Rambles about the wonderful world of wrestling.
Spit in my eye and call me Shirley because New Japan Pro Wrestling has done it again. This was one hell of an event, and I’d go as far as saying Dominion might be the best show I’ve seen from them yet. If you like wrestling and aren’t watching NJPW right now, you are doing it wrong. It’s like loving rock music but only listening to Shinedown. Sure, it has guitars, but you’re just punishing yourself. With that in mind, here are ten things we picked up on at Dominion.
Mixed tags! Matches where breaking the rules means losing your belt! Submission matches! LET’S GET EXTREME! Yup, Sunday night was the one day of the year where WWE gets extreme, apart from all those other days that they do it. For some daft reason, I sat down and watched all of it despite having all the enthusiasm of Dean Ambrose (more on that below). So here are ten things I observed during WWE Extreme Rules.
I’m worried friends. On January 4th I decided this would be the year that I got into New Japan. Around six months later, they may well have ruined all other wrestling for me forever. Holy shit is this company good. This Best of the Super Juniors tournament was a joy from start to finish, and I don’t think I can put into words quite how much fun I’ve had watching it. Despite that, I’m going to try and take you through 10 observations I had from BOSJ as a whole.
Continue reading “10 Observations From Best Of The Super Juniors”
Jushin Thunder Liger has always been a mystery to me. Growing up I never watched WCW, and I’ve only got into Japanese wrestling in the last six months. Liger, therefore, was a distant God. Someone who I caught glimpses of but who was shrouded in mystery beneath his mask. I respected his obvious talent, and I was sure there was a reason he was as loved as he was, but on an emotional level he was locked away under that full body suit. Cold and untouchable. That is until the last few weeks.
I almost can’t be arsed writing this. WWE obviously couldn’t be arsed putting much effort into Backlash so why should I bother? This PPV (are they still PPVs? What do we call them now?) was a massive waste of time, and while the crowning of Jinder Mahal will help people to forget that, it’s still true. However, I’m nothing if not a pro with a lot of time on their hands so here is eight things I observed at Backlash.
There’s not much you can rely on with WWE. Their unreliability is the most reliable thing about them. Yet, over the last few years, NXT TakeOver shows have consistently stood up and been brilliant. From Nakamura vs. Zayn to the rise of the tag-team division; you are always guaranteed at least one classic match and if you’re lucky you’ll get a few more. With the TV product slowly heating up post-Mania, it’s no surprise to say that Chicago continued that streak. Here are eight things we noticed while watching NXT TakeOver Chicago.
Continue reading “8 Observations From NXT TakeOver: Chicago”
Following the disappointment of Payback – although some people liked that show more than me – it’s easy to drop into a wrestling related mood. Many a time a bad show can leave you feeling like you can’t be arsed anymore. Thankfully, that’s when New Japan tend to step up to the bat. While, as is the case with most New Japan shows, there were plenty of tag matches to get through before you hit the juicy stuff, Dontaku was a good to occasionally great few hours of pro wrestling and here’s what we thought while we enjoyed it.
Was anyone excited about Payback? The first big show after WrestleMania is always a bit of a slog, but this year a slog would have been an improvement. The Superstar ‘let’s move them all around a bit and not really explain it’ Shake-Up threw a spanner in the works, and we hit Payback with all the momentum of a wet hanky. But when have we ever let that stop us? Here’s a few thing we noticed during this horribly average show.
Ah, Mr Wyatt, you had so much potential. The cult leader with the golden tongue. The man who begged us to follow the buzzards to salvation. In you, we saw a new Phenom. A new figure of dread to reign supreme over the world, or should we say Universe?
I’ve always felt bad about not attending Discovery Wrestling shows. As an Edinburgh-based brand they’re my local promotion, and yet ICW got its claws into me first. However, with the announcement that The Elite were going to be gracing their ring it seemed as good a time as any to hit up my first show. And hopefully, kickstart a relationship that will continue on for a while yet. So, here’s five thing we noticed at a sold-out Corn Exchange.
