Tuesday, February 19, 2019

Random Thoughts, Answers To Acouple Questions And Upcoming Indy Dates, Oh My



SO... DX is going to be inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame this year. I know for most WWE fans and marks (there is a difference between the two, believe me) this is a huge thing, and they almost want to declare a national holiday over it. But for me? (Whirls finger) whoopie.

The fact that not one, not two, but THREE members of this stable 'jjjuussstt happen' to be on the current WWE payroll makes it seem JJUUSST, alittle too coincidental. Of course the Meltzer's, Keller's, PWInsider's, etc won't have the balls to mention THAT fact. Things like that are left for guys like me to say because they've shown a well proven pattern of ignoring things like that. But truth is truth, three members of DX are currently getting a paycheck from Vince McMahon, so it's just too easy to go ahead and induct people already on the payroll because then you won't have to put out any extra expense to bring them in for said ceremony. Instead of putting say, an Ivan Koloff, or a British Bulldog or an Owen Hart in there? NNAAA, just give to guys who are currently working in the company instead. God forbid WWE would actually do THAT. What's next, have Shane McMahon inducted in?

WCW was guilty of doing the same thing back in the day when they had a Hall Of Fame. They inducted Dusty Rhodes, who coincidentally was working for WCW at the time as well. I wish I had the column I wrote back then where I slammed them for doing what WWE is doing now because I'd show it right here for all to see. Same stupid shit when really there are legends more deserving to be in this joke of a HOF but instead, just give it to current employees instead. Hell of a mentality they've got going there.

From the looks of things we went from “Super-Cena' to 'Super- Shane'. (yawns). I mean, really. Shane McMahon? Being tougher than the whole roster of the WWE? Nobody with the I.Q. Higher than a door knob buys that bullshit. Hell with this dumb mentality why not have it be 'Super-Shane' that beats Brock Lesner since 'nobody else' seems capable of doing it according to the story lines there. Wouldn't be the first time a McMahon made himself champion. Vince has done it and I'll post acouple pics. He even wore the “Unified” World title that Lawler made famous in Memphis (even though, THAT version was really a version of the old AWA World title). 



If anyone really thinks Shane McMahon is more of a credible wrestler than anyone on the WWE roster, and doesn't think his obvious push was because his father owns the company? Than you're really living inside a bubble of stupidity, really.

Late Sunday night (into Monday Morning) I caught most of the current ROH TV show, as it airs multiple times on the FOX station that Sinclair Broadcasting owns in my area. The first match of KENNY KING vs. FLIP GORDON vs. SHANE TAYLOR vs. CHRIS SABIN vs. RHETT TITUS vs. LUCHASAURUS reminded me right away of why I DON'T watch ROH on a regular basis. It gave me every reason in this first match why a lot of current product rubs me the wrong way (the same way Impact's X Division matches do the same thing). Nothing but an acrobatic contest with no real psychology, and it came down to who can top who on doing a flip onto the other opponents (rolls eyes, yawns). Nothing but flips, flops and high flying shit that told no story to the match whatsoever. AND.. Let's not forget this, the NO SELLING, or LACK... Of 'selling' was among the worst I've ever seen anywhere. On a scale from 1-10 the 'selling' level was pretty much, zero.

Who the fuck taught these guys and forgot the segment on how much 'selling' means something in matches? Seriously.. WWE is the worst at it but now ROH and Impact seem to have this thing that 'selling' for less than 3 seconds seems to be a 'good thing' when really it's a bad thing. Real 'selling' tells MORE of a story within a match, than just 'get right back up like nothing happened' so you can deliver another acrobatic move that's not really convincing.

Saw the same kind of lack of selling in the THE BOUNCERS (Beer City Bruiser & Brian Milonas) vs. MARCUS KROSS & GRIFF GARRISON match as well. Atrocious om behalf of Garrison and Kross would be an understatement as to how bad they weren't 'selling' things by the much bigger Beer City Bruiser and Brian Milonas. Truly horrible that the powers that be in ROH really think that this blatant lack of selling really gets over.

Maybe it's me, and because I've had the chance to be around guys who trained wrestlers (Walter 'Killer' Kowlaski, Sylvano Sousa, Dory Funk Jr. and Tom Prichard) who KNOW what selling means in a match. I learned it and know what it means to do 'sell' in matches. By observing and asking questions and being shown the hows and the whys on it. Being around the guys I listed they taught it, they ingrained it into you so you were forced to both learn it, and DO IT, in your matches. When did no-selling become such a great thing I don't know but of course when I ask what the logic is or was behind lack of selling, nobody can ever give me a straight answer on that. Imagine that.

Needless to say after these two matches, I couldn't swallow anymore of this crap and turned the channel. Thankfully reminded why the mainstream products still, sucks ass big time in this country, and why I'll stick to my love for indy wrestling and UK wrestling, where selling still means something.

Acouple people messaged me questions so I'll answer them here.

Didn't Dave Scherer say he was going to 'expose you' (whatever that meant) on his web page, and did he ever do it”?

The short answers to this would be, to question #1? He sure did. Question #2? Sure didn't.

The long answer is, he was told by me and two others to go for it and just like every other time I've ever called his bluff on something, he did the same thing with this as he did the other times. He backed the fuck down. Which shows you what kind of person he, (and Mike Johnson of PWInsider ) really are. All wind but no sail, all talk but no action, all smoke but no fire, pick your cliche'.

Really though, what is he going to expose? The same tired things that for the last four years at least a dozen others have tried and failed with flying colors on, because it didn't get the 'desired effect' they hoped it would? He knew better than to try when I dared him and said “you don't have the balls but go ahead if you really do because I want to see just how stupid you'll look when you try”.

My guess is,. He didn't want to look more stupid than I've already made him look.

Thoughts on AEW? Will they compete with WWE and be competition”?

As I said earlier today to someone on YouTube, I have a wait and see perspective. What's their TV deal? Nobody knows right now. They can 'explain' what the 'vision' is but until we actually see it and see how for one, it's presented, and two, if and how it gets over.. Everything til then is just speculation at this point.

Right now the only wrestlers they have there that garner my interest are Jericho and Omega. So how they present the others will be the test to see if they gain my interest enough to invest further into their product or not. The last time a promotion came out with a ton of blustering hype was Jarrett's GFW, and we all have seen what a joke that wound up becoming (along with, look where Jarrett's at now, back working for WWE). So until a product or show is presented before my very eyes? I'm not gonna say a lot or speculate. I want to see it before I make an opinion on it.

If you had to choose from one federation (even back to when you were younger) to watch because none other was available, which would it be”?

AWA, all the way, every day for the very reason in your question, I was younger and I grew up on it.

And now some upcoming indy dates to round all this out.








Announcement About The movie "350 Days".

350 Days will be finally available on April 2, 2019. I’m so excited to share your official iTunes pre-order link for 350 Days. Please use the following to pre-order and support this truly independent film: https://apple.co/2IkUzLn

I am proud to be the Associate Producer on this critically acclaimed full length documentary starring Bret Hart, SuperStar Billy Graham, Greg Valentine, JJ Dillon, Tito Santana, Ox Baker and 3 dozen of the greatest legends in the history of the wrestling business. Directed by Fulvio Cecere. Produced by Darren Antola, David Wilkins & Fulvio Cecere. Edited by Michael Burlingame.

Please also spread the word by posting/liking/sharing. We can't do it without YOU and thank you so much for your support and friendship.

New trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rlzGPRMfLU

Main Event Wrestling UK- Little Miss Roxxy vs. Sammiii Jayne - MEW Purely Belta 2

The MEW Womens title was on the line as Sammii defends against Little Miss Roxxy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Fwhoxfqw4g

Bandido & Kris Cutler vs Cono & Tristan Thai- From New Evolution Wrestling

Dan Spivey on his Waylon Mercy WWE Character

Insane Championship Wrestling (ICW UK)- Hype Video "The More They Are, The Harder They Become!"

The Sandman vs. Zack Monstar vs. Vertigo vs. Rey Xion (C) - 2/15/2019 - Atomic Hardcore Championship

On Friday February 15th 2019 - Atomic Revolutionary Wrestling held it's 2 year anniversary show "Chapter 3: The UPRISING" at the Space Coast Convention Center in Cocoa FL. The Atomic Hardcore Championship was on the line in a historic Fatal 4 Way match that saw ECW legend THE SANDMAN vs. ZACK MONSTAR vs. VERTIGO vs. REY XION (C) of Brothers In Arms. This match was absolutely insane and historic. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azztuDt-jq0

LAX (Santana/Ortiz) v Tracy Williams/Wheeler YUTA | Beyond Wrestling

Bert Prentice's USA Championship Wrestling Episode 48 2/16/2019

Action from Oman! Blake Christian takes to the sky against Brandon White and Doug Gilbert defends the USA Heavyweight Championship vs Kevin Zion w/ Lucky P.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuLThAoRLfk

Andrew Anderson vs Irish Crush (New Evolution Wrestling)

From New Evolution Wrestling: Goes Pink
"The Reinforcer" Andrew Anderson w/ Mr Big vs "Irish Crush" Connor Reilly
Commentary By: Wesley Bolls and Grim Reefer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwwCA6nTmc4

OVW TV- OVWWEB1018

Jay Lethal cares more about entering MSG as champion than leaving as champion, addresses his decision to re-sign with ROH last year

ROH Champion Jay Lethal spoke with Brian Fritz of SportingNews.com and spoke about his decision to re-sign with the company last November “Here’s the thing that made me fall in love with them,” Lethal said. “Even when I was just that kid that didn’t feel like I belonged, my skill level was nowhere near a CM Punk or Austin Aries or Alex Shelley at the time, but yet I was still wrestling with those guys. Even then, this company has always gone above and beyond for me. This company has always taken great care of me. I’ve never had a reason to even dream about wanting to go somewhere else. I love this place.”
Lethal also said entering the G1 Supercard at Madison Square Garden as ROH Champion is more important to him than leaving as champion. “To me, it’s all about walking in as the champion,” he said. “If I don’t leave as the champion, that wouldn’t be too heart breaking for me, but going in as the champion, they could never take anything away from me after that. If I can hold onto this belt — we do have one more pay-per-view in March, I have to get through that first. If I can walk into Madison Square Garden as the champion, that’s what I would really like. Winning the big one in Madison Square Garden, that would be cool, but to me, being the first Ring of Honor Champion walking into Madison Square Garden and defending the belt, that’s the coolest part to me.”

Chris Jericho On Why WWE Not Signing Him Might "Bite Them In The A--", Huge Offer From Impact

AEW Superstar Chris Jericho recently sat down with Wrestling Observer Radio for an in-depth interview. During the discussion, Jericho brought up his recent contract negotiations with WWE, Impact Wrestling, New Japan and his current base promotion, AEW. Jericho mentioned how Impact Wrestling previously presented him with an impressive offer for a potential four match series, one in the range of the "mid seven-figures". Regardless of what others were trying to negotiate, Jericho always believed that Vince McMahon would eventually present a counter offer to him.
"In my mind, from a pure business standpoint, I'm worth as much as Brock Lesnar at this point in time to WWE as far as what I bring to the table," Jericho said. "That was just the watermark I had. So, for me to go back to Vince, I was like, 'I want that type of deal.' Because that's the way it should be in my mind. When I was starting to talk to Tony [Khan], and I was negotiating with New Japan, and even with Impact as well and, like I said, Impact offered me a hell of a deal for a four match series. It was a really good amount of money, like, we're talking mid seven-figures. They have some cash as well. I think people kind of gloss over Impact at this time but when there's something they believe in, they have the money for it.
"And in the back of my mind, I always thought, but in this day & age with the amount of money that WWE has, Vince will come through at the end and match this offer," Jericho continued. "And then I'm going to have to make a decision, because like I said, it wasn't just about the money - it's, well, now I go in to Vince's world and we know how Vince works, and that's fine. If you sign a contract with WWE, you cannot bit-- or complain if things change last minute, if you're given pie-in-the-face routines on RAW. Whatever it may be, that's what Vince does. That's what Vince likes and that's how he operates. So, you go there knowing what you're getting in to."
Ultimately, Vince never issued out a counter offer to Jericho, something he believes is rooted in McMahon's desire to keep overall salary levels where they're at. Jericho explained that the hypothetical counter offer would have lead to a number of other WWE Superstars questioning their pay scale in the company. In his effort to avoid this, Jericho thinks that the situation may come back to bite Vince, because now, Jericho's hope is to form a bridge from all wrestling fans to AEW.
"So, I have to make up my mind on what I want to do. But the thing is, and this is something that - Vince never made a counter offer. Never once. And I spoke to him. It was the day of the Tokyo Dome I spoke to Vince and we had a great conversation. It was a very amicable conversation and he basically said, 'Take the deal and go with God, and congratulations, and good for you.' And once again, I was a little surprised but I also understand the reasons why. I mean, you're talking about a guy...no matter what I've done this past year, how big my name is, or how much reinvention, or how much business I've created, you're still talking about a 48 year old guy, right? And if Vince is going to match this offer that Tony Khan gave me, it's going to upset his entire salary application, and that's going to cost him big money in the long run. Not just on me, but for every single person that goes, 'Hey, well, you paid Jericho this, why can't I get that?' And I just don't think Vince is ready to take that step yet, even though he has the money for it.
"Vince is Vince since 1982, and he's got his ideas, and his rules, and his structures and nobody's bigger than the WWE. But this is the one time that it might come back to bite him in the a-- because, once again, there's a real chance that I can be a bridge to a lot of people that haven't experience, or have wanted to check out, AEW. Except for the fact that I'm there, and when they see it, they're going to see me with these other overnight sensations that have been doing this for ten - fifteen years. Some of the best in the world. And it could hurt. We don't know, but that's something to me that I feel is a very distinct possibility."
Jericho is next set to wrestle Kenny Omega at Double Or Nothing, which takes place on Saturday, May 25 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Impact Wrestling Notes.

Former WWE, Ring of Honor and Lucha Underground star Paul London worked as a Producer at the Impact Wrestling tapings over the weekend.  We are told London did a great job in the role and the company hopes to use him again when possible.

Kevin Sullivan was at the Vegas tapings and did film material for the company, so he'll be popping up in some fashion on upcoming episodes. (Wonder how they'll use Sullivan and if it'll be more of the 'silliness' that Callis swore he was gonna get rid of, but has yet to do).

Former WWE NXT star Sawyer Fulton debuted on last night's Impact Wrestling taping in Las Vegas as well.  He will be working as a heel for the company.

And oh yeah, former Impact star Abyss started as a producer for WWE last night.