Ricky Jackson

Great match. Everyone got to shine

First time seeing Woken Matt. Disney doing punk rock

Loved Andre vs Studd from this one. 7/23/83 from the Cap Centre

After their classic at the last Takeover, I thought there would be more interest in this match around here. I mean, it's four days later and no thread for what I thought was another awesome match between the two. Is it because it was taped weeks ago and the spoilers were known? It seems not a lot of folks follow the week to week NXT TV. Yes, I know that there are not a lot of "great matches" on the show, but it's only one hour a week and there have been tons of gems like this one over the years. Anyway, this was great. What a rivalry this has turned out to be, and Almas and Gargano have become much bigger stars because of it. In a way it's the US version of Okada vs Omega, centered around a groundbreaking match that shot both men to new heights of stardom, in particular the loser of said match. The stakes were raised for this one with Gargano agreeing to leave NXT if he lost. The match was wrestled at a break neck pace and called back various moments from their past matches. The finish was brilliant. Gargano "should have won" with Almas on the verge of submitting (nice touch that he didn't give the visual tap, so he's still strong as champ going forward) but his bitter and crazy ex-partner Ciampa ruins it all by interfering while the ref was out. It's also neat how the injured Ciampa has played either a direct or indirect part in at least three of the four matches between the two, as remember it was Vega throwing a DIY t-shirt at Gargano that distracted him and cost him the first encounter back at Takeover Brooklyn. Ciampa's cold blooded wave goodbye to Gargano at the very end of the show was so cool. Going forward, Gargano has that long-awaited feud on the horizon, plus unfinished business with Almas (he needs to get that win!). But how can he do this if he is gone from NXT??? TUNE IN TO FIND OUT FANS! So yeah, loved it. ****1/4. (Yeah, I'm doing quarters now. I get the need for them)

Thanks brother!

I've always maintained, to Parv's horrified chagrin, this was a great match

Yeah, I loved that. The anticipation they've built for that feud has been great

Almas vs Gargano IV was fucking awesome, if there was any doubt it would be

I would recommend the Demolition ep, but surely you've listened to that one, right Matt?

Yeah, I thought Grudge Matches sounded wrong when I said it

World Cast What If...? https://soundcloud.com/prowrestlingonly/world-cast-what-if-chv CHV Bloopers, Bleeps and Bodyslams The Watcher once again turns his attention to the boys from World Cast, this time observing an alternate reality where instead of WCCW they chose to look at Coliseum Home Video on the WWE Network. (Also, in this reality Pete said f**k you, I'll pass) So join Kelly and Johnny as they dive into the very first CHV release, Bloopers, Bleeps and Bodyslams. Among the highlights we have... -An epic posedown between Paul Orndorff and Tony Atlas taking a hilarious turn -A jobber who couldn't afford the top of the line toupee glue -Chunger undone by the wrong bricks -A cornucopia of clips from TNT -A chair made of SOLID OAK -And finally, the out of control reception for the wedding of the century!!! World Cast What If...?: Showing you why subpar 1982 WCCW was the right choice

I miss the days of simple kayfabian ignorance sometimes

Just finishing up the latest show, and my guess is that the cage stip for Graham vs Reed was pretty much for drawing purposes only, rather than something that was necessary based on booking, since the roster was spread thin and they didn't have a really big match to pack them in. That they sold out MSG that night is really impressive considering all the Hogan headlined shows that failed to do so

So the expectation is that there will be 2-3 price points for accessing Network content? If that is the case I wonder how that will shake out in places like here (Canada) where the channel is like a regular TV channel and content accessibility is different (not sure how it is now but the library was extremely limited when the network kicked off in Canada. Any other Canucks here that have the service?) (and apologies if this was discussed previously, I must have missed it or forgot about reading it. Getting old sucks...) In Canada you can get all the on demand content online, but I'm not sure if you can watch it on a TV with a streaming device like you can in the States. I have a VPN, get the US version of the Network and watch on a Roku TV. A friend of mine has the Network and he watches the on demand footage by hooking up his laptop to his TV

Episode 24 https://soundcloud.com/prowrestlingonly/world-cast-24 August 14, 1982 (WCCW 34) Folks, similar to great moments in history like the moon landing and the final episode of Sanford and Son, you will never forgot where you were the night Al Madril broke the ** barrier. Granted, it took sharing a ring with the Nature Boy to do it, but by God, Al did it, he really, really did it! Also on the show...Bugsy and water balloons...The Superfly looking fly in his third different two-tone bodysuit...a not so great Kevin vs Dusek match...and the FREAKING 60-YEAR OLD LEGEND, BLUE DEMON!!!! You can't spell World's Greatest Podcast without World Cast!

Parv as Dorothy is all that really matters

The idea, as per Meltzer, is to recreate Vince vs Austin, because that is what made Vince a mainstream star and thus in theory a similar feud would do so for Steph

Hulu version is 90 minutes, but you still have commercial breaks unless you sign up for a more expensive tier

Better video quality is nice but I'll choose poor/lesser quality with original music intact every time. Don't get me wrong, I love all the recent uploads to the Network, but damn, some of the dubs drive me nuts

Episode 23 https://soundcloud.com/prowrestlingonly/world-cast-23 August 7, 1982 (WCCW 33) Join Pete, Kelly and Johnny for the long-awaited debut of ROSCOE THE CLOWN!!!! Who is he? What is he? Why is he? Also... Brian (aka "Don't call me Dave Meltzer", aka Mr. Wood) Adidas vs Captain Frank Dusek...the Sportatorium crowd gets more and more interesting... power couple Kerry and Al take on Bundy and the Superfly in the main event...and, oh yeah, Ric Flair happens to be here too Aint no party like a World Cast party cuz a World Cast party don't stop!

Was Royal Rumble 88 common on VHS back in the day? I never saw a copy anywhere growing up in Calgary in the 90s

It begins and ends with the masterpiece that is the Biggest, the Smallest, the Strangest, the Strongest

I think they're waiting until after Elimination Chamber to make it official

Yeah, feels like pro wrestling has the most momentum, and non-WWE groups are at their strongest, since the crazy days of the late-90s. Really interesting times

Yeah, Eadie's bio needs a bit of a re-write. This section in particular: "Workrate: Nobody, and I mean NOBODY raised their hands above their heads and crashed them down repeatedly on some guys back better than Ax. Not even Smash. And his name was fucking SMASH! Not particularly very good at much else."