I Listen So You Don't Have To: Cheap Heat Aug. 28

The guys talk about this and more 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: August 28, 2014
Run Time: 1:03:02
Guest: Sam Roberts

Summary: The opening segment this week is a talk about wrestling memorabilia that could really benefit from video. Then there’s a bit of chatter about performers and if they should keep true to character in social media and public appearances. The bulk of the episode focuses on RAW with an eye toward Night of Champions. The guys end with a new feature, responding to listener emails.

Quote of the week:“Here’s what Bray has going for him. He looks awesome. He wrestles well. His music and entrance is amazing. And he’s a good talker. In other words he has everything. You don’t need the talking right now. Let the music, let the look, let the spider crawl, let that all be who he is and save the talking for when it’s necessary. He’s amazing.” — Peter Rosenberg

Why you should listen: You love the idea of owning your own ring-worn Goldust gear or the sunglasses Bret Hart wore to the ring before the Montreal Screwjob. You’re desperate for more thoughts about current WWE plots outside the main event and a reminder Internet fans once cursed Undertaker for squashing John Cena. You’re the kind of person who will get a chuckle out of the idea of using the Dust Brothers the same way anti-Heenan forces joined The Machines 30 years ago. (Seriously, I would pay good money to watch Showdust and World’s Strongest Dust take on Harper and Rowan.)

Why you should skip it: RAW wasn’t that great this week and Night of Champions is three weeks away. If you’re already read one or two RAW writeups (and who hasn’t by the end of the week?), you’re not going to find anything of value here. Roberts is a nice enough guy — I might prefer him to be Shoemaker’s regular cohost — but it’s unclear what purpose he serves in the studio. Also, memo to Rosenberg: the word is VERSUS, not VERSE. Fix that before you start stumping for every hosting gig WWE never considered giving you.

Final thoughts: There’s a reason Shoemaker doesn’t file a Grantland column every week. Sometimes there’s just nothing to add to the conversation. I’d love to see the guys try to do an interesting interview each week, but “So, what did you think about RAW?” is no way to inspire a relevant podcast.