The Turnbuckle

The Turnbuckle is a 90-minute talk show broadcasting on KASC The Blaze 1260 AM that discusses the world of professional wrestling from several angles, including the on-screen programming in WWE and TNA as well as some of the kayfabe and real business workings behind the scenes. The show is best known for interviews with wrestling stars from around the globe and a segment at the end of the program known as Historical Analysis where the hosts document significant people and events relevant to the overall show theme that week.

As of January 2007, the show is broadcast live on Wednesday nights from 10:30-Midnight EST with returning host Ben Benya and new hosts Brett Harmon and Ross Williamson.

History
Early Days, Ending the Epicenter (November 2005-June 2006)
In November 2005, The Wrestling Epicenter, an already successful show returned to the airwaves of KASC with James Walsh still intact as the lead host after a falling out with his coworkers. He was now joined by longtime Blaze employee Brendon Brooks and new producer Ben Benya. While Walsh continued to primarily host and captain the show, Brooks added a level of humor that helped take the edge of for the average radio listener, and Benya was a perfect compliment to Walsh, inciting several intelligent debates throughout their tenure. The three eventually blended nicely and continued to deliver high quality programming throughout the following year. The highlight of the program during this time was a lengthy interview with former WWF Champion .

The Epicenter almost held interviews with other big wrestling stars, including , Kamala, Christy Hemme, and the bi-weekly special guest, Francine Fournier.

In May of 2006, Benya began to call into the show as he had stepped out briefly to pursue an internship at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. It was also during this time that Walsh announced he would be leaving KASC following his impending graduation from Arizona State University. The final show of the Wrestling Epicenter on KASC was broadcast during the Summer of 2006, but not before Brooks and Benya announced their intentions to carry on the wrestling show at the beginning of the Fall season.

The Turnbuckle (August 2006-December 2006)
Now a 1-hour program, Wrestling Epicenter had been rechristened The Turnbuckle in an effort to preserve the name James Walsh had created. Ben Benya and Brendon Brooks returned to host the show after the Summer away. When Brooks was unable to host due to scheduling conflicts, he was promptly replaced by Matthew Burrows, a coworker and friend of Benya. Under Benya and Brooks, the show began to take a new direction in how it was produced. The program was a bit more comical and intended to appeal to a wider audience outside of the professional wrestling world, a bold move that gave both hosts much criticism from their peers. However, it was still as popular was ever and began churning out interviews and shows that would later be rebroadcast on the parent Wrestling Epicenter website.

One unique programming note was that the interviews were no longer with the wrestling world’s elite talent, but rather, with more local and independently contracted wrestlers. This was another move that was met with some criticism, leaving some people to speculate on whether or not the show was worthwhile anymore. Later, we would learn that Benya had concocted this plan sometime before the Turnbuckle hit the air, implying that it would be a simpler and easier way to get things for all parties involved. Despite a successful run that featured several unique aspects for a wrestling talk show, Brendon Brooks announced that he too would be leaving the show following his graduation from ASU in December. While Benya had the option to carry on with the show the following semester, he declined to do so, citing a rigorous work schedule and lack of desire to continue on. The Turnbuckle was put on hiatus for nearly a year following the final show on December 13, 2006.

Turnbuckle Revival (November 2007-Present)
On November 6, 2007, nearly two year’s to the day Ben Benya debuted on the Wrestling Epicenter, he announced during The Director’s Cut morning show that the Turnbuckle was returning to the air. This revelation had been heavily hyped by Benya as a “huge secret” a few weeks prior to be unveiled on his birthday, but Benya inevitably jumped the gun and pushed the announcement to happen a week earlier. Benya also made sure to create a great deal of buzz about the revival by delaying the actual return of the show to December. Over the next few weeks, Benya would divulge small details about the Turnbuckle, including revealing longtime Blaze employees Brett Harmon and Ross Williamson as his co-hosts for the program. On November 22, Benya would expose another surprise as he announced that the Turnbuckle would return with an exclusive interview from former WWE Champion Chris Jericho. The timing of this interview fit perfectly with Jericho’s return to World Wrestling Entertainment, which had occurred in an on-air sketch against Randy Orton on the November 19th edition of RAW.

On December 7, 2007, The Turnbuckle was welcomed back to the airwaves of KASC during Finals Week at Arizona State. The show was a 1-hour pilot recorded in the old style of Wrestling Epicenter. With Benya heading up the production of the show, several nods were given to Saturday Night’s Main Event, including the banner created for internet broadcasts of the show and the program’s introduction theme, borrowing the original SNME theme song of “Obsession” by Animotion. The first program consisted of an abbreviated version of the Chris Jericho interview (the entire interview was made available via the radio station website), a discussion of the upcoming WWE Armageddon 2007 pay-per-view, and a debate over the top stars in the industry for the year of 2007. The pilot proved to be an instant success, and as of January 16, 2008, the show has expanded back to a 90-minute format. The program has also added another interactive aspect to its repertoire, with the addition of a live e-mail address where listeners can send their questions and thoughts about the current topics straight to the hosts for instant gratification.

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