HarryArchieGus

What a strange show. Not at all what I expected. Seemed like one of those dull Monday Night crowds, except there were no long talk segments for them to get excited about. I can't recall who had just won the match, but there was a great shot of some a guy in the crowd yawning behind the winner that kinda summed up this crowd. That said, I'm sure our dude @zendragon was having some fun. Pre-show was good. Takeshita-Willie Mack was particularly good, but felt pretty disjointed at points. I think Mack might have really hurt himself on that tope, but he's also a really great seller. Willow v Alize was good. So to Cobb and the Hot Sauce. Stu v J was fun, but the crowd could not have cared less. Same goes for the odd return of the Righteous. Dark Order v Dutch and Vincent, tell me more. I liked what I saw of Vincent in Impact. Dutch seems like a neat weirdo. I like the idea of Uno and Stu getting a run in ROH. Vikingo v Kommander felt like undiluted Lucha Libre and a great showcase. Six man Tag match suggests Brian Cage will fight another Honor-able day. Athena's entrance was magnificent and a buzz enhancer. She brought her best to the match and it was good if a bit off at points. Samoa Joe v Mark Briscoe was excellent! I was as shocked as anybody by that finish, but LA didn't deserve the big moment and I'm happy it was saved for a later date. I think I was also kinda happy to be surprised. @Dean I take your lead on a lot of calls, but no more firmly than your thoughts here... And yeah, the Kingdom should have won. It felt like Rey Fenix was non-existent most of that match. I'm with everybody here that says FUCK LADDER MATCHES! Call a moratorium on this dated needless bullshit immediately. I did think the match started well and appreciated no ladder in the ring to be slowly climbed upon (or not at all as per usual and seen here later in the match). The Aussies are slowly becoming stars. Shibata-Wheeler was a highlight. Jeers again to that LA Mania crowd with seemingly no knowledge of Shibata. I loved Shibata's dominance here and the surprise win. I think we're getting a lot of rematches out of this show, and I'm happy for it. Again, this Mania crowd did not deserve anything more and I applaud the choice not to give it to them. That said, even this dull crowd couldn't sit on their hands for the magic of Eddie KIngston and Claudio Castignoli. At least not down the line to the exciting finish. There was a lot of weird timing and production on this show. No more strange than that closing square off. And then cut off of Kingston. There was also a lot of bad camera work throughout this show. Heads were cut off, moves were missed. Bad switches. On a better note, as expected, commentary was excellent tonight. Riccaboni forces shit a bit too often and voices some corny sells, but he's generally alright. Caprice and Nigel were fantastic! Again strange show and didn't meet my lofty expectations, but there was some great work and I didn't not have a good time.

Yeah, that's rad line-up. I always welcome a Willow Nightingale contest. I hadn't really rated 'Hot Sauce' a whole lot prior to the relaunch, but he's been really terrific on the new episodes. Takeshita-Willie Mack feels like something I may have spent solid energy trying telepathically get on this show. And Slim J v Stu Grayson seems like something Gorilla Monsoon might agree with me 'could be a main event in any arena around the world'. But seriously SLIM FUCKIN J V STU FUCKIN GRAYSON sorry to curse, but I'm pretty fuckin' stoked.

This is the first Wrestlemania I will watch (er SKIM) since the 19th in Seattle - save for a match here and there. I'm mostly excited for Dom-Rey, and Gunther-Sheamus-McIntyre. Very interested in both Cody-Reigns and Charlotte-Rhea. Bianca-Asuka might be the sleeper. Asuka's so great, but has lost momentum with such a weak build. I love Sami and Kevin but such little interest in the Usos or there pursuit of the pretty meaningless WWE tag straps. Still, should be a good closing stretch. Edge's longwinded cheesewhiz promos negatively effect my interest in anything he does, but maybe he and Balor will provide some thrills. Brock-Omos, sure! Both 4 way showcase matches could potentially be better than my middling interest. I like a lot of the players, so we'll see. I'm a bit bummed Becky and Damage Control don't have something better. I barely cared about Trish or Lita in their prime let alone now at half speed. They unfortunately just remind me of the pre-historic Divas era better left forgotten. Not unlike Adam the Edge, Tyler Black Rollins' dogshit-awful talk segments (the little I catch before ffwd comes into play) lead me to forget how good he can be in-ring. I suspect he and Logan Paul could actually be pretty good. Theory-Cena, *yawn. I've never cared about John Cena (well, there was that fun early heel run), and not sure yet on Theory. He's still not really at a connection level to care enough about. I'll definitely be watching this on tape delay and hoping minus all the pagentry I'll be skimming right on passed that I can get the running time down to a cool 180 minutes. Expectations are in check and Supercard of Honor is the show I most care about, but kinda neat to see a Mania again.

Another terrific show. EMI!! v ATHENA!!! was every bit as great as I assumed it would be. Interesting watching this production. They moved a hardcam toward the entrance way later (noticed it most during Vikingo-Christian) to cover for all the early absences toward the regular Dynamite hardcam. Hopefully they can better promote the early taping of 'ROH on Honor Club' in Long Island. Not sure why they didn't do that in St. Louis? I've yet to see any promo for next week, but, uh, maybe they'll start!? So fucking stoked for this PPV (including the mystery Zero Hour). I expect a lot of emotional moments. Are my expectations too high? Let's get Yamashita on there, yeah? Goddamn Mark Briscoe does everything in and out of the ring to absolute perfection. Not sure there's a better all around performer in wrestling right now. I sense 2023 is going to be a major breakout year. Loved that hype package promo with his family. All the Countdown promo packages were excellent. If TK is gleaning over the thread, can we get some Baliyan Akki matches going forward? The one match I saw of him on Dark was fucking tremendous. And more Leon Ruffin please.

I like-a tha Juice. I assume all those hating on him missed his fun TV bout against Leon Ruffin on Dark? Robinson is a good lower to mid-card hand. Not really a position to hate on, but QT, Kazarian, and everybody else in that role all seem to raise the ire. All while cleanly laying down for everybody with a name. No doubt Juice does the same on Wednesday against Ricky. Not to say Juicey's hitting this shot out of the park, but what's wrong with giving him a try? Further, I'm not sure I'd be anymore into him as a babyface (wasn't all that into his NJPW run), but I do think the best role I've seen him in is as a babyface tag wrestler - playing Ricky Morton. Unfortunately, his partner then David Finlay was nowhere near the 'Hoot' level. Bullet Club Heel Finlay on the otherhand is quite alright.

Both the best and most irritating part of this show took place during the Ruby v Willow segment. The worst - Toni cheating right squarely in front of Aubrey to no admonishment. Ugh, in general, just so tired of all the ppl around ringside. Give me a manager's license for fuck sake. I'd almost prefer more shit finishes if we so badly need to protect ppl. If it's to get more ppl on TV then, okay, I subscribe to the bloated roster theory. Enough of the Gedo/Bullet Club booking of every top heel lady. Moving on, the best part of this show (if not Danielson's fabulous heel turn) was Jamie Hayter's run in, and specifically the momentum of her missed Lariat. Fucking incredible!

You really oughtta give both Takeshita and the Hangman a little consideration to the above logic. For me the Piledriver as used by Mox and number of others is the biggest logic obstacle. Mr. Wonderful drove it into my head at young age. Granted nobody does it quite as well as Paul.

I guess it's a matter of how you feel about a worked shoot. And fair enough if it's offputting when the man in question is adamant about being honest to his fans. Listening to Dax's pod it's pretty clear he's not going anywhere. Further, Dax is a overly sensitive guy with a big fragile ego - and it's an excellent example of the kinds of characters that make up a wrestling locker room. I feel grateful for both the insight he provides about specific topics, and the example. I had no idea Keith Lee's been online stirring things up. What's he been saying?

I thought he addressed things just fine. I don't really pay a whole lot of attention to twitter outside of things posted here (most of what I see are Dean sharing clips), so I'm not sure what all is being referenced (Sammy? Andrade? Malakai? all fair). Has Dax had some dumb tweets? I don't really see much of what Dax has said on his pod as being all that shitty. Sure, his wanting Brawl Out parties to put things behind was idealistic and better served in a team meeting, but *yawn. His breaking down issues during his AEW run on his pod have been pretty fair, and rarely deserving of inciting anykind of heat. It's hard to expect 'news' sites not to post blurbs out of context tho. He seems to take responsibility for his shit, so it's fine by me. The attempt at working an angle over the WOR awards might not have worked, but was a totally fine try. I'm not a believer that Khan shouldn't be allowed to share his thoughts or respond to bullshit from time to time, and rarely if ever do I feel the anger or thrills over anything he's posted. All that said, I probably feel personally similar to you about social media (minus DVDVR), 'pox' sounds about right, but it is what it is. Egos and addicitons are at play. Anyway, that was a fun interview. Easy to imagine a locker room consensus behind some of those shared feelings. I also loved hearing him champion Marina Shafir, and I like to think maybe a few more fans will give her unique talent a bit more of an opportunity.

I don't get the impression that the Elite are booking a whole lot of anything in AEW. I mean, I'm sure they have a Say like all the top stars, but not sure there's anything on the AEW shows that isn't ultimately a TK call. Or maybe you meant minus their consistently great matches? The difference in booking, which seems pretty minimal, feels more like freedom from TV concerns/restraints. Probably the best example is the looser match times, which clearly makes a difference. You can do that without a time budget of 120 or 60 minutes. You can forego some of the broader elements aimed to grab ratings and advertising dollars. Tho, that'll all come when this gets moved to WBD wherever down the line. Really neat to see them use what looks like a pretty good fan video for the Kingston-Claudio hype package. This is all new to me, but even without this rich history - What a fucking great Main Event! Reports suggest Vikingo is still under contract to AAA, but, yeah, let's hope he finds his way to AEW/ROH very soon. I expect Kommander-Vikingo to be Psicosis-Rey 95 for 2023 eyes. I tried to post Khan's tweet from yesterday to no avail - Shibata v Wheeler is on! So many reasons to say 'I see no better way to spend my $40 on Friday night'. I'm totally with you. It's so refreshing to hear such positivity in here. The early hottakers with all their potential complaints and predicted pitfalls have seemingly gone the wayside after 4 solid episodes - at least for now. Not to say (we're early here) that there isn't room for improvement, but seems like a patient crowd with reasonable expectations. That said, it's pretty safe to assume Friday will be the most watched show yet, so it's fair to expect complaints about one specific pushed wrestler (over and over), anger over something previously seen on a WWE show, ppl who like the product being ROHbots, etc. But still, this here's a fine message board and far better than the shitty assholery on reddit, twitter, comment section news sites or wherever else the mainstream drips like to hang.

Pardon me if this was already posted somewhere... Moxley to address the CM Punk IG post tomorrow and more on Renee's pod. https://411mania.com/wrestling/jon-moxley-address-cm-punk-instagram-post-renee-paquette-podcast/

Another lost post. Let me try again... Finlay-Ishii was underwhelming from the hype, but neat to see Finlay adding some character to his act. YoshiHashi/Goto-Okada/Tanahashi didn't feel particularly special. Tanahashi's Sling Blade continues to be one of the shittiest moves in wrestling. Hammerstone-Fatu 2 was fun. Are MLW matches all no DQ? Fatu was just suddenly wielding a chair to no referee admonishment. Hammerstone continues to improve his game. Such a tiny ring. Do I have this right - MLW is the 'Major League', but their show is the 'Underground'?

Special Time! Sunday Morning Rampage! Hobbs-Penta lead it off with a fine fine fearless wrestling contest. Harley Cameron really catches the eye at ringside. QT looks good with that big shiny Turner Network Television belt. Starks and Juicey square off on the microphones and make a date - alright. Brody and Hager give us a meaty slapper, and Anna Jaz takes out Stevie Nicks. A bit of fun there. Nice to see Swerve, and nice vidya peckige for Kenny and Korn on the Cobb. Leila Grey is starting to put it all together, but Taya makes quick work of her. I liked being surprised by the dominance. Taya really knows how to rock those furry boots. What a Bruiser! Nice 70s Get Up WIth It-Miles glasses on Jade, what a fabulously stylish lady. Mark Sterling takes a road trip to Valhalla. Taya is a big strong lady, I'm into this! Bring on the Taya-Jade bout. Mark Henry gives us another nice preview. Acclaimed-Kingdom do not disappoint. Taven-Bennett paying their dues before they, perhaps, go on a nice little run. Maria really knows how to do it. Maybe a little too much shenanigans and ppl running around, but then the Acclaimed are highly recruited sports entertainers, so... Daddy Magic and Ange' r JR guys! Daddy Magic and the JAS like the Rap Music! I can't remember the last time I was looking forward to an upcoming skit segment, but I'm gonna give my full attention to Cool Hand and Daddy Magic taking Bones & Castro out on the town. How will the Daddies work together One wonders?! That was Rampage baby! And it fit the Sunday Morning schedule nicely. Now for some toast.

Also, this, tremendous news day... https://twitter.com/The_MJF/status/1639696508000796673?cxt=HHwWgoCwravSr8EtAAAA

Apparently CM Punk made 'gay love' 'man on man' to Shawn Michaels over 6 or 7 continents. EDIT https://411mania.com/wrestling/cm-punk-jokes-about-making-gay-love-to-shawn-michaels-in-deleted-instagram-post/

Does anybody know how it feels to miss out on both the pre-sale and sale of the biggest live wrestling event your home city has hosted since Wrestlemania 6... and then you find out some crosstown buds have an extra ticket come Saturday!? I'm going to Forbidden Door and I could not be happier! Thanks for letting me share that.

Oh wow, I hope that happens. Also, excellent promo from Mike Bennett. Taven-Bennett r the comeback team of the year.

Leon Ruffin v Juice Robinson gets my vote for Darkhorse match of the week. Ruffin's face plant bump to the floor was incredible. I need to see those NJPW matches. Glad to hear Finlay's finally coming into his own. I wasn't a fan of the first Fatu-Hulk Hammerstone bout, but I'll certainly give 2 a try. Riccochet-Gable would have been a real candidate had it happened on a Wednesday Night in front of a crowd that actually likes the Wrestling part of the show. And in a company that might actually appreciate Chad Gable's exquisite skillset. All that said, Vikingo v Omega was a goddamn masterpiece.

Start with 2.50, and go no lower than a dollar 75. I don't understand why they didn't just shoot another episode yesterday in Orlando rather than or with Dark. Weird. I suspect we're getting a countdown show. Perhaps focusing on the promo reps are the way to go. Honor Club will offer Supercard of Honor as part of the subscription, but you'll have to wait for the 3 month tape delay. Live - yeah, BR or Fite (maybe others?).

Another terrific ROHTV show. Lots of quality in ring. Loved Tony Nese' situp/kick spot in the opener. Nese is a great hand. Mark Briscoe is unfuckinreal! I really like this trio of Metalik, #ALLHEART and AR Fox. Slim J's punches are a thing of beauty. Everything he does is beautiful. Can we all band together and WILL Slim J into a big push. Lady Frost continues to impress, and Skye Blue continues to improve. Goddamn Rooosh is Pro Wrestling - and Jose the Assistant is a nice part of this glorious package. 'Hot Sauce' has been a really hand thus far. I also really enjoy seeing Rhett TItus take a good beating - another good hand. Tony Deppen is a fantastic hand. I hope Brian Cage sticks around ROH. Despite his constant detractors shitslinging, he's been really solid over the last few months. Billie Starks continues to impress. It seems only a matter of time before she's consider the best on the Ladies side. Alize looked good at points in there, and is probably worth developing. Man, Shane Taylor is fucking awesome! Silas Young too. Both are a presentation tweak from being more widely appreciated. I continue to hope Silas finds himself in a Minnesota Wrecking Crew type root-stomping tag team. Aussie Open v Sydal/Daniels was a ton of fun. That's the best Daniels and Sydal have looked in awhile. Still hoping the Fallen Angel foregoes the lame babyface act to take on a heel Prophecy. The mystery wasn't built up for disappointment, but Cheeseburger isn't exactly an exciting surprise for a TV title match with the King of Television. That said, I like Cheeseburger. He's another good hand and took Joe's beating nicely. Joe-Briscoe is going to be fucking awesome! Stoked for Supercard. The Claudio-Kingston sitdown was terrific too. That's gonna be a barn-burner! If Chris Hero isn't in shape to wrestle, can he at least be Castignoli's Heenan? Not to say Claudio wasn't pulling his weight in that sitdown. Caprice Coleman was good there too. He and Riccaboni are easily the best commentary team under the Khan umbrella. This was another fun show, but a bit or A lot light on the promos. Back to back to back matches are fine when they're quality as they were here, but the flow with promos and packages in between is far better. And helps distinguish ROHTV from AEW Dark. Well, the matches too. Daniels/Sydal-Aussies in particular could have benefitted a recap package. Tho, the promos going into that match were pretty awful. Still, there was enough material to cut something together. Anyway, hoping for more promos and packages on future week 4s. Bring on the Supercard. Vikingo-Kommander, fuck yeah! Say, anybody know what's happening for next week's TV prior to the PPV?

To be clear, my applause for Phil not watching the hard to avoid American Movie Syllabus, Rocky in particular, wasn't a 'Like' for his deleted instagram post. Perhaps I ought not to have included Punk at all, but then my post would've probably been better placed in the Movie discussion which isn't at all 'HOT!'

I've felt the sting of this issue a couple times over. Can we just go back to the old reliable green board? Maybe Tony will feel nostalgic and come on back.

When ppl talk about Rocky, I often suspect they're talking not about the pretty good first movie. Definitely not the second. Maybe the third. But most likely when ppl talk about Rocky they're talking about the 4th. I liked that movie as a kid, and get how it works as a fun bad movie, but have no desire to ever see it again. I also liked the 5th as a kid, but nobody wants to see that one again. The 6th had a fun trailer. I wanted to leave it at that, but a pal kinda sorta forced it upon me after getting me stoned. Even with a buzz I hated that 6th movie and applaud Phil Brooks or anybody else who has resisted this hard to avoid franchise. Even greater applause for anybody who has escaped the goddamn Star Wars universe.

The Fun run continues. Great trios bout to begin. 60s Sting is the best Sting since he was surfing in the late 80s. Gunns-Top Flight was fine to follow. I dig the chickenshit heel Gunns, but with a preference for lower on the card. Not into Belted Asses. The post match promo was a great example of their lack of readiness for the gold. Let Cash get a word in first. Poor construction of a talk segment to have FTR standing there like chumps after the spitballs. Maybe FTR are the losers young Colton suggested. No wait, I love FTR! Nice Jade promo. Sterling's on fire these days. Leila Grey seems to be coming into her own in-ring and on the mic - I'm seeing rumblings of most improved in 2023 from a good source. That Kiera Hogan bout from Dark this week suggests this may be true. Stoke-Hook was fun. Adam Cole-Danny Garcia talk segment was spot on. Garcia is already great and only getting better. I think babyface Cole has found his spot. I may have had unreasonably high expectations for Stu-Mox, but I was happy nonetheless. Rick Starks slides in with a solid promo - his flow has always been good, but his content is starting to match. Tho not as great as last week's debut, QTV continues to defy the haters with terrific comedy. Harley Cameron seems poised for stardom, not the promotion, maybe the promotion. Toni leads Skye to perhaps her best match yet. Riho rocking and rolling around with weapons in hand is working. Goddamn BCC are killing it. Kenny-Vikingo was a goddamn masterpiece. Beautiful! Also, kudos to AEW for a nice build with the terrific videos. Okay, so post-match, it seems a bit silly that they didn't pre-tape the Hangman ambulance deal. I mean for timing. It worked anyway, but would've worked even better had the BCC not had to buy time. It should be noted that Moxley's stomps on Omega were absolutely horrible. I love Mox, but he has rotten looking stomps - especially when he tries Danielson's kick your face in routine. Just stop Jon! I'll leave the 'Backscratch of Doom' alone this week. Most everything else he does is pretty great. Like this company. Goddamn, Goddamn I love this fucking show!

Where does Leon Ruffin v Juice Robinson rate on the all time great DARK list? Juice was as good as I've seen him here. Leon Ruffin is such a fucking awesome pro wrestler. That was new ROH good! Toni v Starks rocked too. Murderous set of moves to finish.