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!

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.

RING OF HONOR RAMPAGES/ GCW SETTLEMENT SERIES/ STL VICE

Welcome to an all new edition of Blogs Count Anywhere, the complementary pro wrestling blog to the ODPH podcast and 607 on Twitch (& podcast form). The Vince McMahon news (again) has put a damper on some of the other noteworthy stories going on. Leading off this edition is one that pro wrestling fan SHOULD be talking about. On this past week’s AEW Rampage, fans were treated to a small reminder that Ring Of Honor isn’t dead, but might be making a claim for that Friday night spot. This is a great move especially heading towards their return under Tony Khan management) to Pay Per View with “Death Before Dishonor”. Let’s recap what’s been happening there, shall we?

Lee Moriarty

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

On Friday, there were 2 matches involving Ring of Honor talent. The Serena Deeb/Mercedes Martinez tag match exploded with Deeb atacking the ROH women’s champ post match, setting up a possible match at the PPV. The other was ROH champion Jonathan Gresham teaming with Lee Moriarty to take on Tully Blanchard’s Gates Of Agony team. Mid match, fans witness Gresham turn his back on Morarty and join up with Tully’s new faction. After the match, it was announced that Moriarty would challenge for the ROH title on ….. next week’s Rampage. Being two weeks out from the July 23rd show from Lowell, MA, there still is no title matches made for the respective world champions.

Mercedes Martinez

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

This is a surprising move in some ways but makes sense in others. All signs point to Martinez defending against Deeb for the women’s belt, which will be fire. Deeb is an instant contender from her history in the NWA and AEW. Her feud with Shida was incredible. Martinez needs a solid feud to grow that division & I think they’vefound the perfect match to get that started. Fully expecting the announcement of this title match made this week and don’t sleep on this match. It could be a MOTY candidate

Ring Of Honor “Death Before Dishonor”

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

As for Gresham, showcasing him more on AEW TV will only make him look better in front of fans who might not know he’s arguably the best technical wrestler on the planet. Doing the match with Moriarty on free TV is a big deal, but only if they’re given enough time to work. They also need a clean finish UNLESS they’re going to run it back at the Pay Per View. This is a main event no matter where you have it. If they decide on not having the rematch at DBD, then who makes the most sense to face the champ? That becomes less clear.

The AEW-led ROH hasn’t really established a roster where there are possible contenders in the mix at this point. Could we see someone from AEW jump over for the night? Sure, but where does that get the promotion until they get more TV? It’s a big question but with a card that is STACKED already (Yuta/Garcia for PURE title, Samoa Joe/Lethal for ROH TV & BRISCOES FTR 2!), sliding in someone in a filler position might not be a bad thing. Hopefully we see Gresham/Moriarty ran back on the PPV….but don’t doubt it’s Claudio taking that spot for the night (or longshot - Johnny Gargano signing?). Either way, ROH is making a run on Friday nights to start. The roster there needs time to grow for a new audience. Optimistic we see the start of it here and build some momentum into the big show on the 23rd.

WARDLOW

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

On Wednesday night, AEW crowned anew TNT champion in WARDLOW! The big man finally got a chance at some AEW gold (post MJF split) and cashed in. From here, fans will be watching the “hot potato title” and see if it changes hands quickly again. One name that is starting to make some noise for a shot is former champ Sammy Guevara. Personally, I don’t want to see this match at this stage. AEW has abrand new “homegrown” talent that is over BIG with their fans. Give him some time to run with this championship. Adding some fresh faces into the title picture can only help here. Why not the House Of Black? Death Triangle? or how bout a Christian Cgae led Luchasaurus? There’s enough talent to go around and build up Wardlow for a run to watch. Congrats.

Eddie Kingston

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

It was also announced that Eddie Kingston will be facing Chris Jericho in a BARBED WIRE DEATHMATCH live on the July 20th edition of Dynamite! Interesting move as the last time tere was a deathmatch on Dynamite, NICK FUCKING GAGE was on the show and there was a VERY mixed reaction from the non deathmatch AEW supporters. Will this mirror the same reaction and what will Warner Bros Discovery brass have to say about this? Wait and see how this one plays out.

Orange Cassidy & DanHausen

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

No real story here. This was a fun match to close AEW Rampage out on. Side note: “JANE” IS BACK AS ORANGE CASSIDY’S MUSIC. ALL IS RIGHT IN THE WORLD!

GCW Settlement Series

Photo Credit: Game Changer Wrestling

In other news, Game Changer Wrestling is kicking off their “Settlement Series” with Independent Wrestling TV with Part 1 on July 10th on IWTV. This has been a messy court case so I’m just happy to see some wrestling come out of this. Akira, Brandon Kirk, Axton Ray and Charles Mason leads this card’s headline so check it out to start your Sunday wrestling off right. Following that show:

JCW Great American Birthday Bash

Photo Credit: JCW/Game Changer Wrestling

Jersey Championship Wrestling will be having their “Great American Birthday Bash” at 6pm on July 10th. This card will be airing for FREE on GCW YouTube! Notable matches here: Tony Deppen vs. Alec Price and Speedball Mike Bailey taking on Axton Ray among a very loaded lineup. Make plans to catch this card!

Photo Credit: Major League Wreslting

It has been announced that Major League Wrestling & beIN Sports have a deal in place to air MLW content on the beIN Sports Extra channel starting on July 8th at 10pm EST. More exposure to wrestling is always a good thing. For more information on this deal, check out MLW.com

Glory Pro Wrestling “STL Vice”

Photo Credit: Glory Pro Wrestling

Last but not least, a card I’m keeping my eye on is Glory Pro Wrestling “STL Vice". It’s shaping up into a very solid card that I’m guessing will be announced to be airing on the GP YouTube channel so make sure to keep your eyes on the Glory Pro Socials for more information.

That’s all the pro wrestling talk for this column. Hit me up on Twitter and let me know what pro wrestling you’re watching. As Always thanks for reading and supporting 607podcasts.

KING SWITCH CRASHES AEW/ IMPACT SLAMMIVERSARY/ GLORY PRO STL VICE

Welcome to an all new edition of Blogs Count Anywhere, the complementary pro wrestling blog to the ODPH Podcast and 607TWS on Twitch (also in Podcast form). All eyeshave been focus on the drama involving the WWE and bet that the 607 podcast family will be tackling that on next week’s shows. Even with those stories going on, there’s a lot more happening in the land of pro wrestling that you need to know about. Let’s not waste any more time and jump in, shall we?

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

“Forbidden Door”, the joint show between All Elite wrestling and New Japan Pro Wrestling has finally started to take shape. With under 2 weeks remaining, fans have a clearer picture of how the card is going to shape up….and in one case, they don’t. After defeating Kazuchika Okada at NJPW Dominion, Jay White has been a person of interest as far as the pay per view event is concerned. Prior to Dominion, Former AEW Champ “Hangman” Adam Page challenged Okada for the IWGP championship, figuring Okada winning was a foregone conclusion. How wrong was this idea…..

White defeated Okada in a MOTY candidate and immediately post match said Page wasn’t getting the shot (to paraphrase). Page came out this past Wednesday to address those comments on AEW Dynamite but was interrupted by Adam Cole (Bay Bay). Cole proclaimed that if anyone was going to get the shot, it would be him, keeping things “Undisputed Elite” vs. Bullet Club. During this time, White emerged and attacked Page from behind, reiterating the same message from Dominion. During his speech, White also said Cole would NOT be getting the shot at the championship either. A bit of an odd stance with only under 2 weeks left to make a match, but there’s a few ways to look at it:

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

One option which makes some sense would be to do a triple threat for the belt between Cole, Page ad White. The story-line is set for the most part and could fit in the co-main event slot. It’s a situation where you have 3 main event wrestlers and could just plug and play into a classic match. It’s one of the benefits of having 2 promotions work together. The only X factor here is if Okada would be added somewhere in this mix. It was hinted during this promo that he might not be on the card. Imo, I can’t see him sitting this one out unless there was a very good reason, so maybe they split the difference with Okada/Cole and Page/White. Both those matches would be huge matches in their own rights.

The only other reason I see White holding off would be Kenny Omega. Now, let’s remind everyone: Omega has been out of action healing up from grueling injuries he was working thru prior to losing the belt to Page. IF, and I stress IF he’s ready to go, the only match you can make there is White/Omega. There is history and that would generate the type of buzz needed for a co-main this late in the game. Omega’s status is still uncertain so all eyes will shift to Wednesday to see if “The Best Bout Machine” returns to accept the challenge of facing the Switchblade Era on June 26th.

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Also on Wednesday, Hiroshi Tanahashi had a face-to-face confrontation with Jon Moxley before their main event at “Forbidden Door.” The stand-off did what it needed to do, but was interrupted by Chris Jericho and his JAS. Once they arrived, things went downhill has it turned into a messy brawl to set up a six-man tag for June 26th between Shota Umino, Eddie Kingston, and Wheeler Yuta vs. Minoru Suzuki, Sammy Guevara and Jericho. The only benefits from this was the card had a new match added but still took a bit away from really selling the main event. There’s one more week for them to sell the show. Hopefully Mox and Tanahashi get that chance.

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

In arguably the most random match added to the “Forbidden Door” card, it was announced that Will Ospreay, fresh off finally winning the IWGP United States Championship at NJPW Dominion, will be facing Orange Cassidy. This is a clash of styles to say the least. This is a huge profile match for Cassidy and one that will entertain. Personally, I was hoping he got the ZSJ match he was lobbying for at NYCC 2021, but that won’t be the case as ZSJ is scheduled to face Bryan Danielson (if he’s healthy). That’s not the only big news happening for the “Billy G.O.A.T.”

Photo Credit: Game Changer Wrestling

Ospreay will be headlining the Game Changer Wrestling card in Providence, Rhode Island on Sunday, June 19th. At GCW “I Never Liked You”, his opponent will be the young superstar and AEW signee Nick Wayn. This event caps off a strong weekend of GCW matches with the NYC card “You Wouldn’t Understand” going down on Saturday night (with 607 podcast in attendance). You want to make sure you order on Fite TV and don’t miss this cards!

Photo Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling Slammiversary is scheduled for Sunday, June 19th. The card is absolutely loaded! If you heard 607TWS this week, you know there is much to be excited about for this show. The Ultimate X match is worth the card alone! The main event will be a solid one between Eric Young and Josh Alexander for the Impact World title. Don’t miss this event on Fite TV

Photo Credit: Major League Wrestling

Major League Wrestling keeps adding great match after great match for Battle Riot 4 happening at The Melrose Ballroom in NYC on June 23rd. Just added to the card is a Women’s Featherweight title match between Brittany Blake and Taya Valkyrie! If you haven’t been following MLW lately, you wanna catch up quick! Battle Riot 4 is shaping up into something very special.

Photo Credit: Glory Pro Wrestling

Last but not least, Coming off a showcase of sorts on AEW Dynamite, Glory Pro is making some moves for the summer! Matches have been announced for the next Glory Pro Wrestling card! “STL Vice” will be happening on July 24th at the South Broadway Athletic Club (SBAC). One of the big marquee matches is WARHORSE taking on “All Ego” Ethan Page. GP Wrestling is also hinting at a return to the Pageant so you want to be following them on social media and don’t miss any of the action when it goes down.

That’s all the pro wrestling talk for this week. For more coverage, make sure you’re following and subbed to all of the 607 podcasts family where they’ll be breaking down the latest from the weekend and more!

Hit me up on Twitter and let me know what companies you have been checking out. Thanks for reading.

AEW DOUBLE OR NOTHING WEEK/ GCW MANIAC/ GP MASSIVE AGGRESSION

Welcome to an all new edition of Blog Count Anywhere, the complementary pro wrestling blog to the ODPH Podcast and #607TWS on Twitch (and in podcast form). This week, all the eyes that aren’t focused on the Sasha banks/Naomi/WWE drama are laser focused on the 3 year anniversary of All Elite Wrestling’s “Double Or Nothing” going down in Las Vegas May 29th!

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

AEW’s biggest* (depends on opinion between DoN & All Out) Pay Per View event has forever been mentioned as the “Anniversary” date of the Tony Khan-led company. 3 years ago, this was the debut show following the New Years Eve announcement & following press conferences shortly there after introducing the wrestling world to the newest player on the pro wrestling landscape. Since that time, a LOT has changed & going into the show, there’s a few story lines to keep an eye on this week of AEW programming.

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Are we heading into the “Reign Of Punk”? Will “Hangman” Adam Page retain? This is the question on the minds of AEW fans. There has been some promo segments between the two & one final “face-to-face” is announced for Dynamite this week between the DoN main event participants, but does it already feel like all signs are leaning to #ANDNEW on Sunday?

Page’s run as champ has felt very lackluster in comparison to other previous champions. On the flip side, Punk has come off better in each segment with this feud and in more position to FINALLY go “Best In The World 2.0” by the time the match is over. IMO, Page needs to have a very strong moment on Wednesday night to sway where things appear to be going. It’s possible, but I’m still saying we’ve got a new champ at DoN until further notice.

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

The next one to keep an eye on this week is the Blackpool Combat Club (BCC) members Jon Moxley & Bryan Danielson teaming with Eddie Kingston, Santana and Ortiz vs. “The Wizard” and his Appreciation Society. There isn’t a tremendous amount of build up for this as far as the BCC is concerned but it still works. The JAS (ugh) storyline with Team Kingston has been solid. The billing for this match is “Anarchy In The Arena” and it should be.

A few quick notes concerning this match:
1. Wheeler Yuta is not involved in this as he’s currently competing in Japan for New Japan Pro Wrestling’s Best Of The Super J’s

2. Bryan Danielson appeared to have been slightly banged up after AEW Rampage tapings after a weird freak issue with his leg getting stuck in the rampway. As of this blog, he’s slated to still be a go

Fans shouldn’t expect a lot of technical moves and be ready for a great street fight as this is how it’s looking to play out. Anytime we get Moxley teaming up with Kingston is a win.

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

The last one to watch this week is the “Undisputed Elite” stories. It was announced the Young Bucks will be facing the Hardys at DoN. Two great teams facing off for the first time in an AEW ring? Solid addition for the card. This is resulting from the aftermath of Adam Cole defeating Jeff Hardy in the Owen Hart Foundation Tourney. It also seems as we’re gearing for a possible Cole/Samoa Joe Mens final for the Tourney as well.

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Joe punched his ticket for a match with Kyle O’Reilly with a win over the AEW debuting Johnny ELITE (fka John Morrison, Johnny Impact, etc.). With a win there, the finals are set unless fan get a major swerve and its O’Reilly vs. Cole (Bay Bay) one more time. Somehow I don’t think AEW is gonna go that route for the finals but we will have to tune in on Wednesday to find out!

Photo Credit: Game Changer Wrestling

Switching gears, Game Changer Wrestling kicked off a big west coast pair of shows with GCW Manic taking place on May 21st and “GCW Downward Spiral” happening next Saturday. Get the bundle on Fite & don’t miss these incredible shows

Photo Credit: Glory Pro Wrestling

Glory Pro Wrestling has a cant-miss card airing on their YouTube page Sunday May 22nd! GP “Massive Agression” is headlined by Eddie Kingston vs. Davey Richards & many other great matches on this card! Follow now and don’t miss it!

Photo Credit: Major League Wrestling

Last but not least, Major League Wrestling has announced Lince Dorado is the latest name entered for Battle Riot 4 on June 23rd! For more information, check out MLW.com

That’s al the pro wrestling talk for this edition. Hit me up on Twitter and let me know what pro wrestling you’re watching this week. For more pro wrestling content, Follow the ODPH podcast and 607 TWS.

As always, thanks for reading!

DARBY vs HARDY/ALL EYES ON MJF/GCW MANIAC

Welcome to an all new edition of Blogs Count Anywhere, the complementary pro wrestling blog to the ODPH podcast and 607TWS on Twitch (and in podcast form). It’s been a few weeks since the last blog & apparently someone heard the call out about NOT sending over files on the latest podcasts becuse the deck is now reloaded to talk some pro wrestling with everyone. It’s been an interesting week to say the least so lets catch up on some of the latest news, shall we?

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Kicking off the news cycle is All Elite Wrestling. On AEW Dynamite, The Owen Hart Foundation Tourney is fully underway and fans were gifted one of the wildest matches in recent memory for the first round: Darby Allin vs. Jeff Hardy. They made this match a “No Rules” one and fully went over the top with the spots. Take a look at this literally INSANE ladder jump from Darby onto a table of chairs with Jeff in the middle of the path! Not to be outdone, Jeff did a spot landing badly on the steel steps in attempts to hit Darby with a move. After the smoke cleared, Jeff Hardy advances onto the next round of the tourney to face Adam Cole (Bay Bay).

While this match gave some memorable moments, it was one that also brought some concern as well. Both these guys wanted to steal the show (and did) but the two spots that stood out were extremely risky even for the style of wrestling they’re known for. Allin and Hardy are considered “daredevils” in the minds of fans. They lived up to the moniker but post match, were those two dangerous spots worth it to tell their story? In comparison, you had Cole vs. Dax in a very solid opening bout with no wild spots. When did the tourney rules change on the fly for “No Rules”?

Imo, they could have told the same story with some big move spots but not over the top as this match felt. Either way, I’m glad (thus far) no major injuries were reported post match. Considering how abusive those spots were for two guys that have put their bodies on the line numerous times and dodged the bullet of something career ending, no news is definitely good news post match. Onto the next round…

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

There has also been a LOT of rumbling about the one and only MJF. Rumors have been swirling about possibly looking elsewhere when his contract runs out and being unhappy with the direction of his character. On AEW Dynamite, they have set up him vs. Wardlow at AEW Double Or Nothing but not without rehashing some familiar storylines…..

For Wardlow to get his match, he has to take 10 lashes from MJF THEN defeat Shawn Spears in a cage match with MJF as referee. It’s god to see this storyline get more time as Wardlow is now on his “Batista”push but haven’t see seen this exact storyline play out in AEW before? Remember when Cody Rhodes endured lashes and a cage match to get to MJF? I do - February 2020. Why are we going back to that well for ideas? If the frustration reports are true, I can fully understand why.

MJF is a STAR in the business. Why not give him something fresh to work with than hit the reset on the Cody feud of the past? For someone as talented as he is, there should be another way to get to the match with Wardlow. After that match, where do we go from here? Imo, there’s only one way to go (and I won’t mind the reset here): Set him on the path to face CM Punk, who WILL be world champion at Double or Nothing, at All OUT on Labor Day weekend. Otherwise, if he’s not involved in a title program, the rumors will become even louder heading into the summer.

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Other quick AEW notes: Seeds are getting planted for a possible Blood and Guts match with the Blackpool Combat Club (minus Wheeler Yuta, who will be involved in the BOSJ’s tourney in New Japan) teaming with Eddie Kingston, Santana & Ortiz vs. the Jericho Appreciation Society. Fully all-in for this match. Makes sense for all parties involved. This is also a HUGE moment for Daniel Garcia and 2.0 to showcase their talents. This could be a late addition to Double Or Nothing, but no matter when this goes down, it’s gonna be a fun match to watch. Stay tuned.

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

HOOKHausen is REAL! The match has been made (after a complete squash of Danhuasen by Tony Nese). Hook made the save post match and the handshake heard round the world happened! HOOKHausen will face Smart Mark Sterling and Tony Nese on the buy-in for Double or Nothing. AEW’s version of the Rock n’ Sock connection starts now! Curious to see how far they go, but I’m all in for this pairing.

Photo Credit: Major League Wrestling

Quick Notes: Major League Wrestling had their big “Kings Of Colosseum” card this past Friday night. Huge buzz about the Taya Valkyre v. Holidead match as well as the impact from the new Samoan Swat team. Fallout from this great card will only get fans more excited as MLW heads to NYC for Battle Riot 4 on June 23rd. Follow MLW on Twitter for more information.

Photo Credit: Game Changer Wrestling

GCW heads into next week with one of the best cards you will find anywhere with GCW Maniac. The home for the BEST scramble matches in pro wrestling has one that you can’t miss! AJ Gray puts the GCW Extreme Championship on the line against John Wayne Murdoch, Jack Cartwheel, Jimmy Lloyd, Cole Radrick and NINJA MACK! Make plans to order this card on Fite.tv as soon as possible!

Photo Credit: Glory Pro Wrestling

Coming off the HUGE show at the Pageant, which was an absolute classic card, Glory Pro Wresting has another must watch card with “Massive Aggression” taking place on May 22nd 3 pm CST. Davey Richards vs. Eddie Kingston….NUFF said. Even better? the card is FREE on Glory Pro You Tube so drop that subscribe now and don’t miss the show!

Photo Credit: Xcite Wrestling

Last but not least, Xcite Wrestling had to reschedule Xcite vs. The Worlda week later due to a situation out of their control. Fear not, as the show is slated for Saturday May 14th with a marquee match-up with Sean Carr returning to Xcite after some time off to face a rising star in the ranks of the xcite roster whose return can only be called “SuperB” thus the nickname. Carr vs. Super B is the match to catch this weekend. Hit Xcite on Facebook for all the latest happenings there.

Its good to be back talking some pro wrestling. Hit me up on Twitter and let me know what pro wrestling you’re checking out! As always, thanks for reading and supporting 607 podcasts!

AEW x NJPW FORBIDDEN DOOR / BATTLE OF FTR / GCW THE OLD ME

Welcome to an all new edition of Blogs Count Anywhere, the complementary pro wrestling blog to the ODPH Podcast & #607TWS on Twitch. Since the crazy weather in Upstate NY has finally passed and no more power outages expected (knock on wood), It’s time to recap some stories that you need to know about. First on the list is an announcement from AEW that had been rumored for a few weeks now but was made official on AEW Dynamite this week. What a moment on the show to see this: AEW owner Tony Khan on stage with New Japan Pro Wrestling president Takami Ohbari (with an assist from “King Switch” Jay White and Adam Cole (Bay Bay) to top it all off).

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

The announcement: AEW is partnering up with New Japan Pro Wrestling for “Forbidden Door” on June 26th hailing from Chicago, Illinois . The event will also be available via Bleacher Report & usual AEW Pay Per View outlets. Tickets on sale May 6th at AEWTIX.com

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Wrestling fans have a very big win on their hands if done right. For AEW, it continues the whole “Forbidden Door” movement that was first created when Kenny Omega led a talent exchange with Impact Wrestling. That was a very mixed experiment where AEW went over more in comparison to the favor being returned for Impact. In fact, it feels like Impact was the true “Forbidden Door” for the amount of talent that swung thru from AEW and NJPW. It will get some new eyes on their product but retaining will be a question.

NJPW is known for a different style, often referred to as “Strong Style.” How the AEW faithful will adapt to this is something to watch. NJPW has more to gain out of this venture. They have started expanding into the American market with “NJPW Strong. With a big push from AEW, that could generate into more fans. However, the track record with NJPW going over on AEW programming has been very limited. Take a look at Minoru Suzuki’s record on all AEW programming. For this to work, NJPW needs to score some noteworthy wins on AEW talent (not ROH ones).

It’s a risk worth taking never the less. The show needs to be an equal playing field at the end of the day. Otherwise, if this becomes a paid infomercial for how great AEW is over another company, it will be all for nothing. Hopefully the powers that be over at AEW have learned from the Impact run and will be better with this moving forward. Safe money we see Kenny Omega’s return at this show as well.

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Fans were also treated to the latest escapades of one of AEW’s more interesting fueds: Hook vs. Danhausen. Originally, I wasn’t on board, but the more they’re building this, I’m becoming invested. Maybe Danhausen cursed this blog? IDK. It appears we’re finally going o get a match from the two since Hook is”immune” to Danhausen’s curses.

This feud will only end one way: you are looking at the next “Rock ‘N Sock connection.” For entertainment purposes, it’s a win on many levels. This odd couple connects with fans differently. After their match, I see this playing out like a “You’ve earned my respect, Danhausen” deal and they go from there. With team Taz feeling like it’s in limbo right now, it’s perfect for the new talent AEW fans are buzzing about.

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Also announced for next week’s AEW Dynamite: The Battle of FTR for the Owen Heart Foundation Tournament. One time only and hopefully they give this at least 12 mins. Maybe open the show with it. The best tag team in the business going one on one? The fans win this one. CAN’T WAIT.

Photo Credit: Major League Wrestling

Major League Wrestling has announced who Taya Valkyrie will be facing at Kings Of Colosseum’ 22.Holidead is lined up as the opponent for the inaugural Women’s Featherweight Championship. Very excited to see this match as well as the main event between Hammerstone and Richard Holiday. For more information: MLW.com

Photo Credit: Glory Pro Wrestling

As mentioned on 607TWS this week, Glory Pro Wrestling has an absolutely can’t miss card happening on Sunday, April 24th from The Pageant in St. Louis. My pick of the weekend has to be te match between Jake Something & Minoru Suzuki. If in the area, tickets are almost sold out. If you’re out of town, Here’s the link to watch on YouTube with Glory Pro is streaming FOR FREE!

Photo Credit: Game Changer Wrestling

Closing out this week’s blog is some Game Changer Wrestling news. On Friday night, GCW had an absolutely fantastic card from Columbus, OH with “Find You Again”. Blake Christian calling out Johnny Gargano! Jordan Oliver vs. Alex Shelley! THAT SCRAMBLE MATCH! Watch the replay on Fite.TV

Tonight’s “The Old Me” from DETROIT looks to continue their win streak of shows. Briscoes vs. SGC in a fucking scaffolds match?! HERE WE GO. Order the show now if you haven’t and get ready!

Hit me up on Twitter and let me know what pro wrestling you’re checking out this weekend. As always. thanks for reading and supporting the blog!