EricG

Agreed, and this story/background fits these two much better than any of the standard "two great competitors enter, which one will take it?" type stories. Much more believable than Riddle sitting there and talking up what a great athlete Ellsworth is (which no fan, especially for this specific audience, would ever take seriously in the first place). And, in reality, I'd venture to guess, even without that ' underrated loser vs. great wrestler' video being released, a vast majority of fans are thinking that same thing anyway.

Man, AIW has a weird bad luck streak going. Teddy Hart, Super Crazy, Flip Kendrick, Jimmy Jacobs all had significant injuries. Jody Fleisch had to cancel his match the following night after his appearance in AIW after a leg injury. Last night, Lawlor suffered the arm injury while locals Magnum CK broke his nose and Brian Carson also had to go to the hospital.

Shawn Schultz had the same sort of announcement this weekend. Retiring suddenly due to neck injury concerns. Really well-traveled guy on the indies that never really got to work for a top promotion.

Whoa. I knew something was up but didn't know specifically what it was. So, serious question. Why would any fan ever support IWA Mid-South, regardless of who is/isn't booked? Why would anyone in the business ever support IWA Mid-South in any fashion? You're going to get drawn into drama at some point, and then feel some sort of financial fallout, either from Ian, or the people he pisses/rips off. What sucks is now because of people hating on IWA Mid-South and the Elgin deal, a bunch of other promotions, who did things the right way, are going to feel the financial fallout from the Powerbomb.tv fiasco.

Insane. What makes this even dumber is the fact that if he just stops after the first kick, it actually works out BETTER for Low Ki in terms of getting himself over. Having him come in, knock a guy out with ONE kick, then leave would come across as pretty badass, IMO.

I have about 50 pages left. So awesome. So well-researched. The Kazmaier stories are great. The quotes from Shotgun Saturday Night are great. The entire process of and thought behind the "Loose Cannon" angle is really eye-opening. There's so much in here. Kudos for really doing a lot of research and releasing this. There's so much detail in here (laid out in a really entertaining fashion) that you really get a good perspective on what an unique individual Pillman was. It's really cool to read a lot about what made him so unique, and what made him stand out, both behind the scenes and in public. I definitely have a new appreciation for Pillman. After getting through that section, and the few sections after it, I can't help but wonder how great it would have been had Pillman not been involved in that auto accident—almost to the point to mild anger when thinking about what could have been for Pillman and for the entire wrestling landscape.

It sort of follows a story arc where they had a 'deathmatch' the previous show and Donst couldn't win, so Donst turned this into a straight wrestling match in an attempt to win. If you're astonished by this there's more. The promotion (AIW) has been using Gage since July. Their current champ. I'm not sure why. Odd for a promotion that brings in so much great talent to have Gage and Donst at the top for the last seven months.

EDIT: BEAT BY TWO MINUTES! Looks like Ray Rowe is signed. Last appearance for AIW in Cleveland is 1/19.

Agreed with both posts about his book. Entertaining (maybe 'informative' would be a better word) if you're looking for information on his relationship with his father, or a lengthy history of his drug problems. I found that fairly interesting. It's a dry, but pretty quick, read. Otherwise, he doesn't cover much about his career. Hardly anything. You could probably get the same info in his career if you listened to the mentioned Prichard podcast and his recent appearance on the E&C podcast.

Just seeing this stuff for the first time on TV this weekend. The Kushida vs. Titan was great, except the ending sequence seemed a tad long. Essentially just a spotfest, but a really good one at that. Those four/five-man tags with Bullet Club, I feel like they're all the same. There's always some decent spots, maybe three or four comedy spots, but they always sort of blend together. No one from either side is elevated or featured, and the NJPW talent in this one was totally overshadowed. They seem more of something you'd see in a non-televised house show main event.

I'm about half way through. Love it. I was skeptical that it didn't follow the format of his other three, but this is great, and probably a pretty quick read for most people.

Major update on the newest episode: Starting in March, the format will change: no more long-form interviews with individual wrestlers. Instead, he's going to do a review on his wrestling experiences the previous weekend (i.e., and extended version of what he currently does in his monologue). How he described it, seems like a podcast version of Kevin Steen's Weekend Escapades. I always enjoyed the monologues about his recent trips/appearances, so it should be decent, but I'll definitely miss the interviews.

x2. What a sh*t human being. Even more so that he constantly talks about doing what's best for his kid and wife. Good family man, this one.

The owners of AIW in Cleveland weren't too fond of Callihan, according to a quick snippet on one of their past podcasts. They didn't come out and say exactly what the reason was but implied he ripped them off over bookings or some other agreement they had.

I'm wondering who she's going to work. My guess would be Candice LeRae. They're also bringing in Sid on December 29. And running Smothers vs. Kikutaro on December 15.

It's cool. Graphics are pretty neat/unique for it's time. The only thing that was weird is the camera/view moved around a lot which was odd. Gameplay is OK, just the basic kick/punch, or walk up to your opponent then button mash after locking up. Plus I think there's knock-offs of Brody and Hansen so that covers any potential pitfall the games might have.

Yep, he's credited Jacobs multiple times for coming up with ideas to get The List over, as well as a lot of the Steen/Jericho stuff.

I'd agree, considering they have a a later show scheduled for December that they're currently selling tickets for.

Yeah, but not really unheard of—I don't know that I'd call this 'colossally insane.' AIW out of Cleveland ran a 16-team tournament in November, almost all outside talent. Only five local guys. They generally do a 24-man tournament every year with mostly outside talent as well. Logistically it can work even if they are well outside of the area, given you're booking the right guys. So obviously this type of stuff is doable, financially and logistically, given the right circumstances.

Highspots is selling some very cool, show-specific merchandise from PWG BOLA this year. Some unique stuff. Autographed 18X24 Kenny Omega poster (I LOVE the look of this): And an autographed set of PWG BOLA 2017 trading cards (in the style of the 1991 'Championship Marketing' WCW cards):

Danica Patrick is out at SHR due to 'sponsorship issues' (namely, no one wanting to sponsor a driver who earned only 7 top-10 finishes in six years). Smithfield foods is moving to SHR as a sponsor, guessing Aric Almirola will move to SHR and drive that car. Bubba Wallace likely to take over the #43 next year.

Ryan Blaney from the #21 to a new, third Penske car. Paul Menard to the #21 Wood Brothers team, with Menard's as a major sponsor. Kasey Kahne out from the #5. William Byron to the #5. Stewart-Haas racing likely downsizing to three cars, either Kurt Busch or Danica Patrick will be out at Stewart-Haas. Or maybe both are out and it ends up being a landing spot for Kenseth? RCR technically has an open slot now with Menard leaving, but I doubt they'll find a major sponsor for it. I could see Ty Dillon moving here and Childress covering a part of the cost of running the car. Or maybe RCR ousts Ryan Newman and puts Ty Dillon in the #31. Furniture Row likely not running the #77 next year unless a major sponsor is found (and it's pretty late at this point to find one). There's going to be a lot fewer quality rides next year (and down to less than 20 right now). All of the recent driver changes are really reflecting the overall stability of the sport (not good), sponsorships (way down), and costs (way up). They cut down from a 43 car field to a 40 car field, and rarely get 40 cars to show up to qualify except for the few marquee events. I wonder if they're re-thinking the 'franchise' model implemented a few years ago.

AIW is running Cleveland next week, pretty decent lineup. So many "under-the-radar" guys that can work: Young Studs, Mathew Justice & Jollyville Fuck-It’s vs. Garrison King, Joshua Bishop, Tre Lamar, Big Twan Tucker & Chase Oliver Crazy Pain (Gringo Loco & Steve Pain) vs. To Infinity and Beyond (Cheech & Colin Delaney) vs. DJ Z & Laredo Kid vs. Ninja Elite Squad (Flip Kendrick & Facade) (AIW Tag Titles) The Duke vs. Dominic Garrini ‪"Filthy" Tom Lawlor VS. Eddie Kingston Frankie Flynn vs. PB Smooth Alex Daniels vs. Joey Janela (AIW Intense Title) Shayna Baszler VS. Mia Yim (AIW Women's Title) I'm guessing they'll also do something with Tim Donst / Tracy Williams / Louis Lyndon / Josh Prohibition for the AIW Title as well. Plus, Arn Anderson meet and greet before the show.

Maybe because Sasaki worked the actual PPV in a high-profile match and they/he wanted to be fresh for that match against Sting? That's the only reasonable thing I could think of. Either that or just logistical reasons during the day of the taping didn't work out, maybe? I think the restart/retain was because they weren't exactly sure what would happen going forward, so the original finish, then restarting, gave them footage for TV depending on what they wanted to do with the title.

Yep. He can work a variety of guys, too, and make it work. His match last year vs. Tommy End in AIW is one of the best matches I've seen live, ever.