Gorilla Position – Episode 41
Hosts: James Delow and Rob Leigh
Guest: British Boxer Anthony Ogogo
Date: October 14, 2015
DIRECT LINK TO LISTEN/DOWNLOAD
Recap By Tania Leong
Top News Items
– Interview with Anthony Ogogo: Ogogo is a British boxer who is also a WWE fan and often attends events when held in the U.K.. He said that he is currently on Strictly Come Dancing as he is carrying an injury and cannot box. On wrestling, he said that he is enjoying the product at the moment and is a fan of the New Day and Kevin Owens. He also said that he is seriously considering a switch to wrestling once his boxing career comes to a close.
– NXT Takeover: Respect Review: James and Rob thoroughly enjoyed the show and said that NXT continues to put on really good shows. Both were impressed with each match on the card especially the main event iron man match between Bayley and Sasha Banks. The show was very emotional with the Rhodes family presenting the tournament winners with the trophy and with Bayley and Sasha making history.
– Raw Review: Although there were aspects of Raw that was enjoyable, some segments and storylines left both James and Rob puzzled, like the Rusev/Lana/Summer Rae/Ziggler storyline and WWE’s acknowledgement of TMZ and why Rollins is continually being booked as a losing champion.
– WWE Network Shows: Both are enjoying what the Network has to offer. Original content such as Table for 3, Unfiltered with Renee Young, and WWE 24 are very enjoyable and each offer something different.
Topics Discussed (with time stamps)
Introduction – 0.00
Introduction by James Delow
James said that he was in LA at the moment for a television show that he is working on and had bumped into David Arquette who said that he thoroughly enjoyed being WCW Champion ‘even though the fans hated it.’ – 01.20
James have had a lot of time to catch up on a lot of shows on the WWE Network whilst in L.A., and is loving the content such as NXT, Table for 3, Unfiltered, and WWE 24 – 06.06
This episode will cover NXT Takeover, Raw and other wrestling talk– 07.11
Interview with British boxer, Anthony Ogogo – 08.33
James introduces Anthony Ogogo, who is a British middleweight boxer who had won a bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics and is currently on Strictly Come Dancing (original version of Dancing with the Stars). He is also a very fanatic WWE fan.
Ogogo recalls his experience on Strictly Come Dancing and that he was voted off this past week. He said that he went on the show because he is injured and cannot box, and that he wanted to raise his profile with the British public as 10 million people watch the show weekly. He also went into great depth about how he has been treated by the entertainment media and he noticed a significant difference between the sports media and entertainment media in Britain.
With regards to WWE, Ogogo is not a fan of John Cena and misses C.M. Punk. He and James talked about how good the New Day is at the moment; they’re ‘the hottest thing in WWE.’ Ogogo said that it was nice to see the New Day stand tall at the end of last week’s Raw because it’s a change to see someone other than Cena always winning. Both noted the difference in performances when the wrestlers are allowed more freedom, as the New Day is over organically whereas Roman Reigns is not. Ogogo compared the New Day to the Nation of Domination but funnier.
Ogogo says that he is enjoying WWE at the moment, even Kane’s current work. He said that he has watched Kane’s debut ‘over hundred times,’ although he has lost some of his mystic over the past few years, his current work is great.
James is worried that Kane is still in the main event picture and younger talent is not given the same opportunities. Ogogo agreed and said that with Cena in the upper mid-card, the younger talents like Kevin Owens and Cesaro should be given a chance. He also said that those who have been given a chance like Dean Ambrose should have been given more than a short main event run.
Both said that they are big fans of Owens and that he is very much like C.M. Punk because he is very real and natural in what he does in and out of the ring.
Ogogo said that NXT is always a show to watch and that it seems more real and less scripted. He said that his favourites are Sasha Banks, Bayley, and the Vaudevillians.
They discussed the upcoming NXT tour in December. James jokingly asked whether Ogogo would try out for NXT as they are holding try-outs. Ogogo said that he is concentrating on boxing at the moment but he is seriously considering a move to wrestling in the future.
Both said that it is good to see women like Banks and Bayley be given great opportunities to perform and not be judged purely on their looks, and they are putting in brilliant performances.
NXT Takeover: Respect Review – 53.30
James and Rob said that ‘it was a great show.’ They thought that all the tag team matches were very good, but were not sure what is the end result of the tournament. Rob thought the Mechanics had their ‘best showing’ on NXT. James questioned whether it was the right decision to have Finn Balor/Samoa Joe win.
Rob was impressed with Chad Gable but thought that he needs to cut his hair because he loses his facial expressions during the match. They were very impressed with Asuka’s debut and think that she can play ‘the monster’ of the women’s division. Rob said that Asuka made Dana Brooke memorable.
Although Apollo Crews and Tyler Breeze had a good match, Rob thought that Breeze was the wrong opponent. James questioned whether this is time for Breeze to be called up to the main roster, and Rob said that he has been touring with the main roster for live events. Both compared him with Ziggler and James said that he is a better-rounded character than Ziggler. If Breeze were to be called up, he needs to clean up his ring attire.
Both discussed Sami Zayn’s appearance at the upcoming EVOLVE show but his appearance will not be televised by EVOLVE in any way.
Both thoroughly enjoyed the Bayley vs. Banks match. Rob said that there is a follow-up video on YouTube with Banks saying that she wants to stay in NXT, both going from dark matches to main event and both wanting to be at WrestleMania. However this video has since been taken down by WWE.
They said the psychology used throughout the match was great such as Banks making Izzy cry, and Bayley stomping on Banks’s hand. They said that the post-match celebration was great. James said that the Forbes article criticizing Bayley and Banks for crying is wrong because it was the first time females main-evented a WWE special and that it was emotionally investing for the audience. Rob said that the author and article weren’t very good, ‘it’s not even deserving of our time.’
Raw Review – 84.30
James thought that it was ‘a strange Raw’ but Rob enjoyed it more than most people. Rob said that there has been a change in the New Day and are moving into the main event.
Both said that they would be happy if Randy Orton and Dean Ambrose were to feud after HIAC. It would be fresh and enjoyable. James said that Brie Bella took some big bumps during the Divas match and said that she got ‘heat’ from the Chicago crowd.
James thought that the Cena vs. Ziggler match would be at HIAC, but the match was good. James criticised Cena for not selling the ‘nine elbow drops’ from Ziggler and said that ‘things like this really annoys [him].’
James asked why couldn’t WWE have enhancement workers instead of using an established tag team for the Dudleys to squash, and they will ‘run out of tag teams’ for the Dudleys to go through.
James thinks that Neville and Cesaro would make a good tag team but Rob thinks that if Neville is to have a tag team partner, it would be Wade Barrett, and he would like to ‘see a new British Bulldog team’. Rob said that Barrett has expressed interest in going into the Tag Team division.
Rob said that the Chicago crowd was ‘brutal’ when Roman Reigns cut his promo and that he seemed very rattled. James questioned why WWE felt the need to put him out there to deliver a long promo. Rob said that he enjoyed the Reigns vs. Braun Strowman match and there were many big spots.
James felt that because WWE needed to fill out three hours of Raw, they often give out ‘money matches’ for free and this was the case with Rusev vs. Ryback. Rob said that he suspects the WWE ‘rubber stamped’ the TMZ story because neither Rusev nor Lana would jeopardised their careers. Both were confused about what is happening with Rusev/Lana/Summer Rae/Ziggler and that it is ‘an absolute mess.’ Both agreed that Summer Rae came out looking very strong.
James said that Owens vs. Kalisto was a good TV match and Owens hit a vicious powerbomb to end the match. James questioned why Brie defeated the Divas Champion with a dropkick and Rob thought this was the most deposable match of the night. James questioned why Demon Kane pinned Seth Rollins clean. He once again asked why are Charlotte and Rollins champions when they are not the best. Rob says that he can’t think of another Champion that has lost as much as Rollins has.
Rob said that he enjoyed the lumberjack match. James thought it was wrong to place focus on Kane and Big Show during the match but the crowd popped when Cesaro went after Rollins.
Wrestling news and chatter – 108.40
Rob noted that Mark Henry said that he would not renew his WWE contract because ‘it is a young man’s business.”
Both are really enjoying Table for 3 on the WWE Network. Rob said that Ambrose has appalling table manners and James joked that he will bring this up when he interviews Renee Young again. Rob said that there were many mentions of CZW as Ambrose, Cesaro, and Owens were there at different times of their careers. Rob said that Ambrose was entertaining with his stories and offered insight into his matches and career like him being stapled at ringside at this year’s WrestleMania during the IC Championship ladder match.
James is really enjoying Unfiltered with Renee Young as it offers rare insight into the personal lives of WWE wrestlers. All in all, he said that the current content on the network is great.
Rob noted that Rollins did an interview with Sam Roberts about Sting’s injury. Rollins said that he enjoyed wrestling Sting but someone who is 54-years-old shouldn’t be taking bucklebombs, and that Sting’s injuries were a ‘freak accident.’
Score & Review
7.5: Overall, this episode was quite good although the interview with Anthony Ogogo was not as interesting as it could be because a lot of the interview focused on him being on Strictly Come Dancing. James and Rob’s review of NXT Takeover and Raw were. I enjoyed Rob’s wrestling news. Although it is obvious that Ogogo is a big WWE fan, I disagree with his statement that the current product is good. But, this is a good reflection on the different expectations of each WWE fan.
I agree that NXT Takeover was a very good show and demonstrates how good the product can be if WWE actually tried. I also agree that Bayley and Sasha’s emotions at the end of the match added to the significance of the match itself and how both have cemented their place in history. Rob was correct in saying that the author of the Forbes article is not very good at all.
I agree that this week’s Raw was strange, and there were high points and low points. The New Day was entertaining as usual and the lumberjack match was better than expected. James was right in saying that Cena no-sells too often and it takes away from the psychology of the match. Both were right in saying that Reigns should never been given the task of delivering a long promo as it is his big weakness, but I think that the Reigns vs. Strowman match wasn’t good.
It should be noted that James has asked why Rollins is still champion every week, but WWE still books Rollins as a losing champion. Only this week, they added Charlotte into the equation. By the way, Ambrose does have appalling table manners.
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