bradhindsight

So here we have Kyle O'Reilly's first match post ROH, a surprise opponent for the ECCW champ in his hometown (and old home promotion). These guys have some history in looking through Google (and YouTube), going back 7 or so years. I thought O'Reilly looked on another level here, and admittedly he probably is. He brought the same strikes and selling that he usually does and I didn't think El P could come close to matching. First 6 minutes is O'Reilly working him over, which is then completely written off for the rest of the match as they transition outside. O'Reilly gets thrown around, the crowd is actually pretty much behind El P despite the surprise. We get two dives from El P to the outside, which looked fine (also to note, the hard cam missing some of the outside action isn't an issue, one can use their imagination - I liked the raw feel of no announcers and camera cuts). 12 minutes in now, we get a "this is awesome" chant that is immediately followed up by an El P rope walk moonsault to the outside which was really nice (now chant!). Back in El P goes up again and I guess is going for some kind of stomp but it looks as awful as the Balor/Rollins SummerSlam spot when he gets grabbed into a submission coming down. Phantasmo finally starts selling like 14 minutes into the match after O'Reilly knees him in the head. To that point, literally everything had been shrugged off, which was glaring to me at least. Really impressive van terminator from El P - clear across the center of the ring. Great spot. Another good sequence followed: Tiger bomb by El P countered into a guillotine choke (tiger bomb on a bigger guy seemed a bit excessive but it's a good reversal spot), which felt like a possible finish, eventually he powered out and countered into a vertical suplex which was really impressive. We get a bunch of strikes and kicks that build to a double KO and then into a pretty decisive finish for O'Reilly: big clothesline (one count, which the crowd didn't really do much for unfortunately), penalty kick (quick two count kickout), brainbuster (two count), into the arm bar for the submission. I'm right around ***3/4 to **** here. Really good stuff.

I always figured Riddle himself had made sure that WWE provision was in the WWN deal. The WWN/FloSlam dynamic with WWE fascinates me because if I'm the executive at FloSlam and my compensation/job hinges on sales and what this service brings in, I'm pissed at any departures (promotions or wrestlers) that go to any competing service. The WWE is a (small) investor, so the other people involved would see a serious conflict of interest if they are in cahoots behind the scenes. Interesting nonetheless.

I think that post is a fantastic "State of ROH" address and your last paragraph is a perfect summation. I've defended the camps before with the understanding that they want to see guys for a couple days, interview them, see their work ethic, etc, before making any kind of contractual commitment. But in today's environment that can't be the lone scouting tool. And one could very well state that what they've done AFTER people have gone through those camps is lacking. That goes back to talent evaluation (and communication, and follow-up). I do think (and this is not in Dylan's piece, but a common sentiment on Twitter) it's slightly unfair to pan them for people leaving (Cedric, ACH, etc) while disregarding the people they brought in - Ospreay, Scurll, Dragon Lee, Cody (I know, I know but their reach is syndicated TV and he's a name, BULL JAMES (I'm just kidding - wtf, that one is so bad). Especially when a common complaint is roster staleness. They built TV around Scurll and Ospreay (episode 275, I'd wager their second best TV of 2016) even. The non-exclusive contract issue and the provision around not being on FloSlam is going to be a barrier, but as Dylan said - there is talent out there that would have no problem agreeing. I completely get not wanting contracted talent to be on another company's paid-for streaming service. But I do think they can word things differently as a blanket ban on places like Beyond is bad PR for the company and disregarding their talent getting a following that tracks back to ROH. And those names I mentioned above do have short deals or opt-outs so it's a challenge to build/book around.

"Resounding" was a touch dramatic as that implied it was deliberate where as FloSlam is more collateral damage here. FloSlam made a big deal out of OTT before subtly noting in the fine print that it was really only two shows. From an economics standpoint, the WWE layering in ICW, Progress and OTT while keeping the $9.99 price point is another hit at FloSlam trying to push their $20 model. I don't know how sustainable that price will be for them; they do have some wiggle room where they perhaps wouldn't piss off the 12-month subscribers, but that messes up their overall FloSports pricing since you get access to everything for the $20.

OTT moving to the WWE Network is the first real resounding shot at FloSlam after they played the "we'll see how the first two shows go" card in their OTT announcement.

Coming out of pilot season and forming a formidable tandem with the Strong Style History Podcast, PWO and PTBN are excited to welcome the Puro Pourri Podcast to the feed. New episode (#4) is right here: http://placetobenation.com/the-puro-pourri-podcast-4-njpw-vs-uwfi-part-1/ The first three episodes are all live on the PWO feed: https://soundcloud.com/prowrestlingonly/pilot-season-the-puro-pourri-podcast https://soundcloud.com/prowrestlingonly/the-puro-pourri-podcast-2-womens-exploding-barbed-wire-deathmatch https://soundcloud.com/prowrestlingonly/the-puro-pourri-podcast-3-sasakikawada-10-9-00

With word coming out that the WWE Network will be adding ICW as the first indie to share the platform, FloSlam today announced two "lucha" promotions - Lucha Forever and PWRevolution (who I've seen advertised on FITE). Lucha Forever debuts in April, and their article notes Will Ospreay is "creatively involved in the promotion". Their banner also prominently displays Pete Dunne, who *may* have some buzz based on a recent UK tournament, and they casually mention within their own article that he's in some title match for them on JUNE 18th (June!). No mention on social media that Dunne is a part of this, which is a marketing miss imo.

I think they could actually tell a pretty good story with Daniels coming up short at the 15th anniversary. To your point on the WWW article (which I have not read yet, but find the thesis of someone comparing SBG ROH to 2003 ROH laughable given their very different missions), Daniels is one of those "guys we see that keep doing the same thing". There is no buzz to him being a transitional champ, highlighted more so by how often the belt has changed hands in the past 6 months.

I appreciate your candidness on Castle and I think it's refreshing that across our large swatch of wrestling fandom, there are people on opposite sides of the fence - even for the proverbial online/fan favorites. What about his work turns you off from wanting to see him live?

We're going to add that to the marketing material there Allan - thanks!

i'm curious, what caused the $100+ increase when reviewing the same stuff? If anything, streams have cut down on VOD/DVD purchases [Mad Dog's point above].

This was the main event of the biggest show of the year. If there's ever a place, it's certainly there. YES to Okada/Omega for me

Shout-out to the guy who dabs when the camera cuts to him early in the match. If you like Kevin Dunn-esque quick cuts to the crowd after every move or referee count, CMLL is your wheelhouse. This is a pretty darn good Volador Jr. performance, at times seemingly wrestling himself as Mephisto doesn't do a whole lot. Big raised double underhook facebuster by Mephisto for the quick first fall. There's a nice escalation there when he hits that off the top rope for one of the only decent near falls in the third stanza. Superkick->backstabber for Volador even things up before we head into the referee-count heavy final caida. Volador is expectedly flying all over the place, and Mephisto's main offense is blocking the aerial attacks and trying for a quick cover. Those don't connect at all as potential finishes, Mephisto is a big dude and doesn't get any kind of sustained offense, which left this lacking a bit for me. Things spice up with a huge crossbody off the top into the crowd by Volador and he escapes Mephisto's feet on the ropes after a powerbomb before hitting a Spanish fly off the top rope for the win. ***1/4

Short as they were, I liked the first two falls. Punt->Big splash and the Spanish fly worked here. I hate to overuse "back and forth" but it literally was for the third fall, with good transitions and a nice callback with blocking the splash. Really fun. ***1/2

This is a crisp, paint-by-numbers escalating match, that is easy to follow and really, really good. Ultimo's entrance is interrupted and they waste no time fighting. He goes for Valiente's mask and actually rips it, so the heat is established if you're new to both guys. The first two falls are based around quick submissions, but I liked the counter Ultimo used in caida dos to apply his. Made sense, where sometimes those can seem out of nowhere. Valiente (42) and Ultimo (44) are nearly flawless in execution here and Valiente is flying all over the place (he hit a rana early in the match off the top rope that is picture-perfect). Really snug topes and in turn Ultimo hits a great running/diving uppercut over the ring barricade into the crowd. There's no kind of extended heat here, it's trading escalating moves, which is totally fine for what they were going for. Each guy goes for a top rope move with their opponent seated and the reversals all make sense psychology-wise (taking too long, etc). Ultimo busts out a real nice powerbomb off a blocked rana also after Valiente went back to the well. Valente busts out a double springboard moonsault to the outside here also, which was amazing. Clean and clear finish with multiple finishers hit; these guys did not mess around here. This is really good pro wrestling. ***3/4

I'm fairly confident they have not announced the headliner yet.

I ended up not posting in the '16 thread, but the resolutions I did complete were: submit a GWE ballot, follow ROH closely and write/speak on the promotion, and expand out from usual WWE viewing (so much so that I essentially stopped watching even the PPVs). This year: 1. Submit a VOW 2016 MOTY Ballot 2. Complete the ROH: 50 Greatest Wrestlers Ever project 3. PWO2K participation 4. Watching all NJPW big shows this year (2 for 2 so far) and actively follow the promotion 5. Continue keeping up with ROH/PWG as well 6. Get a general working knowledge of CMLL and its roster as the cross promotion with NJPW and ROH continues

My favorite part of re-reading this thread (to see if I posted any resolutions - I did not) is Dylan calling the Powerbomb.tv shot 10 months early.

I haven't watched yet, but this sounds very similar to when TNA went live against RAW back in January 09. Just a ton of shit thrown at the wall in a two-hour block. Interesting strategy. The review we posted has garnered a bunch of back-and-forth on our Facebook page. People were engaged for at least the NYE pilot.

In this pilot episode, the guys take a look at George's pick for the match that got him into Japanese wrestling, a match often cited as the best in-ring wrestling contest of all time. Does it deserve the label? Which participant in the match would David have as his best man? Is human blood an appropriate ingredient for pasta sauce? Match discussed: Kenta Kobashi and Mitsuharu Misawa © vs. Toshiaki Kawada and Akira Taue (AJPW World Tag Team Championship) (AJPW, 9 June 1995) https://soundcloud.com/prowrestlingonly/pilot-season-the-puro-pourri-podcast

I liked that they showed the first taped episode from the post-Final Battle tapings a couple weeks ago. Showing the Bucks/Scurll-Ospreay tag match is another great way to introduce those guys to the syndicated audience. I'm really disappointed in the Cody Rhodes/Bullet Club thing though. That is so deflating after his work at Final Battle and at the tapings. Now we have O'Reilly/Lethal vs. Cole/Cody in Atlanta - which will be a solid TV main event i'm sure, but super heel Cody felt almost fresh. More BC stuff just feels tacked on. A miss imo.

Is the archive on WXW going to be on both? Or perhaps its only on the go-forward for FloSlam. How has FloSlam been doing with uploading the Evolve and other archives? I read something from our friend Brandon Howard that it was a complete unorganized mess. We're a couple months in now, that's disappointing if you're an early subscriber.

The wXw multi-year deal - details not yet disclosed on live airings or what not - is a good compliment to the WWN stuff. The fact that it was reported it was a multi-year deal is comforting considering all the other times they've announced partnerships, which really are just tryouts (like OTT). Botter had been with FloSports for quite some time prior to FloSlam so I don't (and it's just speculation) think him being replaced changes anything with their direction.