I Listen So You Don't Have To: Cheap Heat July 7

Beast in the East is a huge topic of discussion on this week's show 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: July 7, 2015
Run Time: 59:45
Guest: None

Summary: It’s another regular studio show for David Shoemaker, Peter Rosenberg and Stat Guy Greg. The main topics are Beast In The East and RAW, with smaller discussions about super patriotic wrestlers, Barack Obama’s podcast appearance, Rosenberg’s upcoming stint on ESPN radio, a comparison of Will Ferrell to Andy Kaufman, the redemption of the crossface, the Battleground poster and the knockoff Cheap Heat shirt on Pro Wrestling Tees.

Quote of the week: Rosenberg: “You can’t just have another Cena feud where the only thing happening is good wrestling. And that doesn’t do anything for Cesaro ultimately. Yes it helps that he has good matches, but don’t the fans who like Cesaro already know that he’s a good wrestler? The problem with Cesaro is not that he’s a good wrestler or not a good wrestler, the problem with Cesaro is who is Cesaro? Why do we care about Cesaro? And if it’s just a Cena, ‘I choose you, you’re a good wrestler,’ when it’s done, I don’t think that leaves Cesaro in a good place.”

Why you should listen: The wrestling talk here is fairly on point. The guys praise the idea and execution of Beast In The East, along with what it could indicate for the future of the WWE Network, without heaping undue praise on the Kevin Owens-Finn Bßlor match or coming down too hard on the show-closing tag match. They hit the high points of RAW with a look to the future, and the way the Ferrell tangent became a Kaufman talking point was impressive.

Why you should skip it: As usual, Cheap Heat is all over the map, and Rosenberg is excited to play with his sound board. Further, since Rosenberg was traveling, he hadn’t actually seen either of the two shows at the center of this episode. While it actually wasn’t as troublesome as that has been in the past, some listeners might only want to hear about Beast In The East from someone who wasn’t skimming through while recording the podcast.

Final thoughts: I almost never give the quote of the show to Rosenberg, but he seemed particularly on point. In a weird way, his lack of familiarity with the source material actually helped this week as it cast him as more of the interviewer drawing out analysis from Shoemaker (and Greg) instead of spouting his opinions and eliciting either full agreement or timid contrast. I still think Cheap Heat could do a lot more to advance the cause of a guy like Bálor, and I don’t find Rosenberg’s non sequiturs particularly endearing, but in a week where it seems neither Steve Austin nor Jim Ross will be tackling current WWE events, Cheap Heat stands apart as a worthy listen.