Steve Carrier on April 12, 2019
Edge and Christian open today’s show by speaking about last weekend’s Hall of Fame ceremony. Christian says he has no idea what the guy who attacked Bret Hart was thinking. He notes that wrestlers always stick up for their own, and this was evident last weekend. Other than that unfortunate event, he thought the show was good and had a lot of great speeches.
Getting into their thoughts on NXT Takeover, Edge says he went to the show and had so much fun. He loves going to NXT shows because it’s very invigorating to be around. Nobody is angry or jaded, and everyone is hungry and determined to make an impact. Edge’s only concern with the physical NXT style is the longevity of some of the performers.
Edge thought Takeover got off to a great start with the War Raiders versus Aleister Black and Ricochet. He thinks the War Raiders and their entire presentation are so much fun. Christian notes that the varying styles of both teams made for a terrific match.
Edge thought that match would be though to follow, but then Matt Riddle and Velveteen Dream went out and had an entirely different match. He thinks Riddle is money and he loves his fire. He and Christian agree that the big money with Riddle might be in his eventual heel turn.
They both think all four women delivered in the Women’s Title match, and Adam Cole and Johnny Gargano tore the house down in the main event. Edge points out that Gargano was a tweener heading into this match, but by the end of it both competitors had the fans in the palms of their hands and Gargano had flipped back into being a monster babyface.
Getting into their thoughts on WrestleMania, Christian congratulates Zack Ryder and Curt Hawkins on their RAW Tag Team Title win. He notes that they’re both such great workers and it’s nice to see them get rewarded like that. It also meant a lot to him that Ryder paid tribute to him with his ring gear.
Edge says there’s simply a different feeling when Brock Lesnar is in the ring and that’s what makes him special. There’s a feeling of realness and unpredictability when he’s in the ring. If you’re not on last you should want to go on first and that’s what Lesnar was thinking here, even though he apparently only made those wishes known an hour before showtime.
Edge thought Randy Orton and A.J. Styles had a great match, but it was too bad that lights were blinding fans for the majority of the match. It obviously sucks for the fans, but it sucks for the wrestlers too. They busted their ass and worked towards this match all year, and then during the match fans aren’t responding the way they want because they’re chanting and cheering for lights.
Edge thought the Smackdown Tag Team Title match was great, and he notes that The Bar are a lot of fun. He specifically liked the Cesarso Swing/Sheamus 10 Beat combination. He also thought all the women’s tag teams looked good, and he thought his wife, Beth Pheonix, looked like she didn’t miss a beat in the ring.
The Kofi Kingston/Daniel Bryan match was everything Edge wanted it to be. He notes that Kingston deserved this win because he earned this win. He thought the crowd climaxed here, and the rest of the matches would have a hard time getting them back.
Christian thought Batista looked great in his match against Triple H. He notes that Batista didn’t have to come back; he did it because he loves the business. Edge adds that Batista took a lot of brutal bumps for a man who hasn’t wrestled in years. He also credits Triple H for putting in a lot of work to come back from injury and get himself in great shape for this match.
Edge says that Kurt Angle would probably be the first person to tell you that it was time for him to hang up his boots. Christian says it’s a bittersweet thing for him, because he had Angle’s first match in WWE many years ago and he knew that night that Angle was a natural in the ring. Angle went on to have a Hall of Fame career, and it’s always tough seeing legends at the end of their career.
Christian thought Angle had a good showing at WrestleMania given the circumstances, and the win will help a young heel like Corbin who has legitimate heat.
Edge and Christian welcome Tommaso Ciampa to the show.
Ciampa says he started to have some issues with his neck in 2006. After he came back from his shoulder/knee surgeries a couple of years ago he really started to notice it more and more. He began getting stingers down both arms during basically every match.
He was quite scared going into neck surgery, especially at his age. He started to realize that although this is new for him, the surgeon does this multiple times each day. That realization really calmed him down.
He admits that it’s hard and frustrating not being able to work out or do much physically. All he can do is walk right now, so he walks his dog 4 times daily. That’s a tough pill to swallow for someone whose accustomed to basically no time off with WWE’s schedule. Now he’s just sitting on a couch all day.
Ciampa says when he was out recovering from his knee and shoulder surgeries he knew it was important for him to come back as a unique heel. He thought NXT was missing that. He also knew it was important to develop a relationship with Triple H, and he’s been able to do that.
He notes that DIY was not supposed to last as long as it did and his heel turn was initially supposed to come much sooner. However, he and Gargano developed great chemistry together and with a lot of the heel tag teams in NXT, so the turn was delayed.
When he finally did turn he felt somewhat untouchable which is weird for him. His confidence was at an all time high, even though he doesn’t consider himself to be the best at anything in the ring. He thinks he has a great sense of the crowd’s pulse, and has intangibles that allow him to react on the fly. Triple H and Shawn Michaels became quick fans of his work and his brand developed quickly.
He notes that Shawn Michaels has been a huge influence on him and on a lot of performers in NXT. HBK’s class has taught him so much, and everyone in that class has changed the way they think about working and selling. Now everyone’s trying to out-sell each other during their matches.
Ciampa says that protecting his heel character was very important for him. He didn’t want merchandise and he didn’t want to give the audience anything to grasp onto. Now that he’s out with this injury the “movie’s over” and he doesn’t mind coming out of his shell.
He thinks it’s okay for him to show more of his personal life now. He says that coming out to congratulate Gargano at the end of Takeover was a real moment, and nobody told them what to do on that stage.
Gargano says his wife was a driving force in him going through multiple surgeries and rehabbing. They suffered through multiple miscarriages before finally having a healthy baby, and he knew that whatever he was going through was nothing compared to what his wife was going through during that time.
That sums up this week’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!
April 12, 2019 2:03 pm
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