* NOTE: THIS WAS ORIGINALLY FOR SHEETSANDWICH.COM BUT WAS NEVER UPLOADED DUE TO SCHEDULING *
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This Week in Back Then
A Retro Podcast Review Column
Before we get started, I would like to give you a brief overview of what this new weekly column is all about. Every week, your Sheet Sandwich cub reporter is sent a menu of retro wrestling podcast episodes by Les Moore for me to choose to review. I will select two or three episodes, depending on how much is on the week’s menu. I’ll highlight the episodes I selected, give brief summaries, likes, dislikes, and then finally tell you whether I will keep or delete the episode from podcast library. If an episode is deleted, it doesn’t mean it was bad necessarily. It might just mean it’s not worth another listen. I only have so much room in my library after all. If I keep an episode, it was good to amazing. At the end of my reviews, I will give you my highlight of the week which is my favorite bit of audio from the podcasts I decided to review. Now, let’s go take a trip!
This place is wonderful! Inspector Ringside told me about the grand opening of Les Moore’s Podcast Cafe about a week ago. He said that Les had a great menu to kick things off, so let’s take a look.
I think I’ll order Between The Sheets, Bryan and Vinny, and Keep It 2000!
Between The Sheets - Ep. 137: Feb. 28 - Mar. 6, 1996 with Dominic Garrini
I was happy to see that Les Moore put Between The Sheets on the menu. This podcast has been a favorite of mine for a quite some time. I began listening around episode 15 or so. I have went through the entire archive and listened to the ones I missed. Kris Zellner along with his co-host David Bixenspan talk about all the happenings in week that was February 28th to March 6th of 1996. They aren’t always joined by a guest but this week they were in the form of independent wrestler, Dominic Garrini. This episode is roughly 6 and a half hours long, which may sound off putting to some. At first, I felt the same. You can listen to it in whole or listen in parts, like I do. They split up the show by promotions or regions of the world. Kris and Bix go through the week with the aid of dirtsheets that were published at the time. These dirtsheets include the Wrestling Observer and PWTorch. Sometimes they use others.
In this hectic week, Mick Foley was in the middle of suing WCW after losing his EAR in Germany during a match with Vader. An all-time great carny, Kevin Nash, gave his notice to WWF before departing to WCW. Johnny B. Badd is about to leave WCW for the WWF where he would never be the same again. Sid Vicious has his final stand in Memphis and discusses happenings in Mexico and Japan.
Dominic Garrini was a great guest on this show. Kris and Bix ask him questions about possibly going against some of these wrestlers that were prominent at the time. Dom talks about psychology in matches and how some performances don’t age well. He added humor, knowledge, and more personality to this episode. There is nothing bad that I can say about this guest spot. Kris and Bix do a fantastic job of painting the picture for fans like myself who were around at the time to understand what was going on behind the scenes in wrestling.
Kyle’s Verdict: I had a great time listening to this episode. Some are easier than others due to the duration of the podcast along with the topic. Certain weeks are more interesting than others. This was a great week with a great guest. Kris and Bix were entertaining throughout and I gained a ton of knowledge listening. I consumed this show in chunks, two hours at a time. The audio goes out at times, this is my only complaint. In the middle of the show, Kris and Bix play The Amazon Game where Bix tries to guess whether or not Kris purchased an item. It’s a good breather and departure from the main topic. I will definitely KEEP this show in my podcast library. If you’re a fan of dirtsheets and wrestling in 1996, you’ll find this to be an awesome listen!
Bryan and Vinny Show: 2/27/18 - WCW/RAW Retro Review (March 1,1999)
Bryan and Vinny of the Wrestling Observer continue along on their bumpy journey into the past. They have entered March of 1999 along with their good pal, Craig. The show actually begins with Bryan and Vinny trying to fix their chairs. I don’t have the video version of this episode, so I can only imagine it was hilarious to watch as Bryan Alvarez fell out of his chair. Send me a gif of this please, anyone!
In WCW, David Flair is acting rebellious against his father Ric Flair as he refuses to cut things off with Torrie Wilson. Psicosis has a solid match with Billy Kidman. Psicosis was actually one of the first luchadors I ever saw wrestle, he was so great. Rey Mysterio goes head to head with Bam Bam Bigelow in a match that gets nobody over in the end. Rick Steiner and Goldberg take on Buff Bagwell and Scott Steiner in the main event.
Over on RAW, Mankind goes to war with Undertaker. JR returns to RAW after battling bell's palsy and losing his mother. Sounds like a triumphant return, right? They turn him heel, gotta love Vince Russo. The Rock defends his WWF Championship against Road Dogg in a match that was very not good. Chyna and Kane fight for their job in WWF as Kane takes on Stone Cold in the main event.
Kyle’s Verdict: Bryan, Vinny, and Craig are entertaining. They aren’t really informational and I didn’t gain any knowledge from listening to this one hour episode. They are hilarious, I found myself laughing throughout. The gang does a great job of critiquing the WCW and RAW. I also enjoy how they compare the two wrestling shows against one another. This was an easy listen for me but it wasn’t there best show. I will DELETE this episode as I’ve heard better from these guys and didn’t find the wrestling shows discussed to be that interesting to me.
Keep It 2000 - Ep. 25: “Rock n Roll, Make-Up, Fire” with Robert Karpeles (June 19, 2000)
Our final podcast of the week comes to us from the POST Wrestling network. Brian Mann and Nate Milton continue their scary adventure into WCW from the year 2000. They are joined by a guest that is former WWE Creative team member Robert Karpeles. He is currently known as the guy who runs the sometimes funny twitter handle, WWECreative_ish.
The podcast begins with Brian and Nate taking us back in time by telling us what song was on top of the billboard charts during the week of June 19, 2000. On the episode of WCW Nitro they cover, Horace Hogan challenges to Goldberg as he seeks revenge. Kevin Nash goes one on one with Ernest Miller with the goal of gaining Scott Hall’s contract. The love triangle with David Flair, Miss Hancock, and Daffney continues on. Finally, in the main event Scott Steiner takes on Jeff Jarrett where both men are United States Champion and WCW Champion respectively.
Kyle’s Verdict: The trio talked about Goldberg’s heel run being too soon and unnecessary, which was the most intriguing part of this listen for me. Did Ernest Miller get his comeuppance too soon? Nate gives us his take on that. This podcast episode is about an hour and a half in duration, so it should fit easily in your schedule if you give it a try. Brian narrates everything that happened on this episode of Nitro almost as if he’s reading a book. It’s different, I dig it. Nate brings personality and humor to this podcast, I feel like Brian lacks that at times. Robert didn’t bring me as much knowledge and entertainment as I thought he could have with his prior working experience. It bummed me out.That being said, this was an okay listen. I will DELETE this episode. They have episodes way better than this one, so I still recommend seeking out the podcast itself. You have to be a brave person to willingly watch WCW in year of 2000, Brian and Nate have my condolences!
HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK: My favorite bit of audio comes from the Bryan and Vinny Show where Bryan falls out of his chair while trying to fix it. It was just perfect, I howled for a good ten seconds after picturing it! The perfect way to begin a podcast episode.
That’s the end of our trip. I have to tell Inspector Ringside about what I ordered, it was a great meal. I’ll definitely be returning next week with another menu full of wrestling podcasts. Hopefully, you’ll join me on my next visit to Les Moore’s Podcast Cafe!
