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The SmarK Rant for NJPW on AXS - 05.22.15

The SmarK Rant for New Japan on AXS – 05.22.15

My DVR found two episodes of the show on AXS tonight, so we’ll start with last week’s show and proceed from there. And yeah, I can watch it on NJPW World with the original commentary, but not on my TV and not with Mauro Ranallo.

Taped from YOYOGI NATIONAL GYM, June 2014. This would be the Best of the Super Junior 2014 finals.

Your hosts are Mauro Ranallo & Josh Barnett, who are clearly by leaps and bounds the best wrestling commentary team in the world right now. Like, 5 minutes of them and you’ll wonder how you put up with Michael Cole or the rotating geeks of NXT.

Semi-Final: Taichi v. Kushida

Taichi, apparently a very poor sport as part of those wacky Suzuki-Gun hooligans, attacks Kushida with a chair and runs him into the post, then does the old “breakaway chair over the head” gimmick in the ring. Japanese fans love that shit. Taichai and TAKA beat on Alex Shelley on the floor as well, which has Mauro questioning whether “WWF referee Danny Davis” is the official tonight. The match finally starts for real and Taichi gets two, then he follows with a clothesline in the corner, but Kushida fights back with a pair of kicks from the apron and a SPRINGBOARD CHOP. Taka cuts off a dive like a dick, so Kushida hits both heels with a super dive instead. Back in, Taichi with a high kick into a sitout powerbomb for two and the LEATHER PANTS ARE OFF. Now shit is about to get real. Kushida comes back with an enzuigiri , but a moonsault hits knees and both guys are messed up from that one. Taichi grabs a microphone and throws it into Kushida’s hands, then does the old Eddie Guerrero sell to try for a DQ. No dice from the ref, and Kushida comes back before the ref gets wiped out now. Finally Shelley has had enough and superkicks both heels, allowing Kushida to roll into a kimura and finish at 5:18. Some good stuff, but this was way too much nonsense and interference. **1/2

Semi-Final: Ricochet v. Ryusuke Taguchi

I still don’t get how WWE could seriously pass on Ricochet. Just goes to show that not every decision from HHH’s brain is gold. Ricochet flips into a headscissors, but Taguchi dumps him and flattens him with a somersault dive. Back in and they trade forearms, and then trade dropkicks into the corner before Taguchi gets the Blue Thunder Bomb for two. Taguchi with a pair of rolling suplexes, but Ricochet fights out, so Taguchi hits a front suplex for two. Ricochet with a front rollup for two and he lands on his feet out of a Tiger Suplex, then hits a superman punch and Benydriller kick to finish at 3:40. Well that was brisk. ** They edited about 3:00 out of the match, but damned if I can see where.

Best of Super Junior Finals: Ricochet v. Kushida

Kudos to Kushida for the Marty McFly entrance gear, by the way. Test of strength to start and Ricochet gets to flip around out of that, but Kushida holds him down with an armbar. We take a break and return (with no edit) with Ricochet backflipping into a headscissors as my wife is busy cracking jokes until she actually watches the match and suddenly decides she loves Ricochet and never wants him to get hit in his beautiful, beautiful face. And again, WWE PASSED on this guy. Kushida tosses him (not the face!) and works on the arm back in the ring while the tournament losers all watch at ringside. Barnett has a nice touch, saying that they need to be out there wondering why they’re not in the ring right now and what they have to do to make sure they are next year. Because wins and losses DO matter. Kushida throws kicks at the arm, but Ricochet puts him on the floor with a high kick and follows with the SPACE FLYING TIGER DROP. If I was ever going to start a band, that’s what we’d call ourselves. Back in, Ricochet throws some stiff kicks and gets a low kick for two, into a springboard senton and flying forearm for two. Spinning forearm off the middle rope gets two. Ricochet tries a handspring elbow, but Kushida dropkicks him in the face in mid-move, and then puts him on the floor for a swanton bomb off the top to the floor. Well that was crazy. Kushida dropkicks him on the way in and follows with a moonsault for two as we take a break. Back with Kushida hitting a kick, but Ricochet counters with a GTS variation for two. That was more like a gutbuster followup, which actually looked more impressive than Punk’s usual version. Springboard SSP misses, however, and Kushida rolls him up for two. They slug it out and Kushida kicks the hell out of the arm and follows with a handspring elbow into the Hoverboard Lock (kimura), which has Ricochet frantically making the ropes. Kushida kicks him in the face for two. Dragon Suplex gets two. Kushida misses a corkscrew moonsault (“No water in the pool!” declares Mauro because he’s AWESOME) and they slug it out from their knees, which leads to Ricochet hitting a superman punch into a northern lights suplex for two. To the top and they fight over a suplex until Kushida goes down, but he fights back with a handstand kick. Ricochet catches him with a GTS from the middle rope, however, and gets a 630 (!!!!!!!!) splash for TWO. WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK. We take another break and return with Ricochet probably wondering what more he has to do to win this thing, but now Kushida gets an enzuigiri as Mauro is just losing his shit and it’s great. Kushida handsprinngs right into an electric chair, but reverses into the Hoverboard Lock from there somehow. Ricochet rolls him into the Benydriller, however, and wins the tournament at 23:16. The commentary made this into an epic. ****1/2

Afterwards, Kushida is pretty bummed, but he’ll get back to the top next year.

Ricochet cuts his victory promo in the ring, and lays out the challenge to Junior champion Kota Ibushi, which will be the featured match on next week’s show. So much beautiful in one ring!

The Pulse

Yeah, you know I’m all over this show now.

Comments

  1. Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA Fuck TNA

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  2. So...did Ricochet start using the Superman Punch before Roman became a thing?


    Cause otherwise...this is just proving a theory of mine.

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  3. I haven't gotten a chance to check these out yet, but I'm really stoked it's on again.

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  4. Still makes me laugh that the Lucha Underground champ is actually a guy named Trevor.

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  5. "before the show is probably getting kicked off the air because not enough people watch it."


    In all fairness, they aren't being kicked off because no one watches the show. They are being kicked off because sponsors want nothing to do with it.


    The fact that no one watches the show is another matter entirely.

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  6. Trevor is better than Terry.

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  7. Better than A guy named Dougie.

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  8. A virgin named Dougie* fixed.

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  9. You should change your name to Friendzone Freddy!

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  10. derp derp u are virgin!

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  11. "We've got a few weeks before Slammiversary and then just a few weeks before Destination X and then a few months before the show is probably getting kicked off the air because not enough people watch it."

    You're dead wrong. They're getting kicked off the air because advertisers don't want to be associated with them.

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  12. No he is named Prince Puma

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  13. Lucha Underground has the best commentary team. Matt Striker is phenomenal and Vampiro does an excellent job as well especially when he's all over Konnan.

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  14. Cant figure out either how Ricochet is not in NXT at this very minute

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  15. This was pretty lame to break out the "you're a virgin" deal. Is a moms basement and neckbeard crack next?

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  16. this recapperi s a complete moron

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  17. u suck at reccaping show on wrestling blog

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  18. Stop stealing my jokes.

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  19. Striker is dogshit awful, easily one of the top five most irritating/obnoxious voices in wrestling today.

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  20. Ricochet is still young enough that the ship hasn't sailed on him yet. I expect (hope) to see him in WWE within the next few years.

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  21. According to Meltzer, they didn't sign Ricochet because they already had Neville. However, I have no idea why WWE doesn't just sign the best talent possible, regardless of if they have similarities to other talent. It's not like they have a good record lately of predicting crowd reactions, and there's no way of predicting freak injuries.

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  22. kbwrestlingreviewsMay 29, 2015 at 10:51 PM

    And if the audience was higher, you think the advertisers might be there?

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  23. kbwrestlingreviewsMay 29, 2015 at 10:51 PM

    I'd think if more people were watching, the sponsors would be there.

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  24. Yeah, he's the shits.

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  25. I love him the way he goes over everything the way he explains Lucha, the work he puts into guys backstories and histories. The way he does his best to pronounce things correctly and explain not only Lucha but Lucha Underground and the concept. My favorite guy by far. In the WWE he wasn't great but on LU I dig him.

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  26. Because they have never gone out and just signed "the best talent available". Hell WCW got the drop on them in the mid 90's with signing the top wrestlers in the country and they still made no effect until the last few years to really seek out the kind of guys that are in NXT now. You'd get your Punk's or Bryan's but they were the anomaly not the norm until recently.

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  27. RICOCHET NEEDS TO POLISH HIS PROMO SKILLS. THEY ARE BEYOND DREADFUL

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  28. SHITTY PROMO, BRAH

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  29. I'm not sure how much more higher of an audience somebody could want. I think they bring in over 10x the viewers any other show on the channel brings in. I think its already been established that they are more than pleased with the viewership but flat out Advertisers don't want them I'm not sure why since they seem to think ROH will stop that but ROH will get less viewers and are even more "pro wrasslin" than TNA.

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  30. I'm not sure how many more people you expect to be watching the show. They are carrying with the a giant audience compared to the rest of the network. DA has even said in that memo that viewership was not the problem they are more than pleased with that. Its got to come down to the demographic that TNA pulls which is strange because its the same demo that everything else on there would pull and its the same demo that ROH will pull and ROH will have LESS viewers than TNA.

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  31. Sometimes its hard to read your recaps. Its also weird when you say things like "this match was dull because nobody believes Angle is losing the title". There are thousands of good matches where nobody believes a guy is dropping the title or even vice versa hanging onto the title. So that being your reason for this being a dull match seemed strange or atleast your stated reason. That and you say that Josh Matthews telling you this is going to be remembered two minutes in bothered you yet there have been classic matches where the guys hype of the match before it even starts. So why two minutes in is it bad for him to hype the match as something special but its ok for others to hype matches WEEKS before they even step in the ring? You say that the match dulled on you but you gave it a B rating rating and if I take it as A is five stars then a B rated match would be **** which in my opinion four stars on an episode of TV is pretty damn good. I like that you give reasons on why you didn't like something but then its weird when the reasons you give are things like "the announcer was hyping the match two minutes in" and "It dulled on me early but here is ****". I'm not knocking you and I'm not "trolling you" I'm simply telling you as a reader and I'm sure I'll be the only one and everyone else will tell you they agree but as a reader it seemed all over the place to me. Sometimes your words weren't matching what you were rating matches and the reasoning you gave didn't always seem to be valid reasoning or if it was it didn't more exposition to get it across.

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  32. kbwrestlingreviewsMay 29, 2015 at 11:19 PM

    I'm not just talking about Destination America. If they hadn't screwed up so many times over the years, they wouldn't be stuck on a network that so few people have. They're not being canceled due to just what happened since they've been on Destination America. It's from years and years of stupid decisions that have killed the audience and any interest from advertising.

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  33. kbwrestlingreviewsMay 29, 2015 at 11:23 PM

    There are indeed matches where you can overcome an obvious ending. Eric Young vs. Kurt Angle in any match isn't one of those because Young isn't in Angle's league, even with Angle as a shell of his former self.


    The Matthews issue is different from saying a match is going to be great before it happens. The latter is hyping up a match to get people interested. This was praising a match for having a hot opening and saying that was enough to make it a classic. It was annoying, not interesting.


    A B would be more like three and a halfish stars. It was entertaining, but not good if that makes sense.


    .

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  34. Thank god the formatting fix worked. Google changed the login procedure and locked out all external blog editors in the process, so getting this one from Word to Blogger was quite the ordeal tonight.

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  35. Yeah, I realize that. I just don't understand the logic of "we're not going to sign X because we have Y" when they're essentially the only game in town. They also didn't sign Eddie Edwards and Davey Richards because of the same logic. I'm not saying that any of these guys would be main eventing WrestleManias, but why limit yourself? They should acquire talent just like how the Seahawks have handled their drafts recently (btw, I'm totally not a Seahawks fan). They go for best talent available and figure out the best spot for him later.

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  36. But they never killed their audience. Their rating has been the same for what ten years almost when they were on Spike. I know you could say "yeah thats because they killed their product so nobody wanted to watch them" But there is no evidence they killed their audience since their audience never went away. It didn't gain any but it didn't go away. WWE's ratings haven't gone up, ROH is hard to say since their television deals have not been on the same scale. So yeah I'm going to disagree.


    I think the whole "TNA killed their audience thing" is a complete myth. If anything they have a very loyal audience and I think the fact that they could do 25% of the WWE's audience week in and week out is highly impressive actually. Thats a closer gap than WCW and the WWE were at their end. If I'm TNA and I'm doing a million viewers a week on Spike I consider that a huge success. Even doing that for ten years. The WWE's audience has gone DOWN in those same ten years. So I disagree this has nothing to do with them killing their audience. They maintained their audience.


    They lost fewer viewers than any other pro wrestling company this century over the span of a decade. This goes back to a certain genre of fans not enjoying their product and projecting that on the world even though the numbers don't support any "backlash". They simply were unable to grow but they were unable to grow at a time when the product in general was shrinking. If anything thats impressive. Maintain while the genre itself shrinks.

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  37. Sorry no a 3 1/2 star match isn't good? Or this was a bad 3 1/2 star match. Again I'm not knocking you wrestling is extremely subjective I love Hollywood Hogan promos so I'm not knocking your interpretation I'm just saying the way you expanded on it didn't make sense to me. Anyway though I'm pretty happy with TNA at the moment I think Young is perfect in his role of contender to the stars. He's been with the company forever, their fanbase likes the guy, he gets a good reaction, he plays just about every role in the company. I'm pretty certain that no matter what TNA will still be around for quite a long time. I'm not going to throw in the towel on a company that stays alive even under the most improbable of circumstances. Not when they seem to be integrating into the lower reaches of Hollywood at the very least more than ever before. Somebody somewhere will give them an outlet to televise.

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  38. so signing him to a DEVELOPMENTAL deal seems a good idea so he can devellop his skills, no ?

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  39. Drunksuke "Dock" MuracoMay 30, 2015 at 12:13 AM

    Gotta love it. That finals matchup was so goddamned great, when it aired live, they said fuck the post-game show and decided to air the entire match again before they went off the air. The match so nice, they aired it twice.

    While Nakamura won WOTY, really he was stuck doing nothing for half the year wrestling the Gracies, of all people, while Ishii and the NEVER title carried the company. Ricochet on the other hand, may have had an even stronger case at the award considering his conquests of Dragon Gate (world champ), NJPW (winning BOSJ), PWG (winning BOLA) and then Lucha Underground. The match that sticks out to me would be the title defense against Uhaa Nation from Dragon Gate 3/6/14. Well worth seeking out.

    Also worth noting, this was right after the scandal with Taichi where he got caught cheating on his wife. They allowed him to finish the tournament, but he was to serve a two-month suspension afterwards. This turned him from low-card de-pantsing geek into the most hated man in the company for about a month, additionally resulting in him turning it up a notch in-ring as well. And then two-months later of course, he went back to just being plain old Taichi again. But it was dynamic while it lasted.

    I should mention, BOSJ '15 is going on right now, halfway through the tournament with another show airing live on NJPW World in about 3 hours. Main event is Kushida vs. Bobby Fish, which doesn't strike me as tearing the house down, but we'll see. Show also has Scott Hall's kid Cody in a tag match, and the opener is David Finlay III teaming with Tomoaki Honma (!) against former WON Rookie of the Year Yohei Komatsu & young boy Jay White, which might be the match I'm looking forward to the most on the cars. ORDER NOW!!

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  40. From their average at their peak to the end on Spike they did actually lose about half their viewers: close to two million to less than a million. But it wasn't just that slow loss of viewers, it was failing to grow at times when Spike attempted to become more invested. The whole Hulk Hogan debacle--which Spike backed heavily--really put them on shaky ground. It eventually became clear that the company didn't seem capable of growth. The network also saw a disconnect with fans because every time they'd move them on the schedule the show would suffer a drop in viewers that they'd never fully recover from.

    It's tough to credit TNA for their longevity and whatever amount or percentage of audience they were able to maintain when that longevity has been based on the fact that they've been able to operate at a continual loss their entire existence. Only WCW comes close in comparison. Every other wrestling company has needed to make a profit to survive, and folded when they couldn't. Were TNA not being bankrolled by a billion dollar company they would have been forced to shut down long ago. Certainly they had periods where their product was good and that was reflected in their viewership, but even then they operated at a deficit, spending way more than they earned in order to look good for television.

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  41. It's not even the demographics for TNA anymore. It's the reputation amongst advertisers. RoH will have issues too simply because they're wrestling, but their cost will likely be so much lower than TNA that DA will still be able to profit from the advertisers they do get. TNA specifically has an image problem that's built from all those years on Spike. I'm sure we wrestling fans could list a ton of shows we find more controversial or offensive, but they manage to attract advertisers because they haven't built a poisonous image yet. But once a show does, it's hard to shake it. And it'll just be worse for TNA at the next network they try to go to, because if it does lead to them being dropped by DA, it's like having a black mark added to your permanent record.

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  42. The guy who just wrote a bunch of drivel littered with typos, grammatical errors, and run-on sentences is calling out someone for being hard to read. Pot, meet kettle.

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  43. Unfortunately not in this case. The whole "Do Not Advertise" deal is just a killer to TNA's future. It literally means there are advertisers who will not advertise on the show regardless of ratings or demographics. TNA would have had to have been spectacularly successful on DA to have had any shot of drawing the advertisers they'd need to overcome that stigma. Or cost substantially less.

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  44. No., because Impact still outdraws most everything else on DA. They just don't want to associate with this product, regardless of the quantity of eyeballs watching it.

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  45. There are a couple of regular shows on DA that--when their new seasons start--will likely do in the same ballpark (if not better than Impact). I always forget the name of their dumb shows: one of them is about Alaska, and the one about haunted asylums. They draw up in the 400K viewer range. Of course they run fewer episodes, but they also cost quite a bit less too. It all comes down to return on investment, and that DNA list makes TNA prohibitively expensive. They would have had to overperform to overcome that stigma. I'm starting to wonder if the same thing may have played a part in Spike's decision to part ways as well? There's so much of this stuff on the TV side of things we wrestling fans never really hear or think about, until it slips over into our wrestling world, and we're all left scratching our head saying "but I thought they got good ratings?"

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  46. JeffHardysInnerDialogueMay 30, 2015 at 1:17 AM

    To be fair, didn't they pass on Ricochet before they got into their "super indie" phase? Also, the rotating geeks on NXT are pretty good all things considered.

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  47. Whoops. Forgot to log out of the stupid gimmick account.

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  48. I just watched Ricochet vs. Uhaa Nation. My God, that counter into the tombstone was otherworldly. I'd put it at ****1/4 to ****1/2 if I had to guess. They put it all out there for each other and those fine DG MILFs in the front row (a common theme in all DG shows I've seen...those ladies in the front row). It was fantastic and has me pumped for Uhaa's stint in NXT. He's going to be fast tracked to the main roster or WWE are fools. Then again, they've passed on The Ravishing Ricochet.

    These guys got time, and they told one hell of a story where faction members told everyone who they were. I also noticed that Ricochet is like CM Punk with more than a flake of athleticism. So, that's where I see how WWE let him go. They don't want a CM Punk with those movie star good looks.

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  49. That promo wasn't terrible, but it needed work. This promo was also from a year ago from a guy in his mid twenties. He's certainly fixable and has enough in-ring charisma to break through on his promos. Or, WWE could have been smart like Lucha Underground is, and maximize his abilities by giving him a reason to not talk.

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  50. DO NOT QUESTION THE GREATNESS OF RICOCHET! Or do....and we can have a long discussion where we learn about the opinions of others and are enriched by the experience.

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  51. Your secret is safe with me. It doesn't matter why they passed on Ricochet. It's just the fact that they did and have to wait for him to become available again. The guy is a star.

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  52. If we're assuming that TNA is not much longer for this world, then I wish they'd shit or get off the pot with EC3. They've built him up plenty and he's actually been pretty good. Why not give him the next big main event angle?

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  53. Eh, if anything Lucha Underground has shown how generic Ricochet is.


    Like...he's not the best high-flier on the show. He's not the best babyface. He's not the best "American" style worker.


    He's good, but he's not a great talent and I think Lucha Underground's biggest misstep is casting him as their "hero" as opposed to a more organic and natural performer.

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  54. I really doubt they are counting down the days until the dude is available again.

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  55. If he loses the title in a short match to a guy named Mike, then all is right with the world again.

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  56. Yeah I just think that the best talent available isn't really their gimmick. What they see as the best talent and what you or maybe someone with similar tastes see as the best talent isn't to them. For instance the Wolves seem bland as fuck to me. They can wrestle pretty good but they're just boring to me. I think that sometimes what they're looking for and what we think/want/hope they're looking for are different. Sometimes they intersect but a lot of times they don't. Like Scott saying HHH doesn't always have a mind of gold. Who's to say he was interested in him and even if we think he should be for all we know they have looked at the guy and said "we think he lacks this or that" which is reasonable. Its not like they hardly have room for all the guys in NXT now with a whole group of guys yet to debut. Heck didn't they just bring in the biggest class of new comers yet. I'm ok with them not bringing in the entire ROH/NJPW roster even the "stars".

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  57. Plus doesn't he still have to go through one of their tryout camps again before he even gets signed? They were also interested in Mike Bennett and Roderick Strong but they still didn't pass the tryout camp.

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  58. Is he cast as their hero though? I really don't know who their "hero' is supposed to be. I agree with you on all points except for in the last five or so episodes I've watched guys like Alberto, Mundo (pre turn), Puma, Son of Havoc, Angelico, Ivelisse, even Sexy Star all seemed like one of the top heroes at one time too. Fenix as well. But I agree though.

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  59. I watched this for the first time ever tonight. I got a different show because I got the show that opened with the Time Splitters and Young Bucks. Ok match but honestly as far as my tastes go I much prefer LU to this. Even the match itself seemed like it took a while to get going with just a few really interesting spots. I guess though with Puro its not so much a cohesive show like RAW or like Impact or even like LU and just a bunch of guys from different camps/stables/factions that may or may not like each other wrestling.

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  60. I'm not calling him out. I'm also not trying to write a review of something I'm posting a message on a message board. I even said multiple times I wasn't calling him out for his writing ability I was calling him out for his reasoning behind things not making sense.


    "It got dull quick but I gave it a B rating and a B rating is *** 1/2 stars but it wasn't good". That to me doesn't make sense. For some reason the match being a forgone conclusion when I'd say 90% of pro wrestling matches are forgone conclusions somehow took away from the match.


    So no I wasn't calling him out at all I was expressing my opinion that his reasoning behind some ratings didn't make any sense. I even told him multiple times I wasn't attacking him. So I might be the guy with the grammar mistakes on a wrestling message board but you're the guy that apparently can't read English words in proper context. A little circle of life we seem to have going on.

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  61. MOAR NEW JAPAN! WE WANT MOAR, SCOTT!

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  62. The American version is also a highlight show of year old matches.

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  63. Striker is the definition of "OK"

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  64. Also, since when is anything on impact "cohesive!"

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  65. Not really how TV works.

    Golf does abysmal ratings but is cherished because of the high quality advertisers it atracts.

    It is more about who is watching than how many people

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  66. Aye. The money is from the advertising that high ratings attracts, not just from high ratings. What use is all the viewers in the world for a show you're paying for, if you can't pull any money back in through advertising?

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  67. ROH is more pro wrestling then TNA and by extension far less embarasing.

    Convincing advertisers to sign off on a throw back wrestling program called "Ring of Honor" is easier then selling them on an "edgy" program called "Tits'n'ass"

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  68. No, that doesn't make sense.

    If it wasn't good it wasn't ***1/2 stars (or a B, or whatever)

    Your analysis usually makes senose on its own but your letter grades don't make sense based on the logic you put out a lot. it's not a matter of star ratings vs letter grades, it's a matter of your grade not being a summary of your points.

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  69. Striker's okay. Vampiro does my head in.

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  70. Looking forward to reading more of these.

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  71. I thought Mr. Hardy sounded oddly coherent.

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  72. Ricochet was definitely cast as the number one guy from the beginning. He was attached to Konnan, he had the mysterious backstory that's still local, the videogame-esque not-talking so you can use him as the audiences avatar gimmick. He was set up as the "rising star" from the start.


    He was their inaugural champion for a reason and it speaks to how generic he is that he's been overshadowed by so many other guys. El Patron is more credible as the "favored son". Fenix is a better high-flier. Sexy Star and Ivelisse have better "stories". Mundo was more charismatic.


    Ricochet is the generic hero in a sea of more interesting characters. And while some of that is LU booking him as the generic hero, part of it is that Ricochet (while very, very good) isn't the superstar that he's talked up as.


    He's not Rey Mysterio, he's Blitzkrieg.

    ReplyDelete
  73. In other words, Ricochet is Naurto.

    ReplyDelete
  74. Drunksuke "Dock" MuracoMay 30, 2015 at 4:59 AM

    Must have been clipped. Splitters & Bucks from 6/21, in its entirety, is like ****3/4.

    ReplyDelete
  75. Shin Nihon Puroresu!

    Look forward to more from Scott as I can see it rekindling his love for modern wrestling as current NJPW is gold.

    ReplyDelete
  76. No. Why would you sign a guy to your developmental league to develop the skills you want him to have when he already doesn't have the skills you want him to have?

    ReplyDelete
  77. Is the friend zone what you call your mom's vagina? Cause I've never been in there. I mean I'm literally the only dude that hasn't, but that skanky twat just ain't for me.

    ReplyDelete
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  80. kbwrestlingreviewsMay 30, 2015 at 6:01 AM

    I can't imagine Carter vs. Angle doesn't headline Slammiversary.

    ReplyDelete
  81. Angle did an interview a couple of days ago where he basically said Carter is getting the title and he's happy to be the one to help him get there.


    I thought it was odd he'd spoil their eventual match but with the way TNA's television deals are going maybe they're testing out just telling us what's going to happen?

    ReplyDelete
  82. kbwrestlingreviewsMay 30, 2015 at 6:09 AM

    "If it wasn't good it wasn't ***1/2 stars (or a B, or whatever)"


    Not necessarily. This would be similar to Scott referring to something as entertaining crap: it's not a quality match, but it's fun to watch. The match was a huge spot fest with no psychology anywhere to be seen. It's entertaining, but not good.

    ReplyDelete
  83. I had heard they liked Eddie, but were not so much on Davey, and The Wolves had presented themselves as a team. Just internet rumor, probably.

    ReplyDelete
  84. Wrestling in general is not popular anymore, not just Impact. Look at the WWE's latest deal with USA. Even though they're also hooked up with NBC, WWE doesn't control the terms of their contract like in years past.

    ReplyDelete
  85. But so is everything else in Japan on your scale.

    ReplyDelete
  86. kbwrestlingreviewsMay 30, 2015 at 6:32 AM

    If you have all the viewers in the world, you'll have advertisers.

    ReplyDelete
  87. kbwrestlingreviewsMay 30, 2015 at 6:33 AM

    As I've been saying: if they had been more successful years ago, they wouldn't be on a network like Destination America and would have been able to get a better deal.

    ReplyDelete
  88. kbwrestlingreviewsMay 30, 2015 at 6:35 AM

    If it's not popular anymore, why are so many networks airing wrestling? You have TNA, ROH, Lucha Underground and a bunch of indies getting TV deals. There's a market out there, just not on the major networks.

    ReplyDelete
  89. kbwrestlingreviewsMay 30, 2015 at 6:36 AM

    If TNA didn't kill their audience, why are they now on Destination America instead of SpikeTV or some other major network? This sounds like the same illogical theory that says WCW went under only because Kellner pulled the plug, which doesn't make sense if you think about it for more than ten seconds.

    ReplyDelete
  90. Drunksuke "Dock" MuracoMay 30, 2015 at 6:38 AM

    Give me an example.

    ReplyDelete
  91. "Splitters & Bucks from 6/21, in its entirety, is like ****3/4."

    ReplyDelete
  92. Raw used to have 20 times the viewers TNA does and they still had the same issue with advertising

    ReplyDelete
  93. NO MOAR NEW JAPAN! MOAR BORK LASER!

    ReplyDelete
  94. "Do you always work to the hard camera? No? Fail!"

    ReplyDelete
  95. ARRRRRRRR MATEY

    ReplyDelete
  96. kbwrestlingreviewsMay 30, 2015 at 6:50 AM

    Yet they never lost USA during that time because they still had people watching. You'll always have issues with advertising because you're wrestling, but if you don't run a disaster and lose so many people, you'll be fine. TNA keeps going downhill but it's all because of the industry they're in and none of it is TNA's fault? That seems to be the idea for the most part and that doesn't add up.

    ReplyDelete
  97. They could always put him in Chikara as the "Non GMO performer" I guess... still not sure how being organic would help him.

    ReplyDelete
  98. Yer face is gay!

    ReplyDelete
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  101. And that's why it's not popular right now.

    Has TNA done stupid things? Yes. But the issue isn't their fans, it's how they run the product and how much it depends on network money. ROH at least has different revenue streams that keep it going and bring new eyes. Impact does very little advertising outside of what the network does for them.

    ReplyDelete
  102. Bro, how many drunk girls have you taken care of and never gotten any from?

    ReplyDelete
  103. kbwrestlingreviewsMay 30, 2015 at 7:53 AM

    The mishandling of the company and the low audience go hand in hand.

    ReplyDelete
  104. It was indeed clipped. Mauro Ranallo even mentioned that on commentary.

    ReplyDelete
  105. You were watching the most recent show. Scott's review was for last week's airing. And yay for Scott reviewing more of these!

    ReplyDelete
  106. Saw the most recent championship match with ricochet- first time I've ever seen him. Didn't realize the wwe passed on him but that's odd. He looks like a star and he's crisp as hell in the ring. I don't see a way that US crowds wouldn't mark out for the guy and his move set.

    ReplyDelete
  107. Really depends on how his 7 year contract with Lucha Underground pans out

    ReplyDelete
  108. I find it even odder that they are taping 8 weeks of shows that will air after Slammiversary BEFORE Slammiversary airs live.

    ReplyDelete
  109. Wouldn't you rather have Angle/EY XXIV?

    ReplyDelete
  110. I think that's a matter of opinion vince has done well for himself moving very far away from throwback pro wrestling if anything I'd think that a sports entertainment television show would be more appealing than something with the very bland, low budget look of ring of honor just a matter of opinion but their tv show is the most uninspiring look since 80s NWA

    ReplyDelete
  111. "Yep Mode" Abeyance Brown ©May 30, 2015 at 3:38 PM

    Yeah, its not like they're gonna really harm anything by filming them after the show.

    ReplyDelete
  112. Right, and the wwe had shit for advertisers until it went PG.

    No one wants to be as social ed with trashy 14 wrestling--which is what TNA is by very virtue of its awful name.

    I'm not arguing wrestling Is more marketable than sports entertainment, I'm arguing Honor is less of a black eye than Ass

    ReplyDelete
  113. If history is any indication, all of the title changes will happen on the Impact following the PPV, thus spitting in the face of anyone stupid enough to order said PPV

    ReplyDelete

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