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Watch Great Wrestling

WGW is an informal research project with little-to-no methodology seeking to answer the question "What makes a great wrestling match, and why?" We watch the best wrestling matches of all time, suggested by you, and then show them to our friends to see if they hold up!
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Now displaying: 2022
Dec 31, 2022

The retro TIA rewind rolls on and we're setting the dial on the wayback machine all the way to season 1 when we covered the classic matchup between Randy Savage and The Ultimate Warrior at WrestleMania VII. Don't forget the tissues, folks, that post-match angle is a doozy.

The show format was slightly different back then, but the love and enthusiasm for professional wrestling is as strong as ever.

Enjoy one of our favorite episodes from our first season of podcasting, 2016 vintage.

[Randy Savage vs The Ultimate Warrior, WrestleMania VII, March 24 1991]

Dec 29, 2022

CONTENT WARNING: The match discussed in this episode is highly graphic and should only be viewed by those comfortable with excessive blood and violence. Seriously.

The first episode of our TIA rewind series takes us back to season 6 and Big Japan Wrestling for a festive deathmatch that will test even the most hardened wrestling fan's limits. This is the Dangerous Christmas for Deathmatch Fluorescent Light Tubes Tree & Glass Plate & Alpha Deathmatch with Masashi Takeda taking on Masaya Takahashi.

Happy holidays from all your friends at Watch Great Wrestling!

[Masashi Takeda vs. Masaya Takahashi, BJW Death Vegas 2017, December 17 2017]

Dec 28, 2022

WATCH GREAT WRESTLING -- New wrapper, same flavor.

Watch Great Wrestling is a podcast from Los Angeles-based wrestling crew Muscle Temple.

Formerly known as This Is Awesome? WGW is an informal research project with little to no methodology.

Your hosts watch the best wrestling matches of all time, suggested by you, and share them with their friends.

Dec 13, 2022

While looking for a new pro wrestling autobiography to read, Chuck discovered that many of these books have forewards written by other pro wrestlers. Naturally, he made a game out of it.

Frank and Joaquin face off in this buzzer game that will test their skills in critical listening and wrestling minutiae. Who will be the ultimate winner? How many times will Chuck botch the reading? Listen and find out!

Dec 6, 2022

Inspired by Matthew J. McPherson's one shot role playing game Actual Cannibal Shia LaBeouf, Joaquin has crafted yet another one-session game of wrestling madness to confound Frank and Chuck. For this game, the duo is tasked with stepping into the shoes of beleaguered billionaire and owner/operator of All Elite Wrestling Tony Khan and picks up immediately following the media scrum of All out 2022.

Following the Gripe Bomb, will this booking team be able to escape the ghost of CM Punk? Or will the company fall victim to a Pepsi plunge in backstage morale?

Nov 21, 2022

All eyes fall upon the newest creative director of the WWE to see if he can set up the perfect main event for a WrestleMania taking place in the shadow of Hollywood, California. Will Paul be able to book Dwayne Johnson against his cousin Roman Reigns, or will he have to settle for an ascendant Three Star General to close out their biggest show of the year?

For this off-season game, Chuck and Frank assume the role of Papa H as they play a cooperative one sheet RPG that seeks to answer that very question. Inspired by the one sheet RPG Potato by Oliver Darkshire (@deathbybadger), Joaquin will serve as the game master who has crafted this very silly game.

Nov 7, 2022

This episode features your croix boys taking their very first dive into the Official WWE Encyclopedia of Sports Entertainment New Edition.

Joaquin has crafted a weirdly complicated points system that he definitely will be able to keep track of in this game that tests the knowledge of Frank and Chuck.

Will Frank once again best his opponent in this battle of wits, or will Chuck live the boyhood dream and actually win a game of trivia?

Oct 17, 2022

On this off-season episode Chuck challenges Joaquin, Frank and returning guest Geoffrey Golden (@geoffreygolden) to compete against one another in a classic TIA knockout game with a fresh twist.

This time, Chuck has culled a list of hundreds wrestling promotions. Half are real promotions found on Cagematch.net's exhaustive database -- the other half are completely made up. Which of our three players can successfully navigate Chuck's mind games and emerge victorious?

Oct 11, 2022

Welcome to episode 3 of Watching the Underground! The internet’s only podcast binging, recapping and annotating AwesomenessTV's The Underground.

Your hosts are the boys of This is Awesome? - Joaquin, Frank and Chuck.

In this episode we are discussing The Underground episodes 10-13. Covering the final episodes of the season, we watch three blow off matches: a raucous triple threat, a traditional tag match, and a wild tornado ladder match for control of The Underground!

Find every episode of The Underground HERE to follow along.

Sep 20, 2022

Welcome to episode 2 of Watching the Underground! The internet’s only podcast binging, recapping and annotating AwesomenessTV's The Underground.

Your hosts are the boys of This is Awesome? - Joaquin, Frank and Chuck.

In this episode we are discussing The Underground episodes 5-9. Covering Act 2 of the season, the drama picks up almost as much as the match quality, and the players move around the board as we build toward a brother vs brother clash that will change the Underground forever.

Find every episode of The Underground HERE to follow along.

Let us know what you think of the series on twitter @TIAPOD or at thisisawesomepod@gmail.com

Sep 14, 2022

Welcome to episode 1 of Watching the Underground! The internet’s only podcast binging, recapping and annotating AwesomenessTV's The Underground.

Your hosts are the boys of This is Awesome? - Joaquin, Frank and Chuck.

In this episode we are discussing The Underground episodes 1-4. Covering Act 1 of the season, we learn about the origins of the show, the basic premise of the series, and meet all of the colorful characters vying for control of the Underground.

Find every episode of The Underground HERE to follow along.

Let us know what you think of the series on twitter @TIAPOD or at thisisawesomepod@gmail.com

 

Aug 30, 2022

Another off-season episode ahead of the premiere of season 10 of the program.

First, Joaquin delights his co-hosts with details of his enlightening lucha libre adventure with his tag team partner.

THEN, its show and tell time in the Muscle Temple as Chuck introduces the boys to the wonderful world of Manor Pro Wrestling -- the ONLY pro wrestling dinner theater show.

If you or anyone you know has attended a Manor Pro Wrestling show PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE hit us up @TIAPOD on twitter.

May 2, 2022

It is the off-season again, so that means it is time for more silly games and nonsense talk. Joaquin kicks things off by hosting a fresh round of Muscle Temple Jeopardy. It's just like normal Jeopardy, but just about wrestling!

Joining Frank and Chuck to play the game is a very special guest: Geoffrey Golden (@geoffreygolden)

Apr 18, 2022

Season 9 mercifully reaches its end with another classic finale episode! As is tradition, your croix boys have gathered 'round the microphone to get to the business of tying up loose ends. 

This season produced FOUR tie scores derived from our *patent pending* STAR Rating system. Votes will be cast and matches will either slide up or down the big board of match rankings. 

ALSO, each host will present their "big idea" from the season - and Frank will gush about Dabba-Kato.

See you in the off-season!

Apr 5, 2022

Put that cigarette out!

The longest TIA season of all time creeps ever closer to the its end with (predictably) the longest TIA episode of all time. 

With the World's Heavyweight Title held in abeyance, WWF President Jack Tunney has decided that the only way to determine the next champion is via the greatest gimmick match in the history of wrestling, the Royal Rumble.

They say to be the man you have to beat the man. But for one night in January of 1992, you had to beat 29.

As promised many years ago, we are joined by the first person in TIA history to ever hand out a ZERO during their STAR Ratings session: Mikey McManus!

[The 1992 Royal Rumble,  WWF, January 19 1992]

Mar 21, 2022

Crank up the AC, pour yourself a cold beverage, and maybe wear something that breathes because you've found yourself smack dab in the middle of a Heat Wave 1998. 

We're checking out a standout match from that show that features the odd couple tag team champions, RVD and Sabu, defending their titles against the "Japanese Contingent" from FMW, Hayabusa and Jinsei Shinsaki. 

Will our champions be able to get along long enough to retain their belts? Will the amount of cargo shorts in the crowd be higher than the number of shirtless men? Will Bill Alfonso ever stop with that damn whistle? Well you'll have to listen to find out!

Special thanks to one of our favorite guests, the returning Ana Espinoza!

[Rob Van Dam and Sabu vs Hayabusa and Jinsei Shinzaki, ECW Heat Wave 1998, August 2 1998]

Mar 7, 2022

Our "long" hiatus has finally ended!

(I mean, sure it was a long time but its not like it was a whole year or anything, jeez. This show is free! Get all up off my back about it.)

We return to Lucha Underground to have a look at the bloody, brutal, fire-filled Cero Miedo match that sees the arm-breaking Pentagon Jr challenging a thurible-toting Vampiro. Will Dasha's daddy be able to turn the clock back and rise to the challenge of the man looking to please his Master? Or will Ian Hodgkinson become yet another victim to the dark luchador?

Also, who the heck is this Master fella and what's his deal? You have to assume that's going to resolve up at some point, right?

Joining your croix boys to break down all the action and apply the (patent pending) STAR Rating system is Joel Bednarz!

[Pentagon Jr vs Vampiro, Season 1 Episode 39 "Ultimate Lucha 1" August 5 2015]

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