Back in the Saddle: A Fine Song Title for the Disgruntled's Real World Champion(s) of Wrestling

*This blog post was started on February 1, 2024.

Lets see if I can at least get my blogging back on track. It seems my life or at least my mind is more of a mess than pro-wrestling. I better get right into the title histories right now.

The Current Disgruntled's Real World Champions of Pro Wrestling
Title Histories from September 24, 2023 Forward.

The 104th and Current Disgruntled's Real World Champion (Men)
AEW World Champion: Samoa Joe (2nd Reign)

His second reign began after defeating DRCW Real World Champion/AEW World Champion MJF on December 30, 2023.

Samoa Joe is a surprising champion. This is a bit ironic because there has not been a more legitimate looking heavyweight champion than him in the past 20 years. Brock Lesnar is now persona non grata to the business, but his reigns after his return to the business seemed very artificial. Kurt Angle should have solely put over Joe instead of being used to try and make TNA look like a competitor to WWE.

The biggest advantage to Joe as the champion is that whoever beats him will be a made man. Who cares if Cody Rhodes finishes his story? Roman Reigns is not going to be around to chase for the championship. Is there anyone in WWE right now who makes you legitimately fear for Cody's title reign?

Tony Khan should be declared the best booker of 2023 because he managed to course correct wrestling for all of those who knew the importance of the Ring of Honor style.

*This blog post was resumed on February 8, 2024.

I suppose I am pretty busy between Thursdays. It was my long night at the secondary job was Wednesday, so blogging was not my top priority. Friday was the eve of #FreePubTrivia's Tournament of Champions in Wrigleyville, so saving my energy was the goal of the night. Sunday and Monday were devoted to dealing with the sense of alienation and futility of existence that was featured in the prior blog post.

Of course, we can save the current head trip for next time. Though my memories from my wrestling career could lead to triggering events. Fortunately, I do not actually know any of the people who will be written about on a personal level.

It was a good thing to establish that Seth Rollins is not the Disgruntled's Real World Champion.

As an aside, I ended up composing this blog under the wrong blog (ninetyforchill.blogspot.com). This means that I copied the HTML to put this blog in the right location. Unfortunately, the original draft was deleted before I realized that I did not copy and paste the title. Thus, Aerosmith's "Back in the Saddle" was not my original choice.

The 52nd and Current Disgruntled's Real World Champion (Women)
WWE's Women's World Champion: Rhea Ripley

Her reign began when Toni Storm defeated the AEW Women's Champion Jayme Hayter on May 28, 2023.

So, perhaps I am losing my credibility at least when it comes to talking about wrestling. WWE is not a product that I go out of my way to see. If *title/name redacted* did not need Peacock to catch the Buffalo Bills in December, I would not have watched the Royal Rumble.

I will fully acknowledge my tribalism. Personally, it is something that I think is necessary. If there are not rabid supporters on both sides demanding that their beloved product remains on TV, there would be no noise. No noise, no interest from the media conglomerates.

All I can say about women's wrestling is that AEW was a little too concerned with getting pops than building a strong champion. They did not want a heel to win the title from another heel in London, so they put the belt on Hikaru Shida to trade it back and forth with Saraya. And then it ended up back on Toni Storm to get over her new character.

As for WWE, Ripley is the most influential person in the best faction. There have not been many spectacular defenses, but she has left a mark. When it comes to the Smackdown side, I think they are lost since they are not focusing on their top athlete, Bianca Belair. Iyo Sky and Asuka are great champions, but they are only there to give Bayley a moment.

The 48th and Current Modern Poser Champion:
WWE Undisputed Universal Champion: Roman Reigns

His second reign began on August 30, 2020, winning it from Bray Wyatt.

The 155th and Current Real World Tag Team Champions:
TNA World Tag Team Champions: ABC (Chris Bey & Ace Austin)

Their reign began when they defeated The Rascalz for the Impact World Tag Team and DRCW Real Tag Team Championships on October 21, 2023.

This is a tough one to figure out. The build to Sting and Allin versus The Young Bucks makes the Bill/Starks reign worthwhile. I think it made sure we knew that Bill, the former Big Cassidy, was a force to be reckoned with and Starks will be treated as a top AEW guy. They were a frankenteam, but they were a fun team and actually allowed for more focus on the experimental American trios divisions.

The problem is that the Judgement Day first reign and FTR's most recent reigns ended on the same night. And, they both lost them to Duos instead of teams.

Chris Bey used his "Feast or Fired" to gain him and the partner he defeated the Motor City Machine Guns with another shot at the Impact Tag Team Championships. It was not a surprise cash in. They issued this challenge at Bound for Glory, and they were successful 16 days after issuing the challenge.

The 154th Real World Tag Team Champions
The Impact World Tag Team Champions: The Rascalz (Zachary Wentz Trey Miguel)

Their reign began when Big Bill and Ricky Starks defeated FTR for the AEW World Tag Team Champions on October 7, 2023.

This blog was resumed on February 25, 2024.

Let me get this typed and see what I need to recap. I last worked on this blog nearly three weeks. There was definitely the time to finish this off, but that was paid vacation from my primary employer. You bet I was going to sleep and drink as much as I could. Until B-Fest, my Letterboxd (cmdarth) demonstrates how much (or how little) that I accomplished.

But, it is good to take a break, and then be told I owe the Feds $400. It is a pain to correct that for next year (My secondary employer telling me that it would be easy to do from home proved false.). My research suggests that my accountant may have been wrong, but I do not want to argue with the guy footing that bill. And, to make a one percenter pay taxes...I do not feel too butt hurt.

All I can say that besides getting my Bluesky (@catbusruss.bsky.social) account set up (fun content, but not as friendly as Mastodon), I have this years promoting of "Ninety For Chill: The Podcast with CatBusRuss" figured out. If Reedpop would have communicated better, I may have gotten a panel set up for the show.

I was about to call that my only loss recently, but a good man was murdered by a coward with a gun. Brandon Hardway, let alone anyone, should have suffered like that. If you want to take a life, you better have the dignity to put your life on the line. We need stop giving the gutless a means to destroy with risk.

Please quit voting Republican.

Manic Monday: @CMPunk (bka CM Skunk) & The Current Disgruntled's Real Pro-Wrestling Champions

*This blog post was started on September 4, 2023.

I know, the title is a simple association. My attempts to be Penn Jillette clever can be weak at times. But, if you have read "Sock" by Jillette, his little pop song references can be too subtle for their own good.

It is a bit ironic to use the word manic in the blog post title for myself. My head feels like it screwed on fairly well right now. I say that as I wonder if I sent the wrong emoji to a girl that I have been chatting with the past week from Bumble. She has COVID right now, so obviously, to get immediate responses should not be expected. Ghosting has not occurred with this lass, but, has the corona virus ever been used to get out of a date? Times have only been made weirder since the Trump administration killed the study of infectious disease.

These odd times might be getting to me. If I do something that comes off as stupid, I can see a customer losing their cool and insulting me as a customer service representative. Being "felt sorry for" because I wear a mask and am triple boosted by a moron from Tuscola, Illinois (Wouldn't you know that the big city Angie Zindars group up near and Marissa Embry found work), who does not know how to read receipts expecting me to wait patiently on really got on my nerves recently. It makes me consider wearing my lanyard that has my keys to the building around my neck. "Ask me my pronouns," would at least make that cocksucker (Jillette says this word either represents an awful man or an awesome woman.) genuinely uncomfortable.

To be insulted, $25 an hour seems to be a fair wage. That is the price of a lap dance at Big Al's in Peoria, my preferred strip club. Sadly, my friends from that industry can attest to the treatment they receive.

I wonder if I still have any friends in that industry. Perhaps my attempt to out grow Peoria has finally concluded. There are rumors that I have been chasing down about good friends who are still in the industry, but the last couple of visits, there are hardly any girls dancing on stage (Two shows in one hour was the rate last time.). To the Al's credit, a double Johnny Walker Black on the rocks only costs $12 before 2 am on Sundays.

I have kind of scattered my mind talking about employment. But after this weekend in wrestling, the transition between my employment and that industry is fairly easy.

Pinterest @nsvos92

The Current Disgruntled's Real Pro-Wrestling Champions

Title Histories from April 16, 2023 Forward.

Before I get going, I kind of wish that Cody Rhodes would have defeated Roman Reigns back at WrestleMania XXXIX. If I would have known that asshole CM Punk would try to claim that he was undeservingly stripped of the AEW World Championship, he may have been able to claim the DRCW Modern Poser Championship.

I was working (obviously) on Saturday, September 2, when CM Punk was terminated from All Elite Wrestling. Not wanting to deal with the crowd (and maybe not spending money so extravagantly), resulted in me deciding to watch the show from home. If my little brother was more forthcoming that he was attending the show, my decision would have been different. No date for Monday (which she has since responded to this morning's text), energy was not something I would need for today.

When I found out that was his plan, we discussed Punk a bit. Basically, I determined that he was the most insincere person in the wrestling industry, dating all the way back to 2011. Returning to WWE after the pipe bomb promo essentially ruined indie wrestling until the Bullet Club was formed. Lets face it, it was Being the Elite starting in the middle of 2016 that made Americans look for WWE alternatives. Maybe Jeff Jarrett started that ball rolling in 2015 by allowing for the American broadcast of Wrestle Kingdom 9, but having dealt with a friend who just would not put the effort to find indie wrestling, I do not give that much weight.

Punk should have stayed away from WWE until he worked somewhere else. WWE could not afford that. Punk knew this and took a payday and headaches for it. He was right to walk out of WWE, but he had no intention to put in any effort to save the business like he implied when returning to WWE in the first place. If anything, "The Art of Wrestling" podcast was an attempt to burn television wrestling down to benefit the UFC. When he realized he had to pay to do that, it resulted in him throwing his best friend under the bus.

I did not care if CM Punk ever returned to wrestling. Was I happy that he did? Yes. It showed how influential AEW was becoming. But did I feel like it was a slap in the face of all the indie talent he spat on when I was very active in the business? Yes. Did I expect him to continue doing that? Yes. Did I want him to be the face of the company? Fuck no.

He was a man who thought the business should revolve around him. Great matches is the reason that I watch AEW Collision. A man who has never been humble a day in his life deserves no eyes on him.

After all of this venting, I guess it is a good thing that Reigns went over in April's main event. We can forget that the Real World Championship ever existed.

Time (Clock of the WWE Undisputed Universal Championship) and the Disgruntled's Real World Champions

  *This blog post was started on April 16, 2023.

It is funny. As I typed that time disclaimer, the number pad on my new HP laptop was not used. I guess that I have played around with my Chromebook enough that I do not need the extra inches. If only the ladies would agree to that.

Resisting cheap humor like that can be tough. I am confident in my equipment, but have to swing at softballs. Lets get off away from my joys of using double entendres. We are here for wrestling chatter that have been lacking from my writing since the new Reign of Terror had started.

Try and focus Russ. Quit being impressed by having a PC with speed to optimize your Spotify playlists. But mentioning Spotify, their Spotify for Podcasters product (formerly Anchor) has been working out fairly well. You have to be careful with the Apple app (nearly over wrote...well I did...one of my episodes, but was quick to restore it), but quality is there and easier to connect to other podcast apps.

That should be enough of me bullshitting about my life without mentioning much of it. Anyhow, I need something to fill in the space of my podcast blogs, so best save it for then. But speaking of podcasts, it was "Wednesday Worldwide" on The Ringer Network (also a Spotify product), that put further emphasis on a need to write this blog.

For my sanity sake, and to coincide with the upcoming WWE Draft, they may be better served to break up The Ringer Wrestling Show feed. There is only one must listen to podcast, "The Masked Man Show". As long as Peter Rosenberg is hosting "Cheap Heat" instead of Stat Guy Greg, that show is solely for WWE shilling. It is bad enough that The Ringer give Ariel Helwani a platform. But, to the Wednesday crew, I can appreciate their hot takes on the other shows' hot takes. Of course, if their take about Roman Reign's was correct, I would not constantly allow my 2Do app on my iPhone to keep the reminder to write this blog.

On "Cheap Heat", weeks before WrestleMania 39 (perhaps even before the Elimination Chamber), Bryan Diperstein made the comment that the length of Roman's reign does not matter. Since Brock Lesnar held the Universal Title for over 500 days to spite CM Punk (Who deserved it, but that was not Vince McMahon's place.), I whole heartedly agree.

As a kid who grew up on Hulkamania, I can see the counter argument, but that reign also made professional wrestling what it is today or, at the very least, put it in a position to be that. Once the one day title reigns became a thing, WWE titles are just props.

I think we all know that Triple H (hopefully just him) wants the 1000-day reign, but when you have a part-time champion (like Lesnar was), we should all know that the legitimacy of the title is fake. Sadly, the least appreciated team of The Ringer dropped the ball and challenged the reasonable to create their own hot take.

The problem with this blog will be that his reign is still continuing. It should not be surprising since Cody Rhodes, the man who tried to usurp WWE's reign on the business, lost on the grandest stage of them all. I really need to pay for NJPW pay-per-views to help them reinstate Wrestle Kingdom as that stage.

Again, WWE decides to just tell the Disgruntled Wrestling fans to shag off. Because of this, I am not afraid to declare these champions regardless if they have built the resumes greater that Stamford's product.

The Current Disgruntled Real Champions of Professional Wresting (As of April 16, 2023)

The 103rd Unified Disgruntled's Real Men's World Champion
AEW World Champion:
MJF - Maxwell Jacob Friedman

His reign started on Jan. 4, 2023 when Switchblade Jay White was defeated by Kazuchika Okada for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship.

The problems with ranking MJF's title reign above Reigns was he lacks the big televised wars. His feud with Punk was great, but when it came to winning the title, we knew he would walk away from his first challenger Ricky Starks in what I think was an under-booked affair.

Nobody expected him to lose without at least one pay-per-view defense. We were all frustrated that it was going to be Bryan Danielson because what good would the championship do for the challenger. But, the feud was brilliantly booked and his 65-minute iron match was awesome. More importantly, none of Reigns's defenses can match it.

The 50th Disgruntled's Real Women's World Champion
Raw Women's Champion: Bianca Belair

Her reign began on September 4, 2022. She was awarded it from AEW World Champion Thunder Rosa vacating her title.

We are definitely in the "Belair Wins LOL" era, but there is no one that is as athletically gifted as she is in the ring. Her WrestleMania matches (I have not seen 39) were or close to the best that the shows had to offer. The problem is that her story has no adversity. As long as she is champ, the Raw Women's division lacks interest (unless they do something great with the tag team titles).

If they are working towards Rhea Rhipley as her next Mania opponent (Bayley needs to leave WWE because she deserved a Mania angle with Belair.), we should have another banger, provided she is not the champion.

The 48th Modern Poser Champion
Undisputed WWE Universal Champion: Roman Reigns

His second reign began on August 30, 2020, winning it from Bray Wyatt.

The length of his reign is only there to cover up the fact that as a performer, he does not really work. I would say creative deserves the credit for interesting television (not interesting enough for me to dedicate time to it), not his in ring ability. If he did not have Paul Heyman, he would not be worth anything.

The 152nd Real World Tag Team Champions
Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions: Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens

Their reign began on April 1, 2023 when they defeated The Bloodline: Jimmy and Jey Uso.

I really want to put FTR in this spot, but the means a Gunns title reign. They are nowhere ready for that.

It would be easy to declare Zayn and Owens the Unified Gnarly Men's Doubles Champions, but that would ignore their history of breaking into the business together. They are essentially brothers, so they are a true team, not two guys holding the straps.

The 159th OCHO: The Secondary Champion
Ring of Honor World Television Champion: Samo Joe

His third reign began on April 25, 2022. He was awarded it from AEW TNT Champion Scorpio Sky.

He is coming up on a year. It is a pity that he will probably never get to another Real World Championship, but his existence as champion keeps ROH relevant. He might get back there once Eddie Kingston dethrone Claudio Castagnoli. It would be great to give Mark Briscoe win this belt in his rematch.

The 166th Unified Gnarly Men's Doubles Champions: GHC Tag Team Champions: Masa Kitamiya and Daiki Inaba

Their reign began when they defeated Takashi Sugiura and Satoshi Kojima on February 12, 2023.

Kitamiya has held the GHC Tag Team Title with four other partners, thus a good hand to support other talent.

The 167th Unified Gnarly Men's Doubles Champions: Impact World Tag Team Champions: Ace Austin and Chris Bey

They were awarded the championship on April 16, 2023, when Kitamiyan and Inaba lost their GHC championship to Takashi Sugiura.

Austin and Bey defeated the Motor City Machine Guns to gain the title. That will put you ahead of most team 6 out of 7 days a week.

It is about midnight on April 16th, and it feels like a very productive day. I got to see "John Wick: Chapter 4", got my parents tech needs resolved, and wrote a blog. This shows me that I have no excuse when it comes to writing blogs.

So, anime next week? Or, how about a movie podcast? If you want to record one with me, send an email to russthebus07@gmail.com with a movie, director, actor, or theme. Just try to focus on sub 100-minute movies to fry up a slice of gold.