Red's Wrestling Blog

Everything that the Buffy reboot has been doing wrong, Boom's MMPR series does right. Now that I have kids, I've been showing them a bit of the classics that I grew up with and, of course, Power Rangers is one of those classics. I actually read a few of these when they first came out, but life stopped me from getting too far into the series. I'm glad that I am starting to read them again. Volume One collects issues 0-4. This reboot sees the Rangers you grew up with (depending on how old you are at least) but with a more adult tone. Remember that live-action film they did recently? Like that, but I'd say this is better (though I did like the film decently enough). This collected volume is on ComiXology in their Unlimited selection, and is a pretty good start to the series. I'd recommend you to give it a shot if you've skipped out on it so far. Rating: ***1/2

As I read through these dark origin tales of nightmare Batmen, the one that I was most looking forward to was Dawnbreaker. Green Lantern will forever be a favorite of mine, so of course I was excited. The delivery was pretty well done, proving that they were, once again, not holding back with how dark they were going to take this. Sadly, I fear Metal might never get an animated adaption simply because of how dark it is, but we'll see. Another worthwhile scrap in the Metal wall. Rating: ***1/2

The next stop on my journey through Metal. The graphic backstory issue for the Red Death set the bar at a decent spot, and this kept it there. I've got to say, these origin story one shot issues establishing the dark Batmen are a very interesting concept. I am very hopeful that DC makes an animated adaptation of this full event and sets it in the DCAMU. But I also hope they make it a two part release, because this is one of the funnest, yet darkest, events I've seen in comics and it's one hell of a ride. Almost like a Hellraiser crossover. This was a pretty good issue and if you skipped these side tales, fix that mistake now. Up next, I'll be reading Dawnbreaker. Rating: ***1/2

Using this checklist, I continue my journey through the Metal event. A reminder, though, that I'm only reading the two prologue issues, the Dark Nights: Metal issues, the Batman issues, and Hawkman Found. I'm actually using the Dark Knights Rising and Metal: Deluxe Edition trades via ComiXology for most of this, but since the reading order has some crossover I've been reviewing the issues separately. Anyway, I mention all of that but I need to add that I accidentally read one issue out of order. Red Death was supposed to come after this one, but it doesn't look like too big of a mistake. So, as for the review? Well, this was one hell of a follow up on what's been established so far. Hell, I might end up going back later to read the tie-in issues if the quality remains this high. The art remains fantastic, and the story continues to build nicely. If you missed the Metal event, like myself, consider going back to read it. This is my favorite issue so far from

With nothing currently announced, it is worth noting that I'm hearing some rumors as to what WWE has planned for John Cena next week at Wrestlemania. Here are a few of the options I'm hearing: -Cena replaces Corbin as Kurt's retirement opponent. Meltzer is saying this isn't the current plan, for what it's worth. I know Dave is pretty accurate for those who actually listen to him, despite what many in the IWC like to suggest, but we'll see. -Cena joins Mysterio as a challenger for Samoa Joe's US Title, turning the match into a three-way. -John works a simple cameo role at Mania, not working an actual match. -Cena puts over an NXT call-up in an unadvertised match. None of these are set right now, from what I'm hearing, but I'd lean toward the first two if I were to bet money on something.

comixCology, like all good subscription services, comes with a few originals. Their latest caught my eye, so let's give it a shot. Stone Star looks to be a five-part run, blending cyberpunk with a gladiator style tale. That hook alone should be enough to get your attention, too. There's a bit of a space cowboy tone here, making this feel like it could fit in nicely as a Star Wars spinoff. Zub and Dunbar make a good team, creating an intriguing first issue that sets up some interesting plots for them to build off of. In particular, the arena setup and the massacre cliffhanger left me wanting to read #2, but the main character, Dail, seems like a rather decent protagonist in general. This was a pretty good issue, and if you have a ComiXology account I suggest you give it a chance. (It's only $2.99 if you don't have a subscription, by the way.) Rating: ***1/2

One of the biggest goals that I had when I added a comics section to this blog was the hope that it'd get a few people to consider reading them again. Even one more person picking the habit back up is a success. So, why not take that one step further and make it easier to pick what to get next time you're at a comic store or you're staring at your ComiXology account. Note that we'll be specifically looking at individual issues versus trades with these posts. Also, know that this was pretty hard to narrow down to just five, but I think you'll walk away happy if these are the only things you pick up. Oh, and I cheated slightly with the #1 pick... 5. The Green Lantern #6 "Hal Jordan's final initiation test to join the Blackstars? Kill Adam Strange! In this issue, Controller Mu and his Blackstar goon squad have invaded and occupied the planet Rann, and its protector is at their mercy! When planet after planet has fallen to the Blackstars-and these monsters

Ashley and Isaac May have released a fun supplement for D&D players to enjoy entitled, Battles, Brawls, and Belts . The book is $9.95. If you're wanting to add a bit of wrestling to your game, check it out. Here's a brief summary of the content, taken from the link above: Twelve new subclasses, each as deadly on an adventure as they are in the arena. New grappling options, like throws, takedowns, and submission holds. Build and maintain arenas, and run your own combat-entertainment promotion. Get the crowd behind you with the Momentum system, letting you pull off amazing maneuvers to shock and awe. Build your persona, reinvent yourself, and establish your signature moves!

Since my return to reading comics, one ongoing series I've been wanting to check out was The Flash. I keep hearing great things, and Barry is one of my favorite characters. So, why not dig in with the first issue of a new arc? First off, the art here was perfect for the plot. The story itself built into a perfect, haunting cliffhanger. Despite having not read any of the other Rebirth issues in this run, #67 was very newcomer friendly and I have seen several suggest this as a decent jumping in spot. I'm very excited to see where this Trickster tale goes next, and I strongly recommend readers to pick this one up. Rating: ***3/4

Tonight, Naito makes his return to Mexico's CMLL teaming alongside his Ingobernables allies, Rush and Terrible, to take on Caristico, Volador Jr, and Valiente. The show also features a title match semi between the caveman, Barbaro, and NGD's Forastero, as well as a nice looking six-man and a few other decent looking contests. You can watch live on their YouTube , like usual, with a start time of 9:30 est. If you'd like more info, check out this preview.

February had a lot of quality content, requiring me to add four additional spots. Note that these are listed by rating, but if they've received the same grade they are listed by date. Check out the full list for more. The March edition will be added once I've caught up fully. 14.Swords of Essex vs Aussie Open **** 13.Devlin vs Banks **** 12.DIY vs Undisputed Era **** 11.Daisuke vs Takeshita **** 10.Men's Elimination Chamber Match **** 9.PAC vs Ospreay **** 8.WALTER vs Veit **** 7.PAC vs Kzy **** 6.Laredo Kid vs Taurus **** 5.Halftime Heat **** 4.Kaito vs Masa **** 3.Kento vs Suwama ****1/4 2.Cavenario vs Titan ****1/4 1.Devlin vs Starr ****1/2

To make it easier, here's the best of January. Everything is listed by rating, and then by date for those with the same grade. Check out the full list of required viewing  here . 10.Tanahashi vs KUSHIDA ****1/4 9.Undisputed Era vs War Raiders ****1/4 8.Takashi vs Ito ****1/4 7.Violent Giants vs Strong BJ ****1/4 6.Grizzled Young Vets vs Mustache Mountain ****1/4 5.Ashino vs T-Hawk ****1/4 4.Gargano vs Ricochet ****1/2 3.Ospreay vs Kota ****1/2 2.Naito vs Jericho ****1/2 1.Omega vs Tanahashi ****1/2

Matches from All Japan Dream Power Series Night Six 1.AJPW Jr Heavyweight Title: Koji(c) vs Kotaro ***1/2 2.AJPW World Tag Titles: Strong BJ(c) vs Violent Giants **** 3.Triple Crown Title: Kento(c) vs Nomura ****1/2 Thoughts: Three worthwhile title matches from All Japan's recent show prove once more that they remain one of Japan's top sources for those seeking quality wrestling. The junior division match was pretty good, though there was some roughness throughout. Luckily, the intensity level near the end picked up enough to make up for it, though. Strong BJ and the Violent Giants gave us a borderline MOTYC tag at the beginning of the year, so I was very excited to see a rematch. This time, they gave us another killer outing even if it wasn't quite as good as the last one. It sucks to see Sekimoto and Okabayashi drop the belts, but at least we have this fantastic contest to enjoy. To close the show, All Japan ace, Kento Miyahara, took on fellow NEXTREAM partne

Pro Wrestling NOAH has had a busy week, so let's take a look at some of the biggest things going on with the Japanese promotion. Note that they streamed live once again on YouTube today for those who might be interested. The Global League will be re-branded, now titled N-1 Victory. The tournament will run from August 18th until September 16th. The Global Junior League, apparently keeping the same name, will run from June 27th until July 27th. Lastly, note that this is a spoiler for those who haven't seen the show I linked above, but Nakajima is set to be the next challenger for Kaito's GHC Heavyweight Championship after a statement victory where he pinned the champ.

WrestleCon has been dealt another blow, sadly. This time, they've had to announce that, due to visa drama, we will not see Dragon Gate talent at next week's special show. No word on what this means for YAMATO challenging Swann on the Impact show, but I expect an announcement soon. Here is the full statement

PWInsider is reporting that AAA will be holding a press conference next week at Madison Square Garden on the 4th. This leads me to believe that they are going through with hosting a show at the famous arena, a plan that disintegrated last year, and will likely feature AEW talent. Perhaps a World Cup themed show? Stay tuned for more as it becomes available.

Matches from WWE Week of 03/25/19 1.Smackdown Women's Title: Asuka(c) vs Charlotte ***1/2 2.Lucha House Party vs Gulak, Gallagher, Humberto ***1/4 3.Dusty Classic Finals: Black,Ricochet vs Forgotten Sons ***1/4 Thoughts: I'm again toying around a bit with the colors for each brand now that I've changed the whole theme of the blog. This likely isn't something that will even bug anyone reading, but I figured I'd mention it. With Wrestlemania closing in, WWE doesn't seem to be trying to sell the show to anyone outside of their core base. Instead, I actually saw a lot of diehards complaining about the booking of the first match I pulled this week. Oh well, that's WWE for you. Speaking of, the women's match was pretty good. I'm not going to get upset by WWE booking as it's not worth the headache. I'll just simply say this was an enjoyable contest and leave it at that. The 205 match of the week was a fun six-man, but it wasn'

Strong work from Morrison and Sharp in issue five, underlining the overall quality of The Green Lantern once more. The character work they're doing with Jordan is breathing new life into not just him, but the entire GL universe. This issue pushes forward the idea that The Green Lantern is a tribute to what came before, and then reshapes past plots and concepts to fit the mold for the future of this series. Check this one out, but only after you dig in from #1. Thank me later. Rating: ***1/2

The amount of imagination and creativity on display in this current run has been impressive, to say the least. Grant's work, adding to the mythos while shaping his arc has been entertaining thus far and I am very interested in seeing where this wild ride goes next. This might not be a must-read by standalone standards, but as another brick in the foundation of the overall series it's well worth picking up. If you are a Hal Jordan fan, please consider reading this run. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. Rating: ***

While #3 of the run might be a slight step down from the first two, The Green Lantern remains one of the best takes on the popular character that I've ever read (outside of John's untouchable version) and I am enjoying the hell out of this scifi epic so far. This installment felt like a fever dream, with an insane plot and a dark finish that should take the next few issues in an interesting direction. If you're already hooked on the series, read this one. If not, skip it. Rating: ***

Wrestlemania Week guarantees a plethora of alternatives for fans these days, which is a great thing and a burden simply because it can be hard to pick what to spend your hard earned cash on. So, let me help you narrow things down to five shows. Know that WWE related events will not be mentioned here, but I do strongly encourage everyone to watch TakeOver. 5.MLW Rise of the Renegades One of the biggest matches of the week is Pentagon versus LA Park, and MLW was the one company smart enough to book it. Add in Lawlor versus Havoc, Tanaka versus Daga, and Hart Foundation against Dynasty and you have a show that truly deserves your attention. 4.WrestleCon Mark Hitchcock Memorial Supershow Outside of Bandido versus Ospreay, WrestleCon is also hosting Dragon Lee against Cavenario with legends like Liger and Masato Tanaka set to appear, too. This one could be a dark horse for show of the week. 3.Joey Janela's Spring Break 3 Part Two LA Park takes on Masato Tanaka and LAX goes

Frequent visitors may have noticed a major format change to the blog today. I am going through and making adjustments, but I might still miss something. That said, if you spot a broken link or anything that you think requires my attention please leave a comment etc. Thank you, Red

Recently, I put out two posts with a similar theme. One looked at the best tag teams . The other looked at women on the scene. So we had to do one of these looking at the best solo talents.  These five tend to work solo and are positioned to break out, and this is your chance to get in on the ground floor now before it's too late. Everyone likes to say they were fans before something got big, right? Fred Yehi The savageweight, Fred Yehi has more charisma, awareness, and talent than nearly anyone in the business. As good as EVOLVE tends to be, they really missed out with Yehi, but luckily other bookers are taking note. If Fred hasn't already appeared on your radar, expect that to change real soon. Check him out: -Josh Briggs From the North Eastern scene, Briggs has been developing quickly and has the looked that makes him look like a threat to anyone he faces off against. He might be new to the business, but his work in EVOLVE has proven that he will be in NXT sooner

GLOW is one of those rare hits that manages to cross out of the wrestling world into the mainstream, so of course a comic series was going to happen eventually. Why don't we give them some love and check out the first issue? This adaptation seems to fit somewhere in the second season and is basically a fun filler episode. The humor of the series is actually translated fairly well and you can hear the characters voices as you read due to the writing keeping the tone in place nicely enough. One small issue I can see for some is that the cutesy art might be a bit out of place. It almost borders on a style similar to Steven Universe mixed with Archie. I might pick up the second issue when it comes out just to see the follow up. Either way, this is a decent start even if I don't consider it a true recommendation. Your mileage will certainly vary, but if you are a diehard fan of the show and you're growing impatient for a new season you should check this out. Rating: *

Transformers #2 kept the plot started in the debut of this new reboot series going nicely, maintaining the politics and drama base that the run seems to be aiming for as Brian Ruckley continues to world build his vision into creation. I must say, I am drawn to what he is doing so far which is actually a surprise. Once again, this didn't really hit must-read levels as a standalone issue, but I still think that fans who have been turned off by the franchise over the past few years should at least consider checking this out. The arc has potential. We just need to see how the payoff turns out. Rating: ***

Three issues in, and Buffy remains an interesting concept done without nearly as much heart as the original. This modernized take on the classic is essentially a novelty, and I remain unimpressed. Despite upping the action, the humor still fails to really land properly and the whole arc so far really has me just wanting to rewatch the show instead of reading another issue. I think I'll drop this one for now, but perhaps I'll return at a later time to see if they finally find a groove. Rating: **3/4

Matches from wXw 16 Carat Gold Night One 1.Fenix vs Rey Horus ***1/4 2.Sekimoto vs Ilja ***1/2 3.WALTER vs Starr ***3/4 Thoughts: It's time to dig into this year's edition of wXw's big tournament. Three pulls from night one. The first match here was a high-octane spotfest that saw both playing their hits for about eight minutes. Fun stuff and a fairly good match. Next, Sekimoto and Ilja had a pretty good encounter. It wasn't an epic clash or anything, but they worked well together and I thought it was entertaining enough to recommend. We end this one with another killer performance by WALTER and Starr, who have had one of the best rivalries in wrestling lately. David Starr is one of the best at playing the underdog role, and WALTER plays the beast spot to perfection. This is another great chapter in their feud, so make sure you don't miss it. The other two nights will be posted about soon, but with opening day tomorrow it'll likely be on Friday wh

With opening day looming over us, I wanted to quickly post my picks for the upcoming MLB season. So, let's quickly take a peak. Feel free to laugh at me in a few months when these turn sour. AMERICAN LEAGUE Central: The Twins have issues, and the Indians will be a thorn in their side, but I see them pulling ahead just enough to win the division. West: Houston is not only guaranteed to win the West, but they have a real chance at winning the World Series, too. East:  New York will win, but the race between them and Boston will be a nail-biter right up until the end. Wild Cards: Boston and Cleveland will get these spots. NATIONAL LEAGUE Central: The Cubs will falter, giving the Brewers the division down the stretch. West: LA is set to dominate the East once more, and I don't see it even being that close. East: I see the Phillies stepping up to take the Central, though the division is stacked with talent. Wild Cards: The Nationals or Mets will join the Cu

Matches from PROGRESS Ch. 86 1.Team WhiteWolf vs Haskins, Havoc ***1/4 2.South Pacific Power Trip vs Devlin, Angelico, Phantasmo ***1/2 Thoughts: It's really nice seeing Team WhiteWolf in PROGRESS. They looked good once more, but fell in a fairly entertaining tag match. The main event was actually a really good, creative trios match but the finish sucked a lot of the air out it and lessened the entire contest. If you haven't had your fix of European wrestling lately, consider checking out the main event.

With the Alliance at risk once again to fold, let's look at the power rankings heading into week eight.  8.Atlanta (2-5) 7.Salt Lake (2-5) 6.Memphis (2-5) 5.San Diego (3-4) 4.Birmingham (4-3) 3.San Antonio (5-2) 2.Arizona (4-3) 1.Orlando (6-1)