Octopus

NOOOOOOOOOOO

This will be different. Twice the drama and I’ll be even more awkward making occasional announcements.

Also 8-man tournaments.

I’m ready for money now

Turns out there’s money in this wrestling thing. I might start up the Octopus Wrestling Federation.

Depends on the situation. You use “afire” if you say theater as “theatre” or in autumn wear an ascot at least three times per week. Otherwise, “on fire” is the way to go. I can tell you don’t own a monocle. pickles and most pickle-esque toppings/condiments should be cold. I’m a quick eater though. If it gets warmed, it can be saved by the flavor. Popeyes (at least the ones near me) have good pickles on their spicy chicken sandwich. Dave’s Hot Chicken (one opened up a few months ago near me, dear lord it’s good) has good pickles with their sandwiches. I have a buddy (with life only see maybe one or so a year) that was a super picky eater. He also can’t do onions. I’m struggling to think of what my No’s on food is. In terms of broad categories or ingredients. I’m not a fan of White Castle. Weird smell. Onion gravy? I shall investigate!!!! I love me some burgers. I like a pickle or onion but I don’t go out of my way for them on a burger. If it’s there or I can get it loaded with a bunch of stuff, I enjoy it. what is Paul’s (and everyone else’s) favorite food? “I’ll have a pickle with a side of pickles” Yup, unless you have an ascot.

So, I run an online film festival (Octopus Marquee Independent Film Festival) and one of the filmmakers (Tim Disbrow) that was a part of the previous season did a wrestling documentary in the past, Card Subject to Change. Terry Funk was a part of that and I hear really friendly and supportive of it. Tim was kind enough to post an interview from that doc:

I think people sometimes are taken back by the vinegar-dill like combination as overpowering. As a tiny octopus I was not a fan. Stood out too much on a burger. Now I’m a fan and I feel it can add to a bite. Or even a spicy chicken sandwich, a bite with a good pickle can be a real treat.

Unless if Joe vs MJF is set for the PPV shortly after that.

I want Roderick Strong to repeatedly give Adam Cole back breakers while erratically weeping.

I was thinking about that as well. Joe being the monster of the month for MJF to conquer. It works so well that they have the past moment of shove when Max was an extra. Add in the character history of his anger being driven by being bullied in school. This feud makes sense and can play into their strengths as performers. Maybe we’ll see a match like Sting vs Vader.

I am so excited for this MJF vs Samoa Joe feud. Joe can be such a confident dick and cruel bully. I can see him getting under MJF’s skin so bad. What a great feud for a face MJF to start off his reign. A month of promos/ segments and then the match. Maybe Samoa Joe can brutally eat Adam Cole? Maybe he’ll mock MJF’s mom? EEEEEE I’m excited!

I was so worried when Danielson was near the post the he was gonna do something stupid likes mash his head or broken arm into it. Lolol I loved Starks reaction to Danielson powering up. Such a great defeated heel knowing he was in for it. ALSO it’s worth mention the show as a whole stepped up production wise. There were GREAT shots and a couple of cinematic rack focuses. My favorite maybe being seeing the bloody bottom turnbuckle and it focusing to OC. Best mic’ed crowd for an AEW show, as well. No big missed spots that I can recall. The team over on the video production side really knocked it out of the park! ALSOOOO, really well done video packages before the matches. I love those and think this show did a good job at that. All credit goes to Will Washington maybe. Lol

Tony did the right thing, but Punk was looking out the window!

Danielson is building bridges and strengthening friendships! Bless you both and bless the American Dragon!

You naughty stinker you. You have the soul of a face but a heel at heart. You will stand up for what is right, but you’ll throw dirt in the eyes. You’ll stick up for nerds and you want to stick it to bully’s so badly that you subconsciously want to go undercover and re-go to school. Get suspenders and a little helicopter hat and go to the nearest middle school with a fake idea. Infiltrate the bully organization from within and take them down. You won’t get a good nights sleep until you wedgie every young bully in the Tri-State area. Oh man, I’m really racking my brain with this. I’ve had funky foods but in terms of pizza, I’m struggling to recall ones I’d see at different buffets. Pickles on pizza works, I’ve had a good cheeseburger pizza that was hamburger meat, big tomatoes, and pickles. I assume bbq. I’ve done ham that I flavored with Alpine seasoning. That worked well on like a Jack’s pizza. Sauerkraut is underrated. You can have that on like a sausage pizza. It’s standard, but if I have like a two toppings coupon or something, I think sausage and green peppers. I like a supreme type pizza with sausage and peppers and things like that. My brother likes pepperoni and jalapeños. I haven’t tried it, but I’m sure lamb would be delicious on pizza. I don’t know if this counts, but when I was in St Paul, there was a deli you could get a Miracle on Slice. It was a deli sandwich but pizza instead of bread. It was a good mess. That place had really good Philly Cheesesteaks though, so I’d usually get that. Closed now, sadly. It’s an extra step, but reheating on a pan is a good way to go. Gives it a crisp burnt bottom and new life. Cold is usually still a good way to go.

Crazy. They got me last night. I wonder how many people were planning on getting it for a while and how many recently swayed.

On the press conference, Danielson super put over Starks. Said “he carried me in that match” and talked about how excellent he is. Also put over Mox as one of the best in the world, and says you could argue OC too. He also talked about what poetry he is reading right now.

I’ll wait until I read more on it, but it’s maybe weird that a past Regal incident is my straw moment? Lol

Just started the press conference and Adam Cole just comes across so sweet always and I just want to be his buddy and he’s such a little stinker and he’s so kind and has such a nice smile and is just a bug in a rug. What a cutie.

I had a good time in the theater. It was a pretty good reactive crowd. Only annoying this was near the end a guy a bit away from me moved next to me so he could talk better about how AEW needs a cruiserweight belt and Tony Khan doesn’t like Darby or something. I still enjoyed the show. I’ll ramble in order from memory. I did a Target pick up before driving to the theater. Groceries and things we needed. Didn’t do time management well, so I got to Eagan with about 15 mins to spare. Tried a BK but the drivethru was too long. Didn’t want shitty theater food. Only had breakfast and planned on having a beer. So wanted to fill up beforehand. Quickly smashed Taco Bell and was very close to heartburn. Because of that, I came in with Max on the outside with a clear chap shot of some kind happened. Fun opener. Usually I like more dominance from the tag team in a handicap match type situation, but this worked well. Crowd and myself were pumped up. MJF coming back in while holding the back of his head was cheesy fun. His best opener performance since the Tanahashi match. Crowd was going nuts for him. In a vacuum, not my cup of tea, but to start an event I loved it. SAMOA JOE SHOVES MJF AGAIN! I popped hard at that. Perfect next feud set up. Joe looks like a cool dick and Maxwell can get away with being roughed up in a pull apart because of his neck. I’m excited for the promos. This was my first (I think) Shane Taylor match. I’m impressed and will happily see more. A few clear chest slaps for sound, but that’s fine. Joe gave him a good deal so he came across looking well. But hot dang, I love me some Samoa Joe. Christian Cage is phenomenal. He just needs to be a piece of shit on the outside and it makes everything better. Darby is crazy, yada yada yada. Luchasaurus looked good throwing him around. The steel steps spot was wild looking. Christian mocking Nick Wayne with a towel for him to throw in was such a great prick move. vs was wonderful. My legs were kicking and I was wiggling. Both men are people I want to see more of. Miro is great at working the crowd. They gelled so well with each other. The crowd’s chants were a lot of fun too. Sometimes it can get annoying, but in this match it worked. MEEEEEAT. Statlander vs Ruby did fantastic in a match I thought would be tough to follow. Saraya was a great on the outside. I’m pro trash talk and yelling to your partner. Her ripping the sign was great. Both Ruby and Statlander really knocked it out of the park with this. Toni run in was a good choice. Danielson vs Starks was my match of the night. It was icky and I loved it. Starks is so phenomenal. His cheap shots early and showboating was done well enough you know he was going to get his comeuppance. Oh fuck, he did. That was gross. I was loudly giggling and so excited. I reacted so much to that slapping noise. They got each other in the face. Ouch oh God yikes. Steamboat was wonderful. He came across authentic to where the stammering and pausing before he’d speak to me made the match better. I was so happy and he is such a great face. Looks great too! AEW loves their legends. Also, FINAL COUNTDOWN! I wonder if that was a last minute add on to have a fun thing after the drama. Hearing a crowd sing along to “The Finnnal Countdooooown” made me smile. Maybe it’s the PPV doing? Or just this one more time. I know I’m gushing about everything but I’m happy. I remember when Claudio joined the BCC and people were thinking his silly puns would be a bad fit for the group. It took a bit to find his voice amongst these killers, but hit dang he is a fantastic stoic villain. Yuta is a great piece of shit as well. What an excellent match up of these personalities. I loved this. Happy to see Kingston lose to Claudio to drive him made. His eventual victory will be glorious. Shibata is cool. Omega vs Takeshita started off with good struggling grapples and I like that. An Omega match, I can see this having its fans and having its detractors. I had fun watching it. I could pick a part certain things I’d like differently, but I did love the ending. Thinking we’d get the stab, grabbed away but still reversed. Big Cinnabon win. I’m still typing but I’m tired. I enjoyed the FTRBucks vs Bang Bang Gang. It felt like a wink to the audience that everything is OK with all the tandem mix match signature tag moves. Big win for BBG and can drive more tension between Bucks and FTR. Main Event was great. OC took a beating but fought back valiantly. He came across like a hero. The former company Ace gets the big win in another post Punk AEW. Cassidy finishes maybe the best title run in the company. He looked like a star. Little things here and there, but that would just be me nitpicking that I’ll maybe do tomorrow. Tonight was a good show when they really needed it. Hopefully it gets praise and does good post event buys. This could be a good turning point for the company.

Well that was great!

Everyone sucks except Samoa Joe

Kawada vs Hashimoto, gifted by @Curt McGirt Hot dog, I’m typing this right after finishing and I’m shocked by the towel finish. I did not see this coming. I’m going to write this out of order a bit. Normally I will formulate the post a little more and write either in a linear fashion or breakdown by participants. This time I’ll do immediate reactions right after finishing. I started this the other day but I was so tired, I couldn’t do it. Redid it today and I’m glad. Very much encompasses what I love to look for in a wrestling match. The struggle and earned moments, characters being visible through their actions, and strikes that make slap or thud sounds. This hit those notes beautifully. Kawada is the champ, super karate kicks as always and often vulnerable. Hashimoto is much stronger and a harder striker which plays into Kawada’s vulnerability. But he has a target on his wrapped up shoulder. This match writes itself! Kawada and Hashimoto strike the fuck out of each other. Hashimoto is stronger and tries to take out Toshiaki’s leg. But Kawada is too stubborn to change his strongest weapon. This is hard to pull off, but Kawada makes it work by still using his violent kicks while limping and falling over. There is a moment of repeating strikes to a dizzying Hashimoto. They both fall over but Hashimoto gets up and kicks Kawada in the face. This is paralleled soon after with a large oak tree like fall of Hashimoto going down. It felt so earned. Kawada’s most successful offense was going after the shoulder. Really turns the tide when Hashimoto is wincing in pain even after successfully giving a beautiful brain buster/ Suplex. Kawada can’t be put down. After more grounding and submissions, the towel is thrown in. Kawada is victorious. Thanks Curt, it was up my alley. ——— @John E. Dynamite, what type of match do you want to get this week? Send me any one of your favorites or a match you’re passionate about.