Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.

Reigns will be left high and dry if Lesnar no-shows, and it'll all be Vince McMahon's fault Photo Credit: WWE.com

Brock Lesnar has a chance to skip down on WrestleMania this year. It's one of the most confusing stories of the year, and Lesnar's disappearance from the show would sink a whole year of build to the coronation of Roman Reigns. But the fact that anything short of The Rock or Steve Austin beating Lesnar for the title in Rio de Janeiro before dropping it to Reigns at Mania would cause the main event to lose what little juice it already had is endemic of the problem that WWE has on its hands. WrestleMania cannot exist without a cadre of giant stars, and that is a huge problem. The event is broken, much like the rest of the company.

WWE's main event is a morass right now because the only two regular roster guys who are over are being forced out of it. Vince McMahon doesn't want Daniel Bryan as a figurehead in his company, and John Cena, who still looks like he could eat lightning and crap thunder for another five years, is the subject of a "he's too old" character makeover in an attempt to put over Rusev. The fact that anyone else who is over is a part-timer damns the process by which WWE creates new superstars. But this problem has been evident for awhile now.

The last wrestlers that WWE created arguably were Cena, Batista, and Randy Orton. Anyone else felt like they were set up to be fed into the wood-chipper. Any time someone got close, like Mr. Kennedy, MVP, CM Punk, Sheamus, Bryan, Alberto del Rio, and now Dean Ambose, they were placed in self-defeating stories where their characters were nerfed. Don't fool yourself; Punk should have been king shit of fuck mountain the way he came off during his initial Voice of the Voiceless emergence, but instead, it was used as fodder to make Triple H come off as the most intelligent person in history. Everyone is sacrificed for a different pet project that is either already established or who isn't sticking around.

So what happens when no stars are created? No stars are available to headline the biggest show of the year and make it feel more important than some shitty B-pay-per-view in the autumnal doldrums. All the stakes rely on part-timers showing up and being healthy enough to go. It's an unsustainable formula as the part-timers, who aren't around for a reason, start to drop off and leave no one behind.

If I can be real for a second, this year's WrestleMania should have been headlined by WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins defending against Royal Rumble winner Roman Reigns and Money in the Bank holder Dean Ambrose. If breaking up The Shield was going to be in WWE's cards all along, the endgame probably should have had the three members meeting up in one, cataclysmic showdown that didn't rely on a fickle beast whose mind is occupied by wanderlust for mixed-martial arts. Or maybe Cena should have broken The Streak and been the one to put Reigns over this year. Or any number of different plans could have been deployed.

But having to rely on Rock and Undertaker and Lesnar and Triple H and now Sting to wrestle in order to make the event feel like WrestleMania is a broken model. Having part-timers supplement the show is never a bad idea, and one could argue that from jump, guest stars were part and parcel of the Mania oeuvre. I mean, Mr. T was in the main event of the first one, but he was only one-sixth of the proceedings. Hulk Hogan, Jimmy Snuka, Roddy Piper, Paul Orndorff, and Bob Orton were going to be around afterwards, or at the very least, if they were leaving WWE, it would have been to go to Jim Crockett Promotions, the AWA, or some other competing promotion that WWE doesn't have against it today.

Odds are Lesnar won't no-show Mania, but if he does, then McMahon has no one to blame but himself for not having a contingency with juice behind it. WrestleMania shouldn't be the biggest show on the calendar because the part-timers take over; it should be the paramount because it's the culmination of the roster's work the whole year. Someone who will be around the week after should be able to make a WrestleMania moment, and that set should not be limited to two guys tops. Mania cannot be fixed this year, but going forward, McMahon would be wise to follow a better model, build at least two more big-time main event guys, and work on creating a sustainable midcard where wrestlers can thrive outside of the main event and be called at the ready when they need to make a run in the future.

Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.

Sandow and Cena helped kick off the year with a big RAW match Photo Credit: WWE.com

Welcome once again to The Wrestling Blog's top 100 matches of the year. Each post contains 20 matches, listed chronologically, one post released per day for this week. As with every year, if you don't see a match you think should be on here, it means I either haven't seen it or I didn't deem it worthy enough to be on my top 100 list. The first match from 2014 that makes the list is one of the most violent match-types done in a grimy little Northern Georgia promotion. Let's get it started:

Shaun Tempers (c) vs. Andrew Alexander, Empire Pro Championship Dog Collar Match, EPW House Show, 1/4 - Watch It Here!
The match with the largest capacity for violence, or at least the highest bar to clear, is the dog collar match. You gotta get down to business early and often, and while I increasingly find blood less and less welcome in pro wrestling, the sentimentality of the Roddy Piper/Greg Valentine match makes some color okay. Tempers’ first title defense of 2014 had all the violence that was fit to air, he showed color early, and the ending of the match had a little bit of a unique flair. Alexander whupped Tempers, who played the scalded dog role to absolute perfection. The Champ was busted open within the first couple of minutes as well. The violence kept escalating especially with a few uncomfortable hanging spots over the ropes as well as a couple of other instances where the chains were used as a binder. But Tempers undoing the dog collar and foiling Alexander’s final pin attempt before nailing the challenger with his signature cross-armed neckbreaker with the chain wrapped around his neck was a brilliant, cerebral finish that displayed a need for cunning even in the most sadistic of environments.

David Dutra (c) vs. Timothy Thatcher, WCWF Championship Match, WCWF House Show, 1/11 - Watch It Here!
Watching a Thatcher match is brutal, brutal art. The way he works in and out of grapples, targets body parts, and segues into impossible counters are a treat to watch. His matches against guys like Drew Gulak or TJ Perkins who can keep up with him are great, but when he’s in there against a guy who has a slightly different mindset. Dave Dutra, Northern California townie and Champion of this smallish promotion, was able trade holds and work counters, but his aim clearly was to shift focus towards brawling and strikes. This match was HEAVY on the mat wrestling exchanges and counters, but every now and again, Dutra would get his licks in and try to bring it back to his wheelhouse. Thatcher still held control and showed his mastery at every turn, but the final stroke, Dutra getting that last counter in and drilling him with the DDT, put the wrapper on the match and was able to show the Champion’s guttiness and guile in escaping a match against a superior opponent who’d dominated him for most of the action.

John Cena vs. Damien Sandow, RAW, 1/13 - Watch Highlights Here!
Cena and Sandow have the mythical chemistry, the kind I saw with Cena and CM Punk back before they went out and proved it on a huge stage at Money in the Bank ‘11. All of their matches seem to have the same feel to those early Punk matches. I always feel it in my gut that Sandow is never going over, not in a million years, but Cena always gives him a bunch of offense, and always feels vulnerable enough to let the feeling slip. Sandow always comes out looking better, even if he eats the inevitable loss, booking after said match notwithstanding.

This match obviously wasn’t their first match, because Cena had two healthy arms. That layer of psychology was stripped away and re-coated with a layer of MOVEZ. Seriously, both Sandow and Cena dusted off some gems they hadn’t used in years or at all, including Sandow co-opting half of Edge’s moveset, but I thought that story was almost as fitting as the first match. Sandow here was set out to flounder. He got the jobber entrance and wasn’t billed before the match. This match was set up from jump to be a Cena showcase, so Sandow going balls to the wall makes the most sense. He’s a proud man, so he shouldn’t want to be fodder.

So out came the twisting sidelong sharpshooter and the Edge-o-matic and the crossface that ended up leading to his doom. He had to throw caution to the wind, and Cena not getting to enjoy a squash match made him break out a tornado DDT for the first time in maybe ever. Sometimes, an abundance of moves can mean something, and when two wrestlers with that much chemistry get in the ring and tell a story, the odds of that happening skyrocket.

Chris Dickinson vs. Gran Akuma, Wrestling Is Respect 6, 1/19
Wrestling Is Respect’s final show started out slowly and meandered a bit before Dickinson and Akuma woke the crowd up. Dickinson’s personality and panache helped spice up an already solid contest that featured slick counterwrestling and great progression. Mat wrestling and exchanges seemed to be in in ‘14, but these two took the concept and told their own story with it. Namely, Dickinson tried to keep up with Akuma early, but every time he tried to go hold for hold, he got outclassed. It wasn’t until he got a little spicy that he started to get the upperhand, and even in a PG environment, saucy Dirty Daddy means maximum entertainment value. It was nice to see Dickinson in an environment where his gimmick wasn’t sexual harassment for heel heat or where he was across the ring from a death match specialist, because he was able to work without too heavy an encumberance against someone who’s been around the block a few times. That ease translated into a solid match with counters until the very end, when they reversed the tombstone position three times before Akuma got his patented tombstone lungblower for the win.

Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.

Iron Ant! Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein

Green Ant vs. Drew Gulak, Iron Man Match, Wrestling Is Respect 6, 1/19
Little did the crowd at the Boonton Elks Lounge know, but this match would be the final bout in Wrestling Is Respect’s short but eventful history, and given how this particular Chikara horcrux was built upon the backs of Green Ant, Gulak, and Francis O’Rourke, going out in an iron man match between the two who were healthy enough to wrestle in it was the definite best way to go out. The entire history of the promotion seemingly built to this match, and it did not disappoint in the least. It was raw and tense, and the ending hit all the beats that a great, non-worked sporting event would have had. The brilliant part and probably the biggest work of them all was that for all the unsteady grapples and the shaky counters and the “realism” that the MMA fetishists cling to, the match from jump was directed towards hitting every single pro sports beat rather than going the cinematic storytelling route that many other great wrestling matches traverse.

From the beginning, when both wrestlers tapped out in cursory fashion rather than risk suffering long term injuries through the point where Gulak held a 3-1 lead and took Bryce Remsburg’s count all the way to 19 before breaking, through to Green Ant’s tying fall with a drilling spike tombstone and tap out with two seconds left on the clock for the win in the Chikara Special Green, the match was plotted out with sporting realism in mind throughout. That structure and framework was decorated with the rough-around-the-edges amateur-tinged counters and grapples that Gulak has adopted as signature nearly everywhere and that Green Ant has taken a shine to when the time was proven right (like against mentor Mike Quackenbush). Even down to the timed nature of the match and the stripping of the “winner take all” atmosphere of any other wrestling match, they executed the gameplan of making the viewer feel like they were watching some kind of weird football game transposed into the squared circle.

It could not have been done without two wrestlers the caliber of Gulak and Green Ant though. The things that informed their personae in the ring meshed so well within the framework that it would be hard to imagine anyone else even attempting wrestling this kind of match. Gulak’s dogged pitbull tenacity, always grabbing for the extra leverage, treating every opponent as if he or she was entangled in a blood feud, helped to crank up the heat in the middle portions where he played with the lead, while Green Ant’s resilience and trademark will made his victory come off as satisfying and organic even if it was telegraphed the moment he tapped out to the Gu-lock to go down three falls to one. This match was almost perfect, and it was the sheer result of two masters taking a formula and going all the way with it.

Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns, and Seth Rollins vs. Big E Langston, Cody Rhodes, and Goldust, RAW, 1/20 - Watch Highlights Here!
With The Shield in the story crumbling at the foundation, I was afraid that the well of trios matches was going to run dry. To be honest, their forays against Punk in December of 2013 and January of this year had been a bit uninspiring. However, getting into the ring with Goldust will cure what ails anyone. The Shield found their mojo, Cody Rhodes jump started his year and cemented himself as the next big WWE babyface, and Big E Langston got to mix it up with five of the best wrestlers in the company in order for him to get more comfortable in the ring.

The match open started out with Goldust and Rhodes on parade doing the babyface piefacing of the heels. It lasted for the whole first commercial break, but them fightin’ Rhodes Boys did it so well. I liked Rhodes’ panache especially on the placekick from the rope position. The standoff between the two teams going into break was a nice touch too. I would have liked to have seen how The Shield got the upperhand, but sometimes, you just have to live with the hand you’re dealt as a viewer of wrestling on free, televised, sponsored wrestling.

But the finishing derby, with Langston presiding over HOSS COURT, Rollins bumping like he was falling off a ladder just by going into the turnbuckle face-first, and Cody Rhodes clearing house on the hot tag, was sublime. This flourish also gave what became an early contender for spot of the year. With Rhodes coming off the springboard for the Disaster Kick, Reigns hit him with a picture-perfect, right-at-the-last-second Superman punch. The visual was beautiful, almost as gorgeous as Rollins’ curb stomp to end the match. Basically, this match was everything the trio’s 2013 was, and it was also a great continuation in the Goldust redemption story.

Rey Mysterio vs. Alberto del Rio, RAW, 1/20 - Watch Highlights Here!
The difference between Mysterio and del Rio, and say, Kofi Kingston and Dolph Ziggler, is that when WWE Creative has nothing for them to do but wrestle, they go out and put on a different match. Sometimes, it’s not inspired. Their first two matches in this series were pretty meh, but they tried to do something different. On this episode of RAW, they got two segments of the show, and they may have turned in their best performance to date, which is saying something given their long, rich, and sometimes played-out history. The first part of the match was all about del Rio throwing his considerable tyranny around. His offense looked a little too real at points. The rope hanging-curb stomp was especially stiff, but the toss into the ring steps may have topped it. Mysterio broke out his signature bump in this match as well, the slide from the ring to the floor. I’ve seen him do that bump a thousand times since I’ve returned back to watching wrestling, and it never, ever makes me look comfortable. This match had all the makings of scripted murder, even with del Rio teasing his own signature bump (the missed dropkick through the top and second ropes to the floor) and eating the apron face first on a Mysterio hope spot. But then they started playing into their rich history, countering spots, and adding in new wrinkles to charge into the hot finish

Alberto del Rio vs. Sin Cara, Main Event, 1/22 - Watch Highlights Here!
Man, the difference between Mistico and Hunico as Sin Cara is night and day, or more accurately, regular lighting and special Sin Cara mood lighting. del Rio spent a good portion of the match doing what he does best, working ruthlessly to make sure the babyface is just not comfortable, and Cara not only took the beating like a Champ, but his comebacks were sprightly and on point. The issue with Mistico was never really the botches for me, but the levels of apparent discomfort he showed exchanging with the gringos on the WWE roster. I also dig symmetry in a match. Sin Cara took the through-the-corner ringpost bump, only he missed the actual post and slid to the floor, which was cringe-inducing as it was visually impressive. Then del Rio took the same bump (at least catching the post this time), which was a nice bit of flashback.

Daniel Bryan vs. Bray Wyatt, The Royal Rumble, 1/26
The write-up for this match originally appeared in my review for The Royal Rumble.

Bray Wyatt and Daniel Bryan went out in the proper opening of the Royal Rumble event, told everyone to top that, and no one could even come close. I could write nothing more about this match, and the description would be sufficient, but no lie, Bray Wyatt and Daniel Bryan told everyone else to "top that," and no one came close. Brock Lesnar and Big Show didn't even try. John Cena and Randy Orton weren't physically able to. The Rumble was the Rumble. But this match was the best non-Rumble match at the Royal Rumble event in history.

Bryan did all the things that have made Bryan matches great in his history. He bumped hard. Apron spots are still coming into vogue in WWE, but he set the bar high by taking that extra-fast arm-wringer from Wyatt. Then he let Wyatt senton him on the floor, and I am not sure what he was thinking when he agreed to take the Sister Abigail's Kiss into the barricade. No sane man would take that spot, but Bryan, by all accounts, is a guy who takes his craft very seriously. Of course he was going to throw himself into the wind like he always does. However, the way he escalated his offense, especially with the curb stomp, set him apart in other performances. The dude wrestled like he was trying to kill a man who had been tormenting him for months.

And Wyatt turned in his first signature match in a big league ring since adopting the persona. He even found a way to make the inverted crab walk look even creepier, but he actually put it together in the ring completely. He was confident, diabolical, and sharp. His facial expressions were amazing, and his knack for offense was second to none. All in all, both men looked like they hit harder, tore at each other more intensely, and put their beef in corporeal form for the time they got to tell their story. One was a master at work that was known to us. The other was a wild card who needed something to hang his fedora on. They overdelivered, and their performance may have salvaged an otherwise dreary show.

Cesaro vs. Dolph Ziggler, Elimination Chamber Qualifier, Smackdown, 1/31 (airdate) - Watch Highlights Here!
Cesaro in WWE is a blessing because the company knows how accentuate his strength. Wrestling-time mainstay Tom Kingsmill remarked that Ziggler looked like a child in Cesaro’s grasp, but that’s anyone who isn’t at least Cena-sized. His feats of strength were coupled with some nimbleness. The pinning combination derby to start the match was a great show of athleticism by both wrestlers. While Ziggler’s dexterity is well-documented, Cesaro looked as natural as a cruiserweight getting over for those combos, especially the sunset flip. Ziggler’s counters, timing, and of course bumping brought the thunder from his end. His counter of the Swiss Death into a DDT was on point, and he bumped hard off the Zig Zag miss to help set up a definitively impactful finish to put Cesaro into his first ever Elimination Chamber.

Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns, and Seth Rollins vs. Daniel Bryan, Rey Mysterio, and Sheamus, Smackdown, 1/31 (airdate) - Watch Highlights Here!
Never break up The Shield. Never, ever break up The Shield. Every time I felt like their inevitable demise was a good idea, they went and put on yet another performance against some permutation of the roster at large in trios form, and the results are still sterling. STERLING. The fact that three of the best television wrestlers in WWE history were on the other side of the ring. Bryan and Sheamus both were not strangers to the group in 2013, and Mysterio is a natural fit against any wrestler, large or small.

Sheamus held court early on in the match, showing off the form that made him WWE’s best in-ring performer of 2012. He traded blows with Reigns and hossed around the other two. The highlight of the early part of the match was definitely landing the signature chest clubs on Ambrose’s exposed chest. But where the match took off was when Bryan took the hot tag and went on a warpath, ending with a crescendo of a suicide dive THROUGH the corner. From there, finisher mania took hold. Bodies flew everywhere, both on offense and defense, and the final stroke of Reigns putting a spear into Mysterio’s belly so hard that he probably grew two inches was poignant and stunning.

Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.

One batshit crazy match in one of the most batshit crazy tourneys of recent memory Photo Credit: Devin Chen

ACH and AR Fox vs. Ricochet and Rich Swann, PWG DDT4 First Round Match, PWG DDT4, 1/31
Every year, DDT4 has one match that ends up blowing up bigger than any of the other six in the tournament slate. In any given year, the Young Bucks usually end up taking one side, with the other being some enterprising new babyface team come to challenge them. The Bucks were in Japan for this event, but four enterprising young black high flyers did more than their share to pick up the slack. I don’t know what the major indie promotions have about sticking all POCs together in one clump, but in this case, the results could not be argued. With ACH and AR Fox on one side of the ring and Ricochet and Rich Swann on the other, an average match was the absolute, unlikeliest worst case scenario.

Of course, the high spots were off the charts, but with four guys like these who not only put their bodies on the line for offense but for bumping on that said offense, that scenario was to be expected. The flair and subtle character work they put in provided a solid ground for them to light their fireworks. Most impressive to me was how ACH and Fox were able to work rudo just enough to give the ICMGs something to fight against. It was a side of ACH that I’d never really seen before, and much like Fox, who’d turned heel in Beyond shortly before this, they were both adept at playing the bad guy. ACH making Swann clap his hands to the rhythm of his “All Night Long” crowd chant was deliciously evil, and it was part of what made this match more than a spotfest. I have nothing against spotfests. I love spotfests. But when the flips and dives and inhuman feats of flexibility and jumping are backed up with a story, then the action becomes much more memorable. It’s what pro wrestling is built upon.

But of course, the flips and the dives and the jumps and the stretches were all balls-out crazy amazing. Live or on tape, seeing ACH clear twice his height on his skywalker dive to the outside is a feat that is barely rivaled in wrestling. Fox’s ability to make high spots look easy and his even more impressive and dangerous tendencies to have no regard for his own body may shorten his career, but the brightest flames do burn quickest. But the ICMGs were just perfect all tournament long in their timing and the knack for treading the fine line that so many spot guys just stumble at. The finishing sequence with Swann missing the standing 450 only for Ricochet to hit ACH with a springboard variant was the kind of visual dosey-do that felt super fresh. This match lived up to its expectations and then some.

Hallowicked vs. Mike Bennett, National Pro Wrestling Day, 2/1 - Watch It Here!
The write-up for this match originally appeared in my review for National Pro Wrestling Day '14.

The match that perhaps had the most deeply-rooted history on the card, even if the build for it was dormant for the last 16 months. Bennett tapped out to Hallowicked's Chikara Special to seal the King of Trios tournament for the Spectral Envoy. This match was his first bout back in the Chikaraverse, and he continued to show the form that made him a breakout star that weekend back in September 2012. Even without the Bucks to buoy him, Bennett, against a good opponent and one of Chikara's best babyfaces in Hallowicked, was all-around on top of his game.

Bennett played the crowd up to perfection, a crowd that was ready to remind him of his last appearance in the company. He got Wicked's offense over with a simple shriek at the threat of a plancha. He played into his infamy for effect by trying to piledrive 'Wicked on the apron. He even looked for a tag that wasn't there for the Bucks while dazed from a barrage of offense. He was also the sharpest I've seen him on exchanges and his moves looked really good. Hallowicked may have turned one of his finest singles performances of the last couple of years as well. His offense was also on point, and his timing was great, especially on the plancha pump fake that caused Bennett to shriek. His fire was the hottest I've seen in awhile as well. These two bring out the best in each other, and I'm glad they got a chance to rekindle a rivalry that I hope continues into the future.

Vordell Walker (c) vs. Jesse Neal, Falls Count Anywhere US Pro Championship Match, US Pro 30th Anniversary Show, 2/1 - Watch It Here!
I can be way too easy at times, because little things that get thrown into a random match will automatically win me over. A grown human adult shoving another grown human adult’s head into a toilet is one of those things, and it happened twice in this match. Hell, Neal planned so far ahead he gimmicked a guy taking a dump in the one stall to wait so he could dunk Walker’s head in “shit.” That move is some next-level carny-ass bullshit, and I love it. Walker actually wrestled for a good ten minutes with wet toilet paper on his head. The best part of the whole exchange was Walker actually returned the favor. I may get way too hyped to see middle school-grade bullying appear in wrestling matches, but honestly, it’s all in what those kinds of antics represent, which are the absurd strains in pro wrestling manifesting themselves in the heat of two guys wanting to kick the shit out of each other.

And this match found Neal and Walker kicking the shit out of each other in ways that ranged from the grittiest of the gritty into the wonderfully “fat birds don’t fly” territory that no wrestling match should ever fear to tread. They threw each other over the gimmick tables. They took turns hitting each other with the trashcan. Walker choked Neal with an empty bag, while Neal made Walker wear the can before kicking him. It was a total, fun, trainwreck brawl up until the last two minutes, when they liberally no-sold each other’s German suplexes. But the missteps at the end couldn’t take away from the violent joy they produced, whether it involved toilets or not.

Mickie Knuckles vs. Kimber Lee, WSU Secret Show #3, 2/7 - Watch Highlights Here!
The write-up for this match originally appeared in my review for WSU Secret Show #3.
A great wrestling match isn't just comprised of holds, counters, bumps, and selling. At its heart, pro wrestling is performance art, theater if you will. Chatter within the match, facial expressions, and gesticulations are technically not necessary, but they can elevate so-so matches to good and so on and so forth. Mickie Knuckles took this match, which was actually would have been a standout match on its own, and elevated it with her shit-talking (on par with Mark Henry, to be honest), her wide-eyed war faces, and her general frenetic energy.

Of course, the main pitfall of being as expressively extracurricular as Knuckles was during this match was that the main conflict against Lee could have become secondary to getting herself over. However, everything Knuckles did built towards her desire to destroy Lee. She jawed with the announcers out of a paranoia that they might not have been giving her enough credit. She threatened Sozio because god forbid the referee show concern for the opponent that Knuckles would've been content to eviscerate with no concern.

Lee herself played the best babyface she possibly could, enhancing both the story and her opponent's bloodthirsty and somewhat perverted rage. She bumped hard and brought some blazing fire with her comebacks. And when the time came for Knuckles to make Lee's offense look like a world-beater, she put as much into selling as she did in her psychological torment. Lee at one point hit Knuckles with an enzugiri, and she took the move as if she were a redwood falling in the forest, that is, if a redwood had a face to blank out while the lumberjack yelled "TIMBERRRRRR!" This match was a complete performance from both wrestlers, especially Knuckles, who stole the show from the second match and dared everyone else to try and follow that.

Hania the Howling Huntress vs. Athena, WSU Secret Show #3, 2/7
Hania had a reputation for sloppiness going into this match, and Athena had just returned from an injury. Those elements could have come together to create a disappointing contest, but both wrestlers were sharp, crisp, and tight. Hania had a coming-out party. Her offense was on point, especially the lucha-inspired moves that were her pitfalls in the past. She showed great command on her casadora moves as well. Athena showed very little ring rust as well. The best part of the match was how intense the two played the contest out. The amount of apparent enmity may have seemed out of place for a first time match, but at the same time, Hania at this point was still an unestablished name. What better opportunity would she have to make a statement within the narrative than by going hard at Athena? I thought that was a great story, and the match benefitted because of its implementation.

LuFisto vs. Athena, WSU Mutiny, 2/8
Sometimes, a match gets so much hype beforehand that it cannot at all measure up to the results. It happens enough that it’s unbelievable that any event could meet up to the immense anticipation that can build up in the age of social media, instant information, and availability of so many voices weighing in on a subject. But it does happen from time to time. While a lot of the attention for Mutiny was focused on the main event, the match that would decide who’d face the winner of that match got a lot of the attention, and for good reason. LuFisto had been riding a hot streak around the continent, and Athena was coming back from injury, ready to pick up where she left off. The resulting contest was one of the best matches of the year.

They didn’t take too long to hit into third gear, throwing each other into the apron and brawling on the outside against the barricade. It was the equivalent of a firefight with cluster bombs. They worked stiff, and the most impressive part about it was the sustained intensity of the match. They kept throwing heat at each other and didn’t stop except to sell the damage. Apron powerbombs and curb stomps and armbreakers over the barricade and double stomps from the top into the tree of woe, it was all brutal and visceral visually. But it wasn’t just a match full of spots just to have spots. Everything led to something else. The progression, the escalation, it all made sense and led to the crescendo of LuFisto blocking the O-Face and then walloping Athena with the backfist into the Burning Hammer. The finish was earned by both wrestlers.

Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.

Knuckles not exactly thinking good thoughts for Malone Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein

Jewells Malone vs. Mickie Knuckles, Uncensored Rules Match, WSU Mutiny, 2/8
Hardcore wrestling is an acquired taste for some, but at its heart, it’s just stiff Memphis-style brawling, just with weapons. Sometimes, it involves wrestlers getting slammed into dollhouses. Sometimes, it involves dollar bills being stapled onto genitals and then ripped off and shoved into the victim’s mouth. Okay, so maybe that kind of stuff goes above and beyond the call of duty and transcends into crazy territory. But then again, no one ever accused Malone or especially Knuckles of being all there. But even though I would never in a million years want someone stapling anything to me, let alone my private parts, I can’t help but have immense respect for Knuckles for letting Malone defile her in such a way. Of course, this match wasn’t singularly valuable for a stunt that many might find tasteless. These two threw everything they had at each other and then some. It just goes to show that maybe, just maybe those who think that women can’t produce the kinds of violence and stiffness that men can are full of shit.

Devin and Mason Cutter vs. Heidi Lovelace and Jordynne Grace, Beyond Wrestling St. Louis Sleeper Cell, 2/9 - Watch It Here!
This match was a little over ten minutes, but it packed so much insanity between the bells that it felt grander in scale. The Hooligans are known for recklessly careening into people and fixed objects alike, but they are both big boys who can and should work “big” whenever they can. In this match, they outweighed their opponents probably by at least 200 or more pounds combined and used that to inform their offense, but they still were able to display their awesome, car-crash speed and disregard for their bodies. It was weird seeing them slow down their big high spots and still have them look impressive, but it speaks to the Brothers Cutter’s versatility. Lovelace and Grace were the perfect foils too, high energy, big strikes, and smart teamwork. Grace especially was in the right place at the right time for the big counters, especially taking a HUGE powerbomb to the floor after Devin countered her apron rana. Lovelace has become synonymous with taking the giant bump as well, and boy, I didn’t envy her as she ate the Hooligans’ wheelbarrow leaping DDT combo finish to end the match.

Sheamus and Christian vs. Cesaro and Jack Swagger, RAW, 2/10 - Watch Highlights Here!
Honestly, this tag match building towards the Elimination Chamber was made for me when Cesaro and Sheamus were clubberin’ on each other in the corner. Cesaro put those arms in Sheamus’ face, and then the Irish Stone Cold burst out with a fire as hot as his orange hair would have suggested. Some guys trade strikes and look like they’re going through the motions, but these two throwing hands at each other feels like a slugfest with some gravitas. Most of their staged pugilism was contained to a few minutes, but it left me wanting so much more.

But this segment of the match was part of a larger narrative, one that included some great face-in-peril work by Christian, huge bumping, the chest clubs from Sheamus, and a wild finish. Christian is so good at almost everything one can do in a wrestling match. He’s one of the only guys who makes a sunset flip look like a legit pinning move instead of an excuse to put face in crotch. His corner feint kick is timed perfectly. And when he’s stretching and reaching for a tag, he sells the desperation. All of those things were on prominent display, the best part of which was him lunging futilely to tag Sheamus while Cesaro yanked him back in Sisyphean anguish.

Of course, the punishment he took while acting the face-in-peril was outstanding too. The Real Americans showed off their best-in-WWE (and possibly in America) tandem offense, capped off with Cesaro catapulting Christian into the waiting arms of a powerslamming Swagger. Sheamus showed great fire outside of his clubberin’ as well. All in all, this match felt like the prototype of what a tag match should be on free television.

Tomorrow, the countdown gets up to WrestleMania's doorstep

Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.

Ryback talks candidly with the Cheap Heat crew Photo Credit: WWE.com

If you're new, here's the rundown: I listen to a handful of wrestling podcasts each week. Too many, probably, though certainly not all of them. In the interest of saving you time — in case you have the restraint to skip certain episodes — the plan is to give the bare bones of a given show and let you decide if it’s worth investing the time to hear the whole thing. There are better wrestling podcasts out there, of course, but these are the ones in my regular rotation that I feel best fit the category of hit or miss. If I can save other folks some time, I'm happy to do so.

Show: Cheap Heat
Episode: March 6, 2015
Run Time: 30:53
Guest: Ryback

Summary: Peter Rosenberg opens the show this week to report the conventional episode recorded earlier in the week was lost to technology. Instead, he offers a radio interview he conducted with Ryback. It opens with a look ahead to WrestleMania and a discussion about the ups and downs of Ryback’s WWE career. They chat about people with whom he has and hopes to cross paths with: Curtis Axel, Roman Reigns, John Cena, CM Punk, Brock Lesnar and Daniel Bryan. Rosenberg asks about Ryback’s creative gear and stories about his eating prowess. At the end Ryback talks about his relationship and a few key meetings with Vince McMahon.

Quote of the week: Ryback, on Punk: “I have no hatred for the man, and I wish him the best. I think he’s always, I will say, I’ve always given him credit that he’s a guy, he was never like a Body Guy, or anything like that, and he was told no from day one, he wasn’t going to be anything. But I feel like he’s hard-headed like me, and that he’s stubborn. When he sets his mind to something he goes and does it. And I think he’s gonna go over to UFC and I think he’s gonna train really hard and do his absolute best, and I wish him the best in all that because hopefully he does come back and then we could have some big-money matchups.”

Why you should listen: To hear both Ryback and Rosenberg be markedly different from the characters we encounter on RAW and Cheap Heat. This isn’t the first time Ryback has given an interview that should help him connect better with the snark-prone fan, but it’s a standout effort regardless. It was really great to hear of his fondness for Bryan, and he manages to be both (justifiably) defensive and modest. Rosenberg is on point, displaying a clear knowledge of his subject matter without trying to prove his fan credibility.

Why you should skip it: This episode was taped March 2 to promote that night’s RAW in New Jersey, but was released March 6 in this format, a decided departure from the conventions of Cheap Heat. There wasn’t much of anything in the means of time-sensitive material, but it was widely available online before March 6, and there’s nothing here that adds to what fans might have heard from the radio of a YouTube clip. As to the content, if you’re familiar at all with Ryback’s up-and-down WWE career, there’s a good chance you could sketch out about 95 percent of this talk.

Final thoughts: Just because something might not be brand new does not make it uninteresting. Ryback offered little in the way of revealing information, but delivered in this package it was at least interesting. Cheap Heat fans who have never encountered Rosenberg’s work outside of the podcast should most definitely give a listen, if only to understand why someone at Grantland thought he’d be a good co-host with David Shoemaker. You can skip this episode and not worry about what you miss, but it’s a quick, enjoyable chat you’ll likely enjoy having set aside a few moments to digest.

Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.

The newest WWE Hall of Famer in happier times Photo via WPIX/Pittsburgh

The WWE Hall of Fame is the idea that has set off a thousand thinkpieces, but one inductee who should elicit zero debate₁ is the first recipient of The Warrior Award, just announced last night. Connor "The Crusher" Michalek, the young devotee of Daniel Bryan who succumbed to pediatric brain cancer shortly after WrestleMania XXX last year, will posthumously be honored by WWE at this year's Hall of Fame ceremony. Michalek was only eight years old when his tumultuous journey through life came to a halt, but he touched so many people, including Bryan, Stephanie McMahon, and millions of WWE fans around the world.

Below is the tribute video WWE aired last night on RAW. Bryan, McMahon, and Triple H may not have had the cure for cancer, but they made Michalek's life as awesome as they could possibly have in his waning hours. Wrestling can be a cruel business, and the people within it can be cold, callous, and terrible at times, but at other times, they can be living saints.


1 - "Should" is the operative word, because according to Dylan Hales, people exist who are pissed at Michalek's induction because he's going in before [REDACTED]. I shouldn't be surprised that people who pine for a child murderer to be honored would shit on a child getting in, but it's no less enraging.

Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.

Jim Ross blaming millennials for DeMott's "victimization" is absolutely gross Photo Credit: WWE.com

In 2015, there is no excuse for bullying and hazing.

Seems like that should pretty much be the end of the discussion, no? Sadly, this news has allegedly been lost on Bill DeMott, the now former head trainer of NXT. DeMott, who stepped down late last week, has been accused of a litany of offenses by former NXT talent, ranging from the somewhat innocuous (breaking a yard stick over the backs of trainees who performed drills incorrectly) to the absolutely horrific (um, pretty much everything else). There's plenty of places to read all the allegations, so I'm not going to list them all here; rather, this piece is more about the toxic culture that seems to be so prolific in, among other places, the world of professional wrestling - the culture of hazing and bullying.

It's a real shame that something like this even needs to be addressed, but when I saw that people in the industry were falling all over themselves to defend DeMott, it struck a nerve. Hard. See, as someone who has always been a little bit chubby, and a little bit dorky, and never the best athlete around but always tried out for (and often made) some advanced level sports teams, I faced my fair share of bullying growing up. Nothing anywhere near what has been alleged to be happening in NXT, mind you, but the "cool kids" never seemed to pass up an opportunity to try and make me feel like garbage.

So when Chris Jericho, Doc Gallows, Lance Storm, and Jim Ross all decided to throw their support with DeMott because "HURR DURR WE DEALT WITH MUCH WORSE STOP BEING SUCH BABIES," it made me sick to my stomach. Why should the cycle continue? Why should "we were humiliated and made it through, so we're going to humiliate you back" be the prevailing theme of wrestling schools?

But worst of all were the words of Storm and Ross, who basically echoed the words said by Vince McMahon on the live Stone Cold Podcast - claiming that the trainees/youth today (ie, "millennials") had a sense of entitlement and didn't want to work for anything, that they just wanted to take a shortcut to stardom without paying dues. As ridiculous as that notion is, I didn't realize that not wanting to be called a faggot/terrorist/fat fuck meant you were acting entitled. I just thought it meant you were, you know, a decent human being.

Ross also claimed that the wrestling business requires "mental toughness," and perhaps DeMott (again, ALLEGEDLY wink wink nudge nudge say no more) was just trying to mentally toughen up his charges and weed out the weak. Here's a question, though: Why does the world of professional wrestling require more "mental toughness" than a brain surgeon? Or a teacher? Or a stockbroker? Sure, there's a lot of travel involved, and you have to be able to handle a live crowd, but a brain surgeon has to CUT PEOPLE'S HEADS OPEN AND NOT KILL THEM. I've never heard of a medical school professor taking one of his students off to the side and ripping his scrubs off of him because he took seven minutes to remove an aneurysm that should have taken only five to get out. You know, to toughen him up.

In my previous career as a music teacher, I was responsible for developing my students throughout the course of the year. They (theoretically) had to know more in June when they left my class than they did when they entered in September. At NO point did I think, "well, little Stevie just can't seem to grasp the concept of note values, maybe I should take him in the back and beat the crap out of him until he gets it." Because that would result in my termination. Because it's AWFUL BEHAVIOR.

But if the football coach decided his team wasn't giving 100% in practice, or if they lost a game because of sloppy play, no one would bat an eye if they were made to run until they puked. Same with the wrestling coach. When I coached middle school baseball, I actually had some of my players asking me, "Yo, Coach Heat, how come you don't make the bad behaving kids run until they puke?" Apparently, acting like a decent human being makes you a shitty coach.

The problem clearly lies with the culture, and it needs to change. Why should coaches be allowed or even expected to be the biggest bullies in the locker room? Why do they believe the best performances come from students who have been mentally broken down and made to fear them? Wouldn't it stand to reason that someone who honest to goodness loves what they're doing and has fun doing it give the best performances?

For a long time, my dream was to get into good enough shape to attend a wrestling school, and have just one match in front of a crowd, no matter the size. I've spent a good portion of the past year losing 40 pounds, because at 32 my window to realize that dream is rapidly closing, if not already shut. But if this culture is so rampant in the field, and people who have the power to condemn such behavior condone it instead, well, I think I'll hang on to my money and have another donut. Because I don't want any part of an industry that treats people who are voluntarily entering it like pieces of garbage, then laughs about it because they weren't tough enough to stick with it.

Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.

Cesaro kinda owns the second part of this list Photo Credit: WWE.com

Part two picks up on Valentine's day last year, and boy, this set of 20 matches has a lot to love. The first three months of the year were kinda loaded on quality, weren't they?

Cesaro vs. Randy Orton, Smackdown, 2/14 (airdate) - Watch Highlights Here!
The shock of Cesaro winning this match clean might obscure the fact that it was a fine Smackdown main event. Both guys came out looking better than they did going in, even Orton, who might seem to be hurt by yet another non-title loss. However, Cesaro made his barricade-based offense look tight, maybe better than anyone in the past. Cesaro being a sculpture come to life bumping like a crash-test dummy may have had something to do with it. His best bump may have come later on in the match when he missed a charging Euro-cut into the corner. But Orton also returned the favor, taking the Giant Swing, going hard on the uppercuts that did connect, and yes, the finishing sequence was just as effective not because he laid down, but because he took Cesaro’s offense like a Champ too.

Danny Cannon vs. Jay Freddie, Beyond Wrestling Feeding Frenzy Secret Show #1, 2/14 - Watch It Here!
Once upon a time, I saw a Beyond Wrestling match that featured two guys with whom I wasn’t well-acquainted. Both had been talked up beforehand, but they were still rasas tabulas to me. After seeing their opening match to the inaugural Tournament for Tomorrow, I was giddy at having seen the future of pro wrestling in front of me. Of course now, ACH and AR Fox are among my favorite wrestlers in the world, and when I got done watching Jay Freddie and Danny Cannon at this show. Two wrestlers who before this match may have been known in their respective local cliques burst out onto the general consciousness and made themselves entities on the national stage.

Cannon got a lot of the praise from the weekend, and it was well-deserved. He brought a different kind of energy to the ring, almost like a small child hopped up on sugar constantly, which is probably the best possible way to execute the high-octane, always on offense style. He almost felt like a video game character with how he’d have bursts of offense, and then take a few hits and be doubled over to recover for a period of time. It’s something that I would be used to seeing in games, but seeing it portrayed in the wrestling ring as well as Cannon was able to show it of was a refreshing breath of air. The guy certainly had a flair for the dramatic as well, breaking out some insane bumps, and maybe the most unique spot I’ve ever seen in wrestling. He jumped from the top rope onto the mini-ledge that was hanging off the wall (maybe it was a heating duct? I dunno) and deftly hit a moonsault on Freddie to the floor. You have to be three different kinds of crazy to try and pull that shit off, and he did it perfectly.

Freddie probably got a little lost in the hype, much like Fox kinda did back in that other match this one reminded me of, but without him as a canvas and a partner, I’m not sure Cannon would be able to get as over as he would have. Freddie always had the right reaction for everyone of Cannon’s actions. He hit hard, was in the right position to take Cannon’s insane spots, and he was able to keep pace. He was the difference between watching a shitty Davey Richards match and having a cohesive bout with strong tale being forged throughout. Overall, these matches are the foundations upon which Beyond is built, and I’m glad I get to watch them.

Devin and Mason Cutter vs. Angel Ortiz and Mike Draztik, Beyond Wrestling Feeding Frenzy Secret Show #1, 2/14 - Watch It and the Next Match on This List Here!
I have a thing for guys tossing each other into one another in crazy tag matches, and bonus points are in play when at least one of those dudes is a certified HOSS. The Brothers Cutter may be hard to tell apart at times, but they move like dudes half their size with seamlessly flawless double team timing. The guys across the ring, known collectively as EYFBO, were just as game with their double team offense this match. Seriously, these four guys just lob bombs at each other, and it was fantastic to watch. They weren’t afraid to delve into comedy either. At one juncture in the match, Ortiz grabbed a hold of Devin Cutter’s beard, and Devin responded by grabbing his afro. They had a hold of each other’s outrageous hair and were begging each other to let go. When you can work in-match comic relief in between the hammers dropping in a balls-to-the-wall tag team spotfest, you know you’re doing well.

Hania the Howling Huntress vs. Eric Corvis, Beyond Wrestling Feeding Frenzy Secret Show #1, 2/14
The write-up for this match first appeared in my review for the first Feeding Frenzy Secret Show.

Creating a textured, full-storied, Memphis-style brawl between two wrestlers when one outweighs the other by 100 pounds can be a tall task. Some say it cannot be done, especially when the competitors are two different genders. Beyond Wrestling's mission statement is doing what other promotions refuse to, and so it presented Hania vs. Eric Corvis doing their thing in the ring. Hania's pit bull tenacity plus Corvis' about face and new sense of humility, both in word and in taking Hania's offense made this match the highlight of the night.

The match started off with a promo from Corvis, apologizing for his misogynist behavior and treatment of Jewells Malone (and women in general) at Tournament for Tomorrow 2, which sparked off a series of events that led to the match turning into a slobberknocker. Right from jump, Hania exuded the swagger needed to make up for the apparent size difference. Her strikes hit hard, and Corvis sold them like death. Of course, the infamous NEFW Academy support pier being used as a stationary weapon didn't hurt either.

But the story remained consistent throughout the match, even with the escalation throughout. Corvis losing his cool and then composing himself towards the end was a great nod of character, and it was expertly punctuated by the fact that Hania countered his corner rush. After a match that featured Corvis going Full Ziggler on a casadora bulldog and Hania taking a HARD powerbomb backbreaker, I wasn't so sure that ending on a flash sunset flip would have been the right way to go, but even Hania's execution of a low-impact pin combo looked rough and tumble, enough to be an appropriate cap on this match.

AR Fox (c) vs. Danny Cannon, Chile Lucha Libre Championship Match, Beyond Wrestling Feeding Frenzy Secret Show #2, 2/15
Danny Cannon had just wowed the Beyond Wrestling world the night before at the first secret show, so his reward was going up against a more proven indie star from the Northeast in AR Fox the next day. They weren’t given as much time as Cannon was with Jay Freddie, but it actually helped produce a tighter, more focused match that better was able to display Cannon’s high-energy style of wrestling against a seasoned opponent who has been in the ring with several different opponents over the last five years or so. It was a ballet of well-timed, jaw-dropping highspots that set a high bar for the mammoth second day of intimate viewing for the weekend.

Cannon’s jittery style works best when pitted against someone who can keep up with him or call attention to himself so as to distract from Cannon’s lapses in selling or whatnot. Fox in that respect was the perfect opponent for him, especially since he was already on his way to transitioning into a heel within the Beyond universe by this point. So while Cannon was able to drop jaws the lowest during this match, Fox was able to fill in the gaps and keep attention spans at full staff with his theatrics. His counter game was especially on point, putting in kicks and slipping out of moves and especially showing some longer-term psychology through countering Cannon coming off the wall moulding like he did the day before.

But yeah, Cannon’s grasp of using his surroundings to create explosive moments was amplified in this match. Not only did he do the moulding spot as an easy counter opportunity for Fox, but he found a way to top it by doing a Guile-somersault-walk up the refrigerator, which is way more impressive-looking because of the lack of footing on the smooth surface. Spots like that don’t necessarily make a match, but they can elevate a good match into something better. This match would have been fine, perfectly cromulent even, without the highspots, but these two went balls to the wall and kicked off the show with one of the most compact yet insane wrestling matches of the year.

Jay Freddie vs. Davey Vega, Beyond Wrestling Feeding Frenzy Secret Show #2, 2/15
Much like his dance partner from the night before, Freddie rode the momentum of his big, star-making match from the first secret show and went to war with another highly-acclaimed wrestler, this time from the central states/Austin region. Vega and Freddie may not have had blown the doors off the arena with big leaps and flips, but they went sound to the ground, put on a clinic in selling and working limbs, and threw around counters like dollar bills at the club. The sequence at the end was really tense and well-put together teasing the sharpshooter, Vega swiftly countering with the rollup, and then Freddie finishing with the suplex-lungblower into the final sharpshooter for the win. It wasn’t a let-down match from the opener, but it was a crucial change of pace needed to keep the crowd into the show without burning it out.

Angel Ortiz and Mike Draztik vs. Myke Quest and Nicholas Kaye, Beyond Wrestling Feeding Frenzy Secret Show #2, 2/15
EYFBO is a tag team that works in any scenario, but their best work on average tends to come against megaheel teams that can handle their highspots and do a couple of their own even if it’s not their bread and butter. At this point on the Beyond calendar, Kaye and Quest were about as ruthless and jerky as they would have come, and they provided a stellar canvas for the Funky Monkey and Draztik to work against. Quest especially shone in this match on offense, throwing stiff shots all around and getting the opponents to bump for them. At one point, Draztik rotated so far on a lariat bump that he landed on his neck, which he may have regretted but at least looked phenomenal. Ortiz was also a highlight on offense here, doing his normal Funky Monkey stuff but capping it off by bulldogging Quest right onto Kaye’s nuts. I’m a huge fan of heel finishes coming off as if they were slimy and underhanded despite being totally legal, so the end of this match was right up my alley.

Christian vs. Daniel Bryan, RAW, 2/17
Christian has always been great at selling the big injury, but in this match, he actually was the aggressor. He instantly went heel and worked over Bryan’s arm, and it was natural looking. Even in the twilight of his career, Christian’s caginess has made him an elite worker. Of course, wrestling against Daniel Bryan is a panacea for anyone. I’m pretty sure he could have a stellar match with Moppy at this point. The match was given two segments, which means this match was a lock to get a pretty extensive writeup here.

Christian didn’t really do anything flashy, but really, his entire career post-WWE comeback hadn’t been about flash and razzle-dazzle. He just descended upon Bryan’s shoulder and kept on it like a swarm of lanky, Canadian locusts. Again, nothing flashy was in Christian’s arsenal, but everything made sense. He rammed the shoulder into the turnbuckle and hit hammerlock bodyslams. He systematically dismantled Bryan, and he looked as natural doing it as he did selling the same thing from Jack Swagger in 2009.

Of course, Bryan sold the shit out of it. Whether he was on offense or defense, he was there holding his arm. Maybe the best example was on one of his random, normal dropkicks. He went full force, landed on his bad arm, and then held it. If a wrestler wants to learn how to sell a fucking body part, he or she should sit down and watch Bryan in this match. I will also always be giddy over whenever the rolling prawn hold is used as a match finish. Bryan is Mr. Small Package for a reason.

Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.

Leapfrog! Photo Credit: WWE.com

John Cena vs. Cesaro, RAW, 2/17 - Watch Highlights Here!
The write-up for this match first appeared in the Instant Feedback for the 2/17/14 episode of Monday Night RAW.

When a spot gets over, it gets a reaction. Whether it happens quickly during a non-competitive exhibition match, or whether it happens towards the end of the match, fans will hopefully recognize it and cheer for it. How can two wrestlers build to elevate even the most familiar of spots, though? How can they make that reaction go from a common, Pavlovian cheer into a transformative, echoing, satisfaction-inducing roar? They build to it. They tease the move, and then yank it away. For maximum effect, they'll do it again, maybe a third or fourth time before finally executing it after all hope is lost, and when the thing finally happens, they've manipulated the crowd to maximum effect.

When Antonio Cesaro first teased the Giant Swing on John Cena, I personally didn't think he would pull it off. That move is great to display on lower card opponents of sizable girth, but the Franchise, the Man, John Cena? No way. They would craft a match that was able to get the point across and work the crowd in ways both guys were more than able to. But then Cesaro had Cena by the legs again, and they even went one better, going into a STF attempt that went into the Swiss Superman lifting that pillar of granite into a deadlift gutwrench. If that instance was the last time they teased the Giant Swing in the match, they would have done their job.

But then, out of seemingly impossible setup, Cesaro grabbed Cena by the legs, lifted him up off the ground, and swung him around for ten rotations. The crowd, or at least the part of the crowd that chants "CENA SUCKS!" exploded. That reaction was no accident. They built to that spot. They earned that spot.

When critics and analysts talk about storytelling in a match, the march towards a climactic moment is exactly what they talk about. That moment can be something within the greater feud, but true masters can come in with barely any angular attachment and build to something special, a spectacle, if you will. Cena and Cesaro were entangled inasmuch as they're going to be in LEXAN pods in the Elimination Chamber Sunday. The overall narrative is more about Randy Orton anyway. So they had two options, and they chose the better one.

Pretend for a second that crowds actually saved their "This is awesome!" chants for selective matches and didn't give it out to everything that involves a wrestler they like that goes two segments. A match like this doesn't get that kind of chant only for the Giant Swing. Cena took a MASSIVE bump that I thought his name was Seth Rollins for a second. The finishing sequence was sublime as well. How a man the size of Cesaro has the dexterity to land on his feet out of an Attitude Adjustment attempt is probably the most impressive thing he does, and he's a man who shoot deadlifts Great Khali like it's no thing. Then, Cena rolled through the Neutralizer into the final AA, and its beauty cancelled out any malodor that was connected with him taking another duke.

But this match was all about the delicate teetering on the edge, making the crowd rabid for something they seem to take for granted. Pro wrestling is art, and both Antonio Cesaro and John Cena are artists. I for one love the fact WWE has opened up RAW as an expansive canvas for them to create.

Bray Wyatt, Luke Harper, and Erick Rowan vs. Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns, and Seth Rollins, Elimination Chamber, 2/23
The write-up for this match first appeared in my review for Elimination Chamber.

This match was absolutely perfect. If any match was expected to be perfect going in, this match would fit that bill. However, even with sky-high expectation, I thought these six performers came close to exceeding those predictions. Each individual in the match took his role, played it with the same methodology as a Daniel Day Lewis, only if Lewis' job was to crash through things repeatedly, and they built an emotional hyperbaric chamber where no possible result would end up damaging my soul. Be that as it may, the result they came to was absolutely the correct one.

They came out of the gates in utter perfection, staring each other down and jawing until Ambrose, the livest wire of either group, decided he was going to do his best Warner Bros. Tasmanian Devil impersonation, dunking the fray into the complete anarchy one might expect gang warfare over disputed turf might delve into. The only thing that I was surprised by was that no one thought to break out a trident. They took turns showing each other how they could isolate and eviscerate single members of either group. The first act of this match was a clinic on tag team and trios wrestling injected with the performance enhancing drug of "can you top this" escalation, punctuated with Wyatt shouting to the crowd "IS THIS THE WAR YOU WANTED?" Judging by the roaring applause, I wasn't the only one who was nodding furiously in agreement.

Then, the action started transitioning, as each member began to show their individuality. Rollins bumped like a fucking madman and answered those big shots with panache-laden high spots of his own. If he's not a nuclear, Jeff Hardyesque babyface one day, WWE will have failed him. Ambrose kept showing everyone why those Roddy Piper and Brian Pillman comparisons are apt with his short fuse, which was unusually truncated with the larger-than-normal payload behind it. Reigns was the fixer with his Superman punches and cool vampire flair. Wyatt barked the orders and set to creep with his wild eyes, while Harper and Rowan followed his orders and stalked the ring with their unholy cool demeanor, like golems towering over unsuspecting prey.

But the finishing flourish was what cemented this match as an all-timer within WWE's folklore. Ambrose had to be absent for the finish, but WWE gave him the out by having Wyatt drag him out of the camera eye (to Hell, perhaps?). Rollins took a massive bump through the Spanish Announce Table FROM the English Announce Table, while the DAMN NUMBERS GAME brought down Reigns despite his best efforts. If this match is to be The Shield's final as a three-man group, then it effectively mirrorred their debut match against Daniel Bryan, Ryback, and Kane. Ryback was Ambrose, lured away from the ring so as not to affect the finish. Kane effectively mirrored Rollins, as both were destroyed using the scenery as a weapon. And just as Bryan died a warrior's death at the hands of Reigns and Ambrose at TLC '12, Reigns was devoured whole by the entire hillbilly cult. Symmetry is a wonderful thing, folks.

Randy Orton (c) vs. Christian vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Sheamus vs. John Cena vs. Cesaro, WWE World Championship Elimination Chamber Match, Elimination Chamber, 2/23
Six of the best wrestlers in WWE entered the Elimination Chamber and were given free reign to create as much chaos as they could before going about their scheduled exits from the War Games substitute. Even when the lineups aren’t as talented as this year’s crop was, the action inside the Chamber resembles a car crash, especially when the first elimination doesn’t happen until everyone has exited their respective pods. The requisite mayhem was allowed to build, and everyone in the match got to have a signature moment that was both uniquely signature to themselves but that felt fresh and new.

Sheamus and Cesaro set the tone early, lobbing bombs at each other and generally hossing it up. Then Bryan came in and broke out the spot of the match, maybe the entire year when he wrangled Sheamus into an Indian deathlock while simultaneously nailing Cesaro with a Northern Lights suplex. I don’t understand how anyone could have watched Bryan, Sheamus, and Cesaro pull that spot off and not consider professional wrestling art of the highest order. While the match could have faltered after that high point, everyone involved kept the wheels turning. Christian showed a darker side, ripping off Bryan’s protective tape and using the cage and unbreakable LEXAN (which actually broke during the match, MY WORLD IS SHATTERED) to work over his injured parts. Cesaro turned into Death, the Destroyer of Worlds with frenzied uppercut sprees and crashing competitors large and small into various parts of the structure. And Orton capped off the first act of the match by exiting his pod last, surveying the carnage he inherited, and preening like he had done all the work.

The eliminations also held both shock factor and rich storytelling. I didn’t see Christian getting to eliminate anyone, let alone putting Sheamus out first. It came off a frogsplash from atop the pod, which made for a cool visual. Cesaro’s exit at the hands of Cena elicited a few groans, but it came after the two jousted, previewing what I hope would become a series of outstanding special event masterpiece contests. Cena himself would fall to the Wyatt Family, which got the crowd to thank the interlopers in an amusing twist. But the final elimination, even with the mountainous interference from Kane, worked as a final slap in the face of Bryan before he was off to become the most decorated single-WrestleMania performer since Randy Savage at IV. This match may have been the finest Chamber I’ve ever seen.

Big E vs. Cesaro, RAW, 2/24 - Watch Highlights Here!
My only complaint about this match was that it happened out of season. Big E and Cesaro thumping each other and taking turns throwing each other around the ring should have happened on a cool, crisp December 23 after everyone had their turn to gripe. Truly, the feats of strength flowed free like wine. These two may be WWE’s strongest pure competitors, and they each had the size to make their hossery look even more impressive than normal. E’s offense especially shone bright here. His belly-to-belly suplexes looked AMAZING, especially because Cesaro actually has the dexterity to get up tight and arc up high. The STO in the corner, however, looked dangerous, like a sharp bump from a mid-’90s AJPW match. Big E's compact build made Cesaro’s Big Swing look like it had ALL the centrifugal force going for it. I even dug the Jack Swagger disqualification finish, because it protected both the Champ in a non-title match and the guy headed for a huge, main event level match at the subsequent NXT ArRIVAL show that would happen days later.

Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.

Don't drop Sami Zayn! Photo Credit: WWE.com

Cesaro vs. Sami Zayn, NXT ArRIVAL, 2/27 - Watch Highlights Here!
I didn’t think they could match their best two out of three falls match from the weekly show last year. I didn’t think they had another high-caliber match in them. I thought they’d have diminishing returns. But my mistake was underestimating these two mat wizards. They had a story, they had the talent, they had the timing, and they had the faith from the office. They were told to go out and open the first ever live show, to put NXT’s best foot forward. What they did was rip the goddamn amphitheater down and tell the rest of the roster to “FOLLOW THAT.”

The thing about it was that they didn’t necessarily tread new ground. Instead, they took their prior affairs and built from them. They told what was a perfect progression of a story from their prior encounters, especially the 2/3 falls match. The most jarring and well-executed example was when Zayn tried the through-the-corner tornado DDT to the floor, but Cesaro met him with a perfectly timed European uppercut. Cesaro has always been a master of timing, but he met Zayn with his arm at the split-second he needed to be there. I shouldn’t have expected anything different. Their callbacks weren’t limited to their NXT matches though. They drew from their expansive histories as Claudio Castagnoli and El Generico on the indies, especially on a super Ricola Bomb tease in the corner. Hell, the broadcast team even called Zayn’s signature corner big boot the Helluva Kick, which is what Excalibur called it in PWG.

But they did tell other stories as well. They wove a whole bunch of threads together into a tapestry that involved Zayn’s leg, teasing the Giant Swing, Zayn’s punch-drunken never-give-up attitude, and Cesaro going all beast mode to finish. They worked in little nuggets contained within the stories, like the Koji Clutch getting countered into a stretch muffler, or Zayn’s exaggerated, reluctant sell of the Swing. Even though the finish felt wrong at first, once it sank in, once Cesaro emerged after his hurricane discus Euro-cut and EMPHATIC Neutralizer, Zayn not winning felt immaterial. They put another chapter in their illustrious novel of classic wrestling.

Kyle Matthews vs. Jason Collins, DSCW Pure Wrestling Classic Tournament Final, 3/2 - Watch It Here!
First thing’s first, no, the top rope is not present on the ring. I didn’t see the whole show, so I have no idea what happened to it, and honestly, I didn’t notice it missing until about three minutes into my watch. But Matthews, like the savvy veteran he is, played it into the match very well, first using it to stop his momentum running to the ropes before eating a kick, and then afterwards while going for various “top” rope moves in the corner. Matthews, in fact, played a great subtle heel. The match, which was contested as the culmination of a tournament that rewarded “pure” wrestling, called for such delicacy, and Matthews did all the little things trying to get the fans behind Collins. He boxed the ears, made frustrated faces when he didn’t get full pinfalls, worked at a grumpy, deliberate pace while Collins was able to use him as a canvas for his unique offense which included a wheeling inside out kick to the face out of the normal foot-hold counter and a variation on the crossface that allowed for more stretching. Collins got the win with that submission after Matthews couldn’t get a bearing on his frogsplash by having to go from the second rope and missed. It just goes to show that any wrestling environment, even one considered to be suboptimal like a missing top rope, can turn out to be a positive with the right workers.

Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.

Finally, a pic without Cesaro! (alt capt. second verse, same as first) Photo Credit: WWE.com

Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns, and Seth Rollins vs. Bray Wyatt, Erick Rowan, and Luke Harper, RAW, 3/3 - Watch Highlights Here!
I never in a million years thought that Seth Rollins would be the one to light the fuse on The Shield’s breakup, but after Reigns got knocked off the apron, causing Rollins to be left out to dry, he walked away and watched one of the craziest, most anarchic finishes to a free TV match I’ve ever seen. Seriously, bodies flew everywhere, and even though Reigns and Ambrose were at the man disadvantage, they felt like they covered just as much ground to keep the breakneck pace going. Whether it was Reigns delivering his best spear taking Rowan out OVER the rebuilt announce table, Harper booting Ambrose onto his neck and then hitting a plancha IMMEDIATELY after on Reigns to the floor, Ambrose taking a shot of adrenaline to follow that up with a barrage of punches on Harper, or Wyatt finishing it up with a Kiss from Sister Abigail, those five men followed up the scene they set with the perfect finishing swell.

Sheamus vs. Christian, Memphis Street Fight, RAW, 3/10 - Watch Highlights Here!
Gimmicked street fights in WWE usually are fun at the very least. The Dublin Street Fight from 2012 and the Broadway Brawl from last year were both great matches featuring creative workers, and lo and behold, Sheamus and Christian all those criteria. They didn’t take as much advantage of the local-flavored plunder, but the match was still full of wacky weapon use. Christian split some kendo sticks on Sheamus’ back, making the world’s most easily bruised Irishman light up like a Christmas tree. Sheamus’ offense is so brutal and thick, but what makes him an elite worker is his propensity to let his body get all sorts of banged up. The topper was the frogsplash on top of the chairs, which actually fit in with Christian’s MO during the feud. His motivations have been to hurt Sheamus, but then again, Sheamus dealt some of that aforementioned offense. The Irish Curse off the ring steps and the Brogue Kick through the bass drum were tremendous.

Heidi Lovelace vs. Danny Cannon, EPW St. Patrick’s Beatdown, 3/13 - Watch It Here!
Some pro wrestling roles, archetypes, and tropes are so steeped in tradition that when two (or more) wrestlers deviate from the script, it is seen as a negative from some camps. Deviating from norms can be good, although obviously, change for the sake of change isn’t good in and of itself. The results have to make sense and be executed in a way that shows understanding of the visceral beats of pro wrestling. Some things have to be included, but while the standard shine-heat-comeback-finish formula may be the most prevalent for a reason, every wrestling match has room to deviate and still be effective. Heidi Lovelace and Danny Cannon worked a match that really wasn’t too far out of the purview of what is normal in wrestling, but it was different enough to stand out.

Basically, they played with the idea that maybe they could extend the “feeling-out” process where no one really got the upper hand for more than a couple of seconds at a time and make a whole match out of it. No one got to put heat on the other wrestler for more than two moves. In fact, the wrestler who got the most face time pounding on another was when Reed Bentley, who accompanied Lovelace to the ring, wailed on Cannon on the outside. The action appropriately escalated, and each wrestler did a good job increasing their shown wear in appropriate increments and the caliber of their offensive moves. From the beginning to the feint kicks meant for show (where Cannon fell on his ass, causing Bentley to exhort to Lovelace that she should win because he couldn’t even stay up during that) through to the finish where Cannon landed what looked to be a grazing Phoenix Splash but actually from the angle of the fan-cam looked like a devastating twisting knee to Lovelace’s head.

But the dynamic wasn’t the traditional English World of Sport style where the exchanges were based in grappling counters after the first minute or so. Both wrestlers know their bread and butter is in kicks and strikes, and the match was laid out almost as a combative dance routine, a description that might put it off to some viewers. However, the action itself didn’t really feel overly choreographed if that makes sense. Every move and miss and counterstrike fell into the next logistically, but it still had that pro wrestling fight feel. It was the best formula to use for a midcard match, where the wrestlers shouldn’t have upstaged the main event but did everything in their power to make a piece of art that was still memorable.

Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton, No Disqualification, RAW, 3/17 - Watch Highlights Here!
Bryan and Orton met in a no-DQ match in 2013, and it turned out to be one of my favorite matches, if not my favorite match, of that year. Early in 2014, they were tasked to be in the same situation, and while the results weren’t as great as the original issue, they pulled off another fine free TV match in what seems to be a monthly tradition for the duo. The beginning of the match felt like they found a match to phone in, but things got intense as the contest progressed, especially around the commercial break. Orton taking time to shit-talk a fan calling for a DQ was a great ad lib, a personification of his excellent character, and one of those “little things” that elevate matches above their nominal pay grades.

After the match came back from commercial, each competitor went into overdrive. Bryan took the most overused weapon in wrestling over the last 15 years and found a way to reinvigorate it by working the kendo stick into his basement kick flurry routine, and then drilling Orton over the timekeeper’s barricade with a dropkick. Orton had some fire in him too, and the finish was looking hot until Batista came in. Then again, the fuck finish was to be expected given the build to WrestleMania, and WWE wasn’t going to have Bryan tap Orton out with the cane again. It fell a tad flat, but it was still the right ending to the match.

Hanson vs. Biff Busick, BTW Webster Show, 3/22 - Watch It Here!
Time is often a relative construct in wrestling, in that not every five minute TV sprint is bad, nor does a broadway necessarily indicate supreme quality. It’s all about how one uses that time to construct a story or a lucid match. I’m sure in another time and in another ring, Biff Busick and Hanson could have gone a half-hour and brought the house down doing it, but in the Big Time Wrestling ring, they had ten minutes stashed away on the midcard. So they went out and had a banger, packing in as much of a tale as they could with the time allotted. Basically, Busick played the role of gutty underdog, trying to counter the two-pronged agile big man of Hanson, whose counters and segues were as beautiful as his big lariats and power moves were devastating. Hanson reminded me of a time when Mike Knox was allowed to do his thing on WWE C-programming instead of being pigeonholed. But the way they used the time made the clock a non-factor rather than something to be bemoaned in either direction.

Chris Hero vs. AJ Styles, ROH Flyin’ High, 3/22
If you like seeing Chris Hero boot suckas in the face, then this match is for you. I don’t know how many Styles took to the mush, but it seemed like every time Hero had the upper hand, he was throwing some sole into Styles’ face. In fact, Hero didn’t have much trouble mounting offense in this match throughout most of it, building the match narrative around a classic sporting archetype. Hero, in front of his hometown crowd of Dayton, exerted his will throughout most of the affair as the “home team” of sorts, but he let Styles hang around too long, letting his hubris get the best of him at the end. Styles spent his offensive sequences working Hero’s leg, which he used to build towards the Calf Killer submission for the win. Styles’ biggest opening came when Hero tried to use his own finish, the Styles Clash, against him, which stood out as a climax in the match and steered the story towards that hard-fought win. It was a nice bit of psychology from the promotion that should be encouraging its wrestlers to build more sports-like stories in their matches.

Tomorrow, the countdown powers past WrestleMania!

Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.

DeMott is OUT and Horb's got the full rundown Photo via SportsKeeda.com

Well lookie lookie, HORB FLERBMINBER is back with all the most valuable news nuggets and hot gossip on the Web. I am so awesome Chip Kelly wouldn't DREAM of trading me to the Observer for Alan4L and the passwords for Joe Babinsack's hidden perv-cam feeds across locker rooms everywhere. I bring so much heat that I MELT ALL THE SNOW THAT'S BEEN DUMPED ON NEW ENGLAND. Hell, that shithead TH is running this TWB 100 thing? Well, if he ran a TWB 100 for journalists, I would be 1-7, 9-24, and 69. BECAUSE I'M THAT GOOD AND THAT NICE. You don't wanna mess with me, because I will EXPOSE YOU for the fraud you are. ARE YOU LISTENING, RAJAH? Of course not, because I BOXED HIS EARS SO HARD THAT HE CAN ONLY HEAR AM RADIO FREQUENCIES.

I am unparalleled in how thorough my scoop mining processes are, and I am without equal when it comes to news-breaking. Who was the first to let everyone know that the WWE Network gave off radiation that caused inflated appendix? IT WAS ME. But I can't be everywhere all the time. That is why I need YOU to be my eyes and ears. Not literally, of course. I wouldn't want to walk around looking like a FREAK with people in my eyes and on my ears. But anyway, if you have a hot tip, whether a news tip or a gardening tip (I'm growing weed, don't tell anyone), send it my way to ProWrestlingSKOOPZ@gmail.com. And if you want up to the femtosecond scoops, you need to follow me on the Twitters, @HorbFlerbminber. Not only will you get all the news when it happens, you'll get to see me harassing pertinent wrestling personalities in REAL TIME. Don't you want to see me try and Goatse Eric Bischoff? DON'T YOU?

If you want back issues of the newsletter, well, you're out of luck this week. However, if you want black issues of the newsletter, you're also out of luck because as soon as I offered them, the NAACP picketed outside my headquarters, which is amazing because I've never told anyone where they were. Since the cat's out of the bag, the SKOOPZ offices are located in a bunker in northeastern Montana, about 30 clicks south of the Canadian border. Of course, by the time you get there, it will have been flooded and booby-trapped with gas bombs. What kind of gas will it be? YOU'LL ONLY KNOW IF YOU GO THERE YOURSELF.

Sponsors for the newsletter are drying up. I don't know why. I mean, you default on one loan and all of a sudden, people don't want to give you money anymore. SO WHAT IF I CAUSED THE HOUSING BUBBLE TO BURST IN 2008? But I swear, if you want to invest your sweet, sweet cash with Pro Wrestling SKOOPZ, then contact me via the super-secret, encrypted telephone line I have set up. If you want the number, you need to contact Bryan Alvarez so he can tell Curt Hawkins to post as TheMetsFan on Reddit, which triggers a series of electronic impulses that awaken the Frost Giants in the Paarlahti Fjord to shoot an arrow with the number attached across the Atlantic Ocean to the Roman god Mercury, who'll personally deliver it to you.

In order to supplement reader newsletter sub fees, I am selling off rare artifacts that I have garnered from my trek across New Mexico in 2013. If you want these artifacts, send me a self-addressed stamped envelope to the following address:

725 Ponce de Leon Avenue NE
Atlanta, GA 30306

I could tell you all about the products I have, but why should I tell you when I can show you testimonials from people who have partaken, like this one from Rick Rohl from Boca Raton, FL:

I ordered an artifact, and the box said "REAL LIVE BLUE METH COOKED BY WALTER WHITE." When I opened the box, it was just shards of glass haphazardly colored blue in washable blue marker. One of the shards cut my finger. I had to go to the hospital. I'm gonna kill that Horb Flerbminber.

Another satisfied customer.

Don't forget.

- The week's biggest story is that Bill DeMott has resigned from his position as WWE's head trainer amid scandal. He admits that he's done nothing wrong, but since Jim Ross, Chris Jericho, Doc Gallows, and Lance Storm have all come out in support of DeMott, it's clear he's guilty as fuck.

- Upon hearing the news that DeMott was leaving, Enzo Amore, whom DeMott repeatedly told that he wished he was dead, jumped up in the air in celebration. He pulled his groin and immediately recoiled out of reflex since the punishment for pulling a groin under DeMott was to run suicides. However, instead, Amore received actual medical care.

- Matt Bloom has been named as DeMott's replacement as head trainer, which means finally, these fucking jerkoff gaijin students will learn some strong style.

- Lisa Marie Varon's Chicago restaurant, The Squared Circle, was invaded yesterday by a gun-brandishing intruder. Varon's husband subdued the intruder with a takedown, however. Afterwards, Varon posted the criminal's phone number on Twitter and spurred her followers to leave him harassing messages.

- SMACKDOWN SPOILERS: The show ended with Dean Ambrose and Dolph Ziggler calling Daniel Bryan a turd, which means Vince McMahon is back writing both shows.

- Laila Alidisse execution of the camera in a statement on Saturday, TMZ stopped to ask Rossi, Ronda, and said it is more important is that no one can win the fight, said Ronda. This is a clear breach of the resignation, without regret ambush.

- Paul Heyman said in a promo Monday night that Brock Lesnar was going to attempt to unify the WWE and UFC Championships. Even though nothing gets on the show without explicit approval from Vince McMahon anymore, maybe this was the one line that was a shoot, which means LESNAR IS WINNING AT WRESTLEMANIA.

- Samoa Joe is not taking any indie dates after April 20, because he'll be too damn high to work anywhere. FOUR-TWENTY, BITCHES.

- Connor "The Crusher" Michalek will be posthumously given "The Warrior Award" and inducted into the Hall of Fame. When asked why Michalek was chosen to be first recipient of the award named after last year's marquee inductee, WWE Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon said, "Well, we've retconned so much other shit lately that what's pretending Warrior was a good-hearted, decent person on top of the pile?"

- Melina addressed why she broke up with John Hennigan, saying "Well, when he got his penis reduced and the bio mass placed in his abdomen to create his ninth and tenth abs, well, I took that as the final straw."

- The Bella Twins announced on Total Divas that they wouldn't be renewing their WWE contracts, which I'm sure will totally not be used as dramatic fodder for the next season of the show.

- Wiz Khalifa's appearance on RAW this past Monday drew mixed reviews, although the most prevalent line was "They never shoulda let Cena spit with Wiz Khalifa."

- TNA NEWS: Wait, do I really have to report news on this company? You mean it's not a tax shelter for Dixie Carter? For real?

- Rey Mysterio appeared at the House of Hardcore show at the ECW Arena Saturday and remarked about how the renovation cut down on hypodermic needles and crack vial trash by 34%.

- Black History Month vignettes have been taken down from the WWE Network because WWE only cares about African-Americans during February.

- Last week's poll went missing because it was attached to the Intercontinental Championship. This week:

Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.

Austin talks to a podcasting icon and a former NFL all-pro Photo Credit: WWE.com

If you're new, here's the rundown: I listen to a handful of wrestling podcasts each week. Too many, probably, though certainly not all of them. In the interest of saving you time — in case you have the restraint to skip certain episodes — the plan is to give the bare bones of a given show and let you decide if it’s worth investing the time to hear the whole thing. There are better wrestling podcasts out there, of course, but these are the ones in my regular rotation that I feel best fit the category of hit or miss. If I can save other folks some time, I'm happy to do so.

Show: Steve Austin Show
Episode: 201
Run Time: 1:39:58
Guest: Adam Carolla (19:14), Amani Toomer (51:20)

Summary: Austin traveled to New York for a PodcastOne event and recorded this live show. He starts with Carolla discussing the nature of crowd funding, difficulties of air travel, being around people wearing too much perfume and a handful of movies, including Carolla’s new project, Road Hard. With Toomer, they discuss the retired NFL veteran’s health condition, his early football career, going through the combine and draft, comparing college football to life in the NFL, his take on different coaches, evaluating quarterbacks and the recent Super Bowl. During the close, Austin gives us his word of the day: fiddlefart.

Quote of the week: Toomer, on the NFL draft combine experience: “It was just a really weird situation. Half the day you walk around the combine, and you’re in your shorts, no socks, no shirt, and you’re just walking around in line going to doctors offices — it was really strange. And I remember walking into an auditorium where there’s a stage and a they have scale … step on the scale, right in front of everybody with your shirt off and you’re kind of just looking around … ‘Wow, I feel like a real piece of meat right now.’ … It was a really dehumanizing thing. That’s my biggest memory of the combine, being the first time I ever felt like a piece of meat.”

Why you should listen: Carolla is, according to PodcastOne, “the godfather of podcasting.” If you’re familiar with his work but not in this medium, well, here’s a halfway decent chance to get a feel for how he translates. The Toomer interview was stronger because he and Austin have similar backgrounds as professional athletes and Austin’s football passion enables him to ask decent questions.

Why you should skip it: There is very little wrestling talk whatsoever. If you’re not a fan of Carolla’s humor, or the way he dominates every conversation, you’re better off skipping that portion. And while the Toomer talk is the better half of the show, it’s not particularly interesting or illuminating to anyone beyond his most ardent fans.

Final thoughts: I’m still not entirely sure what the purpose was of having Austin be part of this New York event, though he and Carolla can both draw more than 1 million downloads for a single podcast episode. I don’t fault Austin for releasing the live show — it was far better audio than a Colt Cabana live episode, for one thing — as he told listeners about the trip in advance and with two shows a week it’s unlikely he’d have time to record anything better than what we got here. Still, don’t feel bad if you take a pass on this one in hopes the Thursday show will be more entertaining.

Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.

Thatcher and Silver grapplin' it up at the Chop Shop Photo Credit: Picture Dave

Part three of the countdown finally gets out of the early part of the year and unto the threshold of summertime. It includes WrestleMania, the return of Chikara, and the first Takeover special in addition to a bunch of cool indie stuff. LOOK.

John Silver vs. Timothy Thatcher, Beyond Wrestling Secret Show, 3/23 - Watch It Here (for $0.99)!
Selling just doesn’t mean holding your head after taking a punch or grabbing a knee after escaping a kneebar or single leg crab. It means actually pretending what is being done to you hurts in proportion to what’s being done to that particular body part. Silver and Thatcher dueled each other working another’s body part. Silver put everything into wrecking Thatcher’s knee and leg, while Thatcher wrecked Silver’s arm. The beauty was that each wrestler’s detriment didn’t disappear when they went on offense. Contrarily, it figured into each other’s worked strategy, or it was a thing to overcome rather than just a visual aid while being worked over. Thatcher, for example, visibly struggled to lift Silver up with the butterfly suplex, and then upon impact, he grabbed his leg.

The interplay between the two didn’t just stop at the limb work. The counters went to the next level, which should be expected when coming from the British Messiah, though Silver more than held his own. Of course, the beginning of the match had great counterwrestling, because from the start, it was worked with heavy World of Sport influence. But once the gears shifted, the slick counters kept coming, especially towards the end. I thought Thatcher was going to get the win when he quickly countered being pinned in a German suplex hold into an armbar, but his follow up, the Karelin lift, was foiled when Silver hooked the heel and segued into his final single leg crab. All in all, it was a great opening match, and one that I think a lot of wrestlers would do well to take notes on.

Kimber Lee vs. AR Fox, Beyond Wrestling Secret Show, 3/23 - Watch It Here (for $0.99), or Just Watch the Highlights, Tightwad!
AR Fox is not a subtle villain in Beyond Wrestling. He is about as over the top as they come, and he had no qualms about showing it from first bell, when he intentionally knocked out referee Dan Yost and laid waste to Kimber Lee with a chair before getting a cheap win. From a story perspective, the first “match” worked, but given how much hope I had for this match going in, I was disappointed that was apparently being used for angle fodder/character exposition. But the match got restarted, and Fox continued wearing out Lee. Fox works as a high-flying good guy nearly everywhere else, yet he’s so good at playing the prick bad guy, especially in heat segments, and Lee’s work taking the beating was sublime as well. She sold and bumped, and she sprinkled in fleeting, futile hope spots at the right time. Her for-real comeback was on fire as well, with every beat whipping the crowd into even more of a frenzy. The finish was brilliantly done as well, with Fox causing another intentional ref bump, but then Lee getting the chair and getting her revenge. Too bad the ref woke up and only saw Lee’s chairshots, which was a bit deflating in the moment, but worked overall with the context of how the match was restarted.

Shynron (c) vs. Brian Fury, Chile Lucha Libre Championship Match, Beyond Wrestling Secret Show, 3/23 - Watch It Here (for $0.99)!
This match started slow, and I was afraid it was going to be one of those main events that couldn’t reach the bar set by the insane undercard that jam-packed underneath of it. But once Fury got on his advantage, man, this match took off. Fury wrestled like a guy who looked like he stepped right off the Sons of Anarchy set, a roughneck with tree trunks for limbs who knew he was working against a guy whom he dwarfed. Once he started imposing his will, the stakes started getting intense, bordering on reckless. Getting the giant swing into the barricade is one level of brutality, but Fury sent Shynron into the goddamn cinderblock wall at the RWA Chop Shop. OUCH. Fury must have knocked something loose on Shynron, because his comeback was faster and more furious than normal. He had an extra spring in his step and snapped off his big spots with a bit more gusto than usual. Even with the AR Fox interference, this match was a hell of a cap to a snazzy show. Fury showed that he could be more than just the local trainer, and Shynron continued his evolution into one of the surest things on any card in the Northeast.

Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose vs. Cesaro and Jack Swagger, RAW, 3/24 - Watch Highlights Here!
In a match that featured the most insane bumper in WWE, Cesaro was the one who took the biggest pratfalls in the match. The Swiss Superman got dumped over the top rope and took an arc so parabolic that its equation would be taught in advanced algebra classes, and then for good measure, when Rollins hit him with the tope suicida, he barreled into the crowd like he just got hit with a concussion grenade. He followed the perfect formula for helping Rollins attain babyface god status and for keeping The Shield’s aura as a merciless killing machine, only for the forces of good, going strong. The match had great escalation, some surprising face-in-peril excellence from Dean Ambrose that paradoxically went with his insane eyed Roddy Piper shit, and Jack Swagger breaking out some innovative ways to break out submission holds, namely the pop-up ankle lock.

Cedric Alexander vs. Andrew Everett vs. Trevor Lee, PWG Mystery Vortex II, 3/28
Making a good first impression on a new crowd is one thing, but ripping the lid off the building and possibly making it impossible for anyone else to follow is a whole other. Cedric Alexander was making his first foray into PWG in three years, and Trevor Lee and Andrew Everett were making their debuts. While the PWG opening match has been THE place to go for the most exciting match, if not always the best, they took the space and owned it like no one else before them ever did. It was a frenetic bonanza of flying bodies, counters, hard hits, and surprise attacks, the kind of perpetual motion that sets a three-or-four-way on another higher shelf than the run of the mill. One person would do a move and right away, the third party would burst into the scene to take them out. It was bad for paying attention intently while taking notes, but it was great for entertainment value.

In particular, Everett proved that he could be a worthy successor to the line of insane high-flyers who have occupied PWG rings before. It wasn’t just in the nature of his flippy-dos and twisty shit, but in how he timed those spots to be right there at the right time. It’s one thing to risk life and limb just to pantomime attacking someone, but it’s another to hit at the right time to hit the right beat for what the match needed. Alexander worked well as the striker, the guy who was going to win the match by trying to blend in as a PWG regular, and Lee’s tendencies to play agent provocateur threw a bit of mischief into the chaos. But Everett springboarded and leaped into the hearts and minds of the Reseda crowd. Whether it was bumping while being thwarted by Lee on counter, taking both out with a 450 splash, or ending the affair by hitting a shooting star press in almost slow motion - a feat harder to do than twisting at Ricochet speeds - Everett owned the ring.

But regardless of who was the star performer, all three came in from North Carolina to conquer a new venue, and they did so by stoking the crowd into a raging frenzy without burning it out. It was a match that fit in with the PWG ethos but also had a distinct flavor from their home stomping grounds, different enough to set it apart from the big clusterfuck matches that would follow it. It was one of the best openers and three way dances of the year, and it deserves all the credit it gets and then some.

Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.

Distilled insanity in wrestling form Photo Credit: Devin Chen

ACH and AR Fox vs. Ricochet and Rich Swann vs. Brian Cage and Michael Elgin, PWG Mystery Vortex II, 3/28
Much like in the opener, the tag three-way provided scads of bodies flying everywhere, spots seamlessly woven together for maximum titillation, and rapid-fire exchanges that made it hard to take notes and enjoy completely at the same time. However, whereas the opener had the air of desperation, this match had a lot more whimsy. Not only were all six competitors already embedded within PWG’s hierarchy, but they are also among the most expressive and playful characters within those confines. Yes, even golem-ass Michael Elgin shows a bit of the personality when he’s teamed up with Brian Cage and going up against smaller teams who usually serve as pinballs against their hulking-frames.

And despite the fact that the hops that the African-American Wolves and the Inner City Machine Guns possessed were at least equal to if not greater than those possessed by the average division in the NBA, the match was mostly about and cycled through the Machines. The beginning of the match was about getting out of their way and avoiding them at all costs. The middle of the match was full of big spots trying either to knock the mammoths down or the Machines pulling off some of their more show-offy power combos, including the infamous tag-in-tag-out minute-plus delay vertical suplex. And by the end of the match, the fray had dissolved into utter chaos with the leviathan-like figures rising out of the ocean to put the challenge down with big powerbombs and discus lariats. Even the multi-layered feats of strength were taken to new levels, as Elgin broke out a double Alabama slam on both ICMGs at one point.

Of course, if one were going to book four guys to act as deft fighter pilots trying to take down the twin Godzillas, that person could do a heck of a lot worse than the collective of Fox, ACH, Swann, and Ricochet. The HOSSERY was my favorite part of the match but the sly dissension between the Guns and the Wolves, especially when it came to ACH and Fox smoothly and successfully dicking the Guns into taking the worst of the punishment was a close second. It ended up being appropriate to the finish, as Fox and ACH were the ones who ate the final fall despite their best efforts. It just goes to show that even matches one might derisively write off as a “spotfest” more than likely has an underlying story if it’s good, and also that maybe the word spotfest shouldn’t be used as a term of derision in the first place.

Adam Cole (c) vs. Candice LeRae, PWG World Championship Match, PWG Mystery Vortex II, 3/28
People who might get caught up on the ridiculous notion of “gender believability” probably missed that the match was brilliantly worked around the invisible and self-constraining handicaps of size difference. If Candice LeRae had a dick for Adam Cole to suck at the behest of the crowd’s chants at the beginning of the match, the gender differences would have been ignored for the physical essay on size difference and style contrast. Cole came off as a bully almost too well, throwing his weight and his arrogance behind every hold and strike. If it were the first time I watched PWG and had the commentary on mute, I would have gotten clearly that Cole had so much disdain for LeRae that he could have sold excess for $3.99 a bag on r/MensRights. LeRae’s gutty babyface comebacks hit like jagged rocks against the rusty hull of an old ship. Everything, from her co-opting of Cole’s signature pelvic thrust to the face in the beginning of the match through her elbows, her big through-rope mushroom stomp, even the finisher steal at the end with the Panama Sunrise, conveyed a determination in LeRae, like she was listening to doubters in her head. But at no point did her offense feel like she was straining. She played “their” game and came out with one of the best, last-stand performances of the year. Even though Cole ultimately won the match, LeRae came out looking every bit worthy of her title opportunity.

Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.

YES! YES! YES! Photo Credit: WWE.com

Daniel Bryan vs. Triple H, WrestleMania XXX, 4/6
The write-up for this match originally appeared in my WrestleMania XXX review.

Six matches later on the card, Daniel Bryan would have his honest-to-God WrestleMania moment, but to open the show, he got to wrestle the first of what should be many WrestleMania classics. The fact that he went out and made it rain with Triple H of all people - the same Triple H whose last five Mania matches in my view were mediocre at best - solidifies him as a wrestling god. Unquestionably, it belongs in the same breath as Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart as the best WrestleMania opener ever, and the pass of time may put it in such rarefied air as one of the greatest WWE matches, regardless of event, ever.

The shithead Triple H hater in me would love to come out and say that Bryan "carried" him, and while I think Bryan is the kind of wrestler that could coax a great match out of the Game better than Brock Lesnar, the Undertaker, pre-Best Big Man in WWE Sheamus, or Randy Orton could, he held up his end of the bargain. He built himself up before the show as the epitome of the A-plus player, but one who would not be fucked with. So he went out and threw everything he had at Bryan and then some.

I saw moves out of Triple H that I never thought he would pull out, like a fucking tiger suplex. I remember when [REDACTED] giving him one in a match was a big deal. My marvel at that move wasn't so much like a "workrate fan" demanding a diverse moveset inasmuch as it signaled escalation. His word, his bravado even, demanded that he had to put Bryan away, so he had to keep damaging him, just like the way he worked over Bryan's arm earlier in the match and kept going back to the crossface and the chicken wing. And to her credit, Stephanie McMahon did pretty much everything a good heel manager should do short of interfering. She was shrill, she barked encouragement at Trips, and tried to verbally intimidate Bryan during the course of the match too. She added about as much to the match as she could have without laying a finger on Bryan at all.

But yeah, this match is where Daniel Bryan showed off the ultimate in underdog moxie and babyface fire. He bumped hard both on offense and defense; one should note that he went from the goddamn top rope to the floor near the barricade, which is a gnarly bump for anyone to take. His counters were on point; his second Pedigree counter, the one where he back-body-dropped while his arms were still chicken-winged, was as godly a maneuver as you're gonna see anywhere. And he had impeccable timing on where to place his comebacks. His Knee-Plus landed right in Trips' mush may have been the most impactfully-timed one he's done yet. I won't talk about how Bryan made himself in this match, because he's been solid gold in WWE since the end of RAW two years ago. However, this match is a huge reason why he can now take his place among the immortals, and he got help from one of the most notoriously selfish wrestlers in WWE history to get there. Greatness comes on that mark.

Andre the Giant Battle Royale (30 Wrestlers), WrestleMania XXX, 4/6
The first annual Andre Battle Royale kicked off what might end up being a staple for years to come with a lively and memorable jaunt. Even though the match was mostly carried by two wrestlers - Kofi Kingston and Cesaro - several members of the supporting cast came through with the blitheness and theatrics necessary to transform a battle royale from “fun” to “excellent.” However, the performances most worth noting came from the aforementioned two. Kingston translated his Royal Rumble acrobatics into this match in a huge way. As Cesaro launched him over the ringpost FROM the ring, he was able to land so that his feet wouldn’t touch the floor and instead take the ring steps. I don’t care about his shortcomings in regular matches; I could watch Kingston evade death in battle royale spots for days and days. Cesaro, however, won the day with his feats of strength on several competitors, not the least of which came at the end with his elimination of Big Show. The first match in a series should always have something to set the tone, and Cesaro pulling off the slam to in the match not only became the kayfabe benchmark, but it actually looked the part as well to deserve the praise it will undoubtedly receive for years to come on the broadcast.

Timothy Thatcher vs. Biff Busick, Beyond Wrestling Secret Show at the CZW Academy, 4/13 - Watch It Here!
Rough around the edges interpretation of the World of Sport grappling style has blown up in 2014, but for as much as it’s been featured in bigger indie arenas, the style seems to play best in more intimate settings, especially when the match is between two guys who thrive in that kind of setting. Busick and Thatcher both are among the best grapplers on the scene, so their tilt in the enclosed settings of the CZW Wrestling Academy had a sparring feel to it, two experts going at it not to win a bigger purse, but to hone their crafts. But then the mood escalated and they started really trying to best each other in a furious burst to the finish.

What would be construed as a feeling-out process in most other matches lasted about half the duration of the contest, and it all felt about as stiff as a typical “you hit me, I hit you” strike trade between Davey Richards and Eddie Edwards without the ridiculous misapplication of “fighting spirit.” Thatcher worked the arm pretty viciously, even bending back the fingers on more than one occasion (my favorite staple of cranky British wrestlers). Busick kept going not for specific limb work, but for a rear naked choke victory. While those strains weren’t exclusive to their respective offensive strategies, they always seemed to find their way back to those singular goals, but each journey back to the main path was crisp and exciting. Neither wrestler droned on, and the fighting atmosphere felt organic, not robotically choreographed.

But then they ventured over to the corner, and Thatcher rocked Busick with a European uppercut that sent him from the top turnbuckle to the apron that was situated right up against the west cinderblock wall. It was a visually stunning bump, and it sent the match into high gear. While the arm work and the submission grabs were still present, they felt angrier and more urgent. Each wrestler broke out some of his signature spots in impressive variations. Thatcher got so mad he gutwrench suplexed Busick into the goddamn corner, and Busick let out a slap like he was Zachary Quinto and Thatcher was some punk kid. The fury culminated in a tense series of exchanges that led to Busick wrenching away at Thatcher with a side headlock/crossface variant. A lot of times, the pass-out in place of a tapout finish can be a copout, but these two guys went so hard, that Thatcher going unconscious before he had a chance to realize he had to give up to save himself was the best ending possible.

Cesaro vs. Mark Henry, Intercontinental Championship Contenders Tournament First Round Match, RAW, 4/14 - Watch Highlights Here!
This match didn’t get nearly enough time or fleshed-out story as it deserved, but the two hosses went out and made the most of it. They told a succinct tale based around feats of strength compacted into an easy-to-digest capsule that got the point across nicely. I think of it as an Oscar-worthy short film compared to the sweeping Best Picture epic that was Bryan/Trips. The sequence where Cesaro backed Henry into the corner was brilliant. The crowd erupted for the Neutralizer, sure, but Cesaro shaking off getting tossed aside time after time just to batter Henry with uppercuts was the most visually impressive series of underdog comebacks. Cesaro showed the guts and guile that will eventually make him an upper echelon babyface, and Henry gave the onslaught object permanence by continually fighting it off and finishing it off with a lariat. I would have loved to have seen what they could have done with ten minutes or so, but this match was concentrated excellence.

Kimber Lee vs JT Dunn, ISW Trapped in the Closet, 4/19 - Watch It Here!
They reused a bunch of spots from their secret show best three-of-five falls match here, but did so within a more compact time frame and without the extraneous trappings that were set up just to be able to have a double-countout spot that didn’t result in the end of the match. In nearly every single way, this match was better and more appropriate than the 3/5 falls one because of the way it was worked with all the situational no-selling and the bang-bang sequences. Longer isn’t always better, people. Anyway, it was a hard-hitting match that was a little light on the long-term selling, but given the compaction and the way they at times fell into counters rather than sized them up, it made for a more exciting than frustrating watch. The visual of Dunn reaching out of the Tree of Woe to yank Lee from the top by her hair was simple yet stunning. Plus, the action in the match seemed to tell a story that the wrestlers were so equal in nearly every way that it had to unfold the way it did, and each wrestler put their entire asses into giving off that impresion.

Kyle Matthews vs. Chip Day, Universal Independent Wrestling House Show, 4/25 - Watch It Here!
This match was a great example of exploring the studio space in a familiar concept and making the most out of it. Their contest wasn’t on any cutting edge in terms of new territory explored; the same format has been tried, tested, and true on most Southern television programs for decades. But they shined it up and got some extra mileage out of it. For example, in the beginning, when a lot of guys just go straight-outta-wrestling school with the rudimentary grappling and exchanges, they dressed the place up. Day segued from an Indian deathlock into grabbing the arms behind him and then turning over for a neat looking pin combo. Matthews followed up by putting on the figure four, only shorter so he could jerk back and get more leverage. Visual cues that make a match look even more intense are always good, especially if they’re simple. Everything that followed felt elevated because of the extra work put in at the beginning, and the finish, with Matthews whiffing on the cross-body, allowing Day to hit the snow plow, was well-timed and slick as hell.

Matt and Jeff Hardy vs. Jay and Mark Briscoe, OMEGA Chaos in Cameron, 4/26 - Watch It Here! Thanks Matt Hardy!
So yeah, the dream match that I never knew I wanted happened in Cameron, NC between two controversial but exciting legendary tag teams. The Hardy Boyz, thanks to TNA’s loosening restrictions on where its talent can wrestle outside the six sides, made an indie renaissance of sorts, and their OMEGA promotion was under attack from two ornery brothers from Slower Lower. The main event war between the Hardys and Briscoes played to the strengths of both teams. The Hardy Boys played sympathetic heroes who had to come back from a big disadvantage to take out invading raiders, while the Briscoes were allowed to tap into a savage edge that their current Ring of Honor personae don’t necessarily allow anymore.

The big thread the match tugged at was Jeff Hardy getting murked bad on the outside of the ring and having Matt face a handicap match for a good chunk of the middle portion. It could have been a recipe for disaster, but Matt held up his end of the bargain well, even as the Briscoes brought out their best and most brutal heat offense. Also, the state of Jeff’s character allowed him to make two big popping appearances, first as WILLOW THE FUCKIN’ WISP and second as himself making the gutty return from the locker room for the final push towards the finish. Both instances played into Jeff’s strengths, first as a weirdly, possibly drug fueled scion of absurdity (Willow beating the everloving shit out of both Briscoes with an umbrella was weird and awesome at the same time), and second to his inherent, almost genetic capacity to play the gutty underdog.

But all four wrestlers were on point. Mark’s redneck kung-fu fits in nearly any situation, and was a big hit here. Jay was more vicious and tenacious than I’ve seen him in a ring in a while, and Matt came off as oddly likable as the eternal face in peril. It was a chaotic, sometimes schlocky, but ultimately satisfying tag team main event between two supreme teams, and it was capped off by a tremendous finish. Matt countering the Doomsday Device into a victory roll was made by having Mark fly halfway across the ring on the miss. IT was a bang-bang visual that tied the entire match together and made it one of the best tag matches of the year.

Sasha Banks vs. Bayley, NXT Women’s Championship Tournament First Round, NXT, 5/1 (airdate) - Watch Highlights Here!
If I were booking NXT, this match would’ve been my final, not just because they were the two best characters in the tournament, but because I would rather have seen them get an extended stage with the time and pomp. This match, though truncated, had some nice meat to it. Bayley showed off sublime dedication to her character within the ring. She’s able to channel childlike petulance into an actual in-ring style, and it’s brilliant. The hugging motif is the obvious signpost, but the way she clubbed right into Banks’ back with both arms like a toddler who was resisting bedtime. I thought Banks could have been a bit more spry rolling out of the ring after the Belly to Bayley, but she was a good canvas here. I dug her take on the crossface as well.

Bill Carr and Dan Barry vs. Joey Ryan and Candice LeRae, WSU Secret Show #4, 5/9 - Watch It Here!
The write-up for this match was originally posted in my review for WSU Secret Show #4.

The only tag team match of the night opened the show, and two better teams could not have been booked across from each other. Team Tremendous and the Candice and Joey Show are two of the most charismatic and physically gifted tandems in wrestling today, all four bringing something different to the table. Bill Carr imposed his size and HOSSdom on the match. Dan Barry worked well as El Hijo Gringo del Rey Mysterio. Joey Ryan's veteran savvy showed in spades while he was working face in peril, and seeing Candice LeRae, the smallest competitor in the match by far, bring babyface fire hotter than the Sun, especially after the hot tag, was an amazing sight to behold. All four took to the ring seemingly looking to set a strong pace, but also not to take themselves too seriously by any stretch of the imagination. Basically, that formula produced four wrestlers who looked like they were having a great time in the ring all while wrestling the best match they possibly could. In my view, that combination provides the best theater.

The match was rare in that the heat segment, where Ryan took a beating from Team Tremendous, was the standout portion of the match. Thanks to a mix of humor and dazzling highspots from Barry, Ryan getting beaten down didn't feel like a slog or something to endure. Their use of misdirection when they put Ryan in the corner was a huge reason why it stood out. Barry eschewing chops or punches for screaming in Ryan's face "WHERE IS MY SON?" elicited a literal, guttural laugh, and I am always a go for a good double titty-twister. Bonus points for said nipple torture are awarded when the guy delivering the cheap tactic is twice as big as the victim. Something about unnecessary underhandedness pops me.

LeRae capped the match off with her stunning house-on-fire work after tagging in. She commanded the ring better than most people placed in that role in a random tag match, and if the Ballsplex she delivered to Carr - a massive feat both by the giver and taker - was given in front of a crowd at Fete Music, American Legion #308, or the Flyers Skate Zone, the crowd reaction would have blown a hole in the roof. The finish was well-placed and executed as well. Carr did a lot of the little things in this match to make sure both Ryan and LeRae had effective looking offense, and getting around for that casadora victory roll was huge in putting an exclamation point on the match.

Fire Ant, Green Ant, and Worker Ant vs. Missile Assault Ant, Arctic Rescue Ant, and Orbit Adventure Ant, Chikara You Only Live Twice, 5/25
The write-up for this match originally appeared in my review for You Only Live Twice.

To be honest, I didn't expect much out of this match going in. It was nothing against the individual workers, but I thought it would've been marked by the same kind of interference and chicanery that kicked off the Envoy/BDK match and finished the Batiri/Odditorium match. That wasn't to say the match finished clean. However, the shenanigans in this match were embedded within a fantastic trios match, the kind which has become one of the signatures of Chikara over the years.

As with any trios match, the teamwork was all on point. It's easy to point out all the high-flying, complex moves performed, mainly because they were visually spectacular. The Xtreme Force triple-team forced snowboard spot on the back of Worker Ant was topped only by a death-defying Ant Hill Splash to the outside. But each team adopted the traditional Southern tag team roles so well. I was super-impressed by how well the Xtreme Force was able to cut the ring in half and work over Worker Ant, in particular. He may have seemed to have a rough match, but he certainly recovered from his flubs in a way that made them seem like they were part of the script.

But the two most impressive individual performers were Green Ant (typically) and Missile Assault Ant (surprisingly). I figured Green Ant would come out on fire, since he has become one of the best wrestlers on the indies and possibly in the country over the last few years. But Missile Assault Ant was the revelation. He did great crowd work, had all the big spots for his team, and generally drove the action on his squad. And the finish of the match was super well-done, taking advantage of the chaos inherent in a typical Chikara trios match to put a fresh spin on a classic heel trope (removing the turnbuckle pad) while keeping it in the flow of the match. On a show where the return of King of Trios was announced, it's appropriate the best match was a classic six-man (ant?) tag.

Tyler Breeze vs. Sami Zayn, NXT Takeover, 5/29 - Watch Highlights Here!
Sami Zayn established himself as the best big match worker in NXT history. Okay, that statement is more than hyperbolic, but while one match is a fluke, and two is only a trend, the third gigantic match on a main stage is enough for me to make that statement in the short history of the WWE developmental territory. This match was his first big-time encounter against someone other than Cesaro, the then-untested Tyler Breeze. Breeze showed he was money out of the ring, but this was his first real chance to go in an extended bout. I’d say he passed with flying colors, as he went toe to toe with Zayn, blow for blow, bump for bump.

The match will probably be remembered for the big bumps. Zayn going from the top to the apron to the floor on a leg sweep from the top set the tone, but Breeze ended up taking the brunt of two perfectly-placed dives to the outside from Zayn at various points in the match. In fact, my only beef was that Breeze took them both in such proximity to the steel ramp. I didn’t like seeing him bounce his head off the steel. But showing a willingness to bump is a good trait, one that he’s going to need in the future as a showpiece.

But both guys brought their A-games on offense too. I knew Zayn could do the damn thing, but Breeze showed a different side, an evolution of the vicious and tenacious side he’d been developing during his NXT career. He exerted authority, a perfect tool to use upon the canvas Zayn can set with his glassy eyes and spaghetti legs. I also cannot levy enough superlatives on the finish either. At first, I thought Zayn just whiffed via bad placement on a Helluva Kick he was supposed to hit, but when I saw him writhing on the ground, and Breeze get up virtually unscathed, I thought it to be the most brilliant bit of ring placement by two gutty performers. An excellent cap to an outstanding match.

Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.

TAP, NATTIE, TAP Photo Credit: WWE.com

Charlotte vs. Nattie Neidhart, NXT Women’s Championship Tournament final, NXT Takeover, 5/29 - Watch Highlights Here!
The legacies of the Flair and Hart families had to go out and follow what was yet another Sami Zayn instant classic (with a little bit of a buffer), and not only did they meet the expectations, they shot them out of a cannon and perhaps exceeded what Zayn and Tyler Breeze did minutes before. Neidhart shed labels of having regressed in a WWE ring, and Charlotte had her breakout performance in my view in a huge way. They perhaps worked the finest match between wrestlers of their gender since Bull Nakano and Alundra Blayze in the mid-’90s, and made a huge statement that women didn’t have to work like stereotypical diva wrestlers to get raucous crowd support and tell a phenomenal story.

A huge reason for how well the overall match shone was the tone set in the beginning with the grappling. They spent about a third of the match going hold for hold, countering, setting a stiff pace, eliminating any need to go out and throw bombs early. They looked so natural at it too, clearly the most comfortable Neidhart has ever looked in a WWE ring. Charlotte deserves a subtle best for the “ugh, finally” look of disgust Charlotte had on her face after dispatching a Neidhart sleeperhold with a backpack stunner. I’m a huge believer in facial expressions being a huge part in telling the tale, and they can be the difference between selling a conflict and being representative of two people trying to cycle through as many spots as possible in the given time.

What I liked best about the match was that it had progression. The grappling gave way to tempers flaring. That sass escalated into a finishing derby where each competitor was giving their best shots, including taking their ancestors’ finishers. Things did get a bit hairy in the end with the rolling Figure Four out of the ring, but sometimes, hoariness with submissions at the end of a hard-fought match can be forgiven in the context of a superior story. I’m exceedingly glad that Neidhart wasn’t able to lock in the Figure Four in response to Charlotte’s Sharpshooter, and even happier that it led directly into the finish of the match. The Bow Down to the Queen is such an awkward finish to work into any match, but in this instance, it was framed nearly perfectly. It was the exclamation point on a match between two women who wrestled a match that their father and uncle respectively would’ve been lauded for back in the day.

Emma, Bayley, and Paige vs. Charlotte, Sasha Banks, and Summer Rae, NXT, 6/12 (airdate) - Watch Highlights Here!
A trios match with women on RAW will often lead to at least two wrestlers not getting into match action and the contest being over quicker than a Goldberg squash. Granted, Paige was never tagged into this match, but that’s because Emma spent an inordinate time playing the face-in-peril. Still, she brought efficacy to the role, starting with a bump that saw her eat the apron and enduring through the somewhat choppy by design heat by the heels. Their rocky relationship and impending breakup gave their offense a unique dynamic. Still, Charlotte’s leg-scissors segment was super-impressive to watch, especially as she flipped Emma over by the legs. The leverage involved on both wrestlers was impressive. Bayley’s house-on-fire after tagging in scorched the earth as well.

Tomorrow, the countdown ventures hard into Texas.

Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.

The former WWE Women's Champion dishes to JR Photo Credit: WWE.com

If you're new, here's the rundown: I listen to a handful of wrestling podcasts each week. Too many, probably, though certainly not all of them. In the interest of saving you time — in case you have the restraint to skip certain episodes — the plan is to give the bare bones of a given show and let you decide if it’s worth investing the time to hear the whole thing. There are better wrestling podcasts out there, of course, but these are the ones in my regular rotation that I feel best fit the category of hit or miss. If I can save other folks some time, I'm happy to do so.

Show: The Ross Report
Episode: 56
Run Time: 2:02:27
Guest: Melina Perez (32:06)

Summary: Jim Ross’ guest this week is former WWE Diva Melina. She explains how she’s currently a full-time college student, tells Ross how she ended up leaving WWE and remembers her childhood wrestling heroes. They talk about the past and present state of Ohio Valley Wrestling and rave about Kharma. The topic shifts eventually to romance among wrestlers before moving to Perez’s experience on Tough Enough and the evolution of MNM. Ross asks about Perez’s WWE memories and explains Total Divas and Lucha Underground to her. To wrap up, Perez laments about unfounded rumors, relationship difficulties wrestlers experience and addresses career regrets. She also promotes her podcast, which has nothing to do with wrestling.

Quote of the week: Perez, on negative comments about current WWE women: “It takes a lot of heart, and you sacrifice a lot, whether you’re female or male, you give up a lot to be a wrestler. And because (critics) have this certain perception doesn’t mean it’s true. And these women, I’m more than sure that they do have a lot of gratitude for what they’re being given. And it’s difficult to be in front of the public and have people assume certain things about you, whether it’s true or not. It’s very difficult to do that. I’d like to see how strong other people would be if that was their life. These women should be appreciated themselves, and I hope for the best for them. Nothing but the best for them.”

Why you should listen: Perez represents a different kind of guest for Ross. He’s interviewed women before, but those guests had either a much higher profile or a much longer wrestling career. Most fans tend to feel more connected to wrestlers who have lifelong fan backgrounds, and hearing Perez wax nostalgic about Sherri Martel and her favorite tag teams helps provide context for her stated appreciation of her career opportunities. Further, she has good insight on the challenges of being a high-profile wrestler in the age of social media.

Why you should skip it: Ross hasn’t done his research on Perez, who herself isn’t ready to discuss anything from the current wrestling scene. Perez identifies as the quiet, retiring type, and that doesn’t blend well with Ross’ domineering personality, to the point that at some parts of the interview you get the sense Ross has either lapsed into monologue mode or is simply lecturing his guest on history and his business approach. Further, if you come looking for any extra context on Ross’ recent controversial blog post regarding Bill DeMott, you will leave empty-eared. Look for that in next week’s monologue and, in the event he recorded it recently, the interview with Jim Cornette.

Final thoughts: I almost always listen to Ross’s show at double speed. I heard part of this one in real time, however, and it was beyond unbearable. I honestly can’t imagine anyone wanting to spend two hours listening to the entire thing, and even if you skip the monologue (which you most certainly should), Perez is simply not engaging enough to hold anyone’s interest for that long, at least not as interviewed by Ross. She seems like a very nice person and this gives me a newfound appreciation for her career (most of which I missed as it happened), but that was accomplished in the first 15 minutes.

What comes to mind for you when you think of Ohio?

Some will think of championship college football given the past events of the year, and some others will note it as the home of the professional football Hall of Fame. But soon, it will be known for two things: the place where NXT first went on the road as a possible testing pad to becoming a viable touring entity, and the probable resting place of Alex Riley after Kevin Owens MDKs him in some form or other (more on which later).

So it might be worth knowing for trivia purposes that the final main event before the excursion and the airing of the tapings that went down at the Arnold Invitational featured Tyler Breeze evening up his unnamed series against Hideo Itami. While the finish may've been an increasingly signature Beauty Shot OUTTA NOWHERE (™ Full Sail), it did come cleanly in the middle of the ring and kept Breeze as being looked at as a steppingstone for one of the leaders of the new school to be walked on on his way to joining his friend Finn Bálor in the rarefied air of title contention and eventual championship-holding.

Whether or not you found the second verse as gratifying as the first that they did to open Rival is a matter of personal taste, but say this at least for the rematch--they learned from the last time. From the beginning where Breeze replaced his stalling about staying in the ring with Itami with following it up by powering him into the corner and shoulderblocking away at the smaller man to the middle where the King of Cuteville turned the defense of rolling to the apron into the offense of hangmanning Itami to the quasi-surprise ending, no matter what he threw at him from kicks to flying lariats, outside of avoiding the ringpost figure four he fell victim to last month it always seemed like Breeze was a step ahead of Itami the whole time and thus completely justified the clean victory. Hell, less maybe a short-term choke or two, Breeze's game plan was as spotless as his outfits seem to be and completely justified his saying he wasn't just a pretty face in the back pre-match.

Of course, about equal time was given to Alex Riley's in-ring return and the unspoken (until airing) promise that given the past couple of weeks that things would get ugly between he and the NXT Champion. Both men got video packages back to back early in the show, but only one was seething backstage ranting loudly about how he felt locked up for 730 days watching everyone else around him eat and making his family the ring and the crowd instead of the actual brood Owens keeps. The message was rage, and if you didn't pick up on that beforehand the new graphics of red, orange, fire, and the four-letter R-word shrouded the former Miz assistant's return against CJ Parker. While Parker threatened to level him with the same rising palm strike that snapped Kevin's nose in his debut, it failed to pass, and Riley polished him off with a nice-looking Blockbuster in a short affair. It almost immediately brought out Owens himself for an even briefer rebuttal, calling Riley the dumbest man in NXT for not just his choice in body art but in laying down the headset to redon the tights. Owens said he would end Riley's in-ring career, then the rise of Bálor, and to trust him on both. This isn't necessarily to say that Owens can make good on these threats, but considering his 100% success rate in delivering on past verbal promises when the camera cut to Riley shedding tears in the ring after KO had shook his head and walked to the back with a laugh on his lips a viewer had to consider the fact that maybe he wasn't doing so because of his career resuming but because he knew deep down that it was another match -- pfft, maybe one apron powerbomb -- away from ending again.

The rest of the show's matches featured the Bridge and Tunnel Triad having various degrees of success. (And isn't it strange that given how enmeshed Enzo Amore and Big Cass have become in Florida, with Carmella coming along upside in the past few months, that they're still their names and there hasn't been some cute name bestowed upon the group?) First, the boys took another step closer in their quest to unbelt the Dubstep Cowboys by overcoming the former champion Lucha Dragons in the opening bout of the night. To their credit, it was the best Amore and Cass may have looked so far as in-ring work goes; hilariously enough, the same stuff they were doing since day one (Amore gets killed and Cass saves him at every turn possible) as black hats worked here as good guys in a rare tecnico on tecnico tag. Without Carmella ringside with them, Amore was more match focused as noted by the announcers, even if he went from a quick rollup to start and hitting his schmoney dance to getting taken down and taken apart by the champs in short order. Of course, having Cass in your corner has a sort of unspeakable X factor to it not in any standard curriculum, and he was the MVP of maybe the evening by alley-ooping Amore into tandem offense, saving him from taking a tandem tope, and then paying off biggest at the match's end by saving Enzo from taking a tandem finisher by sending Sin Cara into the ropes to crotch Kalisto and then literally pulling him to their corner before tagging in legally, laying Kalisto out, and then Rocket Launching Amore into the winning splash. Their time will undoubtedly come against Blake and Murphy, but it'll be interesting to see if the match highlights the power play the challengers will be on, especially given the fact that saving a partner from a Dragons tope doble drew chivalry chants from the Full Sailors.

As for their erstwhile valet, while she was pretty dominant against the returning Alexa Bliss, Ohio is the home state of the NXT pixie and she managed to eke out a win with her moonsault double kneedrop and a turning top-rope moonsault after getting whaled on for at least 90% of the match. While Bliss needs to round into shape, she still didn't noticeably flub anything. It was more along the lines of being a step off in a couple of places and not hitting every mark clean as a result despite still being able to pull off offense. Like her brethren, it was probably the best match from an in-ring standpoint that the self-proclaimed hottest chick in the ring's pulled off in her NXT tenure, and her willingness to sporadically cheat against the unbooable Bliss only added to the bout. Even if she is nothing more than grist for the Boss' mill, both she and Carmella showed that they deserved their spots in the deep waters that're the NXT diva power rankings with only better to come in future days.

And if those future days include more time on the highways and biways than they've had to do so far, come next week it's going to be the beginning of those times.

Or, if you're A-Ry, possibly their end.

Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.

HOSS FIIIIIIGHT Photo Credit: WWE.com

The penultimate installment of the match countdown takes us all the way through the summer months.

Sheamus vs. Cesaro, Smackdown, 6/13 (airdate) - Watch Highlights Here!
A hoss fight is one of the most misunderstood things in wrestling. Folks seem to think hoss fights consist of meaty dudes slugging each other, but what happens to the other guy taking the shots is just as important. Cesaro and Sheamus get that you have to make the guy hitting you seem like a jackhammer breaking up thin concrete too. The recoil is just as important. The props around the hits you take need to be larger than life. You can’t just go on through the match like nothing fazed you. The art of the hoss fight involves Sheamus taking the heel trip from the apron to the floor, and Cesaro toppling off the top rope like debris from a stadium implosion. It involves Sheamus punch drunk on his knees begging for Cesaro to punch him, or fear welling up in Cesaro’s eyes before he took the chest clubs in the rope. They not only dealt the pain, they absorbed it and showed the effects.

So it was only appropriate that the match end with a flash pin. Then again, Cesaro gaining the pinfall with an inside cradle was both a callback to their match at Payback which ended with Sheamus getting the flash victory and a stroke of building his villainous character building off ragging Sheamus for said victory. The sequence leading into the cradle was so well-laid and had such dexterity. Cesaro going from the over the shoulder body slam position into the cradle was a thing of beauty. Who knew the big loads could show that kind of grace? Well, anyone who was paying attention to WWE for the last few years would know about these two.

Chase Owens (c) vs. Fred Yehi, NWA Jr. Heavyweight Championship Match, SFCW Anniversary Show, 6/14 - Watch It Here!
When I first caught wind of Fred Yehi a couple of years ago, I marvelled at how well he was able to work a straight-up technical match where he eschewed alignment or was even able to work as a scrappy underdog babyface in some cases. But his best work was still in his back pocket, as balls-out, classic chickenshit, cheat-at-every-turn Fred Yehi has turned out to be an utter delight. Because viewing his work is so sparse on my behalf, I’m not sure when he uncorked this delicious character turn, but he was in full display at the Southern Fried Championship anniversary show in a big, headline-worthy shot at Chase Owens’ NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship.

Everything Yehi did in this match was perfect, from stalling to an eight count at the beginning of the match all the way through ruthlessly slamming Owens’ arm to the mat while working it. It’s not just in his moves either, although his sliding eye poke may be the greatest move in professional wrestling history after the infamous space flying tiger back rake done by the Young Bucks and completing an arm-wringer by biting Owens’ hand was a touch of sadistic genius.. It’s in his body language, his jittery motion, how he never ever stops moving, whether it’s to preen to the crowd after hitting Owens with a big move or to inflict extra damage to him while he’s down, whether legal or not. His facial expressions were on point too, selling both his cocksurety as well as the absolute disarming terror in his eyes when Owens went to make his big comeback. He was electric and dynamic, a charismatic villain for even the most vanilla hero to take down and claim plaudits.

But Owens wasn’t some typical pretty white dude with no charm sent out on virtue of look. This guy had some real fire behind his fists, pep in his step, and he hit all the notes that Yehi set up for him. He’s not just agile and athletic, but he knew how to implement it in this contest to keep the crowd buzzing and the story moving along to its cathartic end. This match was about as classic an old-school, Southern wrestling bout could be in terms of mood and narrative arc. It had big personalities, none bigger than Yehi’s, and a finish that hit a satisfying crescendo, one that was appropriate for the action that set it up. In fact, it may have been the best match I’ve seen in the indies all year long.

Matthew Palmer vs. Ray Rowe, Inspire Pro Clash at the Bash, 6/15
This write-up originally appeared in my review for Clash at the Bash.

Wrestling is built on a contrast of styles. While HOSS FIGHTS or cruiserweight flip-fests can be prime theater, putting two guys from different backgrounds, different styles, or even different statures in the ring against each other can open more doors and bring out things in each wrestler that are not thought possible, or at least unlikely. But rare is the match where both wrestlers are just dialed into their roles so much that the result ends up as archetypical. Palmer and Rowe brought radically different styles to the ring, and yet they fit them together like interlocking pieces in the same jigsaw puzzle.

Palmer's attack was two-pronged, going for leverage-based takedowns and a little bit of high-flying dynamics that he has come to be known for, although given his alignment in Inspire, I understand why he relied more on the mat and his seconds outside the ring helping gain advantages. Nothing pops a crowd more than flippy shit, and Palmer needed to put Rowe over. Not that Rowe needed that much help anyway. He brought stiff intensity that reminded me of the mid-'90s All-Japan heavyweight scene. Given that Vader is one of the finest potato-vendors in history, comparing Rowe to the Mastodon is a supreme compliment.

With a sturdy base in place, the two were able to build spectacular-looking spots towards a taut, tense finish. The beats were both subtle and over the top in some spots. Examples of the former include Rowe pulling off a delay vertical suplex that he finished by stepping on the bottom turnbuckle for extra oomph. The latter saw Palmer wrangling Rowe in the ropes with a dragon sleeper, with a sadistic grin on his face that not only sold Rowe being in distress but set a tone for what Palmer was to bring to the table. Even though he didn't win, the Centerfold came out of the match looking like a worthy contender down the line for Rowe should he take home the Inspire Pro Championship.

Jimmy and Jey Uso (c) vs. Erick Rowan and Luke Harper, WWE Tag Team Championship Match, Money in the Bank, 6/29
This write-up originally appeared in my review for Money in the Bank.

Two of the best tag teams working today were tasked with opening the Money in the Bank pay-per-view, and they may have stolen the show away from the rest of the packed slate that would follow them. When one competitor can improve a match just by widening his eyes, and the two brothers across the ring from him do very little to disprove theories that twins are psychically linked, then the odds for a good match are extremely good. Both teams had their working boots on and thus gave those following a tough act to follow, even when the later competitors would have the advantages of ladders in their favor.

The heat segment that Jey Uso underwent pretty much turned out to be the Luke Harper show. His crazy eyes and zombie walk are the best things going in wrestling. He has a perfect understanding of how to meld character and work ability in the ring, and that talent is going to take him far in WWE. He did big and little things well. Cutting off a tag and knocking the other guy off the apron is basic tag team stuff, but when you're running at big rig speeds to decapitate Jimmy Uso on the other side of the ring to prevent the hot tag, well, you're on another plane. Kudos to the Uso for taking that bump off the apron as well. Erick Rowan did a lot of things well in this match as well. Even though his endgame was missing the move, his form going from the mat up to doing that twirling leg drop was beautiful stuff, and by the time he was ready to accept the Usos cutting him off, I was ready to see him fly off the top.

But the Usos were more than willing to hold up their ends of the bargain. To call them the Samoan Young Bucks would be a disservice to both teams, but their uncanny knack of leg placement on their superkicks is second only to the Kings of Reseda. The one spot where Rowan scooped up Jey on the outside only for Jimmy to hit him with the superman plancha was beautifully timed and one of the few dives that I recall hitting the mark. Their synergy on the finishing sequence was amazing as well. The Usos winning in this case felt so unfinished, even with the decisive pinfall. However, if one feud could continue into the future indefinitely, I wouldn't mind it being this one.

Jimmy and Jey Uso and Sheamus vs. Bray Wyatt, Erick Rowan, and Luke Harper, RAW, 6/30 - Watch Highlights Here!
For being tall and hossy, Sheamus’ face-in-peril game is on point, and against a team of three angry, burly rednecks, his talents of taking an ass-whipping were of utmost importance. Mostly, the sequence where Harper and Rowan were giving him the business on the outside was tight and crisp. He dishes out the punishment, but taking it seems to be his forte, but he even got in on the high-spot slinging. He went from the top to the floor on a battering ram. He basically did it all in this match, but his opponents and partners held up their ends. The Usos are among the best teams at post-hot-tag offense, and they were on display after Sheamus tagged out. To finish, Harper didn’t hit his best clothesline, but it speaks to his ability as a wrestler that even if he just skims the top of the head, it still looks vicious.

Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.

Miz told Sheamus not to hit him in the face Photo Credit: WWE.com

Sheamus vs. The Miz, Main Event, 7/15 - Watch Highlights Here!
This match started out slow, but once Miz was able establish his personal match strategy of going “NOT IN THE FACE! NOT IN THE FACE!” it picked up huge. He was able to commit to blocking his face and avoiding shots to the “moneymaker” all match, and he didn’t look awkward or forced doing it. He’s always been a good wrestler, but this match saw him embrace instincts and really arrive as a worker. Sheamus was an ideal opponent for him because he both is a bruiser on offense and is willing to take the heat selling for Miz. He went hard in this match, taking a big toss into the barricade. But the finish was sublime. Miz’s fear of getting wrecked in the face turned into his downfall as he ducked away from a Brogue Kick, and while Sheamus’ rollup was telegraphed as soon as Miz ducked away, his form tight and deep.

Jimmy and Jey Uso (c) vs. Erick Rowan and Luke Harper, WWE Tag Team Championship Best Two-out-of-Three Falls Match, Battleground, 7/20
This write-up originally appeared in my review for Battleground.

On paper, the Tag Title match between the Usos and Wyatts looked to be the strongest match in terms of in-ring action. Predictably, as the two teams have done several times in the last few months, they tore the house down in the opening match of the pay-per-view proper, and no one was able to pick up their slack at least during a regular match. While the layout of the match rendered the two-out-of-three falls stipulation superfluous, the third fall more than made up for the early shortcomings and provided yet another notch in the cases of both teams as part of the factional elite in the US today.

The first two falls went by almost as quickly as the two pre-show matches did, rendering the actual three-fall layout of the match useless. I blame that more on the agents than anything, but still, a multiple fall match is built to be a marathon. Still, the two teams began to build a strong narrative through the match by establishing a tone of dominance by the challengers with the only hope the Champs had being a flash pinfall in the second stanza. WWE likes to build matches by saying the babyfaces are against the odds and need to overcome great adversity in order to triumph against swelling evil. However, all the talk usually ends up ringing hollow. The Usos here were able to show that they were true underdogs in this scenario, working underneath two towering hosses with a penchant for crazy looks. It also cannot be understated how the opening of the match played into that build, with Jey knocking Rowan's mask clean off his face with a SLAP that would have made Rick James proud.

The third match, however, was a masterclass in how modern tag team wrestling should be performed. The Usos continued to work underneath and build to a crescendo that allowed their climactic comeback to resonate with the crowd in more than just a token "yay good guys" fashion. The crazy high spots felt like they belonged in the match flow instead of being shoehorned into the fray for inserting them's sake. The fact that Luke Harper is as adept at throwing planchas as the Uso brother are is incredible and worth noting. The way the Superfly Splash has been built up as an untouchable finish made Rowan kicking out of it all the more eye-popping, and it set up for the double splash finish. Of course, the match wasn't perfect - Rowan's attempt at a frogsplash looked Tamina Snuka-levels of awkward - but it would have been among the best matches on every WWE special event this year. Outstanding work from two excellent teams.

Cesaro vs. Dean Ambrose, No Disqualification, Smackdown, 7/25 (airdate) - Watch Highlights Here!
Ambrose and Cesaro took what they started the previous Monday and built upon it in exquisite escalation. They were given a stipulation and more than explored the studio space. They owned it, throwing their bodies into any blunt or stationary object as an expression of utter violence. It was fitting, almost the product of foreshadowing even. WWE dot com ran a feature about Ambrose’s past in death matches that same week, and to cap the frame off, he went out and hearkened back to his roots in Combat Zone Wrestling. But in place of the blood and gore, Ambrose, and his opponent Cesaro, delivered with psychology and sheer impact.

Ambrose broke the seal on the extremity with his patented quirkiness, pulling items from under the ring like he was shopping at a rummage sale. His energy drove his offense and punctuated his defense and countering. Him ducking a kendo stick shot outside against the ringpost in wily fashion added as much to the match as any offensive move or any bump he took. Hell, even the little things added so much to the story. The little flourishes on his moves, the nervous, busy spasms when he’s back in the ropes before the jawbreaker lariat, even the positioning on his Russian leg sweep is sublime. And Cesaro played his role as the behemoth, the towering pillar of granite. His presence and his disposition both impose such shadow even in regular matches. When weapons are involved though? Watching Cesaro sit leisurely on a steel chair while exerting a perfect, closed-window camel clutch is a sight to behold. And the only thing that could have added even more visual primacy to his Brian Cage ring-in superplex would be doing it on a pile of chairs.

WWE brawls are a treat when placed in the hands of masters, and when weapons are introduced into the fray, the action usually gets elevated. However, it has been awhile since the action with the weapons seemed so violent. Even my favorite match from last year, the Daniel Bryan/Randy Orton hardcore main event from June, was enhanced because their use of the plunder was smart. Ambrose and Cesaro put their goddamn bodies on the line in a sublime display of brutality, that not even patented wasted WWE interference and an inside cradle finish could put a damper on the contest on the whole. This match may have been the best WWE presented on free TV all year.

Drew Gulak vs. Timothy Thatcher, EVOLVE 31, 8/8
When professional wrestling looks real without looking like mixed-martial arts, it takes on an almost sublime quality. Any style can produce the lifelike qualities that transform the choreographed ritual between the bells from a dance into a fight so tense and stiff that it almost looks real, but the one that is closest to replicating such a quality with the greatest regularity is the mat-heavy, grappling-and-countergrappling based, English-influenced style worked by scions of the World of Sport. Few wrestlers work the style the States, and even fewer are masters at it, but when two, unquestioned mat generals are pitted against each other and given time to flesh out an entire narrative, the results are gorgeous. Even the roughest, most turbulent exchange of grapples, counters, and submissions are beautiful in the hands of masters, and Thatcher and Gulak are probably ranked 1 and 1a when it comes to people working in America right now.

Right from the start, when Thatcher started out grinding Gulak’s wrist against his humerus and Gulak throwing the reverse into his own lock, the match’s tone took that rough and tumble, technical feel that only two evenly-matched wrestlers could convey. Neither man had an advantage over the other, so no hold was locked in fully or cleanly. No move was free from the dangers of being countered. Neither wrestler stopped squirming or reaching for a way to get out of the hold or tighten their moves up because they set the atmosphere right from the start. Very few strikes were thrown. The wrestling “moves” like Thatcher’s play on the Three Amigos or Gulak’s spike Memphis piledriver, were few, far between, and used for emphasis in misdirecting an advantage either way so that the next counter could have more emotional impact.

But while the World of Sport style may conjure images of Johnny Saint and Johnny Kidd politely exchanging holds and going off bouts of whimsy, Thatcher especially was able to drive a super-competitiveness that created room for stiffness and brutality. He didn’t let anyone think he was in a gentlemanly contest with Gulak, and even if he had to savagely bend back Gulak’s finger to make the point. Gulak spent a good part of the match having to sell his arm and put out the vibe that he was in danger, but his counterwrestling during times when he could get the upperhand made the finish believable, even when Thatcher was at his most overbearing. Of course, slipping out of a gutwrench into the ankle lock was a visually stunning display of counterwrestling itself, but no one ever said Gulak lacked panache, did they?

Bayley vs. Sasha Banks, NXT, 8/14 (airdate) - Watch Highlights Here!
Bayley and Sasha Banks prove every time they go out, whether against each other or someone else that they’re WWE superstars, regardless of demographic, and when they got the chance to go two segments with plenty of time to tell a story with gravity, they knocked it out of the fucking park. The contest was smartly worked, stiff, hit all the beats, and had a tight finish that legitimately felt like it came “out of nowhere.” If the match wasn’t going to end on the Belly-to-Bayley, a move that served as the canvas for most of the storytelling in the match, then having it end on a counter to the Boss Lock was the next best option. The finish put both competitors over strong, and it was yet another piece of evidence towards the case that the women ruled the roost in NXT in 2014.

Dean Ambrose vs. Cesaro, Smackdown, 8/15 (airdate) - Watch Highlights Here!
WWE has a bad habit of putting the same two guys in a match over and over again and having the same guy win in that series, but when the two competitors have such a chemistry together, the repetition doesn’t matter. Cesaro and Ambrose once again were tasked with wrestling each other, and they pulled out a unique match where for a moment, I forgot WWE’s milquetoast booking habits and thought maybe, just maybe, the Swiss Superman could win. While I would have plotted Cesaro ducking the Nigel and answering with a LARIATO of his own after Ambrose actually hit his version of the clothesline, that counter spot was visually stunning, and yet it still was the third best spot in the match. Earlier in the match, Cesaro grabbed Ambrose after he took the shoulder-first Ziggler bump into the corner and suplexed him to the outside, and then he went from the top rope to the floor in a big tumble that preceded an Ambrose plancha to the floor. The finish showed how well Ambrose has a grasp of the moment, fluidly going from a counter sequence into Dirty Deeds. The result was written in the stars, but it still felt shocking and fresh.

Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose, Falls Count Anywhere, RAW, 8/18 - Watch Highlights Here!
One of my biggest pet peeves is when a Falls Count Anywhere match rarely goes out of the ring, but for these two wrestlers, I make an exception. Anything they touch turns to gold, and one night after turning in the best match on a strong major pay-per-view, they went back out and escalated their feud into violent overdrive. The best aspect was that they hearkened back to both ECW and CZW roots without making the violence seem cheap and excessive, yet the finish of the match felt almost cartoonish in scope. Yet, for the purpose it served, Ambrose getting his head slammed into a pile of gimmicked cinder blocks worked on such a gaudy, pro wrestling level. Of course, you don’t earn that kind of finish without earning it.

The match started with the same kind of garden variety brawling that WWE matches have grown accustomed to fostering. Ambrose in his time in the company has become one of the best chasing and wailing, and Rollins is never afraid to bump nor is he too proud to beg off and sell his injuries. The brawling led to the token nearfall outside of the ring, a beautifully staged suplex tease sequence that ended with Charles Robinson of all people nearly submarining the whole thing by his reluctance to pound the floor on something other than canvas. Still, despite the ref’s reluctance to go all-in, the visual worked.

But for a Falls Count Anywhere match to be better when the action was centered mostly in the ring is an anomaly. Then again, nothing about Rollins or especially Ambrose screams conventional. They traded bombs throughout the match. Ambrose paid tribute to the ECW stars of the past by tossing chairs into the ring first and then hitting Rollins with a White Russian leg sweep. Rollins went with two finisher-grade spots that I initially was against using as transitions - a super bomb into the aforementioned chair pile and then a superplex through a table - but later talked myself into after seeing what kind of adrenaline Ambrose was able to run on. Even Kane’s involvement worked in the context of the story. The journey they took to get to mashing Ambrose into a pile of cinder was amazing and worthy of the kind of endgame for which they were aiming.

Fred Yehi vs. Jonathan Gresham, WWA4 School Free Match, 8/28 - Watch It Here!
The WWA4 school in Atlanta has produced some of the most exciting wrestlers including Jon Gresham, but like other wrestling schools around the country, it produces its own wrestling product from time to time. When Fred Yehi came through the doors for the first time, the people running the joint had to put him against one of its best graduates and continuing trainees in Gresham. The two had a long contest that was intense, athletic, and whimsical at times. These two wrestlers were best suited to go up against each other and keep an even, competitive bout up to the very end.

They set the mood early with a scrappy and tight test of strength sequence that saw Yehi beckoning the ref to “ASK HIM!” if he wanted to give the match up, and the whimsy and lightheartedness kept coming along intertwined between intense submission segments, stiff exchanges, and athletic maneuvering. They took the cake with a spot in the beginning that could be polarizing for how it played out but that I thought was amusing in its purility. Yehi entangled Gresham in a wristlock, but rather than guile his way out with a regular counter, Gresham pointed to the ceiling and told Yehi to look up, which he did, allowing Gresham to escape out of it. The spot was such a dumb, Dad-joke callback, but sticking it right in the middle of a modern, high-speed indie match was the height of endearment.

But while no fat birds were to be found in this match, it was still the kind of hard-hitting, big-time feeling match one should come to expect from Gresham and especially Yehi. It’s one thing to go hard to the mat with intensity, but when you can do it with panache, flourish, or even levity, it’s elevated. It becomes further and further ingrained into the genetic code of pro wrestling, one that never has taken itself too seriously. I’m not saying the straightforward grappling is bad, per se, mainly because I dig the hell out of Timothy Thatcher and his ilk. But if wrestling can be fun, it should be fun. Fred Yehi makes wrestling fun.

Steve O'Reno and Bradley Axel Dawson vs. Zac and DG Taylor, Inspire Pro Relentless, 8/31
Even though the Hollywood Knives were nominally a tag team, their conceit was basically a vehicle to get Reno over as a world-beating singles guy wrestling in handicap matches. This fourth and ultimately final match in their run saw Reno wrestle perhaps the archetypical handicap match. The Orphans wrestled with cohesion and technique that belied their scruffy appearance and “latch key” gimmick, and they kept the heat on Reno throughout the match. Reno kept scrapping with his underdog fire, working the eternal face in peril and getting in some good shots of his own, both individually and on both Taylor boys. The match had a brilliant finish with Dawson coming to just in time to enter illegally and distract the ref while Sky de Lacrimosa’s interference at the end put Reno away for good.

Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.

Mr. B and Scotty Santiago went all over the place at Relentless Photo Credit: Kelly Kyle

Mr. B vs. Scotty Santiago, Street Fight, Inspire Pro Relentless, 8/31
This write-up originally appeared in my review for Relentless.

Few things get my attention than a crazy, intense street fight that matriculates throughout the arena and incorporates its surroundings in both ridiculous and sublime ways. Mr. B and Santiago were given the task to beat the crap out of each other with whatever was nearby, whether it was in a fixed position or just laying around on the ground. Hell, Mr. B at one point used an empty Olde English tallboy can as a weapon, which gets nothing but respect from me.

The action started in the ring and quickly escalated with both weaponry and scenery changes. They brawled all the way to the foyer and teased even going outside, but at each stop, they did their best to wallop each other either with whatever was available or into whatever was available. One thing was clear above the fracas, that Santiago was both the more athletic and sadistic competitor. Santiago crotched B on the brass railing and slid him down. He threw B into the wall and then tossed him into the ladies' bathroom, which caused two patrons to assail him and toss his involuntarily intruding ass out. Then when they got back to the ring, B whipped Santiago into the steps, but he leaped over them and then rebounded by using the steps as a launching pad onto his would-be assailant.

B wasn't at want for brutality, but he couldn't really match the wits that Santiago had, which is why I thought bringing out Shane Taylor for the fuck-finish didn't feel deflating. After all, if politics are working against you, why not use them back? The match was brutal brilliance, and the end advanced a story that will guarantee some more brawls in the future between the two, plus, holy shit Taylor really hossed it up. On a show with at least two or three other matches that could rate in year-end polls, this visceral, trashy brawl stole the show.

Barbi Hayden (c) vs. Athena, NWA Women’s Championship, Inspire Pro Relentless, 8/31
Hayden’s residency defending the NWA title at Inspire Pro has been one of the best things about 2014, and her match with Athena was no exception. While they’ve faced off against each other in different capacities before around Texas, this match had a unique feel to it, one signature to the Marchesa Theater. Athena is a solid bet for a great match wherever she goes as well, and predictably, their match here was one of the best, even on this loaded show where everything seemed to pop off the page.

It was superficially a contest of contrasts. Hayden uses her thick frame to lay down some punishment, an old-school roughneck style that flies in the face of her glamor model appearance. She even shows that meanstreak when showing her technical side, segueing from a dragon sleeper into raining forearms and elbows down on Athena’s prone face and chest. Her heel game isn’t exactly subtle, but it’s also not based in outrageous cheating or overt punishment either. It’s all in the faux beauty queen waves, biting to escape the modified STF, and holding open ropes for an opponent who tumbled to the outside. Athena’s swag was the perfect counterbalance to this, because she would find ways to throw it back in Hayden’s face

The two wrestler personalities created symmetry that punctuated the match. The aforementioned rope hold led to Athena opening the ropes for Hayden, only instead of letting her back into the ring, she opened them to allow Hayden to crash to the outside. It would be a more overt example of symmetry that would close the encounter. Athena hit the O-Face and got a seeming win on Hayden, except the Champ got her foot under the ropes for the break. But Athena’s rope break would be missed after Hayden drilled her with her signature stump DDT, which hopefully will set up another rematch in the future.

Adrian Neville (c) vs. Sami Zayn vs. Tyler Breeze vs. Tyson Kidd, NXT Championship Match, Takeover Fatal Four Way, 9/11 - Watch Highlights Here!
From the start, when they wrecked each other on the ramp, the four wrestlers in this match showed that they were going to go above and beyond the normal WWE color palette for fatal four way matches. The forced layabouts on the outside by two of the wrestlers didn’t seem so forced, and even those spots were few, far between, and well-covered for, especially by Kidd. They built organically on the story threads, had great pop on their surprise shots, and the big spots blew off the screen in ways that helped spark anew the flame of looking forward to in-ring action under a WWE banner.

I admit not to buying the hype on Kidd in 2014, but he was lights out in this match. His half of the interplay with Zayn during the first big heat segment was as intense as it needed to be for Zayn to break out his signature spaghetti legs and expressive oversell. Him keeping Neville at bay is what made the segment work. Breeze cleaning house towards the end of this first act was hot fire as well, and he proved he could hang with the three nerd darlings. Zayn was the most dynamic performer of the four, but that’s not an upset at all. He turned his normal big match jets up to full blast, even at one point imitating Stone Cold while stomping a mudhole in Kidd and then walking it dry. His execution on the SUPER TOWER OF DOOM turned that spot from an annoying contrivance to an amazing visual of struggle and overcoming odds.

But Neville’s craftiness tied the story together. Pulling the referee out of the ring was the piece de resistance, but his devious heel foreshadowing was there first by cutting of Zayn’s suicide dive attempt at the pass with a springboard moonsault and then grabbing Breeze’s arm before he could tap out to the sharpshooter. His main events in the first two Network specials lacked a special something, but in this match, he showed that maybe it wasn’t what he was doing, but what he wasn’t doing that was holding his in-ring game from being complete.

Biff Busick vs. Zack Sabre, Jr., EVOLVE 35, 9/14
Watch one match between two heavy, amateur-influenced “shoot” grapplers, and you may not be able to tell the difference between the two or discern any kind of gimmickry within the mostly straightforward-seeming conceit. Watch a bunch of them, and you can get pretty good at telling the differences between the workers and appreciating the characters they build around the idea of having an entire world built around what some might derisively call “wrestling for the sake of wrestling.” And once that subtlety is calibrated into one’s viewing habits, then the super-grappling style becomes even more gratifying than the stereotypical ideal that all in-ring dorks care about is dudes rolling around in some watered-down version of the UWFi and that character is not important.

Case in point, Biff Busick vs. Zack Sabre, Jr. at EVOLVE 35 on the surface featured a lot of trading holds, counters, that sort of thing that one might be used to if that person watched a lot of Timothy Thatcher, Drew Gulak, Chris Hero, Silver Ant, or Busick during the year. But the story that was told was elemental. Sabre stood in one corner as the unfuckwithable English hero, so good at what he was doing with an ego so huge that he couldn’t help but let everyone know, especially his opponent. Busick, contarily, was the guy who’d probably be working a dock somewhere in Boston if not for wrestling with the temper to back it up. If you went up and told him that you were better than he was, he might not slap you across the face as much as choke you out and dump you on your ass in the middle of the sidewalk. Those two elements being placed together in a ring led to a story of a matchup as volatile as tossing metallic sodium into the middle of a pond.

The match was as tight and rough as most of the best grappling style matches were all year, but the facial expressions told so much of the real story, that it was a game of cat and mouse between the visiting Sabre and the home-turf-defending Busick. Sabre walked confidently and reversed holds with even more swagger. And with each time he got one-upped, Busick popped up with an uglier and uglier scowl on his face. But the cat would get his prey at the end with Busick snagging Sabre in a side crossface headlock that would seal up maneuvering into a leg grapevine for the big tapout victory. Sabre’s dickish nature made the decision all the more satisfying as well, proving that if you know what to watch for, the faux-shoot style can be just as colorful as a gimmick-heavy spot fest.

Adrian Neville and Sami Zayn vs. Titus O’Neil and Tyson Kidd, NXT, 9/18 (airdate) - Watch Highlights Here!
I dreaded the replacement of Tyler Breeze with Titus O’Neil from Takeover in this tag match, but Mr. Make It a Win added a needed presence that added to the match’s story. The first half was absolutely made by Zayn and Neville playing “Can you top this?” Their interactions were seamless, and the payoff with Zayn interrupting Neville’s dive with a suicide moonsault of his own was aesthetically beautiful. The match changed gears abruptly and both heels took over with their grinding assault on Zayn, who Ricky Morton’d like a boss. Not to be overlooked was Kidd taking some major bumps in hope spots for Zayn. If impact of counters and move misses were to dictate a tidal shift, then Kidd going ass first on the apron and taking another big bump in the ring would have indicated Zayn was a lock to make his tag, only for O’Neil to squelch it. The finish made sense in context of the story too. All in all, a fine performance from all four competitors.

Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.

Scene from the best comedy match of the year Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein

Davey Vega, Evan Gelistico, Gary the Barn Owl, and Pierre Abernathy vs. Chuck Taylor, Drew Gulak, Orange Cassidy, and the Swamp Monster, Chikara King of Trios Night 3, 9/21
This write-up first appeared in my review for King of Trios '14, Night Three.

I know a small but vocal minority (or large majority, I don't know, I'm a writer, not a census taker) probably hated everything about this match, but the Submission Squad's contribution to the weekend cemented them in the Chikara firmament. It was a match that was for Chikara fans, from the beginning all the way to the finish that was cribbed straight from memories of watching the World Wrestling Federation in the '80s and '90s. While in "serious" competition, the Squad more than holds its own, the group showed that it, as a collective, has a mastery of comedic timing and deployment of beats, and the Gentlemen's Club was the perfect group against which they could show their stuff. If they couldn't tickle ribs and create magic with Chuck Taylor across the ring from them, then they had no hope at all.

Whether it was Gary the Barn Owl and the Swamp Monster striking up a friendship that caused them to go against their own teammates, Davey Vega monologuing with everyone else on pause about how he had a live grenade shoved down his pants, referee Bryce Remsburg getting in on the action so much as getting a pin attempt on both Gary and the Monster with Taylor making the count, or even Taylor's antics throughout the match, this atomicos match was jam-packed with amusement, mirth, and merriment. Even the split second where things got "serious" with Vega and Drew Gulak squaring off fit as almost a moment of anti-comic relief in a yuk-fest. I found it hard to take complete notes and transcribe everything that enthralled me during this match because the pace was so frenetic and I couldn't really keep my eyes anywhere but on the action in the ring, but then again, isn't that the mark of a good match?

In a weekend full of the emotional drum getting beaten hard, and on a show where the final moments were refined for maximum catharsis, the comic relief had to be just as bombastic, just as intense. The Squad and the Club provided that bedrock, a refuge for the fans in attendance to laugh, get a respite from the tension in the air, and appreciate eight guys and a plant elemental going out and being unafraid to make themselves look like jackasses for the crowd's amusement. Deriding the clowns can be easy to do, but without them, wrestling shows would provide a totally different and not as worthwhile an experience, and the Submission Squad, Gentlemen's Club, and Remsburg turned in one of the best examples of why a comedic break in the action is not only absolutely necessary, but can be among the finest action not only on a given show, but in a given year.

The final installment is tomorrow! VERY EXCITE!

Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.

Hero takes a visit to the Cheap Heat studios this week Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein

If you're new, here's the rundown: I listen to a handful of wrestling podcasts each week. Too many, probably, though certainly not all of them. In the interest of saving you time — in case you have the restraint to skip certain episodes — the plan is to give the bare bones of a given show and let you decide if it’s worth investing the time to hear the whole thing. There are better wrestling podcasts out there, of course, but these are the ones in my regular rotation that I feel best fit the category of hit or miss. If I can save other folks some time, I'm happy to do so.

Show: Cheap Heat
Episode: March 11, 2015
Run Time: 1:15:15
Guest: Chris Hero

Summary: Peter Rosenberg and David Shoemaker are back in studio with huge Cheap Heat fan (no joke) Chris Hero. They start with the elephant in the room, discussing Bill DeMott’s up-and-down career behind the scenes at WWE and NXT. Eventually they transition into discussing Hero’s own experience as a developmental talent and his current career aspirations. They remember classic Tuesday Night Titans moments before Hero shares stories about John Cena, reflects on life on the independent scene, discusses who might be the next breakout stars, explains his consulting business and briefly shares his expectations for WrestleMania 31.

Quote of the week:“I see all my peers on there, whenever any of my friends, whether it’s a New Japan show or NXT or on Raw, it feels like there’s a part of me out there with these guys and I remember all the stuff I’ve done with them. … It’s always a good feeling to see those guys, from Luke Harper to Seth Rollins to Cesaro, all those guys, it’s just awesome. It’s vicarious. I can do my thing, and I can still see a little bit of myself out there with them.”

Why you should listen: So many reasons. Hero is a great interview subject at any time, but the timeliness with regards to the DeMott situation is superb. His ability to be frank about his WWE experience while retaining his almost preternatural optimism makes it possible to listen without searching for ulterior motives. The hosts do a great job of managing the flow of the conversation, weaving in current WWE stories while letting Hero be the focal point and yet still producing an episode that will be a worthy listen weeks and months down the road.

Why you should skip it: So few reasons. You might slap your forehead during the few moments where no one can remember the Stardust-Goldust match at Fast Lane. You might be frustrated Hero isn’t pressed to do a line-item review of the DeMott allegations. You might be in the miniscule percentage of folks who miss Rosenberg’s heel schtick. You might not want to hear how good a guy John Cena really is (spoiler alert: it’s really hard to hate the man no matter your feelings on the character). Or maybe you just don’t want to be sad about the fact Chris Hero is nowhere near a WrestleMania card he could be helping to headline.

Final thoughts: When Cheap Heat is good, it’s really, really good. This is one of those weeks. You take Rosenberg’s inarguably excellent skills as an interviewer, mix them with Shoemaker’s unique brand of wrestling perspective and throw in an articulate guest with a compelling story and you’ve got 75 minutes of audio that blows away most everything else in the wrestling podcast genre. The most frustrating thing about this particular episode is wishing it could be this good every week.

Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.

The highlight of Night of Champions Photo Credit: WWE.com

The final 20 have been revealed. ENJOY.

Sheamus (c) vs. Cesaro, WWE United States Championship Match, Night of Champions, 9/21
This write-up originally appeared in my review for Night of Champions.

As soon as this match was announced, I predicted that it would be worth the monthly sub for The Network by itself, and even in a month when the monstrously critically acclaimed Takeover: Fatal Fourway happened, I feel vindicated in my projection. The consensus on Cesaro has been pretty resounding for two years now, and Sheamus has been a critical favorite of mine since he came up in WWECW. They've had several tremendous matches in the past, and both are in the midst of banner years. This match not only met their lofty expectations, but it may have been the best of their meetings to date.

The early portions of the match mixed together some classic European grappling with the stiff brawling that Sheamus has become known for during his career. They wove between brawling and grappling sequences so fluidly like it was a true clash of styles. Cesaro wanted to pull the match towards his wheelhouse, Sheamus kept resisting violently with his wailing fists, but both guys were also adept enough at the other guy's game to give the impression that their aim was to hybridize the match. They almost felt like they were showing off, but when the action came off looking as good as it did, I can forgive it.

But then they started trading bombs, and the match became fully actualized. They careened to the outside, threw each other onto tables, and countered moves like whoa. The chains came off, and they were free to create finery in the field of HOSS artistry. Even if Cesaro coming into the match hadn't been booked the best, the way it was laid out made him look like he was a threat to win that title at any point. He cut off Sheamus' five moves of doom with a huge lariat. He Swiss Death'd Sheamus out of the ring and then flashed the sliest smirk this side of the Atlantic. He countered the Brogue Kick four times. But then the final attempt at the kick may have been Sheamus' best ever, uncorking one at the exact right moment when Cesaro was seemingly in the middle of a protracted heat segment in the corner. Matches like these may not totally absolve WWE's horrendous midcard booking, but they go a long way in easing the pain of the week-to-week doldrums with payoffs that these writers don't deserve.

Byron Wilcott vs. Moonshine Mantell vs. Jake Dirden vs. James Claxton, Inspire Pro BATTLEWARS, 10/5
The inaugural HOSS BOWL promised big dudes clubberin’ and clubberin’ some more, and it delivered on that promise, but it had all that sexy elephant seal action with a cruiserweight scramble pace. These guys weren’t lumbering around like they were Vince McMahon steroid specials, but instead they landed their bombs with a spring in their steps. After the match, Wilcott said he aimed to bring the heavyweights back, and if his goal included working with this kind of urgency, then he’ll have a lot of success early on. The action didn’t stop because the wrestlers totally played with the four-way dance concept and kept the action cycling through, especially towards the end. Dirden would hit Mantell with a Polish hammer, but then Claxton took him and choke bombed him, but then Big Daddy Yum Yum was right there with an Attitude Adjustment type move, but Mantell would come right back in and break the pin up. The action could be described as snappy, and the finish was smart and brutal at the same time, with Wilcott taking out Claxton and Dirden with a dive before getting into the finishing sequence with Mantell that led to a slick ripcord shortarm clothesline. Hosses can move and excite nowadays, and the inaugural HOSS BOWL showed that in a big way.

Andy Dalton vs. Icarus, Inspire Pro BATTLEWARS, 10/5
This write-up originally appeared in my review for BATTLEWARS.

Right from the beginning, when Dalton scurried to the ring to pick the bones of the Chikara Grand Champion after Lance Hoyt booted his face halfway to Lubbock, this bout was worthy of its lofty Champion vs. Champion heading. Dalton used every trick in the book, and for the first time I can recall in a singles match, Icarus actually looked comfortable as the gutty, noble hero. On a night full of new and innovative wrestling, the classic match stole the show.

Then again, one could say that Dalton took sleaze to a new level. He really embraced the lowlife cheating scumbag from the minute he hit the ring until the end when he and JT LaMotta orchestrated the interference that drew out Matthew Palmer. He was a heel avatar, plumbing depths that I didn't even think were possible. He licked his own boot before shoving it in Icarus' face at one point, which I'm not sure adds to realistic efficacy as much as it drives the point home. But good wrestling is visual on all levels, and sometimes, you just have to drive a point home.

But whether it was Dalton bringing it out of him or if it was an inspired (heh, get it) performance, Icarus finally broke out a full top babyface performance. His comebacks had fire, his work underneath evoked pathos, and he got the most out of his environment. The combination of opponents and all the trappings worked together to make one of the highlight, marquee matches more than live up to its billing.

Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.

Conga line! Photo Credit: Kelly Kyle

ACH and Jojo Bravo vs. Silver Ant and Fire Ant, Inspire Pro BATTLEWARS, 10/5
The main event tag match for BATTLEWARS started off slowly and a bit awkwardly, especially on Bravo’s end, but once they got into and through the requisite Chikara tag comedy, the match picked up and became the kind of insane firefight that folks like The Colony and ACH were known for producing. Some of the sequences needed to be seen to be believed, especially towards the end when ACH caught Fire Ant in a standard, corner flip out, slammed him to the ground, and double stomped him in the back of the head before missing on the 450 splash and Silver Ant taking his head off with a clothesline. All four wrestlers are such polished athletes that at times, the action got hard to transcribe. These wrestlers were made for sitting down and watching with mouths agape and attention spans rapt.

But for as hard and fast as they went, they always had room for levity and self-parody. Of course, the biggest example came when Bravo would trade calf sweeps and lateral presses with everyone in the ring, including ACH and referee Bryce Remsburg, which led into the big, overarching multiman spot which here was a giant, human centipede-looking rear waistlock chain. But the Dudley Boyz impersonation towards the end with ACH delivering the business end of the WAZZUP and Bravo shouting to get the tables under threat of disqualification was a great oasis in the middle of a breakneck-paced main event. Of course, Bravo found no tables, but instead ate Fire Ant’s boots.

Whether engaging in indie spot fu or taking the piss out of each other and themselves, the Colony and the Inspire Pro originals showed main event worthiness in what was the promotion’s biggest card to date. And in the fray, Bravo may have found himself a new, snazzy looking submission hold, a play on the Chikara Special that he called the Inspire Pro Special (duh). When you can create a moment like that in a match and build on a promotion’s lore, especially in the still-formative years of Inspire Pro, you’ve done well for yourself.

Matt and Nick Jackson vs. Matt and Jeff Hardy, NEW Autumn Assault, 10/18
It’s easy to take the Young Bucks for granted at times since they’ve been at a level of sustained excellence for over five years, but the way they do everything well in a wrestling match to put over not only themselves but the other team is always excellent. The Hardy Boyz may have had the years take a toll on their bodies, but they were able to do their share of the lifting as well. In fact, after their stints getting clean and refocusing their lives, the Hardys actually rebounded to about three-quarters speed from their prime. Matt still hit all his big transitional spots and absorbed an asskicking with the all the requisite “SUCK IT” taunts like he was still at the dawn of the millennium. Jeff actually spent a HUGE chunk of the match outside the ring, but it was so he could dress up as WILLOW THE WISP and pull off one of the most mindbending mid-match comeback catalysts I’ve ever seen. No, the Bucks weren’t given reDRagon or the Forever Hooligans or even the Kings of Sexual Intercourse as rivals here, but the old guys held up well and created a memorable main event with the best tag team going today.

Fluffy the Killer Bunny vs. Lloyd Cthulowitz, ISW Slamtasia V, 10/25
Inter Species Wrestling is a promotion that defines the term “Never judge a book by its cover.” A match between a murder-bunny and an Ancient Old Attorney might seem like comedic filler, but a bona fide HOSS FIGHT broke out, because these guys ain’t just here for laughs. Sure, the theatrical elements were present and well-appreciated, and no one is going to confuse this match for, say, Tanahashi vs. Okada. However, fat birds don’t fly, and fat wrestlers often can. Fluffy revealed himself to be an able TRUE HOSS, throwing his considerable weight around, especially on the SICK lariat towards the end of the match. Cthulowitz seemed a little unsure in his mask and get-up for that particular contest, but he still rebounded nicely on his flubs, whether accidentally or on purpose. All in all, it was a fun match that broke open the Slamtasia card.

Mathieu St. Jacques and Thomas Dubois vs. Jaka and Pinkie Sanchez, ISW Slamtasia V, 10/25
If you ever wanted to see a match with four guys taking turns beating the absolute shit out of each other for no other reason than because it looks good on video, this is the match for you. Tabarnak de Team’s gimmick is entirely based on liking to hurt people, and they look the part of angry roughnecks with resting bitch-face. Jaka and Sanchez have reps that precede them for their craziness, which often times leads to insane acts of violence that come with less malice and more mischief, which is probably worse. Either way, these two teams took crack after crack at each other for my and everyone’s who watched amusement, and the results were outstanding.

TDT set the tone early mainly by whipping Sanchez like he owed them money. At one point, Sanchez took no fewer than three consecutive moves on the apron, a feat which I haven’t even seen in the biggest hub for such maneuvers, PWG. St. Jacques hit him with an eye poke that was so deep that he may have touched Sanchez’s insanity-riddled brain. They even used his pigtails as handles for whipping him to the canvas. I was legitimately surprised that Sanchez was not only not broken in half, but that he came roaring back and started hitting some of his patented sexual spider monkey offense during his comeback and the closing stretch of the match. I’ve seen a few Sanchez matches in my life, but he might have been at his best here.

But the other three guys held up their ends of the bargain and filled in the gaps with some tenacious brawling and big, bone-rattling moves that dotted their paragraph-length match with enough earned exclamation points to fill up a used-car dealer’s press release. They explored the entire venue as well, at one point with Jaka throwing St. Jacques on the in-arena bar. It was the sprawling, violent brawl that would fit in on any card carried out by two teams that know a thing or two about kickin’ ass and takin’ names.

Pasquale the Chef and Bastian Snow (c) vs. Dan Barry and Bill Carr, ISW Tag Team Championship Match, ISW Slamtasia, 10/25
Look, I don’t care what any of you punks think SHOULD constitute a wrestling match or what belongs in one or doesn’t. When a moustachioed dude in a Hawaiian shirt and an Italian chef in a lucha mask re-enact the knife fight scene from the “Beat It” video with moustache combs with the song playing in the background, it probably is going to be mentioned on my match of the year list. How can it not? That scene happened in the first five minutes, and it only was the tip of the iceberg on all the crazy shit that took place in this match. Carr tried to eat Snow (who is a giant snow crab, to be fair). Bags of potato chips were used as weapons. A Barry Flair chop was thwarted because it hit one of the spikes on Snow’s outer shell. Pasquale used flour as illegal blinding powder and then laid out dry pasta like it was an array of thumbtacks. If one wanted to see four men, well, okay, three men and a giant crab embrace the absolute ridiculousness of the environment and immerse themselves in the absurdity, then this match would be for you.

But at the same time, if one were to take away all the gimmickry and the comedic tropes, well first I’d ask why they’d want to strip the match of its soul, but secondly, that person would still get a well-worked, passionate, intense match with highly personal stakes. These two teams had beef, and they wrestled like something was on the line besides the Tag Team Championships. Carr hossed it up. Barry continued to show why he’s one of the best high-flyers on the scene. The Food Fighters were on point both with their nuts and bolts and with the expressive body language. The progression of spots made sense, and the escalation all the way up to the finish, a Book ‘Em, Dan-O on the dry pasta was pitch-perfect. It was a classic tag team match and a wholly representative piece of Inter Species Wrestling, and it’s a must watch for anyone who loves professional wrestling for everything it embodies.

Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins, Hell in a Cell Match, Hell in a Cell, 10/26
This write-up originally appeared in my review for Hell in a Cell.

The difference between and good Hell in a Cell match and a great one has everything to do with how the cage is utilized. Two (or more) wrestlers can use the cage as a weapon, but not totally explore what it has to offer. Because the competitors have to be away from where the finish of the match has to happen, it can be difficult to fully explore the studio space. To wit, the Cena/Orton match from the middle of the show was a good representation of what Hell in a Cell could be. But Rollins and Ambrose went to the boundaries of whatever the structure had to offer. Not that it should have been surprising - Dean Ambrose has spent the calendar year of 2014 making the worst straw of what WWE has given him and spinning it into gold like a veritable Rumpelstiltskin.

Ambrose set the tone early on by climbing to the top of the cage and daring Rollins and his goon squad of Joey Mercury and Jamie Noble to follow him up. Even though it technically wasn't part of the match, Ambrose having to fight off all three of the Authority's minions served as a powerful first act, culminating in both announce tables being wrecked after tense jousting on the side of the cage. Even though the stretcher tease had been used on the biggest pay-per-view of them all in the same year, Ambrose and Rollins made it work in their own way, and then they upped the violence to levels past their original stereo table destruction. Tables were broken, chairs dented, kendo sticks frayed. Even inside after the match officially began, the two made use of the cage, not only directly (best example being Ambrose raking Rollins' face across it like cheddar on a grater), but as a fulcrum for other props, the tables most especially.

Of course, the overbooking is what most people will end up talking about, and it's fair to point out that maybe having four people interfering on Rollins' behalf might not have been the best way to end a pay-per-view or conclude a match that had been as visceral as this one was up until the end. However, it worked to me. The story between Rollins and Ambrose is one that didn't require a blowoff at a piddling "B" event like Hell in a Cell. Commentary on WWE's self-proclaimed signature match from the last 20 years becoming a signpost rest stop rather than an ultimate blowoff aside, these two deserve to end their feud at Mania. But whether it was Kane's fire extinguisher (note, I am an unabashed mark for that used as a wrestling weapon) or Bray Wyatt's devil magic, the fuck finish worked in this match's favor.

Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.

A Network exclusive, and it delivered! Photo Credit: WWE.com

Sheamus (c) vs. Rusev, WWE US Championship Match, WWE Network Exclusive, 11/3 - Watch Highlights Here!
WWE experimented a bit with its Monday night formula, and even though in theory, it was good business, it was a risky venture. Asking people to stick around for 20 more minutes after three hours of RAW was over to see actual canonical material in the form of a wrestling match bordered on overkill. However, WWE at least sent out two wrestlers whom it knew could carry the load. Rusev had never worked that long a match or one with as much of a spotlight. Sheamus had been to the top of the mountain before, though, and it showed. This match was paced like a pay-per-view main event, had the bigtime spots that one might expect from a headliner match, and brought tense false finishes that made for an iconic final image to go along with the bell. Sheamus took big bumps, which coming from Rusev looked even more impressive. The powerslam counter of the apron dive from the first part of the match was a killer visual, was were Sheamus’ comebacks later on in the match. Rusev’s hybrid HOSS high spot offense looked supreme when landing on Sheamus as well. All in all, it was yet another feather in Sheamus’ cap, and it served as a coming out party for Rusev, as he showed that he could take the last match of the night and create art with it.

Sami Zayn vs. Tyler Breeze, NXT, 11/6 (airdate) - Watch Highlights Here!
Two matches may not be enough to say that the two have the fabled chemistry, but Zayn and Breeze, on the former’s redemption rampage, made magic in the ring. Instead of a showcase bout on a two-hour live special, they were given the opening slot on the weekly show. However, their match still wasn’t lacking for time, and they explored the studio space. Zayn seems to bring out the best in Breeze, which manifested itself both in the standard stuff and in special moments, like getting mad air countering a Zayn cross-body with a perfectly-timed dropkick or weaseling out of the Yehi Special before Zayn could get in the Koji Clutch part. Zayn just has the perfect knack for combining his El Generico electricity and elasticity and a WWE mega-face superstar, but for whatever reason, Breeze is his constant.

Jay and Mark Briscoe vs. Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian, ROH Survival of the Fittest Night 2, 11/8
The Briscoes and Bad Influence, like the Hardy match #DemBoys had back in the spring, was another dream match I didn’t know I needed to see. While this match didn’t have the same visceral blood-feud hook that the other one had, putting two charismatic, athletic indie stalwart tag teams in the same ring, especially Bad Influence against a team that contained the lovably eccentric Mark Briscoe, was a good call from jump. This match had the big air highspots, hard hits, and of course, a healthy dose of Redneck Kung Fu to make it pop. The big flurry of signature moves at the end into the Doomsday Device from the Briscoes had a ton of energy and put the cap on one of the more entertaining tag team matches from the last part of the year.

Adrian Neville (c) vs. Sami Zayn, NXT Championship Match, NXT, 11/13 (airdate) - Watch Highlights Here!
Sometimes, a stellar match ending with a pro wrestling deus ex machina story-advancing finish is deflating and totally ruins the match. In this case, the win-at-all-costs fuckery of Neville abusing the sacred “throwin’ up the X” to get the drop on Zayn was a brilliant masterstroke to cap a match that clearly wasn’t going to be the end of their road. This match was all about flipping a narrative on its head to build towards a full climax, and the journey to get to that turning point in the story could have stood as a blowoff match in and of itself. Fans who’ve followed the careers of these two men know, however, that they can shift into an entirely different gear, which is a testament to how good both of them, especially Zayn, are at crafting a story.

Zayn set the mood early building on his newfound confidence and his winning streak. Of course, the biggest difference between NXT and the main roster is in the announcing. On the main show, Cole, JBL, and Lawler would have missed Zayn’s feint on the dive to the floor, but Albert and Riley turned it into an exchange of hot takes. Regardless, it accentuated Zayn’s newfound confidence. He was no longer a plucky, happy-to-be-there underdog. He had swagger. It served as a jumping point for Neville to kick his counter game into high gear. The first two thirds of the match were prestige wrestling exhibition at a high level approaching the best levels.

But then the finishing sequence came out, and they not only kicked the spots into overdrive, they were smartly layered. These guys not only staggered around on spaghetti legs, trading shots to pop the crowd and build towards a crescendo, but they hearkened back to a match they wrestled earlier on in the year that put Neville on the path to the belt he possessed at that point. The most jarring spot saw Zayn countering an electric chair spot that Zayn countered into a rana in the last match into a forceful powerbomb. He even found himself in position to hit the Helluva Kick after hitting the corner exploder, but then Neville’s gambit came into focus. Zayn had the match in hand, and he still couldn’t win the big one. With a match that everyone knew was on the horizon in the crosshairs, it was the best possible finish.

Goldust and Stardust (c) vs. Jimmy and Jey Uso vs. Damien Sandow and The Miz vs. Diego and Fernando, WWE Tag Team Championship Match, Survivor Series, 11/23
This write-up originally appeared in my review for Survivor Series.

Much like any normal episode of RAW, a midcard clusterfuck match was set to follow the awkward, mostly superfluous opening promo segment featuring Triple H and other various members of WWE's upper crust. But since the name on the marquee read "Survivor Series," the participants in the match almost innately raised their game past the usual "RAW shove everyone in the same match to advance one or more stories" clusterfuck. The game was raised early on when one of Los Matadores broke out a sweet low leg sweep to counter to Stardust running the ropes and then breaking out the Rob van Dam leg scissor rollup.

This match was the first one where the Puerto Ricans playing Mexicans playing a Spanish game really broke out of their jokey shells and elevated their in-ring work to a level theoretically befitting the title pedigree. Sandow not only worked his usual shtick of imitating everything The Miz did, but he even deployed it as successful strategery by using it as distraction at one point. The Usos were the Usos, which is not a bad thing, while the then-Champs even showed a bit of evolution. Stardust came out dressed in a red-schemed unitard, and he showed a flair for anger during the match, almost as if he was playing to nerdy tendencies and showing that he had gained a Red Power Ring from the Green Lantern universe. Goldust kept moving backwards in time like a gold-encrusted Benjamin Button.

But the real genius in the match centered around using Sandow as bait to keep the crowd invested in the match. Clearly, he was the one feature attraction that people wanted to see, and the way the narrative centered around teasing him and delaying his payoff until the very end was pro wrestling architecture at its finest. The match build a skeleton around one idea, a literal stunt double who thinks he's an understudy, fleshed it out for misdirection, and then when the time was just right, had him jump in the fire and ignite the crowd's burning desire for him to succeed. It was brilliance all around.

Ashley Remington vs. Juan Francisco de Coronado, German Suplex Must Finish, Chikara Tomorrow Never Dies, 12/6
If you want to see two guys really embrace the gimmick of a match, you need to see Remington and Coronado duel in the German suplex match. It was set up as a comic opener on a card steeped in a war for Chikara’s soul, but they were able to keep the whimsy going while going all in on the gimmick and elevating it. They teased it early, varied the execution on it late, and they put the move’s brutality over by bumping for it. Remington took a nasty German on the apron, but Coronado would get style points for holding his bump through getting pinned. In a way, it was a perfect encapsulation of the Chikara ethos, or as perfect as an encapsulation as a singles match between two wrestlers not wearing masks could be.

Dasher Hatfield and Mark Angelosetti (c) vs. Blaster McMassive and Max Smashmaster, Chikara Campeonatos de Parejas Two out of Three Falls Match, Chikara Tomorrow Never Dies, 12/6
This write-up originally appeared in my review for Tomorrow Never Dies.

When I first saw Blaster McMassive and Max Smashmaster at King of Trios '12, I almost cringed at how stiff and awkward they moved around in the ring, especially McMassive. They were aimed to be homages to the old, face-painted HOSSES of the '80s WWF, but unfortunately, that homage included them moving around like the average Barbarian, Warlord, or Kona Crush. Over the two years they have been an active tag team (and trio with Flex Rumblecrunch), they've improved so much to the point where they bring quality to the match. Smashmaster is perhaps the finest HOSS worker on the indies, and McMassive has evolved so well. Their match with the Throwbacks, one of the best, if not under the radar, tag teams showed that progress.

The match started a little slowly in the first fall, as each team had some miscues on timing and spots, but by the end of the first fall, they'd calmed down. Then the second fall was a masterful display in heat-mongering, right from the start when the Corp tossed out the fresh Hatfield out of the ring and dragged the just-Death-Blown Angelosetti for the most epic heat segment ever. Each time Hatfield teased a hot tag or Angelosetti a comeback, the Corp squelched it with great timing, which set up the eventual comeback, then "oh poop" moment with Hatfield taking the Death Blow, and then finally, Angelosetti swooping in with the Oklahoma roll for the second fall was masterful.

But then, the third fall was straight fire. It had finish teases and big moves and hope spots, and Blaster McMassive even took to the air with a tope con hilo worthy of Best of the Super Juniors. When the Throwbacks hit the super 3D, the arena was ready to explode, but then when Bakabella interrupted the three count, it was a gut punch, a good, artistically forceful gut punch, but one no less. Hatfield kicking out of the Death Blow offered one final gasp of hope before the Corp won the match, but even though the match didn't end with the fan favorites winning, it was eminently satisfying.

Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.

The Boss had her sights on the gold Photo Credit: WWE.com

Charlotte (c) vs. Sasha Banks, NXT Women’s Championship Match, Takeover: (R)Evolution, 12/11 - Watch Highlights Here!
The evolution of Charlotte (no pun intended) has been a sight to behold, and ending her year for all intents and purposes against her former BFF was capstone. Banks is perhaps the best worker in NXT not named Sami Zayn, and her tilts with Bayley showed she could hold up her end of a tension-filled blood feud match. Charlotte had the genes; her father was one of the greatest feud wrestlers ever. In this match, she showed that trait did not skip a generation. The only thing missing was blood, and that’s self-explanatory at this point. It was about as brutal and hate-filled a match as one would see anywhere on WWE’s roster all year.

The atmosphere was helped by each wrestler retreating fully into her character and embracing it as an avatar shell. Charlotte’s gimmick is that her genetics got her there, not so much her superior body (although she does have the superior body), but the wrestling pedigree. But for all the tools that got daddy Ric to the dance, Charlotte’s manifestation of those genes wasn’t so much in styling and profiling and being the dirtiest player in the game. She powered over Banks and every time she hit a beat, EVERY TIME, she let Banks know it. Preening after strikes, roaring into pose after a spear. Her taunting was confidence manifested. Conversely, Banks’ story is of starting with nothing and coming up big both in wrestling success and her wardrobe. She wants everyone to know that she’s made it, and she’ll flaunt with an ear for trolling. So she came in looking to one-up Charlotte at every turn. She chopped the daughter of Ric Flair. She broke out the figure four headlock.

The character clash was a perfect template, and they made it fit into a big fight atmosphere that was set up for them. Banks was just a little more vicious than normal and it popped off the screen like she was Bruiser Brody. Charlotte’s acrobatics fit into place, even the seemingly ridiculous suplex neckbreaker thing she did that she preened afterwards for. Everything they did escalated the action to the point where Charlotte felt the need to finish the match with the doomsday-variant of her finish before going for the normal version. The action was seamless. The story was taut. It was a near-perfect match that enhanced one of the best cards of the year.

Adrian Neville (c) vs. Sami Zayn, NXT Championship Match, (R)Evolution, 12/11 - Watch Highlights Here!
Storytelling is the root of pro wrestling. Vince McMahon derisively said that wrestling for wrestling’s sake is worthless on his infamous Steve Austin show appearance. He’s not incorrect, even if he probably missed the spirit of why his statement is correct. Any wrestling match has to evoke some kind of emotional response. A match doesn’t need to have stunning technical value in order to do this. If the punches land in a way that they conduct a symphony on the heartstrings, then that’s all the match needs. Similarly, Sami Zayn standing over a fallen Adrian Neville and a groggy referee did not peg the workrate chart. It wasn’t going to be giffed by Twitterati, nor would it have dropped the jaw as much as even the simple little suicide dive dosey-do earlier in the match did. However, it drove the narrative at 80 mph around Dead Man’s Curve, and when Zayn dropped the belt, kicked out of the school boy, and then went right into the Exploder/Helluva Kick combo for the finish, the brakes screeched and the audience arrived at home alive and exhilarated.

But Zayn and Neville built to that resolving moment masterfully, from the cat-and-mouse in the first act all the way through the seminal moment where Zayn decided that his ability to win the big one didn’t necessarily get roadblocked from his inability to cheat. But the choke vs. clutch story wasn’t the only one at play. For example, the story on both wrestlers going in was that they were besties around the world and traveled together, so when they kept foiling each other on their attempts at the second rope dives midway through the match, it hit another strong cord.

And sure, the standard ooh-aah tropes were present. Finishes were teased, kickouts were dramatic, and even the ref bumps made sense. To say this match could have headlined a WWE pay-per-view is a low bar to clear, because even in the face of such standout bouts like Bryan/Trips and Shield/Wyatts, the storytelling is just not on the same level. Sami Zayn and Adrian Neville could only compete against themselves and their outputs on NXT specials from earlier in the year. It’s weird to have to use such recursive criteria, but the state of wrestling in 2014 is such that new worlds are being breached. If anything, Neville and Zayn proved themselves pioneers, and the brave new world they helped illuminate looks damn good.

Fred Yehi vs. Slim J, Anarchy Television, 12/13 - Watch It Here!
It feels so weird saying that a dude who’s only been in my consciousness for two years had a “throwback” match, but Yehi has done so much work cultivating an outlandish, bratty heel character in several feds across Georgia, especially Southern Fried, that when he wrestles a straightforward match with more subtle heeling, it’s like a time capsule back to 2012. Yehi’s opponent here was Anarchy vet and local legend Slim J, and it was easy to see how they segued this match into becoming a Best of Five series in 2015. The duo showed amazing chemistry, especially on grapples and exchanges, and it made for one of the last great matches of the year.

The beginning segment of the match was what brought back the memories. Yehi and J worked the mat hard, going from hold to hold with the roughness and intensity of an Olympic wrestling bout. Limbs flailed and whipped back with each wild exchange, and neither wrestler was able to show a solid upper hand without telegraphing a protracted mat war like in the various Thatcher/Gulak/Busick matches along the year. Instead, it foreshadowed a more fast-paced, modern indie-style affair, which they segued into flawlessly. Yehi’s ability to drop to the canvas and trip up J not once but twice was able to throw a different wrinkle into some familiar beats, and although J almost lost footing at a few points, he was able to orchestrate his comebacks with grace while leading the crowd into his runs. All in all, it was one of the strongest matches from Anarchy all year, and it set the table for bigger things for the two wrestlers in the new year.

Luke Harper (c) vs. Dolph Ziggler, WWE Intercontinental Championship Ladder Match, TLC, 12/14
This write-up originally appeared in my review for TLC.

At first, this match seemed to fall in the same traps that Triple H and Undertaker did at WrestleMania XXVII. They started out from jump throwing bombs and then having layabout spots, but for whatever reason, the dynamic of the match made sense. When they started out by using the ladders for upped violence, the increased recovery time and selling made sense. This match truly felt like some of the hardcore-style matches of old. The shots were stiff and the bumps were hard. I'm not sure how much of an extra toll it put on their bodies, but at least the visual came off looking spot on.

Of course, anyone can take a huge bump, and lord knows Ziggler didn't have a scale named after him because of his lack of recklessness, but timing is a huge part of these things. Anyone can topple off a ladder, but knowing when and how to time toppling said ladder speaks volumes. Of course, this match wasn't perfectly timed all the way through, but this show was imperfect. Still, the times when Harper or Ziggler came bounding into the scene to cut a belt-grab off at the pass that did work were timed just right. Hell, even as the match started to unwind towards the end, Ziggler kicking Harper from one ladder off another was a stunning way to finish the contest.

But something does have to be said for an inherently brutal match that actually shows brutality. Both Ziggler and Harper got busted open hardway, Harper on his friggin' arm after getting it caught in between the legs of a ladder. Normally, the unintentional spilling of blood shouldn't be lauded, especially in today's WWE, but in this instance, it worked. WWE has been lacking on delivering steak behind the weak sizzle its announcers put behind promoting shows. Guys like Ziggler and Harper going out there and working a little bit loose maybe shouldn't be condemned completely, huh?

That's it! Hope you enjoyed the list. Leave any comments you may have below.

Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.

The Hulkster's ready for the tournament, are you, brother? Photo Credit: WWE.com

Later on today, the NCAA will unveil its field of 68 men's college basketball teams, kicking off the biggest gambling event of the year, and to a lesser extent, the tournament to determine the best team in the top level of college hoops. It also means that it's time for The Wrestling Blog to do its annual knock-off tournament! The first three years was a field of current wrestlers. Last year, it was finishing moves. This year, I'm proud to announce the Tournament of Champions as this year's big tournament.

Four promotions will send 16 of their best Champions: WWE, WCW, ECW, and TNA. The winners from each region will reach the Final Four for the big final smackdown. WWE's time period is confined to the WrestleMania era. WCW will include a little bit of spillover from its predecessor, Jim Crockett Promotions. TNA's run will include TNA World Champions and recognized NWA World Champions from when TNA was an affiliated promotion. And ECW will only include pre-purchase ECW, which is to say no Kane or Big Show. Also, wrestlers who were Champions in more than one promotion will not repeat. That is to say, Hulk Hogan will only appear in the WWE region and not WCW.

So, without further ado, I'm going to announce the field. First up, the number one seeds are as follows:

• WWE - Hulk Hogan: It was a hard decision, but Hogan is both the godfather of modern WWE and the bedrock upon which WrestleMania was built.
• WCW - Ric Flair: The Nature Boy was perhaps the easiest choice to make.
• ECW - Raven: This one was perhaps the hardest decision of them all, since ECW was never really all about one guy as much as it was an ensemble. But Raven was arguably the centerpiece to the first pay-per-view, and he held the title well.
• TNA - Kurt Angle: Angle over Jarrett because at least Angle didn't book himself to win all those titles.

And now, time to announce the rest of the field, starting with WWE:

Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.

Hitman. HBK. One last time. Photo Credit: WWE.com

The Tournament of Champions opens with the top half of the WWE region, featuring two matches that have happened multiple times before already. Time to get started!

1. Hulk Hogan vs. 16. Batista, TALE OF THE TAPE
HOGAN - 6x WWE Champion, 6x WCW Champion, 2x Royal Rumble winner, WWE Hall of Famer, Thunderlips in Rocky III, proud owner of a Tampa-area "breastaurant"

BATISTA - 2x WWE Champion, 4x World Heavyweight Champion, 2x Royal Rumble winner, Drax the Destroyer in Guardians of the Galaxy, subject of dick-size meme on Wrestling Twitter


8. Shawn Michaels vs. 9. Bret "Hitman" Hart, TALE OF THE TAPE
MICHAELS - 3x WWE Champion, 1x World Heavyweight Champion, 2x Royal Rumble winner, WWE Hall of Famer, retired Ric Flair, most prominent born-again Christian who once did blow-job pantomime to a WWE crowd

HART - 5x WWE Champion, 2x WCW Champion, 2x King of the Ring, 1994 Royal Rumble co-winner, WWE Hall of Famer, least embarrassing professional wrestling cameo on The Simpsons


4. "Macho Man Randy Savage vs. 13. Randy Orton, TALE OF THE TAPE
SAVAGE - 2x WWE Champion, 4x WCW Champion, 1987 King of the Ring, 1995 World War 3 winner, WWE Hall of Famer, most likable member of the St. Louis Cardinals organization in history

ORTON - 8x WWE Champion, 4x World Heavyweight Champion, 2009 Royal Rumble winner, Vine superstar, has met Migos


5. The Rock vs. 12. CM Punk, TALE OF THE TAPE
ROCK - 8x WWE Champion, 2x World Heavyweight Champion, 2000 Royal Rumble winner, 4x host of Saturday Night Live, still couldn't get his dumbshit cousin over at the Royal Rumble

PUNK - 2x WWE Champion, 2x World Heavyweight Champion, ROH World Champion, bona fide UFC superstar I guess, still couldn't get his dumbshit best friend a second chance at a job with WWE

Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.

Austin talks to OVW trainer Danny Davis this week Photo Credit: WWE.com

If you're new, here's the rundown: I listen to a handful of wrestling podcasts each week. Too many, probably, though certainly not all of them. In the interest of saving you time — in case you have the restraint to skip certain episodes — the plan is to give the bare bones of a given show and let you decide if it’s worth investing the time to hear the whole thing. There are better wrestling podcasts out there, of course, but these are the ones in my regular rotation that I feel best fit the category of hit or miss. If I can save other folks some time, I'm happy to do so.

Show: Steve Austin Show Unleashed!
Episode: 202 (March 12, 2015)
Run Time: 1:39:18
Guest:“Nightmare” Danny Davis (9:43)

Summary: Austin is on the phone this week with one of his old pals from the early days, “Nightmare” Danny Davis. They start right in with recollections of their early 1990s personal interactions, including a memorable battle royal and discussion of Austin’s USWA experience. The talk then shifts to how Davis broke in and eventually got on TV in Memphis. He reviewed different tag team partners and how he became one half of The Nightmares. He recalled his favorite places to work, the ups and downs of his four marriages, explained the sometimes sad realities of life on the road and recounted his injuries. That segued into retelling the origins of Ohio Valley Wrestling, his impression of a young Brock Lesnar, what training is like today in OVW and the fund drive for money to upgrade TV equipment. The talk ends with some stories of working stiff. Austin’s word of the day is jerkoff.

Quote of the week:“I had a passion for this business. I loved this business for what the business was. I did not get in the business to be rich, I didn’t get in the business for wealth or a lot of money, I always put passion first because I believed, I could be wrong, but I believed, and I always tell any of my students, if you get in this business for financial gain right away, you’re doing it wrong. You have to have passion first. If you have passion for something then monetary gain will come because you’ll be good at what you do. But passion first. That’s always been my motto.”

Why you should listen: Davis is, as I wrote when he appeared on Art of Wrestling in mid-November, is a compelling storyteller with plenty of good material. His early “training” experience is a fantastically odd tale, and he’s brutally frank about his personal shortcomings. He and Austin have more of a peer-to-peer relationship than the teacher-student dynamic between himself and Colt Cabana, and you can really tell how much fun both men are having reliving some of the stories of the old days. Austin’s memory of his early career is far better than that from the end of his WWE run, and he’s noticeably more engaged when discussing the early 1990s.

Why you should skip it: Though Davis’ relationship with each podcast host is different, there were more than a few times here where it seemed I was hearing verbatim some of the same stories he told Cabana. And having already once heard the tale of how OVW’s affiliation with WWF began and ended, I’m now more interested in someone else’s side of the story. Stamp is by no means a high profile figure in mainstream wrestling, but if you’re at all familiar with his career before know, you’re probably not goint to learn much here. Finally, if you’re opposed to crowdfunding, you won’t enjoy the waning moments of the interview.

Final thoughts: For the most part I enjoyed this conversation. As usual with Austin, when he gets on the horn with an old riding partner, or at least someone he’s shared a ring with, you’re going to get one of his better efforts. That said, if you’re looking for fresh or deep or anything that makes this a must-listen, I can’t recommend it to that degree. If you heard Stamp on Art Of Wrestling, you already got the lion’s share of what this episode provides.

Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.

Happy Stone Cold Day, and that's the bottom line Photo Credit: WWE.com

Steve Austin may not have made his breakthrough in WWE on March 16, but that promo he cut at the end of his King of the Ring victory in 1996 correlates on the calendar to today's date, Austin 3:16 to the numerical equivalent on the calendar, 3/16 (for those in locales that write out the date month/day instead of day/month, but for those sorry places, no equivalent exists, since June only has 30 days). Today is what many people have deemed "Stone Cold Day," and since he's my favorite wrestling personality ever, I'm all aboard.

Anyway, what better day to celebrate the greatest wrestler in the history of WWE (in my humble opinion) than on Stone Cold Day this year, since WrestleMania is looking like a stale dog turd. Sure, WWE has never been a complete package in terms of entertainment value like some other promotions have been or currently are, but at least when Austin headlined Mania, it felt a lot more special than this year's grin-and-bear-it coronation of Roman Reigns. Many people are commemorating by posting .gifs, Vines, and videos of Stunners. Some will post Austin chugging beers or flipping people off. Fewer will answer every question with the ubiquitous and monotone "What?" However, here at The Wrestling Blog, I would like to give to you this gift of Steve Austin lip-synching to one of America's greatest treasures.

Yesterday, the tournament kicked off with the first set of matches from the WWE region, and your winners are Hulk Hogan, Bret Hart, Randy Savage, and CM Punk. Today, the second set of tournament matches from the WWE region will take place. Time to get right down to it.

3. John Cena vs. 14. Brock Lesnar, TALE OF THE TAPE
CENA - 12x WWE Champion, 3x World Heavyweight Champion, 2x Royal Rumble winner, star of such cinematic masterpieces as The Marine and 12 Rounds, once spat with Wiz Khalifa and probably shouldn't have been allowed to do so

LESNAR - 3x WWE Champion, 2003 Royal Rumble winner, 2002 King of the Ring, UFC Heavyweight Champion, 2000 NCAA Champion, IWGP Champion, Lover of Jimmy John's sandwiches


6. Mick Foley vs. 11. The Ultimate Warrior, TALE OF THE TAPE
FOLEY - 3x WWE Champion, WWE Hall of Famer, TNA Champion, Only man to wrestle in one Royal Rumble match as three separate entities, Best-selling author, Owner of one-and-a-half ears

WARRIOR - WWE Champion, WWE Hall of Famer, Demotivational speaker


2. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin vs. 15. Yokozuna, TALE OF THE TAPE
AUSTIN - 6x WWE Champion, 3x Royal Rumble winner, 1996 King of the Ring, WWE Hall of Famer, Only wrestling podcast on the PodcastOne network that isn't a giant pile of horse dung

YOKOZUNA - 2x WWE Champion, 1993 Royal Rumble winner, WWE Hall of Famer, Owner of most devastating leg drop in the WWE WrestleMania arcade game


7. Triple H vs. 10. The Undertaker, TALE OF THE TAPE
TRIPS - 8x WWE Champion, 5x World Heavyweight Champion, 2002 Royal Rumble winner, 1997 King of the Ring, Has married well

TAKER - 4x WWE Champion, 3x World Heavyweight Champion, 2007 Royal Rumble winner, Retired Shawn Michaels, Went 21-0 at WrestleMania through 2013, Has maybe not married so well


VOTE!

Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.

Colt Cabana talks to cult legend Flash Flanagan this week Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein

If you're new, here's the rundown: I listen to a handful of wrestling podcasts each week. Too many, probably, though certainly not all of them. In the interest of saving you time — in case you have the restraint to skip certain episodes — the plan is to give the bare bones of a given show and let you decide if it’s worth investing the time to hear the whole thing. There are better wrestling podcasts out there, of course, but these are the ones in my regular rotation that I feel best fit the category of hit or miss. If I can save other folks some time, I'm happy to do so.

Show: Art Of Wresting
Episode: 241 (March 12, 2015)
Run Time: 1:09:03
Guest: Flash Flanagan (8:54)

Summary: After a monologue in which Colt Cabana weights in on Bill DeMott’s dismissal, he brings on Flash Flanagan. If you don’t know who that is, it might help that the talk starts with a rundown of some of Flanagan’s various characters and their origins. They discuss his perfunctory WWF stint and the various fits and starts in promotions around the world, including a look at his relationship with John Laurinaitis. Flanagan then discusses his childhood ambitions, his risky style during his early years and the mid-1990s independent scene. That leads to how he landed in Puerto Rico and the bump that made him (locally) famous. They chat about Flanagan’s hardcore matches and his heavy use of somas before ending by exploring the frustration of how his time at Ohio Valley Wrestling is apparently overlooked.

Quote of the week: Flanagan, regarding the dangers of working in Puerto Rico: “I got to the point where I’d say, ‘Hit me in the head, I don’t want to take a shot to the back, cause you’re killing me. I’ll protect myself best I can, you can hit me in the head all you want’ — still, the whole thing with the wellness policy, the concussions — hit me in the head because it beats getting a real job any day of the week.”

Why you should listen: I usually don’t recommend the monologues, but there will be folks interested in Cabana’s take on the DeMott situation (spoiler alert: he’s pretty happy with the outcome) beyond his tweets. Flanagan has a whole bunch of interesting experiences and character attempts under his belt, and he of all people is the one to suggest to Cabana that Steve Austin and CM Punk will square off at WrestleMania 32 (Cabana politely disagrees). And he’s frank about his Soma use and how it affected his career, which is an important discussion no matter the star power of the people involved.

Why you should skip it: Flanagan may be a good guy, but he’s not a great interview. Cabana always makes it clear he’s recording conversations and not conducting journalism, but he failed to corral a wandering Flanagan, or at the very least interrupt him to provide context for listeners who don’t know the names Flanagan was dropping. Maybe it’s on me for not having enough context to follow along easily enough, but I really struggled to understand the depth behind most of their stories.

Final thoughts: I might have erred in trying to approach this episode as a history lesson or audio version of Flanagan’s Wikipedia entry. If you don’t care so much about the particulars, he’s got good stories and offers a slightly different perspective than most of Cabana’s guests. He’s not on the way up, but he’s not a real old-timer (like Buddy Landel), which means the peak of his run was while everyone was watching the Monday Night Wars and paying little attention to the independent scene. I don’t want this write-up to reflect poorly on Flanagan — he seems like a good dude with an interesting story to share. But this wasn’t the best forum for that to come across.