Wow its been a while since I posted here. I was shocked when I heard about Dusty Rhodes passing. His hard times promo was one of my favorite promos in wrestling history. It felt genuine and made a fan out of me. I hope that Cody and Gold Dust get a comeback in WWE soon.

I liked seeing Jeff Jarrett at Impact Wrestling. Impact needs all the help it can get so it is smart that they are reaching out to other promotions. I loved seeing the Blueprint back. I'm loving the Destination America Wednesday night wrestling thing they have going on. It is in a good slot, and people without the WWE Network (like myself I let mine expire) get to watch some good wrestling. I'm impressed with RoH. If TNA gets cancelled in September it will be disappointing. I'll watch it until it dies though.

Direct competition would be RAW and Nitro.  In fact, growing non-WWE wrestling is probably good for everyone in the industry except the WWE, especially since talent is often independent and shared.  The only way this would hurt TNA is if GFW ended up with a television show on Wednesday.  As for GFW, it can only help them get exposure.

Also, I don't know anything about Jarrett's personal feelings, but you put those aside when you're running a business.

Personally, I'm interested to see what happens--including if any of the Bullet Club shows up to help Jarrett.

Supposedly there is a rumor that Global Force Wrestling will buy out Impact Wrestling and take it over. I have no idea if its true but its the rumor. It would also explain why Jeff Jarrett would make a comeback the way he did.

Kane beating Lesnar.... Ok...

Since TNA couldn't get AJ Styles to show up, they went to Jarrett, and he agreed to do it if he could promote GFW. That's my guess.

I just started watching Lucha Underground, and it's pretty awesome. The iron man match was ace.

I've become a really big fan of Sasha Banks.  I think she might be the one who can turn the Diva's division into something worth watching.  Listening to her talk about begging her cousin (Snoop Dogg) to take her backstage when he would make WWE appearances, how she cried when she found out she was main eventing a live show.  How she said, "screw the money," and that she would do it for free.  Also, yeah, her smile is amazing.

The casket match between Fenix and Mil Muertes is amazing if you want to catch up on some random matches. This new "wednessday night war" has been awesome lately.

I'm getting excited.  It's almost time for the best wrestling event in the world.  New Japan's G1 Climax tournament gives us multiple MotY candidates each and every time.  What makes it so special is that, unlike in the WWE, everyone is presented as strong, not just the top three or four guys.  Because of that, anyone can win the G1.  Sometimes the superstars win but other times it's used to give lower tier guys a push, as the tournament winner gets a shot at any title they wish to challenge for at Wrestle Kingdom.  The G1 Climax lasts from July 20th to the finals on August 16th, which features the two wrestlers with the best records from each block.  Each wrestler faces everyone in their block at least once and there are always upsets.

A Block:

Hiroshi Tanahashi - New Japan's "Ace" who held the HWC earlier this year.
Togi Makabe - Upper mid-card brawler.
Katsuyori Shibata - Ultra-stiff striker who many feel is on the cusp of main event status.
Tetsuya Naito - Won G1 previously but lost all momentum as a face.  Seems in the process of a heel turn.
Hiroyoshi Tenzan - Older performer who is limited but can still have good matches.
Kota Ibushi - A rising star and one of the best flyers in the world.
Toru Yano - Older guy and a classic heel.  He'll pick up a few wins by cheating.
A.J. Styles - Lost HWC to Okada in early July.  Top dog in the Bullet Club.
Doc Gallows - Bullet Club and co- tag team champ.
Bad Luck Fale - Bullet Club brawler in the mold of Kevin Nash.

B Block:

Satoshi Kojima - Older performer who can still go at times.
Yuji Nagata - Older performer and New Japan legend who is still quite good.
Hirooki Goto - Just won the IC title, which is a big deal in NJPW.
Tomoaki Honma - Perennial underdog who always loses yet always has fantastic matches.  Absolutely loved by the fans.
Shinsuke Nakamura - One of the most highly regarded wrestlers in the world and one of the most charismatic.  A true superstar in Japan.
Kazuchika Okada - The youngest of New Japan's "Big Three" and holder of the HWC.
Tomohiro Ishii - Hard hitting brawler that always delivers.
Michael Elgin - Eh.  Chosen as the ROH rep.
Karl Anderson - Bullet Club and co- tag team champ.
Yujiro Takahashi - Bullet Club, lower mid-card.

First Round match-ups (and potential highlights).  I've bolded the guys with a realistic shot at winning the whole event.

Monday, July 20

Hokkaido

A Block: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Doc Gallows
A Block: Togi Makabe vs. Toru Yano
A Block: Tetsuya Naito vs. Bad Luck Fale <-- Fale has an outside shot at winning the event.  He's not very good but he's big.
A Block: Katsuyori Shibata vs. A.J. Styles  <-- Should be awesome, as both are fantastic.
A Block: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kota Ibushi  <-- New Japan's biggest star of the last decade against its brightest rising star.

Thursday, July 23

Shizuoka

B Block: Satoshi Kojima vs. Tomohiro Ishii
B Block: Hirooki Goto vs. Yujiro Takahashi
B Block: Yuji Nagata vs. Tomoaki Honma
B Block: Kazuchika Okada vs. Michael Elgin  <-- Okada is the Champ so he probably won't win the tournament.
B Block: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Karl Anderson  <-- Nakamura just dropped the IC title and some expect him to enter the HWC picture next.

Block A is fucking loaded.  My picks are either Naito or Shibata.  Naito was a babyface darling but the crowd turned on him.  He got a push previously but it died out.  He's very good inside the ring, though.  He's just adopted a kind of selfish-type heel persona, which might be a prelude to another chance.  Shibata is a guy who would have been one of the Top Dogs in New Japan but he left to try MMA and freelance work.  He looks like he'd kick the hell out of people and then he goes out and does it.  The only thing that could keep him out of the main event picture eventually is if people are still mad at him for leaving.  Tanahashi, Nakamura, Ibushi, and Styles all have shots as they are all established stars and main event guys.

As reference, here are just a few of the top matches from previous G1 Climax tournaments.  There are bunches more that people consider 4 Stars+.

*English Commentary* NJPW AJ Styles vs Suzuki G1 Climax 2014  Wrestling Observer MotY (and mine)

Shinsuke Nakamura vs Kazuchika Okada (NJPW G1 Climax 24 Day 12 FInals 2014)  MotY contender

*English Commentary* NJPW Shibata vs Honma G1 Climax 2014  GREAT introduction to why Honma is so over with the audience.

*English Commentary* NJPW Tanahashi vs Shibata G1 Climax 2014  I love this match, as both guys have real life heat with one another.  Tanahashi was very harsh on Shibata in his autobiography.  This felt bigger than just a tournament match.

Katsuyori Shibata vs Tomohiro Ishii - NJPW G1 CLIMAX 23 - 08/03/13 [5-STARS MATCH]  This is from 2013 but I'm including it because people still talk about it.  The kicks, chops, and headbutts were stiff and brutal.

Shinsuke Nakamura vs Tetsuya Naito  Many people picked this as their 2013 MotY.  Nakamura is the best in-ring storyteller in the world.

I'll say, I'm really liking the way Cena's being booked. Like, this is how he needed to have been booked years ago. His match with Cesaro this past Raw could have main evented a PPV.

Damn near everything Cesaro is in is gold.  

And I genuinely don't think Cena gets enough credit.  he may not be a Daniel Bryan or Seth Rollins in technical acumen, but the dude is damn good a match structure and ring psychology.