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I'm not from the area but obviously know the building from TV and have to agree - you could always tell it was that building by the ceiling, kinda like the ceiling at Scope in Norfolk, or like that weird gray wall opposite hard cam at the old New Haven Coliseum in CT when the WWF ran it all the time. Arena homogeny is a really shitty thing, and not just in wrestling - whichever of you guys were talking about the LA Forum earlier in the week got me thinking about old Laker games and how the Staples Center is pretty much just another building now. It's kinda sad in an odd way.

After giving it some thought I'm going to pass. I love Okada and I'm sure it'll be fantastic to see him. But while the drive isn't that long to Philly the drive back and getting up early is a deal-breaker for me. Plus I do mean it when saying I'd rather wait for Collision. Besides, I have been fortunate in my time to have seen greatness. Just in Supercard of Honor in 2018 I saw Ishii, Ibushi and Tanahashi. Then at the first Grand Slam Rampage I saw Suzuki which was pretty epic. So you know what? I think I'm good, y'all. Whoever's going have fun and I hope the loss last night doesn't dampen the energy too much. Oh, and to Zakk's point if they ever do a PPV for Arthur Ashe I will immediately get tickets. Doing Dynamite there is great and all but that place needs an epic PPV.

Why? The other commentators probably get to go. What's good for the goose is good for the gander. I'm sure JBL will be stepping out in Berlin, with a hearty HEIL to every German fan he sees. This isn't art school where some people just can't get in with their portfolio of work; this is pro wrestling commentating.

I hope it's ok to post in this week's thread since last was closed - we're sneaking BOTB in before a slightly delayed Dynamite (we just wrapped up Willow/Stat, which was really, really good - and you're all gonna have to settle me gently on goth Willow/Skye, apologies in advance - and are heading into the trios) - this has been one of the best BOTBs out of all of them so far. Really nice and lively crowd post-Collision, awesome matches... remind me again why these aren't hyped more? Def worth a watch if you missed it.

A tag team partner that doesn't turn on him?

They should have a European tour and have D-Lo main event every city they ever announced him as being from.

Big, big difference between a Collision on a Saturday night and a Dynamite on a Wednesday night. I'd like to see the Danielson farewell tour. I might even take the 11 year old who knows nothing about any of this.

It's probably the longshot to end all longshots, but I'd absolutely lose my mind if Revolution were from the Arthur Ashe (TK teased us with a little 'Would you guys like to see a PPV here someday?' schtick at Grand Slam). This is just me being selfish and badly wanting to be in the house, though; the logical places for Sting to hang it up would probably be somewhere in California, where it all started, or in Atlanta for obvious reasons. There's probably a 'Sting retired against his will in New York once already' joke in here somewhere.

Komander vs Metalik was a permanent tape Worldwide match. I haven't seen Komander look so good. Metalik didn't have much offense but he took everything clean. The week to week progression in ROH is the best storytelling AEW's doing. You have Page's redemption story, Angelico building himself up as a contender, Griff (face-coded) and Cole (heel-coded) coming together with Maria. Woods wanting challengers. Obviously the Athena/Billie (vs Mercedes/Diamante) stuff. It's a weird promotion right now since most of the champions never show up, and there's a lot of wrestling for wrestling's sake too. But it has a few solid throughlines holding it together.

Awwwww, Tony Khan is going to let Ric Flair turn on Sting one last time for old times' sake.

THE GREATEST NIGHT IN THE HISTORY OF OUR SPORT!!

You just reminded me: I didn't get to post this in last week's thread because it was closed by the time we watched Collision on Monday night, but I loved that little interaction between Ruby and Cool Hand Ang - and the way they transitioned through folks in that whole Lexi promo segment was fantastic IMO

You know, MJF has said several times that when he wrestles Juice it will be a bloodbath. And this is Philly, home of hardcore. I’m expecting some glorious pro wrestling violence.

For what it's worth, Schiavone says on the Control Center that Sting's gift that will be presented to him tonight is "historic" and that "nothing like this has ever happened to a wrestler in pro wrestling"

I just found pics online and wow, they really did remove any character the place had.

I'm not sure how I would fit in but doing that in Dean's honor would feel oh so right. I try not to hold grudges but I hold a grudge for CFG's "renovations" like Drew holds for a certain Bay Bay (or Natural for Penta but you get the idea) The building might still be there but I was so put off by all they did to it. I mean yeah times change and things need to be done but that's a big ol' pile of "No, thank you" to me. Still would be worth it to see Collision or a PPV though.

I'd go to a Baltimore Collision. I can't believe the building I started going to for wrestling shows in 1986 is still around.

I've spent all my spare time this week dealing with 18 months of my father's unread email, unsubscribing him from mailing lists and deleting thousands of conspiracy theory emails. I didn't expect the craziest thing I read all week to be on the weekly CFB thread here.

Oh I love Booker on commentary. I think he's the WCW B show Dusty Rhodes of our time.

I want a Baltimore Collision too.

Guess who pulled a George Costanza ...

Marcus Freeman has a couple sons playing flag football. Their head coach, Tim O'Malley, works for Irish Illustrated. At his press conference Monday, in a truly hilarious moment, turned around after answering a couple questions from O'Malley to ask him questions about his coaching in championship games. https://youtu.be/fJCxCgYkmqE?si=f6ev--88uXodgXmX

Going to Killers of the Flower Moon Saturday night, so I don't have much longer to avoid spoilers. Will be a decent day, it's also the Winnipeg Comic Con this weekend. Maybe I'm too used to going to indie wrestling shows where $20 gets you an autographed 8x10 and a selfie and a hug from Zicky Dice or whoever. I am not paying $100 for an autograph from Giancarlo Esposito, no matter how cool he is.

Eddie has to defend the ROH title against Jay Lethal on Saturday! Tonight though... will Juice be able to take that stupid ring away from MJF? Who knows!

Putting Luther in the Toni Storm thing spikes my interest by like 1000%. He's a big, expressive, weird looking guy this is perfect for him.

Have a blast tonite! There's some potential in this line-up as with most Wednesdays. Nice to have RVD in Philly. I like this team with Hook, and the DOs r a great pair of hands. This could be five minutes and fun or forgettable, or an odd darkhorse? I feel similarly about Bucks/Page v Hardys/Zay and MJF v Robinson. I hope for the best with Shida v Ruby. Both are capable on their best days. None of the talk segments overly intrigue me. But let's have a look at what Tony's got for Stang. And, of course, so stoked for Danielson/Claudio v OC/Okada. You'll also be getting the potentially fun (or not) Ortiz v Santana bout on Rampage.

The biggest problem with that run was that Michael Cole and Corey Graves basically sat there waiting for Booker to say something weird or slightly wrong, and then they'd pounce all over him, trying to one-up each other in making fun of Booker who, rather than engage, would just talk about something else which would just make Graves and Cole pick at him some more. I actually think Booker is pretty great and probably the last vestige of the old colour commentator on WWE TV, a la Bobby Heenan or Jesse Ventura. Graves and Barratt are both super-polished and not liable to say anything confusing, or funny or weird, Raw and Smackdown might as well be announced by an AI program. Tazz and Booker (And not always intentionally in Booker's case) will sometimes just go off on a tangent that breaks up their commentator(s) and reminds the viewers at home, that there are in fact human beings calling the action.

Sting DID say the other week he learned a lot from Hulk Hogan I was debating whether or not to include his name in my post earlier actually, for exactly the reason @tbarrie said- but if he goes in, you're right on the money. I can see in my mind a nice voiceover on some NJPW footage, saying something like: "Despite Hart's life and career having been tragically cut short long before AEW's formation, there is perhaps no other athlete who embodies the spirit of AEW's mission statement more than the 'King of Harts'"

I suppose that depends on whether it's an AEW Hall of Fame or a Wrestling Hall of Fame as Adjudicated by Tony Khan. It wouldn't make much sense for Owen to go in the former, as he died decades before AEW existed.

I suddenly find the "rogue staffer" explanation way more believable.

And see that is where you're wrong... they weren't being loyal... They wanted to take over:

As if you would actually go.

If there was a Baltimore Collision, there could be an old school style Road Report

Those guys are better than Okada anyway, Niko

Like all these ideas. If I were to do an inaugural AEW HOF, I'd have Mr. Brodie Lee, Sting, Chris Jericho and Jon Moxley. I hope the announcement is not a disappointment. Sting/Darby Allin deserve an AEW World Tag Team Titles shot considering the team is undefeated.

Hope you get a Collision and Arthur Ashe PPV. You and Zakk are right that there needs to be one.

Hopefully JBL stays home

Understatement of the week! That one's gonna be fire. We were talking in another thread about possible Revolution locations/Sting's retirement, which got me thinking about tonight's gift from TK - examining a few possibilities: * Creation of an AEW HOF with Sting as the first inductee (if they do a whole 'class' I could easily see Mr. Brodie Lee and perhaps some guys like Jake, Arn, or Tully going in with him - even Taz or Jim Ross, as well. Schiavone deserves it too, but it's obvious he's got a lot more left in the tank than J.R.) * Presentation of a replica or 'new' WCW/NWA big gold belt. Some years ago, a private collector was able to track down the belt buckle company/maker in Vegas who made the original (want to say the name is Ted Crumrine) and they made a new one for belt makers like Dave Millican to make cast copies of (and I believe another for a private collector) and stated they would never do another. If *anyone* could get them to, I'm sure it's someone with NFL owner dough. Heck, maybe he bought the original from the current owner - you never know. * A match with Nick Wayne, tag or otherwise- just a simple 'My gift to you is that you get to beat down this smug little fucker' * A tag team title shot for he and Darby, or perhaps a trios shot for he/Darby/Edge. We all knew from day one that this was not a TNA or WWE situation where they were going to put the World title on him or something crazy - not saying they go over, but it could be like when WWE had Flair wrestle HHH for the title in Greensboro, where even just getting the shot and hanging in there becomes this big celebratory moment, bringing various folks out to the ring after, etc. There are a number of issues they could intertwine in a Sting/Darby vs Starks/Bill match - FTR, E&C/Luchasaurus/Wayne, BCC - I think a possible Sting/Darby title match would really fit in nicely with that closing Collision segment with all of em out there brawling

Probably an unlikely location just because of stature, but Greensboro could make sense to acknowledge him "starting" at Clash 1.

I'm pretty confident that the Worldwide/Pro episodes from this time had better competitive TV matches than World Championship Wrestling (certainly had more crowd heat). But one of these shows is on the network and the others are uploaded to YouTube by random dudes. Also possible that late 1987 might be a bit of an era in regards to JCP TV. ----- Anyways... This year in the World Series, one team is from the area with a beloved local promotion on Peacock (The Rangers and World Class) The other team is from an area without any of those things (The Diamondbacks, and sadly there's no Arizona or Chicago territory wrestling on Peacock). So let's take a trip to.. Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling (10/27/1984) We open with Mike Rotundo vs Doug Vines joined in progress. It feels like at least half of these Mid-Atlantic episodes on Peacock involve Rotundo getting a babyface push. Rotundo wins with the Airplane spin Ivan, Nikita, and Don Kernodle join Bob Caudle to complain about the Ivan/Don match with Manny Fernandez and Dusty Rhodes. Flashback to Don Kernodle signing a contract without reading it. Next up Assassin #1 vs The Ultimate Assassin. Allegedly a main event anywhere in the world. You see he's an Ultimate Assassin because he can wrestle without a shirt on. The Ultimate Assassin is someone we've seen before according to Bob. Got a back and forth here. Assassin goes to his tights to grab a foreign object. Assassin unlaces the mask, and then Paul Jones comes into the ring, accidentally hits Assassin with the cane and the Ultimate Assassin gets the pin. Also his mask came off and it's Johnny Weaver. You see, if the Ultimate Assassin kept attempting the Weaverlock, I would have figured it out. Next week, 3 contract signings for Starrcade 84! Rewind to Jim Crockett announcing Ric Flair vs Dusty Rhodes in the Million Dollar Challenge. 3 stipulations: Smokin Joe Frazier is the referee, there'll be 3 judges (Joe Frazier, A Japanese person, and Kyle Petty) in case the match goes an hour, and... wait.. did I miss a stip. Third match, Manny Fernandez vs Mark Fleming. Manny wins quick with a running/diving forearm. Manny's in a feud with Wahoo over the US title to go along with his feud for the tag team titles already mentioned. We have another interview with Ivan/Nikita/Don Kernodle with text telling us how to get tickets for Starrcade 84. Paul Jones and the Zambuie Express are with Bob Caudle. Bob has questions about the Assassin and Paul Jones wants to talk about the Zambuie Express. The Zambuie Express have a dream according to Paul Jones. Then The Assassin barges into the interview to be angry about Paul Jones walking out on him. But Paul Jones doesn't want to hang the laundry in public. Fourth, The Long Riders (Black Bart/Ron Bass) vs Sam Houston and Brett Hart. Should we do the obligatory disclaimer on Hart? Feels like a double team atomic drop that launches the opponent into a tag is a less then effective move. Bart beats Hart with a running powerslam. Dusty Rhodes joins Bob to talk about Starrcade 84 and everything else in the Dustyverse. Dusty says he could be the US Champ, the Tag Team Champ, the TV champ, by the time Starrcade arrives. Well. he is the booker. Now it's Wahoo McDaniel vs Joel Deaton. Wahoo is a heel that hits guys hard, as opposed to his mode of hitting guys hard as a babyface. He wins quickly with an elbowdrop. Love Wahoo hitting guys so hard that it's picked up on a 1984 ring microphone Here's a look at American Starship. David Crockett is making a mess in his pants for American Starship. We're seeing a recent American Starship match as they're taking on jobbers. Of course the American Starship are Scott Hall and Dan Spivey. The American Starship wins and they are apparently here to stay (technically true!) "Coming Soon !! Battlestar 84. Watch for it" The Long Riders and JJ Dillon join Bob Caudle. Another on-screen graphic for Starrcade 84. The Long Riders want competition. Paul Jones joins Bob Caudle to explain that The Assassin admitted fault in their recent dispute. The Assassin shows up to turn face and throttle Paul Jones. The Zambuies show up to rescue Paul Jones. Is there gonna be an overlap between Face Assassin and Face Ole Anderson in this promotion? Now it's time for Tully Blanchard vs Brian Adias. So it's like watching a World Class episode. Brian Adias is a house of fire early. Brian Adias airplane spins Tully but Tully's feet knocked the referee over. So Brian Adias grabs Tully's money and starts throwing it into the crowd until Blanchard jumps him. Tully gets disqualified for the ref bump and Brian Adias dropkicks him a few times. Tully has some words with Bob Caudle after the match. These fans don't deserve Tully's money. Tully shoos Bob Caudle away and rants on Brian Adias some. He's very mad that his money was stolen from him. I think i've been growing to appreciate 1980s Tully Blanchard micwork lately. Being the 4th best micworker in a group with Ric Flair, Arn and Ole is what it is (5th best if we count JJ) but he had some good pre-Horsemen stuff.

Looking forward to Bryan Danielson/Claudio Castagnoli vs. Kazuchika Okada/Orange Cassidy.

"Before principal photography, (the director) took a four-month crash course in directing" is not a phrase you want attached to any movie, unless you're Sam Raimi and then you made Evil Dead.

I'm missing BOTB too! I've been to 2 Dynamites, a stand alone Rampage, 2 Collisions and Forbidden Door. Hope to make it to Revolution next year for Sting's final match.

Depends on the versatility of the enhancement talent. Two years almost into my mid 90s rewatch, it's clear that a promotion gets the best utility out of the guys who can be both heel and babyface against the respective side they're putting over. I mean I think the number of jobs that Barry Hardy, Duane Gill, and Reno Riggins have done for the babyfaces on syndicated TV and Raw is reaching mid triple digits. It's gotten to the point where they done every permutation including Hardy and Gill teaming as the Executioners or whatever that deal was. That and Reno Riggins, a natural heel, has to now be a babyface and it doesn't work. Horowitz can do both, but interchangeable guys like Mike Bell, Ross Greenburg, Dan Dubiel, Mike Moraldo (the future Ace Darling) aren't that particularly good so the matches are just there. Chris Kanyon has been showing up lately a lot, and he's pretty good. PJ Walker (the future Justin Credible) is good, but he's usually against the heels. There was an older guy (an AWA guy whose name slips my mind) who clearly brought some of his guys he trained, and they were fine. I already talked about Italian Stallion/Gary Sabaugh and some of his guys not too long ago. There was one skinny black dude (not Ron Cumberledge, but a darker skinned dude) who Owen Hart wrestled on one of the shows I watched recently who HAD TO BE one of the worst jobbers in the history of time. It was so bad that they probably shouldn't have put it on TV, but they probably figured no one was watching so what the hell. So it seems like once WWF got outside of their core enhancement talent at the time, the results would be mixed at best. I think it's clear that by 1991, they probably should have revamped the syndicated shows cause the enhancement matches are no longer doing as what they were designed to do: make guys look impressive in a relatively short time. Terrible Doink (Ray Apollo) had an awful match on Challenge with a botched finish no less, and it may have even been with Barry Horowitz. It makes wonder who the fuck was agenting these matches and why wasn't Vince having like some come to Jesus meeting with that person or persons. The overall production of the shows is wonderful (minus some of the news segments with Pettengill, but I can ignore that). However, a lot of the in ring content leaves a lot to be desired. I am definitely in the era where they started to lean more on Raw. Edit - Tom Stone was the AWA guy I was thinking of.

That was what finally sealed the deal for me. And hoping for Red October to continue so I can see the party.

food chain-wise, would a promotion need more enhancement guys for the heels than the faces? since faces can just wrestle heels that are barely not enhancement guys or guys on the way down while heels show up and need to crush a few opponents to get established before facing non-enhancement wrestlers then again... I just watched a Sheepherders JCP match today and thought "these guys would have had an amazing brawl with the Vachons years earlier".. so who knows where i'm at right now

So y'all remember how I said I'm passing on going tomorrow night? MOTHERFUCKER!

Work has kicked my ass the last few days so sorry for the lack of posts. I am working from home tomorrow so I will start to catch back up then