Talking Taker

BONUS: Celebrating Halloween With Legendary Undertaker Cosplayer Jokerious Torrance!

On this special bonus episode of Talking Taker, Cohost Alex Doriot celebrates Halloween with one of the greatest Undertaker Cosplayers in the world and a loyal P.S.K. member, Stephen Murphy A.K.A. Jokerious Torrance! Stephen sits down with Alex to discuss his many different tributes to The Dead Man in cosplay form and walks us through the inspiration for them. Along the way he shares about why doing cosplay is such a meaningful hobby for him, how it all started with Halloween and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, how he met his longterm girlfriend through his journeys, and the many other horror and cinematic characters he's portrayed. Plus we discuss some deep dive Batman thoughts, best and worst Halloween candies, favorite Undertaker matches, and much more!
Follow Stephen's cosplay adventures on Instagram!
 
Put a Talking Taker cap on your head with brand new hats available  over at TeePublic.com! 
 
Stay connected with our Creature Community by following us on Instagram, and Facebook!
 
Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel and check out our collection of figure unboxings, vlogs, video podcasts, and more!

241: The Undertaker Goes Hollywood With Stephen Zieman (Poltergeist: The Legacy, Celebrity Deathmatch, and more!)

Before The Rock, John Cena, or Batista did it, The Undertaker went Hollywood! Join wrestling superfans Alex Doriot and Travis White alongside fellow P.S.K. member Stephen Zieman as they hop in the time-traveling hearse back to 1999 and the summer The Undertaker was making guest appearances on all sorts of tv shows! It's an often overlooked era of Taker's career and even The Dead Man's most dedicated fans may have never even heard of some of these offbeat appearances. We'll break down his guest roles on MTV cartoons like "Celebrity Deathmatch" and "Downtown," his brief stint as a host on the SciFi Channel, and in our main event, his biggest acting role yet as The Soul Chaser on an episode of "Poltergeist: The Legacy"! Taker actually has a major role on this episode as the "monster of the week" character and we get to see what he could have done had he chased down fame and fortune as an action star. It's also hilarious time-capsule of low-budget 90s tv and we have a great time breaking down even if you've never seen or heard of this one. All that plus our monthly Undertaker Sightings including his role in the WrestleMania 43 press conference and his big surprise for Stephanie McMahon at WrestlePalooza. Download, enjoy, and Taker Easy! 
 
 
Make sure you're subscribed to the Collecting Deadman channel to see Stephen's incredible toy room tour!
 
Pick up our new P.S.K. Motorcycle Patch Logo merch over TeePublic.com and celebrate 25 years of the Biker Taker with us! 
 
Listen to "Reconstruction", the new full length album from Travis White! Stream Travis's new album of original tunes on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, or wherever you love to listen!
 
Stay connected with our Creature Community by following us on Instagram and Facebook!
 
Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel and check out all our travel vlogs from SummerSlam and Royal Rumbles past!

240: USWA Watchalong With The Bottom Line Wrestling Cast - The Undertaker and Stone Cold's First Match Ever!

Long before The Undertaker battled Stone Cold, The Punisher faced off with Steve Williams! Join wrestling superfans Alex Doriot and Travis White on their encyclopedic exploration digging up The Dead Man as they welcome back Mike and JV from The Bottom Line Wrestling Cast for a Watchalong of USWA TV from 11/4/89 featuring the first ever match between the men who would go on to become The Undertaker and Stone Cold Steve Austin. Who could have ever guessed these two random grapplers from a territory in Texas would one day go on to be on the Mount Rushmore of the WWE? It's a pretty brief encounter, so we decided to watch the entire episode of 80s wrestling ridiculousness including sex symbol Jeff Jarrett, the ludicrous Latin Lover, pop-ins from Percy Pringle and P.Y. Chu Hi, an infamous spanking angle that wouldn't fly in 2025, and a barnburner of a main event between Jerry Lawler and Terry Gordy! Plus we discuss The Undertaker's recent appearance on NXT with the TNA Champion Trick Williams and we share our memories of The Immortal Hulk Hogan in honor of his recent passing. Download, enjoy, and Taker Easy! 
 
Check out The Bottom Line Wrestling Cast every week as Mike and JV cover the career of Stone Cold Steve Austin one PPV match at a time!
 
Check out The Extreme ECW Live Cast every week as Mike and JV go episode by episode through ECW!
 
Pick up our new P.S.K. Motorcycle Patch Logo merch over TeePublic.com and celebrate 25 years of the Biker Taker with us! 
 
Listen to "Reconstruction", the new full length album from Travis White! Stream Travis's new album of original tunes on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, or wherever you love to listen!
 
Stay connected with our Creature Community by following us on Instagram and Facebook!
 
Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel and check out all our travel vlogs from SummerSlam and Royal Rumbles past!

239: Ultimate SummerSlam Fantasty Draft With The Pod Street Krew!

The Boys Of Summer are back to dream up our Ultimate SummerSlam cards of all tiz-iiiiime on an all new Talking Taker! Alex Doriot and Travis White are joined by their Pod Street Krew Brothers Randy Turco, Stephen Zieman, Tommy On The Spot, and Trey Ciampa for a sequel to our WrestleMania Draft earlier this year. We're taking turns building our fantasy 8-match card of the greatest matches from 37 years of The SummerSlam - and you won't believe what does AND what doesn't get picked! From classic main events to obscure title matches to, well, whatever the heck it is Randy selected, you're just gonna have to follow along to find out what surprises are in store. It's the perfect complementary podcast to the biggest party of the summer so we hope you'll join along with us and dream up what your fantasy SummerSlam might look like. Plus we've got another edition of Undertaker Sightings with some actual follow-up on Taker's relationship with Wildfire Tommy Rich from The Dead Man himself - seriously! Download, enjoy, and Taker Easy! 
 
 
Make sure you're subscribed to the Watchalong Wrestling YouTube channel to see Tommy's adventures at this year's SummerSlam!
 
Pick up our new P.S.K. Motorcycle Patch Logo merch over TeePublic.com and celebrate 25 years of the Biker Taker with us! 
 
Listen to "Reconstruction", the new full length album from Travis White! Stream Travis's new album of original tunes on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, or wherever you love to listen!
 
Stay connected with our Creature Community by following us on Instagram and Facebook!
 
Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel and check out all our travel vlogs from SummerSlam and Royal Rumbles past!

BACK FROM THE DEAD: Vengeance 2003

We're celebrating the final year of John Cena's career by revisiting his first PPV encounter with The Undertaker from 22 years ago this month with this classic episode of Talking Taker, BACK FROM THE DEAD at the top of your podcast feed! Originally released in June of 2019 as episode 93, It's Vengeance 2003 featuring Cena trying to prove himself against Big Evil in the biggest match of his career up to that point. Cena showed no fear with his non-P.C. battle raps calling out Taker in the build to this one and there's a lot of fun stuff to revisit, including a strangly heavy presence of the F.B.I.! This is also a timely episode for us to revisit as we give our instant reactions to the recently retired Goldberg's match with The Undertaker from Super Showdown 2019. Check it out and then be sure to join us on August 1st for a brand new episode as we bring on our fellow Pod Street Krew members for the Ultimate SummerSlam Fantasy Draft - you don't want to miss this one!

238: Mean Mark - Flyin' High!

Put on your Nintendo Power Gloves and travel back with us 1990 for another deep dive into Mean Mark on this month's Talking Taker! Join wrestling superfans Alex Doriot and Travis White on their encyclopedic exploration digging up The Dead Man as they take the time-traveling hearse back again to WCW to discuss his rise up the ranks in the formative days of his pro wrestling career. When we last left the man who would become The Undertaker he was scoring a win in his first ever PPV match against Johnny Ace. Now he's continuing to fly high with his Heatseeking Missile elbow drop and the devastating heart punch as he runs through another incredible crew of jobbers like Max Miles and "Ding Dong Bundy". Plus he's got a new manager watching out for him as Teddy Long sells his contract to Paul E. Dangerously which leads to an even meaner streak in his matches. It all leads up to a big showdown with Flyin' Brian at Clash Of The Champions: Coastal Crush that just might be Mark Calaway's best wrestling match to date. We'll cover all the ridiculousness of 90's wrestling including Jim Cornette's savage commentary digs at Paul E., the legendary movie character that Mean Mark definitely influenced, Tommy Rich's incomprehensible word salad, and our apologies to the family of Ray Gunkel. All that plus another round of Undertaker Sightings including the return of 6 Feet Under, Taker's recent health scare, a random sighting in the New York Times Games section, and Travis and Alex's recaps of their recent trips to Smackdown and an indie show meeting a couple of Hall Of Famers! Download, enjoy, and Taker Easy! 
 
Check out all of the Mean Mark matches discussed here on our YouTube Playlist! 
 
Pick up our new P.S.K. Motorcycle Patch Logo merch over TeePublic.com and celebrate 25 years of the Biker Taker with us! 
 
Listen to "Reconstruction", the new full length album from Travis White! Stream Travis's new album of original tunes on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, or wherever you love to listen!
 
Stay connected with our Creature Community by following us on Instagram, and Facebook!
 
Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel and check out our collection of figure unboxings, vlogs, video podcasts, and more!

237: The Rise Of Mean Mark In WCW

Before he was the Dead Man, he was the Mean Man! Join wrestling superfans Alex Doriot and Travis White on their encyclopedic exploration digging up The Dead Man as we take the time-traveling hearse all the way back to early 1990 for part one of a deep dive on a prequel chapter to The Undertaker's career - his singles run in WCW as Mean Mark. Taker has often downplayed this run in interviews and talked about how there were never any plans for him down south - but was that really the case? After The New Skyscrapers collapsed, Mean Mark had a moment to shine as a singles star and we're diving deep in into his first couple of months of squash matches. It all culminated in Mark Calaway's first ever PPV singles match against Johnny Ace! Along the way to that match we cover all the absurdities of early 90s WCW including some horribly racist and drunken commentary, the Return Of Robocop, the power of the Heart Punch, Teddy Long never being able to find the camera, forgotten sponsors like Western Union and Castrol GTX, the Slam-O-Meter, the definition of "Gunkel-ing", and some big matches against the likes of Road Warrior Animal and Tommy Wildfire Rich! All that plus another loaded month of Undertaker Sightings including his big win on "L.F.G.", his appearance on "Stephanie's Places", NXT cameos, and more. Download, enjoy, and Taker Easy! 
 
Check out all of the Mean Mark matches discussed here on our YouTube Playlist! 
 
Pick up our new P.S.K. Motorcycle Patch Logo merch over TeePublic.com and celebrate 25 years of the Biker Taker with us! 
 
Listen to "Reconstruction", the new full length album from Travis White! Stream Travis's new album of original tunes on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, or wherever you love to listen!
 
Stay connected with our Creature Community by following us on Instagram, and Facebook!
 
Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel and check out our collection of figure unboxings, vlogs, video podcasts, and more!

BACK FROM THE DEAD: Survivor Series 2000

We've got our python pants on for our trip in the time-traveling motorcycle celebrating 25 years of the Biker Taker on this throwback Talking Taker, BACK FROM THE DEAD at the top of your podcast feed! Originally released in November of 2018 as episode 67, It's Survivor Series 2000 featuring an overlooked classic between The Undertaker and Kurt Angle. Perhaps it's kind of forgotten about due to a random finish featuring Eric Angle? Or maybe it's truly forgotten about because the only thing anyone remembers about this match is THE UNDERTAKER'S PANTS?! We break down all the rumor and innuendo associate with Taker's most infamous look on a special segment of "Talking Trousers" including debunking the oft-repeated stories about these pants and offering our own theories. Check it out and then be sure to join us on June1st for a brand new episode as dive into part 1 of The Complete History Of Mean Mark In WCW! 

236: This Is My Yard

We're trading out the time-traveling hearse for a time-traveling lawnmower as we enter The Undertaker's Yard on an all new Talking Taker! Join wrestling superfans Alex Doriot and Travis White on their encyclopedic exploration digging up The Dead Man as they celebrate the 25 Year Anniversary of the "Biker Taker" character's debut by looking back at the home video release of "This Is My Yard". This was was a historic video back in 2001 for many reasons, not the least of which is it marks the first time we really ever got a glimpse behind the curtain of the man behind The Undertaker character. We cover this fan favorite release in depth including what the actual title of this documentary is, the mysterious hat Taker wears on the cover, some iconic quotes from Chris Jericho, the awkward relationship talk with Sara, the origins of the American Badass character, and the hilarity in hindsight of The Undertaker reflecting on his career possibly coming to a close...back in 2001! All that plus a supersized WrestleMania month edition of Undertaker Sightings including his Hall Of Fame induction for Michelle McCool, the WrestleMania IX documentary, WrestleMania: The Album found footage, and much more. Download, enjoy, and Taker Easy! 
 
Today's episode is brought to you by "Reconstruction", the new full length album from Travis White! Stream Travis's new album of original tunes on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, or wherever you love to listen!
 
Put a Talking Taker cap on your head with brand new hats available  over at TeePublic.com! 
 
Stay connected with our Creature Community by following us on Instagram, and Facebook!
 
Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel and check out our collection of figure unboxings, vlogs, video podcasts, and more!
 

235: The Boneyard Match Revisited 5 Years Later

We're going back to The Boneyard on this month's Talking Taker! Join wrestling superfans Alex Doriot and Travis White on their encyclopedic exploration digging up The Dead Man as they celebrate the 5 year anniversary of The Undertaker's final match which wound up being one of his greatest - The Boneyard Match vs AJ Styles from WrestleMania 36. No one had any idea what to expect when the Covid-19 pandemic shut down the world in March of 2020 and completely upended the plans for WrestleMania. We reminisce at what our lives looked back in the early stages of life with the coronavirus and how we dealt with the world's shutdown before taking a look back possibly the greatest cinematic match of all time watchalong style. Along the way we'll discuss what this match might have looked like had it taken place inside a ring, the movie influences the match reminds us of, the excellent addition of Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson to the festivities, the influence the Thunderdome era still has on WWE toay, and why this match clicked in a way that so many other matches during the pandemic never did. Plus we've got another month of Undertaker Sightings including an excellent WWE Vault clip looking back at WrestleMania 14 and some marital drama with Michelle McCool on "L.F.G."! Download, enjoy, and Taker Easy!  
Today's episode is brought to you by "Reconstruction", the new full length album from Travis White! Stream Travis's new album of original tunes on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, or wherever you love to listen!
 
Put a Talking Taker cap on your head with brand new hats available  over at TeePublic.com! 
 
Stay connected with our Creature Community by following us on Instagram, and Facebook!
 
Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel and check out our collection of figure unboxings, vlogs, video podcasts, and more!