Missed u, Jakob Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein

Alright, let's finish up this year's Sorting Bins with the top two categories. This bin is called "General Affinity." These are the folks that I enjoyed and continue to enjoy to the point where I like their presence on camera and want to see them generally do well. This is the biggest category because I'm generally an easy-going dude who wants to like this thing everyone calls professional wrestling.

Jakob Hammermeier - I'll admit that I wondered aloud on Twitter a few times during the pre-King of Trios year where, oh where Herr Hammermeier went. Who knew he was hiding under a cubic mask the whole time. In kayfabe, I am staunchly anti-Flood and will always cheer for Chikara over the invading group, but if I was there on night one to see Hammermeier unmask, I might have lost my mind like it was Eddie Kingston rejecting the group and saving Chikara once again on night three.

Nikki Bella - It's astounding how much of a difference between two twins in wrestling can be present. The Usos are pretty similar in talent. Neither Jackson can be considered vastly superior in the Young Bucks. But Nikki Bella's advancement came so much further in 2014 that I can't help but admire how good she got in the ring and on promos.

Alpha Female - I actually got to see her wrestle for the first time on American soil at a secret show, and she was not only super scary and totally a spectacle to watch in the ring, but she broke a piece of DJ Hyde's wall, which is always good in my book.

Dubstep Cowboys (Buddy Murphy and Wesley Blake) - I feel bad for the in-limbo tag teams of NXT (not quite jobbers, but not quite contenders), so I give them team names so that at least I can show their importance to the show, even if it's only in my personal headcanon. Tye Dillinger and Jason Jordan, for example, are the Tye Fighters, which is a one-sided nickname to be honest, but hey, if I can work Star Wars into my wrestling, I'm going to do it. Anyway, the Dubstep Cowboys (named for their theme song and because Blake is a cowboy) actually show more than a flash of competence whenever they're sent in to make The Ascension or whoever look good. Once the Ascension and the Lucha Dragons get promoted, I hope these guys get a further look.

Ryback - I know it's cool to hate on The Big Guy, especially in light of CM Punk's accusations that he worked stiff on purpose and tried to injure him. the puerile Twitter response didn't help either, but then again, when has Ryback ever been known to use Twitter sincerely? My take is that it's an issue between those two guys, and honestly, Ryback still entertains me a lot.

Mike Bennett - The 180 I've done on Bennett has been astounding. Sometimes, he rubs me the wrong way with his tweets, but the guy gets it in the ring and is almost always a good, dastardly presence on any card he's on, especially away from Ring of Honor.

Matt Tremont - No, I don't just dig Tremont because he worked at the same Dollar Tree that I did back in Northeast Philadelphia. He actually seems like he's having fun out there, even though that fun includes doing crazy hardcore shit that I'm not sure any sane person would want to do. However, he's branching out as well, thanks to Beyond Wrestling, and I'm super happy for him.

Crazy Mary Dobson - I've probably seen her more on WWE programming as a Rosebud or as Miz's stylist more than on the indies this year, but take this as a reminder that the wrestlers that are pointed out to you in these throwaway roles many times can bring you more enjoyment than your average three-hour slog on Monday night in their natural habitats. Dobson is a key example of this.

Rusev and Lana - It took awhile for this act to grow on me when they were formally introduced, mainly because I don't like Vladimir Putin and didn't want him blotting my entertainment, even if he was used as a means for cheap heat. However, Rusev has slowly developed into one of the elite workers on the WWE main roster, and Lana has evolved her promo game with time. I hope that when the eventual John Cena showdown happens that Rusev isn't left mangled like he was put through a grain thresher.

EYFBO - On an independent tag team scene that is bonkers to begin with, these guys had to compete against a stiff curve, especially in Beyond Wrestling where the Young Bucks and Hooligans regularly compete. However, Mike Draztik and the Funky Monkey stand out and look to enhance the tag scene, not just blend in.

Alberto del Rio - I got bored by him in WWE towards the end of his run, but honestly, that was clearly a function of WWE not knowing what the company had in him more than anything. He had no variety of opponents in any given month, like, I'm talking Dolph Ziggler vs. Kofi Kingston levels of repetition. I'm glad he's going to ROH and the indie scene at large. Maybe those companies will get something out of him.

Timothy Thatcher - He blew up in 2014, thanks to Gabe Sapolsky giving him a shot even after the initial resistance to his East Coast appearances. The dude can totally go on the mat. Hopefully, he can help usher in an era where mat exchanges and grappling mean something so that the dangerous bumps can be reined in.

Charlotte - She must have taken a Mario mushroom for talent overnight, because she went from clunky, awkward tagalong to this finished piece of clay that could very well anchor the NXT women's division until she inevitably gets called up. She could also totally play Calhoun in a live-action version of Wreck-It Ralph.

Danny Cannon - Oh man, when I saw him tear it up on those Beyond secret shows, I got shivers up my spine. This kid was still raw, but he brought so much energy into the ring. Like, he climbed up onto a wall molding to do a leaping high spot. If a guy can make a dive spot seem fresh and cool on an indie scene where nearly every dive seemingly has been done to death, he's special. Sucks that he seems to have retired before his career even got started, but hopefully, the wrestling bug will bite him again.

Batista - Yeah, I was one of the jabronis pissed off online and empathizing with the Rumble crowd that just saw him win, but that was more the fault of booking than anything. I wanted to see Batista come back, and I would venture to bet that most of the people pissed off at him winning the Rumble over a Daniel Bryan who wasn't even in the match were too. But the Batista everyone seemingly grew to love was the spotlight-hogging douchebag who wasn't afraid to ham it up in the face of John Cena's corny-ass Boy Scout routine. He quickly re-embraced that role after the win, and his comeback became a moderate success, even if again, it was too short. Then again, he's part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Drax the Destroyer now (a role he was born to play), so it's not like he's too far away...

And the Rest... Adam Cole, Adam Page, Adam Pearce, Adam Thornstowe, Adrian Neville, Alex Shelley, Alexa Bliss, Alicia Fox, Amber O'Neal, American Eagle, Andrew Everett, Angelus Layne, Angie Skye, Anthony Nese, Anthony Stone, AR Fox, Arik Cannon, Arik Royal, The Ascension, Bad Influence, Bad News Barrett, Barbi Hayden, Baron Corbin, the Batiri, B-Boy, Becky Lynch, Biff Busick, Big Show, Blind Rage, The Bloc Party, Bobby Roode, Bolt Brady, Brad Maddox, Bravado Bros., The Bro Manz, Bret Hart, Brian Cage, Brian Kendrick, Brodus Clay, Brooke Tessmacher, Byron Saxton, Caprice Coleman, Carmella, Cheerleader Melissa, Cherry Bomb, Cherry Ramone, Chris Dickinson, Chris Hero, Chris Masters, Chris Sabin, Christian, Christina von Eerie, Chuck Taylor, Colin Delaney, Colony: X-treme Force, Corey Hollis, Courtney Rush, Curt Hawkins, Curtis Axel, Darin Corbin, Delilah Doom, Delirious, Devastation Corporation, Devin Taylor, DJ Z, Dolph Ziggler, Doug Williams, Drew Gulak, Drew McIntyre, Emma, Eric Corvis, Eric Young, Erick Rowan, Ethan Carter III, Evie, Finn Bálor, Fire Ant, Francis Kipland Stevens, Franco D'Angelo, Great Depression, Hallowicked, Hania the Howling Huntress, Hardy Boys, Hideo Itami, Hikaru Shida, Hulk Hogan, Icarus, Ivelisse Velez, J and J Security, Jake Dirden, Jason Albert, Jay Freddie, Jenny Rose, Jessica James, Jewells Malone, Jigsaw, Jimmy Jacobs, Jinder Mahal, Jojo Bravo, Jon Davis, Jonathan Gresham, Jordan Jensen, Juan Francisco de Coronado, the Juicy Product, Jushin Liger, Justin Gabriel, Kaori Yoneyama, Kenny King, Kenny Omega, Kimber Lee, Knight Eye for the Pirate Guy, Knux, Latvian Proud Oak, Leah von Dutch, Lei'D Tapa, Leon, Leva Bates, Lince Dorado, Lithuanian Snow Troll, Louis Lyndon, LuFisto, Madison Rayne, Magnus, Marcus Louis, Mark Angelosetti, Marti Belle, Mat Fitchett, Matt Taven, Mercedes Martinez, Mia Yim, Mike Dell, Mike Posey, Miss Natural, the Miz, Naomi, Neveah, Nøkken, ODB, Oleg the Usurper, Orange Cassidy, Paige, Paige Turner, Petey Williams, Pinkie Sanchez, Randy Orton, Ray, Ray Rowe, RD Evans, Rebel, Renee Young, Rey Mysterio, Rhia O'Reilly, Ric Flair, Ricardo Rodriguez, Rich Brennan, Rich Swann, Ricky Starks, Ricochet, RockNES Monsters, Rockstar Spud, Rycklon, Sam Shaw, Samoa Joe, Sanada, Santana Garrett, Santino Marella, Saraya Knight, Sassy Stephie, Scarlett Bordeaux, Scot Summers, Scott Dawson, Seth Rollins, Shane Strickland, Shanna, Sheamus, Shynron, Sin Cara, Sonjay Dutt, Sozio, Steve Corino, Su Yung, Summer Rae, Supercop Dick Justice, Swamp Monster, Sylvester LeFort, Tadarius Thomas, Tadasuke, Taeler Hendrix, Takaaki Watanabe, Tamina Snuka, ThunderKitty, Tim Donst, Titus O'Neil, Tom Phillips, Tomasso Ciampa, Tommy Dreamer, Tomoka Nakagawa, Trent?, Trevor Lee, Truth Martini, Tursas, The Tye Fighters, Tyler Breeze, Uhaa Nation, The Undertaker, the Usos, Vanessa Kraven, Veda Scott, Vordell Walker, Will Ferrara, Worker Ant, Xavier Woods, Yoshi Tatsu, Yumi Ohka, Zack Ryder

The final category is "My Very Favorites." Here are the creme de la creme of wrestlers, the guys who are awesome, more than worthy of praise. These are my favorite wrestlers.

Cesaro - I want to strangle Vince McMahon. He doesn't "get" Cesaro, and attributes it to him being "Swiss," when he did everything he possibly could to grab the bullshit brass rings that McMahon talks about all the fucking time. Every match he's in is better for his inclusion. He hossed his way to earning that Andre battle royale win instead of just being handed it like a dude like Heidenreich or whatever other McMahon steroid special would have done in the past. His reward was being shit on by Paul Heyman and sent into oblivion. Still, for as "bad" as year as he had booking-wise, he was still in a bunch of high-profile matches and shone in them. Someone sees what I see, what nearly every wrestling fan who loves Cesaro sees in WWE, and hopefully that person will take over sooner rather than later. I can't take this yo-yoing. Even if he's just on TV every week putting dudes over in long matches, I'll cop to it.

Stephanie McMahon - I don't know how her management style is in real life. If the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree, then I can't really say good things about her, but this isn't about real life. The Stephanie McMahon co-host of the Authority character was perhaps the most brilliant evil boss character since her father, and yes, I am aware and still love Big Johnny's run a couple of years ago. She's not overbearingly bombastic in her cunning deviltry, but she's passive-aggressive. Sarcastic. She's your nagging mother, only instead of wanting you to eat your green beans, she wants you to step aside and think it was your idea to do so so she can mold the wrestling company she owns in a far less aesthetically-pleasing to the gen-pop way. The Authority had to go away, sure, but I miss her dancing to John Cena's theme song and sarcastically explaining why doing a guy like Daniel Bryan dirty is best for business, especially in this era of WWE where the company insists that an authority figure is needed but doesn't have a strong one put in place.

Mickie Knuckles - The worst thing about Drew Cordeiro's sale of WSU to DJ Hyde is that Hyde is free to run bullshit angles that tease his talent blowing him if they lose. The SECOND worst thing was the discontinuation of the secret shows Cordeiro used to put on that heavily featured Mickie Knuckles. Sure, the other wrestlers did well during them. I always enjoyed seeing how hard Athena was going to go against whatever opponent or where LuFisto or Kimber Lee were going to fall on the card, but Knuckles seemed to be the wrestler who embraced the intimate environment the best. But then she'd get to the big arenas for the main shows and she'd still be the best wrestler there. I'm not sure if she's sane after seeing her and Jewells Malone staple things to each other or put each other through rigid dollhouses, but for damn sure, she knew how to explore the studio space, if that studio had booby traps, a cardboard cutout of Hyde, and all kinds of PLUNDAH for use in the milieu of bodily harm.

Stardust - He outweirded his brother in 2014, which yeah, isn't that big of a deal. Goldust is more known for being an in-ring Benjamin Button than being the "Bizarre One" anymore. But I'd argue that Stardust is weirder than Goldust was in 1996, although it might not seem that way because, once again, WWE has no idea on how to provide the proper stage for its characters. It might seem controversial to say that Stardust is better in the ring than he was as Cody Rhodes. I'm not convinced of it technically or mechanically, but I think his moveset and mannerisms feel more natural to the character now, even if he was "better" without the facepaint. Either way, I'm glad that he went the weirder route instead of just turning on Goldust (or having Goldust turn on him).

Sasha Banks - Not only is she the best wrestler not named Sami Zayn in NXT, she's legitimately a smarky, asshole wrestling fan who remembers her roots, supports the indies, nerds out in turn, and supports her fans when they try to meme her, even if that includes her floating in space on a donut. When she succeeds, it feels like every dork-ass wrestling fan succeeds too. I mean, she still has a goddamn Tumblr for crying out loud. If that doesn't scream "ONE OF US! ONE OF US!", then nothing does.

Estonian Thunder Frog - I admit that I shed a single tear when I learned that the T-Frog had suffered the cruel fate of Deucalion's Chokebreaker into "death." He'd become one of my favorite guys, if not my favorite wrestler in Chikara over the short time he was active. He had become Chikara's mascot, its avatar. He was a big, affable, friendly mask who took time out to greet kids and who also was really good between the ropes as well. I wonder if this new Thunder Frog that was reborn and revealed at the end of the Tomorrow Never Dies Internet pay-per-view broadcast is going to be played by the same guy. I really hope so.

The Vaudevillains - Aiden English and Simon Gotch have a gimmick that is too beautiful to live outside the precious, nurturing environment of NXT. This truth is something any fan of the 'Villains has to accept before making statements like "they need to be promoted" or "they're future WWE Tag Champions." You know what Vince McMahon is going to do to them when they get to the main roster? Job to Los Matadores and have comedy segments where El Torito (another wrestler who is too beautiful to exist on the main roster but does anyway) gores them in the butt while JBL makes a veiled reference to anal sex. That reason is why I sip up every instance of them on my Roku on Thursdays like Kermit the Frog meme-drinking his tea while nothing is his business. They are a small-stage gimmick in current WWE, and that's okay. If Triple H's plans are to make NXT one part alternative wrestling show as well as one part feeder promotion to the main WWE roster, then the 'Villains can exist in all their glory for as long as everyone wants them to.

Brock Lesnar - Say what you want about his manager and advocate (and believe me, I did), but even when he was slogging around with the Big Show or having a clunky match with Undertaker at Mania, Lesnar was still a wonderful thing to have on WWE television. WWE may have wanted its fans to believe that Lesnar was this conquering leviathan who represented MMA legitimacy, but played out with the background noise on mute, Lesnar was just this big dumb animal, a hayseed from the upper Midwest who was too dull to realize that tact or couth were things that a pro athlete should have. The best part was that when he went into the ring, he represented that avatar. He spammed moves and tried to hit his strong grapples from start. In a word, he was the video game playing public controlling a wrestler in the ring, and it totally worked, especially when he mushed John Cena into a fine paste at SummerSlam and took the WWE World Heavyweight Championship into That Good Night. Lesnar will more than likely say goodbye to pro wrestling for good at Mania XXXI, but I'm glad his comeback was this memorable.

"Smooth Sailing" Ashley Remington - From the instant that Dalton Castle put on the captain's hat and stepped out from the back with the two boating beauties on his arm, I fell in love. Remington has been a signpost of sorts in Chikara, one that still reminded the crowd that, hey, even though this Flood story has dealt with death and betrayal and serious poop, someone still is on the roster that exists to be blithe and to give fruit baskets to his opponents after he's beaten them. So many people rabble against Chikara taking known or semi-known guys and putting them in masks or different gimmicks, and at times, their criticisms are valid. But in many cases, that thought process produces guys like Remington, who are better than the personae that they left behind when working for Chikara.

Daniel Bryan - I know I kicked off the first post by saying that Bryan's misogynistic promos made me get rid of the Valhalla level, but that's not to say that I hated Bryan for the content. At this point, one has to expect that WWE is going to train its top guys to be gross in some capacity; it's just a matter of what else the performer brings to the table. Bryan, up to May, was still the best wrestler in WWE by far, even if he was only being booked in pay-per-view mains and didn't get the stage he got in 2013. And yeah, the prospect of a wrestling industry with him on the sidelines is depressing as fuck. He wasn't the only guy who made WWE pop, but everyone who did was taken away in some respect. Randy Orton was de-emphasized. The Shield was broken up and became less interesting as three parts that made up the sum. The Wyatt Family was completely nerfed. The Usos turned into mini-Cena douchebags, and the Rhodes Bros. were warped and twisted so much that they weren't nearly as interesting as they were as guerrilla babyfaces. But at least the rest of those guys are still around. Bryan being gone sucks. But if he can't wrestle anymore, while the crater in my heart will be gaping and smoky, I hope he at least gets to live a good, full life. I just miss him on my TV, that's all.

Bryce Remsburg - I will always cape for Bryce. Always.

And the Rest... ACH, Allysin Kay, Athena, Bayley, Big Cass, Big E, Bo Dallas, Bobby Fish, Bray Wyatt, Canadian Ninjas, Cedric Alexander, Chris Trew, Damien Sandow, Darren Young, Dasher Hatfield, Dean Ambrose, Eddie Kingston, Enzo Amore, Forever Hooligans, Fred Yehi, Frightmare, Goldust, Heidi Lovelace, The Hooligans, Jervis Cottonbelly, Jessicka Havok, Kaitlyn, Kalisto, Kana, Keith Lee, Kellie Skater, Kevin Owens, Kyle Matthews, Layla, Los Ice Creams, Luke Harper, Madison Eagles, Marion Fontaine, Mark Andrews, Mark Henry, Matt Sydal, Matthew Palmer, Mayumi Ozaki, The Osirian Portal, Paul London, Pete Dunne, Sami Zayn, Silver Ant, Steve Austin, The Submission Squad, Team Tremendous, UltraMantis Black, Vickie Guerrero, William Regal, Willie Mack, The World's Cutest Tag Team, Young Bucks

Hey, this match looks like happened a few times in NXT before... Photo Credit: WWE.com

Question, isn’t Superstars a show that is exclusively wrestling for wrestling’s sake? Second question, how sick are you of people referencing the Vince McMahon Podcast? I’m just joking, but I had that thought as I watched last night. Sure, these are the dark matches for RAW, so there really isn’t any reason for these people to be sports entertaining other than to warm up the crowd. Hey, there IS a reason. Hurray! That said, I do miss the little back stage segments WWE was adding to the show that added a little flavor to the proceedings. It felt like they cared.

One thing that they were adding was a TON of crowd noise. Either Detroit was SUPER EXCITED for the dark matches, or WWE added ALL OF THE CROWD NOISE in post. It was so loud that it was actively distracting when the wrestlers made their entrances. While the other two people whom watch this show and I appreciate the effort, WWE, we know what we’re watching. There is no illusion of relevance to maintain here.

First match of the show was Summer Rae vs. Emma. Summer used to know how to wrestle, right? I wasn’t watching NXT regularly when she was on, so I only caught her a few times. But, from what I’ve read and remember of those few matches, she’s capable. So, what the hell happened? She’s been lost in a sea of uncaring management and distraction finishes. We didn’t have one tonight, which I was shocked by. I’ve just started assuming that every women’s match I watch in the WWE will end up in a distraction roll up. No, after a few minutes of Summer flipping her hair, begging off, and whimpering in the corner (she must have gotten SOME offense in, but I watched the match twice and still can’t remember anything of note), Emma hit all her eponymous moves and won via submission with the Emma Lock.

I said a while ago in one of these columns that you have to be pleased with the state of women's wrestling in the WWE, and I still stand by that, but matches like this make me wonder what I was smoking at the time. How about taking out one of those pointless commercials for Stephanie McMahon's work out tapes and let these two go for a while longer? If you make women's wrestling seem like an important part of the show, the fans will follow. In fact, just watch NXT. They seem to know what they're doing with it down there.

Second match was a tag team between the hastily-thrown-together-guys-we-don’t-know-what-to-do-with du jour, Cesaro and Tyson Kidd against Los Matadores who were accompanied to the ring by El Torito. While I’m sad to see Cesaro in a tag team again, I really dug the energy between him and Kidd. They work well together, despite only being a team for what, like a week? Los Matadores were nothing to sneeze at either. They looked like they were having a blast. All four of these guys treated their match like it was the main event, and I loved them for it. They managed to work in some comedy bits with Torito at the beginning of the match that didn’t make me want to kill myself. Kidd and Cesaro really heeled it up for the crowd, mocking the Matadores ‘Ole’ cheer throughout. They eventually got the pin off their blockbuster-assisted power bomb, which needs a cat themed name immediately. I’d definitely check out this match. It was a refreshing pairing that didn’t just go through the motions, like so many other of Superstars’ matches do.

So if this is where Cesaro must toil until he deciphers what Vince McMahon’s mysterious ‘IT’ is, I’m cool with that. But if we let him do something amazing at WrestleMania again, let’s not waste that next year, kay?

Slaughterhouse RAW

• Chris Jericho needs to drive his tour bus off a steep, high cliff. Seriously. Between his baby talk insults, his disgusting disrespect towards Lana, and his threats to non-wrestler and middle aged guy, Paul Heyman, I need him to go away for a hot minute. I’m having a hard time remembering why I like him with each subsequent appearance.
• Thank the flying spaghetti monster for Brock Lesnar, defender of friendship and slayer of douchebags. If you shout his name, does he appear, or do you need some sort of talisman to summon him?
• I’m very secure in my decision to play Final Fantasy Tactics instead of devoting my full attention to RAW. Even the recap of the opening segment when on forever. Cookie, my ninja, was in desperate need of leveling up. We were storming Limberry Castle, after all.
• Shut the commentators microphones off while the wrestlers are delivering a promo in the ring. This isn’t out of respect or anything. I just need to not hear Cole and Lawler chortling loudly at everything your Jerichos and Cenas of the world say.
• Heyman’s facial expressions are my Quickening.
• And because we won’t be speaking to each other before, no matter what you celebrate, the Flying Spaghetti Monster’s Feast of the Seven Pastas, Festivus, or Atheist Gift Giving Day, I hope it finds you well sauced and in good spirits! Happy Holidays from the Lake!!!

It was the first show of the Sami Zayn Era, and the standard bearer was notable only by his absence.

In his stead, his once and future friend Adrian Neville rued the fact the new champion wasn't able to come out and bask in the glow of his biggest career achievement to date with the fanbase that loves him most, excoriated Kevin Owens for his evil ways to the point where a crowd was non-ironically chanting "Shame on you" despite the fact it's nearly 2015, then was in a fine main event against the man--and Owens destroyed him anyways.

Two Thursdays, two apron powerbombs, two stretcher jobs. Lest you think this is the same Steen under a different name, Mr. Owens apparently found time on his vacation to dial up the Memphis cowardice. If jumping Sami Zayn wasn't enough for a crowd already disposed to be psyched just to be seeing this man at this industry level after a decade and a half to try and garner jeers, him not doing the thing they advertised him to do would suffice. Three times in the opening five minutes of the match he would be on the floor. If you're agreeable to spot-picking, you could call it fighting selectively. The crowd opted instead for a round of Stall Owens Stall chants. When it was actual back and forth? Well, you know the respective resumes of the men involved: imagine a fine meal where the desert wasn't Baked Alaska but caught on fire anyway and landed in your groin, and that was this match. Neville had several spotlight moments (a sweet leg lariat, avalanche European uppercuts and a ridiculous corkscrew handless Asai moonsault to the floor where he landed on his feet to boot) but Owens, obviously, didn't come to wrestle. The result of their differing prerogatives have left NXT without it's top two white hats, and unless William Regal can dust off the royal robe and the modified Imperial March please let this happen please based Santa we've been EVER so good this yearthen Owens is quickly turning Full Sail into his own personal playground and a wasteland where he drives the property rates down in order to help his vicious quest to become supreme overlord.

That was the meatiest part of the last pre-Christmas NXT show of 2014. Enzo stepped up his efforts to impress Carmella by blind-tagging in against the Ascension: about 10 seconds later, he was pinned. Bull Dempsey beat Some Dude, so Baron Corbin came out immediately afterwards and beat Some Other Dude even quicker. Lest you think that was the end of metaphorical days, Bull shoved Baron and ran away chuckling, so this feud must officially begin. Becky Lynch and Bayley had a fun little sprint but it was overshadowed by Lynch putting away the injured Bayley with something that looked exactly like Lucky XIII and new announcer Corey Graves apparently so taken aback at the near-immediate co-opting of what used to be his finisher that it turned him into a short-term deaf-mute. It would be as if Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was on commentary and some center threw a sky hook and the NBA's leading all-time scorer responded by ____________________________.

Of course, NXT is especially hamstrung by the fact the next couple of Thursdays are major holidays, so they can be forgiven for doing nothing but advancing the plot here. That said, in the time it takes you to watch this show twice you could rewatch Takeover: Revolution once.

Now that sounds like the kind of gift that keeps on giving.

Really, Roman? Photo Credit: WWE.com

Smackdown was live this week and it was also the 800th episode. This made me hopeful that the show would be better than in weeks past. It wasn't spectacular, but I still genuinely enjoyed myself more than I have in the past few weeks. Here's hoping that trend can continue.

Most Pointless Lack of Friendship – Roman Reigns
The first match of the night had the hapless Fandango be demolished by Roman Reigns, which was NOT one of the things I genuinely enjoyed. Roman Reigns is supposed to be impressing us all with his might and dominance right now, right? That's all well and good, but there is no one who matters less than Fandango right now so what, exactly, was Reigns proving by beating him up? He celebrated the hell out of his victory, too. Um, way to be proud of destroying the helpless dancing loser, sir. Carry on your path of eliminating the ineffectual, then.  

Most Entertaining Friendship – Luke Harper, Miz, and Damien Mizdow
Okay, “friendship” is probably not the word to use here. “Temporary alliance” would be more accurate. Luke Harper, Miz, and Damien Mizdow teamed up to take on Erick Rowan and the Usos and the results were delightful. Harper side-eyed Miz and Mizdow's antics for the entire match, clearly having no patience for their shenanigans, and his reactions were fun to watch. Even better was when Mizdow began imitating Harper instead of the Miz, causing Miz to get upset. Later, Miz and Harper ganged up on Mizdow, both refusing to tag him in, and all the while you could hear and feel the crowd willing Mizdow to get in on the match. I also enjoyed Miz and Mizdow hiding behind Harper while trash-talking the Usos. The match was good, too, and got a good amount of time. I may be forced to resign myself to the Harper/Rowan break-up, but it helps when I get to watch matches like this one. I know I wasn't the only one enjoying the antics of the bad guys so much that I didn't give a single fuck about Rowan and the Usos. Of course, Mizdow was by far the most legitimate face in the match, and commentary really needs to stop running him down and recognize that we all love him. I desperately do not want Sandow's resurgence to fade away.  

Best Friends – Seth Rollins, Jamie Noble, Joey Mercury/ Worst Friend – Dolph Ziggler
The scheduled Ryback vs. Seth Rollins match didn't happen, as Ryback was suddenly attacked mid-sentence by a flying Russian/Bulgarian. Because of this, Rollins was prepared to just take the night off with his pals, Jamie Noble and Joey Mercury, whose supportive nodding game was once again strong. However, before Noble and Mercury could fetch the limo for a well-deserved night on the town, Dolph Ziggler, the eternal enemy of friendship, showed up to ruin everything. He attempted to goad Rollins into a match with him for some reason. Yes, you take on the injured man with the taped-up ribs who just had a cage match the night before, Ziggler! That'll prove...something. Noble and Mercury tried to convince Rollins not to do it (because they love him so much!), but the match ended up taking place. It made so little sense, because Rollins was pretty much the hero here. He was injured but agreed to fight just to prove that he could. Ziggler just wandered out to pick a fight with him for no reason and then stole the win when Rollins was distracted by Noble and Mercury being thrown out. I mean, I enjoyed the match, but the circumstances were just weird.  

Most Improved Yet Still Terrible Friend – Jimmy Uso
The Miz managed to procure a title match for Naomi against Nikki Bella, the revelation of which caused Jimmy Uso to react terribly (and predictably) on Main Event. On Smackdown, when Naomi informed her husband that she didn't want him at ringside during her match because it was something she wanted to do on her own, he was admirably understanding. He remained supportive and appeared to have little problem with her request. Perhaps he had learned his lesson? Alas, no. For during the title match (which was passable, but not spectacular) the Miz came out to cheer Naomi on, which caused Uso to also run out in a jealous rage, distracting Naomi and costing her the match. And so the ongoing saga ended this week with Naomi looking betrayed and upset and Uso at least having the grace to look chagrined.  

Most Confusing Friendship – Adam Rose and the Bunny
So...does Adam Rose still hate the Bunny? And is the Bunny still trying to sabotage him? Are we supposed to forget that ever happened or is it still happening, but in super slow motion, or...what? Both Rose and the Bunny fell afoul of Kane again this week and I'm just bewildered by the whole thing.

The quintessential stud-muffin is Cabana's guest this week Photo Credit: PWI via WWE.com

If you're new, here's the rundown: I listen to a handful of wrestling podcasts each week. Too many, probably, though certainly not all of them. In the interest of saving you time — in case you have the restraint to skip certain episodes — the plan is to give the bare bones of a given show and let you decide if it’s worth investing the time to hear the whole thing. There are better wrestling podcasts out there, of course, but these are the ones in my regular rotation that I feel best fit the category of hit or miss. If I can save other folks some time, I'm happy to do so.

Show: Art Of Wrestling
Episode: 229
Run Time: 1:12:30
Guest: Nigel McGuinness (2:24); Joel Gertner (12:09)

Summary: Instead of a monologue, Colt lets old pal Nigel McGuinness explain his new Kickstarter wrestling project. He and Gertner start their conversation in the middle of some random ECW talk before getting into the method behind Gertner’s promo style, his early fan and wrestling hotline days and his use of humor. That somehow shifts into talk about data mining, which bounces into Gertner’s work outside the world of ECW. They go back to how he got his start with Paul Heyman and the loyalty he felt to ECW. They wrap up discussing Gertner’s current gigs, including MXW.

Quote of the week:“You have to be self aware. For whatever my flaws are, and for ever many of them that there are, the most important thing is out of any of that, you have to be self aware and know what they are and know how to try to make silver linings out of clouds and try to make sunny days out of rainy days.”

Why you should listen: Gertner is a different cat from a lot of the guys who have been making the rounds on wrestling podcasts of late. He’s one of very few ECW mainstays who never did much work for larger promotions, and he does a good job explaining how that came to pass. Though notoriously vulgar, it’s clear Gertner was playing a character and is quite able to have an interesting, adult conversation about more than just extreme wrestling. Plus, if you care about McGuinness’ project, you might as well hear about it from the man himself.

Why you should skip it: Gertner is a bit of a rambler, prone to non-sequiturs that prompted me more than once to rewind and see if I missed a transition. Further, there are plenty of fans who have had their fill of ECW nostalgia. While this episode isn’t dripping with that kind of rose-colored reminiscing (as you might get from, say, Tommy Dreamer), Gertner’s entire pro career is wrapped up in ECW, so there’s little to be gleaned for anyone looking for a broader chat.

Final thoughts: I have to confess to being an ECW outsider. Though roughly the same age as Cabana — who brilliantly described the promotion as “when wrestling met puberty” — I just didn’t have, or seek, access to the company beyond what I read in pro Wrestling Illustrated until the glory days were long past. While that may seem like a reason I’d be blasé on this talk, it actually made Gertner a compelling listen, kind of like Jim Ross talking up some old Mid-South legend I barely encountered during a late-stage WWF run. If nothing else, Cabana continues to prove he’s honed his craft quite well, and each succeeding episode becomes another core component of the guest’s public profile.

The year of the Joey and Candice Show Photo Credit: Devin Chen

Turning my eyes to sunny Southern California...

Promotion: Pro Wrestling Guerrilla

What Happened in 2014: The year started with Mount Rushmore still emphatically in charge. Adam Cole was the reigning and defending World Champion, the Young Bucks held a stranglehold on the Tag Titles, and Kevin Steen was their veteran muscle, backing the team up whenever it needed an ace in the hole. DDT4, the annual tag team tournament, was the first event on the calendar, but the Bucks, who'd won the thing the year before, had to miss out to do a tour of Japan. Steen and Cole were tasked with defending the faith, and while they dispatched Joey Ryan and Candice LeRae in the first round, they couldn't beat out the eventual winners of the Best Friends of Chuck Taylor and Trent? in the semifinals. Cole would then be harangued by LeRae in a match for his title at Mystery Vortex II, but he escaped that one by the skin of his teeth.

The boss group in the PWG yard survived the first two events of the year with their gold intact, but the hordes were beating down their doors. LeRae and Joey Ryan would not be denied for their shot at the Tag Team Championships, but more importantly, Kyle O'Reilly had his sights set on Cole, to finish what Cole had started at the end of the Battle of Los Angeles the previous year. Cole could run no more, as O'Reilly was granted a knockouts-or-submissions only title match at the third event of the year, May's We Sold Our Soul for Rock 'n Roll. He corralled Cole for the win with a Triangle Sleeper.

Earlier in that same show, LeRae and Ryan punched their tickets to the Bucks by defeating the Best Friends. The stage was set for the anniversary show ELEVEN, a Guerrilla Warfare match for the Tag Titles. The match was brutal, even by PWG standards, and the Bucks pulled out all the stops to keep the belts, even gimmicking one of their boots with thumbtacks. However, chicanery, superkicks, and crimson masks couldn't stop LeRae and Ryan, the World's Cutest Tag Team, from vanquishing the Bucks and taking the titles for their own. Mount Rushmore had been stripped of all its gold, and its spiritual leader, Kevin Steen, said farewell to PWG. After losing to Trevor Lee at ELEVEN, he signed a developmental deal with WWE.

Ricochet won the biggest singles tourney Photo Credit: Devin Chen

With the old threat gone, attention had turned to the most loaded Battle of Los Angeles in the company's history. A field of 24 wrestlers was entered, featuring names like Brian Myers, Zack Sabre, Jr., AJ Styles, and a returning Matt Sydal inclusive of all the regulars within the company. Each of the three nights of the tournament were critically acclaimed affairs, but the most telling story happened after O'Reilly's quarterfinal match with Sabre. Roderick Strong came out and beat the everloving shit out of the PWG Champ, causing him to drop out of the tournament and give Strong a bye into the finals. Ricochet would end up winning, but O'Reilly's attentions were clearly turned towards the longtime indie veteran.

O'Reilly would get his shot for revenge at Untitled II, defeating Strong with the triangle sleeper. However, Strong continued his aggressions, attempting to attack O'Reilly but instead getting head referee Rick Knox. Strong set up a temple of chairs and suplexed the official as a warning shot to O'Reilly. Then, at the last event of the year Black Cole Sun, O'Reilly found that his night wasn't finished after he defeated Ricochet to retain his title that Strong, who was announced as not having made his flight for the show, showed up unexpectedly and demanded a title match. Having been taken to his limits by the Battle of Los Angeles winner, O'Reilly was easy prey for Strong, who ended the year as the new PWG Champion.

LeRae was money in singles or in tags Photo Credit: Devin Chen

2014 MVP: One could make arguments for Kyle O'Reilly, the Young Bucks, or even Roderick Strong if one wanted to troll some of the members of the wrestling Twitterati, but for me, the answer is clearly Candice LeRae. In a promotion where exciting wrestlers who aren't already in main events across the country are hard to come by, LeRae represented something fresh. She didn't miss her opportunity to run with that ball either, whether in singles matches like her title shot against Adam Cole or the BOLA first round, or more noticeably in tag matches. PWG's tag team scene is ultra competitive and has high standards, and she met all of them and then some. She also was able to make Joey Ryan relevant again for reasons other than a terrible worked Gut Check segment with TNA, and that's worth something in my book.

What's Going to Happen in 2015: PWG enters its new year with Roderick Strong as Champion and the rest of the roster in a state of flux. Public farewells to Kyle O'Reilly and Adam Cole seem to suggest that the long-suspected ROH talent pull-out is real, at least for certain individuals. Strong is a ROH regular, yes, but maybe he's on a per-appearance basis? Who knows at this point. In the meantime, the suspected freeze-out could affect several regulars. ACH, Cedric Alexander, Michael Elgin, Tommaso Ciampa, Bobby Fish, and Matt Sydal are among the regulars who may be not be heading out west for the time being.

Additionally, while Gabe Sapolsky's WWN Live venture isn't prohibiting its talent from appearing in PWG, the venture's expansion into China may make it difficult for other regulars to appear at every show. Johnny Gargano, Chuck Taylor, Biff Busick, Ricochet, AR Fox, Drew Gulak, and Rich Swann (who may or may not be signed by WWE early in 2015 as well) are all regulars who could miss time by taking the priority bookings in China.

With a huge chunk of PWG's roster in limbo, who will emerge as challengers for Strong, Joey Ryan, and Candice LeRae? The Young Bucks are ever-present, but I wonder if winning the belts back from the World's Cutest Tag Team would undo all the goodwill the promotion built up in 2014. The North Carolina talent pipeline might come into play more this coming year as well. Trevor Lee has worked out well for the promotion, which means doors could be opened for other wrestlers from the Tar Heel State. Plus, Southern California remains as fertile for producing pro wrestlers as ever. PWG fell away from pushing guys like the RockNES Monsters, PPRay, and Willie Mack in the past. Could those guys be the bedrock for the future?

My guess is that it won't take too long to find out where the roster stands. DDT4 has been the first event up for the last two years, and while I see the WWN Live guys being available, it'll be interesting to see which wrestlers end up filling the void for the ROH guys who are suspected not to be there anymore. For a company that has long been the standard bearer for the super indie world, it'll be interesting to see how PWG operates in this time of uncertainty.

Lee could be The Man in '15 Photo Credit: Devin Chen

Five Wrestlers to Watch in 2015:Trevor Lee - Of all the North Carolina dudes brought into PWG in 2014, Lee has made the greatest inroads into the company's card structure. He's gotten several key wins, including a victory over Kevin Steen in his last PWG match and one over Chris Hero at Black Cole Sun. He has to be an early favorite to win Battle of Los Angeles this upcoming year, and I wouldn't be terribly surprised if he ended up going into 2016 as PWG Champion.

Chris Hero - Hero is in an interesting spot as an elder statesman. While his career probably won't be taking another leap, so to speak, until/unless he gets signed by one of the "big" companies again, he still has a unique avenue for advancement as a legend of the company. It would be funny to see him adopt the same role William Regal did for him in NXT with a wrestler like Trevor Lee or even a higher level guy like Ricochet. Will he end up being a benevolent oldhead, or will he, like his mentor Mitsuharu Misawa and Misawa's AJPW forebear Genichiro Tenryu, become a grumpy old man?

Pretty Peter Avalon - Avalon could stand to be one of the SoCal guys who benefits most from the talent drain. His face is recognizable to thousands from his run as Norv Fernum in TNA, but he's also got the goods to back it up. He's a preternaturally gifted shit-stirrer, and he can fit in on the card from the opening match all the way up to the upper midcard right now. Will he get the chance to develop into a main event player? If the folks in charge know what they're doing, then he should be in the future plans.

RockNES Monsters - The Monsters can hit the same vein that the Young Bucks did back in 2009/10 as the lovable babyface team that turns bad and rockets into prominence as the few heels in a land full of cheer-muggers. They've already made the turn, and the live crowds boo them. All they need is a spark, which could come in the form of a long feud with the World's Cutest Tag Team. The matches would be off the charts, and with some attention and build, the two teams could end up carrying on the grand tradition of the Tag Titles headlining the anniversary show. Threemendous Four - RockNES vs. Joey and Candice in a ladder match? I'd be down for that.

Brian Cage - The muscular freak of nature may or may not be around for the long haul, as he's caught on with the WWN Live crew and could be headed to China. However, if he's around for more than half the shows in 2015, he could end up being the ace of the promotion finally. Unlike some guys with ridiculous looking bodies, Cage can back it up with feats of HOSSery as well as being able to keep up with the smaller, more athletic members of the roster.

Three Things I Want to See in 2015:1. The emergence of the next great SoCal indie wrestler - PWG has been known mostly as the "dream match promotion" in the last few years, but once upon a time, it was a gateway company that first gave wrestlers from the West Coast their shine with the established dudes from out east. Without PWG, the scene might not have Joey Ryan, Scorpio Sky (for better or worse on that dude), Chris Bosh, Scott Lost, or most importantly, the Young Bucks. With the talent drain that looms overhead, the company would be best-served in mining the rich talent veins in Southern California and get back to basics. Who can be the next big breakout star who'll turn heads and MAKE promotions like Chikara, CZW, and EVOLVE want to book him? PWG's only job in 2015 shouldn't be making Trevor Lee, but it should include finding that SoCal guy and giving him (or her) the stage needed to bust out.

2. Mine other areas besides the played-out Northeast for outside talent - Look, I love Chikara and can't deny that CZW has a bunch of guys who'd fit into PWG's ethos. But at what point do Super Dragon, Excalibur, and the rest of the folks running the joint realize that other parts of the continent might be as rich in talent if not richer? The Midwest/Rust Belt areas are the obvious choices (and I say that at the risk of PWG finding Ethan Page and making him a main event dude, yuck), but other regions are still rich with talent, especially on the West Coast. Northern California still has a few key promotions, including the stalwart APW and new kid on the block Hoodslam. Imagine Nicole Matthews leading a party of wrestlers down from the Vancouver area. Hell, PWG would be wise to make inroads even into the state of Georgia, where most of the great wrestlers are still relatively unknown to the rest of the country. Philadelphia and New York aren't the only places where great wrestlers are.

3. Exploit the relationship with WWE and become an ECW for a new age - It's no secret that WWE looks to PWG for talent scouting. William Regal has made more than a few pilgrimages to Reseda, and several wrestlers - Solomon Crowe, Sami Zayn, Kalisto, Adrian Neville, and Kevin Owens for starters - all have had extensive experience in PWG rings. It would behoove all parties involved for WWE to form a similar relationship with PWG as it did with ECW back in the '90s. WWE would get a place outside its own developmental territory to gauge talent in a prime-time setting, while PWG could get favors in return like money or even something unprecedented like a spot on The Network (which would be an incentive for WWE to work with them too) and perhaps talent exchange as well. This wish may just be a pipe dream, but at the same time, Regal, Triple H, and the rest seem to project a forward-thinking attitude while running NXT. Partnering with a successful existing indie property wouldn't seem so far-fetched.

Mick Foley is on the show this week to discuss his Santa doc Photo Credit: WWE.com

If you're new, here's the rundown: I listen to a handful of wrestling podcasts each week. Too many, probably, though certainly not all of them. In the interest of saving you time — in case you have the restraint to skip certain episodes — the plan is to give the bare bones of a given show and let you decide if it’s worth investing the time to hear the whole thing. There are better wrestling podcasts out there, of course, but these are the ones in my regular rotation that I feel best fit the category of hit or miss. If I can save other folks some time, I'm happy to do so.

Show: Cheap Heat
Episode: Dec. 19, 2014
Run Time: 1:14:34
Guest: Mick Foley, Tommy Avallone

Summary: Mick Foley and “I Am Santa Claus” director Tommy Avallone are in studio with Shoemaker and Rosenberg this week. They spend a good while discussing the documentary and explaining what Santa and wrestlers have in common. That spins into a discussion about the recent ascendance of NXT and then the role of announcers in WWE. Looking at Foley’s career, they discuss his boiler room brawl fights, various rifts and returns to WWE, the generosity of the Undertaker that enabled Foley’s rise to elite status and working with all the McMahons.

Quote of the week: Foley: “I’m convinced that wrestling, at its purest, is all about forgiveness. The only reason we have these damaging moments is so we can heal, with Vince as the ultimate father figure.”

Why you should listen: Foley is great here, which I suppose is to be expected. You’ll learn a lot more about his movie than you did from his spot on “The Daily Show.” We’re finally getting discussion about NXT being great beyond people saying “NXT is great.” Shoemaker and even Rosenberg ask thoughtful questions about Foley’s career befitting of their expertise, which is to say they realize there’s more to discuss than Hell in a Cell and the loss of his ear. If you can take Foley at his word, he’s got some interesting stories about the various times there’s been tension between him and WWE brass.

Why you should skip it: Well, it’s Foley. Even though the hosts ask questions typical interviewers don’t, he’s still among the most exposed figures in modern wrestling history. He’s on good terms with WWE right now, and for many folks that means taking anything he says with a McMahon-flavored grain of salt. Further, if you’ve got zero interest in his documentary, you’ll want to skip about the first 30 minutes.

Final thoughts: As far as Cheap Heat goes, this was a solid effort. Perhaps Foley’s starpower helped put Rosenberg’s shtick in check, but it’s nice to occasionally be reminded he’s not always bad at his gig. I am generally more forgiving of Foley than most, but even so I found him here to be refreshingly distant from his usual approach. When he’s not faced with a host trying to prove his or her own fandom, and when he’s not on live TV in a packed arena, and when he’s not yukking it up with an old pal like Austin or JR, the interview comes off as the type of conversation I might like to have with him, provided I could get over being starstruck. Cheap Heat needs to be much more than a RAW review podcast, and this episode is a great step in that direction.

Punk news was at a dearth, but hoo boy, that didn't stop YOU PEOPLE from talking about him en masse Photo Credit: WWE.com

"I got a lot of problems with you people." -- Frank Costanza

'Tis December 23, and the aluminum pole is set up in the middle of the living room. Ryback and Rusev are in the wings to engage in feats of strength, and the dinner table is ready for a good meal. However, before we can eat, I have something I want to get off my chest that's been bugging me for nearly the whole year. In fact, I would say it all started on January 28 when everyone realized that a certain tattooed, straight-edge, former voice of the voiceless wasn't on RAW and wasn't showing up to the Smackdown tapings either.

Yes, CM Punk left WWE after one month of employment this year, and the rest of YOU PEOPLE just would not shut the fuck up about it. From the minute you all realized he wasn't going to show up anymore, it was non-stop CM Punk chatter, as if the rest of the wrestling world didn't matter as much as a dude who walked out for his own health and sanity. You reported constantly about anything you could about Punk's status with the company or people's opinions on it or even dates when he could potentially return. You kept tweeting about how WWE wasn't the same without him, even though he was at best the fifth best part of the show if you were being generous. You chanted his name at every turn. Even now, he's gone off into a completely different field, and you won't stop prattling on about him. Enough is e-fucking-nough.

It wouldn't be so bad if all this chatter was based on factual reporting of what was going on, but from the moment it was apparent Punk was gone, people started playing the blame game or reflexively defending a monolithic corporate entity as if WWE didn't have corporate lawyers to do that job for it. No one knew a goddamn thing about what went down until Colt Cabana dropped that Punk episode Art of Wrestling on Thanksgiving, but oh no, that didn't stop any of you from putting your two cents in even though actual things were happening not only in WWE, but in other promotions as well.

That is the thing that bugs me the most about all this Punk cacophony, the tendency for wrestling fans AND reporters even to go on about things where facts are scarce if known at all. You don't meet demands for news by creating artificial supply. Any chatter about Punk until his two-part interview with Cabana and the official/unofficial response from Vince McMahon on the Austin show has been just that, artificial supply. These nuggets, even the clearly fake leak that Dave Meltzer's source fed to him about Punk's return that got everyone mad at him, were all at best wishful thinking about what people wanted to think about Punk passed off as news. It exposed that the standards for what passes as news aren't nearly as high as they should be.

CM Punk is not a martyr. He's not a savior, nor is he a be-all, end-all for conversation. It's clear he's moving on with his life or else he wouldn't have changed careers at this point in his athletic lifespan. Whether or not his move into MMA is hypocritical or not given his comments about part-time wrestlers is not something I care to debate, and honestly, in the grand scheme of things, it's something MMA journalists, bloggers, and fans can chew on for all I care. My wish is that all YOU PEOPLE learn a lesson from this year of Punk, and that's maybe think about things before you say a billion words about them.

Now, let's eat and bring on the feats of strength.

Koloff is Austin's latest guest Photo Credit: WWE.com

If you're new, here's the rundown: I listen to a handful of wrestling podcasts each week. Too many, probably, though certainly not all of them. In the interest of saving you time — in case you have the restraint to skip certain episodes — the plan is to give the bare bones of a given show and let you decide if it’s worth investing the time to hear the whole thing. There are better wrestling podcasts out there, of course, but these are the ones in my regular rotation that I feel best fit the category of hit or miss. If I can save other folks some time, I'm happy to do so.

Show: Steve Austin Show Unleashed
Episode: 178
Run Time: 1:24:43
Guest: Ted Fowler

Summary: Austin and Ted Fowler watched RAW together and didn’t much care for the show. They talk a bit about the state of the deer herd, and between their own rambling and listener emails start to discuss Goldust, ring props, WrestleMania XXX, Shane McMahon, comparing RAW and NXT, how John Cena would have fared in the Attitude Era, Hulk Hogan rumors, and a preference for a general manager or WWE brand split and draft. Stone Cold previews the upcoming birthdays of he and his wife and ends with the Match of the Week: NXT Takeover R-Evolution, which he and Fowler plan to watch together and discuss on the podcast.

Quote of the week: Austin, on the Dec. 15 RAW: “Watching that show, it’s heavily scripted. It is what it is. Now, it’s shiny, it looks great. But it lacked a feel of spontaneity, it lacked urgency, the sense of urgency that we used to have back in the day. I always hate to say back in the day, but back in the day you thought anything could happen because it was live. And these guys are live, too, but the atmosphere is just a little bit different. I wish all these guys and gals could just go back 15 years in a time capsule and just go out there and fly without a net and everything is OK.”

Why you should listen: Once again, if you want to feel like you’re drinking with Austin and Fowler, this is the show for you. There’s a bit more of the comments from the Vince McMahon episode seeping through for further analysis, and I continue to support any time Austin tries to sell his audience on NXT. Though it’s hard to listen to only the high spots, I did enjoy the Goldust chatter and the analysis of why NXT succeeds when RAW struggles, and especially the question about ring props such as Ric Flair’s robes and Jerry Lawler’s crowns.

Why you should skip it: Many of Fowler’s criticisms aren’t out of line, but he doesn’t have enough standing to warrant such frequent airing of his personal grievances. And as with any Austin listener show, some familiar questions make return appearances, or are so obviously uninteresting as to be little more than a waste of a few minutes of air time.

Final thoughts: Unless you’re a completist, take a pass here. A bad RAW tends to breed a bad podcast unless the hosts can really find a unique angle. To simply here “there wasn’t enough wrestling” or “the promos are too scripted” doesn’t really enrich anyone’s fan experience. Fowler is growing on me as a de facto winter cohost — perhaps mainly because I’d grown to loathe Austin’s solo efforts — but sometimes the chicken salad just doesn’t come out quite right.

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Show: Steve Austin Show
Episode: 179
Run Time: 1:23:44
Guest: Ivan Koloff

Summary: Stone Cold is unexpectedly back in Los Angeles this week, so he opens with a bit of ranting about city life. He and Koloff start their chat focusing on various injuries, which leads into conversation about “Superstar” Billy Graham and the steroid culture of the 1970s. Austin asks Koloff about ending Bruno Sammartino’s legendary WWWF Title reign and about his transition to working for Crockett Promotions. Then they go backstage for stories about substance abuse and legitimate fights involving wrestlers. Austin brings up working with Andre the Giant and seeks Koloff’s thoughts about tag team wrestling. They talk about Koloff's pairing with and education of Nikita Koloff, which leads to discussing how Ivan re-found religion. They plug a few current projects before Austin asks Koloff about Rusev. The Match of the Week is the documentary “CM Punk: Best In The World.”

Quote of the week: “Whenever you tell a kid, ‘Man, I believe some day you’re going to be a famous guy, you’re a great athlete, aren’t you?’ What you instill in that kid, he’s going to take that home. And he’s going to end up thinking of that and reacting to that time and time again over his lifetime. That’s what my mom said to me, too, when I came home and told her I wanted to be a wrestler at eight years old. She says, ‘You can do it.’ Every time she sees me, she says, ‘There’s my little champ. He’s going to be a wrestling champ one day.’ And that always stuck with me.”

Why you should listen: When was the last time you heard an Ivan Koloff interview? This is great, old-school stuff here. When Koloff says “Vince” he means Senior, and his shoot fight stories about Buzz Sawyer, the Iron Sheik and others are as legendary as the tales of his substance abuse are harrowing. He and Austin have an easy chemistry and it’s nice this time of year to get away from the current WWE product without relying on another shoot-the-bull session with Ted Fowler.

Why you should skip it: Kayfabe disciples will be shocked to learn Koloff is Canadian, not Russian. Some folks won’t want to hear Koloff’s come to Jesus tale, and even those who don’t mind a little religion might be confounded by how easily he claims to have weaned himself away from various addictions. As a career retrospective this actually is pretty light on substance, with Austin seeming to favor breadth over depth.

Final thoughts: I really enjoyed most of this chat. I had to listen to a few segments at normal or 1.5x speed instead of my usual 2x, but that’s a personal preference. Searching for a quote of the week I realized Koloff never really got too deep or personal — he shared many facts, but few feelings — which may have been a result of Austin trying to be respectful of Koloff’s current position. This reminded me a lot of the initial episodes that drew me in to the Austin show, and I’d like to hear more in a similar vein.

Shoutout to whoever at Stamford got me the present of this week's B-roll programming. Genuinely. Why feel the need to write one's own iteration of a 2,000-word thinkpiece everybody and their third cousin on their uncle's side has written on the web about WWE programming in 2014 when the Christmas week editions of Main Event and NXT were there for any eyeballs not glazed over with tryptophan? The former put on a brand new show with four matches that were all passable and one even creeping into good territory while the latter had a clip show Christmas with only one new match to air and still Usain Bolted away from WWEME for MOTW honors.

Of course, NXT had the benefit of a title match while Main Event didn't. But even so. Since it won the big cut of ham at the holiday table, let's give NXT the leadoff spot here with the Charlotte/Sasha Banks rematch. It featured a guest appearance from the Natich himself, who got the stick pre-match. He called Sasha awesome but not good enough to beat his daughter, who in his estimation is on her way to being the best diva ever. They were the sort of comments where even if he could've blown a .14 at the time that he said them that no one would begrudge him the thoughts. The young ladies then proceeded to go out and prove him correct, even with a little bit less time to work with than they got at Revolution. Oh, this went down like a fourth sip of Jameson out of the flask right from the jump where both ladies got in each others faces multiple times preceding and during the pre-match introductions (hey, it's Full Sail and there's a belt on the line, Christmas or no) before degenerating into two-sided fisticuffs to start the match. Nothing says "I hate you eff that I hate you MORE" than opening brawling, and then things settled down into the human game of chess.

About the only thing that could stop them from kicking out the jams was a commercial break, and back from it Charlotte and Banks proved not only do they have the chops to succeed at the highest level but there was fun to be found in even the little moments here: Charlotte countering the mandatory grounding submission with a Piggyback Stunner, then using her length to reach the ropes when Banks made good on the Banks Statement she'd failed to convert on in their first match--and of course the announcers pointed out that point immediately. Maybe it's been mentioned once or twice but NXT is a magical fairy tale land.

Ms. Flair would go on to counter a Banks dive attempt (since she'd seen it before in the prior battle) with Banks coming right bank back to cut Charlotte off at the top rope from another Diamond Dust to hit her own multi-not-quite-superplex off of the second rope (since she'd seen that before in the prior battle). The end came suddenly, brilliantly. Charlotte countered the Sasha counter to her rebound spear by debuting two moves pretty much in succession: first, a Vaderesque Face Eraser wheelbarrow facebuster, and then debuting a bridging figure-four where at points she wasn't even using her hands for balance but holding their combined weight on her head. No wonder NXT was the back-to-back Show of the Year, as for the second straight Christmas (see Regal/Cesaro from last year's) they took an ostensibly throwaway show and still provided a match worth going out of one's way to see. Even Sasha's Twitter heeling once the match aired was golden (there was a mosquito buzzing around that freaked her out, and the ref mistook her swinging to kill it as a tapout). This can't be a rivalry yet, since the Boss would have to best her former bestie at some point. But even now, it's a joy to watch them step between the ropes and prove every time out worthwhile pro graps are worthwhile pro graps irregardless of gender.

Again, it's not like Main Event completely vomited all over itself before falling out of the chair and passing out, but nothing was that good. The closest contender to the ladies' throne was the eponymous two-segger that closed the program between Jack Swagger White Savior: Shame Of A Nation and Luke Harper. Sans Unkie Zeb Swag's been a man without an anchor while Harper's spent the winter months slowly elevating his way up the ranks to the point where he'll probably get a couple of boss spots in the Rumble without winning it, so the ending to this was pretty fait accompli. Still, it was pretty fun watching Harper find different ways to beat Jack around the ring, mostly with the use of back elbows and double throat thrusts. Swagger overcame some botches in the back end to get some nearfalls in and even managed to put the Patriot Lock on the now formerly Intercontinental Champion. Harper managed to finally snag the bottom rope and send Swagger sprawling to the floor before absolutely putting a bow on the proceedings with his MURDER DISCUS KILL™ lariat.

It should be noted that Main Event kicked off with another impressive showing from the Cesaro/Tyson Kidd unit unofficially known as the Swinging Cats. Here, Los Matadores put up exactly the amount of almost no offense you'd expect as the international workrate connection busted out a few fun double teams on the way to what hopefully becomes their coup de gras: a powerbomb/Blockbuster combo. A/The New Day, in front of a receptive crowd, sent Big E out against Stardust in a winning effort highlighted mostly by the former Langston's getting in some crisp offense against his fellow Intercontinental Champion. The man who hung in there vs. Rusev is still there, even if his storytelling arc right now is LOL U SWEAT HOMIE. And in case you forgot that Total Divas is about to fire out another season over on the Exclamat

ion Point, Brie Bella beat Summer Rae in a match seemingly only created because of that express purpose. Why else would you have heels fighting each other unless it was February and you were getting this is awesome chants before anything even happened on the way to being my favorite non-NXT match under the Stamford umbrella this year? Even more confounded, in Sioux City's world Brie's recent turn back to the black hats either didn't happen or didn't take, so they spent most of the match chanting for her and clapping for her to get out from underneath Summer's modified (camel) clutch (es) ((which is another reason why you cross the alignment streams in 99.9% of matches)). Brie's rally was concise, but again: if you're going to pick a women's match from this week to watch, Full Sail is the place to go. Even if NXT's superior effort didn't have Nikki celebrating her sister's victory by ripping her own shirt in half and off, it was still the superior effort.

When it comes to WWE, it's been that those kind of year years.

Foley making the rounds, this time with Colt Cabana Photo Credit: WWE.com

If you're new, here's the rundown: I listen to a handful of wrestling podcasts each week. Too many, probably, though certainly not all of them. In the interest of saving you time — in case you have the restraint to skip certain episodes — the plan is to give the bare bones of a given show and let you decide if it’s worth investing the time to hear the whole thing. There are better wrestling podcasts out there, of course, but these are the ones in my regular rotation that I feel best fit the category of hit or miss. If I can save other folks some time, I'm happy to do so.

Show: Art Of Wrestling
Episode: 230
Run Time: 1:05:41
Guest: Mick Foley (12:09)

Summary: Colt Cabana opens the show shooting the bull with CM Punk and Cliff Compton. Then he brings on return guest Mick Foley, a natural for the Christmas Day episode since the Hardcore Legend is making the media rounds promoting his Santa Claus-themed documentary. They start the talk with the Jolly Old Elf himself with a brief segue into hair and beard concerns. Cabana brings up his love of Beyond the Mat before asking Foley about his brief time working as 1980s WWF enhancement talent. Then they discuss Foley’s legendary time in Japan before addressing Foley’s concerns about a performance in Coventry, England, where he felt he didn’t do right by his fans. At the end, Foley plugs his ongoing projects.

Quote of the week: Foley on what Santa portrayers have in common with wrestlers: “And Tommy said, ‘It’s not all jolliness.’ He said, ‘You’ve got to understand, you know how competitive your business is, where you have hundreds’ — and really, when you look at the fringe guys, thousands — ‘of people all trying to put a unique stamp on their own character?’ He said, ‘Now imagine you’ve got thousands of people and they’re all trying to put their unique stamp on an iconic character, and most of them, or many of them, are convinced that they do it better than anyone.’ ”

Why you should listen: To get in the Christmas spirit! Actually, you should tune in because Cabana and Foley have solid chemistry, made possible because the latter respects people when his stature doesn’t demand he do so. Cabana understands and acknowledges it’s hard to cover uncharted territory with Foley, yet does a good job evoking both some lesser-discussed stories (the jobber stint) as well as getting Foley to open up about his professional insecurities, which many folks might assume long since departed.

Why you should skip it: Foley covered a lot of the exact same territory on the previous week’s Cheap Heat and during a recent Daily Show visit, not to mention anywhere else he might have pimped the Santa doc. He’s already appeared once on “Art Of Wrestling,” and that was a much more illuminating chat — certainly a deeper look at Foley the wrestler vs. Foley the showman.

Final thoughts: This was a great listen while I washed dishes and ran last-minute Christmas errands. After the fact it’s still solid, though anyone who devoured Foley on an unusually strong Cheap Heat would be forgiven for taking a pass here. I’d like to know which top wrestler with the perm the guys referenced as being a toupee-wearer, perhaps I’m just not hip enough on insider tales. All things considered, I’d certainly recommend the back half of the show as a fun listen, even long after the holidays.

Destined to do this forever... Photo Credit: WWE.com

WWE and its developmental territory are two different worlds, and I will fight you to the death in defense of that viewpoint.

Promotion: WWE NXT

What Happened in 2014: The year 2013 saw the NXT show take a big step forward in terms of exposure. Even though it was without regular distribution, the buzz created mainly from the work Paige and Emma did in the women's division and the feud between Antonio Cesaro and Sami Zayn made people subscribe to Hulu Plus and make the developmental program a must-watch each week. As 2014 began, however, the major pieces of the show were mostly floating around aimlessly. Paige and Emma had become de facto partners trying to repel the BFFs. Zayn was distracted in a mini-program against Leo Kruger, against whom he would score a resounding 2-0 victory in a best two-out-of-three falls match on one of the first episodes of the year. Cesaro had just bested mentor William Regal in a match on the Christmas day episode. The only real endgame that was clearly in sight was Adrian Neville chasing the wily NXT Champion Bo Dallas.

Then, the WWE Network was announced, and with it, Triple H announced that the weekly show would make its home on the over-the-top venture. The debut would be the first ever live two-hour supershow called ArRIVAL. Keeping with the theme made known by the weird capitalization, old rivalries would be brought to a head in the major three matches. The main event would pit Dallas against Neville in a ladder match for the former's NXT Championship. Emma would cash in her number one contendership for a Women's Title shot against Paige. And the opener would pit Zayn against Cesaro for the fourth and final time.

That match would set the tone not only for ArRIVAL, but for the three Takeover Network specials that would follow, as they did everything and then some to top their critically-acclaimed best two-of-three falls match from the summer of '13. While Zayn lost to the eventual Andre the Giant Battle Royale winner, he gained Cesaro's respect, which is presumably all he wanted. Emma would not fare as well against her eternal rival Paige. Despite breaking out everything in her quirky arsenal, Paige would retain her Championship with the Scorpion Crosslock, a move she adopted from WWE and joshi legend Bull Nakano. And in the main event, Neville would realize his destiny and snatch the NXT Championship from atop the ladder, sending Dallas on his way the main roster.

Great changes came to NXT after that landmark first event. Cesaro would leave developmental for seeming good, going off to be adopted and then abandoned by Paul Heyman. Dallas tried weaseling his way back into NXT, but his plans were ultimately thwarted. Emma was the first to make her main roster debut between her and her rival Paige, but the latter would ultimately get the last laugh, as she won the Divas Championship on her first night as a main roster member. NXT General Manager JBL saw her dual titleholding as a detriment to her duties in NXT, so he stripped her of the title and put it up in a tournament.

Meanwhile, Neville's first challenge after winning the Championship would come from Tyson Kidd. Instead of returning to the main roster after the knee injury that sidelined him for much of 2013, Kidd returned to familiar stomping grounds (he was a member of the nearly endless fifth season of NXT v. 1.0, NXT Redemption) as a big man on campus of sorts. Kidd's newfound self-centered attitude alienated fans as well as put his relationship with Natalya in a bit of a bind. Nattie continued to play the loving wife to her husband, but no matter what she did, Kidd found ways for her actions to annoy him. Nattie's own wrestling career began to annoy Kidd. She was a participant in the NXT Women's Championship tournament and made it all the way to the finals, where she'd face off against Ric Flair's daughter, Charlotte. While any normal husband would be happy for his wife's successes, Kidd took it as an affront, mainly because crowds let him know who was better.

Those same crowds clamored for Zayn to be Neville's first challenger. The popular former El Generico had attained folk hero status with his beguiling charms and plentiful smiles, but where were his results in the ring? Tyler Breeze asked why Zayn should be moved to the front of the line when he'd been toiling for all those years and winning since he reimagined himself as Prince Pretty. While Kidd was granted the outright title shot, Zayn and Breeze would be given a chance to be the next contender at the next supershow, Takeover. Meanwhile, the Ascension had pretty much razed the tag ranks since winning the Championships from Neville and Corey Graves. After obliterating Too Cool (Yes, that Too Cool) at ArRIVAL, they thirsted for new challengers. Fiery newcomer Kalisto stepped forward with El Local (an elseworlds Ricardo Rodriguez in a mask) to challenge the Champions.

Charlotte celebrating her biggest win with her daddy Photo Credit: WWE.com

At the first Takeover special, the Ascension dispatched Kalisto and Local. Shortly afterwards, Rodriguez would leave the company, and Kalisto was left scrambling for a new tag partner, which he would find in Sin Cara (not Mistico, who also left in 2014, but Hunico). While Zayn fought valiantly again, he couldn't finish the job on Breeze, who earned his number one contendership with his pop-up spinning heel kick, the Beauty Shot. Charlotte came out of her shell in a big way and had the match of her life defeating Natalya to become the Women's Champion. In the main event, Neville would repel Kidd's challenge and retain the Big X.

Even though Neville beat Kidd cleanly for the title, the last graduate of the Hart Family Dungeon had other ideas as to who deserved the next shot. He campaigned for a rematch, and when he didn't get it, he interrupted Breeze's shot at Neville on a weekly episode, causing the match to end in disqualification. When Zayn came out to make the save for his friend, newly appointed GM William Regal came out and put all four men in a title match at the next Takeover event. Deciding the next contenders to the Ascension wasn't nearly as easy. With El Local gone and Kalisto taking on a new, unproven-to-NXT partner, the field had become muddled. A tournament was announced that came down to the Kalisto/Sin Cara team and the Vaudevillains, a dastardly teaming of old school individuals Aiden English and Simon Gotch.

However, the build towards the second Takeover event was overshadowed by three huge signings. First, Pro Wrestling NOAH legend and junior heavyweight innovator KENTA inked a deal with WWE, which only made sense since the two guys who ganked his big finishes quit the company and got badly hurt respectively. Then, Prince Devitt, the Irish phenom who most recently was the head of the Bullet Club in New Japan Pro Wrestling, signed his name on the bottom line. Finally, Kevin Steen, perhaps the most well-rounded and entertaining second wave indie wrestler, made his signing official. The three represented a sea change within WWE's signing process. In the past, even guys who'd garnered international and domestic acclaim like Cesaro, Zayn, and Neville were given low-key debuts with little fanfare. Whether or not at least those three signings would have been heralded more if the Mistico signing didn't blow up in Triple H's face is up in the air. However, no one had ever entered the company with such pomp since the last of the WCW mainstays finally came aboard in the early Aughts.

His style is kick! Photo Credit: WWE.com

KENTA was the first to officially debut. He made his entry at Takeover, casting off his former name and taking on the mantel "Hideo Itami." However, his debut was marred by the angry Konor and Viktor of The Ascension. The show opened with the Tag Team Championship match, and Kalisto and Sin Cara were able to wrest the titles away from the team that had held it for one day short of a year. To take out their frustrations, they hit the ring and tried to wail on the debuting puroresu icon. In the other matches, Charlotte kept her Women's Championship by defeating Bayley, who killed Sasha Banks with kindness en route to her title shot. In a hair vs. hair match, Enzo Amore beat Sylvester LeFort, but it was Marcus Louis who got his hair chemically removed after LeFort jumped bail.

The main event is where the dynamite went boom. It was perhaps the finest fatal four way match in WWE history, as all four competitors went balls to the wall. Each of the four wrestlers had chances to escape with the gold, but Zayn had Kidd seemingly pinned after a Helluva Kick until Neville pulled the referee from the ring. Zayn was aghast that his good friend would pull such a cheap move on him, but the action saved Neville's title. He hit the Red Arrow on Kidd and retained his Championship.

Zayn was miffed at the move. He came as far as he did playing by the rules and showing good sportsmanship and all that, but Neville, who also was renowned for his fairplay, stated that when getting ahead was at stake, or in this case, staying on top, he had to do whatever he needed to do. He accused Zayn of not having any killer instinct. In response, Zayn said that he would start back at the bottom and work his way all the way to a title match without showing that he needed to take the shortcuts that Neville did at the second Takeover. He avenged losses to Titus O'Neil, Kidd, and Breeze en route to getting his one-on-one shot at Neville and his title.

Zayn looked to have the match in hand when Neville landed awkwardly from a top rope leap. Instead of going for the pin, however, he checked on his friend, who immediately rolled him up to keep his title. Zayn insisted that he did the right thing and that Neville used dirty pool, and he asked for one more shot at the title, one that if he didn't win, he'd retire. Neville granted it, and he needled Zayn until he snapped and broke his nice guy veneer. The match would happen at the third Takeover event.

Meanwhile, the Ascension turned their attentions away from the Tag Championships and decided bullying Itami was the better course of action. While the former KENTA got his licks in, his first month or so of WWE employment was spent getting his lunch money forcibly taken from him by the former Champs. After they beat the Christ out of his translator and fixer, Sho Funaki, Itami decided he had enough of the Ascension's shit and brought out the heavy guns, Devitt, under his new, NXT name, Finn Bálor. They challenged the Ascension to a match at Takeover.

Charlotte, meanwhile, faced a new challenger. Over the course of the year, she drifted apart from her BFF stablemate Banks to the point where Banks had started antagonizing her directly. She took up arms with a new running buddy, Becky Lynch. They dubbed their new group BAE (Best At Everything), and Banks took aim at the Women's Championship, all the while still taking her shots at Bayley along the way.

Next. Level. Shit. Photo Credit: WWE.com

Despite doing her best to get into Charlotte's head, however, Banks faltered in her attempt to get the Women's Championship at the third Takeover. Speaking of mind games, Bálor broke out his body paint ring get up for the first time, painting himself red and black as he and Itami beat The Ascension all the way up to the main roster. In addition to all the matches at this final event of the year, Kevin Steen made his debut as Kevin Owens. Despite CJ Parker breaking his nose, Owens beat the conservationism out of him in his first ever WWE-branded match.

The main event was not only one of the matches of the year, it was the falling action and resolution to perhaps the entire calendar slate of the company. Zayn was pushed to his limits, and Neville kept responding back with answer shots. They threw bombs at each other until the referee got knocked out. Neville brought the NXT Championship Belt into the ring, but Zayn wrested it from him. He stood with the belt, ready to give into his dark side and do whatever it took, but his conscience got the best of him. He threw the belt down, kicked EMPHATICALLY out of the rollup that Neville saddled him with, and then knocked the Champ out with his Helluva Kick. Sami Zayn won the NXT Championship his way, the right way. Everyone came out to celebrate, including his old friend and rival from the indies Owens. They walked away together, happily ever after...

...well, that is until Owens kicked him in the gut and powerbombed him onto the apron. Zayn was stretchered out of the arena, marked for hunting in the new year by the ambitious Owens. Neville didn't take to kindly to the action and challenged Owens on the very next show, but he too got stretchered out for his troubles. The year ended with Owens as the new Big Bad in NXT, and I'm sure that's the way everyone wants it to be.

The best wrestling resolution of the year Photo Credit: WWE.com

2014 MVP: NXT truly was an ensemble cast with wrestlers from all card positions lending a hand. However, even with the strong cast, NXT had only one major protagonist, and his name was Sami Zayn. The year was set up to revolve around him from the very second it began. A lot of people were mad that he didn't beat Cesaro at ArRIVAL, but if he had won that big one, would his final victory have been so sweet? Of course, being the centerpiece is not enough; one has to excel at his role to be honored. Zayn, however, hit every single note with impeccable brilliance. No other wrestler in America came close to being as important to his promotion's narrative as Zayn was to NXT.

What's Going to Happen in 2015: The feud that would not end on the independent circuit has finally come to the mainstream. Many wondered when, not if, Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens would cross paths, and it didn't even take one full show for the latter to be on the roster for it to happen. The two reinvented what it meant to feud on the independent circuit, so it's not hard to see why so many folks are excited for this go around. The question is now if and then when Owens takes the title from Zayn. Zayn's days in NXT seem to be numbered; he's done all he can do at Full Sail. The question is whether his final arc in developmental will only last through the first supershow or whether it'll get six months. Either way, I doubt their interactions will end when they both get to the main roster. Maybe WWE officials shouldn't give too much away in Florida?

Of course, the question after Zayn loses the title and is promoted is who populates the challenger list. Adrian Neville and Tyson Kidd appear headed to the main roster, and both Hideo Itami and Finn Bálor are rumored to be on the fast track. If that's the case, who will be left to challenge Owens' title reign? Tyler Breeze is a good first option. He's NXT royalty at this point, and despite his lengthy time in developmental, he doesn't seem to be headed to the main roster any time soon. He also never got his one-on-one feud for the title, and while he and Owens may not seem like likely feud partners, their personalities and in-ring styles both appear to fit in with each other.

At this point in time, despite having a smaller roster, the Women's Championship may be equal in prestige to the Big X. Charlotte is already getting main roster flirtations, and the question now becomes whether she'll drop the title to Bayley or Sasha Banks. Either way, those two are bound to clash over the title in 2015. They had stellar matches on NXT TV this past year, but I think they have something special in store for when they get to do their thing on a future edition of Takeover.

The Tag Team Championship scene seems more muddled than the other two title scenes right now. I'm not sure how many more shots the Vaudevillains have after they get their rematch in the future, although I can see them taking the titles at the next supershow since Kalisto may be the most main roster-ready wrestler in NXT right now. Would Enzo Amore and Big Cass be the next team in line? Then again, the seeds for their breakup may be being planted right now as Amore's infatuation with Carmella could end up driving a rift through their partnership. Maybe one of the "jobber-plus" teams will get a step up. I wouldn't mind seeing either the Dubstep Cowboys (Wesley Blake and Buddy Murphy) or the Tye Fighters (Tye Dillinger and Jason Jordan) getting a chance to run with the ball.

Five Wrestlers to Watch in 2015:Solomon Crowe - Sami Callihan left for the Performance Center in the middle of 2013, and outside of a cameo as the Rosebud DJ and an appearance celebrating Sami Zayn's title victory, the redubbed Solomon Crowe has not made it past the dark match/house show stage of NXT development. For someone who was as gifted as he was on the indie circuit, this state of affairs seems criminal. He seems primed to overcome dead-in-the-water gimmicks and injuries and is set to make his debut on NXT television early in 2015. With the extra attention and care showed to indie transplants, Crowe could become a main player in NXT by year's end.

Whither Prince Pretty? Photo Credit: WWE.com

Tyler Breeze - This coming year might be a make or break year for the former Mike Dalton. Breeze has been in developmental the longest of anyone who hasn't already gotten a shot at the main roster. He's clearly over at Full Sail, and he's improved so much in the ring over the last year. However, will his gimmick translate? Or, if what Triple H says about his intention for NXT as a separate promotion/viable alternative for the RAW narrative is true, could he be the first NXT lifer? It wouldn't necessarily be a bad position, and he's grown comfortable into his role there. Either way, Breeze is an interesting wrestler to watch.

Becky Lynch - Bayley is more than likely the one to unseat Charlotte for the title, but she's going to need a strong contender afterwards. Sasha Banks seems headed for the main roster alongside Charlotte. Lynch has main evented major joshi promotions and gone through the wringer in the American indies, so she seems suited for the in-ring half of the load. She still needs a lot of character seasoning, as "headbanging and throwing up devil horns" isn't so much a persona as it is "things people on uppers tend to do." However, she's finally got a finisher, and she seems to be in the future plans for the NXT women's division. This coming year could be when she makes the leap.

Elias Sampson - Sampson was formerly known as Logan Shulo in the Rust Belt indie scene, and he was signed midway through last year. I saw him live once at National Pro Wrestling Day in 2013, and even though his match was near the end of the two-part mega event, he was able to elicit a good response from a spent crowd just on look and body language alone. Of all the new, non-Kevin Steen signings, Sampson seems like the guy with a better-than-average shot of taking the WWE training regimen and becoming a success story. Keep an eye on him.

Curtis Axel - Much in the same way Tyson Kidd rejuvenated his career this past year by going back to NXT, Axel could very well find the spark he's been lacking since his repackage ran into a brick wall known as Triple H from jump last year. Axel's always been a solid hand in the ring, but his characters have never found footing since his first run in NXT with the disastrous "Genesis of McGillicutty" promo. With solid direction, Axel could bust out and possibly exceed what Kidd has done this year. This chance certainly could be his last, but desperation has a way of motivating performers with potential.

Three Things I Want to See in 2015:1. Quick exits to the main roster for Finn Bálor and Hideo Itami - I have nothing against the former KENTA and Prince Devitt, and I know that getting over on the main roster is no sure thing for them. In the womb of NXT, they can go up against familiar wrestlers and get the care they need to please a crowd that is eager to cheer them, but as Brandon Stroud correctly pointed out, they seem to be stunting the growth of the wrestlers who've had to work their ways up through the wringer from the bottom. Even Adrian Neville and Sami Zayn, who are NXT royalty, didn't get handed their main event mantels on a silver platter. It sucks to realize that in NXT, the two are analogous to Brock Lesnar and The Rock, but the beauty is that once they hit the main roster, they will become the new Daniel Bryan archetypes. That is, they will become the battleground characters that shitty dorks like me get behind until the rest of the fans follow suit and Vince McMahon has no other choice but to elevate them. Either way, it's clear that Itami and Bálor were being fast-tracked from day one. Hopefully, that fast-track will get them to the roster sooner rather than later so that the process can continue to work the way it has since inception.

More of this, please Photo Credit: WWE.com

2. A better fleshed-out women's division - Real talk, NXT's treatment of women wrestlers is leagues better than the parent roster's by far. In fact, the NXT women's division is closer to a fully-realized women's promotion like SHIMMER than it is to the "Divas Division" up top. However, usually, only one feud is going on at a time for this subset of wrestlers. One could argue that time constraints are to blame, but in order to change the game, one needs to break barriers and shift paradigms. Who says that a wrestling company, even one in the mainstream, needs to focus most of its energy on male wrestlers? Why do the NXT fans need to see a bullshit feud on who can destroy jobbers quickest between Bull Dempsey and Baron Corbin at the expense of building towards a Bayley/Becky Lynch match to supplement the Charlotte/Sasha Banks title bout at the special event? Triple H and his crew are putting in work at the Performance Center and Full Sail, but it's not nearly enough if the fruits of that labor only bear one match for the supershow. WWE has four wrestlers who are in the spotlight, two more who are on the rise, and a few more who are in the pipes, looking to make a splash. They need more spots to open up or else the good is negligible.

3. Resist the urge to expand too much - NXT might seem like a prime candidate for expansion without too much being lost from the narrative, but I'd argue that the paucity of time helps NXT's must-see status. The showrunners have so many moving parts to fit into a mere 60 minutes of time, and it makes for a compelling, quick watch every week. Even if NXT expanded to two hours for regular shows and three for supershows, the slog that haunts RAW might creep into the show. NXT has a good thing going right now, and it would be foolish to want more, no matter how good the limited output may entice expansion.

YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! Photo Credit: WWE.com

Monday Night RAW's absolute peak as a show didn't come during the Attitude Era. Sure, those halcyon days had all the moments that old school fans and the establishment love to prop up because of ratings or money drawn or whatever, but as an overall show, basically, it was a huge moment that acted as a buoy in a sea of shit. If one were to turn the channel to Nitro, things wouldn't be too much better. The cruiserweights who anchored the in-ring action on the program were deemphasized gradually over the three year period of the main war between the two promotions to the point where fucking Oklahoma was a mainstay in the division by 1999. Maybe people have different tastes than I do, and that's fine. Maybe people have rose-colored glasses when it comes to what they loved as kids, and that's fine too.

But the calendar year of 2013 was when RAW reached its absolute zenith as a week-to-week show, and Daniel Bryan had everything to do with it. To be completely fair, he wasn't shouldering the load alone. However, much in the same way that Sami Zayn having a boffo cast around him in NXT this past year didn't diminish that the show was all about him, Bryan being buttressed by Randy Orton and The Shield and Cesaro and Sheamus (before Money in the Bank) and Alberto del Rio didn't take away from the fact that the show was his narrative all year. The show took on his character, his personality. Even bad narrative shows didn't feel so bad because every episode had a pay-per-view caliber match on it. Shows with great narrative direction felt like all-timers. The three hour-plus runtime melted away like nothing because somewhere on that card, a fucking ace match was happening, and odds are, that match was going to have Daniel Bryan competing in it.

For the most part, RAW after WrestleMania, or moreover, Extreme Rules, missed something. The Shield and Evolution carried the flag, but once Bryan's career was in limbo, the show lost its soul. One cannot just replace a vibrant center of its nucleus with scattered remnants of his closest support. Think about it; RAW was never even allowed to breathe as a show with The Shield as a unified entity. It was broken up as soon as Bryan was stripped of the title. But no matter how dynamic Dean Ambrose was at the start of his singles push, no matter how cool Roman Reigns seemed, no matter how adhesive a glue Rusev was for the midcard, the show somehow weighed less than the sum of its parts.

But then something magical happened. When Bryan tweeted that he was at a crossroads and that he had an announcement for RAW, a lot of people, myself included, feared the worst. And yet even with that Sword of Damocles hanging over the show, everyone reverted back to 2013 form, even with the blatant flaws in storytelling and writing that permeated throughout. Dolph Ziggler and Rusev wrestled on hell of an opening match, even if the finish was unpopular (I quite liked it in this usage, but whatever). Reigns looked like someone worth investing time and effort into for the first time in a non-trios setting, even if the DQ finish he suffered was better suited for a less fleshed-out match. WWE wrote a story that glorified and vindicated a jealous husband at the resolution? Awful, yet not in the face of seeing the Usos celebrate organically at the end or the match they wrestled against Miz and Damien Sandow to get there. The Ascension's bat-shit crazy TitanTron video, Cesaro and Wade Barrett throwing bombs at each other, Luke Harper taking Jack Swagger's head off, Edge and Christian bantering like it was still 2000, hell, even the nonsensical main event segment that went on way too long but still had Rollins deliver the best line he's ever uttered ("I'm still gonna kill him."), it all made for at least a fun watch despite the blatant and overarching flaws in the narrative structure.

Maybe it was all coincidence that it happened on the same show which Bryan announced that his career wasn't over and that he was the first man to throw his hat into the Royal Rumble. Or maybe RAW finally getting its heart back injected some life into the show. Whatever the reason, RAW gave me tangible things about which to write, which is more than I could say for it in the last month. When the most special performer in the biggest company in the world is Daniel Bryan, then wrestling is in a good place.

The Ross Report is VADER TIME this week Photo Credit: WWE.com

If you're new, here's the rundown: I listen to a handful of wrestling podcasts each week. Too many, probably, though certainly not all of them. In the interest of saving you time — in case you have the restraint to skip certain episodes — the plan is to give the bare bones of a given show and let you decide if it’s worth investing the time to hear the whole thing. There are better wrestling podcasts out there, of course, but these are the ones in my regular rotation that I feel best fit the category of hit or miss. If I can save other folks some time, I'm happy to do so.

Show: The Ross Report
Episode: 45
Run Time: 2:02:41
Guest: Big Van Vader (35:14)

Summary: After a lengthy monologue, Ross opens his chat with Vader by talking about how Leon White grew up and became a football star in Compton. They talked about his college and football career and how he transitioned into wrestling. Vader explained the process by which he left AWA and went into great detail about finding fame in Japan, his iconic mask and the eye injury he suffered in a legendary match with Stan Hansen. Ross then led Vader through some quick hit opinions on various wrestling names before talking about steroids and workout routines. They wrapped after discussing Vader’s historic world title loss to Ron Simmons.

Quote of the week: On destroying Antonio Inoki in his Japanese debut: “We had a very short and brutal match. I had hurt him. I caught him a few times, but I was doing exactly what I had been told to do, and ended up with just a simple powerbomb. I think I pressed him over my head and brought him down into a powerslam position and just got some air and covered him up. These people, they went absolutely crazy. … Obviously in a sumo palace they don’t sit on chairs, they sit on pillows. And they cross their legs and that’s the style and custom over there. And they were lighting these things on fire and throwing them at me. I didn’t really know what was going on at first, the seriousness of it.”

Why you should listen: Vader has always struck me as fascinating, perhaps because his personal introspection runs counter to his wrestling character’s tendencies, but it’s also because he’s led an interesting life and crossed paths with most of the important names of the last part of the 20th century. He and Ross have a good connection, and focusing on Vader’s formative years in Japan was time well spent.

Why you should skip it: It’s been quite a while since Vader was on Steve Austin’s show, but even so this talk with JR didn’t seem to raise many new topics. It wasn’t egregious, but there were moments where Ross gave in to his usual inclination to let the show be about him — his time in WCW or his thoughts on how a stronger style would help today’s product. Perhaps the biggest failure was failing to connect Vader’s Japan experience to Ross’ upcoming Wrestle Kingdom 9 gig, but the biggest problem might just be the fact there’s really no high point. It was just an 80-minute chat devoid of nearly any emotion.

Final thoughts: If you love JR’s monologues, you’re in for a treat this week since he felt it made sense to review his feelings on certain WWE performers and also announce, again, his plans to wear a dark suit for the WK9 gig in case he has to wet himself at ringside. If you’ve got extra time during the holidays, by all means give this one a shot. But ultimately a critical listener will come away feeling a person with Ross’ experience should have been able to draw more from Vader, or maybe just arrive at the realization that Ross’ shows will never rise above the level of a friendly phone call between old timers.

The failure was way over the top Graphics Credit: WWE.com

New Japan Pro Wrestling launched an over-the-top streaming service late in 2014 called NJPW World, one that included vast swaths of its video library on demand. The service was mainly launched for its fans at home in Asia, as referenced by all the logins and signup information being in Japanese. However, the people behind the service knew the promotion was popular enough in America that people would attempt to sign up regardless of language barriers, so advertisement space was purchased on ESPN dot com and banner ads were prominently featured on the major parts of the site of the biggest sporting website in the country, if not the world. Despite being behind a language barrier with a product more unfamiliar to Americans than WWE, NJPW did more right in launching its over-the-top service than WWE has seemingly done all year with its own.

The moment the service was announced was full of so much hope and promise. In all actuality, the Network is the most important innovation in wrestling distribution since WWE launched Monday Night RAW, and it will continue to be until the next innovation in distribution is announced, regardless of the mistakes made. But man, all those mistakes that were made really made this tremendous idea turn into a disaster thanks to shitty execution on it. Even before the launch date, Vince McMahon doomed the Network to financial failure due to unrealistic subscriber projections. No one could access a single archived pay-per-view on the first day. The first crown jewel event, NXT ArRIVAL, was plagued with spotty providence on the feed to the point where only a fraction of the audience was able to see the entire main event.

And of course, Vince McMahon and his braintrust responded with the same glib dismissal that he's famous for treating everything after the WCW purchase. He turned the price point, $9.99 a month, into a meme. He fucking sold shirts with the price on it. It's one thing to make mistakes in a venture, but when one makes it worse by making a joke out of it, it gets embarrassing. The debacle surrounding The Network should not have been all too surprising, however. It is what happens when a soulless corporate hivemind gets a hold of technological innovation, especially one as prone to bungling things as the post-corporate WWE. Yet, another corporate wrestling entity had the foresight enough to do the one thing that WWE should have done from the start, advertise with a body like ESPN.

All the hand-wringing about how The Network was handled speaks more to the institutional disorganization within WWE than any creative failures in the on-screen production. When a company is in possession of a game-changer and it doesn't change the game, everything about how dysfunctional the organization is on display. As fate turned out, I really didn't need to write all those essays about how terrible WWE booking reflected a muddled front office, because the tangible results from how The Network was promoted and offered said it all.

Still, even with all the mistakes that were made, WWE Network still stands as the future of the industry. The question is whether WWE will be the company to reap the best benefits from it. Other promotions are rising up and becoming players in the second tier. Global Force Wrestling could very well be where WCW was in 1992 within a year or so. If Jeff Jarrett goes over-the-top and actually promotes his version of it smartly, another promotional war would be likely to happen, and who knows. Maybe it would be a war that WWE wouldn't actually win this time.

Regardless, WWE Network's first year stands as perhaps the biggest missed opportunity of all-time, let alone the year. The product itself is great, don't get me wrong. I've been a subscriber from day one. But WWE had me without question. I'm not the fan the company needed to worry about. The ones that WWE had to worry about aren't subscribing, and the fault doesn't rest with a lack of appetite for wrestling or on the current roster "not grabbing brass rings." It's all Vince McMahon's fault and the faults of all his shitty corporate underlings.

Hello everyone, I have returned with another Inspire Pro preview. Are you a new reader to The Wrestling Blog and not know what Inspire Pro Wrestling is? Well, are you in for a treat! Maybe not so much for my writing, but definitely for the product that I write about. It’s only the very best independent wrestling company in the world (in my humble opinion)... actually, scratch that. It doesn’t need the “independent” qualifier. It’s simply THE BEST wrestling you’re going to find in any part of the globe and it’s based in Austin, TX.

On January 4, it will return to the Marchesa Theater for the first time since October’s BATTLE WARS, a cross-promotional show with Chikara. It will be the first Inspire Pro”show since the three-day FUN FUN FUN FEST in November, which was an outdoor music/comedy/BMX/skateboard/wrestling/good-times-having festival.

The show is going to have some stiff competition, too, as New Japan Pro Wrestling will be holding Wrestle Kingdom 9 inside the Tokyo Dome that very day (albeit it at 2am CST), but I would put Inspire Pro’s in-ring action up against anything NJPW has to offer, even if it is its signature event with tons of big bouts scheduled. Inspire Pro has several big bouts of their own booked, just as it does every single time it holds a show.

Let’s take a gander, shall we?

INSPIRE PRO CHAMPIONSHIP:“Dirty” Andy Dalton (c) vs “Centerfold” Matthew Palmer

At September’s RELENTLESS show, the inaugural Inspire Pro Champion “One Man” Mike Dell was scheduled to face Ray “Death” Rowe. But an unfortunate motorcycle accident put Rowe out of action indefinitely, leaving Dell without an opponent. The Inspire Pro brass gave Dell the option of picking his own opponent, and he chose the man who lost a number one contender’s match to Ray Rowe at June’s CLASH AT THE BASH extravaganza, “Centerfold” Matthew Palmer.

That decision would prove a bad one for Dell. Palmer nabbed the victory and the Inspire Pro Championship, but his elation was short lived. Fresh off becoming the new number one contender with a victory over Jax Dane at the top of the show, “Dirty” Andy Dalton made his way to the ring with his manager JT LaMotta in tow and somehow got Palmer to stupidly agree to a title defense right then and there.

As you can imagine, Palmer was not 100% either physically or emotionally after having just won the Title, and while he put up a spirited fight, “The Dirty Mind of Wrestling,” plucked the belt from his grasp and became the NEW Inspire Pro Champion. Needless to say, Palmer was not too happy.

At the cross-promotional event, BATTLE WARS, Dalton squared off with Chikara Pro’s Grand Champion, Icarus, in a Champion versus Champion non-title match. Dalton and LaMotta attempted every shenanigan they could think of to defeat Icarus, but thanks to a well-timed Palmer superkick to LaMotta, stopping his interference attempt, Dalton was forced to tap out to the Chikara Special.

Afterwards, Palmer demanded a rematch for the Inspire Pro Championship or he was going to stab Dalton in the chest with a butcher knife. So, yeah, that got super intense and threatening in a hurry. Thankfully, those in charge of Inspire Pro booked the Title Match for January 4th instead of waiting to see if Palmer would make good on his promise to open up Dalton’s chest cavity.

Mike Dell was Inspire Pro Champion from the first ECSTACY OF GOLD (1/5/14) to RELENTLESS (9/5/14) and in all his Title defenses, nothing was as intense as what Dalton/Palmer will be this Sunday at the Marchesa Theater. The only match that was beyond dull and “get this over with already” was the one he lost to Palmer. So, things have already been tremendous since Dalton hoisted the Championship.

This will be an intense, vicious, physical, emotional FIGHT, and I can’t wait!.

PREDICTION: Andy Dalton via shenanigans, because there’s a lot of mileage you can get out of a heel Champion, especially when it’s so hard on the indie level to get guys who the crowds truly loathe.

NWA WORLD WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP: Barbi Hayden (c) vs Veda Scott

Veda Scott has only appeared in Inspire Pro one time, at IN THEIR BLOOD in May, in what was supposed to be a Triple Threat Match in the XX-Division Championship Tournament. Unfortunately, one of her opponents, Angelus Layne, suffered an injury prior to the show and had to be pulled. Instead of replacing her, Inspire Pro turned the match in an one-on-one affair between the aforementioned Scott and Athena.

“The Wrestling Goddess” Athena won that match in part thanks to Scott suffering a knee injury. So, how does someone who’s lone appearance in Inspire Pro ended in a loss find herself in a NWA World Women’s Championship Match against incumbent Champ, Barbi Hayden? Here’s how:


Through the threat of legal action, Veda Scott was able to not only postpone plans for the continuation of the XX-Division Championship Tournament, but she also procured herself a shot at Barbi Hayden’s title. A belt she has, to this point, successfully defended in Inspire Pro against Portia Perez (IN THEIR BLOOD), Mia Yim (NO TURNING BACK), and Athena (RELENTLESS).

One would assume, with Scott getting what she wanted, Inspire Pro can forge ahead with crowning its own Women’s Champion (XX Champion, as it would be called, I assume) to go along with itscontinued booking of NWA World Women’s Title bouts. Of course, that may all depend on Hayden successfully retaining the Championship. If Scott wins? She may decide that traveling to Austin, Texas and dealing with a company she already had to threaten legal action against would not be worth the trouble.

For all intents and purposes, even though the NWA World Women’s Championship doesn’t belong to Inspire Pro, it often felt like their main Title during Mike Dell’s reign as Inspire Pro Champion, or at the very least their version of WWE’s Intercontinental Title. But it belongs to the National Wrestling Alliance, of which Inspire Pro is a member, so there’s always the chance it never gets defended here again. That would be sad, but as long as Hayden holds it, and she doesn’t get scooped up by one of the more national companies (WWE, TNA, Ring of Honor), it should be safe to assume it’ll have a continued presence on the shows. But having its own belt will be great for the company.

Like I said, this is only Scott’s second time in Inspire Pro and the first one, whether it was because of the knee injury or not, was a bit of a mess, but Hayden has been put into a lot of high-profile situations with Inspire Pro, headlining two events and having one of, if not THE, best match on RELENTLESS, so she won’t be scared of the spotlight. And considering how that particular match with Athena ended (in controversy), let’s hope Inspire Pro can get onto crowning their XX Champion (the finals are set to be Athena versus Jessica James), and build towards another showdown between the two women’s Champs.

PREDICTION: Barbi Hayden retains because she just should. There’s still more stories to tell with her as Champ (even if the belt isn’t theirs), and while Scott being Champ would be interesting (would she even defend it? Use her legal knowledge to never return?), but if she can’t come back regularly (again, it’s not Inspire Pro’s belt, so she wouldn’t HAVE to) it would be like Su Yung being the ACW Joshi Champion and basically only showing up for the Joshi Tournament and no-showing all the other events she’s booked for.

INSPIRE PRO PURE PRESTIGE CHAMPIONSHIP:“Wildfire” Thomas Shire (c) vs “Chi-Town’s Finest” Mr. B

At “BATTLE WARS,” not only did we get Chikara standouts Icarus, Dasher Hatfield, and Green Ant and Fire Ant of The Colony, but we also got special guest Teddy Hart (along with Mr. Money II). He was scheduled to face Scot Summers, but when Summers had some travel issues, another match was made, Teddy Hart versus Thomas Shire versus Scotty Santiago for the brand-new Pure Prestige Championship.

The belt is an absolute beauty and is SO big.  It dwarfs the Inspire Pro Championship. Hell, it dwarfs most car tires, it’s so big. Luckily, it gets to sit around the waist of “Wildfire” Thomas Shire, who isn’t a small man. Like, literally, if I had that belt, the metal face plate would cover my entire chest.

The creation of the Pure Prestige Title was almost in direct opposition of Summer’s World Class Championship that he had been bringing and defended at Inspire Pro shows. But it wasn’t about living in the past, as Biss said, but about the future, and no one encapsulates the future like Thomas Shire. He’s a big, strong guy who’s quick and nimble on the mat. He showed just how good he was in an outstanding contest against Summers at NO ROOM TO DIE.

His first Title defense will be against “Chi-Town’s Finest” Mr. B who won this opportunity at FUN FUN FUN FEST, proving that for the Inspire Pro completists out there, that those shows did have actual storyline implications, although perhaps $195 for a three-day pass may be too much for most fans, especially if they have no interest in the music or comedy going on. As it is, Inspire Pro has been slowly releasing the matches from those three days for free, so follow them on the usual channels of Facebook and Twitter for that information.

As for this match, there isn’t any grand storyline behind it. Mr. B has been looking for respect and results and blames “politics” when he doesn’t get it, but he has been of late, and should prove a worthy challenger for the Pure Prestige Championship.

(There is a potential thread here that links the Summers/Gregory Symonds feud with this, but it’s uncertain if Symonds will ever return, so while I give a cursory mention to it, it’s probably not anything that has future implications.)

PREDICTION: Thomas Shire retains because he just won the thing. Would seem rather unnecessary to remove the brand new belt from its first holder in his first defense. It’s not necessarily unprecedented, but I feel as though they have some big plans for Shire and the belt and would like to establish it. Mr. B will be a great first defense for Shire, but nothing more than that. And I don’t say that just because B’s daughter broke my wife’s phone and nearly broke her nose with a kick to the face. Nope, he’s a really good hand and I have grown to enjoy him more since he’s gone away from the whole “white girl” character he had for so long. He’s been a serious competitor in Inspire Pro and I see that continuing, it just won’t continue with a win over Shire.

INSPIRE PRO J*CROWN CORONATION GAUNTLET: Steve’o Reno vs Jojo Bravo vs Athena vs Delilah Doom vs Tony Strong vs Matt Riot vs Thomas Munos vs DG Taylor vs Zac Taylor vs Kat Green vs Mr. Azerbaijan vs Shekinah Elijah vs “The Bleedy Heart” Davey Vega

Inspire Pro has been without a J*Crown Champion since Sammy Guevara burned every single bridge in the state of Texas to the ground. It has since been announced that the J*Crown will now be an intergender Championship. And the women did not waste any time throwing their names into the hat.

Participating in the Gauntlet will be: Athena, Kat Green, Delilah Doom, and the debut of Shekinah Elijah. I have no idea who Elijah is, but Athena and Green are tremendous workers and Doom, while she has a ways to go as a in-ring competitor, has a fantastic character, and has The New Movement in her corner. Any of these women could walk away the J*Crown Champion and no one would be surprised.

As for the match itself, I am not 100% sure how it’s going to operate, but if it’s anything like the inaugural J*Crown Gauntlet from NO ROOM TO DIE the match begins with four competitors and each time someone is eliminated (by pinfall, submission, or disqualification) a new opponent joins the fray, so that it’s always a four-way match until only one person is left standing.

“Absolute” Ricky Starks won the first one, but was soon de-crowned by Sammy Guevara in a show-stealing Ladder Match (that also included Barrett Brown) at IN THEIR BLOOD. Interestingly enough, it was that first Gauntlet Match that cost Thomas Munos his job as referee, when he got into a physical altercation with Guevara. He would continue attending events, but as a fan, which put him in perfect position to attack Guevara again when Sammy attacked Biss at NO TURNING BACK.Which is an appropriate name for Guevara’s situation following his ill-advised attack on Biss (and his stupid, stupid comments on Facebook).

Munos, however, turned down an offer of becoming a referee again and wearing that giant NWA patch on his shirt, and instead wanted to enter the J*Crown Gauntlet as a wrestler. That wish was granted and he will be making his Inspire Pro debut in this contest.

Another man making his Inspire Pro debut, will be Chikara Pro wrestler and member of “The Bloc Party”, the long-reigning Sexiest Man in Azerbaijan, Mr. Azerbaijan. I’ve only seen a small handful of Chikara shows, but I have seen him on all but one of those. He is definitely a worthy participate and will bring some of that fun Chikara flavor with him into this matchup.

The biggest factor in this match will be where you enter, and the only thing we know for certain is that “Bleeding Heart” Davey Vega will be the last to join the match thanks to his victory at FUN FUN FUN FEST over Steve’o Reno and Jojo Bravo. What is not known is whether or not Reno and Bravo have to be among the first four participants, as the match had been originally booked to be Bravo versus Vega with the winner entering last and the loser going in first. So, who’s that say on that.

All I do know is, is this match will not disappoint. There’s too many top-flight competitors for it to suck, and I didn’t even mention half the people in it! Don’t get shocked if one of the NWA Revolution stars takes home the crown, because they have been nothing short of impressive each time they’ve stepped inside an Inspire Pro ring.

PREDICTION: Since it was announced that it was an intergender Championship, it almost feels like the crown will go to one of the tremendous women, with the obvious choice being Athena. She has the most experience afterall (although I know absolutely nothing about the masked luchadora Elijah), but I feel if Inspire Pro is continuing with the XX Championship, she would be more in line for that.

The first person to win was Ricky Starks, as I mentioned, and he was one of the main focuses of Inspire Pro when it started. It almost seemed a bit of a consolation prize for not winning the Inspire Pro Championship, but then he quickly lost it to Guevara and, despite a brutal fight with Scot Summers, hasn’t done much of note since. So, it feels like whoever wins this will be someone who’s got a bright future ahead, and the person who has been shining brightest is Steve’o Reno. He won several tag matches by himself and finally dispatched his partner Bradley Axel Dawson at FUN FUN FUN FEST. My wife even chopped the asshole right in the chest!

A video posted by Michael Dupin (@michaelkdupin) on Jan 1, 2015 at 11:00am PST

So, my pick is going to be Steve’o Reno, but I would not be opposed to Jojo Bravo winning it or Davey Vega, but he just doesn’t make it down to Austin enough for my liking, even though I think he’s one of the best wrestlers in the country. Man just has a lot of commitments, which is great, but sucks for those of us who live so far away from everywhere else he competes.

TRIOS MATCH: World Class Syndicate (Carson, Moonshine Mantell, Mystery Partner) vs The New Movement (Cherry Ramones, Keith Lee, “Jiggle-O” James Johnson)

It’s been awhile since the World Class Syndicate has been in action, not since LIGHT THE FUSE in February, to be exact. And back then the team consisted of “The Texas Lion” Carson, Moonshine Mantell, and Alex Reigns. Reigns has moved on, and while Mantell was touring Japan, Carson embarked on a not-totally-impressive singles run. Not to say it was bad, he just did not achieve the results he was surely hoping for.

Those early shows, they were a bit of a force to be reckoned with, who seemed to have a bright future with Inspire Pro, but like I said, there were outside circumstances that kept them from continuing, but come January 4, they will have returned to picked up where they left off nearly a year ago, only this time with a new third member to the team. Who will it be? I honestly have no idea. It could be someone we’ve seen before, or it could be somebody completely new and different (I’m hoping for the latter).

Their opponents will be The New Movement led by Chris Trew. While Delilah Doom is off competing for the J*Crown, it will be the trio of Keith Lee, Cherry Ramones, and “Jiggle-O” James Johnson taking on the World Class Syndicate. While Chris Trew has assembled an impressive foursome, their matches have been rife with miscommunication, mostly thanks to Johnson.

Johnson was essentially tricked into joining the team after winning a Mystery Prize Six Man Elimination Match at NO TURNING BACK. Since then, he has butted heads, mostly with Cherry Ramones, and hasn’t been on the same page as his other teammates. But despite that, they have still been impressive, especially in the Eight-Person Elimination Match at BATTLE WARS against the NWA Revolution team. Even though they lost, that particular show could have ended after the first two matches and still been considered for Show of the Year in 2014. That’s how good it was.

Most impressive of Trew’s clan is Keith Lee, who joined the sqaud after winning the Chris Trew.biz Star Search Battle Royal at CLASH AT THE BASH. He is a physically imposing individual who has tossed his opponents around like rag dolls. He has charisma to match and will be a big star. If Trew plays his cards right, he’ll be in his corner when he does, and could finally claim to be what he always says he wants to be: the Pro Wrestling Manager of the Decade.

There isn’t anything in the way of a story for this match, outside of the internal story of The New Movement and whether or not “Jiggle-O” can get on the same page as them or if Trew should just cut his losses and find someone to replace him. Hell, maybe he swerves his team and becomes the third member of World Class Syndicate? He doesn’t necessarily fit with them, either, but he’s the most surprisingly athletic person I’ve seen, meaning if you look at him, you won’t think much of him (as everyone did when he first appeared in Inspire Pro), but within seconds, you’ll be a big fan.

PREDICTION: The New Movement ‘cause at some point they HAVE to win, right? Chris Trew keeps talking about being the Pro Wrestling Manager of the Decade, but which decade is he talking about? I would hope the 2010’s, but the way things are going, it won’t be until the 2020’s, ‘cause his team can’t win shit. Of course, the World Class Syndicate is just returning, with a new member no less, so they may need to win. And, yep, changing it to WCS, because odds are, Johnson will muck things up for the New Movement once again.

"The Kentucky Gentleman" Chuck Taylor vs "Absolute" Ricky Starks

Ah, my fellow Kentuckian. I’ve been waiting since the very first show THE BEGINNING in July 2013 (where he competed against ACH and Davey Vega) to see the return of “The Kentucky Gentleman” Chuck Taylor, and seventeen months later he finally does. And he will be going against a man who was probably the biggest star of Inspire Pro through the first several shows, “Absolute” Ricky Starks.

The very first independent show I went to in Austin was Anarchy Championship Wrestling, and on that show, Ricky Starks fought two times. In a row. Back to back matches. Once was on the “preshow” and then on the show proper. I had never heard of him, had never seen him wrestle, but I could instantly see that he had the skills (although there was room for improvement), the look (although he looks relatively small against WWE-ready people), and the charisma (not really any improvement needed there) to become a star in this business.

Sadly, the only thing I saw him do in ACW for nearly a year was lose. He even had his storyline with The Submission Squad taken from him by Shawn Vexx, who finally took the ACW Championship from Evan Gelistico’s grasp. It should have been Starks, without a question. The year’s worth of bad booking and repetitive matches is what led me to stop attending the shows. Inspire Pro came along at the perfect time to expose what ACW’s weaknesses were (I have since heard that, booking-wise, they have begun to turn things around, even to the point where Starks will be getting his ACW Title shot, albeit a year too late), and instantly positioned Starks to be the breakout star of their company (he actually won more matches in a single night than I saw the entire year I went to ACW).

Then… I’m not sure what happened. He became the first J*Crown Champion at NO ROOM TO DIE then promptly lost it a month later at IN THEIR BLOOD to Sammy Guevara. It was like Sammy had taken Starks’ path to the stardom, as it were. Starks, who had been showing a mean streak since Inspire Pro’s inception, had kind of lost his edge, so when he finally had his Submission Match with Scot Summers at CLASH AT THE BASH (a match that was supposed to have happened at LIGHT THE FUSE four months prior), he wasn’t as aggressive as he had been. A bit of the tension and fire was drained from the story and thus the match. It was still good, but it just felt like Starks was a bit overwhelmed by Summer’s brutality. He basically was smothered by Scot and lost.

Hopefully, whatever was lost, Starks can find again, and he doesn’t get lost in the shuffle. There is still some unfinished business with Andy Dalton and company, in my opinion. So, having this match, with someone with the name value, and doesn’t-need-to-win-ness of Chuck Taylor is the perfect fulcrum to get him back headed in the direction that seemed to have been set out for him since THE BEGINNING.

As for Sweet Chuckie T, he’ll bring what he always brings, great in-ring skills (from the actual wrestling, to facial expressions, to just general fun shenanigans, and hopefully making children cry). He doesn’t need to win, not unless he’s going to spend some more time in Austin (doubtful, he’s even busier than Davey Vega, what with Chikara, PWG, tours of China, and the like). Really, honestly, I just want to see a good match, be entertained, and get the picture I was too scared to ask for the last time he was there (even though I chatted with him and bought a shirt).

PREDICTION: Ricky Starks and this hopefully springboards him back into Title contention. Dalton will need an opponent after he’s done with Palmer afterall.

Kimber Lee vs Jessica James

I have only ever seen Kimber Lee two times, the first was in New Orleans during Wrestlemania XXX weekend at a Shimmer event where she lost to Ivelisse Velez in what I remember being a decent match. That was awhile ago, and it was an odd set-up for a wrestling show, so I don’t remember a whole heck of a lot, and the second was King of Trios ‘14 in her team’s lone match. I have seen the little documentary done on her, and from everything I’ve heard, she’s really good. So, this should be a really good matchup. Ever since Jessica James returned to Inspire Pro last summer following her excursion to Japan, she has really upped her game, being more intense and vicious and crisp. Thankfully she didn’t die following her fall from the top rope to the concrete floor at NO TURNING BACK, so that we can get this match. James is also in the finals of the XX Division Tournament, alongside Athena, if they ever get around to finishing it off and crowning their first XX Champion. Hopefully it’s soon, because they have too many talented women as regulars and as people they can bring in to not have one, especially since they can start building more stories around them, instead of having just one-off NWA World Women’s Title Matches (which are great, but sometimes matches need a little meat to them, ya know?).

PREDICTION: I’m going to say Jessica James because she is the regular and has a shot at the XX Championship, while Lee is a guest. That’s not to say she can’t or won’t win, because she totally can and it wouldn’t be a let down if she did. When you have a show with this many outsiders (and since it’s unlikely Veda Scott, Chuck Taylor, or one from the Gauntlet Match will win), someone kind of needs to, right? And if she has plans to return more frequently, then, yeah, definitely give Lee the “W.” But my gut still says James.


The Great Depression & Sky de Lacrimosa vs Sorrow & Extinction

I dunno, man. The Great Depression feels like a character who was great when Inspire Pro first started and they were still figuring out who they are, but it seems like they kind of got it down, and he’s just still there. It more or less went off the rails when he stopped being the creepy dude that sat in various seats throughout the crowd and loved books. Now he’s joined The Orphans, which makes COMPLETE sense, ‘cause why wouldn’t he want to join what is basically a family. Of course, we don’t know much of anything about The Orphans, which doesn’t help things.

As for their opponents, Sorrow and Extinction? Yeah, no clue. I have absolutely no idea what to expect from this match or where any sort of story is going to go. I just know that it almost feels like this is a totally different company when these guys are involved. So, we’ll see. I’ve sat through a lot of stupid shit in my days as a wrestling fan, so this won’t be able to even touch it. I’m still optimistic because Inspire Pro has yet to let me down, and I’m sure this will go somewhere good, but we’ll just have to wait and see.

PREDICTION: The Great Depression and Sky de Lacrimosa.

"The Bionic Beast" Franco D’Angelo vs MYSTERY OPPONENT

In 2012, Franco D’Angelo was in a horrific car accident that put him out of wrestling for a long time. He made his return to the squared circle at last year’s “ECSTACY OF GOLD,” and instantly put himself into the running for Mike Dell’s Inspire Pro Championship, although he would come up short in his Title opportunity at “LIGHT THE FUSE.” After another injury setback (torn bicep and broken orbital bone), Franco returned and teamed up with his Center of Perfection buddy, Matthew Palmer.

That’s basically where he is, getting back into the swing of things. And, so, he asked for a match this Sunday, only we don’t know who it will be against. Will it be someone we’ve seen before? Another outsider? There’s really no way to know until Sunday.

PREDICTION: Franco D’Angelo, ‘cause unless it’s a big surprise opponent who they have big plans for, it would make zero sense for him to lose.

Well, there you have it ladies and gentlemen, that is what Inspire Pro has in store for you on January 4th at 6pm from the Marchesa Theater in Austin, Texas! Tickets are still available, with Front Row going for $15 and General Admission for $10. Seriously, what else are you going to do this weekend for that cheaply?

And if you want a full weekend of Inspire Pro-related activities, you can also head on over to The New Movement Theater (located at 619 Lavaca Street -- corner of 7th and Lavaca -- in downtown Austin) to take in The Megaphone Show on Saturday, January 3rd, at 10:30pm with special guest “The Kentucky Gentleman” Chuck Taylor! It’s only $5 and it’s BYOB (if you’re into that sort of thing). So, for $15, you can get a whole weekend of amazingness. That’s about as cheaply as it comes in Austin.

What are you waiting for? Come join the fun!

The uniqueness of how the pro graps chooses to tell a story means it is like a novel, albeit a novel without an ending about a funhouse mirror held up to society written by Hunter S. Thompson on salvia.

So sometimes you're a bit surprised to look up from a holiday B-show and find out the past, present and future of Stamford were interwoven throughout the show with the possibility that both from a match quality and storytelling standpoint, the best was yet to come for WWE. You guessed it - NXT had a match on the show.

Oddly enough as the Scroogeian timeshifts played out across the show, the two matches with present main roster holders turned out to be the most middle of the road, and the show kicked off with a somewhat lackluster recapitulation of the past. On RAW, Edge and Christian getting together to put on the Cutting Edge Peep Show leads to a major plot point that returns the McMahons-Helmsleys to power while wishing the last 10 minutes of Survivor Series out to the cornfield. Here on Main Event, it's for Adam Rose to show off his messianic complex followed by a bunch of NPCs bouncing up and down whilst Copeland and Reso strike the Five Second Pose. (Side note: fellas, suing because of the RAW CEPS events is a moment that makes sense. You being fine with the restitution being running ME and Smackdown this week is, how do we say, not.)

Moving up the ladder, the stalwarts of Tuesday night put on perfectly cromulent if not excessively memorable wrestling. Titus O'Neil promised to make '15 the Year of the Gator and backed it up by pretty easily dispatching one of the contenders for WWE's floor, Justin Gabriel. Upon regaining the Tag Team championships on Monday, the Usos immediately went in against the guys who'd taken the belts from them in the Dust Brothers. Watching these guys have the last Main Event main event of 2014 was like having a facepainted superkick-happy version of comfort food; it'll never be a five-star medallion winner in Zagat's or what-have-you, but it still feeds the belly and is more than serviceable getting there. The Usos won off a miscue and Superfly splash following it when Not Cody hit Certainly Not The Disaster Kick but half of the champs ducked and the former Intercontinental champion didn't. Whether that was a one-off or the opening fissure to a deeper rupture is still up in the air.

What isn't is Charlotte's dominance over Sasha Banks. No, you're reading the right BCB: the ladies feud (rivalries generally see both sides win, so that's not the term in play when it comes to these two) got some shine on Tuesday night, and while it wasn't quite up to the standards set in Full Sail by Revolution and the Christmas Day rematch, it was a fine piece of work that honestly could've used some of the extra oxygen the CEPS used in the opening. A short video package pre-match (re?)introduced Ms. Flair to the viewing audience, and for once during the match Cole, JBL, and Booker T left the shtick in Henny Youngman's book and mostly called the back-and-forth. It was encouraging to see the crowd actively into the match as it progressed to the point where a few fellow members of the Everybody In NXT Is A Genius And I Will Die Protecting Their Vision Of Professional Wrestling Even Though I Am An Alleged Grownup cult busted out the Sasha's Ratchet chant.

While not as counters to the counters heavy as their rematch, there were still some on display on the way to a Face Eraser setting up the Natural Selection. Granted, this was in Norfolk, one of the many veritable capitals of Flair Country. But still, hearing Let's Go Charlotte chants and the rhythmic rally-the-babyface clapping as she got out of Sasha's modified Romero Special can do nothing but auger well for the future. For some the Charlotte/Nattie RAW sprint is always going to color the presentation going forward, but a few more of these will go a long way in minimizing that with the hardcores while still giving the general audience the feel goods when Recognition hits the system.

Sometimes the production values are so innate when the E puts their hivemind to it that we overlook them; on a show like this, however, it just goes to further underscore what it can mean when they say Then. Now. Forever.

A LOT of WrestleKingdom talk this week Graphics Credit: NJPW Facebook

If you're new, here's the rundown: I listen to a handful of wrestling podcasts each week. Too many, probably, though certainly not all of them. In the interest of saving you time — in case you have the restraint to skip certain episodes — the plan is to give the bare bones of a given show and let you decide if it’s worth investing the time to hear the whole thing. There are better wrestling podcasts out there, of course, but these are the ones in my regular rotation that I feel best fit the category of hit or miss. If I can save other folks some time, I'm happy to do so.

Show: Steve Austin Show Unleashed
Episode: 180
Run Time: 1:56:40
Guest: Jim Ross

Summary: Austin brings Ross on to start the show discussing the upcoming NJPW WrestleKingdom 9, and they also talk a bit about John Cena and the current WWE product. Then Stone Cold takes phone calls from his listeners, with topics including the inconsistent pushing of young stars, the angle where Austin was hit by a car, the RAW writing staff compared to NXT creative, various ring types, movie work, Redneck Island, the Vince McMahon podcast, Adrian Neville and Rusev, Survivor Series 1996, the dream of working a program with CM Punk, the 1997 Royal Rumble, Dolph Ziggler, how to work as a heel in 2014 and the Nashville Fairgrounds. The match of the week is the recent Paul Heyman documentary.

Quote of the week: Ross: “We both do podcasts here for PodcastOne, and I do a little monologue on mine and I talk about what I like and what I don’t like, and I try not to be too negative, really, but selling, across the board in the business, essentially sucks.”

Why you should listen: Are you hyped for WK9? Unless Ross goes heavy on his own show this week, the 15 minutes he spends with Austin are the best promo work I’ve heard yet for the pay-per-view, and that includes his own lengthy interview with Jeff Jarrett. As for the call-in part, it was one of Austin’s better such efforts. There was considerably less repetition of standard topics than usual, and I really appreciate Austin’s willingness to put a random caller on equal footing and have an honest dialogue, even letting the listener direct the flow.

Why you should skip it: Spoiler alert: Not a single caller prefers the term “sports entertainment” over “professional wrestling,” but they all get to weigh in regardless. That appreciation of Austin willing to put a caller on his level could easily be read as confusion over why Austin lets some nobody rant about what he didn’t like on “Raw” last week — especially when the episode lasts nearly two hours. Personally, I’d be fine if we never again called back to the McMahon podcast, but I don’t see it going away any time soon.

Final thoughts: Having listened to Austin twice a week for nearly two years now, I’m fairly well able to pick up on his rhythms and tendencies. It’s clear his unexpected return to LA (family problems called him home from the Broken Skull Ranch) threw him for a loop, and while in the past that might have seriously hampered his podcast, this time he seems to be able to fight through the challenge. The penultimate episode of 2014 was by no means his best, but it’s also fair to say he’s improved so much in the last several weeks to where he’s almost incapable of producing some of the duds he was delivering near the end of summer. I’m looking forward to seeing how he evolves in the next year.

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Show: Steve Austin Show
Episode: 181
Run Time: 1:33:15
Guest: Wade Keller

Summary: There’s no monologue this week as Austin gets right into his interview with the dirtsheet writer and prolific podcast host. He and Keller start with a lengthy look back at Austin’s podcast with Vince McMahon that leads to a good breakdown of the current pay-per-view cycle. Shifting to a “year in review” focus, they look at the WWE Network, the current WWE roster and the future of Daniel Bryan, CM Punk’s controversial Off The Record appearance, WrestleKingdom 9, TNA’s new TV home and the Undertaker, wrapping up with a look ahead to WrestleMania XXXI. Ausitn’s Match of the Week is the Network’s Ultimate Warrior documentary.

Quote of the week: Keller: “It’s about heroes and villains, it’s about protagonists and antagonists, babyfaces and heels, whatever terms you want to use, good guys and bad guys fighting … if everybody isn’t in that ring for some sort of purpose, then it just does become talk radio. Everybody has to be fighting for something.”

Why you should listen: I enjoyed Keller here a lot more than in his Survivor Series recap appearance on The Ross Report. He and Austin connect well, and Keller seems able to help Austin put finer points on some of the broad strokes he’s been using in the wake of his McMahon interview. Keller also offers needed perspective on the business side (such as the PPV cycle and TNA TV numbers) without it being overbearing. There’s also some (perhaps needed?) good buzz for the NJPW show.

Why you should skip it: This chat does little to help those fatigued with analyzing McMahon’s interview with Austin, and likewise anyone tired of discussing CM Punk. They’re not major focal points of the episode, but a dead horse is a dead horse. Further, the conversation itself seemed sort of flat, especially in regard to Austin’s talks with similar figures such as Dave Meltzer.

Final thoughts: I’m trying not to bag on this one too much. It’s certainly better by considerable measure than the preceding and following attempts. I don’t have any real experience with Keller’s work, so it’s hard to compare it to his usual audio. It is easy to tell, however, when Austin feels he’s on the line with someone capable of matching him for experience and insight, and those shows are when he’s at his best.

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Show: Steve Austin Show Unleashed
Episode: 182
Run Time: 1:26:36
Guest: Ted Fowler, Jeff Williams

Summary: Stone Cold is back at the Broken Skull Ranch, which means he’s sitting down with some drinks, microphones and Ted Fowler. After catching up on the state of the deer herd and reviewing Fowler’s 2014, the guys respond to listener emails about working out, darts and other bar games, drinking, Austin’s broken neck, tobacco usage and quitting, podcasts and the country music genre. During the last topic Austin welcomes his younger brother, Jeff Williams, to discuss his take as a music fan and occasional performer.

Quote of the week:“This podcast is a reflection of my brain and how my thought process works. I don’t plan anything in advance. Man, all of a sudden I show up over here and I say, ‘Hey Teddy, we gotta do a podcast.’ Or I call someone on the phone and talk to ’em, the same day. Or if it’s someone that there’s a lot of research to be done, I’ll do all that research. But it fits in with all the other projects that I do. So it is what it is. It ain’t rocket scientists. I just want to be able to use this thing, with all the bullshit that people have going on in their lives, to give you something to be able to occupy your time.”

Why you should listen: If you missed the comfortable vibe Austin found on his ranch shows before his unexpected return to LA, you’ll be glad to have it back. And if you need a little motivation to either hit the gym or quit a destructive habit cold turkey, the guys are a keen source of motivation. And if you’re desperate for wrestling talk, at least Austin explains why he agreed to taking 10 German suplexes in one match on a surgically-repaired neck.

Why you should skip it: If you come for wrestling talk, you’ll be disappointed. You also might be thrown off with the random song clips Austin drops in to break up topics, especially if you’re listening while grocery shopping, as I was. And hey, if you don’t want to give up smoking or dipping, well, you don’t want to hear what the guys have to say about your habit.

Final thoughts: It’s hard to recommend this particular episode in the context of all the other wrestling audio delivered over the holiday season. I do appreciate Austin being back on the ranch, but a little deer herd chat goes a long way. I’m not particularly intrigued with the prospects for part two of this episode, but give the man credit for pumping out the entertainment.

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Show: The Ross Report
Episode: 46 (Dec. 31, 2014)
Run Time: 1:42:15
Guests: Bryan Alvarez (23:30), Karl “Machine Gun” Anderson (1:00:51)

Summary: After a lengthy Jim Ross monologue, he welcomes Death of WCW author Alvarez to the show to promote to 10th anniversary edition. They talk about Mick Foley’s role in turning the tide toward WWF, the unusual happenings of 2000 and the failed Invasion angle. They ended by discussing Ross’ return to play-by-play for the upcoming NJPW WrestleKingdom 9. In that vein, JR’s second guest, Anderson, talked about an epic encounter with Hiroshi Tanahashi, training with Les Thatcher, working with Matt “Lord Tensai” Bloom, Anderson’s Tokyo Dome debut, the style that defines NJPW, Luke Gallows and what American fans should expect from WK9.

Quote of the week: Alvarez on the infamous Tony Schiavone pronouncement about Mick Foley’s WWF Title victory: “It was such an amazing moment. And in the middle of a show that isn’t really very good, to alert the fans that there’s something on the other channel that you say is stupid and sucks, and people switch the channel and, in fact, it’s awesome — that to be is even more mind-boggling. It was one thing when they were doing the invasion and they actually were really, really hot and the other channel is presenting bad stuff. But when you’re down, and you’re making fun of the other promotion, which is doing things better, I mean, that to me is an even bigger mistake.”

Why you should listen: I’m a big fan of the two-guest format. Listeners are well served by Ross focusing on a specific reason for a guest being on the show, and Alvarez’s book and Anderson’s involvement in WK9 are perfect pegs. Alvarez does a good job of focusing on the nature of his book without being awash in the dreaded Attitude Era nostalgia, and Anderson serves the purpose of helping spike interest in the NJPW show among fans who need an extra push to order the show.

Why you should skip it: Yes, Alvarez released an updated version of his book, but JR hasn’t read it, and as such it seems the interview is going to be old news to anyone who’s read the book or been paying attention to wrestling writing over the past decade or so. Further, JR takes a few chances during this chat to shine the spotlight on himself, and Alvarez willingly complies. While Anderson’s input was valuable, vis-à-vis promoting the PPV, he wasn’t a particularly fascinating figure in his own right. That’s not to say it’s a bad interview, but for those folks already fully hyped for the show, it’s hard to imagine this segment offering much in the way of additional buzz.

Final thoughts: Though it probably goes without saying, skip the monologue. I didn’t mind most of the Alvarez bit — JR is always at his most tolerable with a guest who is used to podcasts and control his own half of the conversation — but I wouldn’t consider it essential listening. Since Anderson also appeared on Art Of Wrestling this week, it will be interesting to directly compare and contrast his presence and charisma based on the host as well as the guest. Mostly I’m excited the NJPW show will be over by next week so we can be done hearing Ross talking about his plans to wet himself in his dark suit at ringside.

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Show: Cheap Heat
Episode: Dec. 30, 2014
Run Time: 1:13:12
Guest: None

Summary: Peter Rosenberg and David Shoemaker are in studio this week (apparently the previous episode was recorded then digitally disappeared) to discuss the final RAW of 2014. With the 1988 Royal Rumble playing in the background, and drawing focus from the main conversation, the guys look at the in-ring speeches of Daniel Bryan and Ryback, the closing segment and Authority return, ads on the WWE Network and the future prospects for Roman Reigns and the Ascension. There’s a tangent for a Rosenberg story about LL Cool J and Canibus, and the show ends with listener questions.

Quote of the week: Rosenberg: “It never ceases to amaze me how dumb wrestling fans are. Because you guys listen to this podcast. That means you’re a super mark nerd.”

Why you should listen: An upper of a RAW always leads to a more positive vibe from the hosts. The guys are predictably enthused about Bryan, pragmatic about Ryback and bemused about the Raw finale with Edge, Christian, etc., that brought back the Authority. The perspective on Reigns is a welcome change from simple in the moment reactions that populate Twitter and weekly recaps, and I suppose if you like LL Cool J you’ll dig the story.

Why you should skip it: As usual, the chat left me wishing for more depth and less breadth. Rosenberg is not as full-on heelish as usual, but neither is he as straight-up (read: tolerable) as he’d been during some recent shows. Many listeners may be put off when the conversation simply stops so the guys can react to something they’re watching on the Rumble, and ultimately it’s likely you’ll end the episode wondering if you actually learned anything or were forced to think critically about something in a new way.

Final thoughts: I actually enjoyed this episode, but I’m struggling to find a compelling reason why. Maybe it was absence making the heart grow fonder, or maybe I really enjoyed the conceit of the 88 Rumble playing in the background. (It helps I can envision that match with very little prompting, had it been, say the 2009 match I might have been lost.) I’m generally more down on the “Hey, we watched RAW this week…” episodes, but like “Raw” itself, they might just be more enjoyable with the Rumble/WrestleMania season. We’ll see what next week brings, but I’d encourage the guys to continually seek ways to implement more time-insensitive components to each episode.

Edge was a good friend on Friday Photo Credit: WWE.com

It was the first Smackdown of the new year. I was so ready for it. So full of hope and enthusiasm. Then I turned on the TV to find that Sportsnet 360 (the channel that gives us Canadians such fine WWE programming) has unceremoniously changed their airing schedule. I was still able to watch it on Saturday, but I have to admit my enthusiasm was dampened. You're a bad friend, Sportsnet. A bad friend!

Most Subtle Friend – Edge
Edge and Christian were there throughout the show, making matches and engaging in shenanigans with J and J Security. Edge wore a Cesaro shirt, a small gesture that I appreciated. He also refrained from putting Jamie Noble and Joey Mercury in a match against Ryback. Contrast this with all the times someone like Paul Heyman has been put in matches as a form of revenge or as a means to get to Brock Lesnar, and you can understand what a breath of fresh air it was to not have to watch the lackeys futilely struggle (yes, Noble and Mercury are both wrestlers, but have not been in the ring for quite some time and certainly haven't been presented in their current vocation as being much of a physical threat). It was a small point, but a welcome one. So thanks, Edge, for once again justifying my eternal love for you.

Most Lamented Loss of Friendship – Bray Wyatt and Erick Rowan
Bray Wyatt and former Wyatt Family member Erick Rowan had a match against each other, and Wyatt's statement that “We're not meant to fight. Don't you remember me?” broke my friendship-loving heart. Wyatt kept the emotion up throughout the match, in the end finally manipulating Rowan into showing mercy, only to completely level his former disciple. Of course, the match was immediately spun into yet more fodder for the Wyatt/Ambrose feud, but I'm still much more invested in why the Wyatt Family was disbanded in the first place.

Least Inspired New Friendships – The Usos and R-Truth and Goldust, Stardust, and Adam Rose
New year, same old fatigue regarding Usos/Dust Bros. matches. On this episode, the Usos teamed up with R-Truth, while Goldust and Stardust partnered with Adam Rose. The results were underwhelming, to say the least. Jey Uso ended up pinning Rose for the win, but the addition of a couple new partners really didn't help this tired match-up.

Best Non-Friendship Continuity – Big Show and Rusev
Big Show and Ryback had a match that wasn't terribly enthralling. It ended when Ryback was distracted by a the Russian flag suddenly unfurling over the ring and Rusev and Lana walking slowly to the ring. Rather than just finish his business with Show while Rusev took his sweet time, Ryback suffered a loss. I wondered if anyone was going to mention that it wasn't that long ago that Big Show was the one tussling with Rusev and being distracted by flags. No one did, but Big Show didn't react to Rusev at all, didn't celebrate the collusion in his victory, and walked past Rusev and Lana without so much as a glance in their direction. I'm taking that as a win for continuity. I have to take these victories where I can get them. Thanks, Big Show.

Best Friends – Cesaro and Tyson Kidd
Cesaro and Tyson Kidd's tag partnership/friendship is so firmly established that they have their own joint entrance video now! If Cesaro is going to be continually denied a dominant, lengthy singles run, I'm perfectly happy for him and Kidd to inspire us all with their team work. Their match against Los Matadores was by far my favorite of the night. For a match that had no story and no stakes, it had me compelled and engaged. That's the power of friendship...and also the power of good wrestlers rising above. Kidd celebrating their victory by ignoring his wife and leaping into Cesaro's arms was the icing on the cake.

Needs a Friend – Curtis Axel
Poor Curtis Axel was quickly dispatched by Dean Ambrose and then left to languish. His former good buddy Ryback was nowhere to be found. Axel can just never seem to hold on to a pal. Aaaand at this point in the show I had to leave for early birthday cheesecake, which, shockingly, took precedence over the remainder of Smackdown. However, the Ascension appear to be pretty with-it as far as friendship is concerned, and I assume that Roman Reigns continued to be a terrible friend. Join me next week, when I will once again attempt to negotiate the fickle whims of Sportsnet.

It took a lot of runs and a lot of permutations, but once the Ascension coalesced into the Viktor/Konnor dyad so familiar to Full Sail addicts their dominance was so ubiquitous that it seemed wasteland was the only appropriate term to use in calling the smoldering wreckage around them that'd once been a tag team division.

Teams failed in their efforts to stop them, then broke up and fought each other over their failure to succeed, and those were the lucky ones; anyone with a decent memory can remember two iterations of what nowadays would be Corbin fodder standing nervously across the ring from the former champions waiting to get Fall Of Manned as K and V retained the belts until it became rote. Why bother learning people's names when you're just the latest batch of fresh meat for the grinder, anyways?

Like everything else in the history of mankind, it was a great time that seemed to have no end in sight until, of course, it ended and completely imploded on the way to doing so. The mythical line of Never Weres and Couldn't-Have-Beens must've raised their Krav Kalash up as Finn Bálor and Hideo Itami dished out another conquering for the first NXT of 2015 over the former champions, probably sending them "upwards and onwards" towards RAW and Smackdown while the international workrate connection now are free to roam Florida looking for fresh meat and perhaps even a shot at the tag titles, more about which later. As much fun as it must've been for the vicitimized to watch their aggressors get fed some of the thin gruel that'd been shoved down their throats, it was as much fun for an NXT fan to watch a modified funhouse mirror version of their first clash at Revolution. This one would start with all four men clubberin' but with the Ascension having figured out how and when to dodge the partner-switchoff hesitation basment dropkicks, and plenty of corner cutoffs from the black hats. But in the opening half of the match they didn't have an answer to quell the tide Finn unleashed, and when they did in the second half he undid it all with a tag to Hideo, who showed off his style (spoiler alert: kicking. Lots of kicking.) and a badass hybrid tornado DDT/hangman on his way to besting Viktor. In Revolution, Hideo took the beatdown and Finn rode in to his rescue being all Lickerlicious; here in the rematch, the inverse happened and hopefully helped remind people just how good Itami is in his own right bad-ass Oedipus body paint or not.

But first -- speaking of Revolution -- there is the little matter of who'll be holding the championships if/when the Dream Team comes to get their first taste of NXT gold, especially since the Vaudevillains are looking to do the same thing first. After the Lucha Dragons put forth a pretty sprint in dispatching of Team Scrubs Tye Dillinger and Jason Jordan, out came Aiden and Simon to lay them out from behind. Number of successful finishers executed: 1. Number of boos from the crowd for this dastardly deed: [negative crowd response still loading | would you like to retry? Y N] Apparently Gotch and English are only doing this to the crowd because they love them and you guys don't even know how they treat them when they're alone, or whatever. Something's got to be done, however, since the Lucha Dragons are liked, but not so much that they can overcome the crowd's diffidence towards them. It's one thing for them to be less popular than the law firm of Bálor and Itami, but when they're losing out to heels doing heelish things on the applause-o-meter then something's going to be done. And the Ascension aren't going to be walking through that door for them to lose to and break up as a result of; it's hindering Kalisto in what're supposed to be his foundational months and it's wrestling for the sake of wrestling for the most part for Definitely Not Hunico Sin Cara. If they're not going to make history by putting on a triangle match or a triple threat at whatever the next Takeover: Insert Subtitle Here for the belts, the least they can do is put it on another team the crowd's more invested in and tell another story there.

Yet, outside of the probable wishing out to the cornfield, the main thrust NXT brought into the new year was stories continuing: the first appearance of Sami, but only in a Vine or Twerkle or whatever to say he was coming next week and conversely Owens blowing off an interview with Renee around Hanukah, for one. For another, CJ Parker got murked by Baron Corbin again, leading to Corbin out-and-out grabbing the ringside Bull Dempsey after his latest squash and bieling him to the mats to kick off a brawl that had to be separated by the refs. What a microcosm of the whole thing: Bull gets in a shove and runs away so Corbin struggles with the English language and decides "screw it, let's just hit him". If anybody is going to define Shh No More Talky in 2015, BC is the early leader in the clubhouse. Charlotte could barely get in a metaphorical "Shut up, the champ is talking" and brag about pulling an Ascension on the women's division without Team BAE showing up--at least Nattie showed up to have her back and presumably a fun tag match in the future. Curtis Axel interrupted William Regal again and gets (fed to?) Itami on the next show as a result.

Most importantly, NXT proved that Redemption Happens Here, as the River Crossing Boyz brought out Carmella after the requisite intros and the crowd started chanting for Blue Pants before Enzo Amore or Big Cass could get an in-ring word in. So after some more schmoozing and a mild superlative avalanche, out came OBP (you're welcome, Stamford) to a reaction that'd shame the tag team champions. And then this went from kerfuffle to actual rivalry, as Enzo's inexplicable on-the-apron shuffle lead into the LOLDISTRACTIONFTW. Call her Ms. Small Package, or Ol' Blue Pants, the world's best Kitty Pryde cosplayer, or even Ms. Bates, but with her first victory in her first appearance on the WWE's flagship in the new year she proved she was for the money and for the show, that she wasn't waiting for the go. Now we actually have something to look forward to when they clash heads for a fourth time (presuming this is an unofficial best of five), since the outcome will actually be in doubt and Carmella may not actually win. Like so many of the other stories on the holiday show, this feud must continue.

You can probably guess which two were the only ones to fall outside of that statement. Bundle up, boys: the Wasteland's pretty cold this time of year.

(Would you like the joke about RAW's commentary three-headed monster or should we take it? It's up to you. You can have it, if you want.)