The Accidental Wrestling Fan

I have sat here and tried to think about what to say that hasn’t already been said. For once, I will be silent as a podcaster.

If you are angry, upset, hurt, sad, frustrated, or lost on what to do, please consider the following:

I know I do not have all of the answers and I will never claim that I do. What I do have is love and hope. Let us all work together to push America forward in the right direction.

Thank you for your time,

John

#BlackLivesMatter #BlackoutTuesday

After a week off, Damon and Kaz are back to talk about big signings, old wrestling guy beef, and convoluted Royal Rumble games.

Earlier this week, Killer Kross and Timothy Thatcher reported to the WWE Peformance Center. Timothy Thacher is a longtime veteran of the independent scene, known for his no-nonsense personality and hard hitting technical ability.

Killer Kross has entered just his 6th year of professional wrestling, but has made an impact (no pun intended) in short order. He’s a big man who mixes his Muay Thai training and power moves. Most of all, he’s known for a very unique promo style.

Will these two men be a good fit for NXT? Or would they make a better addition to another promotion’s roster?

Longtime friends Dave Meltzer and Jim Cornette had a falling out after Dave compared the Okada/Kenny Omega matches to the Flair/Steamboat rivalry. Twitter user @MeltzerSaidWhat screencapped the exchanges.

https://twitter.com/MeltzerSaidWhat/status/1225211474869673984

On the surface, it would seem that Cornette’s strong dislike of Kenny Omega was the catalyst for this Twitter beef. Once you dig beneath that, you start to realize that Cornette is generating tons of clicks and listens for his podcast and YouTube channel. It’s a great way to generate heat in a smart era of pro wrestling.

By the way, is Hangman Page supposed to be a cool drunk or a sad drunk? Still trying to figure that out…

Kaz and Damon continue their coverage of Wrestle Kingdom 14 and share their predictions on how the Double Gold Dash will play out.

 Winner of Okada-Ibushi (c) vs. Winner of White-Naito (c)

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Chris Jericho

Loser of Okada-Ibushi vs. Loser of White-Naito

Kenta (c) vs. Hirooki Goto

 Winner of Archer-Moxley (c) vs. Juice Robinson

Zack Sabre Jr. (c) vs. Sanada

Taiji Ishimori & El Phantasmo (c) vs. Roppongi 3K

Jyushin Thunder Liger & Naoki Sano vs. Hiromu Takahashi (if he survives the Ospreay match) & Ryu Lee (FKA Dragon Lee)

Kaz and I were able to discuss Night One of Wrestle Kingdom 14 via Skype. I apologize if there any issues with the sound quality. We were originally going to discuss this the week prior to recording but I drove all the way from the studio (about 20 miles away) and I forgot the key to get in because I was using my girlfriend’s car.

This year, Wrestle Kingdom is taking place over two nights on January 4th and 5th, 2020. Night One is stacked with FIVE title matches and a bunch of multi-man matches that NJPW just loves to do. The most important matches are the first two matches of the Double Gold Dash. The winners of the main and co-main events will face each other to leave with both the IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental Championships. It’s important to note that the final match of the Double Gold Dash is not being called a unification match.

IWGP HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP (2nd match in the Double Gold Dash)

IWGP INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPIONSHIP (1st match in the Double Gold Dash)

IWGP UNITED STATES CHAMPIONSHIP (Texas Death Match)

Lance Archer (c) vs. Jon Moxley

IWGP JR. HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP (No Stipulation but Someone Might Die)

IWGP TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP

YOSHI-HASHI, Toru Yano, Tomohiro Ishii, and Hirooki Goto vs. Chase Owens, Yujiro Takahashi, Bad Luck Fale, and KENTA

BUSHI, Shingo Takagi, EVIL, and SANADA vs. El Desperado, Taichi, Minoru Suzuki and Zack Sabre Jr.

Jushin Liger, Tiger Mask, Tatsumi Fujinami and The Great Sasuke (with El Smurai) vs. Ryusuke Taguchi, Tatsuhito Takaiwa, Shinjiro Ootani and Naoki Sano (with Kuniaki Kobayashi)

This is another Gogopoda and TAWF super show.  We normally do these when John or Lino aren’t able to record so.  If you aren’t a fan of MMA, the wrestling talk starts at about 58 minutes.  For the Gogopoda portion of the episode, we discussed many key topics.  The first thing we discussed was the crazy dream I had where Travis Browne literally killed Cain Velasquez.  Seriously.  In my dream, Cain Velasquez was the first death inside the Octagon.  Morbid dreams aside,  we talked about Chad Mendes potential suspension.  The number 3 UFC featherweight was flagged for a potential anti-doping violation by USADA.  Brock Lesnar is apparently Canadian now and will be wearing a Canadian fight kit at UFC 200.  But, does he have diplomatic immunity from USADA testing?  Sean and I delve deeper into this potential conspiracy (just kidding, it’s pretty simple to figure out why).  We also talked about how Edgar and Aldo’s somehow-not-for-the-actual-featherweight title fight is starting to heat up.  The most important thing we discussed, however, was Jon Jones at heavyweight.  I think he’ll be the heavyweight champion, but will it be as easy as his light heavyweight campaign?

At the 58 minute mark, Sean magically disapeers from the show because I accidentally screwed up the audio and re-recorded some wrestling talk.  I give a quick rundown of Money in the Bank 2016’s match card.  The main thing I wanted to discuss, besides how unexcited I am for the women’s tag match, is AJ Styles vs. John Cena.  It’s more than likely going to be the match of the night and I am stoked for it.  Here’s a couple of questions I answer  on the show, but wanted to pose to the listeners:

Do you think a turn was needed by Styles?

Also, make sure to check out my blog post about my match of the week between Matthew Riddle and Tracy Williams from EVOLVE 52:  https://t.co/Vn7YzzulPF

Sources for the show:

http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2016/6/15/11942934/brock-lesnar-usada-exemption-drug-test-ufc-200-isnt-a-scandal

This is the third and final interview we conducted at The Mike McMahon benefit show.  John and I were able to talk with Johnathan Presley, one of the most prominent managers in the Michigan independent scene, and “Legendary” Sam Farmer, a true throwback to the territory days of wrestling.   I enjoyed recording this episode because I got to learn quite a bit about how certain events led each man to this point in their careers.  Johnathan Presley telling the story of how a severe injury led to him becoming a manager is truly captivating stuff.  Sam Farmer’s years of experience definitely opened my eyes as to how someone who wasn’t the biggest fan of pro wrestling as a kid can have a long and successful wrestling career.  I hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much I enjoyed recording it.  Hopefully, Johnathan and Sam can return to the show in the near future.  Until then, I’ve only got one thing to tell you.

Tuck your chin,

Damon

Johnathan Presley can be found at this link:

You can find “Legendary” Sam Farmer here:

This is the second interview John and I conducted during Mike McMahon’s benefit show.  In this interview, we spoke with Buddy “F’n” Hanlon about several topics.  One of the most important things that we touched on was the fact that Buddy was one of Truth Martini’s first students (along with Alex Shelly and Chris Sabin of The Motor City Machine Guns) at the famed House of Truth wrestling school here in Michigan.

Tuck your chin,

You can watch Buddy’s match against The Mysterious Movado below:

This Max Minicast is the first of several interviews John and I conducted at Front Row Bar for The Mike McMahon Show.  The first wrestler that we were able to speak with was Atlas Hytower.  Atlas Hytower is an independent wrestler in the Detroit area and is current the Pro Wrestling All-Stars Cruisercore champion.

The best way to describe Atlas’ in-ring style would be a “technical junior heavyweight.”  He’s known for utilizing missile dropkicks and suplexes and his signature moves include The Ace Crusher and Scissor Kick.  He reminds me of young Booker T, especially with his height and athleticism.

Atlas took a brief break from celebrating a victory over Buddy Hanlon to speak with John and I about several wrestling relating topics like the disadvantages of wrestling on outdoor shows and how he got into professional wrestling.  I hope you enjoy this series of interviews and hopefully we can bring you similar content in the near future.

Tuck your chin,

You can find Atlas Hytower on the following social media platforms:

This episode of The Accidental Wrestling Fan might not be quite as topical as it could’ve been two weeks ago, let alone a week ago (so long, Cody and Brandi).  Sean and I discussed the release of several WWE performers (Sean refers to it as “Black Friday”).   I don’t think anyone was shocked to see Cameron or Alex Riley get released.  Cameron seemed like she was never going to improve, even with an NXT stint.  Alex Riley improved his looks and cut some of the best promos in NXT, but he still wrestled like he was in the midst of his FCW title reign in the late 2000s.

However, a performer like Damien Sandow getting released was a bit of a letdown.  It’s a shame to see talent like Sandow get released because he is the kind of talent that should be around for years to come.  He has proven in stints in Puerto Rico and his return to Smackdown that he can get under the skin of fans.  His turn as The Miz’s stunt double proved that he could illicit an emotional connection with the fans.  “We Want Sandow” chants were a common occurrence on WWE TV, noticeably around Wrestlemania 31.  For whatever reason, WWE never capitalized on this crowd reaction and had him lose almost every match to The Miz and had him summarily thrown aside, both literally and figuratively, like trash in the Andre The Giant battle royal by The Big Show.  These types of things can get frustrating until you realize that this could lead Sandow to bigger and better things.  Drew Galloway says, “hi.”

With that being said, I hope you enjoy this dated, but informal conversation with Sean and I about Black Friday.

Lino had the opportunity to speak with the infamous Oscar Doe as they made their way to WWE’s Payback! Listen in to the knowledge that is dropped by one of the biggest fans in the business.