Leaderboard

FUUUUUUUCK.

Cash is money.

I met my friend Ji-sama, who is my friend because we're both (Asian) Kuuga's friends, in Osaka for drinks (and also food) and she took me to possibly the MOST hole-in-the-wall prowrestling bar in Japan. The sign "advertising" the bar is one of the funnier things I have ever seen. CLEARLY it's the kind of place where the only people who go there are regulars. I would be ASTONISHED to learn that I was not the first gaijin to ever visit the place. But everyone was EXTREMELY welcoming. They all yelled out "Ji-sama!" when we came in, like she was Norm going up to the bar in Cheers. And every person in the bar was a major pro wrestling maniac. It's run by the somewhat unlikely "couple" of almost-my-age Bull Power Takuya (whom I first met at a Kuinshinbou Kamen Produced show in April of 2011) and 19 y.o. cute-as-a-button indie joshi wrestler Miyu. The walls are covered with indie wrestling posters, there is a rack of wrestling magazines and programs to leaf through, everyone brings snacks to share, and Takuya mixed my whiskey sodas hilariously STRONG. We had such a nice relaxing time hanging out there that I almost missed the last train home. What a privilege to be invited, and welcomed, into a self-contained little world like that! (Ji-Sama, it's the sign on the right, of course it was DVDs of indie wrestling playing on the TV but also sometimes baseball for whatever reason, a SECRET BASE poster! The guy in the purple shirt helps set up the ring, Miyu and Bull,I also met Emi Sakura at that show in April 2011)!

Does anybody know how it feels to miss out on both the pre-sale and sale of the biggest live wrestling event your home city has hosted since Wrestlemania 6... and then you find out some crosstown buds have an extra ticket come Saturday!? I'm going to Forbidden Door and I could not be happier! Thanks for letting me share that.

Sheesh, Vikingo with strong “seeing Rey Mysterio for the first time in 1995” vibes

OMG I'M GOING TO SING KARAOKE WITH MINORU SUZUKI!!!

...and he should remain a free agent

Road Report~! Made some coconut shrimp for dinner and then walked over to the arena with a couple friends who parked near my place. On the way they mentioned that their buddy Colin was not going to be able to make it because he had "a work thing he couldn't get out of." Another of their friends joined us, trust me, this is important. We got there a few minutes late and missed 2 Dark matches, Jake Hager against Adam Knight (who knows where they found him, I haven't seen him in years) and a Skye Blue match. Athena had a really great match where she got to be an asshole. Brandon Cutler wrestled and got a surprisingly great pop. There is a Hardy/Page/Kassidy six man (the night of trios), Mo Jabari was one of their opponents, it was good to see him. Between Dynamite and Rampage they taped a Dustin/Lee tag. I think I'm missing a match or two but it was several hours ago and that was a loooooong show. Anyway, show starts, we get the Re-Bar Mitzvah segment, you all saw it. Anyway, the guests come out with the chair and who is with them? Fucking COLIN. He's the Jesus looking dude that was holding MJF up camera right. He kept it a secret for an entire week. I'm going to break kayfabe here. MJF himself contacted a local rabbi looking for people for the segment and somehow through the grapevine, Colin ended up being asked if he wanted to do it. Not all the guests were Jewish, keep that on the down low. Apparently, and I'm really breaking kayfabe here, but MJF was super nice with all of them and coordinated the scene. He told them that he really wanted all "shoot Jews" but he's thankful that they came out. They got together this afternoon in the ring and he helped teach them how to do the dance. The BCC and some other wrestlers were hanging out ringside and giving them encouragement. One thing they really worked on was getting into the ring, as some people apparently have trouble with that if they've never done it. I am so fucking jealous, they all got to chill backstage during the show. He was psyched to meet Claudio, who's his favourite wrestler. Best match of the night for me was Jarrett-OC. After the match, Jarrett stayed in the ring during the commercial and got a really great ovation from the crowd. I don't know how it looked on TV, but the pinfall for the main looked fucked up from our perspective. After the show, Omega took the mic to thank the crowd, talked about the journey from wrestling local bars to getting to wrestle in the arena. Just really sweet and it was great to see him get his moment. Rampage is a fun show, but the crowd was pretty tired out and was definitely not too as into it. Spoiler for the opponent of the Taya match: Not too much post show. Jericho talks this time, talks about the Omega match from New Japan. He brings out Omega and Callis, they each say a little spiel. Roll Judas and we're out. Fun show. Main complaint is that things stop dead during commercial breaks. Justin talks a lot and they would sometimes show video packages (an Acclaimed rap for instance), but was mostly just silent. At least during Dark, the ring announcer (can't remember her name) counts down until the next match starts to get the crowd up for the entrance. No Hayter match or Briscoe appearance was a bit of a bummer, but you can't have it all. Also no merch stand at all. Biggest Pops: 1. Jericho 2. Omega 3. Matt Hardy for Dark 4. Stu Grayson - really, crowd was hyped for him.

This is art.

If you want to see Vikingo in a Tony Khan production again, you won't have to wait long.

Another notable addition to AEW tonight

I'm kinda sad about Rebel/Reba. She was around for soooooo loooooong in that position and her genuine enthusiasm and dorkiness (and hotness) will be missed.

ROH 2023 really just feels like comfort wrestling, if that makes any sense. Just fun, no nonsense wrestling with a variety of guys doing a variety of styles. Fun to watch and simple to follow.

If AEW gets involved with Rogan I’ll immediately stop watching, taping, and throw my merch in the trash

Wheeler Yuta was a glorious hyperactive scumbag in that six-man.

Happy Powerhouse Hobbs day everyone!

Managed to nab myself and the girlfriend tickets to Forbidden Door II and the following Dynampage in Hamilton. We're going to the Canada!

One of my new favorite things about AEW is the apprehension/refusal of other wrestlers to take on Brody King.

Re: AEW TV hours I will watch all of it. I don't even care. Give me more.

FTR is a balanced tag team. Dax never stops posting and Cash is a reply-guy.

Guys, please post here if you start gambling on wrestling. It will make getting the rest of the board together for the intervention much easier. Thanks.

If Christian is a vampire again, that would explain how he survived being buried alive by Jungle Boy. So Tony is probably just doing it for the sake of his own storylines.

We just got out of the WWE Sunday Slammer Road To WrestleMania show in Denver tonight. Holy shit, it was great. The place was basically sold out and Denver lived up to its reputation as a hot wrestling town. We were on fire all night. My nephew and his pals had an amazing time and so did I. And, I had looked up what matches were being done on this tour and was expecting the same card. They gave us a different show than the rest of the tour. From memory the card was: 1. Bianca BelAir beat Chelsea Green 2. The Brawling Brutes beat Imperium 3. Bronson Reed beat Johnny Gargano 4. Charlotte Flair beat Liv Morgan and Sonya Deville 5. Asuka and Mia Yim beat Damage Control 6. Miz TV with Denver's own Bobby Lashley led to a three way match where Austin Theory beat Lashley and Miz when Theory pinned Miz. 7. Cody Rhodes, Ricochet, and Strowman beat the Usos and Solo Sikoa. The crowd went NUTS for Lashley. It was awesome. Oh, and they turned down the crowd lights for the Main Event. It looked great.

Has anyone posted this yet? Because it's pretty freaking awesome.

Nah, Blitzkrieg's career was perfect. Came out of nowhere, gave us 25 TV matches of some of the wackiest flips you've ever seen, and then disappeared as suddenly as his came because he could make more money at his IT job and still have his knees work. A proper wrestling legend.

You know who Vikingo reminded me of? Blitzkreig. Blitzkreig ruled! Needed way more Blitzkreig than we got.

I probably underrate Kenny as an all timer if I’m honest with myself. Dude can go have this match, go have a Frank Gotch match with Danielson, can go bleed with Mox, can go do a five star tag. His greatness doesn’t give a shit what kind of match it is.

Got mine. Had to pull it off during a work meeting but my best friend and I will be in section 321. I'd say look for the giant bearded guys but that's not going to help anyone.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ivN1d8Bl60 I will keep pimping this match until it is no longer a hidden gem: Terry Funk, Dustin Rhodes, JBL vs Jerry Lawler & Too Much from Shotgun in 98. 10 minutes of near-perfect tv wrestling.

I decided to quit smoking weed after about seven years of constant (and around 10+ years of on and off use) last week and I am feeling so proud of myself. Unfortunately, the side effects of me quitting have been a big lack of appetite (shouldn't always smoke before you eat), insomnia, and some anxiety here and there as well as a little shaking. Currently going on day seven right now, but I knew I had a problem and needed to stop. I've always been an advocate for marijuana and still am for that matter - but I realized that I was addicted and to the point where I felt like I would always need a to be high just to feel normal. Not exactly something I'm "proud" of, but quitting it definitely is something I'm proud of. Honestly, I ever wondered if this day would come but I just felt the time was right. After this, I plan on kicking the nicotine pouches that I use down the road and really getting everything straightened. Since I quit smoking, I've also been drinking LOADS of water which is something I never did. It would always be a Snapple or a lemonade, maybe a soda - but rarely ever water. Back in the fall I decided to also go back to school since I was terrible at it my first go around 14+ years ago now (how does time fly by so quickly when you get older) and finished with a 4.0 GPA and am still maintaining that this semester, so I'm trying to right all the wrongs I've done for myself and man do I feel some of the most gratification and satisfaction I have in a while. Might be getting some natural dopamine here soon! Just wanted to share with my pals here as I haven't been posting too much recently.

@gatling, @Gordlow, @Log, @NikoBaltimore and @Octopus.

The cure for an underutilized roster is not to book an Ironman match.

“The biggest concern is holding the live crowd’s attention,” says Danielson. “It is very important to have statement moments scattered regularly throughout the match. Having just read two books by Cormac McCarthy, he’s a great study in minimalism when it comes to fiction. He has these incredible sentences that hit you right in the heart. We need those sprinkled throughout the match, and plot twists. Overall, it needs to be a compelling narrative where the live crowd feels it. I know, 100%, the matches before us are going to be outstanding. We’re going an hour, and we can’t have a stinker. This is the last match of the night.” Leave it to Bryan Danielson to bring Cormac McCarthy into wrestling.

Wow, that’s a spot on description for how I’m feeling. Just unreal.

There's a funny generational divide in the Twitter responses to the JJ/OC match between "Jeff is out there doing Memphis stuff" and "Jeff is out there doing TNA stuff"

Gotta love wildly divergent opinions in consecutive posts.

Mostly it's just the one kid, but: Ron Simmons winning the WCW title in Baltimore.

He'll be in the same block as Yano. People will talk about their match for years. "I laughed, I cried, it was better than Cats." Calling it now.

I’m glad they opened up the All-Atlantic to the other oceans.

Just imagining it: "I went to Hong Kong. Home of some of the most brutal, sadistic people you'll ever meet. I tried to get two of them to fight Brody King and Buddy Matthews. To a man, these men, some of whom who wouldn't be scared of attacking the Devil on his throne if the money was right, didn't want anything to do with them. I thought that was the highest mark of respect. Respect that's lacking from the two Jacksons and one Kenny Omega. Let me tell you something, folks. If I knew that I was going to have a match with the House of Black, I wouldn't be hamming it up on no YouTube show! No sir. I'd be training, saying a prayer every night to God, and fillin out my will, because I know God don't like me that much to save me from the House of Black. So when the first bars of Carry On Wayward Son starts to play, that's the beginning of the end! Right There! That's the sound of the trumpet heralding Apocalyse. And you can't outrun the end, Elite."

Maybe they’ll unmask Luchasaurus and he is a scary bald guy that eventually becomes a conservative mayor.

Are we just naming human orifices until somebody guesses right? Left ears!