Superstar Sleeze

Pentagon Jr. vs Vampiro - Lucha Underground 8/5/15 Street Fight Calling all Vampires, watch this match pronto! This was sick, twisted violence at its best. Total gorefest. Deathmatch Wrestling at its best. Matt Striker is the drizzling shits, just try to ignore him and his Ian bullshit, its fucking Vampiro in there, brutha. A Cero Miedo (Zero Fear) match is just Lucha Underground name for a street fight. Pentagon Jr breaks people's arms to appease a mysterious Master. He was going to break Sexy Star's arm but Vampiro stopped him. Now it is on! Vampiro had been watching some Ghost BC and came out dressed as the Black Pope with his face paint. It was cool as hell. One of the best entrances I have ever seen. Pentagon Jr has such a cool look too. The match is insane and they are so efficient. Everything kickass and no downtime. Pentagon beats the shit out of Vamp. Not letting his disrobe and just attacking him with a steel chair. They do some good crowd brawling. Vamp gets a brief comeback to let you know the Old Man still got it, but Pentagon is rocking. He exposes the concrete and Pentagon FUs him on the concrete and then more chairshots. The ref calls the match and they stretcher Vamp out only for Vamp to attack the EMTs and it is on! Vamp hulks up and here come the tacks. The Fluorescent Light Tubes up the ante a thousandfold! I dont know how they work and if they are gimmicked or not, BUT I dont think so. Pentagon breaks it over the back of his neck and head. Vampiro is a BLOODY MESS! FIVE ALARM! Somehow he is bleeding from the eye too, I dont know how. They way they have worked this entire match has been awesome. It feels like a war. I like how the bumps are few and far between but they are earned. They selling like they are fighting through pain. Vamp hiptosses him on the next light tube. Then rips the masks. He CROWNS Pentagon with the Final Light Tube. HOLY SHIT! Pentagon has tapped a gusher! Well his Mask got replaced by a Crimson Mask. Pentagon BALLSHOT! Love it! They tussle on top. Vamp Super Belly to Belly Throws Pentagon from the top to the Tacks & Glass Shards! HOLY SHIT! How do they climax this blood-soaked mayhem! Well how else! A FLAMING FUCKING TABLE! Pentagon Throws Vamp through the Table Ablaze! Vamp is on fucking fire! Like how shit! Dude was on fucking fire! Pentagon pinned him! Great finish! Terrific violent brawl, loved every minute. ****1/4

LU Trios Champions Son of Havoc & Ivelisse & Angelico vs The Crew (Cortez Castro & Mr Cisco & Bael) - Lucha Underground 5/20/15 Ladder Match Ivelisse is injured in a foot cast coming into the match and gets jumped by the Thugs, this is Matt Striker's reaction "Don't feel bad for Ivelisse, she is fair game". This could be the worst call in the history of the match. He follows this gem up with "Angelico must feel so alone after winning the titles". Bro, he is a TAG TEAM champion, I know they are dysfunctional, but he has TEAMATES! Jesus. Solid ladder match. Crew are good bruisers. I like their one highspot in the corner with the double dropkicks in the corner. They used it in both matches. Angelico is definitely the standout in these matches. I am not saying AEW should push him to the moon, but I think they should give him a crack for a couple months and see if he clicks. He definitely has big highspot potential. He does a big somersault plancha over the top rope onto the ladder wiping out two members of the Crew. They relied on Havoc to carry the bulk of the match. He is fine and Matt Cross has always been fine, but nothing that really popped my eyes. They did a nice spot where they ripped open a hole in Dario's office. One of the Crew members got dumped in the office only to spring out in a tope to tackle someone. I think I would have had Havoc do that spot because it was a babyface spot, but good spot. Ivelisse basically saw no action due to the injury which I dont know if it was a shoot or work, but 95% sure it was a work. The holy shit highspot and the only reason this match should be sought out is Angelico hits an INSANE DROPKICK FROM THE BALCONY TO THE RING AND WIPING REYES OFF THE LADDER! Awesome! Ivelisse is over huge with the live crowd, climbs the ladder to win. Watch for that spot and AEW give Angelico a shot. ***3/4

Cage vs The Mack - Lucha Underground 7/29/15 Falls Count Anywhere Never seen or heard of the Mack before, but this got high marks on Cagematch & I wanted to see more Brian Cage. This is part one of the first Season Finale of Lucha Underground. Awesome brawl that is very entertaining. Matt Striker is terrible and Vampiro is useless. What makes this match is fun is that almost all fun babyface spots. Like Mack spearing Cage through a door, a massive powerbomb off the top rope through a table on the floor and the peak babyface awesome spot, Mack cracking up a couple beers, KICK WHAM STUNNER, TALK SOME STONE COLD TRASH! The crowd and I both popped huge for that! Striker wants to talk about Cage's resiliency and fighting spirit. Fuck you, bro, he's the heel. Put over Mack's kickass babyface offense and that he is so close to putting down The Machine, but just needs that little something. Cage was great at feeding and making Mack look great. He get a heel hope spot, just enough to Mack always had an obstacle to overcome, but he was in the driver's seat for most of the match. Cage hit his suplex highspot on the railing on their Crow's Nest. Then curbstomped Mack through a gimmicked cement block. I would have liked Cage to do something more heelish to set up is last two moves, maybe an eyerake or a ballshot, but still this was refreshingly babyface-oriented, which I loved. It gave the match a real upbeat, fun feel while still being a good kickass brawl. I love how quick and efficient Lucha Underground matches are. ***1/2

Cage vs. Fenix vs. Killshot vs. King Cuerno vs. Pentagon Jr. vs. Sexy Star vs. The Mack - Lucha Undergound 5/13/15 So this match is for some Aztec Medallion that is going to give you immortality. Whether literally or figuratively, I like that they always give the luchadors something to wrestle for. Again, I am just in the mood for mindless action and this was pretty good. I liked Mascarita Sagrada more in the last match from individual performance perspective but overall this match was better. Sexy Star was used really well. She was clearly over. She has a good spirit to her. I really liked Brian Cage in his match against Moxley and watching him here, I just feel like this dude is special. Great combination of look, athleticism and power. I like to see more character work out of him, but the dude can flat out go. The Powerplex on the outside was wicked. Pretty much the beginning and end of the match tell the story, everyone cleared out for the real stars and that is Pentagon Jr and Fenix. Fenix, like Ricochet, is a once in a lifetime flier, absolutely sublime in the air and wonderful balance & coordination. His brother Pentagon contrasts that with a beautifully, wickedly violent style. They used Sexy Star perfectly here to garner more face heat and really put Pentagon over as a prick. He hit Sexy Star with a Widow's Peak and simultaneously piledrove his brother. Just as Pentagon was going to break Fenix's arm, Sexy Star interferes and but Pentagon Press Slams her into a Gutbuster. Nice! This gives him for Fenix to recover. Dragonrana! Awesome one too, standing moonsault for the win. Nice little match. ***

Son of Havoc, Ivelisse & Angelico vs The Crew - Lucha Underground 4/22/15 No DQ Inaugural Trios Tag Champs Apparently, the babyfaces are doing the whole dysfunctional family gimmick. The evil promoter throws one last curveball at them by sending out his Crew in a No DQ and winner wins the titles. I recognize Ricky Reyes but not the other two members. This got high marks on Cagematch but it is only like 5-6 minutes and there's not much to it. The Crew lay a pretty good beatdown on the faces. They use Ivelisse very effectively to maximize sympathy. Isolating her in the ring with a bad knee totally at the Thugs' mercy. Havoc saves but Vampiro calls him "Whipped" for saving his ex-girlfriend. Fuck you, Vampiro, you prick. Havoc gets as ass kicked in the corner with big facewashes. The HUGE spot of the match is Angelico's INSANE LEAP from the balcony to the ring wiping out the Crew. Ivelisse gets a measure of revenge with the Singapore Cane and then Havoc and Angelico each hit moves off the top for the feel good win. The Leap was insane worth a watch just for that. I am glad Ivelisse exacted her revenge and good climax. Good little match. ***1/4

Big Ryck vs. Drago vs. El Mariachi Loco vs. Fenix vs. King Cuerno vs. Mascarita Sagrada vs. Pentagon Jr. vs. Prince Puma vs. Son Of Havoc vs. Super Fly - Lucha Underground 12/11/14 I have seen bits and pieces of Lucha Underground from the first Season. I always had trouble finding it on my cable to DVR it, but I wanted something fun, mindless to watch and this fit the bill. Standouts: Masacrita Sagrada, I have no clue if this is the same dude from the 90s, but if it is holy shit WOW and if it is not he did the original proud! So much charisma! I loved how he did some push-ups to pump himself up before going after Big Ryck aka Ezekiel Jackson. He was so expressive. Great exchange with Pentagon Jr leading to a monkey flip rana. He does his standard big spot where he goes all around the world before the rana. The big three of Puma (Richocet), Fenix and Pentagon Jr were the other stars. Lucha Underground definitely launches those stars. Fenix is awesome to watch and I like that he hits hard in addition to the flying. Pentagon Jr took a little more of a backseat but when he was in there. He made his presence known. Richocet, brutha, this dude is a once in a generation flyer. There are so many "flyers" nowadays, but Richocet is breath-taking and he should be pushed above the rest. He was having a pretty good run in WWE, but being in a tag team with Cedric Alexander is a waste of his talent. This dude is a star. My other standout is Drago, a little on the short side, but the dude had some big time highspots. I liked him. Big Ryck is fucking awful. The dude should have the easiest job in the world. He is like twice the size of everyone and should just mow everyone down. He was the least intimidating big man I have ever seen. Just weak shit. Mascarita Sagrada was so fun in their exchange and he should have sent the little dude flying, but he couldnt even do that in a cool way. Two big thumbs down for him. Fun, match exactly what I wanted for right, now, scratched my itch. ***

TNA World Heavyweight Champion Bully Ray vs AJ Styles - TNA Bound For Glory 2013 NO DQ In typical TNA fashion, they tried to copy the Summer(s) of Punk storylines with AJ having no contract, but I guess AJ really did not have a contract. He did do them a courtesy of coming back and jobbing to Aldis on his way out, but he clearly had no intention of staying as he was working Ring Of Honor and the Indies soon after. It just made TNA look bad. While the angle was the shits, this match was anything but. I enjoy these types of matches a lot, but only in moderation. I think maybe 2-4 times a year they should bust a match out like this. I am talking about an overbooking extravaganza with tons of bells & whistles like run-ins and weapons. You know a real circus! The ultimate version of that match will always be Austin vs Dude Love, but this was still a good take on it. I like the premise & aesthetic of Aces & Eights. A biker gang is a good look, a good basis for a faction, I like that they went all in with the biker lingo, the positions in the Club and the look. Sons of Anarchy was big around this time so it was topical and Bully Ray fit it well. Shoehorning Dixie in as an ally of the outside, anti-establishment faction feels very forced and artificial. I like AJ Styles growing his hair and freshening up his look. As a man who grows his hair out, he is in that terrible awkward stage of the growth where product is your friend otherwise you look like an Emo teen. Emo, moody, brooding AJ is not my cup of tea BUT he is still wrestles like normal, awesome, greatest of all time AJ so I will excuse the look and the pre-match character work. I like how they start with an anti-shine. Bully Ray well bullies him with big bodyslams and meaty lariats. He demonstrating his power advantage. AJ has been a World Champion many more times and a lot longer than Bully Ray. He is the Singles Star. Bully Ray became a main event act. However, I think it was important to establish that Bully is the champion and is a mountain that AJ needs to climb. Now, you feel as a fan that AJ needs to prove himself, you know he is capable since he won his first World Championship in 2003 and a decade later he is every bit capable, but can he. Bully Ray talks some trash about his wife and kids. It is ON~! AJ explodes in a fury and climaxes with the Calf-Killer on Calfzilla, which Taz loves. Bischoff's kid interrupts...I forgot he tried his hand at wrestling whatever happened to him and Brisco's kid? Bully has the hammer. They tussle over it, but not much comes of it. Bully chops the shit out of AJ. They really did a great job working an old school babyface/heel match with a ton of fire and heat. You really wanted to see AJ win and kick this dude's ass. Knux, formerly Mike Knox who had the coolest crossbody in wrestling until Bray Wyatt cribbed it, chokeslammed AJ. It is a Kangaroo Court. AJ kicks out. In the chaos, Bully DECKS Knux! AJ takes a gnarly and very cool bump to the floor as he was in between the middle and bottom rope and Bully Kicked him through. There is more fighting over the hammer. AJ goes to Springboard 450 Splash through a table on the floor, but ends up crashing & burning! Great spot! They milk it well. Bully cuts up the ring to expose the boards and here comes Dixie to celebrate, prematurely I might add. She hands Bully a chair, but AJ Clobbers him with a Sprinboard Forearm and the Springboard 450. Dixie scolds Hebner into not counting. Dixie is NO Vince, no siree Bob. AJ takes a wicked backdrop on the boards and then Bully hits a Stan Hansen pose and wicked nice Senton for two. PELE~! SPIRAL TAP~! 1-2-3! Excellent finish! I thought this match was wicked tight and efficient. Perfect amount of storytelling, cool plot devices underpinned by hard-hitting action with breezy escalation. Bully Ray was such a great heel in this, utterly despicable. AJ rocks as a babyface, big bumping, great selling and kick ass offense. An underrated gem in the TNA catalog. ****1/4

Dustin and Brodie was fantastic! Best Brodie match since joining AEW. Notice how they minimized the bumps and knockdowns to MAXIMIZE their meaning. Terrific hoss fight! I love Dustin! They HAVE TO do a “Dustin tries to finally win the Big One” storyline. I would be pumped!

Wow! Just watched the Miro promo and either I have gone soft or I’m insane but I feel like people are making a mountain out of a mole hill. He had what 3 sentences about WWE. It was necessary and real. He is pissed. He talked about DEVOURING people in the ring and being ELITE. There were NO jokes. It was a straight ahead, efficient promo. What’s the big deal? What’s people major malfunction?

TNA World Heavyweight Champion Drew Galloway vs Bobby Lashley - TNA Slammiversary 2016 KO Or Submission For some reason I have much more interest in this than in their WWE PPV main event from a couple months ago that I skipped. I thought this was great, not perfect, but really good Big Man wrestling for the 2010s. The KO or Submission gimmick unfortunately does not mean this worked like UWFi which would have been sick but it gives MMA fighter, Lashley a decided advantage. McIntyre has developed a new submission, The Iron Maiden (a badass name for submission as a heavy metal fan and I would love to see him bust it out in WWE), which bizarrely is used twice in the opening 5 or so minutes and then never even attempted again. He does have the Claymore already and that will be his mainstay to try to KO Lashley. I wish we could get more out of Lashley. He reminds me so much of Jack Swagger! I want to like NO I want to LOVE these guys. They are big powerful studs with legit amateur credentials and a fighting background. They both should be my dudes. They wrestle so dry and subdued. There is a point where McIntrye accidentally shoot stomps on the eye of Lashley to break a submission causing what must have been a painful cut to form on the edge of the eye. The announcers were like fight or flight has been triggered will Lashely be incensed or will he cower? I said to myself "Neither of you know Lashley nothing will change. He will cool as a cucumber and just hum right along" and I was right. I didnt want to be right. If someone stomping your face so hard that you get cut, doesnt fire you up I dont know what will. I know it is accident. I am not saying D-Mac deserved a receipt. I am just saying REV THE FUCK UP, BOBBY! I LOVED THE CLAYMORE RIGHT AT THE BELL! I HATED THE FOLLOW-UP! They are selling the rules as in favor of the MMA Fighter Lashley and in a snap of the fingers D-Mac throws that narrative out the fucking window by nearly taking Lashley's head off with a Claymore. Fuck yeah! It puts over the gimmick great. What a fantastic start! The follow-up undermined the Claymore completely. No Ref Count! No D-Mac offensive shine! Instead Lashley schoolboys D-Mac and puts him in a lame legbar. The Fuck? Lashley clotheslines D-Mac over the top. D-Mac has been brainwashed by WWE and has WWE Ace Babyface Syndrome where one offensive move renders you glassy-eyed and looking like you have seen 20 minutes of action. Way too much overselling from Drew here. Lashley generally pummels. A good spear that is turned into a GREAT one by Drew's bump and sell of it. Got to give to him on that. Iron Maiden shows up here but never again. Odd. Lashley is going for a Cross-Armbreaker or maybe a Triangle and thats when Drew stomps the eye a little too hard and cuts the eye. Lashley hits a big Spinebuster, but nothing shakes the unflappable Bobby Lashley unfortunately. Highspot of the match was the Super Front Suplex by Drew that was sickkkkkkkkkkkkkk. CLAYMORE~! But he hits him so hard that Lashley rolls through back on his feet and propped up by the ropes so the ref cant count. That was on the right side of cute for me. The big series of moves is D-Mac hits the Celtic Cross (called as such by Josh Matthews) on the ring steps then it is the Sharpshooter on the steps and Claymore on the outside! This all sets up the Big Highspot (I thought the Super Front Suplex was cooler, but I am weird). The Big Highspot is D-Mac does a Swandive over the top rope and demolishes a table with his body. It was impressive. This was a great transition to get Lashley back on offense. Lashley punches D-Mac in the head a lot and I think this is an excuse for him to blade so that when he Hulks Up at 9 he has some blood to show for it. This pops the crowd huge. No Selling is a very effective babyface tool and D-Mac does that well. Loved the Headbutt by McIntrye, he calls it the Glasgow kiss now. I thought they too quickly went to a Lashley submission there was a fire burning here that could have been an inferno. Tombstone for D-Mac was great. Goes for the Claymore and Lashley catches him in a flash Arm Triangle submission now that I dug. They avoided a lot of what is bad about Last Man Standing matches. It didnt feel like a slog or a very boring pummeling heat segment. They kept it upbeat and exciting with thoughtful momentum changes. I enjoyed D-Mac on offense a lot more than Lashley. Drew does have a tendency to oversell when a register would work better but thats true of every 21st Century babyface now. Lashley needs a personality transplant. He has every physical gift necessary but he is boring as hell. That withstanding, a great layout and inspired D-Mac performance make this the best Lashley match I have ever seen. ***3/4

NWA World Tag Team Champions Triple X (Christopher Daniels & Elix Skipper) vs America's Most Wanted - NWA-TNA 6/25/03 Steel Cage I really should take the time to watch their entire series because these four have great chemistry with each other. Their 2004 Six Sides of Steel is more famous but this is still a banger and in a light year for United States Match of the Year Contenders this is a definite contender, violent with big ass highspots. Triple X are the tag team champions but only thanks to Low-Ki and the other members of SEX. Tenay/West do a great job explaining the steel cage is to prevent outside interference. Russo is trying to keep all the SEX to himself and is forbidding Triple X to wear their SEX shirts to the ring. What a selfish prick! There's plenty SEX to go around! I really liked America's Most Wanted babyface shine, it was short, but that battering ram spot they do is really cool and I wish some babyface team would crib that. Based on what I have seen I think AMW is easily a Top 50 tag team of all time maybe even Top 25. They do a double face in peril starting with Wildcat. They bust him wide open using the cage. Really good cage heat segment. Harris does a good job staying alive but selling. Storm was a great hot tag. Skipper takes a nasty bump. Reverse Suplex into the cage and a nasty fall. He is selling his ribs. Storm climaxes with the Powerslam. Superkick caught and swift kick to the 'nads puts Daniels in control. The idiot announcers are too busy praising Triple X for resiliency that they missed that they cheat to garner the advantage. Morons. Daniels busts Storm open on the cage and crashes his body on top of his sandwiching Storm with the Cage. Skipper hits a Powerplex but he is selling his ribs. This does not last long before the melee ensues when Harris gets the hot tag. The finish stretch is red hot. Daniels busts out Angels Wings on Harris, smashing Storm into the Cage and then falling back into the ring with him, and Last Rites. Skipper, of course, goes all out. Nothing will ever top the Cage Tight Rope into the Frankensteiner which is the greatest highspot of all time, but he does have some doozies in this. He takes a Powerbomb off the top of the cage, a crossbody block from the top of the cage and he takes not one, BUT TWO GNARLY BUMPS from the cage to the floor. The last one he skidded off the floor into the railing. Skipper kept going for these big highspots and AMW did the wise thing by just shoving him off. You can ONLY win by pinfall or submission MEANING that AMW now has a 2-1 advantage! First Death Sentence goes awry. I think someone got their signals crossed BUT the finish was AWESOME! TOP OF THE CAGE DEATH SENTENCE! THAT WAS BITCHIN'! I know Skipper cant cut a promo to save his life but with so much emphasis on workrate I cant believe Primetime couldnt have found more work throughout the world in 21st Century. Dude was wicked athletic, could do all the workrate spots PLUS he was fucking crazy so he could all the nutty stunts too! AMW are awesome old school, Southern-fried blood feud workers. Perfect blend of blood-soaked Southern Cage wrestling and 21st Century highspot stunt wrestling. I still think the 2004 is slightly better but this rocked! ****1/2

I agree you the story, announcers, and the beginning dont really justify the intensity and violence of the latter stages of the match but the latter stages are a welcomed sight to see in a Kurt Angle match. Kurt Angle vs Mr. Anderson - TNA Lockdown 2010 I don't know what it is about Angle and Lockdown, but he tends to bring his best inside the Steel Cage. Either Mr. Anderson has a nasty shiner or he is into wearing eyeliner, which I am not opposed to as a big glam metalhead. Anderson is doing his "I am an asshole" gimmick. I guess he disrespected the military in the buildup and known patriot Angle took umbrage with this. The wrinkle of this match is you can only leave through the door and Anderson won the right to have the key. Anderson makes the obvious mistake of going for the door way too early, he hit one dropkick to the knee. After two premature attempts, the key ends up lodged in the lock and now the playing field is level. Well there goes one plot device. Ok lets move onto the next one. Anderson drives Angle's head into the cage. They get some good shots of this. There's some meander back & forth. They ratchet up the violence when Anderson chokes Angle out with tape very convincingly. This is the first time the match really feels great. This match has quite the rep in spite of the two wrestlers in this. The tape choke out was their best spot. It was one of the most credible versions I have ever seen of the spot and it was enhanced by Angle struggle combined with his open wound meant more blood flowing. Angle goes on a tear with lots of suplexes. Anderson gets a hope spot with the Somersault Samoan Drop but cant get the Mic Check (a truly terrible finish, he sweeps the legs the wrong way). Angle nails 6 suplexes and really takes his time to milk it. Then they do the whole Angle has it won multiple times but decides he has not punished Anderson enough. I dont really see how this has been warranted. I would have liked to see Anderson be more of a little shit, eyerakes, taunts, ballshots, spitting and choking (ok he did the last thing). What makes me really want to see Anderson get his just desserts. The first iteration leads to AngleLock but Anderson whips him into the Cage. Mic Check. Anderson goes for it and Angle hits the Olympic Slam. This time Angle throws away the key into the crowd and as if to say he does not care to win, he is hear to beat the shit out of Anderson, which is a surprisingly effective moment even though the story does not warrant it. This is when Angle goes all out with the two big highspots of the match: German Suplex off the Top Rope and the Moonsault off the cage. Anderson has balls of steel taking that spot. That was fucking crazy! He landed on his fucking face! That was insane! Now for a third time, Angle has the match won but looks back and Anderson flips off Angle. This defiance is enough for Angle to know he needs to dish out more punishment. I feel like Anderson's character work is the main flaw of the match. It is too neutral throughout but then shows flashes. It creates for inconsistency and the big moments to be not as hot. Anderson low blows him, where was that earlier!?! Angle gets back up and chokes him out with a chain and that was great payback for the best part of the match. Then triumphantly stomps on his balls as he walks out for the win. This is a great match that could have been match of the decade contender if Anderson was a stronger character. I think this is one of Angle's best individual performances. He was strong, violent asskicker hellbent on punishing Anderson and his usual workrate-centric self. I just wish Anderson matched him either in intensity or cowardice one way or the other. Really strong steel cage match. ****1/4

Impact World Heavyweight Champion Brian Cage vs Sami Callihan - Impact Wrestling Bound for Glory 2019 Street Fight I have always liked the look of Brian Cage, got to see him at a Beyond Wrestling event and he looked great. I was further impressed by how great he was in that match with Moxley. I think thats the best Moxley match I have seen in AEW. Callihan I have only seen in a couple MLW shows I attended live. I find spit to exceptionally gross and the amount of fucking saliva in his matches grossed me the fuck out. He seems like an edgy, too cool for school pro wrestler. For some weird reason, I saw the angle leading up to this where Callihan & goons piledrive Cage's wife in front of him. So this is PERSONAL~! I really enjoyed this and thought it was great. I think the best of the match is how well they adhered to babyface/heel psychology. Cage as the avenging babyface got the bulk of the match and it gave the match an upbeat, chest-beating feel to it. Caliihan as the heel was nasty, violent cheater. His first major advantage came from a testicular claw, thats pretty low-down. This being the 21st Century there were times when there was still some workrate in a match so personal and some furniture re-arrangement, but they did keep to a minimum. Cage bitting Callihan and drawing blood was a great start. Using the Wolverine claws swiping at the cut was also tremendous. Anytime Callihan would get a shot in, Cage would pay him back tenfold! Powerbomb into the ringpost, Back Suplex into the table. Cage was kicking ass. He would NOT BE DENIED! Then came the testicular claw which led to the Piledriver on the railing. Perfect way to transition to the heat segment. Cheap (testicular claw) and powerful (piledriver). Callihan FACEWASHES in the corner. Cage fires up on the third one, I like it. Things get a little too workrate-y down the stretch. Lots of complicated combinations. Cage hopping onto Callihan's shoulder for the Death Valley Driver not my favorite spot, but I did like Callihan's piledriver through the ropes. Again they get complicated with a top rope spot and Callihan powerbombs Cage on the railing. Callihan cant believe it! He gets the tacks. Piledriver on the tacks, which is actually a super safe way not to take tacks! ONE COUNT! KICKOUT! AMAZING NO-SELL! THATS HOW YOU FUCKING HULK UP! Cage hits the DrillClaw, Steiner Screwdriver for the win! HELL YEAH! I love a well-timed NO SELL that was just Supacharged No Sell and emphatic finish to avenge his wife's broken neck at the hands of Callihan and a piledriver. The beginning was better than the finish as that played better into the hatred and brawling. They got a little cute down the stretch but they saved it was with an AWESOME FINISH! ***3/4

Gail Kim vs Tessa Blanchard - Impact Wrestling Rebellion 4/28/19 I have seen Tessa Blanchard once before at a SHIMMER event with PWO's own Jimmy Redman! For the entire card, Tessa was by far the stand out worker. Crisp, ferocious and engaging, she was the girl with It Factor. It seems like she can be her own worst enemy but AEW's anemic women's division could really use her. Also, Tessa vs Charlotte writes itself folks. Well they should really do Charlotte/Tessa as a tag team and then do the break-up angle for maximum effect. Anyways, I am not too surprised that she got pushed to the moon winning their Men's World Championship, she is a great wrestler. I enjoyed this match as a Greatest Hits/Nostalgia match for Gail Kim. You come away thinking Tessa Blanchard is a badass and you want to see more for her. The hook of the match is Gail Kim has come out of retirement specifically to wrestle the best of this generation, similar to the recent Trish vs Charlotte match. You get a lot of feel-good Gail Kim spots. There's a bit of miscommunication of the ringpost 619 but Gail looked great otherwise. Great movement and great execution. The shine where she overwhelms the hard-hitting, younger powerhouse Tessa was red hot. Good cutoff by Tessa in the corner and then hits a Codebreaker and this leads to the heat century. This is pretty 21st Century in the sense that they are just hitting spots (they look good) but nothing is all that consequential. They are just filling time, but whats the story? There is a little bit of scouting from Tessa that I liked where she was countering a lot of Gail's signature stuff. We do see the Figure-4 around the post and the Eat Defeat, which I never loved. The highspot of the match was Tessa throwing Gail off the stage in very insane fashion. Overly complicated and that looked dangerous. Gail Kim gets back in. Following All Japan logic, the finish is nigh. They treat as the playin field is level but Tessa should be in control. Tessa goes for the Slingshot Suplex, nice tribute to her father who is in attendance, but Gail knees the head in the suplex and Tessa Eats Defeat, well not really she kicks out you see. Tessa punches her while she climbs the ropes. Tessa bites Gail's arm and Tessa Press Slams off the top (didnt look as good as they wanted). Tessa hits Magnum which is a Jumping Codebreaker and when Kim kicks out, Tessa debuts a Boss Statement like finish. Tessa mean mugs in the ring and then immediately hugs her Dad and totally breaks down. Good for them. That seemed like a really nice Dad/Daughter moment. Tully tells her to shake Gail Kim's hand. Nice touch. I enjoyed the athleticism and the execution, but there was not much story to sink my teeth into. It did not have a strong hook other than the fact it was Gail Kim vs Tessa Blanchard. There was no real stickiness to the match. Enjoyable nonetheless. ***1/2

Impact Tag Team Champions LAX (Santana & Ortiz) vs OGZ (Homicide & Hernandez) - Slammiversary 2018 Street Fight I have a new idea for a project so I will finally be reviewing post-2014 pro wrestling. Probably a weird place to start, but here we are. Basic gist is Konnan managed a hot new tag team, Santana & Ortiz, and continued using the name LAX. So the OGz (Homicide & Hernandez), an apt name, were pissed about it. It looks like Eddie Kingston maybe wanted a piece of the LAX action but got shut out by Konnan so he brought back the OGz. Unfortunately, this is a 21st Century Street Fight which means more Feng Shui furniture rearrangement than actual hate, oh well. I really liked the original incarnation of LAX back when I was a teenager and Hernandez still hit his big spots really well. I dont think Hernandez was a miss by TNA, but I would have liked to seen him have a better career, great combination of power & agility. Homicide has more aura than Santana & Ortiz. Honestly, I didnt get much out of Santana & Ortiz. It seems like Santana & Ortiz are the babyfaces. They clear the ring and the ones that shine with the dives to the outside. After that, they decided they didnt like the Feng Shui of the ring and thats when extended furniture rearrangement went down. OGZ beat them down by hitting him in the head with metal objects. HERNANDEZ DID HIS MASSIVE DIVE! Big Man still got it! Draino got involved but didnt go anywhere. They did a very boring overwrought middle section where nothing meaningful happens. So much choreography... The finish stretch was GANGBUSTERS! Really good, high octane shit. Hernandez hits that big Shoulder Tackle/Pounce like move of his. He is the Real MVP of this match. This knocks Santana out of the ring. Homicide hits his classic Somersault Tope Suicida wiping Santana out through a table. Homicide looks like he was shot through a canon! Ortiz Death Valley Drivers Homicide through a table. Hernandez retaliates with a Border Toss through a table! I love Hernandez! Hernandez eats a suprkick I cant believe thats the end of him. Santana (who based on my Beyond Wrestling attendance, Dynamite watching is the better of the two) ends up in a glorified fighting spirit contest with Homicide. Homicide goes for the Cop Killa but gets distracted by Konnan. Konnan goozles him and throws a bag of tacks to Homicide. Santana throws a fistful of tacks at Homicide! WOW! That was the first time this "street fight" got violent! Powerslam and Frogsplash 1-2-3! I LOVED THE EFFICIENCY! Too 21st Century for my tastes not enough hate and violent. Too much furniture rearrangement spot setup. Hernandez looked like a million bucks! I dont want to go long but he was the best part. The finish stretch was really well-done, simple, energetic and effective. ***1/2

TNA X-Division Champion Christopher Daniels vs Samoa Joe - TNA IMPACT 4/13/06 We start in medias res as the Impact program starts with Daniels tapping a gusher. As Daniels is writhing around like a bloody fish, they show some of Daniels shine and how he was able to use speed to keep Joe off balance until Joe was able to catch him on the outside and smash him into the ringpost and then hit an Ole Kick according to Tenay & West. Daniels is out of it in the ring. This is the episode where Sting had his first match on TV so they are really trying to goose a big rating. Daniels throws a body shot and Joe BITES THE CUT! He really went at it. Daniels is throwing desperate kicks and Joe continues to punch the cut. He digs his fingers into the cut. Samoa Joe is the Man! Daniels looks like a horror movie victim fighting for survival. Joe has so many aspects to him and is so versatile (heroic, stoic asskicker, cocky jock prick, workrate stud, violent monster). I love how Daniels looks totally out of it, but is still STRUGGLING. He is still alive. This creates a lot of opportunities for Joe to cut off and Joe is lightning quick. Joe pummels with Tenryu Punch/Chop combo in the corner. Joe has beaten him to a bloody pulp. FACEWASH! This is an epic beating. Everything is laser focused to the head and there's a gradualism to the selling. Just when Daniels looks most done after the first Facewash, he evades the second. BIG KNEE TO JOE'S HEAD! Got to go head-hunting! Lets Go Daniels! He goes in for another and URNAGE~! The Creature from The Black Lagoon rises again! Tremendous cutoff! Ad break. Joe Powerbomb/Submission combination. Watch how Joe tortures him in the submissions, grinding joints into Daniels' body. This has been all Joe without feeling like a squash because how they well they have done the layout. Enizguiris to the head ROCK JOE! Notice how Joe does not bump, he does a lot of weeble wobble selling. There's a gradualism. Daniels is getting closer, but Joe is building that tension. Daniels has to go up top rope and hurl his body off the top to knock the Big Man off his feet! Top Rope Frankensteiner! HUGE BUMP BY JOE! Joe goes back to cutoffs to let you know he is still there, BUT eats knees on the Senton. Joe Powerslam! Joe palm strikes to the Cut BUT Daniels WONT BE DENIED! This is a brawl BABY! They are throwing hands! Daniels STO! BEST MOONSAULT EVER! AWESOME NEARFALL! THEY BUILT TO A GREAT CRESCENDO! They tussle on the top rope. ISLAND DRIVER FROM THE TOP ROPE! Excellent match! Violent, competitive and tons of struggle. I love how they build up so much tension in the match. They never settled for a grinding, heat segment where they do a breakdown. Daniels never dies. He is always fighting back. Joe is just too much. I love how Daniels really has to earn that comeback. Joe is roaring back with an Urnage or a Powerslam. Then we get to the point where the Babyface is just so damn fired up and that he WILL NOT BE DENIED! The reason means so much because Daniels had tried so many times and had been thwarted. So it meant something when he did finally NO SELL the palm strikes to the cut and he just said FUCK IT I AM GOING TO KICK ASS! The Best Moonsault Ever was a great nearfall! Look at that efficiency! One COLOSSAL nearfall for the babyface. Daniels needs to go for something bigger like a superplex and they tussle on the top. Joe UNLEASHES A SUPER ISLAND DRIVER! 1-2-3! Perfect ending! Hands down best match in Impact History and one of the best in TNA History! ****1/2

NWA World Heavyweight Champion Jeff Jarett vs Raven - NWA-TNA 4/30/2003 Man, Jeff Jarrett has no friends. So for those keep tracking at home, Jeff Jarrett is NWA 4 Life (Straight Outta Hendersonville) and a surprisingly good babyface. Raven & The Gathering (Julio Dinero & a young Mickie James) are SEX 4 LIFE (and so am I). In addition to the Gathering & SEX, there is also the ECW Nostalgia Stable of Sandman, Justin Credible, Saturn and New Jack. ECW nostalgia has probably earned more money than the actual ECW promotion. All Double J has is asskicking Dusty Rhodes, who wiped the floor with SEX back in January when Raven debuted in TNA. I enjoyed this way more than I expected. I like overbooking for the most part but that part fell flat for me. It didnt add to the drama. It just felt tedious. SEX/New Church brawl. ECW Nostalgia beats up a bloody, handcuffed Jarrett until the lights go out and Sabu saves. Sabu wipes out a fan when he makes his great escape. The worst moment was when the ref couldnt get the handcuffs off Jarrett so fucking Raven had to do it. Ugh. Then Jarrett hits the Stroke for the finish. The actual body of the match was really good. Jarrett is a great fired up babyface. He gave Raven a good ass-whupping and Raven fed and stooged for him well. Dinero/Alexis were a good distraction. I think they did the whole heel miscommunication chair shot too early and that busts Raven open. Jarrett dives on the Gathering and he pays for taking his eye off the ball when Raven does his out of control plancha. Really damn good Raven heat segment, busts Jarrett open on the steel steps. Million Dollar Kneelfit. Drop toehold on the chair. Lots of great Raven staples. Sleeper was a good climax as he was losing control and then Jarrett kicks ass. Great fired up comeback from Jarrett. Taking out the Gathering and hitting the Stroke, what a shitty move, for two. Raven comes back with the DDT for two. They tumble over the top on a Cactus Clothesline. Jarrett hits a Middle Rope Elbow Drop Through a Table! Nice highspot! Jarrett rolls him back in and DDT! Very 2003 to steal the finisher! 1-2-Gathering pulls the ref out! Ref throws them out. Jarrett runs into the ref to bump the ref. Raven whacks him in the balls and then is the lame finish run. Honestly, the body of the match was a really strong old school babyface vs heel match. Raven used his Gathering really well and worked a strong heat segment. Jarrett was a strong, fiery babyface. It is too bad the finish let them down, but this was still a very fun match to watch. ***1/2

Juventud Guerrera vs Chris Sabin - NWA-TNA 9/3/03 Super X Cup Juvy still had plenty of Juvy Juice left in 2003. I know he is a headcase, BUT of all the 90s workers I think I wished Juvytud had a much better run in the 21st Century. Besides the lame Mexicools run, where did he work? Lots of 90s workrate throughout that I mean a lot of symmetry dropdowns at the same time, dropkicks at the same time. The length cradle reversal segment is another hallmark of 90s workrate. Very interesting that Sabin was the clear heel at the start and he plays it up at times, but by the end, it is full workrate. They are working USA vs Mexico but with Juvy as the bigger star it is easy for him to be the babyface. Juvy has great chops, wicked, and is very crisp. They try to do the powerbomb into into a land on his feet but Sabin is kinda short and Juvy lands on his shoulder hard. They are working a little too fast. No strong control segments or highspots that really stick with you. It is just well-executed, total non-stop action. Juvy hits a dive to the outside. Really nice basement dropkick to the face by Juventud. Sabin has not shown me much outside of a couple standard heel spots, slap at the beginning, eyerake in the middle of the match. There is some 21st Century tropes that sneak in that I dont care for. Where they attempt the move but dont hit it. They just tease it and easily let it be reversed. Where's the struggle, bro? Also, lots of move trading down the stretch without missed moves or interesting counters. Just my turn, your turn. Juvy hits really cool Capture Electric Chair with bridge for two! That needs to be cribbed by someone! Love Juvy Chops! These reversal sequences are overwrought and there's no struggle. . All the kicks to the midsection show that the 90s were still very influential. The kick to the gut is one thing from the the 90s that I am glad died a death in the 21 century. GUNSHOT JUVY CHOPS! GANSO TIGER DRIVER~! HOLY SHIT! The Spot of the Match! How the hell did Sabin kick out? Sabin gets a counter DDT bad timing. Should have pressed on with more Juvy offense. Anti-Air Dropkick by Juvy to the mush as Sabin came off the top. So of course Sabin hits the next move which a Superplex. No one is selling shit. JUVY-DRIVER! 450 SPLASH! 1-2-NO! I bit on the finish! I wanted Juvy to win! Methinks his goose is cooked. Mike Tenay tells me I not breathing for not enjoying this. Sorry, bro. FutureShock DDT, it did look different than the Cradleshock DDT for win the for Sabin. This is definitely a good match and fun to watch even though I dont expect to remember anything about this besides Juvy is a Top 5 Chopper of all time and the Ganso Tiger Driver. Just a total non-stop action, mindless workrate-fest. ***

I know @Ricky Jackson is a massive Blair mark so there might be something to this Blair >>> Brunzell talking point. Kelly & Victory Sports Mag are just on a different level when they are analyzing pro wrestling than the rest of us.

Samoa Joe vs Christian Cage - TNA Bound For Glory 2007 WOW! This may be my favorite Samoa Joe individual performance ever! HE WAS ALIVE! I was just vibing off all his energy! It was charging me up! Dude felt like the biggest star in the world. His charisma was effusive and he just came in hyped, supercharged and was playing to the crowd so well. You got to watch it. He comes off like a total badass rockstar in this match. The Destination X match from earlier in the year for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship gets more hype but this match is way better and way more fun. There are so many great Joe moments but I think my favorite was he does his usual nonchalant walk-away but adds a Middle Finger and then does some flex thing that just came off as cool. Christian's timing was phenomenal. He gave Joe the lion's share of this match. As the heel who was losing, he could have taken a large heat segment, but he didnt. He would get short flurries almost like heel hope spots to let you know he was alive but more often than not he was thwarted. It felt like an extended shine. The shine is my favorite part of the match so I loved this. Also when Christian did get control it was always through an elusive evasion tactic. It demonstrated Joe was the bigger man but Christian could use his savvy to get one up on him. The best example of this is how Christian hit a cool DDT on the floor. Again, his control didnt last long because Joe was a force of nature who would not be denied in this match. Joe busted all his badass offense. Elbow Suicida AND the Corkscrew Plancha! I loved the Kawada Enziguiri as Christian went for a Springboard. They use the Christian Coalition (AJ Styles & Tomko) as a distraction to give Christian a ballshot and the Unprettier but no one is buying it. We all know Joe is taking this one. Joe beats the shit out of him. Musclebuster & Koquina Clutch for the win! Interesting tidbit is that Christian had been in TNA since like late 2005, definitely by January 2006 and he had never been pinned or submitted and it was October 2007. I feel like TNA does not get enough credit for how well they booked Angle, Christian and Sting their main eventers. Their main events follow a logical progression. Angle vs Sting was their biggest possible match they were smart to put that on here. Their third biggest star is Christian and Joe got a wicked clean, definitive win here. I know their next "big" PPV was in April at Lockdown and they did the smart thing and it was Joe vs Angle, but Joe was red hot here. I would have moved that timetable up to January and let Joe reign through 2008. This match is wicked fun and shows Joe still had the IT FACTOR well into 2007. I dont think he lost until he took that fucking stupid bump on the stairs against Sting was it in mid-2008. That was so dumb. Joe from 2002-2008 was The Man! ****

Samoa Joe vs Chris Sabin - TNA No Surrender 2005 If only all pro wrestling was so simple and elegant! Samoa Joe's first PPV for TNA after going an undefeated streak the month prior on Impact and this is his biggest test so far. Sabin to me the ultimate average, generic X-Division wrestler, but he does great in this match. Tenay says Samoa Joe is 6' 8". Dont have Tenay write your dating profiles, fellas, the girls will be very disappointed when they see you. Joe is on fire during this period of his career. So explosive and powerful. He snatches and gobbles Sabin up. He throws him around with authority. Sabin makes Joe look like a million bucks. You fucking believe Joe is 6' 8'" and the biggest person in the world the way Sabin was bumping and selling for him. Great power vs speed match. Don West for all his idiosyncrasies does a great job expounding on Sabin's strategy. Sabin does not have enough mass so he has to compensate by either combining his mass with speed or with height to create more energy to bowl Joe over. Sabin's first big offensive flurry is a three MASSIVE dropkick all aerial from the ropes or apron. He SMASHES Joe with him and Joe takes him like a champ. His next big flurry climaxed with a Tornado DDT, he used speed and the leverage of the ropes to make that happen. His BIG nearfall was the Powerbomb off the top when Joe took too long on the Musclebuster. One reason I avoided this match is I expected it to be a glorified squash but it was NOT at all. Sabin got a lot of well-timed hope spots. The offense just made Joe look more of a beast because there was such desperation in Sabin's movements. You knew he needed a fluke home run to win. It made Joe look all the more badass. Another AWESOME wrinkle that I am a total sucker for. All three times Sabin lost control of the advantage after going on offense was because he went for his finisher, the Cradle Shock, which involves him trying to hoist up the big man on his shoulders! What a neat nugget! Sabin knows his advantage is tenuous at best and wants to make the most of it by going for his killshot BUT he cant execute because Joe's size. Another neat nugget is each attempt he does get closer and closer! I am very surprised that Sabin's performance is what stood out to me. Joe was excellent. Joe was just running a clinic. In terms of execution, he never looked better everything was snug and with power. Great throws and strikes. LOVED the finish. Joe SWEEPING the leg while Sabin was on the top rope had me marking out! Musclebuster and Koquina Clutch and that's all she wrote. Dont be like me and sleep on this match just because you think it will be a glorified squash this is an excellent power vs speed match! ****1/4

Gail Kim vs Taryn Terrell - TNA Slammiversary 2013 Last Woman Standing A while ago, Soup (aka Chad) asked on Twitter the best match you have seen live and the correct answer for me is this match! I had stopped watching TNA for a good year or two and the only reason I went to this show because I really wanted to see AJ Styles wrestle live. This match easily stole the show. I went in with zero expectation and by the end I was going absolutely bonkers! Over seven years later, I still remember every major highspot. That Gail Kim charge into the steel chair was GNARLY! Not to be outdone Taryn just HURLS herself and eats a belly flop on the ramp way. The single leg pick up on the ramp was such a nasty THUD in the ring. OW! Then the fucking ACE CRUSHER OFF THE RAMP TO THE FLOOR! I SHOT UP OUT OF MY CHAIR! Gail Kim was smooth as silk in this match and it is a damn shame that she was so ahead of her time. Kim vs Horsewomen, Asuka, Nia or Shayna would be money! I watched the video package and I didnt realize Kim was injuring women using Bret Hart's Figure-4 around the post so it was a big deal when Taryn turned it around on her and gave her a taste of her own medicine. So that enhanced the match for me! Taryn was definitely unpolished but sometimes that works in your favor. She came off so raw and organic. She was just throwing herself into everything with reckless abandon and I was digging it. This is definitely in the running for best US Women's Match pre-2014! Still holds up 7 years later as an awesome bout! ****1/4

NWA World Tag Team Champions Team Canada (Bobby Roode & Eric Young) vs America's Most Wanted - TNA Final Resolution 2005 Damn look how young James Storm looks! Look at Roode trying to grow out his hair! Bunch of babyfaces in that ring wow! Meltzer gave this match ****1/2, which is a monster rating all things considered. I was putting it off, putting it off. I said what the hell tonight and never in my wildest imagination did I think these four could live up to the hype, but this match ROCKED! Roode & Young were the best 80s stooge heels of the 21st Century. This was terrific old school Southern-Fried wrestling to start. They jumpstart the match with a terrific, upbeat, energetic brawl for a couple minutes outside the ring where AMW tools on them. Young ends up with a huge Goose Egg on his forehead. Then they have an awesome shine in the ring. Hey babyface shines, you remember right? You remember when pro wrestling was actually fun?!? This was fun as fuck! Young was bumping around everywhere. They threw Young into Roode and Roode into Young. It was gangbusters. Team Canada does the Hart Foundation sliding knee and they work such a beautiful old school heat segment on James Storm. Great heeling, great hope spots, good pummeling without giving too much away. There's an excellent moment where. Storm hits a pair of Enziguiris as a hope spot. Roode does a Flair Flop. Young does his Flair Flop off the apron, I popped huge. Here's the kicker, Roode stopped Storm from making the tag. Extending the heat segment! I love it. They get a good heel nearfall off a Young Elbow Drop. Roode ends up missing a charge and tag out to Harris. I am not saying Harris should have been a huge star but I am surprised he did not have a bigger run. He was a fucking great hot tag in this. Roode and Young were bumping and feeding like champs. The finish was just awesome old school chicken soup for the Pro Wrestling Fan soul. Handcuffing D'Amore to the post. Team Canada member Johnny Devine getting involved. I was biting on nearfalls left, center and right. I thought the Hockey Stick to the back was for sure the win for Team Canada and then AMW would win the belts back the next month in a gimmick match. Nope kick out! Then AMW hit one of their double team finishes! 1-2-NO! The Impact Zone and me are fucking rocking! They have whipped this crowd into a frenzy and I am on the edge of my seat. There is a tussle over the chair. Roode hits the Northern Lariat such that Harris lands head first on the chair! They telegraphed that false finish a little much with the camera angle on a smug Devine, but it was a great spot nonetheless. Devine accidentally smokes Young with the Chair and AMW Rollup! 1-2-3! MASSIVE POP! I can tell Team Canada were old school cheating heels and they were foiled by their own machinations so it was very fitting victory. I loved this! If you love old school, Southern style, babyface vs heel wrestling, you owe it to yourself to check this out! ****1/2

Hahaha I am glad you took it well. I do think he has improved as Moxley compared to Ambrose. I do think WWE is a nearly impossible environment to truly thrive in BUT there have been some promos in AEW that really showed WWE was NOT the total problem. There was one promo in a desert where he was making Dean Ambrose-esque shitty jokes. There was another promo in a garage I wanna say in advance of Brian Cage Title Defense where he couldnt make up his damn mind who he is. Is he a reverent Bret Hart babyface champion? Is he a zany Terry Funk champion? Is he a moody, brooding loner champion? I think that's my issue. I dont really know who Jon Moxley is. I dont think he knows who he is either. Part of it is who I am as a person. I just dont connect with the moody, brooding loner types. However, even if I dont connect with it, I can usually tell when that archetype is done well and I dont think he does it well because he will add a dash of Terry Funk or Bret Hart when it was not warranted. I hope that make sense.

Jon Moxley is trash and I don't get people who like him. (I am being serious).