Fatty Facesitter

Overall - Not a vintage Smackers from an in-ring perspective in truth, but the Bloodline content is worth a watch and there were some other good bits and pieces throughout. Probably one to digest via YouTube highlights rather than seeking out the full episode. 

👍 Bloodline Business - Fantastic tele yet again. The backstage interaction earlier in the show followed on nicely from the previous show, then everything on the KO show to close was fantastically fine too. A number of different ways this can go in Saudi and I can’t wait to see which direction they go in. The Bloodline is crumbling and it’s glorious to watch. 

👍 Theory vs Sheamus - Good, physical opener for the US strap. Even if the title perhaps never quite felt it was in jeopardy, we had some good action from bell to bell and the finish made sense. A six-man tag between Theory, Pretty Deadly and the Brawling Brutes will be fun to watch when it happens. 

👍 Cameron Grimes vs Ashante Thee Adonis - Another great showcase for Grimes. After last week’s flash win over Corbin, this week he had time to showcase more of his athleticism before once again finishing off an opponent with his ace finisher. Two for two in terms of good build for this call up. 

👍 Bianca/Asuka build - Fine and dandy. Could be another cracker between them at the PLE. 

👎 AJ Styles/Karrion Kross - Nothing terrible but in truth it never felt like it escalated to a seriously excitable point. Perhaps the commercial break hurt it slightly, but generally speaking you never felt a true sense of anticipation or jeopardy. Maybe they just didn’t click. 

👎 Racquel/Shotzi vs Bayley/Sky - Unspectacular and some iffy execution at times. Finish was billed as a Damage CTRL miscommunication but it seemed a bit off and perhaps not executed in the way they were hoping for - whenever something like that looks like a genuine botch as opposed to a deliberate attempt to make an angle of something, you’re in trouble. 

👎 LA Knight vs Boogs - Match wasn’t electric. Perhaps a good heater if you’re LA Knight, but a rough presentation over the last couple of weeks if you’re Boogs and I think he’ll be released soon judging by this. Some fun interactions at the commentary table with Cole/Barrett and the Street Profits, otherwise not much to crow about here. 

👎 EDIT - Totally agree with @FUM  with the crowd noise assessment. Sounded terrible. 

25/5

Overall - Have to say that I’m really impressed with Impact at the moment. The matches are  usually a high standard, angles bubble along nicely from show to show and there’s very little negativity to really crow about. Some great build again this week for Under Siege. This show absolutely breezed by - time flies when you’re having fun!

👍 Sabin vs Speedball - An opener full of quality and with a good story too - Sabin, about to go into a title challenge against the dastardly Trey Miguel, knows he’s going to have to use all of his experience and even fight a bit dirty to stand a chance of beating him, and they used this as an opportunity to showcase that. Really good standard with some very close and tastefully executed near falls at the end to make you wonder if Speedball might get the W instead. Mad that Sabin is still performing at this level around 20 years on from the early days of TNA!

👍 King/Jean vs Decay - Decent tag affair. Again, geographical bias card applied by me, but I enjoyed Nick Aldis’ commentary contribution again. He’s going to be a great colour man when he hangs it up - he paints a great picture of a rivalry, motivations, ramifications, all that good stuff. Fun promo exchange post-match too. “How about I take my jacket off, slowly and dramatically, and why we don’t we have a two-for-one bitch slap special!” Then King looks like he’s about to fight King’s Lynn’s own, only to run away singing “Tomorrow! Tomorrow!” Top patter.

👍 Maclin/PCO business - More good build here and this could be a tidy brawl at Under Siege. The Maclin/D’amore tension is a good backdrop also. Champagne Singh is good craic.  They’ve done a great job building Maclin up as champion so far.

👍 Rich Swann vs Angels - Action was good, the effort was certainly there in spades and it picked up nicely as it progressed. It’s all against the backdrop of Sami Callihan vs The Design which is a bit of an uninspiring conflict - but again, can’t fault this match in isolation.

👍 Dango - I will miss fun-loving-daft Dango but I like this sarcastic, almost nonchalant version of Dango they debuted this week. Excited to see where it goes. Even if he broke my heart.

👍 Skyler vs Chris Bey - Again, solid contest.

👎 Taylor Wilde vs Jessika Havoc - Match was too short to be anything of note and this undead realm business is not my cup of tea. Return of the Courtney Rush character was at least an interesting surprise.

👎 Jordanne Grayce squash - Again, to short tone anything of note. Not a huge amount of unique material for the Knockouts to sink their teeth into this week, but they've been absolutely brilliant of late and Under Siege will be another great showcase for those involved. 

Another NWA double-bill review! 

Powerrr

Overall - Another step in the right direction for Powerrr heading into the Crockett Cup! 

👍 Masterlock Challenge (!) - Daft yet brilliant panto. Stevens is a fucking great comedy heel. So much latter here about his jacket (“It was given to me by the Prince of Malta. Little known fact. This jacket cost more than your homes!”), his Ascot tie, screaming while selling the Masterlock itself. Piss funny. Hire them both back into WWE. 

👍 Blake Troop vs Talos -  A nice David vs Goliath bout here. Troop looked the part trying take down the beastly giant. Not a bad start to the show.

👍 La Rebellion vs Magnum Muscle - Picked up down the stretch and although it was a screwy finish with the faux-title change, I thought it was tastefully done. I quite like Magnum Muscle - it’s a great name for starters. Dak Draper looks the part. 

👍 Kerry Morton vs Jeremiah Plunkett - Good sprint. Morton’s a little shitbag and he owns it really well. 

👎 I still fucking detest this utter shithole of a venue. It really does bring the whole show down. 

NWA vs Triple AAA Part II

Overall - Nothing redeeming about Part II of their stint at the World is a Vampire festival. The first part had some good moments so check that out if you have time to kill. 

👎 Tyrus vs Daga - Daga fucked his ankle when doing a stomp and the match was brought abruptly to a halt. It wasn’t the most inspiring of starts before that though and while a thumbs down is probably harsh considering the injury, overall it was a damp squib to end things with.

👎 Kamille vs Lady Flammer - No shortage of effort but execution too sloppy at times (mostly from Flammer). 

👎 Blue Demon Jr/Vampiro vs La Rebellion - Not great. Vampiro looks knackered, fair play for still giving this lark a good stab though (although I think he’s since called time on his retirement tour due to injury?). Not sure if this is the same match where he stopped selling for a bit and just fucked off for a wander outside the ring, but it appeared to be edited out of this version! 

Overall - Some top in-ring performance at different points, some really well-executed angles and with some great build for the PPV. A much/improved episode on the whole.

👍 Bron Breakker/Carmello features - First, great vignette for young Bronson early in the show. Explained his motivation clearly, concisely, aggressively and directly. It felt authentic and you felt that he believed in every word he was saying. Then, Carmelo’s media tour was turned into a great little feature in its own right and it made him look like an even bigger star. Like Bron, Carmello’s words also had poise and it was another really well put together piece. Really good stuff - we need much more of this not just in NXT, but in the WWE at large.

👍 Noam Dar vs Nathan Frazer - Excellent standard. Big fan of this - some lightning quickness and some splendid transitions. Love that side-step rope run thing that Frazer does. A huge win for Frazer and a sensible piece of booking - he gains a big win, it also builds to Dragon Lee vs Dar at the PLE (thanks to his cameo) and then Frazer can meet either Lee or Dar afterwards. Jolly good stuff.

👍 Tiffany Stratton vs Roxanne Perez - Fair play - Really good standard here. I’ve been quite critical of NXT’s women’s division of late and I’ve had different gripes about both of them in recent times, but they didn’t put a single foot wrong here - some absolutely great sequences and a strong finish to cap things off. This could have been the final and it would have been a great payoff and a great way to crown a new champion.

👍 Dijak/Dragonov business - Now that’s how you make people want to tune in to see a scrap! A massive improvement on last week’s odd cinematic effort. The attacks and brawls are extremely intense, overtly physical and it temporarily suspends your disbelief but it looks so refreshingly real - akin to when Brock Lesnar chucks people about and you go ‘wow, he’ll have definitely felt that’ etc. Exactly how the build should be for something like this.

👍 Tyler Bate vs Eddy Thorpe - A decent watch between two top technicians. Some sensible build towards the triple threat for the NA title too in the post-match skirmish. 

👍 Axiom vs Dabba-Kato - Not bad. A fun sprint between a hoss and a courageous babyface, and nice to see a return of the Albert’s old Baldo Bomb too! Glad they’ve ditched the Scrypts business with Reggie - hopefully the start of a rebuild for him.

👍 Gigi/Jacy exchange - They have a couple of annoying, grating voices but in all fairness both of them delivered here and the weaponised cage match announcement was a decent payoff. You can tell both are improving and getting more comfortable when it comes to the microphone and projecting their personalities. I popped for “fake ass bitch” and “that’s enough emo talk for one day”. How personal!

👍 I did chuckle at the Creed Borthers’ gag about Tony D “He’s sleeping with fish!” Only for Stacks to reply with “What?! You’re doing it wrong!”

👎 Cora Jade vs Lyra Valkyria - No shortage of effort from both parties and despite an early botch they were getting a nice, slow build going. But then it just…stopped! The finish felt too abrupt - it looked like a mistake as opposed to a ‘wow’ moment, and the post-match assault was too easy to telegraph, and now consequently so did the rest of the tournament as a whole. Had ok moments if good action but a strange way to book the opening of the show.

👎 Gallus/Creeds business - Deary me, dreadful dialogue. Gallus’ softcore Scottish football hooligan act is absolutely wretched.  Get oot.

👎 Hank vs Tank - Crowd were never invested and the finish was terrible - a double-cross body where both took equal damage, but one of them immediately goes for a pin and…gets the win? Not a good execution. Bron spearing them both out of their boots was great - should have done that at the very beginning. 

👎 Luca Crusifino vs Von Wagner - Match went nowhere. I will say though that this picture business with Wagner appears to be working - it’s clearly endeared him to the crowd, and the post-match beatdown was somewhat effective. So to be fair, not a total disaster. Also, Crusifino is footballer Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s doppelgänger.

👎 Tony D in the clink - Again, not a fan of the hidden camera bollocks or the terrible acting.

Overall - You'll see me repeat similar phrases when breaking the show down, but it was mostly a case of simple and effective build up for the weekend. Sabu's insertion was a fun appearence, but aside from that, perhaps this show didn't the kind of killer 'must-see' segment that makes your jaw drop or makes you feel like you absolutely must tune in so you don't miss a classic moment that will be remembered for years to come, which I think you should probably aim for on the go home show for what's traditionaly your flagship event. Still, Double or Nothing certainly looks the part and we're in for one hell of a weekend. 

👍 Pillars Business - Simple but effective. This angle has gone through quite the rollercoaster - the indignity of the four-person moan-a-thon promos a few weeks ago to the rock solid execution thereafter. It’s all in a good place and they’ve done well to get it back on track. There was no need to overcomplicate things on the go home show and they certainly took a sensible approach here.

👍 JAS/Cole business - Passionate promos with the hatred radiating from both sides, lovely stuff. Interesting and cool surprise with Sabu entering the picture - Bobby Fish probably pissing in his cornflakes about that. Also, Strong vs Garcia was quite a physical affair and thus a very enjoyable one even if the crowd perhaps weren't going bananas for it. 

👍 Lucha Bros/BCC - Solid main event with four dependable stalwarts. The Young Bucks cameo furthers the build to the PPV and it served as another excuse for Mox to cut his second ace promo of the night at the end. Speaking of which, really enjoyed his first contribution of the evening from backstage. A quick mention also for Danielson's guest commentary appearance. Nothing outright shocking or memorable here, but simple and effective execution heading into the weekend. 

👍 Orange Cassidy vs Kyle Fletcher - Not quite at his vintage best, but it’s an Orange Cassidy match and it was always going to get a thumbs up. Kyle Fletcher doesn’t radiate charisma in the same way that some of Cassidy’s previous opponents have during this run and the match perhaps lacked the same kind of zest as a result. Clearly Fletcher is a good wrestler, but good wrestling alone is tough to break out from in the current landscape where we’re spoilt for choice in terms of eye-catching contests. Still, a good way to open the show. Even a B-level Cassidy match is a top standard.

👍 Mark Briscoe going ape on FTR, Double J and co was great. “I’m gettin’ tired o’ ‘dis bullsheet!” - The FTR promo beforehand was shite, but everything from Mark’s entrance onwards was great. On the whole this has been a really fun angle.

👍 House of Black six man was decent - cool finish with all three hapless babyface victims locked in submissions. Action-packed without overstaying its welcome.

👎 FTR Promo - No need for that Jarrett/TNA snarky, shooty bollocks. Poor. As stated though, everything from Briscoe’s arrival onwards was great.

👎 Taya vs Frost - Unfortunately not a very inspiring encounter. 

18/5

Overall - Great show! The wrestling itself had a consistently good quality from the first match to the last, we had an excellent showcase for Trinity and Under Siege is really taking shape as a very tidy looking card indeed. Very impressed with this week’s show and only a couple of minor blemishes to crow about, but a really strong show on the whole. 

👍 Trinity vs KiLynn King - Excellent in-ring debut and showcase for the former. Her entire aesthetic in terms of entrance and offence really stand out in this company in a way that perhaps it couldn’t in WWE. 10 minutes may not seem like a long duration in the grand scheme of things, but I can’t remember the last time she had this much TV time in a singles match to really showcase her attributes, and she certainly looked the part. Really good contest here with King playing her part as well. Fun post-match interaction between Trinity and Jai Vidal afterwards too. Excellent. 

👍 Edwards/Moose/Kazarian vs Gresham/Shelley/Uemura - They got 20 minutes to strut their stuff in a solid TV main event and didn’t disappoint. Everyone looked the part and this should be an interesting 6-way at Under Siege. Fun show closer. 

👍 Dango turns on Hendry 🥲 - A shocking reveal as it turns out Dango was the culprit who took out Santino! I haven’t been so devastated by a heel turn since Austin shook hands with Vince at Wrestlemania X7. Shame, bloody loved Dango and Hendry as an odd couple partnership. Well executed although I’m absolutely gutted the investigation is over! 

👍 Trey Miguel/Laredo Kid - A fine start to the show and exactly the kind of opening contest you want to get the juices flowing, also showcasing a division which still holds value on the Impact brand. Trey’s a proper shithouse and a good heel to effectively lead the division. Nice action from bell to bell and a good finish. 

👍 Following on from the above, Chris Sabin’s promo rattling off the X-Division title’s history and how Try has defaced the title was all good shit and that’s a match I’m now really looking forward to at Under Siege. His ‘nine-time’ schtick came off a bit ‘nine days’ if you catch my drift, but otherwise this was a great way to build to their encounter. 

👍 Ace Austin/Jason Hotch - Rock solid and a good way to continue from the action we saw in the opener - Impact has been really good recently at keeping the momentum going throughout its cards and this show was another good example of that.

👍 Jody Threat squash - I like this lass. They’ve done a nice job building her up so far and I don’t think it will be too long before she’s inserted into the Knockouts title picture. This was only a quick showcase, but she showed her usual high energy to keep it interesting. 

👎 Maclin attacks PCO - One of the very few items on the show that perhaps didn’t quite have the desired effect for me. The initial skirmish with the punches looked a bit weak, and then placing PCO on top of some conveniently placed cardboard seemed a bit naff. The easily broken concrete slabs also looked a bit tinpot. PCO sold that part convincingly, though in a way it probably unnecessarily dehumanised him. It worked as an idea in terms of further establishing Maclin as a despicable bastard, particularly following his actions on the previous show against Rhino, but the execution lacked polish in this instance. 

👎 Undead realm business - Bit too much silly bollocks going on here for me. But each to their own. 

Overall - Now then! Some show, this. Hit all the right spots and as 'go home' shows go, you couldn't have asked for much more. A belter of an episode with only a few quibbles. The vast majority of the actual wrestling itself was good to great, and the bits I've given a thumbs down to aren't anything to get too worked up about (even though that's exactly what I've done in relation to the last point). A jolly good watch this week.   

👍 Brock/Cody business - Fantastic way to open the show with the vicious looking attack by Lesnar before the skirmish in the ring later on. If you weren't up for the rematch before, that should seal the deal for you. It does provide a window for Lesnar to beat Rhodes at the PLE to get his win back, but alternatively it means another heroic victory if he does wind up fighting seemingly unstoppable odds once again. The HHH interaction was interesting - I'm just hoping that we're not about to embark on a Cody vs the Authority type of angle - not for me, Clive. But overall this was great. 

👍 Sami/KO/Riddle vs Imperium - Solid main event and some more good build for Sami and KO's date with destiny in a few days' time. Heyman's cameo at the beginning was great as always (he can hop onto whatever brand he wants, I don't mind. Also, loved the 'little rat-bastard' line about Sami) and despite a tiny botch on trying to clothesline Gunther out during the earlier brawl, everything else ran like clockwork between all parties later on. Also, I appreciated Gio's Rock-esque attempt at a stunner sell, even if it wasn't squeaky clean, bless him.

👍 Shinsuke Nakamura vs Finn Balor - Wow, what a contrast for Nakamura since his return. This was great - Balor is in fine fettle at the moment and Nakamura seemed especially motivated here and they produced a top effort between them. Priest getting involved as the enforcer will always warm the cockles too. Loved Shin showing some of that old swagger strutting around the ring at one point after dodging an attack. Lovely stuff - hopefully Nakamura feels like he's got his mojo back and we can expect more of this from him. 

👍 Ricochet/Bronson Reed - Good little exhibition here. Ricochet got to show off his usual acrobatics while Bronson got to exercise his dominance. Ricochet doesn't lose any credibility losing to an absolute beast and it's a strong win for big Bronson. 

👍 Seth Rollins vignettes - All nicely produced and I'll look forward to his crowning this weekend. 

👍 Zoey Stark vs Candice LaRae - A good showcase for Stark who also got the vignette treatment pre-match. This batch of NXT callups are getting a great head-start on their respective brands. Papa H clearly in the chair. 

👍 Trish/Becky business - I quite like this cocky version of evil Trish (especially her 'you know how the gingers can be' line!). Becky really gave off big-star energy and for once wasn't heavily inhaling with every pause during her promo. Low blow with the dog barking line!

👍 Dom Dom vs Apollo Crews - Short, but sweet enough and I quite enjoyed it. Apollo is a good opponent for Dom - Apollo has the experience and can do a lot of the flashy stuff to get the crowd going, while Dom can match that and also throw in some shithousery with Rhea in tow. A good outing. 

👎 Alpha Academy/Viking Raiders - I expected a bit more from this one if I'm honest. No shortage of effort, they were simply too pushed for time. I like that the Otis/Maxine business is continuing though. 

👎 Raquel Rodriguez vs Sonya Deville - I thought this might be going somewhere and I did like Deville's intensity at the beginning, really playing up to her old background, but it ended quite quickly and thus wasn't much of note. Shotzi replacing Morgan is an uninspiring pick, but then hopefully it's a one-off partnership and RR can then go back to a singles run. 

👎 'Get a life, kid!' - Now, hear me out - I did chuckle. But it's a bit of an awkward one for me - Ali immediately seemed to abandon his 'positiveAli' persona and went for a heartfelt promo, but couldn't seem to convey it from an emotional standpoint. Brock then coming in and immediately dismissing it was a bit needless - Ali just looks like a complete and utter cuck when he's trying to promote a big singles match against Gunther. Also I don't think the bully heel schtick is much of an intelligent look or standpoint in 2023. Perhaps a mild overreaction to this one, and again I did find it funny, but looking at it from a broader perspective (there's my first mistake), there's a bit more to this than a random backstage interaction. 

19/5

Overall - Far from perfect but a step int be right direction for the show. Some big hitters returned to the show’s screens which was a most welcome development. The wrestling started brilliantly and there were some other good moments. However, there are still some elements that need switching up and with Collision on the way, it’s now make or break time for this show. 

👍 BCC vs Best Amigos - Now THIS is how Rampage should be. An act like the BCC locked into one of AEW’s most high-profile feuds taking on another popular act and putting on a clinic. A brilliant watch. Bandido is becoming a firm favourite in the Fatty Facesitter household, which brought about some great analysis from the better half: “He’s really showing lots of emotion and personality even though his mask covers his whole face and you can’t see his mouth! Also I like his hair.” Spot on, he’s great. Could probably skip the rest of the show after this to be honest. 

👍 Cole/Jericho business - Again, we’ve been lacking some spark on Rampage of late with some of the main feuds not always transferring over from Dynamite, so this was a great edition. They’ve done a great job of making you really feel their hatred of one another and I’m looking forward to the forthcoming encounter.  

👍 Acclaimed vs Varsity Athletes - Nothing we haven’t seen before but more good, silly fun from the Acclaimed and Daddy Ass. 

👍 Dustin Rhodes vs Kaun - Ignoring the post-match stuff for a moment, this was a good brawl. Dustin took a nasty shot from the camera and May have been busted open hardway. He can still go can ol’ Dustin. 

👎 Jade Cargill business - Sorry but this is now turning into one of the most boring professional wrestling ‘streaks’ ever. Jade always looks impressive from an athletic perspective and clearly has star quality,  but these squashes are becoming tiresome and are doing nothing for the TBS title. They’re clearly just topping up the number for the sake of it, and while in the long term that might work when they get towards triple figures and the intrigue ramps up, it’s going to be a bit of a slog getting there. Also, confusing dynamic here - it looked as though Taya had replaced that third lass in the open challenge, but then didn’t and rather than pounce on her now she’s going to her loads of time to recover for the PPV? Just a strange execution. 

👎 Page/Hardy bollocks - At this point I’m like the bloke who’s not quite fully dead yet in Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003 version, Andy I think his name was?) where his friend discovers him and he begs her to ‘end it’ so he no longer suffers. Just end it for all involved. Please. An overly gratuitous chair-neck bump didn’t have the desired effect either - they were going for the shock factor, but it’s been wasted in a feud that’s far overstayed its welcome. 

👎 Swerve/Lee business - I know there were more players involved here than the two I’ve just mentioned, but this has dragged far too long. The brawl between Lee and Cage was pretty disappointing in truth - it lacked intensity, and Cage almost buggered his finish (though I do appreciate that Big Keith is a hefty fellow). Swerve shows potential - his prowling to the crowd and his general athleticism are major assets. But we need to move on from this. 

25/5 (I think? I’ve lost all track of time)

Overall - Another top episode. @Lorne Malvo’s assessment about the filler element is spot on and it could do with tightening up in a few areas, but damn these Universal tapings have been a rousing success and have showcased everything good about the brand. Long term I hope they keep repeating it as opposed to constantly taping post Dynamite/Collision etc. 

👍 The Kingdom vs Action Andretti and Darius Martin - Fantastic effort from all four here, putting themselves through the wringer for our entertainment. Some brutal spots here, but in the best sense of the word - a violent, vicious encounter. 

👍 Zack Sabre Jr vs AR Fox - Absolutely electric and a really terrific standard. Zack vs ‘Somoa Joseph’ will be an absolute cracker too.

👍 Rey Fenix vs Gringo Loco - Top opener again this week - ROH quietly becoming a great home for the lucha style in the American market. Neither were quite at their scintillating best but still a good standard here. 

👍 Mercedes Martinez vs Ashley D’Amboise - A short but sweet outing from both. Athena vs Martinez is quite the prospect if they choose to go down that route. 

👍 Willow squash - Did its job and keeps Willow’s momentum bubbling over nicely. 

👍 Sydal/Daniels vs Karter/Clayton - Another tidy tag match from tonight’s show. Very solid. 

👍 SAP vs Cheeseburger/Isom - As above, another solid tag encounter. 

👍 Gates of Agony vs Dalton Castle & The Boy - At the risk of repeating myself, another good tag team match!

👎 Iron Savages vs Wingmen - Not terrible and I do like the audience participation element, but not quite up to standard with some of the rest of the show. 

👎 Lady Frost vs Miranda Alize - Sadly this was a little rushed and it showed a couple of times with a couple of transitions. That said, they still displayed some good quickness and athleticism. 

👎 Workhorseman/Shane Taylor six-man squash - Too short to be anything of note and an easy skip. 

Finally caught up with the shows at the weekend/at the end of last week after a drunken wedding sojourn on the Isle of Wight. 

Smackers 19/5

👍 Bloodline Business - Still the most gripping overall arc in the business at the moment. The increasingly erratic Roman, bumping into Solo to tease dissension there, all of the squabbling with Jimmy and Jey, Heyman’s scheming, it’s all just such good shit. KO/Sami had a good night at the office too with their respective shenanigans. The tag title match could go either way - personally I’d have the champions retain to give KO/Sami a huge victory, partly over Roman as payback for all the times they’ve put him over, but it’s also a vehicle to send Reigns further into a meltdown and it could finally signal the end of the Bloodline as we know it. It also means he can lose on a PPV and still retain his primary title/titles. Then again, Roman/Solo vs the Usos would also be excellent. Tantalising possibilities!

👍 LWO/Usos - Great main event and nice to see young Santos get the fall too - the LWO is absolutely cooking at the moment as I fully expected them too in the long run. Rey continues to drink from the fountain of youth and is arguably the company’s most consistent performer presently - a real stalwart. The finish also kept the Bloodline saga bubbling nicely. Lovely stuff. 

👍 Pretty Deadly vs Brawling Brutes - YES BOY! Great debut for PD and a good contest to kick off the in-ring element of the show. They’ve got the character work down to a tee and they are getting batter and better with their ring work - I’m really excited about them and I think there’s some serious potential there if they can keep the lads on the straight and narrow and book them appropriately. Also, it was nice to see four UK acts sharing the ring together in general. 

👍 Asuka vs Zelina Vega - Fine as a sprint for Asuka heading into Saudi. Bianca’s cameo was a good addition too. 

👍 Street Profits/Boogy Knights - Didn’t mind this at all. Some fun chemistry between the respective personnel and I actually think LA Knight and Boogs could  have some good chemistry together on screen, so I’m interested to see where it goes as a feud. I’d have been interested to see them role with it for a bit as a partnership to be honest. 

👍 Austin Theory/Sheamus business - Nothing wrong with this either - I liked Sheamus choosing to knock his block off. Has the makings of a good undercard match at the PLE. 

👎 Grayson Waller Effect - As much as I love Grayson’s overly gratuitous heel intro, I don’t think this quite landed, largely because I don’t think we scratched the surface of Grayson’s full dickheaded-ness and AJ isn’t the most inspiring ‘serious’ promo. A bit of a subjective one - but I didn’t quite get a sense of the chemistry they had together during their previous skirmish in NXT. Still, a match down the line should be a corker and it’s great to see Waller already rolling with ‘high society’ in terms of potential opponents. 

👎 Dawn/Fyre squash - I’m not crazy about new acts squashing local talent - it doesn’t do anything for them and unless you have something unique to showcase the audience won’t get invested. This did its job in terms of putting them over, but ultimately it’s going to take eye-catching matches against established acts that will really get the audiences invested.

Overall - Smackers is in really fine fettle at the moment. Another smashing show with a good in-ring product and strong angle advancement. Lots to like about this week once again and some great build to the PLE. 

The Isle of Wight. All of it - it’s bloody lovely. First time visiting this weekend and it’s a wretch to leave. Will definitely be back to explore in more depth but would highly recommend it to anyone planning a trip. Lots of reasonably priced air bnbs in the area and lots to do. We stayed in Shanklin. 

Currently on board the Red Eagle ferry travelling back to the mainland. Also having a massive shit. Choppy waters today so it’s a wild ride. 

An NWA double bill…that was actually alright. 

👍 Komander & Octagon JR vs Homicide & Cyon - Fun opener with some good patter thrown in to get the audience involved and some eye-catching, energetic action down the stretch. Lovely stuff. 

👍 Aron Stevens & Natalia Markova vs Arez & La Hiedra - Fun patter again and Stevens is always a riot with his comedy theatrics. Loved one particular spot in this one - as a pin is taking place, La Hiedra casually walks over, the ref gets to two, and she just casually kicks his hand away before he can hit the mat for three. Never seen that before! 

👍 Kerry Morton/Jack Cartwheel/Sal - Another good match, albeit with a couple of slip-ups from Sal at the tail end. Morton’s a good little shithouse and quite a good fit for what I think a modern NWA should probably be like. Jack Cartwheel has a shit name, but definitely looks the part - great spot doing a sort of side-cartwheel on the apron in a great show of core strength.

👎 Trevor Murdoch vs Psycho Clown - Crap plunder brawl - skip. 

Overall - Easily the best bit of NWA output I’ve watched of late (largely thanks to the quality of the AAA contingent). Energetic, eye-catching, crowd participation, basically all the ingredients you could ask for. Duff fourth match aside, the first half of the matches from this festival were a good standard.

Oh, and I’m still watching Powerrr so you don’t have to…but this week was also quite good! 

👍 Kenzie Paige vs Sierra - Probably the best match on Powerrr in recent memory! There was a fantastic energy and sense of urgency about this one, and I thought the standard in general was very good. Sierra has the makings of a star in my opinion - a physical presence but with a knack for audience participation. Same with Kenzie - a good outing for her. Quite short, but exactly the sort of start this type of show needs and a massive contrast from the week before, for example. Great!

👍 Alex Taylor/Fodder/Koa Laxamana - Again, very energetic! Surprised this was only four minutes as it felt longer, but not in a bad way I should add. This is exactly the sort of output I want to see more of on the show. 

👎 Kratos/Odinson vs Cynon/Jordan Clearwater - Nothing hideous but ran a bit long.

👎 Main event women’s tag - Same comments as above, nothing terrible but not the sort of slobberknocking barnstormer to close the show out with a bang.

Overall - By far and away the best Powerrr from an in-ring perspective since since I’ve been regularly watching again. There was a much greater energy and better showcases of athleticism across the show and it’s been sorely lacking of late, so it was a welcome development. We’re building nicely to the Crockett Cup show. I think I might park these reviews for the weekly shows, but probably pop back in for the PPVs depending on how the next couple of episodes go. 

👍 Elite/BCC Business - Fantastic conclusion to the show and the perfect way to bring young Hangman back into the picture. A memorable moment that sets the tone nicely for what's going to be an epic showdown at the PPV. I wasn't sure about the build for this at first, but as the weeks go by and the tension builds, it makes for epic scenarios like this. Perfectly executed by all involved. Lovely, lovely stuff. Fully support the positivity on these pages gushing over his angle. 

👍 FTR/Lethal Connection business - Fantastic. Loved Dash hating Lethal so much he tried to rip the clothes off of his back, and Cash's punches looked great. Also liked Jarrett reaching into the abyss for help as FTR prowled over him before the surprise. The whole build to this has been brilliant - Karen making an appearance makes it more intriguing and the odds are really stacked against FTR now at the PPV. 

👍 Double J in general. 

👍 Double J's spiffy red shoes and guitars. 

👍 Wardlow/Christian business - Initially I did wonder if Wardlow perhaps looked a touch too soft, but he was dealt a quite literally low blow, attacked two-on-one, with a ladder, and it served as a vehicle for the backstage interaction with Arn to set up the ladder match itself for Double or Nothing. It also makes you want to see Wardlow destroy that snivelling, turtleneck wearing turd (kayfabe, I'm sure he's a good egg) at his own game. 

👍 Orange Cassidy/Darby vs Lee Moriarty/Big Bill - Smashing opener that keeps the momentum going for the two babyfaces on their respective journeys. 

👍 On a totally separate note, all interactions between Rene and Orange Cassidy are to be treasured. Wonderful stuff "I'll fight them all, let's do a 20-man battle royal...oh, wait, Rene do you want to be in it?" 

👍 Women's six-person tag - Nothing wrong with this at all, very good standard. Bring on Storm vs Hayter at the PPV. 

👍 Chris Jericho/Roderick Strong - This was bonkers and thoroughly entertaining. Cole getting a bit of revenge on Jericho outside of the arena was a nice touch. Another match I'm looking forward to at a show that is going to have a lot to live up to at this rate. 

👍 Jungle Boy/Rush - Another good pairing this week with some really eye-catching technical transitions and good brawling too. Interesting finish - another potential tease that Jungle Boy is headed towards the darkside? The three pillars doing a little staredown at the end further builds intrigue. Some good business tonight on that front. 

👍 MJF is such a despicable cunt. How dare he do that to lovely Rene. 

👍 Jay White/Ricky Starks - Fine and dandy, built up really nicely to a hot conclusion. No issue with Ricky using the chair - he knew they were going to keep fucking about so he chose to fight fire with fire. Sometimes it's nice to see a babyface do that rather than falling for the same heel distractions time and time again. 

👎 Sammy G squash - Only gets thumbs down because it was too short to be anything of note and it just served as vehicle to continue Sammy's build to the PPV. The post-match promo was fine and dandy though. 

👎 Only other tiny blemish for me - Just before Adam Cole appeared, Roddy Strong appeared to be backing off in a rather cowardly manner from Jericho. Looks a bit naff if a babyface does that. 

Overall - EXCELLENT show this week. Top action, top angle advancement with a memorable ending to boot. Roll on Double or Nothing. Power firmly with AEW this week. 

Overall - A poor show this week that lacked a real zest about it. Nothing was comically bad from an in-ring perspective, but it was painfully average at times and felt like wrestling just for wrestling's sake. Some of the backstage content was absolutely terrible too. Overall a very easily skippable show, even if Battleground's card is looking the part. Recommendation to skip the whole thing and just watch the Top 10 Highlights on YouTube. 

👍 Carmelo/Trick vs Gulak/Dempsey - Relatively good standard. As per, all Gulak sightings get a thumbs up from me. Keep pairing experienced, talented hands like Gulak against younger, greener opponents and elevate them. A simple, effective formula. Dempsey getting Willy Wonka chants for wearing purple should warrant an immediate change in attire for next week. 

👍 To add to the above, the Carmelo/Bron build was all perfectly fine, albeit nothing memorable. 

👍 Perez/Jayne - Bad start with some really laboured covers and they look terrified of even touching each other. However, the match built gradually the physicality really ramped up and overall made for a better showing once they got over the bad start. 

👍 Creeds/Dyad - Decent enough with some good spots and a good showcase for the Creeds, plus a reminder that the ex-GYV can still go. 

👍 On the above, the Creeds leaving Vic Joseph hanging on the fist bump was hilarious (although Ivy Nile was a good egg and did it anyway).

👎 Cinematic bollocks - The bits with Dijak/Draganov and then Ton D/Stacks in the restaurant can all get in the bin. It's such such an odd juxtaposition and the acting is terrible. It's well produced from a shooting perspective - but it's a waste of the talents of the production crew. They could be shooting excellent vignette's hyping up characters and their stories - not GSCE-level drama. 

👎 Cora Jade/Falon Henley - Far too easy to telegraph Cora as the winner and a generally bland affair - not what you want from an opener and it didn't get the juices flowing. Some awkward transitions too. 

👎 Supernova Sessions - Not sure how I feel about this one. I like Dar's personality generally as a cheeky Scot, but in this instance it all felt a bit forced. However, the matches with both Dragon Lee and Nathan Frazer could be crackers. 

👎 NA title business - Again, the eventual confrontation and title match will be great but the promos are really, really tough to listen too. There's very little in the way of authenticity and that makes it tough for an audience to connect with. Joe Gacy and the whole Dyad creepy bollocks stuff is painful to watch. 

👎 Hail/James - Nothing dreadful but nothing you'll regret missing. Not quite as much animated patter from Chase U this week unfortunately. 

28 minutes ago, Carbomb said:

I cannot stop laughing at this. Apologies for the Insta link, but I can't find it anywhere else.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CrT3h3qsSJR/?igshid=MTc4MmM1YmI2Ng%3D%3D

In a similar vain to this, stumbled across a clip that made me chuckle yesterday. @Frankie Crisp is this one of your cats?

👍 KO-Sami/Judgement Day business - Thumbs up for the lot of this, from Sami's passionate opening promo to the main event. The Sami/KO dynamic of gradually getting annoyed with one another isn't for everyone, but I think a lot of siblings will actually relate to it more, and it feels more organic as opposed to suddenly being all over each other again like a bad rash after everything they've been through. Balor/Priest were bang up for a scrap in the main event and it's exactly what we got. On a show that I thought really lacked in terms of the in-ring product, this still delivered. Will come to Heyman, Imperium and co in due course but everyone shined in these interactions. Jolly good stuff. 

👍 Codylicious - Another top promo from the top babyface in the company. Perfectly executed and classic Cody really - a random story about an old analogy, then verbally going to town on Lesnar. He looked like a fucking badass, galling Lesnar for breaking his face and letting him know in no uncertain terms that he was 'in the way'. Love that line. Proper big-fight main event energy. Now, before we get into the inevitable calls that he should have won at Wrestlemania  39- which I do support by the way - I still believe that he's going to dethrone Roman down the line. And I think it will actually be at Wrestlemania 40. They'll bill that as the big anniversary edition and the 'biggest Wrestlemania ever' etc - and what a stage for Cody to finally take his rightful place at the top of the wrestling industry. These next few months shouldn't be about mourning what didn't happen at Wrestlemania 39 - it should be about celebrating what a brilliant run this is going to be as he finally reaches his destiny...of course if he does now lose to Roman at Wrestlemania 40 I'll absolutely never watch WWE again. Well, at least until the following evening. 

👍 Seth vignettes - Well presented. He's getting the World strap isn't he. And more power to him - he's been fantastic since transitioning into this version of his character.

👍 Battle Royale - I groaned a bit when I first saw this announced on the show, thinking it was just going to be a gaggle of fuckwits going through the motions and it seemed like a lazy device to give Gunther a new challenger. However, several performers got a chance to showcase elements of their character or their best attributes, including the likes of Bronson Reed for example, and it actually turned out to be thoroughly enjoyable. I don't even mind the result - Ali vs Gunther in Saudi will be a fun watch. Also, I liked the pyro at the end - it makes the IC title seem like a big deal, which thanks to Gunther, now is a big deal once again. 

👍 Imperium - A word on Gunther and his band of merry men. Excellent presentation for this 're-debut' if you can call it that. Gunther's sense of self-importance and regality is palpable, standing atop the announce table like he owns the place, watching over the mere mortals fighting to challenge him like he's Julius Caesar observing people battling for his approval in a colosseum. The way he prowls backstage with an arrogant scowl with his mates in tow. This guy is going to win the World title at some point in the not too distant future and it's going to be a glorious reign when he does. This might seem like a wild analogy, but if they continue building him up like this, they genuinely could have a modern equivalent of Undertaker on their hands. He has all the tools to be a leadership figure in the lockeroom - beating him or even rubbing shoulders with him in the years to come should be an honour for his future co-workers to aspire to. Again, wild analogy but if they keep building him like this they're on to an absolute winner. 

👍 Becky Lynch - Nowt wrong with this promo. Fiery and built to the showdown with Trish nicely. 

👍 I know people moan about the brand split, but Paul Heyman having a visitors pass on his phone is top patter. 

👎 Nakamura/Miz - Not a scintillating opener I'm afraid and it set the tone for a show were we seriously lacked energy and urgency in most of the matches on offer. This was like any random throwaway early 2000's Raw match or some sort of Heat main event. Bland. 

👎 Dom/Woods - Similar to the above, a bland affair and I think the finish was also clumsy (Rhea didn't grab Dom's hand during the rollup - might just have been a miscommunication). Dom's a heat magnet on the mic, but sometimes in singles outings against opponents other than his daddio, it doesn't quite get the audiences' juices flowing enough to make them really want to see him get twatted. It's not as prevalent a feeling in tag matches, but despite Dom's character success, still some work to do for me before we can seriously start considering him to be a standalone singles star. 

👎 Veer comes again and brings his mates - Crap, meaningless squash here from Jinder's pals. I thought Veer's singles run last year - despite the puzzling delay around his arrival - wasn't actually too bad and if they stuck with it then maybe they'd have been on to something. The execution around this trio wasn't hitting the mark on NXT and it's not going to hit here unless we see something totally unique and different. 

👎 RR/Green/Rousey and Bazler cameo - Another pointless squash that does nothing for anyone. With Morgan injured, it would have been better to just not feature any of them, or have RR go over somebody else in a more competitive affair. The Rousey/Baszler cameo was fine. 

Overall - Only two matches worth watching this week with the rest being totally skippable. However, every segment to advance an angle worked pretty well and there were still a couple of bangers. This week's probably one to watch through YouTube highlights rather than seeking out the full episode. 

The day someone kicks out after Caprice goes “This one’s over Riccaboni, I promise you that much” is going to blow everyone minds. Hope they save that for something absolutely biblical. 

18/5/23

Overall - Wow, @Lorne Malvo called it perfectly - A massive improvement and an absolutely bloody delightful watch for large portions. Huge amount to like about this particular show and definitely the best ROH TV episode I’ve watched since I started these reviews a few weeks back. Also there was much more storyline advancement combined with an excellent in-ring standard. 

👍 First, a word on the general atmosphere because I thought it was absolutely superb. It wasn’t the loudest crowd ever but the more intimate setting really added to the overall aesthetics - you could hear the trash talking and insults so loudly and that added a greater degree of intrigue to the proceedings. Keep ROH in these more condensed settings because it’s such a unique part of their identity and it separates it from the sort of AEW setting to really excentuate the  differentiation. Lovely stuff. 

👍 Also, I’m not sure what Ian Riccaboni and Caprice had for breakfast that day but it was probably a fry up - they were absolutely full of beans and made several matches a seriously fun experience by adding a huge amount of passion, excitement, energy and also urgency. 

👍 Shane Taylor/Mark Briscoe - A belting opener. Taylor talking shit to Briscoe right at the start was great. Briscoe’s continuing to have banger after banger in both ROH and AEW presently. 

👍 Athena/Sky Blue - I call this type of match a Dua Lipa special - because it’s like they said to each other before going out “Come on (come on), come on (come on) come on, let’s get physical).” @JLM and I probably sound like broken records every week but Athena is just in fantastic form at the moment and it’s no coincidence that she was in the main event - totally deserved. Sky Blue will have learned a lot from this one - really put in a serious shift and even if the execution wasn’t always polished, she seriously stepped up. Athena sold her comebacks with great facial expressions and the whole thing was just great. 

👍 TV title - Completely agree with Lorene Malvo’s assessment, superb work from both. My only grumble? Too short - but not to the detriment of the match, it’s purely for a selfish desire to see them go at it for longer!

👍 Ninja/Willie - A Mack derby! This had me grinning from ear to ear - thoroughly enjoyable bout. Couldn’t help but think both men sharing the same surname would exactly the sort of thing that would cause Vince McMahon and WWE top brass to burst a blood vessel. 

👍 Fletcher/Deppen - Explosive pace down the stretch. 

👍 Dark Order/Varsity Athletes - Smashing 8-man tag with the added intrigue of the Stu Grayson factor. Lots of good spots in this match centred around the deliberate tension and miscommunication. 

👍 Dutch’s tongue taunt is both creepy and impressive. Liking the tension around Stu Grayson possibly joining them. 

👎 AR Fox/Anthony Hendry - They were really pushing the resilience factor with Fox, and to an extent it worked because the crowd really got behind him. But it was just far too congested although they put in a lot of effort, it lacked suspension of disbelief at times and became too much of a stunt show. Waste of an FTR cameo too. 

👎 Righteous/Infantry - Nothing memorable, easy skip (but still a good backdrop for the Grayson angle). 

👎 Renegade/Vertvixen - Skip-a-dee-do dah…

👎 Mogul Embassy squash - Skip-a-dee-yay.

👎 Claudio’s your world champion and you’re sticking him second on the show and as part of a feud for the tag straps? Come on TK, look after my Swiss Superman. 

His first Smackers promo after his return felt like a feel-good and wholesome moment - delivered from the ticker and arguably one of the most compelling promos he’s ever cut because it was such relatable material…and then at the very end, they brought in the spooky bollocks with the Uncle Howdy business. Apart from his little meet and greet with Undertaker, he’s had nothing to crow about since and it’s reached the point where the big stars don’t want to be lumped in a program with him because it’ll all go to pot. 

51 minutes ago, Nostalgia Nonce said:

Starting my first shift if a new job in about twenty minutes. In an actual office, surrounded by actual people, having been working in isolation at home for just over three years.

While appealing at first, having to get up over an hour earlier, having to commute (and thusly increase my fuel and insurance costs), and not being able to do the school run (and therefore having to wake the boy up over an hour earlier than normal and take him to a childminder) , I'm now questioning whether this was a wise decision. 

Oh, and I've got drop in somewhere that the mother in law died just before the weekend, so I'll be needing some time off (bathing in mind I'm already off in two weeks for pre-existing holiday).

Best of luck - one task at a time etc. Hope it all works out. 

👍 Acclaimed vs Butcher/Blade/Sabian - Good, fun start between six dependable bodies who got the crowd going. 

👍 Storm/Kay - Rock solid. 

👍 Andretti/Fletcher - Slow and steady in the first half, but the second half was much more action-packed. 

👍 Mogul Embassy/Dark Order - Again, this was solid and dependable. Loved the posedown between Brian Cage and Johnny Hungee. 

👎 QTV - I don't hate the gimmick as much as others but this was a pants segment this week. 

👎 Hardy bollocks - When I first typed this out, I had a temporary auto-correction to 'hairy bollocks', which is probably just as apt a description. Just when you think we're finally moving on from contract speak, we're back where we started. Matt, Jeff, you've served us well. Time to hang them up, go and get a Hall of Fame induction perhaps. Sing a few autographs at some conventions. Do a podcast with Conrad. Anything but this. 

👎 @Lorne Malvo hit the nail on the head in his last line. It's just Heat now. 

Overall - Perhaps a slightly contradictory entry from me for Rampers this week. I thought all four matches were rock solid to jolly good and the show breezed by except for a couple of naff promo segments, but the truth is that there's so much good wrestling out there at the moment and unless some of your top, top, top stars are involved, you've essentially turned Rampage into an equivalent of what Heat used to be. I'm all for midcarders getting time to shine, and there were some over acts on this show that will be grateful for said minutes, but Unless Rampage busts out some bonafide main eventers again, this show will die on its arse once Collision starts. Which seems like a shame considering how hot the show used to be. 

👍👍👍🇫🇮 Like a Scooter song in that it was batshit mental but in a good way. Saw it and thought it was going to win. Huge pop among our gathering in hearing their public points tally. Gutted they didn’t get over the line. Teemu Pukki remains his nation’s most successful export. 

👍🇸🇪 Took a while to build but built to a good finish, like a good wrestling match. Hope those nails are clip ons otherwise a long night for her. Not my pick for the winner but good on her. 

👍🇳🇴 Banger, this was great. Thought it was a front runner and was surprised it didn’t do better in the vote. 

👍🇦🇹 A nice start to proceedings on the night. And yes, pay artists more!

👍🇵🇹 A political thumbs up because of Mrs Facesitter’s origins and I’ll be castrated otherwise. Got some Ricky Martin “She Bangs” vibes from this one. 

👍🇵🇱 Very catchy, nice production value. One of my favourite tracks of the evening. Think I might have a solo myself when I watch that back. 

👍🇫🇷 Had some some good pipes on her. Missed opportunity not to do more with the dress I.e loads of people bursting out of it. 

👍🇨🇾 Imagine Dragons vibes with this track. Would be good on a film trailer. Mrs Facesitter appreciated his arms. 

👍🇦🇱 I like how they were smiling throughout. Looked like they were cooking a lovely BBQ in their vignette. 

👍🇮🇹 Totes emosh singer. On his knees sticking his tongue out at the end made my single gay friend blush (as in he’s single, as opposed to being my singular gay friend). Good. 

👍🇪🇪 The piano was playing itself! Mad. Also you don’t see Elton John leave his piano for a wander do you? Top effort. 

👍🇨🇿 The long ponytails reminded me of Bianca BelAir. 

👍🇧🇪 Boy George vibes. Good pipes. Also full of love and appreciation when points awarded to him. 

👍🇲🇩 Flute guy was a gem. Lead bloke had the same hairdo as Adam Cole. Catchy. 

👍🇺🇦 Cool production values, cool track. 

👍🇩🇪Like a rock version of a Scooter track. Liked this, very surprised to see them bottom. 

👍🇱🇹 Slow burner but nice.

👍🇮🇱 Got Israel in the sweepstake. Decent effort. 

👍🇭🇷 Village People on acid. Superb. I want to go out on the town with them all.

👎🇨🇭 Lead singer is handsome babyfaced devil. Sounded a bit like a young Russell Watson (for better or worse). Naff track though. 

👎🇷🇸 Not great tbh. I liked the video game graphics though. 

👎🇪🇸 I’m politically inclined to say this wasn’t great, again due to Mrs Facesitter’s origins. 

👎🇦🇺 Nice to switch to a rock act but not a banger. Surprised they got a lot of points. Nice DeLorean though. 

👎🇦🇲 She looks a bit like Ariana Grande. Thought the song would be a bit more…fun?

👎🇸🇮 They all looked like a Slovenian Harry Styles in different outfits.

👎🇬🇧 Brexit

Overall - Had a great time watching it with some compadres. The whole thing is a daft, mad, camp festival of good vibes and everything that’s good about the world. Lovely stuff. 

🎵 Woah! Woah! We own the night! Woah! Woah! 🎵

11/5/23

👍 Galdem - Impact Knockouts setup is among the very best for what I'd consider to be mainstream women's wrestling at the moment. WWE and AEW will constantly tell us that their women are brilliant (and for the most part they are), but Impact actually physically backs this up by constantly showcasing them in a prominent manner. Here, they took the two most important spots on the show as both the opener to set the tone and then the main event to close the show. Amazing how that can make a division like a big deal, isn't it? The opener was a fine showcase for both Kelly and Slamovich - the finish confused me at first watching it and perhaps they could have gone with an alternative there (i.e a big beatdown afterwards) but it was a really good standard. The main event was really energetic and it's nice to see the tag champions, the actual team, getting the win against the two big singles stars. Then Naomi rocks up for the save post-match to continue that buzz. Lots to love about how Impact is promoting their Knockouts presently and the lasses are responding in kind with some excellent efforts between the ropes. 

👍 Maclin/Rhino - Before we get to the match, thought the video package they put together pre-match for Rhino was absolutely great and an excellent presentation of his Impact/TNA contributions to date. The match itself started quite slow but picked up nicely down the stretch, and I never mind when a World title match does that because if done correctly it can really suck you in for the ride. The post-match beatdown on Rhino and smashing the chair wrapped round his ankle with a bi ol' spade was a cracking visual. Maclin's a despicable bastard as Impact champion and it's a really good dynamic. Smashing stuff. 

👍 Dango/Swinger - The Dango/Hendry skits are absolutely superb and they've got two of the best entrances in the game presently. As a wider angle rather than looking at the short match here, good comedy value. 

👍 Aldis fuss - Short but sweet showcase for the Norfolk boy against Sheldon Jean. Big pop for the King's Lynn cloverleaf. I do think Aldis is overall best suited to a heel persona, but let's see where this babyface return run goes for now. Always a thumbs up for the most famous person born in my hometown since Alan Partridge. 

👍 Decay/Good Hands - Taurus is great value - short and stocky with good power, yet can also move around as if he's a luchadore that's light as a feather. Good standard of in-ring work again here. I'm totally ambivalent towards Bryan Myres though I'm afraid. 

👎 Naomi - Why paint the nipples on to her costume?! It didn't work for Batman back in the day. 

👎 As well as spooky bollocks in wrestling, eFed style culty bollocks like the Design business can also get in the bin in 2023. 

Overall - Top show this week, lots of good in-ring performances and the angles for Under Siege are bubbling along nicely. I believe in Impact as much as I believe in Joe Hendry. 

Haven’t ever properly looked into it but very much interested to learn more about my origins. My father was actually adopted and I don’t think ever managed to get back in touch with his biological parents and consequently my biological grandparents, who I’m sure are long gone which might make it tougher to track down. I believe on my mum’s side there’s hints of both French and Irish. 

Heading to a Eurovision do at a friend of ours this evening - I was initially just on pickup duties but I've since learned there will be a BBQ and this altered my stance on the matter. 

1 hour ago, johnnyboy said:

If you prefer a bit of toilet reading the Popbitch Eurovision Guide Grand Final edit is up.

Thank you Jonathan Buoy. I'm a complete Eurovision novice who's knowledge only really extends to the Netflix film, so I'll read this with gusto. 

On 5/10/2023 at 7:15 PM, Frankie Crisp said:

Only downside is me inevitably asking her if her cousin can get some kind of memorabilia - anything at all - when she works the event.

That's ace, hope she gets to take in the experience of it all and see some of it in the flesh!