Ricky Jackson

I think it's pretty clear Ohno is going to feud with Itami and be away from the title picture for a while, so it makes sense that he puts over Black, someone who is likely going to be in the title picture going forward. The next Takeover isn't until Brooklyn in two months, so I think you have to do something more with Black than have him win squashes until then. And I'm sure he'll be featured prominently at that show based on how he's been booked so far. Maybe even a title match with Roode

If someone can't appreciate Bruno as a wrestler, that's their loss, because he was so great, in-ring and as a promo. I will always bang the drum for the man. Fuck, maybe I should just do an all-Bruno podcast. I guess I already kinda did with At the Garden. (sorry for not finishing his story for those who listened) Speaking of which, he's on the latest Jericho pod

Firstly, this is not necessarily Titans 2. Lineups will be fluid. Two or three people tops each show. At least that's how I envision it. Second, get with the program Matt, I've been dropping snowflakes on the Place to Be Podcast for several months now. Thirdly, yes Titans was the greatest podcast in wrestling history. Fourthly, maybe we'll do a show about Harry, Kaufman, Warhol and Dr. J going to WWWF shows at MSG in the 70s and compare the wrestling scene to CBGB'S or something

Looks like we're getting a dump of MSG shows for the first time in years

Outside of the three mentioned up front I've only seen the Florida match and felt about the same as you did. I'm not really a fan of this pairing, although I recall seeing a match between the two I really liked from Japan years and years ago on youtube that I'm sure wasn't one of those three. Not sure of the date though

I haven't even seen any of this, but the Cass turn is so much more meaningful precisely because they NEVER held the titles. That was one of the main reasons for the turn, no? Because Cass was sick of not being a champion?

Thanks man. Collections seem to be all there, but maybe they've removed some over the years

Well, when your fan base will pretty much support you no matter how hard they bitch you can pretty much book whatever you want

I dunno, I think the booking of the MITB has made Carmella/Ellsworth and the women's division much more interesting

Good old fashioned heel win

So much for women's equality

Not sure how I feel about this one. Didn't like it as much as Wrestle Kingdom. I made the Marvel movie analogy for that one and will use one/sequels to blockbusters here. Wrestle Kingdom was Guardians 1, Dominion was Guardians 2. Still very good but can't top the novelty (for me anyway) of being first and didn't really improve on the original. Still, it advanced storylines (turning Omega babyface, positioning Cody as a focal point for the company, building to a 3rd encounter, etc), had great heat (also hard to top the epic atmosphere of the Tokyo Dome), and the final 10 minutes were pretty dramatic, if not full of no-selling big moves one after the next. I really like both guys and look forward to #3 Hard to judge this one without comparing it to 6 Stars. Great but no masterpiece ****

http://placetobenation.com/mount-olympus-summer-2017-sammartino-the-legend-lives/ On the pilot episode of Mount Olympus, a new quarterly (or whenever they feel like it) wrestling history podcast, Kelly, Johnny and Pete discuss Sammartino: The Legend Lives, a recent collection added to the WWE Network. The boys look at old favorites, and some old less-than-favorites, while breaking down a selection of matches from the collection. In the end, this is a tribute to an amazing professional wrestler and a great time was had by all. Check it out!!!

Finally watched this last night. Had to watch it with the Japanese commentary for the true, authentic experience. I could count on one hand the number of modern New Japan matches I've seen, let alone any PWG, ROH, UK indy, or whatever the kids are losing their shit over today. But I watch NXT regularly, so I'm still hip right? Anyway, point being I'm no expert on 2017 pro wrestling and have no emotional connection to these guys, other than some pride with Winnipeg boy Omega. I thought this was a great match. This is pro wrestling in 2017. This is what the fans love. I've made my peace with that. It's nowhere near my preferred style of pro wrestling but I don't hate it. I think NXT is better because they take the modern, fast-paced "dive" style, slow it down, and fuse it with old school storytelling. Again, I'm no expert and I know a lot of New Japan and other promotions present wrestling in a similar way. So, the style of all-action with little selling or storyline nuance didn't really bother me as I was watching this match. I got into the highspots and the last half of the match was like watching the frantic end of a really good playoff basketball game, with back and forth responses and no team able to hold a lead. The crowd was super hot and that can sometimes be tough to convey in a dome setting. Both Okada and Omega feel like huge stars and I'm definitely going to check out more of their work. The finish felt satisfying, Okada hit the buzzer beater in OT to finally end it, and neither man had anything left. All that said, I'm definitely not going to become a full-time supporter of modern wrestling because of this match. I know if I watched too much of this style it would turn me off. For example, I hate, hate, hate the insistence on constantly going for meaningless pins throughout that plagues modern wrestling. I know in kayfabe the point of the match is to pin your opponent, but to me relying on pin attempts is a lazy crutch and the worst legacy of Savage vs Steamboat. Save the pin attempts for the very end, and even then the best matches to me are the ones that don't have to rely on 2.9 kickouts to be great. Also, of course, this style is ridiculously dangerous and will obviously lead to no good in the future for those involved. But to enjoy wrestling, you kind of need to ignore that unfortunately. Anyway, for someone not fully emersed in this style, I thought this was great fun. It's like the modern blockbuster Marvel movies. I love them, but most of my favorite movies are from the 30s-70s, just like my favorite wrestling is from 30-40 years ago. And it always will be. Still, this is pro wrestling in 2017 ****1/2 (I could go on about 6 stars and all that but enough for now. Going to watch 2 later today)

"I think I already said this, but again I think what the Alphas have shown - along with Bayley, Sami Zayn, even Tye - is that they really don't know what to do with simple white meat babyfaces on the main roster. They work like magic in NXT because NXT is old school wrestling and simple. There is a good guy, they have a quest to complete, they overcome obstacles along the way, they triumph. AND the crowd understands this and appreciates it and cheers them along. The main roster is different. There are never beginnings, middles and ends. Just a never ending cycle of weekly TV where they try to find things for them to do. You can't get behind a hero on a mission because they have no mission. They're just doing whatever is written for them this week. The things that get babyfaces over on the main roster are catchphrases, coolness and perceived work rate. It's about personalities, not stories. There's nothing really TO the Alphas' characters. They're just nice guys who wrestle good. They weren't any more complex or cool in NXT either. BUT you saw the journey, you saw Gable slowly get Jordan on board with his goofy shtick, you saw them slowly make their way up the tag ranks, and you saw Jordan burst into tears when they won the titles because it was the culmination of a lifelong quest for a championship. We all went through it with them, and it all made sense and flowed as a story, so it mattered. Nothing matters on the main roster. On SD Alphas came in, did stuff, and a few months later won the tag titles off the Usos, on a random SD, with no warning, and it wasn't the culmination of anything except what they happened to have the Alphas doing that week. It's easier for heels and people with catchphrases and shit to adapt to main roster life. Eventually. But for babyfaces that you're supposed to really root for, the main roster is a cold, cruel world. Because there's nothing to root for, really." Yes! Exactly. Agree a million percent. I love NXT because it feels like the wrestling I grew up with. One hour a week and five or so big shows a year. I only watch the main roster PPVs because I have the Network and it's convenient, so why not right? And it's mostly just matches, usually good ones, sometimes great, with little to no meaningless waste like Raw or Smackdown, which I'll watch a segment or two a month at most even though I have Hulu. Main roster TV is 90% junk

Start some weekly TV threads if everything is so interesting

Product feels pretty cold right now. No buzz. I think they've been mostly phoning it in since Mania. Probably going to start building things up for the summer season starting Monday, so you would think things will become more interesting. Hopefully

I think this is an awesome time to be a fan because it feels like there is a lot of interesting stuff going on in a variety of different ways and settings. Japan, indie, UK, women. Crowds are hot if obnoxious at times. Old school footage is plentiful and being discussed more and more. WWE at least has NXT going for it, which has kept me going week to week. I think this is definitely the high point for wrestling in this century. Yes, wrestling isn't terribly relevant on a mainstream level, but this is the age we live in, where you can indulge in your niche hobby 24/7 and there are tons of different niche hobbies out there. Who really wants mainstream acceptance anyway? The last time that happened the quality of wrestling nose dived and it took years to recover. I'm fine with the way things are

For a second I thought this was your top 100. I was thinking "this guy is such a hipster", but then I saw the Baron at 18 and figured , "Oh, I guess he's ok" Lol

I feel people get too hung up on the Performance Center/developing talent aspect of NXT, like if they are not churning out superstars from scratch at a furious clip then everything is a total failure. Does it really matter where the talent comes from and how they make it to the main roster?

Ascension were booked as geeks from day one on main roster. Bayley was super over at one point. Owens, Joe, Sasha, Charlotte, Bliss, Baylor, etc have all done fine on main roster. Plus the Shield...

******1/2? *******?

Latest ep on a November 85 Championship Wrestling show is hilarious

Cool. Yeah, I think the 8/9/69 date is likely the correct one, which is neat because we have very little of 60s Bruno available outside of matches with Baba from Japan. Going to dive into the collection soon. Fans of PWO podcasts be on the lookout for my thoughts, along with some friends of mine...

For those as ridiculously interested in this matter as I am, a poster at KM suggests the Bruno vs Steele match may be from 8/9/1969 at the Philadelphia Arena. That could explain the date confusion, plus the finish to the match and the finish to the 6/27/70 match I threw out as a possibility differ. Consensus seems to be that it was for sure from the Philadelphia ArenaTo be even more anal, the Piper's Pit is not from 9/13/85 (that was the date of a Pittsburgh show that DID have a Piper's Pit with Bruno, but not this one, which is from MSG) but from 10/21/85. Funny they didn't go with the 11/9/85 Boston Garden Piper's Pit with Bruno since the follow up matches are from there