Cheap Heat
Episode Title: Busy Times in the WWE world
Release Date: 5/12/2017
Recap by: Jason Young
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Newsworthy Items:
- Stat Guy Greg announces the birth of Birdie Joe Danielson (daughter Brie Bella and Daniel Bryan)
- Braun Strowman is out of action for 4-8 weeks with an elbow injury
- Next week Peter Rosenberg will be doing the kickoff show for both NXT Takeover: Chicago and WWE Backlash.
- Rosenberg has the goal to do the real sit down wrestling discussion interview with The Rock.
- The guys think that the closest thing to a current version of the NWO would be a new Club featuring Finn Balor, A.J. Styles, Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows.
- Both Stat Guy Greg and Rosenberg feel that Daniel Bryan has not wrestled his last match.
- They both agree that there is not a single wrestler on the roster today that could be put in the ring with Roman Reigns to get Reigns cheered.
Subjects Covered (with timestamps):
1:30 – Bring it to the Table discussion
4:45 – Breakdown of the lyrics of Sasha Banks theme including sing-a-long
7:35 – Braun Stroman Injury Update
8:48 – Payback discussion
17:27 – NXT discussion
33:05 – Sponsor Ads
35:22 – Billy Corgan purchases NWA
41:07 – Ask Cheap Heat (Questions from the people)
Show Highlights/Rundown:
Peter Rosenberg and Stat Guy Greg begin this week’s episode of Cheap Heat apologizing to the fans for not having an episode last week. The only other time they went a week without an episode was after the Grantland/ESPN split.
The first topic of conversation on this week’s show was Bring it to the Table, which Rosenberg hosts on the WWE Network with JBL and Corey Graves. Rosenberg asks SGG if he was offended by any of JBL’s comments during the episode. Rosenberg claims that there are probably legitimate things to be annoyed with about JBL. Stat Guy Greg feels that JBL has blocked so many people on Twitter that he just doesn’t get it anymore. Rosenberg felt that this was the funniest episode of Bring it to the Table so far.
This leads to the guys breaking down the theme song of Sasha Banks line by line.
The next topic the guys discuss is the Braun Strowman injury. Peter asks SGG if the injury occurred on Monday night when Reigns was beating him down. Rosenberg couldn’t get over how stiff the guys were working and how hard Braun kicked Roman in the stomach.
The next topic of discussion was WWE Payback. Rosenberg asks SGG what he enjoyed most about the event. SGG felt that the highlight of the night was Jericho vs. Kevin Owens. He particularly enjoyed the call back to WrestleMania when Owens broke the submission with only one finger touching the ropes. He loved that Chris Jericho smashed his finger which eventually led to him having to tap out. The guys next discussed the House of Horrors match. SGG was confused during the segment. He wasn’t sure why Orton would show up in a limo (totally agree, and he was shirtless in the limo as well). The guys also discussed why it was dark at 6:30pm in San Jose and they hope this will be the last House of Horrors we see. Rosenberg felt it was a solid pay-per-view and he liked the turn of Cesaro and Sheamus. SGG likes their new jackets and feels they now look like a team. He feels they still need one theme song for the team instead of the hybrid song they have now.
After a brief random discussion of chicken-related songs that SGG could use for theme songs, the guys segue into NXT discussion and Rosenberg reveals that he will be doing the kickoff shows of both Takeover and Backlash. Rosenberg explains that he has been enjoying Nikki Cross over the last six months or so. He also wants to see what Hideo Itami can do and they both hope that Itami will hit the GTS in Chicago. They wonder if Itami will get booed if he hits the move in C.M. Punk’s hometown.
The guys next talk about The Rock potentially running for president. They feel that all celebrities are interested in popularity contests. Arnold Schwarzenegger was elected governor, so they feel that anything could happen. They talk about how The Rock spoke at the Republican convention in 2000 and 2004. They then listen to audio from two interviews that The Rock did during the 2000 convention and a speech he did during the 2004 convention. They’re not sure if The Rock will give up all the money he is making in his movie career to pursue a career in politics and potentially run for president. Then they discuss the net worth of The Rock and try to think of a comparison in the entertainment field to The Rock. They begin by comparing him to Diddy and Jay-Z and eventually settle on Tom Cruise.
After the break, the guys wrap up their discussion about The Rock by talking about a couple of interviews that Peter did with him.
Rosenberg brings up Billy Corgan purchasing NWA. SGG feels that Corgan was so hell-bent on owning a wrestling company that he was willing to throw his money in the trash. The guys are extremely confused why Corgan did this as WWE owns most of the tape library. Rosenberg feels that he can start a wrestling promotion with the NWA title. Rosenberg can’t get over the fact that SGG feels that the NWA title literally means nothing since SGG put Harley Race in his top 10 rankings of all-time wrestlers. Rosenberg feels that with the right wrestlers they could make the title mean something again.
Up next the guys take questions from listeners in a segment they call “Ask Cheap Heat.” The first question asks if Luke Harper and Erick Rowan should team up again and if they do will they take over the tag team division. They both feel that they should team up again, but don’t think they will take over the division. Rosenberg feels they need a mouthpiece to be impactful.
The next question asks who they think John Cena will feud with when he returns this summer? The options they discuss include Kevin Owens, Nakamura, Orton or Baron Corbin. They both like the idea on Nakamura, but they aren’t sure how they would get there without a championship being on the line.
The guys next answer a couple random questions including if Mordecai or MVP was more repug, when we’ll stop hearing Carlito’s theme song and if James Ellsworth is a member of the women’s division?
Next, Rosenberg is asked what his favorite Cheap Heat episodes are. He first mentions the return of David Shoemaker (now known as the maker of shoes) at a live show and also discusses the emergency episode after the Hulk Hogan controversy.
The next question asks the guys what their WWE Superstar name, theme song and finishing move would be. SGG says that he would wear suits and come to the ring and threaten to sue after any match that he lost. His finisher would be called “Strictly Business” and he would be Booker T’s nephew Malcolm from 125th street in New York. Rosenberg then plays a few potential theme songs for SGG including “Uptown Girl” and “The Boy is Mine.”
The next question asks if the NWO was formed today, what three superstars you would use to start it. SGG throws out heel Cena, but they discuss and feel that it wouldn’t work. They talk about how it basically was already formed with Finn Balor, A.J. Styles, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson.
The guys then discuss why the Smackdown Women’s Title isn’t being defended at WWE Backlash. They feel that it’s a way of dragging out Naomi’s title reign. They can team up for a while and then eventually Charlotte will turn on Naomi and go after the title. Rosenberg feels that if Charlotte stays on the same path that she could eventually reach a Cena level. SGG feels that there is no story right now to progress the title.
They next talk about the feud between Breezango and The Usos and how great the Fashion Files have been. SGG also discusses how good the 12 days promo was by the Usos. Both guys feel that the promos between Dolph and Nakamura have to end and they are painful.
The next question is who would WWE have to put in the ring with Roman Reigns to get him cheered? They come to the agreement that the answer is nobody. The final question involves how they would debut Bobby Roode. SGG feels that it would be best to debut him in a similar way to Kevin Owens in some sort of an open challenge, but he wins the title and takes it back to NXT with him and then debuts a few months later. Rosenberg feels that Owens should go on a long US Title Run, cutting a promo that there is nobody left to beat and then Bobby Roode cuts him off.
Review (7/10)
This week’s episode was another strong show. The mix of humor and strong wrestling knowledge each week continue to draw me in. The funniest part of the show was the line by line breakdown of Sasha Bank’s theme song including Rosenberg’s pre-pubescent singing voice. There were many solid listener questions including who on the current roster would make up the NWO and who Roman’s next opponent will be now that Braun is injured.
About the Author:
Jason Young is a lifelong WWE fan since his dad introduced him to the product in the mid-’80s. He grew up outside of Boston and now lives in Norfolk, MA. Throughout his WWE fandom, he was a huge fan of Austin in the Attitude Era and his current favorites include Kevin Owens, Sasha Banks and Finn Balor. He’s been a listener of the PWTorch Livecast since 2014.
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