Watching The 'E' - WrestleMania 2021 Nights 1 & 2

CREDIT: WWE

A very special episode of Watching the Elite - Frank and Chuck happened to watch BOTH nights of WrestleMania 2021 and decided to have a chat about it. Done in the format usually applied to all things AEW, your boys go through each match, discuss the highs and lows of a (mostly) solid two nights of action and get into the nitty gritty of everyone's favor part of this year's mania: the weather-related vamping!

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S9E3: Sara Del Rey vs Kana w/Alex Keller

CREDIT: CHIKARALIVE YOUTUBE CHANNEL

Forged in the furnace that was the CHIKARA gauntlet, Sara Del Rey vs Kana (now Asuka) will now be put through the STAR rating grinder. Despite missing both a third rope and a hot program to raise the stakes, these two supremely talented wrestlers put on a match that CHIKARA proudly points to as it's first all-female main event.

But despite all of that, can the match overcome some particularly indie-rific atmosphere as well as the inherent challenges in being what amounts to an exhibition match to be counted among the greatest of all time? Listen and find out!

Joining the regular team of pseudo-scientists in the lab for this episode is Alex Keller!

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S9E2.5: The Chikara Gauntlet

CREDIT: CHIKARAOFFICE YOUTUBE

It's the return of the Gauntlet episode! For the season 9 edition your intrepid hosts are sifting through FIVE audience suggested matches from the now-defunct promotion: Chikara.

Joaquin, Chuck and Frank watch and discuss each match, putting them into a weighted ranking with the match that comes out on top becoming the subject for the next episode of TIA!

The Matches entering the gauntlet are:

1. Chris Hero vs Mike Quackenbush, Aniversario?, May 26 2007

2. Claudio Castagnoli vs Brodie Lee, Style and Substance, September 7 2008

3. Bryan Danielson & Claudio Castagnoli vs. Mike Quackenbush & Jigsaw, Hiding in Plain Sight, September 13 2009

4. Madison Eagles vs. Daizee Haze, Chaos In The Sea Of Lost Souls, January 23 2011

5. Sara Del Rey vs Kana, Klunk in Love, October 8 2011

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S9E02 - Aja Kong vs Yumiko Hotta w/Ryan Saucier

CREDIT: YOUTUBE.COM

We could open an In n Out with this many potatoes! 

This episode, for AJW's prestigious Red Belt, comes with a pretty big content warning. Despite there being zero thumbtacks and not an an inch of barb-wire there is still a significant amount the juice - so word of warning for our listeners who choose to become viewers.

Aja Kong, the Ace of AJW defends against the stoic Yumiko Hotta in a classic Joshi clash that can be summed up with a single inspired word: Violent. 

Assisting in applying soft science to this fake fight is Ryan Saucier who joins the prestigious TIA three-timers club.

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S9E01: Pete Dunne vs Tyler Bate w/Kahlief Adams

CREDIT: WWE.COM

The journey through season 9 begins with yet another first for TIA as we examine one of the most compelling matches in the short but remarkable history of WWE United Kingdom Championship matches.

Part promo for NXT UK, part mid card show-stealing performance, this contest between Pete Dunne and Tyler Bate was an instant classic in 2017. But has this matchup aged like a fine wine, or like a warm English-style Bitter (unless those also get better with age? In which case...the opposite)?

We are joined in the virtual studio by the incomparable Kahlief Adams! (@kahjahkins @spawnonme)

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TIA Off-Season - Jeopardy! But Just Wrestling

CREDIT: WIKIPEDIA.ORG

On this week's episode, Joaquin, Frank and Chuck don their WTE thinking caps and get to the business of Talkin' Bout AEW. Your boys look back at the year that was 2020 for the upstart promotion and then speculate on what is yet to come.

Discussion points involve building new stars, the state of the women's division and what each title picture looks like in 2021.

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TIA Off-Season - AEW Roundtable, Looking Back and Speculating on the Future

CREDIT: WIKIPEDIA.ORG

On this week's episode, Joaquin, Frank and Chuck don their WTE thinking caps and get to the business of Talkin' Bout AEW. Your boys look back at the year that was 2020 for the upstart promotion and then speculate on what is yet to come.

Discussion points involve building new stars, the state of the women's division and what each title picture looks like in 2021.

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TIA Off-Season - Watching YBTV Part 2

CREDIT: YOUTUBE.COM

What the buck are we watching?

It's the final part of our two part series! We've dusted off the old Watching the Elite format to take a look at an artifact from the late aughts - the final five episodes of YBTV.

Your boys binge, recap. and annotate the rest of the youtube channel before throwing a good old fashioned Superlatives party.

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TIA Off-Season - Watching Young Bucks TV Part 1

CREDIT: YOUTUBE.COM

What the buck are we watching?

For this off-season episode, we're dusting off the old Watching the Elite format and taking a look at an artifact from the late aughts - the first five episodes of YBTV.

Made by your favorite christian boys from Rancho Cucamonga all the way back in 2008, this primordial version of Being the Elite makes for a strange viewing experience. 

Stay tuned for part 2 of this mini-binge where we will watch the remaining 5 episodes.

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TIA Off-Season - A Festivus Airing of Grievances

CREDIT: PEOPLE

As we get closer to the go-home portion of 2020, it's important to take a moment and celebrate the many holidays that greet us warmly in December. It is with that spirit that your TIA boys celebrate Festivus, the holiday for the rest of us.

The tradition of Festivus begins with the Airing of Grievances! Joaquin, Chuck and Frank got a lot of (wrestling-related) problems with you people! Now, you're gonna hear about it!

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