Any Pro-Wrestling Fans Around?

[Sparklefan1234 170,746]

5 hours ago, Unicorncob said:

It's been ten years since my favourite match

 

CM Punk vs. John Cena at Money in the Bank 2011 is my favorite John Cena match, too! 

[Denim&Venöm 18,964]

And we have breaking news out of Slammiversary! Go catch Kenny Omega vs. Sammy Callahan if you haven't watched it. But it's what happened after that could have ramifications across the forbidden doors. 

Spoiler

Looks like White vs. Finlay is still on for the NJPW US show. But now the man who beat Kenny for the IWGP US strap over 3 years ago, a loss that caused the first cracks to show in the Elite, has now come to face the belt collector. But is the leader of the Bullet Club looking to challenge the Elite? Or he is looking to join forces with them? 

 

[Denim&Venöm 18,964]

Extreme makeover: NJPW edition

 

 

[Sparklefan1234 170,746]

11 hours ago, Denim&Venöm said:

Extreme makeover: NJPW edition

 

New Japan Pro Wrestling: In Your House 

[Unicorncob 5,687]

On 2021-07-20 at 5:36 AM, Sparklefan1234 said:

 

New Japan Pro Wrestling: In Your House 

Toru Yano comes to your house to wrestle you, if he wins you have to buy his DVD

[Castle Bleck 19,361]

On 2021-07-19 at 1:36 PM, Denim&Venöm said:

Extreme makeover: NJPW edition

 

Now with fitting background music:

 

[Denim&Venöm 18,964]

Welp. NJPWs mid year Tokyo Dome show is in trouble. Again. 

Kota Ibushi has had to take most of the 'road to' house show loop off due to side effects from the Corona vaccine (and it hits hard let me tell you). But turns out it's worse than that. Dudes been hit with Pneumonia. So he's been pulled from all events until the dome show itself. 

Even if he recovers in the next few days, will he really be in any shape to wrestle a match, let alone an Ibushi match? Against Shingo? They really need to be putting plan B into motion. 

Can't do Okada. Shingo just beat him for the gold. Can't do Naito. He's a tag champ. Can't do Jeff Cobb again. Pretty sure he's stateside. 

So the only real options are the man who beat Shingo for the NEVER title, Tanahashi. Or the man who beat Shingo last year for the same belt, Suzuki. Both would be great matches, but NJPW has to start promoting as of yesterday. 

This world title has just been snake bitten. 

 

And in other news, WWE doesn't give a flying feather about NXT. 

That is all. 

[Sparklefan1234 170,746]

On 2021-07-21 at 9:35 PM, Denim&Venöm said:

And in other news, WWE doesn't give a flying feather about NXT. 

That is all. 

 

I'm still laughing at that loss, btw.

Plus the fact that Karrion Kross wasn't even "the total package" because his valet Scarlett wasn't with him. 

[TheRockARooster 51,198]

On 2021-07-22 at 2:35 PM, Denim&Venöm said:

Welp. NJPWs mid year Tokyo Dome show is in trouble. Again. 

Kota Ibushi has had to take most of the 'road to' house show loop off due to side effects from the Corona vaccine (and it hits hard let me tell you). But turns out it's worse than that. Dudes been hit with Pneumonia. So he's been pulled from all events until the dome show itself. 

Even if he recovers in the next few days, will he really be in any shape to wrestle a match, let alone an Ibushi match? Against Shingo? They really need to be putting plan B into motion. 

Can't do Okada. Shingo just beat him for the gold. Can't do Naito. He's a tag champ. Can't do Jeff Cobb again. Pretty sure he's stateside. 

So the only real options are the man who beat Shingo for the NEVER title, Tanahashi. Or the man who beat Shingo last year for the same belt, Suzuki. Both would be great matches, but NJPW has to start promoting as of yesterday. 

This world title has just been snake bitten. 

 

And in other news, WWE doesn't give a flying feather about NXT. 

That is all. 

Vince McMahon and WWE should get shot for how they handled Karrion Kross.

[Castle Bleck 19,361]

@Denim&Venöm@Sparklefan1234@TheRockARooster

What-if scenario — Vince reads Kross's two-weeks' notice:

 

Edited July 23, 2021 by Anti-Villain

[TheRockARooster 51,198]

In other news, it looks like two superstars are going to AEW.

[ssj4gogita4 101]

Loudest I've heard a crowd in several years...especially for John Cena

[Denim&Venöm 18,964]

And we have some news from the Impact front of the Elite-verse of wrestling.

Spoiler

 

 

[Unicorncob 5,687]

11 hours ago, ssj4gogita4 said:

Loudest I've heard a crowd in several years...especially for John Cena

Absence makes the heart grow fonder

1 hour ago, Denim&Venöm said:

And we have some news from the Impact front of the Elite-verse of wrestling.

  Reveal hidden contents

 

 

Spoiler

Nice to see someone from the actual Bullet Club show up

 

[Denim&Venöm 18,964]

2 hours ago, Unicorncob said:

Nice to see someone from the actual Bullet Club show up

About that. 

Spoiler

 

 

[Sparklefan1234 170,746]

15 minutes ago, Denim&Venöm said:

About that. 

 

Spoiler

I haven't seen Petey Williams in a LONG time. 

 

[Denim&Venöm 18,964]

2 hours ago, Sparklefan1234 said:

 

  Hide contents

I haven't seen Petey Williams in a LONG time. 

 

He was actually on impact last month, taking the pin in a six way bout from another BC member, El Phantasmo, who is a perfect fit for the X-Division. The match is up on NJPW world and I do recommend checking it out. 

[Denim&Venöm 18,964]

Alright, so there's a lot to unpack from this week. 

• NJPW held the first non-WrestleKingdom Tokyo Dome show in over 15 years. Stand out matches are the El Desperado vs. Robbie Eagles for the Junior title, Natio/Sanada vs ZSJ/Taichi for the tag titles & the main event, which was supposed to be IWGP world champ Shingo Takagi vs. Kota Ibushi. But unfortunately Ibushi was not cleared to compete. So stepping in to main event the Tokyo Dome one more time is The Ace, Hiroshi Tanahashi. 
  Spoiler

  • Congrats to Robbie Eagles for winning his first IWGP jr title and becoming New Japan's first Australian champion. here's to hoping he manages to retain it against his next opponent: the returning Hiromu Takahashi. 
  • The tag division has been elevated thanks to the rivalry between all star team and new tag champs Naito & Sanada against Taichi & ZSJ who're desperate to get the titles back after losing them on the first defense. Surprisingly Dangerous Tekkers acted like the face team with ZSJ being the babyface in peril, having his limbs targeted. Zack succeed where he failed last title defense and countered the Destino to get the titles back in a feel good moment.
  •  It is not hyperbole to say Tanahashi is the best wrestler in the world. 24 hours after wrestling a grueling match against KENTA, Tana goes from missing his first Tokyo Dome show since he debuted, to main eventing one more show and he did an amazing job. He had me convinced that he could win the big one one more time. But it was the right move to keep Shingo dominant and start his title run with a successful defense in the Tokyo Dome. The new IWGP WHC has had a rough start, but I'm confident that Shingo is gonna be the guy who'll define the legacy of this belt and make it his own. He'll be fighting Evil next. If anyone can get a good match out of Evil and bring him back to his brawler ways, it's Shingo. 

   

• AEW was certainly something. Those entrances between Team Goth Cowboy Posse and the Basket Tandem Extraordinaires were WrestleMania worthy. But the end result was surprising. They're gonna drag the Hangman's arc out the long way. My money is that it goes down at Hangman's namesake PPV, Full Gear. So who will get the shot at All Out? Christian Cage or Eddie Kingston? 
• New IWGP US champ Lance Archer get to fight someone even bigger than he is in Hikuleo, being accompanied by his dad King Haku and coming out to G.o.D.s old theme, their best theme, for the title. It was okay match. 
• But back to NJPW news, a challenge has been issued to still US champ Lace Archer, by Hiroshi Tanahashi! They'll be fighting at NJPW's first show with fans in nearly 2 years next month. Meanwhile, prior US champ MOX is unhappy he hasn't been allowed back in Japan during his run. But now that Lance has won, Tana now wants to fight for the U.S. title. MOX isn't happy that the Ace is ducking him. Me thinks this is gonna lead to Tana/Mox at All Out. Yes, please. 
• AEW announces that Thunder Rampage episode two: The First dance, will take place in Chicago's United Center. I've been to that arena. Went there to see Iron Maiden. It's freaking huge. Bigger than MSG. And AEW are looking to sell 23,000 13,000 seats, the max configuration for a wrestling show, for an episode of free TV. If they sell that out, it'll be the biggest non-wwe show since WCW ran the Georgia dome in '99. Gee, I wonder how they're gonna draw in so many fans to the biggest arena in the second city? 
• Which was followed up by Straight Edge goth Punk Darby Allin cutting a promo beside his Black Metal Dad, Sting, about how he's going to Chicago to fight everyone in the world, even if they're the Best.  Gee I wonder who Darby's mystery opponent will be? 
  Spoiler

  Darby Allin & Sting vs. Steve 'Mongo' McMicheal & Duke 'The Dumpster' Droese confirmed for the first Dance!

   

• And finally, the most out there pairing of wrestlers I have ever seen. So random that you can't even call it a dream match cause nobody in the last 20 years would've thought about it, let alone see it on national TV. Chris Jericho vs. Nick Gage. In the first nationally broadcast death match since ECW folded. Which hilariously overlapped with a Domino's commercial as Gage was using a pizza cutter on Jericho. Fun fact: should Domino's pull their sponsorship, Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer has offered to step in. Oh and Matt Cardona, the guy who beat Gage for the GCW title, is trolling the Domino's twitter account with his merchandise. For a death match, it was alright. 
• Then MJF announced the 3rd labor: Jericho must win with a top rope dive, something that almost ended his career before he even hit WCW when he tried a shooting star press. And he must do it against the man making his return to TNT for the first time in 20 years, 'The Juice' (not Robinson) Juventud Gurrera. And by all accounts, he's up for the task. 

Next week should be fun. 

[Sparklefan1234 170,746]

Bray Wyatt was released earlier today by the WWE.

Again, I honestly thought being WWE Champion at one point or another gave you immunity unless, you did something TERRIBLE. 

[Denim&Venöm 18,964]

And Black Wednesday continues 3 months later. 

Ric Flair has now been cut from the WWE. you'd think WWE would be fawning all over their legends from the past. They're not. The fawn over their main eventers from the past. If you can't wrestle, they couldn't care less about you. I'm guessing Flair wasn't happy with that angle involving Lacey Evans. Flair, Strowman, Wyatt. Now there's three names you wouldn't expect to be cut. 

But who else might be leaving may also be a big surprise: Adam Cole (bay bay). His contract has already expired. He's just agreed to an extension through Summerslam. He's in an interesting position.  I don't see him leaving for the main roster. A. He's not stupid. He's seen how demoralizing things have gotten 'up there'. B. He's the top dawg in NXT. Why serve above when you can be a king below? C. He gets to work with his childhood heroes Shawn Micheals and HHH. Why give all that up? 

But on the flip side, what does he have left to accomplish? Undisputed Era ran it's course. Won the Dusty Classic.  First ever NXT North American champ. Longest reigning NXT champ. Basically beat everybody. A rivalry with Kyle O'Reily will be neat but also most people watching NXT have also seen this play out in ROH, PWG and NJPW. Maybe a face turn & redemption arc could give him new life but his prospects in NXT are limited unless he wants to retire early and become a producer or coach like Tomasso Ciampa is aiming towards, as he won't be going main roster either.  Maybe it's time Adam Cole jump ship to AEW? Rejoin his buddies in the Elite to fill the void that Adam (Page) shaped void left in their super clique. Oh and to be beside his girlfirend, a certain DMD champion of the world, so that the two can finally stand side by side as Mister and Misses Baker, bay bay. 

 

 

[Denim&Venöm 18,964]

And Cody Rhodes just finished up a press conference. The usual spiel of community outreach, diverse styles, potential signees, family, and what not. What else I gathered from that is that he won't be turning heel anytime soon. He was a villian for the better part of a decade, so i can't say I blame him. But another thing that caught my interest, particularly as a Milwaukee resident, is that Cody hopes to recapture some of that AWA spirit and run a stadium show here. Specifically, American family Field Miller Park. 

 

42,000 for the Brew Crew, so you could fit even more for a wrestling show. If they manage to do this, it'll top WCW's Georgia dome record from '98 and give AEW the distinction of hosting the biggest non-WWE wrestling event in America. 

[Sparklefan1234 170,746]

On 2021-08-02 at 3:27 PM, Denim&Venöm said:

But who else might be leaving may also be a big surprise: Adam Cole (bay bay). His contract has already expired. He's just agreed to an extension through Summerslam. He's in an interesting position.  I don't see him leaving for the main roster. A. He's not stupid. He's seen how demoralizing things have gotten 'up there'. B. He's the top dawg in NXT. Why serve above when you can be a king below? C. He gets to work with his childhood heroes Shawn Micheals and HHH. Why give all that up? 

 

In my stupid opinion, all of WWE's shows could use a serious refresh.

 I thought  WWF Raw '98 shows were REALLY repetitive but at least I had some people I could root for unlike, nowadays. 

 

[Denim&Venöm 18,964]

Well it's been a messy few days. 

Every Friday might as well be Black Friday. 

In all, WWE released

-Bobby Fish

-Bronson Reed

-Jake Atlas

-Ari Sterling

-Kona Reeves

-Leon Ruff

-Stephon Smith

-Tyler Rust

-Zechariah Smith

-Asher Hale

-Giant Zanjeer

-Mercedes Martinez

So NXT just got gutted and it's not even draft season yet. Allegedly this will all be to repackage NXT, with a focus on young, big guys (insert Goldberg joke). I don't think WWE gets the fact that they're not the first step on a wrestlers journey. They're the final destination (read into that what you will). Bronseed Reed is a head scratcher. It felt like he was being prepped for a main roster call down. He was North American champ not even two months ago. Bobby Fish was Undisputed. Kyle may have been the better wrestler in ReDRagon/UAE, but Fish was the better talker, even on par with Adam Cole. Out of everyone here, he'll will land on his feet the quickest. ROH will welcome him back with open arms and he'll be a great fit for their new UWFi influenced shoot style presentation. Mercedes Martinez is the biggest what if. If you recall, she was the joker in AEWs first women's casino battle royal. She would've been a massive boon to their women's division in 2019.  AEW will certainly have the biggest paychecks, but Impact, NWA & ROH are strong contenders. 

And onto some even sadder news, we've lost two legends. By now you've all heard the loss of 'Beautiful' Bobby Eaton. One half of the Midnight Express, member of the Blue Bloods and the Dangerous Alliance. A tag team specialist with Dennis Condrey, Stan Lane and Arn Anderson. One of those guys who knew the little nuances in wrestling. What it took to make a match great without going too hard on his opponents. Not only one of the best wrestlers but also one of the best mentors, openly sharing his knowledge with many young up and comers.  And by all accounts being up there with Johnny Saint and Bryan Danielson as one of the nicest guys to know in all of wrestling. 

Rest in Power Bobby. May your legacy live on. 

 

And just a day earlier, we also lost Jody Hamilton, better known as The Assassin. Part of the Assassins tag team, one of the old school villain tag teams whose matches inspired Jim Ross to become the fan he is today. He was also the founder of Deep South wrestling and the WCW Power Plant, becoming a mentor to many wrestlers across the 90s and 00s. 

Rest in Power, Jody. May your legacy also live on. 

 

[Sparklefan1234 170,746]

3 hours ago, Denim&Venöm said:

-Bronson Reed

 

Bronson Reed was the NXT North American Champion just a few weeks ago, too.

I sometimes wonder why they bother bringing new wrestlers to NXT when they seemingly "throw them out" as soon as they start making progress. 

[TheRockARooster 51,198]

Well, I've watched some videos of Hunter Valley Wrestling from so many years ago and good memories are starting to come up in my mind.

I loved those nights of going to the club for a nice meal followedby a wrestling show which was so cool and amazing to watch.

I miss it very much, it's all changed now and it's mostly in a negative way.