Wrestling shows (AEW/IMPACT/NWA/ROH and others)

Best Selling RPGs - Available Now @ DriveThruRPG.com
I didn't realize Kylie Rae had un-retired! I guess I will have to start watching Powerrr now.
They worked out a deal with IMPACT (as I guess her contract with them was still valid, so unretiring meant they got paid and NWA got her on their roster). She hasn't done any interviews, and she doesn't really cheat (much; she has once or twice), but she's got a win over Melina in both a singles and a tag, and she and Deeb beat Rosa and Sky Blue, so she's on a winning streak so far
 
So the rumours are flying that Bryan Danielson and/or C.M. Punk are joining AEW. Cool! Maybe I'll give it ano...

- Nick Gage is for some unfathomable reason given the televised main event of Fight for the Fallen -

...Fuck you! Fuck you and the horse you rode in on.
 
Next week Juventud Guerrera main events against Jericho. When was the last time he got to do that?
Juve's a guy who went his entire career never having much success in the U.S., which is a shame. Can pushing-50 Juve make up for over-50 Jericho's bad conditioning?
 
I saw Juvie live at a local show here in Portland prior to the pandemic, where he wrestled TJP. The ended was kind of weird, but prior to that, it was a decent match. What's funny is how this match is tied to comments Jericho made to MJF about 2 years ago when he brought up Juvie's name, so that's kind of cool that they dove back that far. Makes you wonder if maybe Lance Storm will come out of retirement again to face Jericho as a labor.

Didn't CM Punk have issues with Jericho (on screen) at one point in WWE? Might be interesting if he was the final labor opponent. I doubt it, but still an interesting though.

Sadly, it looks like Hangman isn't going to be dethroning Kenny any longer. Which I think really sucks, as all this buildup led to nothing
 
Sadly, it looks like Hangman isn't going to be dethroning Kenny any longer. Which I think really sucks, as all this buildup led to nothing
Tony found a new shiny toy to play with. Of course he instantly forgot about his old ones.
 
I don't follow wrestling but since you guys are fans, sharing something that came up in the Terrificon feed, the convention I was at last weekend.

Tay Conti and Sammy Guevara were at the con and I think a fan had given them plastic swords and they started a mock fight. Also at the convention was another special guest, and the reaction they had was priceless. This video catches the tail end of that exchange.



(That's Adrian Paul who butts in, lead of the Highlander TV show, who's really a master swordsman and was actually doing some training on Saturday)...
 
Since I really enjoyed that last Impact PPV, as well as Impact Homecoming last weekend, I ended up signing up for Impact +. Decided, at semi-random, to start watching all of Impact from January of 2020. Thus far all I've seen is the first TV ep from 2020 & the Hard to Kill ppv, but it's been a lot of fun. Gon' be weird when we get to April or so and the crowds disappear.
 
First I've heard of Impact +. Does it have the old TNA days too? The online PPV era and such? I'd be curious and amused to see that again. Y'know, watch young up and comer AJ Styles freeze up every time someone put a mic near him.
 
First I've heard of Impact +. Does it have the old TNA days too? The online PPV era and such? I'd be curious and amused to see that again. Y'know, watch young up and comer AJ Styles freeze up every time someone put a mic near him.

Not sure, but I'll check after work.
 
I started watching AEW Dynamite again with Fyter Fest and found that it's back to being a show I enjoy. I may even go back and watch the unwatched episodes in my DVR to see how they got from where they were when I stopped watching to where they are now.
 
First I've heard of Impact +. Does it have the old TNA days too? The online PPV era and such? I'd be curious and amused to see that again. Y'know, watch young up and comer AJ Styles freeze up every time someone put a mic near him.

Impact + has PPV & TV content covering the time from 2004 through this year. Not sure if it has all the content they've produced, but it seems to be the majority of it.
 
Last edited:
Eaton was one of the best. The Midnights were always one of my favorite tag teams, and the feud between them and the original Midnights was fantastic. His solo work was pretty good too. He had some good matches with Arn Anderson, and then later the two made a great tag team.
 
Eaton was one of the best. The Midnights were always one of my favorite tag teams, and the feud between them and the original Midnights was fantastic. His solo work was pretty good too. He had some good matches with Arn Anderson, and then later the two made a great tag team.
You had to really suck to have a bad match with Double A.
 
WWE just released Bobby Fish, Mercedes Martinez and Bronson Reed! Plus a bunch of other NXT wrestlers I don't care about as much.

Pretty soon AEW is just going to made up of WWE's castoffs. This is just TNA all over again, isn't it? Maybe this is Vince's new evil scheme... Bet of Tony's "gotta collect 'em all" childishness so that his dad finally stops his pocket money.
 
Mercedes Martinez has put on some of the best matches I've seen @ the Chicago-area indies. It'll be cool to hopefully see her there again.
 
WWE just released Bobby Fish, Mercedes Martinez and Bronson Reed! Plus a bunch of other NXT wrestlers I don't care about as much.

Pretty soon AEW is just going to made up of WWE's castoffs. This is just TNA all over again, isn't it? Maybe this is Vince's new evil scheme... Bet of Tony's "gotta collect 'em all" childishness so that his dad finally stops his pocket money.
That's assuming AEW wants them, or that they want to go with them. I think Reed would be better served with going to NJPW myself. Fish would fit in well with Jay Lethal's group in RoH.

Martinez, on the other hand, would be a big boost to the AEW women's division. Plus I think she could have some great matches with Baker and Rosa.
 
Martinez would, in theory, be a big boost to the women's division. But it needs better booking to matter. Martinez and Deeb between them should be the solid foundation of any women's division. Both experienced and excellent workers that could instill a little discipline and psychology in the rest.

But again, this would require the division being booked by someone other than the world's greatest wrestling artist...
 
I watched that on Youtube. While I'm a bigger Bryan Danielson fan, Punk is definitely going to be putting more eyes on AEW.

On another note: I've been reading reviews of their recent shows, and I'm surprised at the sort of push 2.0 is getting, given how crappy they were booked in NXT as Ever Rise. I did see part of the match Moxley had with Daniel Garcia, and Garcia impressed me. I was also impressed with how good Moxley made him look in that match. I'm kind of hoping when Danielson arrives, he takes him under his wing, because he kind of reminds me of Danielson in the early days of Ring of Honor.
 
Got All Out and really enjoyed it, especially the steel cage match for the tag team titles between the Lucha Bros & the Young Bucks. Turned off this week's Dynamite halfway through because it was so boring. Win some, lose some, I guess.
 
Just saw that Mercedez Martinez will be at the Shimmer show in Berwyn, IL on October 31! I can't go because my BFF and I have an all-day horror movie marathon every Halloween, but I'm still stoked that she'll be there.
 
I dared to watch the Punk vs. Allin match. It was really good! All of a sudden, a wrestling match broke out on this wrestling pay-per view.

I flicked through the rest quickly and decided not to waste my time. So I did, in fact, just buy a show to watch one match... I won't do it again. It's nice to see that Punk can still go, and obviously he can cut a promo in his sleep, but I won't be enduring the rest of the weekly AEW clown show to see him.
 
I've only watched the first two matches, and I thought Miro vs Kingston was a good match. It was just a hoss fight, not a pure wrestling match. I wasn't really that into the women's title match though
 
I decided to go back and watch the rest of the September 8th Dynamite and I'm glad I did, because MJF running down Cincinnati was hilarious! That ep still had way too much talking and not enough wrestling IMO, though.
 
I really liked All Out, wide variety of matches, (Mostly) all bangers... and even then, I don't think anyone expected Paul Wight vs Q T Marshall to be a classic for the ages, so it's fine. Omega vs Christian almost suffered for being at the end of it, because it was clear the crowd were burned out.

The only match that really bugged me was the false finish to Jericho vs MJF, because it didn't make sense; if there are refs watching a match from outside the ring, and they can provide advice to the ref in the ring about rule breaks, why the hell has this never happened before, why have so many title matches been allowed to end with rule-breaking finishes. Jericho also didn't get to the rope break in time anyway, so the above is kinda academic. A good match let down by a screwy finish that broke AEW's own keyfabe rules.
 
As the designate AEW hater, I must admit to finally enjoying a Kenny Omega match. D-Bry (it doesn't work the other way) led him through a really, really good match last week. I know, I know, the suddenly-enforced time limit was annoying, but a draw was the right result.

Because... Fuck. I actually want to see Omega again! I want to see these two fight for longer, for the belt, in front of a big bloody crowd.

Ugh, I feel unclean.

Next thing you know I'm going to see something nice about the Young Bucks.
 
I think they might still be saving Omega's downfall to be at the hands of Hangman Page. His wife had their first child awhile ago, so he's been off tv. As much as I love Danielson, I really want to see Page take the belt off him.

I thought Dynamite post All Out was ok. I think the opener really stole the show tbh. I knew Soho wasn't going to win. While she's busy right now, they're going to go back to Baker vs Rosa, because that book isn't closed. I can't wait to see Rosa vs Rose vs Cargill. I think Pillman vs MJF was a nice, short transitional feud for MJF. He got a lot of heat over it, and Pillman got to look good in the process (even though he lost). Cody taking a second loss to Black was good, though Arn just looked stupid during that match.

I'm watching Rampage, and Punk had a good match with Hobbs. That kid is going to be a star.

Also, Bobby Fish went to MLW (which is sort of a good fit for him), and AEW did pass on Buddy Matthews (Murphy). If not MLW, I think IMPACT would be good for him; the thought of him vs Alexander (who I can see taking the belt from Christian) will be great. I also hope he does some stuff with NJPW, because he'd be perfect there. Black also won the vacant PWG tag titles (formerly held by MSK) teaming with Brody King, an RoH guy. I thought that was pretty cool.

Salina de la Renta, who is really awesome as a manger, stated that talks with WWE stalled after the person she was dealing with was let go. I think she would be perfect to manage Andrade, so I hope AEW can sign her to a deal. From what I did see of her in MLW, she is a great manager. I think she would really help Andrade get over (not that he can't with his in ring skills, but his English does limit him promo wise in the US, etc).

Due to work, I fell behind on NXT again. I'm just starting the show where Kross takes on Gargano for the belt. It's going to take me a few weeks to catch up, since I'll be kind of busy the next two weekends. I did see clips of Steiner's kid. Stupid ring name, but he's another star in the making. It's like his dad's head on his uncle's body before he over did the roids lol
 
Due to work, I fell behind on NXT again. I'm just starting the show where Kross takes on Gargano for the belt. It's going to take me a few weeks to catch up, since I'll be kind of busy the next two weekends. I did see clips of Steiner's kid. Stupid ring name, but he's another star in the making. It's like his dad's head on his uncle's body before he over did the roids lol

The sudden transition to the all new, all different NXT (now with Vince McMahon's involvement!) is goddamn painful. While I completely agree a refresh was in order, this... This was not it.

I couldn't imagine myself being unhappy at seeing Ciampa as champion again, but the belt is worth half what it was a month ago. Partly, this is Joe's badly timed injury, but also because all of a sudden there are half a dozen "main event guys" fighting over it and I've no clue who most of them are!

It could smooth out over time, but I'm alread dearly looking forward to a rebrand away from the paint-explosion look and the not-ready-for-developmental-tv talent that are suddenly all over the show.
 
Last weekend, Eddie Kingston was supposed to be in the main event @ a Defy show in Seattle, but apparently he's injured atm. So Jon Moxley showed up as his surprise replacement. That would have been a fun show to be at!



 
Trying to catch up on the two NXT brands. I'm right at Takeover 36, and just finished the match between WALTER and Ilya. Man that was a hard hitting match! Ilya was covered in welts on his upper chest from how hard WALTER lands those chops.
 
Saw this on reddit and had a good laugh:
This Dynamite is Unwatchable.

Probably falls under "don't explain the joke", but: there was no Dynamite last night because of the hockey game. Dynamite is on Saturday this week. People in the thread are largely keeping kayfabe that the hockey game is a particularly bad/weird episode of Dynamite and criticizing it as such.
 
So I'm pretty much caught up on NXT (I'm on the October 12th episode right now).

I like the new arena they are using, as it seems to allow more fans. The better lighting helps too. The logo though has to go. It looks amateurish to me.

As for the changes I'm liking some of the new talent. Bron Breakker is a star in the making. He acts like his dad, but talks like his uncle (sans the lunacy). Grayson Walker and Dante Chen look pretty good too. I'm so - so on von Walker and Brooks Jensen (Bull Buchanan's son). Xyonn Quinn isn't bad. Not happy with Carmelo Hayes change in attitude and Trick Williams isn't in his league (but has the gift of gab). The Creed Brothers look interesting; I want to see them lock up with Imperium. Even though he's a freaking cliche, I love Tony D'Angelo. I feel bad for Santos Escobar. Dude's been killing it, but he couldn't get the North American title.

The women's division is on fire though! I've always been so-so on Mandy Rose, but she's really upped her game. The competition for the Women's tag titles make the main roster scene look like a joke. The only down point was B-Fab. She doesn't look good in the ring to me. Elektra Lopez is a hoss. Ivy Nile may be small, but she looks impressive. I'm loving Io Shirai constantly telling people she doesn't like them (even her tag partner). Her going off in Japanese is hilarious. She's like Asuka 2.0 when she does that
 
Last edited:
I wish I could enjoy NXT 2.0, but it's just another bad WWE show now.

A roster refresh and a new coat of paint were both overdue, but this... Ugh. I've given it a few weeks, and I don't think I can put myself through any more. That leaves NXT UK as my only point of light in wrestling now. That's sad.

Some of the new talent does have potential. Bron is the guy everyone is praising, and I can absolutely see why. He needs to lose the shitty name immediately, and needs... Well, I would've said needs to stay in NXT longer... But it makes no difference now. What he needs is a couple of years extra seasoning. So I expect to see him dumped onto RAW with a losing streak and a midget sidekick in a months time.
 
I'm going to disagree with you about 2.0. I actually think it's better than I was expecting. All these new guys stepping up to the veterans on the roster is an interesting direction to take, but I think it's a good one. The best way to get seasoned is to work with guys like Dunne, Strong, Knight, Ciampa, etc. All the training in the world is only going to get you so far. How well you handle yourself in the ring is how you can tell if someone has what it takes. So far, I think most of the fresh blood are doing that.

As for Bron; I hate the name, but I think he doesn't really need a couple of years of seasoning. For someone who has only a few matches under his belt prior to signing with WWE, he looks pretty good in the ring. His style is a basic smash mouth style, and he hits the moves he needs to better than some other guys I've seen with more experience. I don't care what happens if/when he gets dumped on the main roster shows. i don't watch those. I only follow the NXT brands, so when they move on, I look for someone new to check out.

One thing I noticed is the crowd seems different than before. The "heels" seem to get more cheers. Imperium got cheered against Briggs & Jensen, and fans were chanting "Thank you Imperium" when they beat up MSK after their four way with B&J, GYV and Melo & Williams. That surprised me. I'd actually like to see an Imperium face turn, because the thought of them vs GYV or the Creed Brothers would be good matches with both technical precision and brawling.

I also think it's unfair to compare 2.0 to UK. The roster on UK are made up of mostly veterans of the UK/European wrestling scene. Of course they will put on better matches. Most of them have likely wrestled each other in ICW, Progress and other promotions dozens if not hundreds of times over the years. They know each other pretty well. Only a few of them (like Nathan Frazier) are relative newcomers. They're always going to have an edge.

Speaking of Frazier; I've seen as far as his heritage cup match with Teoman. I have to say that was one of the better matches on UK in the shows leading up to it, outside of the final match between Rampage Brown and Joe Coffey. I also have to say I was finally impressed with Jinny in her match with Aoife Valkyrie. I've always felt Jinny and Nina Samuels are two of the weakest on the UK Women's roster. That match showed me Jinny has it in her to put on really good matches if she has the right opponent.

Amale has also impressed me of late. I liked her match with Emilia McKenzie. It's both refreshing and sad that the two NXT brands have better women's division booking than Raw & Smackdown, given some of the women on those rosters. They just don't have a clue on booking the women that well.

I'm also digging the new pairing of Dave Mastiff and Jack Starz. I was worried Starz was going to suffer from Piper Niven's main roster call up. But he showed himself more than capable vs Tyler Bate and this tag team combination is interesting. I'm also digging Saxon Huxley's semi-Bruiser Brody persona.
 
Last edited:
Saxon Huxley's from my little hometown here in Hartlepool. So it's always amusing to see him.

To the main point, it isn't about the individual members of the roster. Yes, UK's roster has a lot more journeymen-types who know each other well. It's more about 2.0's poor work (thus far) in introducing the multitude of new faces properly. Not that NXT always had the best track record there, but it never had to showcase so many so quickly and expect them to be memorable.

It's clear that many of the old hands are destined to ride out their contracts in NXT. For some, that's desirable. The new crop are the ones Vince and co. are going to want to see on the main rosters sooner than later.
 
I normally hate it when a wrestler spams their catchphrase in a promo, but I really liked Hangman's "Cowboy Shit" promo on Saturday's Dynamite.

Also loved Miro's promo. I think Miro's being pre-taped with the dramatic lighting helped it, but that wouldn't have mattered if the delivery wasn't good, and the delivery was exceptional.
 
anyone else keeping up with Dark Side of the Ring? I just watched the Luna Vachon episode last night, and honestly, it was somewhat tame in comparison to the other episodes. They did cover her being abused when she was younger, and her drug/alcohol addictions, but it felt like they cliff noted those compared to previous episodes.

Props though to Madusa; she was going to against script and let Luna win the belt off her, but Luna wouldn't do it. Luna would have probably thrived in today's era of women's wrestling, and not be used as more of a valet.
 
Banner: The best cosmic horror & Cthulhu Mythos @ DriveThruRPG.com
Back
Top