2018 Wrestler of the Year: Becky Lynch

In the current landscape of professional wrestling, women’s wrestling is more prominent than ever before. WWE, ROH, Impact, and the Indies are producing longer matches, better matches, and main event matches. This is becoming the norm instead of the exception. In 2018, one name rose to infinity and beyond. My pick for Wrestler of the Year is Becky Lynch.

Becky Lynch is a talented wrestler who consistently puts on strong performances. However, WWE booked Charlotte Flair to be the queen bee of the women’s division. Going into last year’s SummerSlam, inept booking that shoved aside Lynch, in favor of Flair, created a perfect storm of opportunity. Lynch capitalized on it spectacularly to become the most popular wrestler in WWE today.

What makes Lynch’s ascension even more gratifying is she did it while embracing a heel role that everyone thought she was too sweet to pull off. Gone is the happy go lucky “Irish lass kicker” and now we have a gives zero f%$#* persona of “The Man.”

Becky Lynch vs. Ronda Rousey in the main event of WrestleMania is the current marquee match of the industry. Let that sink in for a moment. A subgenre once considered bathroom break fodder is now the apple of everyone’s eye.

Most of the wrestlers in the division lack the believability to beat the former UFC champion. Lynch exudes attitude and the requisite authenticity to dethrone Rousey, which makes the match even more intriguing.

While the word on the street says the aforementioned match will end up a Triple Threat with the inclusion of Charlotte Flair, Lynch is too popular for the WWE to not only ignore but to not push as the featured attraction. On SmackDown, Becky Lynch got the better of John Cena, who WWE just started marketing as the greatest of all-time.

Topping off a fantastic 2018, Lynch had a career-defining match against Charlotte at WWE’s first all women’s pay-per-view event Evolution. Their Last Women Standing encounter has received match of the year accolades and told a gripping story from beginning to end.

Lynch was marginalized for the first half of 2018. She capitalized on a creative blunder, which yielded maximum results. A growing social media presence, match of the year caliber performances, a character people love, a hot selling t-shirt and one-half of the biggest match in the industry gives Becky Lynch the blue ribbon.

While other wrestlers such as Kenny Omega, Hiroshi Tanahashi and Seth Rollins are more than worthy of this distinction, Lynch’s story is truly unique, and her impact is undeniable.

All Elite Wrestling Officially Announced

After weeks of speculation, All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and All In sequel “Double or Nothing” has been officially announced. The announcement came at the end of the latest episode of the popular YouTube show Being the Elite (BTE).

There is a “Double or Nothing” rally at TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville, Florida on Tuesday, January 8 at 5:00 pm. A special announcement is expected to be made at this rally, which is free to the public.

Jacksonville Jaguars co-owner Tony Khan is President of the company and the money behind AEW. Tony is a longtime wrestling fan and the son of billionaire Shahid Khan.

Wrestling Observer reported earlier today Cody Rhodes has officially signed with the company and The Young Bucks (Nick and Matt Jackson), while not signed yet, are expected to sign within the next 48 hours. All three wrestlers reportedly turned down offers from WWE.

Hangman Page, Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian, and Scorpio Sky are all staples of Being the Elite and are also expected to sign with AWE. All four wrestlers turned down offers to resign with Ring of Honor as their contracts expired at the end of December. Page reportedly turned down an offer from WWE back in October.

The final three members of the BTE crew are spoken for to various degrees. “The Villain” Marty Scrull is reportedly under contract to ROH until the end of April. Flip Gordon recently signed a new two-year contract, which takes him off the board for the foreseeable future.

Then there is Kenny Omega who is under contract to New Japan Pro Wrestling until January 31^st. It will be interesting to see what happens on Friday when Omega defends the IWGP Heavyweight Title against Hiroshi Tanahashi in the main event of Wrestle Kingdom 13.

Omega is highly regarded by many as the best wrestler in the world. He is in the driver’s seat from a financial standpoint. New Japan, under their new leadership, is offering more significant money contacts than ever before. WWE wants zero competition, has more money to play with than ever before due to their massive TV contracts beginning this year, and are signing anyone with name value.

WWE traditionally doesn’t offer high six or seven figure contracts to wrestlers who made their name outside of the company. The last time they did was for AJ Styles, and it worked out exceptionally well for both parties. Omega can command such a dollar amount. While AEW would be the emotional favorite to sign Omega, WWE could very well sweep in with an offer too good to refuse.

Make no mistake about it, from a talent perspective, Kenny Omega is the ace in the deck While it wouldn’t derail AWE if they couldn’t sign him, it would be a big blow that would almost have them walking uphill coming out of the gate.

Wow, I almost forgot about Chris Jericho.

Y2J has done a fantastic job of reinventing himself in New Japan Pro Wrestling. He holds their Intercontinental Title and will defend it against Tetsuya Naito at Wrestle Kingdom 13. Jericho wrestles on per date basis and is currently not under contract to any promotion.

Over the last year, Jericho has lessened the reigns on his self-imposed restriction to not work for any other promotion except for WWE. He worked for New Japan, appeared at All In, did guest spots on Being the Elite, and helmed a successful wrestling cruise. AEW being able to land both Kenny Omega and Chris Jericho will make it a lot easier for the company to get a television deal, which is already rumored to have several offers.

It is an exciting time in the wrestling industry. AEW could be the first promotion to compete with the WWE in eighteen years. It will be interesting to see where everything ends up between now and when the first bell rings on the inaugural episode of AWE television.

Dynamite Kid Passes Away

Tom “Dynamite Kid” Billington has passed away at 60 years old. Today is also Billington’s 60^thbirthday. The cause of death is unknown at this time. He has had a litany of health problems and was confined to a wheelchair.

Most wrestling fans will remember Billington’s time in WWE as one half of the famed tag team The British Bulldogs alongside his real-life cousin Davey Boy Smith.

Diehard wrestling aficionados, however, will remember Billington as one of the most influential in-ring workers of a generation, and perhaps, of all time. His famous series of matches in Japan with Tiger Mask (Sayama Satoru) revolutionized the industry and put jr. heavyweight or cruiserweight wrestling on the map.

When I got into internet tape trading, the best of Dynamite Kid compilations were a prerequisite for any collection. It was one of the first tapes I obtained. The utter brilliance that Billington exhibited in the ring was awe-inspiring on a level that may never be duplicated.

His jaw-dropping matches in Japan with Tiger Mask are to this day admired and studied by every independent wrestler looking to make it to the next level. Stu Hart’s Stampede Wrestling in Canada also produced many memorable Dynamite Kid matches.

Billington exuded intensity in all facets of his in-ring work. He ran over opponents with his brutal clotheslines, and his vertical snap suplexes set the standard for the popular maneuver. At 5′ 8″ and 228 lbs. Brit would glide in the air with his swan dive headbutt.

Unfortunately, Billington’s career is as revered as it is cautionary. The constant high impact bumps and injuries that come with wrestling in such an aggressive style caught up with him and he became wheelchair bound in 1997.

Not one to shy away from controversy, Billington was known behind the scenes for being a bully and his callous ribs on fellow wrestlers. There will be many good and not so good things said and written about him over the next few days.

Pure Dynamite, Billington’s autobiography is a sometimes grandiose, but brutally honest, account of his career and the wrestling business as a whole. Wrestlers naturally like to put themselves over. However, Billington admitted things about himself that others wouldn’t even think of talking about in a public forum.

For the initiated, Dynamite Kid is a true legend in professional wrestling. It’s a shame that he wrestled during a period where showmanship and size trumped wrestling ability at the box office.

Today, the tide is turning rapidly in the other direction as the technical, high flying, knockdown drag-out style of wrestling is highly attributed to Golborne, Lancashire, England resident, Tom Billington.

Green Lantern/Huckleberry Hound Special #1 Review

Written for and published by Forces of Geek October 2018

Green Lantern/Huckleberry Hound Special #1 | Writer: Mark Russell | Artist: Rick Leonardi | Publisher: DC Comics

An image of the KKK waving hello to Huckleberry Hound as they drive by his house on a Mississippi evening utterly conveys the edgier settings of the critically acclaimed Hanna-Barbera/DC Comics one-shot crossovers.

Set against the turbulent backdrop of the early 1970’s, John Stewart, a rookie in the Green Lantern Corps goes home to Earth where the political upheaval of the Vietnam War and the violence of the Civil Rights movement confronts him at every turn.

Many of us have probably wished at some point in our lives for a superhero to leap out of the comics and fix the world’s problems.

Russell examines the pros and cons of this real-world scenario as for whether Stewart, who wields the most powerful weapon in the universe should use it to stop racial atrocities.

The narrative uses a struggling Huckleberry Hound as the voice that is begging for the power ring to be used, while other plot elements argue the opposite.

Stewart’s struggle to resist smacking down those who worship evil’s might is what brings everything together to produce an entertaining and provocative story. Artwork checks all of the boxes and makes excellent use of expressive character work to convey what word balloons can’t.

It can be hard to take these one-shot comics seriously because the Hanna-Barbera side of things is a far cry from what we used to know. Putting that aside makes a pairing such as Green Lantern and Huckleberry Hound an exceptional way to approach serious issues without trivializing them while using a unique hook to provide enough of the escapism readers look for in comic books.

Rating: A-

Border Town #1 Review

Written for and published by Forces of Geek September 2018

BORDER TOWN #1 | Writer: Eric M. Esquivel Illustrations: Ramon Villalobos | Publisher: Vertigo

What if your town has a problem with otherworldly monsters, only to bring upon its victims a most gruesome death?

Think about it long and hard.

Now, imagine the cause of that problem being blamed on those “dang illegals” because isn’t everything their fault?

Racial tensions with a supernatural twist ushers in the ongoing weirdness that ensues in Border Town’s setting of Devil’s Fork, AZ.

Part social commentary and part horror story leaves the subtlety at home as writer Eric Esquivel delivers a hyperbolic memoir of his teenage years in Arizona.

The story is told primarily through the lens of a bi-racial Mexican/Irish teen, Francisco Dominguez, who goes by Frank.

Frank is the new kid in school and finds himself in trouble rather quickly due to the complicated relationship he has with his ethnicity.

Being biracial is not as simple as some may believe. Speaking as a biracial African/Irish person, some might feel consumed by the world at large. Society will look at someone in one light while the individual will see themselves in another. Along with his straight hair, Frank’s completion is light enough where he passes as Caucasian until the other half of his ethnicity is revealed.

From there on, his confrontation with a skinhead automatically makes him one hundred percent Mexican. Socially speaking, it’s hard not to have a say in your own ethnicity. In this maiden voyage, however, Frank seems to take it in stride. We meet Frank’s new friends including…well, imagine if Sloth from The Goonies was a masked luchador.

Political themes woven with the narrative’s eerie setting is unapologetic with its staunch conveyance. “Make America Great Again” is vigorously uttered by some Alt-right types while the tear in space and time that allows the monsters to invade our world is literally on the Mexican/American border.

That is the kind of irony that slaps you right in the face.

“What kind of Mexican is that?” asks a border patrol agent, in reaction to a sombrero-wearing, green hulking monster, which encapsulates Ramon Villalobos’ esthetic throughout the book. The style of illustration perfectly matches the story. The color palette of warm orange skies and peaceful desert landscapes highlights the beauty atop the abhorrent nature of things. Some would say this is the perfect way to describe Arizona today considering the state’s political climate.

Vertigo titles tend to make readers think more than your average cape and cowl book. Eric M. Esquivel’s script is as thought-provoking as it is ludicrous.

Observations, winks, nods, bloody imagery along with fun and insightful character development serves as a reminder that everyone has their fight in these politically charged times. Despite the very real message, it’s the ridiculous chronicle of events in this first issue that takes center stage. A skeleton monster demonically screaming, “…you fucked up!” made me wonder what the hell I had gotten myself into…and I can’t wait to see what happens next!

Rating B+

Calling Fenway, Again!

Once again, your boy was booked to work the wrestling show at Fenway Park as part of the El Mundo Latin Family Festival. The plan was to split ring announcing duties and do commentary on one match in particular since I knew all of the wrestlers involved. Well, I never got the chance to ring announce due to one slight problem. Someone forgot to book the timekeeper. You know, the guy that rings the bell.

In fact, no one realized that the actual physical bell was missing until the referee signaled for it. No ding, ding, and the referee Redd Roche’s calm wave turned feverishly angry as a quiet panic ensued at ringside. Even the DJ looked for a bell file in his music catalog to simulate over the speakers. The wrestlers said the heck with all this and locked up to begin the match.

Moments later, event promoter, Dante Luna found the bell, hustled through the audience and held it over the barricade for someone to grab. Slight problem, however. No one went to grab the bell. At that point, I knew what I had to do. I grabbed the bell, placed it on the table and banged it with a hammer to signal the commencement of combative theater…three minutes late.

Appointing myself as timekeeper sealed the fate of Loren Petisce as the sole ring announcer for seventeen matches over four hours. That is a lot of work and I couldn’t get the message to her until the after the third match…The joys of independent wrestling folks!

Overall, it was a fun show. The crowd really didn’t get into it until the second half. All of the wrestlers worked hard, it’s just one of those things that can happen when one act of a large festival full of events.

Wrestling All-Stars of New England Results 8/26/18

El Mundo Latin Family Festival @ Fenway Park – Boston, Massachusetts

“The International Male” Aaron Amadeus defeated Derrick Conway, Crispin Coles and “Insane” Dick Lane in a Fatal Four Way Match
Vanity Vixen pinned Delilah Hayden
Green Monster Innovational Tournament: Sami Diaz defeated King Leon the 6^th, Dan Terry, and CPA.
Night Breed defeated Ike & Brandino Davis
Bugsy Stone and Big Bear Matouch wrestled to a double disqualification
Green Monster Innovational Tournament: “The Selfie Made Man” Vern Vicallo defeated Sully Banger, Connor Davies and Bobby Ocean.
“The Punisher” Don Vega defeated “S.O.G.” Ronnie Ribs w/ Doc Ozone
Green Monster Innovational Tournament: “Riot” Kellan Thomas defeated Garrett Holiday, “Slamdance” Tim Lenox and Showtime.
Rosie pinned Isana
“The Dynasty” Beau Douglas pinned “Alpha Dog” Jason Rumble
Green Monster Innovational Tournament: Channing Thomas defeated Derek Simonetti, Lumber Jake and Dan De Man
Bullet Joe defeated Rob “The Giant” Araujo
Triple Threat Match: Slyck Wagner Brown defeated Ryan Frost w/ Aubrey and “Smart” Mark Sterling
“The Masshole” Mike McCarthy pinned Todo Loco to become the new El Mumdo Heavyweight Champion due to interference from Survivor’s Richard Hatch
Tag Team Gauntlet Match: “The Prize” Alec Price & Eddie White defeated The Five Star Spectacle to become the new El Mundo Tag Team Champions
Green Monster Innovational Tournament Finals: Channing Thomas defeated Vern Vicallo, “Riot” Kellan Thomas and Sami Diaz to win the tournament.
Isana won a 30 person Battle Royal by eliminating Jake in the finals moments of the contest.

Favorite Matches #3: Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels

On the evening of April 5, 2009, Michael Hickenbottom and Mark Calaway didn’t put on just another excellent performance. They produced a classic match that a generation of wrestling enthusiasts look to as the capstone of their fandom. I knew Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania 25 was going to be something special considering the landscape of WWE at the time. Continue reading “Favorite Matches #3: Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels” →

Summer Slam Prediction

Summer Slam invades Brooklyn this evening, and all eyes are on the Universal Championship encounter between Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns. The match itself is a non-starter but the implications of its result are what’s driving interest in the main event. While this is pure speculation on my part, I have a sneaking suspicion Paul Heyman is leaving the Barclays Center with the champion.

Notice I didn’t say Brock Lesnar. I said champion. I believe Lesnar’s time is up. It makes no sense for him to hold the title while preparing for a UFC fight. The fans have spoken, and they want to see a champion defending the title on a regular basis. Summer Slam closing with a babyface Roman Reigns celebrating his title win would leave things on a flat note. There is no drama or true happy ending in that scenario.

Roman Reigns could turn heel. However, I don’t see that happening. More people, albeit slowly are starting to get behind Roman Reigns. For all the static he gets from the audience, he’s not a bad wrestler. The fact that WWE didn’t let Reigns’ ascension happen organically and decided to shove him down everyone’s throat is the reason coronation after coronation has been virtually crownless. The audience is not booing Reigns but rather WWE’s insistence that we get behind him whether we like it or not.

If they turn Reigns heel now, who takes his place as the number one babyface? Possibly Seth Rollins, but I believe the company doesn’t see him in that light despite arguably being the best in-ring performer in WWE. Reigns is our resident squared circle Superman for the time being, however, once Summer Slam is over and Lesnar is gone, who takes the Lex Luthor role?

Maybe you don’t go with a Luthor type evildoer but perhaps a Doomsday esque briefcase wielding Monster Among Men, Bruan Strowman. Strowman is a popular babyface, but he was more compelling as a heel. While he still wrecks things, it’s done in a more comedic tone as opposed to the sheer devastation of his heel persona. Being a heel is what got Strowman over with the audience, and it’s time for him to return to those roots with an upgrade.

Prediction: It’s WrestleMania 31 all over again. Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar are engaged in a heated battle. Just when the end is near, Strowman comes out and cashes in the Money in the Bank contract. Strowman pins Lesnar, with help from Paul Heyman. That’s right, Heyman trades in his beast for a monster.

Bruan Stowman with Paul Heyman as his manager become the new two-man power trip of Monday Night Raw. Heyman and Strowman not only cost Reigns the glory of being champion, they took away something he can never get back due to Lesnar’s departure from WWE. From there, Regins hunts down Strowman in pursuit of the belt because after all, the money is in the chase.

Christopher Robin: Review

When I was seven years old, I had a heartfelt conversation with my Mom at the dinner table. I told her I didn’t want to grow up with tears in my eyes and that I always wanted to be a kid. The idea of not being able to play anymore made me sad.

Disney’s newest entry into their live-action adaptations, Christopher Robin is a 104-minute reminder that growing up is hard; however, taking time to smell the roses is necessary. Continue reading “Christopher Robin: Review” →

WWE Announces All Women’s Evolution

What was rumored for weeks became official last night when WWE revealed plans for their first ever all women’s pay-per-view show. At the beginning of Raw, Stephanie McMahon announced over 50 women would participate in the event called Evolution.

Evolution will emanate from Nassau Coliseum in Long Island, New York on Sunday, October 28^th. Hall of Famers Trish Stratus and Lita will appear along with more legends from the past. Every member of the main roster will be on the show.

Some of the matches featured will be championship matches from Raw, SmackDown, NXT and NXT UK, along with the finals of the upcoming second Mae Young Classic. WWE’s developmental system getting such a platform will only help in making this inaugural undertaking a tremendous show.

There are also persisting rumors of WWE introducing the women’s tag team titles. The division will appear on both Raw and SmackDown and would be the only championships to hold that distinction. Evolution would be the perfect time to kick off such an initiative.

Of course, with WWE announcements comes its share of controversy. Some have challenged the authenticity of the company’s progressive image due to holding an April show, in Saudi Arabia, where it is illegal for women to perform. While there has been no official word from WWE, the country’s General Sports Authority announced another event slated for November.

An October 28th all women’s show scheduled weeks before another event, where women are precluded is a significant contradiction of WWE’s projected all-inclusive mantra.

Furthermore, it suggests a motive of softening the backlash they will receive for continuing to do business with Saudi Arabia. Such a narrative makes it easy to come to this conclusion. However, I don’t think this is what’s happening here, not entirely.

WWE was always going to hold an all women’s pay-per-view event. Women’s increased presence in movies, television, and sports along with the stellar women’s matches in NXT influenced WWE to follow suit.

This led to more screen time, which ultimately lead to the signing of UFC superstar Ronda Rousey. Also, WWE Network diluting the importance of traditional pay-per-view made this endeavor less of a risk. In the end, does it matter when the event is being held just as long as we’re getting it? WWE is a business and strategically planning events comes with the territoty.

Women’s wrestling has never been more featured in the genre. More woman are getting into wrestling than ever before. Those who have thrived on the independent scene and abroad are getting noticed.

While this isn’t the first all-women’s pay-per-view event, (LPWA 1992) or even the second, (WOW 2001) it’s WWE’s first time at this particular dance. Putting all of the optics aside, Evolution is better late than never for the industry leader.