Cheap Heat Podcast
Hosts: David Shoemaker & Peter Rosenberg w/Grantland’s Dave Schilling
Release Date: October 26, 2015
DIRECT LINK TO LISTEN/DOWNLOAD
Recap by Corey Freedman
Top Newsworthy Items
– The hosts really enjoyed Brock Lesnar vs. The Undertaker at HIAC, though they found it odd that Taker got ZERO legitimate wins in the entire feud.
– Rosenberg sincerely hopes that the result of last night’s ending is not an absent Undertaker followed by non-stop Bray Wyatt promos as we have seen in the past.
– The hosts were happy to see Alberto Del Rio return, as they agree he is someone that epitomizes WWE style wrestling.
– The gang also agreed that even a little bit of blood goes a long way to adding drama/realism to big matches like with Lesnar and Taker. Whether the blood was planned or not, it was a welcome addition.
Subjects Covered (w/ Timestamps)
0:00 – Introduction
5:50 – Taker/Lesnar
9:11 – Discussion of WWE cages and archives
14:15 – Return to Taker-Lesnar discussion
19:45 – Dean Ambrose
21:45 – Taker-Wyatt aftermath
25:45 – John Cena vs. Alberto Del Rio
30:00 – Some other random thoughts from HIAC
36:00 – Bleeding during the main event
42:05 – Reigns vs Wyatt
45:10 – Random thoughts from attending HIAC
48:25 – Parting thoughts and conclusion
Show Highlights
Introduction: Stat Guy Greg is not present for this recording. Grantland’s Dave Schilling joins the regular hosts for this week’s podcast. The crew has a brief discussion to give some insight on Schilling’s wrestling background. This leads to the hosts discussing how Brock Lesnar adds an element of danger/uncertainty to the current product.
Taker-Lesnar: Shoemaker starts off by noting how weird it feels that Undertaker got nothing close to a clean win in this entire feud. The hosts were at the PPV yesterday and they discuss their seats and how it can sometimes be hard to see inside the cell when you are at the event. Rosenberg notes that it surprised him that nobody climbed the cell or anything close to that.
Cage/Archives discussion: The hosts have a brief aside about different cage types from WWE’s past and discuss the WWE warehouse that supposedly contains items from WWE’s past. They also discuss some of the animals that have participated in WWE throughout the years.
More Taker-Lesnar: Schilling starts off by noting that it seemed like beating The Undertaker feels like a good point to take Brock off TV. He argues that Undertaker is perhaps the last believable opponent for Lesnar and that beating him once and for all is a good stopping point for Brock for a little while. Shoemaker suggests that perhaps a number one contender feud with Roman Reigns is the only possible direction right now if he is not going off TV. Rosenberg follows that Lesnar vs. Daniel Bryan is one feud that he feels we deserve to see at some point. Fantasy booking aside, the crew seems to be in agreement that we are destined for Lesnar to lose to Reigns.
Dean Ambrose: After Shoemaker wonders if perhaps Lesnar’s big loss could come to either Rollins or Ambrose, Rosenberg strongly predicts that there is little chance Lesnar ever loses to Ambrose. The hosts share a laugh envisioning Lesnar selling Ambrose’s rebound clothesline. Shoemaker then follows by reminding the other hosts that the crowd was electric for Ambrose during his feud with Rollins. Schilling continues by discussing how poor Ambrose’s booking has been as far as getting him over as a singles star is concerned (e.g. pairing him with Orton to fight the Wyatt Family won’t elevate him to the main event).
Taker-Wyatt: Schilling asserts that the ending to HIAC last night seemed to be setting up a traditional Survivor Series match between the Wyatt Family and whoever joins forces with Taker. Rosenberg follows by saying explicitly that he sincerely hopes the aftermath of last night is not a missing Undertaker accompanied by endless Bray Wyatt promos. The hosts agree that him talking every week, without any more substance, has gotten very old and boring. Rosenberg wonders if it is possible for Undertaker to join the Wyatt Family like Daniel Bryan did. Shoemaker enjoys Bray Wyatt revisiting old feuds as he feels it adds to his character that perhaps time is not of importance to Bray. Schilling talks about how Bray Wyatt never wins and that is hurting his overall character/mystique.
Cena-Del Rio: The hosts note that the match seemed to have an odd pace and ending. Rosenberg says he was excited to see Del Rio come back. He also notes that he assumed Jack Swagger was the challenger when Zeb Colter appeared, and he was worried this would be “the worst PPV in history” if that was how it started. Shoemaker jokes that when he thought it was Swagger he feared for his career as that might have driven WWE out of business. He notes that he likes Jack Swagger, but given the build up/mysterious nature of the Open Challenge format, this simply was not the time for another Jack Swagger push. Rosenberg says that Del Rio is far too polished and accomplished a wrestling talent to be working anywhere but the WWE. The hosts also enjoyed that Zeb Colter was the one to introduce Del Rio given his character’s pro-American past, and they wonder whether or not Del Rio will be a face or a heel during this run.
Random HIAC thoughts: After trying to decide whether Del Rio would be a face or heel, that leads the hosts to discuss some of the other faces and their position in the company. Shoemaker talks briefly about the three faces in the pre-show match. The hosts also agree that Ryback does nothing for any of them and that match was their beer break. They also discussed how the New Day-Dudleys match was “the very definition of a popcorn match” which made sense given the gravity of some of the other matches. That point leads to the hosts hoping the WWE does more with their factions. Rosenberg talks about how factions can have multiple matches throughout the show and perhaps “wreak havoc” on the entire show.
Blood during the main event: Shoemaker starts by trying to figure out when/where Brock and Taker started bleeding. The hosts also wonder whether or not they were supposed to bleed or if that was an accident. They mention rumors that Vince was upset about the amount of blood. Regardless of whether it was on purpose or not, Rosenberg says that in a match of this caliber, blood adds a ton to the excitement and realism of matches. Schilling adds that even a small amount of blood adds some spontaneity to a predetermined wrestling match.
Undertaker’s WM opponent: Rosenberg wonders who will be Taker’s opponent at the next WM by asking if it is possible for him to fight Strowman. He hopes that, given the realistic options, he is hoping for Undertaker vs Kane. Shoemaker suggests that John Cena vs. Undertaker would be a perfect option. Rosenberg believes that the only realistic options seem to be Kane or a member of the Wyatt Family.
Reigns-Wyatt: Shoemaker starts by saying that he thought this was a great match. He continues by saying that these two were in a tough spot because the audience is fairly critical of Reigns and rarely gives him the benefit of the doubt. Schilling believes that the crowd doesn’t respond enough to Reigns for this match to have felt as important as perhaps the WWE would have liked us to. Shoemaker talks about how enjoyable the table spots in this match were. Rosenberg suggests that the WWE stop the blatant babyface stuff with Reigns and to simply let him show off his athleticism. Shoemaker goes on a brief aside where he talks about how much he dislikes Reigns’ ring attire.
Random thoughts from attending HIAC: The hosts note that there were many Cheap Heat related signs at the Staples Center last night. They also discuss WWE’s definition of celebrities and joke that Seth Green is a “WWE A-List” celebrity.
Score and Review
Score: (8.0) – I enjoyed this special edition of Cheap Heat. I think anytime the WWE has a PPV event, the sooner a show can review it the better. This episode had a couple of big digressions from the overall topic, but I found them to be mostly innocuous and entertaining in their own right. As far as the actual PPV review, I think the hosts did a great job of spending most of their time on the main issues/big matches from the Hell in a Cell PPV. Normally I enjoy when they review the entire card, but I thought the structure/outcomes from this show warranted a different approach.
I don’t think much discussion was necessary for some of the matches, and I was glad the hosts afforded some big chunks of time to sorting out some of the main matches/storylines. I think the crew offered some great insight into the Lesnar-Taker situation and I enjoyed hearing their take on the U.S. Open Challenge featuring a returning Alberto Del Rio. I also liked that the hosts tried to speculate on the direction of the Wyatt Family going forward given the way the HIAC PPV concluded. Overall, I really enjoyed this show and I think listeners would consider 50 minutes well spent. I could live without the long digressions, but it’s pretty easy to understand how those come about. This episode was a really nice recap of the PPV and a good breakdown of the most important elements of the HIAC show.
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