El-P

The lesser of the three Gene show, but it's obvious since him and Bischoff weren't as close as Tony or Prichard. Quite interesting though and another proof Gene was nothing but loved and respected by all.

I got a kick out of Tony and Gene calling each other "gimmick". This was an excellent tribute show, it's too bad the podcast can't come back to that formula. The audio clips were excellent, the Flair stuff derailed the thing a bit at the end but still, another really cool podcast to honor Mean Gene.

They never got over the DX theme, basically.

As an Azealia Banks fan, the idea of her doing pro-wrestling is awesome in itself. Picture the live promos, going off like Big Poppa Pump would. But yeah, Heyman comes off like a total sleazebag here. Which isn't surprising, of course.

Internet is a wonderful place.

Good to hear from you Charles. Glad to hear you and your family are fine too.

Maybe he was Mike Oles. We finally gonna get pro-wrestling as figure skating then...

Because I started boycotted it after they threw that shit in my face.

Well, like it's been said, you can't be a billionaire without doing shady shit. NOAH and WAR had strong ties with the yakuza, who are much less funny IRL than in the movies. Most territory promoters were terrible people. Entitled rich kids who had nothing to do in life but being born are the one who are gonna back pro-wrestling (see also : Carter, Dixie). So yeah, I guess. Like I said, what WWE throws right in my face is just on another level, but it's not like I have any misconceptions about pro-wrestling in general (well, I guess the entertainment industry in general, but pro-wrestling is a special kind of beast). I surely don't watch it for its progressive politics (which is why the fake-feminism of the WWE is so grating)...

Or those first Lucha Underground contracts which prevented the workers from working anywhere else. They obviously changed it which is why the Lucha Bros are killing it in MLW and iMPACT. But yeah, if you want to establish relationships with other companies, I guess you'd better manage a certain kind of fluidity for the workers. Maybe if they don't get the whole healthcare deal, then they can be actual "independent contractors" (as opposed to, well, you know). This is gonna be a fascinating year.

MJF basically disappeared from MLW and the title was vacated because of "injury", but I have no idea if that's a cover up of him leaving or a legit thing. That's what is a bit frustrating with MLW, people seem to come and go and you don't get a sense of a real roster. Strickland, ACH have vanished also (they are NXT bound, aren't they ?).

Indeed. Plus I'm sorry to say, since I feel targeted by Jesse Ewiak's post, I don't do morality check on every pro-wrestling companies owners before watching their shit. I know, it's shocking. That being said, with WWE I don't have to since they put a (two, actually) propaganda show for the criminal Saudi regime on my TV, have a McMahon family member as part of Trump's governement and just put racist Hogan's merchandise back on their website just as he was back on TV to honor Mean Gene. So the awfulness is kinda obvious. Liking "lots of flips" is kinda cute. Why not MOVEZ though ?

Damn, TNA, sorry, iMPACT delivered again. LAX vs Lucha Brothers was the closest thing to a legit great match on that show. Tons and tons of crazy shit and sequences, the kind of which you've never seen before. Penta jumping on the other two bodies on the floor to execute a Canadian Destroyer on the third guy was insane and beautiful. Konnan's promo at the end was quite cool too. Damn, Konnan is not selling the MLW assault ? Then again, I loved Moose vs Eddie Edwards. The old ECW fan in me just popped huge for every brutal stuff they did. Love me some Moose and Eddie Edwards is the greatest uncharismatic butterface super-worker since Tim Horner. Ok, he's better looking. Honestly, I didn't see the Alesha spot coming at the end, and I popped huge for that one too. Gotta love a happy crazy couple. Totally lived up to my expectations. Well, and like it wasn't enough, yeah, another garbage match, dummies. Damn, Drake is fascinating in his cosplaying glory. Yeah, "monster balls" was a nice one. The match was pretty damn good for an Abyss match in 2019 honestly. Eli taking the table spot outside was really impressive, and I didn't expect him to take the tacks bump at all. He got game. Too bad the finish was all fucked up because of the zip-tie, I guess they were going for more cosplay with Eli bashing Abyss, Rock-on-Foley style. Worst match of the night, but apart from the screwed up finish, I'd still call it pretty good. And on the crazy spotfest subject, I pretty much always enjoy Ultimate X. This one was interesting in that it was clearly destined to make a new guy. I kinda guess Swann would get it, but everyone looked good here. You can argue the fact they would launch themselves outside instead of going for the belt at points was goofy, but to me it kinda played in the idea they are not that smart and inexperienced in that kinda match, and their inclination for jumping on each other is too strong. Well, not the best Ultimate X or anything, but quite a cool opener. I admit Callihan vs Mack kinda got the resting spot for me, as I was not very involved in it despite really enjoying both. I love Callihan in that he's a full-fledge dirty, disgusting heel. And his work is solid as hell. Good match though, better than good even, I was just a bit out at this very spot of the card. Grace & Hogan vs Allie & Su Young started kinda sloppy, Kiera I don't think is that solid. She's got some nice burst of offense though. I love Allie, as goofy as her gimmick may seem, she's got a terrific presence and she's really solid. Su Yung, yeah, she's the best entrance since Gangrel and she's the best Bad Nurse Nakamura ever in the ring. Grace, jury's still out, but I enjoy her power spots a lot. You know what tells you a story is well told ? I started to watch iMPACT back again after the Rosemary angle, I only heard about her and saw her appear in the underworld, yet when I saw the coffin come up on the ramp, I totally guessed what was about to happen. Because it made sense. Anyway, enjoyed the whole thing. Taya vs Tessa was a bunch of bad bitches working stiff. Damn, Tessa has some cool torturous submission spots. Loved Taya's new look by the way, less Valkyrie and more street-cred. Also, is there a Luna Vachon tribute with that hairstyle ? Anyway, apart from the referee stuff which again could be seen coming from a mile away, but if the goal is to get Gail out of retirement for a match against Tessa it's totally fine with me, I thought this was their best work together. Really looked like they beat the shit out of each other. Tessa, well... Tessa. The main event was good but again, not enough dynamics between the two except at the beginning (when Johnny basically uses his speed to escape Cage) and the end (when Cage is on full Terminator mode). The Survivor dorks stuff was odd. Maybe I would I loved it if I had followed Johnny on the show, I dunno. At it is it looked like the beginning of a heel turn, which I highly doubt considering the cool post-match angle. Odd to see Taya get booed thirty minutes after she was cheered. Well, the match was excellent in spots but lacked a strong dynamic (see also, the babyface vs babyface matches of Johnny in LU, and pretty much every Cage match that isn't a crazy brawl). The finish got all fucked up, well shit happens, it didn't look that bad actually. Well, I hope good things are to come for iMPACT in 2019, I'd hate to see them go away or lose all their talent, they have been very easy and fun to follow week to week and the three PPV I've seen have all delivered. Kudos to Callis & D'Amore for being able to turn the promotion around. (gotta love the "TNA" chant. that was kinda cute, in a way...)

That was bound to happen at some point. Hopefully it will force those WWE assholes to do the same eventually. I mean, they are pretty quick to react. You know, moving Jericho down to the alumni section, pushing Hogan's merchandise as he was back on TV to "honor Gene Okerlund" (and no, this is not whitewashing to sell some shit despite racists remarks). Come on, jump the gun and give the workers what they should have gotten 30 years ago.

I love how Chris Jericho managed his career to make himself one of the hottest act in the world at 48 years old.

MJF. Janela. Fuck yeah.

How do you like Volk Han ?

Call 1-900-909-9900, Mean Gene has the scoop about what Hulk Hogan said on that private video of his. Now can you dig that, n... sucka !!!! In all seriousness though. Wow. These people will exploit anything...

Well, Mankind from 96 to 98 to me is much better in every aspect (character, work, matches, angles) than what came afterward. The fact he loves Kane so much is a mystery though...

Interesting how Teddy Hart vs Pentagon Jr. was made more compelling because of its imperfections, much like an old Sabu match. The fact a Candian Destroyer on the apron followed by another Canadian Destroyer didn't lead to the finish reminded me it was 2019 and not 2006 anymore. People bitch, but by 2000, a DDT was not a finish either except if your name was Raven, and a Cutter is now a transition move, basically, much like the vertical suplex wasn't a finisher anymore in 1986. Anyway, I enjoyed the fact Teddy "Morrissey" Hart really put emphasis on those two spots in his selling afterward. He's always deliberate, kinda like Muto, but here he really looked out of it at points, like he got concussed by double piledrivers. When he screwed up his spot-that-he does, I liked the fact he reacted immediately the best he could and moved to something else, much like when he kinda slipped on the rope to do his quebrada afterward, it looks like he said "fuck it" and only went to the second rope instead of the third. The screw ups and the constant selling of the head really made it compelling to me. Nice false finish in a small package kinda deal, and since he's a Hart I bought it could be the end. Nice match. (well maybe he *was* concussed, in which case it was even more a Sabu match than I imagined) ((enjoyed the fact DBS Jr. looks like a pimp in MLW, so different from his NJ looks. The Hart Foundation have a nice thing going on, I got accustomed to Pillman Jr. now that he tweaked his look a bit. Their theme is cool and smooth as hell too.))

NJPW can't really cut ties with ROH at this point anyway with the MSG show coming up.

Well, there's that legendary meeting with Eric telling basically "If anyone's unhappy, they can walk out the door and we will grant them their release." > Raven stands up and leaves the room. I also find peculiar than "hip and modern" Bischoff didn't get the Raven character at all while "old and dated" Schiavone loved it. Ok, no Piper episode for me then, thanks.

Right, things have definitely changed with the collapse of every big company save for NJPW. Which is why I used past tense. Ishii is clearly the most fascinating one of the bunch though, I remember him in WAR shows way back then. Who would have thought ?

Two words : Saudi deal. The bad taste just won't go away yet. I guess I'd like to check out the Rumble "live" if only because it's always fun interacting on the board, and I'm interested in watching the top women matches, whatever they are (as long as Nia Jaxx ain't involved). And NXT has got some names I'm interested in because I used to follow them elsewhere. Anyway, that's not the right topic for this. As far as NJ goes, yes, Naito vs Taichi really appeals to me. I wouldn't be surprised these would be really fucking good and that their styles wouldn't clash (see what I did there) like with Suzuki last year.

Agreed. There has always been the notion of leaving abroad and coming back = bigger star in Japan, either WWE or any other company. On 205 live, where it means jackshit. KUSHIDA is a legit star in NJ, the biggest junior name of his generation. Yeah, he'll maybe have good matches in a context where nothing matters and no one care about this stuff. As far as making good money, hopefully for him because I doubt the 205 Live guys are making as much as he does in NJ now (well, maybe they do and WWE is just throwing all that Saudi money through the windows). More power to him like I said. I just won't see him work again and if I do, it would be in a context I can't stand, so…