Any Pro-Wrestling Fans Around?

[Denim&Venöm 18,964]

Welp, lots of stuff has happened, so lets dive in. 

Hunter Hurst Helmsley has officially retired from In-ring competition following his near fatal heart attack. His final match was teaming with Nakamura vs. Bobby Rhoode and Samoa Joe at a house show, while his last televised match was against Randal Keith at Crown Jewel. Hey, at least it wasn't the DX vs. Destruct Bros match. Welp, he had a good run didn't he? 

 

Back in NJPW, the New Japan Cup has wrapped up. And along the way we had GoD get kicked out of Bullet Club and then be accepted into the New Japan home team by Master Wato, Ryuskuke Taguchi and Tanahashi. We've seen the high speed trio of Strong Hearts make a strong impact for New Japan. Go catch their match on the tournament final against Okada, Tanahashi, Tiger Mask and Kojima while they tagged alongside Tatsumi Fujinami of all folks! 

The tournament itself went ways nobody predicted. If I had to recommend 5 matches to go back and watch, they'd be:

• Sanada vs. Will Ospreay
• Will Ospreay vs. ZSJ 
• Shingo vs. Ishii
• El Desperado vs. Kazuchika Okada 
• ZSJ vs. Tetsuya Naito

And now without further ado, your winner of the 46 man 2022 New Japan Cup: 

Spoiler

Congrats to ZSJ on winning his 2nd NJC. Ever since last year, it's felt like ZSJ has been on a slow burn face turn or at least a tweener turn. He's been better behaved, more professional in interviews and he & Taichi have fought together like brothers in arms. He's got a maturity about him that wasn't there last time he won the cup. He's been on a bit of a hot streak since his and Taichi's victory over Naito & Sanada back in July and especially during the G1 when Zack looked like a killer. I dunno, but I think his match with Okada for the IWGP WHC on 4/9 might go just a bit differently. Just something in the air this time around. 

 

Oh and Willl Smith bitch slapped the piss out of Chris Rock at the Academy Awards. And the pro-wrestling world was ready for it.  I'm just waiting for somepony to make a My Way style hype package for their eventual Mania match. 

 

 

[Sparklefan1234 170,747]

1 hour ago, Denim&Venöm said:

Welp, lots of stuff has happened, so lets dive in. 

Hunter Hurst Helmsley has officially retired from In-ring competition following his near fatal heart attack. His final match was teaming with Nakamura vs. Bobby Rhoode and Samoa Joe at a house show, while his last televised match was against Randal Keith at Crown Jewel. Hey, at least it wasn't the DX vs. Destruct Bros match. Welp, he had a good run didn't he? 

 

I wasn't a fan of Triple H's 20 minute promos that opened "every" Monday Night Raw during the later part of the Attitude Era,

but I will say that I was always upset when Triple H would saunter through the curtain after every PPV still holding the gold in his slimy hands.

---

Fast forward, I don't think we'd have AJ Styles in WWE right now if it weren't for HHH bringing in guys like Samoa Joe & Finn Balor to his vision of NXT.

We also probably wouldn't have a proper women's revolution in WWE that would elevate WWE's female competitors to Royal Rumble and

WrestleMania main event status if it weren't for the wrestlers they recruited for Triple H's  NXT women's division.

---

In closing, I know this was all over the place but I only have two words for you, Hunter...Thank You! 

Edited March 29, 2022 by Sparklefan1234

[TheRockARooster 51,198]

I feel like Scott Steiner has sold out.

[Sparklefan1234 170,747]

15 hours ago, TheRockARooster said:

I feel like Scott Steiner has sold out.

 

Scott Steiner's Hall of Fame speech will probably have the person in charge of the censor button stressed out all day. /

I'm sure they'll read it beforehand. 

 

 

[Denim&Venöm 18,964]

Hey, .

Wanna see KENTA's return to Pro-Wrestling NOAH for the first time in 8 years? 

 

[Denim&Venöm 18,964]

So this weekend is gonna be crazy. The biggest weekend of the wrestling calendar. 

Because tomorrow is the return of ROH from it's 3 month hiatus! here's the full card:

1    Jonathan Gresham (c) vs. Bandido (c) (with Chavo Guerrero Jr.)    Winner Takes All match to determine the undisputed ROH World Champion
2    The Briscoe Brothers (c) vs. FTR for the ROH World Tag Team Championship
3    Swerve Strickland vs. Alex Zayne

4    Jay Lethal vs. Lee Moriarty (with Matt Sydal)  
5    Josh Woods (c) vs. Wheeler Yuta  for the ROH Pure Championship
6    Mercedes Martinez vs. Willow Nightingale for the interim ROH Women's World Champion
7    Ninja Mack vs. TBA (with Tully Blanchard)  
8    Rhett Titus (c) vs. Minoru Suzuki for the ROH World Television Championship

Not gonna lie. This looks very much like AEW vs. ROH. Feels like the rumours about Tony Khan turning ROH into AEW's NXT might have a grain of truth. But frankly, since ROH was WWE's NXT and even NXT's NXT for over a decade at this point, maybe making such a partnership official with somebody who won't treat the farming system like a strip mine wouldn't be the worst thing in the world for ROH's long term future. But I'm optimistic. More so than when ROH got bought by Sinclair over a decade ago. Things can only get better from here. 

 

Also tomorrow, Impact wrestling will also be putting on their own supershow: the multiverse of matches. AKA Impact vs. Everybody. Here's the full card: 

1   Impact vs. ROH: The Good Brothers vs. The Briscoe Brothers
2   Trey Miguel (c) vs. Chris Bey vs. Jordynne Grace vs. Rich Swann vs. Vincent vs. Blake Christian in an Ultimate X match for the Impact X Division Championship
3   Impact/ Pro-Wrestling NOAH vs. NJPW: Eddie Edwards vs. Tomohiro Ishii    
4   Impact vs. Bullet Club: Chris Sabin vs. Jay White   
5    Deonna Purrazzo (c) vs. TBA    Singles match for either the AAA Reina de Reinas Championship or the ROH Women's World Championship 
6    Josh Alexander and Jonah vs. Moose and PCO   
7    Alex Shelley vs. "Speedball" Mike Bailey    
8    Impact vs. NWA: Nick Aldis and Mickie James vs. Matt Cardona and Chelsea Green    
9    The Influence (Madison Rayne and Tenille Dashwood) (c) (with Kaleb with a K) vs. Tasha Steelz and Savannah Evans vs. Gisele Shaw and Lady Frost vs. Decay (Havok and Rosemary) for the Impact Knockouts World Tag Team Championship

Pair that with both Smackdown & Rampage and it seems international chaos appreciation day tomorrow is gonna be stacked.

Hell, FITE TV is running a Wrestlecon PPV bundle deal. $75 and you get the following shows running today, tomorrow and Saturday. 

March 31st
6:00pm ET - AAA Lucha Libre: Invades WrestleCon;
10:00pm ET - Mark Hitchcock Memorial WrestleCon Supershow,
11:00pm ET - Major Wrestling Figure Podcast: Live XII

April 1st
6:00pm ET - NJPW Lone Star Shootout
8:00pm ET - Thuzio: SuperShow Live!
10:00pm ET - IMPACT Multiverse of Matches,

April 2nd
12:00pm ET - USA vs The World

 

GCW is also running it's own PPV bundle. For $140, you will get: 

March 31st:
12:00pm ET - Glory Pro Wrestling: Cemetery Gates
4:00pm ET - Josh Barnett's Bloodsport 8
9:00pm ET - Joey Janela's Spring Break 6, Part 1

April 1st
0:59am ET - Planet Death
12:00pm ET - LA Fights vs JCW
4:00pm ET - For The Culture 3
8:30pm ET - Girngo Loco's: The WRLD on Lucha

April 2nd
0:59am ET - Joey Janela's Spring Break 6, Part 2
12:00pm ET - Effy's Big Gay Brunch 4
4:00pm ET - Mission Pro Wrestling: Bangerz Only!
8:00pm ET - Unsanctioned Pro: Mulligan

April 3rd
0:59am ET- Black Label Pro: Norm

 

Gonna be a very busy weekend for us wrestling fans. Can't think of anything else noteworthy going down this weekend wrestling wise, so it looks like you'll all have plenty of time to enjoy soem good action. 

Happy wrestling everypony! 

[Sparklefan1234 170,747]

34 minutes ago, Denim&Venöm said:

Can't think of anything else noteworthy going down this weekend wrestling wise,

 

Except for y'know, WrestleMania. Which is BIG reason why a lot of these shows are taking place on this specific weekend.  

 

 

Edited April 1, 2022 by Sparklefan1234

[Denim&Venöm 18,964]

36 minutes ago, Sparklefan1234 said:

Except for y'know, WrestleMania. Which is BIG reason why a lot of these shows are taking place on this specific weekend.  

Hey, it's not my problem Brother Love & Johnny Clown Shoes are egging Vinny Mac Jr. to follow GCW's coat tails on the same weekend they happen to be hosting their marathon of programs. 

[Sparklefan1234 170,747]

3 minutes ago, Denim&Venöm said:

Hey, it's not my problem Brother Love & Johnny Clown Shoes are egging Vinny Mac Jr. to follow GCW's coat tails on the same weekend they happen to be hosting their marathon of programs. 

 

It would be awesome if everyone just had a massive "three-day wrestling weekend" where it was nothing but WWE/AEW/ROH etc. dream matches.

I mean, every company working together on one big event. 

[Denim&Venöm 18,964]

8 hours ago, Sparklefan1234 said:

 

It would be awesome if everyone just had a massive "three-day wrestling weekend" where it was nothing but WWE/AEW/ROH etc. dream matches.

I mean, every company working together on one big event. 

Only if each show was under 4 hours. A three day long hybrid of All In and BoLA. Alas, we can't have nice things because Vinny Jr doesn't own a wrestling fed. He owns a "sports entertainment" franchise. Totally incompatible. 

Well there goes my dream elimination chamber of orange Cassidy, Reggie the Somali, Peter Avalon, Maki Ito, danhausen and Minoru Suzuki . 

[Sparklefan1234 170,747]

2 hours ago, Denim&Venöm said:

Only if each show was under 4 hours. A three day long hybrid of All In and BoLA. Alas, we can't have nice things because Vinny Jr doesn't own a wrestling fed. He owns a "sports entertainment" franchise. Totally incompatible. 

Well there goes my dream elimination chamber of orange Cassidy, Reggie the Somali, Peter Avalon, Maki Ito, danhausen and Minoru Suzuki . 

 

 "The Ace of New Japan" Hiroshi Tanahashi has already faced "The Phenomenal" AJ Styles so, I don't really have any other matches in mind. 

 

[Denim&Venöm 18,964]

6 hours ago, Sparklefan1234 said:

 

 "The Ace of New Japan" Hiroshi Tanahashi has already faced "The Phenomenal" AJ Styles so, I don't really have any other matches in mind. 

 

Not even Tanahashi vs. Lesnar? Or Jay White vs. Edge? Or Roman vs. Shingo? Or Seth Rollins vs. Will Ospreay in a twitter account on a poll match? 

[Sparklefan1234 170,747]

40 minutes ago, Denim&Venöm said:

Not even Tanahashi vs. Lesnar? Or Jay White vs. Edge? Or Roman vs. Shingo? Or Seth Rollins vs. Will Ospreay in a twitter account on a poll match? 

 

Those would be cool, too! 

*Thinking* Oh. AJ has faced Okada in the past. 

[Denim&Venöm 18,964]

33 minutes ago, Sparklefan1234 said:

*Thinking* Oh. AJ has faced Okada in the past. 

Indeed he did. In his New Japan debut. For the IWGP Heavyweight title. 

 

[Sparklefan1234 170,747]

1 minute ago, Denim&Venöm said:

Indeed he did. In his New Japan debut. For the IWGP Heavyweight title. 

 

Hmm...Scorpio Sky vs. Ricochet?

[Denim&Venöm 18,964]

Hey. You all watch Supercard of Honor yet? 

You really should. It was awesome. ROH is alive and well. 

And there are some ramifications for Dynamite this Wednesday.

Spoiler

 

 

[Sparklefan1234 170,747]

I hope they bring back Todd Grisham to unenthusiastically say "It's...It's Cody Rhodes." if Cody returns at WrestleMania. 

Edited April 2, 2022 by Sparklefan1234

[Laurel Crown 112]

15 hours ago, Denim&Venöm said:

Hey. You all watch Supercard of Honor yet? 

You really should. It was awesome. ROH is alive and well. 

And there are some ramifications for Dynamite this Wednesday.

  Hide contents

 

 

Briscoes vs FTR has lost me for I don't know how many times. By the end i was awestruck.

[TheRockARooster 51,198]

Samoa Joe in AEW is something that I've wanted to happen for so goddamned long and at ROH....................

THERE'S A MACHINE IN THE HOUSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Edited April 2, 2022 by TheRockARooster

[Patty Thundersnow 4,163]

No spoilers here, but... What a first night of Wrestlemania. Great way to start the event.

[Sparklefan1234 170,747]

1 hour ago, Mama Patty Thundersnow said:

No spoilers here, but... What a first night of Wrestlemania. Great way to start the event.

WrestleMania spoilers.

Spoiler

I started watching just as the Rollins match was getting started. The rest of the show was pretty good after that, IMO.

 

Edited April 3, 2022 by Sparklefan1234

[Patty Thundersnow 4,163]

28 minutes ago, Sparklefan1234 said:

WrestleMania spoilers.

  Hide contents

I started watching just as the Rollins match was getting started. The rest of the show was pretty good after that, IMO.

 

Spoiler

I watched Whatculture Wrestling's Live reactions and monitored it on twitter as well. The entire first night delivered, aside from the Charlotte vs. Ronda Rousey match.

 

[Unicorncob 5,687]

The mad lads only went and did it

 

Spoiler

 

 

[TheRockARooster 51,198]

I'm looking forward to seeing what Samoa Joe has to say on AEW Dynamite.

[Denim&Venöm 18,964]

Thought you'd all enjoy some art featuring AEW womens and TJPW rosters