I pitched a wrestling show to 'Dave' back in 2017, (they had Steve Austin's Broken Skull Ranch on every night at 9pm and had just done big numbers with a boxing event, so it wasn't... ya know... totally off brand). Perhaps almost unbelievably, they told me, "wrestling is too low brow". I got home that night, flicked on Taskmaster, to watch Josh Widdicombe literally counting beans.

Richard and Marina, I didn't expect wrestling to come up - but thank you!!!! I'm a life long wrestling fan and as soon as anyone who doesn't watch wrestling hears you like wrestling, the first thing they say is "You know it's fake, right?" - like after watching wrestling for over 35 years, as an adult I wouldn't know the entertainment I watch religiously was pre-determined. So yes, the outcomes are pre-determined, but the art of what goes into the performance is incredible. These aren't men stamping the ground and pretending to hit each other anymore. The in ring matches are often called in the ring, which even after all this time blows my mind; some of the spots are incredible. But it's also how they link those spots together. Being a wrestler is also about how you look and, even more importantly, how good you are on the mic and your promo skills. And, as I am sure someone has mentioned already, the injuries are very real. Some wrestlers get to come back after years away in rehab - like Adam Copeland, Bryan Danielson (who is one fo the best on the world in my extremely humble opinion). Some might come back - we're all hoping Big E will make a return. Some sadly become too injured to wrestle again. So yes, it is pre-determined who will take the pin, or submit. But the performance in the ring in usually called there and then and injuries are very real. That's sports entertainment. So again, thank you - we know it isn't real. We also know it isn't entirely fake. I've always rather thought of it this way - movies aren't real either.

Marina and Richard are so watchable and just a delight.. I can't remember the last time I hit subscribe so quickly and so hard.

Wrestling rings are reportedly hard, and wrestlers are trained to minimise impact to each other, but things can go wrong, hence why wrestlers like Adam Copeland have broken their neck and needed surgery. In terms of entertainment, if the right measure of wrestling, psychology and storytelling are used, it can be really entertaining.

I'm a big WWE fan and I think this is why the algorithm plopped this on my recommendation page. Glad it did. All hail the algorithm.

After watching wrestling almost every day for a good 25 years, I can't say it's always entertaining, but it's certainly addictive. It's like my nan and corrie, you dont actively like it all the time, but you'll be damned if you ever miss a show "just in case" something important happens

I've been bingeing these over the last few days. Very great.

I can confirm that some people do buy the houses on Escape to the Country. A friend in our village got hers that way!

Most enjoyable and thank you Richard for your comments on escape to the country. I'm south African but my grandparents on both sides came from Scotland and Wales so I enjoy the information given about the area in between the houses. I love House of Games.. Happy New Year 🎉

Loved your answers regarding the wrestling!

Thankfully, Richard had a sensible reaction & assessment of the Paltrow thing. I had to force myself to continue listening once she was even brought up.

Marina and Richard have such great chemistry ! I love this podcast

Legitmately didn't expect to hear AEW mentioned in this, great stuff.

I have deliberately adopted the Americanism _"season"_ because it's just confusingly ambiguous to use the word _"series"_ to refer to both the whole and the constituent parts.

I’d been fighting the same issue, so the series and season clarification was a game changer, thank you.

Little Roland Barthes wrote a good essay on professional wrestling called "The World of Wrestling", in his collection Mythologies. Where he draws comparisons between wrestling and politics. Wrestling is also unusual, because in terms of entertainment. I can't think of another example where it all plays out in real time. Two years for the audience is the same two years for the wrestlers. They don't go "...TWO YEARS LATER" and have a wrestler return after being ran over by a van, due to his polyamory catching up with him. As well as the attempted vehicular manslaughter.

Have A Good Week... Till Next Week by John Lister is another good book on British wrestling from the World of Sport era.

21:59 yes!! The Wrestling is a brilliant book. As seen on Wrestle Me.

I knew Richard was going to say Would I Lie To You was the most improvised. It sort of has to be given how the interrogator responds to the person they're questioning. Likewise I knew he'd say Lee Mack was the fastest, he's clearly very quick witted. I can't believe it took me 13 years to discover it.

Doctor Who used Season and Series to differentiate between Classic Doctor Who and 2005> Doctor Who, with the former referred to as Seasons 1, 2, 3, etc and the latter as Series 1, 2, 3 and so on. Which made sense and largely stopped any confusion, such as someone expecting to see a Matt Smith episode and instead getting Jon Pertwee. However when the show returns this year, it's being reset back to #1 again. Because reasons.🤷 So what we call the new episodes now, I have no clue. Volume?

I'm late to the party here, but have instantly subbed, as I'm dead keen to hear this Noel Edmonds and Keith Chegwin story!!

Thank you so much for respectfully discussing wrestling and for also mentioning AEW. A lot of people hear the word "wrestling" and scoff whilst other people immediately think "WWE", but professional wrestling is so much more than just WWE.

Saturday morning tv is still alive with Saturday mashup on cbbc

23:06 sidestepped that question. Never used to be called "season" in the uk, showing your relative youth there.

If Marina likes the SW Christmas special then she’ll love the equally overlooked Christmas album ‘Christmas in the stars’. So many classic tracks like ‘what do you get a wookie for christmas’

Had no idea what Marina sounded like, having loved her writing for years, but I did not think her voice would be like this. Knew the inflections would be those, but not the pitch. And I’m still smitten; perhaps more than before. 😊

Yes.

As someone who HAS been on Location Location Location - I couldn't "just pop down to the local estate agent". Now, I accept that my particular requirements list was not met by Just Another House... however most estate agents are only interested in selling you what's on _their_ books. .... "Motor Mad Ian from Edinburgh"

You didn’t mention Willian?

I'll ask here but will also Google it, but why am I seeing podcasts named The Rest Is....?

I highly recommend osw review. Its a UKposts channel featuring running commentary of old wrestling pay per views. Once you get into the in jokes... you're in for a treat!

I thought Season was an American term as their shows run for so much longer, typically crossing seasons, whereas in the U.K., we have shorter series.

I like how "Is pro wrestling entertainment" is such a self-evidently stupid question, it's perfect as clickbait - a perfect title for this vid.

Kurt angle obviously very well known professional wrestler and olympic gold medalist and won it with a broken neck so you know hes tough he said when he became a pro wrestler he didnt really know about it and just thought it was fake and everyone told him all his life it was fake and what he did was real but he said the first day he did training and took the in ring bumps he said it was one of the hardest things hes ever done and he felt like quitting after the first couple of days because it hurt so much just getting slammed over and over on a ring match which was like landing on a solid coffee table. But he stuck it out and he said it became his biggest passion in life because of how wrestling let you tell stories and you could tell them threw you're performance in the ring and the buzz of that was just something he loved(even tho he went on to break his neck 6 more times through out his career) so the physicality invovled is high and they gotta do it 3-4 days a week aswell.

As a trainee wrestler it hurts we just get used to the pain. It’s entertainment in certain aspects but mostly we are hurting each other for money

I forget which year it was ( perhaps in the 90s ) WWE actually went to court ( in either new York or New Jersey ) where they argued that their shows in arenas etc. were Entertainment events and not Sporting events. This was because the taxes , on tickets and on their revenue ( i think ) were lower for Entertainment events VS Sporting events. The cat was out of the bag. lol

As a pro wrestling fan there is a few videos, each an hour or so in length videos by a UKpostsr called supereyepatchwolf (interesting name i know) that go into the depths of what makes wrestling fascinating that id recommend should you not be able to sync the time into a book he's a very compelling storyteller and even if you are a fellow wrestling nerd like myself you'll likely get a kick out of it.

23:19 I have to state, I am British, for it is, and always will, be series.

Thank you for talking about wrestling with respect, I appreciate it. And Fulham are doing alright with Jiminez, I think you're OK for the season.

The WWE is entertainment... For 12 year olds. How adults can watch it & genuinely get excited is beyond me.

Wrestling is entertainment. The wrestlers are performers/stunt men. Plus you have a story easily on the level of a Holyoaks.

What about Saturday morning tv for kids that isn’t live? Would have to condense the format, but maybe doable?

If I worked at Endemol and helped bring Big Brother and Deal or Deal to TV, I'd shut the fuck up about what is or isn't entertainment

The outcomes in pro wrestling is pre-determined, but the pain they inflict on each other is very real.

Snooker table boy. One of the powers could be "147 break" where he breaks 147 of your bones before you get a chance to get out of your seat.

This all but confirms Richard Osman Vs Roman Reigns/Marina Hyde Vs Rhea Ripley WM40 main events.

Is wrestling entertainment? It is for the person watching. Discussion over.

with the location location location homeowners always lowballing their numbers the estate agents know they over price their houses because no one really knows how much a house should cost. but if that one person who does know how much it should cost sees it on tv and calls it out theyll look bad. i think if every landlord had to go on record publically to say what theyre charging and have B-roll footage of the room theyre renting out theyd all be giving 50% discounts

Of course Pro Wrestling is entertainment just as "real" sports are. And considering some think tosh like Love Island is entertaining I'd say wrestling is high brow in comparison.

I hate that they talk so freely about Wrestling being fake these days and Wrestlers going on podcasts or whatever, talking about the backstage stuff. When i was a kid, we just watched it and enjoyed it without knowing all that stuff.

Richard is the only person I've seen praise Tony Khan but only because he wants to improve Fulham, not because AEW is good

Do a whole wrestling episode. Dammit do a series, Interview Wrestletalk, What culture, wrestling with wreget, post wrestling, osw reviews and deffo interview Wrestle Me

Next podcast. Are men who think that female football pundits and co comms should not be analysing premier league football, right wing? As Marina’s paper suggested, and she implied. Lineker and Alistair Campbell ate rally raking it in with these podcasts

In the list of the best ski resorts in the French Alps, the ski resort Tignes/Val d'Isère is top with 4.6 out of 5 stars (equal rating: Les 3 Vallées - Val Thorens/​Les Menuires/​Méribel/​Courchevel). The largest ski resorts offer up to 600 kilometres of slopes (Les 3 Vallées - Val Thorens/Les Menuires/Méribel/Courchevel). The highest ski resorts for skiing in the French Alps extend up to an altitude of 3,842 metres (Aiguille du Midi (Chamonix)). And our tip for the best value for money is the ski resort Les 7 Laux - Prapoutel/Le Pleynet/Pipay val des airs culdrose see a shieron yes golden red tips pettles rise in rose paffumes

'Why Don't You..?'

Is Osman the man to get wrestling back on British TV? Hook up with Rab Florence (Burnistoun etc) and get a weekly show going. If Gladiators can come back then maybe this can too (although don’t go down the WOS route as that has so much baggage it was doomed from the start)

I think they’re asking the wrong question. Because like me people who loved Pro-Wrestling. Most of them stop liking it at some point. For me it was when i was about 12.

lol, the way you both pronounce "McMahon" is absolutely sending me into hysterics :D Traditionally it's pronounced "McMan" & I feel like this needs to be said, Vinnie Mac is.... not a good person. Ask Dr Martha Hart. One point I would like to make is that "WWE" & "pro wrestling" are not interchangeable. In fact, WWE no longer even calls itself pro wrestling, instead using the term "sports entertainment". WWE is undoubtedly the most recognizable & well-known brand but it represents only a tiny fraction of the larger industry. CMLL in Mexico is actually the world's oldest wrestling promotion, having been founded over 90 years ago. Pro wrestling, at it's best, borrows from every conceivable form of storytelling: mime, slapstick, vaudeville, theatre, film & music. It can be everything all at once. You can go from the most emotional & dramatic storylines where friends become enemies, enemies become friends & betrayal is just a steel chair shot to the back away, to absolute high farce & comedy. Professional wrestling isn't just entertainment, it's nothing short of the most complete form of entertainment in existence. Is it stupid ? Gloriously so. It's the stupidest & best thing in the world. To give you some idea of the breadth of stories possible in wrestling I'll provide these two examples: between 2019 & 2020 in the promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW), The Young Bucks, Kenny Omega & Hangman Page told a sophisticated story that touched on toxic masculinity, jealousy, imposter syndrome, addiction & depression. It was at times funny, touching, melodramatic & shocking. On the other end of the scale, I once saw Kota Ibushi wrestle a match for Dramatic Dream Team Pro Wrestling (DDT Pro) in which he was tasked with escaping a multi-storey sex dungeon where each floor was guarded by a different sexual pervert that he needed to defeat.

Its what is inside the dress.

@31.58 . Ive read it, several times over , it's brilliant, Read it! btw, I've lost my copy :(

Richard, I disagree. The best show on TV is whichever you happen to be on.

NO. Succession for instance is the programme or show name. And the series is well which series it is ie. series 1, series 2. We aren't American.

As someone that religiously watches WWE and now also religiously watches this podcast, I can confirm that WWE is definitely not wrestling. But it sure is entertainment. Loved to hear both your opinions. Think you're the only 2 people who have made me not feel like an absolute freak for being so obsessed with it. Loving the pod

So often have my guard up when it comes to seemingly random conversations about Pro-Wrestling. But how could I expect Richard to not have a clear straight forward view of Kayfabe in Wrestling = Cannon in a TV series. Although this year it seems maybe Tony Khan has had his eye on the Jacksonville Jaguars a bit too much & not taken enough care with AEW either...Oh and a bit of hoopla with backstage "mishaps"

Great podcast. Can I appear on pointless please? 😜

Finally, the UKposts algorithm did something good.

No, it’s just silly. Next question.

22:56 but you never answered the question- I didn’t realize you Brits had switched… We’ve been calling them seasons within a series the whole time in the US; when did you also start calling them seasons?

It's always interesting to hear Star Wars fans dumping on the Holiday Special (which is truly a cringeworthy watch) yet fail to acknowledge the cheesiness of the movies, the original in particular. Not saying it's unworthy of the love it receives, but nevertheless cheesy.

Unlike this show! YES it is!

If anyone thinks the pain in wrestling is fake, there's 2 words to say otherwise. Chris Benoit

It's disgraceful that nobody from WWE has ever been nominated for best actor.

If you have to ask if wrestling is entertainment , then it isn't for you.

Wrestling has one large problem , Injections that have ruined many a life .

When the BBC meets the Guardian. A marriage made in hell.

Lee mack 13:46 is more quantity than quality. I only like one in ten of his wise cracks. Can be quite irritating.

Sasha Banks is entertainment. The rest aren’t

I’ll tell you what isn’t entertainment. This podcast.

The highest paid person in the world of WWE is the choreographer.

1. Get a bunch of lefty "comedians" to tell each other unfunny jokes and untrue stories.

I must be a snob. I do not understand why anyone cares about wrestling.

It's great how Marina can laugh and joke about all the hi-jinks she gets upto as a member of the gutter press - what japes, having to be blackmailed in order to not publicly out someone's sexuality! And she can hide behind the flippant "I'm just an idiot, ignore me"! She truly is the best of humanity.

Just came here to support this podcast, I listen on Google Podcasts - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

WWF WWE see hear comes the monies

Ah its pointless you want a question you cannot Answer what does the entire universe waight its got only one answer. What 75% see 2° tax

The rock is not the biggest star in hollywood John cena is a way bigger star in hollywood he surpassed the rock get you’re facts right the rock is the most overhyped and overrated person I have ever seen

Yes.

Wrestling rings are reportedly hard, and wrestlers are trained to minimise impact to each other, but things can go wrong, hence why wrestlers like Adam Copeland have broken their neck and needed surgery. In terms of entertainment, if the right measure of wrestling, psychology and storytelling are used, it can be really entertaining.