The Attitude Era didn’t just go off the rails this week — it begged Vince McMahon to hold its beer while it jumped the guardrail and stole a tank.

We’re back from our accidental holiday-season hiatus (small business girlies, we survive by vibes alone), and diving straight into the chaos that was Raw Is War: April 27, 1998 — an episode packed with invasions, betrayals, unhinged promos, and one of the funniest JR commentary nights in wrestling history.

Inside this wonderfully deranged time capsule, we break down:

• DX rolling up to WCW’s front door like AEW Twitter with a megaphone, complete with fatigues, fake artillery, and “Billy on the Street but for wrestling beef” energy.
• Owen Hart turning heel so hard he basically auditioned for Interview With a Vampire, biting Ken Shamrock’s ear straight off the continent.
• Dude Love’s chaotic era, complete with chicks, tie-dye, and being fired up that his title shot is being derailed by Vince’s nonsense.
• Sable entering her ‘I don’t need a man, but I will beat my husband’s ass in two weeks’ era.
• Stone Cold clashing with Vince, a deranged Gerald Briscoe refereeing like a man possessed, and Dude Love adding fuel to the custody-battle-from-hell energy.

This episode is packed with some of the best (and absolute worst) of ‘98 storytelling — but above all, it’s fun, unhinged, deeply iconic wrestling television.

If you’re a lifelong fan, a lapsed fan, or brand new to wrestling, this one is a ride.

The New To Wrestling Podcast follows two friends who enjoy wrestling but are in different stages of their fandom. Xavier Cruz serves as your guide through generations of professional wrestling while Kelsey Silva experiences these matches for the first time. Climb into the ring weekly to relive the famous matches beginning with the Attitude Era!

Reading the Ring: Do A Powerbomb! by Daniel Warren Johnson

In this episode of Reading the Ring, Xavier dives into the explosive, emotional, and wildly imaginative graphic novel Do A Powerbomb! by Daniel Warren Johnson — a love letter to pro wrestling disguised as a cosmic deathmatch.

After a brief hiatus (shoutout to small business season), we’re back with a story that blends the heart of wrestling with the drama of mythic storytelling. Xavier breaks down the characters, themes, artistry, and pure wrestling nerdery woven through the book, from Lona Steelrose’s grief-fueled journey to the unhinged brilliance of a necromancer who thinks wrestling is real.

We explore:

• Lona’s fierce determination to chase greatness under the shadow of her legendary mother.
• How DWJ uses wrestling as metaphor — not just spectacle, but catharsis, legacy, and love.
• The beautifully choreographed action sequences and why wrestling translates perfectly to comics.
• That final emotional gut punch about storytelling, life, and why wrestling’s predetermined endings only make the journey more meaningful.
• The unexpected twist where our heroes face… God (yes, literally).
• Why this book is essential reading for wrestling fans, comic fans, and anyone who loves character-driven stories with heart.

Reading the Ring is our wrestling book club — where stories inside the ring meet the stories written about it, and where fans (new and old) can experience the art of wrestling through a whole new lens.

If you haven’t picked up Do A Powerbomb! yet? Trust us. You want to.
If you have? Let’s talk about it.

Welcome to Reading the Ring. Where wrestling is real… and books are too.

The New To Wrestling Podcast follows two friends who enjoy wrestling but are in different stages of their fandom. Xavier Cruz serves as your guide through generations of professional wrestling while Kelsey Silva experiences these matches for the first time. Climb into the ring weekly to relive the famous matches beginning with the Attitude Era!

The Attitude Era officially sets itself on fire — literally.

This week, Xavier and Kelsey dive into WWF Unforgiven 1998, a pay-per-view packed with absurdity, infernos, and enough double-crossing to make Vince McMahon blush (which he does, from a stretcher).

From The Undertaker and Kane’s inferno match — a legit cinematic masterpiece — to Sable vs. Luna redefining the term “evening gown match,” this one’s got everything: cult energy from Dude Love, creepy energy from Jerry Lawler, and chaotic energy from everyone else.

💀 Matches that had us howling
🔥 Kane literally on fire
🎙️ JR at his breaking point
🩸 Vince McMahon in a neck brace
👀 Sable’s most savage comeback ever

It’s a night of weird finishes, iconic moments, and one of the wildest finales in wrestling history — when Stone Cold Steve Austin takes matters (and the referee’s job) into his own hands.

Join us as we break down the storytelling, the spectacle, and the sheer “WTF” energy of Unforgiven 1998.

#NewToWrestling #AttitudeEra #WWE #WWF #Unforgiven1998 #StoneCold #Undertaker #Kane #Sable #VinceMcMahon #DudeLove #ProWrestlingPodcast #WrestlingRewatch #WrestlingHistory

The New To Wrestling Podcast follows two friends who enjoy wrestling but are in different stages of their fandom. Xavier Cruz serves as your guide through generations of professional wrestling while Kelsey Silva experiences these matches for the first time. Climb into the ring weekly to relive the famous matches beginning with the Attitude Era!

In this special New to Wrestling episode, we sit down with Ray Sanchez — the mind behind Respect the Craft Podcast and Respect Wrestling — to talk about storytelling, community, and chaos in the world of indie wrestling.

From his early years working alongside names like Homicide, Low Ki, and The Hit Squad to his vision for Respect Wrestling: No Escape (Nov 14 at The Mecca, Ridgefield Park, NJ), Ray breaks down what it really takes to build a brand, a locker room, and a legacy that earns its name.

We dive into card highlights, the emotional investment behind matches like Hit Squad vs. Above the Rest and Anthony Gangone vs. Kevin Blackwood, and why No Escape is more than a show — it’s a statement about the future of independent wrestling.

💥 Respect Wrestling: No Escape
🗓️ November 14, 2025
📍 The Mecca, Ridgefield Park, NJ
🎟️ Doors 7PM | Bell 8PM

🎙️ New to Wrestling Podcast— where passion meets storytelling, and we give indie wrestling the respect it deserves.

The New To Wrestling Podcast follows two friends who enjoy wrestling but are in different stages of their fandom. Xavier Cruz serves as your guide through generations of professional wrestling while Kelsey Silva experiences these matches for the first time. Climb into the ring weekly to relive the famous matches beginning with the Attitude Era!

Viewer discretion was definitely advised. The Attitude Era officially went off the rails this week, and Kelsey and Xavier are here for every unhinged minute of it.

From Dude Love’s lava-lamp-lit “Love Shack” to the literal exhumation of the Undertaker’s parents, this go-home episode to Unforgiven ’98 might be one of the wildest yet. DX is flashing water guns and questionable ideas, Vince McMahon is menacing interns with coffee, and the Undertaker is fighting his brother over flaming caskets in front of live TV cameras.

Also on tap:

• 🩸 Dude Love vs. Steve Blackman—with Vince pulling the strings ringside.
• 🔥 Undertaker & Kane turn family trauma into pyrotechnics.
• 🎙️ Val Venis makes another, um, steamy debut.
• 💀 Graveyard segments, neon buses, and a suspicious amount of innuendo.
• 🧠 Plus: Kelsey and Xavier recap their surreal interview with Raven and the “Nevermore:” documentary.

Join the New to Wrestling crew as they ask life’s big questions:

The countdown to Unforgiven is on—grab your shades, your glow sticks, and your moral compass (you’ll need it).

The New To Wrestling Podcast follows two friends who enjoy wrestling but are in different stages of their fandom. Xavier Cruz serves as your guide through generations of professional wrestling while Kelsey Silva experiences these matches for the first time. Climb into the ring weekly to relive the famous matches beginning with the Attitude Era!

The chaos of the Attitude Era is officially off its leash.
This week, New to Wrestling dives into the April 13, 1998 episode of Raw Is War — the night Vince McMahon stepped into the ring with Stone Cold Steve Austin and changed wrestling forever.

From corporate madness and beer-fueled rebellion to Dude Love’s confusing heel turn, this episode has it all:

• 🥊 Vince McMahon vs. Steve Austin — the boss finally takes a slap from his champion.
• 🔥 Undertaker vs. Kane build-up reaches a fiery new level (literally).
• 💀 Dude Love returns — but whose side is he really on?
• 🩸 DX chaos, ECW nostalgia, and Val Venis’s wild debut vignette.
• 🎙️ Plus: Our hosts react to the first-ever appearance of Shane McMahon, a chain match that makes no sense, and why Stone Cold might secretly be the hottest man of 1998.

Join Kelsey (the newcomer) and Xavier (the lifelong fan) as they break down the storytelling, absurdity, and brilliance that made this night one of the most chaotic in WWF history.

The New To Wrestling Podcast follows two friends who enjoy wrestling but are in different stages of their fandom. Xavier Cruz serves as your guide through generations of professional wrestling while Kelsey Silva experiences these matches for the first time. Climb into the ring weekly to relive the famous matches beginning with the Attitude Era!

This week, we sit down with wrestling legend Raven and filmmaker Geordie Day, director of the new documentary Nevermore: The Raven Effect.

It’s part wrestling psychology deep dive, part emotional reckoning — a candid conversation about the blurred line between character and self, the chaos of ECW, and what it means to wrestle with your own legacy. Raven opens up about therapy, mental health, and how he turned personal pain into one of wrestling’s most complex characters.

Geordie Day shares what it was like to document that process, from uncovering rare footage to capturing the genius (and madness) behind the man who defined the extreme era.

We also talk creative freedom, why ECW felt realer than real, and how Raven’s story mirrors the evolution of pro wrestling itself.

🎥 Nevermore: The Raven Effect premieres in Philadelphia at Philamoca October 11–12, with streaming available November 18.

📲 Follow us @N2WPodcast for more interviews, recaps, and unfiltered takes from the world of wrestling storytelling.

The New To Wrestling Podcast follows two friends who enjoy wrestling but are in different stages of their fandom. Xavier Cruz serves as your guide through generations of professional wrestling while Kelsey Silva experiences these matches for the first time. Climb into the ring weekly to relive the famous matches beginning with the Attitude Era!

This week on New to Wrestling, we dive into the Raw is War episode from April 6, 1998 — the night the Attitude Era officially kicked into high gear. From Vince McMahon trying to force Stone Cold into a corporate stooge suit, to Cactus Jack’s heartbreaking “last words,” to DX wreaking havoc backstage (and yes, urinating on motorcycles), this episode had it all.

We break down the chaos:

• Vince vs. Austin: the suit, the nut shot, and the new merch drop 💥
• Cactus Jack’s heel-turn vibes and emotional mic work 🎤
• DX’s first wild night as a full squad
• The Rock flexing as IC Champ while Owen Hart fights back
• Kane & Paul Bearer taking things way too far with Undertaker’s family 👀
• Plus a cringe-worthy Val Venis Promo (yes, really)

It’s Raw. It’s unhinged. It’s the Attitude Era in full sprint.

The New To Wrestling Podcast follows two friends who enjoy wrestling but are in different stages of their fandom. Xavier Cruz serves as your guide through generations of professional wrestling while Kelsey Silva experiences these matches for the first time. Climb into the ring weekly to relive the famous matches beginning with the Attitude Era!