I Listen So You Don't Have To: Steve Austin Show Ep. 294

Only is on the Austin show this week
Photo via Loaded Radio

If you’re new, here’s the rundown: We listen to a handful of wrestling podcasts each week. Too many, probably, though certainly not all of them. In the interest of saving you time — in case you have the restraint to skip certain episodes — the plan is to give the bare bones of a given show and let you decide if it’s worth investing the time to hear the whole thing. There are many wrestling podcasts out there, of course, but this feature largely hews to the regular rotation we feel best fit the category of hit or miss. If we can save other folks some time, we’re happy to do so.

Show: Steve Austin Show — Unleashed!
Episode: 294 (Jan. 28, 2016)
Run Time: 1:08:14
Guest: Jerry Only, part one (14:33)

Summary: Austin is at 316 Gimmick Street with Misfits bassist Jerry Only. They talk about meeting up at the launch party for Austin’s new beer and Only describes his weightlifting routine before they get into Only’s wrestling fandom and ultimately the way the band partnered with Vampiro. Only goes on at length about WCW backstage turmoil, tells stories about working with Steve Williams and explains leaving WCW and concurrent strife within the band. After discussing his son’s involvement with the band, somehow there is discussion about the validity of the moon landing. After a commercial the focus shifts to Only’s musical career, notably his falling out with Glenn Danzig.

Quote of the week: “We wrote this album called Earth A.D. and it just an ass-ripping album. And it was so advanced, and I’ll say this to this day, the Earth hasn’t caught up to it yet. It inspired Slayer, it inspired Manson, Anthrax, all those bands, you know, Pantera, all these bands looked at Earth A.D. and it became the Rosetta Stone of the metal that became the 80s. But it imploded our band, because it was just so disruptive and so aggressive that there was nowhere for us to go. We had put ourselves so far out into the darkness already.”

Why you should listen: Two reasons - one, you’re super into the Misfits and want to hear from the guy who isn’t Danzig. Two, you can’t get enough stories about the insane days of Vince Russo-era WCW. Okay, three, you’re inexplicably compelled to listen to part two, even though it hasn’t dropped, and you want to get ready by knocking out part one. Okay, four, you want to hear what Gilbert Gottfried would sound like if he dialed it down maybe half a notch and was completely up his own butt.

Why you should skip it: No offense to Only, but if I’m going to hear crazy backstage Misfits-era Nitro stories, I think I’ll stick with Vampiro. Maybe if I were a fan of the Misfits or any of the bands Only says they inspired, I’d feel more positively about this one, but it fell pretty flat with me and I’m not looking forward to part two.

Final thoughts: Look, the WCW stuff is fun. Sometimes you have to hear these things firsthand to be made to think about just how bonkers that locker room environment truly was. And again, I will choose Austin talking to a guest 100 times in a row over another email response show, even when the guest isn’t my personal favorite. These guys are buddies, why shouldn’t they crank out a podcast or two?