Contesting Wrestling

We reflect on Hogan part 2, ruminate on secular childhood, and rejoice in the many winter celebrations.

We're dropping a premium episode into the main feed! Happy Holidays, you filthy animals!

@GoodOleBR returns to examine three matches, one featuring invisible men, one featuring ref-on-ref action, and a third featuring a man named Mongo nearly killing his opponent through sheer apathy. The last one gives Evan some pause. Good times!

Evan demands an explanation of the most infamous event in wrestling history, when Mr. McMahon was born and the whole genre gained another level of meta. Then they examine a lesser-known, but no less screwy, screw job from the 80s.

We continue our examination of possibly the only man in history forced to explain to a judge the difference between his real genitals and the genitals of the fictional character he portrayed: Hulk Hogan.

The similarities between wrestling and sex work, the time Hacksaw Jim Duggan and the Iron Sheik got caught smoking crack together, and some brief reflections on Hogan. Enjoy!

Corrections to our episode with Mitchell Fesh of XSW, a discussion about learning cultural literacy through cartoons, and a quick definition of postmodernism. Just in time for the holidays!

He is an inevitability. For years, he was the face of wrestling. He was one of only three or four wrestlers Evan could name before this podcast started. For the next two weeks, we'll be dealing with the Gawker-slaying, Marvel-copyright-infringing force known as Hulk Hogan.

We revisit Joe/Kobashi and Suzuki/Gunn, and Evan starts catching up on AEW. Promises for the future are made. The importance of a union for wrestlers is stressed in the wake of terrible revelations about Ring of Honor.

Comedy wrestling impresario Mitchell Fesh of Xtremely Serious Wrestling (a league that often features our own Doc Diamondfire) stops by to discuss how stories are told in the ring.

Evan steps into the world of indie wrestling when Doc and Ben show him one of their favorite matches of all time, one they were present for: Samoa Joe vs. Kenta Kobashi. Later they delve into the WWE's regressive handling of Japanese characters.