Well folks, we're in for a delightful night of gentlemanly pugilism as we turn our sights on an exciting exhibition matchup between two champions! Competing under Admiral-Lord Mountevans with 8 five minute rounds and two falls to a finish... In one corner, Johnny Saint, the Lightweight Wrestling Champion of the World - and across him Steve Grey, your British Lightweight Champion.  Which of these two technical masters will emerge victorious this evening on World of Sport? And of course, somersaulting into the studio to join your hosts is special guest Steven Screws! [Johnny Saint vs Steve Grey, February 2nd 1980, Joint Promotions/World of Sport]

This Is Awesome? / Watching the Elite

S9E7: Johnny Saint vs Steve Grey w/Steven Screws

It is night 4 of the 23rd G1 Climax. 5th match on the card. In one corner: The Stone Pitbull. The other: The Wrestler. Each man with a reputation. Each man with something to prove. This instant classic only lasts 12:17 seconds bell to bell, but when it's over you'd think these men had wrestled for an hour. 8 years later, does the shortest match to to ever earn five stars from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter still hold up? Or does it come up...er, short? Huge thanks to our guest Nico Bartoli! (Nothing Box) [Tomohiro Ishii vs Katsuyori Shibata, NJPW G1 Climax 23 Night 4, August 4 2013]

S9E6: Tomohiro Ishii vs Katsuyori Shibata w/Nico Bartoli

Frank, Chuck and Joaquin (yes, Joaquin is back on WTE once again) break down all of the action from this year's Double or Nothing PPV. Did AEW deliver a solid four hours of wrestling action or did the show fizzle out like so many botched exploding rings? Come for the takes, stay for the references to the classic 2009 Michael C. Hall and Gerard Butler vehicle "Gamer" Send in your feedback @TIAPOD on twitter or at thisisawesomepod@gmail.com 

Watching the Elite - AEW Double or Nothing 2021

Open the forbidden door! It's an inter-promotional dream match!  Christian, perennial WWE glass-ceiling cleaner, will attempt to reclaim the World Championship that was taken from him by the tattooed blue chipper Randall Orton. Will Christian finally be able to win the big one (via pinfall)? Or will he easy into his pending Goto-status like a warm bath? Joining your wrestle-boys on today's episode to help apply some soft science is Ryan Lapine! [Randy Orton vs Christian, WWE Over the Limit 2011, May 22 2011]  

S9E5: Randy Orton vs Christian w/Ryan Lapine

Another exciting edition of the TIA vamping series - this time Frank and Chuck sit down and run through the entire AEW Blood and Guts card from May 5, 2021.  Your boys are talking the highs and lows of the entire evening -  the lit live crowd, a manic Miro promo, gratuitous amounts of crimson, a laconic opening tag match AND MORE.  Oh and somebody fell off of a cage. You may or may not have been whelmed. Enjoy the show! Let us know what you think of Blood and Guts @TIAPOD on twitter. Check out everything TIA at thisisawesomepod.com

Watching the Elite - AEW Blood & Guts 2021 Review

Watching the Elite - AEW Blood & Guts 2021

Back to the impact zone we go - this time to watch the exciting conclusion to what many have argued is the greatest "best of" series in tag team wrestling. It's best 2 out of 3 falls to put a cap on a best of five series for the belts. On one side, the beer-guzzling, wet-haired roughnecks known as Beer Money, Inc. - former champions and current challengers looking to cement their legacy by proving that their opponents' title win was as fluke. And on the other, The Motor City Machine Guns - proudly rocking incredibly early-aughts haircuts and attire, who are looking to prove that they have truly arrived as the top team in TNA -- by retaining their Championships via an undisputed victory in this final match in the series against their heated rivals. Joining the panel this time to break down the action is returning friend of the show Jason Gibbs! [Beer Money, Inc vs The Motor City Machine Guns, TNA Impact!: The Whole F'n Show, August 12 2010

S9E4: Beer Money, Inc vs The Motor City Machine Guns w/Jason Gibbs

A very special episode of Watching the Elite - Frank and Chuck happened to watch BOTH nights of WrestleMania 2021 and decided to have a chat about it.  Done in the format usually applied to all things AEW, your boys go through each match, discuss the highs and lows of a (mostly) solid two nights of action and get into the nitty gritty of everyone's favor part of this year's mania: the weather-related vamping!

Watching The 'E' - WrestleMania 2021 Nights 1 & 2

Forged in the furnace that was the CHIKARA gauntlet, Sara Del Rey vs Kana (now Asuka) will now be put through the STAR rating grinder. Despite missing both a third rope and a hot program to raise the stakes, these two supremely talented wrestlers put on a match that CHIKARA proudly points to as it's first all-female main event. But despite all of that, can the match overcome some particularly indie-rific atmosphere as well as the inherent challenges in being what amounts to an exhibition match to be counted among the greatest of all time? Listen and find out! Joining the regular team of pseudo-scientists in the lab for this episode is Alex Keller! [Sara Del Rey vs Kana, CHIKARA Klunk in Love, October 8 2011]

S9E3: Sara Del Rey vs Kana w/Alex Keller

This Is Awesome is an informal research project with no methodology asking the question: What makes a great pro wrestling match and why? We watch the best wrestling matches of all time, suggested by you, and then we show it to a non-fan to see if it holds up!

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This Is Awesome? / Watching the Elite

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