It is night 4 of the 23rd G1 Climax. 5th match on the card.
In one corner: The Stone Pitbull. The other: The Wrestler. Each man with a reputation. Each man with something to prove.
This instant classic only lasts 12:17 seconds bell to bell, but when it's over you'd think these men had wrestled for an hour.
8 years later, does the shortest match to to ever earn five stars from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter still hold up? Or does it come up...er, short?
Huge thanks to our guest Nico Bartoli! (Nothing Box)
[Tomohiro Ishii vs Katsuyori Shibata, NJPW G1 Climax 23 Night 4, August 4 2013]
Frank, Chuck and Joaquin (yes, Joaquin is back on WTE once again) break down all of the action from this year's Double or Nothing PPV. Did AEW deliver a solid four hours of wrestling action or did the show fizzle out like so many botched exploding rings?
Come for the takes, stay for the references to the classic 2009 Michael C. Hall and Gerard Butler vehicle "Gamer"
Send in your feedback @TIAPOD on twitter or at thisisawesomepod@gmail.com
Open the forbidden door! It's an inter-promotional dream match!
Christian, perennial WWE glass-ceiling cleaner, will attempt to reclaim the World Championship that was taken from him by the tattooed blue chipper Randall Orton. Will Christian finally be able to win the big one (via pinfall)? Or will he easy into his pending Goto-status like a warm bath?
Joining your wrestle-boys on today's episode to help apply some soft science is Ryan Lapine!
[Randy Orton vs Christian, WWE Over the Limit 2011, May 22 2011]
Another exciting edition of the TIA vamping series - this time Frank and Chuck sit down and run through the entire AEW Blood and Guts card from May 5, 2021.
Your boys are talking the highs and lows of the entire evening - the lit live crowd, a manic Miro promo, gratuitous amounts of crimson, a laconic opening tag match AND MORE.
Oh and somebody fell off of a cage. You may or may not have been whelmed. Enjoy the show!
Let us know what you think of Blood and Guts @TIAPOD on twitter.
Check out everything TIA at thisisawesomepod.com
Back to the impact zone we go - this time to watch the exciting conclusion to what many have argued is the greatest "best of" series in tag team wrestling. It's best 2 out of 3 falls to put a cap on a best of five series for the belts.
On one side, the beer-guzzling, wet-haired roughnecks known as Beer Money, Inc. - former champions and current challengers looking to cement their legacy by proving that their opponents' title win was as fluke.
And on the other, The Motor City Machine Guns - proudly rocking incredibly early-aughts haircuts and attire, who are looking to prove that they have truly arrived as the top team in TNA -- by retaining their Championships via an undisputed victory in this final match in the series against their heated rivals.
Joining the panel this time to break down the action is returning friend of the show Jason Gibbs!
[Beer Money, Inc vs The Motor City Machine Guns, TNA Impact!: The Whole F'n Show, August 12 2010
A very special episode of Watching the Elite - Frank and Chuck happened to watch BOTH nights of WrestleMania 2021 and decided to have a chat about it. Done in the format usually applied to all things AEW, your boys go through each match, discuss the highs and lows of a (mostly) solid two nights of action and get into the nitty gritty of everyone's favor part of this year's mania: the weather-related vamping!
Forged in the furnace that was the CHIKARA gauntlet, Sara Del Rey vs Kana (now Asuka) will now be put through the STAR rating grinder. Despite missing both a third rope and a hot program to raise the stakes, these two supremely talented wrestlers put on a match that CHIKARA proudly points to as it's first all-female main event.
But despite all of that, can the match overcome some particularly indie-rific atmosphere as well as the inherent challenges in being what amounts to an exhibition match to be counted among the greatest of all time? Listen and find out!
Joining the regular team of pseudo-scientists in the lab for this episode is Alex Keller!
[Sara Del Rey vs Kana, CHIKARA Klunk in Love, October 8 2011]
It's the return of the Gauntlet episode! For the season 9 edition your intrepid hosts are sifting through FIVE audience suggested matches from the now-defunct promotion: Chikara.
Joaquin, Chuck and Frank watch and discuss each match, putting them into a weighted ranking with the match that comes out on top becoming the subject for the next episode of TIA!
The Matches entering the gauntlet are:
1. Chris Hero vs Mike Quackenbush, Aniversario?, May 26 2007
2. Claudio Castagnoli vs Brodie Lee, Style and Substance, September 7 2008
3. Bryan Danielson & Claudio Castagnoli vs. Mike Quackenbush & Jigsaw, Hiding in Plain Sight, September 13 2009
4. Madison Eagles vs. Daizee Haze, Chaos In The Sea Of Lost Souls, January 23 2011
5. Sara Del Rey vs Kana, Klunk in Love, October 8 2011
We could open an In n Out with this many potatoes!
This episode, for AJW's prestigious Red Belt, comes with a pretty big content warning. Despite there being zero thumbtacks and not an an inch of barb-wire there is still a significant amount the juice - so word of warning for our listeners who choose to become viewers.
Aja Kong, the Ace of AJW defends against the stoic Yumiko Hotta in a classic Joshi clash that can be summed up with a single inspired word: Violent.
Assisting in applying soft science to this fake fight is Ryan Saucier who joins the prestigious TIA three-timers club.
[Aja Kong vs Yumiko Hotta, AJW Ota Ward Champion Legend, January 24 1994]
The journey through season 9 begins with yet another first for TIA as we examine one of the most compelling matches in the short but remarkable history of WWE United Kingdom Championship matches.
Part promo for NXT UK, part mid card show-stealing performance, this contest between Pete Dunne and Tyler Bate was an instant classic in 2017. But has this matchup aged like a fine wine, or like a warm English-style Bitter (unless those also get better with age? In which case...the opposite)?
We are joined in the virtual studio by the incomparable Kahlief Adams! (@kahjahkins @spawnonme)
[Pete Dunne vs Tyler Bate, NXT TakeOver: Chicago, May 20 2017]
It's the final off-season episode before we fire up season 9 and Joaquin has donned his blazer, mustache and game-master cap as he hosts TIA's first ever edition of Pro Wrestling Jeopardy! It's just like normal Jeopardy!, only all the questions are about wrestling and consumption of croix is highly encouraged.
Joining Chuck and Frank as players this week is Muscle Temple alum Jimmy Chang! (@Jimmythechang)
On this week's episode, Joaquin, Frank and Chuck don their WTE thinking caps and get to the business of Talkin' Bout AEW. Your boys look back at the year that was 2020 for the upstart promotion and then speculate on what is yet to come.
Discussion points involve building new stars, the state of the women's division and what each title picture looks like in 2021.
What the buck are we watching?
It's the final part of our two part series! We've dusted off the old Watching the Elite format to take a look at an artifact from the late aughts - the final five episodes of YBTV.
Your boys binge, recap. and annotate the rest of the youtube channel before throwing a good old fashioned Superlatives party.
What the buck are we watching?
For this off-season episode, we're dusting off the old Watching the Elite format and taking a look at an artifact from the late aughts - the first five episodes of YBTV.
Made by your favorite christian boys from Rancho Cucamonga all the way back in 2008, this primordial version of Being the Elite makes for a strange viewing experience.
Stay tuned for part 2 of this mini-binge where we will watch the remaining 5 episodes.
As we get closer to the go-home portion of 2020, it's important to take a moment and celebrate the many holidays that greet us warmly in December. It is with that spirit that your TIA boys celebrate Festivus, the holiday for the rest of us.
The tradition of Festivus begins with the Airing of Grievances! Joaquin, Chuck and Frank got a lot of (wrestling-related) problems with you people! Now, you're gonna hear about it!
Let us know your wrestling Grievances @TIAPOD on twitter or hit us up at thisisawesomepod@gmail.com
And smash that 5-star button on iTunes!
On this week's off-season offering, your boys are back in listicle mode as they gather together once again in the virtual studio to rank each and every Smackdown theme, starting all the way back with the original 1999 classic (you may know it better now as the Botchamania! Theme).
Will the Brothers of Entrance theme destruction ride together again? Will Joaquin continue to stick to his nonsensical SLAP rating system? Will Frank somehow win an off-season episode that isn't actually a game?
Find everything ALL RISE related HERE
Don't forget to check out everything TIA at thisisawesomepod.com and send us match suggestions for season 9 via twitter @TIAPOD or by getting us at thisisawesomepod@gmail.com
What is All Wheels Wrestling?
The first thing that comes up when googled is:
"All Wheels Wrestling was a professional wrestling & racing hybrid unsold television pilot, which was filmed for the Speed Network on June 29, 2011 at the IMPACT Zone in Universal Studios, Orlando, Florida."
But it's oh so much more than that! On this off-season offering Frank, Chuck and Joaquin are joined by Producer Tom and Nate Bulmer to discuss all things AWW.
PLEASE WATCH this for free on Vimeo by clicking HERE
Nate Bulmer is @natemorebikes
Find everything ALL RISE related HERE
This week, your boys are once again welcoming a special guest onto the program and inviting her to compete in a brand new game from the dark, twisted mind of one Joaquin Poblete.
Introducing the "TIA Feud" game! Which is definitely inspired by (and, for lawsuit reasons, officially classified as a parody of) the classic gameshow Family Feud!
In this week's off-season offering, we're definitely Talkin' Bout Hell in a Cell matches, but two out of three hosts vetoed further use of that naming structure. So we're calling it a roundtable!
Joaquin, Frank and Chuck have a good old fashioned chat about all things Hell in a Cell (the match, not the Pay Per View) and try to drill into the genre to determine what makes a great Cell match, and why.
The off-season ROLLS ON as your boys clash in yet another battle of wits. This time, Gamesmaster Joaquin has pulled recipes from the "Can You Take the Heat? The WWF is Cooking!" cookbook, published all the way back in the year 2000. You may be able to smell what they're cooking, but can you determine which wrestler is responsible for each recipe?
Also, in an effort to stop Frank's legendary championship run, Joaquin has brought in a mystery guest RINGER to play along!
If you can, please check out Chef AC Boral's Fundraiser HERE
gofundme.com/bebotwontstop
The off-season kicks off with the 4th edition of everybody's favorite wrestling trivia game based off of a forgotten network daytime gameshow: King of the Thing.
But what's that? Russo swerve! Joaquin has taken over hosting duties so that Chuck can try his best to win the game that he created! Rounding out the field of players is returning champion Frank and returning Muscle Temple member Nate Bulmer!
(@natemorebikes on insta)
Find everything TIA @ thisisaweseomepod.com and on twitter @TIAPO
Season 8 comes to a raging climax with some always-exciting STAR Ratings housekeeping.
Joined by original Muscle Temple member Nathan Bulmer! Tie scores will be broken and big thoughts will be had. How many different quotes did Joaquin prepare for the show? And what does any of this have to do with Dr. John Becker?
**This Audio Is Pulled From the Twitch Stream Originally Broadcast on 9/19/20**
The Unofficial AEW Dynamite Post Show (Dynamite Air Date: 09/16/20)
Originally a podcast binging, recapping, and annotating YouTube’s favorite pro wrestling show Being the Elite, the scope of WTE has now grown to cover every aspect of All Elite Wrestling.
Streaming live on Twitch (most weeks) after AEW Dynamite, your boys break down all of the action and discuss all things Elite in your wrestling world.
Also keep an eye out for special preview and recap shows for all of AEWs major cards.
Join us at twitch.tv/beckyandfrank LIVE after every AEW and let us know what you think!
6/3/1994 - All Japan Pro Wrestling - Mitsuharu Misawa vs Toshiaki Kawada
In the early days of the IWC, this match was considered by many to be the greatest of all time. A high point in the stellar years-long run of early 90s All Japan Pro Wrestling. Two of the four pillars of heaven clashing in the ring for the vaunted Triple Crown Title.
What more can be said about this King's Road classic? Apparently quite a bit because this episode is a hair under two hours long.
Joining the team this week to apply the STAR Rating system is Jon Sung! (Flavor.country)
[Mitsuharu Misawa vs Toshiaki Kawada, AJPW Super Power Series 1994, June 3 1994]
For the fifth time inside of the six-sided ring, Samoa Joe and Kurt Angle will square off. But this time, Joe isn't just fighting for Angle's TNA World Heavyweight Championship - he's fighting for his career! And to put a hat on that hat, both men have been training in mixed martial arts.
Also Karen Angle is there.
To help break down this MMA-infused matchup is returning guest Kurt Kroeber!
[Kurt Angle vs Samoa Joe, TNA Lockdown 2008, April 13 2008]