I Listen So You Don't Have To: Art Of Wrestling Ep. 316

Johnny Wrestling is one of Cabana's many guests at the AIW live 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: Art Of Wrestling
Episode: 316 (Aug. 31, 2016)
Run Time: 1:07:26
Guest: Dave “the Potato” Dawson (cohost); Billy Gunn (7:04); Johnny Gargano (20:12); Little Guido (24:22); Hornswoggle (32:07); Dan Severn (38:10); Gregory Iron (57:02)

Summary: This live show at Absolute Intense Wrestling in Cleveland is all over the map. Colt Cabana starts by unexpectedly calling on the referee everyone calls Potato, and he ends up serving as a cohost. Gunn’s bit includes trading barbs with Hornswoggle, and Guido interrupts Gargano. During what’s supposed to be Hornswoggle’s solo moment Severn takes the stage. Iron gets his own segment to end the show. There are a few stories about the importance of JT Lightning and everyone with WWE ties mentions that experience.

Quote of the week: Severn: “Fuck Batista. And midgets.”

and

Severn: “I do a lot of appearances and sports bars, and I found out that — I try to get to the sports bars a little earlier in the evening, because you wait to later in the evening, they’ve partaken in too many of the liquid libations right there, and they’re a little bolder with you, they come up to you and they go, ‘You know, I thought you’d be a little bit bigger.’ ”

Hornswoggle: “They never say that to me.”

Why you should listen: Whatever praise I might have had for past live shows is hereby overruled. This actually was a delightful experience, as I quite enjoyed listening to Cabana lose all control and especially the guests busting each others’ chops. It was the crowd scene version of what Cabana always attempts with his solo interviews — bringing to the forefront the backstage conversations he’d have with his friends anyway. Each guest has a high point (except maybe Guido, who appears to have wandered onto the stage) and the eclectic mix works quite well with this particular live crowd.

Why you should skip it: I can’t imagine any regular listener will be offended by the topics the conversations reach, but it must be said Cabana and his guests aren’t afraid to talk about things like Batista’s dick and cerebral palsy porn. And, as usual with live shows, there are a few moments where you’ll really wish a certain guest was doing a one-on-one interview. (Oddly, it’s most likely to happen during the Billy Gunn segment, but you know, wrestling is weird.) Also, Potato seems cool and all, but he’s really miscast in this role.

Final thoughts: I can see people disliking this a great deal. I chalked it up to entertaining calamity, but it also could fall on the side of discombobulated shitshow. It’s definitely not an essential listen by any means, but as usual, it’s a refreshing break from topical podcasts that dive deep into the minutiae of a forgettable RAW simply because it was the most recent show to air.