***Official Pro Wrestling Thread*** (9 Viewers)

[Ghost Rider]

40 years ago tonight, Shieky baby shocks the world.

Ending Bob Backland's 2135 day reign. Over 5 and a half years. Kids, Roman is just getting started...

Yep, if Roman holds on to the belt for another 108 years and keeps defending it as many times a year as he has been, he will catch Backlund's title defenses total.

That’s the thing for me. I’m enjoying the long reign; the lack of defenses is what annoys me.

I realize it was a different era, but Flair was defending the belt nightly and twice a day on the weekends against a variety of opponents. You mean we can’t find a way to have RR defend the belt at least monthly?

Flair's Cagematch stats are just beyond insane.

On April 24th, 1983, Flair beat Greg Valentine by DQ in Charlotte, NC. Then they both drove 2 hours to have Flair beat Valentine by pinfall in Asheville, NC, on the same day.

I totally geek out over those days. Granted, it destroyed most of the men that did it, but man were they Kings at the time.

For all of his failings as a human being, and he seems to have many, no one can ever say Ric Flair wasn't a hard worker. I remember hearing the stories about how he'd stay out late partying and drinking and then still be at the gym at 8 am the next day to do an hour or two of cardio to keep in good shape for doing those long matches, and then do the same thing over and over. I suspect that is why he cannot walk away from the business, as taking it easy is not in his DNA, I suppose.

40 years ago tonight, Shieky baby shocks the world.

Ending Bob Backland's 2135 day reign. Over 5 and a half years. Kids, Roman is just getting started...

Yep, if Roman holds on to the belt for another 108 years and keeps defending it as many times a year as he has been, he will catch Backlund's title defenses total.

That’s the thing for me. I’m enjoying the long reign; the lack of defenses is what annoys me.

I realize it was a different era, but Flair was defending the belt nightly and twice a day on the weekends against a variety of opponents. You mean we can’t find a way to have RR defend the belt at least monthly?

Is RR physically able to defend? He only shows up like two Fridays a month, and one PPV. With is ailments, I have to think a title change is coming soon. But then again Lesnar has the same kind of schedule and rarely defended the belt outside of top PPVs.

He negotiated a light schedule into his contract. He has no injuries that I’m aware of.

Doesn't he have leukemia? That's what I was referring to above. He's taken time off for that previously. Was thinking maybe it's hitting him hard and he's not able to maintain a "normal" schedule?

But that leads to the question again: why is WWE giving such a long title reign to a part-time worker? I guess it's possible that Vince (who was still in charge for the majority of this run) was so obsessed with having been right about Reigns that he decided to give him a super long reign to somehow prove he was right (despite his failed attempts at getting Reigns super over as a face for years), and Triple H is simply riding it out till it's over, but it just seems weird to me.

 

[Bogart]

Those in the know, how is the card for Wrestle Kingdom looking this year? Worth a buy?

Also, I'm super out of the loop, what WWE/AEW superstar most resembles Sanada? I know nothing about the guy who has been champion almost the whole year.

 

[Bogart]

The fact that this commercial wasn't in The Iron Claw is a travesty

 

[JB Breakfast Club]

That leads to the question of, why are they keeping the belt on Reigns for so long if he cannot work more? And if he is going to leave after he drops it, which is rumored, why keep the belt on him? Just so they can say a guy in the modern era had a title reign of x-number of years (which is silly, since it is all a work)? Of course, the reality is that Reigns isn't that great and is a guy who needs the title to be relevant. Think of guys like Cena, Rock or Austin in their primes. They had runs as the champ, but none needed to be the champ to be "the man" or relevant. Reigns is JAG without the strap.

We have our winner for worst post of the year! Roman doesn't defend that often because it takes a long time for someone to get to his level.

 

[Ghost Rider]

That leads to the question of, why are they keeping the belt on Reigns for so long if he cannot work more? And if he is going to leave after he drops it, which is rumored, why keep the belt on him? Just so they can say a guy in the modern era had a title reign of x-number of years (which is silly, since it is all a work)? Of course, the reality is that Reigns isn't that great and is a guy who needs the title to be relevant. Think of guys like Cena, Rock or Austin in their primes. They had runs as the champ, but none needed to be the champ to be "the man" or relevant. Reigns is JAG without the strap.

We have our winner for worst post of the year! Roman doesn't defend that often because it takes a long time for someone to get to his level.

Ah, sarcasm. We needed more of that in this thread.

 

[Bogart]

To be fair to Roman, in his 1215 days as champion, he has defended the title 51 times, an average of once every 22 days.

Meanwhile, Kazuchika Okada's longest reign as champion was a comparable 720 days, and he defended the title 14 times, an average of once every 51 days.

In Japan, Reigns would be a fighting champion.

 

[Tom Servo]

That leads to the question of, why are they keeping the belt on Reigns for so long if he cannot work more? And if he is going to leave after he drops it, which is rumored, why keep the belt on him? Just so they can say a guy in the modern era had a title reign of x-number of years (which is silly, since it is all a work)? Of course, the reality is that Reigns isn't that great and is a guy who needs the title to be relevant. Think of guys like Cena, Rock or Austin in their primes. They had runs as the champ, but none needed to be the champ to be "the man" or relevant. Reigns is JAG without the strap.

We have our winner for worst post of the year! Roman doesn't defend that often because it takes a long time for someone to get to his level.

Ah, sarcasm. We needed more of that in this thread.

Actually, it’s more like Candyman. You say Roman Reign’s name three times, and @JB Breakfast Club appears.

 

[Bogart]

"I Have Some Things to Say, Please Read" - by Maxwell Jacob Friedman

Pretty good piece. Not everyone's cup of tea, but someone's shot of whiskey.

 

[DJackson10]

40 years ago tonight, Shieky baby shocks the world.

Ending Bob Backland's 2135 day reign. Over 5 and a half years. Kids, Roman is just getting started...

Yep, if Roman holds on to the belt for another 108 years and keeps defending it as many times a year as he has been, he will catch Backlund's title defenses total.

That’s the thing for me. I’m enjoying the long reign; the lack of defenses is what annoys me.

I realize it was a different era, but Flair was defending the belt nightly and twice a day on the weekends against a variety of opponents. You mean we can’t find a way to have RR defend the belt at least monthly?

Is RR physically able to defend? He only shows up like two Fridays a month, and one PPV. With is ailments, I have to think a title change is coming soon. But then again Lesnar has the same kind of schedule and rarely defended the belt outside of top PPVs.

Roman’s new deal he signed before coming back during the pandemic essentially has him as a full time wrestler but only had to make appearances that are like part timer hours. He has a set number of dates he has to make and then if he and WWE agree to add more they will. Roman had the company by the balls when negotiating that deal and got one over on Vince, using Vince’s affection for the Samoan family and not wanting to lose Roman against him.

 

[DJackson10]

40 years ago tonight, Shieky baby shocks the world.

Ending Bob Backland's 2135 day reign. Over 5 and a half years. Kids, Roman is just getting started...

Yep, if Roman holds on to the belt for another 108 years and keeps defending it as many times a year as he has been, he will catch Backlund's title defenses total.

That’s the thing for me. I’m enjoying the long reign; the lack of defenses is what annoys me.

I realize it was a different era, but Flair was defending the belt nightly and twice a day on the weekends against a variety of opponents. You mean we can’t find a way to have RR defend the belt at least monthly?

Is RR physically able to defend? He only shows up like two Fridays a month, and one PPV. With is ailments, I have to think a title change is coming soon. But then again Lesnar has the same kind of schedule and rarely defended the belt outside of top PPVs.

He negotiated a light schedule into his contract. He has no injuries that I’m aware of.

Doesn't he have leukemia? That's what I was referring to above. He's taken time off for that previously. Was thinking maybe it's hitting him hard and he's not able to maintain a "normal" schedule?

He had it when he was younger then it reoccurred. Took time off with covid as he was immune compromised and Vince was taking it very lightly to the point USOs voiced concern and Roman was seriously looking legally to possible get out of his contract because of it. Roman also wanted to play a heel as he didn’t want to be forced into the fens rope and personally asked for Paul Heyman to manage him.

 

[DJackson10]

To be fair to Roman, in his 1215 days as champion, he has defended the title 51 times, an average of once every 22 days.

Meanwhile, Kazuchika Okada's longest reign as champion was a comparable 720 days, and he defended the title 14 times, an average of once every 51 days.

In Japan, Reigns would be a fighting champion.

To be fair to Japan they have more tv shows than WWE and only save the titles for big PPVs.

 

[DJackson10]

Congratulations to The Ring General, GUNTHER and former WWE NXT UK Superstar Jinny on the birth of their first child!!

 

[Tom Servo]

Congratulations to The Ring General, GUNTHER and former WWE NXT UK Superstar Jinny on the birth of their first child!!

The future ring field marshall (higher than a general in the Prussian army).

 

[DJackson10]

This day 5 yrs ago AEW was announced to the world and thank god. By this point outside of some ROH maybe an NXT show here and there and NJPW I was out of wrestling. Are brought me back to what I loved about it.

 

[DJackson10]

There's expectation internally that Andrade will be back with WWE as soon as Monday’s “Day 1” Raw.

- PWInsider

 

[Tom Servo]

I found out today that past episodes of Texas Championship Wrestling - the successor to WCCW - are available on YouTube. You can see them on the Armstrong Alley account. There’s also old Continental matches on there too.

 

[JB Breakfast Club]

Looking forward to Roman taking this actor down a peg.

 

[Ghost Rider]

Lame. This means Reigns will likely hold on to the belt for another year. Wrestlemania just got a lot less interesting. Reigns/Rock will just be another "let's bring back another legend who doesn't wrestle anymore to put Reigns over to try and convince people he is a real main eventer when we all know he isn't" match.

 

[Bogart]

I found out today that past episodes of Texas Championship Wrestling - the successor to WCCW - are available on YouTube. You can see them on the Armstrong Alley account. There’s also old Continental matches on there too.

Did you watch the same Wrestlespective video about TCW on YouTube? Was going to come in here and post something similar. Also, I need to listen to the Gary Hart book once and for all (too expensive to buy).

Side note: went down a VonErich rabbit hole and came across Jeff Jarrett on a podcast talking about how much Kevin no-showed those later year shows in Dallas. Also, Flair talking about how it was working with all of the VonErichs. Typical praise for David ("would have been a world champ"), kinda passes over any talk of Kevin, and uses kid gloves when talking about Kerry ("we did the backslide finish because I knew we could at least do that on that day"). Even mixed in talking about Mike. I swear that 10 minute Flair vs. Mike match has gotten more airtime than any other match I know.

 

[millertyme1]

Unqualified nepo hire let go

She can soon go back to running the table at the Bucks' flea market shows. She was viewed as unqualified and incompetent by those backstage.

Andrade leaves AEW

Pretty easy decision for Andrade as they did nothing with him for years. So obviously they put over Miro, who they've done nothing with for years.

Jericho / Kylie Rae sexual assault allegations.

Fans chanted NDA, Kylie Rae and boo'd Jericho at the PPV. Tony Khan refused to answer if there was an investigation on 3 separate occasions in the post-PPV scrum as the alleged sexual assault incident happened in AEW at one of their post-show drug and alcohol parties & has been openly discussed for years by talent since the alleged incident occurred.

CM Punk printing money for WWE. Dominating at the top in merch sales for WWE after doing the same in AEW.

 

[DJackson10]

Lame. This means Reigns will likely hold on to the belt for another year. Wrestlemania just got a lot less interesting. Reigns/Rock will just be another "let's bring back another legend who doesn't wrestle anymore to put Reigns over to try and convince people he is a real main eventer when we all know he isn't" match.

Punk loses his mania spotlight to The Rock again!!! Talk about karma.

 

[DJackson10]

Chavo Guerrero has been approached about doing a documentary film on his family given the success of iron claw per cbs sports. Pedro Pascal would make a perfect Eddie looks wise

 

[Bogart]

Unqualified nepo hire let go

She can soon go back to running the table at the Bucks' flea market shows. She was viewed as unqualified and incompetent by those backstage.

Andrade leaves AEW

Pretty easy decision for Andrade as they did nothing with him for years. So obviously they put over Miro, who they've done nothing with for years.

Jericho / Kylie Rae sexual assault allegations.

Fans chanted NDA, Kylie Rae and boo'd Jericho at the PPV. Tony Khan refused to answer if there was an investigation on 3 separate occasions in the post-PPV scrum as the alleged sexual assault incident happened in AEW at one of their post-show drug and alcohol parties & has been openly discussed for years by talent since the alleged incident occurred.

CM Punk printing money for WWE. Dominating at the top in merch sales for WWE after doing the same in AEW.

• I think we can all agree that if Tony Khan had a redo, the idea of EVPs and everything that went with them would not have happened. You could have still gotten the Bucks/Omega/Cody with just sizable, competitive contracts.
• I would welcome back Andrade to the WWE to add some flavor to the LWO breakup/feud. And then do a story down the road with Charlotte.
• I did not have Chris Jericho getting cancelled to start 2024 on my bingo card, but it's also not surprising. Where there is smoke...yadda yadda. Sucks, he has always been on my Rushmore of workers. Puts Khan in a tough spot.
• Pretty sure "CM" stands for Cash Maker. Love him or hate him, the guy just prints money for wherever he is working.

 

[Bogart]

Triple H flexing on the year 2023

"Highest Social Media Views Ever"
"Highest Merchandise Revenue Ever"
"Highest Sponsorship Revenue Ever"
"Hightest Premium Live Event Viewership Ever"
"Highest-Grossing Ticket Sales Ever"

 

[DJackson10]

Unqualified nepo hire let go

She can soon go back to running the table at the Bucks' flea market shows. She was viewed as unqualified and incompetent by those backstage.

Andrade leaves AEW

Pretty easy decision for Andrade as they did nothing with him for years. So obviously they put over Miro, who they've done nothing with for years.

Jericho / Kylie Rae sexual assault allegations.

Fans chanted NDA, Kylie Rae and boo'd Jericho at the PPV. Tony Khan refused to answer if there was an investigation on 3 separate occasions in the post-PPV scrum as the alleged sexual assault incident happened in AEW at one of their post-show drug and alcohol parties & has been openly discussed for years by talent since the alleged incident occurred.

CM Punk printing money for WWE. Dominating at the top in merch sales for WWE after doing the same in AEW.

• I think we can all agree that if Tony Khan had a redo, the idea of EVPs and everything that went with them would not have happened. You could have still gotten the Bucks/Omega/Cody with just sizable, competitive contracts.
• I would welcome back Andrade to the WWE to add some flavor to the LWO breakup/feud. And then do a story down the road with Charlotte.
• I did not have Chris Jericho getting cancelled to start 2024 on my bingo card, but it's also not surprising. Where there is smoke...yadda yadda. Sucks, he has always been on my Rushmore of workers. Puts Khan in a tough spot.
• Pretty sure "CM" stands for Cash Maker. Love him or hate him, the guy just prints money for wherever he is working.

The Chris Jericho stuff sounds like a lot of bs. Kylie left TNA in similar fashion and guy reporting it has been riding punks D**k hard the past few months. Other than him no one is reporting that story.

 

[DJackson10]

MJF's shoulder is legitimately hurt. He's either going to have to rehab the shoulder, or he may need surgery and just judging from how severe the injury was, it would put him out for quite a while.

He is still debating which path to take, per WOR.

 

[DJackson10]

PWInsider is reporting that WWE will be using the two-man format for commentary and Michael Cole will no longer appear on WWE “SmackDown” going forward.

Raw: Michael Cole and Wade Barrett.

SmackDown: Kevin Patrick and Corey Graves.

Kevin Dunn has also left WWE immediately effective.

 

[millertyme1]

Triple H flexing on the year 2023

"Highest Social Media Views Ever"
"Highest Merchandise Revenue Ever"
"Highest Sponsorship Revenue Ever"
"Hightest Premium Live Event Viewership Ever"
"Highest-Grossing Ticket Sales Ever"

WWE is absolutely killing it right now. Financially they're obviously doing their best ever.

From a product standpoint, it's probably the best it's been in almost 20 years.

 

[millertyme1]

Unqualified nepo hire let go

She can soon go back to running the table at the Bucks' flea market shows. She was viewed as unqualified and incompetent by those backstage.

Andrade leaves AEW

Pretty easy decision for Andrade as they did nothing with him for years. So obviously they put over Miro, who they've done nothing with for years.

Jericho / Kylie Rae sexual assault allegations.

Fans chanted NDA, Kylie Rae and boo'd Jericho at the PPV. Tony Khan refused to answer if there was an investigation on 3 separate occasions in the post-PPV scrum as the alleged sexual assault incident happened in AEW at one of their post-show drug and alcohol parties & has been openly discussed for years by talent since the alleged incident occurred.

CM Punk printing money for WWE. Dominating at the top in merch sales for WWE after doing the same in AEW.

• I did not have Chris Jericho getting cancelled to start 2024 on my bingo card, but it's also not surprising. Where there is smoke...yadda yadda. Sucks, he has always been on my Rushmore of workers. Puts Khan in a tough spot.
• Pretty sure "CM" stands for Cash Maker. Love him or hate him, the guy just prints money for wherever he is working.

You could tell the chants rattled Jericho. You could even tell the boos to a face Jericho threw the other performers off in the match. It was an awful match overall.

The Kylie Rae-Jericho story has been out there for awhile. Jericho himself was the reason it came to light again with his NDA comment. It's definitely not a story that will go away. That Khan refused to give a Yes/No answer to a Yes/No question 3x regarding an investigation will only make matters worse.

 

[Ghost Rider]

Jericho being one of the guys who defended Ric Flair's creepy promo in AEW (that was edited out for TV) suddenly makes a whole lotta sense.

 

[Tom Servo]

Samantha’s kayfabe reaction to Rock “The Dwayne” Johnson’s appearance on RAW.

I’m surprised Trips didn’t yell at her for her reaction.

 

[Ghost Rider]

Lame. This means Reigns will likely hold on to the belt for another year. Wrestlemania just got a lot less interesting. Reigns/Rock will just be another "let's bring back another legend who doesn't wrestle anymore to put Reigns over to try and convince people he is a real main eventer when we all know he isn't" match.

Punk loses his mania spotlight to The Rock again!!! Talk about karma.

Swing and a miss, buckaroo.

WWE does two WM main events now, and it is likely that the Rock will be more of a Smackdown performer than Raw since he will likely be working with Reigns, while Punk seems destined for a program with Rollins on Raw and on a collision to be one of the two WM main events.

 

[Bogart]

Samantha’s kayfabe reaction to Rock “The Dwayne” Johnson’s appearance on RAW.

I’m surprised Trips didn’t yell at her for her reaction.

He needs to give her a bonus. That reaction is helping pad those social media stats. LOL

 

[hagmania]

Those in the know, how is the card for Wrestle Kingdom looking this year? Worth a buy?

Also, I'm super out of the loop, what WWE/AEW superstar most resembles Sanada? I know nothing about the guy who has been champion almost the whole year.

NJPW is in a bit of a weird spot with this year's Wrestle Kingdom, which kicks off just shy of 15 hours from now. The company is ALWAYS grinding out new "stars" and the trio of Shota Umino, Ren Narita & Yota Tsuji is their most promising batch of new performers in a long while. They all returned from excursion in 2023 and all had celebrated tournaments in last year's G1.

Shota Umino is a Hiroshi Tanahashi contemporary
Ren Narita is a Katsuyori Shibata contemporary
Yota Tsuji is a Shinsuke Nakamura contemporary

They all bring a new take on familiar themes, truly contemporaries.

With AEW hogging up most of what NJPW would have once used as promising gaijin stars, including Kevin Kelly in the booth, it's a time of transition with a slight undertone of desperation to re-establish the lions of New Japan as the Kings of Pro Wrestling once again.

With AEW captivating me less and less and WWE just way too many hours for me to care, I still stick to New Japan, a familiar brand of wrestling with familiar (and welcome unfamiliar) faces. I look forward to Wrestle Kingdom. I take lots of breaks because let's face it, wrestling just ain't what it used to be. However, January 4 rolls around every year and here I am ready for a new year of storylines and glimpses of the future.

I always expect great pageantry, fantastic matches, and a looooooooong show.
-------
SANADA I always compare to Randy Orton; a superior technician, clearly gifted individual where you're not ever sure you've seen them give 110% in a match. He is the leader of the faction Just 5 Guys, which now features the newest post-excursion return of Yuya Uemura.

I'm really curious how Gedo chooses to book SANADA vs Tetsuya Naito. Will the challenger and leader of Los Ingobernables finally get a Tokyo Dome roll call, capping a beloved career with a potential final title run? Or will the champion be given even more credibility by finally defeating his former faction's leader?
-------
As for whether it's worth it to buy: I think Okada vs Danielson II is worth 10 bucks. The rest is gravy, especially getting to watch the new trio get their WK time to shine and an emotionally charged main event. Mox vs Ospreay vs Finlay ought to be pretty good too.

I also expect this to be a true return to form for the Japanese crowd. The G1 had some great glimpses at what once had been but there's nothing like the championship main event at Wrestle Kingdom to get the crowd stirred up. It's still hard to believe that Japan is just now getting out from under the thumb of COVID.

 

[Bogart]

Those in the know, how is the card for Wrestle Kingdom looking this year? Worth a buy?

Also, I'm super out of the loop, what WWE/AEW superstar most resembles Sanada? I know nothing about the guy who has been champion almost the whole year.

NJPW is in a bit of a weird spot with this year's Wrestle Kingdom, which kicks off just shy of 15 hours from now. The company is ALWAYS grinding out new "stars" and the trio of Shota Umino, Ren Narita & Yota Tsuji is their most promising batch of new performers in a long while. They all returned from excursion in 2023 and all had celebrated tournaments in last year's G1.

Shota Umino is a Hiroshi Tanahashi contemporary
Ren Narita is a Katsuyori Shibata contemporary
Yota Tsuji is a Shinsuke Nakamura contemporary

They all bring a new take on familiar themes, truly contemporaries.

With AEW hogging up most of what NJPW would have once used as promising gaijin stars, including Kevin Kelly in the booth, it's a time of transition with a slight undertone of desperation to re-establish the lions of New Japan as the Kings of Pro Wrestling once again.

With AEW captivating me less and less and WWE just way too many hours for me to care, I still stick to New Japan, a familiar brand of wrestling with familiar (and welcome unfamiliar) faces. I look forward to Wrestle Kingdom. I take lots of breaks because let's face it, wrestling just ain't what it used to be. However, January 4 rolls around every year and here I am ready for a new year of storylines and glimpses of the future.

I always expect great pageantry, fantastic matches, and a looooooooong show.
-------
SANADA I always compare to Randy Orton; a superior technician, clearly gifted individual where you're not ever sure you've seen them give 110% in a match. He is the leader of the faction Just 5 Guys, which now features the newest post-excursion return of Yuya Uemura.

I'm really curious how Gedo chooses to book SANADA vs Tetsuya Naito. Will the challenger and leader of Los Ingobernables finally get a Tokyo Dome roll call, capping a beloved career with a potential final title run? Or will the champion be given even more credibility by finally defeating his former faction's leader?
-------
As for whether it's worth it to buy: I think Okada vs Danielson II is worth 10 bucks. The rest is gravy, especially getting to watch the new trio get their WK time to shine and an emotionally charged main event. Mox vs Ospreay vs Finlay ought to be pretty good too.

I also expect this to be a true return to form for the Japanese crowd. The G1 had some great glimpses at what once had been but there's nothing like the championship main event at Wrestle Kingdom to get the crowd stirred up. It's still hard to believe that Japan is just now getting out from under the thumb of COVID.

Thank you, sir!! Great response!! Exactly what I needed to read. I'm in.

 

[hagmania]

Wrestle Kingdom 18 Card Breakdown

Not that I would recommend skipping a New Japan match, I'll point out the ones I bet will be worth your time.

1. 2024 KOPW Ranbo
It's a rumble with OTT eliminations plus pins and submissions. It's there for the annual Yano spot. Can safely skip, but you might miss a returning legend or old favorite. It will be your only chance to see newly minted HOFer Tomohiro Ishii.

2. Jr Tag Titles - Akira & TJP vs Moloney & Connors
Connors is great. An American trained in the LADOJO by Shibata. Has potential but ultimately you probably won't be sad if you miss it.

3. TV Championship - Tanahashi vs Sabre Jr
DO NOT SKIP. This title was made specifically for ZSJ, he is the perfect 15 minute sprint guy, and Tanahashi is one of his best in-ring rivals (which duh, but really)

4. Special Singles Match - Yota Tsuji vs Yuya Uemura
There are more non-title matches on this card than most other WKs, made specifically to show off the new lions and give them proper WK debuts. I love Yota Tsuji's style, highly recommended to not skip imo.

5. Special Tag Match - Kiyomiya & Umino vs EVIL & Narita
I haven't watched Narita since he turned heel and joined the House of Torture. I would recommend watching this if you're curious about Umino and Narita, but can skip otherwise. It will likely have some weird bit of interference because House of Torture are the blatant cheats of the company.

6. NEVER Open title - Tama Tonga vs Shingo Takagi
Love Shingo Takagi, and Tama has had a pretty good singles stint. Will be a great match I bet but this is a long show so pick and choose here.

7. Tag Titles - YOSHI-HASHI & Goto vs ELP & Hikuleo
I really like Bishamon as a team (YH & Goto), they always seem to lay out great championship defenses and deliver. On the fence as far as recommendation here.

8. Jr Title - Hiromu Takahashi vs El Desperado
MUST SEE. The two best Jr guys for years now. Their matches with each other are crazy.

9. IC Title replacement thingie - Ospreay vs Mox vs Finlay
This is going to be a western-style triple threat with 3 solid brutes. Love Ospreay's strong style game.

10. Special Singles Match - Okada vs Danielson II
MOTY contender alert. That is all.

11. Main Event - IWGP World Heavyweight Championship - SANADA vs Tetsuya Naito
NA-I-TO! NA-I-TO! NA-I-TO!

 

[DJackson10]

Lame. This means Reigns will likely hold on to the belt for another year. Wrestlemania just got a lot less interesting. Reigns/Rock will just be another "let's bring back another legend who doesn't wrestle anymore to put Reigns over to try and convince people he is a real main eventer when we all know he isn't" match.

Punk loses his mania spotlight to The Rock again!!! Talk about karma.

Swing and a miss, buckaroo.

WWE does two WM main events now, and it is likely that the Rock will be more of a Smackdown performer than Raw since he will likely be working with Reigns, while Punk seems destined for a program with Rollins on Raw and on a collision to be one of the two WM main events.

But he’s stealing the spotlight from more deserving guys..,..

 

[Tom Servo]

This store in Philly looks awesome. Unfortunately, I’m on the other (read: much better) end of the state.

 

[Tom Servo]

How Latinos pronounce wrestlers names.

 

[DJackson10]

It's official: @DeonnaPurrazzo is ALL ELITE!

 

[DJackson10]

This store in Philly looks awesome. Unfortunately, I’m on the other (read: much better) end of the state.

Material is horrible for the price they want for shirts. Friend had a shirt that he cleaned exactly how instructed and it was destroyed in less then 2 yrs

 

[hagmania]

Yuya looking awesome.

 

[hagmania]

Yuya looking awesome.

Great match

 

[hagmania]

Shooter gets the motorcycle entrance! There's your next Ace.

 

[hagmania]

Gedo has cooked up a great Tokyo Dome show thus far. Halfway point of the show, Tama Tonga vs Shingo Takagi was a 4 star special. Good stuff.

 

[hagmania]

Mrs. hags taps out at the 3 hr mark. Riding solo for the mains.

 

[hagmania]

Back half of the show has been great. Okada vs Danielson has been the best on the show thus far. I could have watched them wrestle for 75 minutes. Main event time, let's go Naito!

 

[hagmania]

Tremendous main event. Edge of your seat sports entertainment!

Spoiler: Main Event thoughts

NAITO NAITO
NAITO NAITO
NAITO NAITO
NAITO NAITO

Extremely good show from start to finish.

 

[DJackson10]

Sad day

Giulia said that as of today, Donna Del Mondo is disbanded

 

[DJackson10]

Mrs. hags taps out at the 3 hr mark. Riding solo for the mains.

Did you go to sleep early and set an alarm for the show or just stayed up all night. I’m curious how some people do this. Depending on my living situation and work situation next year with the 4th on a sat I might just go to bed early and set an alarm for the show