The Internet is for Wrestling #4

With all the madness that's been goin' on with televised wrasslin', it can easy to overlook that there's still good wrestling to be found online. It may not have the huge repercussions pushing it like what's on TV, but that doesn't mean what's there isn't some good stuff. Let's get to it.

WWE NXT (7/19/11)

NXT is definitely a show I've been liking more and more lately. Sadly, there's not a lot to this week's episode.

WHAT'S HOT?

Derrick Bateman continues being hilarious, and during the rookie challenge for the week, he hits an Earthquake Splash on a training dummy. There's a solid enough match between two of the rooks, Darren Young and Titus O'neil, and we get to see Vladimir Kozlov take out JTG (which is always a positive in my book). Yoshi Tatsu also makes an appearance in a pretty hilarious segment where he finds his action figure completely destroyed by Tyson Kidd.

WHAT'S NOT?

The slim amount of wrestling that's shown this week is definitely a detriment, as neither of the two matches are barn burners. There's also another pretty pointless rookie challenge (an oxymoron). My growing pet peeve is the way that these shows are often being used to just regurgitate clips from the week's RAW and SmackDown. I know they have to push their storylines as much as possible, but it's just a waste of time that could be used on showcasing more wrestling.

VERDICT?
SKIP IT! Although Kozlov slamming JTG on the back of his head is enticing, you could better spend an hour of your life.

WWE Superstars (7/21/11)

Superstars aired on my birthday this week, and it was a pretty good birthday present. I'd been a bit disappointed in Superstars in recent weeks, but this week features a few great matches and tons of crowd-pleasing moments.

WHAT'S HOT?

Tyson Kidd and Justin Gabriel open the show in a quick one, but one that has a couple of great spots. Serious mark-out material comes in the form of Zack Ryder teaming with Santino to take on the tag champs. Normally I'd be pissed at how week the tag champs look, but when the dudes their jobbing to are Ryder and Santino, I'm cool with it (WWWYKI). Evan Bourne also shows up, and has a hell of a match with Primo. Primo doesn't get enough credit for his ability to put on a great match, and when he's going up against Evan Bourne, the results are pretty spectacular.

WHAT'S NOT?

GUESS WHAT?! We get to see what happened on RAW AGAIN! That is silly as all hell. Also, Alicia Fox takes on Natalya. This match is much better than their first, and the fashion in which Fox takes this one makes a lot more sense, but it's still ridiculous that this is getting pushed as a rivalry.

VERDICT?

WATCH IT! EVAN BOURNE. ZACK RYDER. SANTINO. 'NUFF SAID.

NWA Hollywood Episode 44 (7/16/11)

I must admit that my enjoyment of NWA Hollywood is on the decline. I can't quite put my finger on it, but my excitement for the show's arrival each week has waned. Does that mean it's not worth watching?

WHAT'S HOT?

Los Luchas put on a hell of a show against Ricky Mandel and Hector Canales. Their tandem moves are better than anything you'll see on the major promotions nowadays. Mandel actually pulls double duty and takes on So Cal Crazy in the week's main event, which manages to be thoroughly entertaining on its own. Of course, there's the backstage promos that give NWA its old-school feel and, indeed, much of its charm.

WHAT'S NOT?

NWA's crowd is killing me. Besides the fact that the sound is mixed horribly, the muted crowd just sounds that much worse. With the likes of Willie Mack gone, A-Double now signed at TNA (and another big name being lost soon, as well), I'm a little worried about a lack of talent being a problem with NWA in the near future.

VERDICT?

CONSIDER IT! NWA Hollywood really needs the fan support, so it deserves for you to give it a chance.

Chikara Podcast-a-go-go 273 (7/18/11)

Chikara is great, and doubly so for putting out quality matches for free. This is one of those.

WHAT'S HOT?

Mike Quackenbush takes on Shane Storm (now STIGMA), and you can feel the power of the storyline taking place even in this singular match. Quack is always amazing to watch, and there are some ridiculously awesome spots here.

WHAT'S NOT?

Eeeerrrr... it ends?

VERDICT?

WATCH IT! Seeing about ten minutes of Chikara wrestling for 0 dollars is never not a good deal.

That's it for now! Next week is another The Internet is for Wrestling, and more wrestling recaps and reviews! Until then, suck on some of this...

The Internet is for Wrestling #1, 2, and 3

The RAW Recap (7/18/11)

The RAW Recap 7/18/11

If you're a wrestling fan and you're not aware what happened just a few nights ago on WWE's Money in the Bank PPV, then you seriously need to rethink your priorities.

Not to belabor the point, it's the first time in quite a long time where you shouldn't need to qualify your love for professional wrestling. It's a brand new world, and WWE RAW showed us the first few steps into it. Without further ado, let's hit the...

RECAP

Vince comes out and really sells his shame and anger about CM Punk taking the title and running. He announces that there is to be a new WWE Championship, and that the winner of an impromptu tournament will be the new champion. The brackets are laid out, and with it we get the promise of a full night of wrestling!

Round 1: Alex Riley vs. The Miz

This isn't a match up we haven't seen before, but Miz sells his injuries from the previous night. Riley has really picked up his game, and though he's a bit sloppy, his high energy and high intensity makes him somebody who could go places. Miz manages to pull this one out, despite being injured, saving him from completely looking like Riley's bitch as of late.

VERDICT: FUN MATCH! These two basically just beat the crap out of each other each match, but that somehow remains interesting.

Round 1: R-Truth vs. Jack Swagger

The oddball of the first round, this match had two heels facing one another. Thankfully, the two's natural abilities made this a cool, if not somewhat quick match. The crowd actually seemed to get behind R-Truth at points. That's kinda cool, and I'm glad a guy like Ron Killings is getting showcased. Truth steals one with a roll-up.

VERDICT: SOLID! Swagger and Truth can bring it, and they provided an entertaining match.

Round 1: Alberto Del Rio vs. Kofi Kingston

I thought it was a bit weird that Del Rio was placed in the tournament, as he also had Money in the Bank, although I guess a tourney for the WWE Championship wouldn't be complete without him. Kofi, despite being a face and an exciting guy, gets no love from tonight's audience, and his high energy moveset suffers for it. Luckily both guys are top performers, and it was a nice twist having Kofi take the upset. Gives him a bit of a boost, and continues the storyline of Del Rio being veritably screwed out of every chance he has at the title. Also; Ricardo Rodriguez is back!

VERDICT: SOLID! Another great first round match.

Round 1: Rey Mysterio vs. Dolph Ziggler

The prospect of Dolph winning double gold is an intriguing one. Zig's been a guy that's really come up in my eyes. Speaking of my eyes, it's also always good to see Vickie Guerrero (rawr). But anyway, I thought this was the highlight of the first round. Both guys are incredibly athletic, and there were some gnarly spots to the outside that looked like they genuinely hurt. I appreciate when both guys really go for it, as it gives legitimacy to the thing they're fighting for. Rey takes it, perhaps unsurprisingly, but nobody was a loser in this match.

VERDICT: BEST OF THE FIRST ROUND! Both Ziggler and Mysterio deserve equal praise.

7-on-7 Diva Tag Match

If you read that and think it's a ridiculous idea, that's only because it is. To make a long story short, this was another two minute Diva match that had no point. The only bright spot I can see is that Beth Phoenix was the one to come in and get the win for the face Divas with an impressive Glam Slam.

VERDICT: POINTLESS! Why give the Divas so little time? If you want them to look legitimate in the eyes of the fans, then build genuine feuds and give them time to have good matches!

Round 2: The Miz vs. Kofi Kingston

This was a fairly forgettable match, sadly. Again, Kofi can't rile the crowd, and he doesn't attack Miz's injuries like Riley does. This ends up being just a standard contest between these two, with Miz using his head to take it.

VERDICT: MEH! Both these guys can be fun to watch, but without the psychology of the leg injury, and with Kofi getting no crowd reaction, it just kinda fizzled.

Round 2: Rey Mysterio vs. R-Truth

Now THIS is more like it. These two have worked together well before, and they do it again here. Truth is the clear favorite here, and Rey works his normal underdog schtick. However, with the unorthodox moveset that each of these dudes has, the match is incredibly entertaining. Rey takes the hard fought victory from Truth, much to the delight of the crowd.

VERDICT: GOOD STUFF! Truth and Rey work great together.

And then comes the finale that everyone is talking about. The finals of the tournament are teased, with Rey still in the ring ready to face Miz. Instead, Vince hits the ring and tells Rey that the finals will conclude the next week. He has something important (IE firing John Cena) to do right now. So Rey leaves, and out comes Cena.

Before Vince can say a thing, Cena takes the mic and pleads his case. He insists he's not gonna kiss Vince's ass, and that he loves his job. Vince don't care, and is about to fire John when...

IT'S TIME TO PLAY THE GAME! Triple H makes an unexpected appearance, but he's in a rather somber mood. And in one of the sappiest and cheesiest segments in WWE RAW history, a tearful Triple H informs Vince that the "board of directors" have replaced Vince with Hunter as the acting head of WWE, and that Vince is relieved of his duties. Triple H then proceeds to tell Vince that "I LOVE YOU, POP" before leaving a crying Vince to end the show.

A fine finish, sure, and one that intrigues and leaves one wondering what next week holds, but just so damn cheesy! I guess this is wrestling after all. Still, a hell of a good RAW from top to bottom.

Stay tuned for this week's The Internet is for Wrestling. Don't know what that is? Then check out the FIRST, SECOND, and THIRD installments to getchoo some goodness!

The Internet is for Wrestling #3

For yet another week, it seems like the best place to find some good quality wrasslin' is on the interwebs! Sure, it might not have the big storylines going, and certainly there are no blatant petitions to get the WWF Superstars Ice Cream Bars back on the shelf, but wrestling on the internet is fun. More than that, it's wrestling. What more can you ask for?

WWE NXT (7/12/11)

I kinda take back everything bad I said about NXT at this point. As the show has gotten down to the final three competitors, they've dropped the silly budget American Gladiators nonsense and gotten to some good quality wrestling. It may only have featured two matches, but both were quality.

WHAT'S HOT?

The rookies have a triple threat elimination match, which actually manages to showcase why all three of them could make decent pros. They may be a tad green, sure, but it's a well put together, lengthy, and solid match overall. Furthermore, we get yet another excellent match between Tyson Kidd and Yoshi Tatsu. This one even is preceded with a promo by Yoshi, which is thoroughly entertaining despite (or perhaps because) the dude can barely speak English.

WHAT'S NOT?

Only two matches to fill and hour show is a tad light. It's good because each match got plenty of time, but that only makes me wish the show was longer! Also, we get another segment of Hornswoggle. I think I've made it clear how little I care for those.

VERDICT?

WATCH IT! NXT has become the most solid wrestling show on the internet in the last couple weeks.

WWE Superstars (7/14/11)

From most improved show to the show I've been most disappointed with recently, Superstars was solid this week, but I can't help but think that it's missing something.

WHAT'S HOT?

Zack Ryder and Santino open the show. Whilst I wish they had a bit more time in this one, you can't go wrong with these two. The Usos also continue their ascent into being one of my favorite tag teams in a match against the "champs" Otunga and McGillicutty, and Beth Phoenix gets the main event. Wade Barrett also takes on another squash match of sorts, which I think is the right move to start building him up as a threat again.

WHAT'S NOT?

I can't believe how meaningless the tag titles have become, and just how lackluster Otunga and McGillicutty look against a more solid team. I also would have liked to see Phoenix take on a more talented opponent, as she's against Maryse here. She's good enough to carry the match, sure, but it's still not the match I'd liked to have seen. I'm also getting tired of Superstars ending with clips from RAW.

VERDICT?

WATCH IT! It may not be the best show this week, but Superstars sure packs a lot of wrestling into its one hour.

NWA Hollywood (7/13/11)

HEY, I was totally at the NWA taping this Sunday! Does that have to do with anything? No, especially since this episode was taped sometime last month... but hey, NWA Hollywood is cool, right?!

WHAT'S HOT?

This was just a solid show top to bottom. Triple threat tag match to open it up? Yes indeedy. Ray Rosas in an amazing match against Ryan Taylor? Yes please. Disco Machine taking on James Morgan in the show's main event? Cool with me. Throw in that old school cheese that makes NWA Hollywood a delightfully nostalgic piece of entertainment, and you've got NWA Hollywood in a nutshell.

WHAT'S NOT?

Again, NWA's lack of crowd noise and production value definitely doesn't do it any favors. It's something that you can get over, but it also makes the show not as exciting as it could possibly be.

VERDICT?

WATCH IT! An hour filled with good indy wrestling is always an hour well-spent. Which brings us to...

Chikara Podcast-a-go-go 272 (7/11/11)

Chikara's "brand of pro wrestling fun and excitement" never fails to sastisfy and WOO boy is it a doozy this week.

WHAT'S HOT?

Incoherence (Hallowicked and Frightmare) take on FIST (Icarus and Chuck Taylor) in some hot tag team action. There's humor, there's amazing spots, great commentary, awesome audience interaction, etc. There's just nothing not to like about this show. It's why wrestling is great.

WHAT'S NOT?

The fact that the show does eventually end is the only negative I can see about this week's podcast.

VERDICT?

WATCH IT! For the love of God, if you're not watching Chikara, buying the DVDs, or supporting the company in some way, there is something wrong with you!

Next week cometh and goeth, and with it another installment. Hopefully I can get some more reviews of wrestling shows and wrestling related stuff between then and now. Until then, check out this other good stuff from the Rotunda!

The Internet is for Wrestling #2

The Internet is for Wrestling #1

CHEESE-A-MANIA

WWE All-Stars Review

PWG All-Star Weekend 8: NIGHT TWO

The Internet is for Wrestling #2

Another full week of internet-based grappling is behind us, and as it goes every week, this is where the good shit is. What makes the internet my favorite source for wrasslin'? Well, besides the fact that it can be watched any time and just about anywhere, as we'll see this week it's always full of surprises. Let's get to the run-down starting with the big E.

WWE NXT (7/5/11)

I made my problems with NXT known last week, and while I still could not care less about the competition aspect of this show, this week's episode does a smart thing and leans heavier on quality wrestling!

WHAT'S HOT?

The "rookie challenge" this week is actually simply cutting a promo, and whilst it wasn't anything spectacular, the rookies at least showed promise. Derrick Bateman in-particular was hilarious on the mic. Other than that, we've got YET ANOTHER amazing match between Tyson Kidd and Yoshi Tatsu. I could genuinely watch a thousand matches between these two. Oh, and Daniel Bryan is in action in a tag match. That's enough to make me a fan of any wrestling program.

WHAT'S NOT?

I still find it hilarious that the main NXT story thread involves Hornswoggle. I don't inherently dislike him, but I still find the character utterly pointless. Also, as seems to be a big problem with WWE online shows this week, they used NXT to show highlights from this week's TV shows. The show is already short enough without having large chunks taken up with things we've already seen.

VERDICT?

WATCH IT! NXT brings a couple of great matches to the table, and although the show attached still isn't my favorite, who am I to argue with good wrestling?

WWE Superstars (7/7/11)

Sadly, when one WWE internet show does well, the other seems to fail. This week, Superstars is the show that falls short.

WHAT'S HOT?

ZACK RYDER! The Long Island Iced Z is typically a Superstars staple, and he makes a triumphant return this week. It helps he's working a match with Drew McIntyre, and I think he's the perfect guy to get Ryder over. This isn't a technically exciting match, but it's thoroughly entertaining.

WHAT'S NOT?

The other featured matches on Superstars just aren't up to snuff. Natalya wrestles a match against Alicia Fox, and it's just painfully obvious how much more talented Natalya is. Worst of all, she JOBS to Fox, which is ridiculous! It doesn't help that it's commentated by Matt Stryker and Jack Korpela. Korpela is solid, but Stryker's lack of any sense in the booth makes Booker T look like Gorilla Monsoon in comparison. The main event is a squash match featuring Wade Barrett... so yeah I don't think I need to explain why that's disappointing. Lastly, as bad as NXT was with utilizing the show to simply play clips from the past week's TV shows, Superstars doubles that up with two complete segments dedicated to it! If I wanted to see what happened on RAW... I would watch RAW!

VERDICT?

SKIP IT! As much as it pains me to recommend skipping a Zack Ryder appearance, just don't bother with this week's Superstars.

NWA Hollywood Episode 42 (7/6/11)

It's the best wrestling show you've never heard of! This week's NWA Hollywood episode had it's problems, but it was still a thoroughly enjoyable hour of old-school wrestling goodness.

WHAT'S HOT?

NWA doesn't screw around with overlong story segments, but what is there is always nostalgic fun. Colt Cabana makes an appearance to introduce the return of Adam Pearce, and although many people may have never heard of these two dudes, I marked out for Pearce saving Cabana as if it was Savage saving Hogan. The main event between Peter Avalon and Scorpio Sky was fun as all get out.

WHAT'S NOT?

The other matches on the program had their problems. The women's match-up between Buggy and Kitana had a few significant botches, and never came together even at the end, only being saved by the interference by Candice Larae spraying Buggy in the face. Also, Natural Selection was in action against the Tribe, and whilst both teams are great in their own right, this one ended before it really got started (and was hampered by a pretty significant botch in the middle).

VERDICT?

CONSIDER IT! In the end, the good and bad of this week's NWA Hollywood was a wash. It's certainly not the best the company's put out, but if you're at all interested in the promotion, you should put aside an hour to check it out.

Chikara Podcast-a-go-go 271 (7/4/11)

The funnest wrestling promotion on the planet puts its best foot forward this week in a match that highlights its zany storylines and its over the top characters.

WHAT'S HOT?

Fan favorites UltraMantis Black and Delirious go head to head here. Through the commentary and wrestler interactions, you can pick up the semblance of a storyline in progress. That storyline is goofy as all hell, and when Ares blows a dog whistle to send Delirious into a frenzy, you know you're watching something not concerned with realism. What follows is a brawl that goes into the audience, and that highlights both wrestlers' strengths in portraying their given personas.

WHAT'S NOT?

As fun as this match is, it's fun because of the wrestlers involved rather than anything that actually happens. Aside from a savage exploder suplex by UltraMantis, there are really not noteworthy moves executed in this match. If you can't get behind the characters, you may find this match a bit on the basic side.

VERDICT?

WATCH IT! Chikara is all about the personas, and these are two of Chikara's best.

Next week will bring another brace of internet wrestling shows, and with it another installment of The Internet is for Wrestling! Stay tuned! Until then, check out the following links for more from the Rotunda...

The Internet is for Wrestling #1

RAW Recap 7/4/11

CHEESE-A-MANIA

WWE All-Stars Review

The RAW Recap 7/4/11

You'd think that when taping a show that would be played on 'Merica's birthday, WWE would bring their A game. Heck, the company made a huge deal when Osama was killed, and they're famous for their patriotic characters.

Sadly, no matter how good this RAW was, it had to follow in the wake of CM Punk's amazing promo from last week. And with CM Punk nowhere in sight, just how good could this RAW be?

RECAP

Cena Opens the show, a main event is announced, and Vince is said to be on his way to the building. Pretty standard opening, but their addressing CM Punk's promo from last week so directly kinda takes the steam outta the angle.

Kelly Kelly and Eve Torres vs. The Bella Twins

Not much to say about this at all, as might be expected. It makes me sad to know that Beth Phoenix and Gail Kim are having great matches on Superstars, yet the TV audience sees matches like these. No wonder nobody can stand the Divas division.

VERDICT: BAD. VERY BAD.

Promo for Andy Levine pops up. I really wanna see what he can do in a real match, but I hope they take their time developing him.

Santino and Kozlov vs. Otunga and McGillicutty

Santino and Kozlov are great. They may not be the most technically sound, but damn if they aren't entertaining as all hell. Sadly, the team they're against is the opposite of entertaining. Otunga and McGillicutty are just so damn boring! This is a decent little tag match, but these four have actually had one better on Superstars. Still can't get over Nexus having the belts...

VERDICT: OK. There's always some entertainment to be had in a match with Santino.

ZACK RYDER SIGHTING! WWWYKI

Sargent Slaughter vs. Jack Swagger

Swagger makes Sarge angry and therefore IT'S MATCH TIME! I'm always a little leery of having legends past their prime step back in the ring, but this diversion was successful enough. Swagger beats up on Sarge and Evan Bourne makes the save. We get some July 4th goodness and the Bourne/Swagger feud is given one more piece of fuel to keep going.

VERDICT: HARMLESS. Sure, this diversion wasn't necessary, but it ate up like no time and was good fun.

Alberto Del Rio vs. Rey Mysterio vs. R-Truth

There have been a lot of 3 and 4 way matches featuring these three, and this match reminds us why. BECAUSE THEY'RE GREAT AT THEM! There are some great three-man spots, and I honestly wasn't sure who was gonna take this one. In the end, the win goes to ADR (and a number one contender spot with it). Good decision, and an even better match.

VERDICT: MATCH OF THE NIGHT. These three always bring it.

Dolph and Vickie have a pretty silly segment. I'm not afraid to say that I actually enjoyed this segment, as it reminded me of some really old school heel/manager segments. It's also worth mentioning that Lawler's comments about Vickie at this point are not only unfunny, but just really dumb at this point.

Miz vs. Alex Riley

Another back and forth brawl between these two. Somehow that remains entertaining, mainly because the Miz has good ring psychology and Riley is SUPER over. It's ridiculous how much the fans love this guy. Miz also puts a good post-match beatdown on Riley.

VERDICT: GOOD. These two don't put on spectacular matches, but they're solid and have a decent story backing them.

The show ends with Vince and Cena having an argument about whether Punk should be reinstated. This angle has EVERYONE bringing their best to the table, and this is no exception. Vince and Cena both convincingly plead their case, and in the end, Punk is reinstated. Of course there's also the stipulation that Cena will be FIRED if he loses, which kinda takes some of the drama out of the match (which is kinda the opposite of its intention), but this is still a better angle than WWE has had in some time.

Overall, RAW tonight was just okay. It had its highs, but it felt a tad empty without the presence of CM Punk and without more than one extremely good match, it's just not terribly exciting.

Stay tuned for my second installment of The Internet is for Wrestling. Until then, check out the first installment and enjoy some wrestling!

The Internet is for Wrestling #1

As I've said before on this humble blog, I spend lots of time on the internet. I also spend lots of that internet time watching professional wrestling. Lots of that shit is old/obscure/comedy-related wrestling, sure, but there's actually "new" professional wrestling shows that are featured primarily on the internet each week. Stuff either produced directly for consumption by web users and/or stuff that finds its largest audience on computer screens.

So in my new (and hopefully) weekly series, I take a look at all these web series and tell you, my faithful five readers, what's hot in each of these and whether or not you should check them out for yourself. We're going with a basic "WATCH IT", "CONSIDER IT", or "SKIP IT" rating here. Let's get started with the big boys at WWE.

WWE NXT (6/28/11)

I must admit to really liking the concept of NXT since its inception, but have kinda hated the execution. It's cool that WWE would want to pair up new up-and-comers with seasoned pros and have them fight it out for a spot on the roster, and some of WWE's younger stars have spawned from the series, but the fact that the series devolves into stupid events and no-shows by the mentors means that it's just not super compelling. I recently caught up with this season's goings on, and am sad to see it's very much the same.

WHAT'S HOT?

Yoshi Tatsu and Tyson Kidd have an OUTSTANDING match, one that's kicked off when Kidd rips the legs off of one of Yoshi's prized Yoshi action figures (anyone who follows Yoshi on Twitter knows how much he loves the little guys). These guys have gone at it a million times, but they never fail to entertain. This match was great, the crowd gets behind Yoshi, and these two put on a solid show.

WHAT'S NOT?

The rest of the show is dominated by the NXT contestants, and while these guys aren't necessarily bad, they just are difficult to get amped up for. The audience is already relatively dead for the festivities, but the lack of reaction during matches really cements the problem with having such a long series devoted to unknowns. Also, I love William Regal, but I don't think his commentary is the greatest. Both he and Grisham sound bored at ringside.

VERDICT?

SKIP IT. Unless you're a huge Yoshi Tatsu or Tyson Kidd fan and really want to see their match, this just ain't worth your time.

WWE Superstars (6/30/11)

Perhaps consistently my favorite WWE show, Superstars is essentially (for lack of a better word) a place where all the dudes who job to the big players on RAW and SmackDown can shine. That might not sound super appealing, but rest assured that these dudes and dudettes regularly put on better, more entertaining, and more high-energy matches than stuff you'll see on TV. This week's installment certainly wasn't the best, but it was solid.

WHAT'S HOT?

The show opens up with a fantastic match between Beth Phoenix and Gail Kim. Honestly, Kelly Kelly and the Bellas get more play than these two? That's totally ridiculous, and this match proves why. There's a solid match featuring Chris Masters and JTG that's some good fun, and the show caps with a 6-Man Tag with the Usos and Trent Baretta vs. Gabriel, Slater, and Tyson Kidd. That match is great, but one spot in particular towards the end of the match is totally worth the price of admission. I won't spoil it, but you'll definitely want to see it.

WHAT'S NOT?

There's a pretty meh Divas contest between Alicia Fox and Kaitlyn. This "feud" has been building up for some time between Natalya's face team and Rosa's heel team, but it just isn't going anywhere, and boring matches like this aren't helping matters.

VERDICT?

WATCH IT. Superstars is one WWE show that rarely disappoints. It deserves your attention for one hour out of your week.

NWA Hollywood Episode 41 (6/29/11)

Perhaps the best kept secret on the wrestling scene, NWA Hollywood features some of the more talented performers from the indy circuit beating the crap out of each other in an old movie theater in Hollywood. That never fails to be fun.

WHAT'S HOT?

Just about damn near everything. The show opens with a pretty incredible falls count anywhere tag match between the RockNES Monsters and the Cutler Bros. This thing goes all over the theater, and features some pretty intense spots and bumps. From there, the night just keeps on rolling along with some ladies action, a match featuring the 400 pound wrecking machine, Terex, and a main event with Joey Ryan and SoCal Crazy. All this with Colt Cabana on commentary. What's not to like?

WHAT'S NOT?

The production values of NWA are obviously not going to be anywhere near the level of WWE or anything, and that can be a tad off-putting. However, if you're into the indy scene, that's no problem at all.

VERDICT?

WATCH IT! NWA Hollywood needs to be discovered. Support this awesome promotion!

Chikara Podcast-a-go-go 270 (6/27/11)

Indy darling and fan favorites Chikara put out one of their great archived matches online each week with their Podcast-a-go-go. Some of these have been absolutely fantastic, so it's completely worth your time plumbing their youtube channel for older episodes. How does this week's effort stack up?

WHAT'S HOT?

Claudio Castagnoli vs. Brodie Lee is this week's featured effort, and that makes for a solid big-man contest. The strikes are great, the psychology is strong, and there are some pretty amazing feats of strength by Castagnoli here. The finish, too, is pretty creative.

WHAT'S NOT?

As solid as this match is, it's only just that. Solid. Chikara puts these matches out each week, free of charge, and it's almost prickish to critique them or to expect more. Still, I do. Match was great, but the Podcast-a-go-go has put out EPIC in the past.

VERDICT?

CONSIDER IT! Chikara fan? Watch this for sure. Got fifteen minutes to kill? Go ahead and give it a watch. You're not, however, missing all that much by skipping this.

I'll be back next week with the second installment of The Internet is for Wrestling, and stay tuned as I try to get back on track with a regular review schedule!

CHEESE-A-MANIA RUNNING WILD

Recently, at the compulsion of a community project on ComicVine.com by one XeroxKitty, I made a photo comic of sorts using some of my old WWF action figures.

Now, I'm no photographer, but since I'm hard up for new content and under the influence of some major writer's block here, I figgered I'd share these pics with my readers (whatever few I have). Hopefully you enjoy them and give you some nostalgic jollies...