THE KEVIN KELLY SHOW
RELEASED SEPT. 7, 2015
DIRECT LINK TO STREAM OR DOWNLOAD EPISODE
By Ryan Pimentel, PWPodcasts.com Reporter
TOP NEWS ITEMS FROM SHOW
-The featured guest on The Kevin Kelly Show this past Monday was scheduled to be Ray Rowe, one-half of Ring of Honor tag team War Machine. However, Rowe had a wrestling booking in Mexico and the phone connection was unable to be made across borders, so the program did not feature a guest. Kevin Kelly and his producer/co-host Justin Rozzero instead filled the over two hours with mostly professional wrestling talk and NFL predictions. Rowe had planned on appearing on the podcast mainly to promote his recent GoFundMe.com donation drive to finish production and distribution of his documentary “The Path.” The documentary centers on his serious August 2014 motorcycle accident and the subsequent recovery and return to the ring after missing over half of a year. Kelly did plug the GoFundMe page, which is up to $1,673 of its $4,500 goal.
-During the Jimmy Snuka discussion, Kelly mentions recently talking to Bushwhacker Luke about Roddy Piper’s funeral. Luke said he hugged Snuka at the funeral, and couldn’t believe how gaunt Snuka has become from stomach cancer, even feeling his ribcage during the embrace. Kelly also mentions knowing the Argentino family indirectly, and recalls hearing Nancy’s sister frequently talking about the case. She had “no doubt” that Snuka was guilty and that the prosecution, for whatever reason, had been stonewalling the case.
-Kelly is “55 percent” sure that the WWE took the idea for giving Seth Rollins two titles simultaneously from the way Jay Lethal has been booked in ROH. Kelly insists that there is not one single second of thought that ROH gives towards WWE booking. Rozzero asks Kelly if Lethal or Rollins is having a better year, and Kelly admits his bias towards Lethal having seen him perform up close throughout 2015. Rozzero thinks Lethal’s reign has been booked better and Kelly gushes about both being locker room leaders.
-Kelly was shocked that Jay Briscoe finished only no. 7 on the PWI 500 list.
-Kelly shocked viewers even more with a prediction that the Oakland Raiders will win their division this season.
TOPICS COVERED (with time stamps)
-Introduction – 0:00
-Jimmy Snuka Arrest Discussion – 4:43
-Seth Rollins/Jay Lethal Comparison and Night of Champions Predictions – 16:55
-Talk of TNA’s Future – 32:51
-Advertisements – 41:43
-Trending Stories Segment Begins (Nicole Arbour/YouTube controversy) – 58:19
-Trending Story #2 (Talk about Local Bar Food) – 1:03:10
-Joking About the Hart Family – 1:13:11
-NFL Season Preview Predictions – 1:18:00
-Advertisements – 1:42:30
-PWI 500 Breakdown – 1:45:32
SUMMARY OF KEY TOPICS
Kelly and Rozzero believe that Snuka would have become a Ray Rice-type pariah if rumors of drug abuse and domestic violence had been widespread in 2015 instead of the 1980s. Kelly asks if there will be any blowback on the WWE for possibly covering up the Snuka scandal. Rozzero comments how crazy it would be if a murder cover-up would finally be the downfall for Vince McMahon, but is skeptical that will actually happen.
Rozzero and Kelly both believe Sting doesn’t have to win at Night of Champions and should take the loss to Rollins. Kelly then touches on fights between Vince Russo and Jim Cornette. Russo used to laugh and be entertained by some of Cornette’s beliefs – such as anybody who comes through a box as a surprise would have instant credibility and be mega over. Another quirky Cornette belief was heels did not celebrate holidays such as Christmas. Kelly thinks Rollins beats Sting and Cena, while Rozzero believes Cena will take back his U.S. Title but Rollins defeats Sting.
The two discuss Baron Corbin being a possibility to join Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose in their feud against the Wyatt Family. Kelly is not a Corbin fan and doesn’t believe he is good enough for that spot. Rozzero thinks that his unique look could help him.
The TNA chat turns to Kelly saying international TV rights is saving the company from bankruptcy and how it may be wise to become an international touring company instead of focusing on the United States. Kelly mentions a story he hears from a “very reliable source in the industry” about Dixie Carter getting an offer to sell the company, but it fell through due to Dixie still wanting a job if the sale went through.
Kelly believes “Stone Cold” Steve Austin will be the special guest referee for the rubber match of The Undertaker vs. Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 32, but he and Rozzero both think Daniel Bryan will not be wrestling and is “done”.
SCORE & REVIEW
5 out of 10: This episode of The Kevin Kelly Show was rather hit-or-miss in content – I really enjoyed the first 41 minutes, an engaging look at some wrestling topics that highlighted the strong and breezy chemistry between Kelly and Rozzero. Rozzero appears to be a knowledgeable wrestling fan, and his personality does not try to overpower or drown out Kelly. But once the ads hit, this installment is tough to sit through. Too many advertisements, bunched together and long-winded, hurt the middle section. The first trending story was dull, while the second trending story played a bit too much like an extended, uninteresting ad for a local sports bar. And unless you are an Oakland Raiders fan (Kelly’s surprising AFC West pick), there’s nothing in the NFL season preview segment that you can’t get more thoroughly and informatively elsewhere. I do not highly recommend the PWI 500 section either, even if Kelly’s shock on Ring of Honor mainstay Jay Briscoe ranking at #7 felt kind of interesting. Replacing the Trending Stories or NFL Preview with the anticipated Rowe interview would have likely improved this edition significantly, but in its current state, it felt about as long as an episode of Monday Night Raw does these days.
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