I Listen So You Don't Have To: Cheap Heat Sept. 16

You can't talk about alignment without talking about the Bella Twins 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: Sept. 16, 2015
Run Time: 1:13:47
Guest: None

Summary: Peter Rosenberg, David Shoemaker and Stat Guy Greg are in studio with the “season premiere” episode of their podcast. After breaking down that goofiness, they discuss character alignments — the subject of Shoemaker’s Grantland piece that posted the same day — as well as another plug for Jake Roberts’ appearance on the Steve Austin podcast, take a few moments each on Hulk Hogan and various wrestling books, try to figure out what went wrong with the Charlotte/Nikki Bella story and then preview Night Of Champions, which includes diversions on the height of Bobby Heenan and ways to fix Ryback.

Quote of the week: Shoemaker: “There is a double standard at play where we are OK when, the fact that, like, CM Punk or Kevin Owens totally obliterates the line between face and heel, but when the announcers do it, or when The Authority does it, or when the Bellas do it, then all of a sudden, ‘Oh, these guys don’t understand wrestling.’ Right? I mean, just think about who we’re OK with.”

Why you should listen: If you’re going to watch Night Of Champions but haven’t been following the week-to-week TV shows, this is as good a chance as any to get somewhat up to speed on what’s happened since SummerSlam.

Why you should skip it: There’s just not much of interest here. Shoemaker’s alignment thoughts are better conveyed in writing, the Hogan stuff is played out, Roberts and books were discussed last week, the Divas title scene has been thoroughly digested in every corner and the hosts have only the faintest bit of enthusiasm for Sunday’s show.

Final thoughts: This is the epitome of an episode recorded out of obligation rather than actually having something to say. I wish it was like an hour of Stat Guy Greg fantasy booking the women’s division. What we got instead is — and should be — quickly forgotten.