Squared Circle Pit

If you've watched WWE Smackdown Live in the last few weeks, you've noticed that tag team champion Rowan has started wearing a different metal shirt every week. We felt that Rowan would be a perfect guest for our wrestling-meets-metal podcast and so here he is, talking to me about his favorite metal bands, how he discovered all the folk and power metal he listens to, the inspiration for his metal tattoos, how he ended up in the new Amon Amarth video trilogy, who in the WWE he shares metal talk with and some tips for flying in airplanes for tall dudes. A really fun episode!

Check out previous Squared Circle Pit interviews about wrestling with Slipknot's Corey Taylor, Chris Jericho, former WCW boss Eric Bischoff, NJPW star Kenny Omega, WWE Hall of Famer Bubba Ray Dudley, Mick Foley, Rob Van Dam, Raven, CM Punk, Cannibal Corpse's George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher, Jamey Jasta, Every Time I Die's Andy Williams, Zakk Wylde, Killswitch Engage's Mike D, Converge's Jacob Bannon, Neurosis' Scott Kelly, former WWE head writer and Dethklok co-creator Tommy Blacha, former WWE announcer

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If you haven't seen Viceland's new series, Dark Side of the Ring, we can't recommend it enough. (All the episodes are up for streaming). I had a chance to talk with the creator of the series, Evan Husney, who takes me through his pro wrestling journey and how his fandom of wrestling and heavy metal intersected. We dive deep into the series and the episodes, including Bret Hart's Montreal Screwjob, the death of Bruiser Brody, the Von Erichs and Gino Hernandez. After the interview, Rob gives his thoughts on the WWE Money in the Bank PPV.

Here's an 11-year-old Evan Husney grilling Steve Austin about Bill Goldberg:
Check out previous Squared Circle Pit interviews about wrestling with Slipknot's Corey Taylor, Chris Jericho, former WCW boss Eric Bischoff, NJPW star Kenny Omega, WWE Hall of Famer Bubba Ray Dudley, Cannibal Corpse's George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher, Jamey Jasta, Every Time I Die's Andy Williams, Zakk Wylde, Killswitch Engage's Mike D, Converge's Jacob Bannon, Neurosis' Scott Kelly, former WWE head writer and Dethklok co-creator Tommy Blacha, former WWE announcer Justin Roberts, ROH star Frankie Kazarian, EVOLVE booker and former ROH booker Gabe Sapolsky,

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Chris Jericho returns to the Squared Circle Pit and we have a lot to catch up on. First, we reminiss about the first Chris Jericho Rock and Wrestling Rager at Sea, as both Rob and Chris share some memories from the boat. We discuss what fans can expect on the 2nd run of the cruise, for which there are still limited tickets available. Chris recaps his memories at Ric Flair's star-studded 60th birthday bash, including that infamous photo with Triple H. We switch gears talking about AEW, and Chris' big match at the Double or Nothing PPV on Memorial Day weekend against Kenny Omega. We talk about some AEW marketing strategy and what fans can expect. We close up the interview talking about Chris' band, Fozzy, signing a huge new deal with Sony Music and what the future holds for his band.













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Awesome hang w this cat last night! #internetblowsup
A post shared by Chris Jericho (@chrisjerichofozzy) on Feb 23, 2019 at 6:05am PST


Check out previous Squared Circle Pit interviews about wrestling with Slipknot's Corey Taylor, Chris Jericho, former WCW boss Eric Bischoff, NJPW star Kenny Omega, WWE Hall of Famer Bubba Ray Dudley, Cannibal Corpse's George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher, Jamey Jasta, Every Time I Die's Andy Williams, Zakk Wylde, Killswitch Engage's Mike D,

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This podcast is finally back! It's a very special edition of the show, with extended interviews from WrestleCon. Rob headed to the annual WrestleMania weekend convention and got killer interviews with Mick Foley, Rob Van Dam, Vampiro, Road Warrior Animal, The Rock N Roll Express, Joey Janela, Frankie Kazarian, Chris "Dirty Daddy" Dickinson, Angelina Love & Velvet Sky. Take a listen to all the extended interviews from the con with some fun tidbits not included in our video report.

Check out previous Squared Circle Pit interviews about wrestling with Slipknot's Corey Taylor, Chris Jericho, former WCW boss Eric Bischoff, NJPW star Kenny Omega, WWE Hall of Famer Bubba Ray Dudley, Cannibal Corpse's George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher, Jamey Jasta, Every Time I Die's Andy Williams, Zakk Wylde, Killswitch Engage's Mike D, Converge's Jacob Bannon, Neurosis' Scott Kelly, former WWE head writer and Dethklok co-creator Tommy Blacha, former WWE announcer Justin Roberts, ROH star Frankie Kazarian, EVOLVE booker and former ROH booker Gabe Sapolsky, and more.
Listen to Squared Circle Pit on Spotify, Stitcher, 

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's an honor to welcome one of my all-time favorites, RAVEN to the show. Throughout his career, Raven hit all the major promotions – WWE, WCW, ECW and has some awesome stories to tell and created one of the most unique characters of the 90s. We talk about how the grunge scene in the 90s influenced his character, his favorite music (some picks may surprise you), his time working as a producer for WWF (at the time), how wrestlers dress, the current season of Saturday Night Live, comedy and his current gig – being the host of The Raven Effect podcast.

Check out previous Squared Circle Pit interviews about wrestling with Slipknot's Corey Taylor, Chris Jericho, former WCW boss Eric Bischoff, NJPW star Kenny Omega, WWE Hall of Famer Bubba Ray Dudley, Cannibal Corpse's George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher, Jamey Jasta, Every Time I Die's Andy Williams, Zakk Wylde, Killswitch Engage's Mike D, Converge's Jacob Bannon, Neurosis' Scott Kelly, former WWE head writer and Dethklok co-creator Tommy Blacha, former WWE announcer Justin Roberts, ROH star Frankie Kazarian, EVOLVE booker and former ROH booker Gabe Sapolsky, and more.
Listen to Squared Circle Pit on 

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Aubrey Sitterson, the author of The Comic Book Story of Professional Wrestling, sits in with Rob on the podcast this episode. We talk about Aubrey's book, the history of pro wrestling, the connection between metal and wrestling and then we dive deep into New Japan vs. WWE and of course, we talk some good old fashion doom and stoner metal.

Check out previous Squared Circle Pit interviews about wrestling with Slipknot's Corey Taylor, Chris Jericho, former WCW boss Eric Bischoff, NJPW star Kenny Omega, WWE Hall of Famer Bubba Ray Dudley, Cannibal Corpse's George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher, Jamey Jasta, Every Time I Die's Andy Williams, Zakk Wylde, Killswitch Engage's Mike D, Converge's Jacob Bannon, Neurosis' Scott Kelly, former WWE head writer and Dethklok co-creator Tommy Blacha, former WWE announcer Justin Roberts, ROH star Frankie Kazarian, EVOLVE booker and former ROH booker Gabe Sapolsky, and more.
Listen to Squared Circle Pit on Spotify, Stitcher, Google Play or on 

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This Friday is the premiere of Blackcraft Wrestling with their debut event, Burning Bridges. We talk with the owner of the company, Bobby Schubenski, who also runs Blackcraft Cult clothing. We talk to Bobby about how he got into wrestling and heavy metal, the idea for starting a wrestling league, the concept behind it and how he plans to differentiate from other wrestling leagues and their big show this Friday, Burning Bridges. Also, we discuss his stint on Total Divas with his ex-fiancé Rosa Mendez and her religious mother.













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FEAR NO MAN 💀 The first ever Blackcraft Heavyweight Champion will be crowned at #BurningBridges on August 24th LIVE on iPPV! Order the stream now at BlackcraftWrestling.com #JoinTheCult
A post shared by Blackcraft Wrestling (@blackcraftwrestling) on Jul 27, 2018 at 9:02am PDT



Check out previous Squared Circle Pit interviews about wrestling with Slipknot's Corey Taylor, Chris Jericho, former WCW boss Eric Bischoff, NJPW star Kenny Omega, WWE Hall of Famer Bubba Ray Dudley, Cannibal Corpse's George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher, Jamey Jasta, Every Time I Die's Andy Williams, Zakk Wylde, Killswitch Engage's Mike D,

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this edition, I talk to Dave LaGreca, host of SiriusXM's daily wrestling talk show, Busted Open Radio. We talk about the current wrestling scene, the NJPW G-1 Climax tournament, ROH and NJPW selling out Madison Square Garden and just the aura of the Garden in general, and how Dave keeps up with all the wrestling. We also spend a huge chunk of time talking about Dave growing up an 80s metalhead, and all the early shows he's seen, with great stories about Metallica, Alice Cooper, KISS and more.

If you're in the NYC area and are going to Summerslam this weekend, make sure to party with Dave at the pre-party right around the corner from Barclays Center. Here is the info:

BREAKING: It's the Annual @BustedOpenRadio #SummerSlam Pre-Party w/ @davidlagreca1 & #WWEHOF @TheMarkHenry!
LIVE Sunday 8/19 3-5pm ET @KingsBeerHallBK just steps from @barclayscenter!
Special guests, drink specials, giveaways & more! pic.twitter.com/90fRAgXtiz
— SiriusXM Busted Open (@BustedOpenRadio) August 7, 2018

Check out previous Squared Circle Pit interviews about wrestling with Slipknot's Corey Taylor, Chris Jericho, former WCW boss Eric Bischoff, NJPW star Kenny Omega, WWE Hall of Famer Bubba Ray Dudley, Cannibal Corpse's George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher, Jamey Jasta, Every Time I Die's Andy Williams, Zakk Wylde, Killswitch Engage's Mike D, Converge's Jacob Bannon, Neurosis' Scott Kelly,

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I'm very excited for you to hear this episode of Squared Circle Pit. First up, a quick conversation with CM Punk about how he got into punk and wrestling, what he's been listening to while preparing for UFC 225 this weekend, if he'll be at All In, and more. Then, I hop on the phone with my buddy Seth Leibowitz who talks about his time working for Turner Entertainment and how they worked with WCW. We also go off on our love for ECW and Sabu in particular. I end the show giving my opinions on NJPW's Dominion show this weekend.

Check out previous Squared Circle Pit interviews about wrestling with Slipknot's Corey Taylor, Chris Jericho, former WCW boss Eric Bischoff, NJPW star Kenny Omega, WWE Hall of Famer Bubba Ray Dudley, Cannibal Corpse's George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher, Jamey Jasta, Every Time I Die's Andy Williams, Zakk Wylde, Killswitch Engage's Mike D, Converge's Jacob Bannon, Neurosis' Scott Kelly, former WWE head writer and Dethklok co-creator Tommy Blacha, former WWE announcer Justin Roberts, ROH star Frankie Kazarian, EVOLVE booker and former ROH booker Gabe Sapolsky, and more.
Listen to Squared Circle Pit on Spotify, Stitcher, 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode is a double header. We kick things off with a quick conversation with Chris Jericho, who talks about his upcoming Rock & Wrestling Rager at Sea Cruise. The cruise happens Oct. 27 – 31st from Miami to the Bahamas. More info here. Chris talks about the concept of the cruise, how he got the idea, who you can expect on the boat and more.
Also on this episode is my good friend, writer Pat Driscoll. Pat kicks things off talking about what it was like writing for Chris during Chris' stints hosting metal awards shows. We then get into it about the recent WWE television deal, WWE Backlash, NXT, New Japan's Best of Super Juniors, All In and a ton of inside wrestling talk.

Check out previous Squared Circle Pit interviews about wrestling with Slipknot's Corey Taylor, Chris Jericho, former WCW boss Eric Bischoff, NJPW star Kenny Omega, WWE Hall of Famer Bubba Ray Dudley, Cannibal Corpse's George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher, Jamey Jasta, Every Time I Die's Andy Williams, Zakk Wylde, Killswitch Engage's Mike D, Converge's Jacob Bannon, Neurosis' Scott Kelly, former WWE head writer and Dethklok co-creator Tommy Blacha, former WWE announcer Justin Roberts, ROH star Frankie Kazarian, EVOLVE booker and former ROH booker Gabe Sapolsky, and more.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.