Monday, May 31, 2010

Instant Feedback: Let's Hear It for Vince McMahon!

Well it's been the pattern that after a shitty RAW, they come back with a potentially shitty guest host and then exceed expectation with a decent show at least. Tonight's show however shattered the low expectations. Absolutely tremendous. Where to start? Well, first off, how about Evan Motherfucking Bourne? I've been pimping this guy for the better part of a year, and finally, he gets a showcase fitting his talents. He was put over huge tonight, and it was a complete effort. He sold like a Champ for Edge in the opening segment and during the match. Hell, he stuck the landing on his neck for one of Sheamus' elbows. His offense was crisp and superb. And I praise John Cena a lot here, but he deserves even more for marking out for Bourne during and after the match. Pending follow-up, he was made a star tonight.

Second, hey, Daniel Bryan everyone! You know what, I'd love to just shove all the criticisms about how he was handled during NXT in the faces of everyone because the last three or four weeks, he, Miz and Cole have been the best thing on WWE TV. Tonight was another example, and between the win and him launching Miz into Cole after the match, he was put over HUGE. Lawler acting as cheerleader for him during the match was huge too. Huge markout moment.

Thirdly, hey let's hear it for Vince McMahon! Seriously, I was in stitches when he came out and tried to get the crowd to pop for him. Smarmy, cocky heel Vince is the best. His interaction with Bret Hart was amazing, and really, for all the hate he gets, Vince as a character is great in sparing doses, especially when he's interacting with guys such as Hart, Roddy Piper and the like.

The Edge/Orton stuff worked pretty well. I loved the simplicity of Edge slamming a door into Orton's injured arm. Simple yet effective. Ashton Kutcher, despite obviously not being there, was entertaining. It's always better when the host is a legitimate wrestling fan, much like Rampage Jackson is for next week. Not sure about Bradley Cooper or Sharlto Copely though. Kutcher's interactions with Zack Ryder were pretty cool, although the payoff was kinda weak. All in all, it was a pretty nice RAW, very entertaining and fresh. I love this formula - have your established guys deliver in spots and then build new talent. I was afraid guys like Bourne and Ryder would have gotten lost in the shuffle, but so far, I've been pleasantly surprised

Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!

30 Day Photo Blog Challenge, Day 11 - Favorite Manager/Valet

First Lady of the SES


I was going to go with Austin Aries since he's managing the All-Nite Express, but that'd be kind of a disingenuous pick. Then I was going to go with Sara del Rey, but she'd probably hunt me down and kick my ass because she ain't no valet, people. The manager/valet is a lost art. Serena is the best choice, but make no bones about it. She's great at the job at hand.

Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!

Sunday, May 30, 2010

30 Day Photo Blog Challenge, Day 10 - Least Favorite Male Wrestler

Yep, back! Happy Memorial Day, everyone!

You know who


Did you expect anyone else?

Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!

Saturday, May 29, 2010

30 Day Photo Blog Challenge, Day 9 - Least Favorite Female Wrestler

GAH! KILL HER WITH FIRE!!!

ODB


Believe you me, I had a hard time picking between this piece of trailer trash and the Undertaker's cum dumpster, but at least the latter can wrestle somewhat well (albeit she's boring as all fuck to me).

Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!

Friday, May 28, 2010

WWE Creative's Hiring Criteria Revealed!

In light of the word from F4W Online that the guy who took his fake eye out on RAW works for WWE Creative and got the job by taking his eye in and out for them, here's an exclusive, in-depth look at criteria used for hiring by the WWE on their creative staff, in handy pie-chart format:

EXCLUSIVE~!


You saw it here first!

Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!

30 Day Photo Blog Challenge, Day 8 - Favorite Angle

Michael Cole vs. Daniel Bryan


Better what than any announcer vs. wrestler angle has the right to be, and the best thing going in wrestling, let alone WWE TV, at the moment.

Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!

Friday Five: Memorial Day

From here on out until Sunday evening, it's going to be light on the posting. As I mentioned last weekend, no QandAPalooza this week, no FtA, and the 30 Day Challenge will be on auto-post. Going out of state for a wedding. YEE-HAW! Love the consideration involved here. ANYWAY, being that it is Memorial Day weekend, here's a Friday Five in honor of guys we've lost over the years:

1. Was Brian Pillman World Championship material?

2. How surprised were you to hear Larry Zbyszko remain in character about Louie Spicolli the Nitro after he passe away?

3. If the Road Warriors were just hitting big today, do you think they would have lasted as long as they did as a team without someone trying to turn Hawk into a solo star?

4. Why do you think the incidence of suicide was so great in the Von Erich family?

5. How successful do you think Art Barr would have been had he lived and jumped to WCW with Eddy Guerrero?


Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!

Thursday, May 27, 2010

NXT Spoiler: Justin Gabriel's Probably Not Winning

Via Gerweck.net

Two of the threeSteve Gerweck is passing along a bit of information from the WON Newsletter that the WWE has trademarked three ring names from NXT. Those names are David Otunga, Wade Barrett and Daniel Bryan. Barrett and Bryan I can see, but at least according to Wikipedia, Otunga's using his real name. Unless Wikipedia is lying to me (AND THAT NEVER HAPPENS, RIGHT GUYS?), then I have no idea how that's going to work.

Anyway, that doesn't mean the other guys aren't going to be used, but to me, it telegraphs that they have the biggest plans for those three, which, if you've been paying attention the last few weeks, is obvious.

Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!

30 Day Photo Blog Challenge, Day 7 - Favorite Stable

Had to think about this one for a bit, but eventually settled on...

All the Ants go marching

Gotta say, I have a soft spot for those damn ants.

Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein - Please visit his site to view the plentiful amounts of pictures he's taken for DGUSA, ROH and other indie feds: Get Lost Photography

Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!

TWIOT: Super Bowl Goes North Jersey

Just a note, I've been a bit strapped for cash this week, so I didn't get the new STP album. So your review will have to wait a week.

Trent Dilfer holding the Lombardi TrophyAnyway, in case you've been living under a rock for the last week, or you're Amish (in which case, WHAT ARE YOU DOING ON THE COMPUTER, ANGUS?), the big news in football was that the NFL awarded the Super Bowl to a cold-weather city with an open air stadium for the first time in the game's history. That city, unsurprisingly, is New York, although the nitpickers and anal-retentive critics of the move will shout "IT'S NOT NEW YORK, IT'S NEW JERSEY!" Either way, the biggest media market in the country and possibly the most influential one in the world finally gets a chance to host the big game.

And honestly, I think it's about damn time.

I'm clearly not alone in thinking this. Hell, KSK has been dedicated to smacking down people who say this is a terrible move for the last three days. However, if this is the only out-of-mainstream blog you read, then you'd think that reactions to the move were like the NFL decided to host the game on a remote ice floe on Baffin Island. Why? Because the cold weather will drive interest away from the game! Oh no! Not cold weather at a football game! Because none of the most iconic games in NFL history were played in the elements... oh wait.

In a time before the Super Bowl was even ideated, the NFL Championship was decided in the elements on the home field of the team that earned that advantage in the regular season (WHAT A NOVEL CONCEPT!). In perhaps the most famous game ever, the "Ice Bowl" between the Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys, fans came out and braved -40 degree wind chills to watch one of the most historic games in the NFL ever. Just recently, classic cold weather games integral to the league's lore, including another classic in Green Bay, where the Giants defeated the Packers in a NFC Championship Game overtime classic for the right to play (and eventually defeat) the then-undefeated Patriots in the Super Bowl. As I recall, Lambeau Field wasn't anywhere near in danger of not selling out In fact, the stadium was packed to the gills despite the harsh weather, and let's face it; Green Bay winters usually make New York winters look like spring in Rancho Cucumonga.

Braving the elements is not new to football fans, but the sad truth is, real football fans are in the minority of people who get to be at the game itself. The other two groups include corporate fatcats who get their seats as a perk for advertising and the journalists themselves. Notice that it's the latter of those two groups that's pitching the biggest bitch-fit about having to fweeze theiw wittle toes off. Nawww, ain't that a shame. Except it's not.

I'll tell you the reason why Mike Florio and Peter King and all these other corporate "journalists" who really aren't journalists (especially Florio, whose main method of reporting news is by copying what Adam Schefter or Jay Glazer report without credit) are bitching; they're dicked out of an expense-account paid vacation to San Diego, Houston, South Florida or Tampa-St. Pete. They don't get to sun while the rest of their colleagues who don't get to go to the game freeze. For the most part, the guys who are pitching the biggest fit about this have their home office in New York, or at the very most, they have to drive in from Boston or DC, not much of an excuse to vacation at all. They obviously can't vocally complain for that reason. So why bitch about New York when a northern-city Super Bowl isn't exactly a new idea? Well, Minneapolis, Indianapolis and Detroit all have domes, but New York? ZOMG!!!!1 OPEN AIR!!! NO 1 WUNTS 2 C A GAME IN SNOW~!!`111! Convenient built-in excuse. However, let's take a look at some facts here:
  • Southern city =/= good weather. Remember Super Bowl XLI? Bears/Colts? The game was played in MONSOON conditions. I'm pretty sure that most people would rather be chilly than get doused from head to toe in a rain storm

  • According to the National Weather Service, there's a 10 percent chance of rain on any given February Sunday in Florida, whereas the chance for snow in New York on a similar day? Four percent.

  • What New York lacks in weather, it more than makes up for in shit to do during the week. Of potential host cities, only Miami and New Orleans stack up to NYC.
There are drawbacks, for sure. For example, the little-guy journalist, the guy who has to pay his way to cover the Super Bowl out of his own pocket, is defintely affected because of higher cost of living in NYC. Let's face it, shit is more expensive in NY than most places in the country. However, depending on how far away, it might be cheaper to travel to NY than it would be to South Florida or California. Plus, Miami has an expensive reputation as well. Secondly, New York is a crowded area with nightmarish travel conditions to begin with. The swarm of people that a Super Bowl comes with would just exacerbate things.

I feel that the plusses far outweigh the minuses. New York has a ton to offer to outweigh the potential weather-related boogeyman, and if there's any city that can offer a test-run for an open-air, Northern Super Bowl, it's the Big Apple. However, I'll be very disappointed if New York is the only location of its kind to get a Super Bowl. I think places like Boston, DC, Denver and especially Philadelphia (yeah, I'm biased... so shoot me) could offer rich Super Bowl experiences if given the chance. I hope the League figures that out, because a Super Bowl in Philly or Denver, in a true football city with great atmosphere and history, would totally outweigh any lure of sun, beaches or mild weather that lesser cities such as Jacksonville or San Diego would offer, no matter what Peter King or Mike Florio would say.

Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!

RETRACTION: Gargano NOT Going to the WWE, TWB Got Worked

Yeah, turns out all that hullaballoo about Johnny Gargano going to the WWE? Yeah, it ain't happening. Turns out I, and the entire Internet, actually, got worked by reading too much into Gabe's status and inferring "WWE" in there. It was all a big ruse to call attention to Gargano signing with one of DGUSA's stables.

So yeah, whoever said the carny spirit was dead in wrestling in the age of the Internet is wrong. Whatevs.

Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Johnny Gargano Signs with the WWE

GarganoVia Gabe Sapolsky's Twitter

Holy crap, when I said that Johnny Gargano was the next big thing, I meant he'd achieve some major accolades in ROH or the Sapolsky feds. I didn't think the WWE had eyes on him, but apparently, they did. According to Gabe himself, Gargano signed a developmental deal last night, presumably while he was on-site to act as security on the NXT taping. This is huge news, as it not only means the WWE got a blue-chipper and a guy whom I think has tremendous potential to make some serious scrilla for the company, but it means they ARE scouting the indies.

Anyway, big ups to The Whole Shebang. Good to get the kid while he's young, and good to see that he'll get his money sooner rather than later. I wonder when he'll get to Florida...

Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein - Please visit his site to view the plentiful amounts of pictures he's taken for DGUSA, ROH and other indie feds: Get Lost Photography

Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!

30 Day Photo Blog Challenge, Day 6: Favorite Tag Team

The Throwbacks, playa


My boys Dasher Hatfield and Sugar Dunkerton, better known as the Throwbacks, running game on STIGMA. Aww yeah.

Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein - Please visit his site to view the plentiful amounts of pictures he's taken for DGUSA, ROH and other indie feds: Get Lost Photography

Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!

The Best Moves of All-Time: Stretch Muffler/Brock Lock

I love a great submission hold. The Stretch Muffler, or Brock Lock as it was known in the WWF/E, is a great submission hold. Don't believe me? Just watch Lesnar use it on HWSNBN.



Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Wrestling Six Packs: Funniest Injuries

Mr. McMahonInjuries usually are serious matters, but in wrestling, there have been quite a few injuries that were so utterly ridiculous that you couldn't help but laugh at them. Here are six in that category:

1. Vince McMahon tearing both quads en route to the ring at the Royal Rumble 2005

This is the Holy Grail of unintentionally hilarious wrestling injuries. Vince McMahon, on his way to the ring to settle a dispute between referees on who won the Royal Rumble match, tore both his quads sliding into the ring. I think he still walks like he has a cock up his ass today as an after-effect from that injury.

2. Kevin Nash tearing his quad RIGHT AFTER coming back from a torn biceps in 2002

Poor Kevin Nash, so snakebitten upon his return to the WWF. He tore a biceps muscle earlier in the year, and finally, after coming back in July, his first match, what happens? BOOM, torn quadriceps. The funny thing is that you'd think there were no muscles in his leg at all if you saw them. He's got little skinny chicken legs.

3. Randy Orton pounding the mat, separating his shoulder

This just happened at Over the Limit on Sunday, and admittedly, it's the inspiration for this six pack. The injury doesn't seem to be serious at all, but it's just so funny that Orton hurt himself doing a taunt. A taunt. Seriously.

4. Sid as Lawerence Taylor to his own Joe Theismann

What happens when you fan on a dropkick so bad that you don't even come near the guy you're supposed to hit? Well, at best, you get some humiliation. At worst, you do to yourself what Sid did on Nitro in 2001, when he missed, landed awkwardly and snapped his leg like a twig. The extent of the injury wasn't what was funny, it's just that he did it to himself in the most awkward way possible for a company for which it would become another symbol of how bad the ship was sinking.

5. Some poor jobber getting spiked with a Pedigree gone awry

Poor kid, Triple H must not have been feeling all that good that day, or maybe he was preoccupied. I don't know how he got hurt, but yeah, you try taking this move unexpectedly and it not hurting:



Why is it funny? It's funny in the way that some dude who doesn't expect it at all gets socked in the face. Humor in shock.

6. Mr. Kennedy injuring himself at the same time as almost killing Orton

This is 100% pure schadenfreude. It's part Kevin Nash-esque being snakebitten, as this was Kennedy's first match back from injury, but it's part "it couldn't have happened to a nicer guy". Kennedy was notorious for being a sloppy dick in the ring, and he nearly killed Randy Orton with a routine back suplex. Orton got pissed off, and I'm guessing the death glare coming from the Viper caused something to tear in Kennedy's body, because he went back on the injured list and into the unemployment line.

Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!

Know Your Indie Wrestlers: Austin Aries

A Double


Who?: Austin Aries
Promotions: ROH, PWG
Alias: A Double, The Greatest Man Who Ever Lived, The Vascular Vegetarian
Current Affiliations: He's aligned with the All-Nite Express, Kenny King and Rhett Titus

Height: 5'9"
Weight: 202 lbs.
Hometown: Milwaukee, WI

After the jump... Wrestling Style: Aries is the very definition of an all-rounder. He'd fit in nicely in the WWE with his core style and theatrics, but rest assured he has a base in indie staples of high-flying and head-dropping

Signature Maneuvers:

450 Splash


Last Chancery/Horns of Aries


Brainbuster


Top 10 Moves of Austin Aries


Titles Held:

ROH World Heavyweight Championship (2x, the only multiple-time holder of the belt, ever)
ROH Tag Team Championship (with Roderick Strong)

Promos:

Sending a message to Tyler Black pre-Final Battle


On the HDNet Era


In-Ring on HDNet ending with lighting a fireball in Tyler Black's face


Why You Should Know Austin Aries: Because he's the best all-around talent in the indies today, that's why. TNA had him and they didn't know what to do with him, which is a shame for TNA, but given the state of the company, maybe Aries is better off now. The WWE may only see a "vanilla midget", but the guy is the real deal. He cuts some of the best promos, he has some of the best mannerisms and gesticulation while in the ring and he just oozes charisma.

In the ring, he's one of the best, most versatile wrestlers in any circuit. He can have great matches with anyone in any setting. Last year, he stepped into the comedic lucha libre arena of Chikara and fit like a glove. He's spent the time since then as the ultimate prick heel wrestler and I have no doubts he can work any style. He's got a good 450, a nice brainbuster and the Last Chancery is a great nouveau-submission hold. It's no wonder that he's been at the top of the mountain in ROH twice. You'd better be able to work if you get to that mountaintop.

Honestly, and I'm not just saying this because Aries is one of my favorite wrestlers ever, he's the real deal. He's always a highlight on whatever show he's on, no matter how dull the rest of the card is. He's the complete package, and if he was taller, he'd be on his way to superstardom in the WWE right now, no doubts about it.


Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein - Please visit his site to view the plentiful amounts of pictures he's taken for DGUSA, ROH and other indie feds: Get Lost Photography

Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!

Batista Explained

In honor of Big Dave's departure from WWE, let's give him the GraphJam treatment, shall we?









Of course, I keed because I enjoy. Batista's final WWE run for now has been among the best heel runs ever. Goodnight, sweet prince, and good luck.

Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!

30 Day Photo Blog Challenge, Day 5: Favorite Promotion

This one's gonna be a big one:

Gavin Loudspeaker


After the jump...
Dragon Dragon!

Ophidian gettin' all Matrix on Ares

RUDOS!

Im Namen der Brudershaft des Kreuzes

The Throwbacks' School Portrait

It's not a Chikara photo blog without Bryce in here somehow


I think you can guess what my favorite promotion is from those photographs, no?

Photo Credits (Gavin, Ophidian/Ares, BDK intro): Scott Finkelstein - Please visit his site to view the plentiful amounts of pictures he's taken for DGUSA, ROH and other indie feds: Get Lost Photography

Photo Credits (Dragon Dragon, ONST, Throwbacks, Akuma/Fire Ant/Bryce~!): Zia Hiltey - Please visit her Flickr site to view her excellent photography from Chikara to everything else.

Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!

Monday, May 24, 2010

Instant Feedback: Phoned In

It's like there's this clause in the WWE that they can't put on more than three or so strong RAWs before having to throw a clunker out. Tonight was a clunker. Outside of Batista's outstanding farewell segment, the replay of Bryan Danielson kicking Michael Cole's head in and Maryse's cleavage, there was nothing really of note on this show that made me feel like I made the right choice watching rather than the season finale of Chuck or giving the Flyers my undivided attention as they dispatched Les Habitantes and clinched an improbable berth into the Stanley Cup Finals.

The wrestling was flat, we had a return of terrible comedy in the form of that Superstar Search segment (which at least ended well with Santino coming out) and worst of all, it felt like the announcers took the night off. The most glaring example? The beatdown from that heretofor unnamed Samoan team on the Hart Dynasty. Lawler and Cole said all of two words during it. Didn't put the trio, which I think included Jimmy Snuka's daughter, over, didn't wonder aloud who they were, didn't put over that it was a heinous attack. It made the constant lackadaisical suprised ruminations of Mike Tenay and Taz sound professional.

They really dropped the ball tonight. One of the least compelling RAWs all year.

Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!

TWIOT, SPECIAL MONDAY EDITION: LOST - The End

The Reason for the Series


LOST's series finale, as expected, was a polarizing show that divided fans into a few major sects. It's not surprising, as the show itself has conjured rifts amongst the fanbase in its six years of air-time. In the end, I was in the camp of people who were more than satisfied with what the two-and-a-half hour episode presented to me. I found closure that I was afraid I wasn't going to get. I got emotion, power, beauty, meaning and a message, even if they didn't provide answers to questions that they posed during the run of the show. I can understand why people might have been angry at that lack of answers. I will never begrudge someone the way they feel, unless that feeling is based in ignorance (LOOKING AT YOU, LOST BASHERS WHO'VE NEVER WATCHED SO MUCH AS A MINUTE OF THE SHOW). However, I feel like the lack of answers is par for the course for the show, and while some may see it as a cop out, I thought it was fitting to give the fans something to chew on, something to wonder about, a way to enjoy the show even now that it's off the air.

After the jump...I think part of the reason why LOST has been such an intelligent show isn't because of the introduction of electromagnetic theories or the positing of time travel or the multiple complex interactions or anything that was explicitly written in the canon. To me, the show was intelligent because it inspired intelligent conversation and debate. No other show that I can think of has made its fanbase come up with the massive amounts of theories and discussion about said theories. The show's mythology has always been this burgeoning behemoth that was greater than anything Carlton Cuse, Damon Lindelof or any of the writers could have dreamed of. The only thing that separates LOST's mythos from the pages and pages of non-canonical Expanded Universe material in the Star Wars fandom is that the only published LOST extra stuff is on theory websites and blogs.

That's why I feel like the lack of answers given was not only appropriate but needed. There was no reason for the creators and writers of the show to give every bit of minutia, and I bet that it wouldn't have been satisfactory for some vocal contingient of those clamoring for answers anyway. Be that as it may, I thought it as a propos that we didn't get the writers dogma. We got an opportunity to continue debating, discussing, arguing and wondering about what the Island's truths really are. Some see it as a curse, I see it as a gift. Some of the best stories leave you wanting more. Some leave you wanting too much, which is the vibe I got from Sopranos fans after their series finale ended with the family eating onion rings.

With LOST, I feel like we got enough closure, a magnificent ending that felt befitting of the show. I loved the message, that life wasn't necessarily about reaching an end but about the people you spend the journey with. It's not anything new, but the way it was presented was where the power came from. The reunions of Sawyer and Juliet, Shannon and Sayid, Charlie and Claire. The real John Locke appearing again and reassuring everyone that everything was going to end up alright. Jack's final meeting with his father. Everything was executed so well, and the point was reinforced over and over again with elegance and force. The resolution was succinct and effective. We got an answer to what the "flash-sideways" universe was, and it made sense, their mission in that universe made sense. We didn't need to see what the escapees from the Island did in the rest of their lives. We only needed to know that they moved on with their lives. We didn't need a dissertation on how Hurley and Ben ran the Island after everyone left. We only needed to know that they were successful through their exchange before Hurley entered the church for the final time. We didn't need to know how Desmond made it back to Penny and little Charlie. We only needed to trust that he did, because Hurley changed the rules and reigned over the Island with a much better attitude and policy than Jacob ever could.

Besides, the show was never about them anyway. It was about Jack Shephard. Like Jimmy Kimmel postulated last night, the show was about the life and times of Jack, and it was mainly about his journey, one that began and ended with him saving lives and fixing people. There was no happier ending than seeing Jack finally gets to be the one whose problems get fixed himself, dying a the hero of all heroes in the reality and finally finding out that yes, his father really loved him, and so did everyone he spent those last years of his life with, in the purgatory of the flash-sideways universe, from those who always believed in him like Hurley and especially Kate, to those with whom he never saw eye-to-eye, like Locke.

And yes, I would have loved to have gotten a few more answers, or at least closure to some important characters, namely, Michael and Walt (who were shockingly and horrifically absent from the final church scene), but nothing is ever perfect, which was another underlying theme in the show. Just because something or someone is imperfect doesn't mean it or they are now undeserving of being loved.


With the finale in the books, I can say that I'm glad I invested the last four years of my life viewing the show (I watched the first two seasons on DVD after getting on board in Season 3). It was a very rewarding and enriching experience, a great fable with intelligence and science-fiction sensibilities that now I will not be able to find anywhere on TV now that Flash Forward is going off the air. Oh well, at least I'll still have Chuck, Venture Bros. and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

Godspeed and farewell, LOST. You are a show that now belongs to the ages.

Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!

30 Day Photo Blog Challenge, Day 4: Favorite Entrance Music

On this day...

Rated R




Photo Credit: WWE.com

Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!

Weekend Wrap-Up: LOST Highway

SHAV'D~!


- LOST finale was epic. I may do an emergency TWIOT entry to discuss it, because it was that good. Not surprisingly though, there is no consensus as the show really split the fanbase down the middle. My wife and I both loved it, others wanted more answers, and still others hated it because they totally misinterpreted the meaning of the last half-hour of it. Whatever camp you're in, it's fine, opinions are opinions, just as long as you're not in the "zomg y do peepl care? hay, i wuz rite in nevr watchin it cuz some peelp think it suxed! LOST IS CORNY BECAUSE I DON'T WATCH IT!!1" camp.

- Okay, this is a wrestling blog, and a lot of wrestling happened this weekend, not the least of which was the WWE's Over the Limit PPV, which was an all-out face-a-palooza. Hart Dynasty and John Cena retained, Kofi Kingston won the IC Championship, CM Punk got a fresh cut (in more ways than one) courtesy of Rey Mysterio and R-Truth beat Ted DiBiase. Also, Randy Orton separated his shoulder doing his pre-RKO taunt where he pounds the mat. No, I'm not making this shit up. Of course, world-class assfuck Ken Anderson had something to say about that:
I have one thing to say: Kharma is a MOTHERFUCKER!!
Hey Ken, first off, learn to spell, okay? Two, you didn't get fired from WWE because you almost hurt Randy Orton. You got fired because you were generally sloppy in the ring and getting hurt and almost killing Orton was the final straw. You don't get to feel schadenfreude. You don't get to revel in Orton's injury, you know why? Because you only had yourself to blame for getting shitcanned from the WWE. Eat a fat dick.

But onto the show, well, I'm skeptical about a show with a face white-wash, but at the same time, I've heard really, really good things about the Punk/Mysterio match, blood stoppage aside.

- JAPW's Liger vs. Homicide event took place Saturday, and amazingly, a gaggle of guys who were at ROH tapings on Saturday made it up the NJ Turnpike in time for the show, including Steve Corino, El Generico, Necro Butcher, Kevin Steen, Sara del Rey and Rhett Titus. I've heard the titular match was pretty good. Homicide went over. I may seek this show out on DVD.

- CHIKARA ran its Aniversario weekend shows. The Tyngsboro show saw the BDK unveil their newest member, Delirious, which makes sense since they're in possession of the Eye of Tyr now. Delirious helped Ares defeat former master/stablemate UltraMantis Black. In Union City, the BDK retained the Campeonatos de Parejas, and Derek Sabato ran out to interfere in the Dreamer/Kingston main event. The challenge was laid down afterwards for Chikarasaurus Rex in Philly, Dreamer and Kingston vs. Claudio and Ares... SWEET! Anyway, good reviews all around, but with Chikara, who'd have expected any less?

- AJ Styles somehow couldn't make a TNA house show in Louisiana, so to fill in for him in the main event, Booker T wrestled Rob Van Dam in a nice surprise for the crowd. TNA does a lot wrong, but hey, good for them by giving the crowd a surprise main, and good for Booker T for putting bad blood with the company behind him to work a spot house show.

Photo Credit: WWE.com

Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!

Sunday, May 23, 2010

30 Day Photo Blog Challenge, Day 3 - Favorite Male Wrestler

An Honest Man


What, you were expecting Vance Archer?

Photo Credit: WWE.com

Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!

Eleven Years

The King of Harts


A true one of a kind. RIP Owen Hart. It's still not easy to think about him, even after the passing of more than a decade...

Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!

Saturday, May 22, 2010

TWB's Q-and-A-Palooza: The CSI Sheboygan of Mailbags

Two guys who've grown on me


A little light this week, but that's alright. Let's jump right in:

Who is a worker who has grown on you?

David McKinney


I'm going to name two, because both guys started out in the DO NOT WANT bin and have both grown to be enjoyable. The first is Randy Orton. From when he broke in all the way to the beginning of 2009, he was dreadfully boring to me. Too much reliance on restholds to lengthen a match. You could tell he was trying too hard. Then, something seemed to click, because his matches started to get a lot more enjoyable to the point where I look forward to seeing him, as long as he's not wrestling Triple H, that is.

The second one is Batista. I don't know why, but he seems more focused now that he's a dick heel. His match with Rey Mysterio on Smackdown was awesome until Undertaker used his demon voodoo to cause a non-finish. I think his WM match with Cena was the best one on the card too.

After the jump...Better worker in 2010: MVP or Chris Masters?

KoppoKick


This question is way harder to answer than one might thing. Thing is, Masters and MVP are on two different paths. Masters is a guy who started out as just a statuesque McMahon-fetish wrestler who could barely move and then got canned for wellness. With his second chance, the guy has actually looked like a credible wrestler and he seems to be getting better with each week. He's got a good grasp of how to work a powerhouse offense, and the guy's selling is underrated.

MVP, however, has shown flashes of greatness in the past, but ever since that match with Orton where Shane McMahon came in and absorbed his heat like a vacuum cleaner sucks up dust, he's just seemed disinterested in the ring. Very disappointing. It's almost like he's wrestling in pudding in some appearances.

That doesn't really answer your question though. I don't know. MVP looked pretty good last week on Smackdown, so maybe he's turning a corner. I think I'll go with him by a hair for now, but surprisingly, the guy with the bigger upside to me is Masters, and if he keeps stringing together those neat little matches on Superstars where he's bumping for guys and really selling the Masterlock as more of a story rather than just some move he slaps on, then he'll surpass MVP.

How would you book Samoa Joe in the WWE?

Jim Sirigos


I'd bring him in, send him to Florida to get in shape for six months, and then bring him in and start feeding lowcarders to him and build him up to an eventual showdown with his old rival, CM Punk. I wouldn't give him an undefeated streak per se, because I don't want the streak to overshadow him. Maybe give him a few losses via castigo de excesivo or an early PPV main event loss against Undertaker or John Cena or someone established where he takes that guy to his absolute limits and fails only after sustaining major damage. But yeah, Punk/Joe is one of the few indie bloodfeuds that I think would translate really well to the big stage. That gives you like three or four PPVs worth of good matches, and then afterwards, Joe is ready for a World Title.

Can I ask questions about Chikara?

Justin (FW poster)


You sure can!

whoa
If you were a wrestler who was fortunate enough to be in a match with Morishima, and he told you about this spot, what would your response be?

bpc532 (Chikara101 poster)


"You got enough money to cover my hospital stay?"

If someone wanted to know why you are a wrestling fan, what are the top three matches you would have them watch, and why?

Anonymous Formspringer


Excellent, excellent question, goodly anonymous asker. I'd break it down into three different categories and give a match that represents each.

Why am I a fan of the form on the whole? Don't laugh, but Hulk Hogan vs. Sgt. Slaughter, WrestleMania VII. Yeah, it was sort of a pandering angle looking back, but as a kid, that was high drama, the ultimate story of good vs. evil, where good triumphed and right won out.

Why am I a fan of the actual art of wrestling as pertains to in-ring? Ricky Steamboat vs. Randy Savage, WrestleMania III. It's not even close. That was the match that opened my eyes and made me realize there was more to the form than just the characters and the stories, that there was beauty and intricacy to what they actually did in the ring.

Why do I love the indies and seek the sub-mainstream out? The Colony vs. the BDK B-Team from King of Trios '10, night 2. It displayed everything that was good about the independent scene, and that it's not just about the FLIPZ~! like some might think.


Just a reminder, no QandAPalooza next week. Going to a wedding out of state, and while I may be bringing a laptop with me to update some things, I won't have time for a mailbag. The Palooza will be back in two weeks time!

Photo Credit: WWE.com

Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!

30 Day Photo Blog Challenge, Day 2 - Favorite Female Wrestler

The Glamazon


Now that she's hurt and Mickie creepered her way out of the company, I have no reason not to fast forward through Smackdown Diva segments. BTW, doesn't the ref look kinda like Alan Tudyk? Maybe not as much there, but at times when he's calling matches, he totally resembles him.

Photo Credit: WWE.com

Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!

ROH Tapings: Big Fat Meh

Usually, when I go to an ROH on HDNet taping, it's fun. I can get into it. Even if there are a lot of squash matches, there's usually a good atmosphere.

Not tonight. Three things ruined the tapings for me. One was that they seemed to string all the squash matches together. Like, it was overkill. They waited until the very end to do main events for tapings 2 and 3, and usually, having a great match to intersperse the interviews, segments and squashes makes the flow great.

Two... oh man, you're going to shit yourself when you read this, but they went and turned Necro Butcher heel, and not only did they turn him heel, they had him join the Embassy. The stable he'd been fighting for the better part of a year. Just up and joined them. I mean, yeah, the visual of him coming out in a suit draped in a Ghanan-style tapestry with no shoes on was awesome, but c'mon now, there are certain people you don't turn heel. Necro is one of them, unless you turn him into a legit axe-murderer.

Three, and this was the most important thing, the crowd sucked. There were way, way, way too many fucking delinquent little shitbreathing rugrats running around, standing on chairs, crowding up on me, screaming in my ear when Tyler Black came out, cheering Sara del Rey as "Shana" and just being generally irritating. Seriously, if you're a parent, one, don't fucking bring your kids to a ROH show. It's way dirtier than they need to be exposed to. The action itself is fine, but these people chant "You fat fuck!" at senior ref Todd Sinclair (for reasons I have no clue... any hardcore ROH fans wanna fill me in on that?). Two, if you do bring them, CONTROL THEM. Don't let them crowd up to the front and get all up in the people who paid to be up there's business. Of course, if ROH could sell out their front and second row tickets for these tapings, it might not be a problem. Ugh.

The tenor of the evening just wasn't fun at all. IT was so bad that I really didn't get into any of the matches until the very end, when they trotted out a pretty decent main event in Roderick Strong and Christopher Daniels vs. the American Wolves. Ugh. The pacing was all off the crowd sucked. Hopefully, tomorrow is better.

Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!

Friday, May 21, 2010

Carlito Released...

Carlito...cuz they tried to make him go to rehab and he said no, no, no.

Story from WWE.com

Carlito got the boot from the WWE for violating Wellness. It was his first offense, but he refused to go to rehab, as the outdated Amy Winehouse reference implied. I don't know why he did. I mean, it's not like wrestlers die young from complications from drugs. Oh wait, they do. Umaga refused rehab and six months later, he was dead. I hope the same fate doesn't befall Carlito, but the guy's being stupid here.

Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!

Chikara's Aniversario Weekend and You

Your Aniversario Elf Main Event


Chikara's Aniversario weekend starts tomorrow at 6:30 PM in Tyngsboro, MA, and it punctuates an absolutely loaded weekend for hybrid wrestling fan-nerds like myself. Not only is the LOST finale this weekend. Not only are there ROH tapings. Not only do we have WWE's Over the Limit (which I predict will do abysmal numbers due to it being up against the aformentioned LOST finale), but yes, Chikara, the best indie wrestling promotion going in this country (apologies to PWG) is going to be running two huge shows, headlined by what promises to be an epic torch-passing encounter from Tommy Dreamer to Eddie Kingston.

You can read my sort of appetizer preview of the event at the CCB first, but you know I'm going more in-depth here. Why? Because you people (what do you mean, "you people"?) should know the score more about Chikara since I write about it all the fucking time. And trust me, this weekend promises a lot more than just the money shot Dreamer/Kingston match.

Both events are going to have a heavy flavor of the ongoing BDK/Chikara war. Yes, the Campeonatos de Parejas will be defended by current Campeones Claudio Castagnoli and Ares against Frightmare and Hallowicked on Sunday. Also at the Union City, NJ card, Tim Donst will put his Young Lions Cup up against Soldier Ant. Very big title matches, but I think the most interesting tilt in this war happens in Tyngsboro on Saturday. UltraMantis Black, who had remained on the sidelines in this war after arguably causing it until his brainwashed minion Delirious went all haywire (well, more haywire than he normally is), finally steps up to the plate in this epic battle for the soul of Chikara as he takes on Ares. Like many fans of the fed, I've been waiting for him to enter this fray because his manipulation of the Eye of Tyr had been one of the root causes of the BDK's formation and two, because he's fucking awesome, that's why. With no Championships on the line in Massachusetts, this match has the highest stakes in my view.

Also on the card for Tyngsboro is a main event atomico match, pitting Mike Quackenbush, Jigsaw, Hallowicked and Frightmare against an amalgamated team of rudos featuring members of Team FIST (Gran Akuma and Chuck Taylor) and the UnStable (Vin Gerard and Colin Delaney). Also, Fire Ant gets a crack at the Colony's infiltrator, Pinkie Sanchez. I think that might be a sleeper candidate for best match of the weekend. I don't know about you, but I feel like Sanchez has come into his own as a worker since unmasking, and his heel swagger, facial expressions and his in-ring work have combined to make him one of the most surprising top-flight indie workers of 2010. If he keeps this up, he'll be getting a nice top 10 vote from me for next year's A1W 100. If you want to see the full card for Aniversario Zehn, click this.

As for Union City on Sunday, this looks like it's a can't miss card. The CdP match should have nuclear heat as Incoherence is among the most over teams in the company, and we all know how much people hate the BDK. My hope for this match is that we don't get Derek Sabato reffing it, but something tells me he's going to be all over this weekend to help solidify that new wrinkle in the BDK angle a bit more. However, what will almost be a screwy finish in that match as well as the YLC title match will be made up for with Dreamer/Kingston, a match I'm downright giddy for.

Yeah, Dreamer has lost a lot of his mobility over the years and has taken some nasty bumps, but here are things to remember. One, this is Chikara, a family-friendly promotion, so I doubt we'll see a hardcore match or even any weapons shots. Two, Dreamer had been solid as a brawler in ECW last year, working fun matches with guys such as Finlay, Jack Swagger, Christian, Mark Henry, Sheamus and Zack Ryder. Yeah, the guy doesn't do MOVEZ~!, but he knows how to tell a story in the ring. Three, Eddie Kingston is the best indie brawler not named Necro Butcher. The integration of the two in a match together should make for a wild, tense and emotional donnybrook. Four, you know Dreamer will bump for Kingston, which will make the match all the more memorable. Dreamer wants to do for Kingston what Terry Funk did for Dreamer, and that's pass the torch. I expect at least one big spot to help solidify that.

The full card for Aniversario Elf can be found here.

For those of you in the Boston/New England and NYC metro areas, this is a perfect opportunity to see Chikara. Make the trip. You won't be disappointed.

Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein - Please visit his site to view the plentiful amounts of pictures he's taken for DGUSA, ROH and other indie feds: Get Lost Photography

Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!

Friday Five: Big Dave Batista

There's a fairly good chance that after Monday's RAW, we'll be saying "Goodnight, sweet prince" to Batista. So, in his honor, here's a Friday Five about him:

1. Leviathan
So... do you think this character would have gotten over as he was in OVW?

2. Favorite Batista match?

3. Do you think his movie career will be enough to keep him from coming back?

4. Where would you rank Batista's chase of Triple H on his way to the top among the best feuds of all-time?

5. Will you miss Batista?


Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!

Know Your Indie Wrestlers: PAC

The Man Gravity Forgot


Who?: PAC
Promotions: DGUSA, PWG
Alias: The Man Gravity Forgot
Current Affiliations: With the World-1 Stable (BxB Hulk, Naruki Doi, Masato Yoshino, Naoki Tanisaki) in Dragon's Gate over in Japan. I assume those ties carry over to America.

Height: 5'9"
Weight: 180 lbs.
Hometown: Newcastle Upon Tyne, England

After the jump... Wrestling Style: This guy is a super spotfest dude to the extreme so much that he makes Evan Bourne look like Bob Backlund.

Signature Maneuvers:

Shooting Star Kick Press


Top 10 Moves of PAC


Titles Held:

PWG Tag Team Championships (with Roderick Strong)
DG Open the Triangle Gate Championship (with Masato Yoshino and BxB Hulk)

Promos:

Can't find any...

Why You Should Know PAC: Have you ever gotten an adrenaline rush, a jolt from caffeine or a chill that made the hairs on the back of your neck stand up? Yeah, PAC is that personified. This Brit makes high-flying look so easy it's no wonder why he earned the nickname "The Man That Gravity Forgot".

It won't be easy to seek him out. PAC does most of his work around the Pacific rim, either in Japan as one of the only gaijin to work fulltime for Dragon's Gate in the homeland or in California making guest appearances for PWG. He has wrestled for DGUSA, appearing at the recent Canadian shows, so maybe he'll actually make it to the DGUSA/Chikara supershows in July. If he does, then hell, you have to catch him. He'll take your breath away.


Photo Credit: DGUSA.tv

Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!

F--- YEAH! WRESTLING's 30 Day Photo Blog Challenge - Day 1: Favorite Wrestler Growing Up

AS if I didn't have enough easy content to put up here, I came across this post on the FUCK YEAH! WRESTLING Tumblr page, and I thought that was something cool to do for 30 days. Tumblr, for those not in the know, is the place for photo-blogs, and FYW is one of the best that I've seen, at least for wrestling. Anyway, click the link for the whole list, but you'll find out over the next month. Anyway, today's entry... Favorite Wrestler Growing Up. Here you go:

My favorite as a kid, brother


Photo Credit: WWE.com

Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!

Thursday, May 20, 2010

TWIOT: Youtube Musical Jam, f/ Mike Patton

Yeah, I got nothin' today for This Week in Off-Topic. I'm saving LOST for next week (and I may do an Off-Topic double feature since the new STP record drops on Tuesday), I don't want to talk about how shitty the V finale was because it'll just reaffirm my suspicion that I wasted an hour of my time on Tuesday nights that I could have spent watching Bryan Danielson kick Michael Cole's head in the moment it was aired rather than on DVR. So yeah, I'm copping out, but hey, fuck you, it's my blog, I can do that.

Today, I celebrate Mike Patton, one of the hardest working men in rock, and possibly an insane genius. He's been involved in many projects over the years, none more famous than Faith No More, which has reunited for touring this summer. Awesome. Here's a sampling of some of my favorite work of his:

Faith No More - Kindergarten


More Youtubes After the Jump, Folks Mr. Bungle - Squeeze Me Macaroni


Faith No More - The Real Thing


Fantômas - Der Golem


Faith No More - MidLife Crisis


Tomahawk - God Hates a Coward


Faith No More - From out of Nowhere


The first person to comment "hai weres dat epik song???/" will get their brains beaten in with a wrench.

Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Give It Away... Please!

THIS IS NOT A BAD THING PEOPLE!!Monday night, during the commercial free RAW, Edge and Christian wrestled against each other for the first time since Christian came back to WWE after his stay (exile?) in TNA. When Christian was announced as Edge's "Pick your poison" opponent, I marked out a little on my couch. Two guys with history and chemistry with each other in a match that they gave quite a bit of time to, a match that delivered on the hype. It was one of the brightest spots of RAW, but apparently, not everyone held that opinion. The main criticism of the match wasn't that the match was bad or that Edge or Christian turned in a bad performance or even that the wrong person won or that the finish was too wonky. It was that "OMGWTFBBQ they gave away that match on free TV!!1"

Now, I don't know about you, but I don't own stock in the company. I don't make money if they make money. I sit back and take entertaining television and great matches no matter what the situation, whether they're free of charge to me on My Network TV (until October at least), included in the cost of my basic cable bill or whether I pay extra to watch them on pay-per-view. If the WWE wants to give me a match like that, or like that John Cena/CM Punk match from the Ventura RAW or any number of the Jericho/Mysterio matches from Smackdown last year or even (and this is going back a few years) that epic Michaels/Benjamin match for less than the cost of a PPV, then why am I going to complain?

I'm not the kind of guy who has the disposable income to buy every single PPV. I want to see good wrestling whenever I tune into a wrestling program because I'm a fan. Yeah, as a blogger, I kinda have that tendency to criticize business moves from time to time, but the thing is, I'm a fan at heart, and my unspoken New Year's resolution has been to be a wrestling fan first and a business critic second. Why would I complain as a fan that they're giving the match away on free TV when I don't have to pay extra for it? How does that make sense?

Yes, it is kind of a stupid move in theory to give away a money match on free TV before building to it on PPV, but in practice, it's a load of horsecrap, ESPECIALLY if the first meeting is booked smartly. The assumption is that people only want to see a match between any given two wrestlers once and never want to see it again after it happens. Yeah, if that were the case, the WWE would be getting minimal (read, TNA-level) buys for the PPVs where they run the same main events for three or four times consecutively.

The thing to keep in mind is that PPV matches need to be built in a way that the consumer wants to buy them. It doesn't matter if the match happens for the first time or the thirty-first time. A strong build will bring in viewers. Especially after the precedent set with the Monday Night Wars, live or flagship wrestling programs that feature nothing but squashes or unappetizing matchups are going to end up tanking ratings and then buyrates suffer because no one's watching the shows anymore.

And don't feed me crap about the "good ol' days" having fresh matchups all the time. Guys would wrestle each other a million times in a row on the house show circuit. Yeah, depending on the territory, that might translate to once a year for a unique matchup, but do you think that once they had a house-show run with X vs. Y that they'd toss that matchup out never to use it again? Fuck and no, especially if that matchup drew like gangbusters.

Honestly, people want quality, and they'll pay for quality. Giving a crowd something good for free is not a bad thing. Having a Christian vs. Edge matchup on RAW as a treat to the people who tune in every week but don't necessarily buy every PPV is not a bad thing, and to me, complaining about seeing good wrestling, PPV caliber wrestling every week is tantamount to bitching about getting free money or free sex. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth, because if you do, well let's just say this. Be careful what you wish for, because if it comes true, you've lost the right to bitch about seeing nothing but 3 minute squashes, promos and nothing noteworthy on free TV anymore.

Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!

The Best Moves of All-Time: Pele Kick

As with any flippy sort of kick or strike, the key to making it look good is for both the user and the receiver to be in good position. That's why Kofi Kingston's Trouble in Paradise kick can look so good in some cases (like it was this past Friday on Smackdown against Christian) and it can look like ass in others. Of course, Kofi is far from an accomplished wrestler and maybe either needs to switch his finisher to the Ranhei/SOS or to work on his timing a lot more.

The same cannot be said for AJ Styles. I've said a lot about TNA's shortcomings, both as a company and with their wrestlers, but almost every time I see AJ perform his Pele Kick, it's on-point. Then again, Styles is rightfully regarded as one of the best in the world right now, and he's certainly one of the best in TNA. It also helps if the guy taking the move sells like a champ, and Christopher Daniels certainly does in this case:



Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!

Wrestling Six Packs: Satisfying Resolutions in a Business of Disappointment

Oooh yeah, can you dig it, brother?Apologies for not getting this up last night. I had to go to a viewing and then you know, LOST was on (and to a much lesser extent, V's season finale). Pretty hectic night for me, plus, there was no real confirmation on those TNA cuts that were rumored to be starting yesterday. I'm wondering if some of these wrestling "news" sites just took a throwaway comment in the F4W site and embellished, but then again, who knows.

Anyway, speaking of LOST, the series finale is coming up Sunday, and while you can expect a This Week in Off-Topic next week completely reviewing the episode and the impact the series has had on me as a viewer, well, this week, in preparation, it'll be another six pack with a tie-in, if only tangential. All anyone wants for the finale is for there to be a satisfying resolution. Wrestling is a sport that has been littered with unsatisfying resolutions throughout its history. From the Higher Power being Vince McMahon to the nWo angle ending with a whimper rather than a bang, from big things like the InVasion angle being a giant masturbatory exercise for Vince to the little-in-comparison things like Chris Jericho's big title win on RAW being reversed and then having him be buried in the main event, you kinda get the picture. Here are six resolutions that bucked the trend and gave wrestling fans something satisfying.

1. Macho and Liz, reunited!

The seeds for this reunion were planted at that infamous Saturday Night's Main Event before WrestleMania V where the MegaPowers ASPLODE'D~! Macho Man had turned into a full-on heel Macho King, ditched his lovely, girl-next-door sweetheart Elizabeth for the shrill and evil Sensational Sherri Martel. The MACHO MADNESS had gone to the head of Savage enough that he put his career on the line against the Ultimate Warrior at WrestleMania VII. With Liz in the crowd, anxiously watching, Warrior stared into his hands for a good five minutes, ate like five or six flying elbow drops, no sold them all and "ended" the Macho King's career. A not-too-happy Sherri berated Savage for losing and costing her a meal ticket. Liz had had enough, bolted out of the crowd and made the LA Sports Coliseum nearly explode from the pop the crowd had unleashed, the kind of pop you could only get in the old days after years of Macho's betrayal and heel turn getting under the skins of fans who just wanted to cheer him and see him happily strut to the ring with Liz by his side. I remember being moved so much by the aftermath of that match that I shed a tear. One of my best wrestling memories ever.

2. Guerrero and Benoit's WrestleMania moment

This moment has no doubt been tainted in the years that followed. He Who Shall Not Be Named took his legacy down in a blaze of murderous rage, and there are many fans who still refuse to forgive him. Hell, I'm partially in that boat myself. However, there's no denying that the moment he had with his friend at the end of WrestleMania XX, the two career yeomen, finally achieving the pinnacles in their respective careers. It was the ultimate satisfaction for the legions of fans who followed their careers from day one.

3. The Desperado gets one last run into the sunset

Say what you want about Terry Funk's run to the ECW Championship, but it was what the doctor ordered for fans who wanted a bit of sentimentality and nostalgia to go with their blood, guts and Taz-induced mayhem. Fighting against the odds and looking to dethrone Raven from the death grip he held on the ECW title, Funk bested Sandman and Stevie Richards in a grueling three-way dance before overcoming the odds and popping the ECW Arena with a feel-good title win to close the company's first foray into PPV.

4. Bret Hart's ultimate journey back to the WWF Championship

The Hitman didn't get a monster push into the World Championship like the Ultimate Warrior did a few years prior and like Sheamus would get decades later. He defeated Ric Flair at a house show in Saskatoon with very little fanfare months after doing a high-profile job to the British Bulldog at SummerSlam in London. He'd have a few notable title defenses before losing the strap to Yokozuna at WrestleMania IX. From there, he spent the year trying to get back to the WWF Championship, fighting obstacles from Jerry Lawler, his own brother Owen and 28 other men in the Royal Rumble before he and Lex Luger made final eliminations on each other. With the waters muddied, it was declared both men would enter WrestleMania X as number one contenders against Yokozuna in a mini-tournament (in the days before the three-way dance). Hart would have to face off against his brother in the opener so that he'd have two matches to match his opponent in the main event. Yokozuna defeated Luger, and then Hart, after losing to his brother and having his entire journey back to the gold come into jeopardy. However, when he made Yoko submit to the sharpshooter... beat Yoko the way blog-fan Pete R. describes:
Bret did not beat Yokozuna with the sharpshooter. He went off the top rope, Yoko caught him and belly - to - belly suplexed him, and dragged him to the corner for the Banzai. Yoko then lost his balance and fell backwards, Bret moved out of the way, hooked his leg, and got the three.
People say it was a down time in the business, but judging from the reaction at Madison Square Garden, you wouldn't have known it.

5. D'Lo Brown and Glacier pay the UnStable back in spades

Ah yes, a little Chikara thrown in for good measure. Vin Gerard, STIGMA and Colin Delaney, known collectively as the UnStable, had been making life miserable for D'Lo Brown and Glacier every time they stepped into the fed to make a guest appearance. Not only did they defeat them in the ring, but they kept harassing them and insulting them out of it. Finally, things came to a head at Aniversario Yang, when D'Lo and Glacier took on Delaney and Gerard. At the end, it would be the visitors who got the last laugh, as D'Lo locked Delaney into the Chikara Special and Glacier took out Gerard with a Cryonic Kick. The stable that everyone loved to hate got their comeuppance and got it good.

6. Mickie James shoves Michelle McCool's face into cake

Yeah, we all now know that Mickie James was fired and subjected to the Piggie James angle because she was a nightmare backstage and because she tried to hit on a married man in John Cena and basically holding up transportation during the European tour with her real-life diva attitudes. Still, that doesn't make said angle any less disgusting a promtional tactic, if only because it sent the wrong message to girls everywhere. I.E. anorexia's good, gals! That's what made the blowoff to the feud between Team Lay-Cool and Mickie at the Royal Rumble this year so satisfying. Mickie basically squashed McCool and shoved her and Layla's faces into a heap of cake.

Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

TNA Cuts

Check back to this thread later for updates as I get confirmations from the major news sites, but apparently, TNA is cutting a bunch of wrestlers today, and the strong rumor from one of the paysites' premium sections is that Generation Me/The Young Bucks and Brutus Magnus are among the released. Again, check back later, I have to run out.

Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!

Why the WWE Has the Best Wrestling in North America

You can keep looking, but you won't find it better anywhere than in the WWEWhen I gave out my Bloggies last year, my Worker of the Year category had a winner and four runners-up. Of them, only one wrestler, Bryan Danielson, worked primarily away from the WWE blanket. Ten of my 26 top matches from last year came from the WWE, not a trivial number, especially considering zero of those matches came from TNA and that I missed a good chunk of WWE PPVs as well as Smackdown telecasts from the summer (meaning I missed out on probably three or four Jericho/Mysterio matches that would have made the list). Eight of my top 10 and 13 of my top 20 on my A1W 100 ballot were from the WWE. Why am I saying this?

Well, the narrative on the Internet is that the WWE doesn't have good wrestling anymore. The narrative from the chairman himself is that it's not a "wrestling" company but an "entertainment" company. For all intents and purposes, the WWE should be putting out shit compared to the indies and TNA. The truth is, I don't think that's the case at all. In fact, I think the best wrestling you'll find in North America, at least the style that leads itself to the best high-end matches and most consistent TV faire week-in and week-out, takes place in the WWE.

To the unaided eye, this is a bald-faced idiotic statement. "zomg wwe guyz duzznt haz moves!!1 no flipz!!!11" Well, that is true. The average WWE superstar wrestler has a mostly strike-based offense with five moves (OF DOOM~!~!~!) or so that you see in every match, along with a few special match moves you might see on pay-per-view once in awhile. If it's move-variety you're looking for, then yeah, you're not going to like the WWE style.

However, what most seasoned WWE wrestlers "lack" in moves, they more than make up for in the other things, the more important things, that make a match great. There's selling and psychology for one. More often than not, you're going to see people sell moves and body parts and have it figure into the finish of the match. The primest example I can think of comes from the much-lauded Christian/Jack Swagger match on ECW last February for the title. Swagger kayfabe-injured Christian's arm early in the match, and Christian sold it like a Champ the entire length through the finish. In fact, the arm in question was a big reason why Christian couldn't land the Killswitch and finish Swagger off. Sometimes, the injuries are sold into the next week's matches, although sometimes, they're more sold by the announcers than they are the wrestlers themselves.

Secondly, WWE top-tier wrestlers have more or less mastered the art of dramatic pacing. Yes, while there are certain wrestlers in the indies who also have that kind of storytelling flair down to a science, the strengths of indie matches tend to lie in high-spots, feats of acrobatic prowess, big moves and finishes. Too often I watch a low-card match in ROH or any match in TNA and see that it's just a string of moves done in rapid-fire succession like it was all choreographed. Nothing makes wrestling look faker than having that kind of pace without any kind of selling or pacing in between moves. Generally in the WWE, you find that kind of pacing in nearly every match. That doesn't make the match good if you have slugs in there, but when the participants in the match are guys like Swagger, Christian, Rey Mysterio, CM Punk, Batista, Undertaker, Randy Orton, Chris Jericho, Edge and especially John Cena and increasingly, Sheamus, well, you know you're getting a well-paced, logical and most importantly, realistic looking match outside of a few incredulous spots like Cena's Five Knuckle Shuffle which is there for the kiddies, or the contrived set-ups for Mysterio's 619, which truthfully are the only flaws in his ring resume.

What I mean by well-paced is that these guys know when to ramp things up and when to cool things down. Counters are usually done at the right time and look organic. Disregarding the things that are inherently unrealistic about wrestling, what you see is more likely to draw you in and make you think "Wow, is this real?" even if it's just for one second.

Thirdly, to expound on a point I brought up earlier, WWE wrestlers actually work with some semblance of intelligence. Again, I bring up Christian, who is the best example of this. In his match against Kofi Kingston last Friday, there were points where he keyed out Kofi's signature spots and telegraphed them, including the Boom! drop. Dolph Ziggler did the same thing two weeks ago, actually. In the match last night, Edge and Christian kept sensing each other's signature spots and countering them, telling a full, rich story about how the two former best friends knew each other so well that they couldn't land any of their familiar offense until they had worn each other down to the point where their reflexes weren't as sharp. That's great storytelling. That's great in-ring intelligence.

Contrasting that, the AJ Styles/Kurt Angle match from the 1/4 Impact special? It was lauded, but why? Yeah, it was fast paced and it lasted a long time, but instead of countering finishers, they just kept hitting finishers on each other and kicking out, which does more to kill a move's credibility than it does to put over drama in the match. I mean, if I wanted to watch ballet, I'd fucking watch ballet, you know?

But that's not to say that there isn't a place for every style in the world, and I do enjoy good wrestling no matter what style, type or genre it happens to fall under. If not, then I wouldn't have reviewed King of Trios so glowingly, although to be completely fair, Chikara seems to be the place where I find a style that is most similar to that in the WWE. With Mike Quackenbush and Claudio Castagnoli as primary trainers, it's no surprise that these kids are learning how to wrestle the right way. However, it is an indie fed and a lot of the roster is a bit green. I also appreciate ROH and enjoy myself whenever I watch. Same with PWG. Same with puroresu. Same with DGUSA. With TNA, they do have good matches, but the pacing and style doesn't lend itself to quality all that often.

That's also not to say that the only good wrestlers are WWE wrestlers. Honestly, I think if any number of guys on any circuit today went to the WWE, they'd fit in or in some cases improve. Take for example Frankie Kazarian. The guy can work a match. I know this because I've seen a few matches where he was doing all the right things, working parts, pacing the match well. One was in PWG where he wrestled a phenomenal steel cage title match against then-Champion Adam Pearce. Another was just a few months ago against Shannon Moore in a time-limit draw. However, in other TNA matches he's had, he has a tendency to trade moves and start getting into choreographed dance fight sequences. I think if he went to the WWE and spent some time with their road agents, he'd turn into a top 10 wrestler in America. On the same token, Kurt Angle, who used to be one of the top 5, went to TNA, and while he's still really good and entertaining to watch, he gets into fits where he just starts doing MOVEZ~! without selling or any ear to psychology. That's why I just laugh it off when people start busting my balls for pimping John Cena so much and then mehing the crap out of Angle. It's not that I don't value their opinion... I think it's just that we're looking for two very different things.

Honestly, all I really want out of wrestling is to get lost in the moment and not have to pull a smark card every time I watch a match. If you notice, the matches and events that I tend to review very favorably on here, i.e. King of Trios '10, WrestleMania 26, the Royal Rumble from this year, the first DGUSA show etc., are the ones that provide those moments of "holy shit, is this real?". When it comes to matches, while other feds give me what I want, they're either inconsistent with it, or they don't run as frequently as the WWE. Titan, however, is going to give me at least two or three really good matches a week and at least one or two MOTY candidates a month. I truly believe that it's the style that lends itself to that kind of track record. It's that combination of quality workers and system that's set up for them to succeed that makes the WWE most satisfying even if the booking and bad comedy is wonky at times.

Photo Credit: WWE.com

Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!

Something Awful Presents: Wrestlers in Their Natural Environments

Courtesy of Something Awful

Something Awful is a sort of gathering of Internet trolls/humor site. Every Friday is apparently "Photoshop Phriday", and this past week saw them doing some wrestling-related Photoshops, more specifically, Wrestlers in Their Natural Environments. You're welcome:

Why so serious?


Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!

Know Your Indie Wrestlers: Sami Callihan

The New Horror


Who?: Sami Callihan
Promotions: CZW, AIW, ROH, JAPW, IWA-MS
Alias: The New Horror
Current Affiliations: A member of the Switchblade Conspiracy stable in CZW along with Joe Gacy and Jon Moxley

Height: 5'11"
Weight: 200 lbs.
Hometown: Bellefontaine, OH

After the jump... Wrestling Style: As a CZW regular, you know he likes the hardcore. When sans weapons, typical indie head-dropper with some good submissions.

Signature Maneuvers:

Top 10 Moves of Sami Callihan


Titles Held:

CZW Iron Man Championship

Promos:

Cage of Death X Promo: Special Delivery


Calling out Danny Havoc


JAPW promo calling out Corvis Fear


Why You Should Know Sami Callihan: Callihan, despite working mainly for the ultraviolent CZW, is among the best workers on the indie scene as reputed by people that I trust when it comes to knowledge about the subject. I've seen bits and pieces of him, so I don't know much about him in the ring, but what I do know is that he's highly regarded by both Dylan Hales and Robert Lamb, both of whom ranked him very highly on their A1W 100 ballots.

Additionally, from the promos I've seen, he has a creepy vibe going that really works for him. He could really get over in the high-indies with that sort of character, as he looks and sounds like he would have fit right in with Age of the Fall when they were big in ROH.

You might as well make it a point to get to know Callihan, because big things are in his future in the world of indie wrestling.


Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein - Please visit his site to view the plentiful amounts of pictures he's taken for DGUSA, ROH and other indie feds: Get Lost Photography

Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!

Monday, May 17, 2010

Instant Feedback: Godly Post for a Flawed RAW

Post #777. God's favorite post? Maybe.

Anyway, I'd love to come on here and say that this commercial-free RAW was one of the best of the year. It wasn't. I can say it was good. For the most part, it was well-booked. There's just one thing that glares at me, that's just begging me to go into full-nerd rage mode. You know it's coming.

Fifty-something Bret Hart, stroke survivor, is your new United States Champion.

I'm sure if I were there, I would have been swept up in the moment and cheered my balls off. And yeah, on a show where you blatantly were going to end with Batista making John Cena squeal in the Rings of Dave (my name for the move, feel free to steal it), you need to have a big moment to send the crowd home with a good feeling. The match itself was played perfectly if they were actually going to go with Hart facing off against Miz instead of naming a replacement up until the very end where Miz tapped to give up the belt. It was a clusterfuck, everyone got involved everywhere. It was a moment, but honestly, even going into the match as one of the foremost Hitman marks ever, it was tough for me to swallow. But I will say this. They did it in a way where I wasn't ready to throw my TV out the window, and really, if it were anywhere else but in Canada, it wouldn't have flown the way it did. I'm just going to leave it alone. Plus, Miz's pre-match promo was nothing short of epic, as was Jericho's promo to the Hitman. That show thread wasn't a total lost cause.

The rest of the show was pretty good despite Buzz Aldrin's senility making things painful whenever he talked. Other than that, you had a really good Christian/Edge match. Christian has stepped up his game bigtime, almost as if he heard me telepathically criticize his work in the beginning portions of this year and dared to work his ass off to keep his Worker of the Year mantel. With the matches he's had against Sheamus, Ted DiBiase, Kofi Kingston, Cody Rhodes and now Edge, he's starting to put together a nice hot streak of good-to-excellent matches. It really reminds me of a big reason why I love the WWE style, but that's fodder for another post tomorrow. SOMEONE REMIND ME TO WRITE THAT POST.

Anyway, Virgil being there was a lolwut moment, but you know he's going to cost Teddy Jr. his match at Over the Limit. It was great seeing Evan Bourne again get to fly around the ring like he's King Shit (because he is King Shit), and even better to see Zack Ryder be the one who got to interrupt the doddering old man whom Canada shat upon. Hell, even the faux commercials were funny. And of course, Jack SWAGGAH~! continues to show why he's awesome and Randy Orton continues to endear himself to me by making his stomps look like he's actively trying to kill a man.

Despite the fact that the Hitman as US Champ and Aldrin left a sour taste in my mouth, I thought RAW tonight was good if flawed. Maybe it was my own high expectations for what was to be for the US Title situation, but hey, it could have been worse.

Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!