The Mount Rushmore of Wrestling

This week on The Mount Rushmore of Wrestling, we went full Steve Irwin (too soon?) Marlon Perkins (too late?) National Geographic (too litigious?) wildlife documentary.
From psychologically weaponized reptiles to beloved avian sidekicks, we built our definitive Mount Rushmore of actual non-human animals in wrestling history.
No Road Warrior Animal. No Dave "The Animal" Bautista. Not even Mr. Iguana.
Just real animals, real chaos, and real human emotion. About animals. Come sink your teeth into this episode!
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SHOW NOTES AND SPOILERS
Bobby Heenan's wildlife rant
Boogeyman’s scariest moments: WWE Top 10, Oct. 24, 2021 - YouTube
WWE Hall of Fame: Koko B. Ware
Frankie's FindAGrave
Koko B. Ware on Frankie's death
Jake the Snake Roberts and Damien
Jake The Snake Roberts on the Many Different Versions of Damien
Earthquake squashes Damien
Jake Roberts on Earthquake crushing Damien!
All of Eric's links on Matilda:
DEBUT: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCAXFUIQcNo
HEENAN: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtwrFx1OWQE
DOGNAP: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfrkEBewv94 
PLEA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HOnkI1Q9wU 
UPDATE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lOqef0ekUc
UPDATE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-zrQTt_dfk
PROMO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XT_npqvWXc 
PRESS CONF: https://youtu.be/HG75o0NZLgc?si=9_vQsJYjO1v72eh9&t=259
UECKER: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YP-zbOU7Erg
PROMO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdeDQqnSE9c 
DOLL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkpugDOKc9c
A special feature on rats
* A gorilla and a weasel talking about rats: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPlQebt9HAw 
* Jim Cornette and Percy Pringle talking about rats at the Sportatorium: https://youtu.be/LMXTkDdjwig?si=mGV8oD5EEkDZrn1j&t=1545 (end at “ready to see rasslin’”)
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WEBSITE, SOCIAL MEDIA & EMAIL
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Email: [email protected]

When pro wrestling and Hollywood collide, the results can be… ugly. But when it works, it creates iconic characters, endlessly quotable lines, and moments that live forever in pop culture.
In this episode of The Mount Rushmore of Wrestling, Eric and Nate debate the four greatest movie performances by professional wrestlers—not just cameos, but roles that worked, mattered, and didn’t embarrass the business.
They also welcome Chris Owens, the foremost Andre the Giant historian, for an all-time deep dive into The Princess Bride, Andre’s physical limitations, and why Fezzik might be the most important crossover role a wrestler has ever had.
Do YOU have time to bleed? Of course not! But do you have time to listen? We certainly hope so.
The Big Debates
What separates a great wrestler in a movie from a great movie performance?
Do cameos count—or should they be disqualified entirely?
Which performances helped wrestling… and which hurt it?

As always, the arguments are passionate, informed, and very loud.

The Doctors of Podanomics are back to wrap up their convo on the Mount Rushmore of John Cena! What match did Eric try sneaking up the side of his mountain? How did Nate take the news? Which of Cena's possibly greatest all-time opponents gets a nod, and which match does Eric think is Cena's greatest of all time? You can't see us, but you can hear us, so listen up, fools!
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BOB COOK GOFUNDME: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-the-cooker-bob-cook-recover
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SHOW NOTES AND SPOILERS
FULL MATCH: Randy Orton vs. John Cena | WWE Title WWE Iron Man Match: Bragging Rights 2009

His time is up, but our time is NOW! Time, that is, for Nate and Eric to discuss the Mount Rushmore of John Cena. Over his 23-year WWE career, yes, he's had his ups and downs in the ring--and with the crowd--but the ups were HUGE, and we're here to discuss them. Which matches were not just high quality, but high drama, high stakes, high crowd involvement, and probably even surprised us in some way? These are the matches that might make the cynical fan think, "I didn't know he had it in him!" Well guess what: He did, and we can see them. This is a two-parter leading up to John Cena's last match vs. GUNTHER at Saturday Night's Main Event on Dec. 13; enjoy this episode and keep an eye out for part two.
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BOB COOK GOFUNDME: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-the-cooker-bob-cook-recover
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SHOW NOTES AND SPOILERS:
CM Punk - WWE Raw 06-27-11 Epic Promo Pipebomb
The Rock and John Cena agree to meet at WrestleMania 28: WWE Raw
"F You Cena, You Can't Wrestle, Boo Yay Boo Yay": https://www.peacocktv.com/watch/playback/vod/GMO_00000000375171_01/65b3abd2-ea3b-3119-a358-7c145de2260a

Happy Thanksgiving! Your two favorite turkeys talk about the most amazing two on two matches--some might call tag team matches--in pro wrestling history. The context, the drama, the players, the historical significance, the matches we still talk about today because they're the standard bearers of the sub-genre of tag team wrestling within the genre-genre of professional wrestling. For whom would you need to overseas to watch their best matches? Or have ordered a low-buyrate pay-per-view? Or been alive 70-plus years ago? Or been a smelly ROH fan 18 years ago? (Hey, we were both that.) Tag, you're in--listen and find out!
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SHOW NOTES AND SPOILERS:
From the New York Times itself: https://www.nytimes.com/1957/11/20/archives/wrestling-ends-in-riot-at-garden-2-policemen-hurt-as-fans-storm.html 
Future friend of the show Javier Ojst writes this: https://prowrestlingstories.com/pro-wrestling-stories/1957-msg-riot/ 
Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue (THE HOLY DEMON ARMY) vs. Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi (June 9, 1995): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2OLvGT5ROU 
El Hijo del Santo & Octagon vs. Eddy Guerrero & Love Machine Art Barr: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=603U_62GeSg 
No Mercy 2002: Tag Team Championship Promo - YouTube
FULL MATCH: Briscoes vs Kevin Steen & El Generico LADDER WAR! 9/15/2007 ROH Man UP | Hidden Classics
Manami Toyota & Toshiyo Yamada vs. Mayumi Ozaki & Dynamite Kansai 2/3 Falls Match (AJW 11/26/92) match