Gorilla Position – Episode 42
Hosts: James Delow and Rob Leigh
Date: October 22, 2015
DIRECT LINK TO LISTEN/DOWNLOAD
Recap By Tania Leong
Top News Items
– Raw Review: James and Rob thought that Steve Austin, Shawn Michaels, and Ric Flair were mis-used during Raw and their segments were done without purpose. They thought that some of the bookings on the show were questionable and it was strange that the challenger for the World Heavyweight Championship was not featured at all.
– Hell in a Cell Preview: Both seemed a little underwhelmed by the upcoming PPV. They predicted the same winners for each match except for the main event. They also thought that the build up around the matches were lackluster.
– NXT News: Rob reported that Apollo Crews won the battle royal to become the number one contender for the NXT Championship, but expects Samoa Joe to be added to the title mix. He also said that it would be interesting to see how Nia Jax will be booked and whether her body size would even be a factor.
Topics Discussed (with time stamps)
Introduction – 0.00. Introduction by James Delow
James said that although it was nice to see the likes of The Undertaker, Brock Lesnar, and Steve Austin on Raw, it was not the injection of energy that the show needed and ‘nothing of note’ happened. He also said that people on Twitter were fairly negative even before the show. He could see that although the ‘legends’ were happy to be there, none will ever return to the ring, and that there were no correlation between the legends and what they actually did on the show, e.g. ‘why did Ric Flair introduce Roman Reigns?’ – 00.35
James said that he is planning to have a live episode of the podcast, which will take place at the end of the year during the NXT U.K. Tour. He asked fans of the show to email him if they are interested in attending the live show and to celebrate the successful launch of Gorilla Position in January. If interested, email him at info@jdscoop82.net – 04.04
Raw Review and HIAC Preview – 08.33
James thought that Steve Austin’s inclusion in the show was last-minute, as Austin himself had said throughout the week that he won’t be part of the show, and WWE had changed his inclusion as guest on the show as well.
Both thought that although the podcast with Lesnar was good it didn’t offer a lot of substance. Rob said that Brock is known to be ‘impenetrable’ and it was ‘pedestrian.’ James didn’t realise that Lesnar wasn’t a life long pro-wrestling fan despite his amateur background. Rob liked the comments Lesnar made about The Rock and being selfish.
James thought that the legends were not used properly, for example Austin was only used to promote the podcast and introduce The Undertaker, and that there should have been more interaction between the two as they have a ‘storied history.’
Both thought that Undertaker and Lesnar should have closed the show, but it seemed like the WWE were ‘top-loading’ the show.
They thought that New Day are still very good and the table break was ‘one of the best since the Dudleys came back.’ With regards to the HIAC, both predict that the New Day would win but if they don’t win, either Big E. or Xavier Woods would answer the U.S. Title Open Challenge. James thinks that the New Day should have ‘all the gold,’ that being the Tag Team Championship and the U.S. Championship.
James questioned when was the last time there was a mystery challenger for a title. Rob cited the match between Honky Tonk Man and Ultimate Warrior at Summerslam 1989 is an example. Both speculated who John Cena’s mystery opponent could be.
James questioned whether Randy Orton’s injury was legitimate or not. Rob said that it was reported that Orton has a shoulder injury. Also, both thought it was strange that Luke Harper being missing was not mentioned on the show. Rob rubbished the rumours that Harper was being punished for a picture posted on Chris Jericho’s social media accounts.
Rob thinks although Nikki Bella looked strong, she won’t win at HIAC and James agreed.
From his previous interviews with Renee Young, James said that she is often frustrated with the way the shows are directed and that she is just a human mic stand. But during the promo with Paige, it was as if they were trying to bring in some of Renee’s personality. Both thought that this promo was very good.
James said that his favourite part of the HBK segment was him eating the kid’s pizza, and Rob joked that it was probably HBK’s favourite, too. Neither actually understood the purpose of this segment. James was shocked that Rollins ‘won a match’ against Ryback.
Both thought that the six-man tag match (Cesaro/Dolph Ziggler/Neville vs. Sheamus/Rusev/Wade Barrett) was a complete mess – it ‘fell apart.’ James thought that it these six shouldn’t be on the HIAC pre-show, which Rob thinks that ‘Rusev would eat a loss.. Rob clarified that the Lana and Rusev engagement pictures were given to TMZ and that there may be legitimate ‘beef’ between Lana and Rusev, and WWE.
James thought that Ric Flair’s appearance on Raw was ‘the most useless’ because he just talked briefly about WrestleMania 32 in Dallas and introduced Reigns. Rob thinks that Reigns should turn heel and should not be talking, as it is not his strength.
James said that there were ‘so many holes’ in the show and it was shown in the backstage segment with HBK and The Authority. He thought that it was strange that Rollins would just agree to be partners with Dean Ambrose and Reigns. Rob thinks that this the beginning of the build to the Shield Triple Threat match at WrestleMania 32. James asked whether people would want this, and Rob said that the crowd cheers when all three are in the ring together and the crowd forgets that they don’t like Reigns.
James criticised the lack of character development for Charlotte because he is more ‘invested’ in Nikki’s character and thinks that she is a more interesting champion.
Both enjoyed the Kevin Owens vs. Mark Henry match and the positioning of Owens on the show. James has enjoyed Owens’s matches lately and may have become a ‘special attraction’ on Raw. At HIAC, both think that Owens would retain the IC Title.
Rob thought that Rollins should have left the match after the stare down between the former Shield and the Wyatts, to saver the inevitable Shield reunion. James didn’t like that Kane was not featured on the PPV lead-in show. Both think that Rollins is retaining the title at HIAC.
At HIAC, Rob thinks that Reigns will win and the match will have a lot of shenanigans and interference. James questioned why Bray Wyatt is not booked to look strong despite him be portrayed as a monster.
Rob predicts that Undertaker will win the match whilst James thinks that Lesnar will win and thinks that he will be around in the build up towards the Royal Rumble and WrestleMania so it would make sense for Lesnar to win here. Rob questioned James’s actual interest in this match, and James said if there is a strong match then the build up will be forgotten, just like the Triple H vs. Undertaker match at WrestleMania 28.
NXT News – 66.15
Rob reported that Apollo Crews won the Battle Royal to be the number one contender for the NXT Championship, but expected Samoa Joe to be inserted in the title hunt.
Rob discussed the debut of Nia Jax and was happy that no one mentioned her body size. He said that it would a real Divas revolution if a women wrestler with ‘her body shape and it to not be an issue.’ Rob also said that she has potential as she has a ‘different aurora’ about her.
Rob thought it was interesting the WWE.com featured a poll about potential NXT stars from EVOLVE, and questioned whether an NXT vs. EVOLVE storyline is in the future. But thought the chances of that actually happening is small.
Competition time – 71.32. This week, a chance to win one of three copies of ‘Sting: Into the Light’ on Blu-Ray. To win, retweet the DVD cover art from James’s Twitter account. Entrants must be over 18 and reside in the U.K.
The competition closes at midnight GMT on Tuesday, October 27.
Score & Review
7 out 10: Overall, this episode was enjoyable and the layout of the show flowed really well. I liked how James and Rob incorporated the HIAC match predictions in with the Raw review, rather than separating review and preview, which would have been repetitive.
I agree that the inclusion of Austin, Flair, and HBK didn’t add much substance to Raw because WWE did not fully utilise each properly. It seemed like these three were used to simply boost the ratings. Although the New Day are one of highlights of Raw each week, I disagree that they should be given another title, essentially be given The Shield treatment. I think that the two factions are very different with the New Day being more of a comedy act and the Shield was made to look strong and dominant since their debut. Therefore it makes a lot more sense to put the U.S. Championship and the Tag Team Championship on the Shield.
I agree that the backstage promo with Paige and Renee Young was very good and that it was a throwback to the days where the backstage interviewer was more than a human mic stand, but was used to continue the storyline. WWE should do this type of backstage promo more often.
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