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THE ABOMINABLE DR. PHIBES (Robert Fuest, 1971) IMDB : ROTTEN TOMATOES SELECTED BY @odessasteps REVIEWED BY RIPPA I one of the few people still around who remembers the DVDVR Movie Club (and remembers it fondly). I am also one of the few people who remembers Mark picking The Abominable Dr. Phibes back then (it is also why – even if I wasn’t running Secret Santa – I would have known exactly who picked this movie). There is also some irony in talking about this movie after my bonus review that also featured another Comedy/Horror (though there is way more “horror” in this. I mean this is about as “dark comedy” as it gets.) I am only aware of Robert Fuest because of being exposed to the Phibes movies in the Movie Club and having had to suffer through the Timothy Dalton lead version of Wuthering Heights in school. (I don’t consider The Avengers a blind spot because I have no interest in The Avengers). This movie begins and ends with Vincent Price. That isn’t a shocking statement but if for some reason you don’t really understand how good Price is as an actor. Watch this. If you really need to be convinced how good Price is at being creepy. Watch this. I will give Fuest credit – he is one of the few directors who went “Price is a giant. Let’s take advantage of that to really ramp up the creepy.” I won’t go into too much detail but the basic gist is that Dr Phibes is disfigured in an auto accident that eventually claims the life of his wife. Phibes blames the medical professionals who didn’t save her. Oh BTW, everyone thought Phibes was dead too. Because of the accident, Phibes has an elaborate voice box gimmick. I am a mark for a voice box gimmick. It is was why I would randomly defend Kane from time to time on the 500. I deserve all the bad things that happen to me. Anyway – Phibes decides to kill them all - the 9 members of the medical team that Phibes blames for the death of his wife, not the world population just for clarity’s sake. But to give himself a challenge or something, he bases all of the murders on the Ten Plagues of Egypt. Granted they played loose and fast with what the actual Plagues were. (Just like the bible does with the truth! Suck it Religion!). This leads to some wild deaths. I mean I can handle bats and I think, THINK, I can handle crickets but as someone currently dealing with a mouse in their house problem, the rats can fuck all the way off. Oh, I should also note that the police are really really really bad at their jobs. Funny but really really really bad at their jobs. This movie really is insane in all the right ways and should be seen if you haven’t done so already. Though I should note it is very British so that might impact your feelings too. EDITOR/WRITER'S NOTE Multiple versions can be found on Youtube. HERE is the version on Internet Archive (working under the assumption that it is working again). It is also on Apple+

Waiting for the other shoe to drop on these deals. What's the non compete component? WWE traditionally doesn't do things for altruistic motives. So if you train at a WWEID school are you barred from working anywhere? If you're a WWEID worker are you barred from signing with AEW or New Japan? Not enough details out there for me to form a fair opinion yet.

We're about to see which promoters have read the Frog and the Scorpion and which ones haven't.

I think Chris Bey is maybe the most underrated wrestler going today. Hope he can recover and more people can see what he can do!

Somewhat related, but ELP has said to save your prayers for Chris - in case anybody hasnt seen, Chris Bey was seriously injured at a recent TNA taping. A mistimed move led to what looks like a serious neck injury. He was stretchered out after not moving post-injury and went into emergency surgery. There has yet to be an update on what happened and what the prognosis is. Edit: TNA did update last night that Bey injured his neck and is speaking and said to be in good spirits after surgery. A GoFundMe has been set up for him.

I actually do think one of the reasons I just never accepted HBK as a babyface was because he never paid the wage of sin in blood for turning on Marty. I was absolutely in the "want to see Marty beat his ass" camp. I was always under the impression that launching Jannetty's start out of the Rocker split up was "Plan A" (hence him being the turned on/"face" party coming out of the split up). "Party Marty" just derailed himself and was so consistently inconsistent, and Michaels was just so good, that they had to pivot. Sid Justice was also wholly justified (though the friendship was never quite as established in the first place). It's amazing how Royal Rumble 92 is a perfectly booked Hogan Heel Turn except that the booker in question doesn't realize/intend/admit it.

I think what professional wrestling needs is a Crisis on Infinite Earths type of event to just reset everything, so we can start fresh.

https://x.com/TheEnemiesPE3/status/1851301191130759527

Was great to see Jey channeling his overness into a more serious promo and thought he did a good job delivering it. Was initially expecting Sami to make the save from the Bloodline beatdown but they did a good job of working Sami into things later on in the show. I think we've all been sleeping on the moment when Sami runs into KO after he allies back up with the OG Bloodline. Sheamus and Kaiser always have great chemistry together and Kaiser has come a long way from being the weakest in-ring link in the original Imperium. With the belt back on Bron, I wouldn't be surprised if it's time to reheat the "only belt that Sheamus hasn't won" IC Title angle. Like them leaning into the pre-recorded promos more, especially with losing the third hour. Rhea's was effective in shifting her attention to Raquel and Gunther's continued to build up his stance toward the Crown Jewel match. Didn't feel like Ivy and Zelina really clicked during the match but happy that this probably means a Cruz/Del Toro match with The Creeds in the near future. Still find Seth not very believable in his serious promos but do like what he's trying to go with them. Thought the Bronson/Rollins brawl was really well done and there is so much footage from these for a highlight reel for Bronson. Seth hitting the Curb Stomp on the hood just for Bronson to monster up and hit the DVD through the table and walk away was perfect. As much fun as Braun/Bronson was, I'd love to see what Bronson can do with someone that is more agile. R-Truth's Weekly National Treasure Moment is a tie between him telling Miz that he's going to die and him calling Pete Dunne "Butch" and then asking him where Pete is at. Thought that the three way tag team match was one of the better non-main event matches since they've gone back to the two hours. Was nice to see the War Raiders just get to be dominant in the first segment of the match as I think it meant a bit more than when they did it against Alpha Academy. Wade and Joe did a good job of getting over Xavier's "Why are you boo'ing me?" issue with the crowd on commentary. Xavier's pre-occupation costing The New Day the match was predictable but did not see Gable costing the LWO the match. Completely fine with moving the tag belts to the War Raiders if they want to shift Finn back to Priest. I laughed at the crowd chanting "Break his legs" during the Kross/Miz segment. This really is a great way to use Miz. Priest and Mysterio have really great chemistry with each other, even if this probably wasn't the best match they've had. Did not see Dom getting a basically clean roll up victory over Priest because of how fun beating up JD and Carlito is. Dom probably needed the win a little bit more and destroying Dom after the match probably helps him more than the loss hurts him. I think this was the strongest Raw since they switched over to the 2 hour format. It's the first episode that didn't feel like they were trying to cram 3 hours of Raw into a 2 hour show. While it means that a lot of people and angles might not get featured every week, i.e. no women's tag team division this week, but it allows them to give more time to the stuff they do feature. Still put me in the minority that misses the 3 hour shows but I won't complain if this is what we get each week.

Learning a homogeneous and boring style of wrestling, and refusing to job because you have a WWEID and your opponent doesn't sound like great ways to not get booked on indie shows. Yes this is all speculation, but the "can't job to unaffiliated talent" apparently happened on the UK scene. Also: Yo dawg, we heard you like developmental, so we gave your developmental a developmental.

Doesn't Anthem have super deep pockets? Why would Bey need a GoFundMe? Not a good look for the parent company. Hope Bey had a speedy recovery

TOWAHNUMENTS BRO

He recorded a short story with Kurt playing guitar. "The Priest They Called Him "

I used to rent that video more than any other wrestling show, even though the matches were all dreadful. I don't know how many times my poor GI Joe fed had resets or injuries just so I could run title tournaments!

Yep. Her and Carrie Fisher were very early crushes for me. Didn't realize she was a fellow Buckeye, too. This is the wrong world.

As soon as he catches his breath, Anthony is going to have something to say to you for that!

Oh didn't notice that the Nightmare Factory was on the list as well. Great because there is nothing the WWE needed more than QT Marshall

I found out that the scenes with his mask on, Price actually figured out a way to move his neck while the verbalization went on. That's crazy. Phibes is in the top three Price films with House on Haunted Hill and Witchfinder General, even if he personally liked Dragonwyck best. Cinefantastique Magazine did an excellent Price retrospective with an extended interview before he died in the '90s that you can find somewhere here: https://archive.org/download/cinefantastique_1970-2002 EDIT: You might not want to watch that trailer because it gives away literally all the murders. It also reminded me of one of my favorite things in the film (thought it doesn't show them strangely), the robot band that plays the music for the killer art deco set.

Fulci's misogyny is problematic, but I think it's part of his inherent pessimism, which was overwhelming. The chain murder also had a point in the story: the cruelty and ignorance of the public. Now when you hit The New York Ripper we got an issue.

Russo must've been coming into his own as a fan around Mania 4. I can relate. As a 13 year old, the idea of this storied championship being held up with the winner determined by a one night tournament was positively mind blowing. Russo was always trying to do a title tournament, just constantly chasing that 1988 high.

Time for some pole matches bro.

I hadn't. Thanks for letting us know. Get well soon, Chris Bey and class of El Phantasmo to do that.

Queer

Oh, Shelton needs to do the next Bloodsport show!

I just read about Shelton Benjamin discussing 'ragdolling' Daniel Puder while shooting in the ring before a show. I wonder if there's an effective way to bring in some shooters/toughs for Benjamin to smash. Maybe he could fuck up Barnett on a Collision.

It would be interesting to go back, now that the Netflix doc made Vince’s narcissism issue absolutely clear, to see how much that narcissism colored his storytelling. Something like Hogan’s actions at the Rumble is just so obvious. “He’s the good guy so everything he does is right and good by default.” Much like Vince’s hurting every other promoter was fine, just business, but it was just so wrong when it was done to him.

I do love the wacky theory online that it was a fake Sam Zayn talking to Solo in the parking lot and they are trying to a "fake Sting" angle for this War Games. I guess we shouldn't be surprised but the WWE has decided to have their own indie promotions. Two of them should be no surprise given that they are run by Seth Rollins and Booker T. All those indies pandering to the WWE probably feel like dummies now

John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman are nightmare fuel.

Dug the opening with Jimmy and Jey. I like that they fended off Solo's Bloodline alone. It needed to be their specific moment. The later bits with Sami interacting with Jimmy and Jey were nice as well. Sheamus/Kaiser was good. Ivy/Zelina was pretty decent while it lasted. Enjoyed the Seth/Reed brawl. All the bits with Miz looking for an out in this Final testament/Wyatts Sicks feud were fun. I loved Truth not falling for Miz's bs. New Day vs. War Raiders vs. Rey/Dragon was pretty good. Loved the action especially the War Raiders using everyone as weapons. Loved the bits of character from Woods. And I loved Gable playing into the finish and screwing LWO over. Dom/Priest was good fun. Dom is great cheapskate heel drinking in any minor success and constantly getting himself in further trouble with an asskicker in Priest. The two know how play off of each other perfectly. Was not expecting Dom to actually get the cheap win, but Priest's post match murder of him almost made up for it. Pretty solid Raw with a few minor final bits building to Crown Jewel and some pretty nice scenes further building the general show and the Bloodline civil war. Match wise this was pretty nice as well though still too short for my tastes at 4. Ivy/Zelina was the weakest match but still a decent showcase for the two. Sheamus/Kaiser and the triple threat tag both delivered with the latter arguably being MOTN. Still, Dom/Priest might have been my favorite with the two playing their roles so perfectly.

He just wants his country back

Yeah, nobody should know who QT Marshall is.

I'm a sucker for the Karnstein Trilogy, so I'm excited to see this one covered here. Kudos to @Andrew POE! for using the phrase "Sapphic love" and for not mentioning Peter Cushing once. Great later Hammer vampire flick.

THE VAMPIRE LOVERS (Roy Ward Baker, 1970) IMDB : ROTTEN TOMATOES SELECTED BY @Curt McGirt This was a surprise to see uncut on the MGM+ network at 2 in the morning. Even more surprising is the incredibly blatant lesbian content, nudity, and the pre-credit sequence that was shockingly violent for a Hammer flick (this however was shot in 1970 which looks to be the start of their racier material). I actually still haven't finished watching it so this is meant to poke me in the right direction as well. REVIEWED BY @Andrew POE! Having watched The Vampire Lovers, there's a lot to like about it. The movie is decidedly low budget but the director Roy Ward Baker did nice little tricks to cover the low budget aspects: fog, lighting in certain places, usage of external shots versus interior shots. As it is, you can tell where the exterior shots are being used - there's a lot more natural lighting and in some cases, like the exterior to the mansion, have nice far wide shots as people arrive and leave. The introductory scenes were really great at establishing the atmosphere and tone of the movie. Having the credits over a decapitated head certainly is something! Movie at times felt like what may have inspired Ken Russell to make Lair of the White Worm. Ingrid Pitt has a young Helen Mirren / Jane Seymour / Amanda Donahue quality to her and was certainly as comfortable being naked as Donahue was in Lair of the White Worm. The only difference between the two is it isn't as sexually explicit as Russell is - I liked the scene where the lights are darken and Pitt is standing naked as Camilla. It says more than what Russell did in Lair and in The Rainbow. Although at the time, The Vampire Lovers was derided for pushing Sapphic love; through today's eyes even with the nudity and the kisses, it seems positively tame. The other effective uses were of smash cuts. I loved the usage of it for the cut from the dead doctor in the road to Emma (Madeleine Smith). I also love the cut from the line "It was a very beautiful woman" said by Baron von Hartog (Douglas Wilmer) to Camilla (Pitt). Some of the drawbacks is the low budget-ness sometimes doesn't work as well. The dance floor in the early part of the movie is positively cramped and it's fairly obvious that people are nearly bumping into each other. Not to mention that we never see the wall on the camera side. Most of the movie seems to take place on one set where Emma's bedroom is located. When the movie centers there, at times it's rather dull. Also, slow motion dream sequences and the women dreaming about a "cat" isn't as effective as it should be or it's rather ambiguous what it's supposed to be. Despite that, this first foray for me into Hammer Horror isn't that bad. EDITOR'S NOTES When Curt sent me his review he accidentally wrote "Secret Satan 2014" so I immediately started trying to figure out how to do a retro Secret Satan It is on Prime till the end of the month. It is always on Tubi

Heh... I rember watching Bronson the first time. The poster confused me because my thought was "that looks nothing like Charles Bronson!" It was another "Legends of the Fall" not being about baseball moment for me! James

I trust y'all with this so here goes. For those that remember me discussing my mother in law passing due to neglect her son and wife have spent the past 4 years getting a court case set to take these fuckers down. We just got a letter in the mail saying the preliminary trial starts in June. I texted my wife who is asleep about it but I know she's gonna sob even at 2am before work. But we've waited too long for this. Now it's just a matter of taking these fuckers down. So right now it's a bit of relief but the memories from 4 years ago are flooding in and I'm a mess. But about fucking time.

I've been looking for something to scratch the itch for current wrestling because the big guys are not cutting it. I started watching JCW but it's not doing it. Basically it feels like NWA and I'm not watching that either. I'm sure someone is thinking "Well, duh. It's ICP's wrestling" and you're not wrong but it's missing the absurdity of when it was strictly VHS and featured Fat Fuck Barrel Boy and Evil Dead. There's a little of that but most of the show wouldn't look out of place in most indies, just not as good. This was also my first time seeing the new Backseat Boyz. Reeked of cosplay. Is this how Midnight Express fans felt about the New Midnight Express? BUT! It's not all negative. Memphis Wrestling is a solid watch and this week was the Halloween episode which comes highly recommended. Nothing is going to make MOTY lists but it has Jason Vorhees in a battle Royale and a little kid doing a perfect Buff Bagwell impersonation. https://youtu.be/PNhCoZ2sSaE?si=ifhsGEiZoM5HdHoP

They're paid shows so it's "show up and put on a show and we'll pay you X amount of money, you figure out how to pay your people" I'd assume they're getting some accommodations on the travel and logistics so while the $50M isn't pure profit, it's a lot of overhead covered and $50M for a show isn't something to balk at either. I think anytime they do a South America tour it's something similar too? A promotor pays the WWE to put on the shows and the promoter has to figure out a way to make profit on tickets and concessions. And we'll probably never get the real answer on what happened the one time they couldn't leave unless Vince or someone in his inner circle goes full on "F It".

Not only a TOS alum, but Batman 66 too.

1/18/88: Inoki/Takada vs Vader/Saito: It's important to note that Vader isn't there yet. He has flashes. There are cool moments. The Vader Attack IS there and hits hard. The punches aren't quite there yet. He's not sure exactly how much to give, which is complicated by him being in there with Inoki so much, I think. On the way out they now say both boys AND girls love the Vader helmet. Some early posturing where Takada has to convince Inoki to let him in first, and Vader just squashes him. He does better once Saito gets in there including hitting the spinning back kick and the spin wheel kick. That sets up the first Vader vs Inoki encounter. Inoki goes with the low kicks. He tries for the pumphandle again but this a tag match and Vader just scoots him into his corner. Inoki and Saito do some solid mat stuff before it becomes Vader squashing Takada again. Eventually, Takada gets Inoki back in who hits a few enziguiris and locks on a partial Octopus. It feels like a big moment but Vader just stands up and walks around with it.Takada gives it one alst try and gets power slammed and press slammed to the floor. They basically throw out the match and Vader tries to kill Inoki before Fujinami comes out to even the odds. Feels, again like a big moment of them coming together after NEW vs NOW. 1/24/88: Fujinami vs Orton: This is Orton's first time back in Japan in 3 years. He looked good here. He had ways of hitting things clean and straightforward but in ways you don't expect, like a reverse calf branding where he puts his knee on the front of the face. Or some of his suplexes. Totally valid stuff but they have his mark on them. Fujinami, like Inoki, matches up well against a lot of the Americans. (The difference is that Fujinami can match up more interestingly against the UWF styled guys too). Finish on this is a bit weird as Orton gets himself DQed and they protect him big after the match with the two of them really causing an issue. He wasn't someone who felt like a top guy in Japan 3-4 years earlier, not like Murdoch, Adonis, Orndorff, etc., but maybe beggars can't be choosers as much and he's both credible and talented. We'll see if he makes much out of this run. It was building to some bigger stuff from this match alone though. We get just seconds of the next few which feels like a proto J-Cup kinda 1/18/88: H. Saito vs Kobayashi: I bet this was good. Ah well. We come in to backslides. Saito tries for a sunset flip but Kobayashi turns it back over for a pin. 1/18/88: Hase vs Johnny K9: What the heck is Taras Bulba doing in a juniors deal? Anyway, Hase puts his foot up on a corner charge, hits a missile dropkick and hits his northern lights belly to belly for the win. 1/18/88: Owen vs Koshinaka: We see Owen hit a tombstone and a diving headbutt, but Shiro kick out. Then later, Shiro tries to suplex him in but Owen rolls him up deep for the win. Feels like an upset but they really did push Owen relatively. Couple of WON notes: the UWF guys all negotiated as a unit in 86/87 and had their own brand and merch at shows, but that's over with Maeda gone. Dave HATED Takada eating a pin from Vader. I just laugh. Perspective, 1988 Dave. Perspective. Also the Island Death Match won a poll from Japanese TV viewers from the best match of 1987 and Dave said he still hated it. And the no ropes Saito vs Inoki match came in #2. Great stuff.

Anything that's done well can work. The problem is that most people don't do those spots well and/or don't have the emotional connection to the audience to be able to pull off something like that. They think because it worked for Lawler, it'll work for them, without building in the years and years of crowd connection that Lawler had built. See also: 95% of FTR's catalogue. It's the same thing as when people want to do matches full of spots with no connective tissue to them (I guess that's what a "party match" is, I've never heard that term and if there's no pizza involved then it sure ain't a party I want to see). For a stunt show, it's a fine show of athleticism, but if you don't connect to anyone, what's the point? It's why we can watch car crashes with people we don't know and be fine, but if someone we love is in one, we don't even want to see the impact of the car until we know they're okay.

Oh and for those asking wth the Boogeyman was doing around in full gear/makeup:

Getting religion later in life is truly wrestling's greatest hustle.

Went to see Orville Peck tonight, brought out Beck for Death Valley High and did a county version of Pink Pony Club for first encore. Second time in as many months I've heard a country artist do that one. Also got a lot of complements on my Anxious Millennial Cowboy shirt

They've passed on so many former WWE guys. It's always been clear to me that this company has learned from the previous decade's WWE2TNA issues. If you're speaking to Shelton Benjamin - to each their own. I'm loving what feels to me like a worthy refresh. And further I'm loving MVP on the mic. I understand that nothing on these shows is for everyone. Wait, you stopped watching some itme in 2022? Why complain now about something you don't watch? Somebody oughtta start a #AEWwasbetterin2022 thread for all the enthusiasts. Nostalgia for those 12 months needs to be properly eulogized. For me, AEW 2019 to present has always been hit and miss. It's always required a sense of humour. Love to @DEAN who I feel either taught me this or properly encouraged it. We're talking about Pro Wrestling here. It's never perfect. At some point the smart financial move for AEW was to add more content. The current product has doubled weekly. Needless to say there was always going to be misses. I'm somebody that watches ALWAYS on tape delay with ffwd option. There's no long gaps between segments and I rarely see PiP. I ffwd Acclaimed promos and occasional needless stuff. I also tend to watch early in the morning. I say all this with wonder to how much this routine effects my consistent satisfaction with AEW. 52 weeks is a tough creative schedule in an unpredictable business. There have been misses to be sure. The highlights from the current 10 months feel no less than any year before it. That said, this comment is dependent upon my love of the following performers and their work over this year.... Beast Mortos, Okada, Mariah May, Darby Allin, Ospreay, Willow, Hangman, Christian, heel Jon Moxley/Claudio/Marina/Yuta/Pac/Pickup truck, Kyle Fletcher, Don Callis, Takeshita, Mark Briscoe, Renee Paquette, Nigel McGuiness, Swerve, the Outrunners, Joe, Rush, Lio Rush, (smarter, tighter, veteran version) Ricochet, FTR, Shibata and goddamn Bryan Danielson. The Bryan Danielson and Ospreay matches alone this year were as good as anything the company has ever produced. So too the Mariah-Toni feud and Wembley match, Nigel McGuiness returning in the Casino Guantlet match, Sting/Darby v Bucks, so many undercard PPV matches like Page v Jay White from this past show, the list goes on and on for me.

I'll be reviewing my experience rather than the show itself. Was more of a house show vibe and have since heard the show described as breaking New Japan's multi-month run of good shows so just my luck. Good thing the experience is what I'm paying the money for. There will be spoilers. I was pleased this show was announced for the same venue as Royal Quest II, because I didn't think there was a bad seat in the building. Was proven wrong as this time round I grabbed a seat five rows back on the floor, and I discovered that floor seats aren't the best for watching wrestling. It was worse for my wife who is far shorter than I am. Lesson learned, but knowing that I won't be shelling out for front row tickets in my lifetime I tried to make the most of the closest view of live wrestling I'm ever going to get. Feeling the bumps to the outside was an extra dimension I didn't anticipate. Was able to see a fair bit of daylight between strikes but after the first couple of matches you can feel the quality step up in terms of the facials and mannerisms that help tie everything together. A lot of wrestlers have a kind of multicoloured sparkly material on their ring gear which can be distracting. Tsuji in red and gold looks good. Red, gold and rainbow not so much. I also realised how small a lot of these guys are (not only because I couldn't see them when they were low down). Saw someone in the toilets wearing a UWF Snake Pit Japan jacket that I was envious of in that moment. I picked my seat to avoid the gaze of the hard cam and realised quickly that this time round the hard cam was moved to face my area, though thankfully most of the time I was out of shot. Perhaps notable that the pre-show hype video focused on the booing at Sumo Hall for Shota's match so that is definitely his story now. I've always been interested in what kind of wrestler Oscar turns into, but here he was still primarily doing those young lion screams before / after moves so a way to go yet. Very gratifying to say that I was in the building when the X was finally Robbie X. I wasn't buying it this time because one of the preview articles let slip that the unannounced partner would be joining Bullet Club, and I didn't think Robbie would be a good fit there but no he's too sweeting and everything. At some point during the opening two matches the guy sat next to me was ignoring what was happening in the ring in favour of watching a compilation on his phone of Tanga Loa botches. Mina Shirakawa was mega over. The difference in costume budgets between the Japanese and local talent is glaring by this point. Also most of the British wrestlers had Oiwa-level unflattering profile pics for the match graphics, looking way better in person. Fujita over Oku surprised me. Felt like Rev Pro should have been thrown a bone on that one but Fujita has a title match coming up. My wife says Yota Tsuji doesn't know how to wrestle. You heard it here first. At least he looked like he was having a good time. The chant of 'Yota Tsuji baby, Yota Tsuji woah-oah' to the tune of Don't You Want Me Baby by the Human League seems to be popular online now. Drilla had some good interactions with the crowd and looks at home as a heavy. Drilla threw a chair into the ring after the match, which is scary shit when you can't see that it came from a wrestler. Disappointed how little booing there was for Shota! Towards the end of the match people remembered, and I feel like fans can't criticise him for not knowing what kind of wrestler he's meant to be if fans can't remember what kind of wrestler they think he is. I still think Shota's look and moveset sucks but he's otherwise decetn. Oh yeah there was a shout from the crowd of 'leave the girls alone, Shota' which reassured me there were One Of Us hardcores in the building. David Finlay gets on the mic and makes a reference to English/Irish history for heat, which gets a well-earned 'you're not even Irish' chant later on. Finlay points out that Taka doesn't deserve to be in a one on one match with him, which is fair, leading to Taka against Gedo as a bonus match to prove his worth. Perfect really as Taka wasn't on any of the previous UK shows so this was the way to give him some shine, eye-poking his way to glory. He makes kind of a low pitched cry (like a 'boom' or probably more of a 'doof') when he does the pokes. I haven't made it sound cool but it is. This was Oiwa's first time leaving Japan I think but he got a good reaction. The British guy from the Super J Cast took credit for starting the 'T-Shirt Naito' chant, which boiled over into half the trios participants doing a t-shirt bit sucking up about five minutes. Robbie Robbie Robbie, Oi Oi Oi chants as you would expect. Annoyed me at the time because Ryohei's TMDK name is Roy the Mullet and this was really the only place we were going to get a Robbie Robbie Robbie, Roy Roy Roy chant going. I later heard Robbie Eagles talk about this show and TMDK had the same hopes (they were also hoping for Robbie Robbie Robbie, Oi Oi Oiwa). Always a bit weird seeing Tana and Ishii featured so prominently on the AEW crossover shows and it's the same here with them in the semi main event taking more bumps than many others. If you don't like crowds trying to get themselves over, don't watch the main event. I was there for the atmosphere so all good by me. Sanada leant into the boos, and at one point was visibly distracted by a shout in the middle of an exchange which kinda bridged the gap from playing up to the crowd and not taking the match seriously. Internet tells me the line responsible was 'SANADA's favourite anime is Sword Art Online'. Can't say the crowd were sabotaging the match when the champ is feeding the political chants by telling his opponent 'get up you Tory' and I personally was a fan of 'Sanada doesn't recycle', which may itself be recycled in some form but it was new to me. Saw it pointed out that this year is set to have a crazy high number of IWGP title defences, and felt like this didn't need to be one one week apart from the last and not up to this pairings high standards. Zack gathered TMDK into the ring at the end (already spoilered by them choosing to fly them all out here tbh) and provided the scoop that when Robbie Eagles has a few drinks his name becomes Bob the c**t. YOTA TSUJI FASHION WATCH So it's kind of a running joke by this point that I will be oblivious to wrestlers nearby at shows while my wife who does not watch wrestling always picks up on it, whether it's FTR brawling through the aisle beside, O'Khan chatting to people before the show, Umino making his entrance behind me, whatever. This time round while walking down the steps to my seat I notice one of the refs (I recognise the face, but don't know the name) running up past me, then almost accompanying me on his way back down again. Anyway she does it again during the trios match by getting permission for us to sit in the cheap seats in one of the sections they didn't sell tickets for, so we go up there and the rest of the show I'm distracted from the last two matches as she continually points out wrestlers from earlier in the card sitting in the far corner behind us watching the final part of the show. I was going to write a list but it might be more interesting sharing some photos and letting you spot the names yourselves. Felt a bit disrespectful sneaking photos of them so don't know if I should be putting them online but this is the puro subforum on DVDVR post AEW launch so this is going to be seen by like 7 people max it's like printing them out and putting them on my fireplace. Linked rather than embedded as not resized: View from my original seat 2nd seat 1 2nd seat 2 2nd seat 3

To be fair - I think in all the years of history, the selections have always leaned more towards "lesser"/weirder/not as mainstream Like the number of random sequels/remakes picked but the more "famous" original not being done is a lot higher than I would have imagined when I took over running these types of things. (For Example - I got the Night of the Living Dead remake a couple of years ago but the original was never done.) Honestly - the "big" movies probably are better fits for Bonus Reviews now (Not that some shouldn't still be selections)

Voices of Wrestling article by Chris Colvin: The Death Valley Driver Video Review (DVDVR) is an amazing time capsule for wrestling fans. Something that started as a weekly (most of the time) update of what Dean Rasmussen had obtained through his network of tape traders and his feeling on the matches ultimately wound up as a website, newsletter, and, most important for its broad influence, a message board. Despite being the perfect age for it, I was a late bloomer in the internet world of message boards, so I have no history at all on any of them other than lurking as a spectator. The newsletter was where it was at for me. The writings of Dean Rasmussen and friends will always be something I view as an influence in my writing first and fandom second. I lacked access to so many of the matches reviewed in each issue, so I have kept lists through the years with the goal of seeing as many of them as possible while also discovering new things in the process. The April ACTION Wrestling/Segunda Caida show, in tribute to the life of the late Dean Rasmussen, profoundly impacted me. From the opening video tribute to Mr. Rasmussen to the passionate final words of Daniel Makabe, I felt something I hadn’t felt in a long time. Passion for something I loved. Understand I have plenty of passion for my wife and kids, but for a couple of years, I couldn’t find passion in much else and life was not fun. I will always credit that show for putting me in the position I am today with my fandom. Not only did the show itself deliver, but the ad for IVP Videos that ran during the intermission caused me to investigate their services. I can honestly say, nothing has affected my passion for pro wrestling like being able to order virtually any historically lauded match and own it on DVD. It may seem wasteful or unnecessary to most, but the physical aspect of collecting is very important to me. The existence of IVP in 2024 tells me I am not alone. I hope this project can reach some of my intended audience, people like me who love this shit but don’t have a good starting point. If I can do for one person what Dean, Phil Rippa, Phil Schneider, Rev. Dan and so many more did for me, I am all in. It has been a lot of fun going through my Google Drive, which has every DVDVR archived. Reading the musings of the late Dean Rasmussen, Phil Rippa, Phil Schneider and the rest of the merry band of pro wrestling critics as they plied their trade for no other reason than their mutual love of pro wrestling inspires me to attempt to do the same thing. There is no better website for pro wrestling fans than Voices of Wrestling. I found VOW by accident way back in the very early days, and watching it grow into a place for all the fandom to converge has been a very cool thing. Something that has always been abundantly clear about Voices of Wrestling is that the people who contribute to the site are some of the most intelligent and well-informed in wrestling. Oddly enough, just like the guys who wrote for DVDVR. Sometimes, my imposter syndrome takes over, allowing my psyche to be convinced I have no business in the same company as the folks who write here. But, I am fighting against it and inspired to make this project a reality. I intend to give brief reviews or backgrounds of five matches I watched for the first time that I feel are worthy of your time. Be it work rate, uniqueness, or any other number of reasons, these should be on your radar if they are not already.