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Here's my Danielson vs Shibata review, plus Darby vs White and an attempt at another Bucks match (It did not go well): http://segundacaida.blogspot.com/2024/03/aew-five-fingers-of-death-311-317.html

You're great at reviews, Matthew and way better at it than me. Your review inspired me to try my own: Bryan Danielson vs. Katsuyori Shibata. AEW Collison, 16th March 2024. Bryan Danielson vs. Katsuyori Shibata was a dream match of mine which I never thought would have happened due to the head injuries sending both into retirement. Danielson in WWE, February 2016 and Shibata in NJPW, April 2017. It's amazing both came back, Danielson in WWE, March 2018 and Shibata in NJPW, October 2021. Danielson vs. Shibata is a match I still wanted to see but with trepidation. I love Bryan Danielson, he's the Greatest of All Time but I fucking hate when he does the diving headbutts but especially the shoot headbutts. Shibata was even worse with his shoot headbutts which almost killed him in a ***** classic vs. Kazuchika Omega at NJPW Sakura Genesis 2017. What I liked about the match is the similar offences, the running dropkicks to the outside and inside the ring. I did wince at the slap exchanges with the documented head injuries of both. My favourite thing was the ending, both exchanged flash pin attempts into a Lebell Lock which Shibata countered into a pin attempt but Danielson reversed into a crucifix for the win. I watched the match back liking even more and I was high on it live. Great match!

from that weird, good Bridge of Dreams card Barbed Wire Board & Barbed Wire Baseball Bat Bunkhouse Death Match Leatherface, Shoji Nakamaki & Terry Funk vs. The Headhunters (Headhunter A & Headhunter B) & Cactus Jack https://archive.org/details/bridge-of-dreams-dome-spring-full-bloom/1995.04.02g-IWAJ-Barbed+Wire+Board+Super+Scramble+Bunkhouse+6-Man+Tag+Death+Match-Funk%2C+Leatherface%2C+Nakamaki+VS+Cactus%2C+Headhunters.mp4

I'd prefer Fake Razor and Diesel to have acted like they hit a time warp and had regressed back to what they were doing when they came into the company in '92/'93. Fake Razor tries to start beef with Mr. Perfect again and claims that he must have run Randy Savage out of the WWF since Savage isn't around anymore. Then he takes a "shocking" (only to him) loss to Aldo Montoya on a random RAW, Vince pipes in some "1-2-3" chants, and Montoya is re-named the 1-2-3 Man ('o War) and becomes friends with Fake Razor by having defeated him. Fake Diesel keeps trying to be Shawn Michaels's bodyguard even though Michaels is annoyed by him until one night, an irritated Michaels tells Fake Diesel to "take the night off" and Fake Diesel powerbombs him in response. Bonus points if it happens at Survivor Series 1996 and, in a bit of poetry, allows Sid to capture the WWF Championship rather than the spot with Jose Lothario having a heart attack.

I can't fully explain it, but my brain replaced Kruk with the memory of Chris Farley doing him on SNL like 25 years ago (despite seeing the real guy on ESPN broadcasts pretty regularly)

He had some hilarious sells in NXT, I remember one where he got all Fighting Spirit~!! just to collapse backwards and fall out of the ring before he could do a single move or strike.

I hate that Drew is doing the best work of his career and he has to deal with Seth cackling like a moron and using the crowd singing as a crutch when he doesn't have a comeback. Punk's comeback next week is going to be odd as both Seth and Drew hate him.

What I love about AEW is that we can get 2020s bombs away MOVEZ bangers like Ospreay-Takeshita and also sicko shit like Danielson-Shibata spending 10 minutes on the mat before chopping each other silly. Who the hell did BCC piss off to have to feud with the fucking Righteous and Archer (who has kinda sucked for a while now). Not in the tag tournament and having to see for the team that MJF beat singlehandedly. Also why is Yuta suddenly gone? I was really into O’Reilly and Keith, was interesting to see Keith work more as the dominant guy rather than the underdog. KOR might have the eye bags from hell but he’s trimmed up some from his last appearances. I like him, please keep him away from Undisputed. Julia-Adora was good, Julia was forced to do a lot more hit and run fitting for her size, took some bumps, and she nailed the moonsault. Main event tag was pretty fucking awful, I called Briscoe getting Infantry an upset win the second the brackets were posted. Garcia-Moriarty was a good look at the bright future of AEW. Also, Garcia was ROH Pure champion, so he’s had gold around the waist. Cope looked like he was going to blow an artery near the end of his promo, he was turning purple. Also thought he had cut himself with Spike when he first put it to his temple (and maybe he should’ve to really get it across). Spike is a very Canadian name, for all those DeGrassi junior high fans. Wednesday is once again practically a PPV with the live Rampage after Dynamite. Really excited for both women’s tag matches, Kingston-Okada, and the I Quit match.

Longing for the day when I hear Taz refer to Don Callis as a “fountain of misinformation.”

It's Sasaki/Nagata from 2004 and everything after that is fighting for #2.

Since McAfee was a punter, he should fall and flail all dramatically any time anyone even grazes him. He could claim anyone touching him was roughing and therefore illegal.

"Eddie Kingston/PENTA/PAC vs Young Bucks/Kazuchika Okada MD: Hey, did you guys see the PENTA vs Action Andretti match from Rampage a week or two ago? It was like there was a metal plate in Andretti's head and a giant magnet in PENTA's boot. He just kept zooming headlong into superkicks. It was the funniest match I've seen in a while. It's amazing when you think about it, that someone trained their body to be strong and fast and supple enough to twist and fly and contort all to the end of crashing into someone else's foot seven times in one match. Pro wrestling is the wackiest thing, really." Thank you, Matthew. Love you, Paul xxx.

I really enjoyed this week's edition, but agree with some of the criticism re: pacing, repeat slugfests, and the like. Loved Danielson/Shibata just aaaaalmost flirting with the line of 'gross.' I don't think it was anyone's MOTN but it was f'n awesome to see Lance Archer back (I think for the first time since the last big TX loop? Someone correct me if I'm wrong).

There was a clip that floated into my FB feed of KOR working in New Japan. It was a tag with Tanahashi. Tana kicked him in the head and he started waving and wobbling around, Tana started imitating him in mockery, before KOR kicked him back and they both fell down. It was set to some kinda dance music and was so stupid and funny I had to watch it like three times.

I continue to maintain making a team that earned an autobid play in the First Four shouldn't be allowed. It should be the last 8 bubble teams.

OHHHHHH NOOOOOO

I have zero knowledge of Pat McAfee except I see his show on the TVs at the gym sometimes. There's no sound but, hosting the show in a fucking tank top, he seems like a massive douchebag.

So long as he spears Pat McAfee in half, I'm okay with that.

I think I joked about that on here a month or two ago Jason Kelce running out in a Mummers outfit would be an exquisite in-joke that you wouldn't get unless you're from Philly or you know about Super Bowl parades

As the person on the board who has seen this film the most: Fuck. Yeah.

Yuta was another injury disappearance. Love the Degrassi reference. Melanie is my favourite BTW. Love how she says ‘Axe-cellent’ thru her braces. So stoked to feel the live energy again tomorrow. And see Okada deliver that incredible drop kick. Pretty thrilled with this whole card. Especially Mariah/Toni going to war with Deonna/Toni. I get this feeling the Doctor might be in, and could have something to say to the CEO.

Least we have each other for company.

Looking around and Kruk’s also a big Rhea Ripley guy so the concept of Kruk being really into various women wrestlers made me realize that Kruk and Mick Foley would probably enjoy each others company. Kruk was out of Philly before ECW really hit but I don’t know if I can imagine him getting into that, aside from my confidence that John Kruk would probably enjoy the Sandman

I watched Wrestling Challenge, season 1, ep 3 last night. Just a few notable things: The Islanders debut and are called "Hako" and "Toma." I don't remember that at all, so maybe this was the only match before the name changes. The Islanders have a fun, short match with the Hart Foundation. It ends with a double DQ as both teams brawl at ringside and Toma hits a fucking TOPE in 1986. Jake does a Snake Pit with Paul Orndorff and it's notable for just the absolutely insane amount of trash the fans are throwing throughout the segment. It starts with a huge piece of debris landing in Jake's cauldron and it JUST. KEEPS. GOING. It's madness. These shows' formatting is all over the place. You get individual promos with Ken Reznick interviewing Jake and Orndorff, AND a Snake PIt with the two. They do something like this in every episode so far. "Put the cameraman on the apron and shoot straight down Elizabeth's top" is in full effect here. Mick Foley works as a jobber vs The Killer Bees. It's crazy that he wins with WWF title like 12 years later. The Bees do a finisher I never saw them do, so maybe this was the only time they did it on TV. Both guys whip Foley into the ropes, Brunzell drops down, and Blair leaps off Brunzell's back, spins, and hits Foley in the chest with his ass. I guess it's supposed to emulate a bee stinger. It looks like shit AND, after Foley lands, Blair comes down ass-first on his face, which had to hurt. Fucking Killer Bees.

Guys, what about the Cusack movies??? Better off Dead,The Sure Thing, Say Anything? They got to be included somewhere.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtytYWhg2mc Star Wars: The Acolyte trailer

A wrestling promotion needs a modern day Missy Hyatt who hits people with her Stanley Cup instead of a Gucci bag.

Someone described the new Ghostbusters as "What if a movie had DLC?" and I can only see that now.

Pretty excellent. Some good comedy in between.

Agreed. I still rewatch this. NSFW: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=pTa8RH1jZ5o&t=687s&pp=ygUVZGFyayBvcmRlciBicm9kaWUgbGVl We love and miss you, Mr. Brodie Lee.

The bracket is underwhelming, but I don't think it's such a foregone conclusion the Bucks run away with it. I could definitely see Top Flight getting their breakout year going over FTR and the Bucks back to back. Bucks or FTR winning the tag belts when we're supposed to be entering some new era or whatever would be some really lame booking. FTR will always be ready to go for a program when you need them, and the Bucks are gonna be best hiding behind Okada. Toni/Mariah killing those jobbers reminded me of the long (lost?) squash match thread. This was so much better than a semi-competitive match vs. an ROH team. Julia and Skye could probably use such a match as well.

I really wish I could find a really good guide for emulating No Mercy with these mods. There doesn't seem to be a comprehensive, step-by-step process for everything you need to download, where to download it from, and then what you need to do. I remember trying to emulate it a few years ago and it was just a mess. I couldn't get it working and didn't know what I was doing.

AOL Grandstand

This might be my favorite stupid chart ever

Will you stop?

I'm also a high voter on the Brodie Lee era of the Dark Order. Especially that night he beat the shit out of Goofy Rhodes and took his coveted TNT title. His abusive relationship with John Silver, and love of Stu are also worth noting.

I think I've told this story before, but when I went to Columbia, I worked at the Spectator, the university's student-run newspaper. Specifically in the Sports section. Well, in 1996, your own Dolfan was headed to his Phys Ed class of Basketball, led by the women's head bb coach, Kerry Phayre. And to that point, the team was 0-18, and the Spec had run an editorial a couple of days before calling for her dismissal as the team was absolutely atrocious (even by Columbia's standards). Well, what I hadn't seen, was that about an hour before the class was supposed to start, Coach Phayre had indeed, been relieved of her duties. Not surprising. But what was surprising was that the assistant head coaches were taking over the class for the day. And what else was surprising, was that they apparently all knew that I worked for the Spec. AND more surprising than that... they partially blamed me for her firing. (There was a gender aspect to their anger, but they quickly shut themselves up about that.) It was about as tense an hour as I'd ever experienced in my life. When I talked to my friend who was one of the editors about my experience, he laughed and said, "yeah, maybe if she'd won a game, they'd have a leg to stand on." Anyway, fast forward to now... Kerry Phayre is the winningest coach in Assumption College's history and is a living legend there. And Columbia's going dancing for the first time ever. Life can be interesting.

Oh yeah, nah, it's a battle for second. Nagata vs. Sasaki is gross.

As a kid, I remember at least getting KMOX on the East Coast.

Enjoy, mate. Ditto for, Infinit. Please give an additional cheer to Kazuchika Okada for me through you. Cheers as I have Kazuchika Okada in my top five Greatest Wrestlers of All Time.

People on Bluesky talk about Penta being one of the top wrestlers in the world...

Tossing this here because it's by Square Enix, has some similar names ("Soul of Thasma" anyone), and has a FFV/X-2 job system, but I'm playing Bravely Default for the first time. I'm right at the end of Chapter 4 and enjoyed it a lot so far. You spend the first half of the game with a fairly conventional battle system but I can already see that the back half is going to be all about turn manipulation and counters. I imagine only a handful of people here played it but I made it to Vampire Castle and had to take a bit of a break because the mobs there are ridiculous in their countering. But you can turn encounters to none and I'm overleveled anyway so I'll just have to face that boss and then move on sometime in the next few days.

The Usos' faceoff was fine. Was nice to see Cody make the save. DIY/Creeds built into a damn fine match as expected. Was great seeing the crowd into both teams a good deal. Hopefully the Creeds get more build so the crowd is into without them having to go all out each match as the future persists. KC Squared vs. Indi/Candice was another angle masquerading as match to push Candice's new heel character. I kind of dig it, especing the absolutely dickish pride she had post match. Cody's segment was solid. Ricochet/Dom was pretty fun with Ricochet getting in a good showcase. Will be interesting to see what happens when Judgement Day breaks up post Mania. I kind of hope JD sticks with Dom as they two play well to each other. The Sami/Gunther contract signing and Sami's segments with Gable were all good. I like the idea that Sami can't just rely on his underdog energy to take him through it. I don't ant Sami to win, but I have to say I would kind of love for Sami to maybe get some extra training from Gable to push himself to the next level and come close. Awesome Truth vs. Indus Sher was fun. Loved how Awesome Truth made their entrance. Was neat seeing one segment bleed into the next with some different camera angles in use. Its been good seeing WWE trest some new ideas out production wise post Dunn. Hope it continues. The Seth/Drew segment was another solid on between the two. Drew continues to give some of the bes t character work of his career. Seth is a goofball, but I d actually give him credit for stepping up the past few months during a lot of these segments. He isn't close as good as his opponents, but he also isn't so far behind its embarrassing like he has been in the past. New Day vs. Otis/Tozawa was another fun match. Was nice seeing Otis and Akira actually get in a decent showcase against a team like New Day. Becky/Nia wasn't as good as their last match, but was still a solid garbage brawl. Most of the matches and segments ranged from pretty decent-solid, but we did get a great standout match in DIY vs. Creeds. That is match that deserves to happen again with the belts on the line and one of them as champs. Another solid show with Wrestlemania taking shape and unfinished business finally ending on Becky's journey to Rhea.

Joey Gallo and Mike Zunino put in some serious work on that list.

Luck for sure - pretty good numbers and 11-5. Cam was good and improved the team a lot. I'll agree with those two.

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Boy did he. Like I'm not posting the pages but Bleeding Cool did and I encourage y'all to see it because it is *something*. The Public Domain years are gonna be wild.