My workmate is a big fan of The Solomonster Sounds off Podcast, but I recommended Post Wrestling, and he has listened to the last three RAR shows. We listened to the first 40 minutes of the latest show on the way to work, and he said he didn’t enjoy it, as he was just waiting for them to snap at each other again.
I’ve been listening to John and Wai since 2015, and although the banter is often awkward, today’s just seemed to have a nasty tone to it.
It put my workmate off becoming a patron (or even a listener to free shows). Just wondering what other long time fans think of the situation. Especially as shows are on YouTube now too, and new listeners might have the same reaction to my colleague, rather than becoming regular listeners.
We are Scottish, so It’s very possible that we just don’t understand how Canadian humour comes across in audio form.
Personally I thought it was hilarious and John is totally accurate in his basketball analysis. Felt to me like Wai is a HUGE closet Raps fan and was sulking a bit lol.
I think John is probably a little more into the NBA Championship than Wai. Wai just doesnt give a shit about sports, therefore doesnt really have an opinion about who will win, so he’d just be giving a fake answer that meant nothing. Nothing awkward about it at all and its just usual fun banter from the guys.
This is not even something that needs a blog dedicated to it and if THAT turns someone off from becoming a patron, then I think that person needs to be saving their money for things that will help with their sensitivity issues.
This has happened a handful of times over the years between John and Wai. It makes me cringe but obviously others are not bothered at all. It’s really amazing how few times it happens considering all the hours they spend together.
I’m more put off when it’s clear that John or Wai are burned out on the product. I think it was last week’s Raw when Wai sounded very frustrated with the product (can’t really blame him). That’s a tough listen for me. Reminds me of the brutal days of impact reviews. I had to give up on those.
Paul, I am a long time fan and patron, although I don’t regularly post in the forum this topic hit a nerve.
I found Wai’s attitude last week very off-putting, to the point I considered canceling my patreon support. I’ve heard them sour on a product before, but this felt very different. It went beyond regular frustration and I thought for the first time “why am I giving this man money”. I chalked it up to me overreacting, as I do sometimes, and enjoyed the next night’s Review-A-Smackdown show.
Then the start of this week’s RAR evoked a similar reaction, and I commend John for professionally moving on when petulant Wai just wanted to have another cranky moment. It’s unfortunate, I really enjoy these guys and their chemistry, but the last couple of weeks have had moments where I found Wai super obnoxious. So Paul, I understand your perspective and hope these were just a couple of random poor moments.
RAW would put me in a bad mood too. I get the perspective that it’s not ideal for new listeners, but I chalk it up to them being transparent as they usually are with their banter.
I understand what you’re saying, to an extent. The thing is though, after working together for as long as they have, you’d think they’d be able to get away from awkward points without it being noticeable. When Wai blurted out “why do you need to know that”?, it just seemed odd, he was only asked for a prediction of a basketball series, not his relationship status/credit rating etc
It didn’t seem like something to be annoyed by though, especially as he gave a prediction at the end of the show. I understand either of them arguing a point over something they review, but not a basketball result
Wai did though that last weeks problem was a combination of a bad show/his issues with the Saudi trip, and the Jon Moxley interviews being fresh in his mind, highlighting the problems Vince creates, so I understand where he’s coming from.
You’re right though, John did well to move the show along, for a second or two, I thought he was going to ask what the problem was
I have zero issues with any of this. To be honest, after 8 years of listening to them I pretty much would contribute just to hear them talk about anything. But that’s just me.
Raw has been dreadful. So dreadful I’ve stopped regularly watching it and rely on their show. I appreciate the realness in their voices at times so that it conveys exactly what I would have felt if I had to watch the show.
In a way it’s like a real social experiment in how long these guys can review a shit product for their job without cracking. It’d be super annoying if they were golly gosh yowie wowie about the shit they see on tv.
I pay for the realness, not a ho hum recap I can get on wwe dot com
I completely wifh you on how they review shows. My point was on how Wai reacted to being asked a simple question about basketball. John even mentioned not getting upset with each other a few minutes into the show, which I don’t think I’ve heard him do before, so it clearly irked him, just by his tone of voice alone.
MJ, (I’ve heard a lot of your posts on the shows nice to meetcha), I’ve also listened for years, and like you stopped watching RAW and Smackdown regularly. I read Wade Keller’s review for a quick synopsis of the show and listen to RAR for the analysis I’ve come to love for years. I’ve heard the awkwardness before, I usually like the banter and reactions, it’s only the last couple of weeks that got to me. I don’t come on forums to bash their product – heck I support their patreon and nowadays only have time to listen to the free stuff. I commend how they turned a tough situation into an entrepreneurial success. Like most of us, I felt terrible for them, and it’s great to see how they turned a positive out of it. When I visit other sites and there’s ever a question about what’s your favorite wrestling podcast, I always put Review-A-Raw.