Your Midweek Links: Yes, You Have to Read Bleacher Report Now

Your new fab five
Photo Credit: Bleacher Report

It's hump day, so here are some links to help get you through the rest of the week.

Self-Shilling:

- The Wrestling Podcast is equal parts rasslin and baseball as Jeffrey Paternostro and I talk about Dragon Gate, Alberto del Rio and Sabermetrics. Longest podcast to date. [Episode 16: For Those About to Man Mountain Rock, We Salute You]

- I make my Fair to Flair podcast review, bring up Nitro Parties and elicit a group laugh for my crack against Impact's (lack of a) drug policy [Episode 8: He's Got Great Hair]

- My Fair to Flair article from this past week, why we need to cool it on calling Alberto del Rio one-dimensional and maybe appreciate him for what he is, a WWE rookie whose first year is pretty outstanding. [Alberto del Rio and Taking It Slow]

Wrestling Links:

- Yes, I'm linking to my own site here, but screw you, this is a guest review that I'm quite fond of. Brandon Stroud reviews ACW's latest event. [The Wrestling Blog]

- Another guest blog that I was quite fond of, Jordi Scrubbings compares CM Punk and the onset of the Reality Era to a similar occurrence in horror film making. [The Wrestling Blog]

- My blogging Adrien Bro-dy recaps what went down in his absence as only he can. [PizzaBodySlam]

- Is John Cena a face or a heel? I'd say the answer is, he's a character. [International Object]

- If they don't integrate more wrestlers into the Reality Era, David Shoemaker it may not be so much an era but a footnote as part of the character of CM Punk. [Grantland]

- What is CM Punk's motivation? [Hitting the Mark]

- What's Kevin Nash's deal? He's there to galvanize CM Punk as a good guy, that's what. [Fair to Flair]

- Eric Gargiulo lists five takeaways from the CM Punk/John Cena angle thus far. He's a bit more pessimistic than I am, but hey, it's a good counterweight. [Camel Clutch Blog]

- The Best and Worst of RAW, f/ a shoutout to me. [With Leather]

- Razor's RAW live blog. [Kick-Out!! Wrestling]

- The world's biggest Edge fan gets to meet her idol. [The Muse Manse]

- Tom Warren argues that NXT should morph into the waiting room between FCW and WWE. Not a bad idea, actually. [Tom Watches Wrestling]

- Speaking of NXT, here's Trey Irby waxing romantic about the current eternal season. [Wrestling Theory]

- Justin Henry has a message for Matt Hardy. [Wrestling News Source]

- The XWA Interview [Wrestlegasm]

- Maryse has a hernia. Ouch. [Diva Dirt]

- Nattie Neidhart and Beth Phoenix want booty popping to stop, but they pose for risque pics for the website? Something tells me WWE really doesn't believe in the narrative they're giving the Divas of Doom to sell. [Grapple Kingdom]

- In non-exploitative women's news, there's a big match on the horizon Down Under featuring Madison Eagles, Nicole Matthews and Jessie McKay. DDS has the lowdown on it. [Dirty Dirty Sheets]

- Yeah, The Rock totally sold a sitcom based on '80s wrestling to NBC. [Warming Glow]

- Foley in talks to come back to WWE and possibly wrestle... not sure how good an idea that is, but I guess we'll have to wait and see on that one. [Cageside Seats]

- CMLL recap, featuring a .gif with a guy dressed as a chicken. [Luchablog]

- Mistico's return to TV as Sin Cara is so good they wanted him to do the same match over again. Oh wait, you mean it wasn't because they wanted an encore? [South Atlanta Wrestling]

- New blog! We Watch Wrestling is new and they're good. Here's their profile on Alex Reynolds. [We Watch Wrestling]

- Want to make Wrestlespective Radio better? Let Jason Mann know! [Wrestlespective]

Jamie Dobson Interviews:

No new interviews this week.

Non-Wrestling Links:

- Bleacher Report realized it had terrible content, so it went out and got some of the best writers on the Internet to be their lead writers in a bold new initiative that looks to raise the game in online sports journalism and opinion writing. Put the feeds in your RSS reader, folks. Dan Levy [Wide Left] Josh Zerkle [The Go Route] Bethlehem Shoals [Court Vision] Dan Rubenstein [Your Best 11] Matt Miller [Huge Upside]

- As a counterbalance though, Larry Brown argues that B/R is going to have to do a WHOLE lot more to fix its reputation (Although you can RSS the above five and just get the good content). [Larry Brown Sports]

- Hey, remember that earthquake yesterday? Yeah, while it didn't destroy much of anything, it was good for some high comedy on Twitter. [UPROXX]

- Apparently, Tiger Woods is the worst celebrity tipper in the world right now. At least he can win something! [The Post Game]

- What killed Miami? Money, it's always money. [Seventh Floor Blog]

- Al Golden left Temple for a plum job in Miami. Yeah, about that... [Dr. Saturday]

- Why does this Texas A&M-leaving-the-SEC talk sound so familiar? [TAMU 24/7]

- Even more college football, Drew Magary has your hater's guide to the top 25. In case you had trouble conjuring bile for kids playing football, of course. [Deadspin]

- Nike is not content with just fucking with Oregon's uniforms anymore [Every Day Should Be Saturday]

- Sandra Lee groping herself. Yep. [Food Network Humor]

- Castro and Plichter take a pizza challenge. Do they win? It's a tough one. [Doughboys]

- The most popular restaurants check-ins on Facebook are Starbucks and Buffalo Wild Wings? I FOR ONE AM SHOCKED AND APPALLED!!!exclamationpoint1 [Gawker]

- Just when you think they're getting soft, those [SQUAWK]in' smart Canucks come back with something like Big Mac sausages. Don't be a hater, hater. [Epic Meal Time]

- Fox News may suck, but Andy Levy is full of fucking own right here. [Imgur Gallery]

- Why do most Americans hate economics? Probably because you hate what you don't understand. [First Thoughts]

- "It wasn't gay, it was just wild sex with a male prostitute." [Indy Star]

- Wanna feel old? Read this then. [Buzz Feed]

- Want to win at the casino? Microcameras are the answer. [Boing Boing]

- Pat Summit was diagnosed with early-onset dementia this week. Holly Anderson writes that Summit doesn't want your pity. [SI.com]

- Abby Wambach singlehandedly brings the US Women's National Soccer team to the World Cup finals, and the best advertisement she gets is fucking Magic Jack? STEP UP YOUR GAME, ADVERTISERS, GAWD. [Hugging Harold Reynolds]

- Pokemon is NOT supposed to be this sexy. [Unreality Mag]

- Charlie Manuel drops the F-bomb on live radio. [The Fightins]

- Jonah Keri outlines his plan for the Cubs to stop sucking. [Grantland]

- Ten greatest roles of nerd icon Lance Henriksen [Topless Robot]

- New poster for the cult film Swamp Thing [Blast-o-Rama]

- Michael Fassbender as Magneto in drag. It's a deleted scene too. Christ, if I looked that good in a cocktail dress, you bet your sweet ass I'd have petitioned to have that scene in the actual movie. [Film Drunk]

- How adults play online games [The Oatmeal]

- Eight things that stopped suicides, or, if you're a pretty woman and see a dude looking to leap to his death? Make out with him, you might save his life. [Cracked]

- Haha, it's funny because herbal tea isn't tea at all. [Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal]

- Metal bras, just in case you're going into a war zone and want to look damn stylish. [Gamma Squad]

- The funny thing about that? That number is a Lancaster Co., PA area code. Wait a second, no, that's not the funny part at all. [Skull Swap]

- 49ers owner Jed York blames shootings at a preseason game on the fact that the regular season isn't 18 games long. Sure, and my dog poops diamond encrusted scepters. [Kissing Suzy Kolber]

- Ten other thoughts from the weekend in the NFL preseason [With Leather]

- Will his wife's health scare make Matt Cooke stop gooning it up? [Puck Daddy]

- Did Jay-Z and Kanye West illegally sample someone on their Watch the Throne album? [The Smoking Section]

- Dave Letterman to terrorist death threats: "Pfft, NBD" [Warming Glow]

Alex Shelley: Fanservice Personified

Alex Shelley is the man

PWG All-Star Weekend's first night saw Alex Shelley make two Earth-shattering challenges. The first was joining up with his Generation Next brethren, Austin Aries and Roderick Strong, to challenge Generation Me/the Young Bucks and a partner of their choosing at a future PWG event. The second was a challenge to Eddie Edwards after their match to make a date for a tag encounter in the future. He'd bring Chris Sabin, and Edwards would grab Davey Richards for a good, ol'-fashioned hoedown between the Motor City Machine Guns and the American Wolves. Both challenges were met with great jubilation by the Reseda crowd, and why not? The first is a dream reunion with perhaps the most hated faction in all PWG (only heels?) and the second is a bona fide dream match.

That begs the question... is Alex Shelley the ultimate fanservice wrestler right now? If he isn't, he's way up there. No doubt he had a hand in ideating those matches, and despite the fact that the latter one won't happen until Chris Sabin's knee heals up, well, the offer's still out there and 2012 will need some marquee matches to fill out slates. That one fits the bill more than any match I can think of this far out, depending on how the landscapes change in each wrestling company in the main consciousness of fans everywhere. Couple those with his announced teaming with James Storm at the next Impact Wrestling PPV (despite the fact that wasn't his idea), and man, talk about a guy who is the darling of the wrestling world right now.

That label is not undeserved. Shelley, along with his partner Sabin, tirelessly works the indies despite the fact that it probably comes at a great personal cost to him, or at the very least, not at that great a benefit given how the front office is reputed to handle outside bookings. It's why you don't see very many people outside the Bucks and the Guns doing that many indie dates. Yet, Shelley is out there, working for PWG, working for ROH, working for AAW (despite his next booking for the Chicagoland indie being pulled because Impact needs him on the house show circuit due to injuries).

Now, I'm sure he does it in part because of money. As a top indie name and a guy who has made his name in a national company, he probably commands a nice price. Again, without knowing exact numbers on how the former TNA scales their share from his outside booking takes, it's unknown how he benefits. But given that only a handful of other guys in TNA do take outside bookings is telling. And yeah, Amazing Red is working the East Coast feds with his former running buddies (and cousins) the Maximo Bros., which is commendable on his part.

Then again, Shelley's hotness is still new, and with all due respect to the Spanish Announce Team, his announcements excite me more than their teaming (although I will say I gained a new respect for Red at King of Trios). It may be a personal preference, but I still think it's pretty cool that Shelley was able to steal the show on the first night not just through his match (which I heard was excellent), but through promising wrestling fans all over future goods.

Given how much Shelley seems to relish delivering for his fans worldwide, I have full faith he'll keep his word.

Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein - Please visit his site to view the plentiful amounts of pictures he's taken for DGUSA, ROH and other indie feds: Get Lost Photography

Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!