Talking Taker
Digging up the career of The Undertaker one PPV match at a time every Friday. Hosted by wrestling superfans Alex Doriot and Travis White.
Listen on:
Episodes
Friday Sep 30, 2022
Friday Sep 30, 2022
It's the 20 year anniversary of our #1 match of The Undertaker's Biker Era! Join wrestling superfans Alex Doriot and Travis White on their encyclopedic exploration digging up the career of The Dead Man as they take their time-traveling hearse back to October 20th 2002 for a Watch-Along of the classic Hell In A Cell match for the Undisputed Championship between Taker and Brock Lesnar. It's one of the greatest matches of both men's careers and of the Ruthless Aggression era, and one of the most bloody and violent WWE matches you will ever see. We'll give you the timestamp on Peacock to watch it along with us but as always it'll be just as entertaining if you only listen. Along the way we'll discuss the historical significance of this match in both men's careers, the undisputed M.V.P. of the match Paul Heyman, some fun facts and figures surrounding the match, the bizarre buildup to the match involving Matt Hardy and D-list actress Tracy Dali, Encino Man, The Scorpion King, jackalopes, and so much more! Plus we go through our monthly Undertaking Sightings including Dead Man Shoes, Dead Man Shoes, and the answer behind one of the great Taker match mysteries - Mr. McMahon's lockbox! Download, enjoy, and Taker Easy!
Stay connected with our Creature Community by following us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook!
Subscribe to Travis's YouTube channel to stay connected and hear his latest release, "Bridges" - also available on Spotify and Apple Music!
Pick up a new "Half A Decade Of Destruction" Talking Taker shirt & more merch at TeePublic to help support the show!
Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel and check out our collection of figure unboxings, vlogs, video podcasts, and more!
Sunday Sep 25, 2022
Sunday Sep 25, 2022
Our next brand new episode of Talking Taker is coming this Saturday October 1st, and we'll be looking back at the main event of No Mercy 2002 for it's 20th anniversary! It's an absolutely iconic and violent Hell In A Cell battle between The Undertaker and Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship. We will look back at the match we rated the number 1 of the Biker Taker Era on a special Watch-Along style episode. Before that comes out, refresh your memory of this rivalry with our original coverage of the full build-up of the match as we bring our episode 92 of the podcast from May 2019 BACK FROM THE DEAD!
Thursday Sep 01, 2022
Thursday Sep 01, 2022
It's the team-up you've all been waiting for us to discuss - The Undertaker and Scooby-Doo! Join meddling kids and wrestling superfans Alex Doriot and Travis White on their encyclopedic exploration digging up The Dead Man as they trade out their time-traveling hearse for a trip in the Mystery Machine and review this wild animated film from 2016 featuring a mash-up of Mystery Inc. and the WWE. But this adventure doesn't take place inside a wrestling ring. Instead all the action takes place at the Muscle Moto X Race - the WWE's answer to the Wacky Races! We discuss this absolutely bonkers cartoon including Taker's co-pilot Dusty Rhodes, Mr. McMahon's Meatballs, Sheamus' flower fetish, Kofi Kingston surfing on drones, The Dead Man driving a giant sandwich, salvation via sausage links, Vince's musical aspirations, all of Shaggy and Scooby's goofy one-liners, and of course, The Undertaker's Comedy Theater and Puppet Jubilee! Yes - really!
Before we get into the Scooby-Doo silliness, Travis and Alex spend the first half of the show discussing their epic trip to Nashville for SummerSlam weekend including a full breakdown of Alex's experience at The Undertaker's first ever 1 deadMAN SHOW! You'll hear all of the untold stories The Undertaker shared at this exclusive event including the truth behind his heat with Hulk Hogan, the reason behind his cucumber phobia, and an awkward evening with The Iron Sheik! You don't want to miss all this folks - download, enjoy, and Taker Easy!
Stay connected with our Creature Community by following us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook!
Pick up a new "Half A Decade Of Destruction" Talking Taker shirt & more merch at TeePublic to help support the show!
Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel and check out our SummerSlam Weekend Vlog!
Subscribe to Travis's YouTube channel to stay connected and hear his latest release, "Sirens" - also available on Spotify and Apple Music!
Monday Aug 01, 2022
Monday Aug 01, 2022
It's the 5 Year Anniversary of Talking Taker! Join wrestling superfans Alex Doriot and Travis White as they celebrate Half A Decade Of Destruction digging up the career of The Dead Man with this special episode. We kick things off with a supersized edition of Undertaker Sightings looking back at news and notes from his multiple TV specials in the month of July. We look back at the hilarious stories and dominoes action from his "Table For 5" special with the B.S.K., the awesome analysis of the Brothers Of Destruction from A&E's "Rivalries", and the fascinating peek behind the curtain of the man himself Mark Calaway (and the star of the show Mama Calaway) on his A&E "Biography". We also discuss UFC Champ Israel Adesanya's Undertaker entrance, yet another Taker conversation on "Broken Skull Sessions", and The Phenom's surprise (and surprisingly funny) appearance at Comic-Con. Then we break down our Highway To Hell tournament to decide The Undertaker's greatest SummerSlam match, giving our thoughts and analysis along the way of his record-setting history at the summer spectacular. Finally, we wrap up our first 5 years with a Q&A session with some great prompts from you the listeners. Don't worry folks - we're not going anywhere yet and we'll kick off our next half decade next month! Download, enjoy and Taker Easy!
Stay connected with our Creature Community by following us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook!
Pick up a new "Half A Decade Of Destruction" Talking Taker shirt & more merch at TeePublic to help support the show!
Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel and be on the lookout for our SummerSlam Weekend Vlog - coming soon!
Subscribe to Travis's YouTube channel to stay connected and hear his latest release, "Sirens" - also available on Spotify and Apple Music!
Friday Jul 01, 2022
Friday Jul 01, 2022
In July of 2002, three of the greatest WWE superstars of all-time did battle for the WWE Championship and history was made. Join wrestling superfans Alex Doriot and Travis White on their encyclopedic exploration digging up The Dead Man as we take the time-traveling hearse back to Vengeance 2002 to revisit one of our favorite matches that just doesn't get enough love on its 20th anniversary - The Undertaker vs. Kurt Angle vs. The Rock for the Undisputed Championship! We're doing it Watch-Along style this time so we'll give you the timestamp to cue it up on the Peacock, but as always it'll still be plenty entertaining if you're just listening. We'll discuss why this is a Top 20 all-time Undertaker match for us, why it seems to get overlooked by fans due the craziness going in in the WWE at the time, and try to remember what exactly the storyline here was. Along the way we'll also cover the insane series of stolen finishers during the match, the seemingly effortless chemistry between these 3, the confusing crew member seemingly just hanging out at ringside, the infamous carabiner on Taker's belt loop, whether this is the best triple threat match in WWE history, and of course the always hilarious looks of the fans of the crowd. Plus we'll get an audio recap from our time-traveling reporter Randy Turco of his memories of being at this show live! All that plus our monthly "Undertaker Sightings" and more. Download, enjoy, and Taker Easy!
Stay connected with our Creature Community by following us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook!
Pick up a "TCB - Taker Care Of Business" Talking Taker shirt & more merch at TeePublic to help support the show!
Check out Alex's recent appearance on the Collecting Deadman podcast discussing "The Phenom" VHS tape!
Subscribe to Travis's YouTube channel to stay connected and hear his latest release, "Sirens" - also available on Spotify and Apple Music!
Wednesday Jun 01, 2022
Wednesday Jun 01, 2022
It's time to plug in your VCR and rewind with us to the days of Coliseum Video 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 dive into some of the Undertaker's early Home Video Classics! These WWF compilation videos were a staple of growing up as a wrestling fan in the early 90s and they contain so many unique match-ups of The Undertaker that we've never covered before. Join us as we rent 5 tapes from the virtual video store that is Peacock containing 6 unique matches: World Tour 91, Rampage 91, Crunch Classic, Battle Royal at the Albert Hall, and Rampage 92. Included are matches featuring Taker in the ring with Hulk Hogan, Ultimate Warrior, British Bulldog, Sgt. Slaughter, Hacksaw Jim Duggan, The Berzerker, Papa Shango, and more. And the best part - there's no late fees! It's a truly old school Talking Taker episode as we get the chance to riff on so many topics including brutal commentary from Sean Mooney and Lord Alfred Hayes, incredible crowd reactions, an all-time great forgotten Undertaker entrance, Paul Bearer hamming it up for the camera and taking us on a tour of his home, all the chokes and punches and kicks you could ask for, babyfaces acting like heels, new nicknames for Taker, the Royal Samovar Trophy, and so much more. Plus we discuss "The Undertaker" on an episode of "Young Rock" and Alex getting to meet the Hardcore Legend Mick Foley! Download, enjoy, and Taker Easy!
Stay connected with our Creature Community by following us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook!
Pick up a "Taker Easy" Talking Taker shirt & more merch at TeePublic to help support the show!
Subscribe to Travis's YouTube channel to stay connected and hear his latest release, "Sirens" - also available on Spotify and Apple Music!
Sunday May 01, 2022
Sunday May 01, 2022
Now that The Undertaker has entered the Hall Of Fame, we're ranking the greatest entrances of his career on our very special 200th episode! Join wrestling superfans Alex Doriot and Travis White on their encyclopedic exploration of The Undertaker's career as they rank and debate the Top 10 most epic entrances of The Dead Man. That means we're talking all the grand WrestleMania walks, hearses, chariots, motorcycles, vultures, caskets, batwings, torches, pyro, and druids across his 30 year career! And speaking of druids, we've actually got an interview with former independent wrestler Ralph Squillante who played one of the druids for one of Taker's most epic WrestleMania entrances! Ralph walks us through how this opportunity came to be and what it was like to be a part of a defining moment of the Attitude Era - you don't want to miss this exclusive behind-the-scenes talk.
Before all that we of course have to kick things off with a rundown of The Undertaker's stupendous Hall Of Fame speech! There were moments that made us laugh. There were moments that made us cry. And we talk about all the reasons why this might just be the greatest Hall Of Fame speech ever. Plus we discuss all of Taker's activity during WrestleMania weekend and get an on the scene report from Princeton John about seeing it all in person. It's a jam-packed podcast to celebrate our 200th episode - download, enjoy, and Taker Easy!
Stay connected with our Creature Community by following us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook!
Pick up a "Taker Easy" Talking Taker shirt & more merch at TeePublic to help support the show!
Subscribe to Travis's YouTube channel to stay connected and hear his latest release, "Sirens" - also available on Spotify and Apple Music!
Friday Apr 01, 2022
Friday Apr 01, 2022
As The Undertaker takes his rightful spot in the WWE Hall Of Fame, we turn this very special episode of Talking Taker over to his most loyal Creatures Of The Night! Join wrestling superfans Alex Doriot and Travis White as they take a backseat in their time-traveling hearse this week and present a collection of messages from listeners of the podcast paying tribute to The Phenom and saying #ThankYouTaker. You'll hear from some old friends we've had on the show in the past. You'll hear the voices behind some of our most frequent commenters for the first time. You'll hear from international listeners from around the globe. And through all these messages you'll hear truly heartfelt confessions of what The Dead Man has meant throughout so many wrestling fan's lives. This is an unforgettable episode unlike anything we've ever put out, and it makes the perfect companion piece to The Undertaker's Hall Of Fame induction this WrestleMania weekend. So sit back, reminisce with your fellow fans, and Taker Easy!
Stay connected with our Creature Community by following us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook!
Pick up a "Taker Easy" Talking Taker shirt & more merch at TeePublic to help support the show!
Subscribe to Travis's YouTube channel to stay connected and hear his latest release, "Radical" - also available on Spotify and Apple Music!
Friday Mar 18, 2022
Friday Mar 18, 2022
Scott Hall. Razor Ramon. The Bad Guy. Whatever you want to call him, he was one of our all-time favorite wrestlers. And with his untimely and sudden passing earlier this week, we wanted to pay tribute to a legendary performer that we never covered in the original run of Talking Taker since he surprisingly never had a PPV match with Taker. Join wrestling superfans Alex Doriot and Travis White on their encyclopedic exploration of The Undertaker's career as they do a Watch-Along commentary for two rare matches featuring Scott Hall and Mark Calaway. The first is from New Japan Pro Wrestling in 1990 with Hall teaming up with a young Taker, known at this time as Punisher Dice Morgan! They take on Masa Saito and Shinya Hashimoto for the tag team titles in a match unlike any we've covered on this show before. Then they fast forward a couple of years to Rampage 92, a classic Coliseum Video you can find on Peacock, and one of the only singles matches in history between Razor Ramon and The Phenom! Plus we share our favorite memories of a man who revolutionized the wrestling business including the times we met him and saw him live and how his mannerisms and catchphrases transcended the wrestling business. Download, enjoy, Taker Easy, and Rest In Peace Scott Hall!
You can find the New Japan match we're covering by clicking here!
Don't forget to join us on April 1st for our Hall Of Fame special episode - contribute your #ThankYouTaker message to the pod by sending a video or audio message to talkingtaker@gmail.com by Sunday, March 20th!
Stay connected with our Creature Community by following us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook!
Pick up a "Taker Easy" Talking Taker shirt & more merch at TeePublic to help support the show!
Subscribe to Travis's YouTube channel to stay connected and hear his latest release, "Radical" - also available on Spotify and Apple Music!
Tuesday Mar 01, 2022
Tuesday Mar 01, 2022
The Ministry Of Darkness is one of the greatest factions in WWE history - but what if we could make it better? That's the question we're asking on an all new Talking Taker! Join wrestling superfans Alex Doriot and Travis White and on their journey digging up The Dead Man as they welcome back friend of the show Randy Turco for a one of a kind Fantasy Draft crafting an all-time Ministry Of Darkness faction! Alex, Travis, and Randy each have 10 picks to select wrestlers from any era and any company to stand behind The Undertaker and create their own unique and ultimate dark, demonic, dominant group. The picks go from the obvious to the obscure as each of us try to outmaneuver the other - you won't believe some of the choices (and some of our reactions)! Once you've heard all of our selections, hit us up on social media and let us know who you think came out on top crafting their Ministry - @TalkingTaker on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram! Before we get to the draft we'll also catch up with Randy and discuss the latest acquisitions to his Undertaker merch collection as well as this month's Undertaker Sighting on "Rowdy's Places" on ESPN+. Download, enjoy, and, as always, Taker Easy!
Follow Randy @PokeysLittleDog on Twitter and listen to his guest appearances on Collecting Deadman!
Stay connected with our Creature Community by following us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook!
Pick up a "Taker Easy" Talking Taker shirt & more merch at TeePublic to help support the show!
Subscribe to Travis's YouTube channel to stay connected and hear his latest release, "Radical" - also available on Spotify and Apple Music!