Impressions on Wrestling

Here it is, after the long wait... Episode #3.  This is admittedly a wacky show, but we had fun with it and it was late at night, so please forgive us.  Lars and I are joined by our special guest, Matthew Jacoby, who brings some fun stuff to the table.  So sit back and check out the show! Download this episode (right click and save)

Wow! What a show!  This was one of my most anticipated shows this year, and boy, did it deliver!  The big matches delivered and so did everyone on the undercard.  Seriously, wow. The show took place in a sold out Hammerstein Ballroom in NYC.  I will say this, the worst part of the show was the crowd towards the end of the show.  For the last two matches, they just cheered at select spots instead of truly getting it going.  Weird. Anways, let's break this mother down! Opening Segment-  They opened the show with Bullet Club cutting a promo. Karl Anderson introduced the IWGP Champion, AJ Styles. Styles said that there were no followers in Bullet Club, they all lead.  This brought out Kazuchika Okada, the former IWGP Heavyweight Champion, who got in Bullet Club's face since they screwed him at Wrestling Dontaku 2014. Styles stated that he was busy with Elgin tonight, which then brought out Michael Elgin.  Elgin stated that he thought he'd be facing Okada tonight, so he wa

Just wanted to give my quick thoughts on the first of two joint ventures between Ring of Honor and NJPW. Last Night's show, Global Wars, took place at the Ted Reeves Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Cananda.  It was a pretty decent show so let's break it down. 1.) Michael Bennett vs. ACH This was a fine opener, but it wasn't a thrilling match.  ACH got a few nice spots in, but there was never any doubt in the fan's minds on who was winning.  Bennett has a big match against Tanahashi on Saturday, so Bennett needed to look good.  Mission accomplished.   Rating : ** 2.) Michael Elgin vs.  Takaaki Watanabe Similar situation to the first match where Elgin needed to look good before he faces AJ Styles for the IWGP Championship this weekend.  There were some fun moments, but again this was never in doubt. Rating : ** 3.)  The Decade vs. Red Dragon vs. The Briscoe Brothers The Briscoes won in a fairly short but fun matchup.  Red Dragon has a match coming up with the Young

I just wanted to do a quick breakdown of my thoughts on the show last night.  Overall, I enjoyed the show. That being said, there were a few things I did not care for.  Let's break it down! Pre-Show--- WeeLC: El Torito vs. Hornswoggle: This worked for me as a comedy special attraction.  The second half of this match really got over with the crowd at the IZOD Center.  Good for these guys to put on a fun show. Rating : *** Match #1: Swagger vs. RVD vs. Cesaro This was a fun match and had the crowd going.  The finish was terrifying with Rob cutting his face on the trash can.  This was a nice win for Cesaro, and I hope he can move on soon. Rating: *** Match #2: R-Truth and Xavier Woods vs. Alexander Rusev: Squashtastic. Plain and simply a quick and painless match that felt kind of pointless.  Rusev looks strong, and R-Truth continues to ruin Xavier Woods.   Rating : * Match #3: Bad News Barrett vs. Big E Langston (C) for the Intercontinental Championship: This w

Tonight is the night for Extreme Rules.  This is WWE's follow-up to Wrestlemania XXX and this could be a heck of a show.  Let's do a brief breakdown of each match and give predictions... shall we? (Pre-show)  WeeLC Match El Torito vs.  Hornswoggle This could be the strangest match in quite some time, but also a big surprise. El Torito is a very talented mini wrestler from Mexico and Hornswoggle has taken some big bumps over the years. This match could be entertaining, especially in the pre-show.  This could be also be bad, depending on how the handle it... but forget that, let's just enjoy the fact that two talented mini wrestlers are getting a spot to perform on a big stage. Prediction : El Torito R-Truth and Xavier Woods vs. Alexander Rusev This is gonna be quick.  I'm happy that Xavier Woods is getting a PPV paycheck, but I'm sad he's stuck with R-Truth in undercard hell.  Rusev is getting support from the WWE brass and has a decent l

Last night was the go-home edition of RAW before we hit Extreme Rules this Sunday. I just wanted to post some of my thoughts and promote discussion about the show. -John Cena's first promo of the night was very good and set the right tone for the events to follow.  I like the concept of John Cena questioning the fans for backing Wyatt and not other young and exciting talent.  Cena was strong in the opening segment... -.... and so was Bray.  We had singing children and creepy lamb masks on dozens of children surrounding the ring.  This was a very cool image and really brought home the story of Bray taking John's audience away. Creeeeeeeepy. -The Usos had a nice match with Rybaxel.  The crowd was hot for most of it and they told a nice story with Jay getting hurt and building the suspense of a title change and causing the Tag Champs to take it to another level. -To get this over with, the Hugh Jackman bit was not good. It was too long, and it was... bad. -WeeLC is

In what feels like forever... we finally have episode #2!!! We go over Wrestlemania XXX, the current product, preview Extreme Rules, and have random moments featuring Unforgiven 1999.  Check it out! Listen to this episode Download this episode (right click and save)

I have taken a few days to relax after a crazy Wrestlemania week.  I wanted to take the time to digest the crazy events of this past week.  I also started to realize that we might be seeing some amazing things in the near future.  Is it possible that after all this time, after so many let downs and the company relying on Cena being the only guy, that we are heading into a new "era" in WWE?  They are certainly acting like it, and hell they are even saying it!  The "Reality Era" has been mentioned in the past by CM Punk and wrestling journalists.  It wasn't until recently, when Triple H stated we were entering the Reality Era, did I think that was possible.  On top of that, Wrestlemania XXX and the Raw afterwards felt like the biggest breath of fresh air in over a decade. I was have a debate of sorts with my friends about whether this was the start of a new "era" or if it had already begun long ago.  Jesse, one of the guys who will be joining our te

I am in shock. Less than 24 hours after appearing on Raw, the Ultimate Warrior left this earth.  Full details have not been released at this time. It is reported that he collapsed outside of his hotel in Arizona. I am deeply saddened by this news, and my heart goes out to his wife and children. RIP Warrior.

I am on cloud nine.  Last night was had a little bit of past, a good amount of present, and an enormous amount of future.  Before I get into my specific thoughts, I wanted to thank WWE for this show.  This show was a beacon of hope for all of the people that wanted something new and fresh.  This show was it. I would love to do a segment by segment breakdown in order, but I didn't want to take notes. I was enjoying the show way too much. Instead, I will post my thoughts on big moments throughout the night in no particular order. We had a hot opening segment with Daniel Bryan getting the praise he deserves.  "You deserve it" is the truest chant that has ever been given by a crowd. I am happy that Daniel Bryan got to the top of the mountain, because he does deserve it.  No matter what happens in the future, nobody can take April 6, 2104 away from Daniel Bryan, or the hero's welcome he received the next night.  Triple H came out and informed Bryan he had a title match a

I think Wrestlemania XXX will go down as one of the more memorable Wrestlemanias in history. There were some very happy moments, some confusing moments, and one downright shocking moment.  I look forward to talking about this show for years to come. Starting at 6:00 pm EST was the Wrestlemania Pre-show that delivered a very fun match.... The Usos def. Rybaxel, Los Matadores, The Real Americans for the WWE Tag Team Championship This match delivered as for the Pre-show.  It was fast paced and had some fun moments.  The last few minutes were the highlight of the match.  The Usos won with a double splash on Cesaro .  This then led to a post match face turn for Cesaro. Crowd was really hot for Cesaro's giant swing on Swagger.  Very good stuff. Rating : *** The main show opened with a long but very fun intro with Hulk Hogan, Stone Cold Steve Austin, and the Rock.  Hogan messing up and saying Silver Dome was hilarious, as was Steve Austin and the Rock making fun of it.  It was

Sorry this review is coming late. My body made me sleep.  So here is my quick review on New Japan's Invasion Attack 2014.  Historically, I am a casual New Japan fan at best.  I have been paying more attention this year and have been watching highlight matches.  This was my first live PPV.  I really enjoyed the show on multiple accounts.  The action was great, the presentation was strong, and the booking was very smart. New Japan does one thing better than any other promotion... They treat their "secondary" titles with respect and make them feel like a big deal.  WWE should look to NJPW on how to get their Intercontinental Championship and US Title to the level of the IWGP Intercontinental Championship or the NEVER Open Weight Championship.   Hell, they main evented two major PPVs with the Intercontinental Championship. That's awesome! Their tag divisions are also treated very well.  It's nice to see matches mean something. With that being said, let's go ahe

Earlier tonight, the WWE presented the WWE Hall of Fame in it's entirety on the WWE Network.  It was a very interesting evening with quite a few highlights. One thing is for sure, this show went really, really, really long.  I have been fortunate enough to attend a Hall of Fame ceremony and it was nowhere near the length of this ceremony. The major reason for that was three very long speeches. The first long speech was from the first inductee, Lita.  I am a big Lita fan and I am extremely happy that she was honored.  That being said, her speech was over thirty minutes.  There was a fun highlight of Arn Anderson and Rey Mysterio getting Miller Lights that she owed them.  Overall though, I would just say that this speech ran too long. The best speech of the night came from our second inductee, Jake Roberts.  DDP had a nice speech to welcome Jake out that featured some funny stories.  Jake then came out and provided a moving, truthful, harsh, and inspirational speech.  If you m

Hello everybody!  Tomorrow is the show of shows and I can't wait to see the spectacle from the Super Dome.  Today we are covering the Friday of Wrestlemania Weekend.  Due to work, I was unable to watch any of the independent IPPVs last night and I will attempt to watch some of the shows in the coming days and give quick reviews. What I did end up watching was Wrestlemania Today and Legends of Wrestlemania.  Wrestlemania Today was more of the same from Thursday with more interviews and match rundowns.  The biggest reason to watch? Part two of the Shield interview.  Truly awesome and these videos are truly making the Shield feel more special than they already are.  Other than that, everything felt business as usual.  There were some funny moments with Fandango's interview as well as Dolph Ziggler walking around the Axxess floor. The highlight of Friday for me was Legends of Wrestlemania.  It started off as just typical hype for classic stars and their Wrestlemania moments.  W

Sunday night is looming, but there is still so much more happening before then.  Last night marked the beginning of the Wrestlemania Weekend coverage from the WWE Network with Wrestlemania Today.  It is a two hour talk show hosted by Josh Matthews, Alex Riley, Booker T and others.  I just wanted to take the time today to break down my thoughts on the first night of the show. First off, this is awesome.  The show feels slightly chaotic with people talking over each other, but it feels fresh.  Different wrestlers come up to the panel and get interviewed and give their thoughts on their matches or other matches on the Wrestlemania card.  There are also exclusive taped interviews and video packages.  The funniest moment on the show was the video package of Big E going around New Orleans getting his fortune told, meeting fans, and hilariously eating beignets at a cafe.  In a few short minutes, Big E was able to show how much personality he has.  I will never forget the sight of using the

It has finally arrived! 2/3 of the crew has assembled for the first episode.  Lars and I break down the Wrestlemania XXX card and give our predictions as well.  There is also a ridiculous into that you could argue is immortal... brother. Listen to this episode Download this episode (right click and save)

The day is drawing near. Wrestlemania XXX is three days away. Today is our last match preview.  Before we get into it, we have some fun announcements.  We will have our first podcast release later on today with our audio preview and predictions for Wrestlemania XXX.  We also have launched our twitter account  @IOWrestling .  If that's not enough, we have also launched a Facebook fan page ! Now that our plugs are out of the way, we will be covering two matches today, as they go hand in hand with each other and seem like the main matches on the show. Let's get do this! Daniel Bryan vs. Triple H This match has been building since Summerslam, when Triple H cost Daniel Bryan the WWE Championship.  Bryan finally gets his chance at revenge this Sunday.  This match didn't just happen either, they had to get to this match in a very different way. Triple H explained to the fans that he screwed Daniel Bryan because it was "best for business" and that Daniel