episodes dropping each week. Austin brings veteran experience and genuine enthusiasm for the new generation to each interview — he’s shockingly open-minded about newer trends in the business and emerging stars with gimmicks that wouldn’t have flown when he was the scene’s biggest star. It’s fun to listen as younger talents gush over his influential career, a favor he often returns by effusively praising the ingenuity of the up-and-coming legendary children.

David Starr hasn’t exactly endeared himself to many people in the business by sticking firmly to his leftist political stances but his public and passionate analysis of labor rights in the wrestling industry have also made him an important figure on the scene. As part of his We The Independent collective bargaining project, this podcast features interviews with the independent scene’s biggest stars about a variety of progressive topics including diversity, health care, and fair compensation. Wrestler Sugar Dunkerton is also regularly featured as an interviewer, lightening the mood but staying on-topic.

Radio shows hosted by fans tend to devolve into complaint-heavy rants, but Marty DeRosa and Sarah Shockey — a comedic duo and real-life couple from Chicago — keep their buddies abreast of each week in wrestling news without the dour cynicism one often expects from podcasters. Joined by a rotating cast of eccentric imaginary friends and their two noisy cats, Marty and Sarah are both acerbically witty and eternally joyful — a rare beacon of positivity in a subculture that veers too quickly towards pessimism.