Edge & Christian’s Pod of Awesomeness Recap
Episode 12 with Tommy Dreamer’s Tales from the Indies and a chat about the Ladder Match
Release Date: June 9, 2017
By: Jeff Indelicato
DIRECT LINK TO LISTEN/DOWNLOAD
“For The Benefit of Those with No Time” (Top Stories)
- Edge is looking forward to Samoa Joe vs. Brock Lesnar but feels that it is a “WrestleMania” worthy match.
- Christian was legitimately knocked out in the closing seconds of their No Mercy 2001 Ladder Match against each other.
- The HBK/Razor Ramon Ladder Matches were what captivated them and their generation.
- It was Edge’s idea to cash in his Money in the Briefcase on an opponent outside of a regular match.
“5 Second Pose of Timestamps”
0:00: Show Introduction
32:19: Tommy Dreamer’s Tales from the Indies
52:20: Perspectives on the ladder match history
1:08:00: Which ladder match captivated them/their first ladder match
1:30:00: Scariest/most painful bump that either have taken
1:52:00: Wrap-up and close
“You Think You Know Them” (Recap)
Opening Intros, Lesnar/Joe & Voicemails 0:00-32:19
As we open the show, Christian is having technical difficulties and is in Canada filming a movie. He has been traveling a lot lately, considering he was just in England for Collector Mania with Beth Phoenix. Since Beth was gone, Edge was the babysitter and enjoyed crafting while listening to Justin Timberlake.
Since Extreme Rules was this past week, Edge is pretty excited for the announcement of Brock Lesnar vs. Samoa Joe, and that not only is it fresh, but it provides a believable opponent for Brock to face. He is assuming that the plans for WrestleMania 34 are Roman Reigns vs. Lesnar, but honestly, he would prefer to see Joe and Brock on the main stage instead. Based on Joe losing to Seth Rollins at the last PPV, Edge was wondering if this was hot-shotted, and is a little bothered by it, as he felt that Joe should have been consistently winning and built even stronger. From a fan perspective, this is more than likely true, as I wonder if Joe is replacing Braun Strowman, who is presently injured.
E & C want to send their well wishes to Harley Race, who recently suffered a fall in his home. They hope he gets better soon.
We then listen to some voicemails from fans, including two from Beth Phoenix and their young daughter, Lyric. Lyric feels that the podcast is good for babies, kids, and grownups. She also thinks that Uncle Jay (Christian) is funny and is looking forward to playing with his daughter.
Tales from the Indies with Tommy Dreamer 32:19 – 52:20
For those that only read this recap, E & C always open the segment by saying “Tommy, Tommy, Tommy, Tommy” repeatedly. Fans have enjoyed this, and are now walking up to Tommy and doing the same thing, which is driving him nuts. E & C get a kick out this.
Tommy had just finished doing cardio and is preparing for his trip to Australia for some shows. Expected to also be on this tour are Jack Swagger and the Young Bucks. He recently had some shows across North Carolina, which upsets Edge, due to the fact that he lives there, and did not receive a visit. Dreamer apologizes but admits he had no clue where he was half of the time. He greatly enjoyed wrestling at these shows, and specifically mentioned a tag team by the name of the Dawson Brothers, who he feels are a cross between the Wyatts and Dudleys. He signs off with the boys chanting “Tommy, Tommy, Tommy.”
Edge & Christian’s Chat about Ladder Matches 52:20 – 1:52:00
The discussion moves to the main topic of the show, which is the Ladder Match. There is debate over what the 1st ladder match was. For Edge, he had always thought it was Bad News Allen vs. Bret Hart in 1983; however, upon further research, it appears to be Dan Kroffat vs. Tor Kamata in 1972. In addition, Jake Roberts faced off against Big Daddy Ritter (AKA JYD) in a Ladder Match in 1979. As he was doing further review, Edge came across one that he considers laughable, and that is a Disco Challenge Ladder Match in England featuring Kendo Nagasaki vs. Clive Myers. The objective? Be the first to retrieve the gold painted record. Words cannot do justice, so here is a link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GM–yzI8JZA.
Sometimes when you’re in the ring with your buddies, you work a little tighter, and the hits land, or maybe your friend is holding a grudge against you for stealing your Rick Martel action figure back in the day. That possibly occurred when Christian and Edge faced off against each other at No Mercy 2001. You see, Christian had a collectible Rick Martel action figure that was rare, and little Edge wanted it. One day it disappeared from Christian’s room, and a few weeks later, he found it hidden in Edge’s closet. Thankfully, he retrieved it, but he never forgot about that day. In addition, Christian was legitimately knocked out in the closing moments of the match when Edge delivered the one man con-chair-to to his opponent.
Thinking about all of the ladder matches, both men have to give credit to Shawn Michaels and Razor Ramon for their revolutionary matches at WrestleMania 10 & SummerSlam 1995, as they feel that those matches really captivated them and a generation of others. Edge remembers questioning how HBK was able to take those bumps off of a ladder and be able to get back up, but they both would begin to understand how much adrenaline plays a part in a match like that.
With their first ladder match against the Hardys at No Mercy 1999, they were excited to have a blank canvas, since there had never been a tag team ladder match before. Due to traveling/weather issues, Edge almost missed the show, but due to thinking ahead, was able to get there on time. Christian recalls the WWE telling both competitors to have three finishes ready, as a final decision wasn’t made until the day of the show. Obviously, the first two were a Hardy’s or E & C victory, but the third was a Hardy victory due to Christian turning on Edge. Thankfully they didn’t go with that option, as they had just really begun teaming and split off from The Brood. They remember the crowd’s reaction and feeling their energy. In fact, this was one of the first times that opponents received a standing ovation from the crowd after the match, as it wasn’t really a thing back then.
After that, the ladder matches became more of a regular thing, going from the Triangle Ladder Match at WrestleMania 16 to several TLC Matches, to the Money in the Bank Ladder Match. Both men recognize how much of a “star” the ladder has become, as it has not 1 but 2 PPV’s a year (Money in the Bank & TLC).
Speaking of Money in the Bank, it’s funny to both how it originally was just an idea to get other talented performers on the match list for WrestleMania, and became very important, due to its relationship to the World Championship. E & C were also involved in that match as well, and since they have been talking about all of these multiple man matches, it leads to a discussion of how much a challenge it could be for someone used to the multiple man aspect to then having just a one-on-one match. Normally, both the fans and wrestlers are used to consistent action, but then you have to focus on just each other, and the story that you are trying to tell. Based on that, props are given to Rob Van Dam, Eddie Guerrero, Jeff Hardy, and Chris Jericho for being able to successfully compete in singles ladder matches. In Christian’s mind, another challenge to keep in mind is the finish. How do you build the drama and create something new?
What was the scariest or most painful bump taken in a ladder match? For Edge, it was the spot where Jeff Hardy jumped on him through the ladder in the Money in the Bank match at WrestleMania 23. Originally, Edge was supposed to win, but it was changed to Mr. Kennedy. The spot happened for two reasons. Firstly, since he wouldn’t be winning, Edge wanted to keep his WrestleMania undefeated streak intact in preparation for a match against The Undertaker. By taking him out of the match, there would be an asterisk. Secondly, he felt he owed Jeff for the spear spot at WrestleMania 17. What was Christian’s? It was the TLC 2 match at WrestleMania 17 where he toppled over the ladder and fell backward straight to the floor. It wasn’t painful as much as it was scary, as he had planned to land on his feet, and thankfully, was able to still course correct, and land on his back.
More discussion and props are given to some of the newer matches, including Dolph Ziggler vs. Luke Harper and Ziggler vs. The Miz. Christian recounts Harper texting him for advice, and he responded with ensuring to sell and slow down, as competitors sometimes feel that they have to rush, when they really shouldn’t. He remembers Vince once telling him and some of the others to follow the two S’s. Be Safe & Spectacular.
Further thought is given to the fact that the Money in the Bank briefcase has edged out the Intercontinental Championship as it relates to prepping a new superstar for his launch into the main event. Edge remembers that originally there weren’t any specific plans with regards to his first briefcase win. He had a discussion with Vince where he felt that as a heel, he shouldn’t just announce when he wanted to face the Champion, and should wait until the Champ was in a weakened state, therefore capitalizing on the opportunity. A week later, he got the word that he was winning after the Elimination Chamber match at New Year’s Revolution in 2006.
Moving onto closing thoughts regarding the matches, Edge acknowledges that the amount of these that he was involved in more than likely shortened his career, but there have been some great ones, including Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho at No Mercy in 2008. He loved the creative ending where they both were playing tug of war with the Championship, which led to Y2J claiming victory. He wonders about what would have happened if Jericho slipped and they had to change the ending. Funny he should say that because Christian and Y2J had to improvise the end of their Unforgiven 2004 match. Originally, Jericho was supposed to swing the IC Belt, which would knock Christian out. Unfortunately, it swung the other way, which led to Jericho giving Christian a bulldog off the ladder instead. Check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHGPW1g7r28
Close 1:52:00-1:55:00
Simply put, ladders hurt, and falling off of them hurts too. They wrap up the show by encouraging everyone to follow the show on Twitter @EandCPod, E-Mail them at ecpodofawesomeness@gmail.com, and to call their Voicemail at 929-367-8204.
Jeff’s Take: 7 Kazoos out of 10
Good episode this week. Fun to hear some of the stories involving their history with the ladder, and thoughts on other matches as well. It’s these types of shows that I appreciate, but want to hear even more about. Funny enough, I actually submitted their No Mercy 2001 match as my idea for their Anatomy of a Match segment, and feel that these discussions only scratched the surface of what they could talk about. Feel free to follow me on Twitter @the_Indel or send me an email at indelpw@gmail.com. See you next week!
About the Author
Jeff has been a fan of professional wrestling since he was knee high to a grasshopper (little kid), after coming across the Wrestling Challenge episode after WrestleMania 7, and has not looked back. His passion has led him to winning wrestling trivia contests in his city, and even won him his Senior Talent Show by dancing to Shawn Michaels theme song. When not annoying others with wrestling talk, he loves spending time with his family and friends, and focuses on his other passion: movies.
For more, check out last week’s recap of Edge and Christian Pod of Awesomeness.
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