Hey there, fellow Bored Wrestling Fans!  It is I, the owner, founder, and beloved boss here at BWF, ThinkSoJoE, back with another rare edition of ThinkSoJoE’s thoughts!  I’ve been sitting around quietly for the last few months, a RAW review here or there, but nothing more here on the site, so I figured I’d drop in with some thoughts on the current state of sports entertainment!

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Well with most of the U.S. experiencing what it’s like to live in Drowville (it hit 100 degrees here in JTland for the first time in 9 years) it doesn’t meat the world doesn’t stop turning and everything comes to a halt, well if you don’t have air conditioning then maybe.  So here’s what I think of what has happened in the last week: (more…)

Oh no! G has invaded again!! BOO!!! BOOOOOO-URNS!!!!!

This week I return to give PatMan a break and bring you some Stampede Classics… or something related to the Stampede Wrestling professional wrestling promotion from Calgary, Alberta, Canada. This week brings a famous Hart brother and an innovator of Mixed Martial Arts to a head… and in of all places…
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Bah… I’m not doing uber awesome today, or this week post Sunday for that matter. Went a little to hard at the Calgary Stampede, then caught the Money in the Bank PPV later… still feeling it days later. Must be getting old, I suppose, so I should fit right in with the majority of the Impact Roster, huh?
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Vince is walking to the ring (wearing a hideous coat with a color that does not exist in nature) with Johnny Ace in tow (whom I have decided is now mute). CM Punk is ingrateful. There will be an 8-Man Tournament for the championship. John Cena is fired. Tonight will be a night of epic proportions. Will this be a WWE night of epic proportions or will this be TNA’s huge announcement that turns out to be Shark Boy’s evening dinner.

The first match was Miz vs. Alex Riley. Alex Riley is coming along nicely. Miz got the win so I was happy to see that. Miz has been through a lot in the past few weeks in his knee and has done a great job of selling his injuries from last night. Miz ended up with the win so he can lose in the next round and not lose anything.

We were treated to Jack Swagger and R-Truth. The crowd could care less about this match. So could I while watching it. While everybody was so in love with King of the Ring, I wasn’t. The only reason I cared about the results was because it was a launching pad for a lot of careers. I’m not the biggest fan of tournaments (except for ECWA’s Super 8).

Then we got Alberto del Rio vs. Kofi Kingston. And the return of Ricardo Rodriguez, the man with the best hair in the WWE. They had a really exciting match that got the crowd going for a little. Kofi Kingston is slowly becoming one of the top babyfaces on Raw. Kofi came out of nowhere to pin Alberto del Rio. This was the highlight of the night up to this point. (And then it plummeted very quickly as my wife discovered Wikipedia and started giving me the life story of Alberto del Rio. But you already knew that.)

At the point they were interviewing Kofi Kingston, I knew he was getting attacked. And then he didn’t get attacked. Is Kofi getting a rocket strapped to him? Rey-Dolph started out really well. My wife once again ruined wrestling for me by comparing Vicki Guerrero to Carol Burnett. They fought a really good match with Rey picking up the victory.

They did a 14-diva match. There were 28 reasons to watch this match. I don’t think this match lasted 28 seconds. It was long enough for me to swoon for A. J. and wish Sara del Rey was here.

Then we got Kofi and Miz. This match was really good and we had a bloody smile from Miz. I found myself asking if Kofi was really going to win it. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen one of those matches on a Monday Night Raw. If Miz wins this tournament, I don’t see how he can still be a heel. Maybe that’s what they’re doing.

We found time for an Andy Leavine video package. They need to do more of these. Give me a reason to care about these guys. Then we got Rey vs. R-Truth. This should make a pretty good feud because R-Truth hate the “Little Jimmies” and Rey does everything he can for them. The guys are great athletes and would feed off of each other really well. (Break from Raw: The cops in the Twix commercial crack me up every time.) The two fought such a great match with such intense drama. The crowd really got into it as well.

I knew the finals of their tournament wasn’t going to be this week. I thought we would have had to wait til Summerslam. If they had just been up front with us, we would have been fine. I just can’t but feel it was bait ‘n’ switch. Vince introduced Cena. Cena made a reference to “Kevin [Dunn].” So we’re still keeping with the shooting. I like this Cena. He made sense and was rational. “I will walk on somebody else’s show, Brother.” HHH came out and Vince introduced his son-in-law, HHH. Trips is now “The Corporate Game.” HHH is now taking over the day-to-day operations. So Vince is relieved of his duties (with tears).

This Raw was a pretty good disappointment. The only reason is we didn’t get CM Punk. Punk hasn’t gone anywhere yet. He’s building up plenty of buzz for himself and the company. Some people like tournaments. I don’t. But I think the crowd did a good job of building up their momentum. I hated the ending angle. This is typical of the past 10 years. Anything that has gotten hot, the McMahons have tried to insert themselves into it. Looks like my timeline really liked it, but I hated it. I am curious to see where it goes from here.

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What’s up folks, it’s good to be back, well at least for a couple weeks anyway (my vacation is July 29-August 7).  So lets see what’s been happening in the world recently.  92 degrees in JTland here today so if anything sounds like it doesn’t make any sense, that’s why. (more…)

So tonight was MPX’s Scars and Tattoos. Right now I’m in reflection mode, but I think this might have been MPX’s best show top to bottom. It was hot. Duh! It’s July in Texas. The crowd was a little out of it because of the heat. There were hand-held fans for the crowd. It was a great idea. The crowd was very kid-saturated. This is a very smart plan because kids will make their parents come back. And at the end of the day, it’s all about them.

There were guard rails. It looked nice and professional. They were held together with bubble gum and chicken wire, but they were there. And they needed to be there. The night began with Kate introducing Mike Dolenz. He wanted to apologize to $Payday$ and Jiggle-O for putting them in a match last month. He was going to make it up to them by giving them a singles match for a title shot. Dolenz has improved nicely on the mic.

First match: $Payday$ vs. Jiggle-O Jim Johnson (for a future title shot)

Payday did his best to try to get the crowd going. The crowd has mass heatstroke so the crowd plants did their best to get the crowd going. The kids really love Payday. He is a great person to start off the night because of the reaction he gets. Payday is kind of like the Kofi Kingston of MPX. He’s always right and good. In this match, I was a little confused. Who do I go for? I like Jiggle-O and Payday.

The story was that they were both friends and just trying to win the belt. Jiggle-O faked an injury. He rolled up $Payday$ for the win.

Winner: Jiggle-O

Payday, being the great human being he is, raised Jiggle-O’s hand and was a good sport about it. Jiggle-O then took the mic and began to cut MPX’s version of “The Promo.” He channeled CM Punk very well. He didn’t give a damn about anybody or anything. He had never had a chance for a title shot. And he called Kate a “skank.” To describe this for anybody who’s never seen MPX, that would be like calling Miss Elizabeth a skank. I think it is the best heel promo I’ve heard in MPX (with respect to Kyle Davis).

Second match: Carrion Arcane w/Claudia vs. Danny Saint

It was nice to see Danny Saint again. He looks like he belongs in a WWE ring (hint, hint, Johnny Ace). He’s got the size and has a certain look about him. The two wrestled a very nice match. Claudia got a little too involved for my taste. As part of their feud, Kris Haiden walked out and abducted Claudia. Claudia is very over with the crowd as a heel. She is probably the number one heel in the company. The match was a little shorter than I would have like to have seen, but we got to see Saint get a nice win.

Winner: Saint

Third match: Cash & Carry (c) vs. Jinn & Lucha Lucha

As Cash & Carry develop more, the more they remind me of the Road Warriors. Now I’m not saying that they are on that level yet. But you have a strong, silent type (Animal) in Zach T and a charismatic, larger-than-life talker (Hawk) in BC. I see them emerging as a top tag team in Texas in the next few years are so. Jinn and Lucha have come so far in their ring work. Jinn is a big student of the game. You can tell he spends a lot of time perfecting his in-ring craft. We had a few “Holy s***” moments (in a good way) just from him. During the match, Kyle Valo walked to the ring and convinced Lucha to join Team Kyle.

Winner: Cash & Carry

After the match, Cash & Carry continued to beat on Jinn and wanted to unmask Jinn. But Lucha got to do it and it was revealed as Seph Annunaki. I understand they used the unmasking to cement a heel turn, but I was kind of hoping for a mask vs. mask match. Maybe I can hope for mask vs. hair?

After that match, Frankie Fisher and Daniel came out to the ring. Daniel had gotten Frankie a birthday present to make up for Frankie losing last month to James Hawke. His birthday present was a match with Lance Hoyt. Note to self: Don’t befriend Daniel. Daniel is pretty good on the mic.

Fourth match: Frankie Fisher w/Daniel vs. Lance Hoyt

Lance Hoyt took the mic and cut a very nice promo getting the crowd up. The crowd was really in to this match.

Hoyt led the crowd in “Happy Birthday to You” while he beat Frankie down. Kudos to Hoyt for being able to go on before the intermission. Of course nobody could have ever followed the main event. You can tell Hoyt has lots of fun coming to MPX and doesn’t phone in anything. I also give props to MPX for being able to involve him in a storyline. He was very well-booked, and I think the crowd really loved this match. One highlight was Frankie hitting Hoyt with the yardstick. Hoyt turned around and no-sold it. Another highlight was Frankie going to the back and Hoyt going back to get him. Daniel held onto Hoyt’s leg and cost Hoyt the match.

Winner: Fisher (by countout)

This was brilliant. So now Frankie can say he has a victory over former WWE/TNA star Lance Hoyt. Ben Wylde debuted a new look with his longer hair (I liked) and Kyle Davis was channeling the Chris Jericho look. It was a good moment. At the intermission, Lance Hoyt signed some autographs and worked the merchandise table. Also, they are now having a fund to bring in Colt Cabana. I did not give because I don’t know if he’ll still be taking bookings in the near future (like, he might be WWE-bound). MPX, you bring him in, I’ll make my donations. If you don’t, there’s always Sunny. (hint, hint)

After the intermission, Mike Dolenz announced there would be a Tag Team Turmoil event in August.

Fifth match: Kenny Steele vs. Matt Palmer

I really enjoyed this match. Kenny seemed like he was focused on this match and didn’t do as much jaw-jacking with the crowd.

This is a pretty hot feud. Both guys have such a magnetic charisma, both Steele as a heel and Palmer in whatever he does. Steele is about 2-3 years from being one of the most talked-about talents in Texas. Palmer is already one of the top names in Anarchy Championship Wrestling in Austin. ROH, Chikara, Dragon Gate USA, go find yourself some Matt Palmer matches on Youtube or www.smartmarkvideo.com. It’s time to see him on a larger platform. Steele hit the referee Tony (who worked 6 of 7 matches last night) who disqualified him.

Winner: Palmer by DQ

After the match, security had to hold them back from each other. Matt Palmer did a plancha on the security guys and Steele earning the first “That was awesome” chant of the night. After that, we were treated to a special Hot Topics featuring Kyle Valo and his new members Regrub and Lucha. Regrub had a nice, sleek-looking outfit, and apparently, of all things, hair. They invited James Hawke to the ring and to become a new member of Team Kyle. This segment got “real” very quickly. They used people’s “real” names without giving away their secret identities. John Cena James Hawke said over his dead body. A match was made between Regrub and Hawke.

Sixth match: Regrub vs. James Hawke w/Ryan Gauge as special guest referee

Regrub at one point took off his straps and that drew out the biggest reaction of the crowd that night. I really liked the finish of this match. Hawke had him in the STFU and Valo went up to the ring apron and distracted Gauge. Hawke went over to talk to Gauge and Regrub held Hawke’s tights. Gauge counted two, noticed he had a hold on his tights and counted to three anyway. He took off his shirt and sure enough, Gauge was wearing a Team Kyle t-shirt. So now Team Kyle is officially a faction. I know I tease James Hawke about being John Cena, but this was definitely not Cena. Really nicely-done angle.

Winner: Regrub

Seventh match: Kris Haiden vs. Viktor Tadlock

This was a very intense stiff match between these two. Any other night, this would have been match of the night. The bell didn’t ring until about 2 minutes into the match. They didn’t get in the ring. Tadlock had a red, “I’ve-Just-Faced-an-Angry-Scott-Murdoch” chest. The two had such a nice intensity and energy. Tadlock took the mic and offered to quit wrestling if he would just tell him where Claudia was. Haiden gave him a Clothesline From Hell that would make JBL impressed.

I’m going to be honest. I don’t remember who won this. I’ll say it was Haiden. There was a fireball from Arcane. They sold this like Arcane had just done a fireball in Haiden’s face. Kyle Davis was angry and ready to take on all of them at once. They helped Haiden to the back and Nemesis (Arcane & Tadlock) went in search of Claudia.

Main event: “Headbanger” Gregory James (c) vs. WASP w/Kyle Valo

Right now, this is MPX’s Match of the Year. This is an example of how a hot crowd can make a match. There was a chairshot from Hell from Headbanger on WASP. (I hope WASP is ok.) The two did their part of brawling in the crowd, but there was also a lot of really good in-ring action. WASP is so big that any move he does that involves agility looks like a Holy s*** moment. During the match, Gregory climbed on the bars that hold the weights up and did a dive onto WASP. This evoked the SECOND “That was awesome” chant of the night. A major highlight of the match was the guitar/mandolin. They kept on building up the drama of who was going to get it. It ended up being WASP who took it and was busted up. We also saw Kyle Valo take a Van Terminator from Headbanger. Headbanger is about a year or two away from being noticed by a Chikara or ROH. Both these guys abused their bodies and I do not think I’ve seen a crowd this much into a match. Headbanger won after using a washcloth soaked in chloroform.

Winner: Headbanger

Top to bottom, I think this is MPX’s best show. Every match meant something and led to something else. Now MPX has left lots of questions open: Will Jiggle-O finally get his chance to win a championship? Where’s Claudia? Do we get to see Seph again? Why did he quit? And why did he come back as Seph? Will Fisher be able to take on Colt Cabana? What about this Tag Team Turmoil?

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Eh…  Yo…  Chico… Did you miss the Bad Guy?

Let’s talk Punk Versus Cena.

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Welcome to another episode of PatMan Picks Stampede Wrestling classics. This week I am going back in time to a point further than I remember actually watching Stampede Wrestling on television as a kid. I don’t know if my fellow Calgary man G was watching the promotion as far back as what is seen in this classic video, but I don’t personally remember actually seeing a lot of Jake Roberts or Big Daddy Ritter competing in Stampede, so its a nice treat to watch them now. As we all know, both men would become very famous wrestlers in the WWF and in other promotions around the world. However, in this video we can clearly see that both men are still in the early stages of their careers, still learning how to “evolve” into the the big super stars that they would eventually become. Worth noting this time around is that Jake Roberts was the current Stampede North American Heavyweight champion while Daddy Ritter ( JYD for most of you) was the former North American champion making this a pretty big match in Stampede for the time. But there was something else on the line in this match that maked it even more special and more interesting for classic wrestling fans. The winner of the match would go on to face the legendary Harley Race, for the world championship title on a future card in a Stampede Wrestling event. It truly was a wonderful time in wrestlings past where world champions form the big organizations would sometimes come to places like Stampede and wrestle in special matches against local territorial champions. See you all on the next PatMan Picks, and why not check out Wonderpod Videogame podcast epsidoe 71 & Patman picks PC classics over at wonderpodonline.com!

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