Innes, 790 are off Radio Row after on-air clash with Payne

The entire crew of SportsTalk 790 was kicked off Super Bowl’s Radio Row after morning show host Josh Innes got into an on-air shouting match with radio rival Seth Payne on Wednesday morning.

The Radio Row setups inside Minnesota’s Mall of America for SportsRadio 610 and SportsTalk 790 were in close proximity to each other, which led to problems.

With Payne and Mike Meltser hosting their show on 610, Innes sent his producer Jim Mudd to the 610 table to try to disrupt their show.

That’s when the shows collided and listeners could hear a confrontation happening in real time on both stations.

On 790, listeners could hear Mudd saying that the crew at 610 was asking him to leave the area. Then, you can hear Payne get loud.

“Jim Mudd, get over here, listen, you tell Josh Innes that when I see him, that I want that … to make eye contact,” Payne said on air. “Instead of hiding behind his microphone and acting like he’s a big man, make eye contact with me, instead of cowering behind a table. … You hear that, Josh?”

That drew Innes to the 610 table.

Payne, a former Texans defensive lineman, ripped into Innes on air, referencing Innes getting fired from Philadelphia radio before returning to Houston in 2016.

“You’re a fraud, you’re a joke, you bounce around; the Philly people here know you’re a joke, the Houston people ...,” Payne said. “You have like one employer left who you can work for.”

When Innes told Payne and Meltser they would eventually be fired, Payne went into a little psychoanalysis of Innes.

“You’re weak, you’re insecure, you can’t leave things alone,” Payne said. “You’d be so good if you’d focus on being good, but you’re so obsessed with everybody who doesn’t like you that you fall apart.”

The Chronicle’s John McClain was a guest on the 610 show and eventually walked off while the argument was still ongoing.

After the show, Payne discussed the incident on Twitter. When it was suggested that he could have waited and handled the situation with Innes off air or called security during a commercial break, Payne disagreed.

Later, Innes tweeted a five-minute video that focuses on his version of events that include Mudd starting to leave 610 alone before Payne called him back over.

Earlier this month, Innes stoked the fires of the rivalry by calling in to Payne and Meltser’s show, the highest-rated morning sports talk show in Houston.