Irrelevant But Awesome

Chris:  The big reveal in this episode wasn’t one that I saw coming in previous episodes but the longer this particular episode went on, the more obvious it came to be and the more that Sam’s movie explanation felt more like foreshadowing. This felt like another heavy episode but the speech by Ruth at the end of the party was a home run and I felt a sense of relief that Debbie and Ruth made more progress in fixing the damage. The dialogue between the two at the party gave a sense of how lonely it’s been for both women having their best friend become the person they’d least wanna be in the same room with. And the dialogue achieved that without saying exactly that. Also, I never thought I feel such giddiness at Debbie admitting that she liked wrestling. I mean, sure, we’ve seen a change in her behavior that exemplified as much but to actually have her say it is a big step for her character. Joel: The past two episodes have had pretty much zero wrestling between the two of th...

Chris:  I honestly wasn’t expecting such a serious episode out of a show like this but Alison Brie and Marc Maron really nailed it in the last couple scenes. And it makes sense that while Debbie and her almost ex-husband are dealing with the damage the infidelity caused that Ruth would be doing the same on an entirely different level. And even though this episode has such a heavy subject matter there’s not a whole lot of tension thanks to the birthday party and Marc Maron. I’ll admit that I never really saw the appeal of Maron, I wasn’t a huge fan of his IFC show and I only listened to his podcast unless I was interested in his guests and even then, I’d cut off most of those because he came off as condescending. I suppose that’s what he fights into this role so well, he’s basically playing himself but I will say, I’m actually starting to like him as this show progresses. I’m starting to dig him not only because of how he handled things in the doctor’s office but I like the way...

Chris:  Remember a few episodes ago when I said that I would’ve liked it if Machu Pichu’s family trained the girls? How great were those training scenes? The bigger brother was a bodyguard for Snoop Dogg about a decade ago and now he’s got impressive comedic timing and then the shorter brother...well he comes from the most legendary wrestling family in Puerto Rico so I guess it shouldn’t be too much of a surprise that he can deliver. Either way, this episode got to me a little bit. Sure, the end of the wrestling show kinda fell apart but I couldn’t help but feel a little bit of vicarious pride build up in me as GLOW put together a wrestling show that somehow got the crowd invested because no matter the size of the production, that’s the ultimate goal. And it’s good to see the show honor the time-honored tradition of wrestling and that’s finish the show no matter what happens during the show and trust me, some awful, unplanned things have happened during wrestling shows. This w...

Chris:  Debbie is still coming to grips that she needs to work with Ruth sooner than later which is finally somewhat accepted by the end of the episode. At the beginning, when Ruth is going over her ideas, I honestly thought it was just gonna be another silly awkward Ruth moment but by the end, I was actually impressed the performance along with the self-bumps. Honestly, it looks like Debbie is still struggling to fully commit to this whole silly wrestling thing and yet is intimidated by Ruth’s willingness to go all-in but uses the “sleeping with her husband” thing as an excuse to get out of the room. And then whatever good heel character work Ruth had at the beginning of the episode, it feels almost undone by the time she gets back from the Russian brisk. And you can always tell when a wrestler is in their comfort zone, case in point, Kia Stevens. She’s been wrestling her whole adult life and she’s been holding her own in this show but there’s times where you lines don’t feel...

Chris:  Really? Alex Riley is giving the deep insight (not making a euphemism, I swear) into the world of professional wrestling? That’s like Tim Tebow giving you football advice or Tim Tebow giving you broadcasting advice, or Tim Tebow giving you baseball advice, or Tim Tebow giving you advice about being subtle about your religion. All joking aside, Alex Riley (Steel Horse) introduces a great point about how it takes every participant in the ring to tell a story and deliver quality matches and wrestlers’ feelings about each other in real life is left in the dressing room. It’s an impressive thing to do because there’s always someone at your work that you can’t stand and avoid at all costs but you can’t do that in pro wrestling, if the booker tells you have a match and possibly an entire storyline, it doesn’t matter how you feel about that person, you still go out and try to get each other over with the crowd and deliver. Some of the greatest matches were performed by wrestle...

Chris:  Glow dipped their toe in a plot device that was done heavily in Orange is the New Black and that is have an episode focused moreso on characters that have been in ancillary roles up to this point, showcase their background and move them into a more prominent position in the show moving forward. Glow didn’t go into the full flashback scenes like Orange did but I wouldn’t be surprised if from this point on, we have more focus on Shiela the She-Wolf. Of course, it’s worth mentioning this episode featured two pro wrestling cameos by former WWE wrestlers, Brodus Clay (now going by “Tyrus” on Impact Wrestling) and Carlito, both playing brothers to Machu Pichu. Part of me was hoping Machu Pichu’s father and brothers would start training the girls because it still bugs me that they don’t have an actual trainer since Salty Johnson left after the first episode. There’s been a lot of focus on finding character and character development but it’s been a couple episodes since we’ve ...

Chris:  Oh man, very little actual wrestling in this episode as they venture mostly out of the gym but the last half of this episode was a perfect example of pro wrestling in the 80s and some 90s where wrestlers were stripped down to racial stereotypes, sometimes not even that wrestler’s own race. Hell, hispanic wrestlers where Arabic characters and there’s always one of the most famous examples of Yokozuna, a Japanese sumo stereotype played by a large Samoan man named Rodney Anoa’i. Racial Stereotypes aside, there is something to be said about the stories that are simplified are best to grab an audience. Not saying you can’t grab an audience with a more complex level but we’re talking about grown adults pretend fighting in very little clothing, it’s best not to complicate things too much as you’re already asking the audience to accept a hulk of a premise just by tuning in. The best wrestling storylines are typical brought in on a very basic, simplified level and then graduall...

Chris:  I just had to say something about someone using the “fake” word in the last review, didn’t I? And notice she was immediately put in her place after that. I’m not a huge fan of a couple things in this episode, one being that Cherry is suddenly training everyone with any sort of success. Sure she admits that she doesn’t really know much about wrestling but through sheer will power, a stunt background and the help of someone that grew up in the business, they kind of do lock-ups. This might be a minor gripe because really they just need to progress the plot and Johnny Mundo wasn’t available beyond the first episode. What I did like was the emphasis of there always being a hero and a villain in wrestling because otherwise, it’s hard to get people invested in anything combat-related and, a lot of times, the villain is way more interested than the hero. That’s why, if you watch wrestling with any sort of regularity, really good villains almost always become heroes because th...

Chris:  This show has already made me a happy camper just from the pilot. First of all, I’m happy Alison Brie is in a leading role because I’ve enjoyed watching her in just about everything I’ve seen her in but it was almost always in a supporting role and I’m glad she’s getting an opportunity to carry the lead. I’m happy that this show is taking pro wrestling seriously while also highlighting the overwhelming silliness of 1980s wrestling. To the best of my knowledge, the most dreaded “f word” in pro wrestling wasn’t used in the pilot and that may not seem like a big deal on the surface but to lifelong wrestling fans that may be watching, saying the word “fake” is a good way to get them to cut your show off. By recognizing that wrestlers are predominantly actors that focus heavily on physicality, it’s a big step that the creative team behind the show is taking “the business” seriously and it’s a great way to engage non-wrestling fans. I also do appreciate the use of real-life ...

With Money in the Bank in our rear view mirror, we now look at the aftermath of Dean Ambrose cashing in and we wonder would it have even happened if Roman Reigns hadn't gotten himself suspended. Also, is there such a thing as too much wrestling? Joel explores this ideas as we might be finding out in a couple of months.

Joel:  Honestly I hadn’t gone back and watched WrestleMania 31 straight through after watching it live about a year ago. Having seen this particular WrestleMania so recently, I can remember that my initial reaction to the show was that it was really quite, good and surprisingly good considering how bad it looked like it was going to be going into the show. So, on this rewatch, I was looking forward to closing out the whole thing with two really strong WrestleManias back to back. However, upon actually sitting down to watch WrestleMania 31 I realized that “surprisingly good” only works when you’re expecting it to be really bad. I don’t think WrestleMania 31 is terrible exactly, but rewatching it now doesn’t hold up to watching it live as much as I thought it would. For example, the ladder match that opens up the show is still one of the best matches on the card, but it doesn’t mark the triumphant return for Daniel Bryan anymore. Another example is the exciting “surprise” app...

Joel:   In rewatching this WrestleMania, I am honestly a little bit in awe of it. This may be as close to perfect as WrestleMania is ever going to get. Everything just seemed to click. Daniel Bryan is the big story here, having two matches, to both open and close the show. Either one of those matches could be a contender for match of the year, and together, along with the video packages, told one of the best underdog stories to ever come out of this company. The “Monster” video they played, telling the background of this story is one of the best video packages that the WWE editors have ever put together. Even if the rest of the show had been nothing more than subpart, the strength of the Daniel Bryan material is enough to pull the overall quality into good territory. But that’s not the case, as almost every other spot of WrestleMania is great. I enjoyed the opener of Hogan, The Rock and Stone Cold just coming out and having fun for a little bit. It worked to celebrate the mil...