Over the last year or so, I’ve gotten really into podcasts. Maybe it’s because I secretly want to have one, I don’t know, but I get a lot of enjoyment. What’s not to like about radio on demand? Anyway, I have mostly been listeing to pop culture and sports related podcasts. I’m here to tell you about a few my favorite professional wrestling podcasts.

The Steve Austin Show/The Steve Austin Show Unleashed

Host: “Stone Cold” Steve Austin (duh)

Schedule: Tuesdays (Steve Austin Show) and Thursdays (Unleashed)

I don’t know about you guys, but I was a huge “Stone Cold” Steve Austin mark when I was a teenager. That was during the attitude era, when Austin ran wild over the WWE and helped Vince McMahon take back the Monday night ratings wars with Eric Bischoff’s WCW. Like any other Steve Austin fan, I’ve missed the “Texas Rattlesnake” since he’s been gone from WWE programming. Thankfully, someone convinced him to do a podcast, and the good folks at PodcastOne set him up on the airwaves (or, I guess the DTO waves).

You’ll noticed there are two shows listed in this header. That’s because Austin does a family friendly show on Tuesdays and the unleashed, uncensored version of his show on Thursdays. Austin talks a lot about a lot of different topics; from things that piss him off to the word of the day to Hershey the Wonder Dog. He also interviews people from all sorts of walks of entertainment life, from comedians to current professional wrestlers to legends of the industry as well. One of my favorite of his guests was Eric Bischoff himself, who recently did a three part interview over both versions of the show.

If you like hearing stories about the attitude era, the history of the business and Stone Cold-isms like “I didn’t know whether to shit or wind my watch,” you’ll realy like this show. I’ll give this one a hell yeah.

Listen to the Steve Austin Show

Listen to the Steve Austin Show Unleashed

The Ross Report

Host: Jim Ross

Schedule: Usually Wednesdays

“Good Ol’ J.R.” Jim Ross has been involved in the wrestling business, in one way or another, for over 40 years, and is considered one of, if not the, best wrestling commentators in the history of the industry. Fans of the old NWA will remember him from the 70s and 80s, and fans of WWE will remember him wearing a toga during Wrestlemania IX (sorry Jim). Seriously though, Ross soon rose to the top of the broadcasting hierarchy of the WWE (as well as having a prominent role in the front office) and really became the voice of the attitude era.

Even though he’s not really working in the business of professional wrestling nowadays, he is still very passionate about the industry, and he’s not shy about it. Much like Stone Cold does on his podcast, Ross talks about the industry and interviews current and former professional wrestlers and other celebrities. One of my favorite parts of the PodcastOne run podcast is when Ross complains about things in the industry that piss him off. One of these is the fact that closed fists are now legal and used by everyone (“How can a heel be a heel if there are no rules to break??” – JR).

Ross is very knowledgable about the business, and his calm and smooth delivery make for very good listening. He’s also got the number one rated sports podcast in the world, so I guess some other people like him too.

Listen now!

Talk is Jericho

Host: Chris Jericho

Schedule: Wednesdays and Fridays

Like the other two hosts mentioned in this post, Chris Jericho is a legend of the professional industry. Jericho has wrestled all over the world, from Mexico to Japan to the United States and more, but I’ve known of him since his days in WCW in the mid-to-late 90s. There, he was one of the more entertaining guys on the roster, but he didn’t really reach his peak until he signed with the WWE. Once there, he became one of the most respected and decorated wrestlers in history–a true active legend.

His podcast, also brought to us by PodcastOne, is just as good as his wrestling. One thing that differentiates his podcast from those of Austin and Ross, is that Jericho is also a professional heavy metal musician. Because of this, and other connections he has made through acting and television work, I feel that his guest list is a little more diverse than the two guys we just talked about. Jericho brings a lot of wrestlers on his podcast, but he also has a lot of musicians, athletes and other personalities on the show. Also, and this might be because of his wide range of interests, Jericho talks a lot about pop culture and television. I still remember his rant about the series finale of Dexter (I thought it was terrible too, Chris).

Jericho also does something else that Ross and Austin don’t really do, and that’s character voices. I always have a good laugh when he “interviews” Egypt, the janitor from his high school, and Oat’s Mustache (yes, that would be Oats from Hall & Oats). If you want a more well rounded podcast, this one’s the one for you.

Listen now!