Jay: "Welcome Noggers!"
All: "'Happy days are here again!'"note
Helloooooo, and welcome to (the TV Tropes page for) OSW Review, the Old School Wreslting video podcast!
Filmed in Glorious Grapplevission, and encoded with Blast Processing, we chronologically critique wrestling storylines, pay-per-view by pay-per-view!
Hosted by the three Irish lads Jay Hunter, Steve (V1), and Steve (Mr. OOC),note in round table discussions, they first came together on May 13th, 2011 to review every pay-per-view of "The Hulkamania Era". After finishing this mission, they moved on to wrestling sagas of all sorts, from the incredible "heights" of the WCW InVasion leading up to Wresltemania X-7 and "The Black Reign Saga" in TNA, to the spectacular lows of WCW's Dungeon of Doom and the Lex Express's road trip into WWF's "New Generation" era, with a generous helping of "Brucie Bonus" reviews of video games, movies, books, and even the latest pay-per-views WWE, AEW, and others have put out.
To date, they have reviewed:note
Reviews
- The Hulkamania Saga
- Episode 1: WrestleMania (1985)
- Episode 2: The Wrestling Classic
- Episode 3: Macho Man Randy Savage Tribute
- Episode 4: WrestleMania 2 (1986)
- Episode 5: WrestleMania III (1987)
- Episode 6: Survivor Series 1987
- Episode 7: Royal Rumble 1988
- Episode 8: WrestleMania IV (1988)
- Episode 9: SummerSlam 1988
- Episode 10: Survivor Series 1988
- Episode 11: Piledriver VHS
- Episode 12: Royal Rumble 1989
- Episode 13: WrestleMania V (1989)
- Episode 14: SummerSlam 1989
- Episode 15: Survivor Series 1989
- Episode 16: No Holds Barred
- Episode 17: Royal Rumble 1990
- Episode 18: WrestleMania VI (1990)
- Episode 19: SummerSlam 1990
- Episode 20: Survivor Series 1990
- Episode 21: Royal Rumble 1991
- Episode 22: WrestleMania VII (1991)
- Episode 23: SummerSlam 1991
- Episode 24: Survivor Series 1991
- Episode 25: This Tuesday in Texas
- Episode 26: The Marine 3
- Episode 27: Royal Rumble 1992
- Episode 28: WrestleMania VIII (1992)
- Episode 29: SummerSlam 1992
- Episode 30: WrestleMania IX (1993)
- Episode 31: Total Divas episodes 1 and 2
- The David Arquette Trilogy
- Episode 32: Ready to Rumble
- Episode 33: WCW Thunder (April 26, 2000)
- Episode 34: Slamboree 2000
- Bonus Episode: OSW Review Golden Nogger Awards
- Bonus Episode: Mailbag Q&A
- The ECW Saga
- Episode 35: ECW Barely Legal 1997
- Bonus Episode: Black Saturday (originally an unaired Pilot)
- Episode 36: Scooby Doo! WrestleMania Mystery
- Episode 37: Heatwave '98
- Episode 38: One Night Stand 2005
- Episode 39: One Night Stand 2006
- Bonus Episode: 10 Reasons to Love and Hate John Cena
- Episode 40: Capital Carnage 1998 (Tattoo Review)
- Episode 41: ECW on Sci-Fi premiere episode (June 13, 2006)
- Episode 42: Night of Champions 2014
- Episode 43: December to Dismember 2006
- Bonus Episode: Metal Gear Solid
- Episode 44: Hell in a Cell 2014
- Bonus Episode: Metal Gear Solid 2
- Bonus Episode: Oculus
- Bonus Episode: Leprechaun: Origins
- Episode 45: Survivor Series 2014
- Bonus Episode: The Happening
- Bonus Episode: Metal Gear Solid 3
- Episode 46: Halloween Havoc 1995
- The WrestleMania X-7 Saga
- Episode 47: Royal Rumble 2001
- Episode 48: WWE & The Flintstones Stone Age SmackDown!
- Episode 49: WrestleMania 31 (2015)
- Episode 50: No Way Out 2001
- Episode 51: WCW Nitro — Night of Champions AKA Final Nitro (March 26, 2001)
- Bonus Episode: Samurai Cop
- Episode 52: Simulcast Raw (March 26, 2001)
- Episode 53: NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn (2015)
- Episode 54: SummerSlam 2015
- Episode 55: WrestleMania X-Seven (2001)
- Bonus Episode: Hardcore Homecoming (2005) (Tattoo Review) (Let's Watch)
- Bonus Episode: IWA King of the Deathmatch '95 (Tattoo Review) (Let's Watch)
- Bonus Episode: The Room (2003)
- Bonus Episode: NXT TakeOver: Dallas (2016)
- The Dungeon of Doom Saga
- Episode 56: Starrcade 1994
- Bonus Episode: WWE Studios: Countdown (Patreon Exclusive)
- Episode 57: Fall Brawl 1995
- Episode 58: SummerSlam 2016
- Bonus Episode: Super Mario Bros. (1993) (Patreon Exclusive)
- Episode 59: World War 3 1995
- Episode 60: SuperBrawl VI (1996)
- Bonus Episode: Pro Wrestlers Vs. Zombies (Patreon Exclusive)
- Episode 61: Uncensored 1996
- Bonus Episode: Samurai Cop 2
- Episode 62: Royal Rumble 2017
- The TNA Black Reign Saga
- Episode 63: Destination X 2007
- Bonus Episode: NXT TakeOver: Orlando (2017)
- Bonus Episode: WrestleMania 33 (2017)
- Bonus Episode: OSW Live: SummerSlam 1993 (Patreon Exclusive)
- Bonus Episode: Alien (Patreon Exclusive)
- Episode 64: Lockdown 2007
- Bonus Episode: Aliens (Patreon Exclusive)
- Episode 65: Hard Justice 2007
- Episode 66: Bound for Glory 2007
- Bonus Episode: Watchmen
- Episode 67: Bound for Glory 2017
- Episode 68: Christmas iMPACT 2007
- Episode 69: Sunny Side Up
- Episode 70: Royal Rumble 2018
- Bonus Episode: Hell Comes to Frogtown (Patreon Exclusive)
- Bonus Episode: Abraxas (Patreon Exclusive)
- Bonus Episode: Fatal Deviation
- Episode 71: WrestleMania 34 (2018)
- The Lex Express Saga
- Episode 72: Survivor Series 1992
- Episode 73: Monday Night Raw premiere episode (January 11, 1993)
- Bonus Episode: Jurassic Park (Patreon Exclusive)
- Episode 74: Royal Rumble 1993
- Bonus Episode: Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (Patreon Exclusive)
- Episode 75: WWF Smack 'Em Whack 'Emnote
- Episode 76: King of the Ring 1993
- Episode 77: All Aboard the Lex Express
- Episode 78: The Marine 6
- Episode 79: Royal Rumble 2019
- Episode 80: WrestleMania 35 (2019)
- Episode 81: SummerSlam 1993
- Episode 82: Exposed! Pro Wrestling's Greatest Secrets
- Episode 83: Fighting with My Family
- Bonus Episode: Survivor Series Showdown 1993
- Episode 84: Survivor Series 1993
- The New Generation Saganote
- Episode 85: Royal Rumble 1994
- Episode 86: March to WrestleMania X
- Episode 87: WrestleMania X (1994)
- Episode 88: Countdown to the Crowning (1994)
- Episode 89: King of The Ring 1994
- Episode 90: Sunday Night Slam
- Episode 91: SummerSlam 1994
- Bonus Episode: Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey
- Bonus Episode: Troll 2
- Episode 92: Sunday Night Slam II
- Episode 93: Survivor Series 1994
- Episode 94: 1994 Slammy Awards
- Episode 95: Royal Rumble 1995
- Bonus Episode: Bio-Dome
- Bonus Episode: Battle Royale
- Episode 96: Sunday Night Slam III
- Episode 97: Wrestlemania XI (1995)
- Episode 98: SWS vs. WWF WrestleFest (March 30, 1991) (Let's Watch)
- Episode 99: AEW Revolution 2021
- Episode 100: Heroes of Wrestling
- Warrior in WCW Arc
- Episode 101: Warrior's Debut on WCW Nitro (August 17, 1998)
- Bonus Episode: Mortal Kombat: The Movie
- Episode 102: Fall Brawl 1998
- Episode 103: WCW Nitro after Fall Brawl! (September 14, 1998)
- Episode 104: Firepowernote
- Episode 105: WCW Blade Runners Nitro (October 12th, 1998)note
- Bonus Episode: Mortal Kombat: Annihilation
- Episode 106: WCW Thunder after Blade Runners Nitro (October 15th, 1998)
- Episode 107: Warrior's ENTIRE Destrucity Comic Seriesnote
- Episode 108: Halloween Havoc 1998
- Episode 109: Warrior Farewellnote
- Episode 110: WWE Girls Gone Wildnote
- Episode 111: AEW All Out 2022: Zero Hour
- Episode 112: AEW All Out 2022 & Scrum
- Episode 113: WCW Christmas Nitro (December 22, 1997)
- Episode 114: Christmas '97 RAW (December 22, 1997)note
- The Main Event Mafia Saga
- Episode 115: TNA Bound For Glory 2008
- Episode 116: Impact after Bound For Glorynote (October 16, 2008)
- Episode 117: TNA Vegas Impact (October 23, 2008)
- Episode 118: TNA Steiner Debut Impact (October 30, 2008)
- Episode 119: AEW Fight Forever
- Episode 120: TNA Turning Point 2008
- Episode 121: Impact after Turning Point (November 13, 2008) / Final Resolution 2008
- Episode 122: MEM Takeover Impact (January 29, 2009)
- Episode 123: TNA Genesis 2009
- Episode 124: AEW All In 2023
- Episode 125: AEW All Out 2023note
- Episode 126: In Your House 4: Great White North
- Episode 127: In Your House 5: Season's Beatings
- Episode 128: Empty Arena Impact (February 19, 2009)note
- Episode 129: TNA Destination X 2009
"It's your Trope-Page Main Event!":
- Accidental Innuendo: Noted in-universe when the very first thing seen in their very first episode is a promo where Wendi Richter tells Mean Gene, "I'm not about to lay down on my back and let someone cover me." This leads to his sudden realization, followed by uproarious laughter.
- Actually Pretty Funny:
- OOC's a sucker for panto wrestlers and even laughed with merriment at WCW's neutered "Hardcore" division.
- In the "Top 10 Reasons to Love/Hate John Cena" list, OOC defended the infamous "Photoshop Promos" (which was on the list of Jay's gripes), and even got Jay to laugh at it. "Chris Benoit on a donkey."
- This line from Ready to Rumble: "Hey! Uncle Billy lost his right nut in 'Nam." "I'll kick him in his left nut when we see him." Only Jay chuckles; the other sit stone-faced.Jay: That was it. That was the zenith.
[45 minutes later]
V1: ...Oh, yeah, this is supposed to be a comedy, isn't it? Oh, God.
- Affectionate Parody: Frequently, the intros for episodes will feature parodies of video games, films, cartoons and comics, so much so that "Best Opening" is a category in their Golden Nogger Awards.
- All Men Are Perverts:
- The lads almost always point out when the camera focuses on a woman's rear as she gets into the ring, and sometimes they complain when the camera cuts away. It took a while before they started praising the divas for their in-ring work.
- Fan Disservice: When the camera does the same to male wrestlers, particularly Andre the Giant.
- Alternate Character Interpretation:
- Invoked In-Universe by V1, as he posits that Demolition's gimmick is that since they're gimps, pain doesn't affect them. Jay has to repeatedly tell him they aren't gimps.
- The boys make light of the fact that main-eventers aren't beholden to the same code that regular babyfaces follow. Rather than run in do a run-in and clean house, Hogan/Austin/Cena just leaves the other babyfaces to their fate....then shows up afterward to "congratulate" them and steal their thunder. Even the nWo stuck their necks out for Sting at WrestleMania.
- Arch-Enemy:
- At first the ribbing of D'lo Brown seems good-natured, but Jay eventually spills that the lads met him in the Impact Zone and he was pointlessly rude to them. This was before the trio launched their show, so...
- OOC relates the story during the Summerslam '89 review of Virgil conning $10 out of him at a convention in California. He picks on Virgil throughout the series because of it. This is also the excuse given for his frequent trips to America.V1: He's gotta chase after those ten bucks, Jay. Virgil we comin' for ya!
- In Episode 34, he recalls meeting Jarrett while ordering some food in the States and finding him very approachable. "McDonald's breakfast, $10. And, uh, asked me to pay for it, just my luck."
- The Artifact: Their theme song, "Acceptable in the 80's," has been this since they've covered every WWF pay-per-view from that decade. It's unlikely that they will cover anything else from the eighties unless they cover NWA/WCW pay-per-view storylines or the only AWA pay-per-view note They've occasionally updated the song by dubbing in a monotone "Nineties" over the eighties line.
- Artistic License – Medicine: In their review of the electric cage match in TNA Lockdown 2007, Jay correctly remarks that electricity is measured in amps, not volts. He incorrectly remarks that touching the steel fence with 10,000 volts coursing through it won't kill you, it absolutely will if you're not properly grounded.
- Attention Deficit... Ooh, Shiny!: Without OOC to keep the triad in check, V1's commentary is like a misguided missile. South Park. Jerry Springer. Ass implants.
- Author Appeal:
- 7-ft. growling'ARD MEN with the charisma of a broken toilet.Jay: Does he have no personality? "Yes." Does he wrestle like a 'rassler? "Ye—" Get in my stable!
- The lads are all obsessed with particular underdogs, or "boys". (They have multiples, and to qualify as "yer boy", they generally can't have held a world title but still demonstrate a certain amount of ability or charisma.) Jay marks out for Sherri Martel & Steve Blackman, V1 praises Ronnie Garvin, and OOC is a Lex Luger historian. Often the others won't see the appeal of one's boy (though sometimes they come around to enjoynig a boy together) and poke fun at it: Sherri's promos are very much hit-or-miss, Ron inexplicably steals a world title from Flair, and Luger's idea of selling is to shout "ARGH" when he takes a bump (and when he gets hit, and when he hits someone). Neither Jay, V1, or OOC seem bothered by the peanut gallery.OOC: It's blind love.
V1: Blind love and passion. - You have to be able to wrestle, though. They slaughter Vinnie Jones' guest appearance at Capitol Carnage. He can neither work the crowd, nor work in general (nor play a convincing Juggernaut!).
- Ditto for Bob Holly in each of his botched appearances.
- After realizing that if they let it go on they'd never finish another storyline again, they stopped allowing fans to get a review of their choice in exchange for getting an OSW-themed tattoo, they instead allowed people who did so to name their own stable of boys (with them usually raving over their viewers' excellent taste).
- With their first reviews being set in the cartoony 80's period of WWF, wrestlers attires tended to be rather colorful. It eventually became a running joke that V1 would compare the most spectacular ones to popular chocolate bars (or candy packets, beverage cans, and eventually even cigarette packs) they resembled, giving birth to the recurring "What Bar?" segment (to OOC's chagrin). Often these days they ask the fans to submit their own suggestions, with V1 showing his appreciation whenever a particularly fitting suggestion is sent in.
- 7-ft. growling'ARD MEN with the charisma of a broken toilet.
- Bad Guys Do the Dirty Work:
- In the Survivor Series 1987 review, the lads discuss Vince McMahon's ruthless business tactics, as he created new pay-per-views to directly compete with the pay-per-views of other companies and threatened to pull all future shows from pay-per-view companies if they offered the competitor's shows. However, they all agree that if Vince hadn't done everything he did to make his company the powerhouse it became, they wouldn't be wrestling fans today.
- This was brought up again (and then overturned) in WrestleMania IV, as Macho's main event just dies with the crowd. The only pop to be heard is when Andre interferes, triggering a "HOGAN" chant. Ouch.Jay: God, that makes me really sad. That means that Hogan's right!
He's right to steal the spotlight.
V1: In a way, yeah.
Jay: But then, you could say that he's stealing the spotlight and not letting anyone else have it, so of course no one's gonna cheer for anyone else.
- Be Careful What You Wish For: Britons clamored for their very own PPV and got...Capitol Carnage. The Steves are fine with sticking to American PPVs from now on."OOOOOH, Ireland-only PPV! HeadlinerBECKY LYNCH!!"
- Berserk Button:
- Jay's raw nerve in particular is health scare storylines, such as Chyna's "spinal fusion", which in his view demeans the real injuries that occur every year on WWE.
- He also went on a long rant (unusual for him) regarding Eugene and his short bus gimmick.Jay: This is my Ultra "Go Away" heat gimmick, I absolutely can't stand it, It's disgusting, and fuck you, Vince.
V1: [dazed] It's...one of the worst gimmicks... they've ever done. - In Episode 40, V1 went on a rant about his childhood playmate, Riobhca (none other than Becky Lynch), making her prime time debut in emerald green and riverdancing in the ring. Jay comments that this sort of tangent is, ironically, a "very Irish" thing to do.
- Jay and V1 do not think highly of the Mutants, who chant "TABLES" before the match even starts and "FIRE" as soon as the tables come out. OOC takes a more neutral position, but agreed the fans stepped over the line in this case.Jay: The crowd chant "WE WANT TABLES" even though there are two tables in the ring.
- OOC absolutely hates the fact that if someone has been eliminated from a battle royale (which is done by tossing them out of the ring over the top rope), they can pull someone else over the ropes from the outside and have this count as a valid elimination. Whenever this happens, Jay refers to this as "OOC's favorite spot," leading to a rant.
- Jay similarly plays on V1's (futile) desire for set rules, and his disappointment that Vince once had an actual rulebook written up and then threw it away the next day because he changed his mind. Whenever V1 asks about inconsistency in booking, Jay simply says that it's in the rulebook, leading to shouting.
- Jay refers to Matt Striker as an "even less-successful Dean Douglas". On the contrary, V1 says, this is his "dream gimmick": Someone who comes out, sighs, and then rails on about the rules to Vince McMahon.
- Alicia Fox is allowed at ringside despite not being an active manager or having a managers license. Gorilla Monsoon would never approve!V1: [practically shaking fists] The RUUUUUUULES!
- The Happening — While the other two bicker (Jay gives up halfway through, while OOC doggedly applies logic to the film), a despairing V1 shouts that it doesn't have SET RULES.
- The lads also despise unprotected chair shots to the head, which they discuss at length during the Masato Tanaka / Mike Awesome match from Heat Wave '98.
- Tatanka became a mix of this and a Running Gag for Jay by the time of his Face–Heel Turn in Summerslam 1994, leading to the phrase "Fuck Tatanka" of having to keep talking about him.
- Best Known for the Fanservice:
- Episode 2: V1 cutting Jay off with "TITS!" whenever he says Elvira's name.
- Episode 9: Liz's arse made it into the video description. "What more could you want?"
- "Just wait 'til Royal Rumble '91!", Jay twees — a bit too quickly, making the Steves very wary. (Sherri is another one of Jay's "boys", so to speak.) But their todgers won't listen to reason and soon, even OOC is asking for more "Sherri's arse" shots.V1: She's lookin' old—however: She has ginormo tits.
- It's bad enough that Melina stops wearing skirts in her WWE entrances, but when WWE actually cuts away from her upskirt, you can actually hear the teeth grinding. Thanks, Vince!
- Full disclosure: The lads are rough on the women's division from the very beginning, starting with Jay's cutting remark in WrestleMania IV when "Peggy" turns up. V1 vaguely recollects that WWF brought her in "only" because she was the best AWA women's wrestler. Jay: "No, that was Moolah. And The Golden Girls." Probably not the target audience of SHIMMER, these lads.
- Perhaps in response to numerous "dude not cool" comments, Jay addressed this in Episode 45. He elaborates that he feels bad for objectifying the Divas, but the cold reality is these girls were hired for titillation, not talent. From the sound of things Jay and V1 are just beaten down and numb at listening to Divas prattle nonsense for forty minutes a week. From Episode 50:Jay: I personally have no interest in skanks brawling.
- Maffew concurs — and even goes a step further, saying the women's matches are a monument to poorly-spotted, no-selling, pissbreak television. "They come out lookin' like in they're in a brothel. 'Respect us!'" Viewers apparently didn't pick up on this, because 4 months later, Maffew is back and clearly stung by
Facebook comments calling him a pig."I don't know Ronda Rousey that well, but I do know that she kills women. [beat] And obviously THAT'S SOMETHING I LOVE LOLOLOL MISOGYNIST MAFFEW"
- Big-Lipped Alligator Moment: In-universe, it's noted how most of the promos done by Hogan, Savage, and Warrior go on wild tangents. One highlight includes Hogan saying at WrestleMania IV that when he slammed Andre, a fault line from New York to Tampa would open up with the Atlantic swallowing them all, and Donald Trump would have to abandon his riches and hold onto his family to save them.
- Both Sides Have a Point: A short bonus episode has the lads discussing 10 reasons to love John Cena and ten reasons to hate John Cena.
- Brick Joke: In the Killer Bees' first appearance, the lads make a ton of bee jokes. From then on, whenever they appear, someone will without warning break the ice with another bee pun, leading to the others laughing and throwing in their own.
- Buxom Beauty Standard: Not with these lads. In Episode 47, Jay and V1 agree "slutty blonde" makeovers and "porn plastic surgery" is the worst thing WWE can do to its Divas. OOC challenges them on this, suggesting they don't like natural breasts as much as they THINK they do (cue the oft-quoted Vince line), and speculates that they're both ass men as well. (Nope, just Jay.)
- The Cameo: Has become a frequent staple of the series as the podcast has run, often as part of the "Ad Break Questionarium" and "Wrestling is AWESOME!" segments.
- The Wrestlemania VIII review begins with an intro by John Pollock and Wai Ting from Live Audio Wrestling lamenting that they're not featured in the show and they have nothing better to do than film this 60 second introduction.
- Allison Pregler plugs her review of one of Hulk's movies, and submits a WHAT BAR answer in Episode 50.Jay: I knew she'd put something with cats.
- Macaulay Culkin, himself a wrestling fan, appeared for an ABQ in collaboration with his Bunny Ears Podcast, calling himself a big OOC mark.
- Rob Bartlett, the comedian who co-hosted the first few weeks of Monday Night Raw, submitted his own ABQ shortly after the lads reviewed the first ever episode of Raw, taking their roasting of his commentary style in stride.
- Episode 100 ends with surprise cameo of Bret Hart sending congratulations to the hosts! (technically a Cameo.com addressed to Jay, but it's the thought that counts.)
- Catchphrase:
- "Steve! WHAT BARRRRRRRRR is he?"
- "Mene Gene, play us in!" Plays footage of WWF WrestleFest. Jay usually says this right before the Main Event.
- "Splicey splicey" (mental note to add a clip of whatever Jay's banging on about). Later, it became a chant by the Steves to demand he show a clip.
- "Searchy searchy" for porn. (Which the Steves coaxed him into showing anyway.)
- Jay's "Hello" at the beginning of episodes, which slowly got higher pitched over the episodes until the Steves started making fun of Jay for it.
- mind gaems.explanation
- 'Cause fuck you, Britain.
- You don't like what you THINK you like! explanation
- BUT WHOSE SIDE IS SH'YON??
- "Doink, brah! You're making kids cry, brah!" is never actually said by Crush, but is rather an invention of the lads.
- "mmmmmmm-mmmmm and mmmmmmm-mmmm vs. mmmmm-mmmm and wwwwwwwwmmmmmmmm"explanation
- Not to be confused with "YEEEOOOP!", which is Becky's tic.
- "Russo sent 'im packin'!" The catch-all excuse for plot holes and vanishing wrestlers. Jay coined it during a match with Shane Douglas, who vanishes off-camera as soon as the spotlight shifts to his boss.
- "Happy days are here again!"
- "State of your ___, mate!" The guys use this phrase to seriously critique someone, whether it be their hair, ring gear, or general gimmick. "State of your gear, mate!"
- "Flying Bum Tackle". Makes Maffew crack up every time.
- Jay signs off at the end of every episode with "Remember... a winner is you!"
- The boys sing "Alooohaaaa Arn!" when someone theatrically attempts to counter a sunset flip.
- "Dammit, D'Lo!" is said when a spot is repeated throughout a card.
- V1 says "Give that man a can of Coke!" whenever someone suggests a really good What BAR for certain wrestlers' attire, or matches one he made.
- V1 also says, when a segment lands with a thud, that it "died a death".
- "Slow it down. Slow it waaaaaaay down!" Usually said during a match where the match starts off hot and fast-paced, but then one wrestler or the other is winded or simply decides to give up, whereupon the match downshifts in tempo to headlocks, rest holds, or several minutes of ducking outside the ring.
- Caustic Critics: The lads are disapproving of the smark mentality, and go out of their way to avoid making shrill statements or over-generalizations. But just give them time... Few can match three salty Irishmen trying to one-up each other's insults.
- "Cavemen vs. Astronauts" Debate: The Great Debate over whether the wind is sentient in The Happening. "This fucking movie. We're all gonna hate each other after this!"this continued for 20 minutes. nothing gets solved
- Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: The first few reviews featured a fourth friend, Neo, but he disappeared without mention. It was later explained that he'd just stopped showing up to recordings after Wrestlemania 3, and not even the other hosts knew where he was (although he reportedly is still in possession of a terabit hard drive that belongs to V1).
- Couch Gag: The billboard outside the Old School contains a new gag each review. Fitting, as the Old School is a screenshot of Springfield Elementary.
- Country Matters: The lads are NOT ashamed to use the C-word liberally. It doesn't matter if you're a man or a woman, if you behave like one, you are one. They even have a "Cunt of the Year" awardnote . Of course, it helps that they're from the UK where it isn't as horrific a word as in the US. They’ve resorted to using euphemisms as of 2022 since Youtube now considers the word a slur against women.
- Critical Backlash:
- Oddly for the most dour of Steves, OOC fancies himself a freethinker who finds enjoyment in the "pissbreak" segments that fans generally hate. In the Ready to Rumble review, he hints at being an aspiring mark. (Even OOC has standards, however, as you'll see below.)
- Ever-reliable OOC expresses an interest in reading Russo's autobiography—after V1 blasts it.Jay:SWERVE! It's a cookbook.
- The WCW David Arquette angle....is not terrible. In fact, you can clearly hear the crowd reacting to it strongly at the time. It was not main event material however; Russo pulled a measly 55,000 buys, and even OOC (who is lenient in these matters) admits he would not have bought it.OOC: The one thing that impressed me was that Arquette did a wrestling move, the Splash, fucking better than most wrestlers.
- The Happening is the Lex Luger of movies, so sayeth OOC. "I can understand it, and see the beauty in it. Perhaps nobody else can." He drew the line at Lady in the Water, though.
- He and V1 also gave No Holds Barred a respectable 3½ stars. (Jay hated it.)
- Oh, and OOC thinks The Dark Knight was overrated.
- Critical Dissonance: This applies to Maffew, also. Contrary to popular belief, he's actually very supportive and forgiving of WWE, and nowhere near as scrutinizing as Jay."Loved it. I'm easily impressed. Sorry, negative cunts."
- After reviewing it, the lads agree that Wrestlemania XI's reputation as one of the worst Manias to be overblown. It is still a bad PPV with bad matches as Undertaker VS King Kong Bundy note and Bret Hart VS Bob Backlund. it also has decent matches like Shawn Michael VS Diesel note and the main event of Lawrence Taylor VS Bam Bam Bigelow with them complimenting LT for being quite talented for a non-wrestler.
- Crossover: With V1 refusing to watch and OOC in America, Jay reviewed Survivor Series 2014 with Maffew of Botchamania, the first of many collaborations.
- Jay and V1 have appeared on Allison Pregler's Baywatching , alongside Phelous, to cover Baywatch's own WCW crossover episode "Bash at the Beach."note They've since teamed up again to cover Shawn Michaels' appearance in the episode "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?", and are planning to come back for Giant Gonzalez's role as the Pelican Man of "Blindside".
- Deadpan Snarker: OOC is regarded by commenters as "the funny one". And while Jay has the quicker wit, OOC makes the bigger impression by parsing his words.
- Designated Hero: In-universe, the nickname "Cunt Hogan" is liberally applied by the lads for a reason. He cheats at times. He always gets his poses for the audience in, even when he's been eliminated from a tournament halfway through a pay-per-view and has to stop the show for ten minutes to do so. He doesn't let anyone else get higher than him, making sure he always has the upper hand in the end. Even when someone else succeeds above him, he inserts himself into the moment of glory, stealing their thunder.
- The Dreaded: Throughout the ECW series of reviews, December to Dismember is this. The series was originally meant to be three reviews long, but as it went on, more reviews were added in between, leading to anticipation for what was to come to grow and grow with the delay.
- Eagleland: The lads make fun of the great amount of Type 1 imagery that flashes up during the playing of "America the Beautiful" every Wrestlemania, including a picture of Hulk Hogan with fireworks in the background. This leads them to be perplexed when Jay reveals most of their fans are American.
- The Eeyore:
- OOC, the Bradshaw to Jay's Cole. He can be counted on to piss all over anything Jay gushes about, and find the positives in every car wreck. (With OOC gone, V1 has shown himself to be the Tazz of this team.)
- In Episode 50, OOC refuses to reprise his JBL impression, stating that he dislikes running gags in general. "I hate repetition. I hate repetition."
- Ensemble Dark Horse: In-universe, Rene Goulet, who the lads nicknamed Worzel due to his appearance stuck out to them as he kept appearing in the background among WWF officials. As the series went on, Jay started editing in an exclamation point and sound effect when he showed up, and the Worzel Gummidge opening titles were used as an opening for their Tuesday in Texas review. Both the running gag and opening were in the top three for their respective categories in the fan voting for their Award Show, and they noted that Worzel was "very over".
- Fair for Its Day: Invoked when the lads note a lot of racist overtones and wild Patriotic Fervor, but chalk it up to the way things were in the industry during the 80's.
- This extends to their theme, Calvin Harris' "Acceptable in the 80s."
- It also extends to even their wrestling opinions; the three did a major 180 on women's wrestling from their beginning back in 2011 when the Divas Division was in it's nadir, to the point that they did a whole retrospective on the wild twists and turns the women's title went through, and noted that by 2019, the women had finally gotten to the point where they could be just as big a star as a male superstar. It certainly helps that a schoolyard friend of V1's ended up being a WrestleMania main eventer.
- Fan Boy: The lads are huge The Simpsons fans, and make constant references. Every episode features an image of the Old School, modeled after Springfield Elementary (as seen in the page image) and the December to Dismember episode features them dubbing over an entire scene from the show.
- OOC is a massive The Lord of the Rings fan, particularly Return of the King, and has a tattoo of the one ring over a map of middle earth on his back.
- Fetish Retardant: Invoked with Tammy Lynn Sytch's big return to television (which immediately opens with her gettin' 'em out). Not because she's older and and heavier—she blends right in on WCW, then—but because she must need the money and Russo's fingerprints are all over it. It gets worse when they review Sunny's porn movie in episode 69. To say that watching it was unenjoyable is an understatement.Jay: Is "Misery" the show-me state? Yes, it is.
V1: I know I said it last time: I just wanna give her a cuppa tea and a hug. Help her. - Freudian Trio:
- In order of deepening voices: Jay (analytical Spock), V1 (noncommittal Kirk), and OOC (contrarian McCoy).
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: In OOC's absence, Jay is a little bit less skeptical, while V1 is a bit more rageaholic.
- Girl on Girl Is Hot: The lads refer to story lines featuring this trope as "Lesbian Pollen Gimmicks", because of how much it's spread in the wrestling world. In their Hell in a Cell review they do a top 10 list of their favorites.
- Just to hammer the point home, a separate video of said list is by far the most viewed video on the channel with over 31 million views!
- Good-Times Montage: Jay, annoyed at the abortion that was Nitro's final episode, showed a fanmade vignette for Jim Crockett Promotions and WCW. "Up and down that looooooooooooooooonely rooooooooooooad of faaaaaaaaaaith..."
- Head-Turning Beauty: The lads refuse to pop for Sable ("She's obviously disinterested and untalented"), but Stephanie McMahon circa 2001 causes them to jerk pelvises. The review is bleeped out for none other than OOC—that Sphinx-like man of reason—who says the word "QUANTUM—" before being censored.
- Hey, That's My Line!:
- In part 2 of the David Arquette Trilogy, Jay lets V1 have a turn at growling, "WHAT BARRRRRRRRR?""That felt fuckin' weird."
- In ECW One Night Stand 2005, OOC points out the fact that he and Jay are agreeing on something with V1 being the odd man out, which rarely happens, if ever, and both Jay and OOC react to this almost like something is weirdly wrong with V1 since it's so out of character
- In part 2 of the David Arquette Trilogy, Jay lets V1 have a turn at growling, "WHAT BARRRRRRRRR?"
- Hipster:
- Each host has their "boys," wrestlers who they are large fans of but no one else seems to like. In one episode, they each list what their stable would be if it consisted of their boys.
- In their second Q&A session, the OOC defines it thusly: "It has to be a generally unpopular wrestler that you always liked and was never massively successful." Jay adds, "And there has to be a bit of a cringe factor."
- They later clarified that, while generally winning a top title disqualifies a wrestler from boy-dom, they can count if the fact that they are world champions is never mentioned by anyone. (For examples of such boys-by-technicality, they give Dolph Ziggler and Great Khali.)
- They do have limits though. Absolutely no one wants to claim Crash Holly or GullyBully as their boy.
- Hula and Luaus: After Kona Crush is mentioned as having a boiling Hawaiian temper, V1 asks "Aren't they known for not having a temper? For being, like, really easygoing people, and ukuleles and whatnot?" The three then sing together "Aloha Arn." They then compare the term "Hawaiian temper" to the term "Irish sobriety."
- Hurricane of Puns: The Killer Bees, an 80's tag team, prompt the guys to launch into a number of bee-related puns.
- Hypocritical Humor: During "Saturday Night Slam II", when Jay and V1 discuss how Todd Pettengill sold riding a horse during the countdown to the '94 Survivor Series, OOC gets offended with the use of wrestling terminology during a wrestling podcast.OOC: Why does everything have to be wrestling?
- I Was Quite a Fashion Victim: "Frosted Tips Michael Cole". Also, Hunter Hearst Helmsley's denim phase. He looks like he got powerbomed into Bruce Springsteen's goodwill box.
- Ironic Echo: Chanting, "E-C-DUB! E-C-DUB!" when the last surviving hardcore wrestler, RVD, is eliminated from December to Dismember, giving the stage to the already-over company man (Big Show).
- It Will Never Catch On: Parodied in Episode 20's description. "The debut of a legend....the Gobbledy Gooker. Oh, and some guy called The Undertaker. He'll never last!"
- The Lancer: OOC likes to stir the pot.
- Leitmotif:
- Alan Silvestri's sting from Back to the Future plays over each episode's title card.
- Calvin Harris's "Acceptable in the 80's" serves as the show's theme. Jay incorporates new elements for various uses, including a grunge guitar cover for the ECW reviews and an orchestral version for Metal Gear Solid reviews. Jay plugged a cover version by The Editors in his 2015 Golden Noggers Awards.
- The lads ordered some custom intros for the Night of the Champions / WrestleMania XVII duology.
- THIIIS IS A GENERIC NIIIINTIES GRUNGE SOOOONNNG...
- Jay experimented with playing the Red Dwarf theme as part of Episode 20's "Welcome to the 90's" opener, but that got phased out.
- Starting in the Lex Express/New Generation arc, the lads have started doing compilations of every time "unbelievable" is exclaimed during a show, often accompanied by the EMF song of the same name.
- Mascot Mook: As of Episode 52, Virgil has become one to the fans. In the fanart montage at the end, Virgil can be spotted winking evilly underneath a word balloon which says, "Thanks for the Tenner — Virgil".
- Moral Event Horizon: The lads question why Jimmy Snuka never got a major push, and Jay explains to them that an incident happened where his girlfriend died "of mysterious circumstances". From then on, the guys react to his appearances with nothing but disgust.
- Mirror Routine: After the referee that screws Hogan out of the championship is revealed to be a copy (played by his twin brother), Jay laments that they don't do this routine. He gets his wish in the Wrestlemania IX episode, though, as the two Doinks do it.
- Mondegreen Gag: Not familiar with her work, Jay and V1 are unsure during the Wrestlemania IV review whether Vanna White's name is "Vanna" or "Banna," and care so little that they refuse to look it up.
- Narm: In-universe. During their Halloween Havoc 1995 review, the lads laugh at Sting and Flair as they tag against Arn Anderson and Brian Pillman. The heels gang up on Sting, who loudly and forlornly calls out "Nature boy!" Flair does his dance on the ring apron and calls out for Sting to "stand tall!"
- Noodle Incident:
- Frequent reference is made to a standup routine by Foley that the Steves attended, but the full story was never told in a review. The full explanation has its own page on their website, though.
- The Marge impression joke was not fully explained and the video of the sketch they're referencing was not shown until it was finally splicey-spliceyed in for the Survivor Series 2014 review.
- Nostalgia Filter:
- The lads look back on the wrestling they watched as children and come away with some very different opinions. OOC remarks how much he loved
Groundskeeper WillieRoddy Piper's comedy stylings when he was a child but now finds him grating. - The boys sheepishly admit to seeing Ready to Rumble when it was released and loving it.
- ECW compared to the other brands. The lads' opinion on this wavers depending on different matches, but all agree that the bloody barbed-wire match between Mick Foley and Terry Funk is nothing short of revolting. This pretty much echoes what Bryan Alvarez and Noah Antwiler said in their reviews of HardCORE Justice.
- They also ended up liking wrestlers they didn't like as kids or didn't see that much of back in the day, notably Arn Anderson.
- When questioned about the differences between old school and modern pro wrestling in an interview, Jay allowed that the characters in the 80s were more engaging, but that today's athleticism is much better. However, even this is called into question in Episode 46 when the lads fall over each over praising Arn (V1 actually moans in ecstasy).
- Obliquely comes up again in Ep. 47, when the crowd goes wild....at the Tag Team division? (Specifically The Dudley Boys.)Jay: It's... weird, isn't it? ...A happy crowd?
- He seems to have changed his mind by Episode 52. Jay reflects that matches like Rock v. Austin are why "veteran fans" like himself are still around, despite WWE being "iffy for going-on-15-years now". Everyone's hoping to relive these times again.
- The lads look back on the wrestling they watched as children and come away with some very different opinions. OOC remarks how much he loved
- One-Steve Limit: Since there are two Steves on the panel, they are referred to as V1 and Mr. OOC.
- Person as Verb: Anytime commentators spend more time making reaction noises then calling the action, the lads will call them out for having "The Renee Youngs".
- Plot Hole: V1 and OOC often point these out, often with Jay either dismissing them or giving them a terrible explanation akin to the type Vince would make up.
- Redubbing:
- The opening to the December to Dismember review is a redubbed version of the pro-meat PSA filmstrip from the Simpsons with V1 and OOC providing the voices.
- Jay also points out when WWE changed crowd reactions on their PP Vs, most notably in the Royal Rumble '92 episode.
- Running Gag:
- Highlights of "Worzel Gummidge", a recurring WWF official with unfortunate hair.
- Eventually replaced by a Metal Gear "!" appearing over Worzel's head.
- Jay gleefully giving his co-hosts and viewers blue balls. ("This is the blowoff.") The aftermath of each main event hints at a rematch or new feud on the horizon. V1 and OOC are glued to the screen—but Jay has facts at his fingertips, and knows scheduling or production issues prevented most of these matches from happening. It becomes a running gag of its own when OOC starts predicting what Jay is going to say next.
- An Ironic variation. After burying AJ "Pissbreak" Lee for her performance at 'Mania, Jay then congrats her for a 2-0. "Your Taker streak is coming along nicely." Jay then inserts AJ's retirement announcement (the one she made after the show) while editing this review.*Cue Super Mario "lose a life" music*
- Comparing the wrestlers' neon clothes to candy bars. For instance, one of Randy Savage's gold and black outfits is a Ferrero Rocher.
- Beatboxing and singing (off-key) wrestlers' theme music. Their "Right to Censor" imitation is pretty sick.Jay: Wow, well done, guys! We just lost 3,000 viewers.
V1: That album is coming. - V1 pointing out everyone's "'roid bellies". It makes all your muscles swell, including ones you don't want.
- Soon after D'Lo Brown started working for TNA, they produced a pay-per-view that used the exact same spot in multiple matches, leading to the lads to jokingly blame D'Lo. Now, whenever the same spot appears across the card in any show across history, they still curse him with a "Dammit, D'Lo!"
- It seems that every episode has some connection to the Blacktop Bully vs. Dustin Rhodes King of the Road match in WCW, because Jay brings it up with footage any time he can fit it in.
- This evolved after, in the Summer Slam 1992 episode, OOC misremembered the title as "Big Black Bully Cock", leading all three to break.
- V1's McMahon impersonation.
- The lads' JBL impersonations. OOC is rubbish.
- After hearing Vince McMahon mispronounce "Royal Rumble" when running down the card, the lads refer to the event as the "Rimble."
- Maffew makes bad puns, then speaks in Jerry Lawler's voice and blames it on him. "Jerry, get out of here!"
- An audio-less clip of Mike Graham saying that Jeff Jarrett "broke 6,000 guitars, never drew a dime" is played anyone someone uses a guitar as a weapon, whether it's actually Jarrett or not.
- Shout-Out: The lads are huge Simpsons fans, and often quote lines, sometimes with spliced-in footage.
- Shown Their Work: Jay gives behind-the-scenes information often on the events happening on screen. This includes Snuka's past keeping him out of the spotlight, Ricky Steamboat being punished for giving up his championship to be with his wife, Honky Tonk Man keeping his championship by threatening to take the belt to a rival company, and no shortage of Vince McMahon freak outs.V1: He was always mental.
- The Silent Bob: A man of few words, OOC won't speak unless he feels he has something original or insightful to add. Having watched the infamous Yeti match (Halloween Havoc) thousands of times online, he spends most of that review on the sidelines.
- Space Is Cold: In their review of Alien, they suggest that the Xenomorph should instantly freeze in space, which is incorrect.
- Standard Snippet: OOC loves the spot where wrestlers try to counter a sunset flip (the leap-over-and-pull-into-a-sitting-pin maneuver), especially when they swing their arms wildly. Seeing it Arn Anderson's performance and comparing it to a hula, he sings "Aloha Arn!" to the tune of standard snippet "Aloha `Oe."
- Special Edition Title: For the "David Arquette Trilogy" (Thunder, Slamboree, and Ready to Rumble), the Randy Avatar is wearing his nWo duds, along with a black title card. The footage is altered, as well.
- Stupid Sexy Flanders:
- Matt Styker's ever-present wedgie ("hungry bum") and jiggling package. OOC accuses Jay of being obsessed with it.V1: It's just there! Lookin' at ya, winking at ya!
Jay: Yeah, he needs to wear a cup. Fuckin' hell, man. - They note in SummerSlam '92 that Warrior's flesh-colored body suit looks like he's wearing nothing at all... nothing at all... nothing at all...
- Matt Styker's ever-present wedgie ("hungry bum") and jiggling package. OOC accuses Jay of being obsessed with it.
- Sweet Tooth: Based purely on their encyclopedic knowledge of candy bars, these lads must really like their chocolate.
- Take That!: The lads are often disgusted by Vince's habit of using 'MURRICAN PRIDE to sell merch and antagonizing of anyone or anything foreign (especially the way Rusev is treated just for having national pride of his own). However, Jay mentions in the site's FAQ that while they poke fun, they don't hate Americans and are only joking most of the time.
- Take That, Audience!: It clearly annoys them when viewers can't take a joke about their country or are easily offended due to national pride, especially considering wrestling always plays off this sort of thing for cheap heat.
- The Tape Knew You Would Say That:
- One of the most famous moments in WWE history saw Hulk Hogan pick up Andre the Giant at Wrestlemania III, the first time anyone had ever lifted Andre off the ground. However, the lads often make mention of seeing Hogan do the same thing five years previously in an un-televised event at Shea Stadium. It's often noted that, according to Vince McMahon, if it doesn't happen on TV, it never happened.
- This is ironic given how much the tag-team championship changes hands in house shows during the period that is being reviewed, as well as a few cited examples of events never actually happening but the company claiming they happened off television, usually in some foreign country.
- The lads complain about the fact that WWE has gone back and censored the "F" out of people saying "WWF" in some releases of past pay-per-views.
- Technobabble:
- Episodes are recorded in "Glorious Grapplevision."
- Once they entered the 90's of the Hulkamania Era, episodes were "encoded with Blast Processing".
- Top Ten List: The lads do a top ten list of Lesbian Pollen Gimmicks, parodying WWE's own top ten lists they post on Youtube.
- The Tease: Each episode begins with a cold open featuring a highlight promo from the pay-per-view or featured story line before the usual introduction and theme song. Sometimes this specific clip is discussed during the episode, with Jay saying he is going to put it in for viewers to see.
- Warts and All:
- Cunt Hogan, Cunty Austin, and "Pre-Quad Tear, Pre-Cunty 2001" Triple H.
- One of the main themes of the show's first arc was how terrible a person Hulk Hogan actually was/is while he was the most loved person by fans at the time.
- What Could Have Been: Cited in universe. The lads absolutely love Ted DiBiase, and lament that such a great character was never given a championship. In the Wrestlemania IV review, Jay reveals that he was actually meant to win the World Championship, but Honky Tonk Man refused to give up his Intercontinental Championship to Randy Savage on threat of taking it to another company, so Savage was moved up and given the World Championship while DiBiase lost to him in the final.
- X-Pac Heat:
- Hercules Hernandez for managing to always get on PPV during the Hulkamania Era despite being thoroughly mediocre, though after a double-digit run of straight PPV appearances, they at least grudgingly admire him for consistently getting paid in such a cutthroat era.
- Duggan due to his constent DQ finishes and refusing to take the job in all but two PPVs and being an All-American Face to the point of annoyance.
- Eugene.
- Zooey Deschanel in The Happening.
- Joey Pants in Ready to Rumble.
- Sable, Debra Marshall, Chyna, and so on and on and on and on and on and on until the Bellas.
- The Rock 'n' Roll Express because of both their overall appearances and Ricky Morton's mullet.
- OOC hates IRS because of both his sweaty appearance and his chinlocks, comparing him to the sweaty smelly porn man customer back in his days at the video rental store.
- Big Sexy.OOC: Do you hear the fuckin' reaction he got when he came out? Who's still cheering this fuckin' guy? after all he's done? I just...I just don't understand it. He clearly hates every single person sitting in this crowd, and you are cheering.
V1: He hates wrestling! - V1 notes in the Royal Rumble 1992 review, "I have written here, 'I want this Jamison bloke to die... slowly... cunt.'"
- In the John Cena "Pro/Con" episode, one thing all the lads can agree on is that Triple H is more responsible for WWE's current woes than Cena, or even the McMahons.OOC: I find it difficult to distinguish the wrestler and the man. All right? Triple H, I'm blinded with hatred and always have been. So whereas I know he's had good matches, I can't bring myself to say it, 'cause he's a cunt.
- In Episode 47, OOC admits that back in the day, despite being a wrestling fan all his life, he was prepared to quit forever if Chyna won the Rumble before this one; fortunately, she was tossed out immediately. V1 swore up and down that if Mark Henry ever won, he would quit, but came around to liking him. Jay said he would quit (and kept his word for all of a couple weeks) when JBL won.
- So it's a goodbye from V1Sign Off, OOCSign Off, and myself, Jay Hunter, and remember... a winner is you.
