I Listen So You Don't Have To: Cheap Heat Feb. 10

IT's a Daniel Bryan episode of Cheap Heat
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 many wrestling podcasts out there, of course, but this feature largely hews to the regular rotation 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: Cheap Heat
Episode: Bryan’s Song (Feb. 10, 2016)
Run Time: 1:02:28
Guest: None

Summary: Peter Rosenberg, David Shoemaker and Stat Guy Greg are in studio this week, hitting the record button moments after news of Titus O’Neil’s inexplicable suspension following the end of this week’s RAW. They move backward from there to the very end of Daniel Bryan’s retirement address to bust on the commentary team for talking over the moment, then spend several minutes reflecting on Bryan’s retirement and speculating about future, including a brief comparison to Edge. Then the show takes a hard left turn to talking about USA shows and theme songs linked to dog breeds (on account of the dog show). Greg brings up his Twitter rant about WWF’s Harlem sewer rats, then the guys weigh in on The People vs. OJ Simpson and Ryback’s new gear before fading out.

Quote of the week: “Daniel Bryan took the ball that CM Punk whatever and ran with it. Like CM Punk just, very quickly it became clear he was not gonna be that guy, you know? He was the John the Baptist and Daniel Bryan was like the Reality Era messiah. Because Daniel Bryan’s entire storyline was his real life. Like, there’s no artifice. It was just barely tweaked to be on television. This guy’s never gonna make it, that’s the story. And actually, we think that. We don’t think he’s gonna make it. So that’s why he was so — I think that’s the, beside the fact that he was smaller and people latch on to the underdog, I think that’s why he was so relatable, because it was 100 percent real on the screen. And his face — never, I mean, it was almost, almost all the time real emotion that you could see on his face. Yeah. It was amazing that we watched that whole thing happen. It was a great story. I, for one, am very happy that it got to end the way it did.”

Why you should listen: It’s rare, but I think Shoemaker’s Bryan thoughts may have been better expressed verbally than in his written piece for ESPN.com. Rosenberg has some decent insight, and Greg’s limited contributions are on point as usual. If you take the O’Neil reaction in the context of when they recorded, there’s something to be said for the chance to hear the instant takes.

Why you should skip it: This is a 30-minute show in an hourlong slot. Once the guys wander off into the shows that lead in to RAW, feel free to move on to something else. No exaggeration — it never gets back on track.

Final thoughts: When a sad, major story happens, such as the Bryan retirement, some fans gravitate to any shred of content as a form of catharsis. Others flee from the coverage, preferring to be alone in their thoughts and processing their own emotions without influence. If you’re the former, this absolutely is your bag. The latter? Move along quickly. And no matter which camp, only the first half is worth anyone’s time.