Leaderboard

Wanna rehab the TNT title? Konosuke Takeshita.

HOW DARE SHE WALK OUT ON THE COMPANY LIKE THAT!!! SHE NEEDS TO HONOR HER CONTRACT!!! SHE'S SUCH A MARK FOR HERSELF!

"That's... 'titles', Mr. Connery. Not 'titties'".

Follow Naylor.

Pictured: A fearsome, slimy, lizard-like predator that kids should be afraid of. And Godzilla.

Re: the Hangman Page discussion, in a lot of ways during his title reign he's been the dog that finally caught the car in the sense that he finally has what he wanted, but now he has no idea what to do with it, and I think in a lot of ways that's the angle. It's a natural evolution of who he is, from overwhelmed self-loather to confident cowboy who is slowly starting to lose his confidence, and also his patience (and with it, his morals). (And to caveat, yes, the following is my interpretation of how he has been presented. Your mileage may vary. Opinions on a message board, whatta concept.) From the beginning of AEW, he felt as though he was the lowest member of the Elite, and he had the chance to finally stick out when it was him and Jericho to crown the first World Champion. And, well, he lost. Or in his mind, he failed. So he became self-destructive and started drinking, which led to him loosening up because he stopped caring about the pressure he placed on himself to try and stand out amongst this group of highly accomplished wrestlers and just started showing up and doing what he does best. Which is probably where the perception that he was a beer guzzling asskicker came from. Because he was an asskicker that, well, guzzled beer after he kicked ass. But it's when his drinking became out of control, and people caught on that it was the result of his feeling as though he failed, that was when his friends started to give up on him. And then he ended up finding new friends that didn't carry the same stigma as the Elite did, because, well... the Dark Order were a bunch of dorky losers. Just like he seemed to be. But they were the dorky losers he needed. So he cleaned himself up, decided that he didn't fail, he just fell short, and he wasn't going to fall short anymore. And so he didn't. It's oversimplifying two and a half years of story, but that basically covers it. But the problem then becomes... where does he go from there? Because Hangman always was the guy who would take off his belt to whoop someone or run across a football field to save his friend. The drinking was just when he loathed himself. Now he's confident in his skills. And that confidence starts to chip away when you see all these newcomers start to come in and gun for you, and tell you you're not good enough. Like the greatest wrestler in the world in Bryan Danielson. But you beat him. And yet everyone still touts him as the greatest wrestler in the world, and you're... what exactly? Then you go through hell to beat Lance Archer, which proves you're still just as tough as you always were. You beat Adam Cole, a ghost from your past who tells you that you're just the waterboy for the group that you used to be a part of. It doesn't help that those dorky friends who helped get you through that tough patch keep getting in your way, and what's worse, are in way over their heads against the level of competition you're now at. What do you do? Do you try to protect them by pushing them away? Now you've got CM Punk saying he wants you. Great. And the fans, who cheered you on as you went through the hardest two and a half years of your life, cheer that guy instead. Surely that has to chip away at you and frustrate you some, right? What's worse is that now you're basically alone. Hard to blame the guy for lashing out. It's hard to say that it's a heel turn, too, until that lashing out becomes consistent. So does that mean his character is a failure? I don't think it does. I think it means his character is moving onto the next step, and that next step is him cracking under the pressure of being champion, whatever that will entail.

Bret Hart references in Dax Harwood vs. Cash Wheeler: Armbar with kick to the face (Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart. WrestleMania X.) Cash grabbing his knee after landing on it falling outside the ring (Hart vs. Hart, WrestleMania X). Victory Roll counter (Owen Hart vs. Bret Hart at WrestleMania X). Using the turnbuckle to escape a hold (Hart vs. Piper. WrestleMania VIII and Hart vs. Austin from Survivor Series 1996). Piledriver. Top rope superplex. Sunset flip counter (Finish to Bret Hart vs. British Bulldog, SummerSlam 1992). Small package reversal (Bret Hart vs. Mr. Perfect, King of the Ring 1993 finish).

Sorry I'm late. My youngest is the bass player in the praise band and I had to wait around for him at rehearsal/ Stupid teenagers. Jake Something looked great, I love that he knocked Lethal over with his pecker! YES! Jake Manning was soooo WCW Saturday Night enhancement talent- like the nephew of the Gambler. Alex Reynolds is the Mike Rotunda of the Dark Order. Fly Def were an excellent Southern indie face tagteam. I loved their little flurry of offense. The Ass Boys are fucking awesome. Austin Gunn is amazing in his goofy historonics. He is buff, he's got the stuff and the ladies can't get enough. He must have been the most annoying teenager. I wonder if he listened to Ska or Bro Country. His finisher makes no sense but he is still awesome. Man, is Serpentico and Shawn Dean going BROADWAY?! That was perfectly fine and very long. I want to see the Brick City Boyz vs Fly Def in a high school gym in Goochland county. Big Shotty Lee Johnson didn;t do any highflying so BOOOOOO! Hey! Vicky Dreamboat looked pretty good for a second there before Abadon beat the fudge out of her. Abadon is so much better now than she was. I don't know what you do with Jora Johl. Skye Blue vs Kiera Hogan was good. Hogan should just be beating folks' asses at this point to get over the ladies version of the Blackpool Combat Club. Good use of Red Velvet; she's feeling the push. Skye Blue got the Toni Storm memo and lays it in. Red Velvet and Kiera should have beaten on Skye Blue after the pin. I love the Factory Invaders into New Japan Strong. It's so territory booking and gives the Factory some focus. Kevin Knight didn't remind me much of Shibata but was pretty good. Nick Comoroto was the superstar of the match. BKC was fun with the Judo Chops! Comoroto is so good. BKC is a keeper, He is the Nouvelle Cameron Grimes. Comoroto hits a SWEET SPEAR! QT Marshall offers the LA Dojo guys QUALITY SPOTS IN THE FACTORY! They refuse and BKC GOES THROUGH A TABLE! AWESOME! A FACTORY vs LA DOJO HAVE A PULL APART! YESSSSSS! Awesome! The greatest Dark ever! Rohit Raju is getting a Dark push? I'm all for it. Adam Priest looks like Chase Elliott fan. This is the best Before The IMPACT! match I've seen in a while. Squashy! Tiger Ruas and Cezar Bononi attacked Evil Uno and Preston Vance earlier in the broadcast! CANADIANS VERSUS BRAZILIANS! Actually, Preston Vance is from Michigan or something. SOUTH AMERICA VERSUS NORTH AMERICA! Evil Uno is everywhere these days, He had a mega match against Uncle Mikey on Championship Wrestling from Memphis Saturday. There he showed that he really excels at wrestling heel. Bononi looks great in this match. Ruas and Bononi do cool double teams. RUAS WITH THE EVEREST GERMAN SUPLEX! They should have gone COMPLETELY Memphis and had Cezar slap Negative One. Lotsa fun nearfalls. That was good. The LA Dojo vs the Factory section made this THE BEST DARK EVER! For Matt, Taz's coast to coast helicopter.

Oh man.

I take issue with this. Remember they are not employees. They are independent contractors. They are 100% in the right legally due to their classification. If WWE want employees that will listen to every command, then hire and classify your talent as fucking employees you shady fucking tax dodging tax cheats. If I hire a plumber and tell him I want him to do all of his work while wearing a romper, he doesn't have to do it. He's an independent contractor. He's allowed to pick and choose how and why he does his work the way he wants to. And by definition that's why WWE wrestlers are. Independent contractors. So I get reallllllll annoyed when I see the corporate boot licking stance of 'do yer jobbb you unprofessional fuck' when the legal definition of their job says they don't have to do anything they don't want to. That's not on them, that's on WWE trying to save money not matching benefits pay ins and insurance and taxes and shit. See above. Yes they can legally. If WWE wants employees then hire employees.

If TK actually has Gargano as the Joker and runs a fucking Gargano/Cole final every good thing I've ever said about him as a booker is immediately discredited.

You have no idea what a service the board has been for my relationship. I can just purge all my thoughts here and not have to watch the light leave my wife’s eyes when I start to tell her about wrestling or horror movies.

I just want to say that many of y’all are ok with a dude who dresses, acts, and talks like he’s in some shitty black metal band, magically appears in the ring, and spits a mystical evil black mist that turns people evil but have a problem with Danhausen?

Notched 10 months of sobriety today. Double digits, baby! I've also been promoted to shift lead manager at work. Good things. Proud man.

You know how, in general, it’s hard for Japanese wrestlers to connect with the broader US audience, but sometimes a guy like The Great Muta or Tajiri comes around and that broader audience is like “shit, this guy is awesome”? I am convinced that Takeshita is one of those guys.

If JR gave the background like that for most of the wrestlers now it’d be like, “In high school they played Warcraft when they weren’t watching PWG or DDT. Their football background is accidentally watching a Tennessee game once at a friends house because they mistakenly thought they were going to an Attack on Titan watch party.”

Konosuke The Giant about to wrestle children!

MJF called him.

Name a more trustworthy source. I'll wait.

Dax vs. Cash made prompted me to treat myself and get a ticket to see Dax vs. Cash live from the Liacouras Center this Wednesday night. I can't wait.

Top right looks like the logo of a 2nd-tier regional gas station chain. Like you'll stop at a Nitro, but not if there's a Quik Trip anywhere nearby.

I disagree. The Elite stooge and heel in ways the NWO never did. They are classic heels, not cool heels. The Bucks don't dress in garish shit because they think it looks good. It makes them look like jokes and they know it. Ironically, that's along the lines of Cornette and the gaudy multicolored shit he used to wear. Hall and Nash were middle aged white guys wearing backwards bandanas and Fubu because they legit thought that shit looked cool and edgy. And the NWO was dominant and made everyone look bad. They beat everybody like chumps and showed ass once in a blue moon. I think last night or the week before was the first match Cole won without a nutshot, interference, or both. There is just a huge, easy to see, fundamental difference between Cole & The Bucks' heel act and the NWO's.

WWE always has a cover story to pin the blame on the wrestlers. Much like the leaked shit that Keith Lee was difficult to work with, or, well, the same goes for a bunch of released wrestlers. They're always telling Satin or someone not Meltzer that such and such was difficult to work with and it was basically all the wrestler's fault. This press release is the same bullshit. Sorry, but WWE's track record, Vince, Bruce, and Laurinitis in particular, is fucking garbage when it comes to anything they say that is negative about a wrestler. This is the same company that put out a documentary tearing down the Ultimate Warrior only for some years later to bend over kiss his ass and name an award after that piece of shit. It's always the wrestler's fault until they come crawling back.

They say, “I did do little league, I wasn’t good but I still got a trophy,” and he malfunctions and explodes like a Star Trek computer villain.

Oooooo! Who is the new guy! Oh, it's Johnny Elite. He's fine. He's a poor man's Christian, which is pretty good, actually. Oh no, if they are bringing in former IMPACT! champions, is Austin Aries far away?!?! Then Alberto Del Rio! Actually, when they get to Moose and Josh Alexander, that would be good. Johnny Elite looks pretty good. He is over in Houston. The barrell roll sell of the shoulderblock was pretty beautiful. JOE WINS! I'm assuming Johnny Elite enters the Matt Sydel Zone. That was good. AWESOME! KONOSUKE TAKESHITA! Takeshita is soooo awesome. They should have saved Takeshita for the Joker spot. He was born to wrestle in arenas. Death Valley Driver during the picture in picture. Stupid picture in picture. Konosuke Takeshita gets in his stuff and it all looks awesome. They go completely King's Road! Like 1997 King's Road. This match is fucking awesome. GREAT FUCKING NEARFALL! ANOTHER GREAT FUCKING NEARFALL~! EVEREST MOTHERFUCKING GERMAN SUPLEX~~! BUCKSHOT LARIAT! GTS! What a great fucking match. Konosuke Takeshita needs to main event in the US for 15 years. THE WORKHORSEMEN! I'm guessing they don;t give him as much as Hangman gave Takesoup. Shane Swerve Strickland is awesome. Anthony Henry leans waaay into a kick in the corner. Yeah, put the belts on these guys. Or put the belts on these guys. Either way, keep these two feuding. Oh no, not a three way! MJF gets molten heat in Houston. That looks like a fun place to be this evening. Will the security team lean into Wardlow's punches like last week? MJF is buff. Shawn Spears is buff. SETTLE DOWN, HOLLYWOOD DEANETICO! MJF RIPS OFF HIS SHIRT! GREATEST SEGMENT EVER! If Shawn Spears takes off his shirt, there would be three buff dudes without shirts. Yeah, I don't know what's going on. Buff dudes whipping other buff dudes will definitely appeal to a certain demographic. Anyway. Let's move on. HOW ABOUT THOSE BADDIES! Ooo! Rippongi Vice vs FTR? I could dig that. Rey Fenix versus Samoa Joe would be fun but it's gotta be Joe versus Kyle O'Riley! Oooooo, I dig that they are sticking to their individual styles, GREAT FUCKING SHIRYU TOPE! O'Riley working on Rey's injured arm is deep psychology. Will Rey's brother throw in the towel? Fenix sells the arm like a champ. Rey Fenix is fucking great. (Ew gross! What did Rey Fenix pull out of his nose?) This match is fucking great. Great finish. GREAT! I assume Joe and Kyle beat each other to death next week. They set up JAS vs Team Eddie Kingston. It's noit the REAL Blackpool Combat Club without Wheeler Yuta. Oooo! Lady Joker is..... MAKI ITO! She is the best wrestler in Tokyo Joshi Pro, but she isn't doing her Bret Hart imitation tonight like she has been doing recently in Japan. That was goofy and fun and forgettable. Serena Deeb SHOOTS on the WWE! She needs Smart Mark Sterling! They are giving 5 minutes to the main event. AH! Jeff Hardy is now Sting, so he can only go so long. Oh man, Adam Cole versus Joe is going to be strange. A great hour and a half of wrestling and the last half hour was kind of a throw away. But what a GREAT first hour and a half! STING! Darby Allin made Bobby Fish look like a slaughterer of men by taking that kick like a psycho. AEW RULES THE WORLD!

I'm really looking forward to 2025 and the biggest talking point in wrestling is Sarah Michelle Gellar having Brandi heat.

No, that's in pesos. You gotta do the conversion.

Hikaru Shida showed good genre awareness by wearing some form of denim into a street fight. It's almost like there needs to be a dress code or something.

Here ya go.

“The Velvet Underground didn’t sell many records, but everyone who bought one started a band.”

JAYZEUS!

Hey! I'm on time! Adam Cole. Dax Harwood. I don't know who wins this one. Prolly Adam Cole. Adam Cole is over in Long Island. Dax bumps big early. It goes to 1977 during the picture in picture- as Cole does a Bow and Arrow and an Abdominal Stretch. Cole cuts off Harwood and actually lays it in in the corner. Dax is fucking awesome- going hard into the turnbuckle. Dax Harwood is over around Long Island. Sweet Slingshot Powerbomb. Cole can work. Cole doing the Shawn Michaels call for the Sweet Chin Music is some DEEP story telling. Cole being a disciple of Shawn Michaels wrestling like a Michaels disciple in a Hart family tournament is fucking awesome. Dax with the Sharpshooter is also awesome. Cole procuring the Sharpshooter is fucking AWESOME. What a heel move. So fucking great. But was it a tribute to the Hart family or was Cole being a dick? That's good wrestling. CM Punk is all about the CHEAP HEAT! John Silver is over upon Long Island. This is true CM Punk match- methodical, selling, psychology- stuff you usually don't get in a Silver match, as Silver is fun guy to come off the apron and have a wild burst of energy. Silver sells all through the picture in picture. Silver is awesome on offense. Nice Brainbuster! Punk is GREAT covering for Silver flailing around for the Spinning DDT. BUCKSHOT LARIAT! This is the greatest Dynamite ever! Punk is total heel. So fucking great. OMG! Danhausen is wrestling. Well... sort of. HOOKHAUSEN BEGINS! The DARK SIDE OF THE RING thing was great. MJF being overwhelmingly cheered in Long Island warms my heart. This is great. God, Wardlow beats the living shit out of security. So that's why Mark Sterling wasn't suplexed to hell by Hook. That was fun. Sure that had the table that was meant to be broken but they should have gone all out and had the girl scouts bring out a cake for MJF and had the Long Island Chamber of Commerce award him a really big trophy. Ricky Starks and Jungle Boy- and I'm assuming that Jungle Boy gets this belt and Starks and Hobbs get the tag title. Starks is the new William Regal in that he can carry a whole match with his facial expressions. Starks with the BODY VICE! Nice Lariat by JB. Nice MORTAL DDT- which I've never seen before. This match is good as they counter and counter the Rochambeau. Nice Spear by Starks. Assorted quasi-fuckery and Ricky Starks hits the Rochambeau for the pin. That was good. OH NO! They are going to make it a 3 way! OH NO! Well, it's not like I'm going to get the PPV unless FTR wrestles the Briscoes or Aussie Open. Go ahead, Make it a 3-way. I don't care. AEW GALAXY! Jericho is a WIZARD! JERICHO CHANNELS CLUBBER LANG! AWESOME! THE BLACKPOOL COMBAT CLUB! JAS has to recruit the Ass Boys! YES! This got awesome. Toni Storm seems kinda over amongst Long Island. Jamie Hayter is more over, which is surprising. I guess Long Island is primed to cheer heels this evening. Hayter beats the hell out of Storm during picture in picture. JESUS, that suplex to the outside is fucking GNARLEY. They start beating the fudge out of each other. They rush the finish and Storm goes over. That was good if a little heatless. Strange. One can only wonder who will survive Darby Allin trying to kill himself. Oh man, this watch is awesome. Greatest Tope in history. I remember seeing Jeff Hardy take a running powerbomb through a table in the corner of the ring after they couldn;t get it to catch on fire. It was the craziest thing I had ever seen. It was in an armory in North Carolina in front of maybe 300 people. Allin gets to top it on national TV, as he fucking dives off the ladder through Jeff Hardy through 8 chairs. Swanton to the steel stairs! WHOA! Hardy with a roll up after taking a Coffin Drop for the win. That was a quality wad of wrestling. A little disappointed by the Storm/Hayter match but think I was expecting too much. Everything else was fucking awesome. AEW RULES THE WORLD!

Went to a local record store today, had an all-timer find in the bargain bin.

Come on, Kendall made a lot of money in the early 90ies.

I'm looking forward to Jamie Hayter vs Toni Storm. Yes, I am.

"I Know What You Did Last Summerslam" might get Freddie sued though

We Watch Wrestling is promoting a wrestling flea market called WrestleSwap and I’m deathly afraid Bischoff will show up with the wrong idea.

So you're saying that since her debut, for many people, her destination has been... unknown?

And that's why putting your card out ahead of time is a good business practice. It allows people to say "Shit, I can't miss THIS match this week" and really makes it feel more like a sporting event. I love that. As opposed to "Hey honey, WWE are coming to town, wanna take the kids"

This is too cool not to share...