MONSTER FACTORY Season One (APPLE TV+)

Welcome to a special edition of Blogs Count Anywhere, the pro wrestling companion blog to the ODPH podcast & 607 TWS: The Wrestling Show Podcast.

For this entry, we are reviewing a brand new documentary series debuting on Apple TV+ on March 17th showcasing one of the premier pro wrestling schools in the world.

If you have a deeper knowledge of the pro wrestling business (other than watching your favorite promotions on cable TV or streaming), you know the importance of wrestling schools. This is where those with aspirations of learning the ins and outs of professional wrestling go to hone their craft. Often during televised/streaming shows, fans will hear commentators mention such places as the WWE Performance Center, New Japan Wrestling Dojo, and Nightmare Factory where tomorrow’s superstars improve their skills today. One of the best wrestling schools you will hear in those types of conversations is the MONSTER FACTORY, based out of Paulsboro, New Jersey.

The school is featured in a 6 episode series giving viewers an all access view inside the lives of trainees (Amelia Herr aka Notorious Mimi, Hurley A. Jones Jr. aka Bobby Buffet, Lucas DiSangro aka Twitch, David Goldschmidt aka Goldy and Gabriella Belpre aka Gabby Ortiz) along with their head trainer & Monster Factory owner Danny Cage en route to a showcase show at the legendary 2300 arena in Philadelhpia.

Rich from 3FN and I had the chance to catch up with the cast before the show hits streaming on a special 607 TWS, but lets take a closer look at how this series fared overall now that its’ debuted.

MONSTER FACTORY Season One Promo Art

Credit: Apple TV+

If you’re unfamiliar with the Monster Factory, it was founded in 1983 by Larry Sharpe. One of its’ first students to go on and have superstar success was “Bam Bam” Bigelow. From there, the school had grown with successful students moving on to the WWE, WCW and ECW respectfully. In 2010, Danny Cage purchased the school and rebranded as “The World Famous Monster Factory”. The school hasn’t stopped turning out success story after success story over those years (12 signees in 11 years as mentioned on the show). Currently, QT Marshall (AEW), Damien Priest (WWE) and Steve Maclin (WWE, now Impact Wrestling) are a few notable students and all featured wrestlers in major promotions. Success is never guaranteed but looking at the track record of alumni over the years, it can’t be denied the Monster Factory can give an aspiring wrestler the tools to begin that journey to the big stage.

Episode 5. Danny Cage in “Monster Factory,” premiering on Friday, March 17 on Apple TV+.

Credit: Apple TV+

The six episode series doesn’t disguise the grind in training and how dangerous the business can be from a physical aspect. From the initial episode, viewers see a prime example of how serious training needs to be to avoid someone being devastatingly hurt or worse. During training on how to perform a suplex, two students experience a slip-up and nearly drop someone right on their head. Immediately Danny Cage jumps in and coaches these two (along with the rest of the class) about what they did wrong, what to do next time and why it’s important to take it seriously. Cage bluntly puts “When you screw up in wrestling, I know it’s natural to laugh…Don’t do that…..You don’t know what that means, you could have just crippled someone.” Another moment is later in the series when a chair spot (where one person hits someone with a steel chair) goes wrong and the wrestler suffered an elbow injury. These types of events do happen. It’s one element of the business that is known and hopefully never seen due to great coaching & training.

Gabriella Belpre (aka Gabby Ortiz) in “Monster Factory,” premiering on Friday, March 17 on Apple TV+.

Credit: Apple TV+

If viewers are not familiar to all the aspects of pro-wrestling’s business side, Danny Cage does an exceptional job showing the true side of the ring. Cage is very open, blunt and honest with what is involved in learning the ropes. Cage may rub some people the wrong way, but at the end of the day, his job isn’t to make everyone happy, but make them the best pro wrestler they can be. Viewers will see his personal journey & see his passion pour out for pro wrestling. His career might not have taken off but his legacy is what his students take with them as they move on and in some cases, skyrocketing upward. The prime example of this is Herr aka Notorious Mimi. Early in the show, Herr is given an opportunity that not many get: a tryout from a big promotion. There is no bigger accomplishment that a coach can have than seeing a student work extremely hard to get chances and take full advantage of them. Even while brief on the series, Herr shines with how much she’s put int her craft and where she is going from here. Herr’s story shows why students sacrifice so much to chase their dreams. With hard work, they just might get it.

Episode 2. Amelia Herr (aka Notorious Mimi) in “Monster Factory,” premiering on Friday, March 17 on Apple TV+.

Credit: Apple TV+

Even with the success story with Herr, this show’s strength is not what the students do in the ring, but how vulnerable they were with their lives outside. Each featured student deeply open up about their personal lives and their struggles on top of chasing their dreams. The series captures the raw emotions involving the students and readers can’t help but to cheer them on to win. That said, the episode that most viewers will arguably be talking about the most is episode 3: “Thank You CM Punk” featuring Lucas DiSangro aka Twitch. Seeing what he has overcome to get to this level simply can’t be ignored. That said, nobody has a story that is forgettable by any means. Viewers will be blown away by the honesty and emotional testimonials from other cast members like Ortiz, Buffet and Goldy as well, which each getting time to have their moment to talk of their experiences that mold them into who they are.

Lucas DiSangro (aka Twitch) in “Monster Factory,” premiering on Friday, March 17 on Apple TV+.

Credit: Apple TV+

The students are not the only ones showing the world their daily challenges. This especially rings true for Danny Cage himself. The exposure he gives to the audience about the business and all that it encompasses is one thing, but his personal life outside the ring with his family is a whole captivating story as well. Cage balances both with strength and poise during some of the most difficult times anyone unfortunately has to endure, moving forward concerning the showcase without missing a beat. Knowing Cage is dealing with this on top of setting up one of, if not their biggest show ever, is something the audience watching at home has to respect and will empathize with.

Episode 6. Hurley A. Jones Jr. (aka Bobby Buffet) and David Goldschmidt (aka Goldy) in “Monster Factory,” premiering on Friday, March 17 on Apple TV+.

Credit: Apple TV+

Overall, Monster Factory for Apple Tv+ is a must-watch show for not only pro wrestling fans, but viewers who have ever had a dream worth chasing. It pays homage to the legendary school but shows that its success is not based solely on the art of wrestling but rather what makes the wrestler. Watching ringside (or streamside) and seeing these individuals will give you new perspective and admiration for those willing to take a chance and leaving it all in the ring after the 1, 2 and 3 counts.

Make sure to check this series out when it drops on March 17th on Apple TV+

Hit me up on ODPH social media and let me know what you thought of Monster Factory. Thanks again to Apple TV and Nerd Initiative to allow us to interview and early screen the series. Till next time, thanks for reading.

AEW DYNAMITE MAKES IT 3!/JON MOXLEY/MJF IS READY

Welcome to an all new edition of Blogs Count Anywhere, the complementary pro wrestling blog to the ODPH Podcast & 607 TWS: The Wrestling Show. This week marks a special anniversary date for All Elite Wrestling. On this week in 2019, AEW Dynamite debuted on the TNT network (8pm EST). With al the hype coming from their first two pay-per-view events, the upstart brand was making a play at something that few have been able to pull off successfully: Weekly Network/Cable TV Programming. Since that time, the company has grown since opening with Cody Rhodes vs. a young upstart named Sammy Guevara. For this blog, we’re gonna take a dive into where the show has gone since and where things are heading now for the big 3 year anniversary show.

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling.

Granted, with all the drama surrounding CM Punk and The Young Bucks, it appears that the world title has some stability now with Jon Moxley as the world champion. In this most recent title run, Mox has been defending it regularly with the “eliminator” stipulation put in. If an opponent beats him, they get an AEW title match as a way of earning their shot. This has grown on me immensely. Ironically enough the champion at the premiere Dynamite was current Ring Of Honor Champion Chris Jericho. The whole frequency of the belt being defended i a breath of fresh air for a company that took a BAD pr hit after the “All Out” media scrum.

As for where Mox is heading with the belt….all signs point to a feud with MJF, but where I’m more focused on is this Saturday for GCW vs. Nick Gage title vs. Career match. Even with that match and another with former champ Hangman Adam Page looking, this is the feud that needs to happen and MJF has to go over. With how much momentum he’s currently riding, MJF is ready for the belt. The “waiting in the wings” approach is working but how they extend the feud is what I’m looking at here. Fans don’t need another”5 labors” deal where Mox needs to defeat all the Firm members. Hopefully this doesn’t happen and Mox continues with the open challenges. It’s working and getting over.

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling.

Speaking of MJF, the days of fighting Brandon Cutler are long over as AEW’s most polarizing wrestlers steps up to actually wrestle Wheeler Yuta this week. A solid storyline until the Mox feud ramps up. Having MJF go thru the Blackpool Combat Club instead could make for some fun storylines. Let’s just hope it stays to the in-ring battles cause no one on the BCC with the exception of Mox and William Regal can even come close to a promo battle with the Salt Of The Earth!

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling.

In 2019, Riho faced Nyla Rose for the AEW women’s title. Hovering right around that mix was Dr. Britt Baker…D.M.D! Fast forward to now and Baker has ascended and never left the main event level, while unfortunately Riho’s run is all but forgotten. This week, Baker is coaching her team from the outside vs. a Saraya led squad. The women’s division is one tha still hasn’t consistently improved on AEW Dynamite. Occasionally the division is featured main event a show or have another match on the card other than in the (usually) 9:10pm time frame. The talent is there and imo, needs to be featured more than they are in front of the live crowds. IF (and that’s in caps for a reason), Saraya is 1000% cleared, then Baker vs. Saraya could be a program to watch for. Fingers crossed for that.

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling.

As far as the coveted tag team titles, The Acclaimed has won over fans and the heads of AEW enough to become champion. In 2019, the closest we had to a traditional tag match on Dynamites opener was a six man tag between the Young Bucks and Kenny Omega vs. Chris Jericho and the newly signed Santana and Ortiz. The aftermath of that match became the ground work for AEW’s debut faction: The Inner Circle.

Since then, the tag team division has been one of AEW’s bright spots with a well stacked roster of teams. Now with the Acclaimed at the top of the rankings, it’s not only a matter of time until they defend against FTR and fans get to see if FTR can add another title to their current collection of IWGP, ROH and AAA belts. For a company that claims how “Rankings matter”, the fact that Dax and Cash haven’t gotten a shot yet is an insult. I fully suspect this will be answered at AEW Full Gear in November. In the meantime, the Acclaimed are running with a newly found energy from the fans who are completely behind Caster and Bowens. It’s that kind of fan approval that got them there and it will be the same fans screaming for FTR to win whenever that match transpires.

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling.

It’s been an interesting road to get to year 3 but give credit where it’s due. Tony Khan and company continue to give fans wrestling each and every week. There are some areas that need attention but when the show is clicking on all cylinders, it’s a fun product to watch. The growth can be seen but there are moments when it feels like it could be a set-back. The in-ring work is consistent but the promos and tv time for the women’s division are 2 big areas of concern.

Those areas should be a priority going into a new year. Adding stars like a Saraya and Hook (featured above) helps the roster but it is gonna take more than new additions to subtract the weaker areas. There are enough high-level wrestling minds on contract that should be demanding to get in on creative and fix these issues. This is low hanging fruit with the people involved with this show to fix.

The pieces are there and the next phase can be summed up with: More consistency from week to week. At the end f the day, the big win is AEW is still on TV and for fans, that’s a very big win! AEW Dynamite 3 year anniversary show airs 10/5 8pm EST on TBS network and the fallout will be on AEW Rampage Friday. Until then, Happy Anniversary AEW!

Hit me up on Twitter and let me know what your favorite AEW Dynamite moment is! For even more pro-wrestling content, check out the latest ODPHpod and 607 TWS. Thanks for reading!

SARAYA HAS RETURNED?!/IMPACT WRESTLING: VICTORY ROAD/GLORY PRO: PAGEANT 2

Welcome to an all new edition of Blogs Count Anywhere, the complementary pro wrestling blog to the ODPH Podcast and 607TWS. The wrestling world is buzzing for two different reasons on Friday, September 23rd. One is the rumored return of Bray Wyatt to Smackdown (and I do stress RUMORED). The other is part 2 of AEW Grand Slam with a 2hr AEW Rampage starting at 10pm EST on TNT. It has a lot of pressure to be as good as night 1 was, because the headlines coming out of AEW Dynamite that night has the IWC talking. Let’s take a quick look at the results from Night 1 of AEW Grand Slam, shall we?

Photo Credit: All Elite Wreslting

The biggest shock of Wednesday was the return to wrestling of SARAYA (fka Paige in the WWE). No one, and I mean NO ONE saw this coming. For some who might not know, Saraya was one of the ground breakers for the women’s division revolution in WWE when she was in NXT. You should remember the absolute classic match between her and Emma on the first hyped NXT special. On her debut to the WWE main roster, Saraya defeated AJ Lee to win the Divas Championship night after Wrestlemania. First night as champion makes aloud and deserved statement. From when you saw her in the ring, there is no question of how great Saraya was. Her story was chronicled in the 2019 movie “Fighting With My Family”

Unfortunately, due to a neck injury, she was forced to step down from in ring competition. Saraya made a successful transition to Smackdown GM and WWE broadcasting work, along with becoming quite successful on Twitch streaming. It was announced that Saraya was parting ways with WWE this past July. Seeing her emerge on AEW has the wrestling world definitely talking.

If she is 100% healthy and can wrestle, this is a HUGE win for AEW. Saraya is a bonifide superstar. She can elevate the division and just wait for the matches vs. Serena Deeb and Britt Baker. However, before getting hopes up, we don’t know the status of her neck and what Saraya we will see. Anytime dealing with an injury like she had raises cause for concern. I really want to see her succeed and hoping this will be a comeback ala Edge because she’s an amazing talent and deserves the chance to write her own ending to her wrestling career. Fingers crossed Saraya and fans get to see that chapter made.

Photo Credit: All Elite Wreslting

Another big moment was Chris Jericho winning the Ring Of Honor world title. This is his 8th world championship. The question now is where do we go from here? Taking the belt from Claudio Castangoli so soon after he debuted in AEW/ROH might raise some eyebrows. IMO, I see why this went down. IF (and stressing IF) ROH is getting some TV time, Jericho has star power to his name and will bring in viewers more than Claudio at this stage. Plus, this is another notch on the “G.O.A.T.” Championship talk surrounding “The Wizard".” Long term, I don’t see him holding it past an inevitable match with Daniel Garcia and their stroyline’s conclusion. Either way, fans will be watching the next moves regardless.

Photo Credit: All Elite Wreslting

Not to be outdone, Jon Moxley defeated Bryan Danielson to become AEW champion for a record 3rd time. With all the drama surrounding CM Punk, phasing his name out of the record books and adding one of he most passionate AEW wrestlers in its place spoke volumes. The only question now is: How soon before MJF cashes in and will this happen before he faces Nick Gage in GCW in the title vs. career match October 8th? those are the two most important questions coming from the epic main event.

Photo Credit: All Elite Wreslting

Last but certainly not least, The Acclaimed became AEW world tag team champions defeating Swerve Strickland and Keith Lee. The fan movement has been strong for Caster and Bowens and maybe this move was too telegraphed after AEW All Out’s fallout, but take nothing away from the team. They cashed in at the biggest points in their careers. The “Scissor Me” movement is going strong. The only thing that looks to derail their run is the long awaited title shot for FTR. Guessing that could main event AEW Full Gear.

Photo Credit: Impact Wreslting

Photo Credit: Glory Pro Wreslting

There is some great indie action to close the weekend out on. Impact Wrestling has “Victory Road” taking place on September 23rd. The main event: “Barbed Wire Massacre” with Moose vs. Steve Maclin vs. Sami Callihan (Live on Fite TV)! You don’t want to miss that!

On September 25th, Glory Pro Wrestling returns to the Pageant in St. Louis for a star-studded show. Make sure you’re following their YouTube page if you can’t make it live to the event. They always have a great card & banking on this to be one fans will be talking about!

That’s it for this week, but hit me up on Twitter and let me know what pro-wrestling you’re checking out and make sure to listen to the latest ODPH and 607TWS for more wrestling content. Thanks for reading!

MJF IS DYNAMITE/TALES FROM THE RING/GCW LIVERPOOL

Welcome to an all new edition of Blogs Count Anywhere, the complementary Pro Wrestling Blog to the ODPH podcast and 607 TWS. All the buzz in the pro wrestling world has been focused on the AEW All Out “Gripe Bomb” fallout. Make sure to check out the 607TWS special edition: AEW Reborn for a closer look at that incident. Now a week removed and the major players involved (that we know of) currently off TV until further notice, how does the landscape shape up now for All Elite Wrestling? This is what the fans SHOULD be talking about. Let's take a closer look and see, shall we?

MJF

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

AEW Dynamite kicked off with the prodigal sun returning: MJF to start the show. After closing out “All Out” with a subtle knod he was going for the AEW world title, this was the first time fans heard form him in months since his own incident at “Double Or Nothing”. With Tony Khan vacating the AEW world title (along with the Trios Tag titles due to the “All Out” incident), fans were wondering how “The Salt Of The Earth” fit into plans. MJF opened up playing to the Buffalo crowd and cut a great face promo, only to turn back into heel mode when Jon Moxley hit the ring. MJF made sure to remind everyone that has has a guaranteed title shot whenever and wherever he chooses before leaving the ring.

This was a perfect way to bring him back to the fans for the most part. No stranger to controversy, MJF had the fans watching eating out of the palms of his hands. Getting the attention off Punk, Omega and the Bucks was needed. The talk shifted to when is MJF going to cash in. However, It wasn’t without its’ questionable moments. MJF threw in a line about (paraphrasing) leaving and joining Cody Rhodes in WWE. In a time where AEW needed to stabilize their image, having one of their biggest stars talking about leaving for a rival promotion might not have been the best time. He was a heel doing heel things, but perception is reality and took some luster away from the segment. Luckily, someone else came in and squashed any buzz from that punchline (for now).

Jon Moxley

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Jon Moxley crashed the segment and addressed him losing the AEW title during the promo with MJF. Moxley also led off with a passionate promo rallying fans around the company. It’s been no secret since Mox has joined up with AEW, he has been doing some of his best promos of his career. With the company reeling in the PR department, Mox cut the best one needed to steady the ship. It made even the most jaded AEW haters take notice. Hearing how emotional he got for AEW was what their fanbase needed to hear. No one talking of leaving. No one talking of going to join HHH. No more distractions. Mox’s speech has now set the direction for the world title tourney heading to AEW Grand Slam later in the month. In a week of turmoil, this was the right message to send the fans before starting the next phase.

Daniel Garcia

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Overall. AEW Dynamite might have been their best show in quite some time. Not overwhelming with wasted promo segments, the show had 2 great main events: Hangman Page and Bryan Danielson along with the ROH Pure title on the line with Buffalo native Daniel Garcia finally defeating rival Wheeler Yuta to win the prize. It’s a big moment as Garcia seems to be finally making the breakout that fans are waiting for someone to do. Other than HOOK lately, who has been a homegrown talent to make the leap? Page, MJF and Darby are all from the original signing class. Wardlow shortly after that, but since there has been a big void. Garcia appears that maybe him along with Ricky Starks will be that next wave. Working along side Chris Jericho can only help. The current storyline with JAS vs. BCC for Garcia’s loyalty has been decent but should only get better with the title change but can’t slow down now. Not doubting we get Garcia vs. Guevara happening form this. Never the less, Congrats to the new champ.

Samoa Joe

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

In a nice surprise, AEW Rampage also had one of their stronger shows in recent memory as well. ROH Champion Claudio Castangoli defeated Dax from FTR, Serena Deeb won against Madison Rayne and Samoa Joe is now back on TV setting up some matches for the ROH title. IMO, just rename AEW Rampage to ROH Rampage and let the talent shine. This capped off a great rebound for the company by making fans talk about the in-ring work, instead of the out of ring drama. Fingers crossed, this is the start of more great wrestling programming to come.

Photo Credit: Pro Wrestling Revolver

Pro Wrestling Revolver has an insane card set for September 17th with “Tales From The Ring".” AEW Tag Team Champs Swerve Strickland and Keith Lee will be on the card against Rich Swann and Matt Palmer, Impact Wrestling Champ Josh Alexander is facing the 1 called Manders, Speedball Mike Bailey has an open challenge 6-way for the X-division title and much more! Don’t miss this PWR card as it’s available on Fite TV! It’s well worth the price of admission!

Photo Credit: Game Changer Wrestling

Game Changer Wrestling gets ready for a whirlwind tour stretching over the next few weeks starting up in the UK on September 16th. It’s a very stacked card with EFFY, Matt Cardona, Joey Janela and others making this tour. personally, I can’t wait to see Blake Christian vs Jordan Oliver. The event will be streamed on Fite TV so make sure you’re following GCW on socials so you don’t miss this event.

Photo Credit: Major League Wrestling

Lastly, MLW just added a major match for its’ Super Series show happening September 18th in Atlanta. Shun Skywalker (from DragonGate) is challenging MLW Middleweight champion Myron Reed. Another excellent match added to this card, so make sure you’re following MLW for all the latest.

That’s all the pro wrestling talk for this week’s blog. Hit me up on Twitter and let me know what pro wrestling we should be talking about here & don’t miss the next addition of 607TWS! Thanks for reading.

MOX VS PUNK/BOUND FOR GLORY/CIRCLE 6 CATALYST

Welcome to an all new edition of Blogs Count Anywhere, the complementary Pro Wrestling blog to the ODPH podcast & 607 TWS: The Wrestling Show. Fans are on the road to AEW All Out taking place Sept. 4th live on PPV and hailing from Chicago, Illinois. There has been a LOT of talk coming from this week's AEW Dynamite and a promo that shifted gears (in theory) for where we were heading to in September. AEW is delivering MOX VS. PUNK next week! The timing of this promo is ironic too as it was 1 year ago that CM Punk arrived in AEW. Let's take a look at this and some other noteworthy stories in the land of pro wrestling this week, shall we?

CM PUNK

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

On Wednesday, CM Punk made a proper return to the ring after time off from foot surgery. During this promo segment, Punk wasted no time in taking direct shots at Hangman Adam Page and Eddie Kingston before shifting gears towards Intern Champ Jon Moxley. Moxley gave some verbal jabs back before an impromptu scuffle began. This went on for a while and then started back up later in the show. The result from all of this: The main event for “All Out” has been moved up to next week’s Dynamite. This instantly raised some questions.

To start with, IF this match has a clean finish, what can you replace your main event at All Out with? For being the biggest (or second depending on where you rank Double Or Nothing) show of the year, messing with the main event this close to the show is a huge gamble. It almost leads to think there will be a time limit draw or some kind of odd ending to justify running it back. The only thing this might produce is a ratings spike…but what if it doesn’t? Unlike others, ratings don’t make my world spin, but for those that do, IF Dynamite doesn’t draw over 1 million viewers+ (gauge 1.3 to 1.4 range), what does that say about how many people are excited about this feud to pay $50 to watch it again when they didn’t show up to see it for free?

Another question is we are now at the 1 year anniversary of Punk joining AEW. If making him the marquee name of the company via being champion doesn’t draw big on Wednesday, how will Punk’s first year be defined? You may say “well, it’s only a match”, but is it really? This was the biggest match to put on their flagship PPV. If viewing numbers stay the same as they have hovered around the same number of viewers for weeks now, was the nostalgia signing the right call? At the time, yes but as the months have grown on, fans’ opinions about Punk have varied. Viewership hasn’t been consistently over 1 million on his shows. If he’s the face of the franchise and there’s been no growth, how should that be taken? Wednesday should be a good indicator of how to answer that. Punk needs to equal ratings, for if this stumbles, AEW will need to make a bigger main event on short notice to cover this up. Only time will tell if/when they’ll need to do that and make a call about if it’s still the “Summer Of Punk” again or is Summer over?

Don Callis, Kenny Omega and Michael Nakasawa

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

On Wednesday, fans were greeted to the return of the one and only Kenny Omega! In case anyone might have forgotten, Omega is one of the best wrestlers on the planet right now. Wildly decorated in NJPW and AEW, Omega brings a pedigree to AEW that few others can match. Omega was the mystery 3rd partner to the Young Bucks in the AEW Trios Tournament. Omega has been gone a long time healing up from some injuries. How did he fare in the ring?

Well, Omega didn’t look like the Omega of old, but I will chalk that up to him being inactive for so long. However, Omega at 50% is still better than most others at 100%. The match vs. Andrade, Rush and Dragon Lee was a good “welcome back” for Omega. Moving forward, Omega will surely get back to the “Best Bout Machine” status he’s known for but it will take time. Being in the Trios Tourney might be a blessing in disguise for Omega being able to get his timing back while letting the Young Bucks take the majority of the action. It’s what he will do POST tourney that intrigues me most. Will he go for the singles title again or will he be with the Original Elite vs. The “Undisputed Elite”? It’s still way too early to tell but it’s great to see Omega back in the squared circle.

Claudio castagnoli

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

It was also announce on Friday’s AEW Rampage that Ring Of Honor World Champion Claudio Castagnoli had an open challenge that was answered by Dustin Rhodes. It was a very solid segment between two veterans of the squared circle. Their match is set for next week’s AEW Rampage and will be a fun one to watch. Claudio is getting much needed TV time with the belt.

I’m still set on eventually making Rampage into ROH Rampage. This is a great place t let ROH talent be showcased until if/when they get a TV deal. rampage’s numbers are not the best, so why not make the switch? It’s a no brainer.

Julia Hart & Buddy Matthews

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Also on Rampage, fans witnessed the start of what I hope becomes a really drawn out feud: Miro vs. Biddy Matthews. Ignore Miro’s “unique” promos and let me start messing with the House of Black on the regular. It can work wonders building both up.

As for Matthews, he’s been called the “Best Kept Secret” in wrestling for years now. AEW needs to let him loose and build a solid foundation when he’s has time to work. Giving him an opponent like Miro i a great start but they need to continue to grow this story line without getting lost in the shuffle.

Photo Credit: Impact Wreslting

Impact wrestling has officially announced their Main Event for their biggest show of the year: Bound For Glory! Current Impact world champion Josh Alexander is set to face Eddie Edwards in what should be an excellent match. The card is chapping on October 7th, and hailing from Albany, NY! For more information on how to check this show out, click here.

Photo Credit: Circle 6 Wreslting

Last bit of news for the week: It has been announced that Circle 6 will be streaming on Fite TV! As a fan, I’m super excited to check them out on Fite. The first show on Fite is “The Catalyst” which will crown the first Circle 6 heavyweight champion. One of the biggest hang-ups I’ve had with this promotion is how they stream their fights. Being on Fite will clear a lot of those issues up! Make sure you’re following Circle 6 on socials for more info about this card.

That’s all the pro wrestling talk for this week. Hit me up on Twitter and let me know what Pro Wrestling you’re checking out. As always, thanks for reading!

AEW FIGHT FOR THE FALLEN FALLOUT/ THE PEOPLE VS. GCW/ GP LIVE AT THE PAGEANT 2

Welcome to an all new edition of Blogs Count Anywhere, the complementary pro wrestling blog to the ODPH Podcast and 607TWS. This week has been pretty heavily dominated by WWE news. Whether it’s been Vince McMahon “retiring”, Triple H taking over creative or SummerSlam on July 30th (8pm EST Peacock Streaming), majority of headlines and coverage of pro wrestling has been focused there. For this blog, I’m highlighting some moments that fans should be keeping their eyes on. AEW started the week with their “Fight For The Fallen” event. During this event, $100,000 was donated by to Oceana, an organization devoted to ocean conservation. If any fans are interested in donating as well, check out Oceana.org/donate. For there, it was all wrestling as some story lines look to be forming for three noteworthy competitors. Let’s check it out, shall we?

Claudio Castagnoli

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

First off was Claudio Castagnoli. After winning the Ring Of Honor world title from Jonathan Gresham (with a whole lot of rumored drama behind the scenes), Claudio came out on AEW Rampage to address the fans. This was a cool moment as Claudio has always been a favorite to fans for his uncanny strength and abilities. Seeing him with his first singles world title was a great moment. Claudio’s first challenger was announced as Konosuke Takeshita is slated to wrestle Claudio at AEW Battle Of The Belts 3 on August 6th (TNT Network 8pm EST).

This will be an excellent match as Takeshita has been putting on some great matches in AEW along with the indies. Featuring Claudio on the show also helps this show, which (in theory) is a showcase of champions. The previous times have felt somewhat lackluster. The first BotB featured Sammy Guevara as TNT champ, Britt Baker as AEW women’s champ & “FTW”, a title fans are confused at its placement in the AEW/ROH landscape, champion Ricky Starks. The latest one featured AEW women’s champion Thunder Rosa vs. Nyla Rose in an excellent match, TNT Champion Scorpio Sky vs. Sammy Guevara and ROH world Champion Gresham vs Dalton Castle. The in-ring work has never been a question with these cards but the major hurdle (imo) has been building enough of storylines prior to the shows so that fans tune in on Saturday nights to watch. Trying to sell fans on watching an FTW title match when it’s been rarely seen as a viable title (Hook’s winning it this week might chang things. Wait and see) is tough. Throw in a lack of push (imo again) at the time for Rosa’s initial run as champ and introducing Gresham to the masses where he may not be as well known as he is on the IWC is extremely difficult.

What would be the smart play here is feature on AEW tv or YouTube specials an “embedded” series like the UFC uses for hyping up pay-per-view cards. A behind the scenes look at training and prep for the matches. Give this card a “Big Fight Feel” would work wonders. These are supposed to be special events, so make them special. Guessing the card will be Claudio/Takeshita as main, Thunder Rosa defending against either Toni Storm or a Nyla Rose rematch from BotB 2, and Wardlow defending TNT against Scorpio Sky. It’s a solid card to showcase if in unfolds like this and AEW really needs to drive that home to their fan base. At the very least, it helps ROH get more TV with their champion. It’s a win for Claudio so lets see how he runs with the ball as your ROH Champion on August 6th.

Ricky Strks

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Another noteworthy moment from this week was Ricky Starks made some big waves on AEW programming. After “losing” the FTW title to Hook in an impromptu open challenge after defeating Danhausen, Starks cut a fantastic emotional promo on the mic. It was abruptly ended by PowerHouse Hobbs turning on him and leaving him face down in the ring. As weird as this may sound, this was a BIG win for one of AEW’s future stars.

Starks had become lost in the shuffle until recently. “Team Taz” was once a faction with potential, but as time has gone on, it became an after thought. Brian Cage departed for (eventually) ROH. Hook became a fan-favorite and went his own way. Taz has been doing more commentary (which is another big win). That left Hobbs and Starks to become a formidable tag team. After feuding with Strickland and Lee, they wound up in a 3-way dance for the AEW Tag Titles. They fell short but had a great outing in the match. After this, a question I’ve had is where do they go from here as a team? The division is over loaded with talent and ROH isn’t on TV (yet). Starks has had all the tools to break out on his own and after this feud with Hobbs is done, Starks should be given a jet pack towards a program for the TNT title. I would LOVE to see him and Wardlow at Full Gear in November, but mark my words: Sooner than later, Starks will be a featured player on the AEW title landscape.

Stokley Hathaway and Lee Moriarty

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

FINALLY! Lee Moriarty, one of the best wrestlers on the planet appears to have something in the works to get more TV time. On AEW Rampage, he turned on former mentor Matt Sydel and joined up with Stokley Hathaway as his representative (ala Paul Heyman to Roman Reigns). Since he debuted in AEW, Moriarty has been relegated to spots here and there with more recent activity involving the ROH brand. last we saw, he was used to get Jonathan Gresham’s “heel” turn over to set up the ROH ppv. Plus, Stokley will add some charisma to any storyline he’s in. Take a look at the impact he’s had with Jade Cargill. With Stokley at Moriarty’s side, I feel this means big things for one of the best kept secrets in AEW/ROH.

Daniel Garcia

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Last but of AEW talk for the blog: Daniel Garcia got a HUGE win over the returning Bryan Danielson on AEW Dynamite this week. The only drawback from this match is the story told was playing up too much (imo) to Danielson’s health issues. That aside, this was a fantastic match for another wrestler on AEW/ROH that needed a big win like that. With two factions getting a lot of programming time and often compared to heavily, Garcia is benchmarked against current ROH Pure champion Wheeler Yuta. These two had a great match (not a great ending imo) at ROH Death Before Dishonor, but seeing Garcia get the W here takes away from the sting of that loss in many fan’s minds. Nothing wrong with that.

Bryan Danielson and Daniel Garcia

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

The People vs. GCW

Photo Credit: Game Changer Wrestling

Taking a lap around the indies, let me go on record & say Game Changer Wresting “The People Vs. GCW” is in contention for card of the year. No question about it. There will be a deeper dive on 607TWS this week, but you need to purchase the replay on Fite.tv and see for yourself. Huge card to lead into Homecoming weekend at the Showboat on August 13th and 14th.

Glory Pro Wrestling: Live at The Pageant 2

Photo Credit: Glory Pro Wrestling

Tickets are moving fast for Glory Pro Wrestling’s return to the Pageant in St. Louis! First 2 rows are completely sold out. If able to go to the show, make sure to get your tickets quickly. If not, make sure to drop that follow on YouTube and don’t miss the action on Sept 25th (5M CST).

MLW Super Series

Photo Credit: Major League Wreslting

Lastly, Major League Wrestling announced it will be heading to Atlanta for its’ Super Series. The date is September 18th for TV tapings with promotions and match announcements coming. For more info: check out MLW.com.

That’s all the pro wrestling talk for this week. What other promotions are you watch? Hit me up on Twitter and let’s talk some pro wrestling. Thanks for reading.

RING OF HONOR DEATH BEFORE DISHONOR/NWA 74/GLORY PRO STL VICE

Welcome to an all new edition of Blogs Count Anywhere, the complementary pro wrestling blog to the ODPH podcast & 607TWS (on Twitch and in podcast form). Late Friday afternoon, the Vince McMahon “retirement” story broke and will be covered fully on all the 607 podcasts this coming week. However, the focus for this edition is talking about Ring Of Honor’s return to pay-per-view with :Death Before Dishonor”. This will be the 2nd ROH show led under the direction of AEW owner Tony Khan, who purchased the company earlier this year. In April of 2022 was “SuperCard of Honor” which had a very positive reaction amongst fans. “Death Before Dishonor” hails from Lowell, MA & can be seen on BR Live and traditional PPV outlets domestically (FITE TV internationally) for $39.99. How is the final card shaped up heading into Saturday night? Let’s break it down and see, shall we?

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

RING OF HONOR “DEATH BEFORE DISHONOR” ZERO HOUR pre show - 7pm EST

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Brian Cage & the Gates Of Agony vs. Blake Christian, Tony Deppen and Alex Zayne

Interesting fact to this match: this will be the 2nd consecutive time on ROH PPV that Cage will be wrestling stars from GCW (Ninja Mack was his opponent at Supercard Of Honor in April). Very amped to see “Team GCW” on the card but this is gonna be all Cage/Gates for the win here.

Allysin Kay vs. Willow Nightingale

This will be the match of the pre show. Hopefully these two extremely talented wrestlers will get some time to shine. Nightingale has been popping up on AEW TV as of late so going with Willow for the win.

Shinobi Shadow Squad vs. Trustbusters

This is Ariya Davari’s new gimmick that has been making the rounds on the IWC. Factor in the AEW Rampage promo on Friday and it telegraphs itself. Expecting a Parker Bourdeux sighting as well. Trustbusters get the easy win here.

Colt Cabana vs Anthony Henry

Colt is going to be a focal point of the new ROH regime, esp with all the questions of “would he be back” cause of the whole CM Punk drama. This should be a fun match with Cabana getting the W

Wheeler Yuta

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

ROH “DEATH BEFORE DISHONOR: MAIN CARD - 8PM EST

RUSH VS. DRAGON LEE

The battle of real life brothers should start the show off in a big way. Rush is just getting started with AEW/ROH and Andrade’s La Faccion Ingobernable so i don’t see him taking the L here. Winner: Rush

The Righteous (c) vs. Dalton Castle and The Boys (ROH 6 man tag titles Championship)

Interesting addition to the card as Vincent from The Righteous has been in Impact Wrestling lately. Granted, ROH (& AEW) is home of the “Forbidden Door” deal, but somehow I don’t see the Righteous walking home with the belts. Winner: Castle & the Boys!

WHEELER YUTA (C) VS. DANIEL GARCIA - ROH PURE WRESTLING TITLE

One of the marquee matches on the card, the two young guns from the Blackpool Combat Club (BCC) & Jericho Appreciation Society (JAS) lock it up under PURE rules. This should be an exceptional match but one has to wonder: Yuta keeps referencing the horrible car crash Garcia and some wrestlers from the Buffalo area endured a few years ago. It comes off in such a heel way….are we seeing some early seeds planted for the BCC to go heel, especially with Moxley eventually facing CM Punk for the AEW title. Food for thought. Winner: ANDNEW! Garcia adds to his indy belt collection with a huge win here.

Mercedes Martinez

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

MERCEDES MARTINEZ (C) vs. SERENA DEEB - ROH WOMEN’S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

This should be an exciting match with 2 of the best wrestlers on the planet going at it. The build up has been very good as the former teammates imploded with Deeb wanting the title. I’m only hoping they get plenty of time to work on a stacked main card. This is a coin flip on who could win. They’re both that good. Martinez hasn’t had too much time to really run with the belt, but Deeb winning could build into a bigger storyline for the next few months between these two. Coin is flipped…… Winner: ANDNEW! Deeb

SAMOA JOE (C) VS. JAY LETHAL - ROH TV CHAMPIONSHIP

Very puzzling fans haven’t seen much of Samoa Joe on AEW programming to hype this match up more. Fearing this one is going to be a mess with run-ins form Lethal’s faction with Sonjay Dutt and Satnam Singh. Once that happens, this match (which should be great) is gonna crash and burn.Not much really else to say about it. Winner: ANDNEW! Lethal

FTR

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

CO-MAIN EVENT: FTR VS THE BRISCOES 2 - ROH WORLD TAG TEAM TITLES (2 OUT OF 3 FALLS)

In a match of the year candidate, these two teams put on a legendary performance. At the time, fans didn’t think we would see this match happen again, let alone this soon. The Briscoes were long rumored NOT to be signed due to past questionable tweets, which have been apologized repeatedly for by the Briscoes previously. However, in the ROH media scrum that I was in attendance for, Tony Khan revealed that the Briscoes were in fact signed to a long-term deal with ROH. This changes everything.

Before that announcement, this match was a no-brainer #ANSTILL. Now, it could flip and arguably should. FTR is the best tag team on the planet right now holding he IWGP, AAA & ROH titles, but with a hall of fame team like the Briscoes sticking around ROH (as they should), FTR losing the belts to build for ALL Out is a great twist in the storyline. Plus if the Brisoces lose here again (even in dramatic fashion), what sense would it make to have them run it back a third time since they wlll be with the company long term? Calling: ANDNEW! Briscoes win setting up for a triple threat, everything on the line (AEW, ROH, IWGP & AAA) with FTR & Strickland/Lee for All Out.

Claudio Castagnoli

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Tully Blanchard Enterprises w/ Jonathan Gresham

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

MAIN EVENT: JONATHAN GRESHAM (C) VS. CLAUDIO CASTAGNOLI - ROH WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

This will be a technical classic for the ages. Claudio is been on fire since debuting in AEW at “Forbidden Door”. He has been featured on AEW programming very well as a member of the BCC, and even more so due to the absence of Bryan Danielson. His arrival in ROH wasn’t so far fetched (check out the last Blogs Count Anywhere) and is now in the world title picture. Not too shabby of a debut in AEW/ROH.

On the flipside, Gresham has been ROH champion for quite some time and hasn’t been featured until recently. This has been a disservice imo. Gresham IS the best technical wrestler on the planet. He should have been featured more long before this show (a weekly Rampage spot at the bare minimum). Gresham’s pairing with Tully Blanchard comes off very forced and not sure what to expect long term, but for now, its a quick build to this math. Maybe we get BCC vs. TBE after this to drive ROH stories for a while? Who Knows.

As for this match, it’s all ANDNEW! Claudio. he’s got all the momentum right now and I can’t see the powers that be not making the switch. The only way I don’t see this happens is if post-match, Danielson walks out to challenge Gresham or a new signee makes a debut (Johnny Gargano anyone?). If that doesn’t happen, the Claudio era begins. Can’t be mad about that.

Photo Credit: Glory Pro Wreslting

Some other notes of wrestling this week: don’t forget to check out Glory Pro Wrestling STL Vice on Sunday, July 24th (3PM CST)! The show is gonna be can’t miss and is FREE on YouTube! For more info, check out Glory Pro on Twitter!

Photo Credit: National Wrestling Alliance

Lastly, it was announced that the National Wrestling Alliance will be bringing back the United States Tag Team Championships! The winners of this champions will be crowned at NWA 74 (Aug. 28, 2022) via a 10 team battle royale. Participants will be announced but with how fantastic their tag matches have been (see Briscoes vs Commonwealth Connection pictured below as a prime example), this is somehting to get amped up for at the NWA’s biggest show of the year! for more information: NWA on Twitter!

Briscoes vs. Commonwealth Connection (National Wrestling Alliance)

Photo Credit: Hiban Huerta

That’s all the pro wrestling talk for this edition. Make sure you’re following all the 607podcasts for all the pro wrestling coverage you need called right down the middle. Hit me up on Twitter and let me know what pro wrestling you’re checking out.

Thanks for reading.