Other/Miscellaneous

Kikutaru, Akira Raijin & Nobutaka Araya Vs. Masanobu Fuchi, El Samurai & Ryuusuke Taguchi  = WELCOME TO TOKYO DOME! NEW YEAR FUNNY WALTZ :

• The only familiar faces I know out of this match are Raijin (Kiyoshi), Fuchi and El Samurai (thank goodness thanks to the Fire Pro Wrestling games). One thing that stands out in this match is the Pink attire and funny looking match of Kikuatru. Kikataru is pretty much a comedy character, as he is known for taunting his opponents, the referee and mocking even American wrestlers. Seeing his actions in-ring are kinda campy but funny.  This was a decent opening match with nothing to really take away from it aside from Kikataru’s taunting. Tagushi hits a big Glam Slam-esque finish for the win for his team. Post match, everyone celebrates, shakes hands and dances in the ring. No, really, they dance in the ring, badly.  Nice, fun match to get the crowd going. Grade: C 

IWGP Junior Tag Champions Jado & Gedo Vs. NOSAWA Rongai & MAZADA - ARTISTIC TAG TEAM BATTLE :

• Two thirds of CTU at the time (Jado & Gedo) come out last while Rongai & MAZADA come out first.  I have no idea if Rongai & MAZADA are the faces here since CTU I know for sure are heels. There was a small 'Rongai' chant during the match. Very slow match here. There was nothing too exciting at all. Not that they suck, I just didn’t find anything interesting about this match. I did like Gedo’s Frog Splash to close the match. Much better than Chavo’s and Rey Mysterio’s tributes to Eddie Guerrero. Grade: D   

ROCKIN' YOUR HEARTS OF FXXXING OUTLAWS: Togi Makabe, Toru Yano & Tomohiro Ishii Vs. D-Lo Brown, Buchanan & Travis Tomko :

• D’Lo,  Bull Buchanan and Tomko come out to “Where the Hood At?” by DMX, which sounded so off for everyone on the team except for D-Lo. D-Lo didn’t even do his signature head shake with the beat which would have been awesome. As for the Japanese natives, they come out waving some kind of flag. I haven’t a clue what it is. The match starts off with a small skirmish in the ring, which drives the natives away. I am still amazed by the agility of Bull Buchanan; why WWE released this guy is beyond me. Ok, maybe minimal mic skills. As for the three Gaijins in the match, it’s amazing how these three haven’t changed much at all since their WWE release. Buchanan is wearing his pants from WrestleMania 2000! That is saying something. Bull gains momentum near the end but gets hit with a chair on the outside and  Togi Makabe hits his signature Lariat for the win. Decent match. Lots of tag matches on this show to start off.  Makabe was in the ring most of the match, obviously carrying the match for his team. This was a decent showing by all involved…but a forgettable match. Grade: C-

DIMENSION ZERO: Giant Bernard, TARU, Suwama & RO'Z Vs. Riki Choshu, Manabu Nakanishi, Takashi Iizuka & Naofumi Yamamoto (Holy SHIT! YOSHI TATSU!) :

• If Memory serves me correctly, I remember A-Train and TARU being part of Voodoo Murders during this time before the group disbanded. RO’Z comes out with his haircut 3 Minute Warning style, but his hair is now blond. After all 8 are in the ring, we get introductions. TARU is spraying water at his opponents when he is introduced. After the intros, the fight is on and all 8 are fighting all over the place. This seems to be a recurring theme in this show with these multi-man matches. 
• Winners: TARU, Bernard, Suwama & RO- Z. Another 'meh' match with a 'meh' finish. The only thing exciting was the post-match, with the winning team actually arguing with each other. Albert turns on TARU, then Ro-Z and Suwama go after A-Train. He makes a hasty retreat. So much for a winning team. Grade: C.

TOP OF THE WORLD. ARTS OF WAR: Koji Kanemoto, Tiger Mask, Kaz Hayashi , TAKA Michinoku & Wataru Inoue Vs. Jushin "Thunder" Liger, Minoru, Milano Collection A.T., Shuji Kondo & "brother" YASSHI :

If you looked at this match on paper, you would think this would be a damn good match. This looks like a Survivor Series match. Liger in heel attire and his team comes out with tons of chicks to the ring(they look hot_.  TAKA and Kaz Hayashi of Kaientai DX come out next, then Tiger Mask with five kids that are dressed like him. The rest of the team comes out after him with each guy holding a kid’s hand coming down to the ring. Aww, how cute. Well, sadly doesn’t beat the previous entrance of the heel team. For a change, this match doesn’t break down into a brawl beforehand and actually stars off as a tag match. Kondo is pretty impressive showing his strength in the early going then we get a tag out. Kaz Hayashi is coming in like a man on fire. Man, hasn’t he improved since WCW. Then the match breaks down and all the faces do a suicide dive onto the heel team. Another thing of note in this match was the repeated nut grabs and shots to the nuts TAKA endured. Ouch. In fact, TAKA took a lot of punishment in this match and he sure can sell. Unlike the previous four tag team matches, this actually had some good Tag team action here and everyone had a chance to shine in it. Match was fairly short though as Tiger Mask hits the Tiger Suplex.Winners: TAKA, Kaz, oh, fuck it, the Face team. Grade : B-

DANGEROUS RAPTURE: Toshiaki Kawada Vs. Shinsuke Nakamura :

From the start, this was a very physical match. These two, from bell-to-bell, brought it and beat the hell out of each other. There was a series of both no-selling each others moves. I loved the sequence where they would suplex each other and simply no sell it. Nakamura really went toe-to-toe literally with Kawada, as this was more of a fight than anything else. Kawada kicks the shit of Nakamura in pretty much the best match of the night thus far. Winner: Toshiaki Kawada. After the match, Nakamura had to be carried out. It seemed like he was legit KO’ed or he sold the hell out of that kick. Grade: B+ 

AJPW Triple Crown Championship – Minoru Suzuki ( c ) Vs. Yuji Nagata "

• Now I see where Bryan Danielson’s tights were inspired from last year. Good match, very even. Suzuki got the hell beat of him. This was the only bloody match in the whole show, as both are open hardway. Both Nagata and Suzuki are really taking it to each other with slaps, headbutts, kicks, etc. Very physical, this is. Suzuki does a Cradle Piledriver and Nagata kicks out. One thing that bothers the hell out of me is Suzuki’s haircut. Like, what the fuck is that?! Anyway, this match has been brutal and the crowd really seems into it. We get another slapfest between the two and they don’t seem to go down at all. Suzuki tries a kick but Nagata pushes him to the corner and hits a Shining Wizard a la CM Punk. Nagata hits a vertical suplex but also a nasty belly-to-back suplex. Nagata goes for the pin and this match seems over but Yuji helps him up. Nagata kicks him down but Suzuki gets fired up only for Nagata to kick him down again. Suzuki gets up and hits his Koya Otoshi (An inverted facelock takeover with a Rear Naked choke) and Nagata tries to fight out of it with all his might but ends up submitting. Winner and STILL AJPW Triple Crown Champion: Minoru Suzuki. This was a damn good 20+ minute match here.  Very back-and-forth and could have went either way. This was very well done. The champ celebrates with his belts and we are on to our next championship match, this time for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. Grade: A

IWGP Heavyweight Title: Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) Vs. Taiyo Kea :

This match had its ups and downs but wasn’t as interesting as the previous two matches. The champion retains as always on the big first of the year show. Grade; B-/C+

Main Event: Super Dream Tag Match: Keiji Mutoh & Masahiro Chono Vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima:

This sounds like a damn good main event and what a way to welcome the new year. The packages in Japan that lead up to matches are different because they build up the wrestler and they also have press-conference like promos leading to the big match. No 'every hit sounding like bombs'. NO pop music in the background while they fight, nothing fancy, it’s to the point. I enjoy that. Tenzan comes out(in a Liger-esque mask and a trenchcoat as he always does) with Kojima, who looks like a Japanese Zack Ryder with the attire he has on. WOO WOO WOO, Broski. We have a long intro for Chono & Mutoh, then outta nowhere “FUCK YA’LL NIGGAS WANNA DO” over some Japanese entrance music. I had no idea that was part of the song until I heard it again and again. Hearing that in Japan just sounds so out of place in ways I NEED NOT EXPLAIN. Mutoh looks like Mr. Miyagi without his paint or mask, and Chono’s ring attire is so reminsiscent of Hulk Hogan. We have our introductions and it’s a surprise not to see Chono and Tenzan in IWGP NOT teaming with each other after so many G-1 Climaxes they won together. Referee checks everyone and right away the bell rings. Mutoh hits a Shining Wizard on Tenzan & Kojima, then knocks them to the outside. That’s something you don’t expect often, a finisher so early. Very slow starting match pretty much after that spot. Crowd popped big for Mutoh’s shining elbow. I really enjoyed the spot where Chono is getting double teamed by Kojima & Tenzan so Mutoh uses the ref as a springboard for the Shining Wizard on both men. Also, there was a double submission spot with Tenzan and Kojima where Tenzan used the Anaconda Vice on Chono and Kojima used the Koji Max (a verified armbar) on Mutoh. Small stuff like that I enjoy. Later on, Chono and Tenzan do some tag team moves on their own, such as a Shining Wizard/Shining Black combo on Kojima and a double submission spot with Chono doing the STF on Tenzan and Mutoh with a Figure 4. Tenzan taps and this match is over in 18:43. This was a good match and a good way to cap off the first major show of the year. This was a good dream match which I believe hasn’t been seen before. Back and forth match overall. The fans were really into this match. Chono and Mutoh winning sends the fans home happy. Chono & Mutoh celebrate to end the show and they show a recap of the entire show like WrestleMania here in the states and that’s it. Grade: A

Overall: This was the first show under the Wrestle Kingdom banner. It wasn’t bad but until the second half of the show, but it wasn’t that great either. Also enjoyed the many familiar faces on the show as well but I give this show a B- overall. Barely above average show but if you are a puro fan like myself, it’s worth seeing. The only low point was, yet again, the numerous tag matches on the card they could have easily done without. The high points were later on in the second half of the show. The show is worth watching to say the least if you are tired of the usual TNA and WWE schtick. 

Next match is Southern Heavyweight Champion Lawler Vs. Rude w/ Jim Neidhart and valet Angel for the title. The same title Lawler held over 50 times (and I thought the Hardcore title changed hands too much). A quick start to this match. Fast back-and-forth action with interfearence from Neidhart and Angel early on. Rude shoves Lawler into the ref. Angel attacks Lawler. Lawler has her by the hair before Rude hits Lawler's head with a double sledge to win the championship. Rude celebrates with Neidhart & Angel, but Lawler begins to brawl with the new champ and Neidhart. King knocks them both down. Angel grabs a chair, hits King with it, but all that does is piss him off and he decks Angel hard (something you wouldn’t see in today's PG era). Rude and Neidhart get back up and double team Lawler. As he’s getting beat down, Tommy Rich & Eddie Gilbert come in to fight Neidhart. Shortly afterwords, the Pretty Young Things, Koko B. Ware & Norvel Austin attack Rich, Gilbert & King in a giant brawl, giving enough time for Neidhart, Angel & Rude to esacape with Rich & Gilbert giving chase, leaving King to get doubleteamed by the PYTs and have his throat slammed into the edge of a steel chair before Rich & Gilbert return to save Lawler. A better match than the last one, but still rather 'meh'. Ranking: C

Third match on the tape is Tommy Rich w/ Yammamoto challenging CWA/AWA International champion Masao Ito w/ Jimmy Hart for the belt. A good striking/brawling, back-and-forth match, with heavy hands from Rich and a variety of chops & a few kicks from Ito. At one point, Hart hits Rich with the Japanese flag, and later on hands some salt to blind Rich. Ito begins choking Rich on the ropes, and when the ref. backs Ito away, Yammamoto hands Rich some salt of his own and Rich uses it to good effect, blinding Ito with some of his own medicine and nailing a crossbody for the pin & the International championship. Easily the best match on this tape, worty of being the main event. Ranking: B

Final match is Lawler vs. The Ugandan Giant Kamala w/ Jimmy Hart. Not much to recap here. Kamala overpowers Lawler and tosses him to the outside, where Kamala rams Lawler's head into the timekeepers table and the ring bell. Having had enough, Lawler takes Jimmy’s steel chair and cracks Kamala on the head not once, but twice, causing the Ugandan Giant to collapse on the ground. Lawler rushes back into the ring as the ref. begins the count. The crowd begins to count with the official. Hart tries to get Kamala back into the ring in time but to no avail. Ref. reaches ten and the crowd celebrates. Too short and not enough action. Ranking: D

Overall, this VHS doesn’t offer much. The match really worth buying the tape for is the Ito Vs. Rich title match. I’d be surprised if you paid more than 5 bucks for this. Overall rank: D

New Japan made their first stab towards the American house show market with a trilogy of shows hosted by Jersey All Pro Wrestling. Night One took place May 13, 2011, the night before in New Jersey, so it was only a given that I would attend the New York leg of the trilogy, taking place Saturday May 14, 2011 at New Basketball City at Chelsea Piers. Trying to find New Basketball City turned out to be a challenge and a half since the building lacked a simple SIGN stating that it WAS New Basketball City. If the Godfather hadn’t noticed a small NJPW logo taped to the chain link fence as well as a group of people waiting in a line outside a door, we likely never would have found the place. “New Basketball City” turned out to be a Dirty Dusty Warehouse. There was nary a basketball hoop in sight. I felt like I had wandered into an outtake from either Tucker: The Man and His Dream or Norma Rae. I wonder if this building was intended to become New Basketball City but the financial problems of NYC kept plans from reaching fruition.

Since I had a front row Gold ticket, we were entitled to a Meet and Greet session with the wrestlers. That sounded good on paper, but it turned out to be a colossal mess lacking any kind of organization. No mention was made that the Meet and Greet was going to start or was in progress. There were huddles of people spread all over the place, with no set designated area for all the wrestlers and fans to congregate. Not to mention that the Meet and Greet ended with tons of fans still waiting on line. Not cool. At least I did get to meet Giant Bernard, who was incredibly nice and took time to actually talk with each fan waiting to meet him.

Despite the rough start to the evening, this was the best live wrestling house show I have ever attended. Over the last seventeen years, I have seen some great shows, ranging from AAA’s sole NY house show in the summer of 1994 to classic old school ECW and many fine ROH shows. However, this New Japan card was exceptional from start to finish. Never before have I attended a house show that produced so many Match Of The Year caliber matches in a single evening. The following is a brief recap of the action that occurred this evening. When a commercial DVD becomes available, I will flesh this out with an in-depth, blow-by-blow account.

Kenny Omega Vs. Josh Daniels:

The PA sound system was less than perfect, making the ring introductions difficult to ascertain. Apparently Daniels was a last minute replacement for the injured Tama Tonga. This was a terrific opener, albeit a tad sloppy at times. Daniels played a sly comic heel in this match, playing to the obnoxious drunken masked fans unfortunately alongside me in the front row. When one of those fans shouted out, “Nice T-bone suplex” after Daniels hit Omega with the move, Josh shouted out, “I KNOW!” Omega attempted a spinkick but didn’t quite connect. Most of the time, his wrestling looked razor sharp. Finish came when Omega lifted Daniels up onto his shoulders and dropped him into a German suplex pinning combo. ****

JAPW Light Heavyweight Champion Jushin “Thunder” Liger, Tiger Mask IV & Dan Maff Vs. Gedo, Jado & Shinsuke Nakamura:

Gedo, Jado & Nakamura got a strong heel reaction while Liger and Tiger Mask walked out to a thunderous babyface response from the New York fans. Maff also got a strong reaction, almost as if the fans were saying, “We Missed You”(It’s been at least six years since I’ve seen him live on a wrestling card. That’s practically an eternity in pro wrestling). The match itself was phenomenal. Liger is 46 but he wrestled like he was 26 with rapid speed and agility that most guys would give their left nut for. Tiger Mask was also incredible, easily filling the large shoes of his three predecessors. Maff moved well for a big man and the heel trio were first-rate. Maff catapulted himself into Nakamura with a running cannonball in the corner. Liger took Jedo out of the equation with a killer Liger Bomb. Finish came when Tiger Mask reversed a Tombstone from Gedo into a Tiger Suplex for the pin. One of the year’s very best matches so far. *****

IWGP World Tag Team Champions Bad Intentions (Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson) Vs. Hideo Saito & Satoshi Kojima:

A little sidenote before we get into the match itself: about three years ago, my youngest brother approached me with some news. “You won’t believe this, but I think A-Train has actually improved.” I really didn’t believe it until I watched some of A-Train’s work in Japan as Giant Bernard. He has improved tremendously since his WWE tenure. This was an intense, hard-hitting and action packed match. Bernard was extremely mobile, hitting a pitch perfect cannonball onto Kojima to start the match. Everything he did looked great. Anderson impressed by hitting RKOs that were incredible for a man of his size (and looked far better than Randy Orton’s to boot). Saito & Kojima may have been smaller in size and stature, but they more than held their own against their much larger opponents. The finish came when Bernard lifted Saito up for the Bernard Driver (an over the shoulder reverse spinning sitdown piledriver that has to be seen to be believed) and made the cover. ****1/2

Rhino, Homicide & Davey Richards Vs. Kazuchika Okada, IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion Ryusuke Taguchi & Makabe:

It was great to see Rhino wrestle like he was truly capable of for a change. TNA and WWE didn’t have a damn clue as to how to use him. Same goes for Homicide. Speaking of Homicide, it was surprising to see both Maff and Homicide on the same show, considering the extreme bad blood that occurred between them in March 2005. Either they must have patched up whatever differences they had or Hell just froze over. Considering how cold it was outside and even in the Dirty Dusty Warehouse, it just might have. Okada is currently in TNA in a dual role as Okato and Suicide. This was another strong match, with fast paced thrills-a-plenty. Finish came when Rhino gored Okada to hell.  Okada sold the gore as if he had been disemboweled and beheaded simultaneously. ****1/4

Just like TNA did during their MCU Park house show last July, JAPW/New Japan had a 30+ minute intermission. Unlike TNA’s time-waster, this lengthy intermission actually served a purpose: Jushin Liger and Tiger Mask IV were taking photographs with fans inside the ring.

IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion Prince Devitt Vs. Low Ki:

Devitt was accompanied by his IWGP Jr Heavyweight Tag Team Championship partner Ryusuke Taguchi, while Ki was accompanied by Homicide. A nice bit of ring psychology since Ki and Homicide are getting a shot at those tag titles tomorrow night in Philly. This match redefined 'phenomenal' and 'amazing'. I guarantee that you won’t see a better match than this one all year. Both men worked an incredibly hard-hitting and stiff style, beating the living hell out of each other with what could be called sheer gusto. This was my first look at Prince Devitt, and on the basis of this match, I can say the massive amounts of praise heaped upon him are more than justified. It was great to see Low Ki allowed to actually work a stiff match instead of all the homogenized pap-like Senshi & Kaval nonsense that he was forced to endure in TNA and WWE. This match was a thriller, starting out hot and never letting up. Ki missed a suicide dive through the ropes, prompting Devitt to hit the greatest looking corkscrew plancha off the ropes I’ve ever seen on a live show onto the fallen Ki outside the ring. Ki blocked a superplex, suspending Devitt upside down. That allowed Ki to hit his foot stomp off the top rope onto Devitt’s chest, looking like he damn near killed him. Devitt ducked a kick from Ki and took out his opponent with a killer spinkick to the back of the head. Ki fought back with stiff chest chops. Devitt gave Ki several chops of his own. This match was 16 1/2 minutes of the most mindboggling action until Devitt hit the Prince’s Throne on Low Ki. Ki stumbled right into Devitt’s Bloody Sunday implant DDT for the pin. I mentioned to the Godfather how this match was so incredible that it made me want to add a sixth star to the ratings system. His reply was, “Why don’t you?” After some deliberation, I feel that the time has come to be a trend setter and add the sixth star once & for all. There are some matches that are so perfect and so unbelievably awesome that a mere five stars doesn’t do it justice. Low Ki/Prince Devitt is such a match. ******

IWGP Intercontinental Championship Tournament Semi-Finals #1: Yujiro Takahashi Vs. Toru Yano:

This was the weakest match on the card- a brief hardcore brawl all around ringside, yet it was still quite good and action-packed for what it was. Yano played total heel, attacking Takahashi before the bell rang by whacking him with his umbrella. Yano attempted to spray water right towards the obnoxious fans heckling him, but his aim was bad since I ended up getting a spray shower instead. Now I know how Cody Rhodes felt when Mysterio sprayed mist into his face at Extreme Rules. The match was mostly wild brawling, with Yano slamming Takahashi right into the ring barrier and much to the chagrin of my left knee, which felt the brunt of the impact. Eventually, the match returned to the ring where Yano got the victory with the Last Ride. Match was barely seven minutes long. ***1/2

IWGP Intercontiental Championship Tournament Semi-Finals #2: MVP Vs. Tetsuya Naito:

MVP not only used the “Montel Vontavious Porter” ring outfit and name, he even used his WWE ring entrance theme music. My guess is that MVP owns the rights to all of the above and not Vinnie Mac. Good for him. This was another excellent match. MVP has come a long way from his days as an ultra-green rookie toiling around on the indie circuit. This match was slower paced and more mat oriented than many of the other matches on the card, resulting in a somewhat restless audience reaction. The mat wrestling was top notch all the way through. MVP advanced to the finals by clamping on the Koji Klutch onto Naito for the tapout. Not that MVP got to enjoy his victory since Toru Yano stormed to the ring and whacked MVP over the skull with his umbrella. Such actions pretty much guaranteed that MVP is going over in the finals tomorrow night. ****

IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi Vs. Charlie Haas:

This was a real sleeper of a match. The New York crowd was really feeling a bit burnt out by the time this match started (11:30 PM Eastern). This match was also a slow starter, like most Japanese world championship matches often are. The result was a crowd less rabid than they were earlier in the card. That doesn’t mean there was anything wrong with this match, though. It was another exceptional, Match Of The Year contender. The only debits were a missed spot or two and the fact that we just knew Charlie Haas wasn’t winning the IWGP World Championship. Haas, freed from the shackles of WWE serfdom, reminded us all what a brilliant worker he is indeed. Tanahashi was equally as brilliant himself. The match started slowly, but built up into a stiff frenzy, ending when Tanahashi flattened Haas out with the High Fly Low. After his victory, Tanahashi actually got on the mic. and addressed the crowd. His English wasn’t perfect, but he gets an A for effort. Tanahashi thanked the crowd for welcoming New Japan to the United States and hoped to be back soon. At least that’s what I think he said- hard to tell between his accent and the crappy PA system. Tanahashi played air guitar to the delight of the crowd before slapping hands with the entire front row on all four sides of ringside. ****3/4

                     Chris Jericho’s  Undisputed: How To Be The World Champion In 1,372 Easy Steps

SPOILER FREE AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE 

Christopher Keith Irvine has many names attached to himself. Lionheart, the man of a 1,004 holds holds, Mongoose McQueen, until the new millennium arrived on August 9^th 1999 and the Y2J problem disembarked on Raw is Jericho. 'Undisputed' is the follow up the New York Times Best Seller, A Lion’s Tale. Following on from where the last book ended, following The King of the World in his dream job as a wrestler/superstar/sports entertainer in World Wrestling Entertainment until his departure in 2007.

The story itself is what matters and this is a book for the IWC(Internet Wrestling Community), more so than the original, because of the backstage banter, booking secrets and creative issues now open to the public. From the now-classic debut with Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, the backstage heat gathered in his first year and first real wrestling program with a woman, Chris’ writing style presents itself almost as if he really is talking to you with his iconic voice filling your head with his multiple cheap pops(BTW, Jericho is 5-0 against fellow author Mick Foley), some TNA bashing coz he’s a company guy, and culture references from American Pie to Evil Dead to Lady Gaga, delivered as only he can.

Want to know why the 2001 WCW (World Championship Wrestling) & ECW (Extreme Championship Wrestling) Invasion angle(a storyline critically slaughtered by fans around the world) happened? Read Chapter 19, because that was never the plan. What was meant to happen at Raw for Vince’s Funeral Angle(it involved a Spiderman actor)? What was the original name of the Codebreaker(before BFF Lance Storm shot it down, that is)? Which title does Chris hold no other Grand Slam Champion ever held in the E? Money In The Bank wasn’t planned to be an open contact to the World Title, but something completely different. Does Hunter Hearst Helmsley really have all the power, and which Kliq member did he want to face for the title at WrestleMania 18? "I love da 3D man.....can’t wait to kick out of it" Which wrestling rebel said these words on his first night? What caused Jericho to nearly quit the company? What caused The Goldberg/Jericho shoot? What was Jericho’s reaction to being sued by a former WCW employee? The usual topics filling wrestling forums for years are indeed covered with real honesty and a little tongue in cheek in a way only Mr. Irvine can produce.

'Undisputed' also shows those interested how the group Fozzy has evolved over time from a 80s spoof/mulleted cover band to a proper metal band with sell-out shows worldwide. We hear his thoughts on meeting the likes of Metallica and Ozzy Osborne, and get an inside look into at how the music business works, from recording to touring small venues to rocking out in front of 20,000 people screaming your name at festivals. His other projects, from hosting his own radio show to the multiple auditions he took(following other Superstars such as Andre The Giant, ‘Macho Man’ Randy Savage, Hulk Hogan and most recently The Rock and John Cena in a career on the silver screen) are covered. First, for small independent roles in 'The Oh in Ohio' & Beerfest, then the award grabbers Gone Baby Gone & Knocked Up, then the blockbusters X-Men 3 and Transformers. Lastly the downright shit Dukes of Hazard, Into the Blue, Wild Hogs and Meet the Spartans, until finally landing his first role in the Sci-Fi Channel Original Movie Android Apocalypse. Personally, I’d have just taken the shit of being in Into the Blue and Hazard’s for the check and the Jessica’s ;) (Jessica Alba and Jessica Simpson, for you non-movie dorks. Go ahead, literally Google their arse’s or their rack I can wait...............................) While fascinating at first, I soon lost interest in these sections, as they were all a little long winded, and believe me, there are a lot of these sections.

Family plays it's role with his proposal to now-wife and the birth of his three daughters. You can tell the affection he feels for all the loved ones in his life, especially his father, but family isn’t always by blood. Five years after the death of in-ring icon Eddie Guerrero, Chris documents his reactions to the news, allows us a look into their close friendship and reminds us of the huge loss in the business. Which leads to another key factor in this autobiography which I feel needs to be addressed; that of the now infamous Chris Benoit. While briefly discussed last time around, his involvement in Irvine’s life journey is still present, unlike his wrestling career, which is now written out of history not be seen again, or has he puts it, "It’s unfortunate that it has been buried forever and technically doesn’t exist". It remains unclear if this a direct dig at the McMahon family for erasing him for his past work or just simply just created as a running joke, much like Jericho’s old friend, the Jericho Curse. Chapter forty-six(yes people, it’s a big book with little pictures) covers that entire week following the news of his Pay Per View disappearance, the news breaking of his death and later, the murder with theories arriving every ten minutes. The final paragraph explains that he still to this day doesn’t know what happened and he still loves the man he was before that horrific weekend in June as he believes that this could have ended Sport Entertainment all together.

The final chapter talks briefly about his work with Lance Storm at his school and the night of his return, forgetting his shoes to meet the dress code, nothing to outrageous. It’s quite poetic this book ends where it’s started - walking into the gorilla position with thousands of people cheering his name, so while Chris is known for saying things will ‘never, eeevvvveeeerrrrr be the same again’, not in the case, Chris.

Now the common feeling is that sequels never quite live up to the originals. Offering more of the same in a bigger setting(which WWE can be seen as, in comparison to a Bingo Hall in Philly. Ha, FUCK YOU, ECW FANBOYS), ultimately the same material will bore it's audience. That isn’t to say that this is a bad book, but more of a misstep - trying to be similar to the first in feel and tone, this one goes all over the place to balance the narrative, losing any reader who didn’t follow Chris’s WWE run. From discussing 2001’s feud with Stephanie McMahon and Rhyno, the next page sees us discussing a feud with Triple H from 2000. Also some more proof reading may have been required, as one chapter explains his work with Steven ‘William’ Regal at WrestleMaina 18 instead of 17, which is a simple mix up, but when your first WrestleMaina main event was at 18, you would think you would know that.

Overall, the book feels rushed in parts, as I explained earlier. Lion’s Tale had fifteen years of material to look back on and reflect. Undisputed's eight years seems lacking. It was cool to hear about what Vinnie Mac is like behind the curtain, but at the same time, it felt as he was pandering to the smart fans. 'Triple H using his stroke in the company to hold guys down' didn’t need to be said. Apart from his feud with Chyna and The Rock, no other feud gets a real word in. What was it like working with Stone Cold, The Undertaker, Booker T, Rob Van Dam, Edge, etc.? Just general mistakes in the timeline would often throw me, and while I knew the book wouldn’t end with his ‘Firing’ on TV, the rest has very little to do with professional wrestling apart from the countless deaths involved. The knowledge we have now made the first book a must read. We all wanted to hear about the inner working of WCW and the history between himself & Eric Bischoff, for example. None of these stories are quite up there.

The hype behind the book didn’t help. If June 25^th 2007 never happened, would so many people be as interested? The prologues provided by Mick '0-5' Foley and 'Guess WHO, WHO, WHO.... YOU’ll KNOW IT' is a nice bonus. The writing style can seen like a giant promo with it's ups and downs, but you still want to hear more, which is something the new generation of performers and no doubt future writers can learn from. Whatever the case, if you enjoyed the first book, then this is indeed a full price purchase, and this is still an excellent read compared to some other autobiographies **Cough** The Hardy’s **Cough**. Maybe with a little extra TLC, it could have rivaled the first. This is still a solid effort and with hints throughout for the next installment, maybe the Best In The World At What He Does can add another successful title to his ever growing list of achievements.

by Koriander 

 

Chikara Pro Wrestling made their first stab at the New York market with a show Sunday afternoon September 19^th at the Warsaw in Brooklyn. Entering the show, I didn’t know what to expect. I had only heard of them fleetingly and never watched any footage before. So why was I there that cool and sunny Sunday afternoon? Two words: Manami Toyota. Yes, the greatest woman wrestler of all time was making her first appearance in New York. How could I resist seeing the Psycho Bitch From Hell live? The show turned out to be a terrific one. After having been burned by TNA’s pathetic excuse of a house show last July, I was a little skeptical admittedly. A hilarious show with a group of unknowns mixed with a few ROH regulars managed to put on a far superior card than the supposed second major wrestling company in the US did at MCU Park.

Team FIST(Icarus, Chuck Taylor & Johnny Gargano) Vs. Soldier Ant, Scott Parker & Shane Matthews:

Initially, this was supposed to be Team FIST against the Colony, but Green Ant broke his arm two weeks ago and it also turned out Fire Ant broke several facial bones the evening prior, so Team 3.0(comprised of Parker and Matthews) would be taking their place. This was a red-hot opening match, loaded with lots of great action and highspots that just clicked. Finish came when Chuck Taylor and Icarus squished Soldier Ant with a powerbomb/piledriver combo. ***3/4

Hallowicked Vs. UltraMantis Black:

Short but sweet match. Apparently there’s a backstory that Ultramantis Black needs a partner to join his team for the next major card in October, but Hallowicked keeps refusing, so they keep wrestling in matches. Finish came when Ultramantis Black hit the Mantis Bomb and got the pin. After the match, Ultramantis called his two Druids to the ring. The trio appealed again to Hallowicked to join Team Mantis, but Hallowicked just walked away without saying anything. ***1/4

The Osirian Portal Vs. Delirious & Daizee Haze:

Some Jim J. Bullock lookalike stormed the ring and began speaking in a foreign tongue. Apparently he is the manager of a heel stable titled Die Bruderschaft des Kreuzes, which apparently means The Brotherhood of the Cross in German. Delirious and Daizee were the heels here, which may come a surprise to those used to their babyface roles in ROH. I was surprised how well Daizee held her own in the ring against two bigger men. She’s a great woman wrestler, but rather small. This turned out to be an excellent match with a lot of great back and forth action. The finish came when Amasis and Ophidian hit the Osirian Sacrament(a simultaneous flying legdrop & splash off the top rope) onto Daizee for the pin. With the win, it was announced that the Portal earned three points for a future tournament or something. ****

Acid Jaz, Marshe Rocket & Willie Richardson Vs. Tursas, Tim Donst & Lince Dorado:

Jaz & Rocket are like Chikara’s version of Cryme Tyme, only a lot better in terms of in-ring ability. Richardson looked like Mark Henry but moved in the ring like Kofi Kingston. It was amazing to see a 300 pound man be so mobile after getting my brains bashed in by the likes of Henry and Khali week after week. This was another excellent match, an exciting combo of brawling and high flying action. The finish came when Richardson did his version of the World’s Strongest Slam on Dorado for the pin. Afterwards, they teased a split between Donst and Dorado, who got into a shoving match amongst each other. ****

Ares Vs. Eddie Kingston:

Kingston was super-over with the crowd for reasons that elude me since he was no better than mediocre in this match. His punches looked weak, his offense was terrible and he seemed to blow up barely two minutes into the match. Ares did a good job of carrying Kingston to an okay match. Delirious was at ringside with a chain around his neck, as if he was Ares’ pet dog or something like that. Finish came when Delirious distracted Kingston, allowing Ares to schoolboy him for the pin. *3/4

Jigsaw, Equinox & Helios Vs. Colin Delaney, STIGMA & Vin Gerard:

Apparently Equinox and Delaney were former tag team partners who have since split. Keep that in mind because it plays a big role in the finish. Gerard shouted something at Delaney in regards to finishing off Equinox. Instead, he picked up Equinox and allowed him to hit Gerard. In retaliation, Gerard kicked Equinox, Jigsaw and Helios as well as Delaney in the balls for the disqualification. You’d think Colin Delaney would be used to being kicked in the balls since WWE Creative repeatedly did so with poor booking on WWECW Lite. After the match, Delaney pleaded with Equinox to remove the mask and reform their tag team. Equinox did so to the delight of the crowd. ***1/2

Young Lions Cup Match: Frightmare Vs. Pinkie Sanchez:

Sanchez is apparently doing an effeminate gay gimmick, replete with a woman’s pink ring jacket and feminine mannerisms. This match started too slowly, with plenty of stalling, mostly consisting of Frightmare chasing Sanchez, who pranced around the ring in fright. It finally picked up at the halfway mark with some good action. Sanchez hit his legdrop finisher but Frightmare kicked out. Frightmare got the win with a standing moonsault. **1/2

Manami Toyota & Mike Quackenbush Vs. Sara Del Rey & Claudio Castagnoli: