I Listen So You Don't Have To: Steve Austin Show Ep. 310

Page comes in on the tail end of the latest Austin Show Photo Credit: WWE.com

If you’re new, here’s the rundown. We 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 many wrestling podcasts out there, of course, but this feature largely hews to the regular rotation we feel best fit the category of hit or miss. If we can save other folks some time, we’re happy to do so.

Show: Steve Austin Show — Unleashed!
Episode: 310 (March 24, 2016)
Run Time: 1:40:10
Guest: Ted Fowler (11:20); Diamond Dallas Page (1:19:24)

Summary: The show opens with a continuation of Austin’s last Broken Skull Ranch recording session with Ted Fowler, and that naturally opens with a discussion of mixed drinks and somehow leads to Fowler’s lengthy story of ending up in a Tijuana jail cell. That beauty bleeds into talk about immigration policy. After a break — literally, the recording resumed the next morning — they chat about working schedules, Fowler’s dating life, golfing and chigger bites. Then there’s a quick call to DDP to catch up on plans for WrestleMania weekend in Dallas, Fabulous Freebirds memories and the same Randy Savage story you’ve heard a million times.

Quote of the week: Page: “Hayes, I mean those guys could drink. Oh — you know I come from the nightclub business, and I drank my fair share of a lot of booze. But when you hung out with those guys, it went to a different level. You know, the only car that I got out of — I couldn’t get out of the Freebirds’ ’cause I’m managing, you know, so I was there, and I went through all the Jägermeisters and beers and shots and tequila and Jack and — the one car I had to get out of, I was like, ‘Guys, I’m gonna find another car to ride in,’ and that’s when I was riding with Barry Windham and Michael Graham. … I got in the car with them boys and I lasted two nights. And on the third day, I was like, ‘Boys, I’m tappin’ out.’ ”

Why you should listen: If you weren’t taken aback at Fowler’s level of intoxication on episode 308, then you might be even more interested in hearing him get less and less inhibited in this segment. For some people, stories about Mexican bar bathroom fights are the stuff of legend, and for what it’s worth, Fowler does a pretty good job telling his tale. Page’s appearance is brief but classic DDP, if that’s your bag.

Why you should skip it: Conversely, if you don’t find yourself amused by pondering how an inebriated, handcuffed man might urinate in a Tijuana cell with or without the help of his running buddies, well, this one’s not for you. You know what you get with Fowler by now, especially when he’s tipsy. The Page appearance is remarkably disappointing. Sold as a chance to hear Freebirds stories, it’s largely a plug for his WrestleMania weekend schedule and ends with the story about getting the rub from Savage at Spring Stampede that Page tells so often — and so similarly each and every time — you might start to wonder if someone inserted a Teddy Ruxpin cassette and hit play.

Final thoughts: You might not hate it. But you probably won’t love it. Your call.