Shane

I am a poor sleeper. I tend to fall asleep with the Network on, because Peacock doesn’t time out on the Xbox like most video apps do and if you find the right wrestling, it’s perfect white noise. At any rate, I’ve been half listening to 1987 Primetime as I try to settle. While Monsoon and partner tends to be good for that task (not to mention some of the matches being pretty yawn inducing as well), this team with Tom Prichard/Mike McGuirk/Pete Doherty is grating in every way possible. I do enjoy when The Duke laughs hysterically at his own jokes, but it’s otherwise like trying to listen to Gilbert Gottfried do commentary. Had to mute the tv last night!

Just an FYI: I noticed that the Edge browser updated on my Series X and I was able to stream xCloud stuff with no problem. It was laggy for me, but I also don’t have great internet. Would have been fine for something less action-y, I think. Also noticed a few video sites I’d never been able to get working consistently (bilibili and the Roku channel were the two I tried) seem to run way better. EDIT: Still seems like movies borrowed through the Hoopla library app don’t play. That’s a bit of a bummer, but also the first thing I’ve tried that hasn’t worked.

Emo Fight was a real fun show. Jimmy/Lacey was legit one of my favorite wrestling moments this year.

Marty Scurll is back, apparently:

Northstar Express (Darin Corbin/Ryan Cruz) Weren't Vic Steamboat and...Joe Savoldi, I think (?) know as the S & S Express in IWCCW?

1000 internet points for the Murat Bosporus reference. I probably would have gone Emil Sitoci if it were my post! This is a thing I ponder a lot, too. There was no shortage of Tv-ready (and potentially TV-ready) acts out there with no real options on that front. 2005 ECW would have been WILD.

Just want to say that it's fucking awesome how much live indy wrestling is available to stream these days. IWTV has, what...6-7 streams going just this weekend. Teenage Shane's head would have exploded. I was used to waiting months, if not longer, to see the shows I'd read about. Now I can't even keep up with what I want to watch.

It definitely feels like a Red Ventures thing, as Giant Bomb is also putting out a lot of shows now that are only tangentially related to video games (if at all). I'm not sure who is even left at GS. Tamoor and Lucy, I think? Not 100% positive on that, even. They show up in GB content, though, so it's a safe guess.

What’s the story with the Frank Frazetta-esque painting that hangs behind Lance Russell/Dave Brown in the Memphis studio? It’s a thing I’ve seen 1000x, but never really thought about until today. Did Lawler paint it? A fan?

Nioh: Complete Edition is one of the free games on the Epic Store this week.

Singles cage match is definitely Magnum/Tully for me. Maybe my favorite ever. I’ll also shout out the Dibiase/Duggan stips match. Tag-wise, I love the Midnight Rockers vs Rose/Somers.

Did a quick scan through that one. Looks like some footage from Southwest, some newer stuff that I can't place (looks like a tag that also has Ron Bass involved and a match versus 'Stro) and then a shoot interview that runs about an hour.

Just an FYI, but it looks like TubiTV added a bunch of wrestling stuff since the last time I looked. There are a few really random comps (Manny Fernandez, Tommy Rich, 70s wrestling and the Hawaii territory). There’s also what looks to be CZW footage of El Generico, AJ Styles, MJF andJoey Janela. I assume it’s CZW stuff, anyway, as DJ Hyde’s name is on them. May be some other titles that I skimmed over Just noticed them, so I haven’t actually watched anything. Figured some folks here migh be into them, though. Lucha Underground is still on there as well.

I agree that III is better than consensus. I had a ton of fun with it. Never played the DLC, but J.T.’s commentary is giving me the itch to go back to it. Never played the first game, but I really enjoyed II as well. It’s a franchise that I’ve always held a bit higher than most critics.

I’m not sure what I’d even want a Saint’s Row game to be in 202X. I’d love a gritty reboot that leans into the GTA-ness of the first two games. I’d also love more of the over the top stuff that franchise turned into in 3/4. Those two things don’t really coexist. Probably why it’s taken so long to move forward with it.

I ended up buying the Season Pass for Valhalla because…fuck if I know. It’s more of that. I’m okay with that. I know others would not be. It’s hard to recommend because there’s already too much game in that game, but I am enjoying myself. Haven’t really dug into it too much, but I also got Death’s Door. Really like the visuals and the soundtrack is exceptional. It’s just Zelda-y enough to be comfortable and just Souls-y enough to be a challenge. Really digging it so far. My time with Isaac also continues. Only playing on Hard mode now. When this game decides to fuck you, it does so ruthlessly. Had a run yesterday where I had to skip 3 item rooms in a row because the game refused to give me any keys. Unsurprisingly, I lost that run soon after! Had I not been playing as Judas (extra starting damage), it would have ended much earlier.

For as physically impressive as he looked and the style he was able to work in ECW, was there any less intimidating promo than Mike Awesome? This thread has me rewatching some later-era Hardcore TV (I had long since stopped buying block of TV on VHS by the time Awesome returned to the company) and man, he was such a terrible talker. Pairing him with Jeff Jones, who was also bad, did him no favors. The episode I was watching was right after he attacked Spike Dudley's girlfriend and left her a bloody mess and the promo is just laughable. He's portraying "badass" by literally growling like an animal. Spike himself cuts a far more intimidating promo in response.

So, Matt Tremont is coming out of retirement to wrestle Onita in an exploding ring deathmatch. I doubt anyone is surprised. Hopefully, Onita actually shows up!

Not sure who might be interested, but after Bobby Eaton passed, I started thinking about how none of the wrestling streaming services allow you to really do a deep dive in on a single wrestler and follow everything chronologically. So, I started putting together a playlist on Youtube. That snowballed into me just starting a new channel to collate playlists for *all* of my favorites. Somehow, my first orders of business after Eaton were Nick Bockwinkel and...Sabu? Also working on Eddie Guerrero and Terry Funk, but they're not ready for primetime just yet... All of these are works in progress, but I'm like 250 matches deep on Bobby (with 200+ still to sort), so I figured I could share it. Shout out to all the folks who upload stuff, including a few who post here, I think. I've watched more Eaton matches in the past week than I ever thought possible. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgEzo-ybb4DAPJl2lUIJ-ew

Billy Robinson, Pat Patterson/Ray Stevens are the first names to pop into my head. Seen relatively little of any of them. Would love to have the ability to just watch every match Terry Funk ever wrestled. Like, I've seen a ton of his career, but I'd love to be able to see it *all*.

Not the hottest of takes, but Matty > Lance Wright.

10:40. Hardest one you've done yet. 5 and 46 down both confused the hell out of me. Had to work completely around them and come back later. These continue to rule, by the way.

10 posts deep and no mention of Taz? For shame! Sabu was certainly the guy that hooked me at first, but I absolutely bought into Taz(maniac) as first, a lunatic wildman and then a legit shooter badass. There's some of that Heyman booking for you. Heh. The build up to Sabu versus Cactus was what made me shell out $20 or whatever it was for a block of TV shows on VHS. That tape also had the first Sabu/Scorpio match on it. Spent a shit ton of money at that time to stay up to date on the TV. ECW was "the" company for me at that time. Perfectly encapsulates the era that it existed as well. Thought a lot about that while watching the Woodstock '94 documentary on HBO, actually. They were absolutely of their time and place. I don't know if Heyman deserves credit for that, or if it was ultimately a disservice.

Had a COVID scare today. Test came back negative, thankfully. After 18 months of doing everything right and staying the fuck home, I decided that I didn’t want to miss my niece’s graduation from Culinary school. She worked her ass off and obviously, had the same sort of trying school year as every other student out there. To say that I’m proud is the understatement of a lifetime. So…I flew from Nashville back to PA. Made a pit stop to visit my other niece and nephew from my wife’s side of the family. Hung out with the kiddos for a few hours and went straight to my sister’s place. Turns out, the day after my visit, my BIL started having symptoms and tested positive.I wasn’t really around him much, but certainly close enough to catch it. I am absolutely mortified by the idea that I may have unknowingly exposed like…thousands of people. Had/having a rough mental health day because of it, even after the negative result. Yes, I was masked everywhere but with family and yes, we’re all vaccinated (other than the kids), but I still feel irresponsible. Will definitely be going back to just hanging out inside for the foreseeable future.