February 10, 20196 yr comment_5878931 That was quite a weak teasing, honestly, the Lucha Brothers are still under those LU contracts, there's no reason why they would stop take bookings from MLW. Why the fuck is El Gringo Loco winning a match ? Third time I see the guy, third time he doesn't look good. All moves, zero charisma nor presence nor character. The Parka match was just bad, as was this one. DJZ vs Myron reminded me of the times where Sean Waltman was considered small. Myron going heelish is good, because he kinda looks like a millenial douchebag, so I can get behind winning a match by pulling the tights (although honestly, after a billion crazy spots, it's kinda stupid, why don't you do it sooner instead of killing yourself ? I guess opportunity...). And yeah, I marked the fuck out for Sandman being the mystery partner of Dreamer. Still the best intro ever. He looks older than his age though, but he's still the same otherwise. Funny to see some of the more "family" audience in the crowd not wanting anything to do with Sandman's beer sharing. He still licks it from tits too. The match was fun for what is was. Pillman coming out with his Best Rookie Award reminded me of Owen. Davey holding Dreamer in a delayed suplex reminded me of his father. Sandman and Teddy Hart totally broke kayfabe by hugging before the match (and BTW, Teddy talking about pussies during the Valentine's Day advices sequence was something else). No idea what is the direction of this company, but this ECW reunion match warmed my heart (and I won't spoil what Pillman finally found under the ring).
February 10, 20196 yr comment_5878945 El Gringo Loco is definitely not ready for TV. His self-given nickname of "The Base God" is absolutely terrible. Imagine if Curt Henning gave himself the nickanme "Mr. Pinball" or Ricky Morton thought the fans should know him as "Good Sell" Morton. El Gringo Loco needs a Vince Russo makeover. Russo is historically bad in a million ways, but he has a fairly good track record when it comes to giving personality to vanilla flippity-do guys. I'm not advocating MLW hire or even seek consulting from Russo, but Loco needs something because the current package does zero for me and screams low-rent indie. Outside of that, I still enjoy the overall MLW's "PWG with a TV Deal" aesthetic.
February 10, 20196 yr comment_5878949 Gringo Loco was the reason Marko Stunt's MLW debut showcase went as well as it did
February 10, 20196 yr comment_5878951 I really want to see Good Sell Morton vs. Mr. Pinball now. Also, Matt Striker called that Gingo Loco match like he was doing play-by-play for a funeral. I really can't wait for Schiavone to come back.
February 10, 20196 yr comment_5878958 2 hours ago, Lee said: Also, Matt Striker called that Gingo Loco match like he was doing play-by-play for a funeral. Considering it killed the crowd dead, it was rather fitting. But yeah, it's too damn bad Schiavone wasn't there, him calling Sandman's entrance would have been something.
February 11, 20196 yr comment_5879079 A week or so behind so just getting round to watching Superfight, and after a buildup that had really got me invested in the two title matches, unfortunately, once again it was a massive damp squib when it comes to MLW and the big match. Others here have summed it up pretty well - I like El P's description of them as the 'anti epic company' - but I just don't get why they don't seem to get the big payoff's to angles they've built really well to right. Sometimes it's the booking - some cheap finishes or the Ki/Lawlor match going way too short, but sometimes it's the matches themselves just not clicking. Lucha Bros vs Hart Foundation was a case in point. After the Pentagon/Teddy Hart match - which I'm still not sure if I enjoyed or not what with all the ridiculous head dropping - the least I was expecting was a crazy spotfest, but until the last 2 mins or so it was just a mess. I know not many people seem to be high on DBS Jnr, but I've always thought him decent. In this match he was in a different library to Pentagon/Fenix let alone not on the same page. The second match really didn't need to be on this show. I like Kotta, but that match with the angle behind it could surely have been one that could've been hyped up another week, leaving more time for the main event. I'm not someone that believes main events have to be 30 mins for them to be great, indeed, matches that are aiming to be epic usually fall flat, and I also understand the 'real fights can end at anytime' vibe I think they were going for, but surely this, with the build it had got, warranted at least 5 more mins to build to the finish? I'm happy Lawlor won - much as I've loved Ki as champ, too often in wrestling the babyface looks like a loser from blowing their big shot, and what with the talent arms race going on Lawlor is a guy that is fairly unique to MLW that they can get behind, I just wanted more. I was really excited for this match going in, and yet, while what few mins we got was good, the main spot was Low Ki punching a door. Just so disappointing. I'm a fan of Arn Furious' reviews and he's gone in pretty hard on MLW and Court Bauer in his review: https://www.rearviewreviews.com/wrestling/mlw-superfight-2-2-19-review/ I probably wouldn't go that far, as I've mentioned here a number of times, the vibe and aesthetic of MLW is something I really enjoy most of the time as a 21st Century version of a territory, and from listening to him on podcasts I like Court and his vision for wrestling in what he wants to produce, however it's hard to disagree with a lot of Arn's points in his summary. I'm still going to stick with MLW, I like their TV most weeks, but they need to be able to nail those big matches and big moments if they are to survive in a wrestling world where top talent is being taken at a rapid rate and everyone is scrambling for what's left behind.
February 16, 20196 yr comment_5879398 MLW has sold the Wargames trademark to WWE. Looks like they're in fire sale mode.
February 16, 20196 yr comment_5879424 6 hours ago, NintendoLogic said: MLW has sold the Wargames trademark to WWE. Looks like they're in fire sale mode. Nah. It was always their ultimate intention.
February 16, 20196 yr comment_5879447 Bauer didn't seem too happy about the news getting out, so I question that. Also, they filed the trademark in 2007, so that'd be quite the long game on his part.
February 16, 20196 yr comment_5879448 14 hours ago, NintendoLogic said: MLW has sold the Wargames trademark to WWE. Looks like they're in fire sale mode. beIN also moved their show to Saturday nights which is not a good sign... I maybe alone, but I feel Court tried to advance MLW 2.0 too fast. I mean, I can appreciate his ambition on growing his organization as fast as possible, but I don't think it was an ideal scenario to try and get on TV after having run 5 or so shows in a small night club in Florida. Once he locked in the TV deal, WWN began pulling some of the bigger names they were booking and their cards began to weaken up. I feel they should have gone for a subscription based provider like many indys are doing these days which is what they seemed to have been going for early on.
February 16, 20196 yr comment_5879454 I have always been fascinated by the mere existence of MLW 2.0. A failed wrestling promoter builds a podcast empire and then decides to try his hand at pro wrestling again. The sharks were out in the 2000s, but launching a promotion in this climate is even worse. Impact was in a special position just a few years ago where they could have been pioneering, but choose to be the carbon copy of WWE. MLW 2.0 is early Impact shortly after the Dixie buyout where this company needs to decide its identity and ultimate direction. So many moving parts, but its interesting watching Court keep his head above water.
February 17, 20196 yr comment_5879503 I always presumed he got a better off from beIN than expected and decided to push forward. It never made a lot of sense to me otherwise. The switch to Saturday was apparently to avoid Smackdown, and to facilitate the live shows, since they usually run on Saturdays. I don't think it's particularly concerning. The inability to book long term because they keep losing guys is what's concerning.
February 17, 20196 yr comment_5879519 On 2/10/2019 at 6:18 AM, fakeplastictrees said: El Gringo Loco is definitely not ready for TV. His self-given nickname of "The Base God" is absolutely terrible. Imagine if Curt Henning gave himself the nickanme "Mr. Pinball" or Ricky Morton thought the fans should know him as "Good Sell" Morton. El Gringo Loco needs a Vince Russo makeover. Russo is historically bad in a million ways, but he has a fairly good track record when it comes to giving personality to vanilla flippity-do guys. I'm not advocating MLW hire or even seek consulting from Russo, but Loco needs something because the current package does zero for me and screams low-rent indie. Outside of that, I still enjoy the overall MLW's "PWG with a TV Deal" aesthetic. With full disclosure that I haven't seen him cut a promo or explain what he means, "based" is a term that means you don't care what others think - you just do you. "Based God" is a term from the rapper Lil B, so dropping the D could avoid gimmick infringement.
February 18, 20196 yr comment_5879735 Yeah if there were a popular culture catch phrase like "Good Sell" or "Mr. Pinball" that comparison might make more sense. I think it's a pretty clever lucha pun made out of slang.
February 22, 20196 yr comment_5880193 The switch to Saturday apparently doubled viewership for a pretty ho hum episode of the show, so it seems like that was a good call.
February 25, 20196 yr comment_5880358 On 2/18/2019 at 12:28 AM, EricR said: Yeah if there were a popular culture catch phrase like "Good Sell" or "Mr. Pinball" that comparison might make more sense. I think it's a pretty clever lucha pun made out of slang. I understand the terms and the tongue-and-cheek way its used by Gringo. However, IIRC, he explained being a good base is essential in lucha libre. I get it. I understand the cute Lil B tie-in. My issue is why would a wrestler want to advertise how good he is in taking offense)and have the commentators screaming "This is why he is called the Base God!". This isn't Mike Foley getting his ass kicked, this is Dolph Ziggler walking through a mediocre match and bumping like a madman and getting a Standing O for his 'performance' and not because of actual emotional investment. Getting your ass kicked in a non-Mick Foley isn't a good thing and shouldn't be something that is advertised with zero irony. There is nothing tough, hardcore, or endearing, from taking a headscissors. Its just another "I make my opponents look good!" wrestler and I am not here for it. He needs a makeover.
February 25, 20196 yr comment_5880359 For what it's worth, his MLW bio says that he refers "to himself as the 'base god' because of his ability to use his body as a gravitational base to counter his high flying opponents to his advantage." So they are making an effort to maintain kayfabe.
February 25, 20196 yr comment_5880361 Damn comparing a dude I like to Ziggler feels like the most hateful low blow. Couldn't you have just made a couple disparaging remarks about my mother?
February 25, 20196 yr comment_5880396 Mance Warner is wrestling LA Park on Saturday, so I decided to check out his match on the latest episode of Fusion. He could stand to be a bit less overt in wearing his influences on his sleeve, but it's pretty cool seeing a guy working a Bunkhouse Buck tribute gimmick in 2019.
February 26, 20196 yr comment_5880417 Yeah, I was instantly struck with Mance, and am very intrigued to see him wrestle LA Park.
March 1, 20196 yr comment_5880718 On 2/25/2019 at 10:46 PM, NintendoLogic said: Mance Warner is wrestling LA Park on Saturday, so I decided to check out his match on the latest episode of Fusion. He could stand to be a bit less overt in wearing his influences on his sleeve, but it's pretty cool seeing a guy working a Bunkhouse Buck tribute gimmick in 2019. I dunno. I enjoyed the work and the character, but he looked too clean and gimmicky in a post-modern way. Like, Bunkhouse Bunk was a southern brawler gimmick. Mance Warner looks like a pro-wrestler-doing-a-southern-brawler-gimmick gimmick. The cosplay syndrome. He looks like some dude showing up at a convention with a super clean Bunk costume. I must say, watching the match, I actually kinda longed for Henry Godwinn (case in point, I was a Henry Godwinn fan in 1995). Aerostar vs Rey Horus was a good little Thunder lucha match. I dunno, I expected more (maybe from having watched those really excellent Rey Horus match in LU and Aerostar usually kills it in AAA). I must admit, Salina speaking French at the end made me pop. No, not that way. But, yeah... Can't wait for the next tapings set, Schiavone calling indy matches is a big part of MLW's appeal to me. Plus the Philly tapings really didn't deliver very much, the ECW tribute match was the one sole highlight.
March 2, 20196 yr comment_5880817 Ol’ Mancer is the best. Might actually have to check out this show to see that match.
March 4, 20196 yr comment_5880891 I sure can't wait for Kotto to get slapped for not selling right and for the shows to get even more boring. Hurray!!
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