G. Badger

I was hesitant to watch this but, I am so glad that I did. 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.

I don't follow NXT but, from an in ring perspective, this was pretty good. Everything was well executed but, I didn't get a real sense of intensity except when they were throwing strikes. If they kept it a little simpler in terms of spots or at least picked the top 10 to do and filled in with more good hits this would have been a great match. Vega was awesome from what I saw. These spots were crucial and memorable.

I agree with this. I think expectations were probably way too high for most folks. Like they were going to do Omega vs Okada type stuff. It was very good nonetheless. I mean we got a NJ match at Mania! That's pretty cool to me. It never kicked into high gear but, was a 4 star bout and should have been the main event.

This was very short but, still an entertaining way to kick off the episode. This was a great example of how ECW shows felt very organic. Joey & Joel kick off the show and introduce the match. Cyrus (aka Don Callis for newer fans) comes out to start a fight. That ends and the match starts which sets up Corino coming out but the fight is still happening and it transitions to Rhino and Sandman and the comes full circle with Network stuff. Good match but, a fantastic segment! ECW really crammed a lot of good stuff into an hour long episode. Never felt it was a hour wasted.

They had so many encounters that I feel like they had better ones than this. It was not bad but, it hurt that the crowd got distracted so much that you can see Tanaka slow stuff down because of it. Camera never shows it but, I believe there might be a fight or someone being removed from the audience. You see a guy a minute or two later being escorted out. He's throwing his arm in the air in defiance to the crowd...or something. Regardless, the crowd isn't into the match and that throws things off.

This was my first WrestleMania. No, not first time going...This was the first time I've ever sat down and watched the Show of Shows, Showcase of the Immortals, and whatever else they call it. To be honest, I never wanted to spend the time or money on it. Back when PPV was the only way to see it live on TV, I never remember thinking, "Wow I've gotta see that show!" It always seemed like a bunch of fireworks, lights, and fanfare. Not my thing...plus its super long. I have school the next day dammit! Well, I broke MY streak and watched it. I would say bought it but, I got it along with "the Network" free for a month. This was the #1 reason. I'm not going to lie. The #2 reason is that my fiancé is a Ronda Rousey fan and she was genuinely interested in how she would do. That was the real #1 reason I guess...that and it was free, hahaha! No, we watched the Raw lead-in stuff on Youtube clips and it reminded me of classic Attitude era stuff. I was pretty psyched and more importantly my fiance was psyched. Once, I told her that we could probably watch match for free, she was all in It is crazy to see someone who is not a wrestling fan be excited and emotionally invested in wrestling. It's even better that it's something we can share because outside of the Rousey/Angle vs HHH/Steph, I didn't know or care what was going on in WWE Universe (groan). I will say I was pumped to find out that AJ vs Nakamura was happening though...kinda like icing on the cake. Overall, it was a good show...a little long but, enjoyable. My significant other checked out after the Rousey match. I can't say that I blame her either. All of the entrances and video packages, it was like 9 o' clock! It was the 4th match! I, being the true blue wrestling idiot, watched the whole thing. She liked the Smackdown Women's title match a lot which was a pleasant surprise to me. I figured she was in it for the one match but, she dug the fight as much as I did. It's nice to see the "Diva" bullshit is gone...Barbie dolls prancing around doing terrible looking moves and getting hurt while they're at it. Uh...no thanks...forever. I'll have to show her the Nia Jax vs Alexa Bliss match. Reminded me a little of Aja Kong vs Toyota...eh sorta Ok well I'll get on to the match reviews in case you're interested or haven't seen the matches or maybe want a differnt take on them. They'll be brief: Seth Rollins vs Finn Balor vs The Miz: Tyler Black vs Prince Devitt sounds pretty good to me. Why they gotta throw the Miz in there? Hahaha...it's WWE, I guess. It's all good though. This was a really good opener. Just tons of well executed spots and a pretty nice finish. This is one that I want to rewatch. Asuka vs Charlotte Flair: I was very impressed with this. I've seen just a smidge of WWE Women's stuff and I thought it was better than Diva era crud. It wasn't AJW but, that's understandable. This might come off as dated but, it was comparable wrestling to when Jazz was in ECW or Awesome Kong, Gail Kim, Akayo Hamada and Cheeleader Melissa were in TNA. This was a great match with stakes on the line. The actual wrestling was intense and the in ring story was fantastic as the finish was that climax to that. Top 2 or 3 match of the night. OK I tuned some shit out because I needed to eat and walk the dog. So if this review section is missing stuff, it's intentional. Ronda Rousey & Kurt Angle vs Triple H & Stephanie McMahon: This was the match of the night. We were emotionally invested. Hell, I haven't been this into a match since I was 16 years old. I don't know if it's just me but it felt like an Attitude era build and payoff. I think everyone was wondering if Rousey was going to be good. Plus I think everyone was worrying that shit was going to get botched or look weak. Well, everything came off perfectly with Rousey performing up to and exceeding expectations. It's fitting that Kurt is her mentor as she is a natural. I wonder if they're going to have her be a Women's division competitor or have her do attraction matches for the PPVs. Technically this isn't as tight as Charlotte/Asuka but, it's checks all the boxes for a 1998-2001 WWF PPV main event. Weird that it was the #4 match. I guess they didn't want Rousey fans tuning out. Alexa Bliss vs Nia Jax: Totally surprised that another women's match was on the card. I was so thankful because whatever happened after the Rousey match until this was junk to me. It was a reminder of why I don't watch WWE. Let alone the Wrestlemania pageantry I suffered through. This was what I wanted though. I mean I would have been happy with Jax' destruction of Mickie James. That was some straight Jungle Jack vs Bull Nakano violence! Bliss is a little Diva-ish but, that's alright. She makes it work and she can wrestle. I highly recommend this match. Probably my #3 or 4 match. AJ Styles vs Shinsuke Nakamura: WWE title on the line. I've been reading stuff that people did't think this was a great match. All I can guess is that their expectations were way too high. The largest chunk of modern NJ is 2015 which was Nakamura and AJ's peak of popularity and performance so, I can say this was pretty damn comparable. This was a NJ title match on WrestleMania. That's crazy! Younger folks probably cannot appreciate that and that's alright but, it's the truth. AJ Styles in WWE seemed possible but, a top Japanese talent like Nakamura is bananas. They did the best NJ style match they could with the story they were given to work with. Yes, this could have gone on for another few minutes and had the "epic" kickouts but, WWE is going for a longer run with them. It was a great match. I will say that Styles' Springboard Elbow as a finisher is stupid...but, then Roman Reigns' big move is a Flying Punch that's what you get. Why the show kept going is beyond me...The tag match was stupid fun...Good for TV but, was a little tiresome at hour 56 of WM. And the main event...man that could have been something. 7-8 minutes of bombs with blood and tables. Instead, it was crap. It seemed like an intentional swerve to throw off the internet critics. I can't say I'd blame them. It's not like there's only a relatively small group of wrestling nuts like here on PWO. Everyone who's into wrestling has Reddit, Twitter, Facebook and all the other shit to use in order to bitch about wrestling and everything else. If I was part of the WWE higher ups, it would piss me off. I can't think they'd throw a middle finger up to their fans but, gosh, that's what the match felt like. One match that I didn't review was the Bryan Danielson match. It was OK. It's nice to see he's wrestling again. He kinda retired in my eyes once he went to the WWE though. So, eh...I'd much rather watch him beat the everloving shit out of someone in ROH or Japan than do a watered down version. Now that I've had a chance, this is how I'll rank the matches: 1) Rousey & Angle vs Triple H & Stephanie 2) AJ Styles vs Nakamura 3) Charlotte vs Asuka 4) Alexa Bliss vs Nia Jax 5) Miz vs Balor vs Rollins Overall, I'm glad I watched it. It certainly was something special. I can't say I'll actively try to follow WWE after this but, I'll use the rest of the free month to checkout Women's matches and perhaps some classics.

I'm with Kawada on this...it was one of the essential matches of the night but, was nothing tremendous past Bryan's in ring return. I'm not a WWE Danielson fan as his in ring ROH performances were so iconic that I have a hard time reconciling the two characters (still can't get over the name change). So, I'm biased I guess

I was very impressed with the match and would say it was the second best match of the show in terms of athleticism and telling a story within the ring. I haven't seen enough of either to rate it but, if they're doing this on a regular basis, I might have to make point to watch Smackdown.

Are you talking about the one that didn't even come close to making any sort of contact? They switched camera angles on that whiff so fast I thought this segment was tedious filler for a WM moment etc.

Getting that old school Thatcher heat before Mania

Found that Tokyo Pro 6/24/96 & 8/29/96 commercial tape is online. Has another Sabu vs Black Wazuma (Scorp.) match. Humorously, Scorpio flubs the name thing during his pre-match promo. Very good but clipped. Not as good as 10/18 match (Quebrada shows it as 10/08/96). Excited about Takashi Ishikawa & Kishin Kawabata vs Tarzan Goto & Mr. Gannosuke (Shin FMW team) from 06/24. And it totally lives up to that excitement. An early highlight is Gannosuke getting busted open and Ishikawa kicks the wound. Then a minute or two later, serendipitously, we get a up close shot of Ishikawa's blood drenched boot as it passes through the camera shot. Wicked! Goto's sick smile after caving Kawabata's cranium in was another moment of joy. Overall, there's not enough Goto vs Ishikawa but, I'll take it! Also, it looks like they've been frying cheese steaks in the middle ring. Take a look at the canvas...blech!

I wouldn't even say he was the ace in 1987 at age 52 and retired soon after. That was Henning. But even then, who was ace didn't matter at that point. Jumbo was 36 in '87 and was warming up to his stuff with Tenryu/Revolution and Misawa & co. Odd comparison point. Nevertheless, I would think you'd like Bock better since he's got a better technique than Jumbo. Have you seen Bockwinkle vs Bill Robinson in AJ 1980? You might enjoy it

Yeah, I remember liking the main event on this. I think what I saw was jip. Talk about a match up! The Sabu vs Scorpio match is another that I meant to watch awhile back. If its better than their Cyberslam '96 match, that'd be great! Dandy vs Orihara is an unknown WTF dream match. Edit: Couldn't find the above Scorp. vs Sabu but, did find Sabu vs 2 Cold Scorpio (10/18/96) from Tokyo Pro. Holy crap! It was great. At about half their Cyberslam match this was pure gold...great punches, chair stuff, and the aerial moves. Sabu hit everything perfectly (in a Sabu kinda way) and Too Cold was on point. Plus he does the Macarena...what's not to love!?

So, ROH has this show and a ton of shows on sale for like $2-3 on their website right now. Their shipping rates are a bit steep and antiquated. It's $11 for 4-6 items but, at two or three clams a show, that still is a great deal. They've got 2015-2017 shows, nearly the whole year for this low price. I'm not trying to make this an advertisement. I just wanna spread the word in case people are getting DVDs. That's probably why they're so low...streaming man...streaming... But, more importantly, I'm really digging this ROH show from 2015. So much so that I dropped a few coin and ordered a few from 2015 & 2016. Here is the latest batch of matches from Winter Warriors- Atlanta: ACH vs Moose: This is my first ACH or Moose match. Moose had a really good entrance and Stokely Hathaway looks like a fun manager/hype man. The fans are hyped for guys and I guess Moose played for the Falcons so, there you go! My favorite moves were Moose swinging ACH into the guardrails and ACH driving the big man Death Valley style. Very good match, a lotta fun. Six Man Mayhem: Jay Lethal vs Hanson vs Will Ferrara vs Michael Elgin vs Cedric Alexander vs Tommaso Ciampa: According to Kevin Kelly, Ferrara is filling in for Jimmy Jacobs. Its all good because Ferrara was really good here. As expected, this featured all kinds of wild spots but, had some character work as well. Elgin was doing some heel shit or something but, Lethal was the best. Best probably in all aspects. His athleticism, character, and experience are very appealing in 2018. Anyhow, perfect match for its type and I'm sure worth the ticket price to see it in person! The double main event is up next. AJ Styles vs Bobby Fish and The Kingdom vs The Briscoes in a 2/3 falls match.

Man, I was hoping to watch a few more matches but, I've got some business to take care of today & probably won't get the time. I did get to watch the 4th match on the card (I'm counting the Hollis/Gresham stuff as one match). I'm glad I made the time because this one is a doozy! Roderick Strong vs Kyle O'Reilly (02/21/15): This was a very dynamic & competitive match, a classic style ROH bout. This wasn't a TV match plus a little more. No, this was the hard hitting wrestling you want. Kyle was like a shark going for the kill. He was going for kicks or combinations when standing and going for armbars when on the mat. Roderick was selling this damage really well...more than just shaking the arm or holding it. He adjusted his offense because of it and when he relied upon it to power his way to a pin, it collapsed on him. Nevertheless, he was practicing what commentator Kevin Kelly said was turning a good defense into a good offense. Or something to that effect I thought this was a great match and probably a classic in the style. If you're reading this then, you'll probably dig this fight. It is exactly what you would want from these two. And for the #4 spot on a show, it over delivers without being overkill. An aggressive, masterfully paced & technically proficient wrestling match. That's hard to do in the 2010's.

Watched this one awhile back but, yeah Dragon is pretty great in this. Found my old write-up: Danielson was the only person who brought something into this match. Koji's only point of excellence was in the early chain wrestling portion which was roughly the first minute. The rest he hammed up using his signature moves which aren't tremendous. *** I might rewatch this since I like 2010's Koji.

I had gotten this PPV and I remember really digging this. It was a mid card match but, was a really great showcase for Danielson. I thought it really picked up once Claudio was out of there...I think the fact that he was part of Sweet & Sour Inc. irked me at the time. Shiozaki was really impressive in this.

So, I bought this DVD during a Black Friday sale. I heard some very good stuff about it. I was also interested to get it because it was not a major event like Death Before Dishonor, Anniversary Show, Final Battle etc. They come to Pittsburgh every year...sometimes 2 times and I want to go but, never seem to remember, something else comes up etc. Kinda wanted to see how they're handling the smaller shows. Anyways, onto the show! ROH: Winter Warriors in Atlanta 02/21/15 First and foremost, the arena in Atlanta is very reminiscent of mid 2000's ROH. Crowd seems amped. I'm digging this already. Caprice Coleman vs "P-Dog" Mike Posey: Fun open as Coleman squashes the cheap heat comedy/cringey P-Dog (think J-Roc from Trailer Park Boys). C. C. has some good moves. Corey Hollis vs Jonathan Gresham: A fun minute or two before BJ Whitmer & Adam Page come out to lay a beat down. Hollis is like, "Fuck that! Let's fight!" Corey Hollis & Johnathan Gresham vs BJ Whitmer & Adam Page: ECW PPV style impromptu tag match. The crowd is loving it! The faces look really good and shiny here. Page (as a heel) does a Shooting Star off the apron to Hollis...no fucking clue, man. It looked cool but, that was goofy. But, let's ignore that because this was a fun ass match. Gresham goes all Manami Toyota and we get a no tag legality action fest. It doesn't go into overkill either. I recommend this one! Delirious vs Matt Sydal: Kevin Kelly does a good history recap here by letting us know about these fellows' back story. I felt it went a little longer than needed because I sensed they were winging most of it. I say that affectionately! They know each other so well that they did a very good job filling the time between spots. I could have done for less Delirious schtick but, its the #3 match. Besides the closing stretch is nice as the D-man eats kicks and knees. I'm never goona turn this matchup down. Its like 2005 all over again! So far, so good! Certainly, an excellent vibe thus far. This will easier to watch and review the whole show compared to the wXw stuff as I don't need to bring out the laptop for the DVD+R discs. Huzzah!

The thumbnail on YouTube looked sick. I had started watching this over the summer but, lost interest but figured I'd circle back around. Thanks for the review here! Sounds good!

This gets my vote for the most entertaining administrative topic ever

25th Anniversary today! The crown jewel of the interpromotional joshi era and the showcase for Akira Hokuto vs Shinobu Kandori. Its a joshi match for people who hate joshi.Just everything one could hope for in a wrestling match. Stiffness, mat wrestling, counters, blood, highspots and so on...all punctuated by a great finish. Akira Hokuto is excellent and Kandori is her perfect foil in this match.

It's the 25th Anniversary of AJW's super show: All Star Dreamslam! Or just Dreamslam is OK too The crown jewel of the interpromotional joshi era and the showcase for Akira Hokuto vs Shinobu Kandori. Its a joshi match for people who hate joshi.Just everything one could hope for in a wrestling match. Stiffness, mat wrestling, counters, blood, highspots and so on...all punctuated by a great finish. Akira Hokuto is excellent and Kandori is her perfect foil in this match. But! There are other great matches as well! Aja Kong & Bull Nakano vs Eagle Sawai & Harley Saito (LLPW team): Super stiff & throughly enjoyable match. If it would have been a bit longer it would have been better. I don't think there was any doubt of Kong & Bulll losing so, it was impressive to see the LLPW team kicking out of some great moves. So, maybe it ended appropriately. Re-watch: Yeah this is still a really fun match because the LLPW team are such underdogs. I mean even little execution problems are ok because it works in the story- they are not top tier wrestlers but dammit they're gonna do whatever they can to score an upset. Aja & Bull seem to really enjoy working with some fresh blood too. I mean you can just see it on their faces, especially Bull, when she does her suicide dive. I was like "Yeah this is the Bull Nakano that I love!" That & she's 20-30lbs. lighter here than in 1995. She even breaks out a tumbleweed leg drop IIRC. I'd like to see Harley Saito again too. She was impressive and worked well with Aja & Bull who can be difficult because of their frames. Yumiko Hotta vs Dynamite Kansai (JWP team): Brutally stiff match, great begining which tapers off in the middle because both women seemed to have their bearings kicked loose. Still there are some good portions and the ending is just as brutal with Hotta delivering some Dr. Death-esque suplexes. The ending was pretty good but I'm not sure if the 3 count was accurate hmmm....great nonetheless. Toshiyo Yamada & Manami Toyota vs. Combat Toyoda & Megumi Kudo (FMW team): A total change of heart with this one. I've seen a fair bit of Joshi since my initial viewing. There's no way this is a 3 star match as I've seen some rate it. In my first viewing I guess I didn't give much credit to Kudo & Toyoda. Ok so they're not Kansai/Ozaki but, that doesn't make this bad. It's refreshing as Kudo is kinda the budget version of Ozaki and Combat Toyoda is acolyte of the punk chicks like Bull, Aja, and Bison. Team FMW's offense isn't terribly impressive but is really effective Joshi fair. Another thing of note: I'm less "wow'd" by Manami Toyota in singles competition because she is predictable pulling out her spots. When she's in the ring, it's "offense" time & then its time when she's "waiting to be on offense." But! It works in a tag team because her crazy moves help get her out of a tough spot, or her go-go no selling is explained away by "recovering" on the apron. Yamada is also the yin to her yang in terms of offense too. She works holds, she has variety in her kicks, etc. If Toyota can be guided (not "carried" though!) she can be awesome AND she was guided in this match for sure (although she did blow one spot pretty bad...with a slip off the rope). FMW had her ass in a sling by just busting out the weirdest stretches and most impactful double-team moves. In total this was a great match with believable near falls, saves, and intensity. The interpromotional stuff is just fantastic! If you're looking to get into women's wrestling but, the current stuff still looks a step down from the men's division, check this show out! It made me a convert

It's been a few days since posting as I'm taking a little wrestling break since I've got some other stuff going on. But anyways... Here's some from AJPW from 22 years ago Today!!!! Mitsuharu Misawa vs Kenta Kobashi- This is the first BIG match these two had in the Kobashi challenging Misawa feud. This didnt disappoint at all. In fact, its an awesome place for someone to start watching 90s AJPW. Its got the two bigger names going at it and not pulling any punches PLUS its still got the depth for the time period BUT isnt a spot match which they slowly would do. Awesome stuff and insanely they go on to top it! Also, this is a good way to kick yourself out of your blues. It worked for me! ****1/2+ type classic shit! Toshiaki Kawada vs Akira Taue- This was a very good match that is a testament to the two guys and the company. Taue did dog a little bit but, Kawada brought it and saved the thing. Very brutal at times. I was sleepy so a re-watch maybe? ****1/4 great match These are only the highlights but, I enjoy the heck outta them! Steve Williams vs Tamon Honda- Lesson Dr. Death is a beast! Gary Albright vs Jun Akiyama- Lesson Gary Albright will drop you on your head with a release suplex of some kind.

Yeah, that was my take away message as well.

Kawada was very good as part of Footloose & Revolution but, I'd say autumn of '91 is when the Dangerous K light got switched on. October specifically leading into his Triple Crown challenge against Jumbo. He moved past his top rope moves and spin kicks from his Footloose days and firmly settled into the character he'd be for the remainder of his career. Matches would be 09/04/91 tag, 10/10/91 & 10/15/91 6-mans, and 10/24/91 TC. As far as when someone went from good to bad, eh I can say when Paul London left ROH in 2003 at Death Before Dishonor. He was on par or perhaps better all around than Danielson, AJ, and Samoa Joe at the time but, no one is gonna say that now.