joeg

But they do look totally second rate with some of the guys on their roster. They look incredibly indie when they got 20 guys on their active roster not good enough to land in one of the indies that has TV. So why not use guys who work in the top indies that have TV? why only use guys who work lower level indies. Would they look more indie if guys like Rush, Jacob Fatu, Davey Smith Jr., Briscoe Brothers, Rhino, Joe Doering, Sami Callihan, LA Park, King Mo, Tom Lawlor, Brian Pillman Jr, Dragon Lee, Bandido, Good Brothers, Ken Shamrock, Nick Aldis, etc were filling out the roster as opposed to guys like Private Party, Best Friends, Kip Sabian, Super Smash Bros, Hybrid2, Luther, Marko Stunt, Joey Janela, etc, etc..... I think their product would look far less indie and far more main stream and far more professional is my point so why don't they use some of those guys, its not like they are doing anything on Wednesday's is point.

Something I haven't understood about AEW from day 1. They run every Wednesday and 1 Saturday every 4 months... so how is it that they don't use guys under contract to ROH, MLW, Impact, NWA, etc? MJF and Thunder Rosa are the only exception of a workers under contract somewhere else that they've used. It doesn't make sense seeing as how there would never be a scheduling conflict. It leaves them filling out their mid card and bottom of the card with guys who work the bottom barrel indies instead of the top indies. It just doesn't make sense to me.

Yeah Jake Hager presents a lot of same problems that legit shooters who can't work present. He's 6'7" and as legit of an athlete as there is in wrestling so by old school logic there's no way he should do any jobs to anybody, ever, under any circumstances. But at the same time, even after 15 years of experience, he still looks pretty green and inexperienced at times so there is no way he can go over anybody of worth. Plus you add in that he can't talk and is unreliable and he can't be anywhere near a main event, even though he's one of the 3 or 4 most legit guys in all of wrestling. I actually think AEW has done a great job with him just using him as a heater for Jericho.

Those 2 posts are more of an explanation of what's going on than I got last night. Its just like I tune in to Raw probably once every 3 weeks or so and the guys who were wrestling each other 3 weeks before are now teaming up and vise versa with no explaination of what happened or who to root for or who to boo. It just doesn't make any sense. I can nitpick the gaps in AEW's bookings logic to death but at least there seems to be some sort of a plan there. WWE nothing makes any sense at all.

I've been watching for the past hour and absolutely nothing makes sense. Nothing has explained through vinegettes and promos or by the announcers. Nothing that happened seems to be going anywhere that won't be forgotten in a week. I can't tell who the faces and heels are. Its just bad.

Not really. The win over Blassie happened in 62, and yeah it was Rikidozan's first clean win against an American champion and probably only his 3rd or 4th clean singles victory over any big name American so it absolutely legitimized him but by that point Rikidozan was already a national hero. It was being part of the first nationally televised sporting event in 1954 vs the Sharpes and the subsequent rematches that really are considered the most historically important part of his career. I'm not sure I'd put the Blassie match ahead of the Thez tour of 1957 either. Rikidozan and Thez went broadway 8 times in two weeks in sold out baseball stadiums across the country.

Rikidozan and Kimura vs Sharpe Brothers is taught in school. It came up in a couple of different college courses I took. Globalization of Sporting Cultures and History of World Sports. I took some interesting electives in college. Anyways my understanding from those classes is that Rikidozan and Kimura are taught in school in Japan similar to how Muhamed Ali vs Joe Fraiser is mentioned in a US history class as a reflection of the civil unrest and turmoil of the 1960s and 1970s and the waning popularity of the Veitnam War etc. In that same way Rikidozan and Kimura vs the Sharpe Brothers is discussed in a Japan History class as a reflection of post WWII era Japan and the effects of the American occupation and rise of television, etc. Somebody who actually lives in Japan (looking at you Gordi) feel free to correct me or elaborate. So I don't think Meltzer is off based at all. But I could be wrong.

Tag title match was very, very good. It lived up to the years and years of hype behind it. Everything else ranged from watchable to good. The buy in was good and aimed at talking people on the fence into buying the show rather than getting a bunch of random guys a pay day. Thats what I like about AEW, they don't seem to repeat their misteps. They make a lot of misteps but not the same one twice. The opener was good, and I'm digging the long term booking of Omega eventually beating Mox a year a half after their first match, and having Hangman chase him that whole time. Orange Cassidy and Silver was not bad, good for what it was it was. Darby and Cody was fun, I liked the surprise finish and the little angle afterwards to set up TV matches going forward for the next couple of months. Weakest match on the show was the women's title match, and while it wasn't good it was at least watchable and nobody got seriously hurt which is a win for a Nyla Rose match. Like I said earlier, the tag match was really, really good and the finish left the door open for more from these two teams down the road. The Hardy skit/match was a perfect break from wrestling after the emotional roller coaster of the tag title match. MJF vs Jericho was solid. I think this was the best MJF match I've seen and I really like the finish. The main event was brutal. Honestly for me it may have been a little too much as the match just seemed to unravel a little bit as soon as the barbed wire bat and thumbtacks came out, but then they managed to tie it all together in the finish. All in all a good show that likely set up several more good shows to follow.

Mox and Kingston talked me into buying it this past week. The build up to Revival vs Bucks and Omega vs Hangman has been so convoluted and so poorly done that ultimately I think it will actually hurt the PPV. 2 months ago I could tell you why those matches needed to happen and I had some sort of emotional attachment. After all the twists and turns and break ups and make up I don't remember why Revival and Bucks are fighting in the first place and I don't remember why I wanted to see Hangman beat up Omega 3 months ago... BUT MOX vs Kingston, that's been bringing me back these past few weeks and will get me to buy the PPV.

Its amazing to me how uneven every episode of Dynamite is. One segment is an all time great promo. The next segment is a match that is everything wrong about modern indie wrestling. Then the next match would stand out as great in any era or any promotion. Then they follow that would a skit that is straight out of Vince Russo era WCW. Then another great promo. It goes back and forth between absolute shit and brilliance. Anyways, beats WWE which is 3 hours of completely illogical, unwatchable nonsense.

I think Mox and Kingston just talked me into ordering the PPV on Saturday.

This was my first time seeing Ilja Dragunov. Wow. I absolutely loved his selling. At one point they are in a scramble to their feet and Walter just punches Dragunov in the neck with a loud smack sound. Dragunov subltely and realistically sells that punch for the rest of the match which i had never seen before outside of maybe the most high level shoot workers. The brutality was off the charts and I think not having a crowd benefited them as you could hear every smack, stop, strike and kick echo in the empty building. Easily match of the year so far for me, granted I haven't seen most of the G1.

Haven't seen a lot but what I have seen I like. His stuff on Raw Underground was awesome. I really like the way he fires up and unloads that beautiful right cross of his. Truly he might have one of the best worked punches out there right now. I think his selling in regular matches can be a bit cartoony, especially against smaller opponents who he shouldn't sell for at all, but he's still green. But his punches combined with his look, size and natural athleticism should be enough for him to find some success in wrestling.

I haven't watched Raw in ages, and after watching Keith Lee treated like just another guy, it will be awhile until I tune in again.

Conrad Thompson sounds like he has diabetes.

Watched those recommended Jackie Sato matches, that's right up my alley. I'll check out Stardom next I guess.

I've never been able to get into joshi, but after the GME project I think I really need to give it a try as there seems to be a lot of great wrestling I've missed out on. I think the main obstacle for me getting into joshi is the same as the obstacle for me enjoying women's MMA and women's boxing- I can't find women getting hurt in sports entertaining. Men getting hurt absolutely, sign me up for Sunday Ticket and a DAZN pass. But with women though there is something unsettling about it. I feel like this un easiness I feel has kept me from watching some of the greatest wrestling to ever happen and I want to try to stick my toe in, but don't know where to start. Any suggestions?

Exactly. The difference between back when we were kids and now is that the evidence back then was mostly anecdotal and common sense based. Its only been in recent years that long term damage has had an official name, guidelines for diagnosing a concussion were formalized, and treatment protocols were established. I've had 6 diagnosed concussions. I bet if I grew up a generation later, that number would be a lot higher.

Yeah, Gedo just gets guys over. White isn't the first guy who didn't seem to be "top guy material" that Gedo booked incredibly well and ended up being a top guy that drew the company money. Same thing happened with Devitt, Omega, and Naito. Same thing will probably happen with Evil.

Random question, When did the tradition of the G1 winner challenging at the New Years Tokyo Dome show start? First one I remember was Okada winning in 2012 and challenging at Wrestle Kingdom 7, but I feel like I happened before that even if I can't remember specific instances.

You think about it they are incredibly alike in terms of personality. Both are very quick witted. Both are very immature and unfiltered. Both subscribe to the notion that all publicity is good publicity. Both are short tempered and prone to throwing tantrums. Both allegedly have an interest in alternative sex. They are that funny, vulgar loud mouth from the bar that's always good for a laugh, but you'd never interact with in any other setting.

Last I heard he was working some of the UK indies, but that must have been at least 5 years ago. Crazy right? At around the same time when we were hearing rumors about Lesnar, Benjamin Shelton, Batista, and Randy Orton in OVW and hearing stories about all these incredibly talented kids coming out of Shawn Micheals school, there were also rumors of this future Hall of Famer coming out of Dory Funk's school that was supposed to be better than all of them. Funny how things work out.

Possible outcomes as I see it- Ibushi over Tanahashi in the finals, Jay White over EVIL in the finals, or Naito over Okada in the finals which would set up either Naito vs Hiromu or Naito vs Moxley at the Dome. As I see it the big money matches they have yet to run are Hiromu moving up to challenge for the title or Moxley facing Naito or Okada for the belt. Every other possible match up is something we've already seen or something that isn't quite big enough for the Dome.

Terry never stayed in any one territory for more than a year or so at a time and he always went where there was the most money. He always he kept it fresh by always moving from place to place and working more than one territory at a time. I just see his career in the 90s and 00s as a continuation of how he had managed his career for much of the 80s but in a new landscape where only a few of the territories were left. I don't see it as Terry Funk making a transition as much as the business making a transition and Funk adapting better than anyone else from his generation to stay relevant. And he made dozens of appearances in AJPW and WCW, in the late 90s and early 00s.

Since Cody went away, the last 4 weeks have felt very Vince Russo ish. A televised best man announcement. A PPV with a bunch of crazy, dangerous gimmick matches on the under card. A lawyer being in a TV main event.