“Cheap Heat” Podcast on Grantland Sports
Hosts: David Shoemaker & Peter Rosenberg
Release Date: April 5, 2016
DIRECT LINK TO LISTEN/DOWNLOAD
Recap by Corey Freedman
Top Newsworthy Items
– David Shoemaker will no longer be part of Cheap Heat. Rosenberg and Greg will continue the show going forward with some potential format changes.
– The host had an incredible weekend in Dallas and very much enjoyed their meet and greet with their listeners.
– Shoemaker described the last three matches of NXT Takeover as “fire.”
– Rosenberg thought The Rock segment was “repug.” He and Shoemaker both enjoyed the Michaels, Foley, and Austin segment, though.
– The two hosts agree that Roman Reigns needs to work as a heel, or at the very least, not such a clear babyface the way he has previously. Rosenberg couldn’t believe they had him win clean as a face.
– Shoemaker and Rosenberg discuss the various call-ups from NXT on the Raw after WrestleMania and wonder how the A.J. Styles-Reigns situation will be booked.
Subjects Covered (w/timestamps)
0:00 – Sponsor Ad
0:15 – Introduction
1:40 – Cheap Heat Drinking Spectacular
8:15 – WM32 weekend
17:20 – NXT Takeover
29:05 – WM32
45:40 – Sponsor Ad
46:30 – More on WM32
1:13:15 – Raw
1:25:05 – Cheap Heat news
1:37:20 – Show ends
Show Highlights
Introduction: Stat Guy Greg is not on this episode of the show. The hosts have big news at some point in the show.
Cheap Heat Drinking Spectacular: The host talk about their meet and greet event in Dallas before WrestleMania. Shoemaker said he walked in wondering why they booked a bar with so many people to compete with, only to be shocked all the people were there for Cheap Heat. Rosenberg says that Cheap Heat listeners are a great group of people, and he finds something special about them compared to the listeners of some of his other shows. Rosenberg talks about how excited people were to meet Stat Guy Greg. He wonders if this was the most out of control Dipperstein has ever been. Rosenberg enjoyed the weekend with his wife Alexa as well. Shoemaker wondered why they debuted Baron Corbin during the National Championship game. He also questions whether they should have scheduled everything to coincide with the National Championship game in the first place. He says that a lot of the people they constantly try to attract are the kind of people who would watch the National Championship game instead of Raw.
WrestleMania weekend thoughts: Shoemaker wanted to mention how great a conversation he had with The Miz this weekend. Shoemaker describes how Maryse returned to help her husband the Miz win the Intercontinental Title match over Zack Ryder. Rosenberg talks about meeting Sasha Banks. Shoemaker loved watching Greg mark out meeting the various stars throughout the weekend. Rosenberg says Greg generally did a good job controlling himself, but certain times he couldn’t help it. He says he and Shoemaker try to avoid acting too much like fans during events like this. Rosenberg tells the story of Greg talking to Sting and saying “you’re my girlfriend’s favorite wrestler and you’re one of my favorite wrestlers too.” Shoemaker met Kalisto a few times throughout the weekend. He says he really wants to hear someone talk about how they reached a point where they had given up. Kalisto told him we’ve only seen about 10% of his potential moveset. Rosenberg had an “all events, all access” pass from ESPN this weekend. He thanks Coach for introducing him to so many people and taking care of him throughout the weekend.
NXT Takeover: Shoemaker talks about how cool the arena was for this show because it felt very old-school. He said you would expect to see the Von Erichs there. Rosenberg says if there was cigarette smoke in the air, it would have been 1977. Shoemaker worries that if NXT keeps growing, they won’t continue performing in such interesting arenas. Shoemaker says Takeover was really really great, and the last three matches were “fire.” Rosenberg had never seen Nakamura live, and hadn’t seen much of him at all. He thought he was really good, but it was hard to live up to the crazy hype people had created. He says the most exciting part of the night was Samoa Joe getting busted open. He loved that you didn’t know what was going on or how that situation was going to play out. Shoemaker talks about many guys getting called up from NXT but they are replenishing with guys like Austin Aries and Bobby Roode. He says he’s not the biggest Roode fan, but he wants to see him in the NXT context. Shoemaker praises the Nakamura vs. Zayn match. He says to see such a strong style match in the WWE was awesome. Triple H told Rosenberg that every little detail was very specific (lighting, stage, etc). Shoemaker really enjoyed the Bayley vs Asuka match. He thought it was interesting that Bayley lost and wasn’t called up on Monday. He’ll be glad to see that feud continue though. He thought Finn was great but was overshadowed in a way by Joe’s blood. He thinks Finn has the biggest upside in NXT, but he also says he is perfect for NXT as he just fits so well.
WM32: Rosenberg loved Cowboy Stadium. He got to walk around inside during rehearsals and before the show began. They talk about the ticket scanners not working and people being delayed getting inside the show on time. Shoemaker explains a situation with one of the main entrances being closed that created a lot of the chaos. They rave about the food before the show. Shoemaker had a steak branded with the WWE logo. They briefly recap the pre-show. Shoemaker brings up people always getting their win back on the next Raw. Rosenberg mentions Brie Bella retiring. Shoemaker suggests the Wyatt Family attack everyone leaving the company, including Brie Bella. Rosenberg is floored by the rumor that WWE genuinely expected Eva Marie to get a face pop.
Rosenberg says that 99.9 percent of the new Women’s division changes are great, but he points out that they neglected to mention Brie retiring during that segment. Rosenberg thought there were several nice spots in the IC Title ladder match. He thought it was a great tone setting match with a surprise ending. Shoemaker wonders what kind of ladders they use that people don’t get hurt with some of these spots. They both like the show starting with a ladder match like that. Rosenberg didn’t think Owens needed the IC Title anyway because he and Zayn can do their thing without it. They like Zack Ryder and are happy he won but they don’t really see his stock going anywhere. They both loved Jericho vs. Styles. Rosenberg calls it his second favorite match of the night. He marvels at the arc A.J. Styles took over this weekend to end up in such a big spot.
Rosenberg takes a call from Amber Rose. Shoemaker describes the situation with Shawn Michaels, Mick Foley, and Steve Austin. Rosenberg says this confirmed his belief that Austin always gets the biggest pops in the WWE Universe. They talk about how good HBK looked. They both enjoyed that segment. Rosenberg loved how Austin faked dancing only to stun Xavier. They talk about the odds of a Shawn Michaels return to the ring. They wonder if a superkick would be one of the harder moves to continue doing as you get older. Rosenberg says The Rock gets different treatment because of his status in Hollywood. It bothers Rosenberg that he gets more of a spectacle than Steve Austin.
Shoemaker assumes that is because they hope Rock will come back to wrestling. Rosenberg thought the Rock segment was repug. Shoemaker did enjoy seeing him with the Wyatts. Rosenberg was not a fan of such an incredibly short match with Rowan. Shoemaker thought this was the disappointment of the night. Namely no blood and the lack of more weapon use in the match. Rosenberg wouldn’t have minded them battling all over the arena either. Rosenberg doesn’t get Ambrose. His says all aspects of his game have things missing. Shoemaker thinks he is building to a better overall package. He felt this match ended quickly.
The hosts praise Charlotte and Becky specifically in the Women’s Title match. They loved Charlotte’s moonsault. They like the idea of Charlotte retaining. Shoemaker thinks the new belt looks especially good on her. Shoemaker says Sasha has the most crossover potential of anyone since the Rock. They see crazy potential within this division. Shoemaker felt like when the lowered the cell that it was “jump-off-able.” Shoemaker enjoyed the match but he didn’t really understand why they introduced Shane controlling Raw only for him to lose. They were surprised nobody interfered in this match. The hosts weren’t impressed with Corbin’s debut but they do like him. Shoemaker thinks he needed a bigger debut angle. Shoemaker mentions how long the show was overall. He says it’s too much to ask of an audience, especially when a main event people are already angry at is going on so late.
Shoemaker says Reigns is the best heel since Iraqi-sympathizer Sgt. Slaughter. He talks about Hunter not really working as a heel during the early portion of this match. They couldn’t believe they just had Reigns win clean. They discuss how loud Roman was getting booed and the necessity for him to work as a heel. They marvel at Steph’s introduction of Hunter. Shoemaker is glad Roman has the Title so we can move onto the next step of story and his character.
Raw: Shoemaker talks about A.J. Styles being one of the biggest, if not the biggest, face in the company so Reigns will be an even bigger heel than he was at Mania. They joke about how Shane got control of Raw, effectively making the whole big match the night before worthless. They never thought Apollo Crews to debut. They were expecting Bayley. Shoemaker thought Crews looked “right” in a Raw ring as opposed to an NXT ring. He says he looked like a future champion. Shoemaker thinks Finn is too big to debut on the Raw after WrestleMania. Shoemaker is glad to see some of the other women being integrated into those storylines, like Natalya. He says that division’s success will have to rely on more than a few people. Shoemaker mentions Tyler Breeze seemingly being on the downslide. He thought Baron Corbin had a good night on Raw.
Shoemaker saw Enzo and Steve Austin have a really long conversation. They remark about the Cesaro return. Shoemaker wonders if they will add another person to the Reigns-A.J. match. He thinks the best spot for Roman right now is in the middle of a clear heel and clear face. He thought Raw was interesting and is looking forward to the fallout.
Cheap Heat news: This will be the last Cheap Heat as we know it. This is not a work. Shoemaker is embarking on a new career path (later announced to be joining Bill Simmons’s “The Ringer”) and will no longer be apart of Cheap Heat. He says it is somewhat fitting to end after such a great weekend that included meeting many of the fans of the show. Rosenberg thought about ending Cheap Heat altogether. He thought it made more sense to keep the show alive and root for Shoemaker to fail only to return. Rosenberg says the silver lining is that listeners will now get two podcasts with these host a week. He also has been looking into guest hosts (that Shoemaker is very jealous of). Stat Guy Greg and Rosenberg will be back next week. Both the hosts are sad to be ending, but are already looking forward to potential reunion shows. Rosenberg is considering adding a phone line for people to call in. Shoemaker bids farewell.
Score & Review
Score (10): Not only was this an excellent show, but it was David Shoemaker’s last appearance on Cheap Heat as a regular host. We don’t know the exact details of Shoemaker’s future wrestling podcasting career, but this is a sad day. The dynamic Shoemaker and Rosenberg had (and eventually Greg too) will not be easily replicated, and losing Cheap Heat will leave a void in listeners lives. Cheap Heat, as we knew it, was always an entertaining, different approach at discussing pro wrestling. For now, this is the end of an era. We will see what the future holds for the future of Cheap Heat and how the show will be structured going forward.
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