Laz

His run as Rellik (which is "killer" spelled backwards) would've been better if Russo didn't surround it with other "SUPER MONSTER DEMON HEEL" gimmicks and if they didn't push Tenay and West to remind us that his name was "killer" spelled backwards all the time. Killer look, could hold his own in the ring for what he was supposed to do, and did I mention killer look?

MXC?

Tons of stuff happening at Cannes around the Festival that are not part of the official Festival. (well, the Festival is not about selling tickets either, it's invites only, you gotta *know* how to get them basically) Similarly, Sundance has a plethora of smaller festivals around it, many formed as protest of their ridiculous fees and selection process. SlamDance, LapDance, even schlock peddlers Troma have their own anti-Sundance festival.

For the crowd they're trying to attract (the UK indie fans)? NXT is wayyyyy more valuable a brand than outright WWE.

I received confirmation earlier that my classic Cactus Jack WANTED DEAD shirt, bought because Foley says it's the "last" time he'll print it, is shipping. It should be here by the end of next week! BANG BANG!!!

He makes his shit look convincing. That already makes him better than Omega or Okada by default.

That's not even a big deal, because those kids who take Meltzer's snowflakes to heart will eventually sour on NJPW and find something else. Some will go back and watch World Class, some will find the Attitude era, some will probably even fall in love with Onita.

If nothing else, it gave me a reason to show my girlfriend the clip of Steve Corino at a Limp Bizkit concert.

It would if he doubled down on it and continued to break it when obvious flaws were obvious. Kenny Omega is garbage at chain wrestling and Okada isn't much better, so when they front load their "classics" with them and it's embarrassing to see and then it gets 7/5? Yeahhhhh...

It's more a general approach to me than specifics. AJ sells for the cheap seats more than Bryan does and, in terms of how I'm viewing it (TV), I think Bryan does the better job at balancing subtlety with overtness.

Bryan bests AJ in nearly every regard for me, based on their careers from 2002 onward, but they're six in one and a half dozen in the other. When I want layered technical-flavored wrestling I go with Bryan, when I want a loud and entertaining display of smart athleticism then I go with AJ.

Good call! Poor, poor Trevor...

The 7* stuff is so Spinal Tap it hurts. Why not just make 5 the top and readjust accordingly? If Omega/Okada IV is 7*, is it really that much better than Misawa/Kawada 6/3/94? Is it substantially better, in both ring work and impact, than Hart/Austin WM13? Why not just make 10 louder?

That's one of a handful of episodes where Red and Eric bond. It also triggered my nerdom when it aired because of the territorial lines.

Transmetropolitan and Locke & Key are two of the best comics I've ever read. They've ruined other books for me with how incredible they are. I was rarely one for superhero comics anyway, but after those I don't think any superhero story could ever work for me on that kind of level.

5 stars also feels more natural since the average grading scale is either 10 or 100. You can easily translate ****3/4 to 9.5/10 (thus 95/100, or an A+), whereas a scale based on 6 just feels odd. RE: King's Road everywhere That may actually be why I don't care for a whole lot of current wrestling as I didn't care too much for 90s AJPW.

Always Sunny, Ren & Stimpy, Futurama...all great choices. None of them touch South Park's exploration of redneck theatre.

He strikes me as more a plantain kind of guy, maybe even wax fruit.

Episode 8 is one of the weaker ones, headlined by ACH/Fenix. Any time somebody hypes ACH I stop and think about how he does a lot of little things right but is never consistent enough or stand out from the pack. Hell, I think the best thing he ever did was a borrow a fan's Austin 3:16 vest at a PWG show and do some Stone Cold cosplay. Callihan's faction was given some damn fine heat over MVP, and Kotto trying to make the save gives him that much more of a rub. They're slow-burning Kotto and hopefully he proves worthwhile (I think he will). I also loved the Strickland/Ki segment. It's that kind of weekly storytelling that reaches all over the card I love.

Bonus critique: these "best matches ever" feature worse selling, psychology, and move execution than Ki/Danielson 3/30/02. How can something be GOAT if it has a superior?

That's one of the reasons I'm enjoying MLW so much right now. Kenny Omega has never had a match as good as the RVD/Sabu Stretcher. Is that match 7.5*? Do we grade on a curve now after the post-Benoit dirth of truly great matches?

I feel like Bagwell would be a much bigger star if he came around now as opposed to when he did. He's a good looking guy with a lot of charisma, and there were periods in 1998 and 1999 where I would've bought him as a breakout face. Damn shame he plateaued so quickly, though, and picked up a lot of lousy habits.

Hasn't Homicide been with them since EYFBO joined?

I can see that. They're still firmly in the (re)building stage, though, and they're offering something different than other big indies. Kotto vs. Swann, for example, would've probably been a spotfest anywhere else. Here it was a competitive match, and the slow burn on Kotto is going to make his breakout that much more impactful.

Kotto Brazil does a lot of little things right. It's interesting that Sami Callihan is at his most over and relevant when he's putting out his worst work.