dawho5

This was cookie cutter veteran vs. rookie All Japan stuff, but executed in a way that made it incredible. I loved Akiyama working back to a dive after Kawada's baiting. Every transition was fought for. Kawada as a giant prick helped make this match what it was, but you can't take away Akiyama's side of things given he had been wrestling for less than 10 months at this point.

It wasn't something I cared much for, but I get what they did and why. It looked a lot like that faux 90s All Japan style that the U.S. indies and to a point modern New Japan like to employ. Lots of big moves with little to no consequence besides nearfalls and laying around.

Happy 32nd birthday sir.

Yeah, reading this I was wondering where the need for help was. Great stuff.

I think a lot of us feel that way. We all have a bunch of guys who weren't in the territory the month before that we need to fit into place.

I liked using established talent to introduce new guys and give an idea of where they belong on the card. Overall was a very good introductory show getting all the important new names out there.

I liked the TV writing. I think it's going to be interesting seeing different things like the match/promo/angle ratio everyone goes with and how they structure their shows.

Thanks, it's mostly low end setup so I wasn't overly ambitious. I'm in a position that involves the people I want to be my big names not being really over yet and a lot of the people who are over won't get any kind of name recognition from most. Just gonna have to push through that and be patient. July 5th, Saguenay, Quebec, (1,700) "the Farmer" Louis Laurence and Tony Ricco defeated Tim & Alex Gerrard Dave Kochen defeated Rudy Kay Rene Goulet defeated Gilles "the Fish" Poisson Gino Brito and Tony Parisi defeated Richard Charland and Dan Johnson The Fabulous Rougeau brothers and Armand Rougeau defeated the Midnight Express and Mad Dog Lefebvre

This week's NXT was middling at best. Seeing Dash & Dawson get a little time to work was fun. The Vaudevillains as faces may be more fun than they are as heels. I hope they get a tag title run. Emma getting one of her submissions back on Carmella was good booking, It's old school predictable so I would have never guessed it would happen on a WWE sponsored show. Not an awful match either. They got scared with Baron and shifted him back to squash format. Way to kill his chances to learn. The fans aren't going to like him in longer matches because he shouldn't be in them. But if the push is necessary so is some seasoning and working those matches with a hostile crowd is what he's gonna have to do if he wants to get any better. I'm intrigued as to who Sasha's partner will be and sad that Becky Lynch will be out for a while. I hope Sasha can get something out of Brooke as the de facto babyface. Strange booking switch there from the "Brooke hates Charlotte" angle. It's starting. WWE type booking is seeping in gradually, but mark my words it will take over the show. Main event was predictable, but not awful. Everyone held up their end and Rhyno didn't stink the joint up. They did a nice tease of the opposite of expected to set up the Balor win going into his loss this morning. Overall I think the injuries are really forcing some things to happen that would have waited a while. I don't understand the Sasha/EmmaBrooke/Charlotte booking yet, but I hope it's not what I think it is.

They were a real highlight during their run with the titles, but became an afterthought pretty much the instant they dropped them it seemed like. It seems unfair to say, but they are a victim of the WWE's OCD midcard booking. You give them a run like the Shield had with some of the midcard talent the WWE had in 2013/2014 and they are right up there with the Shield as a contender. I'd say they are a pretty big contributor to the Shield's case.

The International Wrestling Association has announced it's house show schedule for the next two weeks. Tuesday, July 5th the IWA will be in Saguenay, Quebec. On that show the three Rougeau brothers will take on the Midnight Express and Mad Dog Lefebvre in the main event. Gino Brito and Tony Parisi will be wrestling, as will Gilles "the Fish" Poisson. Saturday, July 9th will find the IWA in the Paul Suave Arena in Montreal, Quebec. King Tonga will face stalwart veteran Gino Brito in the main event. Mad Dog Lefebvre, Gilles "the Fish" Poisson and Tonga John will wrestle Jim Brunzell, Phil Lafon and Tony Parisi in six man action. Armand Rougeau will also be wrestling on the card. The IWA travels to Gatineau, Quebec on Tuesday, July 12th. The three Rougeau brothers will once again be facing the Midnight Express and Mad Dog Lefebvre in the main event. Rene Goulet will test young, wild Tonga John. Tony Parisi will be in action against Gilles "the Fish" Poisson. Back in Montreal in the Paul Suave Arena on Saturday, July 16th the main event will feature a rematch from the tag tournament when The Fabulous Rougeau Brothers enter the ring with Gino Brito and Tony Parisi. The ferocious Mad Dog Lefebvre will tangle with feisty Armand Rougeau. 280 lb. Gilles "the Fish" Poisson will be wrestling on the card.

Maybe you could find somebody familiar with Memphis and have regular communication with them regarding your booking. Just send them a week or a month for critiquing and work off of that.

That was my thinking. They were already building towards Flair at least trying for the belt in November. We don't *have* to keep Flair as champ forever if he gets it though. Maple Leaf is booking a Flair vs. Martel feud that could be leveraged into an NWA Championship feud in the future. It would probably take some more American exposure to Martel to work as well as it ought to, Martel would make a great champ. He could go more into a more arrogant, "model" type gimmick where he had to work heel.

I always thought Kyohei Wada was pretty judicious injecting himself into matches. He's easily my favorite ref. Red Shoes is ridiculous kinds of awful and needs to be replaced. Joe Higuchi, especially when Hansen is in the ring, is really great.

Several more Montreal questions. Ring announcer's name? Interview guy's name? Did he speak English as well as French? Did they do a lot of towns outside of Montreal in a loop?

I don't know how I feel about Hansen as a touring champ. He's certainly got all of the tools, but I question how well he would do given his Japan schedule. If we do put Flair on the back burner for now, Bockwinkel would make an excellent transitional champ. Lawler would be a very good transitional champ as well. I like the idea of Hayes but he needs to be built up more if he's going to be in the role of traveling champion, as would Butch Reed. Slaughter is a very interesting idea, albeit one that would change my plans a lot.

The International Wrestling Association has announced it's TV line-up for the next two weeks. Wednesday July 6th (airs July 8th) King Tonga & Tonga John will make their IWA debut. The Midnight Express will be in action. All three Rougeau brothers will take on Mad Dog Lefebvre, Gilles "the Fish" Poisson and Richard Charland. Gino Brito will go one on one with Dennis Condrey. Wednesday July 13th (airs July 15th) King Tonga and Tonga John will once again be wrestling. Richard Charland will take on Tony Ricco in a battle of young up-and-comers. Armand Rougeau will fight the vicious Mad Dog Lefebvre. The Fabulous Rougeau Brothers will test the resilient team of Phil Lafon and Jim Brunzell. Gino Brito, Tony Parisi and Louis Laurence will tangle with the Midnight Express and Dan Johnson. It has also been announced that the Fabulous Rougeau Brothers will be defending their Canadian International Tag Team Titles at the Forum show on July 30th. The #1 contender has yet to be determined. Andre the Giant, Stan Hansen and the British Bulldogs have all been confirmed for the show.

7/2/83 at the Montreal Forum (14,500) The show opened with Jacques Rougeau, Sr. explaining that King Tonga and Tonga John would not be participating in the tournament based on their actions towards Jim Brunzell. "That kind of behavior will not be tolerated in the International Wrestling Association," warned Rougeau. Jim Brunzell/Phil Lafon over Sgt. Slaughter/Mad Dog Lefebvre by DQ 11:14 Brunzell and Lafon started hot, but the veteran Slaughter took the advantage after going to the eyes and booting Lafon in the stomach several times. Lafon got worked over for a while, with Slaughter several times taking shortcuts to keep the advantage. The tag to Brunzell got a good reaction and he cleaned house on both of his opponents. A Brunzell dropkick to Lefebvre looked like Slaughter was too far away to make the save, but Slaughter kicked the ref in the head instead. Post-match the heels continued the assault and Slaughter produced a pair of brass knuckles that he bloodied Lafon with. The Midnight Express over Armand Rougeau/Rene Goulet by pinfall 10:26 Prior to the match Eddie Creatchman walked out to the ring and addressed the crowd. "The fans here in Montreal make me sick. They cheer Gino Brito and the Rougeaus. There's a reason Brito and the Rougeaus stay here. Nobody else wants them. They get by on their names around here andthat has to end. A couple of guys backstage had never heard of the Rougeaus or Brito before and I had a long conversation with them. We agreed that tonight, if nobody beat us to it, we would expose the Rougeaus and Brito for what they truly are." The Midnight Express walked out to the ring and shook hands with Creatchman, already getting a lot of boos from the crowd. Armand and Goulet came out to big cheers. Armand was fired up and got the better of Rose for a very short time, mostly with right hands. Rose reversed a corner whip and hit a running back elbow into the corner. The Midnights worked the youngest Rougeau over, trying to goad Goulet into helping. The longtime veteran held his ground and patiently waited for his young teammate to make the tag, all the while urging Armand on. The tag came and it looked like Rougeau and Goulet were close to a submission victory on Condrey with an Armand sleeper, but Rose broke that up and cleared Goulet out of the ring, allowing Condrey to finish Armand with a full nelson facebuster. The British Bulldogs over The Cuban Assassins by pinfall 11:48 The Bulldogs were clearly the fan favorites early and used their cutting edge style to great effect. The Assassins stalled several times, irritating the crowd. Davey fell victim to a double team in a neutral corner that set up the Assassins for a lengthy beatdown, mostly hair-pulling, eye gouging, tights-grabbing, choking and illegal double teams. Dynamite was hot on the apron, which caused several lengthy distractions the Assassins took full advantage of. Davey finally came back, catching Starr in a big overhead press slam and tagged Dynamite. Dynamite cleaned house and the Bulldogs unleashed double teams on both of their opponents much to the crowd's delight. The Assassins weren't done yet, the Cuban Assassin rolling Dynamite up and putting his feet on the ropes for leverage for a very close two count with Davey making the save. Davey tossed Dynamite into a body press of the top on Starr for the win. The Fabulous Rougeau Brothers over Gino Brito/Tony Parisi by submission 13:38 The match was a very even, technical affair. Brito and the Rougeaus were evenly matched, with Parisi often the victim of short quick-tag sequences by the Rougeaus. The mat wrestling worked into a few slams and suplexes before the Rougeaus isolated Parisi, hit a double suplex off the second rope and Jacques applied the Quebec crab for the win. The Midnight Express (with Eddie Creatchman) over Lafon/Brunzell by pinfall 9:25 Before the match, Creatchman talked in the ring about how the Midnights had already beaten one of the Rougeaus and the other two would be next. Lafon and Brunzell, visibly upset at being overlooked, attacked the Midnights before the bell to a big pop. The Midnights made several attempts at attacking Lafon's cut before Rose grabbed an armbar, put Lafon on the mat and started punching his forehead. Lafon took a quick but brutal beating before landing a big spinkick and tagging Brunzell. Brunzell held off the Midnights for a while, but Lafon was unable to help and the tide turned. Condrey set Rose up for a second rope powerslam to get the three. The Fabulous Rougeau Brothers over the British Bulldogs by pinfall 10:10 The match was back and forth action all the way through, with Jacques showing his athleticism and both teams busting out double teams when they were in control. Davey Boy hit a running powerslam on Jacques only to have Raymond break it up just before Dynamite could stop him. Jacques reversed a rollup (the third in sequence) to pin Dynamite. Rick Martel over Dino Bravo to retain the NWA Canadian Heavyweight Championship by pinfall 26:04 Martel and Bravo were both greeted with loud cheers and fought over basic holds in the early going. Bravo finally got control and began working over Martel's back. Martel countered by going after Bravo's arm and working on it for a long while. Things got a little heated when Martel didn't break for the ropes until the referee's three count and right hands started flying. A dropkick by Martel sent Bravo to the floor. Bravo fought his way out of an attempted suplex into the ring by Martel and dragged Martel to the floor in what almost turned into a double countout. Back in the ring Bravo hit a drokick and got a few close nearfalls on Martel before the champ started focusing on his back. Bravo had the airplane spin on Martel, but the champ was just close enough to grab the ropes. Bravo made it to the ropes on the Quebec crab and it looked like a stalemate. Bravo looked for a belly to back suplex, but Martel went behind and rolled Bravo up when the challenger went to the ropes, bridging back for the three. The two shook hands post-match and Martel celebrated with his NWA Canadian title. The Fabulous Rougeau Brothers over the Midnight Express (with Eddie Creatchman) by pinfall to win the Canadian International Tag Team Titles 9:46 Creatchman and the Midnights came out first, Creatchman predicting the fall of the Rougeau dynasty. The Rougeaus rushed the ring and a two on two brawl started the match. Things settled down and the Rougeaus got the better of Condrey for a while. Raymond got caught with a few Condrey right hands and seemed ripe for the picking. Rose hit a second rope powerslam that Condrey followed with a big running leg drop, but Jacques interrupted the pinfall attempt. Raymond had to battle his way through Condrey and Rose with right hands to tag in Jacques, who came in on fire. Jacques cleared Rose out of the ring and the Rougeaus double teamed Condrey. Rose was sent right back off the apron when he tried to get back in the fray. Jacques locked in a Quebec crab as the illegal man and Raymond climbed to the top rope and came crashing down with a knee drop to Condrey's back to put the Midnights away. Creatchman was fuming mad post-match, screaming at the ref about the double teaming done by the Rougeaus. The Rougeaus, meanwhile, were displaying their new hardware to the appreciation of 14,000+ fans.

Anyone else have the problem where they can't paste to the board from any source at all? Is that something on my end or something I have to set at PWO?

There was a question pages back about the Japanese chants when somebody got put into a sleeper. It was, oddly enough, "Go to sleep!" Seems like it started right about the time Misawa beat Jumbo with the stepover facelock. Great stuff though.

They were great at putting together exciting and well-worked finishing stretches. If every All Japan match we had from them was clipped down to the final ten minutes or so we'd be having an entirely different discussion. The problem comes from having to wade through fifteen to twenty minutes of Gordy and Williams cutting off any hope of exciting offense and laying around in restholds to the to the last seven to ten minutes of the match that are worthwhile.

From the desk of Frank Valois:

Yeah, despite being right next door to the WWF I tape TV on the same days and have a Tuesday house show as well. Makes things easy to work with a lot of people, but hard to work with the WWF.

It does have some bearing on the TV for last week, so I'm all for it.