I Listen So You Don't Have To: Marty and Sarah Love Wrestling, Ep. 8

Marty DeRosa does some Cesaro roleplay on this episode of the podcast 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: Marty and Sarah Love Wrestling
Episode: 8
Run Time: 1:18:54
Guest:  none

Summary: Comedian Marty DeRosa has hosted his podcast Wrestling With Depression for quite some time, but with this show he has recruited his friend, writer Sarah Shockey, to exclusively talk pro wrestling and what about it makes them tick. They mostly love to laugh about wrestling, and they love to let their imaginations take them to fake scenarios in which they are wrestlers. DeRosa has a long section in which he is Cesaro, regretful over his accidental involvement in underwear photo shoots and an underground tickling ring. Shockey becomes Alexa Bliss, DeRosa's angry girlfriend who emotionally abuses him. DeRosa plays a round of What Do They Smell Like in which he asks Shockey to describe the potential smells of men and women in WWE. And at the end, they play that old classic game, FMK.

Quote of the Week: DeRosa, on Daniel Bryan's love of Zack Sabre Jr. - "I remember one of the things that was so sweet that he said on that farewell episode in Seattle, when he talked about Brie - he said, 'I never knew that I could love someone this much, or someone could complete me as much as her.' And I felt like after this week's Cruiserweight Tournament, he was like, '...aaaaaaand Zack Sabre Jr.'"

Why you should listen: Marty and Sarah are clearly very good friends who are on the exact same wavelength when it comes to riffing on whatever ideas come into their heads. They're funny people who also do great impressions, but not so funny or not so great that they come across as desperate. The bit in this episode about Cesaro goes down a really strange path, but both Marty and Sarah navigate us expertly along the way.

Why you should skip it: Those looking to get an in-depth analysis of the new face/heel mishmash of Roman Reigns's character will not find it here. Marty and Sarah are not doing that type of show. Opponents of tomfoolery and silliness should stay away.

Final Thoughts: Only eight episodes into their show, DeRosa and Shockey have already developed a large number of inside jokes and on-going characters that might feel dizzying to the first-time listener. I'm sure that if you give it a couple episodes, those jokes will start to click. The bigger question is whether or not you have the time to listen to something like this. Though it is funny in quite a few spots, it would be tough to call this essential listening. The podcasts that Scott reviews on this blog feature interviews with people in and around the world of pro wrestling, and those shows (hopefully) provide some illumination for us wrestling fans on the thing we love. Marty and Sarah Love Wrestling isn't so much illuminating as it is disposable. But if you feel that there is room in your life for an hour of pro wrestling-inspired goofiness, then dive right in.