Denim&Venöm

It is with a heavy heart I must inform you all that Micheal, Jones, better known to us all as Virgil, has passed away at the age of 61.

From Ted Dibiase's bodyguard overcoming opression to his second life as an internet meme, Virgil had a larger impact on wrestling than he ever couyld've imagind.

May his legacy live on.

 "Have you ever seen someone get fired....

  through a jet engine?" 

 "The 80s didn't come to Canada til like '93 "

My brothers taco bell order (he forgot to ask for no lettuce) w/ pepper jack, ranchero cream sauce and left over spaghetti meat

"I've been in your phone for over a decade as sexy avalanche?"

 "What do you mean I can't swear during opening ceremonies? It's my fking con!

... What do you mean the mic is live?"

"I paid this guy to kill my husband.

Instead he went to arbys and ordered a roast beef!"

Last night it was this:

Plus crispy wedge fries and chicken noodle soup.

Today its:

A piece of cinematic art.

It is with a heavy heart that I must announce the passing of Mark Merlino, also known by his fursona, Sy Sable. Mark Merlino and his loving partner, Rodney O'Riley, turned their passion of anime, classic Disney, and love of animals into the first conventions that started the furry fandom. How ever you feel about furries, there's no denying that they've made a difference in the lives of many who appreciated anthropomorphic art, young and old.

I met them both at both Midwest Fur Fest 2022 & 2023. Telling their stories about the early days of conventions. How exotic this thing called anime was. How they shared art of their favorite animal, the Pine Martin, created their own fantasy world populated by a race of otter folk, the Skiltaires, and began sharing their art at cons, where they met others with similar interests in art. They'd meet up and have room parties. And these parties would become the first furry conventions. Mark was also a fan of MLP. He even admitted that Bronies managed to do what he and Rod did, but much faster. Years instead of decades. Was gonna try and get them both on for an interview here as guests, but it never panned out. But both were super nice dudes. 

What they started with their first con, ConFurence back in 1989 has now spread to a network of other cons across the world over the last 35 years. One of which I'll be going to this Thursday. Without the work of Mark and Rod, we wouldn't have had a Bronycon. I think Mark would've liked you all. 

Rest in Power, Mark. May your legacy live on.

Here was a link to Mark's GoFundMe if you can spare a coin to help Rod and their family in these trying times.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-a-true-fandom-original?utm_campaign=p_lico+share-sheet-tip&utm_content=share_close_contacts&utm_medium=coaching_tip&utm_source=customer

And iIf you want to learn more about where it all started with Rod and Mark, I'd highly recommend watching the the documentary 'The Fandom.' 

Played this during last nights DnD game.

Prepping for next weeks con.

10 hours ago, Sparklefan1234 said:

Apparently, The Rock and Roman Reigns aren't actually related but they are somehow through wrestling logic. 

Eh, it's more Samoan culture. Their grandads basically got the Samoan equivalent of marriage. So they're cousins in law. 

Also how The Rock was essentially adopted by Haku, making all of G.o.D. also the Rock's cousins. 

You can never go wrong with Death Angel.

Hey.

You ever wondered how big the bloodline actually is?

Pepperoni pizza, half covered in BBQ maple, Cajun and caynne seasonings. Half in Italian, roasted garlic and garlic pepper. Topped with jalepeno jack cheese.

Oh Rogue Squadron was my jam, followed by Shadows of the Empire before that.

Pod-racing and Jedi Power Battles were fun too. 

First, two slices of pepperoni pizza. One with maple burbon cheese and maple BBQ seasoning. One with Monterrey jack and chilli seasoning.

Than half a banana.

The other half i mixed into a bowl of banana maple oatmeal.

 "Where are you?"

"I left early. Sorry I couldn't stay longer!"

"WTF? Where are you going?" 

"I'm going home!" 

 "Are you kidding me? Come back! You're drunk!"

  "Don't worry, I called an uber!" 

 "We drank at your place!" 

 "Oh. Where am I going?" 

 "Wow.... seriously? Put the driver on the phone!" 

Well last night was a hell of a watch. NJPW gave us two very different 5 star classics.

A chain wrestling sequel to the epic between Bryan Danielson & Zack Sabre Jr. An absolute dream for you wrestling purists. 

And an absolutely brutal war games match between United Empire and Bullet Club that makes any cage match by WWE and even AEW look tame. So viewer discretion advised for this one. 

But both are very much worth your time as this chapter of NJPW history comes to a close. 

"I'd go with pink personally. Always find it odd when nipples match hair color."

34 minutes ago, Sparklefan1234 said:

 

I know it would probably never happen ever but I wonder if they could ever figure out a way to make a AEWWE crossover show work.

I know I've asked you this in the past but WWE did freeze over a few months ago so...

If WWE & AWA or WWE and WCW couldn't do it, neither will WWE and AEW. 

WWE has just been so hostile to wrestling in North America. Anything that threatens their monopoly is an enemy for life. 

There may have been a sizemic shift in WWE, but the mentality is still the same, from a cultural and business stand point.  

Yeah there's a deal with TNA now. But that's as much a crossover as the NWA 'invasion' in the late '90s. 

WWE have never done a joint show with another U.S. company. We'd be more likely to get a AAA/CMLL super show than WWE ever admitting they have an equal. 

13 minutes ago, Sparklefan1234 said:

How do you think Okada will do outside of Japan? Nakamura was hyped up too and he's done well for himself.

Oh he'll do a lot better than Nakamura. Nak should've been a WWE world champ by now and he's way more charismatic than Okada. He's just fine with being relegated in WWE, compared to NJPW where he'd still be relegated, but in twice the work. 

AEW's workrate style would suit Okada well. Even with WWE being more embracing of Japanese stars, AEW did it better right away. Hikaru Shida is their women's ace. Riho was their first women's champ. Konosuke Takeshita is being presented like a killer. Tony is enough of a fan and The Bucks enough of friends to give Okada the best direction to succeed in America. Plus Okada is tight with the Lucha community. He could further that AEW x CMLL bond, which will get AEW tighter with NJPW. 

I was there when Okada made his debut. The dude is over. He can make this work. 

3 minutes ago, Sparklefan1234 said:

Forget about that, you can time travel like Alex Shelley and Kushida!? 

Oh yeah. We took Chris Sabin's Dalorean. Though finding the right wardrobe to blend in was a pain. Do you dress gunge, ska or hip hop? The '90s were like three time periods in one. 

And in a matter of hours, both Karachi Okada and Will Ospreay will be having their final matches as New Japan stars. 

One will the the last match in the rivalry that started the return of the king (of sports).

The other will be NJPW's first ever War Games match between Ospreay's United Empire and David Finlay's Bullet Club to cap off the aerial assassin's last match in violent triumph or brutal devastation.  

Oh and we're getting ZSJ/Danileson II.