C.S.

Tough crowd. I really liked Omega-Cody. But yeah, I will agree that the outcome was never in doubt. In fact, has Cody ever won a major singles match in New Japan? I know he lost to Ibushi at WrestleKingdom. I'm not sure if he's had any main event-level singles matches in NJPW since then.

I can at least believe this one. We've heard similar stories of Vince having X-Pac do the same with Jericho.

I don't have AXS, so I had to wait for NJPW World to put up the Cow Palace show. Since it was late, I cherry-picked only three matches to watch. I don't know if I'll ever have time to watch the entire show, but please LMK if I missed anything awesome. I'm a new NJPW Subscriber, so this is my first show other than watching Jericho-Omega and Ibushi-Cody on YouTube a few months ago, along with other random matches on NJPW World and elsewhere. Young Bucks vs. Sanada and Evil: This was my first Bucks match, and I was pleasantly surprised. I think their offense is very creative. I can understand why people would get tired of the constant superkick spots, but it made me smile. We'll see if I still feel that way 20 Bucks matches from now. Sanada and Evil were okay but felt like the type of disposable wrestlers that would've been jobbers on Monday Nitro. I thought it was an entertaining match overall. I wouldn't call it a classic or anything, but I had fun. What was up with the finish though? Either the Bucks botched it or it looks like shit. One of the Bucks held onto a wrestler while the other Buck jumped and...did nothing. It was weird. Other than that, I liked what I saw of the Bucks. Jay White vs. Juice Robinson: Jay White's serial killer look and utter lack of charisma haunted my dreams, but I thought this was fantastic overall. The entire match was about selling Juice Robinson's broken hand, which is such a refreshing change from the spotty bullshit that permeates so much of WWE and even NXT. Juice was the star in this match IMO, and this was a star-making match for him, but I do have to credit White (who I can't bring myself to like, despite an obviously stellar performance) for getting him there. What was up with J.R. bitching about the barricade spots, and Josh Barnett jumping into the ring? I know he's a former MMA fighter, but he looked like a goofy accountant or H.R. guy in his dress clothes. Other than that weirdness, I loved this match. Omega vs. Cody: NJPW World told me there were only 13 minutes left in the show, which seemed weird to me. Obviously, this whole thing was a lot longer than 13 minutes, so the app's timer is more botched than that Bucks finish. To be honest, I had somewhat low expectations going in. But Omega and Cody delivered the good and gave me the best match of the three I watched (although Jay White-Juice Robinson was very close). From his reputation of having 20-star matches or whatever the hell it is, Omega has proven he can deliver in a main event setting. I wasn't sure about Cody. But this was his coming out party IMO. He showed he could hang with Omega and deliver the goods. A thrilling match. Edit: That table spot was scary though. I can't imagine Cody was meant to land at the angle he did. And that post-match? Holy shit!!! I kinda hope Haku's useless son Tama Tonga and the other guy are used as stooges to give us what we all really want (but didn't realize we did until now): Omega vs. Haku. I know that won't happen though. The only "plot hole" was one of the Tongans handing Cody a chair, only to later act like he was tired of both Omega and Cody because "we're all equals" (something that would be a race angle in the U.S. but wasn't here). I know Cody walloped them with the chair, but he seemed ready to cast his lot with Cody before that. I guess this is one area where scripted promos are better. Other than that nitpick and one other I'll get to, I thought this was one hell of an angle. My second nitpick is that it should have ended with Cody, Omega, Bucks, and the Bullet Club b-teamers laid out cold with Haku and his goons standing tall, instead of the extended sequence we got of the Bullet Club getting up and hobbling to the back. Still, I can't criticize this too much, because it was AWESOME!

Amazon has one copy of the paperback from third-party seller "wowh" (is that the publisher?) for $23.95. https://smile.amazon.com/Brutus-Beefcake-Struttin-Official-Autobiography/dp/1941356036/ There's also a Kindle version for $9.99. https://smile.amazon.com/Brutus-Beefcake-Struttin-Official-Autobiography-ebook/dp/B07B116QYY/

It was up a few minutes after Ricky's post...or at least that's when I checked. Because it was so late, I couldn't watch the whole show, so I cherry-picked three matches. I'll post about them in the NJPW thread and ask if I missed anything awesome. J.R. in 2018 isn't awesome in this setting, and it didn't help that the crowd noise and everything else kinda drowned out their commentary a bit, making it hard to hear (or is it just me?). Edit: My thoughts here...

I'd like to read it eventually, but the anti-Hogan stuff turned me off. It's either a cheap work to sell books, or it shows what an ungrateful coked-up loser Brutus "the fucking Barber" Beefcake really is. I'm hardly a huge Hogan apologist (especially after his many questionable actions), but Hulk did a lot for Beefcake after the parasailing accident. I believe the podcast even covers that in detail (I read a recap). It sucks when the people in your life are leeches and hanger-ons instead of showing any semblance of genuine friendship and loyalty. This is the one area where Hogan gets my sympathy, because he's been screwed over multiple times by his so-called "best friends" (and I don't mean just in wrestling angles, lol).

Trying to watch the Cow Palace show on NJPW World, and it says "Only available in Japan." Even the English stream says that. What is this bullshit? When will it actually be available?

I'll throw in a plug for my buddy kidcage, who has some great local and enhancement wrestlers, an awesome version of Bob Cook, and The Beverly Brothers (along with separate creations for Enos and Bloom).

They made it sound like the CM Punk episode would only cover the short period both Punk and Bruce were in the company together.

Absolutely. Blassie was an instant purchase for me. I too have the hardcover, but 99 cents to get it on Kindle too for the convenience is a no-brainer. As for the Main Event book, take a look inside the book if you can - it's literally just dates and match results. An easy pass for me. The three I bought were: - Blassie - Tales on Wrescal Lane (only recommended if you have a tablet - iPad, etc.) - WWE Legends I rolled the dice on WWE Legends, but for 99 cents, why the heck not. I also recommend (and have): - Are We There Yet? - Rumble Road BTW, the Big Apple Takedown book is good, cheesy fun - imagine WWE wrestlers working undercover for the FBI or CIA or whatever it is.

Had a bit of a drive again today, so I loaded up another podcast. Naturally, the one I chose was...Something to Wrestle With: Bob Holly. (Haha, you thought I was going to say something else, didn't you? But there's a reason I'm mentioning it, so keep reading...) After a terrible introduction with a bunch of advertisements and some atrocious accents, Bruce and Conrad started talking about Jerry Jarrett. Basically, Prichard said he doesn't believe it's really Jerry on Twitter. I was glazing my eyes at this. Then I looked at the running time of the podcast: close to four hours. I said "fuck this!" - I don't love any wrestler enough to listen to four hours about them. I switched over to Jerry Jarrett #2 about Vince McMahon, which clocks in at a more manageable one hour and change. Lo and behold, the first thing Jerry and Sean did - coincidentally enough - was address the very podcast episode of Prichard's that I'd just backed out of. Of course, it really is Jerry posting on his Twitter account. Anyway, they were off to the races from there. It's a tremendous listen. Some great stories - about more than just Vince. Two of my favorites were Jerry Jarrett's near national deal with "Showtime? USA!" and the origins of one of my all-time favorite characters, Kamala. I left off at the part about Pat Patterson and the airline points, haha. I was tempted to keep driving aimlessly just to hear the rest. Can't wait to finish this up later.

The last two Prichard podcasts on the WWE Network - Big Evil and The Rock - have been very middle-of-the-road and missable even if you haven't listened to the audio equivalents (assuming they exist). The Rock episode had some really weird editing - twice, Conrad brought up a topic they had discussed only a few minutes before, and Prichard would answer the question again. I can only assume these were "redo" scenes that somehow didn't get caught. Also, Conrad was weirdly critical of the legendary IC Title bridge angle. I can understand being a "rasslin' traditionalist" and hating that Rock was just given the title, but it was a legendary feud and angle, so that supersedes any minor criticisms IMO. For most of the episode, Conrad literally looked asleep or exasperated. It wasn't until closer to the end that I realized he was obviously hiding a bad cold and hoarse voice. Sadly, next week is the season finale - but it sounds like they're finally going to air the controversial CM Punk episode (assuming they're not redoing it entirely).

The last two Prichard podcasts on the WWE Network - Big Evil and The Rock - have been very middle-of-the-road and missable even if you haven't listened to the audio equivalents (assuming they exist). The Rock episode had some really weird editing - twice, Conrad brought up a topic they had discussed only a few minutes before, and Prichard would answer the question again. I can only assume these were "redo" scenes that somehow didn't get caught. Also, Conrad was weirdly critical of the legendary IC Title bridge angle. I can understand being a "rasslin' traditionalist" and hating that Rock was just given the title, but it was a legendary feud and angle, so that supersedes any minor criticisms IMO. For most of the episode, Conrad literally looked asleep or exasperated. It wasn't until closer to the end that I realized he was obviously hiding a bad cold and hoarse voice. Sadly, next week is the season finale - but it sounds like they're finally going to air the controversial CM Punk episode (assuming they're not redoing it entirely).

WrestlingInc.com: Taeler Hendrix Claims Her ROH Career Was Sabotaged For Not Sleeping With Jay Lethal ROH really is a trash factory. In addition to Lethal, ROH has housed such "upstanding citizens" as RF, the homophobic redneck Briscoes, the accused rapist Michael Elgin, and God knows who else. Some great wrestlers and great matches, but if they ever want to truly be big time, they need to get their house in order and do a major clean-up. Probably won't happen since they're owned by the sleazy and immoral Sinclair Broadcasting. Edit: I realize Lethal was also in TNA and I'm sure many other indies with his cosplay act, but only ROH made him its "World" Champion.

A bunch of WWE-published books are on sale for 99 cents on Kindle: As always, narrow the reviews by Kindle edition to make sure there are no OCR conversion issues (typos, bad formatting, etc. that weren't in the paper versions). - Are We There Yet?: Tales from the Never-Ending Travels of WWE Superstars - Big Apple Takedown (WWE) - The Condemned (WWE) - Have More Money Now: A Commonsense Approach to Financial Management (Wwe) - The Legends of Wrestling: "Classy" Freddie Blassie: Listen, You Pencil Neck Geeks (Wwe S) - Lita: A Less Traveled R.O.A.D.--The Reality of Amy Dumas (WWE) - Main Event: WWE in the Raging 80s - The Marine (WWE) - Rumble Road: Untold Stories from Outside the Ring (WWE) - See No Evil (WWE) - Showdowns: The 20 Greatest Wrestling Rivalries of the Last Twenty Years (WWE) - Tales from Wrescal Lane (WWE) - Triple H Making the Game: Triple H's Approach to a Better Body (WWE) - The Ultimate World Wrestling Entertainment Trivia Book: The Ultimate WWE Trivia Book - The Unauthorized History of DX (WWE) - Unscripted (WWE) - The WWE Championship: A Look Back at the Rich History of the WWE Championship - WWE Legends

Another great interview here with Kia Stevens on GLOW, her hair on the show, the origins of the Kong name, her mother's experience as an actor, and more. https://www.theringer.com/tv/2018/7/3/17527216/kia-stevens-glow-season-two

It is basically the Fire Pro you know and love in HD - they definitely did not reinvent the wheel for the latest version. I'm sure there are new moves, tweaks, polishes, etc., but if you've played a Fire Pro game in the past, you know exactly what to expect here.

I just read this, and all of your previous GWE pieces on the divas. Absolutely fantastic stuff. I love it when someone approaches things with a fresh eye and unique thought-process. You'll definitely have a new reader going forward.

I just wanted to say how much I really liked this article, and I hope we get more of these types of long-form, in-depth pieces examinations of wrestling from angles most people would never consider. I don't want to spoil the piece, which is certainly worth reading in its entirety, but I do want to highlight one of my favorite passages. Fantastic stuff, Charles. Here's the link for anyone else who hasn't read it already: https://www.prowrestlingonly.com/wrestling-on-fast-forward

Watched Vader vs. Hansen the other night. It was the NJPW World Freebie of the Week (not sure if it still is). Even after Vader's eye popped out of its socket, Sloppy Stan seemed to take liberty after liberty. I know he's blind as a bat, but damn! Not sure how Hansen doesn't have more of a rep of being an unsafe worker, between this Vader incident and fucking up Bruno's neck. Even though it was 30 years ago and Vader is no longer with us, I still felt worried for the big guy.

I subbed to NJPW World and finally caught this. I remember the magazines making a big time about how much "better" Hogan was in Japan, but I sure didn't see it here. I think you're all being too easy on Hogan (not that Muta was any great shakes in this match either). The spot at the end where Muta grabbed the netting to glide onto Hogan was pretty cool though. This felt like a heel vs. heel match, and not in a good way. A disappointing match, especially considering the classics both were capable of at the time.

Anyone else really pleasantly surprised by what an awesome (no pun intended) actor Kong turned out to be? Seriously, she's not just "good for a wrestler" - she's a good actor, period. No spoilers, but her episode was one of the best, rawest (again, no pun intended), and most heartfelt of the season. Really glad she got upped to series regular. I have no idea why Chris Lowell (Bash) is still a guest-star. I think I've followed him from show to show (not intentionally) and this is easily his best work. I mean, if you had told me a few years ago that Dell from Private frickin' Practice was going to gush over

That is the most ass-backward billing system ever. But I guess I could sign up today and get 99% of the value. I was flipping through the app (I got a Fire TV Cube, so I finally have a way to watch NJPW World on TV) and was intrigued by all of the archive matches - Muta vs. Hogan, etc. I have to confess I didn't even know the G1 was coming up. Edit: Fuck it - I signed up! If nothing else, I'll have fun watching old matches I've only heard about but have never seen (I was never into the tape trading scene for whatever reason - other than buying a Dustin Rhodes comp from a seller on DVDVR many years ago, before the WWE Network - probably someone from PWO, which - come to think of it - is probably how I found this site).

Question about NJPW World: How the hell does the billing work exactly? It seems no matter when I try to sign up, I get charged the same amount. To use the December example above: Let's say I sign up Dec 29. and get charged $9.99 (or whatever the exchange rate is). Do I get charged another $9.99 on Dec. 31st?

Watch Watched Vader vs. Hansen last night. It was the NJPW World Freebie of the Week (not sure if it still is). Think it was the one where Vader's eye popped out of its socket. His eye certainly looked fucked-up in any case. Sloppy Stan seemed to take liberty after liberty. I know he's blind as a bat, but damn! Not sure how he doesn't have more of a rep of being an unsafe worker, between this Vader incident and fucking up Bruno's neck. Even though it was 30 years ago and Vader is no longer with us, I still felt worried for the big guy. And yeah, Vince really fucked up what could have been. One of the most frustrating missed opportunities in WWE history. For all the shit Trips got about holding guys back (and rightfully so), at least we eventually got token reigns from RVD, Booker, etc.