This doesn’t mean we’re ending it.  But it does mean we’re taking a break and don’t really know what’s in store for the future.

I can only speak for myself and what Bubs has relayed to me.  We started up the Diversion and started doing more Retro’s to keep us from having to do the same chore of a show.  It was really turning into a job and there’s no sense doing it if it feels like a job.  Especially since aside from $5 in referral cash, we haven’t really been paid for this.  The other major issue is that the show works best when there are at least three people invested in it and for the past several months it has turned into just Bubs and I.  We’ve had a revolving door of third man guests come by and have done a great job in different ways but it was still carried by two people.  To make matters more difficult I stopped following independent wrestling as closely as I used to and my interest in the WWE product was negative.

There was probably a hope that Wrestlemania weekend would spark something in us.  There was a lot of wrestling that weekend from more than just the WWE.  Instead it just knocked the wind out of our sails.  A lot of wrestling to watch and it all felt dry.  I know I’ve been personally dealing with some issues but even then my wrestling viewing has been limited to episodes of Impact and the occasional match here and there.  These are my own words but I think Bubs bet a lot of his emotional investment in pro wrestling on whether or not the WWE would “do the right thing” and turn John Cena heel and when he won the match and stayed the same, Bubs just didn’t seem to give a shit anymore.  The next night on Raw he was right there with the people sick of the product but when it really didn’t catch on and nothing in the company really changed his heart didn’t seem to be in it.  He still watches wrestling every day but I don’t believe he’s cared to talk about it much.  Neither have I.

We’re close to 180 episodes and in a calendar year we’ll be hitting 200.  200 episodes is a remarkable achievement.  Even right now where we’re at, that’s an incredible amount of podcasts dedicated to pro wrestling.  We don’t want to stop it but sometimes you have to take some time away and… find your smile.

HIGH FIVE COME ON.

Ugh, self high five it is.

I’ll still be talking about wrestling on @theringcrew and once we figure out what we need to do, you’ll be the first to know.  Maybe another format change, maybe bringing in some people, maybe selling out and cashing in, who knows?

If pro wrestling was fun to talk about right now, we’d be talking about it.

Ah well.

Dubya

The Ring Crew Wrestling Show has experienced Wrestlemania 29 weekend (and Raw) and we have lived to tell about it!  Big expressions on everything from the show to how it was presented to how fans are starting to react on WWE shows!  Also, discussion on the other companies who ran this weekend.  Tune in to hear Bubs, Dubya, Chazy T and occasional grunts of Harvey as we recap WRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRESSSSSSSSTTTTTLEEEEEEMANIAAWWWWWWWWW~!

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But you never got to see him win.

In what could quite possibly be the most embarrassing technical error for a wrestling event on pay per view since WCW Halloween Havoc 1998 when WCW had to replay the entire DDP vs. Goldberg match on Nitro due to the feed cutting out on time restraints, five minutes of Jay Briscoe’s main event against Kevin Steen for the ROH Championship was lost.  Not during entrances.  Not during opening lock-ups.  Not even during the post-match celebration, but the entire finish.  SCUM ran to the ring, the feed cut out and when everyone was back, Jay Briscoe was the new ROH World Champion.  Kevin Kelly called it the greatest moment in Ring of Honor history but everyone who paid $14.95 on an already expensive and busy Wrestlemania weekend (click here to see other events taking place this weekend) missed not only a title changing hands, but a title that was held for the better part of a year.

And unlike the “WCW Ruins Everything” of the DDP/Goldberg match, that was the first and only time a WCW PPV broadcast got cut.  This is not the first problem for Ring of Honor since Sinclair Broadcasting took over.  It actually goes back to last year at Showdown in the Sun where the feed had countless problems and ROH decided to leave Go Fight Live and start broadcasting their pay per views internally.  I actually received a refund for the show personally.  Subsequent ROH iPPVs continued to have problems yet they had some strong streams for the past two iPPV events.  This one not only screws the paying fans out of a steady stream but screws them out of seeing Jay Briscoe make it to the top of the mountain.  It would be inexcusable for the ROH Tag Team Championship, inexcusable for the (incredibly disappointing) ROH Television Championship but it’s certainly a travesty to happen for the ROH World Championship.

What’s worse is that ROH is supposed to be the top of the mountain themselves for independent wrestling.  They are the technical number three in North America.  Yet on a weekend where countless wresting promotions expect you to pay between $9.99 and $14.99 for their events when people might already be purchasing Wrestlemania 29 for Sunday, those companies can deliver an online stream of their show without interruption or technical difficulties.  Nobody had major issues watching through Highspots.  WWNLive.com has a strong reputation for delivering as strong of a feed as your modem can handle.  ROH, on the other hand, will toss every excuse under the sun.  The venue had a bad connection.  They didn’t expect such a demand on their servers.  Whatever the case may be, Ring of Honor will be more than happy to look bush league than be reliable.  New Japan Pro Wrestling delivers a pay per view from Japan for $24.99 through UStream.tv and it never fails you no matter where you live.  It’s unacceptable.

Jay Briscoe winning should have been a major moment.  Here’s a tag team wrestler his entire life always associated with his brother Mark.  When you search them on Wikipedia, you get “Briscoe Brothers” instead of individual pages.  Jay was 17 when he broke into the business and now he saves the ROH World Title from the hands of Kevin Steen who vowed to destroy the company.  SCUM, Steen’s faction has been running wild over the company taking cues from every invading/evil faction in the business and here Jay Briscoe does what nobody expected him to do.  This should be important.  This should be powerful.  This should be, as Kevin Kelly said, the most important moment in ROH history.

Instead?  Nobody saw it.  $14.99 wasted because of one technical screw up.

The hardest part is wanting to support the company because of the talent.  From Kevin Steen to Adam Cole to Mike Elgin, you want to pay the money so these guys continue to be paid.  But nowadays, you just want to do in hopes they transition to WWE, TNA or New Japan.  You want them to move on and ROH to be their stepping stone instead of its own strong wrestling promotion with national television.  ROH used to be something special.  What’s so special now?  Even worse is it holds people back from paying for any independent wrestling because ROH should be the standard bearer.  The standard it is setting is pathetic.

The next ROH iPPV will be Border Wars in May, featuring some amazing talents from NOAH in Japan and will be held right in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.  After Friday night, I have a hard time justifying why I should pay ROH another dime, whether live or on their iPPV service.  And it’s truly unfortunate.  There’s nobody to blame but yourselves, Ring of Honor.  Not SCUM, not Jim Cornette, not Charlie Haas.  Just you as a company.  For shame.

Originally posted on Last Word on Sports

The Ring Crew Wrestling Show is ready for Wrestlemania season!  We talk about the unfortunate passing of Reid Flair, more updates on Paul Bearer, the possibility of John Cena “turning heel” as you weel, CM Punk vs. Undertaker, Fandahhhhhhngo and more!  We discuss news, reviews, X-Travaganza, Raw, Impact, ROH and more!  Oh yeah, and Chazy T?  YOU’RE A JERK.

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The Ring Crew Wrestling Show presents a fine time to use a Simpsons clip and an even finer time to talk about TNA Lockdown!  Was this the PPV TNA was looking for?  Are we once again going to have a golden period in TNA Wrestling between Lockdown and Bound For Glory?  Has the Aces and Eights storyline reached the place it needs to be?  All that plus Harv, Bubs and Dimebag hit the road for a Smackdown taping in Cincinnati, news, reviews and more!

Click to download the episode

Click here to download the episode

Click here to download the episode.

Bradley Cooper plays Pat, a 30-something-year-old man just being released from a mental institution after having a nervous breakdown from seeing his wife in the shower with his coworker. As he’s being picked up by his mother, a recent graduate of the George Costanza’s Mom School for Overprotective and Shrill Housewives, we see that he’s been rooming with Chris Tucker which seems counterproductive for an institution trying to cure the insane. We quickly learn that Pat has left without doctor’s consent and is clearly still bonkers, to use the technical term. Mental illness seems to run in the [NO SURNAME GIVEN] family as we see that Pat’s father (Robert De Niro) is paranoid, obsessive compulsive with a sprinkling of delusional thrown in for flavor and his mother is a complete enabler for his neurosis. After a couple of weeks living with the folks, having the cops called, refusing to see his therapist or take his medication and having several full blown psychotic episodes which result in bodily injury to his elderly mother you would think it’s time to send him back to the funny farm? But no, Pat meets up with Tiffany (Catpiss Everclear from The Hunger Games), another total nutcase who becomes obsessed with him for some reason, eventually conning him into performing in a dance contest with her by tricking him into thinking she would contact his estranged wife for him. This ridiculous plot development leads to a final scene at the dance finals where the two severely damaged people learn to overcome their dangerous medical problems through the power of dance or love or some such bullshit.

I bet you never thought you’d want to see more of me in a film huh?

The plot of this movie is ridiculously overcomplicated for what is basically your typical holiday chick flick that should star Anna Faris and Matthew McConaughey and be forgotten about is less time than it takes to watch it. I guess the combination of the bankable Hollywood flavors of the month as the stars and the popular release date of the 24^th of AMonthBeforeOscarTimeuary was just enough to cement is as something not trashy and disposable in the short-sighted eyes of the Academy. The scenes where Jennifer Lawrence chases Bradley Cooper down to talk while on his morning run are the most egregious example of the cliché rom-com moments where the two people who want nothing to do with each other are forced to learn to love one another. Normally shmaltz like this wouldn’t offend me and I could just shrug it off as another piece of junk film from the Hollywood Twinkie factory (RIP) but the fact that this thing is sitting up on the Oscar nominations list for all eternity next to great pieces of film-making in the same year like Amour, Argo and Lincoln is disgusting. That’s like if Paul Haggis’ horribly exploitative and offensively broad Crash beat out the subtle and expertly crafted Brokeback Mountain and Munich to win best picture in 2005 and thank god that didn’t happen.

There are only two things I like about this film. Can you guess what they are?

But the baffling plot aside, there are no characters in this film that are likable, apart from one. Robert De Niro’s character is the only person in this film that I find even remotely sympathetic or realistic in any way. He’s a stressed out, severely untreated OCD sufferer who’s gambling addiction is causing his financial ruin. The reason I felt for this character is that he’s stuck in the middle of a triangle of severely damaged people and nobody seems to really care that he’s gambling away his entire life savings on a dancing competition. There is a scene with his wife where she tries briefly to talk him out of it but since she’s a severe co-dependent she quickly gives in, his son doesn’t care at all and his best friend (the one who’s betting against him) is only too quick to take his nest egg. He’s suffering quietly while everyone around him is suffering out loud and I think De Niro played him really well. I felt his love for his son and his frustration with the fact that he doesn’t want to spend time with him, I pitied him when we see his obsessive habits like how he has to place the TV remotes in a specific position to allow his favorite team to win a football game and I genuinely wanted him to get better and overcome his problems, but of course nobody in this movie does and I’ll get more into that later.

Pat is a completely obnoxious asshole who does nothing but hurt the people in his family over and over again. This is a central point of the movie but it frequently gets glossed over for more sappy romantic comedy nonsense like the diner scene or the stupid dance. He shuns therapy, he won’t take his meds, and he injures his mom and has the cops called on him. He puts everyone around him in danger and by the end of the film he learns no lesson, is not punished, receives no consequences for his actions and everything just magically works out for him. It’s frustrating to see such a bad, unlikable person succeed so ludicrously and not feel any blowback from his actions and we’re supposed to root for him because… because he’s Bradley Cooper and he’s a good looking guy? Jennifer Lawrence’s character is equally obnoxious and annoying and I felt absolutely no chemistry between them at all. Throughout their entire ham-handed courtship I never once wanted to see them together and I just wished she’d go away. Again, much like Pat, she is severely disturbed and while she doesn’t ruin other people’s lives like Pat does she is definitely a negative influence to her family but we’re just asked to forget all of that because she’s hot and she’s in love.

Oh god I just had the worst dream. I dreamt I would have to be in a third Hangover movie.

These are all nitpicks compared to my main problem with this film however. The message that this film sends to its audience is not only completely unrealistic but actually damaging to those watching it who may be in a similar situation. Throughout the film Pat and Tiffany suffer through their neurosis and struggle with OCD, bipolar disorder, manic depression and many other serious psychological problems, yet the openly shun treatment (whether behavioral or medicinal) in order to wallow in their diseases and it all works out for them in the end. The basic lesson this movie teaches is that it’s ok to ignore doctors and family and professional therapists. Don’t listen to these people; don’t take your medication, just find that one special person and fall in love, that’s all the treatment you need. This is complete bullshit and is such an unbelievably harmful message to send to people in this situation that I actually felt sick at the end. I’m not putting the mental health of the world on the shoulders of a movie but I do feel that this is a huge problem with a movie about the lives of mentally disturbed people. I’ve seen numerous reviews on Facebook, twitter, professional review sites and other places by people that say this film spoke to them, that they related to the characters and that they were in the same situation and it gave them hope and comfort. With people like this who are in such a fragile mental state the stimuli around them can be so influential. If one mentally ill person sees this film and puts down their anti-psychotics or cancels an appointment with their shrink then this film has officially caused more damage than what should be possible for a motion picture to cause.

Jennifer Lawrence’s cleavage however was awesome. 5 stars.

TNA is riding the PPV on the back of the Aces and Eights storyline, which I discussed a bit of here.  I noticed that some readers felt it was just another article attacking TNA but to be a bit open, I spend more time watching TNA when it airs than any other wrestling promotion.  I don’t really champion one promotion over another like it’s my sports team of choice but it’s much easier to catch on my schedule.  Despite my hopes for Aces and Eights to end (adding D’Lo Brown as Vice-President does nothing to spark the storyline), things could take an interesting turn at Lockdown to build toward the next PPV in June, TNA Slammiversary XI.  It was just announced the PPV will take place in Boston, MA.

Time to run down the card.

Joey Ryan vs. Joseph Park

This was thrown together at the last minute on Impact this past Thursday and will probably be the opener to the show.  After watching Joseph Park at the Fillmore in Detroit for a TNA house show I must say the character does a great job at bringing laughs and snickers to the product.  Park has done a great job filling in the hefty role that Eric Young used to fill every week as a babyface comedy act you want to watch.  Joey Ryan has been missing in action as of late and it’s good to see him back.  He’s a solid wrestler, a solid character and has oodles of potential.  Yes I just wrote oodles.  Should be an entertaining yet short bout.  I’ll give it to Park.

Robbie E vs. Robbie T

I’m a big fan of Robbie E.  Rob Eckos is one of those guys nobody considered to have much potential (for fans with long memories, he was the guy Edge beat up in a Ric Flair costume several years back) but through hard work and a commitment to his gimmick, he’s really one of those guys you tune in for.  It annoys me when people proclaim him a Zack Ryder ripoff when Ryder was never ripping off Jersey Shore but the “My New Haircut” Youtube fad and Robbie E has been a Jersey Guido since the mid 2000s.  What I really loved about the house show at the Fillmore is that they actually brought up the Impact angles to the house show with Robbie T.  I know the company really wants Rob Terry to one day be their Dave Batista but it is just not happening.  I hope this break up leads to Rockstar Spud becoming Robbie T’s new tag partner.  Robbie T will win.

X Division Championship
Zema Ion vs. Christian York vs. Kenny King (c)

King becoming X Champion was a bit of a surprise but it’s well deserved.  It’s quite interesting that Rob Van Dam is left off the card and the babyface duties in the triple threat are left to Christian York.  York and RVD should be a babyface tag team and not stinking up the X Division.  Anyway, I do like Zema Ion and if Robbie E ever needs a new partner, he should be the choice.  Another solid character act.  Kenny King should have a long run with the X Title and more importantly, TNA needs to find some strong babyface X Division wrestlers to work against him.  King has the talent and charisma to be a break out star in TNA and they should handle him as smart as they handled Austin Aries.  I expect King to retain.

Knockouts Championship
Gail Kim vs. Velvet Sky (c)

Kudos to Gail Kim for carrying the Knockouts Divison for several months now.  She’s easily the best female wrestler on the roster and blows away any Diva on the WWE roster as well.  While it’s really Gail’s job to simply make Velvet Sky look presentable in the ring, I wouldn’t give the role to anyone else.  Female wrestling gets an unfortunate bad rap in North America due to the fact we’ve been fed un-athletic swimsuit models posing as professional wrestlers instead of the hundreds of talented females who should be wrestling on the main stage but simply don’t because professional wrestling is still a man’s game.  I’d rather see Gail Kim working against Cheerleader Melissa or Courtney Rush or Jennifer Blake but at least we do see Gail Kim fighting for the title.  Expecting Sky to retain.

Tag Team Championship
Chavo & Hernandez vs. Bad Influence vs. Aries and Roode (c)

This could be a match of the year candidate if they found a better team than Chavo/SUPERMEX or if one of the heel teams were babyfaces.  Even then we should see some fantastic wrestling action.  Bad Influence and Aries/Roode have been tiptoeing on too many comic routines but it’s still the four best heels in the company.  Even Kazarian, who has stepped up his game ever since he started becoming Christopher Daniels’ best friend.  Bobby Roode is still pound for pound the best wrestler in the business in my eyes from his theme song to his physique to how he sells, tells a story and chips in offence.  He just brings more legitimacy to the sport than anyone else.  Aries must be bitter watching Jeff Hardy steal his spot but Hardy sells more merchandise so he probably just enjoys these tag matches to keep him from killing himself in the ring.  If Chavo is on his A Game (his A Game would be Chavo in WCW, not Chavo in WWE) and Hernandez doesn’t kill anyone with sloppy offence it should steal the show.  There are more potential heel teams than babyface teams so I wouldn’t be surprised to see Chavo and SUPERMEX regain.

Steel Cage Match
Wes Brisco of Aces and Eights vs. Kurt Angle

In past Lockdown’s, every match was in the cage.  This time, only three.  Storyline wise this is a complete story.  Wes Brisco wanted to be a TNA wrestler.  He was hanging around Kurt Angle but more shining his shoes than getting an opportunity in the company.  Angle finally got him a spot on Gut Check but Brisco felt he deserved more.  Aces and Eights beats up Al Snow and pushes their Vice President D’Lo Brown into the GutCheck judges.  Brown makes sure Wes Brisco gets a spot on the roster.  Soon after, Wes Brisco turns on Kurt Angle.  That all said, Kurt Angle really needs to take a break and I hope that’s the goal of this match.  This is the true equivalent of Kurt Angle having to take a broom and wrestle it to a four star match.  Maybe I’m not giving Brisco enough credit but I doubt the WWE would have dropped a third generation wrestler with his father still high up in the company if he was good enough to be working for a major North American promotion.  Reminds me of the Boston Bruins putting the son of Ray Bourque on waivers.  Kurt Angle will win.

Lethal Lockdown
Aces and Eights vs. Team TNA

Aces and Eights is represented by Devon, Ken Anderson, D.O.C., Mike Knox and Garrett Bischoff.  Team TNA is represented by Sting, Samoa Joe, James Storm, Magnus and Eric Young.  Every member of Team TNA has had problems with Aces and Eights.  Sting and Joe were some of their early attacks.  Magnus and Young were put on the shelf.  James Storm was accused of being a member early on by everyone only to clear his name.  Without Ken Anderson joining the biker gang, they would be incredibly outnumbered in star power.  Even adding a midcard comedy act like Eric Young doesn’t change the fact that Aces and Eights is a mess of plodding midcarders and an over pushed, untalented waste of ring space in Garrett Bischoff.  Remember all of those disparaging things I said about WWE Divas?  Garrett Bischoff makes them look good.  He still can’t throw a proper arm drag, he still bumps wrong on half of his bumps and I don’t think he has ever had an opponent not look fearful for their lives in a match with him.  After countless months of Aces and Eights getting the upper hand, even if a win would help them most, I expect Team TNA to exact some revenge here.  I have my reasons.

TNA World Championship Steel Cage Match
Bully Ray vs. Jeff Hardy (c)

At No Surrender in 2012, Hardy and Ray fought for the chance to be the winner of the Bound For Glory series for a World Title shot.  Jeff Hardy won, after being beaten up by Aces and Eights.  Since then, Bully Ray has tried to prove to everyone he’s a good guy and not a bully.  He teamed with Sting to stop Aces and Eights, only to lose and allow them access into the Impact Zone.  He started a relationship with Brooke Hogan and married her, which only brought her closer to harm’s way with the Aces and Eights.  The closer Bully Ray has been to Hogan, the more harm has come to Hogan.  The only way to perfectly cap this Aces and Eights storyline and give us something to look forward to at Slammiversary in June is for Bully Ray to beat Jeff Hardy with the assistance of Aces and Eights.  It finally gives Aces and Eights a worthy leader and champion and drives the story to Jeff Hardy having to beat Bully Ray for the title.  Any other result is just going to disappoint (unless it’s something really wacky like AJ Styles being the leader).  Pushing for a Bully Ray win.

You can check out TNA Slammiversary this Sunday, March 10 at 8PM EST, 5PM PST only on Pay Per View.

This article was also posted on Last Word on Sports.

The Ring Crew Wrestling Show on episode 175 is a two man show because one seat will be held for the great and dearly passed William Moody, better known as Percy Pringle III and the great Paul Bearer.  We discuss the life and career of Bearer as well as get into discussion on our trips to TNA House Shows, run down the Lockdown card, talk about ROH getting our attention and talk about Wrestlemania.  Plus some fantasy booking and another rant section on people who complain about pro wrestling?  Short summary, you’re on the Internet, GET USED TO IT.  175!

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