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| Unsurprisingly, Henry gives the realest talk of the week Photo Credit: WWE.com |
Episode: SummerSlam preview
Run Time: 1:35:43
Guest: Noelle Foley, Mark Henry, Hulk Hogan
Summary: Instead of the usual studio in New York, the guys are in LA for SummerSlam. The show opens with a quick look at the Alberto Del Rio situation before the guys welcome Mick Foley’s daughter, Noelle, to preview the Sunday card. Then there’s a great interview with Mark Henry, followed by a sit-down with Hulk Hogan. Like many Grantland shows, this one is available on YouTube if you’d rather watch than catch just the audio.
Quote of the week:“I subscribe to that theory, give your kid a credit card with a two- or three-thousand dollar limit, give ’em about five, six hundred dollars cash and a backpack full of stuff and say, ‘Get out my house. You need to go figure out what you like.’ ” —Henry
Why you should listen: Mark Henry comes on at 36:30 and immediately sticks up for performers who do their best in challenging situations, even lumberjack matches. Henry is a veteran like few others still going, and this is my first time hearing him be this candid and engaging. Also listen if you can’t live without hearing Hogan, who starts at 1:07:40, talk about his final interactions with the Ultimate Warrior, which comes at the very end of the podcast.
Why you should skip it: Because you don’t especially care what Foley or Rosenberg feel about SummerSlam and you’ve already read David Shoemaker’s take on Grantland, which far exceeds anything anyone says in the first half hour. (Ed. Note - Or because it's after SummerSlam) Because you don’t need any more analysis on if John Cena should turn heel. Because you’re dead inside and don’t want to hear Mark Henry talk about Owen Hart. Because you will get upset when Hogan chooses Randy Savage over Bobby Heenan as the best bad guy of the Hulkamania era. Or, because you don’t believe anything Hulk Hogan says in an interview (and really, why should you?)
Final thoughts: Cheap Heat sometimes feels like the guys are recording out of a sense of obligation more than for having something compelling to say, and that’s certainly the case with the first half hour. For as great as Shoemaker is when writing, he doesn’t consistently deliver compelling audio. But Henry is a fantastic subject and Hogan did appear to let his guard down a bit. This show lacked the energy of the WrestleMania week episode, but it’s definitely one of the better podcasts I heard this week.