Torture Wracked

AEW pull off a 5-star show with Full Gear 2021. Marc and John discuss match highlights including Darby and MJF’s mat classic, Eddie Kingston’s irascible antics versus CM Punk, and the wrestling artistry of ‘The American Dragon’ Bryan Danielson. 

They also provide a wrap-up of G1 Climax 31, including favorite matches and tournament MVPs (including ZSJ and Jeff Cobb), and look forward to Wrestle Kingdom 16.

John provides a Classic Match Review of Tyler Black vs. Shingo Takagi, from Westside Xtreme Wrestling’s 16 Carat Gold Tournament, March 7th, 2009.

00:00 - 1:12:47 - AEW Full Gear 2021

1:12:47 - 1:26:45 - NJPW G1 Climax 31 wrap-up

1:26:46 - 1:29:53 - John’s classic match review: Tyler Black vs. Shingo Takagi

Will 'the Windy Man' Zack Sabre Jr. go the distance in the G1? Can Marc and The New Day Escape the Undertaker? Can any of us escape the wrath of Armed Anderson? 

Marc and John discuss the possible future of a 'Hangman' Adam Page title run and who could be his first opponents, while ruminating about the makings of a good heel.

Marc provides an Instant Classic Match Review of Bryan Danielson vs. Kenny Omega at Dynamite Grand Slam, September 22nd, 2021.

0:00 - 11:20 - Escape the Undertaker

11:21 - 41:49 - AEW / Dynamite October 6th, The Future of Hangman, Armed Anderson

41:50 - 1:03:39 -  What Makes a Good Heel?

1:03:40 - 1:25:40 -  G1 Climax Nights 1-5, Zack Sabre Jr’s dominance

1:25:40 - 1:30:55:  Instant Classic Match Recommendation: Bryan Danielson vs. Kenny Omega 

Has the balance of power finally shifted from WWE to AEW? NXT is dead. Long live NXT 2.0? Marc and John discuss the massive AEW debuts of CM Punk, Bryan Danielson, Adam Cole (bay bay), Ruby Soho, and Malakai Black, along with an all-time bad Summerslam and an all-time great All Out.

0:00 - 32:07 - The current state of AEW / WWE / NXT

32:07 -  1:01:26 - AEW All Out 2021

1:01:26 - 1:10:00 - Daniel Garcia & 2.0

1:10:01 - 1:12:30 - Classic Match Review: CM Punk vs Samoa Joe, Ring of Honor, March 19th, 2005

1:12:30 - 1:14:00 - Matches we’re looking forward to

Torture Wracked t-shirt has hit Pro Wrestling Tees! New Japan gets their third World Champion in as many months. Marc and John go against the grain by praising WWE Hell in a Cell. Seth Rollins and Cesaro put on a workrate special, while Drew McIntyre and Bobby Lashley tear the cell apart. Tournament of Survival 666 serves up a smorgasbord of violence, including a Tower of Terror Light Tube Death Match and a Taipei Panes of Glass Death Match. Effy and G-Raver face off in an absolute classic, while Alex Colon celebrates his own Jordan-Bulls 3Peat.

0:00 - 9:20 - Bits & Bobs / AEW Dynamite

9:20 - 24:11 - NJPW Dominion 2021

24:12 - 47:48 - WWE Hell in a Cell 2021

47:49 - 1:07:13 - GCW Tournament of Survival 666

Could we be seeing Aleister Black in AEW? Riho and Serena Deeb deliver one of the matches of the year. Will ‘Hangman’ Adam Page be world champion by the end of 2021? Miro vs. Archer seems like a Street Fighter 2 Turbo match-up. Eddie Kingston is having the absolute time of his life. Does Britt Baker have the potential to be AEW’s biggest cross-over star? Nick Jackson's dye job makes him look like cheugy Hulk Hogan.

Daniel Bryan still wants to have the perfect match. Chris Jericho falls a great distance and Marc is upset about it. Is Will Ospreay the best wrestler in the world? Ricky Shane Page has a room of people screaming in his face without even saying anything. Can you image G-Raver in the G1? Will Kenny Omega ever face Cody Rhodes?

John and Marc discuss NJPW Wrestling Dontaku, AEW’s special Blood & Guts edition of Dynamite, GCW’s Ashes to Ashes, and a special AJW Supercard curated by Torture Wracked’s own Thomas Lloyd, which you can find below!

0:00 - 20:36 -  Bits & Bobs (The future of Daniel Bryan, Will Ospreay vs. Shingo Takagi, Our Favourite Matches of the Year So Far)

20:37 - 40:39 - AEW Blood & Guts

40:40 - 52:21 - GCW Ashes to Ashes

52:22 - 1:09:07 - AJW 80s/90s Supercard

1:09:08 - 1:18:29 - Wrestling we’re looking forward to

AJW SUPERCARD

1) Crush Gals vs. Jumping Bomb Angels

2) Manami Toyota vs. Aja Kong

3) Akira Hokutu vs. Bull Nakano

4) Chaparita Asari/Bomber Hikari vs Yumi Sugo/Hiroumi Yagi

5) Kyoko Inoue and Takako Inoue vs. Cutie Suzuki and Mayumi Ozaki 

6) Manami Toyota vs Toshiyo Yamada

In which we discuss NXT's return to greatness with Takeover: Stand & Deliver, including Walter vs. Ciampa, Balor vs. Kross, Io Shirai vs. Raquel Gonzalez, and incredible Kyle O'Reilly vs. Adam Cole unsanctioned match.

We also dive into the 2 night Wrestlemania, as John implores Marc to take the good with the bad when it comes to WWE. We talk about the misfires: Fiend vs. Orton, Asuka vs. Rhea, Drew vs. Bobby, and the hits: Roman vs. Edge vs. Bryan, the instantly iconic Sasha Banks vs. Bianca Belair, and the kick-ass wrestling debut of Bad Bunny.

0:00 - 11:15 - WWE Releases

11:16 - 36:45 - NXT Stand & Deliver

36:46 - 55:26 - GCW r/SpringBreak

55:27 - 1:13:00 - WWE Wrestlemania 37

1:13:00 - 1:20:00 - NJPW + AEW thoughts

In which we ponder the hypothetical of which match we would go back to watch had we access to a time machine, with some detours for VHS tape collecting. We talk about WWE Fastlane 2021, the booking of Drew McIntyre, and ponder the similarities between the upcoming Wrestlemania 37 triple threat to Daniel Bryan's classic triumph at WM30.

We discuss the current state of AEW programming, including the new Dark: Elevation, and speculate about the future of Kenny Omega's title reign. Finally, we go through the fantastic New Japan Cup 2021, and talk about the ascendance of Will Ospreay to the top of the NJPW Card.

0:00 - 11:53 - If you had a time machine, what match would you go back and watch live?

11:54 - 33:56 - WWE Fastlane 2021

33:57 - 56:46 - AEW Dynamite / Dark: Elevation

56:47 - 1:29:00 - New Japan Cup 2021

In which we discuss AEW Revolution, including that botch, and whether it's indicative of any larger trends within AEW's booking. We also talk about MOX v KENTA, Josh Barnett's Bloodsports 4 & 5, and the uniformly excellent AEW Women's Title Eliminator tournament.

Marc also reviews 'Brave' Billy Avery's classic match recommendation, Samoa Joe vs. Necro Butcher from IWA Mid-South Something to Prove, June 11th, 2005.

In which we conduct our very first interview with indie wrestler 'Brave' Billy Avery, who has recently started performing under the character Haunted Francis, from the comic book of the same name by our very own John F. Malta.

We talk about his time studying at the Chikara wrestling school while also going to college in Philadelphia, his struggles with depression and the freedom of personas in wrestling, how Bryan Danielson inspired him to get back into the ring, getting the shit kicked out himself in a street fight with Matt Riddle (which he won), his dream future opponents, and why he doesn't shy away from the label of comedy wrestler.