The challenging construction of a major monthly show, some very interesting podcasts and the fallout from them are among the most discussed issues in the world of sports entertainment this week.
With just a week to go until the next major WWE event, the gimmick-laden Tables, Ladders and Chairs pay per view, the company spent much of last week's Raw trying to build a card that might capture the interest of its much heralded universe. That appears to be no small task as TLC comes just before the holidays, and looks right now like a relatively mediocre show following the heels of a fairly tame Survivor Series and is preceding next month's Royal Rumble, which is traditionally the beginning of the road to WrestleMania.
With the less than popular return of the anonymous general manager to Raw last Monday, John Cena was out, not to confront Big Show for his traitorous right hook at SS, but to close the computer lid on the GM and force Seth Rollins to grovel and humbly use the purple dinosaur's magic word when requesting that Cena bring back the Authority to run the show. The anonymous GM then announced a Cena-Rollins Tables Match for TLC and Rollins attacked Cena.
Before you could say supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, a brawl broke out that also included Dolph Ziggler, Kane, Ryback and Luke Harper. A six-man tag with all of the aforementioned was made for the main event later in the evening. It was won by Ziggler when he pinned Harper after more than twenty minutes of solid action, but Big Show ran in to cut into the face curtain call and Erik Rowan came down to even the score.
Ziggler will challenge Harper for the IC title in a Ladder Match at TLC and Dean Ambrose, who destroyed Bray Wyatt's coveted rocking chair on Raw, will face Wyatt in a TLC match at the ppv. The Usos emerged victorious in a tag team turmoil event to claim the number one contender spot for the straps currently around the waist of Miz and Sandow. They will also meet at TLC.
After Raw ended, Stone Cold Steve Austin did a live podcast interview with Vince McMahon on the WWE Network. Although most of the speculation about it centered around the potential questions concerning CM Punk's less than flattering revelations about the end of his tenure in WWE, McMahon smartly avoided saying anything nasty or controversial about the situation, left the door open to possibly mending bridges in the future and actually began his response by apologizing for the timing of Punk's termination papers arriving on his wedding day, calling it a coincidence.
The interview itself was interesting, but hardly worth staying up late for as it played just as well the next day. There were some insights into the normally reticent, even shy by his own description, chairman of the company, but nothing particularly earth- shattering was revealed. It did come off at times as a mutual admiration society between Austin and McMahon, which is certainly understandable given the amount of money they made playing off each other during their memorable feud before a parting of ways that Austin explained was similar to, yet different than what happened with Punk.
Heard another reference to the good old days at Hamburg when Vince told the story of how he became the ring announcer for his father's promotion and also enjoyed the continuing duel between the two over terminology such as wrestling, sports entertainment, putting the territories out of business etc. Austin has come across more relaxed and more entertaining on some of his other podcasts, but they were without cameras and interviews with peers, as opposed to with his former boss and the most successful pro wrestling promoter of all time.
Recent Austin podcasts, especially with long-time wrestling journalist Bill Apter of Pro Wrestling Illustrated, The Wrestler and Inside Wrestling fame, and Nature Boy Ric Flair were even better shows in the opinion of this scribe. Apter had unique insights as someone who covered so many different wrestling promotions throughout the territory days and stories galore about everybody from Hulk Hogan and Sylvester Stallone, to the Von Erichs in World Class and Andy Kauffman's memorable feud with Jerry Lawler in Memphis.
Flair's conversation with Austin was both interesting and entertaining, particularly if one has ever wondered about the specific techniques employed by wrestlers to get color, some of the unique conversations wrestlers have had with referees in the ring and the stress of trying to keep track of world title belts while on the road. With the current in-ring product a little short on originality, real drama and star power, podcasts can be a great source of entertainment for pro wrestling fans.