Talking Taker

086 - Insurrextion 2002

We're making a Brexit of our own as we cover The Undertaker's final U.K. PPV on this week's Talking Taker! Join wrestling superfans Alex Doriot and Travis White on their journey through every Undertaker PPV match as they cover Insurrextion 2002 and a main event clash between Big Evil and Triple H. The initial Brand Split is in full effect (well, sort of) and this is the first ever Raw vs. Smackdown battle. But an unscripted ring malfunction happens that nearly derails the entire match. We'll discuss how these 2 ring generals never skipped a beat and kept the crowd entertained in a match that foreshadows many of their future battles. Plus we'll discuss the complete lack of disdain for the brand split rules, Taker suffering one of his worst beatdowns ever, another new nickname, Vince McMahon and Stacy Keibler's creepy affair, Hulk Hogan getting a taste of his own Yapapi strap, RegalMania running wild, and much more. Finally we'll share some listener suggestions for the WWE Creative team on how to use The Undertaker at this weekend's WrestleMania 35!
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085 - Backlash 2002

It's The Undertaker and Stone Cold's last dance! Join wrestling superfans Alex Doriot and Travis White on their journey through every Undertaker PPV match as they cover the final clash in one of Taker's greatest rivalries as he battles Steve Austin with special guest referee Ric Flair at Backlash 2002. Can these legends break their streak of boring PPV matches? Before we cover the very, very, very, very, very long and controversial match, we're also talking about one of the most tumultuous five week spans in WWF history as the initial brand split and draft take place! Where did Undertaker get drafted? How did Hulk Hogan screw up the initial match announced against Triple H (somebody say something 'bout nostalgia)? We'll answer these questions plus talk about the new look for Raw that Ric Flair puts into place. Plus we're talking more Booger Red comedy with King and JR, 2 TV-MA moments, the first pairing of Booker T and Goldust, the Match After Backlash, the sad fall of Mr. Perfect and Big Bossman, the pointlessness of the nWo, the many looks of Raven, the dreadful push of Bradshaw, Mr. McMahon's excitement for Stacy Keibler, Kane calling out his Kane-a-nites, and much more. Download, enjoy, and Taker Easy!
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084 - WrestleMania X8

The Undertaker goes for 10-0 at WrestleMania! Join wrestling superfans Alex Doriot and Travis White on their journey through every Undertaker PPV match as they hit WrestleMania X8 one of The Dead Man's most legendary matches against "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair. Many still call it their favorite match of the streak, and it's easy to see why. There's so many iconic moments to discuss from the SuperDuperPlex to The Greatest Spinebuster Ever to Taker's iconic Ten-Count at the end of the match, and we'll cover it all. Plus there's an incredible build-up featuring David Flair's first (and only) WWF match, Arn Anderson getting bloody, a bathroom beatdown, boardroom boredom, Head on Space Mountain, Paul London's WWF debut, and so much more. We even have to break out the ol' patented Blood Tracker for all the color in this episode! Download, enjoy, and Taker Easy!
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083 - No Way Out 2002

The following podcast has been paid for by the New World Order! Join wrestling superfans Alex Doriot and Travis White on their journey through every Undertaker PPV match as they cover a sort of forgotten encounter between two cornerstones of the WWF as The Dead Man battles The Rock at No Way Out 2002. Taker is still reeling from being eliminated by Maven at the Royal Rumble, and he wants to extract some revenge and respect on the poor young rookie. But thankfully the Tough Enough Champion has The Great One in his corner to stick up for him. We'll review this encounter that gets swept under the radar due to the debuting n.W.o.. Before we get there we'll talk about the road to the match including our name for Taker's new devastating maneuver, more great Stone Cold promos, rising tensions between Booger Red and Ric Flair, Undertaker singing some Aretha Franklin, some savage putdowns of The Coach and Investigative JournalistMichael Cole, teeth necklaces, Travis's continued disrespect for ELO, another terrible music edit on the Network, and so much more. Download, enjoy, and Taker Easy!
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082 - Royal Rumble 2002 Watch-Along

It's the dropkick heard round the world! Join wrestling superfans Alex Doriot and Travis White on their journey through every Undertaker PPV match as they provide a Watch-Along commentary for the 2002 Royal Rumble match and Maven's iconic elimination of Booger Red. It's a perfectly played scene and maybe the most memorable Rumble moment of all time. We'll give you the time stamp on the WWE Network so you can cue up the match and watch it along with us. And it's not the only exciting part of the match as we also talk about the Rumble Returns of the likes of Mr. Perfect and Goldust, The Hurricane trying to use his Hurri-powers, Stone Cold running roughshod, and much more. But before we get there we also get to talk about Taker's reign of terror over the Hardcore division. The Conscience Of The WWF has become a big bully and we have a blast dissecting his decimation of the cruiserweights like Spike Dudley, Tajiri, and The Hardy Boyz. Plus we'll discuss The Big Show's New Year's Resolution, the importance of taking down the straps, Taker's continued demands for a little respect, Stone Cold at the top of his game, the Top Ten matches of 2001, a vicious new way to use a chair, and The Undertaker's new finisher with a name that blew our minds. Download, enjoy, and Taker Easy. 
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081 - Vengeance 2001

R-E-S-P-E-C-T - find out what it means to The Dead Man! Join wrestling superfans Alex Doriot and Travis White on their journey through every Undertaker PPV match as they cover The Undertaker's quest for the Hardcore Championship against Rob Van Dam at Vengeance 2001. It's a bit of a departure for Taker and it leads to one his most fun matches ever. But before we talk about the high times with Mr. Monday Night, we also cover Booger Red's transformation into Big Evil. The Phenom is feeling disrespected, and he takes out his frustrations on an innocent JR in the most anus - whoops, we mean heinous - way possible. Plus we'll talk about Taker's new haircut, battles with Bradshaw and Tazz, more classic comedy from Christian, RVD's ugliest attire ever, two of the most bizarre sentences you'll ever hear The Undertaker utter, the return of The King, the debut of Ric Flair, William Regal and Big Show in the bathroom, and so much more. Download, enjoy, and Taker Easy! 
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080 - Survivor Series 2001 Watch-Along

We've had it with this Alliance crap! Join wrestling superfans Alex Doriot and Travis White on their journey through every Undertaker PPV match as they reach the conclusion of the Invasion storyline with a Winner Take All 5 on 5 Survivor Series match between Team WWF and Team Alliance. We've got so much to talk about during this Civil War that we decided to do a Watch-Along for the match itself. We'll give you the time cue on the WWE Network and encourage you to watch the match with us as we provide a running commentary over the match with our sometimes silly, sometimes serious observations. It's just as entertaining if you don't watch along with us either, so don't let that scare you off. But before we get to the match itself, we cover a month full of incredible moments including the best Smackdown ending ever, sing-along with The Rock and Stone Cold, Undertaker and Vince's sitcom chemistry, Paul Heyman's pipe bomb, a killer Taker and Austin match, and so much more. Plus we discuss all the wild rumors surrounding the Undertaker's future with WWE in 2019 and lay down a challenge to all our Creatures Of The Night. Download, enjoy, and Taker Easy! WWF FOREVER!
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079 - No Mercy 2001

It's Booker T vs. Booger Red! Join wrestling superfans Alex Doriot and Travis White on their journey through every Undertaker PPV match as they cover a battle between two cornerstones of their companies as Taker battles the Booker man at No Mercy 2001. It's a nice change of pace from the past few months and we spend some time reminding ourselves just how great the 5 Time WCW Champion really was - sucka! But before we get to the match we've gotta discuss J.R.'s ridiculous new nickname for The Undertaker. Where did it come from? What does it mean? We've actually got some answers for you! Plus we're talking the new tag team of T 'N T, the inexplicable power of Test's big boot, The Hurricane and his Hurricycle, Paul Heyman's fax machine, tape-trading in the early 2000s, the rise of the spinnaroonie, DDP's first yoga infomercial, Kurt Angle's ABA cosplay, and much more. Download, enjoy, and Taker Easy! 
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078 - Unforgiven 2001

Worst. Match. EVER! Join wrestling superfans Alex Doriot and Travis White on their journey through every Undertaker PPV match as they cover the infamous trainwreck that was The Brothers Of Destruction vs. Kronik from Unforgiven 2001. It's a disjointed mess of a match that truly lives up to its hype as one of the worst moments of The Undertaker's career. We try to figure out where it all went wrong and how one match completely derailed the careers of Brian Adams and Bryan Clarke. But before we even get there we also talk about another disastrous moment: the end of the Stalker angle and an actual match between Sara and DDP! Yike-a-roni! We're also talking another battle with Edge and Christian, a shortlived feud with X-Factor, the return of Steven Richards, vengeance for the Right To Censor, the most protected move in the tag team division, Taker being MIA for the post 9/11 Smackdown, what Kronik should have been named, and The Undertaker's legit hip-hop cred. Download, enjoy, and Taker Easy! 
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077 - SummerSlam 2001

Who betta than Talking Taker?! Join wrestling superfans Alex Doriot and Travis White on their journey through every Undertaker PPV match as they cover the SummerSlam 2001 steel cage clash between The Brothers Of Destruction and the team of DDP and Kanyon for both the WWF and WCW Tag Titles. The bad news? It's the type of burial we don't normally talk about on this podcast and we'll try to get to the bottom of how the Stalker storyline went off the rails so quickly and spectacularly. The good news? We get to talk about the Alliance MVP Kanyon! Besides reminiscing about his short-lived but fun WWF tenure we'll also discuss DDP's cartoonish shrine, the debut of the Smackdown fist, a showdown with Palumbo & O'Haire, evil ref Nick Patrick, the abundance of gimmick matches and title belts during the Invasion, and why "Stone Cold Sara" was such an epic disaster. Download, enjoy, and Taker Easy! What? I said Taker Easy! 
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