WRITTEN PODCAST RECAP: Cheap Heat – “The Best and The Worst” on Rich Swann’s arrest, where the Daniel Bryan/Shane McMahon storyline might be headed, special appearance by Sam Roberts

Cheap Heat with Peter Rosenberg

Episode: The Best and the Worst

Aired: December 14, 2017

Recap By: Joshua Michlowitz

DIRECT LINK TO LISTEN/DOWNLOAD

The show begins with a 30 second sponsored advertisement, as most of the Cheap Heat shows have been beginning with as of late.

As the actual show and the introductions begin, Peter Rosenberg states that the show is the number one rated sports and recreation podcast on the fraudulent iTunes Charts for the second week in a row because they are the best sports and recreation podcast in the world. (Their words, not mine) Stat Guy Greg (referenced as SGG here on out) says they aren’t the best in the world, but the Universal Champions of the podcasts.

After the banter and introductions, the show moves into discussing the angle on New Japan Pro Wrestling between Chris Jericho and Kenny Omega. Rosenberg mentions that although Jericho and himself have had some animosity between each other, he’s still a fan and Jericho can still go in the ring. He goes to state that you can see Jericho still cares about the wrestling and the story that’s told inside the ring. He says he will watch the match, but he doesn’t know if he’ll be awake for it when it airs. SGG says if there wasn’t hype for the match and Wrestle Kingdom 12 before, there sure is now. This segment only lasts a couple of minutes and doesn’t dive into to much detail other than that.

The show moves on into the “Outside of the Ring” segment. The first topic the guys discuss is Rich Swan’s arrest for battery and kidnapping that took place over the weekend. They discuss how unfortunate it is considering his talent. They discuss how it’s a weird story but interesting that it happened. Rosenberg goes on to talk about how Wade Keller spoke of Rich Swan’s gimmick on his podcast and how big of a dork he is and terrible it is. Rosenberg finds it funny that Keller will say that because something he isn’t is not a nerd and not goofy.

They talk about Rich Swan’s wife being an independent wrestler and being singed briefly in 2010. This segues into relationship advice/talk from the guys. I recommend listening to this part. The guys talk about the mixed tag team tournament that WWE is going to host on Facebook, where guys and women from the roster team up. They discuss how interesting the tournament will be considering how well past tournaments have been. SGG then wishes Rosenberg, Alexa Bliss and other Jewish Wrestling personalities a Happy Hanukkah. Rosenberg then sends Alexa Bliss a voice note where he wishes her a happy Hanukkah for the first time since she’s known of being Jewish and he sings a Jewish song and the regrets sending it later.

Rosenberg begins by talking about how refreshing it was to see Cesaro in a meaningful singles match on Monday Night Raw. He mentions that since he’s been in tag team action for so long in WWE that you forget how good he is in the ring by himself. SSG concurs this statement. They talk about how awesome Cesaro’s European Uppercut is and how it can even be effective on big guys.

The second thing Rosenberg brings up is Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn. Rosenberg says the best part of the segment was Owens and Zayn were walking up the ramp and Zayn was flailing his shirt up and down real quick. They talk about how great it is to see and great babyface become a good heel. They mention how they all knew that Kevin Owens could go back and forth even though he struggles as a face since he’s so good as a heel.

This leads into “Good things of the week” segment. Rosenberg does some bad singing for the intro.

Number one is Jason Jordon. He says it’s still happening. It’s real heat that Jordon is getting because he’s annoying and entitled because Kurt Angle is his father.

They discuss how even though the motivation of the character is baby face, there is a nuance to the character because of the heel tendencies.

They speculate how the Universal title match might be a triple threat match between Braun, Kane and Lesnar. They mention that it’s fortunate this is taking place at the Rumble where the show doesn’t rely on a title match to draw.

Rosenberg thinks that even though people believe Reigns vs. Lesnar at WrestleMania is a forgone conclusion, he doesn’t believe that’s the case. He thinks this is the year of The Shield Triple Threat. SGG asks what would the stakes be and that they can’t just do it for pride. It needs stakes, not necessarily the Universal Title but it could be the Intercontinental Championship as the catalyst for their break up.

Rosenberg goes on to discuss a kayfabe only violation. The violation stemming from the fact that the stipulation for Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn’s match at Clash of Champions is if they lose they are fired from all of WWE, but Zayn is advertised for the Mixed Tag Tournament on January 16th.

SGG defends it by the fact that all WWE cards are subject to change which Rosenberg compares SGG to being like Kellyanne Conway for the second week in a row.

They begin to debate what is the fallout from the Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon storyline. They wonder if something physical, big or small, will happen with Bryan this weekend. SGG believes Bryan will turn tweener and knee Shane in the head and then count the fall. They discuss how it could go down if it happens.

Peter Rosenberg then manages to get Sam Roberts on the phone to get his insight into the Daniel Bryan and Shane Match.

Sam discusses how the build up makes sense if you look back to Survivor Series where the build didnt make sense, but does now. He believes that Bryan turning heel is a red herring and that Shane will turn heel and probably side with Kevin Owens and Zayn out of nowhere. They mention how it’s the main storyline on Smackdown at this point.

Roberts doesn’t believe that Bryan will do anything physical in the ring. He thinks the most we will get anytime soon. Is maybe a six man tag match at Rumble. If he does come back for a singles match with Shane, it won’t be until WrestleMania.

It goes back to SGG and they discuss the conversation that Rosenberg had with Sam Roberts. Rosenberg thinks that Sam was very wise and insightful in his opinion that we won’t see anything physical from Daniel Bryan this weekend because it would be so meaningful that WWE would want to save it for WrestleMania. He also mentions that he agrees with Sam in the fact Shane is the one that is changing more than Daniel is and that Shane is becoming more like a McMahon in  that he’s power hungry and erratic. Rosenberg reiterates it’s the top storyline on Smackdown.

They discuss how Randy Orton and Shinsuke Nakamura are afterthoughts on the show. Randy’s place on the card has become to show up, hit an RKO and make people look good. Rosenberg commends Orton for accepting the veteran role and being in good spirits about it without an ego whereas Orton would get in trouble in the past for his ego and attitude.

SGG counters that the downside is Orton doesn’t get any meaningful matches.

Rosenberg asks a question for the Cheap Heat Universe as the good question of the week. The question being what is a meaningful story that Orton could still have.

SGG says that the story could be between Orton and A.J. Styles.

Rosenberg doesn’t hate SGG’s pitch, but then he asks if Orton deserves one more big marquee win and how a perfectly timed RKO would look on Braun Strowman. He then adds that he doesn’t see a plus in doing that to Braun.

This leads into the guys to list the top 5 all time meaningful finishers.

Rosenberg List (No particular order)

  1. Hogan’s Leg Drop
  2. Undertaker’s Tombstone
  3. Randy Orton’s RKO
  4. Brock Lesnar’s F-5
  5. Jake Roberts’ DDT

The guys then lead into this weeks Black Power Rankings

Honorable Mention: Shelton Benjamin

  1. The WWE Championship because it seems to have been redesigned to be more black.
  2. Cedrick Alexander because of his match with Drew Gulak to become Number one Contender for The Cruiserweight Championship.
  3. Jason Jordan because of his evolution on Monday Night Raw.

After the Black Power Rankings, the guys discuss the women’s division on both shows. SGG says the bright spots are that Asuka is still undefeated. Rosenberg says in terms of storylines, it’s all over the place. They discuss how they aren’t crazy about the name for Absolution and how they don’t like the Ring Gear for Riott Squad.

On the Smackdown side, they discuss how the Women’s Championship isn’t even important in the feud between Charolette and Natalya. They go into frustration and fantasy booking with the Women’s money in the bank briefcase.

As the show wraps up, they run through predictions for Clash of Champions

Zack Ryder vs. Mojo Rawly

Both predict Mojo

Bludgeon Brothers vs. Breezango

Both predict Bludgeon Brothers

Baron Corbin vs. Bobby Roode vs. Dolph Ziggler for the United States Championship.

SGG Predicts: Baron Corbin

Rosenberg Predicts: Corbin

Charolette vs Natalya in a Lumberjack match for the Championship

Both predict Charolette

Usos vs. Gable and Jordon vs. Rusev Day

Rosenberg predicts Uso Brothers

SGG Predicts Gable and Jordon

Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn vs. Randy Orton and Shinsuke Nakamura with Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon as Guest Referee

Both Predict Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn

A.J. Styles vs Jinder Mahal for the WWE Championship

Rosenberg Predicts A.J. Styles

SGG Predicts Jinder Mahal because Jinder is 5-0 in Championship matches on Pay-Per-View.

That wraps up this weeks Cheap Heat with Peter Rosenberg.

Rating: 7 out of 10

Even though I personally enjoy the banter between Peter Rosenberg and Stat Guy Greg, I do feel they get off topic to much and banter about stuff unrelated to the topic. Their wrestling talk is insightful and can be taken from the perspective of two wrestling fans talking about wrestling. I’d recommend checking out the show if you haven’t already.

About the Writer:

Joshua is from a small town in Texas and grew up a wrestling fan. You can follow him on Twitter @MichlowitzJ

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