John E. Dynamite

I really need to contribute to this thread - I'm the beer buyer at a Baltimore liquor store. We've been running a very successful growler station since it's been made legal in the city and I've had the opportunity to drink a lot of special stuff and discuss it while tasting my (wonderful) customers on them. I did some beer write-ups after I was going through the store's Twitter feed. These are some thoughts I had on some of the sleepers we've tapped since Jan 1st. Victory Hop Ticket #2 / Sly Fox Helles - All hail the oncoming Pennsylvania Lager Renaissance! This is a bit pipe-dreamy, I know, but I believe the market for craft lagers is going to open up next Spring. Victory needs to be the guys to lead the charge. They've got renewed buzz (thanks, Dirtwolf), market presence, and incredible talent. They've got 7 of the top 25 Pilseners on Ratebeer as of right now. Hop Ticket #2 tragically underrated at 21st (the clearly inferior, if still awesome, Firestone/Sierra Beer Camp Pils is sitting at 4th). It's only available on draft or in their Summer 12-packs, which are well worth it. I mention Sly Fox as well. They aren't as well-known but they brew some of the most true-to-form German styles I've ever drank. Their Weiss could pass for Weihenstephaner on a good day, they make the best Grisette in the world, and their lagers are usually exceptional. They just can't brew a good pale ale to save their lives and their stronger stuff is very hit-and-miss. Pick up a six-pack of their Helles Lager if you've got Budweiser company coming over and you might change a life. Cisco Island Reserve Geuze - Cisco's an OK brewery that gets most of their buzz from New England natives who like their simple stuff. I could really care less about their Whale's Tail Pale or their well-I-guess-somebody-has-to-brew-it Light Pale Lager. I keep an eye on them because they quietly brew some of the best sours on the East Coast. Keep an eye out for their bottles at stores, they tend to get overlooked and are worth experiencing. Word of warning - the acidity of the Kriek will melt your teeth. Union Craft Brewing Double Duckpin Cask (conditioned with Galaxy hops) - For my money, Union is making the best beer in Baltimore. It looks like they're going to start canning their Double Duckpin DIPA soon, and I'm excited. This beer really shines on cask - it should drink like pure hop juice. No bubbles needed. Oskar Blues Ninja Cow ESB - Oskar Blues draft-only is ridiculously rare out east. I think our whole state got three or four sixtels of this stuff. If you're a buyer for somewhere that sells draft beer, it's you're duty to give the people what they want. Turns out people LOVE ESBs without even knowing it. They are the holy middle-ground between the IPA drinker and the casual lager type. Nobody has really been able to capitalize on this with package beer and it's a shame. 2012 Sierra Nevada Narwhal, tapped Jan. 2014 - It's really cool to see what happens to the hoppier Imperial Stouts after you put enough time on them. Once the hops fade you never know what direction they're going to head off towards. I thought Narwhal was gonna go all Quad-y and show dark fruit, but it wound up being really unctuous and savory - far more complex than a fresh keg of it would lead you to believe.

I'm calling for a critical re-analysis of the 2000 G1 Climax. Twenty wrestlers! SIX days! FOUR blocks! I don't care if the final was Kensuke vs. Nakanishi. It sounds downright pastoral after our current marathon. I don't know how the money works out with the tournament - I'd have to imagine that live gates provide more relative revenue than TV rights did 14 years ago. So if you need more ways to almost sell out mid-level venues, just cheat a few extra dates. Add one wrestle to each block (+1 day), separate the semi-final and finals day (+1 day), still give guys a day off (+1 day? But then the number isn't even so if you gave two guys off? I can do this math but I'm choosing not to). I'm happy that NJPW has so many active HW singles wrestlers who can perform at a high level, but I want some (potentially misguided) shakeups.

The big issue with this G1 was that it was just too long. The wrestlers, online fans, and even live crowds seemed very tired. As amazed as I am that nobody got injured during the tournament, I think NJPW needs to draw the line at eight guys per block.

No, we do it twice a year. He shoulda won the New Japan Cup, too.

There is one highly unlikely fourth scenario.

IDEA. Now that he's got championship gold, see if he won't change his name to Joe "Golden" Doering and suggest he come out to "Radar Love".

I had no problem with Kerry and Kevin using the claw b/c I could buy two jacked up dudes squeezing your head until you gave up. Even Fritz and Baron Von Rasche b/c the claw is something a sadistic old man would do. I couldn't buy Mike Von Erich doing it though. I had a little brother to beat up on, so any time I saw a cool submission move his joints and bones paid the price. He grew up just fine, I promise. The Claw just didn't hurt, and Kerry's ballerina punch wasn't much better. Anyhoo, I learned young which submission moves actually hurt. I think it's a reason why I preferred guys with submission finishers. Bret Hart and Sting, Chris Jericho (I was never so cruel to go for the knee on the head), Scott Steiner... we had to ban the Recliner in the house pretty early on. This adolescent cruelty helped develop my love for Ric Flair - a properly applied Figure Four hurts like a mother, brother.

Add me to the Jimmy Valiant list. I remember watching NWA tapes as a kid and completely failing to understand how he was supposed to be a believable wrestler, much less an over face. My first real experiences with ECW were after their demise - I was initially surprised by how much of their "classic" roster bored me to tears. Shane Douglas, Sandman, Sabu, Dreamer... I guess you had to be there. I always hated Hogan. Most of it stems from his using a leg drop as a finish. Weak-looking finishers were the one thing I couldn't accept as a kid. I couldn't suspend my disbelief, it made me know for certain how fake wrestling was. I have this same beef with Warrior and The Rock, and the Von Erichs to a lesser extent. I've also got a few beloved, all-time-great main events that I will cheer against in any match they're in. Kenta Kobashi and Shawn Michaels must always suffer. Cena, obviously. I have cheered DAVEY RICHARDS over Kota Ibushi in a live setting, because my brain tells me Kota is essentially an eleven-year old girl who won't stop texting.

Enjoying Day 1 at the moment, but it needs to be said that Tanahashi's hair is one hangover away from going full-force Ke$ha.

It's the pinnacle of "Tenzan Must Suffer" booking. It makes NO sense. It's a watchable, if overlong, match with drama, a good crowd and some real backstory and depth. It's dragged down by the runner-up Most Godawful IWGP Title Change Finish Ever (nothing beats Fujita/Kensuke). I remember preferring Kojima's broadway with Nakamura a few months later, not that the choice to run 60 minutes of Kojima/Nakamura in 2005 contains a molecule of logic, either.

Especially considering the troubled relationship Hashimotos have with Inokism.

I always took Kawada's immediate response as something like "Why are they playing my music? He's still breathing."

Because I don't know how to do it on a computer. Believe me, it's crossed my mind.

KUSHIDA's a rare breed, man. He strikes me as a really intelligent cat, which is why I think he gels with Shelley so well and works well as a foil to the flash-bang-boom style of Ibushi. I know this is a huge stretch seeing as how I haven't seen ten of his matches from the last two years, but I already imagine him getting in on the booking side and going down the same crazy-genius path as a Muta, Sasuke or Gedo. He's just got a little something extra going for him.

I remember watching all the hyper-pimped classics when I was but a scrawny pimple-faced high school freshman scrounging footage from Goldenboytapes and Kazaa. Not the stuff that profound nostalgia is made of, but bear with me. I was a young man, and I wanted that. It was some foreign, special thing that I had to research and procure, but it was still pro-freakin'-wrestling. Going back and watching it now, some of the things that took me awhile to realize - a.) Taue is God. If there's one thing to gain from a 2014 re-analysis of this era, I hope it's a shift in veneration from Kobashi to Taue. C'mon, man, the AKIRA TAUE MIRACLE RUN. Starting with the 1/24/95 Holy Demon Army/Misawa+Kobashi, peaking during his 95 Carny Run and stupid-underrated title win, ending with the other best tag match ever. b.) 6/3/94 was never the match then, and it isn't now. It's still a top-ten AJPW singles match and a top-five Triple Crown match, though. c.) 6/9/95 was always the match. Tied with that Funk/Cactus match where they almost set half the crowd on fire as my favorite match ever. d.) There's this "show don't tell" advantage gained by watching random AJPW TV blocks and six-man tag matches. Somebody earlier mentioned Misawa's stepover crossface and the heat that it would get as a nearfall. I never actually saw the tag match where it submitted Jumbo until about two years ago, but I always knew it was a big deal because it got a pop in the random six-mans I would watch when I was younger. Watching more of those kinds of matches helped me fill in the blanks more - also, watching those undercard singles matches with an obvious winner. For instance, I never knew Misawa would pin midcarders like crazy with a no-frills Tiger Driver until I watched some Champion's Carnival matches that he was obviously gonna win. Same goes for stuff like the Stretch Plum, Nodawa, Vanilla Exploder, whatever. It puts those "conditioned" nearfall crowd reactions into context. e.) Seriously, fuckin' TAUE. GOD.

I!m at a point where I believe DJ is worth my money. Ali, maybe not, but a potential Dodson rematch shouldn't be given away and this sets a precedent

I actually came into this topic to ask about the latest DG show. I stopped being able to suffer through the average DG eventa few years ago and I have never been a fan of Kickout Pro-Wrestling, but the cage match seems insane enough to be worth a watch. I've also held YAMATO and Hulk in higher regards than a lot of the roster and it seems like it was really "their show".

Shibata, but they blew it, or Nakamura, but they didn't want to split up CHAOS? Not really sure how I feel about the results. I definitely got the vibe AJ was going over, and I'm not against bringing some corny entertainment value to the otherwise-stoic product through dominant heel stables. The issues with the Bullet Club, to me, are that the heel antics always come off as forced and choreographed. Maybe if NJPW refs had ANY idea how to realistically bump, it would be different. The company spent the top of the year cycling through the same rematches and booking things conservatively. Now they're going all willy-nilly in the other direction. I'm willing to see what will happen. Hopefully AJ drops the belt early, but I wouldn't be shocked if he's the champ throughout the G1. He could be the right guy to hand the belt over to a fresh champ like Shibata or Goto, even though I think the company should try to set up another long Nakamura run within the next year.

Round One (3/15): - Togi Makabe vs. Bad Luck Fale - Teysuya Naito vs. Tomohiro Ishii - Katsuyori Shibata vs. Karl Anderson - Yujiro Takahashi vs. Shelton Benjamin - Hirooki Goto vs. Doc Gallows - Toru Yano vs. Minoru Suzuki - Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Davey Boy Smith - Prince Devitt vs. Lance Archer Quarterfinals (3/22): - Fale vs, Naito - Shibata vs. Benjamin - Goto vs. Suzuki - Davey Boy vs. Archer Semifinals (3/23): - Naito vs. Shibata - Suzuki vs. Davey Boy Final (3/23): - Shibata vs. Suzuki Tie-Breakers: First Tie-Breaker - Shingo Takagi and Akira Tozawa Second Tie-Breaker (if still tied) - Tozawa over Doi Third Tie-Breaker (if still tied) - 14:59 This is all based on the idea of "giving guys their wins back". Also, the idea of "post-big show smark booking" that plays in to a Shibata/Suzuki match.

Was I the only person who thought Okada/Naito cold smoked Nakamura/Tanahashi? The second they opened that online poll up I started to groan. Yeah, the definitive matchup of this generation (well, that or Tana/Okada) is gonna get its votes, but Naito and Okada are guys that have proven chemistry together, were fighting for the bigger title, and came off as hungrier. Loved the Tombstone spots, especially. I was a little burnt out for the main.

Drunk New Japan thoughts - I'm pretty sure Tetsuya Naito is just Robert Gibson after getting You Only Live Twice surgery. Any time somebody in the crowd goes "Hey, man, aren't you just Robert Gibson?", he does that thing where he opens his eye up and says back to 'em "Does this look LAZY to you?".

Inoki's got no place there. Rodman, baby. North Korea's NWO... ...4 life.

Mild error: you've got KENTA and Kenta Kobayashi listed as seperate performers.

Hah! Can't wait to here Meltz's proper story of how he was worked. The only write-up I've seen was from Stu's site and it was glowing, to say the least. So... anybody else catch the main? Seems like a keeper.

I'm kinda curious as to how many Japanese wrestlers have asked to train Gordi. Even if he wants to work a "Weakest Gaijin" gimmick... hell, I'd be down to watch.