WrestleRant Radio

This past week, the wrestling world lost another legendary icon in Roddy Piper, and Graham "GSM" Matthews spends a good portion of this week's WrestleRant Radio paying tribute to the "rowdy icon" by sharing his earliest non-WWE memories of him and the incredible impact he left on the pro wrestling business. He also shares his brief thoughts on the tremendous video package WWE put together for him at the start of Monday's Raw and the overwhelming response from fans and wrestlers alike on social media in recent days.

In other news, Layla retires from WWE! GSM talks her decision to hang up her boots for good and some of her career highlights over the last nine years. Also, he gives his full predictions for Wednesday's Ultima Lucha special presented by Lucha Underground, which will be headlined by a blockbuster title bout between Prince Puma and Mil Muertes. Stay tuned for more random wrestling ramblings as well as his experience meeting the likes of Rey Mysterio, Alberto El Patron, Mick Foley, Samoa Joe and others at Sunday's Northeast Wrestling show!

Graham "GSM" Matthews is back with another stacked edition of WrestleRant Radio, kicking things off by addressing the elephant in the room: the Hulk Hogan controversy. His racist remarks made the news this past week along with his immediate firing from WWE. GSM pulls no punches on the whole debacle including whether WWE was in the right in "erasing him from existence," why he should just stay off Twitter, how long it will take to repair his public image, and if we'll ever see him back in the company.

In the second half of the show, GSM welcomes former WWE Tough Enough contest Gabi Castrovinci to WrestleRant Radio to talk all about her experience on the show, the flawed fan voting system, seeing Raw live and in person, her drama with Amanda, how the show was produced, how it compared to past seasons, if she was surprised by her elimination, which WWE Hall of Famer gave her some tips, her future in wrestling and where she's currently training, and much more!

Less than 48 hours removed from a newsworthy WWE Battleground pay-per-view, Jamie Lee Mac joins Graham "GSM" Matthews on this week's WrestleRant Radio to break down the show! They kick off the discussion with their ranting thoughts on the horrible misuse of King Barrett and how the King of the Ring gimmick has been devalued. Is there any hope left for him? From there, they give their two cents on Randy Orton vs. Sheamus and what's next for both men.

Plus, could WWE bring in Sister Abigail for Bray Wyatt's act? Jamie makes a pitch for who could fit the role as well as thoughts on the Wyatt Family reunion. In the final half of the show, they talk the resurrection of the Divas division, why WWE went with the wrong finish for John Cena vs. Kevin Owens, The Undertaker's huge return, pros and cons of a match against Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam, potential opponents for Seth Rollins, and much more!

Stay tuned until the end of the episode for an announcement of which eliminated WWE Tough Enough contestant will be coming on the show next Tuesday for an exclusive interview!

Graham "GSM" Matthews and a guest analyst waste no time on WrestleRant Radio in breaking down all the latest happenings in the wrestling world, starting with their "State of WWE Address" including what they think WWE could do better, what they're already doing well and how 2015 is vastly differently from past years. They also analyze what can be done to make Monday Night Raw more "must-see" and pitch ideas for how that can be accomplished.

Furthermore, they talk about the "Beast in the East" special from this past Saturday and how it differed from every other event WWE has hosted this year. Lensar's massacre of Kofi Kingston on that night was something to behold, as well as his destruction of the Cadillac from Raw. They discuss Lesnar's mystique among many other topics: what's next for Neville, the amazing outings between Cesaro and John Cena, Finn Balor winning the NXT Championship, Dolph Ziggler potentially leaving WWE, and much more!

With Graham "GSM" Matthews on vacation this week, WrestleRant Radio is being recorded a few days early (but being brought to you, nevertheless)! Alas, while there isn't any Raw discussion on this week's episode, there's plenty to talk about in regards to TNA and all the latest news surrounding the promotion (both the good and the bad). He breaks down last Wednesday's rather entertaining edition of Impact Wrestling and everything that came with it: the shocking returns, a title change and more!

If you haven't already heard, Jeff Jarrett is back in TNA, but for what reason? GSM provides his two cents and what it might mean and why a Global Force Wrestling "invasion" wouldn't work under any circumstance. The releases of James Storm, Magnus and several other of the company's top stars have been all but confirmed, and he gives his full analysis on each departure as well. Plus, he closes out the show with his brief overview of the year so far in 2015 and what we can expect through the remainder of the year!

Graham "GSM" Matthews kicks off the summer season on WrestleRant Radio in a major way by interviewing former WWE star Brodus Clay now known as Tyrus in TNA on this week's episode! He has plenty to say about his time on NXT (you know, back when it was still a crappy competition show), how WWE cared so little about the program, and who he conspired with to cheat toward the end! In another interesting tidbit, he reveals what inspired his shoot promo on the NXT Season 4 finale and how it landed him with Alberto Del Rio for a time in 2011.

And what would the interview be without some talk about his Funkasaurus persona? He discusses why he was given the character by management, how he got it over with the audience, his brief pairing with Hornswoggle, how WWE failed to capitalize off his heel turn in late 2013, starring in "No One Lives" from WWE Studios, his time in TNA and his current partnership with Ethan Carter III. Also, would he ever consider doing commentary when his in-ring career is over?

In the final portion of the show, GSM gives his quick rundown of all the latest happenings in the world of wrestling, including Dolph Ziggler's current contract status, Monday's Raw, the return of Brock Lesnar (and his impact on WWE programming), the releases of Gunner and Samuel Shaw from TNA, Slammiversary thoughts, Austin Aries potentially leaving soon, and more!