Any Pro-Wrestling Fans Around?

[Patty Thundersnow 4,164]

Got a new WWE Champion on our hands.

Spoiler

Big E successfully cashed in on Bobby Lashley following his match with Randy Orton at the end of Raw.

 

[Sparklefan1234 171,183]

18 hours ago, Gabe Gooding said:

Got a new WWE Champion on our hands.

 

My thoughts on the new WWE Champion.

 

Spoiler

As long as Big E is totally on his own I'll be happy. I'd like to be able to take him seriously for once.

 

Edited September 14, 2021 by Sparklefan1234

[Denim&Venöm 19,063]

And NXT has been re-branded for the 3rd time. Sounds like it's going back to, not it's roots, but it's first leaves as a better produced up OVW/FCW. Remember, early NXT was based on the main roster style before Trips made it PWG but with air conditioning. Takeover era NXT was fantastically entertaining. But as a feeder system for the WWE style? It failed. WWE was never going to change, so NXT is what needed to change. Would I have loved WWE to have that PWG/ROH mid to late 2000s indy ring style? Oh hell yes. But that's not what WWE's audience wants. And by audience, I mean investors and the 50+ crowd. So WWE does what they do best: Big sweaty men. And they were all over this show. 

Van Wagner (no relation to Dr.Wagner, Dr. Wagner Jr. or El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr.) is Vinny's latest three week push. APperently he's like a young Edge. I dunno. Ciampa got back the title he never lost, congrats there. And we got to see the debut of Braun Breakker buck it I'm not calling him that. He is Rex Steiner. Guess that heat from uncle Scott is still simmering over in McMahnland. Overall, while i don't approve of the direction, they aren't handling it in the worst way. At least for now. But the black and gold was fun while it lasted and it sucks that it's lasting legacy was to be used as cannon fodder against AEW. 

RIP NXT. 

[Denim&Venöm 19,063]

And AEW Dynamite and Rampage will be stacked next week. Two hours a piece, going down in Arthur Ashe stadium, which holds up to 19K fans. This is almost as big as Wrestlemania. And it's on free TV!

And while not pictured, we'll also be getting Mox & Kingston vs. Suzuki-gun on one of these shows. I'm actually looking forward to that more than I am Omega/Danielson. 

[Sparklefan1234 171,183]

On 2021-09-15 at 6:48 PM, Denim&Venöm said:

And NXT has been re-branded for the 3rd time.

 

Calling it "NXT 2.0" is silly, IMO.  You don't see WWE changing things to "Raw ___.0" every time they update the show logo.

[Denim&Venöm 19,063]

1 minute ago, Sparklefan1234 said:

 

Calling it "NXT 2.0" is silly, IMO.  You don't see WWE changing things to "Raw ___.0" every time they update the show logo.

They sorta did it. Though it was more like an unbranding than rebranding. Monday night Raw became Raw is War. But then 9/11 happened and it reverted back to Monday Night Raw. 

[Sparklefan1234 171,183]

11 minutes ago, Denim&Venöm said:

They sorta did it. Though it was more like an unbranding than rebranding.

Monday night Raw became Raw is War. But then 9/11 happened and it reverted back to Monday Night Raw. 

 

 That made sense because the Monday Night Wars were also over by that point which, is why Monday Night Raw became Raw is War in the first place. 

Edited September 17, 2021 by Sparklefan1234

[Denim&Venöm 19,063]

So the first two nights of the 30th annual G1 Climax are in the books. We have a bit of a reprieve before action resumes on the 23rd. I will not be spoilering results, as by the time I get results up, the next night of action will be underway. 

• 1st match in A-block was certainly something. Defending champ Kota Ibushi lost his first match. To freaking Yujiro. BC B-team fall guy, godfather wannabe, Janetty to Naito's HBK, 2nd best Takehashi, Yujiro. Last years last place G1 contestant just beat last years winner. Granted it was with a new "glorious" DDT. But still, shock upset if there ever was one. 
• 2nd match was basically a hoss fight between Great O-Khan & Tonga Roa. Pretty meh. Khan got the win over the tag specialist with the iron claw slam. 
• 3rd match was basically a comedy match between KENTA & Yano. KENTA broke the record for longest ring introduction in wrestling history. Dude does not get enough credit for his comedic dry wit. Yano learned from last years wrist tape laden fiasco and rolled up KENTA. 
• 4th match is a MOTN contender. Naito vs. ZSJ.  These two have never had a bad match. Brutal leg work from Zack. Naito hitting some gnarly DDTs. And Zack got the submission win over Naito! I don't think Naito has tapped since he submitted to Tana for the IC title at Dominion 2017. Would've been MotN, if it wasn't on the same card as Omega/Okada II. Go watch it.
• 5th match was IWGP WHC Shingo vs. Tomohiro Ishii in, what else? A knock out, drag down brawl. I've never seen Shingo throw harder clothelines. And Ishii threw forearms that'd make Misawa proud. The best of Dragon Gate vs. the finest from WAR. The students of Tenryu duked it out. And the champ came out on top after LotD. A very strong start for the Dragon, and my pick to win the whole damn thing. Go watch this one too. 

Night II

• 1st match where Evil beat a very game Yoshi-Hashi. I think we're gonna see YH's best this year. But I'm no fan of Dick Togo's constant inference. This has ruined Evil's credibility and make him no fun to watch. 
• 2nd match had Jeff Cobb defeat a very cagey Chase Owens. Despite being BC, I think Chase is gonna get the underdog rub this G1 and put on a good showing here. Best of luck to the Texas Heavyweight champ. 
• 3rd match was the first of our handsome battles between Sanada & Tonga Roa. These two were mirror images in this match, trading athleticism & counter wrestling all match. People forget how good Tama was as a singles guy. Sanada gets the win with a rolling prawn hold. 
• 4th match was Taichi vs. Goto in Taichi's accent up the card. More heelish than in recent memory, btu Goto bent the rules a bit here. It was a fine mid card match. Taichi winning with the Black Mephisto. 
• 5th match, one more time. Tanahashi vs. Okada, for the first time since I last saw them in person back at G1 2019. Shame they couldn't get the minutes long standing ovation and Holy S-word chants from the Osaka faithful like they did in Dallas. But there were poitns where they almost made the crowd break Covid protocol. As usual this was a fine edition to their legacy. Tanahashi survived Okada's new Money Clip I'm calling it the Billion Yen Dream. Fight me. Tanahashi survived that, but couldn't endure the classic Rainmaker. 

Tough to say who had the better night. B block was better overall, but A Block had the better main events. 

But bad news for everypony watching the G1. Tetsuya Naito must now withdraw from the tournament with a knee injury suffered in his botu with ZSJ. He'll forfeit the remaining eight bouts and the rest of his opponents will earn two points towards their finally tallies. There will be no substitutes.  Naito will finish this year's G1 without ever getting on the score board. This is gonna screw over the A-Block royally. Naito was one of the favorites to win the block and make the final, if not the whole tournament. Gedo is gonna have an aneurysm fixing the brackets. Between the Steve Corino virus wrecking both travel, attendance and crowd participation, Bushi-Road "unifying" the Heavy and IC titles and having the reception be lukewarm at best, Okada working with a bad back, Hiromu tearing his bicep, Ospreay hurting his neck, Ibushi getting Pneumonia and now this, New Japan has just been snake bitten this year. 

So A-Block nights will only have four tournament matches. But Naito's opponents will still have work to do. We're getting a series of exhibition matches instead. 

 

September 23: G1 Climax 31 Night 3, Ota-ku

• 1st Match: Yuji Nagata vs Tanga Loa

September 26: G1 Climax 31 Night 5, Kobe

• 2nd Match: Yuji Nagata vs Shingo Takagi

September 30: G1 Climax 31 Night 7, Korakuen Hall

• 1st Match: BUSHI vs Yujiro Takahashi

October 3: G1 Climax 31 Night 9, Nagoya

• 2nd Match: BUSHI vs Toru Yano

October 7: G1 Climax 31 Night 11, Hiroshima

• 2nd Match: Hiromu Takahashi vs KENTA

October 9: G1 Climax 31 Night 13, Osaka

• 2nd Match: Hiromu Takahashi vs Tomohiro Ishii

October 13: G1 Climax 31 Night 15, Sendai

• 2nd Match: Satoshi Kojima vs Kota Ibushi

October 18: G1 Climax Night 17, Yokohama

• Satoshi Kojima vs Great-O-Khan 

 

Not quite as good as Naito's G1 A-game performances, but some solid bouts here still. Looking forward to the Ishii/Hiromu re-match from last years New Japan Cup, as well as to my knowledge, first time encounters between Ibushi/Kojima, Shingo/Nagata & Hiromu/KENTA. 

Between the G1 and AEW's two night Clash at the Ashe, we're gonna have a busy week on our hooves everypony. 

Oh and G1 standigns are as follows:

A Block- 

• Shingo: 2 
• ZSJ: 2
• Yujiro: 2
• O-Khan: 2
• Yano: 2
• Ibushi: 0
• KENTA: 0
• Tonga Roa: 0
• Ishii: 0
• Naito: 0

B Block-

• Okada: 2
• Taichi: 2
• Evil: 2
• Cobb: 2
• Sanada: 2
• Tama Tonga: 0
• Owens: 0
• Yoshi-Hashi: 0
•  Goto: 0
• Tanahashi: 0

 

 

[Sparklefan1234 171,183]

@Denim&Venöm 

How excited are you for the AEW video game?

I'm excited because it's new but I'm wary because even though Yukes has TONS of experience with wrestling games the short clips

I've seen look pretty glitchy...Unless this is how Jungle Boy performs springboard moves in real life. 

 

 

Edited September 23, 2021 by Sparklefan1234

[Denim&Venöm 19,063]

Moments ago, Sparklefan1234 said:

@Denim&Venöm 

How excited are you for the AEW video game?

I'm excited because it's new but I'm wary because even though Yukes has TONS of experience with wrestling games the short clips

I've seen look pretty glitchy...Unless this is how Jungle Boy performs springboard moves in real life. 

 

 

Admittedly, not very. Though that's more with drifting away from gaming in general

[Sparklefan1234 171,183]

Moments ago, Denim&Venöm said:

Admittedly, not very. Though that's more with drifting away from gaming in general

 

I feel the same way, TBH. I'm not a big fan of AEW anyway. 

I'm also drifting away from gaming, too as each WWE 2K release becomes glitchier and glitchier with each iteration, wrestlers I like leaving etc.

make it more and more difficult to have fun once all of the game patches roll out. 

[Denim&Venöm 19,063]

56 minutes ago, Sparklefan1234 said:

 

I feel the same way, TBH. I'm not a big fan of AEW anyway. 

I'm also drifting away from gaming, too as each WWE 2K release becomes glitchier and glitchier with each iteration, wrestlers I like leaving etc.

make it more and more difficult to have fun once all of the game patches roll out. 

Yeah I stopped after 2k11. Too linear. It all peaked with the OG SD v Raw. I am thinking of getting Wrestlekingdom 1 and 2. The other Yukes wrestling games. Snapshot of Japanese wrestling from 06-08, so I can play Kobashi vs. Tanahashi. 

 

[Sparklefan1234 171,183]

37 minutes ago, Denim&Venöm said:

Yeah I stopped after 2k11. Too linear. It all peaked with the OG SD v Raw. I am thinking of getting Wrestlekingdom 1 and 2. The other Yukes wrestling games. Snapshot of Japanese wrestling from 06-08, so I can play Kobashi vs. Tanahashi. 

 

I'm drifting further and further away from gaming in general but I keep thinking "This wrestling game will be better than the last one." only

to be let down by "updates".

 

Things were better before online patches became a thing because Yukes/THQ waited until the games were done before they released them.

 

Also, I think Brock Lesnar is in one of the Wrestle Kingdom games. 

Edited September 23, 2021 by Sparklefan1234

[Denim&Venöm 19,063]

1 hour ago, Sparklefan1234 said:

 

Also, I think Brock Lesnar is in one of the Wrestle Kingdom games. 

He is. WK 1 as a PS2 exclusive along with Giant Bernard. I cold do Lesnar vs. Tanahashi like was originally planned before Lesnar threw a tantrum and left with the IWGP heavyweight title.

[Sparklefan1234 171,183]

26 minutes ago, Denim&Venöm said:

He is. WK 1 as a PS2 exclusive along with Giant Bernard. I cold do Lesnar vs. Tanahashi like was originally planned before Lesnar threw a tantrum and left with the IWGP heavyweight title.

 

My favorite thing about wrestling games are the dream matches I'm able to create. 

It's funny, one of my biggest feuds was Christian vs. Kane and it wasn't until years later that I kept reading that Kane doesn't like Christian

irl for some reason.

Edited September 23, 2021 by Sparklefan1234

[Denim&Venöm 19,063]

6 hours ago, Sparklefan1234 said:

 

My favorite thing about wrestling games are the dream matches I'm able to create. 

It's funny, one of my biggest feuds was Christian vs. Kane and it wasn't until years later that I kept reading that Kane doesn't like Christian

irl for some reason.

Yeah I can't remember if they ever met one on one. I think it's also became they were tag guys most of their careers and when they weren't, they were both heels. 

I wouldn't mind seeing a Christian vs. Tanahashi match. Offensively, they're surprisingly similar. Frog splash, cloverleaf, open hand palm strikes. 

[Sparklefan1234 171,183]

11 hours ago, Denim&Venöm said:

I wouldn't mind seeing a Christian vs. Tanahashi match. Offensively, they're surprisingly similar. Frog splash, cloverleaf, open hand palm strikes. 

 

Christian's seem more like normal slaps to me when he leaps over the ropes and hits someone hanging over the middle rope.  

Unpopular opinion:

After watching almost two full years of WWF programming from the late 90's, I now think blood is one of the most unrealistic and stupid things in wrestling. 

[Denim&Venöm 19,063]

55 minutes ago, Sparklefan1234 said:

 

Christian's seem more like normal slaps to me when he leaps over the ropes and hits someone hanging over the middle rope.  

Unpopular opinion:

After watching almost two full years of WWF programming from the late 90's, I now think blood is one of the most unrealistic and stupid things in wrestling. 

Crimson mask is a bit much. It's taken quite a while for fans to be trained out of that mindset. So no, you're not alone. But in something like a cage match or a street fight, something worthy of a blood feud, no pun intended. And how it's done needs to be creative. Chair shot, no. Barbed wire bat? It'd be unrealistic if there wasn't blood. 

[Sparklefan1234 171,183]

9 minutes ago, Denim&Venöm said:

Crimson mask is a bit much. It's taken quite a while for fans to be trained out of that mindset. So no, you're not alone. But in something like a cage match or a street fight, something worthy of a blood feud, no pun intended. And how it's done needs to be creative. Chair shot, no. Barbed wire bat? It'd be unrealistic if there wasn't blood. 

 

That's what I mean, the way people bled during that period in wrestling did seem ridiculous with some of the ways it happened.

I honestly don't know if a chair shot to to the head would cause someone to bleed for real, but if it did, I don't think their face would be

totally coated like Eddie Guerrero's infamous hit at No Way Out 2004. 

Edited September 23, 2021 by Sparklefan1234

[Denim&Venöm 19,063]

22 minutes ago, Sparklefan1234 said:

 

That's what I mean, the way people bled during that period in wrestling did seem ridiculous with some of the ways it happened.

I honestly don't know if a chair shot to to the head would cause someone to bleed for real, but if it did, I don't think their face would be

totally coated like Eddie Guerrero's infamous hit at No Way Out 2004. 

Judgement Day 2004. But yeah, that is why blading needs to be banned. If there's blood, let it happen hardway. But don't intentionally do it hardway. Don't be like Nigel McGuinness. 

[Sparklefan1234 171,183]

1 minute ago, Denim&Venöm said:

Judgement Day 2004. But yeah, that is why blading needs to be banned. If there's blood, let it happen hardway. But don't intentionally do it hardway. Don't be like Nigel McGuinness. 

 

I'm just glad I got the year right.

Blading should have never been introduced to wrestling in the first place in my opinion because it was as overdone then

as BIG, dangerous moves are nowadays to the point where they've both lost their "magic" so to speak. 

[Denim&Venöm 19,063]

5 minutes ago, Sparklefan1234 said:

 

I'm just glad I got the year right.

Blading should have never been introduced to wrestling in the first place in my opinion because it was as overdone then

as BIG, dangerous moves are nowadays to the point where they've both lost their "magic" so to speak. 

Who the heck even invented it? Too morbid for the carny days. I'm guessing someone in Memphis. They kinda started hardcore wrestling. 

[Sparklefan1234 171,183]

48 minutes ago, Denim&Venöm said:

Who the heck even invented it? Too morbid for the carny days. I'm guessing someone in Memphis. They kinda started hardcore wrestling. 

 

I found an article about blading but I don't know how factually accurate it is.  https://wrestletalk.com/features/explained-blading-in-wrestling/

It is from Wrestletalk so they may be a better source than WhatCulture. 

[Denim&Venöm 19,063]

Crazy few days in AEW land. Felt like we got a PPV spread across two days. 20,177 fans. Neither Raw or Smackdown could ever hope to draw even half of that. and they kick everything off with Omega vs. Danielson. A true dream match, and it was the opener. A ballsy move, but it worked. And this wasn't the pumpkin headed belt collector vs. the planets goat faced champion. This was The Cleaner from 2017 traveling back in time to fight the American Dragon who looked and wrestled like he just walked off a 2009 Ring of Honor card at the Hammerstein. The Regal-plexes. The cattle mutilation. The "I've got till five" gimmick. The "You're gonna get your fking head kicked in!" chant that I've missed for the past 12 years. It was as fantastic a match as we all had hoped. And the crazy thing is, they were holding back. The best is yet to come. 

Elsewhere, we had a fantastic as usual promo from CM Punk. Witty and adaptable as always. You know you're a good talker when your promo is better than the match it's supposed to hype. Super Clique and the Jurassic Peeps had a great match. Jungle Boy vs. Adam Cole will be fun. Proud n' Lucha vs. The HFO was good. And of course we got Suzki & Archer vs. Mox & Kingston, AEW righting the wrong from a few weeks ago. Who would've believed it a year ago if I told you that Minoru Suzuki & Eddie Kingston would headline a 20,000 seater wrestling show in the US? I wouldn't have. It was violent. It was fun. Just as expected. What wasn't expected was the AEW debut of Notorious 187 himself, Homicide! Fingers crossed this leads to Homicide vs. Minoru Suzuki. 

I can see why NJPW heavy hitters like Suzuki, Ospreay, Jucie, Finlay & Jay White opted to work state side. They've got big crowds who make tons of noise to work with. Even Tanahashi said he wishes he could fly in every month to perform for U.S. fans. Hopefully circumstances will be improved enough by Jan.4th next year. 

 

Meanwhile, Night 3 of action in A block continues in this years G1. 

Naito is out, so everyone except ZSJ gets 2 points. 

Skipped the exhibition opener between Nagata & Tonga Roa. Was too busy watching Clash from the Ashe and I am speed watching now.

1. O-Khan brutalized Yano as revenge for Yano cutting his pony tail braid off in the New Japan Cup. He even kept the lock of hair the whole time. Even NJPW pays more attention to the continuity of their mid card feuds more than WWE does. 
2. KENTA tapped out Yujiro in an inter Bullet Club match in what was a surprisingly clean, back and fourth match. KENTA did what even Okada couldn't and bring out what was the best match Yujiro has had in a very long time. 
3. Ibushi continued his winning streak against Ishii. Decent match, but not as good as past bouts. Might've been by design. I think they're going for the angle that Ibushi isn't all there in this year's G1. 
4. And our main event, a rematch from the 2009 wXw 16 carat gold semi-finals. ZSJ vs. Shingo Takagi, in a back and forth battle of power vs. submissions. Zack got thrown around more times than I've ever seen in New Japan. The dragon almost went hold for hold, knowing Zack better than he knew himself. But patience pays off. Zack targeted the arm during the last half. Locked in a triangle for the second time, keeping Shingo from powering out, then when Shingo almost powered out, switched to a hanging arm bar and Shingo tapped instantly. You read that right. ZSJ just tapped out the champ. Zack just tapped out back to back LIJ members. Zack just beat two of the favorites to win the block. Looks like the prevailing theory that Gedo may book Zack to be a killer in this tournament, riding off the infamy of shelving Naito, might be coming true. 

If any of you wanna see what the deal is with the G1 is but are on the fence of spending 999 yen to do it, I've got good news. The night of B Block action for the 24th will be free for everyone on NJPW world. Go check it out. 

Standings for A Block are as follows: 

1. Great O-Khan: 6 points
2. ZSJ: 4 points
3. Shingo: 4 points
4. Yujiro: 4 points
5. KENTA: 4 points
6. Yano: 4 points
7. Ibushi: 4 points
8. Ishii: 2 points
9. Tonga Roa: 2 points

[Sparklefan1234 171,183]

I thought we'd have a break from the ridiculous match endings in WWE for a little while after the crowds returned but I was wrong.