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.

SUMMER OF PUNK AGAIN?/LIONHEART RETURNS/CIRCLE 6

Welcome to an all new edition of Blogs Count Anywhere, the complementary pro wrestling blog to the ODPH podcast and 607 TWS. It has been a more relatively quiet week than we’ve seen in recent weeks, so this will be a shorter blog than usual. WWE keeps bringing back familiar faces while the eyes on the independent scene have been locked into Atlantic City for GCW Homecoming. In between that, there are some stories worth mentioning about so lets’ talk about them, shall we?

CM Punk

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

First up is AEW Dynamite closed with the return of current AEW world champion CM PUNK. Punk has been out with a foot injury in early June. In the meantime, AEW has crowned Jon Moxley as their intern champion. There has been rumors of when Punk would be back, but no clarification until this moment. The only other time anyone had seen Punk out really was seeing him at San Diego Comic Con in July. That said, the main event for their biggest show of the year appears to be all set with the unification bout locked up for September 4th at “All Out” in Chicago.

It’s the smart move to make and if Punk’ 100% ready, then go for it. It will be an interesting reaction form the crowd because both Mox and Punk are considered faces in this battle. I’m expecting it to be very pro-Punk but what (if anything) does this mean for the Blackpool Combat Club? They have been getting booked as top faces. It’s a bit confusing on that perspective but all signs point to Punk winning regardless.

Since his arrival last year, Punk has been pushed HEAVY into this position on the card. Whatever your feelings are about him, you can’t deny he gets fans attention. Has the return been the ”game changer” many thought? Debatable on what do you measure that on. Ratings still struggle to continuously clear 1 million for Dynamite. Social media impressions appear to be increased, but overall, imo, the jury is still out. With his return heading into the big show, it will be interesting to see how this set-up goes. AEW programing and PPV Buys will give a general idea if it’s the “Summer Of Punk” again or is the honeymoon phase finally over? Wait and see…..

Chris Jericho

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Also “returning” this week was the “Lionheart” persona of one Chris Jericho. Facing Jon Moxley, Jericho went back to his original gimmick that he broke into most notably ECW with during the 90’s. The match started a bit off imo, but picked up towards the end (I personally didn’t score it 4.75 but to each their own). Seeing Jericho borrow from the playbook of Mick Foley with bringing back characters like “Lionheart” and “The Painmaker” from NJPW has been good for nostalgia, and is a credit to how Jericho has gotten over pretty much every character he’s created thus far. “The Wizard”…..to be determined. Seeing less of the trip into the past would make these moves more impactful, but the AEW faithful enjoyed it. End of the day, that’s what matters more.

FTR and Wardlow

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Speaking of Nostalgia, Wardlow reunited with FTR for a semi-reunion of The Pinnacle, the faction started by he who AEW does not name (MJF). The ROH tag team champs came to back up Wardlow versus the Jay Lethal faction (name TBD) on AEW Dynamite this week. Seeing the 3 together makes me wonder if this is going to be a thing moving forward. AEW is in full trios tag team mode with champions to be crowned at All Out. Could we see the Pinnacle reformed? And what about adding a fourth member again? With MJF gone, I’m not doubting a certain returning champion bringing these three out with him to stand off against Moxley, Bryan Danielson, Wheeler Yuta and Claudio….just saying…..

HOOK

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

HOOK will be defending the FTW tile vs. “The Reality” Zack Clayton …. so that’s happening. …

Photo Credit: Circle 6 Wrestling

Circle 6 is lining up to crown their first world champion with a “Hybrid Ladder Match”. The concept is very interesting and RSP breaks it down in a recent tweet. The upstart promotion has been building their fan base up and this match should catch a lot of attention when it happens on Sept. 9th.

Credit: National Wrestling Alliance

Last bit of news: It was announced that the NWA is taming up with Vet Tix to offer complimentary tickets for NWA 74 on August 27th and 28th to active Military members, Veterans and the immediate family members of those killed in duty. This is an incredible action for the NWA to do and they should be applauded for this. For more information on the NWA, click here.

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! 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!

AEW BATTLE OF THE BELTS 2 / CIRCLE 6 RETURNS / GLORY PRO WRESTLING

Welcome to an all new edition of Blogs Count Anywhere, the complementary pro wrestling blog to the ODPH podcast & 607TWS on Twitch! For this edition, we’re taking a look at All Elite Wrestling’s busy week capping off with their second edition of “Battle Of The Belts” on April 16th. Factor that in with a few other indie promotions that you should have on your radar and you can’t say “nothing i going on in the land of professional wrestling”! There is so much wrestling to talk about, let’s not waste anymore time and jump in, shall we?

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

As previously mentioned, AEW capped off a very busy week of action with “Battle Of The Belts 2” from Garland, Texas (aired on TNT network). Fans in attendance were treated to 3 title belts but the one that stole the show (imo) was the Ring Of Honor world championship match between Dalton Castle and ROH Champ Jonathan Gresham (pictured above). For some of the AEW faithful, they might not have gotten why this was such a big deal. Here’s a quick catch-up why it was:

It has been heavily rumored that Gresham has signed an AEW contract (since Tony Khan owns both AEW & ROH now) & fans should expect to see more of him on AEW programming moving forward. No one bleeds the ideals of ROH more than Gresham. Gresham is arguably the BEST technical wrestler on the planet. Outside of following the indies or ROH, this was the first impression of Gresham to many of the AEW fans. He absolutely put on a fantastic match with Castle & showcased his skills. I strongly suggest going back thru his catalog of work and there will be no doubt on why this is a huge addition for AEW/ROH. Gresham can put on “5 star” matches with anyone you match him against. Just wait till he faces off with Bryan Danielson…… just saying.

The only “bad thing” coming from this match was post match run-in from the Jay Lethal/Sonjay Dutt/ Satnam, in which people on the internet lost their minds to the height comparison of Satnam to Gresham. Let me put this argument to bed once and for all: Danielson is 5’10, AJ Styles 5’11, Rey Mysterio is 5’6 and Gresham 5’4. What do all 4 have in common? They’re all touted for their wrestling skills where everyone’s level when taken down on a mat. Satnam is 7’2. OF COURSE HE’S GOING TO TOWER OVER SOMEONE! For my money, give me someone who can put on solid matches with a good story behind it regardless of their height. If that’s all you can focus on during a match, you’re not watching the right things.

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

New ROH TV champ Samoa Joe (6’2 btw) came in for the save and looked to continue building the story-line he has going with Team Lethal. No surprise he walked away Wednesday with the TV title but it is interesting to see that Satnam appears to be his first challenger for the belt. With someone just coming into the world of professional wrestling, this is fast tracking Satnam into a spot he might not be ready for.

This is also an interesting path for ROH 2.0. With no TV deal (as of this blog), building the stories for their champions with very new talent to the business on AEW programming feels like high risk/high reward. It’s great exposure but this puts a ton of pressure on those new roster members to deliver. Failure to do so won’t be an easy thing to recover from.

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Speaking of storylines, Hangman Adam Page retained his AEW world title against Adam Cole (Bay Bay) in (another) Texas Death match on AEW Rampage. This should be the closure of their feud and hopefully the last TDM we see for a while. Page has had most of this blow-off matches end with that gimmick match. It would be a good thing to mix something else in there for the next one. Now, the question becomes who’s next for Page? The more and more I watch AEW, the answer is becoming more clear:

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

CM Punk has been hinting about making a run for the belt. Looking at how he’s gone over everyone that has been thrown at him on the roster (except MJF), all signs point to Punk facing Page at some point. This could be the Double or Nothing main event. It makes sense. Page’s run as champion has had mixed results. It seemed to finally start getting some steam behind it recently but not doubting this is where Punk goes in and captures the gold. With less that 6 weeks to get a title contender ready, Punk’s story is the easiest to plug and play.

I’m not sure how the AEW faithful will react to this. Fans remember how passionate they were for Page to finally win the big one, but seem to have extremely cooled off to him as champion. This is nothing new to pro wrestling where the fans get fickle when their chosen one wins. The only question now is: Has AEW become fickle enough to make the move? We’ll see in May.

Photo Credit: Major League Wrestling

Major League Wrestling keeps stacking their card for “Kings Of Colosseum” in May with the addition of Taya Valkyrie. It hasn’t been announced who she is fighting yet but it will be a can’t miss match. Don’t forget about their big main event with Hammerstone & Richard Holiday! Guaranteed to have something for all pro wrestling fans. For more info on this card: MLW.com

Photo Credit: Circle Six Wrestling

Circle 6 has announced their 2nd show “Terrible Lie” slated for April 30th. Coming off their strong debut show “Skewered”, Expect there to be no “sophomore jinx” for this promotion. Killer Kross, Scarlett, Rocky Romero and Matt Cross have all been announced for ‘Terrible Lie.” Make plans to check this card out. For more information: Drop that follow for Circle 6 Wrestling

Photo Credit: Glory Pro Wrestling

Rounding out the list of news-making promotions this week, Glory Pro Wrestling has an incredible card set for April 24th live from the Pageant in St. Louis (5PM CST)! How cool is this: Glory Pro is streaming the event FOR FREE on their YouTube channel! With Effy, Allie Katch, Minoru Suzuki on the card (just to name a few) there is no way any pro-wrestling fan should miss this show! Make sure you’re following Glory Pro Wrestling for all the latest on their big moves!

That’s all for this week. Make sure to hit me up on Twitter and let me know about what pro wrestling promotions are making some big moves to discuss. As always, thanks for reading & supporting!

FTR keeps rolling/WHEELER YUTA/MLW Kings of Colosseum

Welcome to an all new edition of Blogs Count Anywhere, the complementary pro wrestling blog to the ODPH podcast and 607TWS on Twitch (& in podcast form). For this edition, it’s the post Wrestlemania hangover but some other promotions have picked up some steam as of late. When the fans aren’t talking about Tony Khan and “BotGate”, All Elite Wrestling has had some moments that should be the talk of their promotion. Let’s dive in on those, shall we?

Credit: All Elite Wrestling

The biggest story fans should be talking about is the long overdue ascension of FTR in the AEW tag team ranks. No tag team in the business has been putting on absolute classic matches with the Young Bucks and Briscoes quite like Cash & Dax. Since debuting in AEW, they made a big splash early & had the “dream match” with the Young Bucks at Full Gear in November 2020. After that, they seemed to have become lost in a very large roster and almost an after thought. Sure, they were paired in MJF’s “Pinnacle” faction but what has really stood out from them during their time there? Other than defeating the Lucha Bros for the AAA titles, there’s very little highlights imo.

Fast forward to December 2021: after taking to social media to build their feud (the right way) with the Briscoes in Ring Of Honor (to the point of crashing the party at ROH Final Battle), FTR has finally gotten back to being the benchmark of tag team wrestling. Hardcore fans have known this for years but for casuals, it’s all about what has been done lately. Within a weeks time, They’ve been putting on incredible matches & winning against 2 of the best teams in the business.

Where do they go from here? Simple: Keep them in the spotlight and featured on AEW programming. For having one of the deepest tag divisions, FTR has a lot of suitors to start some storylines with (ReDRagon and Santana/Ortiz are top of my list). FTR has worked their way to the top by putting the work in. Now, it’s time to let them do what they do and remind fans on how GOOD tag team wrestling can be each week! #FTRFTW!

Credit: All Elite Wrestling

FTR isn’t the only ones making a big splash this week. Wheeler Yuta has now become a made man in a lot of fans’ eyes. Yuta defeated Josh Woods for the ROH Pure title and had an absolute star-making performance on AEW Rampage with a loss to Jon Moxley. Why he needed to bleed during that match idk. Maybe its a weird sign of initiation to the Blackpool Combat Club with Moxley, Bryan Danielson, & William Regal. There’s been an odd “Fight Club” feel to Yuta trying to join BCC. It’s similar to Jared Leto’s character trying to join Brad Pitt’s group from that movie.

Regardless of the influence, Yuta broke thru with that match. It was excellent & gave the young star a win in defeat. Since he’s been with AEW, Yuta is another talent lost in the shuffle. Paired with Best Friends is still something but never went anywhere. It finally looks like his time is now and he couldn’t be in better company. Hopefully when ROH gets rolling, Yuta can maintain that momentum with the Pure title. Give me Yuta v. Lee Moriarty asap for the belt!

Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Speaking of Ring Of Honor, it has been announced that Samoa Joe will be facing Minoru Suzuki on AEW Dynamite for the ROH TV Title. As mentioned on last week’s blog, Suzuki wasn’t going to be holding the belt long and Joe makes sense to take the belt from him.

Joe is a star to build the new ROH around and depending on what that will be, having him as TV champ works. Guessing we’re going to see him vs. CM Punk in the Owen Hart tourney finals for the belt as well. Nothing is certain for ROH until they get on TV but everyhting is up in the air with the Discovery Plus purchase of Warner Media. Until then, fans will have to wait and see how Joe’s time as TV champ all plays out. Don’t miss this match on Wednesday!

Credit: Major League Wrestling

Major League Wrestling has announced a big show planned for the 2300 Arena: Kings of Colosseum 2022. In the main event, Richard Holliday challenges Hammerstone for the heavyweight championship. This should be a great match. For more info on this card, Check out MLW2300.com

Credit: Super B

Last bit of news for this week:

As heard on #607podcasts this week, Super B had a big match and WIN at Xcite Wrestling on Saturday Night. Post match, B called out Sean Carr for May 7th! Super B’s links are now in the Friends of the show section of ODPHpodcast.com. Make sure you’re following and don’t miss the match vs Carr on May 7th.

Unfortunately, Cerin Rahne suffered an injury during the Xcite show on Saturday night. If you are able to, support him by picking up some merch. Positive thoughts & energy for a speedy recovery #HopeDealer

CM PUNK vs. DAX/ SUPERCARD OF HONOR/ JOEY JANELA SPRING BREAK

Welcome to an all new edition of Blogs Count Anywhere, the complementary pro wrestling blog to the ODPH podcast and 607TWS on Twitch (& now in podcast form). On this edition, it’s the road to Wrestlemania, the WWE’s biggest event of the year. There will be a deep dive on this week’s ODPHpod breaking that card down. For this blog, let’s take a quick trip around some other federations and stories that are making some noise going into this week. And here we go…..

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

HOW GOOD WAS THIS MATCH?!?!

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

All Elite Wrestling kicked off AEW Dynamite with an absolute classic between Dax Harwood of FTR vs. CM Punk. Classic storytelling that many feel was a love letter to Bret “the Hitman” Hart. Everything about this match clicked. The crowd and fans watching at home were locked in from the jump. Obviously, with who was involved, you knew this was gonna be something special & it delivered. Maybe that Dog Collar match at AEW Revolution finally awoke something? Maybe it’s because he had a great opponent who’s in arguably the best tag team on the planet right now facing him and at pushing him? In any case, anyone who missed it, make a point to check this match out. Definitely wouldn’t mind seeing this ran back sometime. However from that lead, the rest of the show started to slowly lose steam…then this happened:

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Fans had a promo segment with Sammy Guevara & Tay Conti addressing Dan Lambert with his AEW American Top Team faction (TNT Champion Scorpio Sky, Ethan Page, Paige Van Zant). In case anyone didn’t know, Guevara and Conti have become a bit of a polarizing couple imo. Ever since their relationship went public and other drama involving Guevara ( I don’t want to get into that situation), they have had very split opinions on social media from fans.

On Wednesday, Lambert wore the original TNT Championship belt while champion Sky had the newer belt. In story line purposes, Guevara wore both belts (old and interim) after winning a unification bout with Cody Rhodes. After battling on the mic, Guevara claimed that he and Conti did some “adult things” while wearing the belt Lambert kissed and left some “souvenirs” on the belt. Even post match, there was a tweet with a picture of Conti and Guevara naked with the belt alluding to what they “did”. That comment drew a lot of negative attention from some AEW members, most notably Eddie Kingston and fans who thought the comments was disrespectful to the belt and its’ legacy with the late Brodie Lee. I agree with that as well.

I understand that the promo was to get a “shock” moment but considering the PR damage that was done when WWE stars were involved in a situation like that, it was a bad look. Why after that promo was done, Conti and Guevara were trending on socials with Brad Maddox right behind them? For AEW, this is another situation of where promos like this need to be ran thru the proper channels. Knowing the legacy of Brodie Lee and what that belt means, it was a complete insult. Seeing the negative fan reaction, doubling down on it with the tweet after didn’t help matters.

Should any more drastic action be done about this? No. I’ve read where people online want Guevara and Conti off AEW and that’s way too much. IMO, What should be done is better regulation by AEW about promo content and crossing that line. It’s a fine line that needs to be walked but I can’t really see the brass at Warner Media being cool with this long term. There are better ways to cut promos and getting that type of “heat” is not a direction that Guevara and Conti want to go in.

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Hook’s reaction was my reaction hearing that segment as well. Btw… Hook v. Danhausen? ok…..

Now onto some better news to talk about:

Photo Credit: Ring Of Honor Wrestling

This Friday, Ring Of Honor returns with SuperCard of Honor taking place on Fite.TV with a new look for the well respected promotion. This will be the first card under the Tony Khan regime. There have been some small changes to the card but the big matches are still locked and loaded. Gresham vs. Bandido for the undisputed ROH title & Briscoes vs. FTR for the tag team titles are the big draws but there’s another match that was added that fans shouldn’t sleep on:

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Jay Lethal (pictured above) will be taking on Lee Moriarty! Expect some great wrestling action in this one (as well as Swerve Strickland vs. Alex Zayne). Lethal, the longtime franchise player in ROH returns for this Pay-Per-View is an interesting move. Lethal was one of the first wave of ROH talent to sign elsewhere when everyone was released from their contracts. Now coming bck full circle, will he be the face of ROH 2.0 now or how will the landscape of Ring Of Honor now change with Khan at the helm. We will see the beginnings starting this Friday.

Photo Credit: Game Changer Wrestling

Game Changer Wrestling once again takes over Wrestlemania weekend with the Collective. It is a showcase of great cards throughout the weekend such as Glory Pro, For The Culture, & Effy’s Big Gay Brunch to name a few. However, the one that has become the most attatched to the Collective is Joey Janela’s Spring Break. This card has literally everything on it & will be the one GCW fans will be buzzing about. Personally, I can’t wait to see Joey Janela vs X-Pac. It’s gonna be a loaded weekend of shows so make sure to check out Fite.TV and watch some great indie shows before or after Wrestlemania.

Just a reminder that “Super B” Brandon Sevilla will be in studio on the April 4th edition of 607TWS!

That’s all for this week. Hit me up on Twitter and let me know what pro wrestling you’re checking out and what card this weekend you’re most excited to see! As always, thanks for reading!