Edge & Christian’s Pod of Awesomeness Recap
Guest: Goldust
By: Jeff Indelicato
Release Date: October 20, 2017
DIRECT LINK TO LISTEN/DOWNLOAD
“For The Benefit of Those with No Time” (Top Stories)
- Hobo Hank makes a surprise return on Tales from the Indies
- Goldust agrees that he helped set the tone for the Attitude Era
- The Hollywood Backlot Brawl was filmed 2 weeks before WrestleMania 12, and Vince had to take both Goldie & Piper to the hospital afterwards
- He’s been clean for around 10 years, and is focused on taking care of himself
- In his opinion, Finn Balor, Bray Wyatt, and Roman Reigns are some of the top superstars presently.
“You Think You Know Them” (Recap)
Ad for NBA Podcast 00:00 – 00:25
Opening Intros 0:25-17:40
The show opens with some E & C banter. Christian and his family just returned from a wonderful vacation in Maine that was both peaceful and relaxing.
Edge is currently out of the loop on what’s happened on Raw & Smackdown since he’s in Ireland. Since he was on vaca, Christian also missed Raw, but had the opportunity to catch Smackdown. He specially puts over Sami Zayn’s heel promo and loved how he spun his motives. This leads to them thinking that Sami should come out to the Spin Doctors as his theme music.
Tales from the Indies 17:40 – 40:30
We then move on to a phone call with Tommy Dreamer. He most recently attended the New York Comic Con along with his good buddy Christian. They talk about how many attendees were there for the weekend and how much fun was had. Unfortunately, the Tommy Call continues to follow him now everywhere he goes and is tormenting.
He then offers advice to independent wrestlers by telling them to always get deposits in advance when dealing with promotions, as he has experienced issues with shows being cancelled without much notice.
Suddenly, Dreamer’s old rival from earlier this year, Hobo Hank, calls in to promote his independent dates.
Ad for Tracker Pixel 40:30 – 42:00
Interview with Goldust 42:00 – 1:39:00
We jump into a phone call with Goldie. The boys mention their episode a few weeks back talking about the Attitude Era, and how they feel that his character was the launching point. He agrees, but notes that many people think it was later on with DX. If anything, he’d like to think that he was the “edge of the spear” so to speak. Either way, in the mid ’90s, the character was way ahead of its time and helped set the tone for what was to come.
Christian believes the character wouldn’t have worked unless Dustin was 100% committed to it. Was it his concept or was it initially presented to him? It was presented to him by Vince. At the time, he and his father Dusty were not on the best of terms. In addition, wrestling as Dustin Rhodes led to constant comparisons to his heritage. So when it was offered, he was in, and wanted to accomplish something that was fresh, new, and on his own.
For the first six months, it was tough because he had been a face, and the character was the complete opposite of what he was used to. He credits Savio Vega for continuing to push and teach him how to be a heel. It all clicked during an event at Madison Square Garden, where he started to do something controversial, and the crowd erupted. It was fun, and he realized that he could take it and run with it. Vince provided complete support and gave him free reign to experiment, so he went as far as he could with regards to pushing the boundaries.
In early 1996, he began his first major feud over the Intercontinental Championship with Razor Ramon. Unfortunately, Razor wasn’t keen on the storyline and was resistant. Dustin was trying to get a character over and didn’t care what others thought, so to have Ramon be a speed bump was frustrating. Thankfully, the feud didn’t last long, and he moved on to Rowdy Roddy Piper
From the beginning Roddy was supportive, and eager to do the feud, so it was a nice change for Dustin. Edge refers to a similar type feud that Piper and Adrian Adonis had leading up to WrestleMania 3 and believes that he knew how to play the role. Two weeks before WrestleMania 12, they went to Universal Studios to film their Hollywood Backlot Brawl. And brawl they did.
First, Piper cut his hand in the beginning of the segment. Then, since there was a no blading rule in effect, Rhodes asked Roddy to open him up the hard way. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen properly, and Piper ending up breaking his own hand trying to do it. This led to Dustin receiving a concussion. Finally, as Goldie was planning his escape, he drove at Roddy, who was supposed to dive out of the way, but didn’t, and ended up getting hit. By the end of the night, Vince had to take both of them to the hospital to receive medical attention. They talk about how tough Piper was, especially given the fact that he had a broken hand without a cast during the crowd segment at WrestleMania two weeks later.
Edge mentions how great Dustin looks, and notes Rhodes’ previous battles with sobriety. What helped him make the decision to change? Things were really bad for him around 2005, which led to heavy drinking, and a lack of caring about anything. Things got so bad that he was living in a garage attached to somebody’s house. He finally reached a point where he decided enough was enough, and called his Dad to let him know he was ready to clean up his life. From there, he went to rehab and hasn’t turned back, now approaching 10 years clean and sober. E & C commend him, and say how inspiring he is and how proud they are.
Goldust admits that it’s not easy and has seen people fall off the wagon, but you just have to stay focused and motivated. He put everything on hold, and would go to AA meetings every day for two years straight. He also focused on nutrition and working out every day as well. When he’s around someone who drinks, it doesn’t bother him, but he also avoids party situations.
The boys talk about his longevity in the business and mention how well he moves for a big man. Goldie notes that he’s not in a top position, but that you focus on working like a top guy. In his opinion, you can always tell a story no matter the time allotted for a match.
He and Christian reminisce about their history together and how much they enjoyed working with each other. Goldust puts Jay over as one of the greatest workers in the business and what great chemistry they had together. One of their favorite spots to do was called a “Matrix Lock Up” where they would run towards each other, jump, lock up, and spin. It got to the point that they were doing the spot outside of the ring and in public places!
Christian then tells a story of when he had just begun training, and ran into Dustin at a club, who was wearing a long red polo shirt and jeans. Knowing that he was well into his Goldust character at the time, and wanting to sound cool, Jay walked up to him, and just said, “Kayfabe.” When Dustin turned around, Jay said, “It’s okay, I’m a worker.” Rhodes said, “Oh cool,” and turned back. After a moment, Rhodes asked him for his name, and told Christian that he’d keep an eye out for him. They talk about how nice that was, and given how Christian acted, Goldust didn’t have to give him the time of day.
The question is then asked who some of the people that Dustin enjoyed working with the most were. Early on, it was Barry Windham, Arn Anderson, Ricky Steamboat, Larry Zybysko, Bobby Eaton, and Steve Austin. In the WWE, he enjoyed his time against Christian, Chris Jericho, Randy Orton, Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Ric Flair, and the stuff he did with Cody. He wishes he could have had the opportunity to work with Kurt Angle, Kane, and Edge.
Christian enjoyed his recent stuff with Bray Wyatt and was curious if it would lead to something more. Goldie has known Wyatt since he was a baby, and so it was cool that he got to work with him. He wishes that he could get plugged into the program with Bray & Finn, but believes that the company just needed someone to fill that spot leading up to the Bray/Finn encounter.
Speaking of the future, who does Dustin think are going to be top superstars? He mentions Finn, Bray, and Roman Reigns, and notes how Roman has stepped up in his work rate & attitude, becoming a locker room leader. He also sees big things for Shinsuke Nakamura & A.J. Styles, who he wishes he could have worked. Cesaro is another guy that can do some great things, and has a stellar mind for the business.
E & C close out the interview by talking about all the great years that Goldust has had with the company, and how they can’t wait to see him go into the Hall of Fame. More than that, they are so proud of the man Dustin has become, and his work to get clean.
Wrap Up & Close 1:39:00-1:46:00
The boys talk about how great Goldust is, and wanted this interview to be a reminder of all of the great stuff that Goldie has done, and what a tremendous wrestler he is.
They close out by paying their respects to Gord Downie of The Tragically Hip, and actor John Dunsworth, who both passed away recently.
You can follow the show on Twitter @EandCPod, E-Mail them at ecpodofawesomeness@gmail.com, and call their Voicemail at 929-367-8204.
Jeff’s Take: 7 Kazoos out of 10
Good episode this week. Goldust is someone who is well respected, but can sometimes be underrated so to speak. He has been involved in some great feuds & matches, so it was nice see him get the spotlight. Good insight into his life and his match with Roddy Piper. Feel free to follow me on Twitter @the_Indel or send me an email at indelpw@gmail.com. See you next week!
“5 Second Pose of Timestamps”
0:00: Sponsored Ad
00:25: Show Introduction
17:40: Tommy Dreamer’s Tales from the Indies
40:30: Sponsored Ads
42:00: Interview with Goldust
51:20: Feud with Razor Ramon leading into Roddy Piper
1:05:00: Cleaning up his life
1:28:00: Favorite feuds & Opinion on current superstars
1:39:00: Wrap Up & Close
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.
Be the first to comment