Alasdair takes another sidestep out of the usual discussion to explore how wrestling compares with other kinds of collaborative performance like improv and Dungeons & Dragons. And who better to do that with his own Dungeon Master? Gideon Bautista is a writer, actor, wrestling fan, and longtime D&D player, and he joins Alasdair to discuss how putting together a campaign is like booking a wrestling show. Is playing Dungeons & Dragons like being a wrestler, or is it like being an audience member, liable to take over the show at any point? All that plus plenty of love for WWE’s newest Hall of Fame inductee, Dave “The Animal” Batista, or Hollywood star Dave Bautista, if you prefer. Is he the most talented actor to ever come out of a wrestling ring? Gideon explains how his fellow Bautista made use of classic Meisner technique in his famous promo on the road to this year’s WrestleMania, which Shakespeare character the Animal most reminds him of, and how his 2009 heel turn on Rey Mysterio is absolutely chilling. It’s a fun, free-ranging conversation about the mechanics of acting and storytelling in wrestling, so come listen!
2.3: Local Indy Wrestling and a Kenny Omega Hot Take with Rob Blatt
Alasdair is back in the podcast studio this week joined by Rob Blatt, the “management representative” for the Queens-based promotion House of Glory Wrestling and senior referee for Dropkick Depression in New Jersey. That’s right, we got a worker on the podcast! Rob details how he got into both wrestling and wrassling as a kid, including his dad’s Valentine’s Day present (!?) of tickets for the whole family to go see Flair vs. Piper in Nassau Coliseum. We discuss what led him to make the leap that probably more than a few wrestling fans have contemplated by actually going to wrestling school, albeit to become a despicable heel manager… and how he ended up having his first ever match with Homicide. Then we interrupt all that pleasantness to discuss Rob’s hot take about All Elite Wrestling, which is that it’s one big problem is, well, Kenny Omega. As hot takes go, it’s calm, well-considered, and lets us dig into something AEW, which we’re both basically in love with, could stand to improve on. Be sure to learn more about both upcoming shows Rob is taking part in by checking out @HOGwrestling for House of Glory and @OperationDD for Dropkick Depression!
2.2: Kyle Fowle returns to talk WarGames and Dynamite
The team reunites this week, as Kyle rejoins Alasdair for a look back at a fun week in wrestling. Uh, except Survivor Series. We didn’t get to that. But my goodness, is there still a ton to talk about! We look at the two explosive WarGames matches from the latest NXT TakeOver, then segue to a look at the latest episode of Dynamite. Are we all ready for Nick Jackson, singles star? Does Darby Allin have a ceiling? Why do we hate MJF so damn much? All that plus an extended look at how AEW is slowly building up its women’s division, even as that remains the area where Dynamite is still the farthest behind what WWE is doing…
2.1: CM Punk and Full Gear with Luis Paez-Pumar
For the first official episode of the podcast’s bold new era, Alasdair is joined in by Luis Paez-Pumar, late of Deadspin, a good website. We were planning on really only talking about AEW and Full Gear, but then C.M. Punk had to… well, not technically rejoin WWE, but do the next closest thing. Also, AEW head Tony Khan may not be stepping into the ring anytime soon, but he’s proved himself quite happy to hit some serious moves on Twitter, and this simply must be addressed. Then we do look at what worked and what didn’t about AEW’s first pay-per-view now that Dynamite is up and running. (Spoiler alert: Emi Sakura, please listen to this. Scorpio Sky… maybe less so.) Be sure to check out what Luis and all his former colleagues are up to by following @UnDeadspin on Twitter!
2.0: PODCAST BACK
From out of nowhere, the podcast lives! After more than a year’s hiatus, Alasdair has dusted off the podcast, with plans to start talking wrestling again now that there’s so much (mostly outside WWE, we’ll get into that) to talk about. As is typically customary for podcasts, there are plans to, uh, have *other* people on as well, but some last-minute scheduling snafus means Alasdair is by himself for this one, channeling his best heel-era Seth Rollins in the first segment of Raw to cut a 40-minute promo about why the podcast went away, why it’s back, and what’s next. Consider this a little reintroduction before the fun really starts back up again.
Episode 75: April 14, 2018
It was a massive WrestleMania weekend, and Alasdair and Kyle are here to work through all of it. We save the perfection that was NXT TakeOver: New Orleans for the end of the show, especially since the brilliance of that ladder match and that unsanctioned match have our brains still melted days later. In the meantime, we talk about what worked and what didn’t from WrestleMania 34. We’re here for the wrestling goodness of the Intercontinental Championship match, the great storytelling and even greater followup for the SmackDown Women’s Championship match, and the shocking brilliance of the mixed tag. Plus we try to figure out what was the deal with the increasingly bizarre main event matches. Well, other than Braun and Nicholas. That was perfect.
Episode 74: April 7, 2018
Just in time for NXT TakeOver comes our big look at WrestleMania weekend! Alasdair has been going through a whole bunch of stuff lately and is fighting off a cold, so Kyle steps up to carry him much like we assume John Cena would carry the Undertaker if that matches actually happens. (It’s going to happen, right? Right!?) We talk through all the matches for both TakeOver and Mania, and why Rusev should win all of them. Well, except the NXT North American Championship, where literally any of the contestants are great picks. Also, seriously, should Rusev just wrestle Cena as the Bulgarian Badass? That and other, non-Rusev questions are all answered within!
Episode 73: March 24, 2018
Yes! Yes! Yes! That chant can mean only one thing: EC3 got fired on TNA! (What? There were three yeses.) FINE, let’s talk Daniel Bryan and his big return to in-ring action. Kyle especially is over the moon about this, and we consider just what it means for WWE to suddenly have another bona fide main eventer at its disposal and the potential stories it can tell. Plus we talk about the Ultimate Deletion and what the future could hold for Bray Wyatt, which Alasdair is pretty convinced will involve a whole lot of Bo Dallas. Plus we pay homage to Johnny Gargano and Tomasso Ciampa, the wrestling-loving grandmother who stood up to that bully Ciampa, and the glorious British shithead that is Zack Sabre Jr.
Episode 72: March 10, 2018
It’s Fastlane time! And… Alasdair and Kyle try to bring their trademark positivity and optimism to this, but even we have our limits. We discuss just why this whole main event feels like such a mess, throw out an alternative or two, and then try to drag ourselves away from Sunday’s action as soon as possible. We talk NXT and future callups, and Alasdair checks in with a report from last weekend’s Manhattan Mayhem event from Ring of Honor!
Episode 71: March 2, 2018
Alasdair and Kyle do something they have been putting off for far too long and turn their attention to SmackDown Live, whether SmackDown Live wants it or not. We start positive by looking at the fiery promo battle between the Usos and the New Day, and we’re still insistent that, whatever else you might say about it, the actual match between Charlotte and Ruby Riott ought to be pretty good. Bobby Roode vs. Randy Orton is the rare bout where somehow both faces need to turn heel. Is Shinsuke Nakamura doing anything before WrestleMania? And don’t worry, we have plenty to say about the six-pack challenge for the WWE Championship, with a little side conversation about the Elimination Chamber thrown in!
The Story of Wrestling 