Much Ado About Wrestling

The Scholars react to the shocking news that one of the main people behind AEW’s creation, Cody Rhodes, is leaving the company

The Scholars quickly look at the other big rumor that was around the watercooler this week, the potential return of Stone Cold Steve Austin at WrestleMania. They talk about how much he has left in the tank, why Austin could still appear without it being an official match, and what we think of his potential clash with Kevin Owens. (1:00)

Then, the scholars spend the rest of their time reacting to the news that Cody Rhodes has left AEW. They ask questions about what the sticking point was that caused this exit, the potential mess between Tony Khan and Turner, and what the correct assessment of Cody’s value to AEW really is. Then they speculate if Cody is going back to WWE, what his value is there, and how we expect him to be used. Is this the beginning of a much bigger WWE/AEW war? Will Cody be at WrestleMania? We attempt to answer these questions (17:00)

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An annual tradition, the scholars take this time post-Royal Rumble to predict all 14 matches on the WrestleMania 38 card!

The Scholars run down all the action from the Royal Rumble. They discuss why the women’s rumble worked better than the men’s rumble. They talk about the focus of the entire event on building one match, and how WWE can do longterm storytelling when they want. And they look at the best moments from outside the Rumble matches, including the banger between Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns and that moment where the WrestleMania sign caught on fire. (1:00)

Then, the scholars spend the rest of their time methodically predicting the card for WrestleMania 38. Andrew and Tyler write 14 predictions on their own, then start with the matches they had in common, and from there have to compromise and fight for their selections to be “locked in.” They discuss why this WrestleMania is going to be sold on one or two matches. They go from thinking that a Randy Orton and Riddle match is a no-brainer to wondering if Vince will just keep the team together. They struggle to figure out what to do with the 7 or 8 notable men’s upper mid-carders on Raw. And finally, they give a bold prediction for the Raw and Smackdown after Mania. (25:45)

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The Scholars talk about the history of cross promotion with the news of WWE being the latest game in town to open the “Forbidden Door”

The Scholars talk the unfortunate fiasco with the renaming of WALTER to Gunther and if they think WWE knew what they were doing in making references to a Nazi commander or if they were truly ignorant. Then they talk more positive WWE news with the rumor mill surrounding the Royal Rumble, including the big news that Impact Knockouts Champ Mickie James will be in the women’s rumble and the implication that someone else will walk through the “Forbidden Door” on the men’s side. (12:00)

Then, the scholars explore the word of the day The Forbidden Door. They talk about the ways that WWF and WWE have historically flirted with cross-promotional tactics like the Raw/Nitro simulcast, the Invasion angle, and putting ECW on the payroll. They talk about the times Impact and WCW made inroads in Japan and Mexico, and how WWE has more recently given indies like Evolve airtime. Then they talk about what makes the AEW Forbidden Door feel different, dangerous, or special. They speculate about how long the door will remain open, smaller ways that it could still be part of AEW’s identity in the future, and if it would take WWE going back to their Monday Night Wars playbook to throw the door wide open. (50:52)

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The Scholars get pumped for Hangman vs. Danielson 2 by looking at the history of time limit draws, iron man matches, and curfew limits!

The Scholars spend the first half of the show running down all the wrestling supercards that existed in the New Years week. They gush about the very bloody hardcore match between The Bunny/Penelope Ford and Anna Jay/ Tay Conti from the Last TNT Dynamite. Then they recap the shocking news about Roman Reigns before WWE Day 1 and discuss how the fallout from Lesnar’s title win could still lead to the same planned WrestleMania matches. Then they talk a bit about the highlights from night 1 of WrestleKingdom 16, touching on Okada’s return to ace status and Shibata’s return to the ring. (01:00)

Then, the scholars explore the word of the day Time Limit Draw. They look at the recent usage of the draw in AEW leading to this week’s rematch, and ponder about which storytelling device the “ringside judges” will be, a Chekhov’s Gun or a Red Herring? Then they go back to the WWWF days to talk about the power of the draw in the time of Brunno Sammartino, how WWF reimagined the draw with the introduction of the Iron Man match in the 90s, and look at how Ring of Honor brought back the draw to help build their promotion in 2004. Finally, the scholars discuss what the right conditions would be for WWE to bring back the time limit draw in 2022! (33:40)

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The Scholars get Extreeeeeeeme, by diving head first (through a flaming table) into the history of pro wrestling’s most notorious and violent style.

The Scholars spend a little time with the wrestling news, like Hangman Page’s AEW World Championship victory and upcoming defense against Bryan Danielson, WWE getting into the world of collegiate athletics through NIL programs, the possible end of Johnny Gargano in NXT, and the flaming table spot that finished the Cody and Andrade street fight last week! (01:00)

Then, the scholars look explore the word of the day Hardcore Wrestling. They look at the history of violence in wrestling and when blood became encouraged rather than frowned upon. They talk about the history of practitioners of hardcore wrestling from Wild Bill Curry all the way to Nick FN Gage. They get into the nitty gritty of the artistic merits of hardcore wrestling, and when being too extreme can render those merits absent. They discuss what place hardcore wrestling has in today’s landscape, and what its future might look like. And most importantly, the scholars talk about the best and worst weapons. (29:00)

Finally, Tyler brings back the Kayfabe Machine to answer questions like what kind of booker Freddie Prinze Jr. would be? And, who stole that billion dollar egg that The Rock let Vince McMahon hold? (1:20:00)

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The Scholars run down the card for Saturday’s AEW Full Gear PPV, and look the growing free agency landscape in the wake of WWE and ROH releases.

The Scholars spend a little time looking at the news of a hiatus from Ring of Honor and what the chances are of this being the end for the promotion. They talk through why this has happened, what it means that all the talent are being released from their contracts, and what a rebranded ROH would look like. Then they react to the latest round of WWE releases, and how the free agent market has gone from helping the wrestlers to becoming a buyer’s market. Finally, they pretend to be indy bookers and draft who they’d build a promotion around and who they wouldn’t. (01:00)

Then, the scholars look at the card for AEW Full Gear, starting with the highly anticipated match between Kenny Omega and Hangman Page. They debate if this will be the end of their long-running storyline, and if so, if it will be the end of the Elite in AEW. They debate whether the likes of CM Punk and Bryan Danielson need wins more than Eddie Kingston or Miro. They tease what possible surprises could happen on the show, and what AEW could have planned in their long winter PPV gap following Saturday night. (45:45)

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The Scholars do a deep dive on the career of one of the greatest technical wrestlers of all time, the American Dragon, Bryan Danielson.

The Scholars spend a little time talking about WWE Crown Jewel, focusing on what’s next for the new King and Queen of the Ring. Then Andrew shares his experience attending AEW Grand Slam. (1:00)

Then, the scholars look at the career of Bryan Danielson all the way from the humble beginnings through the surprising end, and the even more suprising return! They start looking at how Bryan got the monikers American Dragon and best technical wrestler in the world through his work in the early days of Ring of Honor. Then they reminisce about his first WWE run on the game-show version of NXT and talk about why getting fired for being too violent on TV was the best thing to ever happen to him. Then they go through his memorable WWE run from his storylines with the likes of AJ Lee and Kane, through his battle with the Authority and the Yes Movement, through his sudden retirement and miraculous return. Finally, they talk about what’s left for Bryan to accomplish in AEW and how long they think he will continue to wrestle before hanging up the boots for good. (23:00)

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The Scholars digest the storytelling and economical successes of All Out 2021, and preview what to expect from Grand Slam

The Scholars spend a little time talking about WWE, focusing on the positive and morale-boosting WWE Championship win for Big E, and the less inspiring supposed plans WWE had in store for Adam Cole (1:00)

Then, the Scholars review AEW ALL OUT 2021 from top to bottom, discussing the storylines that worked, the historically relevant pay-per-view buy numbers, the treatment of surprises and spacing on the show, and more! Plus, they take a look at the sudden supercard set for this week’s Grand Slam episode of Dynamite, and Andrew’s bold prediction for how Kenny Omega vs. Bryan Danielson will end.(27:00)

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The Scholars review the most important weekend of the pro wrestling summer, touching on CM Punk, Becky Lynch, Brock Lesnar, Adam Cole, and more!

The Scholars start on Friday night, talking about CM Punk’s return to the ring on AEW Rampage. They discuss the decision to not protect the surprise, Punk not saying the letters WWE in his promo, what we expect from him in the ring versus Darby Allin at All Out, and more (1:00)

Then, the Scholars run down the good, bad, and ugly from WWE SummerSlam. They discuss if they thought any changes were made in response to the media attention Punk got on Friday and whether all WWE PPVs should be on Saturday going forward. Then they run down the curious storytelling decisions in the return of Becky Lynch and her squashing of Bianca Bel Air, the use of nostalgia in Edge vs. Rollins, execution vs. story in the Lashley and Goldberg match, if Roman vs. Cena lived up to the hype, and the promising start to this Lesnar and Roman feud. (28:30)

Finally, the Scholars contemplate if NXT TakeOver 36 was the end of the NXT that we’ve come to know and love, debate if Adam Cole is more likely to show up on Raw or in AEW, touch on the new costume changes for Karrion Kross, bask in the glory of Dragunov vs. WALTER 2, and talk about the potential of Samoa Joe as NXT champion. (1:09:30)

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To celebrate his return to wrestling, the Scholars look at the career of the Doctor of Thuganomics himself, John Cena.

The Scholars start with some news items. Why was Dominos at the forefront of the wrestling conversation last week? Should wrestling fans be allowed to throw trash at heel performers? Should we have seen the WWE release of Bray Wyatt coming? (1:00)

Then, the Scholars dedicate the rest of the episode to looking deeply at the career of John Cena. They revisit his early gimmicks like the Prototype, his main roster debut kicking off the Ruthless Aggression Era, and the origins of his rapping Doctor of Thuganomics character. Then they debate why the fan reaction to his character changed so drastically and suddenly in the move to the PG era, and who’s to blame for it. Finally, the scholars review the more recent usage of John Cena, and come to a conclusion about his rightful critical place in the pantheon of all-time wrestling performers. (25:00)

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Follow us/ leave us a question for the Kayfabe 5020 on TWITTER or FACEBOOK

Listen to Tyler’s band TURBO MANSION

Check out Andrew’s WRITING