Wrestle Buds

Jokes are aside for this short episode. Mat discusses the recent WWE deal where its show Main Event will be hosted on the video platform Rumble. He explains what Rumble is, who backs the company, why it exists, and what that means for WWE. This episode is half new and half editorial commentary from Mat about WWE's latest move. Links to the news articles provided below: WWE’s ‘Main Event’ to Move F...

Over the years, Chris and Mat have made many jokes about the WCW faction the Dungeon of Doom and their "reign of terror." Recently, every vignette for the DoD popped up on YouTube. We thought it would be very fun to watch it, and boy, we were wrong. Learn about the Rare White Bengal Tiger, "Big Van" Vader, and why you can't make out a word The Master says while we slowly die inside. Don't Watch Ev...

On September 4, 1995, WCW officially entered the Monday Night Wars with WCW Monday Nitro. The debut episode took place in the Mall of America, and no one go hurt on the escalators trying to watch in. But was the first episode any good? Chris and Mat discuss every match and what made it great, and Mat surprises Chris with a game show based on Hulk Hogan's limited ability to cut promos with more tha...

With the arrival of Austin Creed and Kofi at All In, Chris and Mat discuss The New Level coming to AEW and how they'll finally be appreciated as a tag team at a company with a solid tag team division. Also, check out the donation page for the 5K Mat is "running" for the Epilepsy Foundation of Chicago! Epilepsy Foundation of Chicago 5K for Team ImMatElfring Find Wrestle Buds at these places: Patreo...

We're releasing another one from the vault. This week, Mat and Chris discuss the future of Wrestlemania and WWE deciding to go overseas. Additionally, to introduce the new video series "Werner's Wrestling Photo of the Week," Mat is releasing a pilot for a podcast called "Ask Werner Anything!" We'll see you all next week! Also, check out the donation page for the 5K Mat is "running" for the Epileps...

With Mat out sick, it's been a little tough to record, but FEAR NOT! We have episodes on the backburner. This week, it's the original pilot episode for Wrestle Buds that we never released! Some of this episode was actually worked into the REAL episode, but most of it was Chris and Mat finding their groove. There are actually fun moments here, we promise. Also, check out the donation page for the 5...

The year was 1998, and on one spring evening on WWF Raw/War Zone, a group named Degeneration-X saw that WCW Nitro and Raw were running wrestling events in the same town. Degeneration-X took it upon themselves to "invade" Nitro's taping in a jeep and make a bunch of references to the male anatomy. But... what else happened on that episode of Raw? Chris and Mat dive into every match on the card and...

Seth Rollins has a bunch of scenes filmed for Captain America: Brave New World, so this week's episode does have a wrestling connection. It's mentioned this week. Outside of that, Chris and Mat are just talking about Spider-Man: Brand New Day, and this episode is FULL OF SPOILERS FOR THE MOVIE. Find Wrestle Buds at these places: Patreon Bluesky Instagram Youtube RSS Feed

WWE's Summerslam happened, and why not talk about the two night show? Mainly, this whole episode exists because Mat thinks (allegedly, reportedly) that Chad Gable's new theme song is AI Slop--at least the vocals are. This was before Mat did a Google search and found out that this isn't the first time music producers Def Rebel have been accused of using AI to make WWE wrestlers' theme music. Find W...

So many interviews with wrestlers ask the question, "Who is your Mount Rushmore of wrestlers?" You know what, we should do that too! Chris and Mat come up with their own hyper-specific Mount Rushmores that are more than just wrestlers. For some odd reason, Mat went serious and Chris went wacky. As an added bonus!!: The end of the episode gets REAL weird! Find Wrestle Buds at these places: Patreon...

The Wrestle Buds welcome comic book writer and former coworker Lan Pitts onto the show! Lan discusses his career in writing wrestling comics--and comics in general. There's also tons of talk about how we all haven't seen each other in forever. Look, our interviews never stay on topic, so enjoy the carnage. Follow Lan on Bluesky ! Join the Discord ! Check out our Patreon ! Check out our YouTube !

Rip em! Chris and Mat watches No Holds Barred, and it is absolutely the worst movie they've ever watched. Does this movie make one lick of sense? No. Do the Wrestle Buds make jokes about how insane this movie is? Yes. Join us into a discussion about what truly can be called "A Movie That Exists." Check out our Patreon ! Check out our YouTube !

A few months after the release of WWE 2K26, Chris and Mat have a lot of opinions about the game and changes that could be made in future installments. They both really like playing the game. HOWEVER, they have so many opinions about what direction the series should take in the next year. Lots of chatter about Ringside Pass, the Creative Suite, MyFaction, MyRise, Showcase, and more!

There have been many wrestlers who have stepped into the world of acting either during the height of the career or at the end of it. Throughout the years, there have been so many that have made an impact on the big and small screen: Vader and others. Sorry, we didn't mention Vader's role in Boy Meets World, so we wanted to mention it here. BUT WHO WERE THE TOP 5 WRESTLERS-TURNED-ACTORS? Mat and Ch...

This week, Chris recounts the recent adventure in Florida where he headed to Tom Pestock's (FKA Baron Corbin) Autonomy Coffee Lab where Becky Lynch and Seth Rollins held an event for their AMO coffee brand. Chris went and bought some, drank it, and discusses his caffeinated-adventures.

This one is a journey... Mat wishes it was the holidays, so he could talk about WCW holiday shows, but there's no good Christmas episodes. So Mat decides to watch a bunch of Halloween Havocs to see which one is the spookiest. After being let down, Chris and Mat go back to the well and watch a Dungeon of Doom vs. Hulk Hogan match, but this time, there's monster trucks and a Yeti! Also, WrAIstler ex...

After WCW closed up shop, there was a void in wrestling, Chris stumbled up a pre-TNA federation that tried to fill that void: XWF. It was a wrestling promotion that couldn't get a TV deal, did a bunch of house shows, had plenty of titles no one won during tapings, and included names like Hulk Hogan, The Nasty Boys, AJ Styles, Christopher Daniels, and more. Check out our Patreon with extended episo...

Dr. Squatch has a couple of WWE-branded soaps and one deodorant. Of course, Mat bought them and tried them out. His experience was less-than-optimal. He complains for a while, and then WrAIstler returns to come up with WWE soaps on its own. It is also a miserable experience. But hey, who doesn't want to smell like beer and coffee? Check out our Patreon for a TON of video content and extras !

Chris Hayner did the whole Wrestlemania week in Las Vegas and primarily recaps the events that weren't the "Show of shows." He went to a comedy show, a tiki bar, did a bunch of interviews he can't use on this show, and went to the WWE Superstore, which is like a comic-con for wrestling.

The World's Longest Wrestling Match. How long do you think it is? If you read the title of this episode and think it's 22 hours, you'd be wrong. It's actually 21 hours and 49 minutes. Anyway, Mat watched the entire thing and gives a Cliff's Notes version of the show, and his favorite moments from a match that slowly lost its sanity over the course of a full day. Mystery Wrestling on Patreon ! Wres...

The Wrestle Buds find a news article on WWE's website with a bunch of recipes that are "Party Approved" for Wrestlemania 28. Should you have them at your party? The duo discusses every dish and quickly realizes there isn't one recipe in this article and most of the food items are terrible for a party. They also meet their newest creation "WrAIstler," an AI wrestling information bot that doesn't su...

Mat Elfring and Chris Hayner are back as the Wrestle Buds, two friends that love wrestling, especially all the weird stuff that happens outside of the ring. Whether it's great matches, weird characters, or items with a wrestling company's brand stamped on the side, the Wrestle Buds will talk about it, laugh about it, and probably ask a weird, reoccurring character about it.