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NJPW to fully acquire Bushiroad Fight https://www.njpw1972.com/175523 So basically, NJPW is buying Stardom.

A list I quickly drew up, I have probably missing something very major. Vaguely in order - Zack Sabre Jr vs Bryan Danielson 11/2/2024 - Kazuchika Okada vs Bryan Danielson 4/1/2024 - War Dogs vs United Empire Cage Match 11/2/2024 - Okada/Tanahashi/Ishii vs TMDK 24/1/2024 - Tetsuya Naito vs SANADA 4/1/2024 - Yota Tsuji vs Hirooki Goto 20/3/2024 - Jon Moxley vs Shingo Takagi 13/1/2024 - Gabe Kidd vs HENARE 4/2/2024 - Shota Umino vs Jack Perry 12/4/2024 - Hiromu Takahashi vs DOUKI 24/2/2024

The 4/21 SEAdLINNNG main event is a good all-star tag match that some might like even more than I did. It was Best Friends & Sareee vs. Hiroyo Matsumoto, Hanako Nakamori & Miyuki Takase.

From this: https://static1.moviewebimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/wolverine-deadpool-origins.jpg To this: https://variety.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/F0r6GbQacAUng-4-1.jpg?crop=748px%2C296px%2C2380px%2C1336px&resize=1000%2C563

https://comicbookmovie.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=cover,width=670,quality=75/https://i.ibb.co/h7tN3MM/DP3-1-SHT-DIGITAL-s-RGB-KA-SWORDS-V5.jpg https://comicbookmovie.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=cover,width=670,quality=75/https://i.ibb.co/84xBBS8/DP3-1-SHT-INTL-DIGITAL-s-RGB-KA-BLADES-V2.jpg Posters.

Always good to start with another classic Miami Sweet Heat promo seg. Coach Campanelli looks fantastic in her new gear, pretty much dominated Ariel in a quick opener. Surprised to see the Classmaster pull the upset on GI Jane, finish was sudden out of nowhere. Kandi Krush came off great in her backstage seg with Aussie. The Brat Pack is always a blast. the setup for Jessie Jones needing a partner vs Santana & Americana was weird, as though Amber O'Neal no longer existed. Really fun tag title main event as the Mother Truckers vs Miami Sweet Heat feud continues on. Holly getting launched shoulder first into the mat looked brutal. Laurie was an mvp here. Nice chaotic closing of the show.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNh1KBRluC0

"From banger after banger to burger after burger." Drew McIntyre is a savage.

They're bringing New Blood back, on 06.21 https://wwr-stardom.com/schedule/20240621_nb13/?mc_id=1025

Tonight in Puebla

I was wanting Liv Morgan to win.

So much effort to come up short.

Hahahahahah, fuck you Lakers.

Lakers/Nuggets is the goods

Pretty good episode of RAW tonight. Sheamus looked like he lost some weight between now and last week. Personally my problem with his return last week was those boxer type shorts he wore. They just weren't him. But the segment with Drew was pretty good. So was the match with Nakamura. It's a shame Shinske is now a jobber to the stars. Maybe he'll get drafted to back to Smackdown. I thought he fit in better there. The segment with Gable and the Alpha Academy was amazing. No more screwing around. I still have hope that Otis will be a killer for Gable, but the way the crowd cheered for him they could easily have Otis turn on Gable to a huge response. The women's battle royal was really good. I'm glad Nia didn't win. Sad that Liv didn't win either. I guess Becky gets a run as a thanks for not taking time off/resigning. But yeah a good episode

I feel like there's a lot of hyperbole in people's reactions to this show. I'm not seeing how Danielson/Ospreay is anywhere near the best match ever or even either guy's best match this year. Ospreay/Takeshita did a lot more for me on first watch, as did Danielson/ZSJ in NJ. It was still very good, mind you, but pretty much any Ospreay formula match is gonna be good and Danielson is obviously gonna be game for keeping pace. Some big spots here, and the "Hidden Blade vs. Busaiku knee" was really cool. Danielson's retirement tour has kinda gone back and forth between performative bucket list type of work and actually building a good match through genuine struggle. This was definitely all the way on the performative side whereas his work with ZSJ with a story of trying to establish technical dominance or his quick and violent strap match with Starks are the matches that show why he's still one of the best. The Omega/Ospreay matches were rooted and character work playing off their career arcs (like Kawada/Misawa) underneath all the moves. Likewise, I'm not really sure how Hook/Jericho was the worst ever. Jericho's character right now is that he's a hanger-on despite having nothing to offer. The more this gets exposed, the more he throws tantrums calling back to his WCW heel turn. If anything, he's probably playing the character too well or perhaps just miscalculated leaning too much into what the AEW die-hards think about him. He's getting exactly the heat that he wants, whether that comes across well on TV or not is another story I guess. That said, the match wasn't good by any stretch, but it was far from AEW's worst this year (Billy/Jay is running away with that, and Dustin/Butcher was horrible too). Basically, both guys have limitations, and neither guy is at a stage of their career where they can compensate for the weaknesses of the other. Worst match on the show, sure, not much beyond that. The rest of the show was pretty good overall. KOR/Roddy was the sleeper match of the night. Swerve/Joe was a really well put together match too, where it felt like Swerve was going hard the whole time but really had to earn the win. I feel like no one's talking about Adam Cole is back bay bay. I think we're looking at Cole/Swerve at Double or Nothing with MJF negating Kingdom interference.

The Priest/Jey segment was alright. I liked mostly for the nding and the general build towards a Judgement Day implosion its continuing. Awesome Truth vs. DIY was good. Curious to see where things go as the post match showed Ciampa overly frustrated with the loss. The Gunther promo was solid. As the New Day vs. Imperium match it led to. Not sure how I feel about the post match with poor Vinci getting beaten and ousted by Kaiser. Mostly I just think Vinci is the better wrestler of the team with Kaiser so I hope this doesn't mean he is gone from WWE though I also don't see him doing much on his own. Hopefully we get a Wolfe return or maybe another Ringkampf member joins Imperium. That Drew/Sheamus segment was good. The digs were perfect, and I liked Sheamus's reactions. Sheamus/Nakamura right after was another solid match. That Gable promo was cold. Hopefully Gable can keep that up as the heel turn continues. Still, I really want him to switch out Otis, Tozawa, and Maxxine for the Creeds. Just feels like a perfect heel stable. Ivy can stay with Maxxine as a face. Andrade/Ricochet vs. Santos/JD built into something good. JD and Santos were a far better team than expected. The Priest attack post match and trash talk to Dom and JD was neat. Dug the backstage segment with all the women that led into the battle royal. Was a nice face moment for Becky and solid build to giving Maxxine a chance to impress in the match. The match itself was pretty solid. I dug a lot of eliminations and thought they did a good job showcasing most of the women involved at some point. The finale with Liv, Becky, and Nia was expected but done well enough. I do wish Liv won, but I assume much of this is to set up a full heel turn for Liv when she finally does take the belt. Right now she doesn't quote have the reasons or ammo for it. Beating Becky down bad for the title will give it to her. I have to admit I would have rather seen Liv win straight up here, but I do think there is a noticeable drop off in how the crowd views the women after Rhea and Becky. This is probably necessary to help Liv step to the next level. No stand out match, but everything here was pretty solid and enjoyable. weakest segment was probably the opening, but everything else did well. Solid show overall though it still suffers from the usual long Raw length.

I think Liv will beat Becky either at Backlash or the Saudi show so I'm fine with her not getting it tonight.

I liked the main event quite a bit. One of my favorite Swerve matches ever. It was ok that he took so much of it because it was due to him capitalizing on opportunities (some of which he was able to create) and because you want your new chant to win definitively. It wasn't enough for him to win; he had to Beat Joe and he did.

Hopefully it at least gets people to stop wondering if she’s leaving.

Liv is the one who injured Rhea. It would have made sense to give Liv the title and have her talking shit. But instead, another Becky Lynch run. No thank you.

Better insult: this or McIntyre’ “burgers” line to Sheamus?

Sad news Liv was robbed.

it's been like 15 years since I posted on this board OR went to a wrestling show (that's what moving to a tiny island in the Pacific Ocean will do to you) but you know, everything is cyclical so let's do a Big Post on ACTION DEAN~! Right off the bat explaining to my wife what I needed to fly to the East Coast to do was a little complicated but I just bought the ticket first and let the rest work itself out. We've been in pretty severe crisis mode for the last few years (like... everybody else on Earth) and my whole resolution for 2-0-2-4 was to pull out of the nosedive and be a Human Man, with Human Interests once more. So we used some miles and I hooked up a place to stay with an old friend in NYC and made it a reality. I took the train from NYC to Philly and then a bus and then another bus to the closest hotel to the venue (the Plum Tree Inn), a place so sketchy my bank automatically pinged a fraud alarm the instant I checked in. After taking a shower I walked the 3 miles to the H20 Wrestling Center, located like all good things in the middle of a mixed use office park. It actually turned out to be a little bit longer because I was listening to a podcast my wife sent me to help her with a job interview so I missed the turn but after walking through a charming suburban neighborhood where it doesn't appear that people just walk through I found first the Wawa and then the venue. As I walked up all the workers were around the front side of the building and I overheard somebody say "big clothesline WHOOSH" before I found the real door. Nobody like checked my ticket or anything but you know how it goes. I have not been Deep Into wrestling for some time so a lot of these guys I have barely seen in passing or at all but I did not Complain on the Internet or even Do My Own Research about it. Colby Corino becomes the first challenger for a title I've ever seen warn the crowd that he's very tired, and justifiably so! Both him and Alex Kane have huge and very different charisma and this was definitely fun, the right amount of length and shenanigans without burning anything out. This show was LONG but for the most part the pacing was very smart (we'll get to the Most Part later). The Good Hand get the "early NWO heel stable" combination of a good talker, a laconic big man and a little fucking asshole piece of shit that everybody wants to see die rolling early and their match with Amboss / O'Shea Edwards was fun, especially because Kevin Ryan is a very good little fucking asshole piece of shit that everybody wants to see die. Suge D's failed armdrag bit with the enormous Edwards was also very charming and the moonsault at the end was a Big Fella Flying. Ugly Sucklings vs. Violence Is Forever was a quick little sprint packed with grisly offense from both sides. I liked the pace of this a lot and everything looked good. Here's White Mike taking a little breather in the empty chair next to me, a chair that would get a significant amount of use throughout the evening. https://shortandhappy.com/images/dean-mike.jpg The first appearance of the Nasty Ring Mat heralded the crowd popping for Gypsy Joe Rules despite having no idea what they were. Tom Lawlor coming into the match dressed like he just finished up his shift at Best Buy was the little touch of surrealism that made this magical. A lot of it happened outside the ring on the other side from where I was sitting but watching Tank blade was hilarious, he worked his forehead with the frenetic zeal of a squirrel trying to open a Brazil nut. 3 Flippy Guys vs. 3 Strong Motherfuckers was exactly what it said on the tin. Danny Demanto's plaintive request for a single door was deeply touching, and then he set the door up against the ropes right in front of me so I figured I just wouldn't see anything. Then somebody got flung into it and a tuft of his hair was sticking out of the door the entire match, which was pretty gross. Most of this match was Bobby Flaco just getting the living shit kicked out of him. "Unkillable" Brayden Toon is the weirdest wrestling name I've heard in a while. Is he a living cartoon? Is his signature match a scaffold match over a vat of Dip? https://shortandhappy.com/images/dean-flaco.jpg I liked the work in Gringo Loco vs. Dr. Cerebro a lot but the actual match was a little off-feeling, with the inexplicable DQ for a chairshot on the arm? followed by a match restart and the chair just lying there? Everything they did looked great though and it was fun as fuck and Cerebro has Veteran Presence. https://shortandhappy.com/images/dean-cerebro.jpg Krule and Warhorse worked hard but this match was incredibly long-feeling. Krule's Hello Kitty lighter fell out of his pocket onto the mat right in front of me like three minutes into the thing. Mr. Horse has a lovely top rope elbow and they did a lot of careening into chairs but there was also Jumping Nothings into Goozles and other unsatisfactory things. I could have used five minutes less on this. Put that five minutes into Makowski vs Arez which was billed as a clash of styles but everything these guys did looked perfect, smooth and hard-hitting and great. Arez's toe-tap moonsault off the ropes is devastatingly beautiful. This seemed like it was just shifting into another gear when it ended but I definitely wanted more. Adam Priest is a guy I've been hearing a lot of praise for and while "Any Style" is a completely doofus nickname he really came out and delivered the most Professional Wrestling match of the night, talking multitudes of shit towards the recently unemployed Slim J throughout the match and making everything he did look great. This was worked precisely like it should be, nothing out of place and nothing unnecessary, just two great performers locking in on it. The rope neck snap to get out of the sleeper was disgusting even if I could barely see it. So gross! I wasn't as into Sinner & Saint vs. Youth and Mathers as some others seem to be. I started to drift out of wrestling as that super indie style was coming to prominence, and by this point I'd seen so many Guys doing so much Stuff that a match like this, which was full of Guys and Stuff, was gilding the proverbial lily. Nothing essentially wrong with this and it all looked good, just not for me. These guys are all babies so hopefully they'll grow into being a little bit lazier, like a man does. https://shortandhappy.com/images/dean-sinner.jpg What can you even say anymore about Demus vs. Mad Dog Connelly? Demus is a foulmouthed short king but the instant Connelly stepped out and started whipping that chain around this felt DANGEROUS in a "somebody in the crowd is going to lose a tooth" way. These guys just wailed the shit out of each other in a ton of intense and great-looking ways. I got the same garbage can thrown at me twice, and it was most certainly full of garbage. This match was the kind of thing that's impossible to explain to somebody who doesn't already Get It, but if you Get It than the Getting's Good. https://shortandhappy.com/images/dean-demus.jpg Main event was incredible. Being able to watch these two guys work each other over from the front row, see the struggle and shift and work, was truly special. Both Makabe and Thatcher are masters of this kind of close work, and everything here felt earned and tense and logical, right down to the three nasty punches they closed with. When my daughter was looking through my photos she stopped at this one and said "that looks like it REALLY hurts." That's how you know you're doing it right. https://shortandhappy.com/images/dean-makabe.jpg But most importantly? At one point during the match, quietly under-the-breath whispered from Thatcher to Makabe, "you OK?" just long enough to connect and affirm the trust and closeness necessary to work this violently with each other. Not intentional, not meant to be heard, but living proof that pro wrestling is love is pro wrestling is love. My most cherished memory of DEAN~ is when I met him and a bunch of the other guys for the first time at the 2000 ECWA Super 8 (aka "The One Before The Good One"). I had made my way to Wilmington, Delaware in the way I did in my 20s, ramshackle and improvised, and when the show let out Dean asked me where I was staying and I just pointed off into the woods, an act which he'd bring up to me several times in the next decade or so. RIP big man, you made this Internet a place for me to share something special and learn from the best. Might not post here for another 15 years, but who knows? Lot of stuff on this board doesn't seem to be working if you want me to look at the code.

OK, that was fucking wild.