Former WWE Podcast Producer Recalls ‘Dumb Comedy’ Meetings
The popularity of podcasts continues to soar, especially in the pro wrestling field. It's fair to say that there are a plethora of great listens that delve into stories behind and in front of the camera, featuring former and current talent. WWE themselves have tried their hand at entering the podcast world, with pods such as "After the Bell with Corey Graves" and "Uncool with Alexa Bliss" which are available on all major podcasting platforms.
A former producer for WWE's podcasts and current Creative Director of gaming site Giant Bomb, Dan Ryckert, has opened up about his particular frustrations, especially the meetings he had involving the corporate side of the company during his tenure between 2020 and 2022.
"These meetings and stuff, they feel like they're straight out of a dumb comedy or something. Nobody could ever be this way," Ryckert told MinnMax. "I remember, for instance, so we had this business partner when I first started, before the pandemic, and they would fly in these experts, these podcast marketing experts or whatever from Beverly Hills ...
"I got pulled into this room, and it's this whole PowerPoint thing, and they're trying to think of ways to do a podcast with the New Day. And the New Day, as a wrestling fan and a friend of those guys, I know what they'd like — the answer is, let them talk, because they are hilarious, and don't screw with the rapport. We don't have to overproduce this thing and muddy it up with all these segments and stuff ... I remember a couple of the ideas where one of them, they said, 'Now we here at [blank] have a mad hook-up with The Color Run people, and WWE crushes epic podcasts. So why don't we use our mad hook-up and you, crushing your epic podcast, to make the most epic...' And I was like, 'Well, what does that mean?'"
The Color Run describes itself as "the original, largest and most unique 5k colour fun run in the world which celebrates healthiness, happiness, friendship and having the time of your life!" In other words, it's a 5k run where different colors of powder are thrown at you while you're running a designated path. Ryckert explained that the company flown in from Beverly Hills repeatedly put forward their "hook-up," and then tried to sell the idea of Twitch to him with a show called "Twitchin' with ya Boyz." The video game journalist soon realized the company were not wrestling fans at all and suggested they just let trio talk on the podcast, letting their personality and rapport shine.
The New Day eventually began recording the weekly "Feel the Power" podcast at the end of 2019. They regularly discuss wrestling and other topics, ultimately staying on track with the suggestion Ryckert made for the former "SmackDown" Tag Team Champions — during one of the most recent episodes released in May, they debated the existence of aliens.
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit MinnMax with a h/t to Wrestling Inc for the transcription.