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This is getting closer to the actual issue. The loneliness epidemic isn't actually about loneliness, it's about lack of community. Without getting into whether or not there is a God, there is a reason why religion has always been so widespread. It is a shared experience among people who would normally be strangers. Its also why gangs exist in almost every community that is marginalized. People are social animals who need a feeling of belonging. The issue isn't loneliness, it's people realizing that some of the places lonely people find community is giving voice to all types of problematic ideas. We didn't get to the point where people are all of a sudden more accepting of fringe political ideas on accident. We will always have people seeking community, but with the downfall of churches, social clubs, recreational sports, etc., more and more of these people are sitting in their home and being adopted by the darkest corners of the internet. There is a guy on Instagram who talks about civil engineering and how building a country's infrastructure around cars is bad for almost every part of our society. It means everything is a little further away, you don't really know your neighbors, walking takes longer and is more dangerous, businesses don't get random walk-ins from pedestrians, and there are fewer shared spaces where people congregate. The loneliness epidemic in the United States is less about people being lonely and much more about our society disregarding the needs of the people within the society. We're all connected by things that don't actually build connection. We have all chosen sides on every issue without ever even considering the other side, because we probably don't even know those people. We're all dug into our particular bunkers listening to our particular brand of propaganda. It would probably be better if we all went outside and talked to real people, but every day that gets harder and harder to do.

Two new matches!!

TK is talking about DVDVR right now on the scrum

I got to know Shan the last few years of her life. She came into a bar & grill I worked at pretty much every day. She was an incredibly sweet soul. I'll be skipping this episode but I hope the world gets to see what an incredibly beautiful soul she was and how dirty the wrestling business did her.

Jesus Christ could the man write a wrestling review:

The final lineup for the Cibernetico!!

"But Tony, I don't regularly do the Double Stomp in matches"

He'll get back to you in four hours when he gets out of traffic.

The show will be broadcast on ROH's Youtube channel early next week

Well, here it is. Fyter Fest in Denver, CO 6/4/25 ROAD REPORT! I've been to three Dynamites over the years here in Colorado, two at the late, lamented First Bank Center in Broomfield and one at The Budweiser Event Center in Loveland. The shows were all fun and those arenas were/ are your larger venues that host minor league Hockey, concerts, and things like the Globetrotters. They were never sold out but the crowds were always loud since Colorado wrestling crowds are always hot. Last night was at the Mission Ballroom in Denver and it was sold out, so I was looking forward to seeing the show in a smaller venue with a raucous and packed house. Oh, and it was the day before my birthday. Over the last 19 years I've been living in Colorado, I've gone to a lot of wrestling shows . Besides the aforementioned Dynamites, I've been to RAW, more WWE House shows than I can remember, and some super low rent Indy shows. Usually, I go with my pal Chris, with the "You fly, I'll buy" deal so I can drink many over priced beers. Well, the couple of times we brought my nephew and his friends it was just a few over priced beers. Last year, Dynamite in Loveland was on my birthday, and it was just Chris and myself. I had a lot of anger to vent since the day before I almost knocked out the asshole fellow assistant coach of the Little League team I was volunteering for. It was in the middle of Left Field, after the game, in front of the kids. I came THIS close. The people sitting in our section experienced three hours of drunk and stoned Philadelphia wrestling fan from the 80's, without cursing. There were kids and families around us. I'm not a complete fucking monster. Sadly, Chris couldn't make it so I was flying solo. This 55 year old man was going to a Pro Wrestling show stag, wearing the same tye dye dress shirt I wore at DEAN~!. So, that meant two things. One, no drinking and just one gummie. Two, there was no way I was going to stay for Collision. I had to work the next day. I'm old and there's traffic to beat. I planned on getting to the Mission early in the afternoon since my ticket was in the GA bowl, and I wanted to get the best seat I could. We had a work meeting that day that was supposed to wrap up at 1, and I was taking off the rest of the day to drive home, feed the dogs, and drive back to Denver. I didn't get out of the office until 2:30. Sure it was Bill's retirement party, but some people got pro wrestling to go see by themselves. By the time I got to the Mission, it was nearly 5:30. I'd never been there before, and it's fantastic. It's in the shadow of the old Denver Coliseum in a commercial area, but it's as if the block around the Mission was gentrified. There were some cool restaurants and bars surrounding the place. When I got in, I was really taken with the ballroom interior. The joint is motherfuckin' cool. It's a perfect venue for a concert. And that's what it was like for me. The place was already packed. I had to settle for a "seat" up in the corner by one of the many bars. No chairs, just that concrete shelving, like the seats at the old JFK Stadium in Philly. And I stood the whole show, while dodging people going back and forth from the bar. And I ended up having an amazing time. First of all, there were no bad seats. We were right up close. TV always makes small places look big, but trust me, this place is intimate. I could see everything from my perch. And the place was rocking. The crowd was a mix of belt carrying husky fellas, awkward nerds who can let their freak flag fly, some older folks including the granny sitting a few feet away, just plain normal wrestling fans, and casual fans. And the best casual fans were all kids in their early twenties who had heard about the show because they're hip to what's going on in the city's entertainment scene. And I loved each and every one of them. The energy was electric. Everyone talks about the age fan demo stuff between AEW and WWE, but I'll tell you the difference I see. At the Denver WWE shows there are far more families with kids, and it's more multi cultural. And lots of the husky men with belts are super jacked dudes from the city who look like athletes. I don't watch a lot of AEW lately, to be honest. There's a lot I just don't care for, including some shit at this show. there was a lot of stuff that I'd have fast forwarded through or rolled my eyes at. But you'd have to be a fucking mental patient if you can't forget all that and have fun at wrestling show. Especially THIS wrestling show being in this crowd, and part of this crowd. I was basically the old man in a tye dye at the Dead and Company show hanging with two young Deadheads and the gang of 21 year old guys and gals checking it out for the first time. My crew ended up being two young "smart" fans, one being a husky guy with a belt. The other was a gang of the 21 year olds checking out the show. And they were awesome. They started asking belt guy and myself what was going on, and that's when the gummy kicked in so I was happy to oblige. It was so much fun. These kids were whooping it up and pounding cocktails. Belt guy and his pal were also getting wasted on cocktails and weed so it was party time and I'm the old guy at the party. I bonded with Belt Guy's pal when Belt Guy tried to start a "This is Awesome" chant and his pal told him to shut up, and that shit sucks. His quote was, "If everything is fuckin' awesome, then nothing is awesome!" but very slurred. My favorite chat with them was when the young lady behind me, who been asking the most questions, asked me what Julia Hart's deal was. I could barely get it out cause I started laughing. " So she was a cheerleader who got spit in the face with a magic mist and it turned her into a spooky witch." And she said whatever the latest slang for "I'm down with that!" is, and belt guy kinda laughs and said to his friend, "When he puts it that way, it sounds fucking dumb." THE SHOW Before our little crew came together, Justin Roberts came out to be awful and hype up a crowd that didn't need it. And he also asked us if wanted a special bonus match! When the crowd cheered he declared that the impromptu match was on! And it was a good thing, because the ROH ring aprons were already on the ring. 1. Evil Uno vs. Preston Vance The Frat House gimmick is so fucking dumb and indy low rent. It feels like The Spirit Squad, too. However, each and every one of those guys look like frat boy douchebags, and they use their stupid Frat House paddle as a weapon. I think that's a new one...so I'm fine with this. At least live cause they're fun to boo and heckle. Which is something I did all night, as well as cheer, until I couldn't. On the Sal Bellomo vs. Johnny Rodz meter, I'll give it a 3. The Frat Douches need to use that beer boing to choke someone, or else get rid of it. It's the most Flea Market looking prop they have. There were big cheers for Taz and Schiavone . Right before the show went live, it got a little quiet and someone near us yelled "I LOVE YOU TONY!" And Tony slightly glanced over slowly, and gave a single finger gun. Ospreay is over as fuck. I didn't give a shit about all the story about him, Swerve, and Page. I know it's live TV, but I'm used to going to shows with no in ring promos or backstage shit. The RAW I went to had a 20 minute "College Bowl" segment between Alpha Academy and RK-Bro that the crowd and our kids went ape for, while I was dying inside. Big boos for Andretti and Lio, and in our section it was "Fuck off, who are these two goofs?" heat . 2. Mark Briscoe vs. Moxley: This was my main event. I first saw Mark when he was ringside during the Samoa Joe vs. Jay Briscoe bloodbath. He's my favorite wrestler in AEW, along with Samoa Joe and Eddie Kingston. They played the promo from Mark about how he has to win this match to prove himself to his questioning children, and it's a Non-title match to open the show! There's no way someone could fuck this up! I even told Belt Guy that I thought Mark was gonna win. "There's no way Mark is going to get beat the same way twice in a NON-TITLE match!" is what I said! And he doubted me. After a great match, and I think Moxley kinda stinks, Belt Guy was either too high or too nice to mention it. It was the only time I screamed "FUCK YOU!" all night. The air went out of the crowd for a minute, but the place was rocking too much for it to settle in. 3. Mina Shirakawa/ Toni Storm vs. Julia Hart/ Skye Blue: Toni Storm is a superstar. When she made her entrance I felt that feeling you get when a STAR appears live. It's amazing. The match was fun. The young lady behind me was a huge fan of Skye Blue's ass. She was a FAN. When I said that Toni is famous for her ass attacks, she wasn't having it. " How can you compare?!" 4. The crowd went nuts for the Hurt Syndicate while also booing the shit out of MJF. Folks were eager to see Bobby Lashley. He's a hometown hero. Even his "I moved to Texas" stuff didn't really work. I've seen Bobby at a few WWE Shows here and he's always one of , if not the most over guys. Where I was sitting, I couldn't hear MJF's promo because we were all booing and heckling too loud. 5. Komander/ Speedball/ Knight vs. La Facion Ingobernable: The story with the babyfaces coming out to answer MVP's challenge would have made more sense if they weren't already advertised to wrestle Mortos and his crew, This match was a complete blast live. And I probably would have kinda hated it watching at home. There were lots of the little things involving guys just waiting outside for their cue to run in and do the next planned spot. And from my vantage point, I could see all of it. But it didn't matter, because live with this crowd it was a blast. When Hurt Syndicate came back out, Kommander left the ring and did the whole "Fuck this shit, not my issue." wave. It was weird. I guess it was him trying to have a reason to leave the ring and hide so that it was a surprise when he leaped back in a minute later. I went to get some water and have a smoke during the backstage stuff that led to the Caster segment. When I did, I walked into the causeway and the first thing in front of me is Powerhouse Hobbs with his belt over his shoulder, head down. Holy shit, what a specimen. It was another "That's a star!" moment. By the time I got back from the balcony smoking lounge, Hobbs was surrounded by people. By the time I got a water and went back to my seat, the match was over. 6. Kenny Omega vs Brody King vs Claudio Castagnoli vs. Mascara Dorada: Kenny's Entrance in a small ballroom looked dope and I hate four way matches. The "two guys waiting outside for their cue" thing from earlier was worse here. And Dorada was the worst at it. Brody would at least try and look exhausted, and even bled. Claudio would walk away and make it clear he's being a slimy heel avoiding contact, and Dorada would just kneel down in front of the barricade and wait. By this time I was already tired, and honestly not that into the match. It was fun watching everyone else enjoy it and I just popped for a couple of cool spots. The crowd went nuts for the Okada/ Omega bit to wrap up Dynamite. I stuck around for half of Ospreay vs. Lio Rush, and when Ospreay didn't beat him in three minutes, I realized it was time to hit the trail. The gang of kids behind me all wanted high fives, and said they had a blast talking with me, which was so cool. Two guys a couple rows up yelled, "LATER MAN! LOVE YOUR ENERGY! WOO!" and I beat that traffic. I was starving so when I got close to home I had a 9:00 pm sit down meal of mozzerella sticks and a French Dip at Arby's because they have the meats. AEW playing ballrooms is the way to go. I had a fantastic time.

Hey guys, Here are my write ups from Segunda Caida: Rhino vs Manders: http://segundacaida.blogspot.com/2025/05/dean-2-day-1-manders-vs-rhino.html Arez/Gringo Loco vs Coven of the Goat: http://segundacaida.blogspot.com/2025/05/dean-2-day-2-arezgringo-loco-vs-coven.html JD Drake vs Josh Woods: http://segundacaida.blogspot.com/2025/05/dean-2-day-2-jd-drake-vs-josh-woods.html Slim J vs Beast Mortos: http://segundacaida.blogspot.com/2025/05/dean-2-day-4-slim-j-vs-beast-mortos.html Lee Moriarty vs Matt Mako: http://segundacaida.blogspot.com/2025/06/dean-2-day-5-lee-moriarty-vs-matt-mako.html Torneo Cibernetico: http://segundacaida.blogspot.com/2025/06/dean-2-day-6-cibernetico.html Mad Dog Connelly vs Adam Priest: http://segundacaida.blogspot.com/2025/06/dean-2-day-7-mad-dog-connelly-vs-adam.html

I used to think "Man, I get Tony, he's from this board. We have similar tastes!" Then I see stuff like Abadon leaving quietly after not being used for a while and their action figure being cancelled and all this shit. I don't get how you can have a FUCKING ZOMBIE on your roster and not do cool shit with a fucking zombie year round. Its like I get that I'm weird about it and am a horror/Halloween 365 kind of person that goes to conventions for stuff like this, but there was so much unused potential there. I get that AEW doesn't have writers doing skits a lot of the time but goddamn dude. I can think of 1000 scenarios where a FUCKING ZOMBIE could do hilarious shit, or scary shit. I've seen more zombie movies than AEW has had fucking shows at this point. Come on. This is coming from me though. I thought Maho Kurone was going to be the future of professional wrestling. I'd be giving weekly or semi weekly shit to Abadon, Stokely, Willie Mack, people with magnetic personalities that would connect with people. They have people that do that now, but also do talking segments and angles and stuff with like, okay, I'm not here to shit on like Kyle O Riley or something, but who would you rather hear talk about anything, him or Willie Mack? Tony hates Toru Yano, I guess we are very different people. I think the match IS important and love the good matches AEW puts on, but I have friends that are new to wrestling and care way more about cool characters and hate whenever it's a bunch of "Regular people" in there. I think wrestling should be fucked up weird people doing fucked up weird shit to each other. Like not in a gross sense or like bad people in real life. You know what I mean.

EZ Money having a really fun 5 match run in WCW before they shut their doors.

So the pharmaceutical equivalent of Crossfit?

I heard of it years ago because one of the side effects of kratom is an inability to shut up about kratom and one of the radio DJs would mention it

Got to hang out with Bryce Remsburg at the Jays game today. Super nice dude.

Scott Keith always used to rant about people putting the Figure Four on the one leg. Once I messaged him asking how Gordon Solie used to describe the hold, and he said "Targeting nine separate parts of the lower anatomy". So then I asked if that meant it damaged both legs, and therefore it's impossible to put it on the wrong leg because it damages both. And then he blocked me.

So I wanted to talk about something else today and then this R-Truth thing happened, and the two dovetail together rather well. Starting with Truth, I would have kept him around and I think not doing so on a short time deal may be a mistake, but it's a reasonable enough decision. He's 53, been there for ages, hell of a run and getting to work the SNMW match against Cena in his retirement run and then put over a fresh signing on SD is a rather good sendoff, better than most workers get anywhere. My issue is he's worked there ages and has been a good soldier that whole time, he deserved a heads up. He makes it sound like it was sprung on him and while I can understand the thinking that he had a long enough run treat people well, give them a heads up so they don't walk into a surprise and can prepare themselves when possible. Not doing so is bad form. ...Which brings me to Bear Bronson. His contract ran out, AEW chose not to re-sign him, I think that is sensible enough. If his longtime tag partner didn't decide to strangle his fiance (allegedly) I think they'd have likely not been re-signed as well, so in one sense he's out zero AEW money from this. That said he was working in ROH/occasionally AEW rather regularly right until his partner's charges came out... and not once since. He did nothing wrong, he was a good soldier for years, and he got discarded in a "we have no use for you now, go away" fashion as opposed to letting him at least get a few singles matches in ROH to see if there was anything there, or just let him continue to make the dates he was already gonna get before his partner fucked up. Instead he got tossed aside immediately as well and that is also bad form. I don't care about the quality of the shows or wrestling on them in these cases, I will always want to see people treated well even on the way out and while I wouldn't say that what WWE and AEW did in these cases was egregious it was definitely not good and could have easily been so with just the smallest bit of care. Both fell short and I shake my head at both of them.

Carlito getting paid for 2 years off a hometown pop in Puerto Rico is just an incredible piece of business.

Terry Funk, over the course of his career.

OKAY.... TOOOOOO much depressing shit there... Here's Penta with a puppy:

Look, just give me Thekla turning Jamie Hayter heel at the end of this and bringing in Bea Priestley and all three of them form a faction. They'd run the fucking division.

But what does that $75 get you? Wrestling? No problematic mumble rappers, Youtubers, right wing manosphere "comedians," nothing? Who wants to see wrestling in 2025?

I'm in the camp of think Varisty Club Rotundo was the best Rotundo.

This could go in the joshi thread, the puro thread or the AEW thread but Konosuke Takeshita and Yuka Sakazaki just announced that they are married. Since this is a Japanese couple, that means they could have actually been married for the last five years and only decided to tell everyone else today.

When are they gonna play Closer by Nine Inch Nails during a Mina Shirakawa match is the real question. I'll settle myself down, Caseynetico.

Top 5 in cities that don't feel like they were built by our corporate overlords. New Orleans is one of the few American cities that you can't mistake for 25 other cities. New Orleans feels like New Orleans from the moment you get there until the moment you leave. If you were on a reality show where you got on a plane went to sleep and woke up in a different city and had to guess where you were. New Orleans would be the easiest city to guess. Everything from the sights, the smell, the sound, the taste, and feel of the city are unique to New Orleans, and it's awesome.

I made it through the Daffney episode without crying. I don't want to say I'm numb to death, but between my career choice and being a wrestling fan, it's hard for me to cry over the death of people I don't know anymore. Hell, it's been over three years and I still haven't cried over losing my father. That said, this was incredibly hard to watch knowing how the story ends. Mental health is a sensitive subject with me due to my own struggles. I like to think of the DVDVR as one big, weird family, so if any of you ever need to talk about anything, my inbox is open.

At least we get to see what Paintbynumbers looks like now

OSJ, i miss you brother. i can't believe it's been over 4 years. I wish i could hear you talk about Pete Rose and Shoeless Joe being eligible for the MLB HOF. i'm sure you have opinions on this big shift. i imparted some of your wisdom at work the other day to a new supervisor who was struggling on how to connect with their reports. I thought back to John's 5 words. "Can You Tell Me More?" I told this supervisor how much that phrase has helped my improvement in having meaningful conversations, and getting people to open up about their passions and interests. I hope they are able to run with it as well.

The magic from the early 90s version (which I was a kid during and loved) is that it was pretty low production, little fluff, and just had a general "fun" vibe. Its not a show that needs a multi-million dollar production with "funny" hosts and sob stories, its just supposed to be a fun obstacle course game with likeable characters and a simple format even a six year old can understand. But I agree that any new version will never be able to re-capture the feeling of the original.

From Brian Solomon on FB

Our old friend Victor was hit hard by everything and asked me to post this piece that he wrote in response.

You and me both. It is the closest thing the WWE ever got to the chaotic energy of Sabu matches. Seriously, if nothing else, Shane earned my respect in that match. He could have tapped out on the suplexes through the glass, but even after getting dropped on his head multiple time, he got up and asked for more. That match is a mess and a half, but it's riveting mostly because of Shane's determination. What they planned could have been a five star classic, but it wouldn't have been nearly as memorable as what we got. It's an example of why trying to control every little thing is usually a bad idea in wrestling. I don't believe the audience would have ever connected with Shane like they did, if it wasn't for the heart he showed in that match. It's why I believe kayfabe is largely overrated. I didn't respect his character any more than I did before the match, but getting dumped on his head and telling Kurt to try it again made me respect the person more. He was willing to put his body on the line for the sake of the match, and knowing that was better than anything that they could have scripted. For what it's worth, this is also the reason we all love Foley. We enjoyed Mankind and Cactus Jack as characters before the "shoot" interview series with J.R., but when we saw the sacrifices the man Mick Foley made for the characters we loved him for it.

I was in the crowd for Wrestlemania 2023 and the remainder of my life will be a little empty because I will never again experience the simultaneous emotions of feeling bad that someone just got hurt while also knowing that I just saw the funniest shit I will ever see in my entire life. Thank you, Shane McMahon, for giving me that moment.

Got my All Out tickets. 5th row floors!

I find almost everything associated with WWE intolerable in a world where AEW exists, but let's not go saying things we can't take back about Sol Ruca and her spectacular finisher.

You can have your Sandman entrance...I just want to see Rhino Gore Lori Fullington thru a table one more time.

I think based on his review of the DON main, Sandman seems like a lock for AEW and man how dope would it be to finally get a legit, Enter Sandman run in? Maybe I'm just showing my bias as a millennial that was obsessed with ECW on TNN.

I was the dumbass kid who loved both Battle Kat and Max Moon. I'd had a taste of Liger from WCW and would do anything for just one more hit. Should be noted that Battle Kat's finisher was a rollup called the 'Ball of yarn.' Amazing the gimmick didn't work out.

How refreshing to be able to buy a ticket in the lower bowl for a PPV event for $75

Holy crap it was so much fun watching with ya'll tonight and rediscovering this board!~ again

Give a raise to whomever was in the production truck directing for the main event - absolutely added to the stellar fucking match with those long unbroken shots. Fuck yeah AEW rules the motherfucking WORLD.

I fucking love Hangman so much. Pro wrestling fucking rules. I’m spent from that main event.

This might be a little deep for this thread, but every time I see Dustin, it reminds me of parenting and actually being active in your kids' lives. Contrasting Dustin and Cody...Dustin was born and grew up during his father's heyday. By all accounts, Dusty wasn't around much and wasn't active in his life. He essentially had a famous father who had no time for him. That shit fucks you up. The majority of people will likely internalize that kind of thing and wonder why they weren't good enough for their dad. So Dustin had a life with periods of estrangement from his father, and well-documented issues with substance abuse that he has thankfully, commendably pulled himself out of. Cody, on the other hand, was born and grew up as Dusty's career was winding down, with far less time on the road. Dusty raised him and it sounds like he filled his head with big fish stories of his legend. Cody had a standout amateur career in high school, had the confidence to go to acting school, had no issues with substances, and has had a far more successful career in pro wrestling. Dustin's relationship to his father was complicated, to put it nicely. Cody thinks Dusty hung the moon. Dustin has had a tough life where success was fleeting, trials were constant, and he never lived up to his potential. Cody built a hall of fame career where he struck out to build something instead of being happy with a midcard gimmick, in large part due to the confidence he had from his upbringing. I'm sure Cody never has imposter syndrome or feels like he doesn't deserve what he had. Two guys with the same father, raised entirely differently, and they couldn't be more different. Thanks for letting me get these thoughts out, and take care of your kids, friends.

It's cool that Hayter is a Doors fan, but I just hope she became one the right way: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xillqqt0Y0

I don't know, but I did see somewhere (one of Tom Green's WCW Deep Cuts maybe?) that Hogan tried to get WCW to bring Yokozuna in right after Warrior so he could get that win back too, but by that time Yokozuna was too heavy to get the ok to compete from any State Athletic Commission, so poor Hulkster has to live with never avenging that L... Man is Hogan an ambulatory sack of shit ...

https://www.theringer.com/2025/05/13/wwe/sabu-best-matches-ecw-fmw Did my version of a Best of Sabu Vol 3 mixtape for the Ringer