TIA Off-Season - WWE Youtube Rabbit Hole & Armageddon Stats

CREDIT: WWE.COM

Simply Ravishing! On this week's pod, your boys kick off a new off-season with a brief trip down a WWE youtube rabbit hole.

THEN, Chuck challenges Tom and Joaquin to square off in a game that's all about WWE's former December PPV mainstay: Armageddon. Grab your favorite flavor of La Croix and try to play along with the boys.

Listen on iTunes (iOS) / Listen on Google Play (Android) / Listen on Stitcher

Download direct or listen in your browser below:

Audio Block

Double-click here to upload or link to a .mp3. Learn more

S5E11: Season 5 Finale w/Dario Barrera

Once again, your boys have reached the end of the season and face the off-season shenanigans ahead. But before the silliness can start, there's some housekeeping to do.

On this week's episode, Joaquin, Frank, Chuck and Producer Tom are joined by friend of the pod and muscle temple member Dario Barrera (from our WrestleMania Dispatch series) - they'll break some STAR Rating tied scores, talk about our big takeaways for the season, and even get a classic Joaquin quote or two.

Listen on iTunes (iOS) / Listen on Google Play (Android) / Listen on Stitcher

Download direct or listen in your browser below:

Watching the Elite - TIA Crossover Extravaganza!

Joaquin is joined by a very special, and particularly handsome, guest (who also has access to editing episode descriptions) who's never seen Being the Elite! Join us as Joaquin recaps the series so far and then gives a grand announcement at the end of the show!

It’s Being the Elite in 60 minutes or less or your money back!

Listen on iTunes (iOS) / Listen on Google Play (Android) / Listen on Stitcher

Download direct or listen in your browser below:

S5E10: John Cena VS Rob Van Dam w/Adam Vaughn

CREDIT: WWE NETWORK

For the last match of the season, your boys once again return to the (in)famous Hammerstein Ballroom, which just so happens to be filled to capacity with a molten hot and decidedly one-sided crowd. WWE World Heavyweight Champion John Cena enters the proverbial lion's den to defend his crown against arguably ECW's biggest star, Mr. Money in the Bank himself, Rob Van Dam.

Chants, signs, shirts, chairs, stairs. And one extremely problematic segment that unfortunately needs to be discussed. Welcome to One Night Stand 2006.

Joining the crew this week is actor, writer and director Adam Vaughn! (@adamgvaughn https://www.facebook.com/normalavenue/ )

Listen on iTunes (iOS) / Listen on Google Play (Android) / Listen on Stitcher

Download direct or listen in your browser below:

S5E9: Tiger Mask I vs Dynamite Kid w/Gemma Paolo

The big match has finally arrived!

Frank, Joaquin and Chuck are joined by Digital Producer for Conan Gemma Paolo as they watch Tiger Mask square off against Dynamite Kid. The match that earned the first ever five star rating from Dave Meltzer. Sit back, relax, and join us as we breakdown the match that changed the very idea of what wrestling could be.

Listen on iTunes (iOS) / Listen on Google Play (Android) / Listen on Stitcher

Download direct or listen in your browser below:

S5E8.5: Tiger Mask I vs Dynamite Kid Series Review

CREDIT: YOUTUBE

In a prelude to episode 9 of TIA coming next week, your boys are once again stealing Buzzfeed's gimmick and putting together a listicle.

Frank, Joaquin and Chuck have each watched the seven times the original Tiger Mask locked up with the Dynamite Kid — from Satoru Sayama's debut as the legendary masked fighter, all the way to the match that earned the first ever five star rating from Dave Meltzer.

Each contest will be discussed in chronological order and ranked. In the end, we will have charted the course of this legendary series and will have the definitive TIA Tiger Mask vs Dynamite Kid ranking.

The seven matches are:

Match 1 - April 23, 1981 - NJPW

Match 2 - January 1, 1982 - NJPW

Match 3 - January 1, 9182 - NJPW

Match 4 - July 23, 1982 - NJPW

Match 5 - August 5, 1982 - NJPW

Match 6 - August 30, 1982 - WWF

Match 7 - April 21, 1983 - NJPW

Listen on iTunes (iOS) / Listen on Google Play (Android) / Listen on Stitcher

Download direct or listen in your browser below:

S5E8: Meiko Satomura vs Kairi Hojo w/Marly Halpern-Graser

CREDIT: STARDOM WORLD

Yo-ho, yo-ho a pirate's life for me! Kairi Hojo is in this match so that means we are contractually obligated to make a certain number of references to swashbuckling and general marauding. 

This week, we're setting sail toward World Wonder Ring Stardom to see the Pirate Princess Kairi Hojo defend her World of Stardom championship against the living legend Meiko Satomura. Will the local buccaneer be able to defend her treasure from the veteran scallawag?

Swinging onto the deck this week (see what I mean) is the producer of Thundercats Roar and Yabba-Dabba Dinosaurs! That's right, it must be Marly Halpern-Graser's music!

Listen on iTunes (iOS) / Listen on Google Play (Android) / Listen on Stitcher

Download direct or listen in your browser below:

S5E7: The Midnight Express vs The Southern Boys w/Jeff Lee

CREDIT: WWE NETWORK

Mullets on both sides of the ring. White Guy Karate. Jim Cornette insulting fans while waving a tennis racket wildly in the air. We must be in the early 90s. This week your boys have a look at a highly touted mid-card match-up between The Midnight Express and the Southern Boys.

The Boys are on a bit of a hot streak heading into this title match and it raises some questions: Can the crafty veterans manage to overcome their wild-eyed challengers? Will Beautiful Bobby's hair manage to stay attached to his head? Is someone going to tell Smothers and Armstrong that their ring gear is NOT COOL?

Joining the fun this week is the founder of Rough Draft Games and one of the hosts of the Roll And Move Podcast: Jeff Lee! (@roughdraftgames)

Listen on iTunes (iOS) / Listen on Google Play (Android) / Listen on Stitcher

Download direct or listen in your browser below:

S5E6: Combat Toyoda vs Megumi Kudo w/Jason Gibbs

CREDIT: YOUTUBE

In the film "The Five Obstructions" directors Lars von Trier and Jørgen Leth explore the idea that obstacles (or obstructions) can often open up new avenues for artistic expression.

It is with this in mind that Combat Toyoda and Megumi Kudo enter the ring in a No Ropes Exploding Barbed-Wire Deathmatch to lower the curtain on Toyoda's career. As the match progresses we begin to see that it's the things the women can't do because of their in-ring restrictions that make this into one of the truly great entries in the Deathmatch genre.

Your boys are joined by Jason Gibbs, making his second appearance on the show, who will help break down all the action in the match.

Listen on iTunes (iOS) / Listen on Google Play (Android) / Listen on Stitcher

Download direct or listen in your browser below:

S5E5.5: Death Match Gauntlet Deathstravaganza 2018

Warning - the matches discussed in this episode are not for the squeamish or the faint of heart. This week Joaquin, Frank and Chuck once again leave the safe confines of mainstream American wrestling and enter the death match gauntlet!

Your boys have watched six death matches (suggested by listeners) and will discuss and power rank each one. In the end, the match that takes the top spot will be the subject of next weeks' TIA episode.

The matches discussed are the following:

Cactus Jack vs W*ING Kanemura - FMW 7th Anniversary Show

Megumi Kudo vs Combat Toyoda - FMW 7th Anniversary Show

Jun Kasai vs Ryuji Ito - Big Japan Pro-Wrestling 11/20/2009

Sami Callihan vs Danny Havoc - CZW Cage of Death XI

Vampiro vs Pentagon Jr - Lucha Underground S1E39

Masashi Takeda vs Masaya Takahashi - BJW Death Vegas 2017

Listen on iTunes (iOS) / Listen on Google Play (Android) / Listen on Stitcher

Download direct or listen in your browser below: