The Bearhugs own “Grand Slam”, Greg Wilson, share his random thoughts from the latest week in wrestling.
Short and Sweet
I’m keeping it very brief this week as it has been a busy time as of late. I recently returned to the office for my day job after spending nearly a year and a half working from home because of Covid. As such it is a whole new learning experience balancing my job and getting everything done for the pod. I used to be able to get a lot of the pod work done while working from home, unfortunately that is not the case working back in an office. We still love doing the pod, it won’t be going anywhere but expect possible delays and for us to not be always as active on the socials. That all being said, here is what has been catching my attention from the WWE side of things:
· WWE Shaping Up – It seems Vince and co might be finally taking the threat of the Elite seriously as recent TV has been pretty good. There is still a lot of daft stuff going on in terms of storylines and character work but match wise it has been a treat. The main event of Raw this week was a real standout featuring three of its biggest stars at the moment. WWE has always thrived when it is backed into a corner and enters a type of “panic mode”. Whether they actually are in panic mode is up for debate but given AEW’s hot streak lately, a few eyebrows must be raised at this point.
· NXT – TBD – It is still hard to tell what the future holds for the no longer black and gold brand. Like I said last week, not everything about the relaunch is terrible but nothing has truly stood out to give me faith about what the future holds. Hopefully, this is just some early transitional pains and as the weeks go on things will pick up. There is a lot of great new talent here and plenty of the old guard left to make sure we should still get some great matches. But as a lot of people have been saying, the NXT as we knew it has definitely gone.
New York is AEW Country
AEW hit the Big Apple this week for a huge TV taping at Arthur Ashe Stadium. The Elite packed in a whopping 20,000 fans for the taping of Dynamite and Rampage, with the New York crowd red hot throughout both shows. In all seriousness I have not seen a crowd reaction like that on a mainstream wrestling show in a long time. It felt like the kind you would see at an indie show, everyone having an amazing time, chanting what they wanted and just wanting to enjoy a solid nights wrestling. Which they no doubt did. I don’t know what the issue is with WWE crowds these days but they come across as if they aren’t excited to be there, unless it is one of the bigger stadium shows. A lot of that could be aimed at how much WWE likes to control reactions. If they can pump sound effects in, they can certainly do some trick editing to get rid of the stuff they don’t want.
As for the matches themselves it was of course brilliant across the board. Danielson vs Omega was everything you hoped it would be while leaving you wanting more. A lot of people hate no contest and time limit draws but when done right they can be an effective tool in telling a story which was the case here. No doubt Tony Khan will already have a rematch in mind, maybe even two. I really feel that Danielson vs Omega could be the Omega vs Okada for a new generation. Elsewhere, Ruby Soho vs Britt Baker closed Dynamite and proved the women’s division is finally seeing some lift off. On Rampage, CM Punk had shown that any ring rust was firmly shaken off. In his second match since returning, he wrestled a great bout against Powerhouse Hobbs. There was a brilliant trios match as the Superkliq went up against Jurassic Express and Christian. And the show ended with a brilliantly hard hitting “lights out” match as Moxley and Kingston took on Suzuki-gun.
New York has always been a major wrestling city and AEW has firmly planted its flag in enemy territory. New York has always been WWE country given it was its only territory before McMahon Jr took over and led it to a global brand. But it has been no secret that WWE has not exactly shown its former home a whole heap of love over the last few years. Besides the odd Wrestlemania and a house show the company has seemingly forgot the city that helped make it. There was the whole fiasco a few years ago when the powers that be at WWE got butt hurt when Madison Square Garden played host to the ROH/NJPW G1 Supercard. Despite the fact WWE had not used MSG in years except for the odd house show. Mark my words, it might not be long before AEW sells out a show at that historic venue, firmly pissing all over WWE’s chips.
Who Better Than Kanyon?
Dark Side of the Ring returned with another stella episode this week covering the troubled life of Chris Kanyon. It was heart-breaking watching what Kanyon went through was his battles with mental health and trying to constantly hide his true self. I’m so glad we live in a time now where people can be accepted more for their sexuality and choices. Of course, there is a lot of progress still to be made but I can’t imagine what Kanyon would of went through trying to hide he was gay in the 90’s. After all, this was the time of “when men were men” as the Undertaker poorly likes to describe it. Not too mention, WCW was deep south territory. Even if the locker room was cool with his choices the audience would have probably eaten him alive.
This show is great at spot lighting wrestlers that deserve better recognition and Kanyon is no exception. I was only really familiar with his role during the Invasion angle which is when I started watching wrestling. To see how unique of a talent he was, he really deserved a better chance. He might not of been main event status but he could of easily made a storied career as an upper midcarder. It was also tremendous seeing the influence he had on the big stars of today, having a hand in shaping the careers of The Young Bucks and Brian Cage.
At this point it is hard not to feel like Dark Side has it out for Ric Flair as they succeeded in making him look like a total bell-end again. Not to get to much into details but during the episode they showed footage of one of Kanyon’s appearances on the The Howard Stern Show in which they called Flair for a chat. Ric was one of Kanyon’s idols but was completely left broken down after Flair brutally and unnecessarily buried him live on air. I imagine if Flair had known Kanyon’s struggles at the time he might not have been so savage but he would of still came off looking like a total dick.
Tuesday Night Jaw
Decided to end this week by paying tribute to the podcast that started all this for me. Now I am once again commuting to work I have the time to indulge in more podcast listening. I’ve spent the last few weeks going back over old Tuesday Night Jaw episodes for what feels like the millionth time. Started by Jim Smallman (former Progress Wrestling owner and founder) it is a must listen for fans of UK indie wrestling as well as those that generally like all of wrestling. Essentially a lot of what we do is modelled on this podcast and it really helped me when I went through a difficult time a few years ago. If you are looking for some more wrestling chatter here are five episodes I would highly recommend:
· TNJ Meets… Zack Gibson Parts 1 & 2 – These must be the two podcast episodes I have listened to the most out of anything (wrestling or otherwise) and they never cease to stop me cracking up. Gibson recounts his early life and career in wrestling but the real reason to check out these episodes is to hear his time wrestling in rural China. You would not believe the tales he has to tell and like I said, even after listening to them well into the double digits I still crack a smile over and over again.
· The TNJ Ultimate Top Ten Matches List – Probably the episode that really made me want to start my own podcast. You won’t find a more passionate discussion as three mates talk about the matches that make them love pro wrestling. Especially when guest Matthew Richard’s gets very emotional talking about a particular match that helped him during a dark time. Not to mention it is a solid listen if you want some great new recommendations for matches to watch.
· TNJ Meets… Trent Seven – Recorded before he became a well known name with WWE and NXT UK, Seven has a brilliant story to tell. I think people often forget that Trent is a much more senior figure in the UK scene especially when his British Strong Style stable mates are so young. Seven was wrestling long before the UK scene returned to prominence and played a huge part of helping it reach such a massive level.
· TNJ Live at the London Podcast Festival – TNJ doesn’t have many live episodes but they are all a treat with this one being a standout. Smallman gathers a few of his mates to have them create an ultimate supercard, using the audience to vote for the matches they want to see make the cut. You’ll be in stitches when it is left to the audience to all throw out names to fill a battle royal.
· TNJ Meets… William Regal – Smallman and Regal developed a strong friendship which was built upon Regal relentlessly winding Jim up and taking the piss. But there is love and respect as well. A brilliant chat as Regal talks about his whole career, it’s particularly fascinating to hear about his early days in the UK.
Make sure to tune into this week’s episode of Wednesday Night Paw where the podcast boys begin their look at the G1 Climax. Starting with taking a look at the History and Legacy of the event. Tune in 15/09 at 6:30pm GMT on Twitch.
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