SomethingSavage

So is Fenix expected to be cleared before the big Homecoming show in January?

It also suffered from a somewhat underwhelming & anti-climatic finish, but I greatly prefer their All In match over that one. It didn't leave an impression on first watch, and it does even less for me now. Starts out decent enough, but it doesn't take too long to fall apart. And they just never quite get it back on track after that.

Ugh. Seth being discussed as "the one to beat Brock" TWICE in the same calendar year is some end-of-days awful type shit.

I feel like that sort of experimentation would need to occur on the Network first though. I mean, I won't pretend to know the details of their deal with USA, but I doubt they could simply remove ALL their well-known male stars from one show wholesale like that without causing a bit of concern.

Impact has the FAR superior roster when compared to ROH. Hell, I'd take MLW's roster over ROH's squad. Of those discussed, only Corgan's NWA has a less viable roster than ROH - and that's really only because he's got like three regular guys. Ultimately, I guess that's what aggravates me about ROH. They have no excuse for being so, so uninteresting and unappealing at this point. But their approach to talent acquisition, handling of talent, booking of talent, and on & on across the board is the absolute drizzling shits. It's baffling.

Ugh. Maybe I'm in the minority here, but that sounds like a downgrade for the women. Shuffling them off onto their own show, in its own little self-contained universe, strikes me as more of a demotion than any kind of promotion for any of them. The women seem to be better served by interacting with and appearing alongside the main male stars on Raw, SD, etc. Gifting them their own show may seem like a reward on paper, but what does it accomplish really? It just further segregates them and makes them easily forgettable. At least Raw and SD regularly has eyeballs on them. Who really follows 205 Live or NXT UK? Only the most diehard fans. Merchandise sales for the ladies would certainly drop off, and overall exposure would certainly suffer. If you want to have a "proving ground" weekly show for the women - removing them from NXT and placing them there instead - then sure. But removing them from Raw & SD and depositing them on this isolated island of a show instead? I just don't see it benefiting any of the ladies the way their presence on Raw and SD does.

I realize ROH has the more considerable reach and resources, but I'd rather see Court or Corgan acquire Impact - if a choice *had* to be made to go that way. Personally, I'm loving the direction under Don Callis. It's just such a shame that the upswing in quality isn't being reflected in ratings or in any real monetary measurement for them. Because things have vastly improved over 2018. ROH is the shits. There are some minor things to enjoy here & there, but they're every bit as bad as 2017 TNA in terms of quality - if not worse. It just functions & feels like such a wasteland. Nothing happening, pretty much ever.

I've grown to REALLY appreciate Jericho as a host over the past year. Guy's a fucking chameleon, regularly allowing his guests to steer the conversations and the flows of his interviews. He's also got a relatable story for almost any/every situation imaginable. Austin, enjoyable enough in his own right, is a total contrast to that style though. Steve often overtakes the room and derails things by shoving his shit into any/every conversation. In one deep breath, he'll quickly rattle off something about forklifts, the docks, Dallas, Frogman Leblanc, and Memphis - regardless of what's being talked about. He always sounds super caffeinated and Alpha Brained out of his gourd. And don't get me wrong. Austin's show has its charms, especially when you hear the fucking ICON himself chopping it up about which PWG or BEYOND matches he's been watching. But it's just two very distinct styles, and I honestly feel like Jericho has the superior show with all things considered.

Damn, man. You're right. Thanks for the heads up. I just glanced at the show's MLW Radio page, and it hasn't been updated in ages. So I've been missing out on downloading the news eps. Gonna jump on 'em over at Podbean from now on instead.

Nia was refreshing and appealing with her little taunts & mannerisms regarding the punch at Survivor Series. But they quickly went to work undoing all that, because she was already goofing it up on their awful Starrcade special. The entire show was centered around name-dropping and shameless pandering, but she still managed to stand out with her horrible attempts at comedy. Even Tamina and her absurd mud-flap ring attire looked passable standing next to her. Of course Foxxy was brilliant and stole that entire segment anyhow. ... That's what I came to say. I don't know how terrible Nia is on Raw tonight, because I'm at work/not watching. But if it's a continuation of how she was acting at Starrcade, then I can only imagine.

I still need to explore the tie-ins & companion books, but the mainline Secret Wars 2015 story arc was magnificent. My god, y'all. I loved this one a lot. Like, alot a lot. Hickman's Fantastic Four was a treasure, and this runs right alongside that for me. There's some wonderful world-building at work here. The scope is enormous. The fight scenes are downright cinematic. The revelations are gigantic. There's just so much to love here. You can truly immerse yourself in the story and this brand new world from start to finish. Hickman is king of introducing creative new concepts that almost INSTANTLY have you biting & waiting to learn more about them. Every new idea or twist or turn he rolls out has this way of luring me in - hook, line, & sinker. Battle World. Doomstadt. The Thor Corps as Doom's personal police force. Doctor Strange as "Sheriff" Strange and right hand of Doom. The continents divided up into separate kingdoms and territories, ruled over by various barons like Mr. Sinister, Apocalypse, and Madelyn Pryor. The Maestro and his horde of Worldbreaker Hulks. The towering, BURNING husk of Galactus operating as Franklin Richards' personal MegaZord. The Wasteland Beyond the Wall (what a wicked cool concept). And I could go on & on. Point being? Each & every one of these things is a key new piece to the overall puzzle, and they're all so incredibly intriguing. Doom's new reality is this rich new world that something like Age of Ultron never even came close to realizing. It feels fully formed and actually lived-in by its residents. I already knew I loved Hickman's depiction of the Fantastic Four before this, and the trend certainly continues here. His Reed Richards is right on point, and the family man shtick has never fit him better. Hickman's portrayal of the Black Panther is awesome as well. Once again, T'Challa shines as a leader that operates & functions like a Captain America stand-in. And a suitable one at that. The panels in which he takes hold of the Infinity Gauntlet, delivers the passionate speech to the zombie army, and then rallies against Doom is simply spectacular. Panther vs. Doom devolves into a literal fist fight between two kings, with their own ideals and philosophies spilling out, and it's essentially all this great big sacrifice - because T'Challa went into the fight, knowing for certain he would not win. Words cannot express how powerful a moment like that would play out on a TV show or the silver screen. Good stuff. There are other enjoyable, wacky ideas at play as well. Doom convincing Johnny Storm to rise into the sky and literally BECOME THE SUN over Battle World? Come on! And Doom convincing Ben Grimm to literally become the wall to keep the zombies and androids locked out?! Insanity! These are the crazy, batshit nanners ideas you love in comic books! In the wrong hands, they're loony and absurd. But here? In Doom's fantasy world, where he had to craft cunning ways to keep the FF occupied & out of his hair? These things absolutely work. To be fair, there *are* a couple of hokey, contrived moments in the story. But they're all relatively minor hiccups, to be honest. Some of the Valeria stuff feels excessive at times, but at least it all plays into the "family" theme in the end. And some of the Molecule Man involvement stretches credibility, but really. In a book this big and this cosmic in scope, that sort of stuff will always be a contributing factor. And it never reaches Bendis levels of sheer convenience or anything. So all's good. I won't give TOO much more away in terms of details, but the conclusion is about as satisfying as you'd want it to be. I mean, yeah. There are some threads left dangling to keep readers enticed enough. But the final fight between Doom and Reed feels EPIC in its finality. And the split second where Doom seals his own fate is tremendous. Doom ultimately admits Reed is the better man, and the root of all this astro-turfing and world-shaping comes down to Doom's base jealousy... His unending envy of Reed Richards, the better man. Boom. Mic drop moment right there. I ate that shit up. It's both beautiful & brilliant in its simplicity. And, above all else, it reaches right into the hearts of these characters. So yeah. I've still got to branch out and look into some of the tie-ins & whatnot. But the main story itself is a big winner with me. Can't recommend it enough. Everything is just so damn enjoyable - the quiet character moments, the HUGE battles, the surprise pop up reveals, and on & on. Hickman continues to impress.

I don't think this show has dropped a new episode in awhile - and I don't listen to it regularly or anything - but it's always a good listen. Mooney brings some degree of insight, but his perspective is much more casual & loose than you get from most hosts. I enjoy that a great deal. The older episodes with Duggan are a blast. Hacksaw brings this refreshing old school mentality. I particularly loved his definition of "success" in pro wrestling. Good stuff. EDIT: Just saw a NY Post article mentioning how Hacksaw spent Thanksgiving in ICU. Hope he recovers soon.

Just finished this up. Thanks for the rec, man. I really dug it. It's basically two main story arcs back-to-back, with some sidebar and subplot stuff going on. So it's a fairly quick read, and it's basically all good from start to finish. The first arc was a great reintroduction to Iron Fist and his established Marvel history. I like what Fraction did here - giving actual reason for the upgrade to Rand's powers & skill level. Too often, you get guys leveled up with no actual explanation or effort. That's not the case here. The idea of another Iron Fist existing out there and simultaneously drawing off the power source was neat. Nothing brilliant really, but it's clever enough. This same device would feel right at home in a GL or Speed Force story, for example. Fraction also managed to take the Steel Serpent and make him an interesting character here. I honestly found Fraction's Iron Man to be overrated after hearing so much hype, but his work here really clicked for me. The first arc set the stage, and the second story simply delivered hit after smash hit. The tournament is such a cool fucking concept. It's Mortal Kombat meets Bloodsport. It's Baki the Grappler brought to Marvel. And I loved every panel of it. The characters introduced via the Seven Capital Cities of Heaven are diverse and fascinating in their own unique ways. Bizarre names, distinct character designs, you name it. The actual battles are treated like true scenes out of your favorite kung-fu flicks, too. Voice balloons literally exhibit all the grunts, groans, and heavy breathing throughout these fights. It's something I never realized I wanted from Iron Fist until I got it here. Oh. And all the signature "movez" names earn BIG bonus points with me, too. Hammerfoot Thunder Strike! Bastard's Black Bonecrusher! Devil's Burning Backfist! Steel Phoenix Stomp! Whateverthefuck! Alright. Some of these are exaggerated, but sue me. I'm going off memory here, and none of these sound too far off from the names they actually used. It's glorious. Fans of Street Fighter would eat this shit up. I can appreciate it being a brief run with a proper ending, because that's what I'm aiming for at the moment. I'm just picking up these arcs, consuming them, and moving onto something else that sparks my interest. I have so much content and so many years to catch up on, and I'm relishing the wide selection. With that being said, this run was good enough that I'm left wanting more. I understand the quality dropped off with the next creative team, so I'm just going to leave it alone and jump over onto something else. My goal is to get through Secret Wars 2015 by year's end, but we'll see where all these little side project detours take me in the meantime.

Yeah. Charlotte vs. Ronda is worth the watch. I feel like I'm much harder on modern WWE than most around here, but Rousey has been a consistent highlight all year. And this one felt like a hard-hitting FIGHT through and through. I dug Ali/Murphy well enough. The experience was likely enhanced by watching it with my 10-year old nephew, who loves wrestling the most right now. He immediately took to Ali, basically based on the entrance gear & music. Dude stepped out looking like Iron Man got Glacier pregnant, and that first impression got him over in my living room. It was fun seeing my nephew react to all the big spots, so yeah. Good stuff. I feel like there was a lot of stuff on this show I'll never go out of my way to watch, but these two + the main event means it wasn't a total loss... Which is about the best you'll get from main roster WWE slogs these days.

This is it. This is the way Slim Jim gets back in the game. Eat. Elite. Eat. Elite meat.

Needs more holograms & cinderblocks. What are the odds Seth comes out of this feud with another nonsensical nickname?

"Pete Dunne may live a vegan lifestyle, but he's got a preference for FINGER FOODS!" Ya know. Because he snaps fingers, y'all. ... Fucking hell. Some of his stuff is witty and COULD work, if he didn't drown you in thirty other forced references for every good one he stumbles across. It's just all so excessive. I do know this much - Mauro really, really wants you to know he listens to hip-hop. If you never know anything else about him, he oh so badly needs you to know that.

I won't have time to sit down & watch anything from this show until later this week - possibly the weekend - but wait. What? Somebody pissed their pants?

It's both interesting and entertaining. Either way, there's no reason to shit on it. It's not like it was thrust onto him. He also uses Randy Savage spots on the regular. None of those things detracted from the story or the action itself. Moving on... "Tapestry of terror!" "The veteran has been vanquished!" "Quartets of combatants will collide in competition!" Fucking fuck. Mauro is relentless and exhausting. If Stan Lee introduced me to alliteration and charmed me with his usage of it, then Mauro has weaponized it and bludgeoned me over the head with it like I bullied him backstage or something. You can almost hear an audible eye roll and a sigh everytime he has to shove his shit in. Poor Nigel just has to hang back & tolerate it before he can go back to calling the show like a human being.

I've seen people shit on Dream's tribute spots in the match. That just seems like such a soulless, joyless way to watch wrestling. You've got to allow it to be fun sometimes. Put down the notepads & scorecards every once in awhile. Let it be. If a magnetic, charismatic showman like Dream can't pull off that stuff, then nobody can. I don't know. I just feel like there's a section of fans that are wayyy too self-serious with their analyzing and grading and other shit. It's maddening.

When did the Slim Jim sponsorship deal stop being a big deal? And why did that change? The Observer notes it being a major factor/incentive for WWE's consideration to bring Savage back, even up into the 2000s after his WCW contract expired. So what happened? Why did that sweet meat stick money suddenly stop being a priority in pro wrestling? And fuck it. Just for the sake of conversation, who would be the perfect pitchman in today's WWE landscape? (I guess technically Jack Link's beef jerky has surpassed Slim Jim in the marketplace these days. Hell if I know...)

I won't even lie. This was one of the weaker Takeovers since at least Balor's never-ending reign of terror. But really. It wasn't an awful show or anything by any means. I can't even comprehend how some folks can get stoked for their weekly dose of Raw slog & yet feel like this show was cold or boring. It wasn't their best effort. But that should speak more to the quality & expectations that come with NXT Takeover events by this point. They've consistently been the best thing WWE has produced for four years running. I'm not so sure Gargano's "credibility" should be a concern now. When he was losing so regularly as a top-tier baby face? Absolutely. But now that he's a heel, the emphasis should be on his dirty tactics & his cowardice. Credibility can go out the window. Dude's 85 pounds if he's soaking wet with a brick in his back pocket. He was hardly ever a "credible" or threatening presence in the first place. Dream is the one to look to for an infusion of credibility soon. He's lost several big matches back to back to back, but the crowd is sooo ready to embrace him as their guy. I'm not going to make the case that Ciampa should have dropped the belt here, because they likely have plans for Black there first & foremost. But yeah. Dream will need a worthwhile win soon. They're quickly running the risk of beating him too much too often. You can do that sort of thing AFTER a guy is established with a solid, steady run up top. But it's always detrimental to do it before.

I've just started scoping out the All New, All Different Power Man & Iron Fist, which is mostly buddy cop comedy stuff. But it's an absolute blast. Very light-hearted and heavy on the banter. Not normally my favorite approach or anything, but when done right? It's pure fun. Don't know much at all about the creators, but the book reads like The Tick the animated series or even Larsen's Savage Dragon at times. Either way, it's breezy reading. I'll have to give the Immortal Iron Fist a look soon. Appreciate the recommendation, man.

Okay. So now I've read & re-read Original Sin, and I'm still not totally sure if I loved it or hated it. It's a bizarre story, and I'm not entirely certain that they even accomplished what they set out to do in the end. It was difficult to decipher just what the hell was going on at first, but shit. There was also some seriously BONKERS shit in this one. It was crazy, trippy, and outrageous at times. Plus it's a Whodunnit? style murder mystery at the heart of the matter. Oh. And you get an unusual batch of participants teaming up and working together in this thing. So yeah. There's an awful lot to like, even if the execution of the overall event is a bit jagged and jumbled. Turning the Watcher's eyes into a new McGuffin artifact within the Marvel Universe is just plain cool. That's a creative, inventive idea. Plus they provide some super creepy visuals. And so I applaud Jason Aaron on that note. I mean, there's never really any reasonable explanation as to how they work like "information detonators" or whatever, but fuck it. This is comics. Accept the powers and move on. Aaron also handles the character interactions very well. The banter between Dr. Strange and the Punisher is endlessly entertaining. And his depiction of Black Panther is top notch. The guy operates like a natural born leader - almost Cap like - which is what you want from a literal king. There *is* a bit too much eye & sight wordplay. It gets a tad hokey at times. But hey. Low-hanging fruit, so what are you gonna do? The tie-ins pretty much suck, too. The mystic spirit animal Spider-Man stuff is unfortunately channeled again, and we get the debut of Silk. She's a character Dan Slott would later use decently, but she's hardly some great creation or addition to the Spidey mythos. Her origin is lame, and really the only interesting thing about her is the unexplained physical chemistry/law of attraction that exists between her and Peter. I could have done without the Hulk revelation, too. Did we really need to tie Tony Stark into Hulk's origin story? Trying to give Hulk his own Uncle Ben moment by having him ignore an e-mail was a paper thin premise. I guess they wanted to imply that Bruce Banner's ego and pride caused him to become the Hulk, but I don't know. It's some really weak sauce. Dum Dum Dugan is dead? And the only version we've ever really seen in the Marvel Universe since WW2 has actually been a bunch of life model decoys all along?! What the what? Talk about a shitty, awful, unnecessary retcon. Making Angela Thor's sister? Yawn. None of these revelations felt significant or even remotely permanent. Maybe I'm overlooking some far-reaching ramification that came out of this story, but I don't know. In that sense, this story failed to deliver. It COULD have served up some meaty, fascinating secrets about your favorite characters. But it seemed content to just kind of play around with smaller elements and origin tweaks. Felt like a waste. The Orb is simultaneously a horrifying, grotesque character design AND eventually the comic relief in this story. In that way, he's a perfect representation of the tale itself. It's both good and bad in uniquely different ways. But yeah. Orb is the MODOK here, in that he starts off menacing and later becomes a punch line. The portrayal of Nick Fury baffled me. And, even after two readings, I'm still not quite sure how I feel about it all. I mean, the big reveal of him serving as this secret protector of the planet is pretty cool. And I'm willing to let them bend continuity a bit in order to establish that. But this frail, older Fury is suddenly able to fend off all the Avengers? He's just a one-eyed guy in a suit, and he's thrashing Thor and company? Ehh. I don't know. I'm all for power upgrades - and even wholesale reinterpretations - but only if they're given thought and explanation. This was just sort of thrown out there. And I assume Jason Aaron must be a big fan of the Superman/Batman battle from Dark Knight Returns, because he swiped a scene and applied it TWICE in this story. Fury kicks Cap's ass in space and says he wants Cap to always remember this moment - this image of Earth - because he murdered all those aliens to protect this planet. Not too long later, Fury (somehow) holds his own against Thor and tells the Odinson how he wants Thor to always remember this moment - when he was felled not by a punch, but by a single whisper from Nick Fury. Ugh. The first fight scene immediately made me think of grizzled old Bats choking Supes. The second scene just made me roll my eyes. That same speech used twice in the same story is some thick melodrama. So what did we end up with? The Watcher was given an origin story & then killed off. Nick Fury transitioned into the new Watcher, chained to the moon to eternally watch over all things. And Bucky Barnes became the new Man on the Wall, effectively replacing Fury. Oh. And Thor cannot lift his hammer anymore. Did any of these concepts stick? Are any of them still around? I guess I could do some more digging myself, but I figured I'd ask anyway. But yeah. The main story itself is kind of fun. Actually, it's a lot of fun in places - flaws with Fury & all. Then, in other places, it's hard to follow and fairly awful. Just a strange story, truth be told. But I will say I dug it much more the second time around. The reveals and the secrets still felt mostly inconsequential, which sadly makes the exercise seem like a waste. Still a fun enough story though, and there are some lingering questions that leave me wanting to follow up to see what happens next with several little threads.

I haven't had much free time away from work recently, but I finally started watching Ultima Lucha 4. And mygoddamngod. What a fucking FUN event. Havoc vs. Killshot was slightly overbooked, sure. But that didn't bother me a bit. There was something on the line, and this fight put over the stakes. Neither man wanted to lose or suffer humiliation, and so they pulled out all stops. Loved the way the unmasking was handled, and kudos to Striker for having the courtesy (and the common sense) to act as a guide for anyone unaware of its significance. Fenix/Azteca was about what I expected. The right guy won. I hope this isn't the end of Melissa though. I know she's been contacted to start with Impact soon, but I hope they keep her involved moving forward. Because there's GOTTA BE another season, amirite?! For reals though. They set up SO much interesting stuff here, and I've still got several matches left. The doll soul deciding Taya is a superior host and possessing her is precisely the type of freaky shit I love about LU. It turns this whole angle upside down for me and actually makes me think the doll idea was worthwhile after all. Ricky was a bust, but this is an intriguing shift that could actually work. The Death Match was a blast. It was everything I loved about their Haunted House Match amplified & turned up to eleven. Axes, ice picks, bombs, and bloodshed aplenty. Mack's Stunner is a snug looking move, too. I fucking popped HAYOOOJ for the finish and allll the post-match stuff. This felt like a well-earned win for Mack. Even given the gap between seasons, this felt like the sort of victory that would substantially elevate him up the ladder. I usually hate to see my boy Mil eat a loss, but it felt special and totally warranted here. Fitting way to cap off this feud. I had to stop there, but I'm definitely going to try to watch the rest before the holiday later this week. Season 4 has taken noticeable dips and left me cold at times, but they've certainly finished strong. I'm absolutely on board for another season of this wacky, creepy, exciting, banana bonkers stuff.