As noted in the Dynamite rant last night, I finally managed to snag some AEW Unrivaled figures off ShopAEW, and got Santana, Ortiz and Matt Hardy for $25 US each plus shipping, which is totally worth it to me. So with Hangman Page that brings my total to four now after nearly a year of trying to track any of them down here in Canada. Still need Kenny Omega, still need Chris Jericho, still need Orange Cassidy, but this is a start.
Early AEW game footage revealed!
https://cultaholic.com/posts/early-footage-of-aew-console-game-revealed
Gerald Brisco says that Vince “doesn’t surround himself with yes men”
Dynamite
Date: June 18, 2021
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Excalibur, Jim Ross, Taz
The Friday series continues with a special match inside an MMA cage. That may or may not be your taste, but it is certainly something different, which you have to do at some point. This time around it is Jake Hager vs. Wardlow, which is about as logical of a move as you can get. Let’s get to it.
The SmarK Rant for AEW Dynamite – 06.18.21
Not sure how long they’ll last there, but ShopAEW has some of the Series 4 figures available tonight: https://www.shopaew.com/figures I actually picked up Santana and Ortiz for a total of $66 Canadian with shipping, which is pretty damn cheap. I was tempted to grab Matt Hardy as well but I’m holding off for the moment.
Taped from Jacksonville, FL
Your hosts are Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross & Excalibur
Smackdown
Date: June 18, 2021
Location: Yuengling Center, Tampa, Florida
Commentators: Pat McAfee, Michael Cole
For the first time in over twenty years, we’re getting a Hell in a Cell match on free TV, as Universal Champion Roman Reigns is defending against Rey Mysterio. Why you ask? There doesn’t seem to be much of a reason other than “let’s do it on TV”. That is quite the change of pace and I’m not sure how bright of a move it is. Let’s get to it.
TONIGHT! It’s happening! Roman Reigns and Rey Mysterio are heading into HELL IN A CELL!
AND THEN! Jake Hager brings the cage to Dynamite while Arn Anderson’s kid makes his debut!
AND THEN!! It’s Hell in a Cell’s Pay-Per-View on Sunday as Bobby Lashley and Drew McIntyre settle it ONCE AND FOR ALL!
…oh, and let’s get some Euro 2020 action in as well. Portugal/Germany on Saturday and Italy/Wales on Sunday ought to be insane.
So, with that in mind, here it is — your moment of Zen:
All right, folks, we all know the rules. I expect you to obey the mod’s instructions at all time. Let’s have a good clean thread. Now — touch gloves, go to your keyboards, and come out posting!
ENJOY THE WEEKEND!
Tony Schiavone and Gorilla Monsoon do commentary for today’s show, which concludes the tapings in Tucson, Arizona.
The broadcast starts by re-airing Demolition’s squash from Prime Time Wrestling.
Akira Hokuto retired this year! Until she didn’t!
JOSHI IN 1994:
And now we’ve reached the end of what I can find for Joshi in 1994, so here’s my summation for the year! And it was a big one, with the future looking bright! Until it wasn’t! Read on!
Joshi had its biggest year ever in 1993, thanks to the massive Dream Slam, Thunder Queen Battle, and more, all culminating in St. Battle Final by the end of the year- 1994 had a lot to live up to, but went from strength to strength as they cap things off with the biggest joshi card in history at the Tokyo Dome- Big Egg Wrestling Universe is, to this day, the largest gate for any women’s pro wrestling event. Though they didn’t come close to filling the Dome and that’s hard to call a major success, it’s definitely made an impact. During most of the year, Akira Hokuto proclaims the “Dangerous Queen Final Countdown” as she prepares to leave AJW and move to Mexico, so she has all kinds of amazing Dream Matches in cards until Summer… and then she’s just back in AJW and that’s that for a while.
The year starts with a brutal, bloody Aja/Hotta match that sees Aja tear Hotta’s hand apart and dominate her. Kyoko beats Yamada for the All Pacific Title and that’s mostly it for Yamada’s push. The Tag Champs reign supreme for ages until October, and Manami Toyota’s push builds and builds throughout the year. She & Hokuto are the obvious work-horses of the year, putting out crazy batting-averages for great stuff. The year gets off to a great start with March’s Wrestling Queendom ’94, having a ridiculous string of awesome matches (Kansai/Sakie- ****1/4, Manami/Plum Mariko- ****1/2, LCO vs. Ozaki/Cutie- ****3/4, Aja/Bull vs. Kandori/Hokuto- *****), capping off the amazing Hokuto/Kandori feud with a story of them gaining respect for each other in a tag match against the former and current Aces of AJW- Kandori helps Hokuto pin Aja Kong to win the match, then slaps her hand out of respect and marches off leading her LLPW ring girls to the back. Just an amazing moment capping off a huge card.
Happy Fathers Day weekend to all!
Vince McMahon Is A Reginald Fan
https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/vince-mcmahon-impressed-surprising-monday-night-raw-star/
Universal Title Match Inside Hell In A Cell Set For Smackdown
https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/breaking-hell-cell-match-week-smackdown-universal-title/
WWE Probably Getting New Sets When Fans Return
https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/wwes-return-shows-may-look-really-different/
The SmarK Rant for WWF Wrestling Challenge – 12.27.86
THE RECOGNIZED SYMBOL OF EXCELLENCE IN SPORTS ENTERTAINMENT
Taped from Tucson, AZ
Your hosts are Gorilla Monsoon & Bobby Heenan
Impact Wrestling
Date: June 10, 2021
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Josh Matthews, D’Lo Brown
It’s the go home show for Against All Odds and that means it is time to focus on Moose vs. Kenny Omega for the World Title. Other than that though, we could use some build for the rest of the car. The rest of the card could use some attention of its own and odds are we might get that this week. Let’s get to it.
NXT UK
Date: June 17, 2021
Location: BT Studios, London, England
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Andy Shepherd
Things might be a bit slower this week as we are coming off a pretty awesome title change last week. Meiko Satomura is the new Women’s Champion, meaning we could be in for something a bit slower this time around. I’m not sure what that is going to mean for the show, but NXT UK is pretty awesome at the moment so they should be fine. Let’s get to it.
Yeah, I’m gonna give Gorilla and Bobby a break. Besides, Heenan’s probably about to make a reckless financial decision anyway.
Tonight on IMPACT: Daivari vs Jake Something on the pre-show, TJP against Black Taurus, Tenille Dashwood takes on Rachael Ellering, Josh Alexander faces Madman Fulton in non-title action, two legends square off as Satoshi Kojima meets Rhino, Steve Maclin debuts, and the chaos surrounding the Slammiversary main event will be discussed. (That chaos? Sami Callihan was named #1 contender by Scott D’Amore, then fired by Don Callis.)
After the jump, some indies highlights:
The SmarK Rant for the Best of Sting (Blu Ray) – Part 2
Carrying on now, as Sting’s World title reign is over as the 90s begin proper…
