ediger

Hey! One more for waaaay too long. Gimme a rock solid 4 hours of your best not a plodding 8-9 hours of whatever you have. Liked Kofi/Bryan and took off with 3 matches left (I'll watch'em later). Wasn't a ton else that really grabbed me. The Shane/Miz match was entirely built around one spot that looked pretty bad on TV. I hate it when they show the guys hitting the crash mat. I thought some of the tag matches were alright but when you have four teams in there the pacing gets a little crazy. Overall, I went home thinking "Man, that was long" not "holy ****, that was great". Don't think that's the sort of impression they want to leave.

For the modern belts? I wouldn't pay close to that for the classic belts let alone the monstrosities they use now.

Next time just remind them that you convinced the #1 wrestler in the world to lay down for a 50 year old commentator in front of 20 people 😉

WWE stocks dipped 3% after the segment John Oliver did on his show this weekend. It's a good watch. The guy obviously loves wrestling so it's not done in a way that looks down on wrestling overall, just the McMahons and their business practices. Skip to 6:21 for the part on WWE

and finally... Mandatory.com: Last Week Tonight To Discuss WWE’s Independent Contractor Status

Also, a big LOL to the dorks on the internet complaining about Kenny Omega losing a match at an indie show.

Sweet jesus, Donny Dicaprio threw some of the most vicious looking suplexes I've seen in a loooooong time last night.

^ This is me when I watch WWE programming these days. Never really been a fan of the type of light that most stage LEDs throw off. Someone needs to come up with a version that lights a stage or a room more like the older style pot lights. It's more of a wash of light instead of an in your face wall of colour.

Agreed. It was a good watch. Saturday should be a super fun show.

What, no live performance of Crack Addict? This is drastically better than some of the other musical guests they've had over the past 20 years.

Totally. Word of mouth is soooooo much more valuable than any radio advertising or tv spots. It's the reason why anytime my band has a show coming up I get out a lot more, even if I don't feel like it. Inevitably someone will ask when the next show is then I can work in "oh man, we got some stupid stuff planed. You probably shouldn't miss it. Have you heard insert opening band yet? They're ******* great!" or whatever. That ends up registering a lot better than a facebook invite. And while it's not the way people find out about things anymore, I've found plastering the right areas in posters still goes a long way in constantly reminding people about an upcoming show and doesn't have to be terribly expensive.

It's hands down the hardest thing to do in local entertainment. From a music perspective, I look at crowds of 10,000+ at the arena for a rock show and wonder how to convince even 5% of them that there's local options that are a) putting out incredible music and b) are cheaper to see than the big name acts. Plus you don't have to wait weeks/months between shows. You can go see a rock show almost any night. With wrestling, I would imagine it's similar. There's wrestling fans out there, now how do you convince them to check out a local product that maybe isn't as flashy as the big time? Edit: I take that back. Touring. Touring is the hardest thing to do in local entertainment in Winnipeg. Either you pay a ton of fees to enter the States or you drive for nearly an entire day just to get to a city that's larger that Winnipeg. And then that city is Calgary and you're not a DJ or selling cocaine so nobody cares...

I could definitely see how the poaching thing was an issue back then. But if my memory isn't failing me (which it frequently does), there were far more shows going on at that time so a guy could be exclusive to one promotion and get a decent amount of work.

Well I'm not aware of any dirty laundry nor am I really interested in it but I completely fail to see how it can be a bad thing for the local scene. Like I mentioned, it's drawing a lot of new people out to shows. Obviously most of them won't be regulars but if you can convert even a dozen people into fans of local wrestling, that never hurts. Plus the local guys are getting more exposure. If they can help turn a guy into a local draw, that benefits everyone who books that guy. These first two shows were a little closer together to help get the name out there, but from here on I believe they're planning to space the shows out a bit more. So it's not really crowding the schedule that much. And as far as long-term success is concerned, I'm not even sure that's something they're looking for. Wrestling's big right now and they're striking while the iron is hot. I'm game, gives me more shows to go to. From my experience playing & promoting punk/metal shows around town, I would say that the strongest times we've had around here were when there were lots of shows every night. Some nights you were up against 5 or 6 other shows but they all ended up doing well. The sheer number of shows made it a known thing to do and got it media attention it never would have otherwise. Fast forward to now with places like the Albert, Ozzy's & The Zoo gone and that whole scene has been relegated to the underground and really struggles to pull in solid crowds consistently.

It's the guys from Loose Ropes Radio and a few others, I believe. Now full disclosure, I've known James from Loose Ropes for years so I'm really hoping the best for them. That being said, I've never had any super in depth conversations with him about WPW (I don't want to be a **** prying for info), so I'm fairly in the dark about the goings on with them. I do know they spent a fair bit of time doing some research/making some contacts and planning things out. The third event will be a proper test of what they can do, I think. The first one, it was new so people were going to check it out. The second one sold out on the word of mouth from the first one more than Joey Ryan I would say. The reaction he got was surprisingly luke warm. Guys like Bobby Shink got a way bigger reaction, which I think is great. Had a chance to talk to Joey Ryan, Shotzi Blackheart and Tyson Dux at the afterparty and they were all pretty impressed by how over guys like Sweet Bobby and Tyler Colton are. Our local crew can really hold it's own with some of the more recognized names on the international indie scene. I get the feeling that The Unknown Poster is a little less enthusiastic about these guys than I am, which I can totally understand. I come from the local music scene and anytime there's a new promoter that pops up, I am super skeptical of their capabilities and their intentions. Personally, I think they're going into it with the best of intentions. I don't think they're looking to step on any toes or anything, they just want to put on wrestling shows with some people that otherwise might not come to town. Like I mentioned in an earlier post, after going to a couple of WPW shows I've got a few friends that want to check out CWE and PCW as well so I think they can help grown the local scene to a certain extent. What their capabilities are? Well, I suppose we'll see how that plays out. At the very least, it's one more night the guys can get paid.

Had a blast at their show last night. Top to bottom, really solid card. Gotta get there early to get a really good view, the venue has some sightline issues in places but hey, it's a bar show. It's like 50% party, 50% wrestling show. They seem to have identified a demographic, targeted it and really nailed it so far. Their shows bring in a lot of new wrestling fans. As much as the venue has it's issues, it's right in the middle of a neighbourhood filled with people in their 20s and 30s who like to go out. Should have some decent spinoffs for the other promotions in town. I've got a number of friends who want to go to every wrestling show they can now that they're familiar with it.

His acceptance speech will probably be longest he's talked without making a gay joke about Pat Patterson in over 20 years.

It was nice to finally meet you! I've been going to PCW shows for over a decade now and they never fail to entertain. Castle was really great and seemed to handle the travel issues like a pro. Speaking of being a pro, sort of a funny story from after the show. Typically I'm not the type to take a lot of selfies or line up for photos with people but after 5 hours, my girlfriend and I had consumed a few drinks and the line was moving pretty good so we figured what the hell, lets say thanks for dealing with the headaches of getting here and grab a quick photo. I had everything lined up for a quick pic but pressed the wrong button and closed the camera app instead of taking a photo. Without even hesitating, Castle grabbed the phone, said "here, I got a good angle" and snapped the photo. It wasn't until we were walking out the door that it dawned on us that being the pro he is and having probably dealt with his fair share of tipsy photo seekers, he knew damn well how to keep that line moving. No way he was waiting for my dumb ass to figure out how to take a proper pic. 👍

It's funny to watch the AEW guys start up with partnerships right off the hop and a plan that I think will help the wrestling industry overall while the WWE continues to take the "**** you! Give us your shirt!" approach. Speaking of helping the industry, I think there could be a lot more opportunities for local guys when AEW comes through their town. They're talking about keeping the roster fairly small so they can make sure there's a plan for everyone on it. I get the feeling the roster size in conjunction with the higher emphasis on wins and losses might result in the return of the old-school jobber type. It makes way more sense to have your lower & mid card guys going over locals who can put together a decent match as opposed to trading wins and losses against each other and I think the AEW crew feels the same way.

It's a good interview. A good look into how serious Tony Khan is about starting a wrestling promotion and what his vision is.

It's not an effective method, that's for sure. It's drunk logic at it's finest/worst.

Uso's actions kinda read like he thought "oh ****, she's gonna get arrested."

The next mention of that cheeto-dicked baboon better be a video of him getting stunnered... Anyway, a red hot string of local shows starts on Friday with PCW's Top Cock w/ Dalton Castle. Should be a super fun show, I've got my tickets. They've been knocking it out of the park with their shows lately. Also grabbed tickets to WPW's Barrcade a couple weeks later with Joey Ryan. Again, should be a really fun show. Joey Ryan's booked as guest GM but that was arranged when it still looked like he'd be out with an injury right now so we'll see if that changes at all. Decided to skip out on the CWE show with Dan Severn the night after WPW. Their shows are kind of a pain in the ass to get to when you don't own a vehicle and live west of downtown. I can walk to WPW in 5 mins and it's a 15 minute bus ride to PCW. Transcona... I don't even know how the hell to take a bus out there and cabbing round trip ends up being an expensive night. Either way, get out and see some damn wrestling!

and shockingly similar to "The Real Man's Man" Steven Regal 😮

Jericho also uses a style that fits his age these days. It's dirty, lots of cheap shots. You can play up the angle of the crafty veteran being too wily for the younger more athletic Omega. And as far as the difference between the NJPW US tour roster and the AEW roster. Are you kidding me? That tour is the leftovers after AEW took the top North American stars from New Japan.