C.S.

Since I'm all alone in here... Matt Hardy's gear makes him look like he pissed and shit his pants.

This thread is deader than Senor Benjamin's erection. Woken-Bray tag match is first. Glad they're getting the bathroom break out of the way.

I don't watch the weekly shows - was the Reigns-Lashley build really as good as these video packages are suggesting?

I rewound the pre-show to watch Almas vs. Sin Cara. Cara's costume was cool. Okay match that would've benefited from more time and definitely belonged on the main show instead of some of the crap that is there (case-in-point: if I miss a pre-show match, I never bother going back to it - but I did in this case). Now I'm joining the second pre-show match already in progress. Edit: Doesn't look like I missed much. I can't stand the Sanity act.

Bo > Bray by a mile, and Curtis Axel can outwrestle most of the roster in his sleep, especially "darlings" like Rollins, Balor, and Ziggler. Axel's only problem that he has no organic personality or charisma of his own - even when he's playing a wildly "over-the-top" character like Axelmania. As for Bo, he got called up from NXT at the wrong time, before they really knew how to maximize most of those guys on the main roster - and even now, it's wildly hit-or-miss.

Unless Lashley wins with Hogan's assistance, brother, and they pose together to end the show. Whatcha gonna do, Roman Reigns, when the 24-inch pythons and Buddy...Bobby Lashley run wild on YOU in the Silverdome???!!!

Question: Has the infection of ROH talent to NJPW cheapened the prestige of the NJPW brand for you? When I first subbed to NJPW World and saw all of these terrible gaijin indy 'rasslers, it definitely took away the luster a little bit for me. Even though NJPW and ROH are now co-headlining MSG next year, the ROH association still feels beneath NJPW IMO. I don't even hate ROH or anything - some of the most fun I ever had at a live event was at Supercard of Honor II - but even with crowds going up, I think ROH has definitely hit a ceiling because of things like production values still making them look low-rent. Do I have some kind of weird bias here - which I readily acknowledge might be the case - or do I have a point?

Jay White is someone I instantly disliked but have no logical reason why. He certainly tore down the house with Juice in the match I saw.

Has anyone seen this? It was given a one-night "Fathom Events" theatrical screening on Thursday. No word on a home video or at least digital release, but that has to be inevitable IMO. It's very impressive just how many wrestlers were interviewed for this project. Unfortunately, some of them died before the documentary could be released (it was filmed over a five-year period). Through smaller stories and soundbites from various wrestlers, the filmmakers are able to paint a much larger picture about the wrestling industry as a whole. It covers the topics you'd expect: the amount of time wrestlers spend on the road (that's where the title comes from), injuries, drugs, ring rats, etc. One of the highlights of the film: a five-minute cooking segment with Ox Baker that really has to be seen to be believed. (Ox Baker in general is one of the best parts of this.) Sadly, Jimmy Snuka somehow comes across as more coherent than Marty Jannetty. Bret Hart, as usual, takes himself very seriously. I could go on and on... I wrote a review of the movie with my full thoughts and observations: https://www.silverscreensurprises.com/2018/07/review-350-days_16.html

The book might be a good place to start. It was written by a member of the family. Although, while it's very subtle, the author doesn't appear to be head-over-heels in love with Jerry himself. Then again, that could just be me reading into things that aren't there. Looking forward to it! I'm a couple of podcasts behind. While I'm sure I don't have to listen to them in order or anything, that's how I like to do things.

One of my favorite RAW matches ever. I love how you explored the historical context of both characters before getting into the nuts and bolts of the actual match. Glad to hear it holds up so well, BTW. https://www.prowrestlingonly.com/blog/bret-hart-vs-1-2-3-kid-07-11-94 Awesome, awesome review.

Hassan was a shades of grey character...for the first 4-5 weeks. After that, it was the same old foreign heel terrorist menace bullshit. I wouldn't call Hassan a top guy, but I'd argue that he would have gotten there eventually - if the dreaded "backstage politics" didn't do him in first (and there were rumblings of that back then). He was a very strong upper midcarder for sure.

I'm sure this is something you both plan to do eventually, but just in case, I'll suggest it anyway... How about an episode on "Teeny" Christine Jarrett? I just finished Teeny: Professional Wrestling's Grand Dame, and it's an absolutely riveting read. I'd love a first-hand account from Jerry himself.

Chiming in with a recommendation for Teeny: Professional Wrestling's Grand Dame. I was in the mood to read it after listing to the first few episodes of the Jerry Jarrett podcast. It's an absolutely riveting read and a must for any wrestling fan, historian, etc. You can borrow it for free with Kindle Unlimited or get the Kindle book for $4 otherwise. The paperback is around $15. However you choose to read it, it's worth it.

So, for a New Japan newbie, which belt is actually more important - IC. or U.S.? Or is it the same as WWE where they're both "equal"? (And thus equally meaningless.)

Jim Ross legitimately injured? http://wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/2018/0709/642563/jim-ross-suffers-possible-injury-during-njpw-g1-special-in-san/ That would explain the weird commentary bitching about barricade spots during the White-Robinson match and Josh Barnett inexplicably storming the ring. Between the scary Cody table spot, Takahashi apparently breaking his neck, and now this, NJPW might need to tell its wrestlers to rein it in a bit.

Thanks. So, he's doing pretty decently then. Do you think he'll ever be a future IWGP World Champion? I'm kind of skeptical.

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).