Beyond The Beermat

Not quite all, but a large majority of the important moments in wrestling history all rest in the hands of a select group. While we see them all the time, they exist out of our conscious mind. To the point where on the occasions where they do take centre stage, it's very clear something drastic has happened.

Whether it be storyline or something even wilder, when the refs get involved it really means something. That's even to ignore the pivotal yet deceptively simple job they perform in the middle of the squared circle. Beyond The Beermat is back to take a look in between the black and white stripes to see the men in the middle and all the stories of the important matches and moments they've played a part in.

From the colorful histories of on the referees themselves to the times wrestlers themselves have had to step in, tune in to the podcast you know you can always count on.

Hype isn't so much an aspect of the wrestling industry but one of it's most important building blocks. The process of putting champions, challengers or even circumstance onto a pedestal is an art form onto itself. Part of our unwritten contract as fans is to acknowledge it all. To understand that being told someone – or something – can reach a level we all know isn't realistic. But that's how it has to be. Everything has to be bigger and better, more spectacular and different than anything we've ever seen before. That's the business. Even that suspension of disbelief has a line.

Using the tagline "The Greatest Wresting Match Ever" is some bluster, even for WWE. But their hot air isn't the point so much as the question what does make a match great? Different encounters mean different things to different people, and yet there is to a degree some consensus. Certain confrontations have more acclaim than others. Which ultimately tells us that while it may be subjective, there is a guideline to follow.

Beyond The Beermat is here to walk through the fundamentals of what needs to happen to makes any given match great. When it comes to greatness, we are well versed after all.

Time waits for no man. Some men however, have no interest in delaying it. They are the ones that will write the pages of history, that will remain a constant in our memory. Generations will come and go and what once was future will become past. Standing tall among all of that, that's how legends are made.

With every Wrestlemania – and indeed – calendar year that passes, speculation continues to mount about The Undertaker finally calling time on his Hall of Fame career. In addition, as we've found out in recent weeks with the incredible behind the scenes WWE produced documentary The Last Ride, even after all this time we still don't really know the man behind the Phenom.

To reduce him down to just one match is to do an amazing career and legacy a disservice. That's why Beyond The Beermat is here to go through Taker's timeline to see the bigger picture. All his best feuds, all the pivotal moments and everything in between.

That flash of recognition is all powerful. Coming face to face with the familiar once again. Reunions – even with those we didn't fully appreciate – are always joyous; on the outset at least. Wrestling feeds this feeling to the extreme. Often the biggest cheers, the loudest pops and wildest reactions are reserved for those we haven't seen in a while. Absence makes the heart grow fonder and all that.

Part of the thrill of wrestling television of the last twenty plus years, have been when an unexpected appearance shakes the whole landscape. Even if their follow up actions leave us deflated. However in recent years, these occurrences have been announced well in advance, diluting the excitement somewhat.

As part of this extra special Beyond the Beermat, a familiar voice returns after some time away. If that's not the perfect excuse to pour yourself a cold one, kick back and listen we don't know what is.

Whether it be from the world of acting, music or even other sports; wrestling loves extending the invitation across media outlets. In a world already full of outrageous characters, when you add an extra helping of star power can add to the spectacle of it all in a big way.

Over the years, there have been many successes and failures when it comes to celebrities stepping inside the squared circle. Beyond The Beermat is back to take a look at the very best and worst examples, as well as picking apart why certain personalities are better suited to it and how we as an audience connect to them.

So get ready to roll out the red carpet, for a podcast that's always on everyone's A-List. We just need to figure out what the A stands for.

While the world around us continues to change, it's nice to have certain things you can rely on. The joys of a nice cold refreshing adult beverage after a hard day of staying at home, the sheer fact this podcast will always remain the very epitome of high quality content and the idea that things move at a breakneck speed within the world of wrestling.

Last week – just twenty four hours after the PPV in question – we had two Money In The Bank briefcase holders, now we are down to one. The circumstances of Asuka being crowned Raw Women's champion aside, there are still a couple of points to be addressed before we turn our attentions to the surprise winner on the men's side; Otis.

Using MITB Cash-ins from the past, we can plot the path forward. What needs to change and what opportunities are out there, this episode we go into what the options are from here. Your best option – as ever – remains to tune in.

Our relationship with the superstars we see on a weekly basis is a uneven one. Especially when you mix their personal lives with their professional. Now – more than ever – these connections matter.

Becky Lynch announcing her pregnancy and subsequent vacation of the Raw Women's title on Monday highlighted a very real sentiment. We don't often get the chance to feel any great happiness for wrestlers as people and it is only once they are gone – be it retirement or injury – that we fully appreciate what we had. Not only that, our emotional association with wrestling when we're young takes on a whole new meaning that disappears as the years go by.

Beyond The Beermat is here to be your wrestling psychiatrists as we go through our own personal highs and lows, just know that we charge by the crate of beer rather than the hour.

To keep going is one thing, to do so in the right direction another entirely. As the wrestling business at the top level at least looks to march on hesitantly, there can be no doubt as to the importance of the months that lay ahead.

What happens now will shape history and likely define years to come. Right now we can't look that far ahead but we can look to the immediate future. Whether wrestling of any kind should be going on right now. There is a very distinct possibility that this could all lead to a seismic change within WWE management. There are concerns as to what this could do to those in NXT, being primed for a future that now looks very unclear. With uncertainty there is also opportunity, but it may be one that AEW aren't quite ready for. Then we come to the smaller independent promotions, who have to find a way back from all of this.

Beyond The Beermat is here to gaze into our crystal ball and look ahead. From here all we can see are empty beer cans.

It's hard to put into words quite simply how big of an impact the internet has had on, well everything. For one, you certainly wouldn't be reading this right now. For the sheer fact of bringing Beyond The Beermat to the masses, it ranks up there among mankind's (no not that one) greatest inventions.

With the entire world now cut off from one another, we're relying on technology to bring us together more than ever before. But even before lockdown there's a whole host of ways in which the world wide web has affected the wrestling business as we know it. From the early days of forums to the social media explosion, we're gonna take you through the history of how the fan experience has completely changed and in turn how that's impacted the actual content we see on screen.

So dial up, log in and get ready to have the most fun you can have online without going to *those* websites. We're not judging. Actually we are, some of you are downright filthy. You need to take a look at yourselves.

No publicity is bad publicity, as the saying goes. That being said, at a time when we're all looking at companies through a very different lens, the powers that be with the WWE could have picked a better time for their annual spring cleaning in terms of talent releases.

Perceptions can change very quickly in the wrestling world and while it was only two seconds ago that we were all praising the company for putting on any kind of show, questions of safety are being be asked. Looking further ahead, we examine a couple of potential consequences for their actions that could cause them massive problems in the future. There's also the small matter of certain political dealings that have allowed WWE to continue in their current capacity. Is the whole thing leaving too much of a sour taste or is this just Vince being Vince?

Beyond The Beermat is ready to ask the big questions, and if the answers are too hard to swallow we've got a whole stash of cold adult beverages to wash them down with.