Idiotic if True: How an Impact Burnout May Have Screwed over the Young Bucks

Were these guys wronged by the competition?

Cageside Seats has a pretty good summary of the scuttlebutt surrounding the Sin Cara hood and the two men who play it, especially the original. It's a good read, but in describing one of the reasons why Mistico has become persona non grata in WWE right now, they brought up this nugget on a recent controversy involving two decidedly non-Sin Cara related wrestlers:

The Young Bucks shouldn't have bothered turning up for their recent WWE tryout, their chances were shot as soon as Rob Van Dam gave them the rep of dodging veteran's handshakes. In a predictable development, RVD's good friends Booker T and Goldust made sure to concur with his assessment via Twitter that they were a couple of disrespectful young punks and thus the Bucks could kiss their WWE chances goodbye.

First, a disclaimer, I don't assume that this is 100% truth here. Dave Meltzer (the source for the Cageside article) may have an element of truth to that slant on how things happened. He may be talking cynically. I don't know.

That being said, if there is any element of truth to this... what the fuck, WWE? Really? Really? I purported not even to want to judge how the WWE backstage culture was, and if the Bucks did "wrong" Booker T, then it's one thing. It's a personal beef, and they handled it the way that they handle those kinds of things backstage. However, if what Meltzer is insinuating is true here, then it's a clear case of a guy who works for another company influencing policy. Regardless of who the guy is, that seems pretty fucked up to me. The guy basically is using his influence to make sure that two guys who might have a future in the industry can't get ahead. Isn't that kind of blackballing considered unethical at the very least?

Furthermore, let's look into the guy who's starting this bullshit. Rob Van Dam. Apparently, if the insinuation is true, he cares about respect and petty bullshit, which is fine and dandy if you're into having your ego stroked, but let's look at some of the things he doesn't care about. He doesn't care about showing respect, since he mouths off about Impact in the media if he's unhappy (and regardless of whether you agree with him or not, you take care of that shit in house). He doesn't care about following drug policy obviously. He also doesn't care about co-worker safety, since his well-documented sloppiness hasn't abated over the years. In fact, I'd say it's gotten worse since his most egregious offense against protecting his fellow workers happened within the last six months, i.e. his amateur dentistry on Abyss with his foot. So now, WWE HR policy is going to be directly impacted by a burnout working for the struggling competition? That is hilarious.

That also isn't to say that RVD and his cronies Booker and Goldust would be totally at fault here. If WWE really is going to not sign the Bucks due to that backstage fracas without further investigation, then what does that say about them? It's one thing to have a guy in the doghouse in Mistico because of behavior that's widely observed, but wouldn't you think it funny that the Bucks, who apparently shook hands with everyone else, had a problem with only two guys, guys who were friends of a habitual drug user with a massive ego? If the reports are true, then doesn't this make WWE look fucking stupid for siding with a guy who ultimately is part of the organization that's most competing with them, whether they know it or not?

But that's the kicker. I keep going back to the disclaimer. There's no way to gauge whether any of these reports that are based on non-primary sources and conjecture are 100% factual. While I have my reasons to believe Meltzer over anyone, including his colleague Bryan Alvarez, wouldn't have an axe to grind, it's entirely possible that he has a journalistic bias against the WWE. It's not that big a negative. It's human nature. There's entirely a chance that this whole post is bluster, and within six months, the Young Bucks will be in WWE, and who knows, maybe Mistico will be Sin Cara once more. That being said, there's too much smoke in the form of wrestler chatter about this kind of thing for there not to be fire. If it was just something internal, then yeah, maybe I wouldn't have wasted any more words on it than I did back when I reacted to it first. But the fact that someone working for Impact may have something to do with the Bucks not signing WWE contracts seems stupid at least, unethical at the midpoint and illegal tampering/collusion at the very worst. It's so mind-bogglingly awful that even the very specter of it doesn't pass the smell test.

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

Weekend Wrap-Up: Hurricane Tadasuke

Your Young Lions Cup IX Champion

- Not really a whole lot to report on this weekend in terms of shows, but what did happen was a good one. Then again, Chikara weekends are always fun, even if this one was truncated by Hurricane Irene. The Young Lions Cup tournament saw Tadasuke surprisingly take the trophy back with him to Osaka Pro after defeating Green Ant in the final. Greenie rode a wave of momentum into the final, eliminating all three of his opponents in his first round match and then taking out Jakob Hammermeir in the semifinal. After the match, Tursas squished him, which I'm sure figured into the final. Tadasuke dispatched Archibald Peck in his semifinal.

In 12 Large Summit action, Claudio Castagnoli gave perhaps the biggest proof yet that he's heading elsewhere other than the indies by dropping a match to... Icarus. Yep, I think losing to Icarus prevents you from winning your block or something like that. With two points and only one match left to go, it's safe to say he's not going to be challenging for the Grand Championship. Sara del Rey was tripped up by Hallowicked, losing via La Majistral cradle. Fire Ant summarily dispatched Vin Gerard in the only Block B match during the weekend.

Other matches included the Young Bucks pulling double duty. Nick wrestled in one of the eliminators, and Matt beat Johnny Gargano in a singles match. Later on in the night, the Bucks teamed up to give the Batiri More Bang for Their Buck. It's unknown whether they shook hands during the event, but my guess is, no one would have cared if they did or not. Finally, UltraMantis Black defeated Pinkie Sanchez and then summarily continued his calling out of Ares. Grizzly Redwood was backstage, but apparently he spent his time whittling, via his Twitter, that is. Not sure why I listed that, except I think it's a total Grizzly Redwood thing for the guy to be doing.

- Goldberg is apparently going to be wrestling for charity in Africa. Regardless about what you think of the guy, that's pretty cool if it materializes. Read more about it at my home slice Dave McKinney's blog, South Atlanta Wrestling.

- Ayumi Kurihara joins KANA, Ayako Hamada, Hiroyo Matsumoto, Yuki Ohka and SHIMMER Tag Team Champion Tomaka Nakagawa as a joshi guest star for the next run of tapings. This isn't really surprising news, but it's welcome, as Kurihara has become ingrained in the fabric of the promotion. Just in case you didn't know, Hailey Hatred will be appearing too, which is pretty huge since she apparently went to Japan and powered up to max level. The tapings will take place October 1 and 2 at the Berwyn Eagles Club. Tickets still available through the SHIMMER website.

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

Impromptu Mailbag!

My top tag team today, but who are their dream opponents?

I'm bored, so I took to social media to solicit questions. Here they are!

Tom Warren of Tom Watches Wrestling asked...

Which tag team from the 80's would you want to see have a match with a current tag team that's going now? Both teams in their prime, of course.

Good question. Tag teams are on the verge of becoming the new hotness in WWE, but we have yet to see where they can go. The Ghan-Am Connection, The Awesome Truth and the Usos are all good (and the New Nexus isn't as bad as you think), but the real established teams are in the indies and in Impact. Among those teams, I'm going to go with the Kings of Wrestling because I'm an unabashed superfan of Claudio Castagnoli. Chris Hero's pretty damn good in his own right.

So, who matches up with them? There are a few teams that stand out, but only one that seems perfect. Rick. Scott. The Steiner Brothers. I think you have two teams in the same milieu, only in different eras. They're both big teams that have really good wrestling chops. The Steiners obviously bring the amateur style, and the Kings go with the indie strong-style (although the Steiners in Japan certainly hung with the puro legends). Tell me you wouldn't love to see a pre-blown up Scott and a pre-insanity Rick go up against Claudio and Hero right now? That's the biggest dream match for me.

Next up, Tommy Siegel wanted to know...

Where do you see Punk going angle-wise after he's done with Nash?

The thing about WWE right now is that it's so unpredictable. No one knew that Nash would even show up, so maybe they're proving that they have aces up their sleeves. Here's the overarching point. This is leading up to the reveal of the person behind the text. That's where the angle will go next probably. Now, who'll end up behind the text? It could be Triple H, which might lead to a match between him and the Straight Edge Savior at Survivor Series or WrestleMania. It could be Stephanie McMahon, Larry Middleman or even Vince McMahon.

I talked about it on the podcast, and it's doubtful because he has hepatitis C. However, if they're bringing people from Triple H's past back, Sean Waltman would be the best option from a match quality standpoint. However, if I'm going to put my fantasy booker hat on, I'm going to guess that there'll be some kind of resolution in time for Punk to win the Rumble and claim his first really long hero's title reign at WrestleMania.

Andre Harrison of The Harrison Analysis up next, and he asked...

Do you think Night of Champions is going to fall flat after the big hypes for MITB and Summerslam?

Depends on falling flat. I mean, if you think they're going to do huge buys or have as much buzz for this event as the last two, well, then no, it's not going to measure up. Punk was the new hotness, just breaking through. Him being away from the title and having a distraction may or may not be necessary from where you sit. Personally, the chase is better than the catch, and having a big momentous title win would be way better for Punk at WM than at, say, Night of Champions, ESPECIALLY when it's the culmination of an 8-month story where Punk finally sticks it to the man and gets back what was wrongfully taken from him.

If you're talking match quality? I wouldn't say it's a lock to be worse. That being said, it's not as much of a slam dunk as Money in the Bank was. Cena/del Rio could be great because they're both great workers. That being said, Cena was a lock to have a great match with Punk because the narrative was that the two had so much respect for each other. With Cena blatantly showing disrespect to del Rio in character, there's the fear that we get a SuperCena title win, or some screwy finish where SuperCena is thwarted by MASSIVE interference. Orton/Henry could be alright, but then again, it might fall flat. There'll be some kind of tag team thing, whether it's a straight up tag match or a gauntlet like what is being rumored. I don't know, but generally, WWE has delivered on PPVs from a quality standpoint. So I'll say, if you order it, there's a good chance you'll be happy with it. And that's all that matters.

Jeff Paternostro of Amazin' Avenue chimed in with...

Who's the wrestler on the indy scene right now that you think has the best chance of being successful in the WWE?

This is hard because of all the rumors swirling about the Kings of Wrestling coming to WWE. Obviously, Claudio and Hero are super ready for WWE, so if they're not coming to WWE soon, they're my answer. But for the sake of expediency, let's assume they're coming. Also, Austin Aries is a valid answer, but he's in Impact, and depending on what you think of Impact, well, they have national television on a grander scale than limited syndication.

So, with those guys disqualified, I'm going to have to go with Chuck Taylor. The Kentucky Gentleman is one of the most gifted people at getting fans to hate him that I've ever seen. He's a natural at making children cry, and WWE is keying in on kids. He'd pretty much get boos from the skirts-'n-tykes crowd, although his antics might make him a hit with the CM Punk crowd. His facial expressions too, especially when he's scrunching his face up to look like he's reacting to a smelly fart, are just primo. He's a solid worker as well, and about the only knock he has against him is his bulk. He's 6'1" though, so adding muscle or mass is an easy task.

Plus, I'd totally pay money to see him shank Alex Riley for stealing the idea of working a grenade into his moveset...

Jamey "FATSEXY" Litton came up with this one...

Do you feel sorry for Ric Flair?

He's referring to this article at Grantland today. Anyway, no, I don't feel sorry for him, because he made his own bed and had to lie in it. That being said, while I don't feel sorry, I do feel sad. I mean, it's pathetic to see a guy who is a legend dodder around because he needs cash. I feel for him, and I wish he could just hit the lottery or something, but there's no denying that it is his fault.

Finally, bookending with a question from Twitter user @OkoriWadsworth...

Dream Campeonatos de Parejas match for Chikara?

An a propos finish for the first question. If we're talking about the current Campeones, Mike Quackenbush and Jigsaw, then I'm going to have to say the Young Bucks are a dream match for them. Much in the same way that the Steiners and Kings would be great matches for each other in that first question, the Bucks are very much a similar team to QuackSaw, except that the Campeones are a bit more grounded in terms of the basics. I think you'd get a lot of really cool fireworks in this match, and the Bucks have proven that they can totally go rudo to give the affair an added measure of heat.

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

Wrestling High School, or Why I Don't Wanna Hear about Who Disrespected Whom

Centers of a firestorm that I wish I'd never known about

There's a reason this is the first time you're going to be reading about the supposed disrespect shown by the Young Bucks towards Booker T. It's the same reason why I don't follow Joey Image on Twitter anymore, or why I bristle at people who retweet his "YOU NEED TO RESPECT THE BUSINESS" BS rhetoric. I hate hearing about treating this mythical thing like the "business" with a fake layer of respect that's been propped up by guys who never fully left high school. I also don't want to hear about how people I generally like - and I like both the Young Bucks and Booker - bristle and act like assholes over feeling entitled over respect or being portrayed as disrespectful, whether right or wrong.

Granted, I haven't come to say that these wrestlers need to grow up and that they need to get out of this mold that respect is earned through tenure, not through deeds and demeanor and whatever other happy horseshit code they abide by. It's as old as wrestling itself, and hey, if that's how they want to conduct their business, then hey, good for them. I don't want Undertaker coming to my office and telling me how to conduct business there. Even if I think how they conduct their locker room code of ethics or respect or whatever is pedantic and childish, it's their business. What they do behind closed doors is what they do behind closed doors, and there's a reason why I'm an engineer and Booker Huffman and the brothers Massie both went into the wrestling business.

But that's the thing. If Booker didn't take to Twitter to put the Bucks on blast, then I wouldn't have known about it. If Rob Van Dam hadn't slammed the Bucks for "disrespect" before they left Impact, I wouldn't have known about it. If the Bucks and their brother Malachi hadn't responded in kind on social media, I wouldn't have known about it. Now, we're inundated with this wave of "he said, he said" accounts to incidents that maybe shouldn't have been big deals in the first place. Furthermore, you get Booker and Malachi carrying on to the point where I unfollowed both of them.

It's bad enough when the dirtsheets report on this kind of thing like it's news, but they can be ignored because hey, unless they have primary, neutral sources who are able to be named transparently, it can be dismissed. But when you have the people themselves taking to Twitter to fight in an attempt to curry favor with the masses, it gets right in your face, and you have to deal with the reality that people you enjoy on television can be assholes, or at the very least, they can be fool enough not to keep their dirty laundry contained within the confines of their locker room.

That's what gets me about people like Image. They want it both ways. They sanctimoniously preach about how we fans need to stop being disrespectful when we refer to wrestlers by their real names or (in what is the most hilariously preachy and wrong example) when we predict how a match is going to go, (and it's not just Image who does this, a lot of mainstream wrestlers do too) but then they carry on in public, either airing dirty laundry or weighing in on dirty laundry. I mean, if referring to a wrestler by his real name is disrespectful and invasive of their privacy, what does it say when they throw those otherwise private issues into my face? I would say that airing your own dirty laundry, or even worse, commenting on someone else's is far more damaging to this imaginary respect than would be if I referred to these men by their real names₁ (which aren't exactly secret anymore). When Shane Helms is posting passive-aggressive blogs piling on the Bucks, detailing why "RESPECT" is so important, that's giving everyone a peek into the backstage world of these people, one that by all accounts, we should not be allowed to see. So, which way should it be?

Personally, I would much rather try to stuff the toothpaste back into the tube and go back to a world where the wrestlers handled their business internally and didn't blab to interviewers or take their fight to Twitter. Especially in the case of the Young Bucks and the people they may or may not have disrespected, I don't know whose side to take, mainly because it's all based on hearsay. When you have disputes between two parties, and no one's really there to witness, that's all it is. I don't know either party in this case personally either, so why should I feel the need to judge like I do? For all I know, RVD and Booker could be onto something. For all I know, RVD and Booker could be full of shit and have really fragile egos, taking something innocent the Bucks did and misconstruing it because they feel like they're owed something. But the thing is I don't know, and I'll probably never know.

And the whole not knowing thing? I think I liked it better that way.

1 - If you take that as an explicit endorsement to refer to guys by their real names, congratulations, you've missed the point completely.

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

Four of PWG's Finest Received a WWE Tryout Last Night

Two of the WWE's tryouts last night

I mused on Twitter last night that I thought I saw Scorpio Sky among the throng of security installed to keep CM Punk from attacking Kevin Nash last night. Apparently, I wasn't dreaming, as Sky was in attendance at RAW last night. According to Mike Johnson of The Site That Shall Not Be Linked (PW Insider for those new to the blog), Sky as well as Joey Ryan and the Young Bucks all received tryouts last night before the show.

This is huge news, although in the case of the Bucks, not surprising, as Triple H seems to want to bolster the tag ranks. Both the Bucks and the teaming of Ryan and Sky as The Dynasty would be tasty additions to the tag team division from where I sit. My guess is that there'll be a long hard look at body types. Then again, if Trips is all for pushing Daniel Bryan and seems to be going all in on CM Punk, maybe the mindset that bodybuilders are the only potential stars as an institutional condition of stardom is going out the window.

Hopefully, at least someone gets signed out of this though.

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

Matt Jackson Drops a Blog on Why He and His Brother Left Impact

The Bucks in a happier setting

Via Matt Jackson's Tumblr

Matt Jackson expounded on why he and his brother Nick asked for their Impact releases. Here are some excerpts:

Simply put: If we weren’t wrestling, we weren’t making money…And a guys gotta eat.

---

Earlier this year, we were moved from the tag division, to the X-Division. This was obviously something we weren’t excited about. We felt we were hired as a team and worked best as a team... Soon after, we were told we were being split up. Again, we reached out to the creative team, telling them that this may not be the best idea. Being the ‘company-guy’s that we were, and being reassured that we’d soon be back together and be given the time to “tell the right story,” we went along. Of course we were weary, but we were told to put trust into the company, which we tried to do.

After a couple of hot-shot-booked singles matches between my brother and I, both of us sat at home for awhile, not being booked, wondering why we split up in the first place?

---

A few months later, our main supporter, and man who hired us, Terry Taylor left the company. Right before his departure, we discussed the possibility of a more ‘fair,’ renegotiated contract.

---

July came. We were sitting at home again, watching, as non-contracted wrestlers filled the usual, single X-Division segment on the show. (That’s no shot at the guys who came in for this opportunity. They’re all friends of mine, and I was happy for them. Obviously, I’d of done the same).

---

After a small reminder in New York City, of what we left behind, and news breaking about MORE X-Division wrestlers being hired and added to an already bloated roster, the writing was on the wall.

---

So yeah, it's a combination of all the stuff we've heard or read about the problems plaguing guys who aren't in the main event in the company. I could say more, but at this point, well, I think Jackson said it best himself.

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

Young Bucks and Orlando Jordan Gone from Impact

Peace out, Bucks. Hope you guys didn't make a premature decision.

Via F4W Online

The Young Bucks/Generation Me are gone from Impact Wrestling, one night after the landmark Destination X event where their X-Division brethren had the night to shine. The two were not happy in Impact for awhile, per their Twitter pages, and last night was their "put someone over on the way out" moment, as they lost to Eric Young and Shark Boy. This is somewhat of a bummer in one way as if the critical reaction to last night's event indicates a number of buys and thus a change in direction, well, the Bucks could be jumping ship at the wrong time. That being said, this is the former TNA we're talking about here, and it'll take more than one event for me to be sold on them changing their stripes. Plus, this means they can go back to ROH or do DGUSA if they so choose (but not both). So yeah, I guess this is somewhat neutral news? I dunno.

Oh yeah, Orlando Jordan got axed too. I hate seeing someone lose their job in this economy, but at the same time, he did absolutely jack shit for me as a character or a worker in his time there, so I'm not terribly broken up about this.

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

Young Bucks to Return to ROH

Via Matt Jackson's Twitter

Matt Jackson/Max Buck let word leak on Twitter that he and his brother Nick (Jeremy Buck) will be wrestling Kyle O'Reilly and Adam Cole at Best in the World on June 26th on iPPV. I think this will be a somewhat exciting spotfest, good for opening-card fare. I'm just excited to see the Bucks back in ROH. Maybe if/when ROH runs an arena show in Philly, they'll be on that card too and I can see them live again.

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!

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!

Future Endeavors 6/5 Power Poll: The Truth Has Set Us Free

Truf giving those Cena plants fans the what for
Photo Credit: WWE.com

Welcome to yet another edition of the Future Endeavors Power Poll, a poll ranking wrestlers on a weekly basis based on how awesomely they performed or were portrayed on a Tuesday-to-Monday cycle. It is voted by a who's-who of wrestling bloggers, including my blogging Khal Brogo, PizzaBodySlam. I will list the top ten, and then post and comment on my ballot. Here goes:

1. R-Truth (Last Week: 4)
2. Alex Riley (3)
3. Randy Orton (1)
4. Sheamus (8)
5. Christian (2)
6. Daniel Bryan (NR)
7. CM Punk (7)
8. Sin Cara (9)
9. Ezekiel Jackson (10)
10. Evan Bourne (NR)

And now, my ballot!

1. R-Truth - Little Jimmy got chided. Big Jimmy got a face full of soda. And John Cena got trolled hardcore into a WWE Championship match at Capitol Punishment... of course, if Truth apologizes. I'm sure he'll find a way around it. I'm finally on the Truf-Train now, mainly because he was so awesome on RAW last week.

2. Claudio Castagnoli - Two successful PWG title defenses last weekend get the Very European superstar here. His first title defense even came against his oldest friend and rival Chris Hero despite the fact that the top rope on the ring broke a third of the way into the match. That takes steely resolve.

3. Alex Riley - Another week, another step forward for Miz's former lackey. If WWE's not careful, they may have a budding superstar on their hands.

4. Alex Shelley - He was the bringer of fanservice last weekend, promising both a MCMG/American Wolves match and putting his name on the bottom line for a Generation Next reunion against the Young Bucks and a hired hand of their choice. Oh yeah, he also wrestled in two tremendous matches.

5. Daniel Bryan - Stock Daniel Bry... wait, what do you mean he won a match against Cody Rhodes last week on Smackdown? YAY!

6. Evan Bourne - SURPRISE win against Jack SWAGGAH~! on RAW and because, according to reader Dorian, I have a mancrush on him. Well, I will neither confirm nor deny that.

7. CM Punk - I think if you get a clean win over Rey Mysterio, you get a spot on this list. I love the Tajiri Kick as a new alternate finisher as well.

8. The Young Bucks - Survived the weekend as PWG Tag Champions, including against the reformed team of Austin Aries and Roderick Strong.

9. Akira Tozawa - Ended his whirlwind run in PWG for the time being with three standout performances, including an emotional, action-packed affair against Chris Hero. Tozawa is the man, folks.

10. Sheamus - For earning a title shot, fella.

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!

Weekend Wrap-Up: Hey Now, You're an All-Star... Weekend

Chuck Taylor, shown upside down here, injured this weekend

- The big story from this weekend obviously is PWG All-Star Weekend. The two day event was marked by major shuffles to the card on both days. I noted the first day shuffling, but the second day had to be rearranged as well due to Chuck Taylor suffering an injury in his match against Kenny King. Other than him missing Night Two, I don't know how serious it is, but obviously, I wish a very speedy recovery to the Kentucky Gentleman. I own his tee-shirt, for crying out loud.

Anyway, both Championship entities made it out of the weekend unscathed. Claudio Castagnoli successfully defended against Chris Hero on Night One thanks to a broken top rope into a European uppercut. Night Two, he defeated Low Ki. The Young Bucks defeated both the RockNES Monsters and the team of Austin Aries and Roderick Strong on consecutive nights. Night one was interesting for the tag teams as after their match with the Cutlers, Generation Next got sneak-attacked by the Bucks, eliciting Alex Shelley for the save. Shelley called out the Bucks and challenged them to a six-man tag with a partner of their choosing, completing the GenNext reunion as far as it'll go without bringing Jack Evans back into the American consciousness (and seriously, who wants that?) Shelley wasn't done challenging yet, as after jobbing to Eddie Edwards, he proposed a dream tag match between the American Wolves and the MCMGs. Alex Shelley, man of the people.

Night Two's other matches were rearranged by Taylor's aforementioned injury. Willie Mack went from wrestling Hero to Ricochet (Ricochet won), which freed Hero up to wrestle Akira Tozawa (!!) in what was said to be the match of the weekend. I can dig that. Also reported to be amazing was Edwards going over Generico. Sounds like PWG really delivered, but is that a surprise to anyone? Hopefully, TWB and PWG superfan Tom Ford was able to go to both shows so we can do a proper podcast with him about the weekend this week.

- In the "news item that isn't news at all" department, apparently Jay Leno not knowing about the connection between the Graziano family and Hulk Hogan is news enough to make the F4W site's daily update:

Again, it's rough when you have to rag on the best news site for wrestling out there, but at the same time, Alvarez deserves it. This, much like reporting that Evan Bourne was looking for UFC tickets, is NOT NEWS, GAWD.

- Apparently, some douchenozzle out there didn't like that John Cena wished all the troops out there a happy Memorial Day. It all started with this innocuous tweet from Cena:

CeNation. I know most have a long weekend this week. While you're having fun remember those who have kept this country free.

It got a profanity-laced response from a guy whose handle is @shmikemike. I'm not going to relay it on here, but I fully endorse replying to this waste of sperm and telling him what a dick he is. I mean, yeah, you don't have to like John Cena, and you also don't have to agree with everything our military has been used to do. Lord knows a huge chunk of I've disagreed with both George W. Bush and Barack Obama over the last 10 years has stemmed from use of the military. However, that's what politicians are doing. Unfortunately, the soldiers who signed up for this gig don't decide where we go and stick our noses in, and thus they go into conflicts, whether justified (Afghanistan) or personally unjustified (Iraq), and risk their lives for whatever reason. To me, they deserve our respect and our support with very little condition attached....

...sorry, I'll step off the soapbox. I just really have no patience for people with misdirected angst regarding the wars our country fights.

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!

An Event That Lives up to Its Name: PWG All-Star Weekend Preview

WAR TOZAWA

The Southern California indie scene has a relatively new player in town in NWA Hollywood. They've generated a good buzz and made the rest of the nation aware that there's more to the greater Los Angeles indie scene than Pro Wrestling Guerrilla. Granted, it's using a lot of the same players, but with the TV exposure and the more regular storylines, well, it's the new thing.

That's not to say you can forget about PWG. Oh hell no, there will be no way that the elder statesman of SoCal indie feds should be ignored or diminished, and the big reason is that they produce cards like the one starting tomorrow night at American Legion Hall #308 in Reseda, CA. Yes, it's All-Star Weekend again, the eighth installment of their star-studded all-weekend long affair, and this year's proceedings have a lineup of talent that totally makes the fed justified in the name of their event.

You can find the full cards here, but I'll do you even better and preview some of what I feel will be the standout matches of the weekend. When you've got a talent roster of Claudio Castagnoli, Austin Aries, Roderick Strong, Chris Hero, the Young Bucks/Generation Me, Kevin Steen, Akira Tozawa, El Generico, Alex Shelley, Low Ki, Eddie Edwards, Chuck Taylor, Scorpio Sky, Joey Ryan and Ricochet among others wrestling for you, it would take a lot of aggravating factors for it to turn out to be average let alone bad, so yeah, maybe I don't need to sell you on the matches they have booked, since you could throw darts and create random matches from that lineup. But I am anyway. Why? Because I love PWG and I love writing about it.

Night One, which is tomorrow (Friday), is headlined by two pretty killer title matches. The titular main event is a Clash between Kings. Claudio Castagnoli defends his PWG World Heavyweight Championship. Both Claudio on his Twitter as well as the official PWG preview swear this match will remain friendly, as the two have been nearly inseparable since reuniting in ROH early in 2010. Things can be a bit different in LA-LA Land though, as wrestlers go there to change their images rather than be the same people they are, say, on the East Coast. Is that a guarantee that things will boil over? I can't read it right now, although with all the platitudes going around, I'd say it's a near lock that there'll be some kind of feud coming out of this. That being said, I don't think you could ask for a better Night One title bout than the one that the PWG faithful are going to see tomorrow night. These guys know each other and know each other's limits better than anyone else but themselves. I think this could be a serious MOTY candidate.

The other title match is, of course, the PWG Tag Team Championship match between the Bucks and the RockNES Monsters. While I'm not as sold on Johnny Yuma, the Rock half of the challengers, the NES half of Johnny Goodtime is more than adept at covering for his partner, as he's shown in several episodes of NWA Hollywood, where the Monsters are featured quite prominently. Given that they're in there against one of the best tag teams in the business in a match that should have plenty of heat, I think we have the recipe for what could steal the show or even get the main event slot given how protected the PWG Tag Titles and division on the whole has been. When the Bucks aren't forced to job to Matt Hardy in glorified handicap matches on Impact, well, they shoot fireworks. This match will get time, and I think it'll be really good.

The next two matches are the kinds of dream-type matches that make any PWG card must-see. The first will pit two guys that were riding on top of the world late last year in the big companies only to suffer precipitous misfortunes that ended up benefiting indie fans like you and me (and before you n00bs say anything, re: Shelly, I'm talking more about TNA's bright idea to tease a MCMG breakup, not his clavicle injury). Alex Shelley, still of TNA fame, takes on Low Ki, formerly Kaval, in what will definitely be a hard-hitting match with all the spotlight on it. The last Shelley tilt in PWG I witnessed with my own eyes was at As the Worm Turns against Chris Hero. It was, in a word, epic. Ki will have some big shoes to fill, but if anyone can, it'll be him and his lethal kicks of chest-reddening destruction.

The last match I wanted to highlight for Night One is not El Generico/Ricochet, mainly because if you don't know why that match is going to be awesome, or at the very least exciting if flawed, then you need to jump out of a window. No, the fourth match that I think will knock it out of the park is Akira Tozawa taking on Eddie Edwards. I had always been cognizant of Tozawa, but when I finally saw him live for the first time at King of Trios a month or so ago, the man blew me away with his ability. The Other Wolf is making his PWG solo debut (after making his total debut at DDT4 with partner Davey Richards), and I think he provides a great foil for Tozawa here. Bonus points will be had for this match if Tozawa has the same hairstyle and facial hair for this as he did at King of Trios. All the bonus points in the world will be had if he wears a keyboard necktie to the ring.

Night Two isn't slouching in the match quality department either. The title situations for this card will not be set until Night One is in the books, but all four potential title matches look like the goods to me. First up, Claudio will battle Ki in the titular main event right now, although if Hero wins the title and the Young Bucks retain on Night One, I can totally see the Tag Team Championship match taking the final bow of the weekend. Anyway, this is a classic size mismatch, which worked so well for Ki as Kaval in WWE during his NXT and mostly-Superstars run. The difference is that in this match, Claudio will actually sell extensively for the big-voiced-in-a-small-framed wrestler more than just in token style like Jack Swagger and the like were instructed to do. I expect a very physical, strike-based match with a lot of potential for Ki to bump like a pinball for Claudio's big move offense.

The other potential World Championship match might sound a bit unsure to you, but again, trust me on this one, it should be really, really good. Hero is slated to go against Willie Mack in this match. If you don't know who Mack is, well, he's a great story. He was actually one of PWG's original fans, going to all the early shows in the promotion's history. Then, he went and got himself trained, and now he's turning into SoCal's hottest property. He's wrestled guys like Roderick Strong in PWG and Austin Aries in NWA Hollywood, and now, he has the opportunity of a lifetime to impress the indie world at large, whether it's for the strap or not. Hero is about as big-name an opponent as they come nowadays, and I think that Mack, the guy who has a similar kind of look and style as Samoa Joe had in the indies, is more than game for the challenge.

The first of two potential Tag Title matches is a historic one. Should the Bucks retain tomorrow night, Saturday's match with Generation Next will be for the straps. If you don't know who Generation Next is because you're more of a neophyte indie fan, well, it's Roderick Strong and Austin Aries. Yep, in only their second match after reuniting for the first time in over five years (the first one is Night One against the Cutler Bros., one of my new favorite tag team acts by the way), Aries and Strong may have the chance to capture gold. Honestly, this may turn out to be the best match of the weekend. Bar none. It's must see. Seek out the DVDs for this match, even if nothing else interests you on the card.

Finally, the other potential Tag Title match will pit those RockNES Monsters against the Nightmare Violence Connection teaming of Tozawa and Kevin Steen. First off, can I tell you how much I love their tag name? It's a throwback to the AJPW tag team the Miracle Violence Connection, consisting of Terry Gordy and Steve Williams, and the changing of the first word to Nightmare only proves to perfectly exemplify the wrestling styles of both men. The funny thing is that they kicked so much ass at DDT4 that despite their ruthless heel aggression, they were pretty much got the biggest face reactions of the tournament. Go figure. Anyway, I can't wait to see the interplay between Goodtime and Tozawa here, as well as the sheer amounts of brutish thuggery that the NVC are going to whip out. I have a feeling that this one should be worthy of a classic PWG Tag Title defense should the belts go RockNES' way on Friday night.

As if In-n-Out Burger, the Grill 'Em All Burger truck, the idyllic warm weather year round and the massive amounts of hot women populating the region didn't make me jealous enough of Southern California, PWG takes the cake. If you're there, you need to go to Reseda and buy up a general admission ticket before they sell out, even if it's just for one of the nights. You don't need to be an over-optimist, a PWG apologist or really anything else but a realistic indie wrestling fan to know that your purchase will be well-rewarded, and that All-Star Weekend will more than live up to its name.

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!