Grit & Glitter

Em chats with award-winning playwright, screen writer, and author Gina Femia about their debut YA novel, the queer teen wrestling title Alondra!

Gina talks about their own wrestling fandom, which wrestlers influenced the fictitious wrestlers in their novel, queer and nonbinary representation, and which indie wrestling promotions they love and frequent.

Harley, Em, and Don are talking honor with women main eventing an ROH pay-per-view for the first time ever.  It was Death Before Dishonor with MOTY candidate Athena vs. Willow Nightingale and Leyla Hirsch vs. new Infantry member Trish Adora.  They also talk how flat weekly ROH has been, who's left after Athena's already beaten everybody, and the reinvention of Athena.

Plus: Em and Don were live at Wrestlers' Lab for their seventh anniversary show!

Celebrating 21 years of Impact Wrestling, it's Slammiversary!

Harley and Mayydayy discuss Trinity tapping out Deonna Purrazzo to capture her first singles gold in six years, Masha Slamovich & Killer Kelly taking off the dog collar to put on some gold, Jody Threat hanging out with Death Dollz, and Gisele Shaw's embarrassing performance on The Amazing Race Canada.  We are bound for Bound For Glory and it all starts here.

Em and Lindsay discuss the legendary deathmatch wrestling of Megumi Kudo, focusing on several matches from her iconic run in FMW.

This episode really has everything: barbed wire rings, tiny hatchets, hair drags & powerbombs into more barbed wire, accidental pins, and more.  And at the heart of it, an all-time great joshi whose name deserves ranking among the very best of the best.

Our watch list for this episode:

Combat Toyoda vs. Megumi Kudo for the FMW Women’s Championship in a No Ropes Barbed Wire Current Blast Death Match

FMW Fighting Creation ‘96  (5/5/1996)

Megumi Kudo & Bison Kimura vs. Lioness Asuka & Shark Tsuchiya in a Scramble Bunkhouse Match

FMW Winning Road 1997  (3/28/1997)

Megumi Kudo vs. Mayumi Ozaki in a No Ropes Barbed Wire Barricade Mat Double Hell Death Match

FMW Fighting Creation  (4/18/1997)

Shark Tsuchiya vs. Megumi Kudo for the FMW Women’s Championship in a No Ropes Barbed Wire Current Explosion Barricade Double Hell Death Match

FMW Fighting Creation  (4/29/1997)

It's the 200th episode of Grit & Glitter!!

Harley drives from Toronto to Pittsburgh to meet up with Em and go backstage at Enjoy Wrestling's Something To Write Home About.  They chat with a cavalcade of stars including Enjoy Champion Edith Surreal, Ray Lyn, GummiBoar, and The Runway as well as Enjoy staff members AJ Small and Maxx Gregg.

Thank you everyone for helping guide us to 200 episodes.  We love you more than words can say.  Here's to 200 more!

Harley and Em are joined by returning guest Brian Bell to present the seventh installment in G&G series "Living Legends."  With this series, we strive to present a definitive look at the lives and careers of some of your favorite active independent wrestlers.  Where did they come from?  How did they get to where they are today?  And why are they so beloved?

This time: it’s DARK Sheik!  From starting training at age 14 to playing heel Sheik Khan Abadi in a post-9/11 world, founding Hoodslam, dying and being reborn, being replaced by an evil robot, training wrestlers like Shotzi and Mansoor, transitioning in front of the world, teaming with The Caution and Thrussy, founding the Church of Wrestling, and palling around with Lita, this is the story of the master mold, the mother brain, the DARK Sheik.

Our playlist for this episode:

Sheik Khan Abadi vs. Wild Storm

Big Time Wrestling (10/21/07)

Jacqui chats with one half of MSP, The DangerKid!

DangerKid talks how he came to his genderfluid nonbinary identity, performing drag for the first time, parallels between drag and wrestling, escapism through art, and his new home away from home at Deadlock Pro Wrestling.

Harley, Em, and Mayydayy discuss Impact Against All Odds including Masha Slamovich vs. Killer Kelly in a... let's say... provocative?... dog collar match, the return of Nevaeh, Deonna Purrazzo and Trinity teaming together ahead of facing each other at Slammiversary, and speculation on who could be next in line to challenge The Coven for the tag titles.