This week, Hal and Danielle are rejoined by Jesse Thorn . He’s the Max Fun Network’s top Big Boss Man and he’s had almost no experience with wrestling. But a few weeks ago he and his wife traveled to Mexico City and Arena Mexico where they saw their first live wrestling show, put on by Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre. He’ll share all the fun and absurdity that he experienced, including why he found the heels more entertaining for the wrestling, how indie-wrestling star Colt Cabana helped make thi...
Jun 06, 2019•53 min•Ep. 158
This week, Hal and Danielle are rejoined by Box Brown . He’s a comic creator whose new book "Cannabis: The Illegalization of Weed in America" . Brown is a longtime, but lapsed, fan of WWE. The trends of the product have led to him being less dedicated to following televised wrestling. But this week featured a show that rekindled that love and has the entire panel excited for what’s to come: Double or Nothing from All Elite Wrestling. It wasn’t perfect. But it was a great first step for a fledgli...
May 30, 2019•51 min•Ep. 157
This week, Danielle and Lindsey are rejoined by LaToya Ferguson . She’s the author of the brand new book "An Encyclopedia of Women’s Wrestling: 100 Profiles of the Strongest in the Sport." In it, she details some of wrestling’s most important and impressive female athletes through the years, from Act Yasukawa to Wendi Richter. The panel will also discuss Money in the Bank. As WWE’s first PPV after WrestleMania, it had the responsibility of setting the tone for the future narratives of the compan...
May 23, 2019•45 min•Ep. 156
This week, Danielle and Lindsey are joined by John Walsh . His fans on YouTube know him as Super EyePatch Wolf , where he’s gained following for deep dives into anime, video-games and wrestling. The panel takes a look at the latest stories and characters in NXT. That includes the drama surrounding the Undisputed Era, Matt Riddle’s cannabis and shoe habits, who the next women’s champion should be and the potential of Mr. Eric Bugenhagen. The Beatdown For years it was considered the sacred cow of ...
May 16, 2019•52 min•Ep. 155
This week, Hal, Danielle and Lindsey take a look at WWE’s new Wild Card rule! For the last several years WWE’s two shows have existed as (mostly) separate shows with separate rosters. But a lot of that went right out the window this week, as more crossover is guaranteed in the future. We’ll discuss the positives and negatives of this new strategy. The Wild Card rule is meant to spur interest in the product. And let’s face it: there’s a LOT of negativity surrounding WWE right now from most viewer...
May 09, 2019•52 min•Ep. 154
It’s that special rare week where Julian Burrell steps out of the production booth to join Danielle Radford in the hosting chair! They’re joined by Elle Collins , podcaster and writer for Uproxx. Elle actually became a fan of wrestling fairly recently. That’s given them a unique perspective on wrestling’s history, especially after the four horsewomen helped change WWE for the better. The panel will first take a look at a company that had a big PPV this week: Impact Wrestling! We’ll break down th...
May 02, 2019•54 min•Ep. 153
Jo Graham from the How2Wrestling podcast joins Hal, Danielle and Lindsey to break down tons of news from the week in wrestling! She originally got into wrestling as a way to bond with her partner. Now, that’s turned into her own podcast and rabid fandom. WWE continues to move their stars across both shows, with multiple people making their debuts on RAW and Smackdown. Most significantly, AJ Styles is set to face Seth Rollins for the Universal Championship. It’s seemingly being billed as a "dream...
Apr 25, 2019•57 min•Ep. 152
Lindsey rejoins the show to regale us with stories of her journey to WrestleMania! She’ll talk about what it was like in Metlife Stadium, how much she enjoyed the G1 Classic and the special project that she was a part of while she was there. WWE Interviews As part of her journey through the biggest week of the wrestling year, Lindsey got to talk with some of WWE’s most popular stars. Check the timestamps to see hear one: 26:14 - Roderick Strong 31:23 - Bobby Lashley and Lio Rush 38:32 - Scott Da...
Apr 18, 2019•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 151
Congratulations! You survived WrestleMania week! Hal and Danielle are joined by James Durin . He’s the lead singer of the band Quiet Riot . As a kid, he had a hard time being comfortable in who he was. But through the character-driven aspects of wrestling, he learned to express himself and find tons of new career avenues. NXT TakeOver: New York Johnny Gargano stands tall as the NXT Champion! He along with Shayna Baszler, the War Raiders and Velveteen Dream hold the gold of WWE’s yellow and black...
Apr 11, 2019•57 min•Ep. 150
Welcome to another episode of Riteoga agus Troideanna! This week, Hal, Danielle and Lindsey are joined by Kefin Mahon. . He’s one of the hosts of the "How2Wrestling" podcast. The show started as his earnest attempt to introduce his girlfriend to the world of wrestling, one character at a time. He’ll tell us about how he saw his fellow Irish native Becky Lynch in her formative years as a wrestler and was convinced WWE would never give her a proper shot. Now that we’re just a few days away from Wr...
Apr 04, 2019•52 min•Ep. 149
Happy #MaxFunDrive! For our second episode of the week, Hal, Danielle and Lindsey are joined by Matthew Gaydos . He’s the host of the "I Love It" podcast. One thing that he loves is wrestling. Growing up his family was not very well off, financially; but they still managed to watch a number of wrestling PPV’s (he’s not sure if those two facts are at all related). The panel will get into everything from the week in wrestling. That includes the highs like Kofi Kingston finally getting his WWE Titl...
Mar 28, 2019•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 148
Happy #MaxFunDrive! For our second episode of the week, Hal, Danielle and Lindsey are joined by Daron Jackson. He’s a production attorney for WWE Studios and a lifelong wrestling fan. He’ll recount tons of details about his fandom throughout the years from making snow angels with CM Punk at an ROH show to crying at the Undertaker’s WrestleMania 29 entrance. Plus, he’ll explain what it’s like to interact with Stephanie McMahon and Triple H during the film-release process, how he managed to land a...
Mar 22, 2019•45 min•Ep. 147
This week Hal, Danielle and Lindsey will break down some of the biggest news on the road to WrestleMania. That includes what some are calling the hottest angle in WWE: KofiMania! Kofi Kingston ran the gauntlet, defeating five men to earn a shot at Daniel Bryan. But even that wasn’t enough to convince Vince McMahon to give Kofi his title shot. As we try to collect ourselves and our shattered emotions, we’ll try to determine what comes next. Plus, why was Travis Browne on RAW this week with Ronda?...
Mar 21, 2019•59 min•Ep. 146
This week Hal and Danielle are joined by Hunktears ! They’re the host of " Wrestlesplainia " podcast. Elby will talk about how her parents were actually closeted wrestling fans… for over 50 years. This past Sunday was Fastlane. It’s normally a distinctly filler program before the main show of WrestleMania. But this year, reactions to the event were very positive! Stories and matches were strong throughout to keep everyone’s attention The show was headlined by The Shield supposed last match toget...
Mar 14, 2019•48 min•Ep. 145
This week Hal, Danielle and Lindsey are joined by Sarah "The Rebel" Wolfe ! She’s the host of "Women Wrestling Friends" . She’s also part of WOW - Women of Wrestling as Razor " . It’s the first time she’s wrestling more on her own and less as a manager. But she’ll explain why she thinks managers are due to make a comeback in wrestling. This Sunday will be the last WWE PPV before WrestleMania (yeah we can’t believe it’s already here either!) Fastlane has had a number of stories that are really cl...
Mar 07, 2019•52 min•Ep. 144
This week Danielle and Lindsey are joined by Olive Rae Brinker ! She’s the creator of the webcomic "Rae the Doe" . Olive came in and out of wrestling as a fan for years until she finally found the one storyline that actively hooked her. Hint: it involved Cody Rhodes, but not in a role that he was very proud of. The panel will get into what was week of returns for the WWE. That includes Batista coming back to beat up Ric Flair and presumably challenge Triple H to a match at WrestleMania. Who woul...
Mar 01, 2019•53 min•Ep. 143
This week Danielle and Lindsey are joined by Matthew Klein ! He’s the VP of sales and marketing for Valiant Comics . Matthew has some vivid memories of wrestling from throughout his life; so vivid that he’s willing to share them with anyone, even his therapist. The team will focus on Elimination Chamber, the second to last PPV before WrestleMania. The highlight of the show was Kofi Kingston narrowly coming up short for his first WWE Championship in the main event. Even though some have shrugged ...
Feb 22, 2019•50 min•Ep. 142
This week Hal, Danielle and Lindsey are joined by Chris Gethard ! He’s a comedian who’s worked in TV and hosts the podcast "Beautiful/Anonymous." . He’s also someone who wouldn’t let a little thing like parent’s permission get in the way of his childhood wrestling fandom. To start, the team will discuss some of the biggest things that happened in wrestling this week. This includes things in WWE like Kofi Kingston’s new opportunity to the WWE Championship and the fact that Charlotte has officiall...
Feb 14, 2019•53 min•Ep. 141
This week Hal, Danielle and Lindsey are joined by Omar Holmon . He’s the content editor for the website Black Nerd Problems . He’ll explain which part of WWE is keeping him engaged with the company’s programming. WWE is currently building towards Elimination Chamber, which will likely determine who will be the WWE champion going into WrestleMania. One of the competitors in that match is Samoa Joe. He’s been doing brilliant work. But how much has his character taken a hit with all of the losses h...
Feb 07, 2019•48 min•Ep. 140
This week Hal, Danielle and Lindsey are joined by Vita Ayala . They’re a comic book writer whose work has been published by Marvel, DC Comics and Valiant. Before getting into the news, Vita will explain how they getting into wrestling led to them to some rough sleeping arrangements growing up. For a limited time, from Thursday, January 31st to Sunday, February 10, Tights and Fights listeners can go to Comixology and put LIVEWIRE #1 in their cart and enter the code LIVEWIREFIGHTS at checkout to a...
Feb 01, 2019•54 min•Ep. 139
This week Hal and Lindsey discuss the premier of WOW: Women of Wrestling. The show finally made its AXS TV debut last Friday. It’s got tons of great action and colorful performers. But does it lean too far into caricature rather than character? We’ll discuss. Plus, Finn Balor and Daniel Bryan have major title matches at WWE’s Royal Rumble event on Sunday. Will Finn regain the Universal Title against Brock Lesnar and fulfill the underdog win of the decade? Will Daniel Bryan retain the WWE Title a...
Jan 25, 2019•44 min•Ep. 138
This week Hal and Lindsey discuss NXT TakeOver: Blackpool. It was the very major TakeOver event from the UK side of WWE’s developmental promotion. Responses from viewers were incredibly strong, with plenty of familiar faces to reintroduce some new ones to a wider audience. What’s behind the positivity surrounding the brand? And what does the future hold, especially now that WALTER has debuted to challenge Pete Dunne for the UK Championship? One person who was at the TakeOver event was Finn Balor...
Jan 17, 2019•50 min•Ep. 137
This week Hal, Danielle and Lindsey are joined by Shawn Marek . He’s a podcast host and producer who’s worked with wrestlers such as Lance Storm, Steve Austin and more on their respective shows. The panel will take a deep dive into New Japan’s Wrestle Kingdom 13. The annual show from Japan featured matches from Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tetsuya Naito, Jay White and more. The show had the feeling of the start of a new era, with champions The Young Bucks, Cody and Kenny Omega all losing their titles. The...
Jan 10, 2019•50 min•Ep. 136
This week Danielle and Lindsey are joined by Mat Ricardo . He’s a variety performer who actually sees a lot of similarities between his profession and the art of pro wrestling. There’s a lot for wrestling fans to look forward to in 2019, including WWE finally announcing new tag team titles for the women’s division! Danielle share her reaction to the news and Lindsey will explain why she knew this was a real possibility for months. Plus, All Elite Wrestling has officially been confirmed! The pane...
Jan 03, 2019•54 min•Ep. 135
This week Danielle and Lindsey are joined by Selina Majors . She’s been a wrestler since the 80’s for promotions like AWA and WCW. These days, she spends her time with WOW - Women of Wrestling , where she continues to perform and train the next generation of stars. Amid laughs and tears, Majors will discuss why she’s still passionate about wrestling after all these years, who she’s had a hand in training and why she’s so excited to share WOW with a new audience. WOW - Women of Wrestling debuts o...
Dec 27, 2018•17 min•Ep. 134
This week Hal and Danielle are joined by Chris Cubas . He is a podcaster and TV host who’s been watching wrestling for years. Lately he’s gotten more into New Japan Pro Wrestling, Progress and other international wrestling promotions than WWE. But he is ready to dive into TLC and the fallout from RAW and Smackdown… especially because he really liked it! There were tons of great matches on the show, especially the main event for the Smackdown women’s title match between Becky Lynch, Charlotte Fla...
Dec 21, 2018•48 min•Ep. 133
For the last several weeks the panel has been in agreement: RAW is in a funk. It’s featured segments with juvenile humor, interesting stories and a lack of stars that make us want to watch. Turns out there’s someone who agrees with our commentary: Vince McMahon! We know this because he had Seth Rollins come out chastise Baron Corbin for all of RAW’s shortcomings. But was this acknowledgment of the problem properly followed up with steps to fix the issue? The crew will take a look. In the meantim...
Dec 13, 2018•42 min•Ep. 132
Jeff Dye is comedian and star of numerous TV shows like Girl Code and Money From Strangers . He also happens to be a lifelong wrestling fan who’s got tons of thoughts about WWE’s past and present. That includes things like why he wants WWE to hardly ever turn and why he supports Vince McMahon’s image of a promotion full of giants. Jeff, Hal and Danielle also break down why Smackdown continues to be so good (especially with its women’s division), why it may have been too early to break up Drew Mc...
Dec 06, 2018•45 min•Ep. 131
TLC is the last WWE event left in the year and both RAW and Smackdown have begun to build towards it. The difference is that the reception for both shows has been very different for the last few weeks. While Smackdown has generated a lot of buzz with exciting new directions for Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair and Daniel Bryan, RAW has struggled to regain its identity with both Roman Reigns and Braun Strowman out of action. To figure out what’s behind this dichotomy, we’ll start by taking a look at ...
Nov 29, 2018•49 min•Ep. 130
Dave Schilling is ready to join the Nation of Conversation! He, Danielle and Hal were all in Staples Center on various days this week to take in all the WWE wrestling that happened in Los Angeles. NXT TakeOver: War Games The final NXT TakeOver of the year featured a pair of great matches that all had strong character work and wrestling. But as for the War Games match itself? The panel will explain why it still feels like a concept that needs to be refined to be as effective as possible. Plus, wh...
Nov 22, 2018•46 min•Ep. 129
