I Listen So You Don't Have To: Art Of Wrestling Ep. 329

Prohibition gabs with Cabana this week Screen Grab from AIW YouTube page

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: 329 (Dec. 1, 2016)
Run Time: 1:03:21
Guest: Josh Prohibition (8:51)

Summary: Colt Cabana finally catches up with independent scene stalwart Josh Prohibition. They open by sharing ideas about trying to maintain positivity, then Prohibition discusses his day job as a teacher and reflects on regrets about his wrestling career. He also shares the value of the chance to be an influence on younger wrestlers, then explains the controversy that surrounded his long ago jump from CZW to XPW. After a quick story about being on Moral Court with his mother, Prohibition talks about his background in backyard wrestling and how he came to train with JT Lightning. Flipping to the present, Prohibition explains how he adjusted to his new wrestling schedule, as well as his history being straight edge and moving past that into his current phase of life.

Quote of the week:“Wrestling is like a drug that you take, like on a Friday, you know, you go to a show, you get your fix, you get your wrestling fix. And then you wake up the next day, and you feel so horrible from taking this drug, which is wrestling, that you say, ‘Never again.’ So Saturday and Sunday pass, you’re still hung over from wrestling, you’re so beat up, but Monday-Tuesday you start getting this itch, you know, like, ‘Eh, I know I swore it off, but…” But then Wednesday-Thursday comes, that itch gets worse and worse. It’s like the weekend shows up and you’re like, ‘I wanna wrestle.’ You know? I need that, I need that fix. And even though, like I said, I have this amazing life and all these great things going, I still need that fix. I have to get out there, I have to bump, I have to pop the crowd. I love promos. I have to do it. I don’t know why I still have to do it, but I have to do it.”

Why you should listen: I absolutely loved this interview. Prohibition is very well spoken, thoughtful and introspective. He’s got a tremendous story of how his backyard wrestling footage got exploited and an honest understanding of the life choices and circumstances that might have kept him from WWE stardom — and unlike most wrestlers these choices were damaging only to his wrestling career, they actually enriched his life in every other way. Ultimately, Prohibition comes across as a great storyteller who happens to have a compelling background. Cabana does a lot of sitting back and letting the guest have the spotlight, and we’re all better off for that uncharacteristic restraint.

Why you should skip it: Really, the only reason to take a pass is if you have never heard of Josh Prohibition and don’t care to learn, or if you might possibly be offended hearing about a former straight edge guy turning to home brewing.

Final thoughts: Santino Marella. Edge. Cody Rhodes. Josh Prohibition. One of these things is not like the other, but if you’re going to listen to one Art Of Wrestling from the last few weeks, I actually thing is the strongest of the lot. Maybe that’s because the expectations plummet along with the name recognition of the guest, but I would sign up right now for part two of this one, and I almost never feel that way once Cabana gets into his plugs and upcoming events. I hope you can make time for this.