BoD Daily Update: July 19, 2019

CM Punk Appearing at Starrcast III

https://www.f4wonline.com/other-wrestling/cm-punk-appearing-starrcast-iii-set-one-one-interview-288211

 

Tully Blanchard Agrees to Multi-Show Deal with AEW

https://www.f4wonline.com/aew-news/tully-blanchard-agrees-multi-show-deal-aew-288216

 

RoH Throwback Match of the Week

You can watch Matt Taven vs. Jay Lethal from the 2014 Field of Honor Show

 

 

Indies and Insanity: July 18, 2019

Honestly, I don’t know how I’m supposed to start a night thread when I’ve just dropped down a Goofy cartoon YT rabbit hole.

I’d like to thank user Bare End Corbin for teaching me a little about Japanese nomenclature.  Enjoying Mike’s G1 writeups — you should check them all out!  I’ll be keeping a tally of his stars to see who is Mike’s MVP of the G1.

Nats/Braves with a critical series starting tonight, so that’s where my eyes are.

As for you, I sincerely hope the show you’re going to is indoors because it’s HOT in the southeast — but here’s some highlights coming up!

Read moreIndies and Insanity: July 18, 2019

New Japan Pro Wrestling G1 Climax 2019 – Night Five (18/07/2019)

Hello You!

Back we come for more hot A Block action. Last time out in this block KENTA and Hiroshi Tanahashi main evented in a bout that saw the former NOAH and NXT alum go on to his second big win in the Block. Tana is currently still stuck on zero points, but can he get on the board today? Well, let’s take another journey to the land of Puro and find out!

Read moreNew Japan Pro Wrestling G1 Climax 2019 – Night Five (18/07/2019)

What the World Was Watching: WCW Pro – August 19, 1995

WCW Prime for August 14 featured a new feature bout, with Chris Cruise and Dusty Rhodes calling the action.

Read moreWhat the World Was Watching: WCW Pro – August 19, 1995

Wooohooooooo


Network just dropped ECW Best Of 92!!!! In 50 minutes, you get super rare Bulldog, Anvil, Volkoff, Koloff appearances!!!!! Teenage Guido!!!!! Sports bar ambiente!!!! Wooohooooo


Way ahead of ya.  Also, there’s two volumes, plus the unaired 1992 pilot for Sportschannel America.  Needless to say, I’m all over it.   

Name generator follow-up question

Today's name generator question got me to think of this one since I wasn't following wrestling in 2005.  How come CM Punk got to keep his name and gimmick while Daniel Bryan, Seth Rollins, Jon Moxley, etc had to change theirs?  Thanks.
He had Heyman on his side and he was a shrewd negotiator, apparently.  That one's still puzzling people to this day, in fact. 

Rollins run cut short?


Do you think Seth Rollins Universal Title reign was cut short, or do you believe he was always keeping the belt warm for Lesnar after winning it from him at W.M.?  

I think we all knew that Brock was getting the belt back as long as he was still around and Vince was still in charge.  

Wednesday Night Wars

Hey Scott,

In the newsletter, Dave wrote that WWE is talking to Fox about airing NXT on FS1. I, for one, am stoked about this possibility and would hope NXT goes live if this happens. It's been 20 years since the last war, so it's time for another one.

I know there are people concerned this will hurt NXT and the Network will probably lose subscriptions as a result, but I'm choosing to be cautiously optimistic. The Network can air more Evolve shows + other companies they're working with, I imagine HHH will
still be in charge of NXT, and the weekly shows won't be able to experiment as much with green talent because of ratings demand so we'll be seeing the best wrestlers week after week.

As for AEW, I think they can overcome this. I wouldn't feel bad for them though. Cody knew who he was dealing with when he started this company and he's also made it very clear that NXT is the competition. All is fair…

Your thoughts on this possibly happening?


I'm fine with the idea of NXT reaching a bigger audience, but again, they need to come up with an actual developmental territory to replace it at this point.  NXT is essentially WWE's super-indie all-star show, but how exactly is anyone supposed to learn anything?  

BoD Daily Update: July 18, 2019

SI.com This Week in Wrestling

https://www.si.com/wrestling/2019/07/17/wwe-news-tommaso-ciampa-nxt-injury-neck-surgery-update

 

Braun Strowman Re-Signs With WWE

https://www.f4wonline.com/wwe-news/braun-strowman-signs-new-multi-year-contract-wwe-288141

 

Road to All Out Episode #1

 

WWE Free YouTube Match

You can watch Roman Reigns vs. Braun Strowman vs. Samoa Joe vs. Brock Lesnar from 2017 SummerSlam

Mike Reviews: ECW Heatwave 99 (18/07/1999)

Hello You!

So here we are, after months of absolute non-build we are at ECW’s big event of the summer in the form of Heatwave 99. Sadly the hype for this show has been poor to say the least, but now we’re here hopefully the ECW roster can enter a good performance and end the last Pay Per View before the TNN Era with a bang!

Heatwave 98 is possibly my favourite ECW show ever, so the 1999 version is going to have to go some way to match it. Still, with a main event of Rob Van Dam and Jerry Lynn taking on Justin Credible and Lance Storm, they should be able to end on a strong note if nothing else.

So without further ado, let’s adorn our favourite pair of swimming shorts, fill our inflatable crocodiles with air, put a big blotch of sun scream on the end of our noses and take things to The Extreme!!!

Read moreMike Reviews: ECW Heatwave 99 (18/07/1999)

I Bought Some Wrestling DVDs And You Can Win Them

Earlier this month I thought I’d try the Pro Wrestling Tees’ DVD mystery box where you get seven DVDs for about $20 (not bad when you factor in a Fourth of July sale). Since I don’t keep DVDs, I have no reason to keep them so I thought some of you might be interested.

The DVDs are:

Jimmy Hart Shoot Interview
Lucha Bros Shoot Interview
Bam Bam Bigelow Compilation
Monday Night Wars Debate (Eric Bischoff vs. Bruce Prichard Moderated By Chris Jericho)
Best Friends With Chuck And Trent?
PCW Release The Kraken (Blu-Ray)
PCW Relentless

If you want all seven of these, pick up any three of my books (ebooks, paperbacks or a combination) and send me some form of a receipt (Screen shot of one, forward me the receipt, whatever. I’ll take your word for it.) to [email protected] and I’ll mail you all of these 100% free of charge (I’ll pay the shipping). I’ll watch these ASAP and send them out ASAP. As you might have guessed, this is of course first come first serve with only one set of them.

Let me know any questions you might have.

Thomas Hall

NXT – July 17, 2019

NXT
Date: July 17, 2019
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Mauro Ranallo, Beth Phoenix

It’s weird to say this but NXT is in a little bit of a funk. I don’t know if it’s the Breakout Tournament or Johnny Gargano vs. Adam Cole III not being the most inspiring story in the world, but the last few shows haven’t been the most thrilling the world. They’re not bad by any stretch, but when your standards are this high, anything but great is jarring. Let’s get to it.

Read moreNXT – July 17, 2019

NXT UK – July 17, 2019

NXT UK
Date: July 17, 2019
Location: Download Festival, Leicestershire, England
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Aiden English

We’re still at the Download Festival and that means the crowd reactions are likely to be a little bit weaker again this time. The build towards Cardiff continues but it seems that we have to get through one more stand alone show before we get there. That’s understandable, but not the most thrilling thing in the world. Let’s get to it.

Read moreNXT UK – July 17, 2019

205 Live #138 – 16/07/2019

Hello You!

Back again with some more 205 Live. This week we actually get a rematch of the match that got me interested in watching the show again in the form of Jack Gallagher Vs Chad Gable. The last time these two took to the ring it was an absolute corker, so hopefully we get just as good a match this time out.

Also, last week Mike Kanellis promised doom for the show due to his personal life going to the dogs, so there’s a good chance we’ll see some chicanery from him this week as well.

So without further ado, let’s take to the skies for another week of 205 action!

Read more205 Live #138 – 16/07/2019

Monday Night Raw – February 14, 2005

Monday Night Raw
Date: February 14, 2005
Location: US Bank Arena, Cincinnati, Ohio
Attendance: 7,500
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

We’re back in America but the show is in a bit of a weird place at the moment. It’s the last show before No Way Out, meaning the last show before we can officially begin the Road to Wrestlemania. The fans are chomping at the bit to see Batista finally snap and turn on HHH but we need to go through the motions of acting like Batista might go after JBL instead. The inching forward continues tonight so let’s get to it.

Read moreMonday Night Raw – February 14, 2005

What the World Was Watching: WCW Main Event – August 13, 1995

–Gene Okerlund and Bobby Heenan handle the usual studio duties for today’s broadcast.  Heenan demands to find out who is going to be in the WarGames match at Fall Brawl.

–Heenan goes through the members of the Dungeon of Doom, speculating on who might appear at Fall Brawl.

Read moreWhat the World Was Watching: WCW Main Event – August 13, 1995

Feuds you hate

Scott,

    What feuds did you hate off the bat because you genuinely liked both wrestlers and hated that one of them was gonna lose the feud and get hurt by the booking, or knew that 50/50 booking would kill both of them?  This Aleister Black / Cesaro mini feud is why I'm asking because I see no good outcome here (Black dominates and Cesaro is still considered one step above the 24/7 belt, or they both split matches and it lowers Black).
That's always kind of the problem with babyface feuds and why you don't see them often.  You're essentially splitting your audience and guaranteeing that someone is going to be disappointed.  For me right now, I wouldn't say I HATE Ricochet v. AJ, but they've already 50/50-d them and I don't think it's the right time for Ric to start doing jobs. 

Heel announcers

Can we please get rid of the concept of the heel announcer? It feels so dated and silly at this point. 

I used to love Bobby Heenan and Jesse Ventura back in the day. But they were special. They were entertaining. It doesn't work today and just makes the product seem corny and carny. 

I hope when AEW launches, they skip the heel commentator and just put over the wrestlers and storylines. 

What do you think? 

Yeah, but if we don't have Corey Graves and Renee Young screaming at each other with petty arguments about what the motivation of a heel is, how will we ever know?  By having someone CUT A PROMO?  Yeah, right.  

What’s good?

My WWE Network subscription is about to run out, and I'm not itching to re-up given how "meh" the current product has been lately. I was a fairly regular viewer of the weekly programming until very recently (and for 2/3rds of my life), but too often I find myself just not caring about anything that happens. Maybe it's Shane, maybe it's 50/50 booking, maybe I'm too old and on the wrong meds… I don't know. For the first time in a long time though, I just plain don't care. So, with everything ever recorded at my fingertips for the next couple hours, I'm going to look for something that will remind me why I fell in love with this pseudo-sport to begin with. I'm thinking Rumble 2000, but we'll see. I can always dig out some RoH DVDs from '07 if I can't find anything else.

When you (and the Blog at large) feel jaded about wrestling, what are some shows/matches/segments you go back to? What makes you say "THIS is all that is good about wrestling?"

What's good?

The two Bash 86 shows!  It's like the peak of Crockett right there on the screen, with all of Dusty's excesses and hubris paying off with a pair of huge stadium shows with jacked crowds, just before the promotion goes completely down the toilet.  

Also, those Superstars shows.  It was like a shot of snark adrenaline right to the heart.  

Worst Actor In Pro Wrestling?


Who do you think is the worst actor in pro wrestling, either currently or all time?  I don't know about all time, but currently it is hands down Baron Corbin for me.  Everytime the guy talks I think I'm watching a middle school play.  

No one will ever touch the acting prowess of Sid.  

WWE Name Generator coming back to bite them?

I was watching the G1 the other night, and as Moxley is coming to the ring, Kevin Kelly talks about how the handcuffs are off and Moxley can be who he wants to me. Just a day earlier, Shane Spears looked like a huge star during the 6-man tag at the AEW show.

What struck me is how quickly both guys have been embraced with their names. You look back at the 1990s and so many ex-WWF guys couldn't get over elsewhere because their names were so aligned with WWF (Brutus Beefcake, Earthquake, Big Boss Man, Mr Perfect, etc etc)

So my question – do you think the WWE Name Generator for marketing/trademark purposes is actually a problem for them now? Most AEW/NJPW fans don't watch WWE (based on Meltzer's reporting on who bought Double or Nothing) so these guys can quickly become new characters and develop new personas almost instantly. The WWE names were picked out of a hat, so they mean nothing to nobody. Dean Ambrose was a WWE champion! And people gladly forgot that name in a heartbeat. 

It also helps feed the larger narrative that WWE doesn't know what theyre doing. Not saying Shane Spears is going to light the world on fire, but he's already 100000 times more interesting than he ever was in WWE & has a shot vs Cody in August to potentially get over in a big way. 
Shawn Spears.
Anyway, yeah, I hate the name generator.  You know who's awesome, though?  Velveteen Dream, a throwback to the old way of doing things by coming up with a character name that instantly conveys what he's about and who he is.  They need to do more of "come up with the character first and base the name around it" instead of "Come up with a name for trademark purposes and then work on a character later".