Talk Is Jericho Podcast w/Stephanie McMahon Review

Chris Jericho's recent Interview on the WWE Network featured Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley as his Special Guest. The Interview was highly anticipated by the Network as WWE was ending their free trial for the month of April. Some were expecting this to be like the previous interview with John Cena as well as Austin's Interview with Stephanie's husband, Triple H. (The key word is "some", not all) However, this had more fluff than it had bark and bite. This interview was more of a feel good story between two former rivals who are obviously best friends. For my Comic book fans, it was like Wolverine and Mystique becoming friends. For my Anime fans, it was like Vegeta becoming friends with Android 18 after years of bad blood. For many fans, this further drives home the idea about Chris Jericho officially becoming a "Sellout" and a "Corporate Puppet". This was more like a walk in Candyland instead of what we expect from Stone Cold. Instead, it was more of a live chat between friends. Austin has become the measuring stick for anyone that does interviews, and the backlash against Jericho has intensified. While I do not have any hatred towards Y2J like the other fans, I felt as though a number of punches were held back. Jericho's Interview style is very entertaining in its own way. Other times, there are some things left unsaid. His "Talk Is Jericho" Podcast provides more substance, as it is not a show that it is completely sanctioned by WWE. Jericho is able to have full control of that vehicle, much like with his books. Now, I don't expect him to become Sherlock Holmes or Inspector Gadget trying to do Detective Work about a certain Canadian Crippler who no longer exists in WWE (*coughs* Chris Benoit). On the other hand, I understand why he holds back on certain things. Jericho likes to stay in good graces with WWE, and does not want to receive any of the horrendous company backlash that others before him have received because they were on Vince's bad side.

Jericho joked about "hard hitting questions", as a lead in to talk about a company "Christmas Party" that he was not invited to. This set the tone for the rest of the interview.

Now, I will go into the points that were brought up in the Network Exclusive.

Contrast in Austin and Jericho's styles: Stone Cold has gained a well built reputation of respect among fans, because he holds nothing back in his questions. You can walk away with assurance that nothing was left unsaid. Austin's interview style mirrors the way that he wrestled: Straightforward, but with a few elements of laughts. Jericho has more of a fun, and playful approach. Do not expect Austin to ask Stephanie who her childhood crush was.

WWE Ambassador: Stephanie explains the role that she plays as an Ambassador for WWE as she travels to different countries proclaiming the good deeds of a cultural phenomenon. Jericho and Stephanie talk about how funny it is that WWE is still seen by some as a Neanderthal sport, when it has redefined society for many, many years. She also talks about her contributions to the "Be A Star" Campaign against bullying. Jericho has the opportunity to drill her about why she plays a heel character on TV, while being front and center for an anti-bullying campaign. Stephanie gives a fluff response, and Jericho does not go any further.

(Side Note: Vince McMahon is standing in the background at the start of the interview, then leaves. Jericho and Steph point that out.)

Childhood Stories in Wrestling: Stephanie opens up about growing up the daughter of Vince McMahon and how she was often picked on because of that. Some kids thought that she would be a snob, because of her background. She shares a fun story about her friendship with Andre The Giant. Stephanie gravitated to Andre, because she felt that he was treated like an outcast since he was a Giant. Stephanie also says that growing up, she was a fan of Tito Santana and The Killer Bees. Steph did not like Hulk Hogan at all. Instead, she was a fan of the heels. I know she had to be furious about Hogan defeating Andre at WrestleMania 3. With that said, I see why she does her job so well as a villain. It was actually fun to hear about this.

Spitting Image of Vince: Stephanie talks about how she has the same relentless drive that her father has to obtain and maintain success. Her brother Shane calls her the "Vinceess". McMahon says that she closely observed her father's work as a showman and executive for years.

Beginnings: Steph says that she worked the phones for WWE (WWF at the time) when she was 14. She worked as an intern in the marketing department. Stephanie even says that she created a clip reel for Summerslam one year. I wish that she mentioned which one it was. She also talked about interacting with fans in the AOL chatrooms (I remember those days). McMahon shares those stories to let fans know that her parents did not hand her a high level executive position. Stephanie even said WWF, and was never censored.

Relationship with Triple H: This is where Stephanie opened up the most. Jericho and Stephanie talk about her relationship with Triple H. Steph says that originally, her father did not want her to be in a relationship with wrestlers. She says that Vince felt that it would be too much of a risk. Except there was one star that Vince had a special spot for in his heart, Triple H. She said that Vince "threw them together" at first. Then, he would "take away his blessing" so that they would be separated for some time.  For those of you looking for any mention of Chyna, this was the wrong place. Apparently, Vince does not want that name to resurface again as we know the headlines that it created in Austin's interview with Triple H. Clearly, things worked out in the end between Triple H and Stephanie. Their story ended in a fairytale way. When Jericho asked who wears the pants in the family, She says "both of us".

Lack of Ronday Rousey: Jericho brings up Ronda Rousey as his next topic of discussion, because of her relationship with WWE. As we know, Dana White announced that he has no plans of having Ronda make any more appearances for WWE. Rousey's appearances at Summerslam 2014 and WrestleMania 31 were huge attractions for the company. As Stephanie said that she did not know what was next with Ronda, she also said "Never say Never".

Future of Divas Division (#GiveDivasAChance): Like the Triple H topic, the biggest missed opportunity came when Stephanie was addressed with the topic about the Twitter war that her and AJ had about the #GiveDivasAChance movement. Stephanie was being diplomatic when she said that she was proud of the former 3-time Divas Champion for speaking up. With the bad blood surrounding CM Punk, I am sure that Stephanie sees AJ as a thorn behind the scenes. The fate of the Divas Division should not have to single handedly depend on Stephanie McMahon alone. It should be a collective effort on the Women in the locker room to step their game up in their own way. As her father would say, they have to fight for the brass ring themselves. However, Stephanie does have a strong deal of influence. The CBO (Chief Brand Officer) seems to agree with AJ about the state of women's wrestling. Steph sees the lack of ring time and stories that the females are given. She says that it is something that has to be worked on. Stephanie says that she desires a change in that department. She tells Jericho that she is "pushing for it everyday". Hopefully, the #GiveDivasAChance tweet does not do more harm than good. What was expected to be the hot button point was cooled off and swept under the rug.

Overall, this Interview does not leave me in anticipation for the next guest on the show. WWE is in a comfort zone as an award winning network with no desire to go for more press. Austin provided the headlines that they needed to give them an edge and reach 1,000,000 subscribers. Now that they have reached personal goals, they have no desire to continue to create buzz. Stone Cold's Interviews left us walking away with topics to discuss among our friends, coworkers, etc for the rest of the week. Jericho's interview with Cena provided some nice headlines and gave us a deeper look into Cena when he is away from character. Fans walked away with a better understanding of John Cena and realized he is a regular guy like the rest of us behind the pomp and circumstance. This interview was just Vince's way of staying complacent and avoiding anything that could be seen as "controversial" on any level. Jericho is the guy that the company has in their vision for who they want as a staple for future interviews. Austin was the figure head to save them from going out of business. Y2J is the figure head that they look at to conduct interviews. It is safe to say that he has now built himself as the true suit and tie company guy.

This Interview gets 3 out of 5 Undisputed Title Belts.

Talk Is Jericho w/John Cena Podcast Review

In the aftermath of the falling out between Vince McMahon and Stone Cold following Austin's controversial interview with Triple H regarding Chyna, WWE has moved into a different direction. As a result, Chris Jericho's Podcast has become the replacement for Austin's show. For the first time and hopefully not the last time, Talk Is Jericho makes its debut on the WWE Network. There was no better way for it to debut on the Network than to have John Cena as the first guest. Like anyone else, I was greatly surprised that Vince ousted Austin's Podcast, especially considering what Stone Cold means to the history of the company. However, Chris Jericho is not a bad choice to fill that spot. Some criticize Jericho for leaning too much on the corporate side. As a Jericho fan, I have no problem with his delivery. I enjoy listening to both of their shows. Chris Jericho has developed his own legacy as an interviewer, and I would put it neck and neck with Stone Cold. As far as the John Cena interview, I have been waiting for him to become a guest on Jericho's show on Podcast One. Chris has a great history of guests, from Stone Cold himself, Edge, Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, Triple H and even Hulk Hogan just to name a few. Finally, WWE has decided to allow John Cena to have a Network Exclusive Interview. I must say, that I was very impressed. Y2J is not the type of guy that will really go into very taboo issues, so WWE would not have to worry about pushing the panic button. Jericho and Cena cover a variety of interesting topics. This interview presented the REAL John Cena, not the Kayfabe Character that many people revile. I am not a John Cena hater, nor am I a fanboy. I respect John Cena's career. As usual, I will present what they go over with bullet points.

• 5 Moves of Doom: Y2J wastes no time in asking John about what he has become infamous for among the IWC, the Five Moves of Doom. Jericho jokingly starts out by saying that he has a bone to pick with Cena about it because fans have highly criticized John about it. Cena brings a great answer to his critics by saying that he likes to mix things up, by doing a Springboard Maneuver here and there or anything else to make things slightly unpredictable. He even makes fun of himself by saying that his 5 Moves are, two shoulder tackles, Five Knuckle Shuffle, AA, and STFU. John knows that he gets blasted by the marks behind a keyboard, and he plays the right games with them. For the record, everyone has "FIVE Moves of Doom". Beloved Attitude Era Icons like Stone Cold, The Rock and Undertaker each have "5 Moves of Doom".  Legendary Ring Generals like Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels have their own "5 Moves of Doom" Hulk Hogan has at least 3 moves. Rey Mysterio has about 7 key moves. Even the man Interviewing Cena has his own 5 moves of doom. Those are the go-to moves.
• Position as U.S. Champion: John goes on to talk about wanting to bring value back to the United States Championship. In the process, he says that he wants to elevate younger talent from Dean Ambrose, Cody Rhodes, and others.
• Taking Chances: Cena says that Superstars need to take their own chances. He stands by Vince McMahon's "Brass Ring" line by using it as a way to challenge to the others in the Locker Room to take chances. John says that he tries to communicate that point with his fellow wrestlers, but they don't understand because he has more leverage than others. He encourages them to make their own niche, and carve their own place in the company. Even if that risk may put you on the line, go after it. To hear John Cena say, that means a lot.
• Relationship with Vince McMahon: John Cena says that both he and Vince McMahon share the same vision for the business to grow. Cena says that he wants to model himself after Vince's model of success. Both are like-minded but are different creatively. Cena wants to put his all into everything he does just like Vince.
• First meeting with Vince McMahon: Cena shares a funny story about how he was called up by Michael Hayes to be The Undertaker's replacement for a match with Kurt Angle. John goes into Vince's office before the match, and McMahon tells him in a funny way to cut his hair. Anytime a Vince Impression is involved, it always makes the story even more humorous.
• History with Chris Jericho: Y2J and Cena discuss their history together, going back to when they had their first match together at Vengeance where Cena won. Jericho shares the story of how he came up with Cena's nickname "Wacky Roll-Up Guy", as John used to finish his matches with a weird, wacky roll-up. Chris Jericho has been known to be a John Cena Defender, and this is a prime example. The original plan was for Jericho to win, but he went to creative and vouched for Cena to go over.
• OVW: Most fans today only know John Cena as the King of the WWE Throne. However, fans like myself and others know about Cena's humble origins in Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW). OVW was the NXT of that time. Contrary to where people see Cena today, John admits that he was not the first clear-cut choice that WWE had in mind to build a Superstar. Cena gives credit to his fellow OVW Rookies, as it was clearly one of the deepest rookie classes in WWE History. John came through the ranks with fellow soon to be Hall of Famers such as Brock Lesnar, Randy Orton, and Dave Batista. Cena praises each of them for how special they were in their own way. John even gives recognition to Shelton Benjamin, who was another unique star from that group. This collective group of talent would shape the next Era of WWE History. Brock would become a SuperNova in his first run in WWE, by becoming a 3-time WWE Champion and later become the man that Broke the Streak. Randy Orton and Batista would become Stable Mates in Evolution before becoming Main Event Players in their own right. John Cena would achieve massive success as well. Brock, Randy and Dave all became Cena's natural rivals when they each came up to the main roster. Lesnar had the fastest start out of everyone while Cena, Orton, and Batista made the rise at a very even level. The OVW Rookie Class of 2002 set the bar very high, as it is time for the NXT Class of Neville, Zayn, Owens, Balor and Itami to make their mark on WWE.
• Origins on Smackdown: The Show goes into John Cena's beginnings on Smackdown. Jericho goes into his frustration about how Cena went from working with veterans like himself, Edge and Rey Mysterio to being demoted to Velocity. Cena says that he was lacking an identity.
• Establishing an Identity: John talks about how the Dr. of Thuganomics character was established. He said that he was freestyling on the bus during a road trip with a number of other wrestlers. The people in charge of creative heard Cena rap and decided that he should use that as his gimmick. From that point, Cena would wear Throwback Jerseys of the hometeam. For example, he would wear a Lakers Jersey of Magic Johnson or Kareem if Smackdown was in Los Angeles. If they were in Boston, he would wear a Celtics Jersey of Larry Bird. This was a very unique and creative idea to establish Cena's identity. As a result, John became a made man. The rest is history.
• PEDs/Bodybuilding: John Cena addresses any rumors of him using Performance Enhancing Drugs. Instead, he says that his strength is natural as he was once a bodybuilder before stepping into the squared circle. Cena says that his weight has not change, but his strength has naturally increased.
• Recovery from Injuries: Jericho talks about how fascinated he is by the way that John Cena recovers so fast from injuries. He compared Cena to a Mutant like Wolverine from the X-Men, because of how fast he is able to heal. Cena says that he does not like to stay away from the ring, and goes through whatever it takes to recover as soon as possible.
• Being the Face of WWE: Chris Jericho says that John Cena is part of the WWE Mt. Rushmore with Hulk Hogan, Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock when it comes to being the face of the Company. He goes into wanting to know how WWE can develop someone else into becoming the face of the Next Generation of Wrestling inspite of how strict things have become. Cena says that whoever steps up to that position will face a tough time, because of how the fans are quickly irritated with someone being heavily promoted as the top star of the company. He knows from experience, as the IWC are his biggest enemies. Cena then gives respect to Roman Reigns, and how he needs to be given his own chance to really prove himself. I will be the first to admit that today's fans give no one a clear chance, because they will turn on someone just as fast as they support them. The Platform of Social Media amplifies their anger and how short their attention span is as well. Cena says that it will not be long before someone steps up to become the "Front Man" of WWE, as a band cannot go without a lead star for too long.
• Audience: John talks about the obvious backlash from the fans. He mentions how the fans booed him when he inducted William Perry into the Hall of Fame in 2006. Cena is great when it comes to making the right response to fans that boo him, even though he is the hero (babyface). Jericho also shares his frustrations about how fans would boo him even when he was the babyface. I respect Cena even more by how he takes the high road inspite of the heat from the fans.
• The Rock: The biggest selling point of this Podcast was the topic about The Rock. Cena says that at first, he and Dwayne had a rocky (pun intended) relationship because of competition. John mentions how angry The Rock was for calling him out about his lack of commitment to wrestling. Cena admits that he called The Rock a sellout for going to Hollywood. The animosity that they had with one another was born out of competiton. Cena compares his feud with The Rock to LeBron James and Michael Jordan. The Rock was clearly Michael Jordan, while Cena was LeBron James. This was a battle of Two Different Eras colliding. Cena expressed how he looked for every chance to throw a single blow, because he wanted this to be a fair fight. There was also heat for the way that Cena called The Rock out for writing a promo on his wrist when The Great One is the Duke of the Microphone. Originally, I thought that Cena was being immature and disrespectful for the things that Rock has done for the business before going to Hollywood. John himself even admits that he did not see things from The Rock's perspective. Cena acknowledged that he was desperate to be elevated because he had to prove himself. The Rock did not have to prove himself. After his program with Rock ended, Cena gained a greater appreciation of The Rock's perspective. Now, he can see through Rock's eyes as far as how he wanted to elevate the business to a greater plateau.
• Summerslam 2005 (Birth of the "Let's Go Cena/Cena Sucks Chants"): Jericho and Cena talk about how the "Let's Go Cena/Cena Sucks" chants started at Summerslam 2005 in Washington, DC. (I was there, great shoutout from Jericho) Ladies and Gentleman, the two-sided chants towards Cena originated here in DC and I witnessed them live. As a fan, I cheered for Cena because he was the good guy, as well as the Champion. However, I am also a fan of Chris Jericho and share a great respect for his legacy. Now, it has become the cool thing to chant "Let's Go Cena, Cena Sucks". At this point, it doesn't even bother Cena.
• Versatility: Cena talks about how to find ways to maneuver from being silly, comedic John Cena to the Serious, Aggressive John Cena.
• Heel Turn: Just like The Rock, the other talking point of the show was about John Cena turning heel. This has become the Univeral Question regarding John Cena. Cena responds by saying that he will not turn heel, because of the kids that he inspires through Make A Wish Foundations. He also says that fans boo him anyway, so being heel would not make things change. I admire John's response, because he knows that everyone will not be happy with what he does. Once again, Cena wins against the IWC. John says that he is open to making the heel turn, as long as someone else is in place to fill his spot as the Ambassador of WWE. So far, there is no one that can take that place.
• Favorite Match: Jericho asks Cena about his favorite match. First, John says that his favorite match has yet to come. Interesting from a star that has a history of great matches. Then, he says that his favorite match was with The Rock at WrestleMania XXVIII. That was the best match of their rivalry.
• Relationship with The Rock: Cena says that his relationship with The Rock is fine. The tension that they once had is now over.
• Future for John Cena: Cena says that he still has enough in his tank to continue. John goes on by saying that he will only stop when he feels that his work in the ring starts to noticeably decline.

Overall, this was a great podcast. From the outset, Y2J admitted on Twitter that his Podcast with Cena would be corporate: "For those worried that tonight's podcast with John Cena will be corporate-ur right. All my questions have to be approved by #JackTunney". In typical Jericho fashion, he already gave his fans a warning of what they would hear. I was satisifed. In Conclusion, this podcast showed the REAL John Cena as it gave his detractors a greater sense of respect to him. You don't have to like the way his character is booked, but you will walk away respecting the man behind it. I give this show 4 John Cena WWE Title Reigns out of 5.