Thursday, November 5, 2015

I Listen So You Don't Have To: We Watch Wrestling, Ep. 114

Cesaro is a topic of conversation on this week's WWW
Photo Credit: WWE.com
If you're new, here's the rundown: We 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 our regular rotations that we feel best fit the category of hit or miss. If we can save other folks some time, we're happy to do so.

Show: We Watch Wrestling
Episode: 114
Run Time: 1:20:30

Rundown: We Watch Wrestling is hosted by Matt McCarthy, Vince Averill and Tom Sibley. Matt is a comedian who wrote for WWE from 2011 to 2012. Vince is a comedian who knows pro wrestling inside and out. Tom is a comedian and a complete newbie, having just started watching wrestling in 2013. The show is a weekly roundtable in which they discuss pro wrestling of past and present. Topics flow in and out, their personal lives are sometimes mentioned, and many Vince McMahon impressions are uttered.

Episode Summary: Tom is actually not here for this episode, so this leaves us with the two-man crew of Matt and Vince. They hit the highlights of this week's RAW, namely their excitement over Jack Swagger making an appearance. Matt says Swagger is a perfect example of the type of guy repeatedly made to look stupid by WWE, only to be later evaluated as worthless when none of his worthlessness was his fault. Matt and Vince also speculate on possible partners for Undertaker and Kane at Survivor Series. Matt then brings up a recent match from Dragon Gate featuring Shingo Takagi and Masaaki Mochizuki, which has garnered much Match of the Year discussion. Matt bemoans the inevitable letdown when watching a match that has gotten too much hype. Vince mentions that the Young Bucks recently signed a deal with Ring of Honor but will still be performing with PWG. This helps our hosts, as they live in Los Angeles and regularly attend Pro Wrestling Guerrilla shows. The bulk of the rest of the episode is devoted to everything NXT is doing right, such as having jobber matches where the jobbers don't feel like losers as much as they are just young and full of promise.

Quote of the Week: Vince, discussing Cesaro: "It is so clear to me that he has said, 'Fuck it. What can they do to me?' So he's just going out there, he seems loose, he's fucking around, he's trying shit. I love the attitude he's got going on right now."

Why you should listen: We Watch Wrestling is my current favorite wrestling podcast. It's an engaging listen every week, anchored by three comedians who can do impressions, can make insane logical connections, and can find the funny in every aspect of pro wrestling. This week is no exception. The guys have taken to referring to Braun Strowman as "Beef Stroganoff," and they give him a goofy, lisping monster voice. They love doing Vince McMahon impressions in which Vince is constantly asking "Where's Raaaaandy?" In light of Orton's shoulder injury caused by a household chore, this week Matt's Vince voice is expecting Randy to come back in the house from taking out the garbage. It's wonderful. I also appreciate their continued discussion of the WWE Network's "Table For 3" series. This week they propose that the show institute a "DDP Trap Door," where the most useless guest of each episode can just get dropped down a chute before they start taking over the proceedings.

Why you should skip it: I'm bummed that the first episode I picked to review is the first one in forever missing Tom Sibley. Tom is a permanently wide-eyed presence on the show, still asking questions that generate good discussion, and always contributing hilarious insight (sample line: "I bet Hornswoggle sleeps with a gun in his mouth."). So if I have to be honest, if you've never heard We Watch Wrestling, maybe hit up the episode right before this one.

Final Thoughts: In this show alone, the guys discuss WWE, NXT, PWG, ROH, Evolve, and Dragon Gate. That should show you the wide breadth of wrestling knowledge you'll find every time you listen to We Watch Wrestling.