WingedEagle

Dream Cinderella was indeed a great show. I've seen folks call it a potential show of the year, and while I can't support that kind of talk, it was a really fun show with only the tag title match dragging at all. AZM/Natsupoi was a hot, brisk opener and if AZM ends up anything less than one of the best in the world in a few year I'll be disappointed. Momo/Nanae was great while it lasted but as noted above an unfortunate result, although a necessary one given the finish to Mayu/Yoshiko. That was my second favorite match of the night behind the main event, and that's coming from someone who thinks both Giulia and Tam were overrated last year. The title match between Hayashishita and Kamitani was also great and just shy of the **** level. Would love another outing from them. Well worth checking out.

Today's Ibushi-Naito was a simpler and much better version of their WK match. Perhaps being reigned in due to the stage benefited them but I enjoyed this immensely more than the big show.

Anything worth checking out from this week's run at Korakuen?

This thread is the best thing to happen here in some time. I've caught bits and pieces of this on Twitter but its tough to stay on top of it there. Great to have everything organized so cohesively here.

For all the WK hype (and I LOVED Shingo/Cobb), Tanahashi vs. Shingo is my runaway MOTY and a legit ***** classic. I came into it with incredibly high expectations and they somehow smashed those.

This. At some point that firm may decide the odds of any recovery are slim to none and cut bait. But until then its likely not costing the gentleman in question a dime.

Likely neither and somewhere in between. It really depends on how counsel on the other side is compensated and how long they're willing to prolong such a frivolous suit as their chances for compensation decrease. Its not as though the plaintiff here (there's no reason to use his name) has much of a case and I can't imagine he's paying by the hour.

Is there anything worth watching on Raw this week?

The yearbooks are not kind to ECW. Easily the promotion that fares the worst looking back on it years later even if some angles and plenty of promos are still solid or at worst recognizable for their influence at the time. But the passage of time is harsher on Sabu than anyone. Whether he benefitted from Paul E.'s smoke and mirrors, a reputation from working "extreme" matches that made tape trading circles at the time or a lack of overexposure, almost nothing of his is good in modern eyes. It consistently appears as though he's coming up on the fly with spots to try fly with zero connective tissue between them, any story surrounding the match or anything else going on in the promotion for that matter. Leave the memories alone.

That's the one. I was intimidated by the runtime when I saw it and barely felt like half that much by the end.

What do I want to check out beyond the Aereo match?

1) Okada vs. Naito 1/5 2) Okada vs. Ibushi 1/4 3) Villano III Jr. vs. Aereo 3/1 Dragon Gate -- no MOTYCs in my eyes, but good and sometimes great wrestling on every meaningful show, along with the best booking in the world this year make this an easy pick. First time in a decade I won't vote NJPW, but Dragon Gate did a fantastic job setting the table for the next 5-10 years of the company between the rookies and their booking along with reintroducing Shun Skywalker at the top of the card. The Bayley & Sasha Banks team/split/feud. They weren't just the only entertaining part of WWE TV for much of the year, they were actually great in all facets from promos to angles to matches on TV and PPV. A shame it was rushed into a split this fall but that doesn't knock what they did all year. AEW Dynamite If we're talking "Most Outstanding" the top of my list would include Go Shiozaki, Kazuchika Okada, Kota Ibushi, Shingo Takagi and Minoru Suzki in some order. Wrestle Kingdom night 1

Yeah, spent probably doesn't begin to describe how she's felt and will feel for quite a while . And that's with a younger child that "requires" more handholding and eyes than Jr. Hopefully they all find some normal in the new year.

That was an incredible TV show and I hope I never see anything like it again. Just an amazing, thoughtful tribute to a man and consideration of his family.

Thanks, will definitely look into some of those recs!

Happy and healthy to all. Enjoy the rasslin and stay healthy!

Let's say I haven't read a comic in 25 years and I dug Batman, X-Men and the odd Image/Valiant back then. Any trade paperbacks worth grabbing now?

The Elite putting over the Dark Order in the main event would seem like a fitting tribute this week. Hopefully all storylines in the AEW universe can go on hiatus for a week.

Jesus Christ. All the love to that family, whom by all accounts he absolutely lived for. What a tragedy.

This leaves Meltzer almost to write the obit for this coming week's issue. As much as he's written about him through the years its one I'm certainly looking forward to in full.

I grabbed a Switch a couple years back, but could never get the hang of the controls and ended up giving it to a cousin. Too many years invested in PS3/4/5 muscle memory for this old man to learn new tricks.

Thanks, that makes sense. Not sure there's any value there given I've got all the Observers from that time period.

Has anyone picked up either the '97 or '93 Yearbooks that were recently released? They look interesting but I can't tell if there's any original content or if they're just reprints of every Observer from the particular year.

Thoughts on the WK lineups thus far? Leaving aside the uninspired booking that got us there, night 1 looks pretty solid on paper. Naito/Ibushi and Okada/Ospreay should be great and attract a crowd, while Tanhashi/Khan is intriguing and you can never write off Tanahashi on a big show even in NJPW did just that this year. While Shingo/Cobb looks like a fun match, I don't see the hook to attract a crowd on night 2 unless the logic is enough fans can't get into night 1 and will go on 1/5 as a backup option. A main event of presumably Ibushi/White with few fireworks behind it hardly seems like a major show.