I Listen So You Don't Have To: Cheap Heat Aug. 19

Stewart was a topic of conversation on Cheap Heat this week
Photo Credit: WWE.com

If you're new, here's the rundown: I 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 better wrestling podcasts out there, of course, but these are the ones in my regular rotation that I feel best fit the category of hit or miss. If I can save other folks some time, I'm happy to do so.

Show: Cheap Heat
Episode: Aug. 19, 2015
Run Time: 50:13
Guest: None

Summary: David Shoemaker, Peter Rosenberg and Stat Guy Greg are in studio with a match-by-match (mostly) SummerSlam preview. They also talk a bit about Jon Stewart, celebrity softball, the new Kelly Kelly show and WWE musical guests. For most of the matches the guys float ridiculous swerve endings. The wrap up by announcing where they can be seen this weekend and yielding the floor to Greg for his corrections and clarifications.

Quote of the week: Rosenberg: “Four hours is a long show … we’re all so biased here though, because we know we have a weekend full of events and our wrestling nerd friends are all going to be hanging out and drinking beers and having a good time. You end up blurring the line of what you’re actually excited for. … The hugeness and magnitude of WrestleMania makes if, if you’re there, it’s just good. WrestleMania’s been good every time I’ve went.”

Why you should listen: Too busy to read Shoemaker’s Grantland work or follow him on Twitter? It’s condensed nicely in audio form. If you’re planning to watch SummerSlam and totally clueless about the major stories, you could do worse than spending 50 minutes here getting up to speed. Beyond that, though…

Why you should skip it: Rosenberg Rosenberg Rosenberg. He says “verse” instead of “versus,” a pet peeve. He abuses his sound board privileges. The cute “swerve” idea devolves quickly into unfunny absurdism. Somehow he finds space to wax about the level of his own celebrity. I listened at normal speed this week, which only amplified his inability (or lack of desire) to conceal his boredom both with the SummerSlam card as well as the obligation to podcast about same. And for the love of all that is good, the lot of you, maybe breathe a few words about the biggest NXT show in history?

Final thoughts: I say this in all sincerity: This episode is a bigger waste of time than the back half of Jim Ross’ Tony Schiavone interview. Nearly anything you find written online about SummerSlam will be more worth your time, and it’s an absolute shame to come to that conclusion because WWE giving this show the WrestleMania treatment in the hosts’ backyard should be the foundation of a spectacular episode. Instead, I’m left questioning why these guys even bother having a show, and as much as I respect Shoemaker (and have come to appreciate Greg’s contributions), that was a really disappointing realization.