Red's Wrestling Blog

Matches: 1.Matanza vs Joey Wrestling NR 2.Big Bad Steve vs Killshot ** 3.LU Title: Pentagon Dark(c) vs Hernandez *** Thoughts: I haven't watched an episode of Lucha Underground since December 2018. I never finished season four. I'm actually a big fan of the show, went to their live Houston area event, have some merch, etc etc. The problem is that I know once I finish this season, well...it's all over. No more Lucha Underground to look forward to. If you look at my old reviews pre-blog in the PWD Facebook group, you'll also see hesitation between seasons. Part of that was because we never knew if we were getting a new season for spans of time and also for a related reason of disliking the idea of running out of "new" episodes. Well, since I'm done with empty arena shows right now, let's just pull the trigger. If you want to check out the reviews for previous episodes, go to the group and search around. I'll do a post at some point soon list

Read Part One Here! Following up on part one, let's take a look at some more content from WRP... 1.Concrete vs Dave Bruiser NR Simply put, like most of these first matches uploaded, this was a very quick squash with Chris Masters going over via jackhammer. 2.Satanic & Profitable vs Swan & Grabinski *3/4 Alex Reynolds and Sami Callihan teamed up here, back when Sami still had that crazy ass hair. Like most of these so far, this was basically a squash. It just happened to be one that lasted long enough to rate. Sami gave a lick of death after and the heel duo left wearing their suit jackets. 3.Chase Walker vs Spyros Gianopulous NR Spyros is Robby Pheonix. Remember him? This saw Joey Ryan go over quickly, winning once more with a superkick. Clearly, Joey was meant to be a top name. 4.Grand Old Predator vs Ratpack Slim NR I'd like to report a murder... 5.Faris Gotch vs Pax Americana *3/4 Daivari is Faris Gotch. They gave this one more time than

Matches: 1.Piranha Deathmatch: The Cartel vs Los Pochos Guapos **1/2 2.Exploding Cage: Filth & Fury vs Team Dragon Gate *** Thoughts: Have you ever seen a man nearly get his ass eaten in a wrestling match that didn't include Joey Ryan or the DDT roster? Was it the piranha deathmatch from this finale episode? Scorpio Sky and Vamp shared a moment backstage. Next thing you know, Vampiro is pulling off Scorp's pants in the ring. A lot of roster members not booked on the episode tried to make the save but Vamp cleared house. The segment ended with Vamp and Ricky brawling to the back. Sydal caught 6-Pac and Valentine chatting and tried to act tough. He got knocked out instead. They advertised a new championship specifically for spot monkeys, with Evans and Tornado being set for the inaugural decision match. Obviously, that never happened. In the main event, the theme set by this insane show was fully realized. It was a mindless spotfest full of high spots and explo

Matches: 1.Alkatrazz, Hawx vs Cannon, Grimes ** 2.6-Pac vs Scorpio Sky NR 3.Human Tornado vs Jack Evans **3/4 Thoughts: I might watch the Xtra content at some point, for anyone that might be wondering. The runtime of these episodes and style showcased obviously gives little ability for anything to be fleshed out much, so most of the matches are quick spotfests but it works for what it is and as an overall package is where WSX episodes hold the most weight. Similar to NWA Powerrr in a way but obviously in a very different stylistic manner. The opener saw Grimes kill himself in an explosion and a humorous finish to close a decent throwaway tag. The second saw Sky start hot and a bit of back-and-forth, but Pac largely had this in the bag and a cheap shot set up the finish. Too short to rate but the right person won considering the circumstances. That Pac/Sydal/Valentine drama was highlighted in a package that did little for me. Following their dance battle, the main event

Matches: 1.The Cartel vs Los Pochos Guapos **1/2 2.WSX Title: Vampiro(c) vs Banderas ***1/4 Thoughts: We start with footage of The Cartel beating down Los Pochos Guapos and giving them the dead fish treatment before heading into a decent match between the two. Short but sweet and serving a purpose. Some backstage antics, including Jack and Tornado setting up a dance battle took place before the main event. The title defense had a few rocky spots, but was still fairly good. With a bit of tweaking it would've been truly recommendation worthy. WSX is very much a shut your brain off kind of experience, but damn if we don't all need some of that mindless fun from time to time, right? Overall Rating: 70/100%

Matches: 1.The Cartel vs Grimes, Cannon NR 2.Sydal vs Human Tornado **1/2 3.Filth & Fury vs Los Pochos Guapos *** Thoughts: They announced Vamp versus Ricky Banderas for the title on the next episode. The opener saw Vic Grimes team with Arik Cannon to take on The Cartel. It was overbooked and the camera shakes were a bit much, but the whole show is over the top so it's whatever. If nothing else, it was short. Sydal and Valentine share a cheesy moment before the second match. This played into the finish of that contest, killing all momentum they had built before. They ran another spot shortly after building off of the drama. Team Dragon Gate is still being reprocessed. Some drama between the Los Pochos Guapos took place in the main, but they overcame the highspot antics of Teddy and Cross to take the win. Good stuff. WSX is stupid, it's crazy, and it's insane. It's also 20 minutes of pure fucking entertainment and even the bad stuff doesn't last

Matches: 1.Scorpio Sky vs Jack Evans *** 2.DIFH vs That 70's Team NR Thoughts: A good and quick, just-long-enough-to-rate opener saw Evans go over Sky clean. They followed that with Tyler and Jacobs taking on Disco and Ryan, complete with Joey needing an inhaler and his ass being exposed again. Too short to rate, but fun for what it was. Team Dragon Gate are still being held hostage. Tyler and Jacobs work out their issues. The episode ended with El Mesias fucking shit up and cutting a promo on Vamp before he and 6-Pac beat down the champ. Youth Suicide tried to make a save but failed miserably. The four brawled as the show closed. This episode gave us a shot of Tyler Black pumping himself up while Jacobs applied eyeliner and at Quiznos. What's not to like? Overall Rating: 70/100%

Matches: 1.Filth & Fury vs Team Dragon Gate ***1/2 2.6-Pac vs Human Tornado NR 3.Arik Cannon vs Delikado NR Thoughts: This one kicked off with an El Mesias promo package, informing Vamp that he's out for revenge and that 6-Pac got off lucky that he didn't end up scared and grotesque like he did. Decent stuff. Again, I strongly recommend Lucha Underground fans to check these out. Pretty sure you'll love it. The opener was very fun, as expected. I mean, how could these four men not have a good match, right? Scorp's backstage promo was humorous and set up a match with Evans. Following last week's closing angle, we were given 6-Pac versus Human Tornado next. While too short to rate, it was decent with the right person winning. Horiguchi and Yoshino are kidnapped afterward. The main was decent but the attack angle ended it before it really went anywhere. Tablespot, cement dip, dead fish, curtains. The opener was the best thing here, but the entire

Matches: 1.Matt Sydal vs Scorpio Sky *** 2.Keepin it Gangsta vs That 70's Team *** Thoughts: The opener was fun, highspeed action. It's cool seeing young Matt and Sky working together. People underrate how good this roster was. After, Sky got the H8R mark. Marcus Riot tries to get Evans to help him out. The second contest saw That 70's Team and Keepin it Gangsta in a fun contest that featured touches of "comedy" alongside some decent spots. The finish in particular was pretty cool. The Quizno Slamwich replay was humorous in name. Arik Cannon got a package after promoting his appearance for the next episode, and then Hombre Blanco Enmascarado was set to wrestle Human Tornado, but we got a shot of HT knocked out backstage. 6-Pac came out, attacked Hombre, and then called out Vampiro. El Mesias then took out the champ from behind and unleashed hell, closing the episode standing tall over Vamp. This show is just so fun. Overall Rating: 70/100%

Matches: 1.Filth & Fury vs Trailer Park Boyz ***1/2 2.Hombre Blanco Enmascarado vs Jack Evans NR 3.Tables, Ladders, & Cervezas: Alkatrazz, Hawx vs Pochos Guapos **3/4 Thoughts: A good Vamp package kicked this off and then we got a glimpse of a very young Matt Cross. He and Teddy did a variety of insanity here and, assuming you like chaotic spotfests, you really should check this one out. The package setting up the main event was delightfully crazy. The Matt Classic one later was even better. The second saw Quicksilver and Evans in a two-minute sprint. A strong way to move the show forward. Admittedly, the main was a bit too much for me. The in-fighting and the overall layout didn't add up to something I consider to be good, but it was still a decent main event and I'm sure some will enjoy it more than myself and, in all, this was another solid 20 minutes either way. Overall Rating: 70/100%

Matches: 1.Human Tornado vs Hawx **3/4 2.Team DG(Horiguchi,Yoshino) vs That 70's Team(Disco Machine,Joey Ryan) NR 3.WSX Title: Vampiro vs 6-Pac *** Thoughts: This show is not for everyone, but I do think people missing Lucha Underground that never gave this a shot should give it a chance. It's loud and obnoxious, but damn if it's not entertaining as fuck! I mean this was 20 minutes of nonstop action. The sprint opener with a violent post-match attack started things once again on a decent note. They followed that with a high octane tag contest featuring talents from one of my favorite promotions ever, Dragon Gate. Joey with a fucking inhaler...Sadly, they ran this very short and I biasedly feel the wrong team won there. The main was fairly good and continued to set the tone for the show, with Vamp coming back to win after an explosion spot finish. Did you know Vamp doesn't like me? The feeling is mutal. Another fun episode that held up decently, ladies, gen

Matches: 1.Jack Evans vs Matt Sydal *** 2.WSX Rumble ***3/4 Thoughts: This show was fucking awesome. I decided to work through it again to see how it held up. Fingers crossed. Up first, Matt Sydal and Jack Evans kicked the show off the right way with a pretty even, high octane spotfest. The interference didn't take away much, and it was a fun outing that set a good tone for the evening. Justin Credible, New Jack, Teddy Hart and more got quick promo package treatments next pushing the WSX Rumble. The match itself was one of the better rumble style matches I've ever seen. Chaotic as hell, but the assortment of names involved and the frantic style worked together and somehow made the whole thing awesome. Seriously, this was fucking insane. This show was very much a product of its time, but I still really like it for what it is and was and I'm excited to work through the series once again. Consider joining me in this journey! Overall Rating: 80/100%

We're doing something a bit different this time. Thanks to Rick Knox, one of the best referees of all time, I learned about a little gem that never fully saw the light of day. Wrestling Retribution Project , or WRP, was founded by Jeff Katz back in 2011 by use of crowd funding sources. They taped 13 episodes that were set to air via Image Entertainment, featuring a stacked roster playing custom roles similar to Lucha Underground. In about one month, Katz reached his goal of $100,000. The episodes, as mentioned above, never were released, though. Not only that, but the backers never got really anything in return for their investments making this one of the most controversial wrestling projects of the past decade. Well, apparently back in March Katz decided to release the footage on YouTube and I plan on going through and watching most of this insanity. Now, this is a large post reviewing content from this YouTube channel but I wanted to quickly give a shout out to one of my

I've been vocal on here and social media in regards to issues I am having with these empty arena shows. Unlike some that are upset that they just don't feel the same, I actually have still found a lot of joy and excitement from them. That said, enough is enough. I've been making too many excuses and it's time to make the right move. So, I will not cover any empty arena content of any form going forward here in the blog. I had a few things on my watch list, including a recent six-man from All Japan, DDT's April Fool show, the NOAH gigs, and a few other things. These are getting the axe. WWE is ran by a piece of shit that has done everything wrong. They are a shining example of what not to do. AEW was pushing it, though I give them props because they did at least do a much better job than WWE. That said, the Double or Nothing announcement was awful and I found the news very disappointing. The news of puro feds meeting yesterday gave me pause, too. Tanahashi wa

Match from PCW Ultra MUTINY #35: 1.PCW Ultra Title: Mil Muertes(c) vs Hammerstone *** Thoughts: I love that PCW Ultra booked El Mesias as Mil Muertes and put him as their champ. It's a bold call. That said, I agree it was time for a change and Hammerstone has a decent amount of steam right now so it's a logical move. As far as the match itself, well they went the expected route with a bit of an extended walk and brawl before returning to the ring for the endstretch. While this won't blow anyone away and the finish was a bit off, I still had a decent time here and the title contest was largely good. Only one thing remains from PCW Ultra's sole 2020 show but they're understandably in a holding pattern for now while the world is on hiatus. For that reason, go give PCW Ultra some love by checking out past episodes of MUTINY!

Matches: 1.Archer vs Colt **3/4 2.Baker vs Golden NR 3.Guevara vs Sugar D **1/2 4.Kip vs Taylor **1/2 5.Spears vs Law NR 6.AEW World Title, No Holds Barred Empty Arena: Mox(c) vs Hager ** Thoughts: The Snake promo and opening match worked together nicely to put over Archer. Colt didn't look bad in defeat, either which is a good example on the big difference between how AEW and WWE do things. Decent stuff. Baker's promo was pretty good. Her squash worked for what it was and gave her a solid rebound. I'm not huge on squashes, but since it wasn't against a normal roster member it's ok, I suppose. They promoted Hager/Mox heavily throughout nicely. The Bubbly Bunch stuff was entertaining. Jericho uses metal spatulas on non-stick pans? Guevara got a quick night in, taking down Suge quickly heading into his match with Darby next week. Kip took down Chuck Taylor next in a decent match, but Ford's involvements and the general tone of these Kip matches

Match from PCW Ultra MUTINY #34: 1.PCW UltraLight Title: Atlas(c) vs James vs Dom **** Thoughts: PCW Ultra MUTINY, even with the minor flaws, truly is one of the best weekly wrestling shows available right now. As I work through select 2020 content from the company, this was the one match I was most excited for. Now, I knew Atlas would be dropping the title because of his NXT deal and I didn't see them going for the shit angle some feds do by having him win the match just to vacate after. Luckily, I was correct. Even more luckily, this watch rocked. Now, I am aware that PCW Ultra is a bit of a gem promotion that slips under far too many radars, but I'm hopeful that at least a few that read this will take time to give this a click. The workrate here is deserving of your attention and honestly I bet some of you will like it even more than myself! Thank you, Atlas.

Match from PCW Ultra MUTINY #32: 1.PCW UltraWomen's Title: Sumie(c) vs Raze **1/4 Thoughts: Sadly, this was pretty underwhelming. Short with very little meat and a title change that does little for me. Simply put, skip this one.

Match: 1.Falls Count Anywhere: DISASTER BOX(HARASHIMA,Naomi) vs ALL OUT(Shunma,Iino) vs DAMNATION(Soma,Endo) vs Keigo,MAO NR Thoughts: These street shows are fucking gold. This one was a send off for the Nasu Kogen Nature School, which has since shut down. I'm pretty sure that one kid who witnessed the, admittedly tasteless, rape moment in the tent is going to need therapy. If you've ever wanted to see a game of ticktacktoe break out in a cluster wrestling match taking place at a nature camp or a spanish fly into a stream, this if for you! Just sit back, and enjoy the insanity. Overall Rating: 🏕/100%

Match from PCW Ultra MUTINY #31: 1.Artemis Spencer vs TJP ***1/2 Thoughts: PCW Ultra's sole show of 2020 has been spread out across a few episodes so I'm picking a few matches from these installments over the next few days. I started with this one, which honestly was borderline great. TJP is still very good when matched up properly and Artemis was certainly a good choice. The pacing was pretty respectable and the general workrate was more than enough for a throwaway contest. Make sure to check this one out!

Matt's 151st biggest match ever is next week on BTE200 from the BTE Compound. The last part of 199 spent the run building up the match between the two brothers and I'm personally very excited about seeing how it turns out. Oh, and the cameos here were superb!

Matches from IMPACT Wrestling 04/14: 1.Mike Jackson vs Johnny Swinger *** 2.Rascalz vs XXXL vs Reno Scum vs TJP, Fallah ***1/4 3.Ace Austin vs Trey *** Thoughts: Like PCO not that long ago, I'm pretty sure once shit gets back to normal that we might be seeing a whole lot more of Action Mike Jackson. I somehow had no idea he was even still working, but props to him because at 70, he moves better than many half his age. This was also the most entertained I've been watching a Swinger match so, double props. Check the highlights out above. The tag cluster was fairly good and a fun, chaotic watch. The tag division in IMPACT is much better than people give it credit for. My last pull this week was a nice X-Division contest. They worked well here, though the cheap finish did little for me. Nothing truly recommendation levels this week, though the opener deserves some attention. Otherwise, skip this episode.

AEW announced yesterday that they are indeed running Double or Nothing this year on May 23rd. That's fucked up, plain and simple. I largely looked past them running empty arena shows and taping weeks worth of content without complaint. I don't watch WWE products so I've largely been silent on what they're doing, too. I mean, follow the money and you'll see a lot of bullshit on that story. But, that said, I refuse to be a hypocrite and refuse to play a game of whataboutism. Running an empty arena show at this point, even at the end of next month, is stupid. It puts every staff member, from the performers to the ring crew etc at risk. It puts everyone they come into contact with after at risk. This is not okay. I largely love the AEW product. I promote the hell out of them here and elsewhere. I cannot defend this, though. So, since I do know that some AEW employees have read my blog posts before, I hope this finds one of you. And, in doing so, I hope you take

So, are we getting a ladder match? A brother vs brother match? Maybe a legit game of squash? Let's see... But first, Matt Hardy gives us the rules for an Under the Limit Battle Royal! Sky singing out the melody from Frozen 2 nearly woke my son from a nap. Good stuff. There's an itch burning up Private Party and it isn't an STI on their PP, it's a desire to wrestle again. Yea, I'll see myself out... Can I come back now? So, are we expecting a mass resurgence of backyard wrestling feds soon? Ever see the Carbonaro Effect? I want that dude to pop up on BTE soon. And yes, the bear is what made me connect those two and created the desire. That segment rocked! Baker, Tony, and Benigno Bodega facetime and it was solid gold. The Luchasaurs' tail arc hit new levels of art this time, by the way. Omega interrupts Colt in the bathroom. Comedy ensues. 1.Under the Limit Battle Royal ** The sudden but inevitable betrayal early on is guaranteed to bring a

Matches from Lucha Memes Chairo Bill Vol. 5 04/05: 1.Kamikazes del Aire(Alas de Acero,Iron Kid) vs Cobre, Moria vs Corsario Negro Jr, Drako ***1/2 2.Aramis vs Perro de Guerra Jr *** 3.Ricky Marvin vs Arez ***3/4 Thoughts: There was meant to be a Memes vs TWE formula here on this show, but it really just felt like a fanless Memes gig. Still, shows from this fed tend to be pretty damn fun and TWE doesn't mean much to me anyway so that's not a big deal. Anyway, the first pull started with one of the best selling to a non-existent crowd moments outside of DDT. They also were each given hand sanitizer from the ref. Why not. If you hate people getting into position for spots, you'll have a bad time here but the entire thing really was a very good spotfest. The second was another in a long line of quality Aramis contest. A nice mixture of technical physicality, though not without a few errors mixed throughout. I put it outside of recommendation levels but it was good.

Match from CMLL Arena Mexico Domingo 02/23: 1.Negro Casas vs Volador Jr ***1/2 Thoughts: I continue to dig through for stuff I missed since, well...it's not like we have a lot of new content coming out. It kills the concept of my month ending review posts, but we're all going through shit right now, right? Anyway, this is a nice little match that I bet goes under the radar for most fans. Hopefully, this review helps a few extra fans find it, though. Negro attacked early, maintaining control in a dominate display during the first fall. A few quick moves later, and Volador came back to take fall two. This left the finale, which went about ten minutes and featured a nice load of action and drama despite the circumstances. I mean, this took place on a throwaway show for fucks sake. CMLL shows get a lot of shit for being underwhelming, but the roster truly is great when they want to be. Here, both of these great talents stepped up to put in for a borderline great contest.

Matt Hardy giving us the rules to squash at the open this week was glorious. My dumbass actually thought they were going to play a game of squash. No, I'm not fucking kidding. 1.SCU(CD,Kaz) vs Team High Risk NR For a throwaway enhancement match, it was ok. Basically, a standard squash. The Buck kids having fun was cool. My kids are spot monkeys, too. The search for Luchasaurus' tail continues, this time including a phone call more one sided than the one I got after watching this weird VHS tape I found in my new place. Later, he called Dreamer but got fucked hard. He also called Joey Ryan near the end, we got some nice LU references, and it turns out Lucha has really just been a shitty friend since joining AEW. Another good Omega/Colt spot this week. Cutler and Avalon called Sky to settle their shit which led to another BTE Compound match. 2.Sky vs Avalon vs Cutler **1/4 As expected, Sky pinned both. Decent stuff for what it was. BTE 200 is next week. The t

Matches from AAA Nacemos Para Luchar: Cancun Parte 2: 1.Poder del Norte(Carta,Cota) vs Familia Real(Hijo Park,Park Jr) *** 2.Faccion Ingobernable(Rush,Park,Bestia) vs Blue Demon Jr, Drago, Laredo Kid ***1/2 Thoughts: The first pull saw something that I'm hoping leads into a killer trios match down the line. Imagine papa Park and his youths in a massive brawl versus PdN? Well, consider this a primer. Chaotic in nature, these four beat on each other in a nice sprint. The Park kids can be pretty good. PdN is always good. Outside of recommendation levels, but this was still fun stuff for what it was. This week's main was not too dissimilar to many AAA main events, though I'd note that Faccion Ingobernable are kings of this style as is Blue Demon. Park, Rush, and Bestia beat the shit out of their opponents for over ten minutes before Psycho and the Lucha Bros did a distraction spot to swing momentum a tad. After that, it was far more 50/50 though issues between Drago an

Matches: 1.Pagano, Mortiz vs Warner, Vega ** 2.MLW National OW Title: Hammerstone(c) vs Laredo Kid **1/2 Thoughts: This is part of the Super Series tapings co-hosted by AAA. Not sure how many fans of MLW will understand why they're in an EMW ring, but if you're one of those don't worry about it. Basically just know that EMW is basically an AAA house show fed. We start with an opener that was a chaotic mess, as expected. Yea, you can skip it, but it's a fun train wreck that you should at least consider. The middle of the episode was heavy with plot pushers. Park/Psycho should be fun. Closing things out, Hammerstone and Laredo Kid worked a rather standard, big/small formula title match. They protected Laredo by giving him a visual victory following a ref bump. It was okay, but also forgettable. This was one of the more average hours of wrestling I've seen all year. Skip it. BTE, AAA, Memes, and DDT are likely next. Overall Rating: 50/100%

Matches: 1.Archer vs Angels NR 2.Baker vs Shida ***1/2 3.Omega, Nakazawa vs Best Friends *** 4.Brodie vs Johnson NR 5.Cody vs Spears ***1/2 Thoughts: Another decent Snake promo package opened us up here and then we were led straight into a squash putting Archer over. The second match of the night was better than expected, getting a nice lot of time (like a lot of matches right now are for obvious reasons). They worked a physical battle that felt old school in nature. Check that out for sure. The Best Friends segment and added stip was humorous camp, though it did give away the outcome. Imagine though if they had ran a short angle during this pandemic where NakaOmega were the Best Friends for a few weeks... The packages promoting Mox/Hager tonight were well done, reminding me of those ONE promos I love so much. I really need to catch up on ONE soon. Up third, we had a good tag match with a nice touch of comedy as expected. Entertaining filler. Another decent Brodie p

Matches: 1.Douglas James vs Septimo Dragon ***1/2 2.Loser Leaves Town, Empty Arena: MJF vs Mance Warner *** Thoughts: A spirited opener this week kicked things off. I actually have enjoyed a nice handful of matches from both men involved here in the past so it was cool seeing both paired against each other here. MLW has a tendency of booking some rather interesting matches you don't see anywhere else. Just hitting recommendation levels, I suggest checking this one out. A long bit with this week's rankings, several promos, and some recaps follow. I'm not super invested in the product enough that this part did much for me, but there were some highlights and I'm sure that fans that care more about the story lines than myself will enjoy the stretch. Closing the episode, we got an empty arena match. Not sure when the last time I saw one of those was. Shitty joke, I know. Anyway, the outcome was obvious and the style went in the exact direction that I expected. Whi

Taking an Uber three hours to tell someone they suck at their own home is a strong flex. Asking him to team with you immediately after is even stronger. I made it safely to Maryland by the way. Things should largely return to normal now. It's funny being so close to the White House right now. I really would love to get a chance to tell Trump how he's failing us all. My wife is working the front lines of this pandemic so this is even more personal than ever. Too bad I won't get that chance. Anyway, after the intro ran, we are taken to the BTE Compound. 1.SCU (CD, Kaz) vs Dungeons & Neckbeards (Cutler, Avalon) ** This was a nice surprise and a fun use of time as well as a good twist in a bad situation. The match itself was a perfectly average one-off. Luchasaurus' journey continues, leading him to Casa Mundo. Remember, don't judge people for drinking at 5 am during a pandemic. Good shit. Some good comedy shit followed as usual. I needed a good laugh