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I harp on this every time she's on, so I'm sorry to everyone reading this for the millionth time, but Lady Frost has the potential to be a money-printing machine based on gimmick and presence alone. It's almost driving me insane that she doesn't have an action figure in every Target in America. The fact that she's outshone nearly everyone she's been in with (besides maybe Athena?) is just the icing on the cake.

Regarding good overbooked matches, Raven vs. Saturn at Fall Brawl '98 doesn't get really good until the overbooking. It depends on well-executed overbooking to go from "solid match" to "great match." Then again, if something has a lot of ga-ga, but the ga-ga enhances the match, then it isn't really overbooked. It's well-booked. I submit that we change the term overbooked match to the term gagaful match. Or jibberjabberful match, I'm not picky.

I'm glad they changed her residence to "Imperial Iceland." They legit used to bill her as just being "from someplace cold" and it drove me up a wall how low effort that was.

I watched it with my wife this weekend. She had the same reaction and I was like, oh, it’s actually worse than how it’s told in the movie. There’s another son that also meets a tragic end and Fritz was probably a bigger piece of shit than this portrayal.

I've known Brittany(SHOOT NAME, BROTHA~!) since she was a server at the Pittsburgh bar/restaurant I was a regular at back in the late 2000's-early 2010's so I'm obviously biased here but it's SO cool watching her improve a ton in the ring over the past 5 years and legitimately make a name for herself in the business. The sky truly is the limit for her.

This is wonderful but I'm glad she didn't come in a second earlier when they were chanting for Athena.

...bad?

Tito's Flying Forearm was a thing of beauty. He hit it fast and clean that it was credible as a finisher and would be today! James

I'm on an airplane! The KOTR and QOTR tournament continue! Notably, Kofi Kingston defeated Rey Mysterio over the weekend, so he will move on. His prize is death by GUNTHER tonight. Please enjoy!

Honesty, just have Lady Frost watch Batman & Robin on loop until she develops a skill for cold-related puns and it's a license to print money. WHAT KILLED DE DINO-SAWAHS? DE ICE AGE! AH AH HA HA HA HA

I haven't quite ventured into shows yet - I tend not to watch shows because binge watching it or watching a season altogether is opposite of what was intended. It's already nerve wracking enough to try to watch 30+ movies in a month! Maybe I can approach The Curse as a long movie versus a TV series.

I almost hit you with a gorilla monsoon ish WILL YOU STOP but remembered that was Ventura, not heenan

"Win if you can, lose if you must, but always cheat." - Ancient Klingon Proverb

I'm not quite so sure. He managed to move into digital realms with all the CGI monster movies and stay just as cheap, sleazy, and lowest-common-denominator. If it had his name, it was an extension, and if someone is putting out 1000 Gigantic Killer Spidersharks or whatever then there is still a derivative of Roger Corman floating around out there. Hell, if there is EXPLOITATION as CINEMA there will always be Roger Corman. He is the Big Bang for all of it, alongside William Castle, and probably going back a little further the Poverty Row films. You can't bury his influence. I love Roger, so much. Not just the directorial successes, whether I've seen them or not, like The Intruders or The Trip which I've still never watched. All the Poe films, especially The Masque of the Red Death (Fall and Pit were two of the first VHS tapes I ever owned). The Wild Angels, which I own the vinyl of the soundtrack to. The St. Valentine's Day Massacre. And his productions? Death Race 2000. Humanoids from the Deep, which my parents took off my Xmas list and bought for me at the age of ten! Carnosaur, which I used my VHS copy of to allow a sampling of for a band's record one time. It's endless. He was the master.

Man, Shane got rocked on that spear.

I have a feeling the whole thing is a work. "2024 being Danielson's last year as an in-ring competitor" is a long-term angle. We're starting to see where it is going; Claudio cut that backstage promo on Collision where be basically said that he will always have Danielson's back, but that he will not help him cripple himself. Every time Danielson has one of these "Dream Matches" they talk about the physical toll it is taking on him. The match with Ospreay and the worked injury from the Tiger Driver... This is all going somewhere and building to something, and I don't think it is a Sting-like send off.

Nothing should surprise people in the wrestling business.

If Buzz Sawyer was a cat

Would the Savage/Warrior match with all the Liz/Sherri stuff be considered overbooked? There was a lot going on there with the finish and the post-match stuff, but it’s very well-liked.

Really good crowd early, for the Collision/ Rampage show. Obviously they burnt out as the night went on, but a few of the wrestlers in the later matches found interesting ways of bringing them back. Top Flight changing their gear from mostly Black to mostly Green is a choice. Looked a bit military, and there's already a tag team doing a military gimmick over there. Good match though. It's pretty mindblowing how, if you didn't know Dante had broken his leg really badly just over a year ago, you'd never be able to tell. The miracles of youth and modern medicine working well. Not sure why Claudio does the Naruto run before the double stomp, he can't be stealing a Kidd Bandit spot, can he? Dante seemed to not know what to do with his hands during the Giant Swing, he went from covering up to limp hanging and back a couple of times. Danielson started cutting an in-ring promo about the match we cannot initialise (because Anarchy in the Arena is not the 'Am I The Asshole?' match) and Claudio walked out, but then they addressed it later in the show. He's not mad, just disappointed. Running a show simultaneously with an NJPW USA PPV, when Mox and Kingston are both booked on the NJPW show, it really makes you realise exactly how stacked the AEW roster is. Because two (or more) of the biggest stars in the company weren't there, and you'd never know from watching the show. Will Ospreay vs Lee Moriarty, that was a good match. Roddy Strong's whole "Yelling the first name" thing didn't come up as much on commentary, because he only does it when directly addressing someone, not talking about them. We could have had him going "Wristlock applied by LEE! but WILL! is able to flip away from the pressure". Lee Moriarty continues to use the Border City Stretch, despite the fact that the MCMG are apparently on their way in. Perhaps we'll get a continuation of the Moriarty vs Shelley rivalry/friendship in AEW though. If it drives people to watching thier 2019 matches, that could boost Lee in a few people's eyes. Mercedes Mone capable of throwing a ball, CONFIRMED! Yeah, I'm never going to understand the Baseball thing. I admire Toa Liona's commitment to having a classic "Samoan Wrestler" look. All of those Bloodline guys with their slender abdomens, running around looking like underwear models. AFA AND SIKA AIN'T DO NO SIT-UPS! Despite them having easily despatched of the Tik Tok Twins and Not Tom Lawler, Swerve Strickland then proved that his former muscle weren't very good muscle by beating the three of them up singlehandedly. Toa Liona ran into the cinderblock shot so fast that it gashed the hell out of his arm. Dax Harwood vs Dynamite Kid Tommy Billington, in a match that was clearly an example of Dax living out his early 90s Hart Family feud aspirations. Young Tommy, despite his extreme youth (Cagematch says he's 23, but he was 15 when he showed up in Defiant Wrestling 5 years ago), does nothing in the ring that's really post- Bret vs Owen. It would be quite interesting to see Billington vs Nick Wayne or someone like that, who is so modern in his in-ring stuff. He might not have earned himself an "IS ALL ELITE" banner based on this one performance, but he's certainly earned a second look at least. It was a pleasant surprise that the match went 12 minutes and was back and forth; Dax could have squashed him in 3 if he'd wanted. Most unsigned guys don't go over 10 minutes on their company debut. But Dax's throwback spots, his "let's do this thing from this one specific Bret match" made it pretty clear why it went that long. The fans were super-hot for the Adam Copeland vs Kyle O'Reilly match. Cope got a big babyface reaction coming out, but he was definitely the heel in the match. Like he got booed for using a rope break to escape a submission hold. Nigel quoting the Stone Roses on commentary, and Tony Schiavone clearly had no idea what he was talking about. The fans really elevated this match; The actual television build to it made it feel somewhat like just another match, but the live crowd being so into it conferred a Big Fight Feeling upon it anyway. Nigel calling the Les Kellet Lariat as the Les Kellett Lariat was good. So much better than the Rebound Lariat (surely that's all of them? What is running the ropes, if not rebounding?), or the Wackyline. Dalton Castle vs Trent had a much lesser reaction, but quite possibly they were exhausted. Disappointing lack of heel heat for Trent's control segments, but they came alive for Dalton's suplexes out of the control segment. Dalton does have really good timing on them, to be fair. Bryan Keith vs JD Drake had a near-silent crowd too, but then JD actually made the most of it with a fucking LOUD chop in the corner. And then they basically sprinted to the finish from there, which kept the fans into it for the whole closing stretch. Now Lady Frost vs Deonna Purrazzo, that's clearly intended as a Purrazzo showcase because she's the one getting the push and so on, but she really didn't do anything memorable. Sometimes it feels like her "Great technical wrestler" thing is more that she's a regular wrestler doing a "Great technician" gimmick, rather than being an actual technique specialist. Whereas Lady Frost, being the super agile ex-gymnast, almost everything she does looks spectacular. She's very precise in her athletic execution, but she makes the actual wrestling move she's flipping into look devastating and painful too. The "Murder Gymnastics" stylistic tag that initially confused Tony is paid off by the way she wrestles. Also I saw her on twitter talking about how she loves all of the support that fans are showing towards male wrestlers who can keep getting it done over the age of 40, and hopes that they'll extend the same support to women wrestlers who are in their 40s too. So I looked up her age, and she's 39. I would have guessed she was in her early 30s tops, but apparently she was already out of her 20s when she had her first match (on WWE Raw, before she actually started training to wrestle). Thunder Rosa brought a lot of intensity with her run-in. Surprising though, that AEW security attempted a pull apart and actually kept the wrestlers apart the whole time. Usually they break free periodically. This was the first ever Johnny TV vs Pac match in history. Somehow they managed to miss one another on their WWE runs (meaning they were almost never in the company at the same time), and nobody ever booked it on the indies either. Nigel discussing how Johnny has great genetics, then segues into speculating what it would be like if he and Taya had a child (implying that said child would be a highly evolved athletic wunderkind), and Tony misses his point and thinks he's doing a "Snobby heel, disgusted at the thought of sexual reproduction" routine. Everyone assumed that Johnny TV's AEW name was Johnny TV because he's Johnny Television, but what if we've all got it wrong? Perhaps he's actually Johnny Taya Valkyrie? The show ended, not with a victory celebration, but with the winner pissed off in the ring because the final segment was a backstage promo cut upon him. That's pretty Sports Entertainment, that. Going off the air on a down note... even though it was less like Rampage was the Third Hour of Nitro (when the NWO show up), and more like it was the Collision after-party.

Does Deonna have any other mannerisms other then that hand wave, or any personality at all? No? Okay then. At least we were spared Rosa yelling about being held down again. I'm really intrigued by the Claudio walk-out. I HOPE it's just that Claudio still doesn't trust Eddie, and not that they're thinking of possibly breaking up the BCC.

I would agree with that from what was said in the 30 for 30 docu (and with what I remember from the Highspots shoot interview). I am not sure which effect the child trafficking had on Ric but one thing that is sure is that Ric had lots of issues with his adoptive father. I think Ric wanted nothing more than approval from him but their personalities were way too different. His adoptive father was a doctor and wanted Ric to have a "proper" job, Ric was into sports and dropped out of college. The other thing that stuck into my brain was what Ric's first wife Leslie (the mother of Megan and David) said in the 30 for 30 docu. I think the summary of what she said was that she married Richard Fliehr, at a certain point Richard Fliehr changed into Ric Flair and Ric did not like being Richard Fliehr so basically the Richard Fliehr part of his persona "died". But being Ric Flair only works when you are in the spotlight. Also you hurt your loved ones and (in the long term) yourself. I suppose Ric is struggling for the last, I don't know maybe even 25 years or more (when he got pushed away from a featured position in WCW), trying to come to terms with having to be Richard Fliehr again. Obviously, also just a cold reading, but I guess any psychologist worth his title would have a field day with Ric and could write at least a paper if not a book on him (like people did with Bobby Fischer).

Asa a long time member (late 90's) but rare poster I always looked forward to the wit and wisdom Dean brought to these forums as we talked about the best thing in the world. The world is a little darker place without Dean in it. May he rest in peace.

Been thinking about DEAN on his one year anniversary today. Scary it's a year. I don't have the way with words. Just wanted to say I love and miss you, fella from Paul xxx.

It's been a year today. Not a day goes by where I don't miss the big guy and his presence. I don't watch a new match without wondering what his one line thought on it in a massive stream of consciousness paragraph would have been (though, I can imagine it at least because you learned to anticipate the patterns, which is its own sort of blessing). I should have my review of the Action show going up tonight on SC. I talked to my parents this morning. Took the 6 year old to swim lesson. Am reaching out to you guys now. Nothing is assured in this life. Go say hi to your loved ones today.

I see someone doesn't believe in the Lincoln theories.

I don't think "Regent" is the word you want. "Regent" isn't a general term that includes kings and queens, it's a person who rules when the actual king or queen can't. Try "Monarch of the Ring".

TK is nuts if he derails Willow-Mania.

I ended up buying Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy, Asako I & II and Happy Hour on Blu Rays. All three were coming off Criterion Channel within the last two months and rather than 'binge watch' (where I would lose any connection to the viewing experience and it would be a race against the clock), I did that instead. I had gotten Drive My Car on Criterion blu ray too. (I also got Damnation and Satantango on Blu Ray. Watching Satantango and Happy Hour would be a full day) What's weird is other online reviews I've seen hated Evil Does Not Exist. One person on an AMC reddit actually said he almost walked out of the showing, seeing other people walk out.I then get proceeded to be blasted on AMC A List reddit because I look at my phone during previews or to check on the time during a boring/terrible part of a movie or the movie overall is becoming uninteresting.

I had no idea this match was booked, nor any idea who this kid was, so I assumed it was just an insane typo when I read the Triller show teaser at 7:59pm and saw "Dax Harwood vs Dynamite Kid Tommy Billington." Shit, Randy Orton didn't start out just straight up wrestling as Barry O.

Uncut Gems on Imax! Thanks for the tip. I'll be there too. I'm happy for you to have both Good Time and the Curse waiting for you. Can You Forgive Me is another McCarthy dramatic turn worth taking a look at. I like a lot of docs, but I get what you're saying and especially about ...Heaven. Loved it. So stoked for Evil Does Not Exist. I loved Drive My Car. And really liked both Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy and Asako I&II. Also, thanks for the heads up on the Karen Dalton doc. I'm a fan since the Light in the Attic reissue campaign 15 years ago. I won't expect too much. I'm just in need of filling in some details on her story.

Is it though?

Surely it's not a case of EVIL being over in Japan but Gedo just refusing to back down at this point, right? The Twitter/Reddit meltdown how been hilarious though

Random-ish YouTube video: Audrey Hepburn on Johnny Carson Watch as the conversation sorta veers into and out of obvious awkwardness. People found out eventually that Carson was introverted off camera and Audrey is really quiet. Since this was when Carson was 90 minutes, watch them walk for 10+ minutes. Also, Audrey sounding really Dutch at points (well, that’s one of her native languages)

Isn't this just his last year as a full time wrestler? Its not actual retirement he is doing as far as I can tell.

The guy who says he loves to lie?

People should check out Erik Watts on the Wolfie D podcast. That tends to be kind of hit or miss but this was one of the best wrestling (with a wrestler) podcasts I've heard in years. https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/wolfied/episodes/Erik-Watts-e2go004

Bryan Danielson who is apparently working in an executive role in AEW? Who cut a promo on how much he loved AEW before leading the crowd in chanting the companies' name just last night?

If can believe the google machine, Heenan/Jesse called it both The Flying Burrito and the Flying Jalapeño. I think Manny”s wasn’t the flying forearm technically, at least not the same as what Tito and later Terry Taylor did.

I liked Moriarty vs Ospreay way more than the Dax match. Wouldn’t have expected that coming in.

Movies today... Deception (Mubi, leaving next week) Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (saw in the theater) Evil Does Not Exist (saw in the theater) Hotel Artemis (Max, leaving this month)

That's hilarious. "My dearest Abigail, I am returning from the front after months eating hard tack and cannot wait to sample your vittles. Alas, the War for the Georgian Territory was a lost cause, though history will record the depth of our struggle."

Later this month, Uncut Gems is getting released on IMAX. I'll be there again to experience the soundtrack and an incredible amount of anxiety. I found out about Good Time and The Curse later and will watch both of those soon. Yeah, St. Vincent just didn't grab me that much except for the last 20 minutes of the movie. I liked Bill Murray's scenes where he really did sound like he had a stroke. I guess I'll check out Tammy since that's another Melissa McCarthy movie. I'll have to check out Spermworld too. Most documentaries I don't like because it's an obvious format - scenes take place, person gets interviewed, and it's feels like an episode of 60 Minutes rather than a movie. Some Kind of Heaven felt like a movie first, documentary second.

That Robinson backbreaker/kneedrop combo later on in the video is pretty swank, too.

Virtual hugs, mate. There's never enough fuck cancer.

Meltzer made a point, many times, about Flair and other athletes at his level. And really, it applies to damn near any walk of life. Being driven to that level, to be the absolute best in your field, goes hand in hand with at least some level of mental issues. Because good enough can never be good enough, you are always pushing, etc. Healthy people understand limitations and boundaries. Overachievers relentlessly drive themselves, to their own detriment and others around them.

I don't know if that's entirely true that the younger generation wants to throw the prior generation away, they just don't want to be told that what they like is cool by the prior generation. It's like when I tell my daughter that I like an album that she likes. I'm not supposed to like that. I'm old! I'm supposed to be lame!

I'd guess a lot of the people in his life have thrown in the towel. I've been pretty upfront about my struggles with substances on here so I'll just speak from experience. I spent almost twenty years being an addict who used to hide from who he was. Flair has been using for much longer. It didn't take too long for a good chunk of my support system to give up. No one wanted to associate with me. I found out my parents have my burial plot paid for and a funeral planned. Lots of people realized their roles in enabling. If I had to guess, many in Ric's life are struggling with that. I hate to say it but I think he might be too far gone. Becoming okay with being yourself or figuring out what that means and who that is might be the biggest struggle and a lot of people can't handle it. It took multiple attempts for me and it's still a work in progress.

I mean ... if he actually recovers, that's great value at that pick. That's what the internet tells me at least as I'm grasping at information to talk me down.

I didn't think it was possible to find a more thin skinned owner than Richie Rich Daniel Synder. Well David Tepper is surpassing that in droves. I guess it could have been much worse at least he didn't have a drink in his hand