As discussed in previous articles for Still Real To Us, there is no shortage of great wrestling podcasts out there. If you like interviews with wrestlers, there are plenty of those. If you prefer recaps of on-air programming and industry news, there are also plenty of those. If you want to hear wrestlers talking about non-wrestling things, there are also plenty of those. But there are not a lot of wrestling podcasts focused on wrestling history that are being told by the people that were directly involved.
One of the few podcasts falling into that category of “wrestling history being told by people that were directly involved” is MLW’s Something To Wrestling With, as hosted by Bruce Prichard and Conrad Thompson. Aside from Vince McMahon, Pat Patterson and Gerald Brisco, there are few people that have the long-term run behind-the-scenes with WWE that Bruce Prichard did. His first run with WWE was between 1986 and 1991, while his second run was between 1993 and 2008. Bruce’s WWE tenure included some on-screen characters, like Brother Love and Reo Rodgers. His time with WWF was preceded by time in the UWF, his first parting of ways with Vince McMahon led to time with the GWF, and the end of his final WWE tenure was followed by nearly three years with TNA.
Not only does Bruce Prichard have decades of experience within the world of professional history, but he was involved with the creation of more key characters and storylines than one might realize. His podcast for MLW finds he and Conrad — who readers ought to recognize from The Ric Flair Show, also on the MLW Network — reflecting on much of this history in great detail.
Some examples:
– Dusty Rhodes – The first episode of Something To Wrestling With is titled Dusty Rhodes in the WWF. In such, Bruce tells some stories about Dusty, not only an old friend but an old riding partner. Bruce also talks about something that I had never heard before, which was Vince McMahon nearly bringing Dusty Rhodes into the WWF into the company instead of Hulk Hogan. Bruce’s impression of Dusty, which he did as the aforementioned Reo Rodgers character, may also bring a smile to your face.
– The Mega Powers – The second episode of the podcast is about the tag team of Hulk Hogan and Randy “Macho Man” Savage. Bruce explains the process behind getting the two superstars together. He also goes into the difficulties encountered when the two of them were working together. Let’s just say that there was more insight than WWE’s recent DVD on the Macho Man had provided.
– Lex Luger – The third episode, as titled The Lex Express, focuses on the WWF’s attempt at making Lex Luger the company’s next big star. It goes into why this did not happen, which was a mix of circumstances, also tying into the situations of Hulk Hogan and Bret Hart. My favorite part of this episode was the discussion of how The Undertaker had his own sort of “Lex Express” that he and Paul Bearer rode around in, which had also served as Andre The Giant’s travel van.
– The Ultimate Warrior – The fourth episode is named after the face-painted superstar, as Bruce focuses on the ascent of The Ultimate Warrior. Within such, Bruce clears up some matters related to the Self-Destruction DVD that WWE had put out. He also discusses how Warrior’s push impacted various people on the roster. Ultimately, Bruce explains how he could had a lot of difficulties working with Warrior, but how he can still be saddened about Warrior’s untimely death.
– The Montreal Screwjob – The fifth and most recent episode focuses on the Montreal Screwjob. You may think you’ve heard everything there is to hear about this event, as even Radiolab made an episode about it. But it turns out that Bruce has a lot of new details to offer about the events leading up to it. He also describes the vibes backstage after the incident happened.
Another thing that I enjoy about Something To Wrestle With is how the show’s format changed. Initially, Bruce and Conrad would recap the week’s news and TV programs, then get to the historical segment. Recently they opted to change the show’s format, as based on the recommendation of loyal listeners. In turn, the most recent episode only focused on The Montreal Screwjob.
While Bruce is the star of this podcast, it is Conrad’s research and questioning as a fan that often helps Bruce to remember and share little-known details. Knowing how many years Bruce was with WWE prior to his work, he hasn’t yet touched upon DX, The Kliq, the WCW Invasion angle, the ECW reboot, the development of “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, or the quick ascent of Brock Lesnar, to name a few of the major historical developments that he was presumably around for.
To check out this podcast for yourself, click on over to: http://www.mlwradio.com/download-something-to-wrestle-with-bruce-prichard.html.
