Tawren

I don't know what to think of this match. Lots of pros but lots of cons. I really can't get into Sami Callihan, there is something about him which just screams inauthentic to me. Chris Hero was the best part of the match by far and the more I watch of Hero the more I get into him. The best parts of the match were Hero vs ZSJ. I watched their PWG 2015 match earlier and enjoyed it as well. Unfortunately Callihan and End took this down for me and the thigh slapping was really noticeable. Lots of creative spots like the double foot stomp but the execution missed. Thinking about it, it was a fun match and worth seeing if you like the style. I can see this appealing to others more than me. ***1/2

This was pretty fun - given the year and wrestlers involved it's hard not to have higher hopes. Park has a cool red outfit and does some good dives and top rope moves. Fun finish. Match was missing something though. Worth watching but both have hit way higher. ***

What a great match! Definitely the best match I've seen Zack Sabre Jr in. I've been watching some ZSJ over the last week and I want to like his matches, it just feels like something is missing, but it feels like in 2015-on he really takes a step forward. This match is great because of Hero, too, who is looking big here and puts in a great performance. The finger-breaking spots are so much better than Marty Scurll's lame ones in every match, and they build lots of crazy submissions in a way that feels natural and makes ZSJ feel really dangerous. Lots of stiff elbows from Hero and the match transitions through strong control and comeback phases on both ends. Good finish, ZSJ doesn't win enough with submissions (I could be wrong on that). I see on Cagematch.de they have had some other well-regarded matches, looking forward to checking those out. ****1/4

For Halloween week I decided to watch some LA Park and that spawned an interest in watching some other lucha too. I love Park and have enjoyed watching a few random matches, including vs Santito from 12/23/01 and a crazy Nitro match w/ Psicosis vs Rey and Juvi from 12/97. I also watched Park vs Ultimo Guerrero from 4/18/04 for the first time since 2004 - I recall touting it as my 2004 MOTY at the time. Not sure if I'd still do that but it's really good. Including El Satanico vs Sangre Chicana from 9/24/83, so the day after Sangre Chicana vs MS-1, which elliot linked in the Sangre Chicana Top 100 nominee thread. I really enjoyed reading those threads at the time (and some after still) and wish I had participated rather than watch from the sidelines. Sangre Chicana vs MS-1 is absolutely a ***** match. I think it hits the 'peak' of the style and crowd and wrestlers in a way that the all-time greats recognizably do.

This match is absolutely incredible. It's a special feel and hard to describe, but lucha shoot fight might be the closest? This is really peak brawling, lots of great punches and tons of blood. The violent and out of control feel is seen in almost every move and moment. This was the first time I've ever watched this match and I'm not sure on 'best match of all time', but it's up there for sure, and the more I think about it the more I like it. Great wrestling and the best matches feel like special moments when territories, styles, individuals, crowds, and moments come together to create an overall peak. This is certainly one of those matches. MS-1 trying to fight off the barber and the post-match are great moments too. *****

This was fun. It's exactly the kind of crazy brawl LA Park shines in, and I like Escorpion in this environment too. Park has 2 really nice dives, and just murders Escorpion with an awesome powerbomb onto a plastic crate off the ring apron. Finish is silly but what can you do. Never really gets to that next level like some luncha brawls do, especially the 2017 Park vs Rush matches, but still lots of fun and worth watching. ***1/4

This was fun enough. When I saw the 4 listed wrestlers I was pretty excited, unfortunately this doesn't hit the levels of the recent maestros matches I've seen as I have been diving into that world. Still a fun match even though it lost its way in the middle. Black Terry seems to lose a bit of the aura in Arena Mexico, but it might have just been this match. NR

This match was awesome. Such a fun match - Loss' point above about the 4 out to prove something is totally right. This is the kind of match you never see in modern NA wrestling, and when people look back on WCW, for all its faults, this is the kind of thing you remember fondly. Lots of great high spots, a crazy crowd totally into the match, and a great finish. My favourite part was a dual dive by Rey and Juvi, and a fan with a half-full beer screaming at La Parka. A great moment in time. ***1/2

I watched this the other day and enjoyed it. It's a fun clash of styles, and stands out because of that. For matches like this, or the more bizarre WAR 90s matches, I always wonder how the booking and planning happens, which is maybe more interesting than the end results. Navarro is of course lots of fun, and ZSJ has made big strides over the last 2-3 years even though it feels like he'll never get to where I feel his potential is. Fun stuff. ***1/4

That's the first full WWE show I have watched in a while. -Holy smokes that crowd was dead. Even when they were "hot" (Styles coming out, Ambrose vs HHH) it was so weak. There was no heat at all for HHH vs Reigns, just apathy...they weren't even booing Reigns that hard. Just dead. -Michael Cole and JBL are so terrible it boggles the mind. Screeching, annoying, they sound so bored. Cole would just read off his script. Terrible. -Reigns is not good. No way will he ever be a permanent ace. He just can't be. He had to lie in the ring all last year, this year he took off for half the match but he spent the beginning just lying around. He isn't good enough. You could see it vs HHH, Reigns just doesn't have the presence that someone like HHH, Brock, or even Owens has.

What did he claim about Daniel Bryan? I remember Scotsman's board way back when. And it had a pretty cool poker section too.

I find it really bizarre that they don't have anyone undefeated at WM now. Even get a few guys at 3-0, 4-0 and see if they end up as bigger stars down the line and work that to matter. The streak is proof that wins and losses, when presented as meaningful end up being meaningful. So often I read people talking about the World title as being inherently important such as when Brock was off TV, but when he was gone none of the wrestlers talked about it or cared so why would I care.

Garrison Lethal would be an awesome name

What were the notes you sent to Dave? I play and am a big fan but know next to nothing about Japanese rugby or it's history.

Yeah I'm doing something similar except I'm starting with a lot of 80's stuff I haven't seen at the same time. But I love hearing about this era anyways.

I'd love to hear more about the Misawa/Kawada stuff. I've read that Kawada was a bit more outspoken about things backstage and had some differences of opinion with Baba in the 90's, but when Misawa left to form NOAH it's Kawada that stayed! Was he even invited? Did they ever speak about that publicly?

Watching random Youtube music videos tonight and one of the pre-loaded ads was for WWE Network. It was 15 seconds, one of the divas (maybe a Bella? I don't watch the divas) saying "all November, WWE Network is free including the Survivor Series PPV, that's right FREE" and that was it. They have no idea how to promote this in my mind, they focus so hard on the price and never explain the value. It's like the opposite of what every good salesperson or commercial will do. Still that's the first advertising I've ever seen for it.

It's not really applicable if these are live PPV's, but I still think ROH splitting into two and then three "timelines" was a terrible idea: -live shows that took months to go to DVD but the results were acknowledged as happening right then -live shows that went to PPV months later but the results were acknowledged as happening when it aired -TV tapings I think this took so much wind out of their sails when they started PPV in 08 or whenever.

I guess we'll have to see if Jericho's storyline goes anywhere (LOL) but I think reversing the order of his return so that he was a shock entrant at the Rumble and THEN does the no talking schtick for a little while would have been a more interesting plan. Imagine if they did the empty ring for #30 and it was his return? That would have been awesome. It already seemed at the Rumble that Jericho was back to being just another guy. As far as Sheamus, I completely doubt that this was planned anytime but immediately before. Sheamus has been beating up Jinder Mahal and doing little else for over a month, and before that he was getting eliminated from a battle royal by Hornswoggle. I still have no idea why Sheamus is a face or what his motivation is in any way.

Jeremy Botter (an MMA reporter, well-connected) on the F4W board said:

I think it sounds desperate whoever is doing it. "We're on Twitter...we're popular...we're hip!" See, the thing about WWE is, they used to hip. They used to be with it. But then we changed what it was so now what they're with isn't it, and what's it is weird and scary to them. It'll happen to UFC too!

Todd did the Allen Iverson "practice" speech to open the show and Bryan Alvarez was completely baffled, I found it hilarious.

Has there been any speculation about WWE buying G4 or one of the other struggling cable channels instead of starting their own new one? I know there was for UFC so I'd bet that WWE has at least discussed it.

The F4W board may have peaked. That loser 'DC Sniper' started a thread complaining about the lack of pro wrestling coverage in the Observer and Dave responded with: (It's in all caps because he is making fun of Sniper, who's "gimmick" is that he is a rude unfunny asshole who always posts in all caps) Greatest Dave'ing of all time. Anyways, Dave seems like a really nice guy but the trolls on the board are really getting to him (personally I think the board is sometimes funny, and the MMA section is alright, but I can definitely see how some people can hate it). It's too bad because it would be awesome to have Dave posting even occasionally on a good board.

I think the main problem with Danielson's reign not it being too long but rather the booking for Homicide being pretty shitty towards the end. Homicide's return at the ROH vs CZW Cage of Death was awesome but then he got sidetracked in an awful feud vs Jim Cornette for several months. So when it came time for Homicide to win the belt he had lost a lot of momentum, and also he had such a weak reign losing almost right away to Morishima that it felt like Danielson's reign just kind of petered out even though as late as September he was still having matches like vs KENTA (9/16/06) that were spectacular. Morishima's reign was too long, and felt like it had too many rematches even if compared to other reigns it really didn't. Nigel McGuiness got beat twice before winning the belt, and after also losing several title matches to Danielson it just seemed like ROH was scared to pull the trigger. And then McGuiness' reign was WAY the fuck too long, especially with Tyler Black losing 4 title matches when the ROH fans really wanted him to win the belt. And then losing it to fuckin Jerry Lynn...ugh. ROH still had good matches but the booking really fell of a cliff after 2006.