Danielle and Lindsey are ready to breakdown the final shows before WWE’s Royal Rumble show! No matter how we’re feeling about the current WWE product, the Rumble always seems to draw back the audience at large. Why? Because it’s the formal start of WrestleMania season and consequential stories in WWE! But there are also stories in AEW to take note of. But things seem to be going awry in the house that Tony Khan built, at least from the storytelling perspective. We’ll explain why we’re feeling unsure about Dynamite’s direction, while still voicing our optimism that their eventual move to two nights a week could be great for them. Finally, we’ll talk about NXT. It continues to be a great and successful show week in and week out. Between the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic and Keith Lee as the new North American Champion, there’s a lot to love. And that includes Finn Balor’s....appearance in his match this week. We’ll explain. The Three Count Lindsey put over Becky Lynch on WWE Backstage. Julian put over these pictures from Keith Lee across the years in WWE. Danielle put over the Big E's dream match from the Feel The Power podcast. Hosted by Danielle Radford and Lindsey Kelk. Produced by Julian Burrell for Maximum Fun. If you want to talk about more wrestling throughout the week be sure to join us on Facebook and @TightsFights on Twitter and Instagram. If you liked the show, please share it with your friends and be sure to leave us a quick review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get podcasts.

Tights and Fights

Tights and Fights Ep. 179: Hornin' it up

This week, Danielle and Lindsey are joined by Darnell Mitchell. He’s one of the heads behind the Brooklyn-based wrestling promotion Uncanny Attraction. Like any respectable wrestling organization, Uncanny Attraction will be in Tampa Bay on WrestleMania week (April 2nd at 11PM). He’s also ready to announce the show’s main event: Effy vs. AEW’s Sunny Kiss! Tickets are going to be available soon! Darnell will tell us all about what it was like to go from a fan to a professional in the industry, which independent wrestlers and promotions he’s most excited to see and why so many wrestlers need to step up their suit game. The Main Event Tessa Blanchard was known across the international wrestling scene as someone whose star was only going to burn brighter. She’s been a champion in multiple organizations, including the current World Champion of Impact. But in the midst of her greatest accomplishment, word has come out from multiple wrestlers that Tessa has a history of being a bully and a racist. It’s a lot to take in, but we share our reactions.  The Three Count Darnell put over artist Lauren Moran and the MV Young No Ring Death Match Extravaganza  Lindsey put over this week’s episode of NXT, especially the debut of Mercedes Martinez. Danielle put over the latest episode of Being the Elite with Kris Statlander and Orange Cassidy. Hosted by Danielle Radford, Lindsey Kelk and Darnell Mitchell. Produced by Julian Burrell for Maximum Fun. If you want to talk about more wrestling throughout the week be sure to join us on Facebook and @TightsFights on Twitter and Instagram. If you liked the show, please share it with your friends and be sure to leave us a quick review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get podcasts.

Ep. 178: Wrestling should be FUN w/ Darnell Mitchell

Buy the new Tights and Fights shirt at maxfunstore.com! This week, Hal and Lindsey are joined by James Durbin. He’s a known singer, actor and American Idol participant who’s also a HUGE wrestling fan. But a major blindspot in his fandom has been New Japan Pro Wrestling’s Wrestle Kingdom 14.  For the first time ever, this event was split into two days of extremely long cards. There thankfully was no noticeable drop in match quality across both shows, but it cannot be understated: This is a LOT of wrestling and watching it all will take at least a little bit of patience. In that spirit, we take a look at some of the major matches, including the champ-champ efforts of Tetsuya Naito, the heelish tactics of Jay White and KENTA and discuss whether or not Jon Moxley and Chris Jericho’s appearances mean we should expect more collaborations between NJPW and AEW. The Three Count James put over The New Day Podcast Feel the Power. Lindsey put over Jushin “Thunder” Liger’s retirement ceremony. Julian put over the press conference with Jushin and Tiger Mask. Hosted by Hal Lublin, Lindsey Kelk and James Durbin. Produced by Julian Burrell for Maximum Fun. If you want to talk about more wrestling throughout the week be sure to join us on Facebook and @TightsFights on Twitter and Instagram. If you liked the show, please share it with your friends and be sure to leave us a quick review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get podcasts.

Ep. 177: Wrestling Kingdom 14 w/ James Durbin

Don’t let that final segment on RAW fool you; there was actually a lot of really great wrestling to end 2019 and kick off 2020! Buddy Murphy and Aleister Black continue to impress in their second outing, Andrade and Zelina are back on track with the United States Championship in tow AND MJF cut another fantastic promo. But it’s not all good news: AEW’s production has continued to slip in the past few months. We’ll examine why the company’s picture-in-picture strategy isn’t working for us. Plus: after the women’s championship fatal fourway, one thing has become very clear: the company has ONE woman with a clearly defined character and it’s not the champion Riho.  All of this… plus we’ll somehow find a way to mix in conversations about Cats throughout the show. Misandry Corner The Bobby/Lana/Rusev story has been maligned by the audience for a while now. But this week it somehow took a turn for the worse with Liv Morgan getting involved as Lana’s former lover. How bad is this story for everyone involved? Is anything being salvaged? And most importantly: Who would play these roles if we recast them all as men? Hosted by Hal Lublin, Danielle Radford and Lindsey Kelk. Produced by Julian Burrell for Maximum Fun. If you want to talk about more wrestling throughout the week be sure to join us on Facebook and @TightsFights on Twitter and Instagram. If you liked the show, please share it with your friends and be sure to leave us a quick review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get podcasts.

Tights and Fights Ep. 176: Full Jellicle

Tights and Fights has a new shirt available at maxfunstore.com! Happy Holidays! And there’s no better way to celebrate this special time a year with the most important holiday that coincidentally shares a date with all other holidays: Rusev Day! Comedian and Writer Joey Clift joins us to talk about the careers of Lana and Rusev. We’ll take a deep dive into all of it, from their early days as the Ravishing Russian commanding the Bulgarian Brute to crush all the way to the present with the institution of Rusev Day and the most notorious couples story of modern wrestling. Plus, Joey tells us about the rest of his present favs like Orange Cassidy and the rest of the AEW cast and which wrestling segment made him want to call the police as a child. Hosted by Hal Lublin and Lindsey Kelk. Produced by Julian Burrell for Maximum Fun. If you want to talk about more wrestling throughout the week be sure to join us on Facebook and @TightsFights on Twitter and Instagram. If you liked the show, please share it with your friends and be sure to leave us a quick review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get podcasts.

Ep. 175: The Rusev Day Special

We’ve made it through one of the last times that significant wrestling events will happen in this decade! After a hard-fought main-event contest against Shayna Baszler, Rhea Ripley is now the first new NXT women’s champion in almost a year and a half. We’ll geek out about her major accomplishment in a somewhat inappropriate way. While that was the biggest event on Wednesday, there were tons of things worth tuning in for across both AEW and NXT. Jericho had an entertaining match with Jungle Boy; Adam Cole retained his NXT title over Finn Balor with some help from a returning Johnny Gargano; and Kris Statlander is now the number one contender for Riho’s Women’s World Championship. We’ll talk about all of that and look at WWE’s TLC show to heap more praise… and just a little bit of criticism. The Three Count Hal and Danielle both put over AEW’s new holiday commercial. Hosted by Hal Lublin and Danielle Radford. Produced by Julian Burrell for Maximum Fun. If you want to talk about more wrestling throughout the week be sure to join us on Facebook and @TightsFights on Twitter and Instagram. If you liked the show, please share it with your friends and be sure to leave us a quick review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get podcasts.

Ep. 174: Slide off your chairs

Grab that spare knee brace, and prepare to have your body parts yeeted! RAW women’s champion Becky Lynch and AEW’s women’s champion Riho may be in very different places in their career but they both have one thing in common: They haven’t been on TV that often. But we’ve got very different reactions to their scarce appearances that we’ll explain. Plus: NXT and AEW had their usual assortment of quality matches and story progression, including the reveal of new number one contenders. From Dynamite, we’ll explain why we’re ready for The Young Bucks to finally get their AEW Tag team championships. And on NXT, we’ll talk about Finn’s quest to make the future his past as the next NXT Champion… including a little inappropriate discussion of Keith Lee. All of that plus some of the week’s best promos, the most awkward shoot marriage proposal in history and a reflection of the selfishness of Christmas playtime. This episode is sponsored by Serial Box! Go to serialbox.com/podcast to get 20% of the newly released season of Thor: Metal Gods.  Hosted by Hal Lublin, Danielle Radford and Lindsey Kelk. Produced by Julian Burrell for Maximum Fun. If you want to talk about more wrestling throughout the week be sure to join us on Facebook and @TightsFights on Twitter and Instagram. If you liked the show, please share it with your friends and be sure to leave us a quick review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get podcasts.

Tights and Fights Ep. 173: Slap that hippo

Keep your ears front, this podcast will never be enter picture-in-picture mode! It’s been a full week of wrestling and Hal, Danielle and Lindsey are ready to break it down. Seth Rollins is getting a lot of attention for his new character direction in his feud with Kevin Owens. And on the surface, it’s really smart of WWE to play into the crowd sentiment towards Rollins and turn him as an overeager leader of RAW. But we’ll talk about whether or not this is actually solving the problem with Seth from the past year. And what a week it’s been for promos! We give praise to Jungle Boy, Cody Rhodes, Finn Balor, Keith Lee and Chris Jericho for their work on the mic this week. We’ll geek out over their creative fulfillment and speculate about where they could go from here. Plus, some discussion about the AEW production direction, what the future holds for the Undisputed Era and finally settle which wrestlers actually have too many cats. Hosted by Hal Lublin, Danielle Radford and Lindsey Kelk. Produced by Julian Burrell for Maximum Fun. If you want to talk about more wrestling throughout the week be sure to join us on Facebook and @TightsFights on Twitter and Instagram. If you liked the show, please share it with your friends and be sure to leave us a quick review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get podcasts.

Ep. 172: Picture-in-picture podcast

What better way to celebrate the holiday season than with a whole bunch of wrestling!  Hal and Lindsey break down the two biggest WWE shows from last weekend. First, NXT TakeOver: War Games. It featured two very different versions of the signature match, each with their own surprises and takes on the concept. We’ll explain how each match was such a brilliant showcase for each of the competitors. Plus, with most of the people on this show pulling double duty the next night, we’ll hope and pray that their bodies are holding up so that they can continue to be slammed into cages for years to come. And speaking of Sunday’s show, Survivor Series was a great bell to bell event as well! We’ll break down each of the major matches, what little minor shortcomings we saw, and find out who likes and dislikes the new Intercontinental Championship Hosted by Hal Lublin and Lindsey Kelk. Produced by Julian Burrell for Maximum Fun. If you want to talk about more wrestling throughout the week be sure to join us on Facebook and @TightsFights on Twitter and Instagram. If you liked the show, please share it with your friends and be sure to leave us a quick review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get podcasts.

Ep. 171: NXT TakeOver: War Games and Survivor Series

It’s the first ever Tights and Fights on SATURDAY! Join us as we take a look at the most recent episode of AEW Dynamite. In addition to some of the matches like Nick Jackson vs. Fenix and the developing feuds like Luchasauras vs. Jake Hager, we’ll take a look at how AEW should help its talent get better. Plus, while WWE definitely provides less freedom for talent to find themselves on their own, is it possible that their more strict regulations have actually helped some wrestlers find success in the long run? We’ll discuss. All of that, plus why we can’t wait for Survivor Series to be here… so we don’t have to see anymore matching t shirts for a little while. Main Event He was called the straight edge savior, the voice of the voiceless, the best in the world: CM Punk. Now that he's officially back under the WWE umbrella, we're going to take a look at his wrestling career. Hosted by Hal Lublin, Danielle Radford and Lindsey Kelk. Produced by Julian Burrell for Maximum Fun. If you want to talk about more wrestling throughout the week be sure to join us on Facebook and @TightsFights on Twitter and Instagram. If you liked the show, please share it with your friends and be sure to leave us a quick review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get podcasts.

Tights and Fights Ep. 170: Hype Bomb

This week Hal and Danielle have a special announcement: Tights and Fights is officially moving to SATURDAYS! In order to talk about NXT and AEW in a more timely manner, we’ll be moving our recording and publication days later in the week. Look forward to hearing us as part of your weekends! Speaking of AEW, this past weekend was their PPV “Full Gear.” We’ve got a lot of opinions to share on including our thoughts on MJF’s actions at the end of the World Title match, whether or not we have an appetite for unsanctioned violent matches like the Jon Moxley/Kenny Omega match that closed out the show and Jim Ross’ family of shaving products. Plus, CM Punk is officially affiliated with the WWE product once again! We’ll chat about his new role on FOX, what this could mean for his role in (if any) in WWE and how it feels to have him back in wrestling for the first time in years. Hosted by Hal Lublin and Danielle Radford. Produced by Julian Burrell for Maximum Fun. If you want to talk about more wrestling throughout the week be sure to join us on Facebook and @TightsFights on Twitter and Instagram. If you liked the show, please share it with your friends and be sure to leave us a quick review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get podcasts.

Ep. 169: The cult of a new reality

This week: WAR! Now that NXT is going head to head (to head) with RAW and Smackdown at Survivor Series, Hal, Danielle and Lindsey geek out about the first steps towards this new invasion. It’s already led to a lot of great matches like Tommaso Ciampa vs. Miz and Daniel Bryan vs. Adam Cole. That’s not even mentioning the promise of more at the PPV itself like Shayna Baszler vs. Becky Lynch vs. Bayley. Plus: AEW Dynamite has made a lot of strides lately in improving its story segments across the last few weeks, but that doesn’t mean the show has completely delivered on its promise. We’ll give credit where credit is due and call out the shortcomings that we see as they prepare for their Full Gear PPV. All that… and we’ve just gotta reminisce about the quality of Jim Ross’s podcast advertisements. The Three Count Lindsey put over this celebration of big boi season. Danielle put over the all women’s tag match on AEW Dark. Hal put over the Paul Heyman’s explanation of Brock Lesnar quitting Smackdown. Hosted by Hal Lublin, Danielle Radford and Lindsey Kelk Produced by Julian Burrell for Maximum Fun. If you want to talk about more wrestling throughout the week be sure to join us on Facebook and @TightsFights on Twitter and Instagram. If you liked the show, please share it with your friends and be sure to leave us a quick review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get podcasts.

Ep. 168: Blue Chew Dobadeedoo

 This week Lindsey and Danielle embrace the last week of wrestling before Blood Money Jewel and its fall out is upon us. Speaking of the Saudi show, news came through prior to our recording that Natalia and Lacey Evans would be allowed to take part in a match at the event. However, this doesn’t solve all of the issues we have with the show. Far from it. On the positive side, Finn Balor now has an exciting new direction as a heel for the first time in his WWE tenure. We’ll explain why this is the breath of fresh air that will endear him to fans now that he’s back in NXT. On AEW there’s still a lot ot enjoy, including Cody forming the Nightmare family to take on Chris Jericho’s Inner Circle. But there are a few things to take issue with: For one, why has Kenny Omega not gotten the portrayal as a superstar that he’s more than capable of? And for another, why is the women’s scene in such a holding pattern, especially when compared to NXT’s incredibly deep counterparts? The Three Count Lindsey put over Asuka’s YouTube Channel. Julian put over the Big Game Leroy. Danielle put over the Sunny Kiss and Dustin Rhodes’ tag match on AEW Dark. Hosted by Lindsey Kelk and Danielle Radford. Produced by Julian Burrell for Maximum Fun. If you want to talk about more wrestling throughout the week be sure to join us on Facebook and @TightsFights on Twitter and Instagram. If you liked the show, please share it with your friends and be sure to leave us a quick review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get podcasts. 

Tights and Fights Ep. 167: Only slightly inappropriate

This week Hal and Lindsey are joined by Bill Hanstock. He’s known for his wrestling writing in Uproxx and SBNation. But now he’s got a new project: a book about the complete and comprehensive history of WWE. Yeah. In addition to getting all the details about that, we’ll also talk about a bunch of recent wrestling programming. For one, RAW had no women’s matches. It certainly didn't make the show easier to watch, especially as the build to the Saudi show is in full swing. What did get us excited though was the debut of Humberto on Monday nights. AEW Dynamite continues to keep us entertained. One common criticism has been that each show has only one women’s match. How long are we willing to give the company the benefit of the doubt? We’ll explain. Plus, our thoughts on what they could continue to do from a production standpoint to truly stand-out from WWE and, yeah, we’ll weigh in on the Marko Stunt’s \"controversy\". In contrast to AEW, NXT has maybe as deep a women’s roster as they’ve had in years. Multiple stars are vying for Shayna Baszler’s women’s championship. We’ll discuss who should get the nod as number one contender and explain Roderick Strong’s cast-type in film. The Three Count Lindsey put over Emily Pratt’s article about the Daddy’s of WWE. Hal put over the Bayley’s heelish actions on twitter. Hosted byHal Lublin, Lindsey Kelk and Bill Hanstock. Produced by Julian Burrell for Maximum Fun. If you want to talk about more wrestling throughout the week be sure to join us on Facebook and @TightsFights on Twitter and Instagram. If you liked the show, please share it with your friends and be sure to leave us a quick review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get podcasts.

Ep. 166: A rabbit hole of WWE history w/ Bill Hanstock

 Show:  Tights and Fights This week Danielle, Lindsey and Mike break down tons of Wednesday night’s AEW and NXT. This week Danielle, Lindsey and Mike take a look at the October 9th editions of AEW Dynamite and NXT. Perhaps the biggest story detail from AEW was the introduction of Chris Jericho’s Inner Circle. Sammy Gueverra, LAX and Jake Hager are on the list of Le Champion. We explain our reservations with one of the members faction and marvel at the sight of Jericho as the very top guy of a company. In terms of matches, Private Party upsetting The Young Bucks was a fantastic showcase of tag team wrestling and it’s great to see Dustin Rhodes after such a lengthy career. We discuss it all, including what Mike’s son thinks of the show after his first exposure to wrestling. And on the WWE front, NXT continues to showcase tons of great matches. Most notably, Lio Rush is the new Cruiserweight champion and Kushida had an outstanding match with WALTER. But surprisingly, the thing we’re most excited for from WWE was on Smackdown. And it had to do with the deaths of some inflatable tubemen The Three Count Julian put over WOW Women of Wrestling. Lindsey put over the tribute to the fallen Bayley Buddies. Danielle put over NWA Powerr. Hosted by Danielle Radford, Lindsey Kelk and Mike Eagle. Produced by Julian Burrell for Maximum Fun. If you want to talk about more wrestling throughout the week be sure to join us on Facebook and @TightsFights on Twitter and Instagram. If you liked the show, please share it with your friends and be sure to leave us a quick review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get podcasts. 

Ep. 165: Everybody’s eatin’ it

Tights and Fights is the podcast that covers pro-wrestling with the sincerity and hilarity that it deserves. Every week, hosts Hal Lublin, Danielle Radford and Mike Eagle make sense of the chaos that is the world of sports-entertainment. Whether it's the latest headlines, a cultural analysis of an old angle or a debate about which wrestler has the best merch, Tights and Fights will examine every corner of the squared-circle for your enjoyment.

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Tights and Fights

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