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taking my friend who has never seen pro wrestling to her first indy show later this week

RE: Rampage Another fun Rampage this week. I was looking forward to Rush v Komander, but was a bit disappointed with this hopeless lopsided bout. Not terrible, but a little more hope and thrills r needed for the 12 minute running time. Fletcher/Takeshita v Privates was fun. Looks like Kyle Fletcher is the new overly talented guy to dunk on who already proves the haters wrong every time out. Pretending not to know the name of the guy you're talking trash about seems to always be the play. Sure, I miss Aussie Open, but away from the w/l records when has Kyle not been stellar throughout this singles run? Callis was great as per usual during his Family Ties commentary. Very much enjoyed the Rush/Don video, but would’ve been better to show prior to his match. The Kingdom promo in there was fun. Taven was particularly good there. It’d be nice to see he and Bennett have an actual competitive match on TV some time. Rather than having no business being at ringside during Roddy matches, and making them all a bit worse than they ought to be. MJF/Garcia/Ospreay video was good. O’Reilly squash was fine. I’d prefer Kyle get a meaningful win here and there – he obviously needs some. Samoa Joe promo was good. May/Shida preview video was terrific. Owen aside, just in general, more of these pre-match packages would be a really good thing. May v Shida was snug and terrific save for the silly finish. I’m not sure I understand why Shida already flailing couldn’t have gotten a shoulder up. Seems it would've been harder to keep it flat on the mat? Ridiculous. May looked great bouncing all over the place. Shida brought a good fight. The Toni Storm/Adora promo video might have been the best thing on this show. Toni seems to have a lot of great stuff on this oft unseen C show. I had fun with this Power Hour of Professional Wrestling on a Saturday morning.

That show was fucking great. It's so refreshing to be in era of WWE booking that all makes sense again. It hasn't really been this way since , what? The 80's?

Double retirement match Cena v Bryan with a Bella in each corner. Cena and Bella reunite for one night and she turns on him and hits him with a hamper for Bryan to win.

I knew the tag match would rule. I was not ready. That step-up Destroyer was beautiful and a good way to make the move not seem as set-up-heavy See this is how you pace a 5-match show. I don't know what you do with Wes or Roxanne now. They can both bring it, but I can't really figure out where you take either of them in the short term. I completely mis-called the booking for the main. I also wasn't expecting it to be particularly good, and I was wrong about that too--it's not an instant classic, but it worked a lot better than I expected. All in all, I had a great time. Definitely not the title I expected to change hands tonight.

Wouldn’t that interfere with his job booking AEW? (Heard that one last week)

It may be just been how it came off on TV, but it seemed like Claudio got no pop at all for his entrance, and the crowd was dead for that excellent hoss fight between Claudio & Mortos. I think that match would've been a lot better if they'd done it on Wednesday in Chicago.

Can I interest you in some MS Paint drawings of Apes?

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=i4AmDOSEDoo John Cena says he will wrestle the entirety of 2025.

He looked pretty rough on the Vice shows before this even. Hope he gets some coin. Cutting off insurance is bullshit.

Today was my last day at the PT weekend job. It feels great to finally be able to finish up there. I didn't think anyone really knew, since nobody had really said anything about it. But, I had people coming out of the woodwork to say goodbye to me. Both the store manager and assistant manager made a point of coming up to me and telling me that I'd always have a job there if I needed one.

I had the same thinking in a pass out finish would have worked better. I think it can still be vicious, and Lola comes out looking even better having never tapped. Not sure what is next for Roxanne either. So many of the higher status women in NXT that should logically face her are other heels while the most talented faces are more NA level right now. I think Thea would be a good choice, but they seem to have her overly focused on Chase U and Ridge right now.

It felt like the last time NXT was in Toronto because Heatwave stole the weekend. It's crazy how good Oba Femi is when he's probably wrestled less than 50 matches in his career. He's either NXT Champion or on the main roster at this time next year. Also, I need to know who has been showing Femi tapes of Jeff Cobb after he busted out the F-500 and using his opponent as a surfboard. That said I think by the end of the match Oba and Wes were both super gassed which I can't really blame either of them for. Was also really impressed by the match that Sol and Kelani were able to put on together with how new they both are. They really came up with some pretty creative spots and for the most part executed everything pretty well. Fear for what they(and Je'von will do one day in a MITB match.) The fantasy booking in me would have had Lola pass out in the crossface. The Pop Rocks on the table was a nice spot and the repeated finishers was a nice idea for viciousness but I agree that multiple Pop Rocks isn't that impactful. At this point if they're not ready for Giulia, I think they might just have to start bringing in legends to face Roxy. I don't think the main event ever hit that next level but it was really good and enjoyable. They had some inventive spots and I think everyone got to shine a bit. I don't know how many people caught it but I loved the crowd chanting "Rest in Peace" for Evans after his table bump. Thought the finish was perfect because it's the kind of spot that happens all the time but almost never actually ends a match. Trick is probably stronger chasing the title and the circumstances that Page won the title are great for a heel that thinks he's better than he's shown himself to be and that everyone hates. Oh and if you didn't watch all the way through:

Heating Sami up for the Bloodlines stuff makes sense.

Sami vs. Bron was incredible. That pin was a thing of beauty — Bron had to do some taunting before going to spear Sami, and he got caught. Sami took no chances and immediately went for the pin. Loved the booking for this, too. Bron getting beat this early in his career makes him not have to deal with a big winning streak and how you get out of a guy in a Goldberg steak. But he looks even more awesome as he now goes to eventually dethrone Sami by learning where he erred.

Arianna/Karmen vs. Jacy/Jazmyn was solid. Everyone worked well together, but it was particularly nice to see Karmen moving the smoothest and most fluid she ever has alongwith Arianna working so well as a face. They will have something good with both as time goes on. Grace might have more in her than just being a character though its still her strongest attribute. Oba/Wes wasn't perfect but damn was is great. The two just fit together well and busted out some great action from beginning to end with both bumping around and selling for each other so well. Wes surprisingly had more flubs than Oba, but none of it was ever so devastating that it killed the flow of the match or interest of the crowd. Was surprised to see Oba adapt and move on so quickly any time something slightly off happened. This is probably his best performance yet. Its kind of shame this seemingly won't be happening again for a while, but I am happy they saved it for a big crowd. Sol/Kelani was the junior/high speed style clash you would hope for/expect from these. They gelled pretty well together and busted out some really nice spots as the match went on. I particularly dug the finish. Pretty good overall though I still need both to develop more as personalities. Axiom/Frazer vs. Chase/Duke was so damn good. Both teams work well together, and it was great seeing them in front of a big audience into all of them. They built into some great action and moments with the crowd completely buying it was over at least once or twice. The result here was probably the right one, but I do wish Chase U would win the titles again. Duke and Andre are just so much better than you would ever expect. Roxanne/Lola built into something good by the end despite some flubbing during the finishing sequence. Dug Roxanne's arm work in the second half and how it played into Lola never quite being able to take full advantage during the rest of the match. Roxanne brought out some nice hate in her face and eyes for the finish though a part of me wishes she had another impactful finish beyond the Pop Rocks. Trick vs. Evans vs. Page vs. Spears was good. Evans looked great with all of the big moves he busted out and coming close to winning multiple times. That table spot with Evans & Trick was an insane jump to take. Starting to think Evans comes from the same line of crazy Ibushi & Mayu do. The finish was well executed but also a WTF moment. I like Page fine, but it felt like Trick's reign had barely begun. Just a strange choice to make though it could be interesting to have the first real heel champ in 2-3 years. Every match here was solid-good. Sol/Kelani and the tag titles matches were both standouts. Still, Oba/Wes was easily MOTN and honestly probably the overall weekend for WWE. I think the Women's MITB is the only thing that comes close. Was good with most of the results. Only thing I really question is Page as champ however long or short the reign is. Pretty good show overall, definitely an improvement over Battleground as far as PLEs go.

Rumor is Sammy under a mask as "Hologram"

The first one doesn't seem weird to me, because going into the show I would have given Private Party a better chance to win than Komander. Obviously they wouldn't be pinning Takeshita, but they're not so low on the totem pole that I couldn't see them getting a fall on Fletcher. And heck, Trish Adora had a better chance of beating Toni Storm than Jay White had of beating Adam Page. But of course there was very little chance of the latter being a squash after it was announced as the main event; it was always going to be Page winning a fairly competitive match.

Couldn;t agree more. My comment wasn't even a dig at Punk, i don't think anyone in WWE is on Drew's level right now and i think he's surpassed both Rollins and Punk at this moment

I'm shocked McIntyre can stand up straight the way he's carrying the Punk feud.

That cash in & angle felt hella lazy to me. Like, folks continue to gush over hhh’s booking like it’s brilliant. If TK had booked something this obvious and uninteresting, the online discourse would be deafening. It wasn’t good, and Summerslam looks pretty lackluster so far.

Solo main-eventing SummerSlam in a title match is wild considering how few matches he’s won on tv past year or so. They heated him up from jtts to main-eventer almost overnight. Even since the new Bloodline started, he’s only got a couple single wins on tv. Feels like he should be softening Cody up for Rock or Jacob Fatu (which maybe is where this goes). i don’t think Drew is the babyface in this feud, but feud would be over if Punk would stop being a petty prick. Dude’s racking up those airline miles just in case he gets a chance to mess with Drew on a show. Punk must think Drew is Colt Cabana in disguise, Does Drew share a bank account with his mother or something? PPV was fun, but I’m still not interested in the big Summer storylines or weekly tv.

I'm the same. Never liked Marko Stunt.

My wife asked me why Jack Perry was fighting a kid and thought it was comical that anyone would sell for Mario Stunt. I totally agree. Otherwise, a very good Collision.

This was an enjoyable show. Great main event (with a very meme-able shot of Christian lying down outside the ring). Max's promo furthered the story and did a good job of adding some layers. I just don't get the people cheering him here though, even if you're a fan of his work you lessen the impact of it with your reaction to his heinous acts. I can only assume these people think Ricky Gervais is an edgy and hilarious comedian. During the first match Nigel made a quip about "titty city" being equally appropriate for the next match, which ended up being Toni Storm and Trish Adora. Someone needs to have a word with him because that's incredibly disrespectful. Schiavone was stunned into silence by it. Nige has some good moments, but he's quantity over quality and he far too often crosses the line to Jerry Lawler "puppies", bleugh! Positive stuff - lots of great backstage stuff here from Hangman, Christian, HOB, the conglomeration. Some interesting development with OC's character becoming more nihilistic.

The only one that I've ever heard, that I've actually given serious clout to was that the producers of Beyond The Mat paid Colette Foley to purposely make the children more upset during filming to generate more interest/controversy/drama.

Getting positive feedback like that is always wonderful and people telling you that you'd be welcomed back anytime is especially heartwarming. This was very nice to read.

Think about it... Jake wasn't even crazy enough to do something like that

Or the sound truck fucked up and Drew's music was supposed to hit at 2 (not my idea) I suddenly wonder if Punk is down to the wire on whether he's cleared at Summerslam and Seth v Drew is the backup plan?

Really dug Adora vs Toni and all of the stuff with their respective entourages. Hope Riho is okay. Looked like she injured her wrist towards the end of the match.

Penelope/Tiki was good with a surprise win for Tiki, which was awesome. Liked all of the post match antics leading to the main event. Nice chemistry between Lil J and Ice Cold. Ice Cold has been one of my favorites for a while now so nice to see her branch out solo again. And Lil J Boogie was made to be a face. Nice win for Animal Instinct against Team Spirit. On paper, the animal themed characters sounded iffy but they really work in WOW. The main was perfectly fine wrestling but mainly a set up for continued Island Dynasty/Fab 4 issues, which should be fun.

Men's MITB felt a bit rougher than usual in terms of danger. Was a fun mess. Drew winning was predictable but probably the right move. Sami/Bron was damn good as expected. Wasn't expecting Sami to get a straightforward victory, but Bron can afford such a loss here. Will be more about how he responds to it. Surprisingly dug Priest/Seth more than expected with the two just going at it from the getgo while constantly worrying about the looming threat of Drew cashing in. A fuckup at the pin screwed up the momentum, but Drew finally coming down to cash in right after managed to mitigate the damage a good deal. Punk's interference was expected but well done and welcomed by the crowd. I did like no one quite being happy with the results but Punk. Seth got as screwed as Drew while Priest continues to not quite cement his spot as a top guy. The Women's MITB was kind of insane and scary with everyone doing some dumb crazy shit at some point. When a ladder fall through tables is one of the safer spot you know things are crazy. Thought everyone got in some good moments and love result. Io and Zoey are fucking insane and need their heads checked both mentally and medically after this. Loved what Chelsea did character wise, and it was great seeing Tiffany take home the win. Bloodline vs. Cody/Orton/KO built into something good though it had a hard time following the Women's MITB. Jacob looked good and poor Tanga got knocked loopy saving him. Was happy to see Solo get the pin on Cody. Dug all of the matches and overall results here. The women's match was insane and easily MOTN. Sami/Bron was probably the best right after it. Good show. Cena announcing a retirement tour was unexpected. Hope he gets a good retirement at next year's Wrestlemania.

Kirsten Dunst gets a lifetime pass for On Becoming a God in Central Florida. Absolute crime it never got a second season

It's kinda hilarious to me that we're at almost twenty years since OMD, every poll of comic readers I've ever seen shows that fans overwhelmingly want the marriage back and hate OMD, multiple creators have made it clear they feel the same way, but Marvel remains convinced that a version of the character their customers that fans like less is better in some way.

Nao's produce show was really fun!

I posted this a couple of years ago; it’s a Garvin vs. Les Thornton tv match that consists of a repeated/prolonged cravat hold; really terrific stuff:

But not near Voorhees Township. However, Haddonfield, New Jersey is near there, which is where Haddonfield, Illinois in the Halloween series got its name.

Well the USSF finally fired Berhalter. I'm guessing Canada making the Quarters was the final nail.

Agreed. The tag/trios division feel aimless. I know the Bucks/Acclaimed are working towards something, but the tag division was once such a strength and now it feels like WWE where the tag division is an afterthought. Weren't the MCMG supposed to be coming in soon?

Oh yeah, now I remember. Tod was like "Is Bill Alfonso gone? Is he gone? OKAY THEN LET'S START THE TAIPEI DEATH MATCH" and then they start slicing the shit out of each other. He had to actually not be present after all. Unfortunately, I've seen too much Tirantes and Red Shoes to want anything more from my refs than proper calls and counts.

I haven't seen the original, but the remake is more dimly lit and Colin Farrell's character is a bit more sympathetic and less outwardly charming than Clint Eastwood's. The remake is more focused on the women in the story versus the original.

I took a cursory look at this one while it was on, coming in after the Rush match (will go back and watch that squash. Callis' "All this is yours my son" segment after was cool). Fletcher coming out behind Takeshita made him look like an afterthought. Private Party coming out at all made the match an afterthought to me. And of course I didn't give a Shida match any play, but Toni's outfit and the interplay with Mariah is still a hoot. I'm thinking she'll probably win the Owen unless they want to do a breakup angle with Toni, and that should NOT happen. Now, Danielson versus Knife Pervert? Danielson versus 1989 Terry Funk Hungman? This one is more of a tossup. It's probably who Bryan wants to wrestle more, but also since they just reintroduced Page, they probably want to give him some more juice after trampling Jarrett. I'll go with Page, and Danielson laying down as well. Good point, but I'm remembering Tod Gordon coming out, overrunning his authority and letting the Taipei death match between the Rotten Bros. go on.

I need to find a way to get rich while doing nothing.

Hope everyone still have all ten fingers

Yup, 2 Minions Movies.

Greg drops diss tracks. Verne kills a guy. Is the daughter still in jail? Whole family is as gangsta as Minnesota gets, I suppose.

Rewatched Logan to psyched for Deadpool & Wolverine. There's way too much dust in this room, keep having to wipe my eyes... It's just a great movie and everyone is bringing their A game. It also makes me wish the Quesolupa was a thing! James

“I’m Greg Gagne and I’m in a rage! I want Brody, and I want him in a cage!” Yeah Greg, imma call bullshit on that one.

There's this song Wrestle Rock Rumble you should listen to.