FMK: Wrestle Kingdom 15, @Marty Scurll, The OCHO: The NEW Real Secondary Championship

 *Blog post started on January 4, 2021.

I somehow ended up with a three-day weekend, so productivity was not a primary concern. If anything, the schedule left me worried that a furlough is coming up at my retail job. After December 27, the curbside pickup shelves were pretty barren. The upside to this is that it should have at least made the "weekend show up and walk out" coworker have to be counted on. What a way to celebrate a birthday. This seems like inverse karma, but I will enjoy it however it comes.

With how I like to ideally lay every one of my blogs out, we are do for a wrestling one. It has been a week since Brodie Lee has passed, so I think I should be able to write about the business in a calm place. Having to put out my year end blogs ("A Call for Podcast Guests and Honorable Ninety-Minute [or 97 min] Film Discoveries of 2020" and "Best 2020 Ninety-Minute [or 97 min] Film Discoveries for Chilling") when it came to sub-100-minute cinema let me avoid the topic.

Unfortunately for pro-wrestling, a lack of productive fandom was present. WrestleTalk and WhatCulture released a lot love with year end lists, but since I work a day job and January 4th did not fall on the weekend, I have not seen any of Wrestle Kingdom's first night. Fate's bigger kick in the teeth is that the bank's five-day work week regardless of Saturday coverage means I will have a day off in the middle of the week. Sadly, that is Wednesday, thus I cannot watch eight hours of wrestling in one sitting tonight to be up to speed.

I blame fate, but now that I am the third most powerful person at the branch (That does sound like being the third tallest on an "NBA Jam" roster.), the wisdom should have been their to request those days off in advance. Not watching Wrestle Kingdom 15: Night 2 live is inexcusable for someone who has essentially become nothing more than a mark. Thank the gods for COVID-19 so I can just proclaim any non-signed talent is in the same status as I. If you are finding booking because of lack corona virus restrictions, you have a priority issue or an inability to accept reality. And that sounds like the pot calling the kettle their word.

*January 5, 2021

A pot of coffee has been brewed at the bank. It is not for me. The new hire needed it to plow through the regulatory training and the new father only had three hours of sleep. Though, since the new dad talked about finishing "Cyberpunk 2077" (as a nomad) last night and restarting (as a corpo), I doubt the son was the reason for that. This is all a long way of questioning what kind of wrestling fan I am. Surely I could have stayed up and watch the live stream of Wrestle Kingdom: Night 2 and not be any worse for wear.

I did work through Night 1, and it was a pretty solid card. My change would have been Will Ospreay defeating Kazuchika Okada because you should not let both up and coming talents loose out. Hiroshi Tanahashi put over the young upstart Chris Jericho the year prior, so he should not be made to lose to The Great-O-Kharn. Okada got to delay the Kota Ibushi ascension last year, so he should not be hurt by doing the favor. Call me old fashioned, but your Super Bowl is suppose to be the end of the story not the beginning. Are we working towards Okada giving Ospreay his win back next year?

Surprisingly, WrestleTalk did not cover the event. They are based in London. No one would have to stay up all night to watch it. At worst, you are waking up at six in the morning. It is your job guys. We all wake up at least an hour before the time clock needs to be punched. I am not regretting being a patron with the laziness being displayed.

They may have been covering it live on the Wrestle 2 channel, but if you do not even do predictions video for the second biggest show in wrestling on your primary channel to promote your secondary, did you really care.?Cutting those ties to a #SpeakingOut name (Will Ospreay) are we?

At least you can still count on them in regards to Western wrestling news. Knowing that Raw was would be the only show be covered in their daily news video, they mentioned that Marty Scurll coming to terms on his release from Ring of Honor, along with his #SpeakingOut allegation. I am just stuck wondering why Jay Lethal is still on the ROH payroll.

Reddit...Marty Scurll...if you want to see a sick pro wrestling entrance look him up

I do not want to come across as insensitive about abuse in the wrestling business. With what I gathered from the Marty Scurll situation was that he was just disrespectful to someone he was intimate with. If an accuser is not pursuing the predator criminally or civilly, I am open to overthink what happened. This comes from me being in a situation where I did nothing wrong except feel concern for someone who was coked up, angry, and dangerous. We reconciled over that incident, but are either of us admitting fault?

Most people who have heard my story seem to believe me, but I was definitely seen in a better light before hand. In retrospect, I should have been standing up for her and place myself in a position to understand her motives and fears, and making it clear that what she did in her past that did not involve the night in question should not lead to any assumptions about her. This thought process has lead me to unfollow a lot of Johnny Depp fans who think Amber Heard is evil thus Warner Bros should have canned Mera instead of Grindelwald. If she is not mentally stable or has any degree of PTSD, what she says cannot be called a bold-faced lie.

So, yeah, I want to see Scurll in AEW as soon as possible. He sounds more upstanding than Rick Swann. Scurll has never inspired a woman to run away from him to the point where authorities got involved. Scurll has undoubtedly been an asshole in the past, and it seems like he has paid for it. Unless the ROH deal was guaranteed money. If that is the case, I could see not booking him until Full Gear 2021.

I think my stance is better flushed out in my blog post "Postponing (Not Cancelling) @TheProductDS and the Disgruntled's Real Women's Champ" or anything under my #SpeakingOut category. If anything, I hope my views on the subject maybe evolving. COVID-19 has kind of ruined my chances to find parties with a better understanding of victims or have their own experiences of abuse. That is a scary statement, but I have found that most of us are dealing with trauma from abuse of some sort. Mine is documented in "#MeToo and the Disgruntled’s Real World Champ Part 4".

With all of my Disgruntled's Real Championship title histories seemingly always ending up associated with sexual trauma of some kind, I think I would be one hell of a shoot interview. Do the marks ever get those? But this blog post does not seem long enough, so lets get our current DRCW Championship.

If only I had decided to stay away from WrestleTalk this morning, I could have just transitioned into this topic based on Jon Moxley's Wrestle Kingdom promo which I hope leads to him facing off against KENTA at Revolution 2021 (I think I tweeted @tonykhan with "Full Gear". I was clean and sober, so that is a bit embarrassing.). That would be a nice throwback to the glory days of ROH not the Sinclair-owned era of picking and choosing of persona-non-grates.

The End of NXT Viewership: Rebooking Survivor Series 2019.

Those who say NXT is the only reason to subscribe to the WWE Network are now right. WWE has wisely removed the replay of NXT Takeover from being on the Hulu feed. I say wisely because, before AEW, that was how I watched those shows.

Why would I fund a company that many feel is responsible for three deaths due to their lack of concussion care and whom will gladly take blood money from Saudi Arabia if I could watch their best shows for free (well, at least $2 cheaper alongside "The Handsmaid's Tale")?

For someone who finds New York to be where quality goes to die, watching a Takeover on a Sunday was awesome. If WWE was going to counter program against themselves, what kind of contrarian would I be if I did not ignore Vince McMahon trying to fuel Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns's egos?

As Wrestletalk stated in their review for NXT Takeover Wargames 3, the refreshing thing about a NXT's Women's first (like the Wargames's match this year) is that it just feels like what women's wrestling should be, just wrestling. So, watching Takeover instead of Summer Slam means I did not have to deal with the bullshit that is the Women's Evolution of Stephanie McMahons.

NXT offered a lot for those fed up with the tired vision of Vince McMahon. It is a pity that fans like me should not have time for it.

How much wrestling do you expect me to watch in one night? When you have competition, and a side in the competition, I am not going to change the channel during a commercial break. If you work a relatively uneventful job like me, you need stuff to read. After reading DC Black's "Harleen: Number 1", and considering how the ultimate fictional empath can become a murderous malcontent, you best believe the NXT spoilers might be a better read for someone with codependency issues.

When you look at my other wrestling viewership, there is no time for replays anyhow. "NWA Powerrr" results are deemed not as newsworthy as those of the competitors, so I am free to watch (or binge) it at my own leisure (typically on Monday between 7 pm CST and 9 pm CST). Tuesdays are when the extra hour NXT lacks comes on YouTube. Do I need to mention these are free (sorry Impact, ROH, WOW and World of Sport on Stadium)?

The NJPW library at my finger tips, and I got plenty of catching up to do there. I am only going to devote 999 a month to one service. HBO Max getting AEW would be an ideal return to chord cutting.

Is there a way for NXT to win me back? Yes. Right now, it is all about match ups. Sorry Hunter, I get around to indie shows, so I have seen Dominik Dijakovic and Keith Lee in its purest form in person. Give me Chris Hero over Kassius Ohno any day. That reminds me of more things in my DVD collection that I need to get caught up on. As long as I am with a girl who still cannot keep the members of The Elite straight, I have enough classic pre-NXT material to last a lifetime.

AEW is currently the fresher product and they still have lacked bouts I would skip. Once we get there...if we get there...I may start watching Xfinity 939 on Wednesday. WWE's only other way to get my attention is to give the minority owner of Hulu a break and put the Takeovers back on the service or for them to sign away AEW talent. At least we would have a war. On the subject of warfare.

Rebooking Survivor Series 2019

Another year of the concept of brand supremacy and willful ignorance of storylines has passed. Aside from champion versus champion (versus champion) bouts, it comes across as the dumbest pay-per-view of the year.

That half of the card did not sound that bad. You have to appreciate them avoiding a Lesnar versus Fiend match, but that again placed the Women's matches as a not quite equal affair. But when you need 30 persons for your main events, you know that the writers' efforts over the past three months were for not (When you try to rebook it, effort was hard to find.). It just seemed like a waste of time. They should have advertised, no red light during the Bray Wyatt bout, and maybe they would have gained my attention.

Something AEW has been doing to gain my attention is referring to classic wrestling concepts like "Bash at the Beach", successfully using Tony Schiavone and Jim Ross, and ECW defining moments. It is definitely the right week for a nostalgia bug (you best be watching "Watchmen" on HBO). Which makes me think back to my favorite Survivor Series, Survivor Series 1990.

Please look pass the Gobbledy Gooker. We all want to remember the best of "Mean" Gene Okerlund anyhow. My favorite thing about the card was the Winner Take All Survivor Series match. It was just as awesome seeing Tito Santana in a main event as it was seeing The Undertaker debut. Plus, Bret Hart and Ted DiBiase battle to be sole survivor for a spot in the finale also makes this the most memorable edition of this pay-per-view.

Imagine the stars that could be made by trying this experiment over again. Yes, they would probably be glossed over like Dolph Ziggler's win five years ago, but the opportunity is there. By loading up sides with top draws, no one new gets over.

This is probably why it failed in 1990. Hulk Hogan and Ultimate Warrior stood tall in the end. If there was evidence to prove Vince McMahon is out of touch, Survivor Series still seem to end like this, when the bout is the closer that is. It is the definition of insanity. Especially when there are no stakes like Survivor Series have had since the second brand split.

Returning to 1990 would add those stakes. 2019's edition will be tougher for me to book since I cannot tell you with great confidence who were top feuds that did not involve the titles, but I can still make it make sense.

But, the card could have make all the sense in the world if NXT beats AEW by a hundred thousand viewers this week. Would this blog be an exercise in futility? If you read my blogs that involve wrestling and suggests my career, probably. Then again, do you want impressionable old me to open DC Black's "Joker No. 1"?

Thinking like a comic book villain, perhaps that should be my threat until someone helps me out with promoting the production of "Main Event of the Dead" my pro-wresting zombie comedy. Email me at russthebus07@gmail.com to request a treatment of this B-movie.

Pre-Show: Survivor Series (4-on-4)

Natalya, Sarah Logan, The Iiconics versus Carmella, Dana Brooke, Nikki Cross, Lacey Evans

Match 1: Survivor Series (6-on-6):

New Day, Heavy Machinery, The B-Team versus

The Revival, Dolph Ziggler, Robert Roode, Sami Zayn and Shinsuke Nakamura

Close it out with Kingston eliminating Nakamura.

Match 2: Survivor Series (5-on-5):

Roman Reigns, Shorty G, Mustafa Ali, Braun Strowman, The Miz versus

King Corbin, Cesaro, The Forgotten Sons

There are a lot of injuries to SmackDown's heels. I know there is a lack of depth in NXT's heel tag team, but that can be resolved by turning a beloved team heel. The Forgotten Sons are not going to get anywhere while Undisputed Era holds the tag belts, so give them some shine and let them end up getting triple disqualified. Even better, let them and Corbin be the survivors.

Match 3: No Holds Barred for WWE Championship:

Brock Lesnar defends against Rey Mysterio

Put the belt on Rey and send Lesnar back to SmackDown. That is what Fox wants.

Match 4: Survivor Series (6-on-6):

The Viking Raiders, Zack Ryder and Curt Hawkins, Street Profits versus

The OC, Fin Balor, Authors of Pain

AOP and The Viking Raiders brawls to a double DQ. The Club picks up the pieces, but have AJ Styles get pinned by Montez Ford.

Match 5: Survivor Series (5-on-5):

Seth Rollins, Ricochet, Rusev, Aleister Black, Humberto Carillo versus

Randy Orton, Drew McIntyre, Bobby Lashley, Buddy Murphy, Andrade

You need at least one Shield member in the main event and you need to protect Black, so those two will go over. Wish I could have had an uneven side in the grand finale.

Match 6: Triangle Tag Team Match for WWE Women's Tag Team Championship

Kabuki Warriors versus Boss and Hug Connection versus Becky Lynch and Charlotte

Dual-branded show gives you a chance for all your top talent in. Only one takes the fall. Can stay the course to the TLC bout between the Raw teams.

Match 7: WWE Univeral Championship: Bray Wyatt defends against Daniel Bryan

Match 8: Survivor Series for Brand Supremacy (5-on-5)

Gallows and Anderson, Fin Balor, Seth Rollins, Aleister Black versus

King Corbin, The Forgotten Sons, Kofi Kingston

Corbin bickers with Kingston resulting in him being eliminated. The Forgotten Sons ditch Kingston. Kingston pins both Gallows and Anderson. Kingston is about to hit Trouble in Paradise on Balor, misses, and receives Black Mass. Rollins follows up with a Curb Stomp. Balor scores the fall.

Gallows and Anderson go to pick the bones of Kingston. Black intervenes...

Either Rollins turns on Black and joins the OC or Black and Rollins runs them off and stand tall. Black still gets over huge.

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