Linus

10 hours ago, Snitsky's back acne said:

Ben Carter, who has made several appearances for AEW recently, has signed with WWE.
 

RIP Ben Carter's knees.

When they first announced it, I thought the TNT title would be more a traditional TV title - only defended on TV, and vacated after a number of successful defenses. Used as a stepping stone.

500 people in a 2000 seat building. There was plenty of room and everyone wore a mask. I mean, it’s not perfect but it’s as good as you’re going to get without closing everything up for two years.

* Two massive slabs of meat, colliding in a HOSS FIGHT, is a hell of a way to start a show, and I LOVED THE SHIT out of Brian Cage versus Will Hobbs. I’m also into the inevitable Hobbs turn. I’m on the fence about Ricky Scaggs no-selling Darby Allin’s scary face.

* When TH2 were Los Gueros del Cielo in AAA they were really fucking great but that was five years and several injuries ago and I’m not sure what you should do with them, really. Angelico is still great as a whacky lucha submission guy and there’s still some value in Jack Evans being a crazy man, but it just didn’t work against FTR.

* The Young Bucks watched TV backstage exactly how wrestlers should do.

* That “weenies” shirt would have been great if they hadn’t pointed it out at all. 

* Dog collar matches can be tedious things but the TNT title match was GREAT. Yeah, I’m not sure Cody needed to win but I’ll let it slide because everything around it was cool. From John Silver to crimson masks and use of the chain as more than a prop, I loved this. And I’m sure there’ll be a reckoning from Brodie at some point...

* Greg Valentine is made out of stone.

* Kenny Omega is NOT AT ALL SCARED of tag-team wrestler Adam Page.

* Big Swole and Serena Deeb were on completely different pages, especially at the start and the finish, when it looked like they banged heads bad. They need to decide what they’re doing with Deeb, too, because she’s just kinda there on reputation and that’s okay but also not okay?

* Jon Moxley is the king of promos, putting over the importance of a match and the quality of his opponent, and he makes it so COOL.

* It’s a shame that we are where we are and that the other team couldn’t send in some congrats to Jericho - I would actually have popped for noted monster Vince McMahon appearing - but the celebration, including the match (you leave my ponderously slow Luther alone!) and aftermath, was lovely. Jericho is a GOAT and has pretty much dictated his own terms for two thirds of his career and I have something in my eye. Fuck Clownico.

Issue 8 of your favourite funky fact 'zine continues the stories of W*ING and the worst comic book ever produced, and also brings you the short history of the Man with the Bionic Arm, the lucha killer, the greatest moment in WWF history, and psychedelic meditations on World of Sport wrestling! All this and a bonus Bonanza piece!

44 pages, black & white, 10pt Trebuchet MS

You can get a copy posted to your house by sending £3.50 (£4.50 for anywhere outside the UK) through PayPal to alan.boon@gmail.com. Please tick the "sending to a friend or family" box and put your address in the notes so I know where to send it to! Alternatively, you can use the webstore at wrestlingcanbeanything.bigcartel.com, but it costs an extra 50p! I also do PDF copies for £1 each!

Perhaps hotshotting was a slightly strong term but the constant need for four or five hot segments per show is great as a viewer but you do worry that they might run out down the line, you know? Or worse, get into fifty-fifty booking. I have faith in Coach Tony K, though, because he's been overly smart in his booking (with a few notable exceptions). And I absolutely don't think any of their storylines have been too slow - with just four PPVs a year they should be building slowly.

* I could watch Ricky Starks and Darby Allin wrestle all week and while this feud is build on flimsy foundations it’s keeping my attention. I also like seeing Darby fall off high things.

* KiLynn King getting attacked by Nyla Rose during the pull-apart night mean that another of Dark’s best kept secrets might make it into the main show.

* That pull-apart. Wow. I’ve usually got no time for them but there was a savagery about this one that I loved, and this is where having the wrestlers at ringside works in your favour. I am SO excited for their Dog Collar Match and the commentary team did good work putting that in context, that they’re really rare (they didn’t say they’re seldom good but fingers crossed, eh?) And I know it’s not the usual wrestling promo but I really dig the way My Chemical Rhodesmance builds his talkies.

* Jim Ross. Again. I’m sick of him scoffing at Excalibur or Tazz using the correct names for holds, and being overly concerned with the physical attributes of the women. Get rid. Tony Schiavone wasn’t even there, was he? Pre-tape and night off!

* I’ve no interest in Private Party as singles wrestlers (slightly less than I have in them as a tag, to be fair) and even less in Matt Hardy as a straight veteran advisor-type. Broken or nothing, lads.

* I know mileage varies WILDLY on Luther (from me who likes him to everyone else who hates him) but I’m over the moon Jericho gets to work with one of his best buds on his anniversary show. It is as it should be.

* I don’t know who Billy Mitchell is. Don’t make me do homework.

* Britt Baker had the best match of her AEW (and possibly whole) career, and as much as I’d like to give the credit to one of Dark’s best kept secrets, Red Velvet, Britt more than held your her side of the bargain. Frankly, if a couple of months off through injury result in this level of improvement then bring on the ouchies.

* People were surprised by how good Bryce Remsburg was on the mic, and understandably because who even watched <redacted>, but he was fiery and ace here AND in the right.

* Jon Moxley versus Eddie Kingston is the feud we didn’t know we wanted but it turns out we’ve been waiting for our whole lives. This is where Eddie’s family makes sense, a bunch of guys he throws into battle to do his work for him, even if he makes them think they’re getting the rub from it. The Butcher blew up by the end but he’s such a watchable big man, and in another era would have made a decent living playing a monster in FMW or W*ING.

* I get that they’re in a ratings war, and it makes for decent, newsworthy TV, but there’s a slight scent of hotshotting about the booking. I mean, that’s fine if Tony K has plenty in his locker but you do slightly worry.

* In all that hotshotting, they still can’t find room for decent women’s storylines. Hikaru Shida got namechecked by Cody but where was she this week? Where was anyone other than Britt, Brandi, Anna Jay, and Nyla?

There's a huge gap for a Blizzard-style wrestling magazine. Somebody should start one.

1 hour ago, tiger_rick said:

Enjoy your thoughts each week, Linus. This is the only one I really disagree with this week. Probably up to the last PPV, I'd have been right with you but since then, they and Tully have looked  great fit. There's merit in your last point though because they've not looked better in AEW than they did in that superb tag match that opened last week's show.

Cheers, man. It's more than it seems to have led to a series of awkward encounters, like the tag-team appreciation thing, and the weird Best Friends bit on this week's show. I like the idea of them making their own rules now they're champs, though, and I just want more straightforward heeling and good wrasslin' from them.

The involvement of the union also complicates matters from the other side, too. If Ospreay joins Equity and someone tries to blackball him for what's been alleged (importantly without concrete proof), the union would have them for dinner. Unions protect their members and if someone raises a grievance against you they'd better have absolute proof of misconduct.

Some thoughts on this weke's AEW Late Night Dynamite and AEW regular night Dynamite...

* Benjamin bloomin' Carter has SUCH an upside to him, and ever since my pal Pat (who works for Channel island World Wrestling) told me about him, and then I saw him, like, a week later, I've taken him on as a personal vicarious project. I'm so happy for him, and so blown away by him, and I can't imagine how Pat must feel. His match with Scorpio Sky was SWEET and I loved the way Jericho put him over - in fact, the way Jericho put's EVERYONE over, by saying how he hates them because they're so good. Yay Ben!

* How good is Anna Jay? She's, like, a year in and made Brandi Rhodes look like a million dollars.

* I don't know what the hell happened during the opening tag match on Dynamite but it was a MESS. I go easier on Janela than most but he was as bad as the rest, with only Sonny Kiss probably coming out of it without too much blame (and that because he's so green). The second coming of Miro has been weird so far and I want them to fix it.

* Continuity Cop Kingston got his shot at the title and then him and Mox HAD A FIGHT. Eddie cut the promo of all promos, and the match was SO good, exactly what you want from these guys, like nothing you'd see on the other side. And Eddie lost without really losing, too, so it keeps him alive. Such good booking, and entirely on the fly after a late Covid-19 thing from Lance Vance. Now Eddie's got to sort out the Allie situation...

* The whole FTR thing so far has been SO flat, despite Tully's best efforts, and I wish they'd just let them wrestle.

* Talking of tag-team clusterfucks, the women's tag just fell apart, and you can most of the blame on Ivelisse who's wrestling like she's permanently concussed. Diamante deserves better, frankly, and there are a dozen enhancement women who are more worthy of a spot on Dynamite than Ivelisse. Shida's also looked a bit off, and Thunder Rosa being so constantly good is making her look like a weak champion. I'm sure there's an easy fix but I'm not sure what it is.

* Considering he used to play a man who only made that one weird sound in WWE, Brodie Lee's promos are amazing, even if you do expect him to throw in a FUCK, like what he does on BTE. Speaking of, this week's BTE was hilarious, and John Silver's character from that show bleeding over into Dynamite is brilliant. OC losing the title fight didn't hurt him, either, because he's not supposed to be a top, top guy, and that's fine.

* "Oh, that's not a real pocket"

* Fuck Jim Ross. Week after week Excalibur has to cover for him, and even Schiavone did it this week. Taz is so good with both those guys on Dark and it's time for Ross to quietly disappear.

1. We open with a scramble match, in which American Balloon triumphs over Andre Baker, Aleister Black, Adam Bomb, Aero Boy, Aria Blake, and Adam Brooks.

2. Art Barr beat Alundra Blayze, and then dumped her in a bin.

3. Alexa Bliss took the fork but managed to beat Abdullah the Butcher in a bloodbath.

21 minutes ago, HarmonicGenerator said:

Some really enjoyable bits on that show. Moxley's promo was my favourite segment of his in ages, fully sold me on the six man tag next week which I'm now properly looking forward to.

Kenny Omega feels like he's finally hitting some sort of groove. Just the right level of obnoxious on commentary, and how dare he just get up and leave? Get him Hangman!

Main event was great. Felt like something different and became special for it. Some brutal moves in there, but all spaced out enough that each one meant something. And a great, happy ending. What's not to like?

 

Question - they're plugging the anniversary show for October 14th. ITV Hub says this week's was episode 50. Are they not a week or two out, or are ITV counting episodes that weren't Dynamite as Dynamite?

The debut show was Oct 2 last year, so the anniversary show will be #54, not that it matters too much, I suppose.

* Anxious Millenial Cowboy "Hangman" Adam Page had a very good professional wrestling match with Frankie Kazarian. Kazarian's been quietly having bangers on Dark for the past few weeks, and let's face it he was ALWAYS good, and Hangman is just THE BEST. Seriously, when they were looking to push Page this time last year, after being in the Bullet Club and Ring of boring Honor, I was all, like, ugh, but I am a stupid man because he is great. Omega added some storyline beats on comms, too. Good job.

* MJF is such a shitty person that even the heels at ringside were booing him.

*: Only slightly but there's a weird feel to the Eddie Kingston stable family and it's not quite gelling. Like, why would the Lucha brothers hang out with the Butcher & the Blade? I DO like that the Mad King is AEW's continuity cop, hammering home that he wasn't eliminated from the battle royal, AND he's the only one who remembers that Allie should be with the Blade!

* I get that Jericho is a BIG deal and I enjoy watching him (not as much as I enjoy listening to him on comms, but there you go), but this tag-team run seems way too forced, and Private Party got nothing out of this match at all, especially when Hager and Cassidy disappeared forever. I do like the Judas Effect, though.

* Ivelisse, man.

* I was, erm, all-in on jake Roberts when he first came in but he's a liability now, stumbling over his words and making every angle awkward. Archer can talk just fine. I'd have also preferred that Darby Allin was left as a - massively obvious, admittedly - surprise for next week. I like the push they're giving Will Hobbs, too.

* The Parking Lot Fight - that's its official name, right? - was ace, with the right amount of big spots at the right times to do them, and the major league debut of SOMEONE BEING PUT THROUGH A DOOR. And I LOVED Best Friends driving off with Sue at the end, just as it should be. What I want now, though, is for Santana and Ortiz's mum - or just Dasha, I suppose - to come looking for revenge...

* This was such an easy watch, after a few tricky weeks and an under-par PPV. It flowed nicely, with some big angles sprinkled throughout, and there's a lot of storylines going on to keep you engaged. If they could cut Dark in half - although don't rob me of KiLynn King or Red Velvet or The Initiative - and keep their PPVs under 3 hours, they'd be golden.

1 hour ago, Louch said:

Getting an extra hour Tuesday next week, wonder if it’s a trial of when they start to run another night 

It was taped to air on Wednesday this week if Dynamite was moved to Thursday. It wasn't so it didn't.

Kicking off the second volume of stories about the weird world of professional wrestling, WCBA #7 shines a light on the worst comic book ever produced, the best videogame ever produced, and more. Read about Kevin Nash, the AKI engine, the Butcher, the roots of monster wrestling in W*ING, Uncle Grandpa's History of Wrestling, and a primer on Mexican wrestling movies, all in funky fact fashion.

40 pages, black & white, 10pt Trebuchet MS

You can get a copy posted to your house by sending £3.50 (£4.50 for anywhere outside the UK) through PayPal to alan.boon@gmail.com. Please tick the "sending to a friend or family" box and put your address in the notes so I know where to send it to! Alternatively, you can use the webstore at wrestlingcanbeanything.bigcartel.com, but it costs an extra 50p! I also do PDF copies for £1 each!

8 hours ago, Supremo said:

Whilst I’m happy they’re pulling the trigger on Lance Archer I’m also disappointed Eddie Kingston didn’t win the Battle Royale.

He did.

#UnderTheBottomRope #Truther

Bigoted gimmicks can work and can be fun but only if they get their comeuppance quickly, and I’d suggest not in a world where the pricks seem to be winning more ground every day

That's EIGHT years on minimum wage. Fuck that 1%.

10 hours ago, WyattSheepMask said:

Did they ever say what the winners of the tag tournament received?

Giant medals.

* Tully Blanchard's promo during the otherwise pretty rubbish tag-team appreciation bit was GOLD. He had me believing he could kick my ass, their asses, everyone's asses. Makes you wonder what might have happened if he hadn't been virtually blackballed for being a cokehead back in the day.

* Chris Jerich-no. Yeah, he's fifty years old and probably has Covid, but Jericho was NOT at the races this week, taking flat back bumps for Dragon Screws and falling the wrong way for OC's mousetrap finisher. It's a measure of OC's quality that he managed to make it look okay but they just did not gel well at all, and the finish had to be rushed before the fell off the air. It happens, but at least OC got the big win and the big $7000.

* "That was a $200 silk shirt!"

* The Dark Order are becoming a tidy little stable, and Evil Uno & Stu "Fuck off JR" Grayson are showing the form they apparently had before I started watching wrestling again. Brodie Lee has me even a slightly bit excited for a Cody title defense, and there's a storyline bubbling involving NINE, apparently. Yeah, even NINE has better stories than the women.

* The women's division is really struggling and it's almost as if they're of the mind that the matches on Dark and on the Deadly Draw make up for the lack of women's involvement on the main show. I don't want to care so much about this but there's the nuggets of a good division, even if Riho & Yuki are stuck in Japan, and Britt & Kris Stadt are injured. Heather Monroe was OKAY but okay's not good enough for national TV.

* There are times when you look at Luchasaurus and wonder just how the WWE let him go and then you remember that he's only actually 6' 5" but looks much bigger here. Anyway, the Jurassic Express are such a great unit, with Marko managing to be both lovable AND make you smile when Kenny Omega kills him.

* The TNT title isn't working. At heart, a TV title should be a stepping stone, for wrestlers not ready for the main event scene, and it has been that except that the champion is a main-eventer and so it's unlikely any of them will ever beat him, especially when it's used to put him in programs. The old TV title rule of six wins and out should be brought back, and Cody should move on to not being involved in the world title picture.

* I love MJF but the whole MJF 2020 thing is off. I get that it plays to his strengths but Mox is a weird target for these attacks and it's an odd fit for me.

All lives matter.

No, not those lives.

On 8/9/2020 at 6:32 PM, Heatseeker said:

Hey quick question. Where do you get your figures from? We have a Smyths and an Entertainer local but their range is limited at best. Is there any good UK sites that are safe and I won't get ripped off from? Thanks. 

You can order stuff from the Smyths website and collect in store

WCBA #6 is the PUNK issue, and all the stories in this issue are about punk wrestling or punks in wrestling or wrestling in punk. Get the full story of Dark Wrestling Organisation 666, the low down on ANTiSEEN's wrestling album and Bob Mould's Hardcore Wrestling 'zine. Read about the career of "Prince of Punk" Shannon Moore, why the Angry Samoans are Los Angeles wrestling, and Jaime Hernandez's lucha Locas from Love & Rockets!

44 pages, black & white, 10pt Trebuchet MS

You can get a copy posted to your house by sending £3.50 (£4.50 for anywhere outside the UK) through PayPal to alan.boon@gmail.com. Please tick the "sending to a friend or family" box and put your address in the notes so I know where to send it to! Alternatively, you can use the webstore at wrestlingcanbeanything.bigcartel.com, but it costs an extra 50p! I also do PDF copies for £1 each!

I can't believe they have a group called Retribution and didn't give @Steve Justice a call...