{"id":196202,"date":"2025-04-16T22:00:28","date_gmt":"2025-04-17T03:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/?post_type=podcast&#038;p=196202"},"modified":"2025-04-16T17:49:06","modified_gmt":"2025-04-16T22:49:06","slug":"vip-podcast-4-16-wkpwp-flagship-from-5-yrs-ago-ad-free-keller-martin-talk-mcmahon-choosing-cena-over-batista-remembering-howard-finkle-wwe-roster-cuts-during-pandemic-most-surprising","status":"publish","type":"podcast","link":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/podcast\/vip-podcast-4-16-wkpwp-flagship-from-5-yrs-ago-ad-free-keller-martin-talk-mcmahon-choosing-cena-over-batista-remembering-howard-finkle-wwe-roster-cuts-during-pandemic-most-surprising\/","title":{"rendered":"VIP PODCAST 4\/16 \u2013 WKPWP Flagship from 5 Yrs Ago (AD-FREE): Keller &#038; Martin talk McMahon choosing Cena over Batista, remembering Howard Finkle, WWE roster cuts during pandemic, most surprising WM main eventer (107 min.)"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pwtor-2268996447\" class=\"pwtor-before-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><hr \/><b>SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)... <\/b>\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/widget.spreaker.com\/player?show_id=3076978&theme=light&playlist=false&playlist-continuous=false&autoplay=false&live-autoplay=false&chapters-image=true&episode_image_position=right&hide-logo=false&hide-likes=false&hide-comments=false&hide-sharing=false&hide-download=true\" width=\"100%\" height=\"140px\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\r\n<hr \/><\/div><p><strong>SHOW SUMMARY:\u00a0<\/strong>In this week\u2019s Flagship Flashback episode of the Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Podcast from five years ago (4-16-2020), PWTorch editor Wade Keller was joined by PWTorch&#8217;s Todd Martin. They discussed these topics:<\/p>\n<p>NEWS ANALYSIS:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Howard Finkel and what he represented as a great ring announcer but also how Vince McMahon treated him and what that says about McMahon.<\/li>\n<li>Todd&#8217;s strong view on WWE\u2019s decision to release so many wrestlers yesterday during a pandemic just days before the next investor\u2019s conference call.<\/li>\n<li>A review of that week&#8217;s AEW Dynamite (including the Jon Moxley vs. Jake Hager main event)<\/li>\n<li>A review of NXT on USA<\/li>\n<li>Thoughts on WWE Smackdown (including Braun Strowman vs. Shinsuke Nakamura)<\/li>\n<li>Analysis of WWE Raw (including Drew McIntyre\u2019s promo, Drew vs. Andrade, and Nia Jax squashing Kairi Sane).<\/li>\n<li>The latest on UFC<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>MAILBAG TOPICS:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>What was the reason Vince McMahon backed Chris Benoit enough to give him the title win at WrestleMania 20, and is he the most surprising WrestleMania main eventer ever?<\/li>\n<li>Why did Vince McMahon ultimately choose John Cena over Batista?<\/li>\n<li>Why does WWE have such unbalanced power over their independent contractors compared to how things work in Europe?<\/li>\n<li>Is A.J. Styles a former WrestleMania headliners now that he closed out the first night of WrestleMania 36, or does that not count?<\/li>\n<li>What is a list of Bret Hart\u2019s best matches in WCW?<\/li>\n<li>What was the deal with Hunter Hearst Helmsley and \u201cMr. Perfect\u201d Curt Hennig in the fall of 1996?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>KEY LINKS&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>PWTorch VIP membership&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>&#8211;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/govip\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/govip&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1686624379236000&amp;usg=AOvVaw26fGrI_THjG3e49SeEjsvM\">https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/govip<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Or support us on Patreon&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>&#8211;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.patreon.com\/pwtorchvip\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/www.patreon.com\/pwtorchvip&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1686624379236000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3HgakJdOKpCZlPjLE9MBPE\">https:\/\/www.patreon.com\/<wbr \/>pwtorchvip<\/a><\/p><div id=\"pwtor-932289126\" class=\"pwtor-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>Subscribe to our YouTube Channel with new daily content&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>&#8211;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/pwtorch\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/pwtorch&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1686624379236000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0kjwigphLiEpKWBQJ0uhZ6\">https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/<wbr \/>pwtorch<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>DIRECT LINK: <\/strong>\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/android\/legacyuploads\/wp-media\/2025\/04\/20250416WKPWP-5YrsAgo-FS-VIP.mp3\">VIP AUDIO LINK<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>NOT VIP? NO PROBLEM\u2026<\/strong>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorchvipinfo.com\">CLICK HERE FOR VIP SIGN UP INFO<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"pwtor-end-article-groups pwtor-entity-placement\" id=\"pwtor-1108233892\"><div id=\"pwtor-3854071076\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\nTHANK YOU FOR VISITING<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>SHOW SUMMARY:\u00a0In this week\u2019s Flagship Flashback episode of the Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Podcast from five years ago (4-16-2020), PWTorch editor Wade Keller was joined by PWTorch&#8217;s Todd Martin. They discussed these topics: NEWS ANALYSIS: <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/podcast\/vip-podcast-4-16-wkpwp-flagship-from-5-yrs-ago-ad-free-keller-martin-talk-mcmahon-choosing-cena-over-batista-remembering-howard-finkle-wwe-roster-cuts-during-pandemic-most-surprising\/\" title=\"VIP PODCAST 4\/16 \u2013 WKPWP Flagship from 5 Yrs Ago (AD-FREE): Keller &#038; Martin talk McMahon choosing Cena over Batista, remembering Howard Finkle, WWE roster cuts during pandemic, most surprising WM main eventer (107 min.)\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":135832,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"episode_type":"audio","audio_file":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/podcast\/2025\/04\/20250416WKPWP-5YrsAgo-FS-VIP.mp3","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"1:47:19","filesize":"49.57M","filesize_raw":"51979547","date_recorded":"2025-04-16 22:00:28","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":""},"tags":[],"series":[1037,1018,6929,1202,6939,1032,5889],"class_list":["post-196202","podcast","type-podcast","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","series-all-vip-audio-shows","series-analysis","series-pwtorch-vip-audio","series-all","series-viphistory","series-flagship","series-wkpwp"],"episode_featured_image":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/post\/2022\/03\/WKPWPPodcast2022_VIP.png","episode_player_image":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/PWTorchVIPAudio2015_1400.png","download_link":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/podcast-download\/196202\/vip-podcast-4-16-wkpwp-flagship-from-5-yrs-ago-ad-free-keller-martin-talk-mcmahon-choosing-cena-over-batista-remembering-howard-finkle-wwe-roster-cuts-during-pandemic-most-surprising","player_link":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/podcast-player\/196202\/vip-podcast-4-16-wkpwp-flagship-from-5-yrs-ago-ad-free-keller-martin-talk-mcmahon-choosing-cena-over-batista-remembering-howard-finkle-wwe-roster-cuts-during-pandemic-most-surprising","audio_player":"<a class=\"wp-embedded-audio\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/podcast-player\/196202\/vip-podcast-4-16-wkpwp-flagship-from-5-yrs-ago-ad-free-keller-martin-talk-mcmahon-choosing-cena-over-batista-remembering-howard-finkle-wwe-roster-cuts-during-pandemic-most-surprising\">https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/podcast-player\/196202\/vip-podcast-4-16-wkpwp-flagship-from-5-yrs-ago-ad-free-keller-martin-talk-mcmahon-choosing-cena-over-batista-remembering-howard-finkle-wwe-roster-cuts-during-pandemic-most-surprising<\/a>","episode_data":{"playerMode":"dark","subscribeUrls":{"apple_podcasts":{"key":"apple_podcasts","url":"","label":"Apple Podcasts","class":"apple_podcasts","icon":"apple-podcasts.png"},"google_podcasts":{"key":"google_podcasts","url":"","label":"Google Podcasts","class":"google_podcasts","icon":"google-podcasts.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"},"stitcher":{"key":"stitcher","url":"","label":"Stitcher","class":"stitcher","icon":"stitcher.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/feed\/podcast\/all-vip-audio-shows","embedCode":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"h8uJ8mo9mb\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/podcast\/vip-podcast-4-16-wkpwp-flagship-from-5-yrs-ago-ad-free-keller-martin-talk-mcmahon-choosing-cena-over-batista-remembering-howard-finkle-wwe-roster-cuts-during-pandemic-most-surprising\/\">VIP PODCAST 4\/16 \u2013 WKPWP Flagship from 5 Yrs Ago (AD-FREE): Keller &#038; Martin talk McMahon choosing Cena over Batista, remembering Howard Finkle, WWE roster cuts during pandemic, most surprising WM main eventer (107 min.)<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/podcast\/vip-podcast-4-16-wkpwp-flagship-from-5-yrs-ago-ad-free-keller-martin-talk-mcmahon-choosing-cena-over-batista-remembering-howard-finkle-wwe-roster-cuts-during-pandemic-most-surprising\/embed\/#?secret=h8uJ8mo9mb\" width=\"500\" height=\"350\" title=\"&#8220;VIP PODCAST 4\/16 \u2013 WKPWP Flagship from 5 Yrs Ago (AD-FREE): Keller &#038; Martin talk McMahon choosing Cena over Batista, remembering Howard Finkle, WWE roster cuts during pandemic, most surprising WM main eventer (107 min.)&#8221; &#8212; \" data-secret=\"h8uJ8mo9mb\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n\/* <![CDATA[ *\/\n\/*! 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