Cheap Heat on Grantland.com
Hosts: David Shoemaker & Peter Rosenberg
Release Date: November 18, 2015
DIRECT LINK TO LISTEN/DOWNLOAD
Recap by Corey Freedman
Top Newsworthy Items
– The hosts did not have a problem with the Reid Flair angle involving Paige and Charlotte on Monday Night Raw. They agreed that it seemed to have the desired effect.
– Shoemaker specifically noted how much he enjoyed the WWE World Title Tournament matches from Monday Night Raw.
– Shoemaker believes that, no matter what, a heel will be leaving Survivor Series as the WWE champion He thinks the most likely scenario is either Roman Reigns or Dean Ambrose turns after they both win earlier in the night.
– The hosts predicted two of the Survivor Series matches, and they agreed on both. They have Charlotte and the Brothers of Destruction coming out victorious this Sunday night.
Subjects Covered (w/timestamps)
0:00 Introduction
2:10 Melissa Joan Hart and Kevin Owens Twitter exchange
4:35 Paige-Charlotte contract signing
20:07 Cheap Heat t-shirts
23:35 Traditional Survivor Series match
28:45 WWEWHC Tournament on RAW
33:18 Alberto Del Rio
38:30 WWE Title Tournament at Survivor Series
45:30 Random NFL discussion
49:10 Ronda Rousey
57:00 Survivor Series Predictions
1:08:10 Random discussion
1:11:50 Stat Guy Greg reviews the show
1:16:10 Sign Off
Show Highlights
– Introduction: Rosenberg jokes about the show climbing higher in the iTunes podcast ratings because people unsubscribed when the show’s future was in jeopardy. He also brings up the death of Nick Bockwinkel.
– Melissa Joan Hart-Kevin Owens: Stat Guy Greg starts by recapping the Twitter beef that started Monday night during Raw. Melissa Joan Hart called Kevin Owens a “lazy wrestler.” The hosts agree that her assessment of Kevin Owens is totally incorrect.
– Paige-Charlotte: Rosenberg starts by noting that it was cool that a Divas segment closed Raw. The conversation then turns to Paige mentioning Charlotte’s deceased brother Reid. Rosenberg starts by noting that regardless of whether it was too far or not, the mention seemed to have the desired effect. Shoemaker responds by saying that you can argue that this was done in bad taste, but this is pro wrestling after all. He also notes that Charlotte’s character relies pretty heavily on being Ric Flair’s daughter, so this didn’t seem like that much of a stretch. He feels like the point of the segment was to get the exact reaction they are getting on social media (e.g. people being outraged).
Shoemaker also believes that Charlotte, being a grown woman and the Divas Champion, would have been justified in making the decision to go ahead with angle without consulting her father. He mentions the concept of “kayfabe only” meaning that viewers should pay attention to/separate what is on TV, and the outside noise related to it (referring to whether or not Ric was notified and other outside circumstances). Rosenberg also notes that perhaps Charlotte enjoys the notion of Reid being involved in one of her storylines, especially given that he was trying to be a wrestler. He compares it to people being outraged that Paul Bearer was used in the Undertaker-C.M. Punk storyline after he passed away. The hosts agree that the brawl that followed the comment served as great hype for the match at Survivor Series.
– Traditional Survivor Series match: Rosenberg starts by questioning why the traditional match of the event is now relegated to a throwaway match. Shoemaker responds by pointing out that the match originally a way to make feuds last longer without having the payoff match, and that doesn’t apply as much to today’s structure. Rosenberg doesn’t necessarily love the match type or think it needs to be the main event, but he wonders why bother having a PPV surrounding a certain theme that isn’t even a part of the show.
– WWE Title Tournament on Raw: Shoemaker starts by saying that regardless of how predictable the bracket appeared when it was revealed, Raw provided some incredible matches and entertainment from this tournament. He continues saying that the Cesaro vs. Reigns match may have been the best match of either’s career. He felt like Cesaro felt more credible as a main event player following that match. He also compliments the Ambrose-Ziggler finish. He also praised the false finishes in the Owens-Neville match given that Owens winning felt extremely predictable going into the match.
– Del Rio: Shoemaker starts by asking if Del Rio or Zeb Colter, in real-life, have any idea what this MexAmerica gimmick is about. He likes that Del Rio moved on from his gimmick surrounding being rich, but doesn’t think replacing it with Zeb Colter on a scooter was the best decision. He feels like Zeb, while a good second-tier manager, actually detracts from Del Rio’s vibe of someone we should consider a main event contender. Shoemaker continues by wondering why Del Rio’s gimmick doesn’t surround being fired by the WWE a year ago.
– WWE Title Tournament at Survivor Series: Rosenberg starts by wondering which has better odds: WWE pulling the trigger on Reigns-Ambrose now, or WWE going with a fresh match-up in Reigns-Owens. Shoemaker believes Reigns will beat Del Rio 100 percent, and while he feels Ambrose is the easier story, he notes that Owens facing Reigns in the finals wouldn’t shock him. Rosenberg wonders about the possibility of Owens winning the whole tournament and then Reigns chasing him to WrestleMania. Shoemaker believes that either Reigns or Ambrose will turn heel and win the title. Rosenberg jokes about WWE’s insistence on showing the interviewer’s reaction after the interview is over.
– NFL: The hosts talk a bit about Cam Newton of the Carolina Panthers, Tony Romo of the Dallas Cowboys, and the Washington Redskins team name.
– Ronda Rousey: Rosenberg talks about how this works well for UFC in the sense that this allows Holly Holm to get extreme name recognition. Shoemaker talks about how the WWE conditions fans to think non-sense surrounding fights is normal, but the stuff surrounding Rousey recently (namely her Mom speaking out against her coach) is not particularly normal in the UFC realm. The hosts also talk about the potential of a Rousey-Holm re-match.
– Survivor Series predictions: Shoemaker predicts the Brothers of Destruction beat whichever two members of the Wyatt Family are chosen. Rosenberg notes that he has enjoyed seeing Undertaker on TV on a more regular basis. He also talks about the possibility of Kane turning on The Undertaker. The hosts all agree that Charlotte will beat Paige. The trio tries to predict who might be in the traditional elimination tag match. They talk a bit about how Smackdown doesn’t have the vibe of a show that you need to pay attention to.
– Random discussion: The hosts talk about podcast ratings. Rosenberg talks about another podcast that he records.
– Stat Guy Greg: Greg notes the promo in which Nick Bockwinkel coins the phrase “humanoids.” He notes the dates of a few matches that were mentioned throughout the show. Shoemaker talks a bit about seeing “The Wrestler” again. The hosts briefly mention rumors that Nikki Bella’s health may be in question.
Score and Review
Score (7.0): This week’s episode of Cheap Heat was one of those episodes that seems to go back and forth on its identity. For most of the show the hosts were engaged in a genuine wrestling discussion that provides entertainment, insight, humor, and more. The smaller part of the show, though, is made up of completely random discussions and Rosenberg playing clips from his soundboard. That isn’t to say that the random discussion aren’t entertaining, but they feel very out of place on most episodes. For example, the hosts were somewhat in the middle of an insightful conversation about potential outcomes for the WWE Title tournament, and then just a couple moments later they were talking about the NFL.
If you are simply interested in listening to the three hosts talk about anything, I think you will find no problem with this episode. If you are looking for wrestling discussion, though, I think you might be a bit annoyed by some of the random divergences in the conversation. I don’t specifically have a problem with the random sidebars, but sometimes it’s hard not to feel like we are missing out on some more excellent wrestling discussion because of them. Regardless, this was an entertaining show that had quality wrestling discussion and some great insights/thoughts from the hosts.
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