March 27, 2022

Ken M

JOEY JANELA SPRING BREAK

March 27, 2022

Ken M

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…..

HOW GOOD WAS THIS MATCH?!?!

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:

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.

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

Now onto some better news to talk about:

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:

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.

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!

March 20, 2022

Ken M

Blog, Pro Wrestling, television

THUNDER ROSA WINS!!! / BRISCOES VS. FTR / CIRCLE 6

March 20, 2022

Ken M

Blog, Pro Wrestling, television

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, it’s been a relatively quieter week than usual. Arguably the biggest story is multiple reports of Cody Rhodes signing to the WWE. This really has been an interesting topic to watch. However, until we see him in a WWE ring, fans won’t see the real reaction until that moment. If/whgen it happens, I’ll deep dive into my thoughts on the Rhodeslander’s landing spot. If you’re an AEW fan, I’m sure you have feelings about it as well, but there’s a lot to be excited about with All Elite Wrestling that SHOULD be where the attention needs to be focused on.

On Wednesday’s “AEW Dynamite”, Thunder Rosa FINALLY captured the Women’s World title from Britt Baker in a Steel Cage Match. Their match is almost 1 year to the date of their epic St, Patrick’s Street Fight which was a Match Of The Year Candidate in 2021. The story line to make this happen was a bit confusing as Rosa lost to Baker at AEW Revolution only to get the 3rd match after winning a world title eliminator bout 3 days after.

No matter how we got here, the fact is we got here! Fans finally got #ANDNEW! For Rosa, who’s one of the best on the planet, defeating Baker in San Antonio (her current home base) & that crowd’s reaction was worth the wait. The match was solid and now the door is open for some new matches for the belt. With Baker being so dominant in her title reign, most challengers were one and done in a title program. Rosa as champion opens up quite a few possibilities of programs to run.

One rumored idea floated around was Rosa against TBS Champion Jade Cargill, but I don’t see that happening. It’s way too early for “Champ vs. Champ.” For where I think we’re going is into a program with a new version of Kris Statlander. With the new vignettes, it appears Statlander might be turning heel which would make for a great opponent for Rosa to start her reign against.

Another long shot idea would be setting up Rosa for a Match of The Year candidate against Ring Of Honor champion Deanna Purrazzo. Since AEW & ROH now have the same owner, the idea isn’t out of possibility. This could be something to watch out for at Supercard of Honor, but there’s already one dream match made there. Not sure if we will have this one made there too. Regardless of that, the Thunder Rosa era with the title has begun. With all the hard work and excitement that Rosa has added to that division, giving her the belt is long overdue and now a new chapter in AEW starts….

Wednesday also brought back the much hyped return of Matt & Jeff, The Hardys to tag team action. Their match with Private Party went as expected (along with an assist from Darby Allin & Sting post match) & has now set up for an 8 man Tag team match on the next AEW Dynamite against the rest of the AFO. At first glance, teaming with Darby & Sting is fun for a quick second, but hopefully not leading to another faction. After this match, Matt & Jeff need to get something going against another tag team or we’re looking at a “Stadium Stampede” type blow off match down the road.

While this makes sense short term, stretching this story line out long term isn’t helping anyone out imo. The Hardys should start working up the rankings for a title shot ASAP. Darby & Sting are….. Darby & Sting. It is what it is there. Plus, Andrade just took over the HFO. Let him build that up in his vision and go from there. No matter what, Matt & Jeff need to strike while the buzz is there and get a program started for a run at the belts. Anything else is just wasting time at this stage.

Speaking of time wasting, I wasn’t a huge fan of the Jericho Appreciation Society (JAS) segment this week. For dismantling the Inner Circle, AEW’s first faction, only to roll it out as whatever this is going to be just didn’t click. 2.0 & Daniel Garcia now are in a prime story for them to grow. That’s a plus, especially for Garcia but the whole “I Am a sports entertainer” skit just made this new group feel like a reset of someone else’s character taking shots at a certain other federation. Maybe it was a subtle jab at the Cody stories? Either way, not the best first impression to make with “Inner Circle 2.0”

This past week, Ring Of Honor finally made an announcement that fans have been waiting to hear. After weeks of back and forth along with an encounter at “Final Battle”, the match has been made! BRISCOES VS. FTR is set for April 1st at Supercard of Honor! Expect fireworks and a lot of buzz coming from this match. Two of the best tag teams on the planet are finally squaring off. What, if anyhting, this means for Ring Of Honor moving forward is anyone’s guess but this card just brought some new eyes onto the product in April. Make sure to save that date if you haven’t already. For more info: ROHWrestling.com.

Lastly, On Saturday night, Circle 6 ran their first ever show: Circle 6 Skewered on Twitch. This was the new promotion that Atticus Cogar was connected with revolving around his fallout with GCW. New company, new set of rules and a very stacked lineup for free on Twitch? No way I was missing that. Initial reaction is the in-ring work was great. Christopher Daniels vs. RSP & Biff Busick vs. Brody King really stand out. Unfortunately, it was over shadowed by a delay in starting & multiple stream crashes. Being on the east coast, I didn’t check the chance to watch after intermission (it started around 1:30am).

Eventually, the show stream went off Twitch (reasons) but from what I saw, I was very happy with the product. There are many things production wise (imo) that need to be fixed before next show: Streaming, audio, etc. but if you get the chance to check this product out, do it. Keep an eye on their social media for more news on further events.

That’s all for this week. Hit me up on Twitter and let me know what wrestling you’ve been checking out.

As always, thanks for reading and supporting 607 Podcasts & the ODPH!

March 13, 2022

Ken M

Pro Wrestling, Blog

JEFF HARDY = ALL ELITE/AEW REVOLUTION FALLOUT/GCW ASTRONAUT

March 13, 2022

Ken M

Pro Wrestling, Blog

Welcome to an all new edition of Blogs Count Anywhere, the complementary pro wrestling blog to the ODPH podcast & 607TWS (on Twitch & podcast form). The major headline grabs have been coming off the heels of All Elite Wrestling’s “AEW Revolution” pay per view. A very solid card of pro wrestling (5 hours worth including pre-show) that left AEW fans very happy. However, the entire wrestling world was buzzing on Wednesday night during AEW Dynamite. After weeks of rumors & hints, fans finally witness the AEW debut of the one & only Jeff Hardy

Hardy was released from WWE after a very weird moment at a house show late last year. No need to speculate on that situation. What should be the takeaway now is: The Hardy Boys are now in one of the deepest tag team divisions in all of wrestling. This move is a win for all parties involved. For AEW, it’s an established team that you can make some dream matches happen with. Jeff & Matt vs. Santana & Ortiz is first one on my list. This also helps AEW with adding depth to Ring Of Honor. Pending on what is going to be the final vision there, the Hardy Boys will be great additions on either roster wherever they fall.

For Matt, this is a big win. Since his debut with AEW, Matt seemed (imo) not to find a set groove in AEW. With the “Broken” persona, that went only so far with All Elite. After that was the transition to “Big Money Matt” & the HFO. With so many people under that faction, imo, it just never worked and was very confusing. Matt has a great creative mind and seeing him back with Jeff usually leads to some great new stories. i feel we will see start after the program with Andrade and the AFO (?) is over.

Lastly, Jeff gets to wipe away the messy divorce from WWE & get focused on having some great matches. There’s a bunch of opponents for him to have some classics with. Hopefully being in AEW re-ignites that fire under him and we get the “charismatic enigma” rolling again (just no Willow. That was awful).

If it were not for Hardy’s debut, the other debuts would have been the lead. On Sunday night, AEW added two new members to the roster. First up was “Swerve” Strickland. Swerve has crushed it no matter where he’s wrestled at & was one of the more surprising WWE releases in 2021. The “Hit Row” stable was gaining momentum & a high draft pick on the main roster draft. However, after one match, they never were prominently featured on WWE programming.

Swerve is a great add for AEW. Normally I would worry about the inflated roster, but with the Ring Of Honor deal, I feel more comfortable with their signings. Whoever it is will be will get ring time. Swerve will be stealing spotlights once he gets started. In his first match on AEW rampage, Swerve main-evented against longtime 205Live rival Tony Nese. It’s only a matter of When an not IF Swerve is in a title program. Post April 1st (next ROH Show), fans should see something started for this amazing superstar/mogul.

The other BIG signing is the one and only William Regal. The longtime commissioner of WWE NXT & all around wrestling legend made a BIG splash appearing at the end of the Moxley/Danielson match at revolution. Next time we saw all 3, we have a new faction in AEW. Fans also had a heartfelt promo from Regal which anyone complaining about the time he took needs to back off. Regal is a legend and deserved the moment he had. Where we are going long-term is uncertain, but with Regal’s experience, AEW would be foolish not to utilize him to the fullest on & off screen.

Another noteworthy moment from AEW this week is….we have a NEW TNT Champion! Scorpio Sky defeated Sammy Guevara & kept his win streak going to become champion. Sky is set to defend the title against Wardlow next week on Dynamite. It is LONG overdue Sky is back in the title picture, let alone champion. One of the best on the roster, Sky became lost in the shuffle (along with Ethan Page) so when this streak was announced, it really felt like it came out of nowhere. Now as champion, Sky should look to have some big prime-time matches (pending on what happens next week).

Last bit of AEW news: It was announced Britt Baker will defend her AEW women’s title against Thunder Rosa one year to the day of their MOTY candidate street fight. This time, they’re going to be in a steel cage. It’s an odd set-up for this match as Rosa lost on Sunday to Baker but was then put into a title eliminator match with Leelya Hirsch, which she won. End of the day, it doesn’t matter how we got here, it’s that we’re hear and there is NO WAY Rosa leaves without the gold.

Speaking of MOTY candidates, On Saturday Night, Game Changer Wrestling took over Atlanta Center Stage for “GCW Astronaut.” One that card, fans FINALLY got “All Heart” Blake Christian vs. ROH Campion Jonathan Gresham in an absolute classic. The whole card was extremely good, but this match stands out. As we’ve preached on 60TWS, 2022 is the #YEARofALLHEART. If you’re not familiar, you need to catch up on the work of Blake Christian since leaving WWE. Check out the replay of Fite TV ASAP.

Last but not least, Shout out to “Super B” Brandon Sevilla who kicked off Xcite Wrestling’s #XCITE10 with a big win. Super B will be stopping by 607TWS in the near future. If you’re not following him on social media, make a point to fix that asap.

Positive thoughts and energy for Big E & Scott Hall

Hit me up on Twitter and let me know what wrestling you’re checking out. For more pro-wrestling coverage, make sure you’re following all the 607 podcast family. Thanks for reading.

March 6, 2022

Ken M

AEW REVOLUTION/RING OF HONOR IS ALL ELITE

March 6, 2022

Ken M

Welcome to an all new Blogs Count Anywhere, the complementary pro wrestling blog to the ODPH podcast and 607TWS on Twitch! All eyes in the wrestling world are locked in for Orlando Sunday Night. AEW Revolution kicks off at 8pm EST (BR Live/Fite Tv* International Only & traditional PPV)& after the WWE MSG “let Down” in some fans eyes, the focus is solely on All Elite Wrestling’s big pay per view event. Have the events of AEW Dynamite and AEW Rampage changed any way the card might shape up? Let’s give a final breakdown before the show starts, shall we?

AEW Revolution 2022 (AEW) — Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Pre Show “Buy-In” Card: 7PM EST (AEW YouTube/ Bleacher Report)
QT Marshall vs. HOOK

It’s HOOK’s world and we all just live in it. No way AEW’s “homegrown” star doesn’t get the win here.

Winner: HOOK

Kris Statlander vs. “Legit” Layla Hirsch

This has been an actually good story build for these two. Going with Hirsch in an upset to extend this out.

Winner: Hirsch

Death Triangle+ (Pac/Penta/Redbeard) vs. House Of Black (M. Black/Brody King/Buddy Matthews)

Two new AEW signees give this some interest but I’m not a fan of the “new” Penta intro & unless this gives me Fenix vs. Matthews, I don’t see how the House loses here.

Winners: House Of Black

Jon Moxley (AEW) — Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

AEW Revolution Main Card (8pm EST - BR Live, Fite TV, select theaters & traditional PPV)

Darby Allin/Sting/(TNT Champ) Sammy Guevara vs. Andrade El Idolo/Matt Hardy/Isiah Kassidy

Why Sammy isn’t defending the belt on this card is beyond me. There was an excellent triple threat for it on Rampage & THAT’s what should have been here. Guessing this is where the “hostile Takeover” of AHFO happens and we get Jeff Hardy running in for the save.

Winners: Darby/Sting/Guevara

Jon Moxley vs. Bryan Danielson

Arguably the best match of the night. Danielson will give Mox a fight & that’s all fans should expect here. However, I’m calling the “Danielson Academy” of Daniel Garcia and Lee Moriarty to be involved to help Danielson take Mox out, most likely post match now.

Winner: Jon Moxley

ReDRagon (AEW) — Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Chris Jericho vs. Eddie Kingston

I’ve said it once & I’ll say it again. KINGSTON WINS OR WE RIOT. Period

Winner: Eddie Kingston

TBS Championship - Jade Cargill (C) vs. Tay Conti

The match with the weakest build up and bad social media hype behind it. #AndStill

Winner: Jade Cargill

AEW Tag Team Championship: Jurassic Express (C) vs. ReDRagon vs. Young Bucks

Well, the story of how we got here is kind of messy but it all is setting up for the Elite vs. FKA Undisputed Era. This will be a solid match but there’s only one team that has this locked and loaded for the W.

Winners: #AndNEW ReDRagon

“Face Of The Revolution” Ladder Match:

Ricky Starks vs Powerhouse Hobbs vs Keith Lee vs. Orange Cassidy vs.. Wardlow vs. Christian Cage

The popular guess will be the recently signed Keith Lee but after the segment with MJF this week, “Mr. Mayhem” is about to have his “Batista breakaway” moment after winning this one.

Winner: Wardlow

AEW Women’s World Championship: Britt Baker (C) vs. Thunder Rosa

Why we have waited THIS long to run this match back is beyond me. Rosa and Baker put on a MOTY candidate with their St. Patrick’s street fight in 2021. Rosa has been ready for this and so are the fans.

Winner: #ANDNEW Thunder Rosa

Dog Collar Match: CM Punk vs. MJF

The best story line in AEW comes to a halt (for now) with this match. After MJF’s blood moment (pictured above), The opinion has shifted on who’s winning this. “Happy To Be Here” Punk will get the win here…possibly with a Wardlow assist so this can be ran back at some point. Either way, this should be applauded for how well the story has been set up. IMO, this is the main event.

Winner: “Happy To Be Here” CM Punk

AEW World Championship: “Hangman” Adam Page (C) vs. Adam Cole (BAY BAY!)

For a world title match, this had a relatively small build. Cole has been on fire (for the most part - he DID lose that street fight) since arriving in AEW. On the other hand, Page’s title run has been underwhelming. 3 defenses in 4 months with one being a draw isn’t moving the needle. As bad as this might sound, it’s time to move the belt off Page. This isn’t on him, but if the story doesn’t set up for success, there needs to be a change. Plus all signs point for the Elite vs. Cole/ReDRagon. What better way to complete the “takeover” than all 3 of UE walking out with Gold?

Winner: #ANDNEW Adam Cole

“AEW Revolution” hasn’t the biggest headline with AEW this week. There had been a LOT of hype concerning some big announcement coming from Tony Khan. On Wednesday, it was made official that Khan had become the new owner of Ring Of Honor Wrestling.

Initial reaction: There’s both good and bad to this. The Good: AEW now has room for the ever-growing roster. This will give their talent a bigger* stage to be showcased on other than AEW Dark & Elevation. Rumors of ROH becoming AEW’s “NXT” are also intriguing but way too early to say. The bigger win: Khan now has the ROH video library & rights to “All IN.” Considering how things were after that card, it’s very surprising ti see this deal done but here we are.

The Bad: If you’re not contracted to AEW, how will that work for indie wrestlers? As of current writing, no one is under contract to ROH. The only wrestlers from the last show that are going to be on “Supercard Of Honor” April 1st are Jon Gresham, Bandito, Joe Hendry & the Briscoes. We do know other wrestlers have been announced for the show such as Ninja Mack & Alex Zayne, but other than that, it’s very unclear. Swerve has been announced as well but is heavily rumored to be signing with AEW. Even with the indie scene booming right now, ROH being all Elite takes away one landing spot. Plus, if anyone is thinking this will be the “same old” ROH, it might be best to lower the expectations and get ready for this incarnation.

More to discuss on this week’s ODPH & 607TWS. Hit me up on Twitter and let me know your thoughts on AEW’s big week & what other pro wrestling you’re checking out. Thanks for reading.

February 27, 2022

Ken M

AEW REVOLUTION WEEK/GCW LA SHOT CALLER WEEKEND/ ROH Hall Of Fame

February 27, 2022

Ken M

Welcome to an all new edition of Blogs Count Anywhere, the complementary blog to the ODPH podcast & 607TWS on Twitch! This week kicks off a very important week for All Elite Wrestling. Thier pay per view calendar kicks off with AEW Revolution taking place from Orlando, Fl on March 6th (Main Card start time 8pm EST). The line-up of matches will be broken down on the 607podcasts network this week. For this blog though, I want to highlight a few matches that have really picked up some hype over the week.

The MJF/CM Punk Dog Collar match has taken a unique shift in direction thanks to one impactful promo. On Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite, MJF had a very interesting promo segment. In it, he opened up about a few things not too many people knew about him. MJF addressed ADHD, bullying & how the moment he met Punk when he was a young child made such a lasting impression that when Punk left, it broke him.

The best promos in wrestling (imo) are when the lines are blurred and fans can’t tell if it’s a work or shoot. Punk’s expression below sums up many wrestling fans reactions as well. MJF delivered this as perfect as possible. The sheer emotion MJF gave this in was shocking. This was the closest to a “babyface” promo that we have ever seen come from the young superstar. I think it’s easy to say everyone hearing this was waiting on the heel turn, but we never go it. In one complete segment, MJF flipped the entire storyline into a 180 turn. MJF is no longer the heel here, he’s the face.

So where does that leave us moving towards Revolution? Sure, this can be all rec-coned and MJF can come out Wednesday and say something like “I made it all up and you people bought it.” That shouldn’t be the play here. Let this storyline stay this course. MJF’s comments about the feeling when Punk left does represent some fans opinions on those events. Playing into that can only push this storyline further!

What if THIS is the moment “Happy Go Lucky” Punk exits & we get “Best In The World” Heel Punk in return? The honeymoon phase has to be over about Punk’s return. For six months, he’s been saying all the “happy” things but this program with MJF has been very telling. MJF has won basically every mic battle they’ve had, a feat unheard of previously. In their match on Dynamite a few weeks back, MJF won (twice). With the reaction from the live crowd & online, fans are now showing favor for MJF in this feud. How does Punk respond? Another “Happy To Be Here” promo? Maybe as a last shot attempt, then go full blown heel on Sunday. Either way, THIS now became the must watch match at the Pay-Per-View off that segment.

The other match that got a much needed shot of life injected in it was Chris Jericho vs. Eddie Kingston. Kingston had been in Santana & Ortiz’s ears to motivate them to break from the Inner Circle. “The Influencer”….yeah, that’s the new nickname now….took offense to that. On “Dynamite”, we had a face-off between the two to hype up the newly made match between them. Things became personal very quickly.

Jericho tried pushing Kingston’s “fear of success” tried connecting his family to that line. Kingston’s response was 100% Eddie to paraphrase: We’re fighting but give me the REAL Chris Jericho. Kingston won over the fans as well by calling out the segment as a waste of time & pushed for Kris Statlander & Willow Nightengale to come out instead. The segment was all Eddie, who really has become the heart and soul of AEW in recent months. Jericho has now become the heel in this storyline & this match HAS to be Eddie’s to win on Sunday. After having organic momentum with the fans, Kingston hasn’t gone over Miro for the TNT title or CM Punk. It’s his time. He HAS to win on Sunday. No Questions asked.

Last bit of AEW news: We had another debut with the company as Buddy Matthews (FKA Buddy Murphy in WWE) made his AEW debut with Malakai Black & Brody King. Matthews wasn’t the only latest name added to the AEW roster lately, but let’s focus on his signing for this blog. This is a great signing for AEW. Matthews really lived his old gimmick of the “Best Kept Secret” in WWE. His matches with (Malakai) Black were epic. Hopefully he gets the time on TV to show everyone what he can do. The only thing to be fearful of: all these new signings and only so many minutes in a TV show. Something needs to give.

Maybe this big Tony Khan announcement rumored for March 2nd will address this issue and hopefully give some insight on what appears from a distance to be a potentially bigger issue down the road….

HOLY EFF!!!!!! GAME CHANGER WRESTLING had an incredible “Shot Caller” weekend of shows from Los Angeles this past weekend with GCW Welcome to Heartbreak & GCW The Coldest Winter. Both shows are available right now on Fite TV while LA Fights, GCW’s west coast promotion had their #LAFights3 card on GCW YouTube! There is at least 1 match of the Year candidate with “Speedball” Mike Bailey vs. “All Heart” Blake Christian on #GCWColdest. Make a point to check all these shows out!

Last bit of news: Ring Of Honor has announced CM PUNK is the latest inductee into the first class their Hall Of Fame. Punk’s run in ROH is legendary and this nomination is a no-brainer. For more info on Punk’s nomination, make sure to check out ROH Wrestling social media.

That’s all for this week. Expect a deeper breakdown of AEW Revolution on the 607Podcast network this upcoming week & let me know what wrestling promotions you want to read about on here!

As always, Thanks for reading!

February 20, 2022

Ken M

SWITCHBLADE MAKES AN IMPACT/MLW SUPERFIGHT/RING OF HONOR

February 20, 2022

Ken M

Welcome to an all new edition of Blogs Count Anywhere, the complementary pro wrestling blog to the ODPH podcast & 607TWS on Twitch. For this blog, we’re gonna talk some MLW, Xcite Wrestling, WWE & more, but there’s one wrestler out there that has been on an absolute tear this week. “Switchblade” Jay White has been dominating both AEW & Impact wrestling headlines this week. The NJPW star has already eclipsed the media storm surrounding Cody Rhodes leaving AEW by making some big moves on his own.

Since debuting in All Elite Wrestling last week, fans have been speculating on what impact he would make in AEW. After being put into a prime story-line with Adam Cole & the Elite/ReDRagon, White made his AEW in-ring debut on AEW Rampage this past Friday night vs. Trent Beretta. It was an excellent match with White now crossing paths with Orange Cassidy while being in the mix with Cole & company. Getting pushed into a program with some of the company’s most over talent is never a bad thing. White’s week didn’t stop there as the bigger “impact” hit Saturday night.

On Saturday at Impact Wrestling’s “No Surrender” pay-per-view, White, the leader of the Bullet Club, turned on longtime stable mates the Guerillas of Destiny & effectively kicked them out of the club. In turn, White has welcomed back in Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows by helping them win. This was a shocking move to say the least & lit up social media on Saturday night.

Questions have now popped up as to the effects of White’s actions. For Impact, the story should move forward with G.O.D. continuing on with a program with the Good Brothers. Only way this doesn’t happen is if G.O.D. heads back to NJPW or goes somewhere else ala WWE. As for AEW, all signs are still pointing towards the faction warfare with The Elite vs. FKA Undisputed Era vs. Bullet Club. However, it will be the returning Gallows & Anderson by White’s side. The biggest mystery right now is how does this impact NJPW moving forward? With the Bullet Club being one of its’ most legendary factions, the removal of G.O.D. is a BIG deal. It’s a plus and minus of the “Forbidden Door” theory. With so many companies involved, how does it all line up?

No matter what, Jay White has just started leaving his mark on this “forbidden Door” tour. If you’re not familiar yet, get caught up quick….cause it’s STLL his era!

AEW also started rolling out matches for its’ Mach 6th event “Revolution.” Adam Cole will be challenging “Hangman” Adam Page for the world title but another match might have stolen its’ shine. CM Punk opened AEW Dynamite to announce the stipulation for his rematch with MJF. The match is a Dog Collar match. The Punk/MJF feud has been built well with MJF getting the win the first go around, but this was a complete surprise to see. There hasn’t been one in AEW since Cody and the late Brodie Lee in 2020. Seeing these two in that match should be something special. However, I’m not sure this will be the end of the feud. Guessing that will be at Double or Nothing in May.

One other quick AEW note: FINALLY, Santana & Ortiz look poised to make a run for the Tag Team titles. The pair had their match with Chris Jericho & Jake Hager on Dynamite. With a big win, it appears they’re getting away from the Inner Circle faction. The pair has been LONG overdue to make that run. Since their debut with AEW, they appeared to be lost in the shuffle with Jericho & his storylines. Now, with a clean break, it’s time AEW gets them heading in the right direction & into some programs with Jurassic Express & the Lucha Bros to start. LET’S GO!!!!!

Switching gears, Major League Wrestling has a monster show coming out on Saturday, February 26th: MLW Superfight! This is a STACKED card with Hammerstone vs. Davey Richards for the world title, Mads Krugger vs. Jacob Fatu in a “Stairway to Hell” match, Openweight 4-way challenge with CH, Calvin Tankman, Matt Cross & Alex Kane, Killer Kross coming back & this match now added: Richard Holiday vs. Alex Shelley!!! There’s even more announcements for this show that you need to make sure not to miss this show! For more info: MLW.com

Ring Of Honor has announced that the Briscoes have an open challenge for Supercard of Honor on April 1st. Fingers crossed, this is FTR!!!!!!! Also in more ROH news, it was announced SAMOA JOE is the latest inductee into the Ring Of Honor Hall of Fame class! Congrats! There’s a lot of Ring Of Honor news coming keep an eye out on ROH social media & don’t miss the return on April 1st!

Last but not least, Happy Birthday wishes to Jonny Moose, owner of Xcite Wrestling! They’re selling tickets fast for #XCITE10 on March 12th so make sure you get yours fast! More info: xcitewrestling.com!

Let me know what promotions you’re checking out & for the best in pro-wrestling talk, Follow & listen to all the 607podcasts family as we will be deep-diving more this week. As always, thanks for reading.

February 13, 2022

Ken M

AEW'S LIMITLESS DOOR? KING SWITCH, and XCITE10

February 13, 2022

Ken M

Welcome to an all new edition of Blogs Count Anywhere, the complementary pro wrestling blog to the ODPH Podcast & 607TWS on Twitch. It’s Superbowl Sunday but there’s a lot of wrestling news to break down from the past week. Big moves have been happening & they don’t look to be stopping anytime soon. Let’s jump in and see what’s the latest from your favorite promotions, shall we?

On Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite, All Elite Wrestling came thru on its’ announcement of the big signing with the debut of “Limitless” Keith Lee. The former NXT Champion made a big statement win over Isiah Kassidy to enter into the Face of The Revolution match at AEW’s next PPV. Rumors of Lee signing with AEW had been heavily circling around the fandom & with him recently getting married (congrats!), fans weren’t sure we would see him at this point. Happily, we were all surprised it was him & not the Rhodeslander in a story-line gimmick.

Lee is a great addition to the roster. His agility for being his size is incredible. Kassidy was a great opponent for him to showcase his skills against. Now the question becomes: what’s next? Lee joins a growing list of former WWE/NXT superstars now in AEW. With only so much TV time to go around, how much of an impact will he make right away? The Revolution match is a great start. After that, I feel he will get a solid program to run with, possibly with a returning Miro. That would be box office!

Lee wasn’t the only one to make some noise on Wednesday. Another wrestler walked through “The Forbidden Door”: NJPW’s very own “KING SWITCH” Jay White. White has been over state-side doing some fantastic work in Impact Wrestling along with NJPW Strong. White, the current leader of the Bullet Club, showed up in a backstage segment helping Adam Cole (Bay Bay) & the Young Bucks. White also showed up on AEW Rampage to attack Trent Beretta after his match.

During the backstage time, Cole did make a reference about being “Bullet Club for life” which raised a question. Recently, fans have seen Cole back together with his former partners in Undisputed Era, reDRagon. AEW has been slow building towards an eventual match between the Bucks & reDRagon. That said, how does White & the Bullet Club fit in here? Fans know that the Guerillas of Destiny are state-side as well with Impact Wrestling. Does this mean we’re going to lead into some trios matches with Bullet Club vs. Cole/reDRagon vs. Kenny Omega/Young Bucks? This feels like the way that the stories are building to. What will be the endgame after this is what feels uncertain.

While it’s fantastic White is in AEW, it seems it won’t be for too long. There is so many dream match sequences to unfold here that AEW has their choice of direction to go in. There is only one minor roadblock with this: Cole did challenge “Hangman” Adam Page for the championship. Pending on when they want to do this, AEW will have to juggle some stories to get everyone their fair time in the ring.

It’s a good problem to have all this talent to work with, but making it all work might be the biggest challenge for all this talent.

Another big signing for AEW happened late Saturday night: NICK FN’ WAYNE was offered a contract. If you’re not familiar with this 16yr old phenom, get ready. AEW has one of the best future prospects in the business in their company now. Putting the karma out there at the gentleman featured above gets put into a program with Wayne at some point. #WAYNEvsHOOK needs to happen!

The match of the week you don’t want to miss is Bryan Danielson vs. Lee Moriarty. If there’s ever a reason to turn into Dynamite, its this match. Super excited to see this on free TV & 10000000% for Moriarty joining Danielson’s faction if that’s where we are going after this. Make plans to see this on Wednesday!

Taking a quick lap around some other promotions, Major League Wrestling announced Killer Kross will be returning to the promotion for MLW Superfight on Feb. 26th! Very excited to check this out! Can’t wait for Hammerstone vs. Davey Richards on that night as well. For more information: MLW.com

Ring of Honor is having a big week. With the announcement of Bryan Danielson joining the Briscoes as part of the first class of ROH Hall Of Fame Inductees, Ian Riccaboni & the board of Directors will be having a Facebook Live session on Wednesday, February 16th at 7pm EST. You don’t want to miss this as they will be talking the next phase of ROH & more info about Supercard of Honor in April! Make sure to check it out!

Last but never least, Xcite Wrestling unveiled it’s card for #XCITE10, their 10th anniversary show. Many familiar faces will be returning to the X for this show like Tommy Dreamer & Matt Cross. Make sure you don’t miss it! Sell Out The X! For more information: XciteWrestling.com & drop that Follow on Twitch!

That’s all for this week. Make sure you’re listening to the 607podcast family for more wrestling content. Hit me up on Twitter & let me know what promotions we should be talking about.

As always, Thanks for reading.

February 6, 2022

Ken M

CM Punk vs. MJF round 1, AEW mystery signing, and ROH Hall of Fame

February 6, 2022

Ken M

Welcome to an all new edition of Blogs Count Anywhere, the complementary blog to the ODPH podcast & 607TWS on Twitch! It has been an interesting week of news in Pro Wrestling, much plagued by a massive Winter Storm that forced many wrestling cards to change. However, we’re going to kick off this edition talking about one of the most anticipated matches in recent memory: CM Punk vs. MJF on AEW Dynamite.

Arguably, this has been All Elite Wrestling’s best storyline in recent memory. Punk, who was one of their biggest free agent signings in 2021, finally had an opponent that could give him competition on the mic. MJF, one of AEW’s original signings, has been waiting for a storyline like this since the “blink & miss it” title match with Jon Moxley. The build has been fun to watch with, IMO, MJF decisively winning the mic battles when they got into those battles. Outside of the war of words, it had been a decent build with Punk “winning” matches against MJF’s faction, The Pinnacle. However, one opponent (pictured below) might have a thing or two to say about their match’s outcome.

In a shock to most everyone, Punk & MJF had their first match against each other on this past week’s Dynamite instead of waiting for the next PPV, “AEW Revolution.” Would this match really happen? The answer was a loud YES as these two had a great match with plenty of time to tell a good story with. Even with a great swerve of a false finish, these two delivered on the hype set & the right guy won: MJF. There was no way MJF should have lost this match. As someone who AEW needs to be building around, a loss here would have been absolutely detrimental to one of your rising stars in the company.

The question now becomes where do we go from here? The easy answer is continuing the feud, which has many possible directions to go in. One other possible direction is to now have MJF finally get back into the title picture and face one Sammy Guevara for the TNT title. Could we see this and after “And New”, run it back with Punk? Either way, the story between Punk and MJF is far from over long term.

In other AEW news, Tony Khan has made some headlines in saying there is a BIG free agent signing debuting on AEW Dynamite on Feb. 9th. The internet is running with guesses from Jeff Hardy to Keith Lee. Honestly, I’m not sure who it could be. They’re going to get a high profile debut but after that, it will be interesting to see where they go from there.

No matter who it is, I strongly don’t see them jumping the line to a title shot over one Adam Cole (Bay Bay)! Cole made his intentions known on AEW Rampage that it’s time for him to get some gold like he has done in every other company he has been in. This move makes a lot of sense and keeps him out of a “FKA Undisputed Era” vs The Elite feud. Cole has arguably made the biggest impact from the other free agents signed around him in AEW. Why not get him into the title picture esp. against one Hangman Adam Page? I wouldn’t doubt we see this match at AEW Revolution on March 5th.

In Ring Of Honor news, The Briscoes have been announced as the first inductees to the ROH Hall Of Fame. When you think of ROH, the Briscoes are one of, if not, the first wrestlers fans think of when you say Ring Of Honor. Their tag team legacy started in 2002 & shows no sign of slowing down. For more info on the Briscoes, check out ROH YouTube on March 7th for a special talking about one of the best tag teams in pro wrestling history. Also, keep your eyes out on March 7th for the next inductee to the ROH Hall Of Fame.

Fast Count to take this blog home:

WWE - Goldberg vs Roman Reigns has been made for the Elimination Chamber card on Feb. 19th. Honestly, I have zero interest about this match or card but let me know on Twitter if you’re excited about this match-up

GCW - 2 great cards after TheWrldOnGCW show happened this week with GCW Fight Club 2 & GCW: If I Die First. Both excellent cards that were subject to change becuase of the snow storm previously mentioned. Both are worth the time and money to check out!

Xcite - JonnyStock was another show plagued by the snow storm. Davey Richards was unable to make the show so the main event became Ace Austin vs. Cloudy. the replay is up on Twitch right now & all roads now lead for the 10th anniversary show on March 12th.

That’s all for this week. Hit me up on Twitter & let me know what’s your takes on the latest in pro wrestling!

As always, Thanks for reading!