G. Badger

It depends on what you mean by uncommon. Watching WAR and SWS in 2018 is kinda uncommon Personally, I'd steer away from the WWF heavy SWS shows. Depends on who/what you like though. I tried to go through some of lesser known matches for both companies earlier in this thread as did others. Its kinda is the non acclaimed WAR thread. Whatever you end up getting, post your reviews, thoughts here. Keep the WAR/SWS love going! I seen a few handhelds of interest but ended up getting the 20 volume commercial set because I thought it was the best bang for my buck Very nice, sounds massive but, a good investment. WAR/SWS is some timeless wrestling done right...plus some wackiness too.

It depends on what you mean by uncommon. Watching WAR and SWS in 2018 is kinda uncommon Personally, I'd steer away from the WWF heavy SWS shows. Depends on who/what you like though. I tried to go through some of lesser known matches for both companies earlier in this thread as did others. Its kinda the non acclaimed WAR thread. Whatever you end up getting, post your reviews, thoughts here. Keep the WAR/SWS love going!

Again, this has been the most entertaining Announcement & Feedback topic

Finish looked a little too cooperative for my tastes but, a damn fine match nonetheless. Best match of the show. I feel like if Rollins, Miz, and Balor are going to keep doing this good maybe, they should put them later in the show.

I watched this because it's still covered under my free month of the Network from Wrestlemania. Not bad...got 3 PPV shows for free. So tonight, I watched Backlash sorta in passing. It was really clear from seeing the card some of the matches could be good and some sucked at "go." Anyone that had hopes that this was going to be awesome was delusional to some degree. Here's the card and my brief takes. Seth Rollins vs The Miz: IC belt. Liked these guys in WM, Saudi Rumble, and liked Tyler Black in the past. Looked good on paper, delivered and then some. Finish could have been less choreographed but, a banger. Nia Jax vs Alexa Bliss: Raw Women's belt. Dug their WM match. Fuck people who want more "moves", this was really well done. Baby Bliss looked smart & Jax looked vulnerable but tough. Jeff Hardy vs Randy Orton: Hate Orton, skipped this. Skipped Elias & Rusev bullshit. I'm too old for that middle school fuckery. Daniel Bryan vs Big Cass: Was excited to see Danielson in a singles match. Didn't know who Cass was before the Saudi Rumble. Saw that and knew this was a lead turd waiting to drop. Caught the last 5+ minutes for proof of death. Carmella vs Charlotte: Smackdown Women's belt. Saw Charlotte and thought this had potential. Carmella annoyed the hell outta me and is a step back for the division. Juvenile character. Would have been good if Charlotte won but, finish was flat. Transition champ to give C. Flair time off (fake leg injury?) because of the kayfabe finish? AJ Styles vs Nakamura: Why they gotta make Nakamura the "nut shot" guy? Stupid and sophomoric at best. Had some moments though especially the chair bits. Braun Strowman & Bobby Lashley vs Sami Zayn & Kevin Owens: Skipped this. Strowman is alright in my book. What's Lashley doing back? I don't care about Steen & Generico anymore. Great in PWG and 2008 ROH though. Roman Reigns vs Samoa Joe: Looking forward to this match and it delivered. Anyone who left during this or was bored with it, that's fine but, I suggest you look elsewhere for wrestling. Seriously, if you didn't think this was just going to be a *** affair then, you're kidding yourself. Reigns at WM was one of the worst main events I've ever seen. This was at least pretty good with Joe using his brain to work a smart match. Reigns is on autopilot on the Airship Bland Meathead... that's to be expected though. It's more about how Joe can work within the predictable booking and approved spots than have a great match with the well meaning Reigns. Truth be told Joe's been booked like shit after 2006. He doesn't have "the look" and probably would be best in ROH or AJPW now. I doubt people would chant Rusev Day during his match there...lame as fuck...children. I'd probably say the top matches are: 1) Rollins vs Miz 2) Jax vs Bliss 3) Joe vs Roman 4) AJ vs Ballshot Nakamura

Lynn was a bad booking choice and thus devalued the belt. I like Jerry Lynn but, yeah it was like an out of leftfield choice for a transition champion. I guess no worse than Gibson since JL could still go in the ring. However, I think it marks the end of the great or classic era of ROH to me. Also, Gabe's Wikipedia page mentions him working for ECW and sites and RF video shoot.

I'm on the fence with Gabe booking. At the time, I thought it was pretty great but, by the end it just got a little too busy. One grudge is that I thought Danielson should have gone over Nigel at the one PPV. The World title reign & mythos was treated sacrosanct and whomever was the 2 time champion would be like the greatest of all time. They sorta didn't mention Xavier and Gibson or even Homicide too much though. Also Everyone was waiting for some one like Dragon, KENTA, Aries etc. to dethrone Nigel. I think Gabe got caught up too much with legacy and it bogged him down. ROH was AJPW like in that regard. Gabe was Baba-like and waited to long to pull the trigger. Then, was it Pearce that put the belt on Jerry Lynn?

Yeah, by 2006 NOAH style or Ark Style as I've seen it called was pretty distinct from the stories and layered Kings Road of AJ. That nuanced story and layers of meaning of AJ was never really present in ROH. Perhaps Joe vs Kobashi is the one exception but even then, it's a novelty fantasy. Otherwise, it was the "I'm tougher, I've got a more dangerous move" NOAH style. I think it's really the case where people may want to go back and look at the top 4 or 5 guys per year and see where their influences were...to see if there was a puro company they could have fit into.

I agree totally. And the commentary up until 2005 was pretty terrible overall. There is way too much talking during the matches. I don't feel the commentary has ever been very good in RoH. I know people despised him but I actually liked when Prazak and Hodgewood were doing the HDNet show. There was something that I just enjoyed about Hodgewood's commentary. Haha! True! The really early stuff I have to mute or turn down to right before silent because it takes me out of the match. It's like watching wrestling while listening to commercial for an auto dealership. Also, in general, I felt ROH was trying to fit into whatever Japanese promotion Gabe had a deal with at the time. Zero-One early on until NOAH for the main event stuff and Dragon Gate especially during the multi-man faction stuff. I never thought they were imitating AJPW just because the presence, style, and pace was different. NOAH and Dragon Gate though...hell yes!

I agree totally. And the commentary up until 2005 was pretty terrible overall. There is way too much talking during the matches.

A classic 16 minute tournament match. It's like in that **** 1/4 - **** 1/2 range to me. It's best described as NJPW Jrs. style with 2000 era hard hits, a hot Korakuen krowd, and tourney match urgency. Tanaka & Otani don't go for epic, they go for the win. Dangan gets busted open from a Tree of Woe baseball slide if that's any indicator. Plus, Otani's facial expressions are as top shelf as ever. He takes the drama to another level with his emoting. Totally surprised by this match since no one really talks about Zero One especially in 2018...if you're a fan of either guy, see it. It'll be one of the best bouts you'll watch this week.

Very very excited to hear that this was a good Carnival. Saw a good deal of the 2016 CC and while it did have a couple great little matches, it was a little lackluster. 2018 sounds fantastic and I'm going to check it out.

Masato Tanaka was pretty much responsible for me getting into puroresu. His matches in the States with ECW were eye opening to me. He was tough, intense, and innovative. I would say he, Mike Awesome, and Tajiri were the 3 guys that convinced me that wrestling in Japan was something worth seeking out. After ECW folded, so did my interest in newer wrestling at the time. It was another 5 years before I got back into it. I've never really looked at what "Dangan" Tanaka was doing in that time when I was away. Masato Tanaka vs Samoa Joe (Zero-1 2001 or 2002): There was no date on this from the Youtube video but, based on the size of Joe and his attire (cut off tee & track pants), this was pre-ROH Joe. I believe per Quebrada.net that it's from BURNING HEART League 09/15/01. All that being said, this was 8 minutes of spots but, I'll be darned if this wasn't a blast! Joe was pulling out all kinds of stuff like a Fosberry Flop dive and Pedigree type move. Obviously Tanaka was going over but, you'd be surprised. Cool finish too! vs Shinjiro Otani (Zero-1 07/31/02): A classic 16 minute tournament match. It's like in that **** 1/4 - **** 1/2 range to me. It's best described as NJPW Jrs. style with 2000 era hard hits, a hot Korakuen krowd, and tourney match urgency. Tanaka & Otani don't go for epic, they go for the win. Dangan gets busted open from a Tree of Woe baseball slide if that's any indicator. Plus, Otani's facial expressions are as top shelf as ever. He takes the drama to another level with his emoting. Totally surprised by this match since no one really talks about Zero One especially in 2018...if you're a fan of either guy, see it. It'll be one of the best bouts you'll watch this week. Tanaka & Shinjiro Otani vs Steve Corino & Low Ki (ROH 11/09/02): This was the main event to the inaugural All Star Extravaganza. Otani & Tanaka kept this a lean mean contest. Otani damn near put Ki's face into the back of his head with a kick. Not to be outdone, Dangan hit a brutal lariat and shotgun stunner. Sure, it was Philly but, no chairshots needed. Corino & Ki were excellent as well. Highly recommend checking this out. vs Mike Awesome (Zero-1 02/29/04): Holy shit...wow. For an Awesome vs Tanaka match this might be the most dangerous one. I don't know if the match quality is the tops since they really do just run through the spots but, what spots they are! Highly recommended match for those missing this rivalry. I had no clue this existed especially since their One Night Stand match from 2005 was touted as their most recent battle since ECW. But that's WWE history for ya! Go see this Zero One match and witness the brutal spots for yourself! vs CM Punk (Wrestling-1 04/09/04): I'm not 100% on the promotion title as it appears to be a US indy with affiliation to Zero-1 or a US offshoot when they were trying to do a global wrestling thing. I read in the comments online that Punk was sick at the time but, this was a very good hotel banquet hall level match. Punk focused on Masato's arm amd gave the match a good sound body. It was really solid when they could have just winged a bunch of moves. It felt good because they eventually got into a nice little finishing run. Some big moves were hit and some were countered but, they never gave it all away. These two worked really well together. vs Samoa Joe (1PW 2005?): Again, the poster didnt' put a date but, this looks around the time Joe had the bleached brown/red bit in his hair while in TNA. This was a 10 minute sprint of wonderful stiffness. If the above match was about moves, this was about hitting each other. They go bat shit with it. This pairing is really, really good and I wish there was more available. Match goes to a double DQ but then we get... vs Steve Corino: ECW rules type of match. They're in the crowd and being a little cute for the people that loved ECW back in the day. I'm sure I would have dug this at the time but, the let's take a tour without actually fighting isn't as interesting anymore BUT it's not all of that. It's brutal at times too. So, this is a 2 in 1 or Gauntlet match for Tanaka and a must-see. Dangan all the way man! Tanaka to my knowledge only wrestled in ROH the one time but, he seemed like a perfect fit for early ROH from his performances above. 2002-2004 Tanaka in ROH would have been great and is certainly fodder for fantasy bookers out there. These matches are a hint of what could have been. Next time, I want to tackle what I'll call the Tanaka revival- from my estimates late 2000s to early 2010s. I'll see what I can find on the web.

This was a really good episode of wrestling. It wasn't a classic match or series of matches though. Very good TV matches without an abundance of high flying. Still there was a good deal of predictability and that is what kept it from being a great gauntlet match. Gulak vs Kalisto was best (I would have liked TJ vs Drew). I really find the "Lucha Lucha!" chant really juvenile though but, I guess that's the point. Fun stuff anyways. 205 Live has yet to disappoint...50 minutes of entertainment without big speeches, shenanigans and the like.

Earlier this week my fiance saw Kurt Angle while driving at the mall. I didn't believe her at first since we had just watched some special about him on the WWE network. But, with that fact in mind, I figure his face is going to be fresh in her mind. Most of what little doubt I had was in the fact that I didn't get to see him! So, that by itself is pretty great but, then today we were telling her uncle about this and end up with the gift of a half hour of old wrestling stories! I had no freaking idea that he was into wrestling let alone have stories! I will not do these justice but, I'll try to tell the best. The first is about he and some buddies going to a bar by the airport sometime in the 1980's. They're sitting there and his one friend tells him, 'Hey take a look over there.' The uncle thinks its a buxom babe but, it's Andre the fucking Giant surrounded by women downing bottles of beer! Turns out he's there with Jimmy Snuka, Blackjack Mulligan, and Mr. Fuji! Talk about luck, you go into your local suds station and bam you're shoulder to shoulder with grappling greats. The second story is about a match he saw with George "The Animal" Steele and Bruno Sammartino. It sounded really wild with Bruno juicing a gusher and the fans losing their shit. The match ended in a draw and people are tossing popcorn and God knows what else at The Animal. George is leaving the ring area to the locker rooms and the police are escorting him because it's so bonkers in the Civic Arena. Then, a little old man gets past the railing and police. The geezer proceeds to punch Steele in the back of the head! Reflexively, George swats back with a clubbed fist and was likely to kill the old man if it wasn't for the cop pushing gramps out of the way of George's hairy fist! Again, I'm not doing these justice as I'm probably missing all kinds of details. Plus there were other good stories like two drunk women getting in a full on drunken brawl in the stands that stoped a match and more. I just had to document these great stories!

Very enjoyable match sorta like a PWG tag match in a WWE setting. I get the feeling the reason KENTA is on this 4th tier show is that he really doesn't seem comfortable in this setting. I'd have to see his other stuff but, he looked the weakest of all. Still a good main event for the episode.

I got to see these matches up on ROH's site today. Its episode #344 , aired 04/20/18 for what its worth. All take place on the Supercard of Honor show from 'Mania weekend. Ok with that outta the way, we go to the fights! Kelly Klein vs Mayu Iwatami: This was pretty enjoyable. There were some flubs but, this wasn't meant to set the world on fire. I guess this was a semifinal to determine the Women of Honor champion. Kelly made a good first impression whereas I was hoping from more from Mayu. I've seen her in Stardom back in 2015 or 2016 and thought maybe she could have brought more to this. Nevertheless, this was hard hitting & competitve and A-OK in my book. Sumie Sakai vs Tenille Dashwood: Dashwood has a very good look and character. Turns out she was Emma from WWE. That means very little to me...other than I can see why her character-work is really polished. As with the previous match, this was good but, nothing amazing. The highlight was Sumie bringing some mat wrestling to the show. That's something the modern product (oh I fucking hate saying that but, I've been watching WWE Network for an hour and it gets burned into your soft brain)....Mat wrestling is something that is lacking from the modern ROH show. So, it was nice to see even a flash of it here. *So it turns out (per Wikipedia) that the previous matches were prior to the main show.* Kelly Klein vs Sumie Sakai: This is for the WOH belt. This starts out pretty heated and does really well in topping the previous two fights. It was really good and building to something but, sorta just ends. I'm not sure if it was supposed to be longer but, I liked it nonetheless. I almost get the feeling that ROH management wanted all 3 matches to be less than 12 minutes so that they could put them on an episode of TV. As in, "Keep it short, we're gonna put all of these matches on the show. Wrestle for the TV show and not the PPV or live event". Here's my gripe with that idea sorta in mind. Colt Cabana and the other commentator go out of their way to make ROH seem pro-women or "pro-feminist" by changing words around and making apologies. For instance, it's a fisherwoman's suplex or it's her-story (instead of history). These things aren't said with tongue in cheek either. Then, Colt talks about how they're making things right by finally having a championship for the women & they have Daffney, an old school ROH and Shimmer wrestler sit ringside to promote some historical-gender connection or something. It was a cool blast from the past though. Initially, I felt that this was all some marketing/sales ploy to get a couple bucks from sympathetic viewers or attract female viewers by softly riding the wave of pop feminism. I was cynical of their intentions and well, I suppose I still am BUT, I genuinely think they are trying to be supportive. Sure, allowing more than 1 of the 3 matches to be on the PPV show, giving them more than 10 minutes per match, and putting the WOH title match above one of the FOUR other men's title matches that night MIGHT be MORE supportive but, it's something...I suppose. Really, it's not much is it? It's embarrassing actually but, the real positive is putting the strap on veteran 46 year old Sumie Sakai. Clearly she's not the same in-ring but, she's got loads of experience. And that is what this group of women need in terms of stepping up their game. These wrestlers are not Charlotte Flair, Asuka/Kana, etc. They need leadership and guidance in order to approach that level. It's a gutsy thing to have the face of your Women's division not be some young "hot chick" especially when your fan base is young men. I think everyone assumed Kelly was going to get the nod because of the youth factor. It was a good move to wait on that. ROH hopefully will keep the belt on Sumie for awhile and set the tone for their division as one of competition, athleticism, and progression. If so, I'll probably watch it more regularly than WWE's women's division.

Gresham is great. Everyone should check out his match with Tom Lawlor from Black Label Pro from this year. I don't want to get into the ZSJ argument as it's pointless to express how I feel, but the quote in my sig. is someone referencing his grappling game and it pretty much sums up how I feel. Yeah, I really like Gresham as well. His match versus Thatcher from Beyond wrestling was quite enjoyable.

AJPW CLASSICS # 175 I took a little bit of a break there but, I'm back in the game. And I'm going to tackle AJ Classic #175 covering early 1989. Joe Malenko vs Mighty Inoue (01/25/89): The Junior Heavyweight title is up for grabs. Remember this is WRESTLING so, there is a lot of grappling here. It's a bit dry and not as lively as I was needing at the time of viewing. Still, there is a time and place and if you're in the mood, this is a damn fine match for it. They do a good job selling the exhaustion and there are some really nice damaging looking suplexes from Joe too. Watch for the finishing move- it probably blew Joe's taint to pieces! Footloose vs Johnny Ace & The Terminator (03/08/89): I'm not a 100% on the date as I can't remember if they reverse the day and month in Japan. I think we're OK. Anyhow, this is a new Footloose match for me which is great since they are probably one of my favorite teams. The gaijin team of Terminator and Ace are rocking super mullets...holy shit that's a stupid looking haircut. In the early 2000's, making fun of mullets was like a shared cultural experience but, it grew old. I don't care...look at their damn hair! This is more of the action oriented '89 match I was looking for. Ace is super athletic and in great shape here. He does kinda shoot above his skill level by doing a clumsy skin-the-cat reverse head scissors, then a bumpy slingshot (twisting?) suplex and finally regular flying head scissors. That's one segment! This is 1989 man, you're doing shit like the Young Bucks' lost giant brother Johnny Ace Jackson ;P Another favorite Ace moment was yelling "Ask Him-Ask Him-Ask Him!!!" while he had one of Footloose in a abdominal hold. He yelled this 3 times in one breath...take it easy man! Overall this was a very good match that started out like a strong TV match and then picked up once they got into the groove. I'd highly recommend checking it out. It has some funny moments, good wrestling, and is a nice showcase for everyone. Jumbo Tsruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy (02/02/89): This takes place in the States and I think. The ring shows AWA but, I didn't think Hansen was allowed near the AWA after the incident with the belt from '86. It could have just been the canvas of the conglomerate of the remaining regional territories. This started out a little bland for my tastes but, I sort of expect that when I see these Japanese matches-in-the-States. Nonetheless, this turned out pretty good after the Olympics worked over Stan's arm. My two favorite moments are when Hansen kicks Yatsu's head like an old pumpkin & when Gordy dump powebombs Yatsu and Jumbo breaks the pin up with a nice stomp to the skull. Otherwise, nothing tremendous but, I'd still say it was fun. Overall, I'd say this was an average AJPW Classics. Nothing outstanding and nothing terrible...It was a good way to get back in the swing of things. It'd be a nice hour long TV episode of wrestling to watch while having dinner or a couple beers.

Saw that Samoa Joe is on Smackdown now...nice! Even in 2018, I gotta say more Joe vs AJ & Danielson is always welcomed. It's a smart move too! I'm no WWE genius but, three future hall of famers working together seems like a no-brainer especially if they're gonna put Orton and Nakamura in the mix. Here's a little spotlight on Samoa Joe from 2005. If he can bring some of that magic to 2018, I might have to tune in. Samoa Joe vs AJ Styles (TNA Sacrifice 08/14/05): I thought this was a fantastic meeting of two of this generation's best wrestlers. It was really everything you could hope for in a match between AJ & Joe. Athletic, intense, and surprising. Also thought the ending was good for the match/story as well. A 100% clean finish or draw would have been preferred but, I think this match is still a classic. Samoa Joe vs Kenta Kobashi (ROH 10/01/05): This match had legitimate instensity as Joe was facing, no testing himself against Kobashi. He had to bring barbarian like intensity lest he be mauled. This was really great! I found the execution to be a little off at times especially on Joe's submission attempts, they were a bit loose. Overall it was above average though much of the match was comprised of strikes. And maybe that's a complaint some of the ROH fans have. It was very much a AJPW style match. There weren't amazing sequences, chains of moves, or the usual flashy business...just hardhitting, believable Kings Road style wrestling. Surprisingly, that King's Road or maybe Ark style (with all the macho strike-offs) was there as Joe paid homage to Kobashi's greatest foes & even the Orange Crush himself. If I can remember correctly, he did Misawa's elbow suicida & step-over facelock, Kawada's step kicks, soccer kick, & stretch plum, and even Kobashi's turnbuckle bomb. I thought that this really elevated this match above all the rest of ROH's stuff. It was great for those who didn't notice these parallels/homages but truly inspiring to those who did. This shows great judgement on Samoa Joe's part by acknowledging Kobashi's history, AJPW's history, and infusing it with his own. Re-Watch: Joe versus Kobashi is probably one of the greatest matches that has taken place on American soil in the past decade and in the decades to come. It has everythingdrama, story, crowd energy, the moves, the stiffness. It all comes together this night in NYC. Just beautiful stuff! It hits on a different level than the other 5 star matches because it is like the ultimate puro fan taking on the King of Puro and damn near beating him. Its totally for the marks but, Kobashi still has a reputation to uphold. And sweet Jesus, does he deliver! Bumping it up a half star to perfect-o! Samoa Joe vs Jushin Liger (TNA Bound For Glory 10/23/05): Amazing cool entrance by Joe and Liger's wasn't too shabby with his NJ music, full shoulder pads, and streamers. Liger, sized wise, looked like a good match for Joe. Shorter but, thick as Joe. Crowd was amped. Joe pretty much did his 'standard' TNA act here but, Liger switched it up from his 2005 routine and played it like a younger junior taking on the heavyweight. So, we got a few moments of brilliance from Liger as well as him taking to the air. The only thing stopping this from being a great match was the time it was given. It reminded me of a Fire Pro Wrestling match where you get a Critical just as you're starting to amp things up. Highly recommended match and a successful dream match in my book. Samoa Joe vs AJ Styles (TNA Turning Point 12/11/05): AJ took it right to Joe and set the tone for this match. Intense and physical as hell. It was full of nice surprises,teases, hard way blood from both guys, and fantastic pacing. Plus, the post match kept the story going setting up Daniels vs Joe. This really is a classic match alongside anything they did in ROH. Its really a testament to how TNA was mismanaged. Styles, Joe, and Daniels could have been having classics like these for the Heavyweight belt for a few years instead we got 2000 era WCW redux and all kinds of other stupidity. Here's hoping that the writers don't blow it this time around..I mean they've got Danielson and Nakamura this go around. Don't screw this up fellas!

Okay, we're back from WWE to conclude Ring of Honor's Winter Warrior show in Atlanta. AJ Styles vs Bobby Fish: No belt on the line but, AJ is IWGP champion. This was a pretty good match. I researched it since I was a little groggy the first time around. It was not as awesome as it could have been. Technically nothing was wrong but, I guess I was expecting more. I'd still recommend it but, the singles match of the night honor goes to Strong vs Kyle. The Kingdom (Mike Bennett & Matt Taven) vs The Briscoes - 2/3 falls (normal match, table match, No DQ/Falls Anywhere): Well, holy crap this was awesome! Those chanting fans ARE right! The team's really beat each other up. I've never seen Bennett or Taven but, they truly impressed me. I was afraid the were going to be hokey especially with Maria as a valet but, I was wrong. They were really athletic & matched the Briscoe Boys in brawling and crazy shit. And believe you me, there was some crazy shit. It reminded me of 2006 Briscoes vs Joe & Homicide. If you dug that then, see this! Great match or perhaps a classic? A must see bout from Dem Boys in any case. As I've been on an ROH thing, I watched a couple less talked about fights from their Supercard of Honor from 04/07/18. Kota Ibushi vs Adam Page: So this is my 2nd Page match in as many weeks...and I was psyched to see what he could do with Ibushi. 14 minutes of fireworks. Perfectly executed dives, strikes, and slams. A great match that builds and concluded just at the right time. **** 1/4 star match, I'd say. The Briscoes vs Jay Lethal & Hiroshi Tanahashi: Everything looked really solid here. It was a basic smart tag match from vets. I even liked Takehashi which is saying something! The finish left something to be desired especially after their battle vs The Kingdom from above. I liked this regardless and would recommend it to fans. Edit: 04/16/18: While I like ROH's recent stuff their business leaves a bit to be desired. They've updated their website and links don't always go to where they are supposed to. I've mentioned their high shipping costs in an earlier post ($11 for 4-6 dvds). But now I can add poor customer service to the list...and I am saying this as a head online retail customer service agent for the past 5+ years. Its been 10 days since ordering 6 clearance shows. I received an order confirmation but, no updates. So, I check my status on there and and it shows "pending." Um...10 days is a little long to be pending. I'll send a nice email to their help/customer service address and they'll get me some info. I'm thinking - I ordered right before WM so maybe they got a ton of orders or Supercard of Honor maybe leaves them short staffed in someway. I don't know...I'm pretty understanding. However, instead of an email from a dedicated CS rep, warehouse staff, etc. I get an one sentence reply: "We are in the middle of relocating our warehouse therefore shipping is delayed Sent from my iPhone" Oh well, fucking thank you! 10 days after my order was placed. Of course there is no mention of this on their shop site, in the email confirmation, or social media. Any of these things would have been reassuring let alone a heads up before buying. Again, I do this for a living so, I'm not being a prick. I've gotten yelled at, cussed at, been told I've ruined birthdays/Xmas/anniversaries, been called a liar etc. in my line of work. We sell fun gag items, tee shirts, and dvds. So, nothing where any of that behavior is called for especially when we're always very understanding and appreciative of the business. So, the type of flippant response I received is really sub par as fuck. No apology for the inconvenience or delay...let alone a time line of when I'm going to get the shit I paid for. I did ask for this but, eh they couldn't be bothered. It was some chick responding from her iPhone probably on her lunch break. There was no indication who or what she is/does. I'm lucky I even got a response, I suppose. I try to put in a good word for the places I get my tapes (DVDs) from but, shit ROH dropped the ball from a fan standpoint. I know streaming is the thing but, why even sell DVDs anymore if you're going to cop an attitude for people buying them? And at $11 S&H, a little apology would be expected since a partial refund would be way too much to ask. Cuz I know 6 Dvds don't cost $11 in shipping. I'm venting rather than blowing up on the employee. Another indicator that I do this for a living, I guess I'll say this, be forewarned of ordering anything (including tickets) from ROH. Get what you can for free online and buy tix & merch at the show. If you can't make it or don't want to then, they miss out on the sales. That's on them! Update: 04/20/18- Got my DVDs, woo-hoo! Everything was in good shape but, never got an update that they had shipped. I kinda figured that would happen. 14 days for delivery...I can deal with that. I would say that if you want stuff quick or have deadline, call first. It never came to that in my case but, I gotta think you'll get more help than email. Otherwise, you might be waiting in the dark.

I actually enjoyed this one quite a bit. Perhaps it's because I disliked the Elite schtick...It was good to see this dream match happen. It's something to have Omega & Ibushi back together after helping usher in the new era of NJPW those years ago. The match was indulgent but, I thought told a very good story. I'm OK with how they told it as well. It's not Jumbo vs Tenryu so, if they're gonna do all kinds of moves then let them do it. I guess it was about being the "best" tag team at the style that they wrestle. I suppose it was more of a competition than a grudge match. Maybe that's too much rationalizing Perhaps I've grown accustomed to the Bucks but, I did not see anything overly excessive or redundant. I think they could have made this 25 instead of 45 but, they never truly repeated themselves. The mini story of Matt's back injury was really well worked as well. It was a lot of fun and I bet it was a hoot live. I can't really rate it but, I'm glad I spent the time watching it. The big Omega matches are always worth checking out.

I am on the fence about AJ vs Danielson because not only are they contemporaries but, wrestled each other quite a bit. That comparison can't be made with the others. So, it's a more detailed compare and contrast. Their early pre ROH stuff, 2002-2005 ROH, their stuff in Japan etc. The defining differences are AJ's time in TNA and NJPW vs Danielson in WWE. I get the feeling that AJ's TNA stuff hadn't been seen as much as Bryan's WWE and that's working against him from an in ring standpoint. I guess what I'm getting it is that I thought it'd be more even given the circumstances.

I really felt Ciampa made this match so meaningful and intense, especially early on. His facial expressions, his "look", and his subtle stiffness is what helped guide this through the middle section. I'm not taking anything away from Gargano but, I just wanted to give Tomasso his due too It was like a Fujiwara, Hansen aura of violence that he had here. For someone that doesn't watch NXT but, knows both from previous work, that's what helped me take it seriously from the get-go.

Clearly, I'm on a modern wrestling kick as of late. I suppose I'm taking a little breather from FMW and AJ. Who knows I might even finish the wXw tournament! Fortunately, I have the WWE streaming service free for another month so, I thought I'd see what the hype was about concerning NXT. That's not to say I'd never seen NXT footage but, I wanted to see this current crop of guys. It's kinda like ROH & PWG from 2013-16 with Roderick Strong, Red Dragons, Adam Cole, 2 of the 3 Grapple Fuckers, is Hero still with the company? Oh and they finally got Ricochet too! Plus Tommy Chompers, Johnny Gargano (I remember him from his Pro Wrestling Ohio days...really cool to see him make it), and our wXw friend Tommy End. I'll just say Mr. End has come a long way since 2010. One thing that I don't like about the streaming business is that there's no way to skip ahead or back to the matches or chapters. I'm so used to watching DVDs that I really prefer it. I hear everyone enjoy all the different streaming services they have. That's cool but, I don't have the time, patience, or stomach to scan through (let alone watch) a three hour show. It's OK though. This non-skip obstacle forced me to watch a match that I might have missed from the NXT: New Orleans show. You'd better believe I skipped the ladder match and the three way tag team match. That's way too much gimmerickery. Ember Moon vs Shayna Baszler: NXT Women's title on the line. I liked this match which is less and less of a surprise to me. Women's wrestling in the States is catching up to the men...or at least the stuff shown on TV. It is equal to or better than most of the men's matches. That being said, this was the weaker of the 3 WWE Women's title matches fought during the weekend. I'd still recommend it though. Andrade Almas vs Aleister Black : NXT Title match. This was pretty darn good. I'd even say great however, it had superfluous moonsaults and "moves" when good old fashion hitting would have been better. That is to say, more intense and more logical. End oh *ahem* Black is a hell of a kicker so, why is he doing moonsaults? This reminds me of Kawada in Footloose. He was doing top rope moves and spins kicks. Sure, they looked really great but, when you can kick a guy straight in the face, why bother? Almas valet was really remarkable and the most memorable part of this match. I'm coming in never seeing them so, perhaps that's old hat but, I dug it. Johnny Gargano vs Tomasso Ciampa: Grudge match. For a guy that skips as much of the WWE packaging as possible, watch the intro video to this. Especially if you're ignorant of their backstory. I know them but, not as NXTers so, this really helped set the scene. If you're new to this story/feud then, I'd say it's required going forward. Coversely, I don't feel like I missed anything by not watching NXT on a even sporadic basis. I'd say it's like an update retelling of the Midnight Rockers split up...except Johnny and Tomasso really are friends. I was hesitant to watch this because it had gotten a lot of pimping on the Match Discussion Archive. That and I'm not the biggest fan of 2018 wrestling. I am so glad that I didn't let those things stop me. Not only was it a gruelling battle but, it had a weight to it that few matches have. This was all punctuated by a finish that wasn't fade to black hammers but, instead one that showed a depth of emotions. I thought it was a classic. Bravo guys!! I can't say I'm in love with NXT since I skipped two matches intentionally. In some regards, just don't like the WWE style of presentation. I didn't like TNA or WCW's main shows either. Saturday Night was good though. I guess I like a more bare bones approach. I don't really care for the gimmicks that the wrestlers have. It feels really focused on a 8-16 year old demographic. I mean I could see myself loving the characters as a pre-teen. I think I'd be an Aleister Black fan since he seems the most scuzzy/ECW like Nevertheless, I am really glad I watched what I did.