Laz

With Havoc you really need to see his epic heel run from the early days of Progress. Almost pulling a Reservoir Dogs on Will Ospreay, telling a screaming fan that he'll cut his throat in the parking lot...yeah, kinda one of those guys you'll underestimate and then see some moments of pure brilliance in. Surprisingly subtle, too.

Half of Havoc's appeal is that he's a fairly laid back pub crawler who happens to be super violent.

I've been watching Mike Bennett since he worked YMCAs and VFW halls for Sheldon Goldberg. He's actually less of a worker now than he was 16 years ago. The sole highlight of his career sans Maria, IMO, has been a random XWA show where he kept singing Edge's theme while spearing jobbers. It's been the only time I've seen him work believable, safe, and in an entertaining manner. He's a lucky bastard.

Excalibur being shit talked? Fuck right off. He's the best PBP guy going and has been for nearly a decade. Thinking that the name is going to be an issue when there's an executive in WWE best known as "Triple H" in a business where an Italian guy was billed as a blonde Irishman is ridiculous. If he's the one they go with, and I firmly believe they will so long as he's interested (seeing as the Bucks called PWG home for years), then he needs to keep the mask and the DONE THE DEAL gimmick.

flyonthewall nailed it with TBS's place in the pecking order, but it's also worth noting that TBS was instrumental in the success of cable television as a concept. They were one of the first big ones and remained there for many years, pretty much until the AOL/Time Warner merger that killed WCW. If AEW does sign with TBS, I don't see the weekly show being on Saturday night, but you can be damn sure Cody will want at least a special on at 6:05 just to do it.

Damn. I've often said Nate Hatred was the best overall wrestler of the early CZW desthmatch crew, and I think it's only been recently there's been one of the originals who've met him (Gage). It's a damn shame. RIP

I think Barrington has a skin condition. It looks more like discoloration than outright scarring. Agreed on Teddy. I know he's good friends with Court and Konnan, so it wouldn't surprise me if they got into his ear and told him to play it up.

That's a good point, in regards to character vs. gimmick matches. Clearly, Vince was right in thinking characters drew better than gimmick matches. To me, the perfect gimmick match is entirely situational, which is the opposite of how WWE (and, for a long time, TNA/Impact) uses them. Every fan of the era remembers the first Inferno match between Taker and Kane not because of its quality but because of 1) how it fit the characters and 2) the novelty aspect of it. Novelty is key here. If your gimmick match is just another name for another match (No DQ/Extreme Rules/Hardcore/Street Fight/etc.) then it's a little harder to get interested than if it's a unique concept (War Games, Elimination Chamber, Ladder, etc.).

It's going to take either a horrible injury or a dark personal revelation to stop Zack Gibson from being in WWE. He's so naturally unlikable that you have to love him.

I can't see any other reason for his punches (and even his rear naked choke, to be honest) being so weak. I really hope we get Lawlor/LowKi because I don't doubt that Ki would tell him to lay it in a little bit. It really is a testament to how well the show is booked, though, that Lawlor sees less ring time than Gotch and is usually put in spots where the schmozz around it can hide his shortcomings.

The Battle Riot itself was...eh. I don't think I've seen a battle royal laid out by anybody but Pat Patterson that I've really enjoyed. I dug the macro booking, specifically the Team Filthy/Stud Stable interactions, but there were too many moments of dead space and too many stretches with a full ring. Somebody needs to tell Tom Lawlor to lay some of those punches in, to really work his ground game. He's a natural when it comes to presence and how to carry himself, as sek said, but he's throwing Shane McMahon levels of bad. Strickland/Callihan will be a lot of fun. I've started to come around on Fulton as the enforcer type, at least he has a good look, but the "thumbs up, thumbs down" catchphrase is pure shit.

Strickland/Ki was pretty damn good, and the finish was exactly what it needed to be. I'm looking forward to Ki defending the title and how it plays into his hitman gimmick, and also can't wait for Kotto Brazil to wreck the Death Machines (because only Sami is worthwhile). Havoc/Lawlor was better than I thought it would be. It had all the bad trappings of modern hardcore, with some contrived spots and weak brawling between, but the intensity kicked into high gear once the blood started flowing. I think that's Jimmy Havoc's greatest strength: he knows that shit needs to get crazier toward the end of the match. The slam onto the sideways chair was sickening. I'm really looking forward to Battle Riot airing.

Isn't back left Deonna Purrazzo? I thought Nicole Matthews was reporting to the PC soon, but maybe she just got a tryout.

I think there's a little more trust between Court and Ki, for whatever reason. Maybe it's the Konnan link, maybe it's MVP, maybe it's just that Ki is getting booked strong, but it wouldn't surprise me if this was one of Ki's better runs. It also wouldn't surprise me if he flipped out when asked to put somebody over and walked.

If I wasn't going to be in Nashville on 7/19 then I'd probably grab a friend or two and make the trip to NYC. Sami's goons are rubbish.

Gotch isn't as captivating in his promos as he is when he shoots on Enzo (maybe he needs to refer to his physicist friend), but he's not too far off. Getting released from WWE and doing indie runs has made him tweak it all and find things that work. I love the $250 challenge he does in MLW, and his chemistry with Tom Lawlor in general.

I really, really, really wish the proposed Raven/Flair program happened.

Is it like every other Fire Pro game in terms of controls?

Deflection. Classic troll move. It's clearly because you're a panda and not because you've been nothing but an annoying gnat so far. I bet you've got spiked gaunts that are, like, soooo cool.

Yep. 12 year old basement troll confirmed. Have fun listening to your cassettes because you're so fucking evil, bro. Now stop dressing like a panda and pull a Pelle Ohlin. Or, better yet, a Blake Judd.

Just caught a bit of the Murphy/Ali match from June 5th, and holy shit I wish I jumped on the Murphy train earlier. They have awesome chemistry and both know to make transitions seem like more of a struggle.

He listens to shitty black metal. Both are true (sorry, "TRVE"). ANYWAYYYYYYYYY...am I alone in thinking that the popular arm wrench out of a collar and elbow was called the "full-arm dragon twist" instead of "full-arm drag and twist"? Is it actually a "drag and screw" leg whip and we've all been writing it wrong for years?

Episode 11 is the best one yet. Really solid interaction between Team Filthy and LowKi, a killer match between ACH and Swann (and I'm not even a fan of either), and Yehi/Guevara was a lot of fun. I love how they're building up the World title as being so damn important. Strickland/LowKi should be killer, the eventual Strickland/Callihan match should be fun, Promociones Dorado (I butchered that) are still in the wings, and Tom Lawlor still has a title shot coming up...if he survives Jimmy Havoc's revenge.

GIVE GOLDBERG A FUCKING PROGRAM BEFORE HALLOWEEN HAVOC!!! The closest we got was the Jericho mini-feud that was killed by politics when it was actually getting over. Since Hogan only agreed to drop the belt if he was the one to break the Streak, build it up like the Batman storyline Knightfall. Hogan focuses the remaining nWo on Goldberg and, after it's clear Vincent and Brian Adams aren't enough, Hulkster puts out a bounty that grows with each of Goldberg's wins. It starts at $10,000 to anybody who can last more than 10 minutes, then goes up to $250,000 by September. The key is to keep Hogan and Goldberg separated, without a true altercation between them and certainly no matches, until at least Starrcade, similar to the Hogan/Sting build only we've already seen Goldberg run roughshod over Hogan. This serves as an early preview of the Goldberg/Steiner feud (have Steiner give Goldberg a knee injury), can potentially elevate newer talent. Kanyon comvinces Raven to get the bounty after the Flock's dissolution, the Wolfpac even goes after it (setting up the nWo Elite reunion), Bret Hart would use the $250,000 to build a new addition on his house, Disco Inferno tries because he needs more 8 tracks, etc. The point is that the odds become so great that DDP almost beating Goldberg at Halloween Havoc is now an even more monumental occasion. We now have a reason to watch Goldberg squashes again because we don't know who else may show up to get the cash. To sell this, Goldberg gets sloppier and sloppier in his wins, his body being broken down bit by bit and the odds growing too great. He drops belt at Starrcade and we still get the nWo Elite reunion, but now Goldberg is rightfully pissed and sets off IMMEDIATELY on a tear. He doesn't get beaten down the first time he strikes, it takes the nWo a few tries before they're even able to keep him down, but when they finally are able to? Here come DDP and Sting to save his ass. Throw Booker in, too, and maybe the Horsemen for old times sake. End it at Spring Stampede where the 4-way we got is now just Hogan vs. Goldberg. Interference, a bunch of schmozz bullshit, do it all, but GOLDBERG WINS and, after, Hogan pays his respects. We have the fallen hero realizing the error of his ways and the new king stepping forward to claim their throne. Or, you know, just turn DDP heel anyway. That'll put butts in seats.

JESUS CALLIHAN'S GOONS ARE AWFUL On the contrary, Salina de la Renta only gets better.