Back Through The Ropes

We're back from a much needed break and we're catching up on everything that we missed.  On the WWE side we're talking about RAW Underground, what the hell even is Retribution, the return of Roman Reigns, and their return to doing actual storytelling.  In the world of AEW we're talking what happened last night at All Out, the great storytelling they have been doing, and our excitement about them working with NWA!  

This week we're back with a talk about the long career of one half of one of the best tag teams in wrestling history: Matt Hardy!  We take a look over his feuds, gimmicks, ups and downs, and the tremendous influence he had on the industry including the innovation of the cinematic wrestling match.   In the news we discuss all the recent Impact signings, WWE 2nd quarter profits, some new writers for WWE, and a the huge amount of new wrestling action figures that were recently announced.  Also, instead of a flashback match this week we are unboxing Mattel Elite 77 "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt!

After the last few research heavy episodes, we sit down to just talk about what's going on in wrestling, including WWE's new US title belt design, Adam Cole vs Kieth Lee, where we think the wrestlers WWE released in April are going to end up after their contracts are up, and plenty more In the news we talk about rumors of WWE having another all female PPV, how WWE and AEW continue to hand covid-19, and crowds returning to NJPW. In our flashback match we take a look at fantastic match between Owen Hart and Jushin Thunder Liger from April 28 1991. NOTE: We are trying a new recording setup and there are some bugs that need to be worked out.  Thank you for your patience!  We really enjoyed recording this relaxed episode and we hope you enjoy it to and see it through regardless of some of the issues we had.

We conclude our look at ECW with a look at what happened after the company folded and was purchased by WWE. The wasted potential of the invasion angle, the incredible One Night Stand PPV's, and for the first time either of us really take a look at what WWE ECW was all about. Also in the news, we talk about how covid has effected WWE and AEW this week, an update on #speakingout, and two women are leaving their companies but for two very different reasons.

So enough of the doom and gloom of the current world, lets travel back in time to a better time.  One might call it a simpler time.  A time where men drank beer in the ring, attempted to murder their opponents by throwing them off of scaffolding, and didn’t know the meaning of CTE. Today we’re talking about the good old days of ECW!

Since our last episode, the season finale of Dark Side of the Ring has aired, and it has gotten the wrestling world talking about the life and untimely death of Owen Hart.  We have been wanting to talk about the classic feud between Bret and Own for a long time, so this was the perfect time to dig into it! We also do a quick recap of AEW Double or Nothing.  In the news we talk about a resigning at WWE, how WWE has recently changed their production, and the untimely deaths of Shad Gaspard and Hana Kimura

Today we're taking a look at cinematic and pre-taped matches.  They are currently on the rise with WWE having to use them more and more with current climate in the world, but they're hardly a new thing, even for WWE.  We're talking a look back at the history of them and what you can even define as a cinematic match as opposed to just a pre-tape. In the news we discuss a legend leaving, a former WWE champion getting arrested, Drew Gulak has left the company, and The Man is having a baby!  We also have a quick talk about what happened at WWE Money in the Bank 2020, and look ahead to AEW Double or Nothing.

Things are pretty quiet currently in the world of professional wrestling, so this week week we're going back and taking a look at a trilogy of matches. The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin had three legendary matches spanning Wrestlemania XV, X7, and XIX and we're going to break them down, compare them, and talk about why we think they worked so well. In the news we have more releases, a couple of injuries, Velveteen Dream had some photos leaked, and are AEW and WWE going to be able to have small audiences soon?

Wrestlemania 36 has come and gone, and Danny and Two-Bit are have alot to say about it.  We run through the card match by match and talk about what we think worked and what didn't, and how we feel about the pre-taped cinematic matches. Also, in the news: Rhonda Rousey has been throwing around the 'F' word,  WWE is an essential service in Florida, but after a wave of firings apparently alot of the employees aren't quite essential enough 

We're back and trying something new to get an episode out to you. We're talking about how WWE and AEW are dealing with the covid-19 crisis. What we've been watching during our quarantines, and what you should be checking out, and discussing some new Mattel Elite figures that were announced this week. For the first time, we're recording remotely because of all the craziness that's happening in the world.  There's an audio issue or two that we need to work out, so we thank you for your patience while we sort this all out.

In this short bonus episode, we take a few minutes to open a bizarre toy Danny picked up at his local comic shop: S.T.O.M.P. Series 3 Sable.  Decked out in full space dominatrix gear, the guys try to answer the question of what parent would actually buy this for their kid?

AEW Revolution has come and gone, and what a show it was.  We sit down and talk about all the matches that went down at the show, and the fallout in the episodes following! We also talk about all the empty arena show WWE has done and will be doing, the state of the road to Wrestlemania, and the status of both Hardy brothers.  Also in our flashback match we take a look back at Chris Jericho vs Shawn Michaels at No Mercy 2008

Coming at you with a bonus episode! After we wrapped up last week, we left the mics on and had a short chat about what was going in AEW (Two-Bit was very excited to talk about the cage match and that moonsault).  With Revolution going down tonight we thought this was the perfect time to drop something like this. We'll be back next week with a full episode and recap of AEW: Revolution!

This week we're taking about one of the exciting wrestling shows to start up in the last year, NWA Powerrr!  It is has a old but new feeling, and it's not like any other wrestling show out there right.  Their studio setup is different, they have a  diverse and talented roster, and best of all it's free to watch on Youtube! In the news we talk about an injury, a title change, the status of a major backstage personality, and some fun announcements from New York Toy Fair 2020.  We start a new Road to Wrestlemania segment this week, talking briefly about the build to Super Showdown and Elimination Chamber, what is happening with a few of the feuds, and what kind of ladder match we would like to see at 'Mania.  Lastly, for our flashback match this week we take a look at AJ Styles vs Christopher Daniels vs Samoa Joe for the TNA X-Division Championship at Unbreakable 2005.

The last time the boys sat down to talk, the Royal Rumble PPV was just about to go live.  Today they're going over what happened at this years Rumble, the fallout, and what how the road to Wrestlemania is shaping up.  What do they think of the under card matches, the Rumble winners, and just how high did Danny jump off his couch when Edge made his return?  You'll have to listen to find out. In the news they go over some recent suspensions, new performance center acquisitions, a returning championship title, and the debut of the new XFL.  This week instead of a flashback match, they're doing a short movie review on the Jack Black wrestling comedy Nacho Libre (2006).

This week the boys are sitting down to talk about championship title belts; which are their favourites, what they think of the recent changes that have been made to the main roster WWE belts, and do they even mean anything anymore?  In their discussion on what they think is pro-wrestling's most important championship, Danny goes down a rabbit hole trying to make sense of the lineage of the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship, and tries a little too hard to make sense of wrestling history. We go over some recent news stories including a follow up on the situation surrounding Tessa Blanchard, a possible Royal Rumble entrant, Marty Scurll's status in ROH, and the passing of Hall of Famer Rocky Johnson.  Also, for our flashback match of the week, we take a look at the Royal Rumble match from 2003.

We're back!  After a hiatus over the holidays we're back to talk about the the year that was the wresting world in 2019.  We talk about our favourite and not so favourite matches, wrestlers, tag teams, and moments.  What made the cut, and what didn't? We go over some recent news stories including Brock Lesnar's Royal Rumble plans, some returns to WWE, and a controversy surrounding Tessa Blanchard and the Impact World Title.  Also, for our flashback match of the week, we take a look at CM Punk vs John Cena at Money in the Bank 2011.

AEW Full Gear may be in the rear view mirror, but Danny and Two-Bit haven't given their opinion on it yet.  They go through the match card and talk about what they thought about AEW's first PPV since getting on TV, and what their favorite matches of the night were.  Survivor Series 2019 is just around the corner, so they give their thoughts on the upcoming big four PPV. The boys also talk about CM Punk's return to WWE, an injury in NXT, more problems for WWE2K, and with the theme of Survivor Series take a look back at the debut of the Undertaker at Survivor Series 1990 in this weeks flashback match.

We had a whole different show planned this week until Friday when a nightmare situation for WWE performers and crew in Saudi Arabia resulted in one of the best episodes of Smackdown we've seen in a while.  What happened in Saudi Arabia?  No one seems to really know for sure but with WWE producers scrambling, the NXT invasion of Smackdown now has us both excited to see how the road to Survivor Series goes.  Turns out something good can come from these Saudi shows after all. This week we introduced what will become a regular segment going forward: Flashback Match of the Week!  For our first match, and with Halloween having been this week, we took a look at Rey Mysterio Jr.  vs Eddie Guerrero for the WCW Cruiserweight Championship at Halloween Havoc '97. We also talked about the Jordan Myles T-Shirt controversy, Natalya and Lacey Evans' match at Crown Jewel, quickly go over this weeks AEW Dynamite, and are confused how WWE2K20 could even have been released with the bugs it has.  

It's been a few weeks and a lot has changed.  Smackdown is on Fox.  WWE had the draft.  AEW Dynamite has a few episodes under it's belt, and is knocking it out of the park.  What was Hell in a Cell and why did it happen? Why is Tyson Fury on my TV?  The boys sit down and talk about all this and more!

We're back!  Last episode was our one year anniversary so we're calling this our season premier! (If WWE can suddenly have season premiers, why can't we?) Alot has changed in in the last month. Two WWE pay-per-views; AEW All Out and the upcoming premier of AEW: Dynamite; NXT moved to the USA network; Impact finally has stability and is moving to AXS.  It's a great time to be a wrestling fan, and the boys have tons to talk about!

It's our first anniversary so we're doing something a little bit different.  This week we have a special guest: Danny's brother Nick.  The last time Nick was a fan of wrestling Jake the Snake, Randy Savage, Junkyard Dog, and Hulk Hogan were the big names.  We sit down with him to watch a couple classic matches (and a couple not so classic), see what he thinks of them, and play a few rounds of Name-that-wrestler. Normally we try to keep our language in check, but this episode has more than our normal amount of profanity, so listener discretion is advised.

It's time for the second biggest WWE PPV of the year, and according to them, the biggest party of the summer.  Danny and Two-Bit run down the Summerslam card and talk predictions. They also discuss some video game news, AEW's women's battle royal at All Out, and answer a Q&A question from the facebook page!

The boys are going back in time once again and doing a review of Summerslam 2004.  This was the last time Summerslam was held in Toronto.  This was before John Cena became the icon that he is today, JBL was still champion, and Randy Orton was trying to capture his first world title.  Even with a couple controversial matches with crazy storylines, this still managed to be solid PPV.   We also quickly talk about the announcement of AEW's on TNT in October, thoughts on the G1, Extreme Rules, RAW Reunion, and the return of Bray Wyatt as the fiend!

We're back after a little break and playing catch up with what is going on currently in WWE.  Has the product improved since our last episode?  What are our predictions for Extreme Rules? We also give our thoughts on how we think AEW is doing after their third show.

On the last episode, we were talking about all the positive things we could find in wrestling.  The power of positivity was strong with us!  While it's still a great time to be a wrestling fan, things have not gotten any better for the WWE main roster shows.  Whether it's the quality of the writing, the misuse of talent, or that two old men went into a ring in 100 degree heat and concussed each other, quality is at the lowest point it has been in a while and Danny and Two-Bit need some time to rant about.  But there is light at the end of the tunnel.  AEW Fyter Fest is on the way!... and Impact TV has been alot of fun lately!   See, there are some good things happening out there!

We're back after a break, and there's lots to catch up on.  The boys talk about AEW Double or Nothing, NXT Takeover XXV , and about what they think is positive about what is happening on the WWE main roster (yes there's a lot of negatives things happening, but lets try and be constructive....I know it's difficult lately)

Two-Bit makes his highly anticipated return, and there's alot to catch up on.  The boys talk the WWE superstar shakup and wildcard rule, make some predictions about Money in the Bank, talk about what's happening with AEW and Impact, and question who really wants to see Goldberg in the ring again?

Hey Back Through the Ropes listeners, it's been a while.  We've had some scheduling conflicts so we couldn't get an episode produced in a few weeks, and we've been fighting off a nasty Post-Wrestlemania Hangover.  But Danny's back with a wrap up of the last few weeks events, thoughts on 'Mania, the superstar shakeup, and what things look like going into Money in the Bank.  Also he gives his thoughts on the announcement of Cody's opponent for Double or Nothing, and some plans for the podcast going forward!

The end of the Road to Wrestlemania is in sight.  With that comes the triumphant return of special guest host Khanida!  She's back helping Danny with some Wrestlemania predictions.  They run through the card together, give their thoughts on each match, and who they want to win and who they think will actually come out on top.

We continue to roll down the road to Wrestlemania! After going over the the build up to it on Raw and Smackdown this week, Danny takes a detour to look at some old Wrestlemania matches.  10 random matches from 10 random Wrestlemanias!   These are all matches that Danny has never watched before, and he gives his thoughts about each one.  Bret vs Owen! Hogan vs Warrior! HHH vs Daniel Bryan!.......and the Battle of the Billionaires (it was random ok?  They could't all be gems) And as a bonus, Danny bought some new wrestling action figures this week and you get to hear all about them!

In any good tag team, every once in a while one of the members needs to take a short break from action leaving the other member to try his hand at singles action. Two-Bit's taking a brief break from the podcast during a busy work season, so Danny's going solo today talking about what's been happening on the Road to Wrestlemania!

Hollywood recasts characters all the time, but what about in the world of wrestling?  After all, these are also just characters being played by a performer.  Can someone else take over an iconic character and run with it? Danny and Two-Bit return with a new Fast count, taking a look at the mess that was Fake Diesel and Fake Razor.  

Longtime listeners(or even short-time listeners) will know that Danny and Two-Bit love factions in wrestling!  Today the boys sit down to talk about what it is they love about them, a little history behind the concept of factions, who their favorites are, and which ones make them scratch their heads. To start off the show they also have a recap of Elimination Chamber 2019

It's been awhile since the Danny and Two-Bit have gone back through the ropes and looked at classic pay-per-view.  This week they're taking a look back at King of the Ring 1993!  It was the first PPV King of the Ring tournament filled with matches that are both classic and infamous featuring Bret Hart, Mr. Perfect, Razor Ramon, Lex Luger, Tatanka, Bam Bam Bigelow, and Hulk Hogan's last PPV appearance before leaving to WCW. This was also the first major PPV to air that was not one of the big 4 WWE/WWF pay-per- view.  While filled with classic characters, this show was really about Bret Hart and his career being taken to the next level. They guys also have a talk about AEW news, and make some predictions about the Elimination Chamber 2019!

Danny and Two-Bit are back shooting smack!  It's only one month into 2019 and a lot has already happened in the world of professional wrestling.  The boys sit down to talk All Elite Wrestling news, the Royal Rumble and its fallout from this week on Raw and Smackdown, the new additions to Danny's toy collection, and the awesome time they had at a WWE house show this weekend.

Today they boys are talking about kayfabe, the belief that what the actions that are happening in a wrestling ring are real and not staged.  Alot of people say that because the business is as exposed as it is these days that kayfabe is dead.  Danny and Two-Bit sit down to talk talk about whether it's dead or still alive and well.  

We're at the beginning of the road to Wrestlemania!  The first stop is this Sunday at the Royal Rumble.  Danny and Two-Bit were planning a history of the Royal Rumble and prediction episode this weekend, but unfortunately Two-Bit was stuck at home sick and is now relaxing in fabulous Las Vegas for the week.  Stepping in for him is our special guest host, Danny's fiance, Khanida.  They're going to break down the card match by match, and give their predictions for who comes out on top.  Will it be The Man Seth Rollins?  Or will it be The Man Becky Lynch?

This week on Fast Count we're taking a look at Glacier! What was it about the WCW wrestler that didn't work out? Was it the poorly timed debut? Was it that he was a blatant rip off of Sub Zero from Mortal Kombat? Who knows.

Happy new year!  It's our first recording session of the year and a lot has happened since we last spoke.  New Japan Pro Wrestling had their biggest event of the year with Wrestle Kingdom 13. NXT UK had their first Takeover PPV in Blackpool. Then of course there's all the news about the biggest story of the year so far: the announcement of All Elite Wresting.  We're going to be going over what we know, what we don't know, and who we hope to see in this exciting new promotion.

Welcome to another Fast Count!  This week we're taking a look back at possibly the greatest talkers in the history of professional wrestling, Rowdy Roddy Piper!  Whether he was in the ring, hosting Pipers Pit, or shooting aliens in They Live, he is undeniably one of the most iconic stars to ever come out of the industry. 

This is the debut episode of a new series here on Back Through the Ropes: Fast Count.  We're going to take a character or characters from wrestling history and do a short episode on them. Not a complete history but just a fun look back on them.  Today we start with one of the greatest heel characters in the WWF, the Million Dollar Man Ted DiBiase!

Sit back and get ready for a Danny and Two-Bit's look back at this year in professional wrestling! After a quick recap of WWE's latest pay-per-view TLC, we look back at our favorite matches, moments, feuds, and other highlights of the year.  What are we looking forward to and what are some of our new years wrestling resolutions? Sit back and get comfy, this is a bit of a long one!

It feels like the world of wrestling is in the year of the heel turn; Shinsuke Nakamura, Daniel Bryan, Becky Lynch, and Dean Ambrose just to name a few. Danny and Two-Bit though that this is the perfect time to talk about the heel turn.  What have been the all time great turns?  Can a turn revitalize a career, and can a babyface turn do the same?  Which were good this year and were there any truly great ones?  What's with all the low blows? Come on a trip back through the ropes with us where we answer all those questions and more!      

Hey there believers! We're taking a trip to the temple and talking Lucha Underground Season 4!  Danny and Two-Bit break down this season  and talk about what they did and didn't like, and which characters and moments stood out.  Long time listeners are know that love Lucha Underground and now you get to hear why.

Another Survivor Series is in the books.  Danny and Two-bit take a look at what went down at Survivor Series and give their thoughts on how the 6-0 shutout by RAW was handed on this weeks episodes of RAW and Smackdown.

Danny and Two-Bit sit down to talk wrestling characters and gimmicks.  Who is the greatest of all time?  Are there enough real characters in the modern day WWE?

We take a look back at the two recent WWE PPV's: Evolution, and Crown Jewel.  One showcased the incredible talent of the the WWE's women's divisions, and was one of the their best shows of the year.  The other was a controversy filled train wreck!

Danny and Two-Bit get together for a candid talk about the shocking announcement by Roman Reigns/Joe Anoa'i that he would be leaving WWE to battle leukemia once again.  Like everyone else, we were shocked by the announcement.  We wish him the very best, and look forward to the day he beats cancer and walks back through the ropes again.  #thankyouroman #believethat

Danny and Two-Bit sit down to shoot about what's happening in the world of wrestling.  In the world of WWE they cover Super Showdown, Smackdown 1000, the upcoming Evolution PPV and Crown Jewel, and talk a little about the new NXT UK.  They also dig into rumours about what Chris Jericho is up to, Impact's Bound for Glory PPV, and what's happening in the crazy world of Luch Underground.  You're also going to hear about a crazy wrestling action figure Danny found!

Danny and Two-Bit take a look back at Hell in a Cell 2018