Tag: wrestling

Meeting Diamond Dallas Page

~ dannyhong ~ Leave a comment

This actually happened a little while ago, but life has just been busy, my drive to write has fluctuated tremendously over the last days and sometimes there’s a backlog of things that I want to write about first jumps around a bit.  But at the same time, this isn’t something that I wanted to not write about, because as far as my fandom in wrestling goes, this was still a pretty big deal, and half of the importance of meeting a known celebrity in a field, is being able to humble-boast about it on the internet to a small or completely non-existent audience.

But in between my vacation and my work-trip, I took a night out to go to an independent wrestling show, because it wasn’t really that far from my house, but more importantly, they had advertised an appearance from Diamond Dallas Page, a wrestler that I enjoyed a lot towards the end of the 90s and into the 2000s.

Most fans remember him as the guy who invented the Diamond Cutter, which is basically the basis for Randy Orton’s RKO, but aside from the things he accomplished in his wrestling career, there’s a lot he accomplished outside of the ring that are noteworthy and contribute a lot to why I admire the guy as much as I do, especially to the point where his name alone can sell me to go to an indy show.

I popped when he defeated Jay-Z in court, when the rapper decided that he could go ahead and just use the hand symbol for the Diamond Cutter without any repercussion, and lordy, did the guy’s arrogance prove him wrong.  Guys like Jay-Z typically don’t take any L’s in life, considering his wealth and business acumen, so it was tremendously refreshing to hear that he did the job to a professional wrestler of all people, with it being noted that the Jigga man settled with DDP outside of court in order for him to drop the lawsuit, as well as ceased using the hand symbol outright.

But what most people are probably very familiar with DDP these days is his yoga and fitness programs that the guy promotes tirelessly, because once people are able to get around the professional wrestler persona, and the power of positivity that seems almost too good to be true, the fact of the matter is that DDP has helped tons of people these days, overcome all sorts of physical boundaries and limitations they were told they would have, with his training programs and general life coaching.

From prolonging the careers of fellow wrestlers, to helping athletes from all wakes of life and sport regain a modicum of physical capabilities, to rescuing veterans, those with paralyzing injuries and other handicaps, DDP has made it his life promoting wellness, health and mobility for anyone interested, from regular people, retired athletes to those still in the wrestling industry.

So when I got to have my chance to speak with DDP, I basically told him that I loved him as a wrestler, but I think it’s what he does with his life now, that really has a more admirable quality to it, and that regardless it was an honor to meet the guy.

From all the times I’ve met wrestlers, be it through random encounters, minor league appearances or paid meet and greets, it’s really hit or miss to the types of personalities you get in person.  And often times, people are encouraged to not meet their heroes so to say, so they don’t disappoint you, but to absolutely no surprise, DDP was about as gracious and as layup of a good guy in person as they come.

Instead of just ushering people away and moving onto the next guy wanting to pay money, DDP for some reason decided to tell me a story about how he went to a boxing show, and he was eager to meet Ken Norton there, but in a random hallway he runs into Norton who was in a rush as he was, and it turns out that Norton was in a rush to meet him.  I’m not entirely sure what about me made DDP want to tell me that story, but it was still cool and entertaining that he gave me the time of day to hold up the line and tell me such, and with a second handshake and an autograph I was on my merry way.

And that’s really all there was to it.  The wrestling show itself wasn’t bad as far as indy promotions go, and I saw some potential as well as names I recognized from previous times I’ve bounced around the area watching indy wrestling, but really the whole night was all about trying to meet DDP, and mission accomplished.

I look forward to having an office wall to hang my autographs off of one day, because DDP is definitely one that I’m glad to add to the collection.

AEWShop be out of their GOT damn mind

~ dannyhong ~ Leave a comment

  • Get email from shopAEW.com for some reason, I’ve never purchased anything from them before
  • Limited edition The Acclaimed-themed AEW World Trios Champions replica blets
  • Only TEN will be made
  • $5,000*

*actually $4,999

Most people know the story about how way back when, someone in marketing figured out that pricing things with a cent value of 99¢ often times subliminally tricked consumers into thinking something was cheaper than it really was, because like $1.99 was leaps and bounds cheaper than $2.00 was, solely based on the fact that all they saw was a leading $1 instead of a $2.

Yeah, I think when we’re dealing with the difference between four thousand and five thousand dollars, that single digit in the ones column really isn’t going to be fooling anyone.

But here we are, where AEW is now selling a replica blet that is, for all intents and purposes, the most expensive replica blet on the market.  Higher than WWE’s Elite series of replica blets (~$2,000 USD), and higher than New Japan’s replica blets ($2,500-3,400 USD), and not even close, butting up against $5,000 in comparison to others.

Allegedly, the old NWA/WCW World Heavyweight Championship blet that was synonymous with Ric Flair back in the olden days, was originally estimated to be $8,000-10,000 depending on whom you asked, and when the NWA refused to give Ric Flair back a collateral of $10,000 at one point, he took the blet with him, and showed up to WWF television with a rival promotion’s blet.

The point of bringing that up is the fact that an actual original championship blet, albeit in 1991 dollars, was closer to the asking price of AEW’s tribute Trios blet, than any other blet replica available in marketspace.

I know that the Acclaimed are pretty over right now, but the fact of the matter is that in the grand spectrum of the wrestling industry, they still haven’t proven jack shit, to be worthy of getting a tribute blet, much less one with so much exclusivity, that they might not actually move all ten of them but who am I kidding, AEW tribe marks are so ryde or die that they’re probably already all ten accounted for by the time I’m done with this post.

Like, WWE has a shitload of tribute blets out there, but they’re all for guys that are legitimate legends of the industry.  AEW giving a tribute blet to the Acclaimed would be like the WWE realizing the team of Al Snow and Steve Blackman were over at one point, and making a tribute tag blet for Team HeadCheese.

The Acclaimed are a pretty okay team, and they’re a good example of how actual wrestling skills aren’t as important when you have charisma and great stage presence.  I’d say Anthony Bowens is a 7 in the ring, and Max Caster is a 6 at best, but the two of them together have a tremendous amount of charisma and performance chops, and they know how to engage a crowd.  But when push comes to shove, they’re not even the best tag team in the company by a long shot, and from a promotion that values tag team wrestling as AEW does, they’ve got a long way to catching up with the Young Bucks, FTR, and Lucha Bros among others.

And let’s not forget the fact that they’re carrying around Billy Gunn, whom it seemed like a pretty slapped together union at first, but to their credit and willingness to run with whatever is thrown their way, they’ve made it work.  Obviously, Billy Gunn is in incredible shape and can still go despite being 59 years old, but the guy is mostly a legend solely by association with stronger performers. 

But in storyline, he was shunned and assaulted by his own sons, and in two seconds afterward, he was completely revitalized and renewed by putting his fingers into scissors and joining hands with a rap group team; seems a bit convoluted and silly, but then again, this is AEW we’re talking about.

Back to the blets though, we’re living in a world where a replica blet that is held in part by Billy Gunn, is the most expensive replica in the entire industry.  And it’s not even real gold like the IWGP replicas sold in limited quantities by NJPW; as absurd as it would be to drop 2.5-3.5K on one of those, they’re at least made from real 24 carat gold, and might actually appreciate in value, aside from the fact that some of the greatest wrestlers in history have held it.

My god man, I’m worked up over something so silly and absurd and I really need to stop.  AEW be out of their got-mind with this one.

Orange Cassidy: giving credit where it’s due

~ dannyhong ~ Leave a comment

OFC when I actually get the opportunity to write this post, it just so happens to be right after Orange Cassidy finally lost the AEW Intercontinental All-Atlantic International championship after 31 previously successful title defenses.

But it doesn’t matter; all the same, despite the fact of how critical I am of AEW, I still wanted to make this post to give credit to where it’s due, to Orange Cassidy, whom in my opinion, has probably just concluded the greatest championship reign in the promotion’s short history.  Better than Cody’s TNT title run, better than Mox’s first AEW World title run and most definitely better than Jade Cargill’s TBS title run.

Over the last 11 months, Orange Cassidy successfully defended the International championship 31 times after winning it from PAC last October, which is a pretty unprecedented run, especially in today’s day and age of the industry where championships are either seldom defended, or passed around like a hot potato. 

Sure, it might seem silly to applaud the results of a scripted industry, but the fact of the matter is that in spite of the predetermined outcomes, the dancing still has to take place, and over the span of the last year, OC has participated in 30+ high-output matches which over time is a colossal physical workload, that he’s endured and thrived through, bringing the stock of the AEW International championship to quite frankly, the heights of a 1B tier, right behind the World championship.

Admittedly, I wasn’t really that big of a fan of OC, as I thought his whole schtick was too juvenile and apropos to the kid fans of today, but it dawned on me that that’s just exactly what he is.  He’s a guy meant to appeal to the younger audience, the guy that can capture the imaginations of the 17-and younger audience, as well as the younger rung of the vaunted 18-35 male demographic that AEW loves to tout being the kings of.  And the last time I checked, I’m firmly outside of both demographics, so OC is not a guy that’s meant for me no matter how his character is booked.

But work is work, and I have tremendous respect for a guy who can go 11 straight months and performing at the pace in which he does, and who has clearly been working through a lot of aches and pains throughout that stretch, as the amount of RockTape™ on his body seemed to increase every single month.

And 31 title defenses doesn’t account for the times he was involved in programs with Best Friends or with other stable vs. stable feuds in between his singles bouts, which only adds to the workload that was heaped upon him over the last year.  Again, the outcomes might be predetermined, but there’s an expectation of performance in AEW for title bouts, and OC has done a tremendous amount of work over the last year, and it goes without saying that the guy deserves a boatload of credit, recognition and acknowledgment of the effort he’s put in.

In a way, it’s almost a relief that he finally dropped the blet, although I’m perplexed to why it’s going to Jon Moxley who needs a mid-card title win as much as some rich guy needing another million bucks, but I really hope that OC gets to take some time off soon in order to rest his body, because I’ve grown to respect the worker, and I’d like for him to get back to an optimal condition to where he can get back into the game and keep pleasing fans and earning respect from olds like me.

But for what it’s worth, I just wanted to tip my e-cap to Orange Cassidy, for basically being the MVP of AEW over the last year, because as all fans of the WWE Intercontinental championship know, that 1B title is the workhorse blet, and they’re the guys that really shoulder a substantial load that satisfies the wrestling fans, even if they’re not involved in the World title storylines.

A e-tale of two extremes

~ dannyhong ~ Leave a comment

I got two emails today; one from New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s shop, and then not long afterward, one from the WWEShop, since I’m a big wrestling mark nerd who has shopped with both companies to where regardless of the checkbox I decline to receive emails, they send me shit anyway.  Normally, I delete them all with light prejudice since I never asked to receive them in the first place, but today I opened both of them, because they smartly put in the subject line, shit about my favorite thing in the world: blets.

In one corner, we have NJPW’s shop advertising the pre-sale of the undisputed NJPW World championship that I’ve made no secret to not being a fan of the design of.  But at an insignificant, paltry $3,500 (three thousand, five hundred dollars), you could be one of probably 1,000 extreme marks to get your hands on an extremely rare, official NJPW replica championship blet.

In all fairness, it is typical impeccable Japanese craftsmanship, and unlike lots of wrestling replica blets that are made from brass or some other cheap shit metal, official NJPW blets are (allegedly) made from actual 24-karat gold, to justify the drink-spitting price tag on them, so in theory, they literally could be purchased as a legitimate investment, should the cost of gold ever spike to Gamestop-like proportions, and an actual owner of one of these bad boys could flip them for some actual profit.

But yeah no, $3,500, I can think of a hundred more constructive or better things to spend that money on, mostly going towards my actual house, a real architectural structure where human beings reside in, instead of a championship blet replica, regardless of how much I love collecting them.  Alternatively, I could get like 7-8 WWE replica blets (at full retail) for that cost, or every single AEW replica blet in one fell swoop, instead of a blet that I don’t like the design of in the first place.

But speaking of WWE replica blets, it brings us to email #2, from the WWEShop.  Because the WWE has caught up to having released almost every single blet in WWF, WWE, WCW and ECW history at some point, as well as having made a legion of bullshit “commemorative” blets for cherry picked former wrestlers, and a confusing array of MLB and SEC athletics tribute blets, it should come as no surprise that the WWE has finally gotten in bed with the NFL, seeing as how there’s a considerable amount of overlap between fans of both companies.

For what will probably be a low-cost (in comparison to NJPW) of $499 per blet, NFL fans can get official WWE replica blets of their favorite team, regardless of if they’re the Kansas City Chiefs or not, seeing as how they’re probably going to embark on a dynasty and win every Super Bowl as long as Patrick Mahomes stays on the squad, but you can get a blet anyway, because if you’re a Redskins Commanders, Lions, Cardinals, Texans or fan of some other hopeless shitty NFL squad, you can get a blet anyway and feel like for two seconds what it feels like to have something that scripted winners get to hold.

UNLESS you’re a Jacksonville Jaguars fan, because in a humorous turn of events, the WWE overlooked for a few minutes that the Jags are also the owners of AEW, and pulled the option from their site, but not before smartasses on the internet made the astute observations first, and of course, got their archive of screencaps and proof of fucking up, because there’s little else the internet loves to do than call out failure.

Either way, I’m broke as fuck, so there’s no chance in hell I’m getting any of these new blets anyway.  I only like blets that actually exist or have existed, and my general cap for any blets is preferred to stick under $500 a pop.  But all the same, I do think it was amusing that both of these drops happened on the same day, and not without its own malaise by the ol’ E for forgetting that one of the NFL teams also reinforces their number one North American competitor’s bankroll.

Happy Trails, Windham Rotunda

~ dannyhong ~ Leave a comment

Talk about a brutal week for the wrestling business; losing a genuine icon, legend and forefather of the industry on one day, and then losing one of the most captivating and yet to be fully untapped stars of today, very much in the category of having gone way too soon, in Windham Rotunda, whom most people know primarily as Bray Wyatt.

I’m very deliberate in using his real name over Bray Wyatt, because with no disrespect to the the departed, I can’t say that I was really ever that big of a fan of Bray Wyatt.  The whole supernatural character is something that I’m clearly not in the right demographic to really be a fan of.  And as much as I did like the originality and intrigue he brought to the table earlier in his run as Bray Wyatt, I do think his whole character evolution went from weird to progressively weirder and more bizarre, and not in good ways either.

I loved the whole creepy southern gothic cult leader of the original Bray Wyatt persona, but then that it literally killed by Randy Orton in storyline.  The eventual return of the split personality, super-positive and cheerful Bray Wyatt compared to the emergence of the demonic Fiend started off well enough in my opinion, but when he started up with brainwashing Alexa Bliss and being basically unkillable against Seth Rollins but then getting squashed by fucking Goldberg, I was kind of losing my shine to the character as a whole.  Ironically, this too was killed by Randy Orton in storyline.

Which brings us to his final incarnation and last stint with the company, kind of this strange amalgamation of Bray Wyatt who is kind of good, but kind of dark, with the Field still lurking around, but then the introduction of Uncle Howdy, and I’m just kind of like wtf is all this bullshit now.  At this point, I was no longer a fan of the Bray Wyatt universe, and I likened him to being like, Randy Orton, as in a guy whom with once you get tangled up with in storyline, you’re stuck with it for like 3-5 months of having to play scared patron to a haunted house, and barely a professional wrestler anymore.

It was actually during his feud with LA Knight, that I realized that I was starting to become impressed with LA Knight, seeing as how his whole tenure prior, ol’ Eli Drake wasn’t impressing me at all, but while feuding with Bray Wyatt, I found LA Knight to be a shining beacon of charisma and promo school, and even though he was getting his ass kicked and having creepy shit thrown at his character for three months, he was absolutely killing it on the mic, and even though he lost the feud, he clearly won over a lot of fans, seeing as how over he is with the WWE Universe currently.

I just felt that Bray Wyatt was a character that was clearly not geared for people my old age, and is clearly meant to capture the imaginations of those who are in “the demos” that the professional wrestling industry tries their hardest to cater to, children, and the vaunted 18-35 male range.  Aside from such, I just felt that a supernatural character is among the hardest characters to write and book for, especially when you exist in a universe with MMA converts, European wrestling purists and a Samoan dynasty running roughshod through the rest of the company.

Continue reading “Happy Trails, Windham Rotunda” →

We’re long past how the mighty have fallen

~ dannyhong ~ Leave a comment

Sauce: WWE Hall of Famer, Tammy Sytch “Sunny,” pleads no-contest to vehicular manslaughter under the influence, faces upwards of 25 years in prison

I haven’t really kept tabs on Sunny since her gradual disappearance from the world of professional wrestling, but when the story came out a while ago where she killed a guy in a drunken car crash, it opened the doors to wondering how her life had gotten to this point.  The last time I really saw her was when RAW had their 1,000th episode, and I remember thinking how she had held up pretty damn well, but it’s abundantly clear that the last 12 years of her life most definitely have not.

I knew she had some legal issues and had been in and out of jail a few times, but nothing seemed more than her own dumb choices of DUIs and being flippant about parole or unauthorized travel, so despite her poor judgment, at least she wasn’t like a hot mess of violence or more than a drunk for a criminal.  Frankly, her manslaughter charge, as tragic as it is that it resulted in loss of life, was just her doing what she had been doing, but to an extreme point, seeing as how she allegedly blew a ridiculous .280 BAC, which is almost as impressive as Johnny Damon’s also-Florida drunken escapades.

So we’re long past the point of stating how the mighty have fallen, because over the last twelve years, ‘ol Sunny has fallen quite a bunch of times, but not to as severe of a degree as this one.  Goes to show that being one of the original OG breakers of the internet back in the day really doesn’t have any monetary worth, although like many people in my generation, probably feels she would have thrived in today’s society with what they had at the table back in the day.

Honestly, the only reason this post came to fruition was the .280 BAC and how it reminded me of how amused I was with Johnny Damon’s DUI.  Frankly, I was never really a fan of Sunny, even if she was supposed to be eye candy, and as time has passed, aside from her personal demons, I’ve never really heard much good about her ever.  She was not well-liked in the locker room, mostly due to her ego on top of the typical chauvinistic culture back then, but much as come out with her extramarital affairs and basically how she cuckolded her husband Chris Candido numerous times, which doesn’t really jive with my ideals.

You can take the trailer park trash out of New Jersey, but can’t take the New Jersey out of the trailer park trash.  Especially when they relocate to the trailer parks of Florida instead.

But if I really have to have a last word on this, I suppose it’s for the best for all parties that Sunny gets the book thrown at her.  Not only will she be taken off the streets and be one less liability of a driver to not DWI and kill any other innocents, perhaps some nice quiet time in incarceration is what she actually needs to try and overcome her personal demons.

Welp, it was bound to happen

~ dannyhong ~ Leave a comment

😮 – Will Ospreay busts out the IWGP United Kingdom championship blet at the NJPW G1 Climax, supplanting the United States championship

I remember after getting my NXT UK Tag Team championship replica blet, thinking ahhh, no more blets are even in existence for me to even want now.  Maybe I can start actually saving my money for more responsible things or investing or putting it back into my house or something that isn’t trying to get more wrestling blets.

In spite of the title of this post, the itch actually kind of low-key came back a few times already at this point, with the WWE predictably releasing new renditions of existing blets, and Impact’s Joe Hendry and previously Matt Cardona giving me reason to possibly want an Impact Digital Media (World) Championship replica blet.  But those were mild itches that I could focus my body to not think about them, and they’d go away on their own.

But when I read highlights of the G1 Climax where after his loss to Tetsuya Naito, Will Ospreay cut a promo about how he’s British and doesn’t care about the United States, so the fact that he was holding the IWGP United States championship meant very little to him.  And then channeling Lance Storm, but instead of putting a sticker over the US title, Ospreay busts out a brand new version of the title, but instead of US flags all over it, is the same blet, but with UK Union jacks all over it, the IWGP United Kingdom championship effectively.

And to no surprise, my mouth did a partial gape, and now I’m thinking how much I already want it.  Regardless of the fact that structurally it’s basically the same blet as the IWGP US, but my general love and appreciation for British wrestling that has grown over the years makes this instantly appealing, and I would like to acquire one if it is possible.

The good news is that because NJPW are such hipsters and barely do replica blets, and none that aren’t made from 24 karat gold and would constitute as legitimate financial investments, I’ll have no other option than the Pakistani bootleg route where all my other NJPW, NWA and Impact have come from, and fortunately, their price (and quality) won’t really be that high.

One day, the blet wall will go back up, and once again, it’ll be a challenge to try and accommodate any new blet(s) that I may have acquired from that point.

Better start looking for a bigger home.