WrestlingPower

To change gears here, Dave & Bryan had quite the discussion around the cruiserweight division & 205 Live on the latest podcast. Meltzer was really passionate in arguing that the style is ruining the division. He was saying Dragon Gate should be the template to set the division apart (as if that was going to happen). Also that all the small guys should be in there, like Strong, Almas, Neville, etc. I don't disagree with his points. Alvarez brought up an interesting point that he thinks the idea of the division is a relic of the 90s regardless of how it's presented. Saying when guys like Owens, Rollins, etc. are routinely doing high end matches with many spots traditionally associated with cruiserweights, it makes no sense to even have a separate division. Not sure I would have come up with that point myself but I kind of see some merit in that thought as well. Just thought it was an interesting discussion as it started as the usual complaint-fest and Meltzer got progressively more ramped up in talking about it.

I still think they should get rid of the regions and have every single candidate have yes/no/don't know enough options next to them. That way you don't penalize 10 guys by voting for one. I realize this system has it's flaws too because if only 10 people feel qualified to vote for someone, he could get in based on 6 votes.

Meltzer's podcast appearance about the HOF was something else. He really dug his heels in against JYD and how his later career tarnished his Mid-South accomplishments. I thought Matt Farmer missed the opportunity to ask Dave if Cien Caras would be a better or worse candidate as part of Dinamitas but overall he took the fight to Meltzer in some of the mini-debates. I was surprised to see Dave come out with such strong support of Lagarde, Ultimo Guerrero, Gary Hart, and Dave Brown. As far as the results themselves, I think the biggest thing is I'm surprised to see how well Hayabusa did.

Looking forward to seeing the results tonight. I wouldn't be surprised if no one gets in. Looking over the ballot again, to me the strongest candidate is Danielson. I would like to see at least one Lucha candidate go in. Wouldn't be surprised if a historical or non-wrestler goes in but no one strikes me as a no-brainer. I'd expect Sakaguchi at least to drop off and probably some from historical or non-wrestlers. I'm sure Styles at the very least will go back on next year.

Regardless of what you think of Gabe's booking, I think he's certainly benefitted from the scorched Earth that is US wrestling booking in this day and age. It's been YEARS since I've heard consistent positive praise for any booker in the US aside from maybe Stuttsy so Gabe has a rep as being the "cream" of a miserable crop for stuff he did 10 years ago.

I would be curious & interested in discussion of Kandori & Kansai. I didn't even realize Kandori had notable moments prior to the 90s. I know there was a JWP 1.0 but I've largely forgotten or didn't know much about any non-AJW groups prior to the 90s. I just threw out Kyoko's name as someone who was a top worker & just below the Toyota level of stardom during that period. I could have just as easily listed Yamada. Both had lengthy careers including being an "indy level draw" in their post-AJW work. Whether right or wrong, secondary groups have become more & more marginalized over the years in the WON so I was basically just following that trend in discounting Kansai & Kandori off hand on anything other than work. I know that drawing and work are supposed to be completely separate categories but I could see an argument for someone like Satomura as a work candidate but I know that would be scoffed at simply because of the fringe level she's performed at. If joshi itself hadn't been marginalized in Japan as unimportant, there might be more visibility for someone like that to be considered. Someone else feel free to draw the comparisons between a Satomura and a Chris Hero as far as being victimized by where they have worked & the size of the crowds they've worked in front of that discount the alleged stand-alone criteria of work for this HOF.

https://www.gofundme.com/adamspack?rcid=ac724cf56292401e9d2f9e9ec8882dde Here's a way we can help his family out.

From my perspective, Kandori was a short term draw in the early 90s against the AJW girls but I don't see her as worthy of consideration. To me I don't know that the peak of joshi was long enough to get anyone into consideration based on drawing. Joshi candidates from that era pretty much have to rely on work. I see that Hokuto, Aja, and Toyota are in from that era. I'd consider Kyoko Inoue & others long before Kandori. I think Kyoko might have been on at one point but dropped off. While those secondary joshi groups from that era consistently drew better than they do now, Meltzer has never been one to include good workers from secondary or indy promotions otherwise we'd have Hero, Daniels, etc. on the ballot.

I have been following this saga and it hit close to home to me as I have a son just 6 months older than his older son. If anyone finds out anywhere we can send gift cards or anything to help the family out, please let me know. They will remain in my prayers.

I can't imagine that the TNA show is such a valuable asset to The Fight Network that should be sinking money into this. Even if there were untapped potential in streaming rights, as alluded to the release, there's no way this will end up being a good return on investment.

Did Stern make his ballot public? I know last year his was quite, uh, polarizing.

I know some here gave up on listening to the Cornette Experience. This week's debate over the merits of Jerry Jarrett fit in great with HOF discussion. Prichard hit on a couple of points that I had heard discussed before in these circles, namely how much of Jarrett's candidacy is based on Lawler & Dundee and how much credit should he get for pushing them (or letting them do their thing & getting out of the way). Prichard had some interesting statements about Jarrett's success pre-1980 and post-1980 as well.

Dixie probably has Hogan's #.