I Listen So You Don't Have To: Cheap Heat Oct. 8

The Rosenberg-less gang talked Takeover 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: Cheap Heat
Episode:“Delayed Due To Injury” (Oct. 8, 2015)
Run Time: 1:03:27
Guest:“Blake” of @TheGreatMambino

Summary: There’s no Peter Rosenberg this week, just David Shoemaker, Stat Guy Greg and Shoemaker’s friend, Blake, who happens to be in town. The show focuses heavily on NXT Takeover: Respect and Saturday’s live Madison Square Garden show, which gives to discussion of Brock Lesnar, Rusev, Kevin Owens and his parents, Asuka, Apollo Crews, John Cena and Roman Reigns. Then they break to talk about CM Punk’s shoulder injury and UFC prospects, as well as his anti-pink tweets, and the idea of putting Michael P.S. Hayes and the Fabulous Freebirds in the WWE Hall of Fame this spring in Dallas. Blake provided this week’s corrections.

Quote of the week: Shoemaker: “In real sports, I don’t think off-the-field stuff should matter for hall of fame entry at all. … The problem with WWE is that there’s not a voting committee, you know? There’s not any semblance — it’s the McMahon Family dinner table, on one of the nights when Vince is eating home alone. That’s the problem, from a PR perspective. Vince can’t say, or WWE can’t say, like, ‘Hey, they voted ‘em in, what are we gonna do?’ ”

Why you should listen: The guys wisely chose to almost completely ignore a forgettable RAW to focus on the memorable Respect main event as well as give a first-person perspective on the MSG show. The tidbit about sitting by Owens’ family was particularly delightful. Then, against form, Shoemaker directed a clean break to talk about Punk’s week in the news, and another to look at the Hayes/Freebirds conundrum. Rosenberg’s absence gives Greg room to breathe, and Blake does a fine job filling in only a few sparse moments.

Why you should skip it: While I didn’t miss Rosenberg’s tangents, self referential bent and above all the soundboard, it absolutely seems empty to hear two of three guys talk about a live show they all attended together. Respect was such a fantastic show it seems unfortunate to not have a full rundown of the card or discussion of where NXT might be headed creatively. And, well, if you crave Cheap Heat RAW thoughts, my sincerest condolences.

Final thoughts: A really strong Cheap Heat. It’s not a case of being excited just to have Rosenberg absent — there were a few times I missed his contributions — but evidence that Shoemaker put legitimate thought into the skeleton of the discussion. It might have been just a brief outline jotted on scrap paper, but Cheap Heat desperately needs structure, even when WWE provides ample discussion topics. And Rosenberg being Rosenberg, it’s a near certainty we’ll get his MSG thoughts next week.