“WE WATCH WRESTLING”
EPISODE #116
HOST: Matt McCarthy
CO-HOSTS: Vince Averill and Tom Sibley
GUEST: Comedian Ron Funches
RELEASE DATE: November 18, 2015
DIRECT LINK TO LISTEN/DOWNLOAD
Report by Steven Ganyo, PWPodcast reporter
TOP QUOTES
– Tom: “Sometimes we’re all just hanging out at the Staples Center. There’s no show, nothing’s going on…”
Ron: “Just looking for wrestlers.”
Vince: “Why aren’t there any wrestlers here today?”
Matt: “Where are the wrestlers? Where’s Randy?!”
– “As a 12-year-old kid, this is exactly what I need!” -Ron on discovering ECW.
– “McMahon’s brass ring is ‘Can you overcome me trying to bury you?'” – Vince
– “Seems like, bottom line, they care about their egos more than anything, and I hope they’re not listening ’cause I still want my free tickets…” – Ron on WWE
– “Sometimes I wanna cheer stuff out, but then I’m like, ‘Oh no, Matt’s got it. He’s got a couple beers in him and he’s got everything covered.'” – Ron on the Matt McCarthy PWG experience
– “And then you go and do it in s—- places for 50 bucks, throw yourself through tables, either physically or emotionally, and you go ‘Why am I doing this?’ And then you just keep going and you eat horrible s— and you get better and better and you make it up to bigger events, and then at some point you get some guy in a studio telling you you can’t do it.” – Ron on the similarities of comedy and wrestling.
“You know, I don’t really know what the f— I was doing. I didn’t have a depth of knowledge so I was just bad at being me, probably.” – Vince, summing up his early attempts at comedy.
“Oh, hello. I’m going to murder you!” – Matt, in a high-pitched voice, as Asuka
“Shawn Michaels is the Michael Jordan of wrestling, but the Marty Jannetty of delivering comedy.” – Ron
HOT TOPICS ON THE SHOW
This week, the boys welcome comedian and special guest Ron Funches (Undateable) to talk racism in wrestling, WWE, PWG, how stand-up comedy is like wrestling, and more!
SUBJECTS COVERED (w/Time Stamps)
*Intro*
*The WWW Introduction Of Ron Funches* – 03:00-09:10
*Racism In Wrestling* – 09:10-15:20
*The Curious Case Of The WWE* – 15:20-21:45
*Wrestling Skeptics* – 21:45-28:25
*PWG* – 28:25-40:35
*Wrestling And Comedy: A Comparison* – 40:35-57:10
*Who’s Your Favorite Wrestler?* – 57:10-1:20:11
SHOW HIGHLIGHTS
Following the intro, the boys kick off this week’s show by introducing special guest and avid wrestling fan Ron Funches. They start off with Ron’s longtime love of wrestling, which began watching the Global Wrestling Federation and ECW as a boy in Chicago. Tom mentions hearing that ECW was “real” as a youngster, leading to a discussion of different wrestling styles and the believability factor of each style. Ron says it’s a great time for wrestling because there’s so many choices and there’s room for all wrestling styles.
Unfortunately there still doesn’t seem to be room for all colors, as Ron points out the racism that has always existed in wrestling and is still evident today. He points out that there’s never been a full black wrestler to legitimately vie for the top title (in WWE), citing Mark Henry as the only one in recent memory. Recommended listening here as they briefly tell a crazy story about Michael Hayes and Mark Henry. Vince notes that seemingly all black wrestlers are presented as a joke at some point, including Henry and New Day. Ron compares the treatment of African-Americans in wrestling and Hollywood and talks about his own experiences as a black man starting out in showbiz.
Transition to a closer look at the WWE, starting with a side-by-side comparison to NXT. Highlighting young talent and the practical use of jobbers are only a couple of aspects that make NXT stronger. Vince jokes about McMahon’s burial strategy and everybody agrees that the top-tier WWE execs care more about their egos than the bottom line, with Steph’s hijacking of the “Divas Revolution” a prime example. They go on to discuss WWE’s backwards booking. They’re telling the fans who to cheer instead of listening to what the fans are telling them. Ron relays a story about something X-Pac told him regarding Vince’s mindset 20 years ago that’s a must-hear.
From there the boys dive into the old familiar topic of friends and family wondering why you still watch wrestling because, say it with me, you know it’s fake right? They wonder why non-fans accept other forms of fictional entertainment and speculate about why they’re compelled to be so skeptical.
Some PWG talk is up next. The boys try to pinpoint what makes PWG feel so special, drawing comparisons between a live wrestling experience and a live comedy experience. They reflect back on El Generico’s farewell promo, marvel at how so many wrestlers love to perform there, and Ron tells a sweet Kevin Steen story. This feeds to our hosts recalling their personal experiences with Steen while on the front row, and they talk about the sense of wrestling community at a PWG show. They also recognize other PWG regulars like Chuck Taylor, Zack Sabre, Jr., and The Young Bucks.
Ron then draws a humorous yet apt comparison between starting out in comedy and starting out in wrestling. The group draws out the comparison, noting that in both worlds you create a character grounded in who you really are, and no matter what you never break that character. If your character isn’t you, like Roman Reigns playing his good guy buddy character, it’ll show through as fake.
Matt relays a story about Dusty Rhodes and Ric Flair, and all of the guys talk about which comedians they tried way to hard to emulate early in their careers. They go on to talk about how important having a healthy ego is, both on stage and in auditions, and you have to go in with a “F*ck it” kind of attitude. Vince believes Cesaro is in that “F*ck it” kind of mindset and Matt notes how that attitude worked for New Day. The segment closes with Ron fantasy booking Stephanie McMahon as his love interest on Undateable.
Who’s your favorite wrestler? Ron starts with a list of his all-time favorites including Ric Flair, Bret Hart, and Ricky Steamboat. His list of current favorites has on it Kevin Owens and Dalton Castle. He notes Shawn Michaels as one of his all-time favorites and Tom once again brings up the infamous HBK “This is you” clip. Ron then wants to talk Sasha-Bayley and compares their feud to the classic Flair-Steamboat feud.
Back to who’s your favorite wrestler. Tom chooses Dusty this week on the strength of the Dusty-Flair story Matt told. Tom promises to psyche himself up for his next show by repeating the mantra, “What’s wrong with bein’ Tom Sibley?” Over to Vince, who’s favorite wrestlers are the brothers of destruction, Kane and Taker. He’s excited to see them at Survivor Series and the guys then look back fondly at Taker-Lesnar from HIAC. And finally, Matt’s favorite wrestler is Kevin Owens because of the PWG memories discussed in this show. The story of Owens (Steen) knocking Matt’s beer out of his hand and directly onto Tom is told. The show comes to a close on the agreement that anybody who can get Alex Riley over has to be the man.
SCORE & REVIEW
10/10: No chance in hell this wouldn’t be a perfect score. I already love the show and I already love Ron Funches. Pair them up and you’ve got two great tastes that taste great together. Add in great topics and what more are you asking for, son?!
I loved the wrestling/comedy comparison discussion. Not that the similarities are breaking news, but to have four comedians who also happen to be huge wrestling fans discuss it gave great insight to the subject. Of course I never get tired of hearing other wrestling fans break down how narrow-minded and short-sighted those wrestling skeptics always are, and listening to an intelligent and logical explanation of how lost WWE is right now is always enjoyable.
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