DIGITAL DABBLINGS #24 – Top Selling Cards
I know it’s been a little while since my last article, my apologies for the delay. I figured I needed to revamp the column a bit. While I enjoyed doing the monthly reviews I fell […]
Specialists
IMPACT HITS AND MISSES: 4/19: Go-home for Redemption, Kongo Kong vs. Johnny Impact, D-Ray 3000, a rerun main event
IMPACT HITS Impact and Kong: Johnny Impact did a great job of carrying Kongo Kong to his best Impact match (uh…the show, not the wrestler. Can he change that already?) to date. It wasn’t spectacular […]
COLLECTIBLES COLUMN: Trading Cards and Action Figures of Bruno, Valiant, and Paul Jones
Pro wrestling lost three major stars over the last couple weeks with the passing of Bruno Sammartino, “Luscious” Johnny Valiant and Paul Jones. All three men had careers that spanned decades, and their passing has […]
WWE SMACKDOWN HITS & MISSES 4/17: Roster Shake-up, Styles & Bryan vs. Rusev & English, Big Cass’s return, Mellabration, Shelton vs. Hardy
HITS Shelton Benjamin vs. Jeff Hardy: Prior to the match, Shelton gave a decent promo that established his new heel singles run. The decision to move Hardy to Smackdown was a smart one, and I […]
FOCUS YOUR FEUD – A.J. Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura – Nakamura has delivered something fresh and enthralling
The one constant in all of WWE programming is that there will always be feuds. Sometimes over titles, sometimes over prestige and sometimes over coffee. Here, we celebrate the highs and lows of WWE feudage […]
WWE RAW HITS & MISSES 4/16: Miz TV, Superstar Shake-up, Rousey-Natalya, Moon vs. Mickie, Riott Squad, The Bar, McIntyre, Joe-Reigns
RAW HITS Miz TV: The final MizTV on Raw (until next April when he is sent back to Raw in the Superstar Shakeup) was a good segment. It introduced Sami Zayn & Kevin Owens as […]
TOP 3 DEVELOPMENTS – SMACKDOWN 4/17: More Superstar Shakeup, Bryan’s Next Feuds, the US Title Returns
BRYAN’S FIRST TWO FEUDS TAKE SHAPE… Recap: The show began with AJ Styles in the ring. He stated that one can learn a lot about a man in failure, and that we learned a lot about […]
MONDAY NIGHT REIGNS-O-METER #58: Tracking Roman Reigns’s ability to beat the odds and come out on top
Roman Reigns is one of the most divisive and talked about WWE performers in history. The company makes desperate play after desperate play to make him their number one star – with limited success. How […]
NXT TRACKER – Assessing the upside on the main roster of the latest NXT call-ups – AOP, No Way Jose, The Iconics, Ember Moon
Torch faithful, welcome to the NXT Tracker. With all the calls to the main roster that happened last week, I’m going to take a look at the six talents (but essentially four acts) that made […]
ROH HITS & MISSES 4/16: Kazarian vs. Hiromu Takahashi, Tag Team Gauntlet Match Determines #1 Contender
HITS Frankie Kazarian vs. Hiromu Takahashi: This was a good opening match. It did not have any long time potential in terms of storylines in my opinion, but we are also watching footage recorded prior […]
NXT HITS & MISSES 4/11: War Machine gets a new name in their debut, Kairi Sane vs. Lacey Evans from New Orleans
This week’s episode of NXT was the first show after NXT Takeover: New Orleans and Wrestlemania 34 to where it was mainly a recap of events that happened at both. Highlights from Takeover were shown […]
TOP 3 DEVELOPMENTS – RAW 4/16: Superstar Shakeup, Jeff Hardy is the New US Champ, Owens & Zayn Debut, Reigns is Booed Worse than Ever
JEFF HARDY IS THE NEW US CHAMPION… Recap: The show began with Kurt Angle in the ring. Before he could reveal the first wrestler to change brands during the Superstar Shakeup, Sunil Singh came to […]
MAGIC, MEMORIES, AND MANIA: Live at WrestleMania 34: One Half of a Great Show, match by match, with star ratings for too long of a show
WrestleMania weekend has come and gone, and I am still recovering from the festivities in New Orleans. I had the ultimate fan experience over the weekend having stayed at the Wrestlecon hotel and attending the […]
IMPACT HITS AND MISSES 4/12: Alberto El Patron’s farewell, Callihan vs. Moose, The Demon’s Dance, Scott Steiner returns once more
IMPACT HITS Callihan vs. Moose: Sami Callihan continues to be one of the most valuable players in the entire promotion. He’s producing entertaining matches on a consistent basis with a variety of opponents. Moose is […]
ARTISTRY OF WRESTLING: The top 5 artistic moments from WrestleMania weekend
Art is the creation of something from nothing that elicits a reaction. Pro wrestling embodies that definition. In wrestling, men and women step inside the squared circle and create with their actions, expressions, words, and […]
COLLECTIBLES COLUMN: Final Topps Now Card Count for Rousey, Others
So, just how hot is “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey? Judging by sales of her first WWE card, she’s about 400 percent hotter than Charlotte Flair and nearly 3,000 percent hotter than Brock Lesnar. Topps produced Rousey’s […]
WWE SMACKDOWN HITS & MISSES 4/10: Carmella Cashes In, Nakamura’s heel promo, Orton-Roode-Rusev, Usos-New Day, Shane introduces Paige
HITS Opening Segment: The show got off to a good start with Shane McMahon opening the show. I appreciated the fact that the WWE did not drag out the General Manager issue, and selected a […]
COLLECTIBLES COLUMN: Topps Releases Rousey’s First WWE Card
Ronda Rousey’s first official WWE trading card is now live and will be available for just 24 hours. Rousey is featured on the first Topps Now card from WrestleMania 34. The front of the card […]
WWE RAW HITS & MISSES 4/9: Ronda Rousey-Stephabie, Paige’s speech, New Faces Arrive, Reigns-Joe exchange, Strowman & The Kid
RAW HITS Stephanie – Rousey: The Raw after Mania started strong with Stephanie McMahon coming out to address what happened the night before with Ronda Rousey. Stephanie gave a great performance here. Rousey did a […]
TOP 3 DEVELOPMENTS – SMACKDOWN 4/10: Paige is the New GM, Carmella is the New Champ, Bryan Returns to Singles Action
PAIGE IS ANNOUNCED AS SMACKDOWN GM… Recap: The show began with Shane McMahon in the ring thanking the fans for their part in WrestleMania weekend. He looked out of breath or in pain at times. […]
WWE SMACKDOWN PRIMER (#2) 4/10: How will Styles respond to Nakamura’s heel-turn, who will be the next challenger for Charlotte, Bryan’s future after in-ring return, Pre-shakeup jitters
WWE SMACKDOWN LIVE PRIMER APRIL 10, 2018 NEW ORLEANS, LA AT SMOOTHIE KING CENTER REPORT BY DUSTIN MAYLE (@DUSTINLANE_M) “THE LOW BLOW HEARD ‘ROUND MANIA” After a dandy wrestling match for the WWE Championship, and […]
WWE SMACKDOWN PRIMER 4/10: What’s next for Bryan and Shane? What’s next for KO & Sami? U.S. Title, Tag Team Title, Women’s Title fallout?
WWE SMACKDOWN PRIMER APRIL 10, 2018 NEW ORLEANS, LA. AT SMOOTHIE KING CENTER REPORT BY DANIEL PACHECO (@dannydodis) ANNOUNCED BY WWE What is next for Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon after beating Sami Zayn and […]
MONDAY NIGHT REIGNS-O-METER #57: Tracking Roman Reigns’s ability to beat the odds and come out on top
Roman Reigns is one of the most divisive and talked about WWE performers in history. The company makes desperate play after desperate play to make him their number one star – with limited success. How […]
TOP 3 DEVELOPMENTS – RAW 4/9: Post-WrestleMania, Roman Exposes the Business, Stephanie-Ronda, Reactions for Nia, Alexa, and Ember, with Random Thoughts
ROMAN EXPOSES THE BUSINESS… Recap: At the top of the third hour, Roman Reigns came down to the ring to boos. He had a massive lump on his forehead and walked very gingerly. The crowd cheered […]