Edge & Christian’s Pod of Awesomeness Recap
Guest: Brian Gewirtz
By: Jeff Indelicato
Release Date: November 3, 2017
DIRECT LINK TO LISTEN/DOWNLOAD
“For The Benefit of Those with No Time” (Top Stories)
- Mick Foley lobbied to be in Edge’s Birthday Party segment during a Raw episode in 2000
- E & C & Brian had to go to Wrestler’s Court, when some superstars felt Brian was being “bought off.”
- Vince thought that Edge’s segment with John Cena, Sr. was one of the worst things ever recorded.
- Brian was the computerized voice of the Anonymous Raw General Manager
“You Think You Know Them” (Recap)
Ad for What Really Happened 00:00 – 01:00
Opening Intros 01:00-16:30
The boys open the show with their usual banter. Edge recently had the opportunity to catch up with Chris Jericho, who was also recently in Dublin, and quite enjoyed himself.
Moving on, E & C briefly cover the recent releases, including Emma, Darren Young, & Summer Rae. It stinks that they lost their job, but you hope that they’ll continue working. Christian reminds us that sometimes being released is good for a wrestler, as it gives them some time to reinvent themselves, making a reference to Drew McIntyre and his success after being released a few years ago.
Interview with Brian Gewirtz 16:30 – 1:36:00
We jump into the interview with Brian Gewirtz, who was one of the top writers in the WWE. They reminisce about the Edge’s birthday party segment on Raw in 2000 featuring E & C, Triple H, & Stephanie. This was the debut of them playing kazoos, and it’s noted that Mick Foley was lobbying hard to be in that segment, since he was the Commissioner at the time and wanted to be seen hiding behind the couch.
We discover that when he first started, Brian had a core group that he like to write for: E & C, The Rock, Chris Jericho, & Kurt Angle. He was intimidated by a lot of people, but one that he clicked right away with was The Rock. In fact, he now works for Dwayne’s company, 7 Bucks Productions.
When trying to come up with ideas, they would throw out random thoughts, and if it made them laugh, they tried it. Brian says that when starting out as a writer he was at a disadvantage because he wasn’t in the wrestling business. He still, however, was a fan, and he would use a fan’s perspective to come up with ideas.
Brian tells the story of when he took a bump from Bubba Ray Dudley. Shane had told him that he should get in the ring and take some bumps, so that he knew what the talents were going through. He ran the ropes, took some back bumps, and after a few minutes was done. During an event where a show had been cancelled because of snow, the boys were in the ring, and another writer was taking a suplex, so it was suggested that Brian take a powerbomb from Bubba Ray. It knocked the wind out of him but it was exhilarating. He adds though, that he has no desire to ever do it again.
E, C, & B formed a good friendship over the years and liked to have fun. Christian tells a story about how Brian was carrying a stack of papers backstage so he smacked them out of his hand and kicked them down the hall. The papers ended up landing at the feet of Mr. McMahon, who looked down and laughed!
Since they were such good friends, the wrestlers started to become suspicious. This culminated when Edge gave Brian a Flash action figure that he had received for free as a gift. On top of that, there was a big rumor that Brian had invited E & C to his parent’s house for a feast. Bob Holly saw “the transaction” and the decision was made that the three needed to go to Wrestler’s Court for favoritism. What Brian didn’t know was that E & C had received an anonymous tip from someone that they refer to as Burt Angel (wink-wink). The informant said, “You didn’t get this call from me, but you are going to court tomorrow with the charge of paying off the writers. The entire roster, including the agents & referees will be there too.”
Realizing how silly this was, and how they were not “buying off” the writers, the team decided that they were going to flip it back on the roster. At the time, many wrestlers were getting book deals, like Mankind & The Rock, so E & C got one of the prop masters to create a fake book called “How to Kiss up. Our Road to the Top.” They then presented it to the jury, and the entire roster busted out laughing. Triple H then told them that it was the best defense he’d ever seen in his life. Unfortunately, Brian wasn’t as favorably received and the roster did not find his explanation amusing.
It was well known that the judge (not named in this interview, but well known to be The Undertaker) could be bought off with regards to sentencing, so E & C bought him a really nice Harley Davidson Coffee Table Book & a Boxing Roundtable series featuring former champions. After receiving it, the judge told them, “I don’t even think there’s gonna be a blemish on your record.” Brian ended up having to write a 1,000 word essay on why he respected the business, which he got an A+ on, and earned respect. They talk about how silly those things can be and how that was one of the last wrestler’s courts. It’s debated if it’s a good thing or bad thing that it’s gone. Brian does recognize that it can be a positive sometimes to keep someone in check and make them understand that disrespect will not be tolerated.
They talk a little bit about E &C as a tag team, and how many didn’t believe they’d make it to the top as singles stars due to them acting goofy. However, they proved themselves in the ring as a serious act, and got confidence on the microphone by being allowed to be silly and comedic.
We then move into Edge’s feud with John Cena in 2006 and traveling to Worchester to confront his Dad. Cena had already given Brian & Edge a friendly warning, based on his father’s over the top nature, and told them to “Have fun with that.” Long story short, they went to the Cena house and filmed Edge berating his dad, who then proceeded to respond with poor acting and cheesy comebacks. After all was said and done, they got a call from Vince who said, “Guys, that may have been the worst thing we’ve ever recorded. It is unusable and was unprofessional.” In trying to make it work, they just ending up muting the audio, and having Edge conduct live commentary over it.
Brian is a firm believer that writers should not become regular characters on the show, and only participated in one in-ring segment, which happened to be with Edge, as he was the computerized voice of the Anonymous General Manager. They wanted the computer to have a voice when Edge attacked it and so Brian was told to do it. When the segment began, the microphone was not working, so Edge had to fill space, but once it started working, they got comfortable real fast and started improvising. It was a rare moment where it was difficult not to break.
Since leaving WWE, Brian now works for 7 Bucks Productions, which is The Rock’s production company. They have a podcast on the same channel as E &C’s titled, What Really Happened, which takes historical events and re-examines them to understand the facts along with what actually happened. Essentially, it’s an audio documentary.
The boys decide to conclude their interview by discussing an amusing backstage joke with Batista. One day in the writer’s room, Vince concluded that his characters needed backstories. So, with that in mind, they came up with a story about Batista being a foster child and that Ric Flair was his father figure. Brian and the team worked through it, and laid out a great promo for Flair, where he would explain how Dave was abandoned as a kid, bounced around from home to home, and now had a chip on his shoulder. As they were rehearsing it, Vince walked by, and noted how boring it was. Therefore, it ended up just being Ric pumping up Batista backstage and casually mentioning that he was a foster child, never referring to it again. This ultimately led to E&C, who were famous for putting words in people’s themes, creating a backstage rock opera behind the scenes, and putting lyrics to Batista’s theme song about him being a foster child. This is greatness is titled the “The Ballad of Little Dave Batista.” Yes, they sung it to Dave, and he was amused…..the first time.
Wrap Up & Close 1:36:00-1:43:00
The boys thank their guest for joining them, and talk about how much fun they had. Brian was a big part of the wrestling business, and there will definitely be a Part 2 in the future.
They encourage fans to follow the show on Twitter @EandCPod, E-Mail them at ecpodofawesomeness@gmail.com, and call their Voicemail at 929-367-8204.
Jeff’s Take: 9 Kazoos out of 10
Fantastic episode and one of the best ones yet. The chemistry between them was top notch and it led to some entertaining stories. Brian was a part of the WWE for many years, and didn’t even scratch the surface of some of his interactions. I was surprised to not hear any real reference to The Rock, who he still works for, so I do hope a Part 2 will arrive sooner than later, and with a few Rock stories. Excellent work with the wrestler’s court, and Ballad of Little Dave Batista. 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
01:00: Show Introduction
16:30: Interview with Brian Gewirtz
28:30: Taking a bump from Bubba Ray Dudley
35:00: Wrestler’s Court with Edge & Christian
1:05:00: Filming Edge’s segment with John Cena, Sr.
1:19:00: What is Brian doing now?
1:26:00: Ballad of Little Dave Batista
1:36:00: 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.
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