Gorilla Position – Episode 38
Hosts: James Delow and Rob Leigh
Guest: Finn Balor and Sheamus
Release Date: September 23, 2015
DIRECT LINK TO DOWNLOAD/LISTEN
By PWPodcasts Recapper Tania Leong
Top News Items
– Interview with Finn Balor (at 2K16 Launch Party at Summerslam weekend): Balor said that the 2K16 video game is his debut and was very excited. In the game, there is an original Balor mode and Demon mode. He also said that his Demon entrance is in the game and it is spectacular. With regards to NXT:Takeover Brooklyn, he said that there is pressure being in a main even ladder match but it is not a one man show, and that NXT is a team.
– Interview with Sheamus (at 2K16 Launch Party at Summerslam weekend): Sheamus said that love the ‘You look stupid’ chants because people are jealous of him being different and that he is willing to take a chance. With regards to the 2K16 videogame, he said that the attention to detail is amazing and that he would play himself in the game. On his match with Randy Orton at Summerslam, he said that they wrestled at the same event five years ago and the animosity has been building since then. He said that this rivalry is personal because Orton is standing in the way of him cashing in the MITB briefcase. He predicted that he would win the match.
– Night of Champions Recap: Both James and Rob thought that the PPV was lackluster although the production was very good. There were some good moments but also so low points. Both were happy that Kevin Owens and Charlotte won Champions. They also said that Sting’s match was marred by his injury and was difficult to watch.
– Paige’s ‘heel turn’ on Raw: Both liked the direction that the Divas division is heading post-NOC especially the inclusion of Natalya into the fold after a long absent. Although Paige’s speech was good, it made Charlotte and Becky Lynch look very weak and was targeted at a certain demographic of wrestling fans.
Topics Discussed (with time stamps)
Introduction – 0.00
Introduction by James Delow. James mentioned that the podcast has 21,000 subscribers – 02.20
This week’s guests are Finn Balor and Sheamus, whom James interviewed at the 2K16 Launch Party at Summerslam weekend – 02.30
This week’s competition is to win two ticket to Rey Mysterio’s one-man show in either London or Manchester – 03.53
Interview with Finn Balor – 06.27
Balor said that he was very excited that he was in a video game ‘not even one year into NXT’. He said that cover star, Steve Austin told him that he ‘was one hell of a worker.’ The game has both the original Balor mode and the Demon mode, as well as the Demon entrance.
Balor said that the pre-order game has the Terminator and that he would win in a match between them. He also said that he would be happy if he achieved even a quarter of what Arnold Schwarzenegger has achieved.
With regards to NXT:Takeover Brooklyn, Balor said that there is pressure being in a ladder match with Kevin Owens for the NXT Champion. Balor said that Takeover is not a one-man show, but rather a team because the card is stacked ‘from top to bottom.’ He mentioned that it was good to catch up with Jushin Liger again who is knows well from his days in Japan.
Night of Champions Recap – 10.16
Rob is still undecided and unsure how to feel about the show. James liked to video packages used throughout the show and production was very crisp.
Kick-off show match between Stardust/Ascension and Neville/Lucha Dragons was a pretty meek and neither was sure where this program is going. It was a typical kick-off show match. They did not have much else to say about the match itself.
Both thought that the Intercontinental championship match was a good showing from both Ryback and Owens. They were happy to see Owens win the Championship. Rob thought it was the match of the night. James didn’t like the match calling from Ryback, he saw Ryback whispering to Owens at one point in the match. They thought that Owens used an effective heel tactic to win the match but the announcers still built him up as a legitimate competitor and Champion. Rob noted that Owens received a big reaction at the beginning of the match and Ryback got a bigger reaction as the match went on. James thought that Ryback didn’t use his other arm to break out of the arm bar submission was not good ring psychology, whereas Charlotte actively tried to get out of the submission hold. Rob mentioned that Owens did an interview this week where he said that his programs after the Cena feud was not a demotion.
They talked about the ‘blockbuster announcement… that you could have missed.’ James asked whether it is too early for the Lesnar vs. Undertaker rubber match. Although it is exciting, the announcement of the match was confusing and came out of the blue. It was assumed that the Lesnar vs. Undertaker match would be at the next WrestleMania but it leaves the door open for other matches for the two, though. This announcement made it obvious that Seth Rollins is not going to lose the World Heavyweight Champion any time soon.
They hoped that maybe the program between Rusev and Dolph Ziggler might end soon. James said that the announcers did not focus on the match as much as they should have as they talked about non-relevant topics such as the function of twitter. Rob said that this was the let down match of the night but James ‘did not mind this match.’ However, he found it strange that Ziggler was ‘knocked out, kicked out of the count and returned to being knocked out.’ Rob said that Ziggler oversells sometimes. They noted that Michael Cole used the term ‘heel’ when it is not commonly used in the WWE nowadays but it was used in a more ‘TMZ’ way than to describe Rusev’s character.
They thought that once again the New Day were brilliant and Rob enjoyed Xavier Woods’ trombone work. James liked Big E.’s aggression during the match and showed that he could be main event material. They expected this to be a bridging match so the DQ ending was acceptable.
Rob noted that with the Dudleys, Chris Jericho, and Kane, it was veteran heavy show.
James said that the new Network show, Breaking Ground, should be what Tough Enough should have been. It was gritty and doesn’t have the social media presence.
James thought that Charlotte is a very good seller and sold the ‘injured’ knee well. Rob said that this was Nikki Bella’s match but disagreed on Charlotte’s selling. They though the ending was very abrupt and Nikki tapped too quickly after being so dominate; therefore it took away from the match itself. They questioned whether the match was cut short. They liked the psychology used, like Nikki suplexing Charlotte’s legs into the ringpost.
James thought that using Jericho as the mystery partner was a ‘mild disappointment’ as would have preferred someone like Daniel Bryan. James thought that Jericho was not as good as he used to be, but Rob disagreed and thought that he was quite good. James argued that compared to the younger performers like Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns, Jericho’s shortcomings showed. They thought that the ending was correct and right for Jericho to take the fall. Both enjoyed the ‘mini turn’ at the end of the match. They questioned whether this is a one-off showing or if he would return at a later date, ‘they kept it open’ and ‘could easily start a program with either Ambrose or Reigns.’ They said that they respected Jericho for being selfless in programs so to put over the younger performers.
They thought the match between John Cena and Rollins was very good, and the back-to-back matches for Rollins made sense. Rob said that this was ‘Seth’s show’ and stole the show by the effort he put into the matches. Rob noted that Rollins used a lot moves from previous wrestlers like Shawn Michaels and Eddie Guerrero. They did not understand the storyline behind Cena winning the US Championship and why Rollins lost clean twice to Cena, here at NOC and at Raw. James asked ‘why is he the World Champion? He is obviously not the best.’
They were not sure whether the Rollins-Kane program was moved forward because the World Heavyweight Championship will not be the main event again at Hell in the Cell.
The table spot in the Heavyweight Championship match was awkward and Sting had hit his head on the monitor. They did not speculate when Sting was actually injured during the match, as his injuries have not been confirmed. They did not like seeing Sting hurt so badly in the match. They thought Sting’s run in the WWE has not been that successful but did have some great moments like at Summerslam 2014. There were a lot storylines that did not make sense such as losing at WrestleMania against Triple H. They think that Sting may be inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2016 and they may not see him wrestle again in the WWE. They thought the match was hard to watch at certain points but was fun and enjoyable. The match did not make Sting look strong though.
The return of the masked Kane was unexpected and there probably be a Championship match with Rollins at Hell in the Cell.
They discussed the prevalent crowd invasion over the past few months and noted that the Shield members were involved.
Raw Review – 53.09
They said that Kane is a good actor and can work with any storyline given to him. The split personality story with Kane was unexpected and not necessarily wanted. James thought that Kane is just a filler program, as it seems as though there is no long-term program for Rollins. Rob said that the long-term program for Rollins maybe the Shield triple threat match at WrestleMania 32.
They were intrigued to see where the Divas division would go after NOC. Although Paige shone, Charlotte and Becky were made to ‘look like a plank’ and thought the comments about Becky Lynch and Alicia Fox were not needed. It was nice to see Nattie being bought back into the fold. They thought that there was a lot in Paige’s speech for the ‘smart fans’ to read into. Rob said that it was not a ‘work shoot’ but just a promo.
Rob asked why Reigns and Bray Wyatt are still in a program, ‘why are they fighting?’ Despite this, he still listens to the Wyatt promos every week and enjoyed the matches. James said that this is common thread in the WWE; there isn’t much depth in the current storylines. They enjoyed that the Wyatts kicked off Raw and it was something different.
They were not sure where Cesaro is heading and hoped that he will be inserted into the Intercontinental championship as a potential challenger.
Both enjoyed the six-man tag team match especially Woods playing Rusev’s theme on the trombone. Rob said that both Rusev and the New Day are very funny on Twitter.
Interview with Sheamus – 66.45
James said that Sheamus had changed his look since their last interview and asked whether he liked the ‘You look stupid’ chants. Sheamus said that he loved the chants and that people are just jealous of him because he is different and willing to take a chance, ‘People hate me because they are jealous.’
He said that those at 2K works tirelessly to put out a new game every year and just putting out a game for the sake of it. He said that the attention to detail in the 2K16 video game is amazing and represents what happens on TV, and has the biggest roster ever. He said that he would play as himself.
James asked whether it was hard to grow up as a ginger. Sheamus said that is was and that his mum did not like him being a ginger. His mum gave him bowl haircuts until he was 15.
Sheamus said that he had wrestled Orton five years ago when he the World Heavyweight Champion, and their animosity has been building up since then and that they have big egos. He said that Orton is standing in his way for him to cash in the MITB briefcase, and that he would win at Summerslam.
Competition – 75.52
There is a chance to win two tickets to see Rey Mysterio Live either on 26 and 28, October in London or Manchester. You will need to look out for a special tweet on James’s twitter account with the picture of Mysterio and retweet it. Winners must be over 18 and live in the U.K. Competition closes on midnight 29, September 2015.
James will be at the show on 26 October in London.
James hyped his social media accounts on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube – 77.20
Score & Review
6 out 10: I thought the interviews with Finn Balor and Sheamus were a bit short, but like before these were done on the red carpet of the 2K16 event, and served to purpose to sell both Summerslam and the videogame. With the interviews being so short, it was hard to get in-depth and learn more about either Balor or Sheamus.
I thought that James and Rob were correct about NOC being a lackluster show and there were more low points than high ones. I agree that the decision to put the Championships on Owens and Charlotte were correct and creates new life into already stale Championships. I thought that Jericho was a nice touch in the six man tag match and like the fact that he may be back some time later for a program with mostly likely Ambrose.
Their thoughts about Sting’s run in the WWE was correct in that it has been mishandled especially the decision to lose to Triple H at WrestleMania 31 when his debut at Summerslam 2014 was so exciting. I agree with the point that the Rollins vs. Sting match was difficult to watch.
James’s thoughts on the announcers not focusing on matches is spot on and has become something very obvious over the past few years, and something that the WWE needs to fix in order to properly sell the matches and to keep the audience interested.
I thought their recap of NOC was good but they seem to breeze through their Raw review this week, not sure whether they were running over time. It was a bit disappointing as their discussions about Raw every week are usually the highlight of the podcast. There was no mention of who the guest on next week’s podcast will be.
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