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Dude, next time you get in an argument on here about WWE booking or whatever, please DON'T bring up Hana Kimura's suicide.

I'll stay up and ramble a bit. This one is hitting hard. Too many parallels to people I've been close to for it to not land with impact. Wasn't really watching Stardom, but I began watching Terrace House after learning that someone from the puroresu community was joining the cast. I started watching by myself, but my partner got hooked on the show too. I started trying to track down Stardom matches shortly after. Hana's potential, as alluded to above, is the crux of the matter. To watch her work, plus seeing her on Terrace House...was a complex picture. As a wrestler, she was one of the rare few where it felt like the pro wrestling world could be her oyster. She could've gone anywhere she wanted with it. But - and as unreliable a vehicle for the truth as reality television is - it seemed perhaps the confidence Hana displayed in the ring did not translate to life outside of it. This is all too familiar to me, and the fact that she was probably struggling for a while with this hits home. About this being the result of cyberbullying, internet culture: it's just so troubling that we've created a worldwide culture where the negative, hurtful voices are allowed to run rampant over the loving and ascendant. The thing that will stick with me is what my partner said to me after getting home from work and learning that Hana was in distress (all the news we had at the time...) due to online harassment: "It's a shame that this poor young woman is so hurt by this, and can't possibly conceive of the fact that there are two people in a small Midwestern city in America who are deeply concerned for her." We are all connected, and yet all the more separated for it.

People are speculating Cena has donated $40k to Shad's family GoFundMe. The name of the donation is CTC - the name the group used when they team up.

Man, more than the fact she had all of the potential in the world to be a global superstar with her personality, this must be such a devastating loss in the truest meaning of the word for her loved ones. So god damn young and it sure seemed like she had such a magnetic personality. Japan's had such a fascination with shitting on famous people. It's terrible everywhere now with social media but it's a long tradition in that country and something needs to be done about it everywhere, not just Japan. The people wishing death upon her should face severe penalties. It is difficult to be nice when so much of our genetic makeup tell us not to be but this isn't okay. If you don't like somebody, keep it among yourself and your social circle. I mentioned we weren't ready to handle the power of social media in the hockey folder a couple weeks back. Exhibit A right here.

Having recently re-read Foley's book, here's the other half of the backstory of this match. Foley was in a lot of pain from a bad back and growing disillusioned with WWE because he had the run with Taker but was being left behind by "New Era" guys like Austin. Jim Cornette called up to offer Foley a chance to be on Wrestlemania by taking on Marc Mero to which Foley semi-famously replied along the lines of "If all you have for me is Marc Mero, then I'd rather not be on Wrestlemania at all". Vince, being a big fan of what Foley had done in WWF brought him to see if they could come up with something for him to do at WM and Foley suggested a match with Vader, seeing as he wasn't doing anything, that could play off their prior history (The stiff as hell WCWSN matches and the maiming of his ear in Germany). Vince, being Vince, liked the idea of him and Vader, but not the idea of doing a match based off their WCW history and suggested they create "new history" by teaming together instead of fighting, hence this match. They had really been slowly turning Bret for a few weeks, maybe a month leading up to this. You had Bret lose the RR by an already eliminated Austin; Michaels subtly and not-so-subtly burying Bret every time he was on TV; Bret growing increasingly frustrated on TV with being screwed over; Bret winning the title, then losing it the next night in fuck-finish-fashion to Sid, and again the week before WM losing to Sid on TV with tons of interference, then going on a profanity-laden tirade, including shoving Vince (Which I don't think had ever happened on TV before). So, by the time WM came around, the fans were starting to lose empathy for Hart. I think you could almost point to this match, and the preceding RAW as the birthplace of the Attitude Era which would allow WWE to eventually win the Monday Night Wars. I remember that preceding Raw vividly and I think it almost needs to be watched before this WM for the context it brought to the Austin-Hart match but also because it was this brilliant piece of wrestling storytelling. Bret got his long-requested (whined for) rematch against Sid, in a cage, for the title a week before WM. It was announced that if he won, Austin-Hart would become a World Title match (Which is the kind of nuance WWE often just doesn't bother with anymore, but the fact that they discussed it prior to the match, gave fans more chance to believe that the WWF was actually going to change the WM card). So, during the match, you had Austin, Hart's heated opponent and WM foe-to-be, come down to the ring and help out Hart because he wanted a World Title match. Then Undertaker came down and helped Sid, because he wanted to protect his own title match. So you had four guys with separate but equal motivations in one match. Eventually, Sid sneaks out the win. Hart stays in the ring and goes on a rant, shoving down McMahon, who goes on commentary and just BURIES the face Hart. Austin comes up on the tron and berates Hart for not getting the job done and Hart defiantly tells Austin that his name is Stone Cold because his "stones are so cold" that he won't come out and face him, then talks about how everyone knows Hart is the best, which brings out Sid to a very loud "I don't know shit!" to Hart (Which sounds like a "I have half the mind that you do!" quote but actually comes across so badass that he's not going to stand by and let Hart run his mouth) which brings out Taker and Austin and both main events pair off and brawl as JR apologizes for the profanity, the ring crew tries to dissassemble the cage, Vince talks about not going off the air until the show is over and Shawn comes out and teases getting involved and is the best pre-Wrestlemania Raw that I think they ever put together. I remember being so upset that I didn't have the money to order the PPV because I wanted to see it so badly. Basically all the seeds for the better part of the Attitude Era are sown here: the gimmick matches, the brawling, the profanity, the skirting of the rules, the chaos and the real-life elements creeping in.

Twitter are memorialising her... despite complicity in her suicide. Fuck social media

For clarification weren't the people harassing her reality TV psychotic asshole loser fans and not pro wrestling ones? But honestly, just fuck everything. I want to believe people are inherently good but right now the evidence supporting that position is wanting.

“Watch out, Sammy”

Hana's passing is starting to get some play on major news web sites …. saw obits on BBC, Fox News, ESPN and BuzzFeed. As the parent of an eight-year-old, you can only do so much to protect your child from bullying -- I talked to my daughter just a few days ago about why it's wrong to be mean-spirited to anyone. Part of me fears watching her grow up, seeing her exposed to more and more media, more and more anger, the friends she connects with, etc. I know very little about Hana -- just what people posted about her before her passing and, like others, had no clue she was on a Japanese reality show -- but I feel absolutely horrible about her passing, and it only makes me work stronger to protect my child.

I wonder if anybody in WWE actually understands real sports. When you get traded for "future considerations" in the real world, that means your a jobber and a team basically gave up on you. It's one step above just being fired or cut.

As someone who used to, I think it's because WWE always gives us a glimmer of hope. They'll do something to earn some goodwill back, then end up ruining it. It's a hard habit to break. I grew up on the WWF. How can I stop now? I know I'm not alone, but there's only so many times you can get burned and be disappointed. I still watch old ppv's on the network and sometimes I'll check out nxt, but I've cut the cord for the most part.

How about Isosceles Kramer? Seven Costanza?

It's taken me a while to process this but I still can't wrap my head around how this young woman who had the world in her hands isn't with us anymore. I'm not on social media and I was unaware she was on a reality show. I don't follow much Joshi, but the one thing I did know, is Hana had "IT"! She had a certain glow about her that you knew she was going to be HUGE! Her potential was limitless.... And for her to be gone at 22 is just unbearable. I feel for her family, her friends and coworkers, her fans, and the wrestling community as a whole. Fuck.

Just a kid. Just a fucking kid. I can't stand this world. Hopefully we can sometime deserve to have another Hana show up, and treat her like she deserved to be treated in this life.

There will be moments in my future where I am cycling through matches, on whatever device we're watching them on in 10 or 20 years, and every one of them is going to seem boring. I'll wonder why. It'll be because I'm not watching the Hana match I was supposed to be watching. Disgusting. My heart breaks for Kyoko.

Brody King with some words:

My God this year can die in a fire.

main event delivered SO MUCH.

Main event was goddamn tremendous fun

Psychological abuse is evil; fans disliking an entertainment product is not. That should be clear, and let’s not conflate the two for the sake of a weird message board crusade. It’s intellectually dishonest at the best of times, and gross at this time specifically. This is brutally sad, and I hope everyone who cares for her are able to get the support they need. This is a tough, isolated world right now, with people unable to lean on a shoulder or get a hug in many cases. And sure, questions need to be asked about fandom culture writ large, and answers given. Maybe joshi needs to model itself less on idol culture (especially when so many featured wrestlers are so young); maybe twitter needs to empower users without blue checks to block abuse better. A lot of things need to improve. I don’t know half of them, I’m sure. But people can—and should—be better. Hopefully that manifests towards Hana’s loved ones.

This is tremendous news. Current expectations:

I've likened it to continuing to follow a sports team that's been a long time favorite even though they've sucked for years. You've got sentimental value attached and always hope they might get good again or have an entertaining game. It's also like continuing to watch a tv show you like even when you don't like the direction the plot has taken. There's the thought of being invested in it and wanting to see how it ends, for better or for worse. Though in the case of the WWE, people should realize there's not going to be a series finale and that it's ok to just quit watching when you no longer find it entertaining.

Apparently Hana was the one who took care of and talked to many of the gaijin coming into Stardom.

I feel you man. I just dropped the network this month and I had it since day one. They have so many great assets yet still give us a subpar product. I'm tired of getting my hopes up with them. I used to keep the network for NXT but even now with NXT on USA, I stopped watching. AEW is my go-to for now unless something miraculous changes.

Not joking when I say this, I put Raw or Smackdown on and take a nap. It's usually after dinner, so I get something briefly amusing if I wake up or have to take a piss or something. It's even nicer now that there's no crowd. NXT I have completely given up on

This show just got posted to IWTV this week. The promo is fun, and the match (American Dragon/Super Dragon vs Nozawa/Kikuzawa (aka Kikutaro)) is a fun little watch also.

Eventually Casi has enough and does start to hammer Hayes, but again, Hayes is just unstoppable early on and it turns into a slugfest. He just eats that knee and fires back: Later on Casi turns a bodyscissors into a pin and look at how Hayes gets out. He reminds me a lot of WWWF champion Backlund. Look at his righteous fury after a Casi cheapshot here, basically lashing out against the sin and villainy in the world itself:

I'm not up with the Joshi scene, but I am up with the scene at this board, and she's been a presence here. Even indirectly, through pics and gifs, it was obvious that she could well have been a once-in-a-generation talent. This is horrific, and I'm sorry for all of you that had your weeks and months brightened by her, especially in this time of crisis and uncertainty.

What a tragedy. Hana was a beautiful young woman and she was finally putting it all together only to take herself away from us. Stef and Mr. Brody King's words are particularly eloquent. This one hurts a lot because she was 22 years old and only five years older than my own daughter. Legally she was an adult, but Hana was someone's baby, too. I can't imagine what Kyoko must be going through and from one parent to another, I will keep her in my thoughts and prayers. My heart is broken for Kyoko. It is a terrible to see something like this happen to your child.

Just done in by this, what a tragedy. I really feel for Kairi and other peers of hers who were helpless to intervene, and are still in many cases stuck in lockdown scattered across the world

Bret vs. Austin is for me... the best WrestleMania match of all time for the reasons @Dolfan in NYC laid out in his write up. Also, I don't recognize Shawn Michaels as "Mr. WrestleMania". He has a lot of good/great matches but I will put Bret's Top 3 up against any of Shawn's.. Bret Hart vs. Roddy Piper WrestleMania VIII Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart WrestleMania X Bret Hart vs. Stone Cold WrestleMania XIII

Really sad. So sorry for her family and friends.

That's really pleasantly obnoxious!

16 years is great! Kathy and I will celebrate 40 years together if I make it to Sept 27. (I jokes, of course I will, there are too many films on Rippa's list of the 2010's that I haven't seen yet).

Sexy Kurt would like a word.

Yet another dude I have been lucky enough to meet a few times. He's got ties to the local Vancouver indie scene. They gave him work before he was a big name and so he often paid them back by coming up to work small shows for ECCW and Vancouver All Star in the early 2000s after he was well known for his work in ROH, Japan, and elsewhere. He always hung out at the after-parties and talked with everyone. Truly a good dude. Interesting, easy-going, laughs at your jokes... This was from the 2005 Pacific Cup after-party, if I remember correctly. The pic was snapped by my good friend, SLAM wrestling hall of famer Vicious Verne. If memory serves: We also sat at the same table with Bryan at the WrestleMania 21 watchng party (at Dropkick Murphy's?). I was impressed by his behaviour there. He was ramping up for his championship run n ROH, probably the biggest name and consensus best wrestler on the Indies, but he refused to be the center of attention. He kept turning the spotlight on other guys at the table, encouraging them to tell stories or reminding them of something the funny they'd done. The man just exuded generosity, consideration, and genuine warmth. When HBK and Angle went into that long and marvelous chain wrestling sequence, Verne quietly and 100 per cent accurately called every move, hold, and counter just before they executed it. Bryan noticed, and gleefully turned the spotlight on my old buddy. Afterward, I'd lamented to Verne that I had really wanted to get a picture with Bryan but had been afraid to look markish in front of the boys. A few weeks later, at the Pacific Cup after-party, Verne had a quiet word with Bryan and we arranged to sneak out and get a snapshot when nobody was looking. Dragon did everything in his power to put me at ease about it and then when we went back inside he was once again making sure that guys like Jesse Jimenez, Puma (TJ Perkins), and JJ Perez all got some attention and a chance to tell a joke or a story. He did that quietly and subtly. I only noticed because I was paying pretty close attention. I've been super lucky to meet a lot of very cool, nice, and fun people in the pro wrestling world. Bryan Danielson legit seems to be right up there as maybe the best dude and the biggest heart in the business. Literally could not be a nicer guy.

I'm sure i can find a match for someone. I actually watch all kinds of stuff. Just let me know who. And whomever i get paired with let me know your hard limits so I don't give you something that's a waste of your time

XB1 has the B/R Live app so you should be able to download it and stream the PPV from your console. Just go to the Apps section of Microsoft Store and sort by Sports and the app should not be too far down in the queue.

Fuck, what else can be said. This sucks. RIP, thoughts with her mother and family.

I agree that there's a vocal minority and a silent majority of good people. But at the same time, the only way evil exists is for good people to do nothing.

Long article but a good synopsis of where things are at.

Ah screw it here's all of them. The Repulsion cover isn't really a Weirdo Cover so I'll leave it off. EDIT: FWIW "obnoxious" is how I consider any and all "death 'n' roll" material from Entombed. You can't beat the old stuff though, and Entombed A.D. is surprisingly good

The board won't let you ignore admins. Lord knows that I've tried. (Love you, Dolfan)