Wednesdaymania - 2020 Was Rough

 

In Which This Year Was Rough As Heck on Wrestling

This year... man, it just clobbered the wrestling industry. Shows were canceled. Shows that weren't canceled would sometimes become Spreader Events for COVID-19. People died. People retired without Retirement Matches. The writing sometimes sucked a lot.

So here's your year of major deaths in review:

• La Parka II
• Died Jan 11 at 54 years old. Complications from a bad dive that left him paralyzed.
• Not The La Parka we all know and love - he was the La Parka AAA used in the first La Parka's place when he moved on from Mexico
• Rocky Johnson
• Died Jan 15 at 76 years old. DVT blood clot became pulmonary embolism.
• One of the first black tag team champs with Tony Atlas
• The Rock's dad
• Black Demon
• Died April 13 at 39 years old. First wrestler to die from COVID-19. If you don't recognize his name, he was a non-mainstream masked luchador from Mexico.
• Howard Finkel
• Died April 16 at 69 years old.
• Complications from a stroke he suffered in 2019
• This one hurt a lot, I'll be honest. I loved Finkel so much and it sucks that he's gone now.
• Shad Gaspard
• Died May 17 at 39 years old
• Drowned after insisting his son's life be saved first. His son survived.
• This one sucked too because it really seemed like his acting, stunt, and mocap careers were taking off and it would have been incredible to see where he was headed!
• Hana Kimura
• Died May 23 at 22 years old
• Committed suicide
• Stop cyber-bullying people. That's all I can say. Just freaking stop it. She was barely more than a kid, and she had a brilliant career ahead of her, but people are shallow and vicious. They crushed this blossom.
• Danny Havoc
• Died May 31 at 34 years old
• There is no news on how Danny Havoc passed. He died just two months after his wife tragically passed from heart failure.
• Kamala
• Died August 9 at 70 years old
• Tested positive for COVID-19 before passing after a heart attack
• He lived a hard life, man.
• "Bullet" Bob Armstrong
• Died August 27 at 80 years old
• Road Dogg's dad and patriarch of the Armstrong family in wrestling
• Animal from The Road Warriors
• Died September 22 at 60 years old
• Natural causes while on vacation at a resort
• Tracy Smothers
• Died October 28 at 58 years old
• Lymphoma
• If you've ever wondered what "a full career" looks like, look up Tracy Smothers. The man went everywhere and did everything. Incredible.
• RJ Meyers
• Died November 16 at 44 years old
• Leukemia
• If you don't know the man's name, you probably know the people he trained, like Lio Rush. A great trainer, if Lio's any indication. Cancer sucks.
• Pat Patterson
• Died December 2 at 79 years
• Liver Failure
• Do you like the WWE Intercontinental Championship? He was the first. He was also an openly gay man throughout basically his whole career. His long-term partner (I'd consider him a husband with how long they were together, let's be real) was a part of the WWE family by all accounts. It sucks that we've lost this crazy dude. He was pretty dang cool.
• Danny Hodge
• Died December 26 at 88 years old
• Natural causes
• Danny Hodge probably single-handedly (no pun intended) maintained Kayfabe in every territory he was in. He could, and would at the drop of a hat, crush apples into pulp with one hand. If you look him up on Wikipedia there's a picture of him doing just that at the Oklahoma House of Representatives in 2013. That's right, he could still do it at 80. Holy cow.
• Brodie Lee
• Died December 26 at 41 years old
• Non-COVID-related lung issues
• This one still has me reeling four days later and totally overshadowed the loss of Danny Hodge, who, let's be real, most of us didn't realize he was still alive. Brodie Lee (real name Jon Huber) was starting the climb to the pinnacle of his career. He was apparently deeply beloved by the entire wrestling community, which is not a claim most can make. Thankfully, the wrestling world at large seems to have come together in support of his wife and young children, and AEW even "signed" his 8-year-old son Brodie (yes, he named himself after his son) to a contract with a commitment to hiring him when he's 18 (if he still wants to wrestle). They even gave him a Dark Order mask and had him come out and "beat" people with a kendo stick. I'm not crying. You're crying.

In short, this year has sucked a lot, but I'd like to end this blog on a positive note, so here's 5 good things that happened in wrestling this year in no particular order:

1. Sting on AEW with Schiavone howling that IT'S STIIIIIINNNNNGGGGGG!
2. Talkin Shop A Mania 1 and 2 were both so hilarious that I ended up with sore abs and ribs the next morning after watching them
3. Retrosexual is now signed to a WWE contract that will hopefully get him where he wants to be, both financially and career-wise! I'm very excited for him, though I miss his old gimmick and am not entirely down with his new name of "August Grey". He's got the talent to overcome any stupid crap the WWE shoves on him, I think.
4. Purowave's ode to Alundra Blayze vs Bull Nakano is incredible, so listen to that here.
5. So many wrestling babies! Mox & Renee, Becky & Rollins, the Bellas, Jason Jordan, Roman Reigns (twins!), and now... Cody & Brandi! I don't want kids, but I'm so thrilled that so many of these folks who have wanted babies are getting babies. Good for them!

So that's my wrestling news for 2020. I'm gonna go chill out and listen to more Purowave :)

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Wednesdaymania 322

The man above is Shad Gaspard. If you hadn't heard, he went missing on Sunday after a riptide pulled him out to see. His last act on earth was ensuring that his son would be saved first. His body was found this morning.

He was one half of Cryme Tyme in 2006 with JTG, but he was also an actor and a graphic novelist. He was a father. He was, by everyone in the wrestling world's reactions and words, a very good man.

I feel so awful for his family, having had to wonder for days where their loved one was, whether he was alive and injured or the worst had come to pass. It sucks.

It just sucks.

Go check out his work,

FC

Wednesdaymania 313: When Life And Art Are One

In Which I Am Losing My Mind Over Indies

You may have noticed that it's a weird time to be a fan of any kind of sport, much less wrestling. While the latest Basho continues (with one wrestler, Chiyomaru, pulling out due to having two consecutive 37.5℃/99℉ tests), the American Professional Wrestling scene is much... sparser.

See, we're no longer (in my state, at least) advised to have gatherings of over 10 people, which is not helping my anxiety at all, but will probably help limit the spread of COVID-19. This means that wrestling events... aren't advised. Yikes.

But here's where things are getting freaky, because you know how I've been talking about that wrestling novel I've been writing?

Uh...

One of the plot points I've been waffling on because I thought it was too unrealistic is about to become a reality.

Because wrestlers aren't able to wrestle, and that's literally how they get money, so there is now an actual factual Indy promotion which is planning to stream wrestling matches from their own private ring into your homes so you can stay home and watch cool wrestling while actually SENDING MONEY TO YOUR FAVORITE WRESTLER VIA THE STREAM.

HOLY CRAP.

THAT'S LITERALLY THE MODEL FOR MY GUILD OF WRESTLING PROFESSIONALS.

Hopefully, Freelance (the promotion in question) will be chill about this and not call me out on this because I've literally been hammering out the idea since last freaking year!

So, yes, hopefully when this novel, written by yours truly comes out, and you recognize the business model therein, you don't think I stole the idea from them (or that they stole the idea from me, because let's face it, the moment Twitch.tv appeared on the scene, it was only a matter of time before something like this came up).

Yeah.

Life is freaking bizarre right now.

Stay home if you can, sanitize as you are able, wash your hands, avoid contact, stay safe.

I love you all.

Enjoy Something!
FC

Wednesdaymania 311

In Which I Blather On Wrestling

I have a confession to make:

I'm behind on wrestling.

Yes, I'm caught up on Dynamite, but... I haven't seen a bunch of other stuff and I'm behind on NJPW, NWA, and MLW. I apologize for this.

Some weeks feel less like Wrestling weeks than others.

So here's what I do know for this week:

• AEW is apparently hinting at an appearance of Brodie Lee (Luke Harper)
• Lance Archer has joined AEW
• Colt Cabana has joined AEW
• Ian Riccaboni has half-joked about how, while he's very happy with ROH, he could be bought if someone offered him everything he already has plus some Disney loving...
• New Japan is still bananas, though they've cancelled half of this month's shows (not a full month like I stated last week)
• Kenny is injured
• Asuka is injured
• Trent Beretta is a fantastic wrestler
• Orange Cassidy is nuts and amazing
• Beyond The Mat, a great documentary, is currently on Netflix, so go check it out!
• Dynamite continues to spank NXT in the ratings, which is awesome

As for that last one, a lot of WWE "fans" are being total dingbats and claiming that a company which has only existed for less than 2 years should somehow be able to directly compete with a A-list show owned by a Carny billionaire who has worked in wrestling for longer than literally anyone involved in the new company has been alive. That's not how competition works. That's not how business works.

A small online retailer is not going to take on Amazon within one or two years. It would take decades, if not a full century, of courting the public away from a behemoth like that.

The same is true of a wrestling company.

They are in the wooing stage. That is how it works.

Chill out.

It's like pizza - there's a million different ways to make it, some people like one more than the other. Chicago Deep Dish is not magically superior to New York Style, and calzones are not magically inferior. You're allowed to like different kinds of pizza. Just because standard Hand-Tossed Pan Pizzas are the most popular doesn't mean they're the best - it means they've been the best marketed for the longest time.

Chill.

Go Enjoy Something,

FC

Wednesdaymania 310: Light The Fuse Indeed

In Which There's A Few Things To Discuss

So, last week on Dynamite, one of the Executive Vice Presidents, Cody Rhodes, son of the American Dream, brother of Gold Dust, husband of the Chief Brand Officer, owner of Pharaoh, had one hell of a cage match against Wardlow, a sentient wall of meat and malice who we'd seen very little of in the ring up until this point.

It was, in a word, awesome, and not just because it was a really good match.

It literally inspired awe.

Like... Biblical awe.

Because that was a 23' tall (7m) cage, and he just...

He moonsaulted off the top of the cage.

And won.

Somehow no one died.

Now, you may be thinking to yourself, so what? Wrestlers jump off of stuff all the time, so what's so special about this?

Well, pooky, lemme tell ya:

Tony Khan told him not to do it.

That's right, the owner of AEW, Tony freakin Khan told Cody not to moonsault off the top of the cage, and the nutbar did it anyway!

AND IT WAS WORTH IT!

Usually, I have a very negative reaction to wrestlers endangering themselves like this, but the match literally demanded it, and it felt like exactly the kind of desperation move this new, reckless Cody would pull. He even used MJF's Ring against Wardlow, which I thought was an ingenious move.

So yeah, if you haven't caught up on Dynamite, do it now.

But that's not the only news we have to discuss right now.

No, we've got to talk about the elephant in the room: Coronavirus.

With public health and safety in severe jeopardy in Japan, how is DDT going to move forward, especially since Kenny Omega is doing some shows with them?

From what I've heard, that, at least, going to be alright: they'll be doing empty arenas and streaming shows from their dojo.

New Japan has cancelled what looks to be all of March's planned shows, but hopefully, they'll also run some shows from their dojo.

What interests me most about this situation is that Streaming isn't really that much of a thing in Asia - they prefer television to internet-based streaming (which is why NJPW does not currently have a Roku app, is my guess). However, with newly limited access to theaters and other issues with gaining access to entertainment, I'm guessing that streaming will finally find its place in the culture. Perhaps we'll be getting that NJPW app this year?

Not much of a silver lining, considering the terrifying clouds...

That'll about do it for me today, guys.

Go Enjoy Something!
FC

Wednesdaymania 306

A Brief Overview of the Past Week or So In Wrestling

I'll admit, I haven't been following wrestling as closely as I usually do - I've been tired, busy, and occasionally unwell this week, after all! But, I can tell you this: Wrestling is still awesome.

WWE:

• I'll be honest, I haven't been keeping up very well with WWE lately, but it cracks me up that someone hollered "YOWEE-WOWEE" to The Fiend during a match. I love it when fans try to pop wrestlers (making people laugh)
• I hope everyone's safe - I know there have been/are snow concerns, and since so many wrestlers are from warm states, it's a little scary to think that they maybe haven't got a lot of experience with winter driving. More reasons for company buses, even though the risk of massive talent injury if there is an accident increases the more you consolidate travel.
• If you were thinking about buying WWE stock, now's the time. Last I heard, it was in the fifty-buck-a-pop range.
• They fired their CEOs... which is triggering panic.
• The XFL is coming, and honestly, I can't wait to see it fail again. I don't like football, it's a bad idea, and honestly, the teams seem... silly.

NWA:

• These guys know how to party, yo. The latest Powerrr was fantastic. Ricky Starks is a true star, Nick Aldis is indeed a National Treasure, etc.
• For all that this is a relatively small-scale company, it rarely feels rinky-dink.
• I don't really know about Zicky Dice or whatever he's called, but he's getting there. Lots of upside to him.

NJPW:

• Can't wait to watch more New Japan! I've been loving how Kenta is living the dream, how Suzuki is going bananas, and how Okada is still a beast.
• I hope poor Ibushi recovers well from his illness and internal injury! Poor guy caught the flu, and the constant heaving from the flu gave him a small tear in the space between his stomach and his esophagus. He should recover well, but still, I think about him a lot, and I hope his recovery is smooth and gentle.
• Uh, speaking of Suzuki going bananas, he's going to be in a match with Orange Cassidy for some reason? The reason appears to be that Joey Janela is nuts and his Spring Break PPV is always bonkers.
• Last note: Post-wrestling Liger is precious and brings me joy

AEW:

• Speaking of Orange Cassidy and Joey Janela...
• Joey is great in his feud with Sabian/Penelope
• Orange Cassidy faced off against Tully Blanchard during Dark this week, and it was pure magic. I can't wait to see the blowoff to that feud lol
• Newsflash: Jurassic Express is flipping amazing.
• I'm not looking forward to Cody getting his lashes tonight. I get very uncomfortable during strap-beatings, because I've seen what a legit whipping can do to the human body, and the line between "too weak, looks fake" and "oh crap, you've permanently disfigured him" is extraordinarily thin.
• In better news, Taz is a glorious commentary guy for Dark, and hearing him get completely popped by Excalibur was hilarious and made me happy.
• I really hope they signed Colin Delaney, because he was great during the tag match.
• Finally: the intergender match between Team SuperBad (Sabian and Penelope) vs Kenny Omega and Riho was fantastic. It was beyond fantastic - it was brilliant storytelling, made both women look extraordinarily powerful, protected Riho without making her look unrealistically capable, and had a great sense of fun to it. If you watch Dark for any reason, do it for this match. I look forward to seeing more proper intergender matches in AEW!

That's all the wrestling news I have for companies this week, but I have a one more note:

• Congratulations to War Horse for winning the online tournament to be placed in the new RetroMania Game!

That'll about do it for me today!

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Wednesdaymania 245: So Much Happening At Once

In Which I Talk Wrestling

A few quick notes before I begin:

1. Today is way nicer than yesterday - it's cooler at 45℉ (~7.2℃), but it's sunny and breezy and lovely. If only it had been this nice yesterday :|
2. I haven't finished typing up my notes on last week's AEW shows (Dynamite and Dark), but I promise you they were well worth watching, and if you want to go look them up somehow, I strongly encourage you to do so. Hopefully TNT will allow us see an archive of episodes within the next year or so, like a collection released on streaming of some sort? That'd be cool.
3. I haven't been keeping up with most of the Wrestling I used to - there may, in fact, not be enough hours in the week, lol!

Without further ado, here are my thoughts on wrestling this week:

• AEW
• OMG, this company is going to be the death of me. After a completely bananas show last week, knowing tonight's episode is the "Go Home" show (the last show before a Pay Per View) just makes everything more intense
• It's with a heavy heart that I tell you that Hunter Horse Helmsley aka Stoney aka the horse Hangman Page rode in on during All Out passed away a while back.
• SCU winning the Titles is amazing, but it's very odd how they won with a rollup. I mean, I don't have a problem with it - it's very seat-of-the-pants and neat, it's just not something I'm used to for such a weighty match
• With as much as I despised the NWO stuff in WCW, I actually love the Inner Circle nonsense. Because unlike with the NWO, there are consequences to Jericho and his cronies' actions.
• I still can't follow either MJF or Sammy Guevara on Twitter because they would still make my head explode. I'd switch to decaf, but I need caffeine to live lol.
• I cannot wait for tonight. Seriously. I'm super excited. I just hope I can get access to a tv for the night (I'm sometimes on the move)...
• IMPACT
• What kind of low-rent nonsense is this? They legit filmed a Pay Per View on someone's phone
• And now they're trying to call out AEW Dark by telling people how much more available they are? Joey Janela has the receipts...
• NJPW
• It has been 16 months of waiting with baited breath and trepidation, but it's finally happening - HIROMU IS BACK, BABY!!!
• I'm very excited to see more NJPW - it's been a while, but hopefully this will get my wrestling friends back into the idea of watching more NJPW!
• WWE
• Where do I even begin?
• The Saudi Arabia stuff? Well, a bunch of wrestlers were abandoned on the tarmac because they weren't rescued by Vince, who claims that the wrestlers who got out of Saudi Arabia on time by getting their own private plane, but let's face it, Vince almost certainly had something to do with them getting out on time because he likes them best.
• From the rumors I'm hearing, it seems that most of the people who were stuck on the tarmac because of a "mechanical problem" that may or may not have existed, are very very upset with Vince and with the situation in general
• I'm not a wrestler, but I say this with all love to wrestlers and out of a desire to see these amazing athletic performers succeed and thrive in this world without being murdered by a foreign government - PLEASE UNIONIZE NOW, I KNOW A LOT OF YOU ARE ANNOYED BY DAVID STARR AND I GET IT, NOT EVERYONE GETS ALONG, BUT PLEASE, UNIONIZE SO THAT YOU HAVE MORE POWER OVER PEOPLE WHO ARE TRYING TO CONTRACT YOU. YOU DESERVE THAT POWER. YOU DESERVE TO BE ABLE TO COME TOGETHER AND FORCE THE MONEY MEN TO RESPECT YOU.
• Not that I believe any wrestler reads my rinky-dink blog, but I hope they do unionize. They deserve the power collective bargaining can bring, and it might help them in ways they'd never expect. They need the power to say "no" without nonsensical repercussions (like being blamed for not showing up to a broadcast half the world away when your boss has just gotten into a fight with the aggressive and occasionally homicidal leaders of a foreign nation)
• Basically, the WWE is a dumpster fire, and I hope that the actual wrestlers, even the NXT wrestlers see this as writing on the wall - they are not respected and nothing they can do will ever gain them that respect, so they must become more powerful.
• Also, this Saudi crap makes me really grossed out and want to dump the WWE App, even though I love the backlog. Bleh.

As you can imagine, this was a weird week in wrestling. I am super excited for both tonight's episode of AEW Dynamite, so I'm going to go finish up all of my daytime nonsense so I'm ready for tonight!

Go Enjoy Something!

FC