Wednesday PWTorch Livecast with Pat McNeill – Christmas Eve Eve Spectacular
Special Guests: Former WCW wrestler Lodi & former WWE wrestler JTG
Aired Live: December 23, 2015
DIRECT LINK TO LISTEN/DOWNLOAD
Recap by Dominic DeAngelo
SUBJECTS COVERED
– Concussions in wrestling
– Differences between late WCW and 2010 WWE
– Christmas Tales
TIME STAMPS OF MATCH COVERAGE
(2:08) Pat McNeill intro
(3:30) Lodi intro
(4:25) JTG intro
(5:20) Shad Gaspard & Stephanie
(7:50) What matches did JTG watch from the WWE archives?
(13:45) Eve Torres & Nitro Girls stories
(15:45) Was someone else dressed in “The Crow” gimmick before Sting?
(17:15) JTG’s WWE Magazine story
(19:15) Are the Slammys fixed?
(24:45) What’s the guys wildest Christmas experience?
(31:28) Any locker room heat for The Radicals after jumping to WWF?
(33:50) Favorite Christmas movies?
(35:20) Has the curtain been pulled back too far with wrestlers on Twitter?
(38:30) Concussion testing in WWE & WCW
(44:35) Raven’s WCW departure
(45:50) Was Goldberg a stiff and sloppy worker?
(49:00) Is there heat between John Cena and Alex Riley?
(52:15) How do wrestlers feel about the Royal Rumble?
(53:25) No more PPV bonuses but pay increases?
(56:50) Favorite matches for 2015?
SHOW HIGHLIGHTS
– Pat gets accused of not doing research from Lodi since he mistakenly called JTG a former tag team champion.
– Shad called Stephanie McMahon “baby” once and Lodi never called that out to Eric Bischoff. Eric was always in Hogan’s locker room, not catering.
– JTG would watch a lot of Chris Benoit matches when he was in OVW. He recalls watching his Japan matches against Tiger Mask (as Pegasus Kid). He also watched a good deal of Bret Hart. What matches did Lodi watch? He also watched Benoit Japan matches (against Owen Hart). His first match on TV was actually against Benoit. He remembers Raven would have him make a list and then they’d call Rob Feinsten to send them VHS tapes.
– No Eve Torres stories from JTG. Shad had a crush on her, but since she was engaged to a Gracie brother it was hands off! Lodi adds that the Nitro Girls overall kept their nose pretty clean. Not too many non-PG stories to share.
– Was someone else dressed in “The Crow” gimmick before Sting? Lodi says the story sounds familiar, but he can’t recall.
– JTG accidentally used Cena’s catchphrase in a WWE Magazine interview once, but you’ll have to read his book to hear what the repercussions were!
– JTG says the Slammys were definitely fixed. He remembers John Morrison & The Miz being told that they won. He also thinks that New Day should have won best tag team.
– What’s the guys wildest Christmas experience? Lodi lived in a beach house where Dawson’s Creek was filmed. He had a crush on Katie Holmes so he’d try to find her at the gym, but they never connected. Then one Christmas he gets on a plane to work a DDP benefit. He sees Katie Holmes on the plane and goes to introduce himself but he gets tongue-twisted. She knew him as “the wrestler” and they end up talking for about 15 minutes.
– JTG’s Christmas story: one year he hung out at Armando Estrada’s house. He didn’t realize Estrada was super hammered and he was almost killed by him on the drive from the bar.
– Pat gets a text from Armando wanting JTG to tell the story of the time he had his sister trick him into thinking he was on the million dollar Tough Enough. This makes JTG forget that it’s a PG show. Armando had his sister call him and had him going for a whole week until she caved due to JTG’s genuine excitement. He hasn’t gotten him back yet, but he has plans for him in his second book.
– Any locker room heat for The Radicals after jumping to WWF? No locker room heat, but he’s sure that the office wasn’t too pleased. Does JTG remember any controversial WWE departures? Not with the locker room, JTG says.
– Favorite Christmas movies? JTG: “Bad Santa” and “Home Alone.” Lodi: “Christmas Vacation” and his daughter likes “Elf.” Pat likes “White Christmas” and “A Christmas Story.”
– Has the curtain been pulled back too far with wrestlers on Twitter? Lodi thinks interacting with fans on Twitter is part of the territory nowadays. 20 years ago social media wasn’t even a thing, this is all kind of new. It’s just another aspect to the job really.
– JTG says that WWE was very alert about concussions during his tenure there. If a referee had any indication they’d make you take a concussion test, which is a long tedious process. He got lightheaded once in MSG, took the test and didn’t pass it. Lodi is glad that they are like that today, he’s been diagnosed with 14 over his career.Once you have them, you’re more susceptible to have one. It was all about not missing a show. He remembers Booker T stopping his Harlem Hangover move because it kept giving guys concussions. Lodi once stayed back with Perry Saturn due to a concussion he suffered and even made a sign referencing Booker saying “Beware Of The Compton Concussion” (Booker didn’t like that). You kept concussions quiet back then because they were making money and they were having fun. This all changed when ratings went downhill.
– The doctor that Will Smith portrays in “Concussion,” Dr. Omalu, visited the Raw locker room when they were in Pittsburgh.
SCORE & REVIEW
A Perfect 10: Despite being late on this holiday recap, I found the Christmas Eve Eve Spectacular to to be just that. Seasons greetings were indeed had, but really this episode can be considered timeless due to it’s guests and content. You’d be hard-pressed to pick a more random of pairing than JTG (in his Livecast debut) and Lodi as a podcast duo, but both really added to Pat’s special, especially since they are from two different eras.
Both were on their best story sharing game. Lodi had his great Raven WCW departure yarn and JTG had more than a few nuggets, one in particular dealing with John Cena’s relationship with Alex Riley. They also talked concussions and Pat helped to cultivate the strong contrast between JTG’s time in WWE compared to Lodi’s time in WCW, and how much that landscape has changed. Overall a must listen – JTG’s non-PG slip-up is an added “lol” moment for all you dirty mouths.
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