I Listen So You Don't Have To: Art Of Wrestling Ep. 235

Goldberg is Cabana's guest 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: Art Of Wrestling
Episode: 235 (Jan. 28, 2015)
Run Time: 59:31
Guest: Goldberg (10:31)

Summary: Colt Cabana sits down for a conversation — not an interview — with fellow Jewish professional wrestler turned podcaster Bill Goldberg. In addition to their common ground of religion and occupation, they also talk about Goldberg’s childhood and football career and how that led him to wrestling, his training days with WCW, why he didn’t want to sign a WWF developmental deal, the nature of his unprecedented push and how he stays mentally and physically active in his retirement.

Quote of the week:“I got into the business, and I was always one to do anything that anybody every told me to do because I didn’t know the business, I still don’t know the business, so I always took direction from people, and unfortunately sometimes the ulterior motives of the people giving me the directions weren’t present, weren’t obvious to me because I trusted everybody.”

Why you should listen: Here’s a good chance to get a feel for how Goldberg comes across in the podcast medium without actually listening to one of his shows. If you’ve never read his book (which Cabana admits he hasn’t done, despite owning it for years) much of this chat will be interesting background information on one of the biggest stars of the late 1990s. Goldberg himself likely isn’t at all to blame for the downfall of WCW, and he’s not afraid to single out certain people who might be at fault.

Why you should skip it: As Goldberg says a few times, if you’ve read his book you know a lot of the ground Cabana asks him to cover. And while Goldberg gives a sincere, believable explanation for why some of his opinions are not evidence of a sense of entitlement, there are going to be people who will nonetheless see him in exactly that light. The gap between Goldberg’s success in the business and his understanding of/appreciation for pro wrestling is remarkably wide.

Final thoughts: It’s certainly worth a listen for anyone who, like me, hasn’t listened to a second of Goldberg’s podcast. Jim Ross interviewed Goldberg way back on episode 14 of his show, and I had to Google to confirm I wasn’t misremembering the appearance even happened, so obviously the details of the talk are beyond fuzzy. Just don’t expect anything of great significance or depth. It’s nice to learn a little more about a famous guy, and longtime Cabana listeners know how much it means to him to be able to have one of his heroes on the show. Calibrate your expectations and enjoy the guys shooting the breeze.