It just keeps growing

The collection continues to grow. 

My NXT Takeover Review

NXT Tag Team Championship: American Alpha vs. The Revival

American Alpha is the future of tag team wrestling and they showed that in this match. One drawback is that they beat the Revival, who remind me of Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard of Four Horsemen fame complete with old school ring jackets. I’m a huge fan of old school ring jackets.

Baron Corbin vs. Austin Aries

I was shocked that Corbin did the clean job, but after WrestleMania it all fit together nicely. I’ve always been an Aries fan. His work in TNA/Impact Wrestling is amazing. The match itself was not great though as the pair didn’t have great in-ring chemistry.

NXT Women’s Championship: Bayley vs. Asuka

This was a great match and perfectly booked. Bayley doesn’t tap, allowing her to look strong while Asuka looks like a destroyer in making Bayley pass out. When you can make both people look strong in a match, you’ve done your job as a booker.

Shinsuke Nakamora vs. Sami Zayn

This was a five star instant classic. I watched it a couple of times since it’s happened already. I’ve seen Nakamora a bunch of times with New Japan Pro Wrestling and it looks like the WWE is going to allow him to be himself, which is great. It was a great send off for Zayn from NXT. I wonder if El Generico was able to watch the match while helping out the orphans in Mexico.

NXT Championship: Samoa Joe vs. Finn Balor

I was shocked that Joe didn’t win. I thought this would be Finn’s final match in NXT. The flow of the match was messed up because of Joe’s bleeding from the eye. It was a good match, but not one of either’s best.

We will never see it again

After Daniel Bryan announced his retirement last week, I went looking around for some old Bryan matches both on the WWE Network and the Highspots Network. As I was searching I came across Bryan vs. CM Punk from Over the Limit in 2012. 

Anyone looking for a masterful piece of technical wrestling will appreciate what Bryan and Punk were able to do here. The straight-edge champion, in particular, proved to the world he could not only have outstanding professional wrestling matches with John Cena, Jeff Hardy, Alberto Del Rio and Triple H—he was also able to get on the mat and trade submissions with someone as adept at ground work as Bryan.

This match was all that is good about pro wrestling, two great athletes going toe-to-toe seeing who is the best. The exchanges are classic. The best thing about the match is that you could see the two of them having this match on some indy show. 

After watching the match only one thing kept running through my mind. We will never see these two again in the ring. It's the end of an era in a way. These two paved the way for other indy stars like Owens and Finn to become WWE stars. 

Sure some people love great entertainment but for me nothing beats a great match in the ring and with both of these guys gone I'm afraid we might not many more classics like this. 

A tradition like no other

The Baseball America Prospect book has arrived and that means that baseball season will soon be here.

What if Chris Partridge ended up at Rutgers

Asking the question "what if" is always a dangerous?

What if the Colts took Ryan Leaf over Peyton Manning?

What if the Blazers took Jordan over Bowie?

Over the last 18 months or so the one question that has been bothering me is: What if Rutgers had hired Paramus Catholic head coach Chris Partridge?

In January 2015, Kyle Flood had talked about offering Partridge a job on the Banks. As time went by something happen, we might never know, but the offer was withdrawn. Was it a troubled past or some type of ethics issues. The decision helped set off a chain of events that will forever changed the future of the program.

Flood lost his job and one of the best classes in the history of the state headed to different locations. Partridge ended up taking a position at Michigan and bringing most of the state's top players including Rashan Gary with him.

Would the likes of Jordan Fuller, Gary, and Ron Johnson spur offers from Ohio State and Michigan to stay in state and play for Flood and Partridge on the Banks. If that happened would Flood still be here roaming the sidelines with Partridge as his DC.

If this happened then Schiano would not be at Ohio State and we would never know what the Ash Era is. I'm not saying I'm against the Ash Era but sometimes its good to look at what might have happened.

Who knew this signing would change the BPL

Who knew when Leicester City signed this guy it would change the balance of power in the Premier League. 

How about some love for IWA Midsouth

A couple of nights ago I took about an hour of my time to watch some old Indy shows on the Highspots network.

I came across IWA Midsouth's 2004 Ted Petty Invitational and started watching the final between Samoa Joe, Daniel Bryan and AJ Styles. The more than 20 minute match wrapped up more than a five hour show. The match was as good as I expected all three, a lot younger, showed why they would go on to be world stars.  The highlight of the match was Styles hitting the Styles Clash on Samoa Joe to end the match. 

The 2004 Ted Petty is highly regarded as one of the best independent wrestling events ever. It featured a mix of every type of wrestling: mat work, strong style, aerial abilities, Lucha libre, women's, and a little hardcore. It also was more than ten hours in length when both nights are combined. 

The tournament featured  a list of who is who in the wrestling world: Roderick Strong, Nigel McGuinness, Cesaro, Chris Saban, Styles, Matt Sydal, Petey Williams, BJ Whitmer, Chris Hero, CM Punk (complete with blonde hair), Austin Aires, Alex Shelley, and Bryan. 

Take one look at that list and you will see why people hold this version of the TPI in such high regards. People talk about the impact that Ring of Honor has had on the  modern pro wrestling and I love ROH but people should start showing some respect for IWA Midsouth and what they have contributed to business. I know IWA Midsouth is known for its hardcore style and blood lust but the pure wrestlers that have come through the promotion is very impressive. 

My favorite front page

Love this front page celebrating Alabama National Championship win. 

Up Close

I've been to a bunch of hockey games over the years but on Saturday Gregory and I went to the Flyers vs. Islanders game and sat three rows from the ice. Here are so sites and sounds from it.

It's time

For years wrestling fans have dreamed of seeing AJ Styles and Nakamura on America biggest wrestling stage. Now that dream is now set to become a reality. The duo along with Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows appeared to be heading to the WWE. 

Now with Cena out the influx of the talent from New Japan couldn't have come at a better time. 

How great would a program of Style vs. Ambrose. The pair could tear the house down. Both have a great collection of moves and know how to sell a match. How about Styles vs Rollins, when he gets back from his knee injury. A Styles vs Rollins program is something that I would have only dreamed about a couple of months now it's a reality. 

Maybe we can Owens vs Nakamura program. I know the pair did a one off in ROH but a full program would be something to behold. 

Having these four come to the WWE now is simply a dream come true. 

My gnomes sum up the Eagles season.

The end of the Chipper

The end came a week early for Chip Kelly and here is what the papers said.

It really is Canada's event

One of my favorite events of the year is the World Junior Champions. The event showcases the top under 20-year old hockey players in the world.

The one thing that has become clear is that it's not the worlds event but rather Canada's event. From the advertising on the boards to the people in the stands. It's all about the Canadian fans and their money. Look at the list of champions and it's mostly Canadian. 

The advertising on the boards is a list of the top Canadian companies. TSN builds its Christmas program around the more the two week long event. 

At this point, they should just hold the event in Canada every year. This year the event is only being held in name on Finland but Canada is truly the host. 

There is no defense

I get that some people go to games who are not fans of either team. But how could you wear the jersey of a team that isn't playing in a game. During the Eagles vs. Cardinals game on Sunday night I saw two people doing this. One was wearing a Todd Gurley Ram's jersey and another was wearing a Charles Woodson Raiders one.

 I don't understand how someone could do this. 

Fight of flight

So it's here and I don't mean a head coach. I mean we are finally in the Big Ten. Sure we have been there for the last two football season but where we really a Big Ten level program? Today for the first time I felt like part of the league. 

Sure are there going to be growing pains with a first time coach like Chris Ash, of course. But with the list of recommendations that Ash comes with you can't help but feel excited. He has won in this league and in the SEC. Remember Bob Stoops went from being DC at Florida to head coach at Oklahoma and that worked out real well. 

Ash is really the first Big Ten coach of this program. If we weren't in the league there is no way that he would be here. This is just the start. 

I'm not saying we should be booking our tickets for the Rose Bowl yet but from what I saw during his press conference this is a new day and a new era. Love the fact that all of the players who met him today raved about him. Next season this team will be totally different and I can't wait.  

Today is a proud day to be a supporter of this program and just remember: Fight or Flight. 

Really

There was a time when no one would market college kids. Now it's all over. In my email today I recived this about LSU's Ben Simmons. I just found it weird that they marketed this like event.

Apathy with a side of blowout

 

I've sat in the same seats for the last decade at Rutgers and Saturday someone summed up the season perfectly: "You can hear the apathy as he thew that ball."

Think about that. No one cares about the program anymore. Students aren't showing up. Fans aren't showing up. All of the stuff that Greg Schiano built during his tenure is gone. 

It's time to move on from the current regime, they have lost the plot. No emotion same stale press conferences. No answers on how to solve this crisis. The end is near and thankful so the end of the season. 

Sam I Am

A Day at the Linc

On Friday my 5-year old son and I went on a tour of Lincoln Finincal Field and boy was it a blast.

WWE version of March Madness

So Seth Rollins blows out his knee and while it's terrible it has created something that I'm very excited about. 

For years I've been screaming about the lack of one night type in pro wrestling tournaments. Now at this year's Survivor Series we are going to get a one night tournament to determine the new WWE Champ. I can't wait. 

For years PWG has put on The Battle of LA, a three night event that crowns the weekends best wrestler. I own the last five of them on DVD. 

These types of events also show you the best workers in the company. You are asking wrestlers to work three matches in the span of a three hour show. It also shows what type of athletes wrestlers are.