Wrestlespective: A WWE / wrestling podcast

Jason Mann talks to Thomas Holzerman about his love for Chikara, covering independent wrestling and attending shows, why WWE pay-per-view business is declining, why nostalgia almost never works, learning from WCW’s failures, how TNA could be successful, the merits of wrestling as sport vs. entertainment, pushing non-wrestlers in prominent roles, promotions catering to the Internet crowd, whether the Beer Money-Motor City Machine Guns best-of-five series was a success, WWE’s lack of recent breakthrough stars and much, much more. They also discuss Tom’s evolution as a wrestling fan and some of his favorite matches: -Ultimate Warrior v. Randy Savage, Wrestlemania 7  -Chris Jericho v. Pit Bull No. 2, Hardcore Heaven 1996  -The Rock v. Hulk Hogan, Wrestlemania 18  -Young Bucks v. CIMA & Susumu Yokosuka, Dragon Gate USA No. 1 Originally published: 11/1/10

Kevin Sullivan, author of “The WWE Championship,” and Wrestlespective’s Jason Mann talk about the evolution of the title and how its value has changed over the years, fascinating stories from past champions such as the Iron Sheik, Bret Hart, Ric Flair, Sid and Sgt. Slaughter, overlooked champions, Kevin’s tenure at WWE.com for a decade, experiences working under Vince McMahon, his first memories of pro wrestling and his favorite wrestlers, matches and moments. #WWE #wrestling Originally published: 10/29/10

Special guest Don Owens and Jason Mann look ahead to Survivor Series 2010 with Wade Barrett v. Randy Orton with John Cena as referee, talk about their favorite moments of Survivor Series past, express frustrations at pay-per-views with few announced matches, and answer questions from Twitter regarding Santino Marella’s push, how to best use the Undertaker, who might win the Royal Rumble, and more. Originally published: 10/27/10

Special guest Don Owens of the Future Endeavors and Jason Mann discuss the fallout from Bragging Rights 2010, the Brock Lesnar v. Cain Velasquez UFC fight, the strange staredown between Lesnar and the Undertaker and some ideas of how WWE could take advantage of that buzz, whether an MMA v. WWE feud could work, what to do with Undertaker when he returns from the grave (again), why Wade Barrett won’t just make John Cena wear the Nexus T-shirt already, the great Daniel Bryan v. Dolph Ziggler matches and how WWE could follow up, whether Edge and Randy Orton can be effective babyfaces and much more. There is also a “Crossfire”-style debate (minus the yelling) over the Stand Up For WWE campaign, whether WWE has effectively answered legitimate criticisms and whether WWE has received enough credit for the good it has done. Originally published: 10/26/10

Jason Mann talks with David Buckler about how women’s wrestling is treated in WWE and TNA, the source of David’s love for Beth Phoenix, Internet fans’ attitudes toward Michelle McCool, the Beautiful People’s dominance in TNA, the days of Awesome Kong and Gail Kim, Mickie James in TNA, memories of Saturday Night’s Main Event and classic Wrestlemanias, the awesome WWF tag teams in the late 1980s, whether wrestling is more fun the less you know, the Randy Savage and Elizabeth saga, the failure of the WCW invasion in 2001, the rise of The Miz, the Undertaker refusing to break character, Santino Marella and how WWE ruins a good joke, Beth Phoenix v. Michelle McCool at Extreme Rules 2010, the Strike Force v. Hart Foundation tag title change in 1987, and Honky Tonk Man v. Randy Savage at Saturday Night’s Main Event No. 12, which was the first meeting of the Mega Powers. Originally published: 10/22/10

Jason Mann has a few things he needs to get off his chest regarding the insipid and insulting Stand Up For WWE campaign. He and Josh Hachat discuss that, plus the WWE.com list of 25 best talkers that ranks John Cena ahead of Dusty Rhodes, rumors that Matt Hardy will start his own dirtsheet, explaining why its pointless to fret over TNA because it is highly unlikely they will ever get a clue, and remembering the good times in WCW. Originally published: 10/21/10

Jason Mann and Josh Hachat discuss three of Mick Foley’s noteworthy battles in celebration of Five Days of Foley: -Cactus Jack & Maxx Payne v. the Nasty Boys, WCW Spring Stampede 1994  -Cactus Jack & Raven v. Tommy Dreamer & Terry Funk, ECW November to Remember 1995  -Mankind v. The Rock, WWF Monday Night Raw, 1/4/99 Originally published: 10/21/10 #WWE #wrestling #MickFoley

Wrestlespective digs into the mailbag to answer some questions from listeners. Jason Mann and Josh Hachat discuss how the X Division can be saved, unresolved wrestling storylines like Samoa Joe’s kidnapping, the WCW Hummer driver and Baby Doll’s photos, poorly resolved angles like Austin’s attack or the Higher Power, what wrestlers have the best and worst punches, why vehicle-related angles always seem so hokey, whether Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair should ever be on the same side, how many factions is too many and more. Originally published: 10/15/10

Jason Mann and Seth Roy discuss Flair’s oddly dismissive attitude toward his first NWA title reign, NWA politics of the 1980s, Mid-Atlantic as the new power center of the NWA, Race putting a bounty on Flair’s head, the angle in which Bob Orton and Dick Slater injure Flair’s neck, Flair’s wild return from retirement and awesome promo, the press conference announcing Greensboro as the site of Starrcade, the sports-event feel of the crowd, referee Gene Kiniski as a distraction and the greatness of the match itself. #wwe #prowrestling Originally published: 10/13/10

Jason Mann talks to Don Owens about Don’s 16-year streak of not missing a WWE pay-per-view, memories of attending Wrestlemania 26, love for Big Daddy Cool, watching Brock Lesnar, John Cena and Randy Orton before they were stars, and meeting the super-nice Rico Constantino. Jason and Don also discuss Hell in a Cell 2010, the storytelling possibilities of John Cena in Nexus, how to jazz up Bragging Rights, the best and worst themed pay-per-views, the possibilities of John Morrison, and whether 2010 fans will unite behind a top babyface. They also talk in detail about some of Don’s favorite matches: -Shawn Michaels v. Diesel, In Your House 7: Good Friends, Better Enemies (4/28/96)  -Brock Lesnar vs. The Rock, Summerslam 2002 (8/25/02)  -Shawn Michaels v. The Undertaker, Wrestlemania 25 (4/5/09)  -Shawn Michaels v. The Undertaker, Wrestlemania 26 (3/28/10) Originally published: 10/6/10 #WWE #wrestling

Jason Mann interviews Jon Waldman about SLAM! Wrestling’s origins in the late 1990s, Jon’s experiences interviewing Chris Jericho, Jericho’s “Breaking the Code” DVD and great moments in his career, some key differences in wrestling between 2010 and the 1980s, Jon’s first memories as a wrestling fan, Davey Boy Smith’s legacy, Jim Cornette’s influence, Michael Hayes’ time in WWE, how TV overexposure has changed wrestling, Shawn Michaels’ early career, the WWE Smackdown Six era in 2002, memories of ECW, long matches on TV, philosophy of hardcore wrestling, So Cal Val and TNA, and more. They also go through some of Jon’s favorite matches: -Bret Hart v. Davey Boy Smith, WWF In Your House 5: Seasons Beatings, 12/17/95  -Thrillseekers (Chris Jericho & Lance Storm) v. Heavenly Bodies, SMW Night of the Legends, 8/5/94  -Shawn Michaels v. Kurt Angle, WWE Wrestlemania 21, 4/3/05  -Rob Van Dam v. Jerry Lynn, ECW Hardcore Heaven 1999, 5/16/99 Originally published: 9/30/10

Josh Hachat and Jason Mann discuss some intriguing and generally fun matches involving big men facing off against other big men: -Diesel (Kevin Nash) v. The Undertaker, WWE Wrestlemania 12, 3/31/96  -Sid v. Goldberg, WCW Halloween Havoc, 10/14/99  -Andre the Giant & Hulk Hogan v. Big John Studd & King Kong Bundy, Saturday Night’s Main Event No. 3, 11/2/85  -Albert v. Kane, WWE Smackdown, 6/14/01 and 6/28/01 Originally published: 9/28/10 #WWE #wrestling

Jason Mann is joined by Seth Roy for a marathon show talking about the likely matches at the next WWE Hell in a Cell pay-per-view, the Smackdown and Raw spoilers, the merits of blood in cage matches and much more. #WWE #wrestling Then Jason and Seth discuss the following Hell in a Cell matches in depth before sharing their memories of the remaining 16 (at least the ones they’ve seen): -Brock Lesnar v. The Undertaker, WWE No Mercy, 10/20/02  -Batista v. Triple H, WWE Vengeance, 6/26/05  -Steve Austin v. Kurt Angle v. The Rock v. Triple H v. The Undertaker v. Rikishi, WWE Armageddon, 12/10/00 Originally published: 9/24/10

Josh Hachat and Jason Mann answer your questions and discuss who “they” might be in TNA, being perversely interested in Bound For Glory and the end of the Hogan-Bischoff era, how to give the WWE tag-team division a lift, why Internet fans don’t like the Hardy Boys, our philosophy on defending championships and making them meaningful, how to keep main eventers busy when they are out of the title picture, Jason’s snarky comments about the ROH title, the WWE’s ban on somas, wellness issues and more. We also make some hacky Matt Hardy weight jokes; nobody is perfect. Speaking of which, thanks to careful planning, this show was recorded before Night of Champions, which should lead to many laughs about how out of date some of our answers are. #WWE #wrestling Originally published: 9/23/10

Jason Mann and Josh Hachat recap the January 1996 episodes of WWF Raw and WCW Nitro, plus the Royal Rumble and Clash of the Champions 32. Topics discussed include: the Raw Bowl and football puns, Billionaire Ted’s Rasslin War Room, Lord Steven Regal: a man’s man, more drama between friends Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage, Sting and Lex Luger and the Dungeon of Doom and the Four Horsemen, Jeff Jarrett’s ugly outfits, Shawn Michaels returning to the building, The Ringmaster and a skinny Matt Hardy, Undertaker vs. Kane before he was Kane, the many sides of Goldust, the baffling mix of genres that is the “American Males” theme song, Vader destroying Gorilla Monsoon, a shocking world-title change, the return of the Road Warriors, the debut of the notorious P.I.G., Sunny’s sultry come-ons for Raw, Shawn Michaels’ horrible babyface obnoxiousness, Flair’s great shoe-aided triumph over Hogan, Macho Man doesn’t care what you think, and more. Originally published: 9/17/10 #WWE #wrestling