Gordi the BJW fan

I cannot wait for the absolute meltdown when Adam Cole wins.

I will not be disappointed if it's Claudio. (I will be bummed out if it's Gargano but I have friends who will be thrilled. And also internet friends who will be way more bummed than me). I kind of suspect they'd have given us a name, though, if it was one of them. I go into it more in the Forbidden thread, but I hope it's someone unexpected but good enough to win the crowd over by the end of the match and make sense in BCC with Regal influencing their style. Honestly, I hope it's Nick Wayne. I LOVED how happy Bryan seemed to be, just saying "pro wrestling" again and again. For me personally, ZSJ coming out on with the Lion Mark behind him, on Dynamite, was pure uncut mark out material. If AEW's primary goal today was "make Gordlow as happy as possible" then they completely succeeded. (that was probably not among their actual goals). Okada showing up, Suzuki showing up, Darby just casually tossing out "Shingo and Hiromu" like it's no big deal. I don't think my (beautiful and talented) daughters, who are 10 and 7 years old, were this excited at Christmas. Full heel Christian is more fun than good guy Christian. Bad Dinosaur Man will likely be fun, too. Jungle Bloke's Amazing Journey has the potential to be genuinely great, like the long Hangman arc. The little kid screaming STFU was truly delightful. I asked for Deeb and Mercedes at the top of this thread, and we are getting it on Wednesday. You are welcome. Or possibly thank you. Depending on who is reading this. Malakai vs PAC vs Ishii vs MIRO should be unsane, as well. Likewise Matt, Nick, Hiromu, Phantasmo, and Darby all in the same match. trying to top one another. With Shingo. And Sting. And Hikuleo to base for them. The actual wrestling was fun, too! In particular how Fletcher just died from the Orange Punch. And the Ass Attack. Good Lord! We are getting Cobb vs Cash! I was so happy to be able to sing along with Malakai's theme again!!

I got a high five from Fujiwara once. At an Osaka Pro big monthly show where he was the special guest. I eventually washed my hand. I don't think I even held out for three days, to be honest. You know how it is: you use the toilet, then you want to brush your teeth. You wash without thinking. I believe I cursed out loud after I did that.

Small detail, but I think it's El Phantasmo and not Juicy Boy in the BC & YB tag. El-P, Hiromu, Darby, and the Bux all trying to out-do each other is going to be insane! Are you stoked, though? ? Adding Hiromu and Shingo and confirming Okada really improves the card, even with Dragon sadly being out. I have to think it's not going to be a relatively big name like Claudio or Gargano because I think they would have named them in that case. Possibly they just want a surprise pop, though. Tony Khan seems to love those. And why wouldn't he? I have a long list of names of guys who in my opinion would justify our faith in Bryan by putting on two great performances, one technical and one violent, as The Substitute Dragon: My top choice, and who I honestly think it might be, is Nick Wayne. I think he's got what it takes to impress everyone. Takeshita would work, too. I think he's "over" enough that it wouldn't be disappointing to anyone who loves AEW. And he could be great in BCC. So would Gresham. Or. Maybe. Bandido, Biff, or Vikingo? I agree that Timothy Thatcher would work! Tom Lawlor! Fred Yehi! JD Drake. Really. Put him back in the plain trunks and let him work more seriously and violently. I personally would absolutely not be disappointed, anyway. Daniel Makabe! I am imagining @Matt D's reaction to Makabe vs ZSJ now. Matt Cross. An even bigger dark horse? How about Tre Lamar? I'm sincerely hoping for someone unexpected, but awesome.

10 months later. 20 kilos lighter. Back up to triples on the 28 kg kettlebell snatch. Pretty happy. Also: check out my snazzy shorts.

Chris Jericho & Lance Archer vs. Jon Moxley & Hiroshi Tanahashi Will Ospreay & Aussie Open vs. Orange Cassidy & Roppongi Vice All-Atlantic Championship – Qualifying Match: Penta Oscuro vs. Malakai Black Bryan Danielson Will Address Forbidden Door and Blood & Guts Presumably they will sneak a ladies match on there as well. Please please please one of the awesome killer violent tags like on the recent YouTube shows. I guess we will find out if the slumping same day US TV ratings - which are essentially meaningless in the age of DVRs and timeshifting - are genuinely due to AEW featuring too many guys from The Orient without carefully explaining who they all are (and also not booking the show exactly the way we would fantasy book it ourselves, which would guarantee huge ratings)... Or maybe it was just the NHL playoffs on Wednesday and the Price is Right 50th Anniversary on Friday. Anyway: that's three hawt matches and one intriguing segment announced there! Good enough for me, though I will be working Thursday mornings this week and thus won't be able to watch 'live' (Though it does mean that I will be able to watch Forbidden Door as it's happening, for which I am stoked) Presumably Dynamite will give us another match or two to be stoked about... Hopefully it's not true that CMLL doesn't want the LlJ trademark used in AEW and they add Shingo and Hiromu. Even if it ends up being, say, Yujiro Takahashi added to the show, at least that means we might get Pieter on the PPV, which could be fun... and I will not settle down so don't bother asking. So after I eventually catch up on Dynamite, I will either be way more stoked for Forbidden Door (because Bryan vs ZSJ and Shingo and Hiromu vs Young Bucks or something like that) or just as stoked as I already am, (which is very stoked). Moxley vs. Tana title match Ospreay vs. Orangey Boy IWGP US title match Thunder vs. Storm women’s title match FTR (c) vs. Khan on the Cobb (c) vs. Roppongi Vice ROH & IWGP tag titles match PAC vs. Miro vs. Malakai Black or Penta Oscura vs. Ishii All-Atlantic title match Eddie Kingston, Shota Umino & Wheeler Yuta vs. Chris Jericho, Minoru Suzuki & Sammy Guevara Jay vs. ??? IWGP World Heavyweight title match (or even some kind of tag match instead) Hopefully Dragon vs ZSJ Honestly, that's more than good enough for me already.

I love KoC! You are gonna love KoC, too! Honestly, in my opinion it's impossible to choose between Fire Pro World and King of Colosseum Ii for "very best video game for pro wrestling nerds" honours. KoCII is the ideal 3D Fire Pro and World has all those downloadable CAWs. The GBA Fire Pro game and Super Fire Pro Wrestling X Premium in the conversation as well, for allowing you to get highly ranked matched by "working" specific styles in different places. Those are the ones I played the most and enjoyed the most.

Although, for me, Ishii and MiSu returning to AEW is the furthest thing possible from disappointing. Moxley vs. Tana title match Ospreay vs. Orangey Boy IWGP US title match Thunder vs. Storm women’s title match FTR (c) vs. Khan on the Cobb (c) vs. Roppongi Vice ROH & IWGP tag titles match PAC vs. Miro vs. Malakai Black or Penta Oscura vs.hopefully Ishii All-Atlantic title match Eddie Kingston, Shota Umino & Wheeler Yuta vs. Chris Jericho, Minoru Suzuki & Sammy Guevara Jay vs. ??? IWGP World Heavyweight title match (or even some kind of tag match instead) Hopefully Dragon vs ZSJ That ain't exactly chopped liver! I'm also disinclined to complain about AEW not overexplaining who all the New Japan guys are. It's not hard to figure it out if there's some mystery there for some of the audience. I think it's better doing what they are doing rather than insulting the intelligence of their hard core fan base with too much hand-holding.

So. Uh. The reason you don't keep Eddie Kingston over MJF and gift-wrap stars to the competition is because otherwise you might end up #1 in your timeslot and tied for #1 overall for Wednesday? OK then. Edit: You know what would pop a huge rating? Bring back Shaq!!

We are all literally waiting to see Athena hit her O-Face in a three-way with Jade and Statlander now. *settles down*

I wanted to vote for that great Dark match. Willow vs Jade stole the show on Rampage. But, to me, Dax vs Ospreay was a clear winner this week. A damn near perfect TV match.

When you start a pro wrestling show with William Regal on commentary, you are starting out right. Jericho got the first lol outa me with "It's a dump. And everyone who lives there is a stupid idiot." (w/r/t Blackpool) Of course Regal has Johnny Saint on speed dial. Cool submission from Mox! I like how you can clearly see Regal's influence coming through. I am pleased the Swerve in our Glory vs Team Tazz will continue. "Ya strange gangly creep!" ? NDA joke! Ass Boys getting the city name wrong is still funny to me, damn it! *cries* Not quite the Bear Country showcase I was hoping for *cries some more* How good will Willow be after a stint in Tokyo Joshi Pro? I wonder if TJ Perkins has ever been to a Tokyo Joshi Pro show. Athena vs Jade should be good. Ditto Stalander vs Jade. Or a 3-way (settle down etc etc) Willow vs Jade was too much fun. Stokely was great on commentary. Whoah! Jericho and Big Lance vs Mox and Ace!?!?! Yes, please! They should call themselves The Fellowship (because Archer and Wizard) All Time Great Darby Dive (which is really saying something) Kyle's yambag selling was Kikuchi-esque! Best Fish match ever?

At least he didn't spell it "bonerfied"

A couple of the things I like about AEW, that in my opinion differentiate it somewhat from wrestling on "the other channel" are having good matches more or less just for the sake of good matches and giving previously lesser-known and/ or poorly-used talented pro wrestlers the opportunity to shine on a national stage. In particular, I love it when wrestlers who have proven themselves on the YouTube shows get a shot on the cable network shows, and when wrestlers have the kind of personality and character where they just want to fight and prove themselves and don't always necessarily require some kind of convoluted personal issue in order to step in the ring. Don't get me wrong. I also like when big-name well-known stars fight, and when those fights get personal. But I also like a show along the lines of what we are getting here. There are plenty of ways for pro wrestling to be fun and entertaining. Jade (with Stokely) vs Willow Nightingale is what I'm talking about. Cargill is obviously loaded with star power. Nightingale is the platonic ideal of a wrestler who proved themselves on Dark and now gets a little story and a big match on Rampage. A feature, not a bug. A foregone conclusion, but who cares? How will she fare? Will she emerge from the loss with more fans? Will some of that star power rub off on her? Willow Nightingale is a good wrestler with a ton of personality. Here's her chance to show that to an international TV audience. Max Caster and The Ass Boys (with Bowens and Rockabilly) vs Bear Country and Leon Ruff(in) is what I am talking about. Bear Country are another perfect example of what I am.talking about. I am excited every time they show up in AEW. The Gunn Club got themselves over and the alliance with The Acclaimed somehow makes perfect sense and is wildly entertaining. Will Ruff(in) become another Toa Liona or JD Drake type of guy whose name I keep hoping to hear again? Maybe! To me, that's a kind of fun that is pretty particular to AEW. Mox vs Dante and Darby vs Fish are what I'm talking about. Sure, the Darby fight is personal because they Pillmanized Sting... and that is a good, classic, pro wrestling kind of story that adds to the match... but also Darby and Mox just love to fight and never back down. So you can match them up with pretty much anyone and it makes sense. And they are both great, so you can match them up with anyone and - hell yeah! - I wanna see that. And Dante proving himself is another good arc that lends itself to fun match-ups. And he's also pretty great. I dunno, I personally enjoy that, prefer it to endless 50/50 feuds and convoluted storylines. You can tell a story in the ring. It's enough for me. I wanna watch these guys fight, and listen to -let's say- Ex and Taz(z) and Starks and/or Jericho talk about it while chatting online with my friends. And also.we are gonna hear from Swerve and Limitless. Are they gonna break up? They just got a cool tag team name! On the other hand, I wanna watch them fight. That would be a lot of fun. Rampage, baby!

1986 Crockett Cup? 2003 ECWA Super 8? Edit: Super J Cup '94!

vs Masakatsu Funaki, UWF, July '89. Best ultra intense, hardway blood, sub 10 minute shoot style sprint of all time.

Double post. Sorry. But: I finally got around to reading Mox's book, Mox, this week... and I just got done reading this passage. (Freaky timing, what with the Horny Vince news breaking now). I used to have a theory that Vince’s plan was to scuttle the ship, intentionally crashing and burning WWE, like the Hindenburg, before he died so that nobody, not Hunter, Steph or Shane could ever take it over. I pictured him cackling maniacally while hundreds of drums of gasoline exploded atop Titan Towers, having the last laugh. Dude, remember that one promo where Vince brought back the NWO, and he’s all like, “I’m gonna kill it! I’m gonna kill MY CREATION!” See what I’m saying? It makes perfect sense.

Chinlock, Headlock, Hammerlock, Armlock, Wristlock, Waistlock, Ankle lock, Indian Deathlock, Shoulder Block... Kitchen Sink. Spin Kick, Superkick, Dropkick etc etc. Mule Kick being by far the best one. Wishbone. It's kind of a stretch, but Slam rhymes with "ham" and that opens up a lot of possibilities. Any kind of Pumphandle, Facebuster, or Jawbreaker could probably work without rhyming, as could several Driver variations And, of course, the Small Package.

Good Lord! What a show! Little bit of everything. My favourite thing? Going Full 1980s NWA with the "Fuego del Sammy" and "MMA guys turn on their taskmaster to help out a fellow working class Midwesterner" angles. (Maybe using MMA guys isn't 100% 1980s, but the broad strokes are). I popped hard for that. And I got legit goosebumps and chills for seeing the lion mark and hearing Go! Ace! on AEW TV. Was not expecting that at all! It's not like those were surprises or anything. But: Genuinely thrilling, nonetheless. Two list-worthy matches on one show! (Unless you are against the go-go-go style or have an irrational hate-on for the Young Bucks. But, hah hah, nobody here hates all action matches or Matt and Nick, right? Ospreay vs Dax was such very excellent pro wrestling. The Platonic ideal of a TV match. Ospreay worked so unselfishly, too. Both guys came out of that looking great. Rob Halford and the guy from Slayer don't need no damn wigs. Ortiz just hacking away his own hair was truly badass! The Wardlow video intro and "Plaintiffs one and two have been eliminated" and "This case is dismissed" announcements were solid gold. Tremendous stuff! Matt Hughes can barely walk now. That was sad to see. But, again, I loved the olde schoole angle there. The commentary team were on fire today, with stuff like explaining Ospreay's crazy schedule and calling back to Bucks vs FTR. Added a lot to the show. (Ospreay probably pronounces it "shed-yule" in character) Great pop for Orangey Boy's return. Cassidy vs Ospreay! Oh, boy! @The Natural gonna have to change his mind soon. FTR/BF vs UE? OK! LFG! I also loved Rocky's shirt. Tip of the hat to.good ole for not saying Tana is from The Orient. "Mai Noru" Suzuki got a legit lol out of me. Despy!!! The entrances for that match are going to be long but very fun, considering "Judas" and "" Kaze ni Nare" I expected Russev to just squash Ethan, but in my opinion "Don't make me mad. You wouldn't like me when I'm mad." is a really good way to structure a competitive Redeemer match.I I think Storm should be allowed to wear the Owen belt now. Storm vs Thunder is a natural match-up. I legit yelled the F word six or seven times during the main event, before the first picture in picture. That shit was crazy! Who do the Bux face at Forbidden Door? How long till they face FTR again? What was @just drew's opinion on that match and will he be willing to share it? Who will Switchblade call out???? I just got a request to switch my Forbidden Door Monday lessons to Thursday. Which means I can watch FD "live." I am so happy. That's some pretty good timing right there!

Good Lord Dynamite is LOADED this week. Bucks vs JX ladder match, Britt vs Storm, Page vs Miro Atlantic qualifier, Dax vs Ospreay (!!!), Jericho vs Ortiz hair match, Wardlow vs 20 Plaintiffs. But that's not what we are here to talk about. We are here to talk about Konosuke Takashita's infatuation with and interest in cinnamon rolls, high end burger chains, and now fish sandwiches. I think I have some insight into this! I considered going on about it in the Navel Gazing or Food threads... But: there is a massive general cultural obsession in Japan with local special foods. It's by no means unique to Japan but I'm willing to argue that it's more advanced, developed, and widespread here than anywhere else in the world. Kind of like how if you go to Philadelphia you should probably eat a cheesesteak and if you are in Cincinnati you might as well get a plate of Skyline chili... There is a particular neighbourhood in Osaka where I go to eat kushikatsu with Kuuga and our many mutual friends. People come to Osaka specifically and entirely to eat kushikatsu, okonomiyaki,and takoyaki. I have, more than once,travelled to Nagoya just to eat tebasaki and miso katsu. There are other special foods in Nagoya, but I have not tried them because I am in Nagoya to overconsume my two favourites and eating an eel box or flat noodles in deep brown miso would interfere with that goal. Any time my wife and I discuss travel plans, the special local food and drink is the primary concern. Sightseeing and so on is to kill time between meals. That is in no way unusual here. It's part of the culture in Japan. A big, important,thoroughly enjoyable part of the culture. Meibutsu culture So, of course Takeshita wants to eat all the foods in America that you can't get in Japan. And of course if fish sandwiches are a special local food in Florida,he would like to go to Florida to eat one (or more). Thank you for coming to my Ted talk. If you'd like to derail this thread by bringing up more examples of special local food from around the world, that would be delightful.

Hey! Look what showed up in my feed!