Petey

That's definitely part of it. It's clear that if they're focusing on a specific show or something similar, JR doesn't go back and re-watch the show, angle, match, etc. I know he has a lot going on with traveling a lot, the new book coming out and still going back and forth with doctors for cancer and sciatica, so I imagine his schedule isn't great, and it's why I can't go too nuts over it.

I want this podcast to be better than it is, and I don't think there's anyone to blame for why it's not. I think what holds it back is that JR doesn't have Jim Cornette's recall, nor does he have Bruce's ability to just BS stuff he doesn't know. Instead, JR repeats the same stories and constantly gets his timelines mixed up. It's not JR's fault because Cornette's recall is freakish, but JR has been in multiple really interesting places during a lot of super fascinating times, so I'm always left feeling frustrated or just wanting more.

I listened to it casually last week. It was better than the average episode since JR seemed to have better recall about that era than a lot of the Attitude Era stuff. I didn't find it to be overwhelmingly controversial, although again, I listened passively. I'd guess that it's more that Conrad was surprised at the nature of some of the content as opposed to it being so over the top. Granted, I also listen to Jim Cornette's Drive-Thru and I feel like he's talked about similar items, so perhaps it didn't faze me as much as it might someone else.

JR's had such a fascinating career, but listening to his podcast makes me wish he had Cornette's recall. Half the time it feels like he's giving his opinion on something that he has no recollection of occurring.

I feel like JR just doesn't remember a lot of specific details or stories from much of his WCW/WWF days. I don't necessarily blame him. He's 70 years old and has been in the business for nearly 50 years. I'm sure a lot of stuff blended together after a while. Plus, I feel like Head of Talent Relations is one of those jobs that's so time demanding that you never have the chance to reflect. With Bruce, it's probably a little of the above and also because now that he's back with the company, he doesn't have the time to really invest in reflecting on the topic. Plus, he has to be careful with what he says.

It's funny because as a child of the Attitude Era, I sometimes fall into the trap of, "I miss when the wrestlers really gave a rip and were ultra competitive with one another, to the point where they'd have legit issues with each other behind the scenes." And now that it's happening, I don't know, I feel kind of ambivalent. I'm a very casual AEW viewer. I will watch the TV every once in a while but I often order the PPVs because I appreciate that there's so few of them, they all feel pretty special. I feel like the whole situation is just ridiculous, and I kinda wish it wasn't the case.

As I mentioned in another post, I cut back a lot on Conrad's pods and podcasts in general. I think the last Conrad pod I made an effort with when it launched was Grilling JR. I never listened to Arn or anything after that. I just started the JJ pod, and as I said, I've been enjoying that, but it's essentially a supercut of a topic that I find interesting, so it makes sense. Bischoff filled in for Conrad on the most recent Grilling JR. The topic was Hogan in WWF/E while JR was there. Nothing earth-shattering, but it was a pretty breezy listen. They went off the rails a couple of times, but they were usually pretty interesting sidebars. Eric was solid enough in the role, mainly because there wasn't much of an opportunity for him to bash Meltzer and such. I wanted to weigh in on the 9/11 discussion. I was in 9th grade when it happened. I live on Long Island, and at the time, I was probably a little over an hour from the towers. I remember it vividly. I'm not a particularly anxious person, but I remember not wanting to visit the area for years after it happened because I never felt ready. It wasn't a situation where I couldn't reflect back on 9/11 or anything like that. I make fun of Pete Carroll's 9/11 truther nonsense constantly. I just didn't feel ready to visit the site. In my late 20s/early 30s, a couple of friends and I would make monthly excursions to NYC, and one day, we wound up down there, somewhat unplanned, but it happened. I was fine. It was heavy, of course, but no more than the Vietnam memorial or something else that pre-dates me. It's a very roundabout way of saying that I call BS on the 9/11 trauma unless he knew someone who passed. I recognize everyone's experience is different, and everyone copes in different ways. But sixth grade and no personal connection? C'mon.

I started listening to the TNA Megasode, and it's my first exposure to the Jarrett podcast. It seems he and Conrad have a really good flow, so if Paul E. Bromwell pinch hits, I could see how that is a significant downgrade. Maybe it's because the TNA Megasode took place over the first few episodes, where Conrad's tend to be strongest, but I really like the conversation. It doesn't have many of the tropes of most other Conrad shows.

I cut back on many of the podcasts I listen to, although I still give the JR show a listen when Paul E. Bromwell is not hosting. I actually think Sean Oliver has the personality and skills to reinvigorate that podcast. To be fair, I think Oliver would probably be the best possible host for all of Conrad's podcasts, save Tony or Bischoff, since it seems like Conrad has a legit relationship or camaraderie with them.

Yeah, the Bromwell shows are an instant skip for me. I've been skipping most JR shows recently, or at least the ones where they focus on a specific show. It seems like JR no longer re-watches the shows they're covering, so he doesn't add much insight to whatever Conrad is talking about. Also, I know JR has either begun or is about to start undergoing treatment for skin cancer, so I can understand why he may not have the time or the energy to re-watch a show and take studious notes as Bischoff does on his show. I'm not trying to knock Jim, so I hope I don't come across as mean-spirited.

It depends. Sometimes it's the same exact ad copy repeatedly, and that gets quite tiresome. When the ad copy is varied, it's much more manageable.

I mentioned this in the STW thread, but I couldn't agree more. And this was regarding a show that was recorded a while ago (SummerSlam 1990). Not only is a significant portion of the show centered around Bruce being too busy and tired for the podcast, but now that he's back with WWE, he offers absolutely nothing of value. I used to enjoy when they covered pre-Attitude Era stuff because it felt like Bruce was more plugged in, and it involved people who were mostly not part of modern wrestling anymore, so Bruce was more open. But, unfortunately, that show, which was the one VHS tape I had as a kid and must have watched a zillion times growing up, was so poorly done and a waste of time that I completely quit the show.

I enjoyed this show more early in its run. However, it really has turned into JR complaining about how everything he says gets turned into "clickbait" and ranting about wrestlers complaining about their almighty "push". I know he doesn't care, but the show quickly turned into angry old man yelling at clouds. And when it comes to complaining about stuff getting turned into clickbait, it draws the biggest eye-roll from me. Stop being so sensitive and having rabbit ears about everything every random internet person says. The same goes for when JR rants about people saying he's washed up. He's like an older Kevin Durant.

For me, I find that there's a pretty big difference in quality depending on the era. Whenever they cover something after JR left talent relations and his influence/interactions with Vince declined, I haven't really found there to be a lot of substance to the episodes. It's usually just JR giving his opinion on things but you don't really get too much from it. The NWA/WCW stuff can be hit or miss. I enjoy those episodes just because I don't listen to a lot of podcasts on the subject, so I'm not burnt out on it like Attitude Era/Nitro era stuff, but it's clearly not Conrad's strength in terms of knowledge, so again, you don't always get a ton out of them.

I'll second this. Granted, I'm not super up to date, but Tony's recollection of little details from the JCP era is real good, especially when compared to the Turner/WCW run. You can tell Tony really enjoys reliving JCP stuff. Since they started covering that era with a little more regularity, it seems like they've toned down all the toilet humor. That's not to say it's completely gone, but these eps definitely have a different vibe than a random 1999 WCW PPV.