Episode 103: Wrestling as a Product and an Art with Chikara’s Mike Quackenbush

Episode notes

This week Mike Quackenbush joins the Hal, Danielle and Mike in the Nation of Conversation! He’s one of the founders of the independent wrestling promotion Chikara, which he says is, “the Marvel Cinematic Universe realized as a pro wrestling company.” The organization has gained a following for its original approach to stories and hosting the largest tournament in pro-wrestling today.

Quackenbush is also a semi-retired wrestler who’s had a hand in developing some stars in WWE, including Cesaro, Ruby Riott, Mandy Rose and Drew Gulak. He’ll explain what goes into teaching wrestling and what it was like to spend a week as a coach at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida.

Plus, he’ll talk about why there’s so much disappointment among fans with the WWE’s current product, who he thinks are the greatest wrestlers of all-time and why he believes wrestling is just starting to discover its power as a storytelling medium.

More of Mike Quackenbush’s work can be found in his recent book “7 Keys to Becoming a Better Performer: A Book for Fellow Pro-Wrestlers.”

The Three Count

Danielle put over Twitter user CokeIbushi’s edit job on Ronda Rousey’s promo.

Mike put over Randy Orton’s promo on Smackdown.

Hal put over Paul Heyman’s promo on RAW.

Hosted by Hal Lublin, Danielle Radford, Mike Eagle and Mike Quackenbush.

Produced by Julian Burrell for Maximum Fun.