waters44

On 1/13/2024 at 4:11 PM, SuperBacon said:

Now THIS is how you protest effectively.

 

I followed Reading home and away for five years in my teens. The club is very special and I’ve met lots of great people through it. So at the moment my social media is full of friends in utter desperation with what’s happening. I saw this today which is really cool 

A friend said they are £60m in debt (whether that’s true or not I don’t know), and the owner Dai Yongge has killed two clubs already. Presumably more points deductions on the way too so relegation likely.

This is a club that was in the Premiership ten years ago, it’s such a sad situation for the club and the town as a whole

Welcome aboard

Do you like Rachel Stevens?

I watched NOAH’s New Year 2024 show this week.

The reviews will all lead with Ibushi’s performance in the main event but there’s other stuff to enjoy here

There’s a three way tag team match at the bottom of the card that is absolutely fantastic! 

Then Tomohiro Ishii and Masa Kitamiya have a banger (although I could do without the stiff headbutts!)

And the GHC Championship match is really good too. Manabu Soya looks a beast, luckily for him he’s got a strong neck as Kenoh nearly kicks his head off at one point. 

Re Ibushi - I feel bad for him honestly. The match was going ok although clearly they don’t have much natural chemistry together. Don’t get me wrong, Ibushi wasn’t firing on all cylinders but Marufuji also blew a spot or two. They tried these “stare at eachother to demand respect spots” that the crowd had no interest in at all. Can’t really blame them as at this point they are six hours into the show!

Then Ibushi does a moonsault to the outside which clearly fucks his ankle. It’s amazing / stupid he did anything after this all things considered. One spot he lost balance on the top turnbuckle and nearly landed on the apron on his injured foot with all his weight, that would have been absolutely miserable for him. Things pick up a bit towards the end and they get to the finish but the crowd is absolutely dead. So it’s not a great match at all BUT they were fighting against a few different things here

Are NJPW, NOAH and AJPW still the big three promotions in Japan? I’ve been loving rediscovering puro recently 

Watched the first few hours of this tonight which is the first time I’ve seen it on tv

Joe vs Punk…. Omega/Page/Ibushi vs Takeshita/White/Juice…. FTR vs Young Bucks…. Stadium Stampede 

What a run of matches to start a show that is! 

I think Stadium Stampede is a MOTY candidate for me. It’s incredibly violent and chaotic, and the groans from the Wembley crowd take it to another level! Also fair play to Trent Baretta, he takes an absolute beating in this match. So many moments will stay in my mind - Mox looking awesome walking out, Eddie running to the ring, Penta somehow doing a Canadian Stampede off a broken ladder, Sue’s cakes, the skewers sticking out of Mox’s head, Cassidy putting his hand in broken glass, the fork, Eddie’s middle finger at the end.

I don’t want to see a match like that on every show but now and then it’s great, and I feel so lucky to have seen it live 

I’ll watch the rest of the show another time, looking forward to seeing Sting and the main event again 

1 hour ago, air_raid said:

I'm reeling from the news that Dash is no longer at Korakuen. One of my few regrets about my trip to WK'12 was that I didn't get to Dome City early enough on the morning of the 5th to get my place in the queue for a walk-up Dash ticket. Or rather, to leave a piece of newspaper taped to the floor with my name on it to reserve my place in the queue until office hours while I got on with my day which, unbelievably, they honour as a legitimate queuing practice over there.

Would love to hear more about your trip if you ever get some time to write about it

16 hours ago, JLM said:

Haha yeah Botchamania Maffew must be absolutely thrilled that Coughlin has given him the most on-the-nose "I AM THE TABLE" bit of all time. 

Definitely! I felt bad for him as he was obviously stuck there and didn’t know what to do, so he just closed his eyes 🤣

New Years Dash

Quite a shock to the system going from Tokyo Dome to this brightly lit gymnasium but still a fun little show

A slow start but then things heat up with a ten man tag match United Empire vs David Finlay and his goons. This is going well until the ref gets taken out, Gabe Kidd gets cut open and all hell breaks loose. The wrestlers start lobbing chairs from the crowd into the ring and throwing barricades around. The timekeeper rings the bell for a no contest but things keep going. Brawling everywhere, Gabe Kids covered in blood, Akira gets a fork to the head and then Ospreay launches Gedo through a table that’s against the turnbuckle. All this drama going on and the timekeeper just ringing the bell constantly which makes it seem even more chaotic. Loved it. Then Ospreay says his last NJPW match will be Feb 11th, which will be a ten man tag team cage match! Yes please! 

There was a five man tag with some big names, Naito, Shingo Takagi and one of my old faves Taka Michinoku but it was a bit steady. SANADA was also in the match apparently, although honestly can’t remember him doing anything. Bit of a come down from previous nights main event.

Then the lads turn up 

High hopes but a ended up with a fairly average match against ZSJ and friends. Some good moments but could have done with a few more near falls and the ending was a bit flat. Not amazing not terrible. Mox and Shingo start arguing backstage and agreed to a no DQ match at the weekend, despite Mox warning Shingo that he’s the mayor of San Jose 😄 Show finishes with a terrible ZSJ promo, he was like a deer in headlights at one point

Will Battle in the Valley be on NJPW World eventually? I want to see it but not paying £20 to Fite for it

I really enjoyed Wrestle Kingdom. Danielson vs Okada was great but I think the three way with Mox / Ospreay / Finlay just pipped it for my match of the night. it gets extra points for this chap literally going through a table 

Speaking of Mox - his post show ramble is really good fun if you’ve got a spare few minutes, like everyone else he’s getting pissed off with the 36 different title belts!

The Jr Heavyweight tag title match was really good, as well as Shingo Takagi vs Tama Tongo so honestly there’s more stuff to enjoy here than just the Danielson match.

I haven’t watched NJPW for years, and I went in blind, so seeing Naito in the title picture and then winning was a bit of a shock for me! I didn’t realise he’d had this great last year, l was so out of the loop I thought he was always injured and considering retirement. Can’t believe he won the G1, no idea how that passed me by! My bad. 

New Years Dash up next!

THE GOOD
Best Women's Wrestler: Rhea Ripley

Best Men's Wrestler: Jon Moxley, Orange Cassidy 

Best Tag Team: FTR

Best British Wrestler: Will Ospreay 

Best Non-wrestler: Tony Schiavone

Best Event: AEW All Out 2023. WWE Payback 2023

Best Wrestling Show: AEW Dynamite

Best Feud or Angle: Orange Cassidy’s AEW International title run

Funniest Moment: Shane McMahon snapping his quad and Snoop Dogg coping better than Miz to save the day

Best Heel: Christian Cage

Best Babyface: Cody Rhodes 

Best Podcast: POST Wrestling

Moment of the Year: Wembley groaning as Mox gets skewered

Match of the Year: Hangman Page vs Strickland  at AEW Full Gear. Becky Lynch vs Trish Stratus at WWE Payback. Orange Cassidy vs Mox at AEW All Out 

Promo of the Year:

Breakout Star: Konosuke Takeshita 
 
THE BAD
Biggest Letdown: AEW booking of MJF’s recent title matches. 

Worst Wrestler: Nia Jax, Saraya

Worst Non-wrestler: Tony Khan

Worst Match: Ronda Rousey vs Shayner Bayzler at Summerslam.  LA Knight vs Bray Wyatt at Wrestlemania 

Worst Event: Crown Jewell

Worst TV Show: Raw

Yeah that’s fair, he was also in Click and Collect which I watched last year, that wasn’t too bad.

I’d never even heard of the Director, looks like he did the Santa Clause films. 

In general my film watching these days is dependant on what my favourite podcasts are watching so my viewings are all over the place

Just had my Letterboxd year in review come in. I haven’t watched that much in comparison to previous years but JFC

2023 was a nightmare personally. Buried my Dad in January and then my brother died on my wife’s birthday in May. So almost within a year the Waters bloodline was taken out (Grandad 90, Dad 62, brother 30). They died so close together that my brothers kids have just received my Grandads inheritance! It went down three generations - that just shouldn’t happen. 

Put the house on the market in June and still not sold. Just stress after stress. And the final sting in the tale - on the 30th of December one of my brothers mates drowned in the lake that is right behind my house.

https://www.newburytoday.co.uk/news/police-find-body-in-lake-9346658/
 

In amongst the shit there have been some good things, mainly reconnecting with old family which wouldn’t have happened if I didn’t have two funerals to deal with. It’s a shame that’s what it took but there you go! 

I also love my job and earning some good money now so looking at buying houses that I can’t quite believe I could live in one day soon. That’s nice to focus on. I also feel a lot closer to my daughter as she gets older, I used to dread the weekends as I rubbish with her when she was younger, now I can’t wait to spend time with her. 

So not all doom and gloom and 2024 should hopefully be better. Just need to get into a new house and have a fresh start I think.

Thank you all for helping me through some tough times and I hope you all have a healthy and happy 2024

The latest Jackass film is the most I’ve laughed in a cinema

But the funniest film for me (and I can already hear you all groaning) is The Other Guys. I think it’s hilarious! The way Mark Whalberg just shouts at Will Ferrell at the start, the desk pop, the silent fight at the funeral, Michael Keaton quoting TLC, Dirty Mike and The Boys, IT’S CHRISTINITH, talking dirty through an OAP - it just all works for me and I laugh throughout. 

There’s a few gaps in my comedy watching though so this thread has given me some homework to do! 

1 hour ago, Merzbow said:

Big Willie Thorne's long lost brother?

Could be although Willie’s got a few strands on the top there, wonder what he says to the barber? Tidy the sides and a comb through the top please 

Tom Brook movie critic

A lovely round egg with sideburns and a nice slug over the top lip 

Which one of you is off to Miami?

2 hours ago, wordsfromlee said:

I have a lot of time for Stephen Mulhern. He's got that early evening light entertainment TV presenter schtick down to a tee and he's completely self aware of it. He hams it up and plays up to with a wink and a nod which you can tell when watching In For A Penny.

There was a show years ago, probably more than a decade, where Stephen Mulhern presented one of those additional shows for Britains Got Talent (think Big Brothers Bit on the Side and other shows like that). It was absolutely hilarious and the highlight of my week back then. I can’t comment on any of his new things but if you can catch any of that somewhere I highly recommend it!

Can honestly say the only musical I’ve ever really enjoyed is CBeebies Thumbelina. It’s on iPlayer

TIL that humans can regenerate ribs, Marilyn Manson must be fuming 

Streaming of Love Is A Long Road was up by 37,000% last week and most of that was me I think, what a banger

I’ve jumped back into GTA Online which has grown massively since I last played a few years ago. I’ve now got people phoning me up telling me to buy hangars and offices, go to the casino, take on big heists, start a motorcycle club and even take part in stunts. It’s completely overwhelming but I’m enjoying a slow methodical approach to exploring the new stuff. 

I’m worried 6 will be like this but in single player mode. Endless add ons and activities popping up to keep player engagement. I’m a completionist so I want to hit that 100% at some point!

Ive watched the trailer a dozen more times and a few breakdowns. I love how it feels like a connected world with previous games - the same products in the shops that are in V, and other things coming back like Weazel News. This is a GTA story set in the GTA world. The GTAGU. 

At first 2025 seemed so far away but I’m not bothered now. Gives me 2024 to tinker with Online, get 100% on PS4 GTAV (currently at 94%) and play through it again proper on PS5. Maybe even go back to my safe space and play through the trilogy again. Give the remasters a spin even though I don’t think they got reviews. 

So yeah I’ve been listening to podcasts, watching YouTube, playing the game and reading articles about GTA. I feel like the Vicar of Dibley stuffing multiple Christmas dinners in her gob but I’m loving it

How many of y’all came to party with The Gap Band tonight?

This always puts a smile on my face. I’m ashamed to say I only really got into them proper last year after I saw an interview with Dave Grohl. He said when he was in Nirvana he copied the drummer from the Gap Band and you can really hear it. 

Some bangers in this video but also lots of other gigs on YouTube that are much longer in you’re interested! Great idea for a thread 

47 minutes ago, ReturnOfTheMack said:

Taken the car in for a windscreen replacement. Nipped into a nearby Italian for breakfast, proper good stuff. Though I do wish I'd gone for the fried egg not poached. 

That looks amazing. I am also so jealous of you having to pop out to replace a windscreen, the older I get the more I live for little jobs like that. What a day you’re having! 

22 minutes ago, Weezenal said:

Is there a post specifically about Theme Parks/Disney world?

 

Do you mean this

Santa used to leave me a pillow case of presents at the bottom of my bed. If I woke up in the night I could feel the presents with my feet but knew I wasn’t allowed to touch them until morning. That’s the feeling I got when I saw the trailer was released when looking at YouTube last night. It didn’t feel right to watch it on a small screen in bed with low sound so I waited until this morning!

Absolutely loved it. Feels like a huge step up but also still captures that GTA essence. 

Looks like we could be getting a Bonnie and Clyde type story which sounds good to me! The three intertwining characters in 5 worked really well so why not do it again and have a romance involved too. Plenty of stories to tell and directions to go with that.

Current day Vice City looks amazing and love the contrast between the glitz of the city and the craziness of the suburbs and swamps

My Instagram feed often has reels of car meets and street drifting so I really smiled when a car meet appeared in the trailer! Rockstar just get it. 

2025 is a kick in the ball but completely expected. We will be drip fed info over the next year with a ten minute video in the second half of 2024 going into gameplay details. Plus Rockstar obviously has issues with leaks so I don’t think we will be completely starved of info!

Right I’m off to watch hours and hours of trailer breakdowns and listen to some Tom Petty

Thrillbilly Mud Club FTW!

41 minutes ago, Keith Houchen said:

Oh mate, my condolences. You ain’t half had a rough time of it over recent years. 

Thanks mate. He had cancer for four years and honestly I think when my Dad went Aid decided he could go too, and they both went upstairs within a few months of eachother. I like to think they’ve got the the biggest sofa up there and two TVs, Farming Simulator for the old man and Fifa for Aid 🙂 

I’m hoping for some co op stuff in this new game, like the heists from V. We will have to get a UKFF clan together! Any good name suggestions? “Lovely Pillows”?