Edge and Christian open today’s show by discussing the upcoming NXT Takeover show this coming Saturday.

They both think Ciampa and Gargano are going to tear the house down. Christian says that Ciampa has legitimate heat and everyone hates him, which is a very difficult thing for a heel to accomplish in 2018. Edge agrees, adding that he likes everyone but he doesn’t like Ciampa. He also says that this is the feud of the year in 2018 in his opinion.

They both also agree that Lars Sullivan and Aleister Black will have a good match. Edge likes that there’s a defined heel in this match as well, which should allow the fans to easily pick a side and be loud during this bout. They’re also looking forward to the match between Ricochet & Velveteen Dream. Edge notes that the flip to the outside of the ring by Ricochet when he accepted Dream’s challenge was incredible.

Edge and Christian note that Chris Jericho was successful at NJPW Dominion, defeating Naito for the Intercontinental Title. They’re very impressed by their friend’s ability to adapt and redefine himself all over the globe. Edge also notes that he called Omega’s Championship win a long time ago, and he’s happy for him as well.

They discuss CM Punk’s recent UFC 225 loss. They both give him credit for trying to live his dream at his age, even though he knew he’d be ridiculed. Christian notes that he had the balls to do something that he really wanted to do so you have to respect that. However, Punk was fighting against people who’ve been training in MMA for many years and he simply couldn’t compete with that.

Edge and Christian welcome Gangrel to the show.

The Brood reunites for the first time in years for this podcast. Gangrel lives in Florida nowadays, the place he was born and raised. He got into the wrestling business in 1987 and he still loves it, and Edge notes that he doesn’t really age. He continues to work indie events and is just as believable in the ring today as he was 20 years ago.

Gangrel notes that he was a fan of professional wrestling growing up, but becoming a wrestler wasn’t his dream. He wanted to be a preacher and a football player, but he got injured playing football and lost his faith when his brother died. He hit a low point after that, selling drugs and hustling on the streets, but one day he found an ad in the paper looking for professional wrestlers so he decided to pursue it. He truly believes wrestling saved his life.

He began paying to attend wrestling school but was struggling financially and was tempted to quit. His trainers told him that he was too good to quit and urged him to finish his training, so he did. Within three months he was wrestling the Big Boss Man and working most weekends.

After working in Stampede Wrestling, NJPW, and Puerto Rico, Gangrel landed in Memphis and began working for Jerry Lawler. He started to realize that he had heat with everyone except for Lawler and he couldn’t figure out why. One day he noticed Scotty 2 Hotty broken down on the side of the road and he stopped to ask him if he needed a ride.

Scotty 2 Hotty first declined but later accepted, and as they were driving down the road he told Gangrel that everyone hated him because he was too physical in the ring. Gangrel realized that his years of work in Calgary, Japan and Peurto Rico resulted in him working a very physical style that Memphis talents weren’t accustomed to. He changed his style and didn’t have any issues after that.

Eventually he caught the attention of Vince McMahon who wanted to bring him into WWE’s training camp at that time. He did two weeks in the camp and then began discussions with McMahon. Gangrel had done a vampire gimmick in the past but McMahon instructed him to get rid of his fangs because he had no interest in using that gimmick in WWE.

A few weeks later he was sitting at home and Vince Russo called, asking him if he could still do the vampire gimmick which he was very excited about. He then proceeded to try to convince McMahon that vampires have always been cool, and after a period of time McMahon agreed. Gangrel was born, but then WWE was hit for a lawsuit over the name which resulted in him getting more heat within the company.

He informs that within the last 5 months he’s been able to win ownership of that name, so now he can license it to anyone who wants to use it moving forward. He adds that maybe he should contact WWE at some point to see if there’s any interest in doing some business, such as manufacturing Gangrel action figures or something of that nature.

Edge is fairly certain that Gangrel was put with them to form The Brood in order to ensure they were protected during the early part of their WWE run. They were just a couple of young, Canadian kids, but if they were paired with someone like Gangrel who was highly respected in the locker room, WWE officials knew they’d be taken care of. Gangrel agrees, noting that his job was to not let anyone kill them, but he jokes that they made it real hard.

Gangrel notes that The Brood weren’t even together for a year. He felt that WWE officials knew they had to split the faction up at that time in order to protect Edge and Christian, because if they stayed together for multiple years fans would have a hard time ever separating them from those vampire characters. Edge notes that The Brood was a springboard for his career.

That sums up today’s episode of E&C’s Pod of Awesomeness. You can listen to the show yourself anytime here, and I’ll catch ya next week for another recap!