Squared Circle Pit

Seth Rollins is this edition's special guest and he fits right in. We talk about his earliest memories of pro wrestling and heavy metal, and how his love for both intersected. Seth talks about bands he got into in his teen years, his local DIY scene, the music his wife, WWE superstar Becky Lynch got him into, and the music he got her into. Seth tells us what's on his gym playlist and recommends so...

P.O.D. Kast/Street Fight Radio host Bryan Quinby joins Rob for this edition of Squared Circle Pit. We begin the show talking about the late 90s connection between nü-metal and pro wrestling, wrestling themes that are nü-metal and the American Badass Undertaker. We then transition to modern wrestling, critiquing WWE's current strategy, and discussing AEW and New Japan. A very fun convo, a...

We've got a huge episode of Squared Circle Pit this week, as we have the AEW World Champion Jon Moxley (formerly WWE's Dean Ambrose) entering the pit. Jon talks about the bands he got into when he was younger, his love of Deftones, going to concerts in Vegas, like taking his wife to see Misfits. Jon discusses his favorite wrestling from when he was a kid, his ECW fandom, and who his favorite guys...

Rob is joined by Metal Injection Livecast co-host 3D for a crossover episode recapping both nights of WWE WrestleMania. We go through each match and offer some thoughts, spending a lot of time talking about the Boneyard Match and the Firefly Funhouse Match. Check out previous Squared Circle Pit interviews about wrestling with Slipknot's  Corey Taylor ,  Chris Jericho , former WCW boss&nb...

On this edition, I talk to author Guy Evans, author of NITRO: The Incredible Rise and Inevitable Collapse of Ted Turner's WCW . We talk about WCW, how he came to do the book and how he got interviews with so many key figures involved behind the scenes. Evans talks about his wrestling fandom, his interview techniques, how he decided who was being honest and who was lying, and how things ended in WC...

Comedian Brian Posehn, fresh off the release of his new metal album,  Grandpa Metal , sits in and talks about his lifelong passion for pro wrestling, and how it ran parallel to his passion for heavy metal. We talk about wrestling in the 70s, how Hulk Hogan got him out of wrestling, how he got back into it in the 90s, and his thoughts on WWE and AEW today.    See omnystudio.com/liste...

AEW breakout star Darby Allin talks music and pro wrestling ahead of his big match at the AEW PPV, <em>Revolution</em> this Saturday night. We talk to Allin about the massive crowd reactions he's been getting, advice he got from Chris Jericho, who he wants to work with in AEW and of course music. We talk about Allin's first show memories, his favorite bands and which bands Darby thinks...

We're so excited to finally have British death match legend Jimmy Havoc on the show. We talked about how he got into pro wrestling and eventually into rock and metal. Jimmy talked about the effect AFI had on him, and what it was like meeting Davey Havok. We talk about death match wrestling and Jimmy offers some interesting insight about how it's a release for him. He talked about what a life chang...

We're back and super excited to welcome the Hot Topic senior buyer Joe Enriquez to the show. Joe tells the REAL story of how Bullet Club shirts ended up in Hot Topic, as well as t-shirts from Chris Jericho and other New Japan brands. We discuss how this indirectly lead to the formation of AEW. Joe also discusses how he got into metal and pro wrestling, old school thrash and we spend some time...

Comic artist Box Brown is the guest on the show this week. We kick things off talking about his comic books, and his love of marijuana. We then learn of Box's earliest pro wrestling memories, we talk about the Monday night wars, getting into indie wrestling in the '00s and we spend some time talking about this week's big AEW vs. NXT showdown. Check out previous Squared Circle Pit in...

We're back and this week, we're talking to Avatar's colorful frontman Johannes Eckerström. If you've ever seen the band live, it's not a stretch to see how Johannes is a wrestling fan. He talks about how he discovered the sport of kings, getting WCW Monday Nitro during the peak of the Monday night wars, following wrestling now and his excitement for the launch of AEW. Chec...

We're so excited to welcome one half of the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions, El Phantasmo. ElP talks about how he got started in pro wrestling, his journey to New Japan, his mental state auditioning for New Japan, performing against Jushin Thunder Liger. ElP talks about how he structures a match, his preparation and we really get into his performances during the New Japan Battle of...

Health bassist John Famiglietti steps into the Squared Circle Pit this episode and talks about how he went from liking wrestling a kid to giving up on it, getting into music and then discovering wrestling again in the last few years, first with WWE and then diving deep into New Japan. John and Rob talk all about the current G1 Climax tournament and nerd out about Kenny Omega and AEW. Check out pre...

This past weekend, New Japan Pro Wrestling kicked off their annual summer tournament, the G1 Climax 29. I was there and was lucky enough to get credentialed for the press conference. In this very special episode of Squared Circle Pit, I post some highlights from the question and answer session that was only open to press – featuring segments with Will Ospreay, Zack Sabre Jr., Jay White, Juic...

We're very excited to welcome one of WWE's rising superstars to show, NXT's Rick Bugez calls in and we have a great chat. Bugez talks about how he got into metal, his first experiences with wrestling, finding his character and how Paul Heyman had a huge impact on that as well as bands he was looking forward to seeing at the recent Download Festival. An awesome chat with an awesome d...

If you've watched WWE Smackdown Live in the last few weeks, you've noticed that tag team champion Rowan has started wearing a different metal shirt every week . We felt that Rowan would be a perfect guest for our wrestling-meets-metal podcast and so here he is, talking to me about his favorite metal bands, how he discovered all the folk and power metal he listens to, the inspiration for...

If you haven't seen Viceland's new series, Dark Side of the Ring , we can't recommend it enough. (All the episodes are up for streaming ). I had a chance to talk with the creator of the series, Evan Husney, who takes me through his pro wrestling journey and how his fandom of wrestling and heavy metal intersected. We dive deep into the series and the episodes, including Bret Hart&#03...

Chris Jericho returns to the Squared Circle Pit and we have a lot to catch up on. First, we reminiss about the first Chris Jericho Rock and Wrestling Rager at Sea, as both Rob and Chris share some memories from the boat. We discuss what fans can expect on the 2nd run of the cruise, for which there are still limited tickets available . Chris recaps his memories at Ric Flair's star-studded 60th...

This podcast is finally back! It's a very special edition of the show, with extended interviews from WrestleCon. Rob headed to the annual WrestleMania weekend convention and got killer interviews with Mick Foley, Rob Van Dam, Vampiro, Road Warrior Animal, The Rock N Roll Express, Joey Janela, Frankie Kazarian, Chris "Dirty Daddy" Dickinson, Angelina Love & Velvet Sky. Take a lis...

It's an honor to welcome one of my all-time favorites, RAVEN to the show. Throughout his career, Raven hit all the major promotions – WWE, WCW, ECW and has some awesome stories to tell and created one of the most unique characters of the 90s. We talk about how the grunge scene in the 90s influenced his character, his favorite music (some picks may surprise you), his time working as a pr...

Aubrey Sitterson, the author of The Comic Book Story of Professional Wrestling, sits in with Rob on the podcast this episode. We talk about Aubrey's book, the history of pro wrestling, the connection between metal and wrestling and then we dive deep into New Japan vs. WWE and of course, we talk some good old fashion doom and stoner metal. Check out previous Squared Circle Pit interviews about...

This Friday is the premiere of Blackcraft Wrestling with their debut event, Burning Bridges. We talk with the owner of the company, Bobby Schubenski, who also runs Blackcraft Cult clothing. We talk to Bobby about how he got into wrestling and heavy metal, the idea for starting a wrestling league, the concept behind it and how he plans to differentiate from other wrestling leagues and their big sho...

On this edition, I talk to Dave LaGreca, host of SiriusXM's daily wrestling talk show, Busted Open Radio. We talk about the current wrestling scene, the NJPW G-1 Climax tournament, ROH and NJPW selling out Madison Square Garden and just the aura of the Garden in general, and how Dave keeps up with all the wrestling. We also spend a huge chunk of time talking about Dave growing up an 80s metal...

I'm very excited for you to hear this episode of Squared Circle Pit. First up, a quick conversation with CM Punk about how he got into punk and wrestling, what he's been listening to while preparing for UFC 225 this weekend, if he'll be at All In, and more. Then, I hop on the phone with my buddy Seth Leibowitz who talks about his time working for Turner Entertainment and how they wo...

This episode is a double header. We kick things off with a quick conversation with Chris Jericho, who talks about his upcoming Rock & Wrestling Rager at Sea Cruise. The cruise happens Oct. 27 – 31st from Miami to the Bahamas. More info here . Chris talks about the concept of the cruise, how he got the idea, who you can expect on the boat and more. Also on this episode is my good friend,...