Due to long hours at work, and other ‘stuff’ that was needed to be done as life gets in the way as usual, my consumption of wrestling this week was down from what I would like it to be. However I did fit some wrestling into my schedule, albeit minor with my weekly habit of MLW Fusion, which for me is a great way to spend an hour of my time. Problem is, as the weekly contributor to this show I was not able to find time to write up the review! Next week’s coverage therefore will also provide a small summary of last week’s edition. Just a note though from that show and the emergence of Jacob Fatu, who as the son of the former WWF wrestler the Tonga Kid, and also trained by his uncle, Rikishi is a star in the making. For his size he is very athletic and agile as his on-going feud with Barrington Hughes, a man who weighs in at a whopping 469 lbs saw Fatu simply squash the big man on this edition ending his hyped up undefeated streak and putting over Fatu big time which had the crowd going nuts as a star was made! Simple wrestling booking on how to make a star by simply beating an undefeated power house, not difficult really.
One full show that I did get around to finally seeing was the Sendai Girls Korakuen show from April 16th. A seven match card I had heard and seen on twitter many people putting over this show and one match in particular! As a fan of Joshi wrestling I did not need convincing to watch the show, and I am so glad I found some time to watch as this was a really great show. Running in at just south of two hours, due to the show being a Samurai TV broadcast this was non-stop throughout, an easy watch and was not clipped other than a couple of matches not showing their entrances. Millie McKenzie retained her Junior title in a good match with Manami although Millie would lose her title the next day to Command Bolshoi at a house show in Nagoya. The main event featured a successful Sendai Girls world title defence for Chihiri Hashimoto against Jordynne Grace in a match that had two powerhouses colliding. The match of the show though was between Meiko Satomura and Sareee that was a showcase of how great Women’s wrestling can be when delivered like it was in this match with Sendai joint owner Satomura putting over Sareee in what some saw as a five star match. This show alone is worth checking out if only to see that match itself!
As an avid Podcast listener, mostly wrestling I guess but I do tend to stray onto other specialist podcasts, Vince Russo is someone I do enjoy listening too. Love him or hate him, Russo does entertain and one his many shows is a podcast he does with Matt Koon called ‘Truth with Consequences’. This show has been running since last autumn and is similar to podcasts such as the Bruce Pritchard and Eric Bischoff podcasts that sees them looking back at their glory years with various promotions. This week saw Matt Koon announcing that he will no longer be hosting the show, however there is no falling out with Russo, he just does not want to do a show that monetary wise he does not need to do. True or not one cannot help but feel there could be heat between them, Koon is friends with Dave Meltzer and Wade Keller and maybe Russo’s ‘Castrating the Marks’ show that mocks statements by the aforementioned may have put Matt in an awkward position, who knows! I will still enjoy listening to Russo!
Quick note on Podcasts and the news of ‘switch on, tag in’ a podcast broadcasted from the West Midlands is to join Pro Wrestling Journal. The four guys who host the show really do a good job, and cover all Kamikaze Pro shows, almost immediately after the show so be sure to check them out.
Pleased to see Chris Brookes finally getting a tour of Japan as today saw him announced for some shows for the DDT promotion, a promotion that I follow and really enjoy. Suited for this kind of promotion I have no doubt and look forward to his arrival in Tokyo.
Not a lot has been happening wrestling-wise to me this week. It is the perils of being a teacher (especially an English teacher) during exam time and when deadlines for A-Level coursework are upon us. I’m already a bald man, otherwise I think I’d have been tearing my hair out most of this week!
One of the few things I have been in a position to check out and enjoy has been some of the World Class footage from the tail end of 1983. In particular, it is when Terry Gordy returned from wrestling for All Japan. With the Freebirds often on the losing end of matches against the Von Erichs, it takes an illegal headbutt from Buddy Roberts (wearing a loaded headgear to hide that he lost his hair to Iceman King Parsons months previously) to give them a win over the brother trio. With the belts now around the waists of the Freebirds, the Oriental Spike submission that Gordy ‘brought back’ from Japan is put over as a ridiculously impactful manoeuvre as he uses it to take out Bruiser Brody, David Von Erich and Chris Adams in short order. Such a simple storyline suddenly makes the Freebirds that much more dangerous as champions.
Having fallen off the wXw wagon a little bit in recent times, I watched the first hour or so of True Colours today. Expect the review to go up tomorrow, alongside a review of their most recent show (which has a one night tournament if I’m correct) in the next few days.
@RoxBlackburn
I have this week reached the conclusion that I cannot watch NXT UK any more. I don’t pretend to know the ins and outs of indy wrestling but even I can recognise that this just isn’t right.
There are some incredibly talented performers in the roster, Rhea Ripley, Mark Andrews and The Grizzled Young Veterans but there are some, particularly in the women’s division, who are not ready for the WWE Spotlight.
Bray Wyatt and JoJo welcomed a baby boy into the world this week, which is lovely. Congrats to them.
Finn Balor has a crush on a TV presenter and is hilariously trying to woo her over twitter. Go Finn!!
Tragic news about Ashley Massaro this week. I truly hope she’s at peace. Bless her.
The Saudi Arabia card is being built. I’m a little irritated that they’ve started doing this as it takes away from Money in the Bank. Demon Balor v Andrade for the Intercontinental title, to me, makes it seem that neither will win the MITB contract.
Are we excited for MITB? Not massively if I’m honest and it makes me sad as it’s normally one of my favorite PPV’s. Lacey Evans hasn’t done enough to be considered a legit contender for a title but part of me thinks she’ll beat Becky anyway. Then Becky will beat Charlotte and BAM!! Another blonde is put over as the strongest woman in WWE. Yaaaawn!!
