Our Favorite Wrestling Podcasts

In this edition of The Wrestling Estate roundtable, we name our top three favorite wrestling podcasts.

Juan Bautista’s Favorite Wrestling Podcasts

My World Jeff Jarret and Conrad Thompson

As a fan of TNA and someone who enjoys learning wrestling history, it’s great to hear details about what was going on at that time. The financials behind TNA have been fascinating in addition to learning how one guy almost killed the promotion. The “Daddy Buys Dallas” episode is a prime example of excellent historical content the show has to offer.

The Jim Cornette Experience / Drive Thru

The food debates alone are worth listening to. The Drive Thru allows for various topics of current and past events which allows great insight from Cornette and Brian Last. On both shows they review current wrestling, giving intriguing takes on what they enjoy and what they thought sucked. The shows both peak when they just dive into a topic, whether it’s the stupid antics of Hannibal, promotion deep dives or a random topic like Stan Lane’s paternity suit or Hulk Hogan’s lies.

The Kurt Angle Show with Conrad Thompson

It is great to get insight into one of the best wrestling careers ever and a unique perspective because it focuses on Kurt’s perspective. It is also a great show that has interviews with current and past talent and gives insight into Kurt’s past such as the Foxcatcher episode.

Steven Jackson’s Favorite Wrestling Podcasts

83 Weeks

I wanted to avoid mentioning many (if any) of the larger wrestling podcasts. Ad Free Shows are a bit oversaturated. But these last 12 months, 83 Weeks has constantly drawn me in. WCW is very close to my heart, so I always enjoy hearing Eric Bischoff’s views of the events.

Grappling with Canada

So many podcasts today (like the aforementioned 83 Weeks) review past events or careers of wrestlers from the past. Very few take an original approach to deep diving into wrestlers’ careers. This is where Grappling with Canada excels! Wonderfully hosted by The Taxman, Grappling With Canada is a thrill ride from start to finish. And the level of detail is unbelievable!

Pacific Rim Podcast

Now you all know along with Ring of Honor and WCW, my other major love is Japanese wrestling. Hosted by legendary Puroresu historian Fumi Saito and journalist Jim Valley, each episode of the Pacific Rim Podcast is an encyclopedic whistle-stop history lesson. It’s incredibly informative, but most of all, extremely entertaining!

Chad Gelfand’s Favorite Wrestling Podcasts

Wrestling with Freddie

When you think of a wrestling podcast, you don’t usually think of the guy that played Fred in Scooby-Doo, but Wrestling with Freddie has been a pleasant surprise. Freddie Prinze Jr. has a really good understanding of wrestling, honed by his time on the WWE creative team. His stories are interesting and help to give insight into why WWE operates in the way it does today.

Review/Rewind A Wai

Every John Pollock and Wai Ting podcast is great, but my favorites of theirs have always been their retro show reviews. Pollock keeps some of the most detailed notes out there, and I always learn something new about whatever show is being reviewed.

New Day’s Feel the Power Podcast

The podcast seems like it’s defunct, but this one gave me the most laughs of any wrestling podcast. The chemistry between the three is obviously great, and it feels like you’re sitting around with your friends and sharing inside jokes.

Jack Goodwillie’s Favorite Wrestling Podcasts

My World with Jeff Jarrett

While I’ve been critical of the decline of Something to Wrestle with Bruce Prichard, don’t let that make you think “The PodFather” Conrad Thompson has lost a step. But when it comes to podcasts under the Ad Free Shows umbrella, it kind of breaks down like this: Something to Wrestle With is in decline, 83 Weeks with Eric Bischoff is good depending on your trust level in Eric, Arn! and the Kurt Angle Show are good but tend to run shorter most weeks, Conrad’s chemistry with Tony still makes WHW worth listening to and Grilling JR is great.

But My World with Jeff Jarrett is on another level. Few have had the career that Jeff has had, and while I always thought he’d be a good podcast partner for a Conrad-style show, I had no idea how great it would be from the very first episode on. And if you haven’t heard the show, episode one is a good starting point, as Jeff debunks every theory/myth we’ve heard about his departure from the WWF in 1999 and gives you a bit of a taste of what’s to come. He also goes in depth on the creation of TNA, which as far as a series of episodes go, may be among my favorites. If there’s ever an opportunity to catch a live show of these two, I don’t plan on missing it.

The Jim Cornette Experience

So, Jim Cornette is pretty much persona non-grata on r/squaredcircle these days, but for those who don’t frequent that sub, which has not been without its own issues, I’d be curious to hear what the public opinion of Jim Cornette is in 2022. Here’s mine: Jim has stood the test of time as one of the most entertaining personalities in wrestling, and that’s what makes his podcast so great. You never know what kind of great quip he’ll come up with on the spot or what kind of rabbit hole he might go down and whether people realize it or not, Jim’s podcast is one of wrestling’s top podcasts largely because he’s the perfect man to have a podcast.

I remember a time where you could run out of Jim Cornette content to watch or listen to on YouTube. Now? The handler of his YouTube channel is uploading full blown omnibus of his show based on topics such as Vince McMahon stories, the Montreal Screwjob and Jim’s time in OVW. Yes, he has been critical of AEW, but why does that have to be a bad thing? Because he puts people down? Because he sometimes goes too far? Just because I like the show doesn’t mean I agree or have to agree with everything he says, and neither should you.

But my opinion of Jim is non-wavering, fortified by years of interviews and candor from someone who, at the end of the day, could be the world’s biggest wrestling fan. And anyway, do people really seek out wrestling podcasts to find the ones they most agree with? That may be why people watch legacy media, but that’s not why I listen to wrestling podcasts. Rather, it is to be entertained and maybe hear something I wouldn’t have otherwise thought of. Besides, I’d rather someone go too far than not far enough.

Wrestling with Freddie

I’ve long contended that Freddie Prinze Jr. offers one of the most interesting perspectives on wrestling. Here’s a guy who, the son of a rising standup comedian, grew up a wrestling fan and went on to become someone of significance in the acting world where there are a lot of similarities to the wrestling world; so many, in fact, that Vince McMahon has taken every opportunity to make wrestling more like movies and less like…wrestling. Naturally, that made Prinze and WWE a natural on-paper fit when WWE hired him to the creative team in 2008, but Freddie was much more than another “Hollywood writer.”

He helped the men and women with their on-screen performances and is regularly credited with helping Jeff Hardy transition into a main eventer as someone who stumped hard for Jeff to get the title at Armageddon 2008. Someone like Freddie would be the ultimate creative force in wrestling: someone who understands the little things that make movies great while having a very descript product knowledge and love for wrestling in its purest form. If I ran a company, I’d give Freddie a blank check to be part of my creative brain trust.

For now, I’m just happy he has a podcast. He’s a perfect fit for that space with his unique perspective on the business. This way, I can listen to his candor on a weekly basis instead of having to wait for every time he does an interview with the wrestling media.