Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I’m Mark Haggerty, and welcome back to the weekly series in which we count down the Top Wrestlecasts each and every seven days. The Survivor Series had me tremendously busy since Sunday and I haven’t had the chance to get to my countdown until now. So how about we get into it and see who had the best show for the week ending on November 22nd…
Honorable Mention: Our friends over at The Wrestling Compadre Slamcast have landed the number six spot for the second week in a row. But that doesn’t mean we don’t appreciate everything going down over at the Nerdist Studios and we hope to see them break the Top 5 next time around.
5. Wrestling Observer Radio
Bryan Alvarez and Mike Sempervive from Wrestling Observer Radio make their return for a second consecutive week on our countdown. In a world contrived by Kayfabe, the Wrestling Observer Newsletter is perhaps the only reliable news source for our community to depend on. Last week, I mentioned that this show’s success relies greatly on the industry at large and the fans that take the time to call in. This week’s episode featured more of the same regular callers, dialing up Bryan and Mike to discuss women’s wrestling. I’m not sure what I find so enjoyable about this specific podcast each week. Wrestling Observer Radio features tons of audio content as they’ll remind you quite often, but I’m always especially drawn to the live show every Sunday. And it doesn’t even feature Dave Meltzer! Alvarez is a true journalist who reports on wrestling in a straightforward fashion, then each of his news topic are artfully, yet sarcastically scrutinized by Mike Sempervive. The chemistry between the hosts plays a big part in my admiration for what they do; Bryan is a celebrated author with a wealth of experience, and Mike is a well-spoken, thought provoking wrestling historian who acts as the ‘conscience’ of every episode. Each time I hear one of the weekly callers say something to the effect of, “Hey this is Jim in Virginia and I want to talk about ladies wrestling,” I want to call in and say, “Hey this is Mark in California and I want to talk about midget wrestling.”
4. The Art of Wrestling
Colt Cabana is famous for having one of the most no-holds-barred interview segments in wrestling radio. Colt is never worried about upsetting the brass upstairs, because he’s located in his studio… apartment! The only person upstairs is another neighbor who may or may not be annoyed with how loud some of Colt’s guests can be. On the docket this week is a sit-down which I found particularly riveting–an interview with Danny Davis, the owner and founder of Ohio Valley Wrestling. Anyone who follows independent wrestling, or is at least familiar with the former WWE farm-system OVW, knows the name Danny Davis. He sits down with Colt to discuss everything from his favorite wrestlers-turned-Superstsrs, to the early days of OVW. I assume the casual fan may be a bit puzzled as to why they need to listen to a show featuring someone they perhaps never heard of. Well I’ll let you be the judge of that: this show is filled with one-of-a-kind accounts of some of the most famous and successful professional wrestlers in history. John Cena, Dave Batista, Brock Lesnar, CM Punk and basically every talent that debuted during the Ruthless Aggression Era came through Ohio Valley Wrestling and worked with Danny Davis. The Art of Wrestling might have fallen a few spots this week, but it’s just as explosive as ever and I implore you to go hit the download button and check out Colt’s intense interview with Danny Davis.
3. The Voices of Wrestling
The Voices of Wrestling maintain their number three position right in the middle of our countdown this week. Not only that, but they’ve managed to be the only show aside from, “The Ross Report” to be featured on our list since its initial debut. So what is it that I find so appealing about Joe Lanza and Rich Kraetsch? What makes it easy for me to dedicate three hours of my life to them every week? I guess I really value podcasts that teach me something, and you’d be hard-pressed to find any show as informative as the Voices of Wrestling. While their peers in the ‘cast community dedicate entire episodes to reviewing WWE pay per views that everyone’s already seen, VOW tackles more obscure news stories and report using segues, rather than relying on linear delivery. Every episode inevitably deteriorates into a discussion over some kind of food–this week it was Candy. For the record, Joe Lanza is not a ‘sweets guy,’ but he enjoys, “a nice M&M.” I always get a kick out of their broadcasts, but I especially enjoyed this week’s episode due to the debate over possible Wrestling Observer Hall of Fame contenders. When I listen to someone like Bryan Alvarez or even Dave Meltzer discuss the Hall of Fame, I can tell they’re being diplomatic due to their proximity to the project. But Joe and Rich pull no punches when it comes to discussing who belongs in the hall, and more notably–who DOES NOT. It seems in recent weeks that the hosts have been somewhat self-conscious regarding the length of each episode; I’ll go on record right now and say that I adore the extended format, and always look forward to spending no fewer than three hours listening to what these guys have to say. I’d like to give a special mention to “Shake Them Ropes”–another podcast flying the Voices of Wrestling banner that could very well break from the pack and earn its own place on our countdown in the coming weeks. As for the flagship show, another five-star effort by an incredibly diligent group of professionals.
2. The Ross Report
Jim Ross remains toward the very top, although taking a bump knocking him down to Number Two. His show is always among the best because it combines A-List talent with JR’s political approach to sensitive issues. This week’s guest – or guests, are none other than the multi time tag team champions from Cameron, North Carolina, Matt and Jeff Hardy. Personally, I happen to think there’s more than enough Hardy Boyz material available in the world. However it was a welcome change to hear the brothers discuss their lives in an honest manner, uncompromised by the WWE or any other production studio. The show was basically a dialogue between JR and Matt; Matt took the wheel during this drive down memory lane, with Jeff in back making comments about every landmark they’d pass. A lot of the same information you may have heard in previous interviews is reiterated, but what I most enjoyed was the intelligent way in which both brothers conducted themselves. I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve never had the highest opinion of either Hardy outside of the rIng. But it was heart-warming to hear Matt speak about his wife, and Jeff of his daughter. Not the best show JR has ever produced, but far from the worst. Give JR and his barbecue sauce some love by subscribing to his podcast using iTunes today.
1. The Steve Austin Show (& Unleashed)
Stone Cold Steve Austin hits number one this week with the combination of both the family-friendly Tuesday show and the explicit four-letter-worded Thursday podcast entitled, “Unleashed.” The Rattlesnake’s Tuesday episode featured an audio track by Stone Cold discussing his own performance at Wrestlemania 13 against Bret “Hit Man” Hart. I really enjoy these alternate commentaries that Austin’s been recording, especially with the availability of the WWE Network so that I may easily sync the commentary with whatever match it relates to. For the past several weeks, Stone Cold has been relying on a Q&A format featuring fan phone calls and Twitter questions. It was nice getting more than just an average answer show this week, and Austin followed up his Tuesday commentary with a very special guest on Thursday–Bill Apter. Bill has decades worth of anecdotes to share from working in wrestling publications, and it’s sometimes difficult for Stone Cold to keep up with Apter’s mile-a-minute delivery. Apter and Austin seem to have a special relationship that stems from Stone Cold winning the “1990 Rookie of the Year” from Apter’s Pro Wrestling Illustrated magazine. I find it generally enjoyable to hear Austin interview personalities from outside of the WWE and Apter pulls no punches, delivering an episode which covers a myriad of topics, including the origins of the infamous PWI 500.
An interesting week to say the least from some of my favorite names in the world of wrestling. As a reminder, most every one of the broadcasters listed today performs their duties due to their devotion to the business. It’s because of listeners like us that they continue to produce quality content every week so subscribe using iTunes, visit their individual websites, and share your favorite episodes using social media. Until next time, my name is Mark Haggerty and it has been my privilege to deliver you another week’s worth of Wrestlecasts.
