SAM ROBERTS WRESTLING PODCAST – EPISODE 48
HOSTS: SAM ROBERTS & KATIE LINDENDOLL
RELEASE DATE: SEPT. 22, 2015
DIRECT LINK TO STREAM OR DOWNLOAD EPISODE
Report by Mike Booble, PWPodcasts.com reporter
Sam Robert’s Wrestling Podcast Ep. 048
- Robert’s discussed a recent trip to the WWE warehouse where a lot of the old rings, belts, sets etc. are kept.
- All State of Wrestling, no interview this week.
- State of Wrestling covered Night of Champions fallout, with a heavy emphasis on the Sting injury during the World Title match.
- Discussed the unveiling of the “Hell Tour” in October, culminating in a HITC match between Brock Lesnar and Undertaker.
- Discussion of the tag match from the PPV and the Diva’s Division and the ongoing expansion of storylines and character development.
TOPICS COVERED (w/Time Stamps)
Introduction -0.00
State of Wrestling with Katie Linendoll -7.25
Sting Injury -11.52
Ending of NOC recap -18.40
Hell Tour discussion – 22.43
Kevin Owens/I.C. Title discussion -35.25
Divas discussion -46.35
Sign off 58.56
SUMMARY OF PROGRAM
- Roberts recounted his recent trip to the WWE prop warehouse. Roberts said they have everything in there from old belts to every coffin ever used to an entire shelf dedicated to barber chairs. Old rings and cages were also stored there, but curiously no blue bar steel cage. Roberts mentioned that WWE is constantly trying to track down old memorabilia form collectors and old promoters, and one day hopes to have a physical location to display all the items.
- Roberts said one of the coolest things in the warehouse was how they re-purpose a lot of stuff. Including a nuts/bolts storage area built out of lockers with a “Headbangers Rule” sign on the side and an old bag that housed Damien, Jake the Snake Roberts pet snake as a tool bag.
- Roberts began SOW by bringing up the backlash he received from fans for not wanting Sting to wrestle in a t-shirt. He said a lot of fans brought up the fact that Kevin Owens wrestles in a t-shirt and he’s never said anything about it. Sam mentioned it’s different when a t-shirt is part of your original look. But Sting never wore a t-shirt in WCW so why start now? He said if you need a shirt to wrestle in, you should hang it up at home next to your boots because you’re done.
- Roberts and Linendoll began a lengthy discussion of the apparent injury to Sting during the World Title match and the ramifications of it. They were surprised at not only the amount of bumps Sting was taking but the high risk nature of them. Especially considering the event was NOC and not WrestleMania.
- Linendoll compared Seth Rollins to the “Madden Curse,” citing John Cena’s broken nose and Sting’s neck as examples.
- Roberts and Linendoll discussed how it must feel to hurt a fellow competitor in a match and the role it play psychologically. Linendoll said it must be like talking behind someone’s back and them finding out. You pretend everything is cool, but it’s not.
- They both agreed that Rollins didn’t appear to do anything wrong and assumed the match was laid out before hand with both guys agreeing to the spots. They did say Sting was a warrior for finishing the match.
- Linendoll told a story of how she broke her back jumping off a bridge, seeking the approval of her friends (as well as the promised pizza and Italian Ice) and how she still has lingering discomfort to this day.
- Roberts said that makes sense because even if you’re a pro athlete the body can only take so much, implying Linendoll wasn’t a pro athlete. Linendoll disagreed and said she is because she “pays herself and has her own entrance music.”
- They briefly mentioned some notable injuries sustained in the ring in wrestling history. Sid’s leg injury came up, so if you’re a little squeamish you may want to skip that few seconds.
- Roberts wondered if Sting would be affected mentally since this was only his second match in WWE and was hurt in one of them and how that might play a role in him wrestling again or not.
- They transition into a recap of the ending of the PPV, specifically Kane attacking Rollins and Sheamus attempting to once again cash in MITB and the ref not knowing what to do.
- This spun into them being disappointed Chris Jericho was the third man in the Wyatt-Reigns/Ambrose tag match. Not because they don’t like Jericho, because everyone does. But because he’s not sticking around so what’s the point? They likened it to a larger problem of WWE putting too much emphasis on old stars and not enough focus on new talent.
- Roberts said instead of a third Brock-Taker match why not have Brock face Bo Dallas at the MSG show. No one expects Dallas to win, just as no one expected Kofi to win at Beast From the East but every poster and commercial between now and then would have Bo Dallas on it, giving a young guy some much needed publicity.
- This led to a discussion of the strange way in which the Hell Tour was unveiled during the PPV. Just a voice over promo from Paul Heyman. But the biggest issue was again that the feud focused on two part-time wrestlers. Rollins, Ambrose, Reigns, Bray Wyatt, Kevin Owens, and Cesaro all could use the opportunity to headline a special as a building block even against veteran full timers like Cena and Randy Orton, but WWE is banking their short term future on part time stars.
- Roberts compared it to Attitude Era WWF and the war with WCW. WCW gained short term popularity by using older stars from WWF and WWF built young talent, like Austin, The Rock, Mankind but now it seems WWE would gladly use Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage if given the opportunity.
- Linendoll used this point to mention now might be as good a time as any to bring back Tatanka and I.R.S, her all time two favorite wrestlers.
- They’re not sold on the Kane/Seth Rollins main event title match. They feel Kane is better as a GM or Director of Operations who occasionally wrestles, although they are intrigued by the split personality of Kane on Raw.
- Roberts and Linendoll then discussed Kevin Owens winning the Intercontinental Title and how it immediately helps his character. Although Linendoll thinks this cements Owens as a tier 2 talent at this time, Roberts said it’s a good think to let him build the title to a point where fans are clamoring to see him get the main belt. But the past few months of TV have not done a good job of painting Owens as a man who can beat the top talent on a consistent basis to challenge for a heavyweight title.
- After a brief detour discussing New Day and the Dudleys, Roberts and Linendoll dove into the Diva’s Division. They thought the timing of Charlotte winning the title fit in with recent Diva’s getting the belt early in their initial run on the main roster.
- Roberts talked about an interview he did with Natalya before Summerslam and the frustration she felt not being a bigger part of the division and wanting to do more. They feel now that Nikki Bella lost the title, it gives three legit opponents for Charlotte to focus on, Nikki, Paige and Natalya, but once that clears up, it paves the way for Sasha. Roberts feels this will be a slow build, culminating in a Wrestlemania match between Sasha and Charlotte, for the Diva’s title.
SCORE & REVIEW
6 out of 10: Like a lot of fans, the same topics are rehashed each week, but that speaks to the predictability and stagnant nature of the WWE product. The points made by the two hosts about the future of the Diva’s division are dead on in my opinion and, if the booking goes the direction mentioned above, a WrestleMania match between Sasha Banks and Charlotte will be epic. The interview portion is conspicuous in its absence, but the back and forth of Roberts and Linendoll help fill in the interview portion nicely.
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