elderzack

[elderzack]

Cody Vs. Kenny Omega (2018)

[elderzack]

Top 10 Wrestlers of 2017

10.  Adam Cole

What a year for Cole, He started off the year strong with winning the ROH World championship in front of 20,000 people. Also in Japan, he was the best part of Kenny Omega’s return with an awesome tag match with him and the Briscoes at Honor Rising. Going back to the states, he lost the world title to CD in an awesome match. Shortly thereafter he is kicked out of the BC in New York, only to come to WWE with an awesome debut in the same city. Not only was he the best part of the War Games match, he is just the best in NXT. Adam Cole firmly plants himself in the #10 spot.

9. Kevin Owens

It has been rather up and down for the former Universal Champion. He started the year strong as champion and defending it in a great match with Roman Reigns at the Royal Rumble. During this, he was in a great story line with Chris Jericho. Then the Festival of Friendship happened in Vegas, that sketch was perfect, it was both funny and sad. Then he won the U.S. champ and the middle of the year and that was rather, eh (with exception to the Vince McMahon segment. In any case, he closes the year being the best part of Smackdown with Sami Zayn. Hopefully, 2018 is better for the former face of America.

8.Kasuyori Shibata

Shibata had an amazing 2016, and the momentum came into 2017. Starting the year off having an amazing match with Goto at the dome. Then only a few weeks later, having an ANOTHER amazing match at Rev Pro High Stakes with Matt Riddle. After losing the Rev Pro title to Zach Sabre Jr, he bounced back and won the New Japan Cup. Then to have a 5 star match with Okada in (unfortunately) his final match. Even though his 2017 run was short, it was great to watch.

7. Tomohiro Ishii

Ishii is fucking awesome. He has had so many awesome matches this year, the three Omega matches, his G1 matches, his match at KOPW with Naito and his classic match with Keith Lee. Ishii is a wrestling machine, add on a tag title reign won at the dome, Ishii makes a solid #7 on this list.

6. Marty Scurll

Marty Scurll is one of (if not) the most fun wrestlers all time. Starting the year off as ROH TV champ, he was consistently entertaining, being the best part of ROH TV every time he was on. He was great as a character alone, but his run went into overdrive when he went into the Bullet Club. Kicking out Adam Cole in a great segment, his character only got better as he hung out with the Young Bucks, Cody and Omega. During this new run, he won the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship, and 1/6 of the ROH Six man tag champs. This run he’s on, seems to only get better and better.

5. KUSHIDA

Kushida is the undisputed Ace of the juniors division. This year was the best of his career thus far. He had an amazing feud with Hiromu Takahashi, won the ROH T.V. , won the BOSJ and won the IWGP Junior Heavyweight belt. At the same time, and having great matches while doing it and KUSHIDA is without a doubt, one of the best of 2017

4. AJ Styles

Aj Styles is the ace of WWE. He started the year as WWE champion, then he lost the belt to John Cena in one of WWE’s best matches this year. Then the following month he was the best part of the elimination Chamber, having a great finishing sequence with Bray Wyatt. Then he went on to get a great match out of Shane at ‘Mania. Then he won the U.S. title at MSG in a rare house show title change. Finally at the end of the year he won the WWE title on a SDL and winning the title he never should have lost. If this was a WWE list, he would be #1.

3. Tetsuya Naito

Tetsuya Naito is so good. He started the year as Intercontinental Champion retaining the belt at the Dome. Then throughout the year, he had 3 5+ star matches with Elgin at New Beginning, Tanahashi at the G1 A block final and Omega at the G1 Final. Finishing the year off having a fantastic match with Ishii, El Ingobernable had a great 2017, and hopefully a better 2018.

2. Kenny Omega

I love Kenny Omega, and if you were a fan of him before this year, you were definitely a fan after. Starting the year off main eventing Wrestle Kingdom, he lost and became the biggest ? of wrestling. After the brief period of being gone, he came back with a vengeance, having great matches with the Briscoes, Ishii and another match with Okada that was better than the first. The first part of the year alone would put him at #2 alone, then he became the first U.S. champion, having great matches with Lethal, Elgin and Ishii in that tournament, then going on to have a fantastic g1 gaining two Meltzer 5+ star matches with Okada and Naito. He finished the year having a great match with Juice and going to ROH and being 1/6 of the 6 man champs with Cody, Scurll, Page, and the Young Bucks. Then finally, after another amazing match with Beretta, then this happened. (show jericho clip) Man Jericho has been a one half of the best things this year hasn’t he? All these would have made him #1 if it wasn’t for...

1. Kazuchika Okada

Okada is in the run of his life. Starting and ending the year with the IWGP heavyweight championship, he defended the title 6 times against Omega, Suzuki, Shibata, Fale, Omega again, Cody and Evil,  When he wasn’t defending the title he was having great matches in the G1, being awesome without even trying in 6 man tag matches, and going to Australia and having a great match with Slex in MCW. His excellent skill in the ring and the ability to get a great match out of everybody, Toru Yano included and having four 5*+ matches gives him the # 1 spot on this list.

[elderzack]

Happy Halloween

[elderzack]

A self portrait using the new lighting gels. (2017)

[elderzack]

Bedroom (Summer 2017)

[elderzack]

Young Bucks (2017)

Here is a drawing of the Young Bucks swimming in gold.

[elderzack]

Montreal (2017)

Here is a picture I took of the city from the old port on a beautiful March day. 

[elderzack]

Prince Devitt (2014)

[elderzack]

My 10 Favorite Wrestlers of 2016

Honorable Mentions: The Revival, Heath Slater, Cesaro, Asuka, Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose, Jay Leathal, The Boys, The Briscoes, Katsuyori Shibata, Roderick Strong, The Bullet Club Dalton Castle, Kazuchika Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Chris Jericho, Finn Balor, Becky Lynch, Alexa Bliss, American Alpha, Kota Ibushi, Cedrick Alexander, The Brian Kendrick, Sami Zayn, Neville

10. Kevin Owens (WWE)

9. Kazuchika Okada (NJPW)

8. Adam Cole (ROH)

7. The Young Bucks (ROH/NJPW)

6. Charolette/Sasha Banks (WWE)

5.  DIY - Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa (NXT)

4. The Miz (WWE)

3. Shinsuke Nakamura (NJPW/NXT)

2. AJ Styles (NJPW/WWE)

1. Kenny Omega (NJPW)

[elderzack]

Top 10 Best (current) Wrestling Belts

10. TNA World Heavyweight Championship

9. WWE Championship/WWE Universal Championship/Women’s Championship

8. NEVER Openweight Championship/Six Man Openweight Championship

7. NXT Tag Team Championship 

6. CZW World Heavyweight Championship

5. ROH Tag Team Championships

4. WWE Intercontinental Championship

3. IWGP World Heavyweight Championship

2. ROH World Heavyweight Championship

1. IWGP Intercontinental Championship

[elderzack]

2016 - The Best Year of Wrestling?

Ever since 2001, WWE ratings have never been the same. With only a few acceptations, they have never got the T.V. ratings to what they used to be. However I believe that not only are T.V. ratings don’t matter as much as they used to be, and that we are in the midst of the biggest time in wrestling.

Let me begin by saying that T.V. ratings are still a good indicator in seeing how good a show is doing, now I am going to argue that it is not the only one. In 2016 (and soon 2017) we have been consuming media completely differently than we did back in 1999. We have the internet to illegally stream, DVRs to record our favorite T.V. shows and paid subscription services to binge watch all our shows. Now taking that into account, lets look at the wrestling scene, specifically WWE. Currently, WWE’s YouTube channel has  13,591,211 subscribers and according the website social blade the channel is growing everyday. Now, let us not forget about the network (WWE Network), the last known number from April 2016, the network has  1.454 million subscribers, and WrestleMania getting 101,763 live attendees at the AT&T stadium if that is not indicative of some sort of wrestling boom, I don’t know what is.

Now WWE isn’t the only company in the world that has been reaping the benefits of wrestling's popularity. Other companies like Ring of Honor and New Japan Pro Wrestling have been growing in numbers, but putting on, the best ,matches anyone has ever seen. Here are some numbers; in April 2015, New Japan World (NJPW’s subscription service) has 22,000 subscribers, 15% of subscribers coming from around outside Japan. 25,204 watched NJPW’s Wrestle Kingdom 10 Live in the Tokyo dome, and ROH’s Final Battle show and ROH/NJPW wrestlers the Young Bucks getting mainstream attention on ESPN.

One other thing that we all can’t forget is the quality of wrestling has improved so much in the last 20 years. Dave Meltzer is a highly journalist who writes about wrestling and MMA, and his 5 star ratings are coveted by not only fans but the wrestlers themselves. He has rated four matches five stars in 2016. This might not sound like much, but, lets compare the the previous years. In 2015 there were only three five star matches and there was one years before that. What I am saying is the quality of wrestling has only gotten better and better, and thankfully people are recognizing it, and even better watching it.

In internet is a powerful tool, and we use it to watch cat videos. However, we also use it to consume a majority of our media now. Not only are we watching our wrestling on the internet; we are also listening to podcasts and watching personalities on YouTube talking about wrestling. As I am writing this the YouTube channel WhatCulture Wrestling has 951,713 subscribers. Compared to their main channel, they have 306,855 more subscribers and more subscribers than actual official wrestling promotions do on their YouTube channels. Now, let us not forget that is just one channel, a big one sure, but there are tonnes more out there with subscription numbers in the hundreds of thousands. And that is just YouTube, there are tonnes of podcasts from Talk is Jericho to The Fucking Show Podcast that have great numbers. Surely, a great time to not only watch the product; but engage with the fans to discuss and create a movement.

Next I am going to discuss NXT (see what I did there). OK, NXT is the developmental territory for WWE, a breeding ground for WWE’s next biggest stars. Originally a weird reality show with some wrestling in it sometimes, the show has gotten to that the quality is on par (and sometimes better) than their main shows (RAW and Smackdown Live). In the last two WWE Pay-Per-Views, NXT performs at the same venue the night before RAW and Smackdown and in both shows (NXT Takeover: Brooklyn II and Toronto) they got better feedback than the main shows. Is this because the main shows were phenomenally bad, no, (well SummerSlam had it’s moments, but the card was just weirdly put together) it was because NXT has great performers and stories the fans love.

Lastly, I would like to bring up some recent news. Last week, WWE announced that they would be hosting a U.K. tournament and crowning a new U.K. Champion. The members of the tournament will come from promotions like ICW, 4CW, WCPW, and others. The last time WWE did a tournament like this, it got a lot of eyeballs on the screen to watch indipendant promotions like the aforementioned ICW and Evolve. It brings smaller companies to the forefront and brings them together. With partner ships like this and the ROH, NJPW and CMLL partner ship wrestling will keep growing and us fans will never have to stop watching; and more importantly love this great sport of wrestling.

So, here we are the end of this article, what have we learned? WWE’s numbers are good online, Ring of Honor and New Japan Pro Wrestling is getting bigger and better, NXT blowing up the wrestling world more people are talking about the product online than ever and that smaller companies are being put to the forefront and getting eyeballs on the screen. It all shows that 2016 is one of (if not) the best year for pro wrestling.

[elderzack]

My Top 12 Favorite Wrestling Themes (2016)

12.Kevin Owens (WWE)

11. Sami Zayn (NXT/WWE)

10. Bullet Club (NJPW/ROH)

9. Asuka (NXT)

8. Young Bucks (ROH)

7.Kenny Omega (NJPW)

6.Finn Balor (NXT/WWE)

5. AJ Styles (NJPW)

4.Dalton Castle (ROH)

3.Shinsuke Nakamura (NJPW)

2.Bobby Roode (NXT)

1.Shinsuke Nakamura (NXT)

[elderzack]

Total Divas

Total Divas is a reality show on the E! network, that showcases the life and times of the WWE female wrestlers. My brother loves the show, and I can see the appeal. I love backstage footage and a little insight into what the business is like behind the scenes (even if it is through a WWE lens). But there are some things that I would do to make the show better.

The first thing I would do would be is to change the music or just remove it entirely. Personally I hate EDM and the less I hear it the better. But not only does it sound awful, it adds an atmosphere just makes the show seem like a joke. It makes the show just like every other reality show.

The next thing I would change is the tone. Even though it is a shitty reality show, I would direct it in more of a documentary style. Furthermore instead of the Wrestlers badly read their lines to establish the time and place, I would hire someone like Malcolm McDowell or Sigourney Weaver to narrate the show.

The last thing I would do is make it a shoot (real). It is a well known fact that reality shows are fake, and this show is no exception. The wrestling business is super fascinating and the stories that are shared in shoot interviews and in autobiographies are super funny and fascinating, so it would be nice to have a dose of reality in my reality TV.

Those were my changes to the T.V. show Total Divas. What do you think? Am I right on the money, or completely off base. Tell me in the comment section. 

[elderzack]

Kenny Omega ‘16 (IWGP Intercontinental Champion)  

[elderzack]

Samoa Joe ‘03-’04 (ROH World Champion)

[elderzack]

(via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lei4zhwsa_k)

These are the pencil tests from the film Akira (1988), I love traditional animation, and would love to see more in the mainstream, but in any case, we still have great films and shows to watch in this style. 

[elderzack]

New office space (2016)