I Listen So You Don't Have To: Talk Is Jericho, Ep. 265

The Club recreates an old podcast staple on Talk Is Jericho 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: Talk Is Jericho
Episode: 265
Run Time: 1:22:28
Guests: Karl Anderson, Luke Gallows, AJ Styles

Summary: Before they left New Japan Pro Wrestling and headed to WWE, Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows had a podcast called Talk'n Shop, in which they mostly got drunk, talked about life, did impressions of wrestlers and played their own podcast-exclusive characters. When they did head to WWE, Anderson and Gallows stopped doing the show because they knew it would not be a corporate-approved endeavor. But on the week of this recording, WWE was in Hawaii, the drinks were flowing, and Chris Jericho brought the good brothers onto his show as a way to bring their old show back. AJ Styles is along for the ride, but he doesn't do a whole lot other than hang back and shake his head (with his hair probably swooping from side to side). Anderson and Gallows tell stories about their years together in Japan and their recent jump to WWE, which has now made them recognizable everywhere they go.

Quote of the Week: Gallows, on hanging with The Honky Tonk Man at a WrestleMania afterparty - "They really go all out for it. It's amazing. It's a great spread, and there'll be famous people. So there's a sushi tower, and we're getting sushi. There's Festus, the Honkinator, and the Hawkinsator (Curt Hawkins). And I'm like, 'I'm gonna open this motherfucker up right now.' So I look at the Honk and I'm like, 'What a great spread, huh, Honky?' And he goes, "Haha, it's comin outta your check, you fuckin mark!"

Why you should listen: This is a much more loose, jovial environment than Jericho typically gives his audience, which is obviously because a few wrestlers in a room together are bound to get silly. It helps that Anderson and Gallows are as funny as they are bald, and they're funny in ways that most wrestlers aren't. They have a sharp ability for riffing on certain ideas and concepts. It was really striking to me how much their schtick resembled the antics on Comedy Bang Bang. Karl Anderson's impression of Ric Flair was greeted as if Flair had actually walked in the room, and my god, his impression is so funny I was almost crying from laughing.

Why you should skip it: If you listen to wrestling podcasts for insight on putting together matches and the psychology behind wrestling, this is not the episode for you. This is four guys drinking and bullshitting with each other, and though it's entertaining, it's not an essential podcast with lots of substantial knowledge.

Final Thoughts: This episode was taped on their off-day during WWE's recent trip to Hawaii. They're all hanging out in Jericho's hotel room, and because Gallows in particular is so loud, hotel security comes to the room twice during the recording to warn them to keep it down or they'll be kicked out. This is a neat glimpse into the lives of pro wrestlers who might seem like cartoon characters at times, but are really just fun-loving goofballs like the rest of us. Please allow Anderson and Gallows into your heart for some enlightenment, and let them stay for some terrible Stone Cold impressions.