TonyPulis'Cap

This is an FWA dream match, given it’s got the ‘three musketeers’ of the early 2000s BritWres scene, and arguably the most prominent import that the company would use (at least up to this point). Doug and Jody are the two top faces in the company, while Storm is the hot heel, and Daniels had held the FWA British Title earlier in the year. Then there’s the interconnecting storylines; Daniels had won the title in a three way with Doug and Jody, Doug had then beat Daniels for the belt, Jonny and Jody are of course long term allies turned rivals with Jonny turning on Jody earlier in the year and then Daniels had recently won the final match in the FWA vs ROH series at the Frontiers of Honor show…by beating Jody…thanks to interference from Jonny… just great stuff in terms of interweaving everything that the company was really good at doing at this point. Despite the ‘dream match’ vibe, the opening minutes are full of stooging and stalling, and you wonder if this is down to the setting – this isn’t an FWA ‘A show’, and I’m not sure they would’ve wrestled it the same way if not on one of their tour shows with a more kids and family crowd. That’s probably why it’s all a bit pantomime at the start. Once we get into things though, they pick up nicely, and there’s some really fast paced and smooth exchanges between Daniels/Fleisch and Williams/Storm. I also liked how Storm was desperate to avoid Fleisch until he could cheap-shot him on the outside and take over. Considering I’m not sure how many times, if at all, they would’ve teamed up, Daniels and Storm work really well together and both take turns utilising lots of tricks and shortcuts which helps to build the heat before heel miscommunication leads to a fired-up Williams hot tag. I adore Doug as a wrestler and doing this FWA rewatch is really making me see his fire and intensity, when previously I used to think he could be a bit cold and mechanical at times. This all builds up to a great sequence between Williams and Storm that ends with a revolution DDT for a near fall. The four guys do well to largely keep to the classic tag structure before we get to the home stretch and the big moves, which makes those mean more. A criticism I would have, is that while Jonny and Jody going through their usual sequences is always fantastic to watch, the feud they were building was meant to be more about hatred and I didn’t feel that here, but again, maybe that’s down to the setting and not being a ‘main show’ for the company. The ending comes when Fleisch catches Daniels with a flash pin, sending the crowd home happy and also giving Jody some payback for losing twice in big matches in the FWA to him. This is a good match, but you feel on a regular show it would be more balls to the wall and could've been a classic. (*** ¼)

This is part 727 in the never-ending Alex Shane (plus friends) vs. The Family feud that takes up much of 2003 in the FWA. I’m not going to lie I feel like I see versions of this match in my sleep these days. The thing that I do enjoy though, is that a bit like Dreamer vs. Raven in ECW it involve lots of different players circling in and out. In this match the Family are represented by stalwart Paul Travell and then Ian DaSciple, who wasn’t very good at all, and would be pretty much gone from the company a year later. This is very much a small show, at a small venue, in front of a small crowd – set up ‘theatre style’ with the ring on the stage and then the fans all on one side. Even though this was a ‘blood’ feud, with escalating violence on the FWA main card shows, here it’s very much ‘yay/boo’ type stuff, particularly early on, given the holiday maker type crowd. The match takes the same structure as most of the ones in this feud do – Shane dominates physically, but The Family take over when they can isolate Nikita. There’s a very basic and uninspiring heat segment, and I should note that as always in these matches, this is NO DQ. So its one of those strange matches where you can use weapons etc. but there’s cheating behind the refs back and early on, adhering to tags. If it’s going to be a ‘hardcore’ match, make it a crazy brawl! Nikita and Travell faced each other at British Uprising the year before and have good chemistry, but pretty soon the match breaks down and we get all the standard walk and brawl/plunder shots stuff. The ring being on the stage does help with the optics though. There’s some enjoyable stooging from The Family members taking the weapons shots, but it's a bit jarring, when on others shows there has been blood and violence between the teams. Another (good) constant in these matches, is that the sequences between Shane and Travell are the highlight, as Shane (as the booker) was trying to get Travell over and he gives him a lot. There’s a really crappy ref bump as we hit the closing stretch and the faces get a visual pin, but I did bite on the nearfall where The Family do a switcheroo and Nikita kicks out of a belt shot. Travell then gets to kick out of Shane’s One Night Stand finisher, which I’m not sure was planned as the ref is just randomly staring at the floor, before he counters a second one into a tornado DDT on a tag belt for the 3. It’s pretty mindless, and fun at times, but as I mentioned at the start, if you’ve seen one of these matches, then you’ve seen most of them, and you do feel there’s a sense of diminishing returns as the rivalry goes on. (** ½)

Alex Shane and friends vs. The Family in 2003 was essentially the FWA version of Dreamer vs Raven, with various different combinations of hardcore matches involving lots of different characters. Shane and Knight – not regular partners and teaming for the first time – had won the tag titles on the first night of the tour, with Stevie being a local replacement as both Nikita and Ulf Herman (Shane’s regular partners) were unavailable. As had happened on the first tour, the title change was in part to draw interest in new markets but also breathe some life into the longer running feud I’ve mentioned. It’s never officially announced, but as with most of the matches in this feud, it’s NO DQ, and just like in most of the matches, Shane uses his size early on to dominate. The Family can’t get anything going until they get Knight in there, and then their superior tag experience as a team starts to show. Whenever Shane is in, he dominates, so The Family try hard to keep Knight in as long as they can, which was a nice story to the first half of the match where they largely stick to the tag formula. The second half then breaks down to become more of your standard ‘walk and brawl’ early 2000s hardcore match. Knight and Raj Ghosh just disappear for a bit, but to be honest that works fine as the sequences between Shane and Paul Travell have much better energy and excitement to them. As is the norm in these matches, Travell bleeds and takes some nasty bumps, but he also gets an impressive hurucunrana on Shane off the camera platform. The intensity of the match is let down by the ref bump finish, before Knight ‘plays dead’ to get a rollup and retain. This is a match of two halves that felt bolted together, and Knight’s more comedy persona and style didn’t really fit with the blood feud that Shane and allies had been having with The Family. The tactic of trying to pop a local market with a title change but returning the belts to where they belong for the more ‘canon shows’ would be in full effect -The Family would win the titles back on the last day of the tour. (** ¼)

Night 2 of the tour is from Bolton. Coming in, Tighe is the one with the momentum in 2003 having just pinned Jody Fleisch on the last big FWA show (Hotwired) and would go on to main event the biggest show of the year (British Uprising 2). Xavier by contrast has been up and down. I like that this match doesn’t start with the usual indie reversals and standoffs (a standard trope of many an FWA match at this time) and there’s some nice matwork at the beginning to enjoy. They each try some ‘mind games’ at the beginning to try and get the advantage, with Xavier winning the battle of wits to get a couple of close near falls. Tighe is the better, more in form wrestler of the two, so Xavier keeping him off his game is how he is able to get the advantage. As the match goes on however, you can see Tighe’s quality coming to the fore, and increasingly Xavier is having to go more high risk to hang in there. This leads to him taking a really scary looking bump off a moonsault to the floor landing on his leg. It would’ve been nice to see Tighe then go after the leg and show a more vicious or focussed side, but they then go to the finish fairly quickly after that. Xavier gets a close 2 count off a flatliner, but gets caught going up top, and Tighe his the Tighetanic off the ropes for the win. (** ¾)

This is a banner match for the FWA, bringing with it lots of history between the two. This includes them first clashing in the UK all the way back in 1999 for the ill-fated UWA promotion (might have to go back and revisit that one day...), onto Daniels winning the FWA Title by pinning Doug and taking it ‘hostage’ to America for 6 months, to finally Doug winning the title back in Ring of Honor at Night of Champions (a hell of a match). A few months before this Daniels had pinned Jody Fleisch to win the FWA vs. ROH series thus justifying this shot at the title. The first thing to say about this match is that the two have fantastic chemistry. Daniels stalls to begin, knowing that Doug got the best of him last time out, and Williams dominates the early goings. Daniels is normally used to being able to ‘out-wrestle’ his opponents, but Doug is the superior ‘technical wrestler’ and Daniels only answer early on is to try to break up his opponents momentum by going outside. What I loved was Doug steaming out with a tope to stop Daniels from stalling further on the outside, meaning there was a reason for the normally grounded Williams to fly to the outside. But while he is finding himself outmatched technically, you can tell how smart a competitor Daniels is, and he continues to use tricks where he can to rile Doug up, and get him to make a mistake, and that’s where Daniels is able to capitalise when Doug lets his anger get the better of him. Daniels is then able to seize his opening to hit the Angels Wings for the first fall (FWA Title matches at this time were 2/3 falls). Recognising his title is now in serious jeopardy, Williams gets a brief flurry at the beginning of the second fall and a couple of flash pins, but Daniels is great at cutting off any momentum, just as it is building. Daniels strategy is then to try and wear Doug down by going for regular pinfalls, but tries one too many, as Williams is able to catch a reversal on a sunset flip to tie things up at 1-1. I liked that Daniels sold this anger at allowing himself to be caught and pinned when he was in control, and that it manifests itself in him not allowing the rest period between falls and taking it to the outside, where he will have the edge if this comes down to a brawl. But now the match has turned from a tactical encounter to a fight and its back and forth. I liked how with the tables turned, and Doug as the aggressor that it was Daniels who was looking to hang in and grab flash pinfall attempts where he can. There’s a great near fall where you think Doug has the match won off a bomb scare knee drop, but while Daniels survives that he is then vulnerable to the chaos theory and the winning fall goes to Williams to retain the title. This is not as good as some of their previous clashes, in particular their more high-profile match in ROH, however that is more of a sign of just how good their other matches are. These two always mesh so well together, and it’s nice after Williams won the belt in America to see him definitively beat Daniels in a title match in the UK as well. I really liked the stories they told through the 2/3 fall structure in this one. (*** ½)

The Northern Exposure Tour was the second of two tours that the FWA would run in 2003, in an attempt to branch out of its southern base. The second tour was much more scaled down however, with just three nights instead of seven (mainly due to the local promoters that had ‘partnered’ with the FWA to put each event first time around all losing money). This first night of the tour is from the Morecambe Dome, which would become the company’s regular Northern venue going forward after this, and this is a 'first time in the FWA' clash. It is face vs face, so the early going is full of quick reversals and parity sequences. Right from the start this shows that Fleisch is the quicker of the two, so I liked the basic storyline of Xavier realising he can’t hang with Jody in a sprint and then switching things up and slowing things down. Xavier therefore becomes the de facto heel for the match, and I was impressed with how vicious he was being on simple moves and grinding in holds to show he was being more aggressive. This continues with Xavier locking in a really unique looking tarantula like move and then when Fleisch is hung up in the ropes dropkicking him to the floor where he takes a really nasty bump. Jody is always a good face in peril, and when it comes to his flying in this, is really spot on, wowing the crowd (who on the FWA’s tour shows were more of a family audience than the FWA’s regular hardcore fans). While Xavier’s change in approach is successful in helping to control large sections of the match, his frustration grows when he can’t put Fleisch away, and that's when he tries to up the pace again and unleash the bigger weapons in his arsenal, moving away from the simpler ground game that had been working. Upping the pace though plays into Jody’s hands and leaves him vulnerable, and a flash 720 DDT gives Jody the win. The finish comes a bit out of nowhere, but shows the 720 is Fleisch’s kill shot, whereas Jody is able to survive Jack’s big moves like the rolling X-Plex. I liked the intensity in this match, and some of the rougher exchanges at times actually helped the match feel more rugged (***)

Watching many of these DSOR episodes there's such a depressing through line of the abuse and pain - mental and physical - that the women, be it wives, mothers, sisters, daughters in these wrestlers lives suffer. In each instance the causes may be slightly different, it may be amplified by things like CTE or drugs or alcohol, but it causes those in the wrestlers home lives to become victims of some warped and toxic reality, and I'm continuously amazed by the strength and resilience, of those that have managed to build lives for themselves in the years since when you consider what they have experienced.

Well, well, well...you knew it was coming, but was still a great moment when Dario Cueto actually appeared on screen. Where they go from here has definitely got me intrigued. It was interesting to see that the part with him in looked to be filmed much more in the style of Lucha Underground, with the increased production levels - Court Bauer at one point was involved with LU right as like a consultant or something I'm sure? So he will have those relationships, he's tight with Konnan and he has also has lots of links into the Mexican wrestling scene as well. I've got no idea where any of it goes (which is a good thing!) - does that mean Dario Cueto will be a character that appears in front of live audiences now (which was implied by him saying that he would be in Philidelphia on the 10th for the restart) and do they in any way look to try and pick up storyline threads from the end of LU? As for the rest of the product, I've said on here that I am a fan, even if I can see (and accept) the criticisms that others have. I just really like the presentation, and I'm hoping that the move to Vice and the 'draft' they are talking about means they can beef up their roster with some new additions as it's very thin currently. One of the biggest, and most legitimate criticisms is that the big matches they have always seem to fall flat, however I feel like over the last few weeks they've settled into a nice pattern of a couple of squash/angle advancement matches before a longer main event that has been decent. For the last 4 episodes I would say the main events were all good matches - not ***** classics or anything, but fun TV main events, which is all I want. Again, not saying it's earth shattering or anything, but I thought the Lio Rush/Myron Reed match last week was really good, and overall I'm excited for their return in front of fans in a couple of months.

What a fantastic pair of episodes. After the first series of DSOR was a bit up and down, maybe because it was trying to do too much sensationalising, they've really got into a groove and these were right up there with the Benoit and Owen episodes for me. And it's no coincidence that what you find so compelling is the family members and the impacts on them as much as the wrestling elements. I listened to an excellent review from John and Wai on Post, who highlighted that in some of these episodes there seems to be a real duty of care (at least much more than a lot of other TV) in ensuring that the people that take part get some sort of closure or reconciliation and that something positive comes out of what is often dragging up some real harrowing stuff. There were a couple of scenes that were genuinely heartwarming such as all the siblings together with Linda Pillman (and what a saint she comes across as) and also that Brian Jr and Melanie have some sort of relationship again. Melanie clearly doesn't come across well, and how far she should or shouldn't be forgiven is up to those involved, but you could tell how much happier Brian was to have let go of some of that anger and resentment. On a wrestling level, I'm still so captivated by Pillman and the character he created all these years later - in terms of the direction the business was starting to go in he was very much ahead of his time, but as you see so many times in wrestling, that line between where the character and the real person starts and finishes seemed increasingly blurred. Ultimately he wasn't physically (or perhaps mentally) healthy enough to translate the intrigue in the persona he had built into becoming a big star, but you do wonder how he would have thrived during the Attitude era, which he then seemed made for as (and I'm sure I've stolen this from somewhere else online so apologies for no credit!) the Piper to Austin's Hogan. And what more could you say about Vince? Yet another example to add to the rap sheet about what a sociopath he is - watching that clip of Melanie on Raw the night after never gets easier to watch.

This is a great shout - given how green Nia was at the time, particularly in high profile matches, Bayley puts in a tremendous performance in this match, making Nia seem like a killer, while at the same time not diminishing herself - i.e. yes, she's the smaller opponent, but her skill and ability is keeping in her in the fight - she is not presented as fluking out a victory when she wins. It's a fine balance, and Bayley walks it perfectly in this match - it gave me definite Sting/Vader vibes. This is a perfect example of, for me, one of Bayley's best runs, between beating Sasha in Brooklyn to losing the NXT Women's Title to Asuka - where she is the ace of the NXT women's division. She is still the great babyface, but she has evolved from the 'super fan' / childlike Bayley, to being a great, fight all comers champion, one consistent with her naturally evolving character. If you want a great example of Bayley's ability, watch the title match she has on NXT TV against Eva Marie (I'll try to find the date). This is not a '5* classic' but is just fantastic pro-wrestling television, where to their credit WWE create the conditions for success by making you think that a screwjob is on the cards (with having main roster ref Charles Robinson specifically appointed) and preying on your assumptions for what *you think* WWE would traditionally want in a champion - i.e. someone that looks like Eva Marie. Bayley is so, so good in this match. To her credit, so is Eva Marie, who keeps up and plays her role to perfection, but you get clear evidence of Bayley's ability to lead a match and be the glue that holds it together. Yes, the Sasha matches are tremendous in NXT - proper classics, but matches like the one's discussed by others like against Nia, and this one against people fairly limited like Eva Marie are what makes her a real candidate for consideration in my eyes.

This has been a really interesting thread to read through. I came onto the board towards the tail end of the 2016 project, so enjoyed reading the discussions and the reveal of the list without submitting one myself as I didn't feel in a place to do so at that time. Fast forward to now and I'm definitely interested in getting involved this time, as it feels like this could be just the thing to reinvigorate my love for wrestling which has definitely been waning the last few years due to a variety of factors (general turn offs in the way wrestling is presented esp. WWE, pandemic era pro wrestling, Speaking Out etc.). I'm getting excited though about having something to focus my watching around and really getting to explore wrestlers and styles where I don't have that knowledge and re-evaluate areas I'm more familiar with. The only thing potentially holding me back is that I tend to enjoy episodic wrestling and find it hard to jump into individual matches - no matter how 'good' they are - without context, but having that overall framework or narrative of the project as a whole should help with that. It's been fascinating seeing the debates already, not about workers, but on how people will be judging them, and on that front, it's always hard given the subjective nature of all this. In saying that, one of the things I look for in a 'great' wrestler is their ability to change up their style or what they do in the ring (and indeed, even their appearance and demeanor) to fit the different context they find themselves in - so that ability to change what they do based on the setting, the storyline, the occasion etc. It's one of the things I hate most about modern WWE - everyone comes to the ring and wrestles as if they are in a computer game. Regardless of whether it's a blood feud or an enhancement match they wrestle it in exactly the same way with the same entrance poses and mannerisms.

I know the episodes of Powerrr have now resurfaced on Fite, and like everybody else has said, it remains to be seen if that's a good move - but by deleting all their YouTube content it also means all the excellent 10 pounds of gold videos have gone as well which is a shame as those videos were what got me into the NWA in the first place. On reflection though, a lot of them - and other video content they had - included clips from lots of different other companies - Impact/ROH/UWN/AEW(?) - and so wondering if that might have caused an issue? I've been a big fan of the NWA revival the past couple of years and the overall presentation, but what the hell is left really?

A couple of random musings from the last couple of weeks of Fusion... I thought the final of the Opera Cup between Low Ki and Tom Lawlor was really good, although like Coffey, I was expecting Ki to win, as I thought they would set up him using that to challenge Jacob Fatu for the title, which I don't think is a match they've done yet. Given Lawlor is a heel like Fatu, that maybe adds more weight to Coffey's theory that Fatu may lose the belt to Hammerstone (who has been leaning more face the last few months) and then Lawlor will challenge him Like the idea of Salina bringing in Mil Muertes again, although like I think EL-P highlighted, outside of the heavily produced world of Lucha Underground, where he looked amazing and an absolute killer I do fear him getting a little bit exposed as a standard 'walk and brawl' type, but I'm a sucker for wrestler's having consistent characters across different companies/universes so love them leaning into the Lucha Underground background for his character. So far, Kings of Colosseum doesn't look the strongest card on paper, although there's still matches to be announced I would think to flesh out the crowd. One thing that is scheduled that I'm hyped for is the Myron Reed vs Lio Rush match which could be great. I've liked Rush's promos in the buildup.

There's a 90 min show on Amazon Prime called 'Blood, Sweat and Brusies' - which is a comp of UWF matches you may want to check out. It's got a couple of the matches from Blackjack Brawl others have referenced. It's a fun watch if you've got an hour or so to spare. A young Cactus Jack comes across really well.

Yeah, I guess I meant 'heels on paper' - think you're right in terms of they would definitely get cheers if they were doing the act in front of crowds, but either way, 'cool heels getting cheered' (as you say, as Bullet Club were in ROH) seems like a better fit for them than than trying to play the more traditional babyface roles they have sort of being doing so far which hasn't been too captivating. You can also see way more energy from them being aligned with Omega than the 'collecting a pay check' vibe they had been giving off prior to that.

Continue to be really intrigued by the Kenny Omega crossover with Impact - the presentation with Callis as his advisor is great, and in my view, reigns in some of the areas where Omega can lose me. Loved the closing angle from a week or so ago with the beatdown with the Good Brothers. I know they came in as faces, but teaming up with Omega in a Bullet Club reprise feels a much better fit for them. Really excited for the 6 man at Hard to Kill, and presumably the matches between Omega vs Swann and then the Good Brothers vs MCMG which should both be great. Some of the other parts of the show still feel a bit meandering, but when you combine the above with the Eric Young storyline which I think is going well and the stuff with the Knockouts some good things to look forward to in Impact as we go into 2021.

Well deserved - was a real highlight of Impact this year, despite not being there for the first part of it. Really enjoyed her two matches with Jordynne Grace, and then in general with the way she carried herself as a star. Someone that really trusted in her own ability, and is now reaping the rewards. While we ultimately didn't get it, the buildup to the planned match with Kylie Rae was one of the most hyped I was for a single match all year. She also managed to get something watchable out of Su Young, which isn't always easy. Will be interesting if we see her on AEW at all in the next few months given what's going on at the moment.

We are in the Walthamstow Assembly Halls in London, and this is a quarter final match in the XPW European Title Tournament. For more info on that tournament should you have a particular need to fall asleep, I’ve written about it in the link above. Juvi would be a semi-regular for the FWA in the first part of 2003, and is representing XPW in the tournament. For someone that at this time was bouncing around a load of different companies, he looks really smooth and polished, and it’s good to see Jonny raise his game to keep up with someone with the talent and experience that Juvi has. The opening exchanges are really fun with a nice hybrid of Lucha, traditional British wrestling and the modern (well, modern for 2003) indie highspot style. There are lots of parity spots early on, which some may roll their eyes at given the ubiquity of that at the time, but it establishes the similar styles and game plan each is coming in with, and everything is done at speed and is on point. Juvi is the first to get more aggressive, with a nice flurry ending with a slingshot crossbody to the outside. Storm at this time could be a really sympathetic babyface with his wiry frame and the way he took moves which looked like it was breaking him in half. Both guys are essentially faces, but Juvi being the slightly bigger guy, and harder hitter works most of the middle portion of the match on top, building heat rather than letting it slip into too much of a back and forth which can often happen with indie cruiserweight style matches. Storm for his part is really good with his hope spots, timing them nicely to keep the crowd invested and onside. And that’s the main theme for a lot of the match; Jonny looking to stick and move and hang in there, while Juvy is the more aggressive, trying to unleash some big bombs like a torture rack powerbomb to break up any bits of momentum that Storm is able to get. As I say, while both were faces here, both are also known for being cocky and showoffs, and I liked that this played into the match with Juvi getting caught going up top after a nasty looking DVD where he could’ve had the pin, but instead was looking to hit a flashier move from the top. There’s a couple of great nearfalls with Juvi powering out of Storm’s patented rewind rana and then Jonny surviving a Juvi Driver to show his toughness. It’s in going for a second Juvi Driver that Storm manages to counter with a roll up for the win. This was really good, with the two guys meshing nicely, and Storm really brought his A game following up a strong end to 2002. The match is worked at a fast pace, but there’s also times where the guys let the action breathe, and Storm in particular is great at selling the beatdown he is getting for a lot of the match. I liked the desperation roll up ending, showing that Jonny was able to survive all the punishment and was able to take advantage when Juvi got cocky going for the second Juvi Driver. Good stuff here. (*** ½)

This is for the FWA All England Title. Zebra Kid is coming in as the reigning champion, while Storm is coming in fresh off beating AJ Styles at British Uprising I a couple of weeks before this. Storm offers a handshake to start, but ZK responds with a slap and the two guys go at it while the ref is still trying to get the belt to officially start the match. That sets the tone nicely for what is essentially a 10 minute sprint with both guys going balls to the wall. There isn’t much selling, including Storm essentially just popping up right after a piledriver (which was confusing as this was banned move in the FWA) to go up top for a springboard drop kick, but there is lots of intensity as both guys empty a lot of their arsenals of moves. These two guys always had decent chemistry, and you get that nice contrast between Storm trying to take things to the air with a hurucunrana and moonsault from the top, while Zebra Kid brings plenty of strikes and kicks. I say this a lot in reviewing Zebra Kid matches – while he isn’t the most refined of wrestlers, I love the fire and energy he brings to his matches. The closing stretch sees Storm trying to go to the top, given that’s his most likely to route to victory, only to get crotched by Zebra pushing the ref into the ropes. Zebra Kid then hits his Zebra Crossing (top rope elbow) for the win. Post-match ZK starts to beatdown Jonny, only to get run off by James Tighe who earlier on in the night had become the new No. 1 contender to the title. (** ¾)

This is a No. 1 contenders match for the FWA’s All England Title. These two, both FWA Academy graduates had been part of the 3 way match that had opened British Uprising two weeks before. Tighe had actually won the title shot in that match, but as Ghosh wasn’t the man pinned, being a good fighting babyface, Tighe agreed to put it on the line again here. Both men are coming in as faces, and with them both coming through the FWA’s training school together they know each other well, so we get a lot of feeling out and parity exchanges early on. That was very much the en vogue Indie style at the time but makes sense given the context of the story of the match. Tighe, being the bigger and stronger of the two, and also the better wrestler – both in kayfabe and non-kayfabe – then takes control by hitting a nice series of German suplexes. While Tighe dominates most of the exchanges, Ghosh is trying to stick and move to try and work an opening. When he does get some separation he gets a nice near fall off a springboard seated senton ala Rey Mysterio. It’s a short, fairly standard match between the two clocking in at around 6/7 mins, but the action we do get is good, and actually when it ends I thought it was just starting to click into something that could’ve been a pretty decent match if it had got a bit longer. As it is, Tighe counters out of a roll up to hit a standing shooting star press and then his Tighetanic (northern lights bomb) finisher for the win. (** ¼)

The AEW 'paid advert' with Tony Khan was fantastic - and was a perfect way of continuing the story line following Dynamite the week before - it managed to effectively balance being entertaining and funny (Tony S was ace in it) with being logical e.g. them paying for the time and Tony K talking about why he hasn't taken out an injunction, which companies never work hard enough to make sense of when doing competing promotion stories. I'm a regular Impact watcher, but even if I wasn't, this angle would have me intrigued enough to tune in, and I really enjoyed the closing segment. As many have said, Callis was so great in his role, while Kenny - someone I can blow hot and cold on - was also really good. As C.S said, he managed to translate comic book collecting into an effective promo point about winning titles. Clearly on a straight up level, Impact is not going to directly match up with AEW, and nor are a lot of the guys, but I agree with EL-P's point that it doesn't really matter - I don't want this to be an 'invasion' angle or lead to some 'AEW vs Impact supercard', to me it's interesting and cool to see what further crossover we might get, and the idea of a smaller 'renegade' (if you can call Impact that) promotion interacting with it's much bigger counterpart. The Dreamer/D'Amore segment was nice, in that you had D'Amore happy about the publicity and the eyeballs it was getting, while Dreamer was voicing the concern about what this could lead to and the consequences. I wonder if we might get a development where D'Amore has to end up confronting Callis about going to far in provoking AEW, or being more wrapped up in promoting Kenny rather than safeguarding the interest of Impact? Who knows, but the fact I'm speculating and really intrigued is the good part! As for the wider criticisms people might have of the rest of the product that have tuned in to see the Kenny angle, then I agree again with EL-P - a lot of the guys in Impact are the misfits and broken toys that other companies didn't want, but I think that in the majority of cases their strengths are accentuated in the way they are presented and Impact uses them better than they were elsewhere. If someone argues that guys like Rich Swann, Eric Young, TJP, Brian Myers etc. are WWE rejects, then it's hard to disagree on the most obvious level, but in most of these cases, guys are given a chance in Impact and again *most* tend to take advantage.

Some really interesting points in there, so thanks for laying out - and once again, think I definitely appreciate where you are coming from - it maybe that we just have a different outlook in what we enjoy! I can definitely get that "fake serious" thing, although, as I say, while that's a term you are using as a criticism, I might use that as a good way to describe why I like MLW!! To a certain extent "fake serious" (it's a handy term ) is really what I enjoy about wrestling... I laughed at your line about comparing the opera cup to NWA Title Matches in the mid 90s in tiny North East Indie feds because it's actually really spot on, although again, I've always been a sucker for enjoying that kind of thing! Not sure what that says about me... but is similar to why I've been really into the NWA revival even before Powerrr came along. It's funny, I actually really like Impact like you, and have done since the Callis/D'Amore regime took over...although the bits I haven't liked in the last few months are Wrestle House and who shot Johnny Bravo...so I think on that front we just enjoy, or 'get' different aspects of that product, which is all good! Ultimately, I think I like MLW because of that very point you've made about why you don't like it - that it IS trying to present everything as serious, potentially as I say because I don't enjoy some of the more 'memey' (is that a word?) aspects of a lot of modern wrestling where everything is ironic and nothing is serious, although appreciate that I'm starting to sound like a card carrying Cornette supporter here, which isn't the case! Or maybe it's just because I'm getting old One thing I will join you in loving though is Lucha Underground - which despite everything I've said above - was one of my favourite wrestling products of the last decade. I absolutely loved it as a show, because for me, all the wacky stuff felt consistent to the world in which it was being presented. So I guess I'm just saying I can enjoy both ends of a wrestling spectrum, just my brain likes to compartmentalise them!

It's funny, I don't necessarily disagree with El-P's, and to a lesser extent Mig's criticism's, or at least I can appreciate a number of them, and yet, as El-P says, if you enjoyed it as a product pre-restart then you will now, and I liked it before... As I say, a lot of the things that have been highlighted for why you wouldn't have enjoyed it I can see, but for me, and I've said this a number of times in this thread since the company came back, I really like MLW in terms of its aesthetic and the way it *generally* presents the product. At a time when I increasingly enjoy modern wrestling less and less - a lot of which comes down to presentation - for whatever reason, MLW often captures the closest thing I want in terms of a weekly television wrestling product. I've described it in the past as what an 80s territory TV show might look like in the 21st century, and that's what I like about it. Maybe I'm easy to please, but I've no issues with the recaps and hype videos - again, it's why I still want to enjoy a TV wrestling product when a lot of others like to cherry pick big matches - I like the flow of a wrestling show including all the commercials and bumpers, but that's just me... It always seems odd to say this, but if you want 'great' matches, then they've never really hit that as a company, and in fact I think a very valid criticism - and one I have also had at times - is that there big matches don't deliver, however for me personally, the matches are at a good enough level, that when combined with the look and feel of the show give me enough to enjoy. I would agree that the Reed/Pillman match was disappointing, largely down to Pillman looking like he'd prefer to be in AEW, but agree with NintendoLogic in that I enjoyed the main event. As he says, not a barn burner, but I liked it as physical battle without lots of excess. DBS Jr losing so cleanly did shock me a bit, but if he's also on his way out then it makes sense for it to be so decisive. I actually think the latest show was an overall stronger one with the return of the Opera Cup and I really liked the Tom Lawlor vs. Rocky Romero main event. Again, I may be on something of an island for when it comes to MLW, but it happily ticks most of my boxes for an easy weekly watch.

This sums up a lot of my own feelings well. I'm not a Cornette: "funny don't equal money" guy, but agree that Impact's ratio has been creeping a bit too high on the 'wacky' side in the last few months. For example, I know a lot of people on here really seem to like the wedding shooting angle, but it's just not for me. Not saying it's bad - people here seem to like it - it just disconnects me from the world the rest of the show is being presented in. I've always been someone that recognises that wrestling is at its best when you have variety, and having comedy and campy over the top stuff is just as vital a part of wrestling as 'good matches' and blood feuds, but it'a all about the balance, and Impact, to me, feels like it's just gone a bit too heavy on that side recently. It means some of the people involved come off looking like real geeks to me. I'm still a supporter and fan of the product overall though, which is why I was disappointed when Bound for Glory felt like a pretty poor show when compared to their more recent PPVs. Reading the results and seeing the clips from Turning Point last night though, that sounded like a much better show with some interesting debuts to replenish some of the talent they are losing like the Rascalz.

The Deonna Purazzo vs Kylie Rae match was the one I was most excited/intrigued by going in, so that's really disappointing to hear that she was off the card and the match got changed. If it's an injury then there's not too much you can do about that sadly, but I really hope they weren't trying to overthink it, especially given how good the build up show they did which focused heavily on that match. I haven't seen the show yet, so it would be wrong for me to offer too much of an opinion... But watching the TV every week going in, some of the results seemed a bit strange and not the direction I would've gone in e.g. whether it was to be Kylie Rae or Su Young in the match I thought the Purazzo title run had much more to run, same for the MCMG's holding the tag titles which have been two of the best things about the company the last couple of months. But as I say I will hold off too much on snap judgments until I've actually seen it!