Match Spotlight Series #41: Brodie Lee vs. Hieracon from Aniversario and His Amazing Friends 2011

Chikara recently released a match from their anniversary shows.  Brodie Lee battled the former Jonathan Greshem, Hieracon.  Hieracon had a lot success early this year as a part of the Osirian Portal, but his singles matches have faced some criticism.

Match Review:

My Top 5 Kurt Angle Moments

DGUSA Way of the Ronin 2011 Review

Match Spotlight Series #40: Scorpio Sky vs. Joey Ryan vs. Johnny Goodtime from Mach 1 Wrestling 2010

Mach 1 Wrestling is a small SoCal promotion that is run by PWG ring announcer, Jon Ian, and that has Joey Ryan and Johnny Goodtime as its trainers.  The winner of the triple threat got to face a mystery opponent which turned out to be Shelton Benjamin.

For more information on Mach 1, go to their website or Twitter

Match Review:

Interview with Eddie Edwards of ROH

Match Spotlight Series #39: Bryan Danielson vs. Zack Salvation from NWA Legends Fest 2010

Bryan Danielson's summer firing lead to him being one of the hottest names in independent wrestling.   His summer tour of the indies took him all over the place, including a trip to the NWA Legends Fest.  There he met up and comer Zack Salvation.  Salvation was on the ROH Big Bang iPPV, and has been a local NC indy guy for a while.

Match Review:

FCW TV Review: September 18, 2011

Interview with Kyle Matthews of Rampage Pro Wrestling

ROH Final Battle 2011 Predicted Card

With Death Before Dishonor in the books, I figured I would take a stab at predicting the card of ROH's next big show, Final Battle 2011.  Feedback?


Probable

Davey Richards(c) vs. Eddie Edwards (ROH Title)

Shelton Benjamin & Charlie Haas(c) vs. All Night Express (ROH Tag Titles)

Kevin Steen vs. Steve Corino


Possible

Young Bucks vs.  Future Shock

TJP vs. Jay Lethal(c) (TV Title)


Shots in the Dark


House of Truth vs. Generico/Jacobs

CCW vs. Bravados vs. Briscoes

Homicide vs. Cabna

Match Spotlight Series #38: Ricochet vs. Masato Yoshino from DGUSA Enter the Dragon 2011

DGUSA has released yet another free match for the masses to enjoy: Ricochet vs. Masato Yoshino from the 2nd Anniversary Show.  This match is by far the best free match they have released to date and well worth your time to watch.

For more info about Dragon Gate USA, go to DGUSA.TV

WWE Night of Champions 2011 Preview

Death Before Dishonor 2011 Review

Cena and Rock to team together at Survivor Series?

I don't know how I feel about this.  It seems to me that the WWE is sacrificing the long term (Rock's first match being at Mania) for the short term burst of a B show buyrate pop.  If this does happen, I would prefer that the match is Cena & Rock vs. 2 Men, as opposed to Rock just being another guy on a 5 person team.  Perhaps, Rock/Cena vs. Del Rio/Punk

UPDATE: yes they will be teaming in a 5v5 Tag; I hope they use this as an opportunity to elevate some people

Match Spotlight Series #37: Munenori Sawa vs. Sanshiro Takagi from King of DDT 2009

Munenori Sawa is a great professional wrestler who recently announced his retirement from the art, which will be in effect in November after the last Battle Arts show.  Another Japanese promotion, DDT (home of such stars as Kota Ibushi and Kenny Omega) recently released this full match of Sawa against Sanshiro Takagi.  Sawa had great matches in Evolve with TJP and Bryan Danielson.

Match Review:

My DGUSA Untouchable 2011 Report

ROH Death Before Dishonor 2011 PPV Preview and Random DVD Match Reviews

Preview and Predictions:

Match Spotlight Series #36: Apollo 55 (Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi) vs. Bad Intentions (Giant Bernard and Karl Anderson) from GI Tag League Final 2009

The G1 Climax Tag League is annual tag team tournament in New Japan Pro Wrestling.  In 2009, the finals came down to Bad Intentions (Karl Anderson [of PWG fame] and Giant Bernard [WWE's Albert] vs. Apollo 55 (Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi).  Trust me, you want to watch this match.


Match Review:

Interview with Ares of Chikara Pro

The link to my interview with Ares is HERE

Interview with Lance (Hoyt) Archer of NJPW

My Lance (Hoyt) Archer Interview

Responses to Question: Is there a "Best Wrestler in the World?"

Here are the survey results!  Thanks to everybody who participated

My interviews will now be published on 411mania.com

Everything else will still be posted here.  I will post a link to the 411 Interviews on this blog though.  Thanks everybody who has supported me so far

Match Spotlight Series #35: Davey Richards vs. Kota Ibushi from NJPW Best of the Super Juniors 2010

The Best of the Super Juniors tournament is one of the most prestigious wrestling tournaments every year.  Davey Richards and Kota Ibushi have been some of the most consistent performers for New Japan in the last year or so, and this match was no different.  In January of this year, these two had a MOTYC at the first Evolve show, but that's not what this show needed here.

Match Review:

Match Spotlight Series #34: Christopher Daniels vs. Matt Cross from ROH The Bitter End 2006

This time in the spotlight, we look at another Ring of Honor match: Christopher Daniels vs. Matt Cross. Cross is the same Matt Cross from the 2011 reboot of Tough Enough who got eliminated in the second week. Cross had just recently debuted in ROH, and he was starting to get over because of his unique gymnastics-hybrid style.

All info on Ring of Honor can be found at ROHWrestling.com

Match Review:

Interview with AR Fox of DGUSA, Evolve and CZW

AR Fox is one of the best high flying wrestlers in all the world.  He currently wrestles for Dragon Gate USA, Evolve, Combat Zone Wrestling, and Dragon Gate in Japan.  He is a former CZW Wired TV champion, and he won Evolve's Style Battle back in May.

AR Fox is scheduled to compete at this weekend's DGUSA triple shot weekend in the Mid-West.  On the 9th in Indianapolis, he will be teaming with PAC and Rich Swann against CIMA, Ricochet and Akira Tozawa.  The whole card is here.

On the 10th in Chicago, he will be teaming with SABU~! against the Dirty Ugly Fucks, Arik Cannon & Pinkie Sanchez.  The whole card is here.  That show can be purchased on iPPV; you can sign up to buy that show for only $15 here.

On the 11th in Milwaukee, he will be teaming with YAMATO against the Dirty Ugly Fucks again, Arik Cannon & Sami Callihan.  The whole card is here.  The show can be purchased on iPPV; you can sign up to buy that show for only $15 here.


TJ Hawke: You are considered to be a very hot prospect in professional wrestling.  When and where did you get your training to become a professional wrestler?  How was that training experience? 

AR Fox: I moved to Atlanta to train when I was 19 and have been here ever since. The head trainer is Mr. Hughes. I loved my experience training there. Training was very grueling and still is when we bump and run for what seems like countless hours. But I love challenges so I knew this was the place for me to start.

PWG Eight 2011: Random DVD Review Series #45

PWG decided to smell the Steen spirit for the second time

PWG put all of their money behind Kevin Steen and boy did it pay off. Steen was originally just supposed to wrestle PAC, the Dragon Gate stud who used to wrestle regularly for PWG, but then Low-Ki pulled out of the event (and is apparently gone from PWG...again), and Davey Richards got a staph infection. So, Chris Hero (instead of Richards) got the title shot, and PWG decided to bring CIMA back to get revenge on the Young Bucks (for insulting Akira Tozawa). Steen, also seeking revenge, teamed with CIMA to take on the Bucks in a non-title match.  Both of those matches with Steen were great.

After the Hero/Claudio main event, Steen decided that 2 great matches was not enough for him, and he decided that he wanted a shot at Claudio on this night. And Claudio accepted...

Show Review:

Interview with Kyle O'Reilly of ROH

Kyle O'Reilly is one of the rising stars in Ring of Honor.  He was a trainee, and now training partner of Davey Richards and Tony Kozina.  In ROH, he primarily competes in the tag team division, with Adam Cole; their team has recently been dubbed Future Shock.  On September 17th, ROH will have an iPPV, Death Before Dishonor.  Future Shock will be competing against their long time rivals, The Bravado Brothers and the returning Young Bucks in a triple threat, elimination tag match.

O'Reilly has already had loads of experience in his short career, as in the last two years alone, he has also competed for DGUSA, Evolve, Chikara, CZW, and wXw.

All information on the ROH iPPV can be found at ROHWrestling.com.

You can order the ROH iPPV at GoFightLive.TV

TJ Hawke: You and your tag team partner, Adam Cole, competed in the very first match of the new television era. How did it feel to learn that your team was chosen to be the very first match that the new TV audience will see? How do you feel the match went?

Kyle O'Reilly: It feels good to know that the company has enough faith in Adam and myself to have us as the first match to represent ROH to new fans. I've noticed myself/Adam are given a lot of opening match opportunities, which I take as a compliment. It's always great to get out there when the crowd is itching for some wrestling and in the case of the Chicago tapings, I feel it went really well. Eagerly anticipating the continuation of ROH's television venture.

Evolve's History Through Images

I have decided to do something different that what I'm used to here: I spent time formatting several pictures from Evolve Wrestling. The idea is telling the history and the story of Evolve wrestling through imagery, instead of the traditional written word. The photos have been altered with a photocopy lens.  Feedback would especially appreciated for this post.

Go to EvolveWrestling.com for more information about this great promotion

Match Spotlight Series #33: Rich Swann vs. AR Fox from Evolve 8 2011

Evolve released another free match, this time from the inaugural Style Battle, which took place at Evolve 8. Swann and Fox had previously fought at Evolve 7 where they had a really fun match.

All information on Evolve can be found at EvolveWrestling.com

Match Review:

Dragon Gate Kobe World Festival 2011: Better Late Than Never PPV Flashback Report

Shingo vs. Tozawa + Mochizuki vs. Hulk = Show of the Year Contender

Interview with Scorpio Sky of PWG and NWA Hollywood

Scorpio Sky has been a professional wrestler since 2002 and has a Mixed Martial Arts record of 1-0.  He has in the past competed for Wrestling Society X and recently had a tryout with the WWE.  He currently works for NWA Hollywood (where he is the reigning Television Champion) and Pro Wrestling Guerrilla.  

NWA Hollywood airs their TV show every Saturday night locally in Los Angeles and it is available on their website HERE .  Their next TV taping is Sunday September, 11at 3pm. Tickets are only $15 and include FREE BEER for fans 21 and up.  

Sky is set to challenge for the PWG World Tag Titles at the next show, The Perils of Rock 'n' Roll Decadence, with his tag partner, Joey Ryan. That show will take place on September 10th in Reseda, California.  You can purchase tickets for that show HERE 

TJ Hawke: First off, I read that you just won your first MMA fight.  Congratulatuions!  When and how did you get started with MMA?  What did you think of your performance in the first fight?  Have you tried to incorporate your MMA training into your wrestling persona/repertoire in anyway? Scorpio Sky: Thank you. I have always been into MMA. I can remember ordering the PPVs back in 93 or whatever. I think it was something I've always wanted to try but didn't get serious about it until recent years. I did pretty well for my first time out. The fans were really happy with the fight and we actually almost won fight of the night. I've kept such a busy schedule I didn't get to train the way I would have wanted to though and I felt it during the fight. So in regards to that I was disappointed in my performance. I had the guy down and took his back early in the 1st round and had I been a little sharper I think I could of finished him. But overall my cornermen were happy and I did get the finish in the 3rd so I'm very happy with that.

I have actually been using mixed martial arts as a part of my wrestling style since 2003. In 2009 when I started training in it again I began using it more and more. Now it seems most of my character and style is all MMA based. Which fits me. Face it, I don't have the Hulk Hogan wrestler kind of build. I'm built like a fighter, so it makes the most sense for me to go that route character wise.

Match Spotlight Series #32: All Night Express vs. Super Smash Bros. from ROH Never Say Die 2009

This edition of the Spotlight Series shows another free ROH match. In 2009, Kenny King and Rhett Titus were a tag team w/o a name but were slowly gaining more credibility in the promotion. The Super Smash Bros. debuted with ROH on this show. Both teams were hungry and they put in a lot of effort into their match.

All info on Ring of Honor can be found at ROHWrestling.com

Match Review:

DGUSA Open the Ultimate Gate 2011: Random DVD Review Series #44

In Jon Moxley's last DGUSA show, Tozawa & YAMATO have the DGUSA MOTY

Show Review:

What is the Best in the World?: Editorial Submission

Is there such a thing as the "Best Wrestler in the World?"  CM Punk and Daniel Bryan have used that moniker and many promotions have promoted their world champion as such, but is there truly a best wrestler in the world?  Of all the wrestlers in the world, how do you determine that one of them is the best? If it's possible, who is the best wrestler in the world?

I am not sure about the answer to those questions, so I am looking to you, the readers, to answer them.  Anyone can submit an answer to the question.  You may submit an answer in various ways:

a Tweet (submit to @Shabang728)

an email (submit to Shabang728@gmail.com)

or you can just comment below

Those responses will be gathered and posted together next Sunday, September 11th.  Any response can include your name, twitter handle, facebook page, or anything else (appearance, iPPV, house show, DVD, book, youtube page, etc) you may want to promote.  I will post all responses on a single post, and every response will be posted as long as it is appropriate to the question.

You may also submit your answer in the form of an editorial article, which will be published in full, separate from the rest of the responses.  There is no deadline for editorials and are always welcome.  If you wish to write an editorial on any subject, send it to the email address above.

I am excited for this mini-project and hope we can all start a reasonable conversation where we share our views and respect differences in opinion!

Fantastic Hype Video for Rock vs. Cena

Match Spotlight Series #31: Mike Quackenbush, Jigsaw, & Manami Toyota vs. Amazing Red & Los Maximos from Chikara King of Trios 2011

Chikara has surprisingly released one of the better matches from the 2011 King of Trios tournament. This match featured (at the time, TNA wrestler) Amazing Red and Los Maximos taking on Joshi and the Luchadors: Manami Toyota, Jigsaw, and Mike Quackenbush.

Besides being the most lucrative DVD sold for the promotion on SmartMarkVideo.com, this event was a very emotional event for Chikara and their fans. Larry Sweeney, the beloved independent wrestling manager had recently committed suicide. You will notice, Jigsaw, pay tribute to him right before the match starts.


You can find all the info you need on Chikara at ChikaraPro.com

Match Review:

Interview with Nick Madrid of NWA Hollywood

Nick Madrid is one of the hot prospects of NWA Hollywood. A former student of Lance Storm, Madrid is now based in California living his dream of being a professional wrestler. NWA Hollywood airs their TV show every Saturday night locally in Los Angeles and it is available on their website HERE:

Their next TV taping is Sunday September, 11at 3pm. Tickets are only $15 and include FREE BEER for fans 21 and up.

If you have never heard of Nick Madrid, check out his "Who am I" page on the NWA Hollywood website: HERE


TJ Hawke: How did you come to the decision to get professional wrestling training with Lance Storm at the Storm Wrestling Academy? Did you get any sort of training before that?

Nick Madrid: The decision to start my training with Lance Storm at his Storm Wrestling Academy was a quick and easy decision. I wanted to be trained by someone who had done all of the things that I wanted to do and who had been to all of the places that I wanted to go in professional wrestling. That left me with a pretty short list of places, and of those few places I felt that Lance and The SWA would be the best fit for me to begin my training.

Prior to The SWA, I had absolutely zero professional wrestling training.

Where to contact the site?

If you are interested in doing an interview, advertising on the site, etc,  you can  contact the site in either of the following ways:


Email: Shabang728@gmail.com

Twitter: @TJHawke411

My problem with the booking of the ringmaster challenge

We interrupt our regularly scheduled positivity to discuss a flaw in ROH deciding to book a 2/3 falls match between Eddie Edwards and Roderick Strong

Match Spotlight Series #30: Colt Cabana, The Necro Butcher, & Grizzly Redwood vs. Claudio Castagnoli, Jimmy Rave & Ernesto Osiris from ROH Contention 2009

This time we look at another free Ring of Honor match. The summer of 2009 saw the start of a year long feud between Necro Butcher and Grizzly Redwood versus the Embassy (seriously, it didn't end for over a year). Here, they team up with Colt Cabana and have one of the better matches in the feud.

Find all your Ring of Honor information at ROHWrestling.com

Match Review:

2011 2nd Trimester Review

This post is a brief overview of the world of professional wrestling in the United States for the second four months of the year (May through August). I examine, as I see them, the highlights and lowlights of 6 promotions: WWE, Ring of Honor, Dragon Gate USA, Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, Evolve Wrestling, and Chikara Pro. I also give out the following awards: Singles MVP, Tag Team MVP, Best Promotion, Best Singles Match, Best Multi-Man Match, and Best Show.

Here is the 1st Trimester Report

Singles MVP: CM Punk of WWE

Punk single-handedly revitalized casual interest in the WWE product with his many dynamic promos and two excellent PPV main events with John Cena. Their match at Money in the Bank was the first Dave Meltzer 5-star match from the WWE since 1997 (WWE actually had two 5-star matches that year). Punk has provided a spark to a company that has desperately needed a brand new top guy for years. If the WWE does not capitalize on Punk, they will have no one to blame but themselves for not getting out of the rut they have been in since 2008
Runner Up: Kevin Steen of PWG, ROH, and Evolve