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Hana Kimura

/ Stuart Iversen / Leave a comment
Women of Wrestling/MMA Pics & Gifs Thread 1 | Freakin' Awesome ...
Credit: Stardom

Hana Kimura was extraordinary. I’ve thought a lot about how to describe her, but it’s the word I keep coming back to. She walked into a room, and she owned it, more charisma in one defiantly raised middle finger than most have in their entire bodies. I was lucky enough to see her live in Shinkiba 1st Ring and the Tokyo Dome, two buildings that couldn’t be more different, but she dominated both. At the age of 22, Hana looked like someone who could do whatever she wanted, whether that be a long career in wrestling or the joshi classic of an early retirement and another life. That’s what should have happened.

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Thank You, Arisa

/ Stuart Iversen / 1 Comment
Arisa Hoshiki Wins Cinderella Tournament - Last Word on Pro Wrestling
I’m going to miss her. Credit: Stardom

Yesterday it was announced that Arisa Hoshiki, the current Wonder of Stardom champion, has been forced to retire because of injuries. It was news that was both a surprise and not. She had been a notable absence from the last two Stardom shows while the lack of information about what was keeping her out suggested it wasn’t a mere knock. However, even if a part of me was scared this was coming, it didn’t stop it being gutting.

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Daniel Bryan

/ Stuart Iversen / Leave a comment

The first time I saw Daniel Bryan wrestle was during his iconic feud with Nigel McGuinness.  I’d heard from the online chit chat that this guy was good, the best in the world according to some, and I was naturally intrigued.  Yet, when Bryan came out, it was a bit underwhelming.  Sure, the fans loved him, but to look at him, it was hard to be impressed.

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Terry Pratchett and the Discworld

/ Stuart Iversen / 1 Comment

The day after Terry Pratchett death wrote about the effect a man I had never met had on my life.  I also made a decision, I decided to go back and read every single Discworld book.  It could be argued reading them in order of publication is not the best way to do it, but it is what I decided to do.  Nearly eight months later I, this morning, finished The Shepherd’s Crown, his final work and the one which will end the Discworld series.  41 books later and I’m honestly not sure what I will read next but before I make that decision I want to talk about these books.

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Roddy Piper

/ Stuart Iversen / Leave a comment

If John McClane had been fighting against a faceless bad guy in Die Hard it’s a safe bet that it, like hundreds of other action films, would have been forgotten instantly.  Hans Gruber made him, because a good guy needs a bad guy.  Roddy Piper was that bad guy.  He was the ying to Hulk Hogan’s yang and it’s a pretty safe bet that without the Hot Rod, Hulk Hogan would never have reached the height of celebrity that he did.  On the week that it came out that Hulk wasn’t the squeaky clean American hero that he wanted us all to believe, Roddy had to upstage him once again.  Sadly, this time he did it by leaving this Earth behind.

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Terry Pratchett

/ Stuart Iversen / 1 Comment

My book shelf could be very easily split into two halves.  Terry Pratchett and related, then all the rest.  It also wouldn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out which half is more loved.  The rest is all pristine books, read once or twice and returned to their slot.  On the other hand, my Pratchett books are falling apart.  Some held together by pure force of will.  One is even splattered with Warhammer paint, from when I was young and thought those were two tasks I could do simultaneously.

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