southofheavy

Daniel Bryan. From what I've gathered, he's had a significant amount of influence over his angles since he returned. He knows how to get them over, got himself over as a heel after being the most over face in wrestling before he had to retire, and has shown that he has a good eye for talent. Hell, he could even reeducate the audience to accept more matwork, taking his matches with Gulak into consideration.

Awful, awful news. I remember him getting clean some years ago and I was hoping it would lead to a career renaissance for him. It never really materialized and it's a shame. I think there's a bit more room for a heel like him now, and he's young enough that he could've had a good run in AEW. When I go back and watch old RoH shows, he's a guy that I always make a point to watch. I dug the guy back then, but I have a greater appreciation for him now, and his work has aged better than some of his contemporaries.

Man, I thought I was the only one. I'm just not seeing it. And I HATE the tank.

Really dug how you handled that Kawada match. He absolutely would be vulnerable in a shoot-style match, but he's still Kawada and can kick someone's head off if he catches them. Yamazaki looked really strong in defeat, so that was played perfectly. I like how Brock is being brought along slowly, beating names with some credibility without rocketing up the card.

Remember when 2 Outta 3 Falls matches were THE gimmick match in NXT? A big part of what helped NXT feel fresh and different was how stripped down it was in terms of stipulations. It was a savvy move, because WWE has gimmick matches out the nose that feuds get shoehorned into just because. Those gimmick matches are kneecapped because they can't do blood and, for the most part, the promotion and workers are damn near incapable of conveying any sort of real hatred. A cage match shouldn't need weapons and they shouldn't be about big, athletic spots. By going with that 2/3 stip, it let NXT lean into what worked and what they did best. I think the last couple years of NXT has really shown that HHH can't all an audible when he should. Gargano and Ciampa should've been kept far, far away from each other a long time ago. I'd even argue that once Ciampa got injured the first time, that should've been it for the angle. I'll reiterate the Keith Lee point by saying I don't need to. Ember Moon should've beat Asuka for the belt, instead of winning it in a Fatal Four Way after Asuka got injured. He's too committed to seeing his story through instead of...doing what's best for business. (Sorry. Had to.)

Man, you have a loaded roster and so many dream matches in the holster. I'm really stoked to see where you take this.

No. Not in a world with FTR, The Briscoes and Dustin Rhodes. He is, however, one of the best bases of all time. Cesaro's How to Catch a Damn Dive 101 should be a mandatory course.

Thank you.

That's adorable. Now, if you're not gonna answer the question, kindly go piss up a rope.

Yeah, actually, I didnt. But hey, that's kinda how I talk.

Yeah, okay. You don't have a problem with it. For what it's worth, I kept my language in check until I got a called a simple fuck and little bird. It isn't about being a tough guy. Truth be told, I'm not. I'm almost 40, wildly out of shape, 6 feet tall and about a buck fifty. Haven't been in a fight since I was a teenager. I come here to read and discuss wrestling. I don't wanna see any kind of alt-right crap. I don't wanna see it anywhere. I don't think it belongs anywhere. So, yes, I'm gonna call it out when I see it. So, since you clearly don't have a problem with that, why are you in here caping for that guy?

Yeah, no shit. And you might not have been here for that 9 Corpses Hanging in the Mist asshole a couple years back, but it took him way too long to get banned, so maybe I should be. The fuck do you care for, anyway?

And exactly why the fuck do you have a problem with that?

That new U.S. belt looks like a pinky ring you'd buy at Bass Pro Shop.

That "he" was in reference to you, O.G. Readmore. Funny that there's a discussion live and kickin' in the Cancellation thread, usually referencing Cornette shooting off at the mouth, and yet you post that comment here, where there's next to no traffic. Why don't YOU find your way back there, seeing as how you post in there far more than I do? You can take whatever definition of masculinity you have in your head and stick it up your ass. Judging by the rest of your original post, we actually probably have a lot that we can agree on when it comes to wrestling. Hell, so do Cornette and I. But where I draw the line is any kind of Proud Boy, Gavin McInnes shit. It's insecure, ignorant as fuck and the only thing embarrassing going on in this thread. Later.

Picked it up just fine there, guy. It's just that it was a poor attempt that smacked of drawing a false equivalency between terms. They're not the same. At all. On top of that, soyboy implies that not eating meat and calling someone out for being an asshole doesn't measure up to some warped definition of masculinity. It's total alt-right horseshit and I'm gonna call it for what it is every time I see it. Kinda funny he posted that in a thread that hadn't been posted in in three months, as opposed to the Cancellation thread.

Don't wanna be lumped in with them, don't use their language. It's that simple.

Hey, you wanna sound like an incel or a Proud Boy, go right on ahead. Just take it to fucking 4chan. Not here.

Soyboys? Seriously? That shit has no place here.

Quack screwed Quack. He didn't get anything ripped away from him. It looks stagey because, well, it's fucking phoney. If there is any sincerity in there, too bad, because its completely tone deaf, as well.

Asuka vs Io is RIGHT THERE and books itself.

Watching it on DVR now. Nodded out during the opener and woke up for Cody's promo. Excellent stuff. That women's tag? No thanks. All this talk of Statlander being great and I'm not seeing it. I know what she was going for with that backflip thing off the apron, but they blew that horribly and I don't think its possible to actually nail it. It's a lame MOVEZ move, anyway.

This isn't the best Ole Anderson match, but it may be the definitive one. If it isn't, it certainly displays all of his strengths as a singles worker. While the match doesn't have much of the classic Anderson "pick a limb and ruin it" strategy, it has Ole's selling, his mean-ass heel tactics, and simple, punishing offense. He brings Magnum down to Mother Earth with a hair pull to win a top wristlock, he's got a sick knee lift to a kneeling TA, eye rakes, slaps, body slams, and some basic armwork. All of it looks good and looks like it hurts. I really dig the atmosphere of the match. Ole and Magnum are within punching and kicking distance the whole time, and coupled with the confines of the Techwood studio, this match really has the feel of a close-quarters slugfest. Ole even busts out a couple corner bear hugs, which damn near gives it an MMA cage clinch feel, 15 years ahead of time. While this isn't a carry job, Ole makes this match. He's not out there throwing bombs or doing a bunch of stuff to fill time, but he's got a lot more variety to his offense than Magnum does. He completely established the structure of the match. His selling is off the charts, too. One particular instance that illustrates the difference in work between he and Magnum is after Magnum does some arm work, Ole shakes it off and holds his arm a little when he transitions to offense. It's nothing huge, just a little touch that Magnum missed after Ole's armwork. Ole also sells the exhaustion and punishment of the match incredibly, too. It's subtle, but take a look at his face any time he's on the receiving end of Magnum's flurries of punches. He's not wincing or hamming it up like Arn would. Rather, it's a look of "I'm a tough motherfucker, but this SUCKS and it hurts and he's wearing me out." To Magnum's credit, he also sells the exhaustion of the match really well. Where he falters is that 80% of his offense is punching. He punches for face shine, he punches to transition, and then he keeps on punching. He doesn't bust out a drop kick or a slam until well after the first commercial break. A little more variety here would have been nice, especially in the transition department. Were it not for Ole, this match would not have been anywhere near as entertaining. He punches his ass off, too, but he carries the action with his offense. I don't want to spoil how it ends for those who haven't seen it, but I thought it was a good way to tie in the burgeoning Four Horsemen versus, well, damn near everyone feud. It was also a good way to keep them both looking strong in a champion vs champion match where one guy definitely ain't losing. This is a really, really good TV match, and a fine example of what Ole is capable of. I'm gonna have to go back through the 4 Horsemen set just to find more Ole singles matches.

She's got no business in the ring. She has no business doing meet and greets. The promotion and training school have no business making money off of her. Chasyn Rance has no business being within five miles of her. The promotion and training school have no business being involved with Chasyn Rance. The parents have no business allowing their child to train to be a professional wrestler and it's obvious they didn't do their diligence. If they insist on letting her train, avoid the place that employs a known sex offender who targets teenagers. It's a scumbag move on the part of the training school and the promotion and a wildly irresponsible move on the part of her parents. I dove off the arm of the couch onto a jobber named Peter Pillow when I was six and wrassled around with my friends in backyards. My cousin Jerry sprained my left arm with an armbar on Christmas Eve, so I got hurt even with adult supervision. I would've crawled into the ring without hesitation if afforded the opportunity and I know I'd try to run the ropes and take bumps. I highly doubt my parents would've gone for that if they were around and they would've been right. Cry as I would have, it would have had to wait at least until I could drive.

I watch NXT every week. If there's a pimped segment or match on RAW or Smackdown, I'll give it a gander, but it's rare that I sit through a whole show. If I do, it's Smackdown. RAW as a whole can go hang. I'm not watching a three hour show every damn week. Beyond that, it's whatever current stuff that strikes my fancy or gets pimped here and DVDVR. I wish I was a little more proactive on my own about seeking stuff out, but I've never really been that way. I am going to give Progress a whirl soon, though. Also need to jam out some WALTER matches. As of right now, I've got one of the 94 set discs on while I'm writing. I just picked up a PS4 after not having a DVD player for a while. I've been throwing in random 92 and 94 discs while I practice drum rudiments or write lately. I do have the Portland set, and I will be dedicating a lot of time to that very soon. The Yearbooks have all kinds of amazing stuff to watch, but they're also perfect to just throw on in the background while you're farting around the house. I want to give that Portland set a very thorough watch. What I have seen of it is really, really cool. Once I dust that off, I'm gonna buy a new set or two. Anybody else just leave the Network on while they sleep at night?