SturmCRF

Seems like Danhausen could make hay out of a Gremlins promotion. I had no idea there was new Gremlins coming out, and am quite excited. I inexplicably find the Gremlins theme song to be one of the most moving pieces of music ever recorded. It just seems to sum up the ever hopeful but ultimately doomed, chaotic tragi-comedy that is humanity. And also the film Gremlins.

I'd say so. Those matches were both excellent, and ZSJ vs Shota, Aussie Open vs Bishomon, Hiromu vs Eagles werent far off. Maybe not worth a full PPV price if you know the results, but $7, sure.

Aleksandar Mitrovic vs Aubrey Edwards could be huge if they book it right.

I work with a Fulham fan. Awful prick. No interest in wrestling. I can exclusively reveal, however, that at least two tickets for All In are as good as sold. I thoroughly enjoyed that show, even down to the MJF segment. I'm usually leaning towards being sick of him, but there's something charming about how he embraces the Long Island bizarro world reaction and is a face there. WWE would never allow that. Also, Jay White turning up made me so happy. I'm lukewarm on him overall, but I was excited to see where he'd land, and watched that epochally awful Raw the other night because of a faint hope that they'd debut him (or an NXT callup, or anyone, or do anything at all to quicken the pulse more than Omos vs Elias for Chrissakes). AEW just throw a Jay White in your lap in the first two minutes, set up Jericho vs Keith Lee straight after that and roll immediately into House Of motherfucking Black before you can even collect your thoughts. I love this company so much. Not even a top tier show bell to bell, but so much incident, so many reasons to look forward to the next show. You always know you're watching the output of someone who loves, rather than hates, pro wrestling.

Managed to nab myself and the girlfriend tickets to Forbidden Door II and the following Dynampage in Hamilton. We're going to the Canada!

I hope Sanada wins. He's very hit or miss as a wrestler, but it's much more satisfying from a storytelling perspective, and the new look/stable change sort of demands it. Plus I can do without any more mega reigns from Okada. Or anyone really.

Massively. They need to sign her, she's the only difference making star apart from Punk. More generally, while I can still barely concieve of anyone preferring WWE to AEW, they have lost something in the last year, and that's surprise debuts. I know they can't make WWE release name talent like they did in 2021 but that's what it is, it's why their ratings are down and why even people in here who love AEW are generally less enthused. Speaking for myself, even though Kenny vs Hangman was better booked than MJF vs Dragon, I care about them both equally, which is to say much less than the fresher stuff down card that hasn't had months of shows built around it. I guess I only really care about main events in wrestling when the challenger would be a first time champion, who has never held a major title before, and has a genuine shot at winning. Which I realise as I write it includes Hangman, but he had a long build and seemed inevitable when he won. Basically I think I want endless Brock vs Eddie Guerrero, which is easier said than done.

Honestly, half the reason I find WWE so unwatchable these days is their bullshit, nothing theme songs. CFO$ did some great stuff that was fit to lace Jim Johnston's boots, but these days they're nearly all forgettable trash.

I took the Mercedes heelishness as indulging her Eddie Guerrero fandom, and just generally revelling in being free to add a bit more nuance to her work now she isn't working for a company where most wrestlers have to either 'love to have fun!' or literally be Satan. But yeah, she was definitely both having and eating cake. Excellent match, maybe not quite as good as Giulia vs Suzu Suzuki from the other week, but better than anything she's had in WWE for a long while.

Might be looking forward to Cage vs Takeshita the most. Big meaty men exchanging Def Jam: Vendetta finishers, bring it on.

About this Vince wants to return rumour... Is it paranoid to think that a belief/fear he would be returning is why there have been no major changes to most of the shows, apart from fired wrestlers returning to fill out the roster, and a reduction of some of the more outrageously stupid and juvenile angles? I put it down to the fact that the content machine was simply too big to slow down or maybe everyone being scared of Kevin Dunn, but perhaps no one ever really thought the monster had truly gone away, and they're all still trying to impress him like they've been conditioned to do. But I guess it's impossible to draw a line between them booking a still very Vincey show because they never thought he was truly retired, or because years of brainwashing have convinced them that this is the only way to make money in wrestling, and any major deviation will bring ruin.

Think I've settled on Krüller by Author & Punisher as my album of the year. Long time since an album has grown on me like this one, at first I was disappointed that there was nothing quite as hooky as my favourite track on his last album, but when it sinks in, it really sinks in. The title track was lodged in my brain for a solid week. I liked the Chat Pile album a lot, and it's in my top 20 for sure, but I think I still carry a torch for noise rock where horrible deviants sing about being horrible deviants. I'm probably a prick, but I'm just not there yet for very on the nose shrieking about how homelessness is bad, it made me cringe a bit. Grimacesmokingweed.jpg is incredible though.

Sol Ruca is a one woman walking aircraft hanger of the settle-downs. I really hope she turns out to be good so she can be on TV forever.

Currently about to watch the game in a pub in Blackpool. No sign of Wheeler Yuta. Hope Preston Vance and the lads can do it, but if not I'm getting behind Ismaila Sarr bringing the trophy back to Watford where it belongs.

I hope this is just a one off thing, and they go back to proper Survivor Series matches. Wargames are usually a let down, and personally I think the one man advantage, which then nearly always has to go to the heels, is too business exposing even for 2022. Elimination tags often end up underwhelming because people get beaten in contrived circumstances far sooner than they would in a one fall match. The idea of the match is great though, and when it's done properly to sell it as a war of attrition, like some of those epic Japanese ones, or the 2003(?) Team Austin vs Team Bischoff(?) one, it's maybe my favourite stipulation. Also, no Sasha yet, please. Want to see her in Stardom, then AEW, then maybe WWE again in five years. Let chaos reign, give us as many unique matches as possible while they're at least vaguely possible, death to stagnation.

I find the Bucks completely obnoxious, and lean towards CM Punk's side in all this, but the petty jabs in that match were peak pro wrestling and I loved every second.

Is Starks vs Archer not announced? Don't they need to have it tonight so the winner can face Cage on Rampage before the PPV?

I haven't read Janela's thing yet, and I agree with most of Matt's take, but I do dislike how the AEW web show matches usually default to squash length, even when the pairing would justify something with more meat to it. Fenix vs AR Fox was a perfect example. Well formed little match with some cool spots, but why was it about five minutes long? Part of AEW's appeal is that it has some level of continuity with wrestling as a whole, so why not present AR Fox as a big indie name, and have the 15 minute, competitive match those guys could easily headline an indie show with? Do the squash matches by all means, but each show should have at least one closely fought back and forth that breaks the 10 minute mark. Also, at least a handful where the outcome is in doubt, though that goes for AEW as a whole.

Better, absolutely, but I still think massively overrated so far because it was in such a trench of terribleness under Vince for so long. Raw is still an impossible chore most of the time, and I fundamentally don't think either show works as long as you have a limited schedule Champion hogging both belts for years. They need to get at least one of them off Roman, preferably both. He plays the role to a T, but the role is pure poison to a very lengthy TV show that is meant to be about the fight to be the champion, where becoming champion is an insurmountable task to every male roster member.

You should definitely check out Bandido vs Mike Bailey from Mania weekend, I think the Wrestlecon supershow. I'd seen a decent amount of him prior to that but non of his ROH run, and thought he was never less than good but severely overhyped. That match sold me on him, it was easily the second best thing of the 15 or so shows I watched that weekend, after FTR vs Briscoes. It helps that Mike Bailey rules, but Bandido seems to have put it all together. He's not doing a bunch of new stuff that I've noticed, but it's all much more coherent and builds the story of a match better now, and I'm not someone who can always put his finger on that kind of subtlety in wrestling.

Merch was a bit disappointing, girlfriend wanted a Desperado t shirt and they had none. She would have settled for a Great O Khan shirt (sold by the man himself), but it was cash only and we didn't think to bring cash. I probably wasn't in the market for a shirt, as I already have way, way too many. Generally, there were a lot of official event shirts and not many for the more niche wrestlers. With you on the sizes though, I'm an American small, UK medium, and the Wrestle Kingdom 12 shirt I bought in Japan, which I think was large, kind of expected me to be a long torsoed tube man, so I don't wear it much. Not going again today, Crystal Palace two days in a row is too much Crystal Palace, and as fantastic as yesterday was, if they want my money twice next time they can damned well give me a Yano match and an IWGP heavyweight title defence. Preferably together.

It was a great show, cheers! Inoki got a good send off at the beginning, the crowd were into basically any NJPW regular (there were even repeated Douki chants), and FTR vs Aussie Open was one of the best matches of the year.

Yup, he pretty much had Duke Nukem's exact haircut.

As an eight year old, I would record the audio of WWF shows onto cassette tape, so I could listen to them in bed. As a result, the commentary of Summerslam 93 is seared into my mind, especially Vince shouting 'Jannetty is an opportunist! Marty Jannetty is as opportunist!' during his comeback against Ludwig Borga. Borga was my favourite wrestler of all time for the, like, three months he existed for a kid who didn't get to see Raw, only PPVs my grandparents had recorded for me. After all, he beat Tatanka, who I hated, and came out to the Finnish national anthem, which was like The Mountie's instrumental theme song but even more stirring and epic. As a general rule, the more a heel came across like a James Bond henchman, the more I liked them.

I'm probably quite naive when it comes to this sort of thing, as I'm quick to assume people are on steroids, but just as quick to take them at their word when they're honest enough to admit that steroids exist, but insist that they don't personally use them.