New to Wrestling Podcast

New to Wrestling Podcast

Lifelong wrestling fan takes his best friend through, the joys, the action, and all the drama that is professional wrestling! Starting with The Attitude Era and Beyond!

Episodes

September 4, 2025 57 mins

On this week’s New to Wrestling, Kelsey and Xavier break down the March 17, 1998 edition of Raw is War — a go-home show so unhinged, it felt like Vince Russo scribbled it on a napkin five minutes before airtime.

We’re talking:

  • Ken Shamrock inventing “ShamWow Mode” by snapping into a rage spiral, destroying everything in his path, and still eating a chair shot like it was breakfast.
  • Mr. McMahon’s origin story: Vince steps fully int...
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The Thicky Time Bomb has landed on New to Wrestling! 💥

This week, indie star Brian Bomb joins us to talk about his Sable-inspired wrestling origin story (yes, it all started with a Toys “R” Us trip), the whip, the Bomb, and how he crafted a style that blends flamboyance with brute strength. From training at the Fallout Shelter to creating safe spaces like Fight for the Pride, Brian opens up about community, identity, and the realit...

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Cheyenne Ortiz — better known across the indies as “The Voice” — joins us for a conversation that’s equal parts storytelling, wrestling nerd-out, and wing recommendations.

Cheyenne pulls back the curtain on his 11-year journey in wrestling: from middle school morning announcements to becoming the trusted voice of ACE, BCW, ECWA, and beyond. We dive into the grind of commentary, the art of making wrestlers (not yourself) shine, and w...

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In this New to Wrestling: After Dark episode, hosts Kelsey Silva and Xavier sit down with indie tag team standouts "Miami" Mike Walker and Vinny Talotta, better known as The Post Game, for a conversation that’s part locker room banter, part wrestling masterclass.

Mike and Vinny open up about their wrestling origins, training experiences, and the grind of building a name across different territories. They share how their ta...

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This week on New to Wrestling, we’re taking it back to March 9, 1998 — a night where the glow-in-the-dark sticks were out, the People’s Elbow got its official christening, and the Attitude Era served up its usual recipe of chaos, questionable fashion choices, and about three disqualifications too many.

From Sable getting humiliated in heels that could outrun Jurassic Park raptors, to Farooq teaching The Rock a little Nation of Domin...

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We’re back for week 2 of There’s Just One Problem by Brian Gewirtz, and if you thought last week was chaotic… buckle up.

This stretch (Chapters 5–9) covers everything from Brian taking a literal bump courtesy of Bubba Ray Dudley, to the culture shock of writing promos for The Rock and Vince McMahon at the same time. We get into the rise of SmackDown, the disaster of the original XFL (and what it was like watching that trai...

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Welcome to the first-ever episode of Reading the Ring, where wrestling is real — and books are too.
This week, we crack open There's Just One Problem by Brian Gewirtz, the one-time 7th most powerful person in WWE (his words, not ours). In this debut installment, Xavier takes you on a deep dive through the first four chapters, including:

  • 🧑‍⚖️ A real-life “Wrestler’s Court” session — featuring Kane as bailiff, ...
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With Kelsey off the grid (and possibly packed in a moving box), Xavier holds down the ring solo to cover one of the most chaotic weekends in modern wrestling history — and he’s got thoughts.

The episode dives into three major events:
 🔥 WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event
👑 WWE Evolution II
💥 AEW All In: Texas

From Randy Orton vs. Drew McIntyre to Hangman Page’s blood-soaked redemption, Xavier breaks down the key matches...

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Welcome to Reading the Ring — the official wrestling book club from the New to Wrestling Podcast!
We’re kicking things off with There’s Just One Problem... by Brian Gewirtz.
📅 First breakdown drops July 21 on our YouTube channel.
Let’s read like champs.

#NewToWrestling #ReadingTheRing #WrestlingBookClub #BrianGewirtz #WWEStories #WrestlingPodcast #ClosetedWrestlingFan #BookTokWrestling

The New To Wrestling Podcast fol...

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We’re back on the road to WrestleMania 14 and the chaos is dialed all the way up. In this week’s episode, Kelsey and Xavier dig into the March 2, 1998 edition of Raw Is War—featuring Mike Tyson’s very unexpected allegiance, Paul Bearer acting like a mafia don, and a casket that gets struck by lightning because sure, why not.

We also get way too much Jeff Jarrett, just the right amount of Chainsaw Charlie chainsawing a car, and the r...

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He flips. He flies. He bleeds (occasionally on purpose).

This week on New to Wrestling: After Dark, we’re joined by high-flying indie standout and deathmatch up-and-comer Christian Starr, a.k.a. The Starchild.

We get into:

  • How GCW reignited his love for wrestling
  • Training in Canada and prepping for Japan
  • His first-ever deathmatch (featuring barbed wire, thumbtacks, and a dart gun 💀)
  • Why he writes out match spots like homework
  • The bea...
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This week on After Dark, we’re joined by indie wrestling standout and certified harvester of sorrows, Sammi Chaos—our first-ever female guest and instant icon. From the Mecca to the middle of a triple threat she wasn’t even booked for (until 10 minutes before bell time), Sammi brings the chaos, heart, and eyeliner.

We talk about growing up an Attitude Era kid, falling into wrestling after a very honest drunk epiphany, and balancing ...

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What happens when two hungry, hard-hitting tag champs take over the mic? You get a whole lot of honesty, hustle, and heat.

This week on New to Wrestling, we sit down with Da ProspectzCollin Parker and Jayy Alfredo—the reigning LoudEast Tag-Team Champions, to talk about what it really takes to break through on the indie scene. From overlooked grind to in-ring brotherhood, nothing’s off the table in this no-filter conversation.

🔥 We ...

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Wrestling is art—and Matt Awesome lives that truth with every bump, beat, and Bronx-infused promo.

In this After Dark session, Matt joins Kelsey and Xavier to talk about everything from his deep-rooted love of music (and how every promo has a secret Easter egg) to surviving a terrifying in-ring asthma attack that nearly ended his career. He shares how that moment lit a fire under him to take his health seriously, train with the best...

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This week on New to Wrestling: After Dark, we’re joined by “The Prospector” Wes Barker—independent wrestler, old-school soul, and walking masterclass in how to grind with grace.

From training under Chris Knight to Reality of Wrestling with Booker T, Wes takes us through a journey built on passion, adaptability, and a little chaos (like debuting in front of the puppeteers from Fraggle Rock—yes, really). We talk about learning to work...

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This week, we dust off the VCR and jump back into the chaos of the Attitude Era with the February 16, 1998 episode of Raw Is War—and y’all, it’s a MESS in the best way. Kelsey remembers the Quebecers just in time, Xavier’s stressed about the Legion of Doom’s ongoing dumpster trauma, and we all agree that Jackyl’s “intellectual intercourse” is a war crime.

PLUS: We talk about our trip to Anniversary 8: A Jurassic Celebration, give ma...

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In our first-ever crossover event, the New to Wrestling crew links up with the brilliant (and brilliantly unhinged) minds behind the Invasion Angle podcast—Johnny, Jason, and Chris—for a late-night wrestling roundtable that goes way off the rails in the best way.

We cover everything from how these lifelong friends and film school grads bonded over suplexes and storytelling, to how ECW changed their brains forever. We break down thre...

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On this episode of New to Wrestling: After Dark, we sit down with one of the sharpest minds—and smoothest talkers—in independent wrestling today: Jarett Diaz. From learning the ropes with a SmackDown writer in summer school, to grinding through the indies with wisdom beyond his years, Diaz brings a rare combo of humility, hustle, and heat.

We dive deep into his start behind the scenes at WWE, why he wrestles with a notebook full of ...

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May 8, 2025 60 mins

Buckle up, because this week on New to Wrestling, we dive headfirst into the absolute chaos that was WWF’s No Way Out of Texas: In Your House from 1998. The Road to WrestleMania 14 is rocky, wild, and (apparently) paved with barbed wire, broken chairs, and very dramatic camera angles.

Xavier and Kelsey are covering it all—from the WTF?! moment that was Savio Vega’s surprise substitution, to a surprisingly emotional Vader moment, to ...

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Lights, togas, and a whole lot of backstage chaos—Becoming a Spectacle takes us behind the curtain of WrestleMania IX, and Kelsey and Xavier are here to break down every gloriously bizarre moment. From Hulk Hogan literally stealing the main event to the Undertaker being chloroformed by a 7-foot giant in an airbrushed bodysuit (you read that right), this documentary has everything: backstage betrayal, wild conspiracies, Vegas VIP dr...

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