NXT On The Eve of Kevin Owens (Steen)

On the eve of Kevin Owens in the WWE is about as exciting for Kevin Steen fans as Christmas Eve. While the WWE has been taking a deserved butt whipping about a variety of topics of late Kevin Steen’s build up to his debut is not one of them. This has been perhaps one of the best build-ups to the arrival of a NXT wrestler in the short history of the promotion. Part of why that is comes from who Kevin Steen is as a person and a performer.

I heard all the rumors and this past May decided that I owed it to myself to go see Kevin Steen live in both Toronto at ROH’s Global Wars and at an independent show for Alpha-1 Wrestling. I figured this would be the last real chance I would have to go meet a guy that I had enjoyed for many years prior in ROH and PWG. Meeting people you admire is always a big risk you take. Often they don’t live up to the overblown expectations you have of them. Kevin was not one of those experiences. He is a very nice, humble and genuine person. I had a brief interaction with him at the Ring of Honor show. He was kind, generous with his time, and thankful of the fact I thought so much of him. In reality, it was like a two-minute exchange but it made me feel good about supporting this guy. On the next day in Hamilton, I got to have a more lengthy conversation in a smaller setting. He was just as kind with his time and interaction with me. I found myself watching him interact with everyone that day. He was just as gracious with everyone else so it wasn’t anything unique to me. The time he would take with children was the most touching. He himself has a son and recently welcomed a daughter into his family just prior to coming to WWE.

In fact, his son is named after the late Owen Hart and the reason behind his WWE name of Kevin Owens. Steen’s love of his family has always been at the core of his desire to succeed at what he loves being pro wrestling.

The promos he made leading up to his debut illustrate just how much this moment means to him. He summed it up perfectly in saying that 14 years of his wrestling career have been for this moment. He has detailed for people who are not familiar with him how he has been involved with various NXT and WWE stars over the years.



I have until this point described Kevin as this amazing family man that loves wrestling and his fans. Which he is but once he hits that ring he is a wild crazy man that does things for a man of his body type seem impossible. He is never going to win a bodybuilding contest even though he seems to be in great shape for him after being at the performance center since the end of the summer. He is a mad man that inspired his fans to chant Kill Steen Kill. He has a toned down version of Fight Steen Fight and I guess will now be Fight Kevin Fight or Kill Kevin Kill for the hardcore fans.

I thought it was classy of his former company ROH to recognize his departure in the opening to Final Battle this past Sunday. Steve Corino even giving a shout out as well to “Kevin in Orlando” watching the show which knowing Kevin he most definitely was. Kevin is now looking towards his first battle as a part of WWE. Many feel he will some how be involved with his former tag partner and rival Sami Zayn who teamed with Kevin as El Generico for years. They put on a match in ROH called Ladder War that will rival any WWE TLC match you care to compare it too. It makes a lot of sense to make this happen just prior to Zayn likely heading to the main roster.

Court Bauer a former WWE Writer and consultant for ROH currently in talking about Steen called him a mix between Canada’s Stone Cold Steve Austin and Mike Awesome. Steen has just a great ability to connect with people that is something that you just don’t learn at NXT or anywhere. You just have it or you don’t and he has it in large amounts.

Mike Bennett a current ROH wrestler in an interview we did with him said that if Kevin is not a huge success in the WWE it will not be his fault it will be the WWE’s. So far, the WWE and Kevin have worked together and not really changed much about him and created a great platform to introduce him to a much larger WWE Universe. 

If you have never seen Kevin Steen, you are in for a treat. If you have, it appears Kevin Owens will likely not be some great departure from the wrestler you have come to love and enjoy over the years. I firmly believe Kevin Steen will be a success and echo what Michael Bennett said that if he isn’t the WWE will have dropped the ball some how. I have faith though based on the success of Sami Zayn that Kevin will be able to thrive in the WWE system and given the opportunities to do so.

Christmas has come early for Kevin Steen fans on 12/11/14. We are on the Eve of Owens and I can’t wait.

ROH's Time Is Now

It has already been a big year for ROH but where it will be truly defined will start tomorrow in Toronto. The first show of two in co-promotion with New Japan Wrestling which were announced a couple of months ago. It also marks ROH’s return to I-PPV which was not kind to this company in the past. During a surge of interest in the company they had massive issues with I-PPV that caused them all kinds of problems. Wrestling fans and loyal ROH fans alike were pissed at the constant issues they had. It forced ROH to abandon the whole concept until now. They are broadcasting this time around through U-Stream and that is something that has been fairly reliable for their partners from New Japan.

I admit when the announcement of the partnership with New Japan Pro Wrestling I really didn’t understand what that meant. I consider myself a wrestling fan but it has always been based in North America. Since the announcement I have come to learn how important this company is to the hardcore wrestling fans. It is the number one company in Japan and has a load of talent some of the best of which are going to be featured on these cards in Toronto and New York. Both of which are complete sell outs.

ROH has always been fairly smart in terms of booking venues that make sense for their promotion. When you are not smart you get pictures of how empty buildings are like we have seen with TNA over the last year or so.

Consider these I-PPV’s as test runs for the main event which happens on June 22nd, 2014 as Best In The World will debut ROH on traditional PPV right in the backyard of TNA in Nashville, Tennessee. While being on Spike despite the poor ratings TNA does have some form of advantage the perception of the two companies could not be further apart. News breaking that TNA Star Kurt Angle is going to be out 4-6 months with ACL tear is just the latest TNA problem. ROH meanwhile has the most talented roster in North America outside of the WWE. The depth that ROH has in comparison to TNA is obvious which includes former TNA Poster Boy A.J Styles. He will not be part of the PPV in June in all likely hood though as he has a match booked for New Japan Pro Wrestling the day prior. 

While the WWE has tried to declare that PPV business is a dying dinosaur as the driving force for them launching the WWE Network they might be right. It isn’t dead yet though but if you look at UFC drawing only around 300 thousand buys for two of their top draws in Ronda Rousey and Jon Jones in recent PPV events. ROH is filling a wrestling void left by the WWE who have been dropped by a number of big cable providers in the U.S. They also plan to offer the option of watching still on I-PPV as well. This is a potential revenue boost for the company if everything goes according to plan.

Some of that extra revenue is already spent if ROH follows through on its promise to upgrade its look for this PPV event. One of the major knocks on ROH has been their poorly produced T.V. While ROH in the ring can hang with anyone on the planet, they look like a cable access independent wrestling show in some respects. Personally it doesn’t bother me, but for people that are use to watching WWE and TNA the difference is easy to see. It doesn’t take having a background in broadcasting to notice the differences.

Court Bauer has stated that ROH is working hard and making their look better in preparation for the Best In The World PPV. Rome wasn’t built in a day but it seems clear ROH is making a concerted effort to improve on their weaknesses.  They have a roster of talent worth of the effort and being presented in a better way.

If ROH is going to challenge TNA as the second company in North America that battle begins this weekend and will ultimately build to their PPV debut. TNA has still not renewed their T.V deal with Spike TV and if they do not this will be a very short war for who will be number two. We all have craved a competitor for WWE but that is at this point an unrealistic pipe dream. Competition for being the number one alternative to them could still be interesting.

ROH in addition to all of this has been smart in being booked in their own way and instead of being thought of as copying the WWE like TNA. They have been smart to market the fact they have produced a lot of the talent you see today in the WWE. Much like how WWE tries to market its NXT brand that has been the vain of ROH’s marketing. The difference is at least at this point ROH can claim more stars they have had than NXT has produced.

If ROH continues to take this measured approach on growth wrestling fans could finally have an alternative that they can count on. The other thing ROH has attempted to do is keep their price point low. Not as low as the 9.99 a month for the WWE Network but lower than TNA. The ROH product is appealing and different enough from WWE to be worth it for hardcore wrestling fans to check out.

How successful they can ultimately be depends on how many casual fans they can draw. I am not a casual wrestling fan but until recently I would consider myself a casual ROH fan. I am heading down to see my first ever ROH show live. If I am not alone in being that casual observer of ROH that is becoming a fan of their product, that is very good news for the people at ROH.

Ring of Honor Heading To PPV

Big news from Ring of Honor wrestling they are making the jump to Pay-Per-View. This comes on the heels of the news of Direct-T.V saying they will no longer be carrying WWE PPV’s. In addition TNA in recent years has scaled back to just four PPV’s in a year.

Just announced on Thursday: On June 22, 2014 Best in the World from Nashville, Tennessee which is right in the backyard of TNA will be the site for this PPV. While TNA continues to flounder and many wonder loudly on what their future will be with Spike T.V? It seems Ring of Honor is gaining ground at a rapid rate. They already have made big news partnering with New Japan Pro Wrestling for shows in Toronto and New York on May 10th in Toronto and the 17th in New York that are both sold out. The company had well over 1000 people in attendance for Super Card of Honor in New Orleans part of Wrestlemania weekend.

TNA continues to make negative headlines for how few people they are drawing to events and their last PPV was widely panned for lack of attendance and some horrible booking. The creative of the company has also come under fire with John Gaburick in charge who has really no experience at this position and news that Christy Hemme former playboy model and WWE Performer currently TNA ring announcer has been added to creative. Court Bauer went into depth on this on the recent edition of Bauer and Pollock.

Perception is reality and no place is that more true than in the wrestling business. TNA seems like a company on its way to being out of business while ROH seems like the rising company that is growing. This likely is the reality but regardless of it is or isn’t that is the perception out there. 

The co-promoted shows with New Japan Pro Wrestling is scheduled to be on I-PPV through U-stream. ROH had started to build momentum in the past and had some disasters with I-PPV that really set them back for a period on time. They have come back stronger and are now looking to jump even further.

TNA has been making the news for the people leaving their promotion with Sting signed to join WWE and Hogan already there along with many TNA Talents like Micky James, A.J Styles and a long list of others have been shown the door or dove of the sinking ship. ROH has added Styles along with Chris Hero who was let go from WWE Developmental.

ROH also is keeping its eye on the future with a new thing they are kicking off this weekend called Future of Honor which takes place this weekend in Newville, P.A. Coming up in the IWC Podcast tomorrow we have Ethan Page one of the young talents that will be appearing on that card as a guest. He described the show as a way for ROH to look at new talent in front of an ROH crowd in an ROH ring. Call it a very minor version of what the WWE is doing with NXT would not be an unfair comparison. 

ROH seems to really be making a push to become bigger and could ultimately be the number two company in wrestling behind the WWE by the end of 2014 depending on how things work out. TNA needs to stop looking up at WWE and start looking behind them at ROH or they very well could be left in the dust.

Update 1pm: 

Court Bauer who works in some advisory role with ROH made comments on this big news on MLW.com his website. 

Many ROH performers were on Social Media spreading the word. Michael Elgin was taking questions so I asked the obvious one with the new today:

@dinonationblog I think it's a huge step and could make waves

— Michael Elgin (@ROHMichaelElgin) April 17, 2014

Not just because he is stronger than a bear but I would agree with Michael Elgin this could be a huge chance for ROH to make some waves.

I Love Me Some Wrestling Podcasts

I love wrestling podcasts and enjoy a great many people doing them out there. Each podcast is its own unique little world but all have common bond of wrestling. Anyone that is going out of their way to produce a podcast has to at the very least be a fan of the business on some level. There is nothing more fun than stories about this wacky world of professional wrestling. I could spend hours on end listening to stories about this world that is both interesting and has an intrigue of what goes on behind the scenes in this crazy world. From serious stories that relate to real life to the craziest funny stories that just seem too funny to be true. It all is entertaining in its own way.

So I will run through some of my favourites that I do my best to listen too on a weekly basis. I think the original king of the wrestling podcast world is Colt Cabana. His Art of Wrestling show is for me the place where it all begins for wrestling podcasts. Colt has been doing his podcast since I believe somewhere around 2010 or 2011 long before podcasting was the rage it is today. He has interviewed everyone from wrestling legends from the past to guys that work on the independent scene that I knew very little about.

If you are one of the few that has not heard the Art of Wrestling it is an hour of Colt talking with his guest with the listeners getting to be a fly on the wall. It is based on wrestling and stories but sometimes dives into real life stuff both funny and serious. Colt makes an effort to steer away from the negative aspects of the wrestling business aside from the struggle that wrestlers go through. At the end of an episode of Art of Wrestling you will feel you have got to know someone better that you already knew or got to know someone you never knew and get to know someone you might not have ever known or heard of.

Perhaps the most popular podcast that has burst on the scene is Stone Cold Steve Austin’s show on Podcast One. It has led to a couple other WWE personalities getting involved with Podcast One in Chris Jericho and Jim Ross. Austin obviously can right his own ticket and booking whoever he wants on his show likely isn’t too difficult. Still Austin is an entertaining guy and if you are an Austin fan he is giving you everything you love about Stone Cold in his podcasts. He can be just as entertaining complaining about driving etiquette in L.A as he is at interviewing his guests.

What is great with Austin is while he can book pretty much his choice of wrestling talents he has not just stuck to the WWE world or just the Attitude Era wrestlers that he was a part of.  Austin has had great podcasts talking with MMA fighters and with guys like Kevin Steen who wrestles in ROH. Even a nice tip of his hat to the aforementioned Colt Cabana as they both appeared on each others podcasts about 6 months ago. Even having fans on episodes taking calls has been something Austin has done most recently. The one thing that has become some what of a cult hit with people is Austin reading the ad copy for the sponsors on his podcast. It is something to be experienced rather than explained. He claims to bring a can of “Audio Whoop Ass” to every podcast and does his show for the “Working Man” but what he does is just give you everything you love about Stone Cold. He has taken this venture seriously and has improved a lot as an interviewer which is something that prior to this was not likely in his wheelhouse. What? What he was use too. What? Oh hell you get the idea.

I do also enjoy Chris Jericho and J.R’s podcasts that have started more recently. They are both entertaining guys and also seem to fit in very easily to this podcasting format. I am sure like Austin they will grow a comfort level and get better and better at it. Ross really already is fit like a glove for this type of thing. Jericho has done a variety of various things in entertainment and his natural humour comes shining through in something like this.

Before there was podcasts there was Radio and Live Audio Wrestling is a show that has lasted for over 15 years in one form or another on the airwaves in Canada. The days of just two hours of The Law on Radio late on a Sunday night are in the past. They still do that show currently on TSN 1050 in Toronto at 11-1 or if actual “Real” sports gets in the way 12-2am on Sundays.

However as part of The Fight network they have expanded to include a laundry list of podcasts that are just excellent wrestling content. Let’s see we have Review-a-Raw and Review-an-Impact which is pretty self explanatory. John Pollock and Wai Ting recap the goings on of a Raw Episode or Impact episode. Well they do but it also has a ton of side talk about a great many things including MMA to the hate of some but not myself. In fact I credit The Law for turning me around and making me a fan of MMA. It also is some just hilarious stuff that has nothing to do with wrestling at all.

John and Wai have a unique way of making a connection with their audience that allows me to feel like they are friends of mine even though I have never met either. I feel I have got to know them through all of the crazy stories that have nothing to do with wrestling. But they do eventual get to giving you a detailed rundown of Raw or Impact with great thoughts from both a business and fan prospective on the shows.  Than at the end they take feedback from fans via their law message board in which you hear what the audience has to say if they are able to write it in plan English which sometimes is a struggle for some.

Review-A-Wai is a show where the two review old mostly wrestling based shows be it PPVS or old episodes of Raw. But they have more than a few times stepped out of the box reviewing documentaries and all kinds of things you would never expect. It is by far the most fun show they produce on a weekly basis and really is an enjoyable history lesson or trip down memory lane depending on how old you are.

What’s NXT is the newest Law Podcast that features Law Host Jason Agnew and newest member of Law Family Braden Harrington. It is like Review-a- Raw and Impact a review of WWE NXT but. Like the Pollock and Ting shows though it dives into the personal lives of the co-hosts as well. It gets a lot more out there than the chatter between Wai and John but is amusing and entertaining in its own way. The format is pretty much the same with a recap of the show and some thoughts on the product and upcoming talents in the WWE Developmental Show. Also they have feedback on both NXT and their podcast which can be somewhat entertaining given Jason’s lack of patience for stupidity if it is reflected in the feedback. This is a much kinder and gentler version of the Agnew that we get in comparison to The Law.

What show has become my favourite though in the Bauer and Pollack show which they jokingly call the King and the Fish. This however is perhaps the least joking show of the lot with a lot of hard news on the wrestling industry and mixed martial arts. Court Bauer is a former member of the WWE creative team, he ran his own promotion called MLW and now hosts his own Podcast with former WCW Talent Konan and a wacky character known as MSL. Will get to that podcast in a minute. But Pollock and Bauer is a real good education for people that want to understand the business side of this sport. Bauer also currently is working with ROH Wrestling in some former of advisory role that he has never truly defined.

There are fun moments but for the most part this is hard hitting analysis of the world of wrestling in all promotions not just the WWE and TNA. It is really interesting to hear things from the insider prospective the Bauer brings to this program. It is something that I honestly can’t miss on a week to week basis. When the show went a brief hiatus I was concerned it may not return with Bauer’s new role in Ring of Honour but it has. In fact I respect Court some much he is one of the people I reached out too when starting this blog back up. I got his opinion on it and if I was wasting my time here by writing this blog. His feedback was fairly positive so that meant a lot for me to get inspired to keep this idea going.

MLW Radio the podcast the Bauer is a part of is without a doubt the most off the wall podcast I have listened too. It is mix of the strange and bizarre with a lot of pop culture to pro wrestling all mixed with some humour that may not be for everyone. It is however just a crazy fun laid back show that offers some great stories from the past from K-Dawg and Bauer. MLS is a somewhat strange guy that has also worked in the business. I can’t really explain him he has to be experienced.

The show has its own language to some extent with phrases and expressions that you will come to understand as you listen over time. They shoot the breeze about wrestling and a variety of pop culture based things and on some episodes have a guest that joins in and becomes part of the mix. It is somewhat like an interview but more like having a fourth person in the mix that becomes the focus on the conversation. At the end of MLW episode you likely have laughed and maybe even learned a thing or two about the wrestling business.

MLW like The Law has other shows but some of them are part of a VIP package that you have to pay 15 dollars/year to listen too. The other free show they have is with Jim Cornette who has been a fixture in the wrestling business for decades. I started off listening to this as well but fell off after I just had my fill of Jim Cornette. If you love Jim you get a ton of him on this podcast. I like Jim but at times get burned out on him and can only take so much. What had me jump off that train was his bashing of Kevin Steen who I really like as a performer. Kevin and Jim have had their very public differences about Jim’s time in ROH. I just had heard enough and stopped listening after that. Cornette has the people he likes and people he does not and that is painfully obvious in anything he does.  I can only take so much.

Between the Ropes is also like The Law a hub for a lot of great wrestling content. Brain Fritz and his crew do some excellent work with interviews and podcasts that are entertaining and informative stuff. Lots of news mixed with opinions done in a very professional way.  A weekly podcast summing up Raw and live google hangout show is provided on a weekly basis with some great interviews with people in the business on a regular basis.

If your into the Google + Hangouts Straight Shoot with Aubrey Sitterson is also world a look. He actually took a suggestion I had for a game I had called Push, Re-Package and Fire and has really run with it. He has a really great guest list of people that act as his co-host for re-caps of Raw and Preview and Reviews of PPVs.

Last but not least are Mike and Maria in Wonderland which is a podcast with former WWE Diva Maria and her soon to be husband and ROH Wrestler Mike Bennett. This show is my guilty pleasure wrestling podcast. It isn’t all about wrestling and goes into other areas of life like politics and pop culture. What it reminds me of is the old reality show newlyweds with Jessica Simpson and Nick whatever his name was.

Not saying that Maria comes off like Jessica in fact she is a pretty smart cookie and nothing like the somewhat ditsy lovable character. Mike Bennett was/is a guy that a lot of people disliked in wrestling. I am not sure why exactly. I have never had that opinion but listening to him on this podcast would change some minds I think. He comes off as a pretty cool guy and very genuine. He is not afraid to express his opinions on any topic from gun control in the U.S to the pro wrestling business.

It is not for everyone as I found out when I professed my love for it but for me it is a great fun hour to 90 minutes that flies by with lots of laughs and the zany out of control nature the show has a tendency to do. This show does not work with much of a format but if it did likely wouldn’t be as fun as it is.

So that about covers the gambit of what I am listening to on a regular basis. Not a pod cast but if you don’t watch Kevin Steen’s Weekend Escapades or Colt Cabana’s World’s Worst Promo with Marty DeRosa you’re also missing some things that are pretty amusing.




Who needs the WWE Network I got podcasts for days up here in Canada.

There is a sea of wrestling podcasts and I am thinking about jumping into that ocean with one of my own in the not to distant future. I hope it can be as entertaining and fun as the ones I enjoy on this list. The Internet Wrestling Channel Podcast is coming soon. Get it IWC which is a term that I think needs to be put in the trash.