PWTORCH LIVECAST WEDNESDAY with Pat McNeill
GUEST: JOEL GERTNER (former ECW announcer/manager)
AIRED AUGUST 26, 2015
DIRECT LINK TO STREAM OR DOWNLOAD EPISODE
(AD-FREE VIP VERSION which includes VIP AFTERSHOW)
Report by Joel Tesch, PWPodcast reporter
(Note: Besides covering the very latest podcasts, PWPodcasts.com will feature summaries and reports on past podcasts, primarily those featuring interviews, including past episodes of the PWTorch Livecast, Steve Austin Show, and more.)
TOP ITEMS
-Joel Gertner joins Pat to answer listener and reader questions. Gertner touches on his time as manager of the Dudley Boyz in ECW, as well as offers his opinions and analysis on current issues such as Summerslam, NXT, Sting’s prospects and Tough Enough.
-Review of big Brooklyn wrestling weekend around SummerSlam: WWE just completed an impressive 3 day sell out in Brooklyn, NC for NXT Takeover, Summerslam and RAW. Pat and Gertner discuss what this tells us about current business trends and overall effect on the industry.
-VIP Aftershow w/ James Caldwell: James and Pat discuss current events as well as upcoming live event and house show lineups.
TOPICS DISCUSSED (with time stamps)
-Introduction – 1:18
-Joel Gertner “in character” self-introduction: 1:26
-Gertner interview begins: 2:30
-Gertner talks about his new podcast: 4:59
-Live Call-in Q/A Begins: 7:43
-Discussion on business indicators of Summerslam, NXT Takeover, ROH in Brooklyn the same weekend: 14:45
-Tough Enough results review: 25:25
-WWE Divas division discussion 31:10
-Discussion of the Dudley Boyz: 38:00
-Analysis of past Extreme Rising shows and aftermath: 48:20
-Conversation re: Sting and current title prospects: 55:15
-Interview Concludes: 1:13:45
-VIP Aftershow with Pat & James Caldwell Begins: 1:14:30
-TV Ratings & Trends discussion: 1:15:30
-“5 Things That James Might Not Know” : 1:23:32
-“Live Event Center” : 1:29:20
HIGHLIGHTS
Gertner jokes about not getting any more access to Wade (a recurring gag throughout)
Gertner’s new podcast is called “The 69 Minute Eargasm”
Pat liked the “curtain call” moment the NXT women had on Saturday’s Takeover special in Brooklyn, especially considering members of the Kliq were in the audience.
Gertner started with ECW when he turned 20, and finished his last year of college at the same time.
He liked both NXT Takeover and Summerslam, but gave a slight edge to Takeover for the “novelty edge”; thinks it shows they can take the Takeover quarterly shows on the road w/ WWE events and sell tickets.
He thought it was a good indicator for the business that both ROH and NXT could sell significant tickets the same night.
In regards to Tough Enough, Gertner said there is no “who SHOULD have won” element due to the audience voting element; pointed out that winning or losing Tough Enough historically has not correlated to industry success or failure.
He said it’s great that there are so many types of wrestling and events out there (likened it to having all the different colors of paint you need on a palette).
Gertner reflected on his time managing the Dudley Boyz in ECW: they got the crowd involved, they were such a different act. Said he’d enjoy another run managing them. The current WWE run is just the next step in their journey.
He said even though the Dudleyz would antagonize and rile up the crowd, he never actually worried for his own safety.
Despite Bubba’s successful singles run in TNA, Pat believes WWE will likely keep the Dudley Boyz as a tag team.
In regards to Extreme Rising, Gertner said if you want “your business to survive, let alone thrive, you need to conduct business appropriately, govern yourself accordingly and comport yourself well.” He said Extreme Rising had enough elements to establish a regular territory, but things just didn’t work out.
He thinks a short Sting title run could work, because of all the history he brings and content WWE could use. Pat agreed they could make it work, but doesn’t think they’re going to.
Pat thinks Global Force will end up being portrayed as a faction on Impact, but ultimately it will remain a TNA show.
Gertner, when asked who he would like to see Jushin Liger wrestle today in WWE, suggested that anyone would probably work. Pat said any of the top guys, as long as they make it a big deal.
Gertner gave a final plug to his new “69 Minute Eargasm” podcast and his various social media activities.
James & Pat discussed declining ratings for RAW, Smackdown, Total Divas and Tough Enough. James said the only way Tough Enough can come back is with changes and bringing back Stone Cold. WWE seems to have “no juice” to bring ratings, even with “big” shows.
SCORE & REVIEW
6 out of 10: An enjoyable interview. Pat and Gertner meshed well and their discussion and interplay was smooth. Gertner had some funny moments, including introducing himself “in character” and his ongoing gag about no longer being considered important enough to be interviewed by Wade Keller. Gertner was game for any questions the audience submitted. However, he often went with generic answers or non-answers (ex. when asked who he would most like to see Jushin Liger face in WWE, he answered “anybody”; when asked who he thought should have won Tough Enough, he answered it’s not about that because of the audience voting. Both of those are examples of questions where the listeners would like to hear his opinion, not the technically “right” answer), which is preventing me from rating this particular show more highly. Pat tended to offer more insight and analysis in the current event questions. That said, it was an overall entertaining and informative show with some funny moments and good discussion on current events.
DIRECT LINK TO STREAM OR DOWNLOAD EPISODE
(AD-FREE VIP VERSION which includes VIP AFTERSHOW)
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