Song of the Day - La Resolve

Jel - La Resolve from Late Pass (2013)

Anticon co-founder and mad beat maker, Jel was playing in my hood tonight. I couldn't make it out to see him but maybe you did.

Last.fm

Match of the Debut - Epico debuto

Epico vs. Sin Cara - Friday Night Smackdown! (2011)

I'm really curious where Epico went. These new Los Matadores characters could give the Puerto Rican team of Epico and Primo a serious run for their money.

Anyways, here's Epico's 2011 debut against the one and only, Sin Cara.

Song of the Day - Murmurer

Why? - Murmurer from Golden Ticket (2013)

Indie hoppers, Why? have a new EP out that they made exclusively for their biggest fans. Everyone can listen to it, of course, but if you are really their biggest fan then you just might have a song written about you! Yep, this EP is about their biggest fans. Literally.

Why? did some creeping around on the interwebs and found this one fan in particular who happens to call himself "Murmurer" on OKCupid.

I guess it's okay I didn't make the cut.

Last.fm

Match of the Day - Don't ever fuck with Kishin Liger!

Kishin Liger vs. Bad Boy Hido - NJPW (2006)

Kishin Liger is the much darker and sadistic side of Jushin "Thunder" Liger. One could also argue that he is the KISS version of Jushin Liger, but don't let that fool you, this is not the Liger who wants to party all night. No, this is the Liger you definitely do not want to be crossing paths with. First appearing after The Great Muta ripped off his mask in 1996, The "Kishin" character only makes rare appearances when it is most fitting for revenge - such as this match featuring Bad Boy Hido ten years later. Hido, an ultraviolent specialist, thought it would be a wise move to chop some of Liger's hair off...

Let's just say Hido got what he had coming to him.

Song of the Day - Secret Breasts

So Stressed - Secret Breasts from Attracted To Open Mouths (2012)



Noise rock meets emo punk. Super wild stuff from Sacramento, Cali.

Last.fm

Match of the Debut - The man, the myth, The Machine.

Diamond Dallas Page vs. The Machine - WCW Thunder (2000)

In 2000, WCW debuted one of their least remembered one-hit wonders in the form of a big masked strongman named, The Machine. Apparently, this masked man was brought in as the next big thing by Jimmy Hart... but after one match against the veteran, pre-yoga DDP, he disappeared without a trace.

The man behind the mask was the late Emory Hail, who exactly had a few jobber matches previously in WCW. As for the "Machine" gimmick, Wikipedia says that the mask he wore was apparently inspired by a mask worn by a sadist character in the snuff film mystery flick starring Nicolas Cage, 8MM. Yep, you read that right: a wrestler was based off a Nic Cage film!

Now that's something.

Match of the Debut - Bryan Danielson becomes Daniel Bryan

Daniel Bryan vs. The World Heavyweight champion Chris Jericho - NXT debut show (2010)

In good fashion like the other Mondays following a new champion crowning, here is Daniel Bryan's debut match in WWE.

Despite Bryan being no stranger to the WWE ring as seen just last month in the callback to the Danielson/Cena match on Velocity in 2003, this was Bryan's first match on WWE not only after becoming an indie sensation but also as "Daniel Bryan", the NXT contestant and rookie. He wouldn't be a rookie very long though, that's for sure.

This match was also the first main event on the very first NXT episode. Double debut.

Also, check out that bump Bryan takes on the side of the announce table after Jericho "catches" him in mid-air after the suicide dive.

Song of the Day - Washy

Nai Harvest - Washy from Whatever (2013)


Every day, once a day, give yourself a present. Don't plan it, don't wait for it, just let it happen.

Twin Peaks.

Last.fm

Match of the Day - The Ramon/Michaels intercontinental title ladder rematch

Razor Ramon vs. Shawn Michaels - Intercontinental title ladder match - Summerslam (1995)

Since today is Night of Champions (an "all WWE titles on the line" themed PPV) and the IC title will not be on the line, I've decided to post a match where it is. I'm not gonna complain about how the prestige of the Intercontinental Championship is lost today and the man holding the title right now - who happens to be the son of one of the greatest IC champion of all time - is on the card and not even defending it. I'm just gonna watch this match instead.

Along with this match being for the IC title, it was also a ladder match. And while ladder matches were still relatively new in the WWF, this was already Razor Ramon and Shawn Michaels' second ladder match together. These two had climbed for the title earlier that year at Wrestlemania X. Compared to a lot of ladder matches we've seen over the years, this one may seem pretty tame - especially since the high spot was an addition of another ladder - but this match is really what set the bar for those ladder matches to come. It also set the trend for ladder matches at Summerslam. Look it up: there's a lot.

Say what you want about the two men in the ring, they worked amazingly together and were looking to steal the show. Granted, stealing the show from Diesel and Mabel doesn't sound too hard, they still stole it nevertheless.

Editor's note: There was an IC title match after all. It was added last minute to kill time and gave Kofi Kingston something to do since he was on the poster.

Match of the Day - The man with 1000 holds vs. The World Class Olympic bobsledder

Dean Malenko vs. Chip Minton - WCW Worldwide (1996)

Dean Malenko takes on the "downhill scooter runner" Chip Minton in a Saturday morning squash.

Highlights of this short match include Bobby "The Brain" Heenan commentary and the solid ring work of Malenko.

Minton would later place fifth in the four-man bobsled race at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan and return to WCW much larger than before. Guess he was really ready to jerk the curtain some more.

Match of the Day - The one where Tajiri blinds Nidia with his mist

Jamie Noble vs. Tajiri - Smackdown! (2003)

As the title suggests, this is the match where Tajiri, the current Cruiserweight champ at the time, took on Jamie Noble in singles competition with his girlfriend and Tough Enough 1 winner, Nidia by his side. During the match, Tajiri looks to use his Cruiserweight title as a weapon on Noble, but as Nidia tries to intervene by grabbing the title away from Tajiri, Tajiri sprays her in the face with his Asian mist. According to legend,  the black mist, which was the mist used on Nidia in this sequence, is said to blind the recipient for weeks.

Eventually, Nidia would get her sight back, but would milk the incident for well over the time she could see again.

Song of the Day - September

I Am the World Trade Center - September from Out of the Loop (2001)

Track number 11.

Last.fm

Match of the Day - Good 'ol JR takes on SIR Michael Cole

Jim Ross vs. "Sir" Michael Cole - Raw (2011)

It was announced today that after 20 years in the biz, good 'ol JR is leaving the WWE.

Rumor has it that his departure by have something to do with the drunken WWE 2K14 press conference fiasco last month or so. Maybe this will lead to one last Jim Ross embarrassing beatdown/mockery. Man, I sure hope not. Twenty years is long enough.

Seriuosly though, JR will be missed.

Song of the Day - JTCGTHLH

Langosta - JTCGTHLH from Super Nature EP (2013)

Good mathy goodness.


Better than any math homework ever.

Last.fm

Match of the Debut - Forgotten 90's tag team number 101: The Blackhearts

The Blackhearts vs. Dave Hart & Mike Winner - WCW Saturday Night (1993)

The Blackhearts were a mysterious team to say the least. You may notice that these guys look a lot like another forgettable character that only appeared maybe once or twice in the 90's - The Black Phantom. If you did notice this, I'm really impressed and as it turns out, you would be correct - at least with one of them. See, The Blackhearts were a team made up of Tom Nash and David Heath AKA The Black Phantom AKA Gangrel. I have no idea who's who, but apparently Heath was called Apocalypse and Nash was Destruction. Of course, Jesse Ventura had no idea what their names were here during their debut on WCW television, so they were just referred to as Blackheart #1 and #2.

As legend has it, The Blackhearts, who started in Stampede Wrestling, were the bastard sons of Stu Hart. As for the screeching and weird hand gestures they would do, well, that's all apart of the mystery that was The Blackhearts.

Enjoy.

Match of the Day - The Legion of Doom return for the last time

Speaking of Warrior returns...

Rob Van Dam & Kane vs. The Road Warriors (Hawk & Animal) - World Tag Team titles match - Raw (2003)

Eric Bischoff decides to "raise the bar" on Raw in 2003 by bringing in one of the greatest tag teams of all time - The Road Warriors (referred to as the Legion of Doom in WWF/E) - to face the tag champs at the time, RVD and Kane for one night only.

Unfortunately, this match would not only be LOD's last return match to WWE, but also Hawk and Animal's last Televised match as a team. Hawk passed away after years of battle with his personal demons and alcohol addiction a few months later.

But yes, they did looked a lot better than that last Ultimate Warrior return we just saw.

Song of the Day - Meet Me Here At Dawn

Cass McCombs - Meet Me Here At Dawn from A (2004)

Cass McCombs is playing a show at The Oak + The Ax tomorrow in Biddeford, Maine. 

I don't know much about him other this song which has been covered by Andrew Bird and my late friend, Martin Smith.

Therefore it's very near and dear to my heart. 

Last.fm

Match of the Day - Ultimate Warrior's not so ultimate return... again.

The Ultimate Warrior vs. Orlando Jordan - NWE Heavyweight title match - Nu-Wrestling Evolution (2008)

More like the Ultimate Wind.

I mentioned a couple of days ago how good the legends who returned to the WWE to promote the 1000th episode with Heath Slater surprisingly looked. Well, compared to most "legends" of wrestling returning to the ring, there really is a point in time where it's best to just let your character go and never be seen again. The perfect example of this would be the one and only, Warrior. As you may or may not know, the man behind the Ultimate Warrior, Jim Hellwig, legally changed his name to Warrior in 1993. Wait what? He changed his name to the Warrior... not the Ultimate Warrior, but just 'Warrior'. He also had kids and they now have the surname of Warrior which is a whole other can of worms we don't need to get into.

Along with taking the name Warrior, Hellwig also took the attire, the face-paint, and the crazy Warrior ramblings and basically molded his life around his wrestling persona. The only thing I really see that's wrong with that is he left the wrestling part out. After Warrior's success in the early 90's of being the next Hogan, he just sort of disappeared. When he returned the first time it was clear that he had lost the energy he possessed in his first big run. He still had this "Ultimate Warrior" look to him, but he was not the same Warrior that we say dethrone Hogan and prophesied to his little warrior followers. And then he disappeared again... and again.

Eventually Warrior was completely gone for wrestling. That was, until 2008 when an Italian wrestling promotion had enough money to pay for the Ultimate Warrior to once again reappear. So, Warrior suited up and went to battle. This time however, it wasn't against the likes of Randy Savage, Triple H, or Hulk Hogan, but rather, a young sport named Orlando Jordan (remember him?) who happened to be Nu-Wrestling Evolution's heavyweight champion at the time. It also wasn't the 90's anymore.

The match is pretty ehhh. I'd rather not go into to detail on the whole thing as I've already written too much on the matter, but really it can only be described as a man who is a shell of himself trying to have a 15-20 minute match after not wrestling for 10 whole years. That being said, it's really not too fun to watch and I don't blame you if you can't get past Warrior trying to run his way to the ring like his legs remembered how bad his last match was. It was almost like his legs were trying to cripple him from ever getting back in that ring with every awkward stride.

... and then he won.

Theme Results

Returner: Warrior after 10 years.

Song of the Day - Jesus in the Courtyard

King Dude - Jesus in the Courtyard from Burning Daylight (2012)

King Dude is the solo project of TJ Cowgill from the black metal bands Teen Cthulhu and Book of Black Earth. His sound is very reminiscent of neofolk acts of the 80's or a black metal Leonard Cohen of sorts.

Very interesting stuff.

Last.fm

Match of the Day - Stone Cold seeks revenge on the man who ran him over!

Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Rikishi - No Holds Bared match - WWF No Mercy (2000)

Almost a year went by where the WWF fans (now known as the WWE Universe, of course) did not see Stone Cold Steve Austin from late 1999 to 2000. The reason for this, in reality, was that Stone Cold's neck injury he had sustained from a botched piledriver in 1997 (which ultimately shortened his career) had worsened,  forcing Austin to take some time off to recover. So how did the WWF write off the Texas Rattlesnake from television? Simple. They ran him over with a car.

But who done it? Well, that was a little more complex. As a full time watcher of all things WWF around this time, I was glued to the TV every week waiting to find out just who ran Stone Cold over. And while I had my suspensions (Triple H), I had no idea that the driver of the black car that hit Stone Cold in the parking lot at Survivor Series would be... Rikishi?

Rikishi admitted to taking out Austin almost a year later on Raw after his match that night. But why Rikishi why? Thus, the Rikishi meme was born... 'Kishi admits that "he did it for the Rock" and for all the Samoans who had been held down since the Rock's grandfather was in the business. Rikishi then admitted that, if he had the chance, he would easily run Austin over again!

In Stone Cold's first match to the ring in almost a year, he got his chance at revenge on the man who ran him down.. in a no holds barred, anything goes match at No Mercy in 2000. The match gets so heated that Stone Cold shoves Rikishi in the back on his beat-up pick up and drives him outside where he leaves the 400 pound man in a bloody mess laying on the side of the building. In the final eye for an eye confrontation, it looks like Stone Cold will run his truck into the lifeless Rikishi. But as he revs up the Stone Cold mobile, he instead runs into a police car! The match ends there with Stone Cold getting arrested and put in a police car.

Vintage Austin.

Theme Results

Returner: Stone Cold Steve Austin to get his revenge after being put on the shelf for almost a year via attempted vehicular manslaughter.

Song of the Day - Reading Youtube Comments

Drug Church - Reading Youtube Comments from Paul Walker (2013)

Do it!

Punk rock 'n' roll from No Sleep Records.

Last.fm

Match of the Day - It's not Slater time.

Heath Slater vs. Vader - Monday Night Raw (2012)

Despite the constant plugging of Raw's 1000th episode last year, we did get to see Heath Slater, the super jobber of the WWE get squashed for a few by returning legends who actually looked in good shape for their age. Albeit there were some segments of rookie Heath Slater versus veteran superstars from the past that weren't all too great (sorry Lauper), but for the most part this was a relatively good concept.

On this particular Heath Slater squashing, the "One Man Band" would take on the returning big man, the man they call Vader - no stranger to this blog. But not only was this Vader's first match on Raw since 2005, no no no, this was Vader's first time seen on TV since before being in a coma for 30 something days in Japan, causing him to lose 112 pounds and to subsequently turn his life around. And while Vader has had countless surgeries on his knees and the rest of his body, he still could move in the ring with the lightweight rookie of Heath Slater.

Theme Results

Returner: Vader to WWE.

Song of the Day - Back to School

A Great Big Pile of Leaves - Back to School from You're Always On My Mind (2013)

Where did the summer go?


Time to go back to school...

Last.fm

Match of the Day - Johnny Saint returns 10 years later!

Johnny Saint vs. Johnny Kidd - LDN Legends Showdown (2007)

In 1996, Johnny Saint, the master of reversals and World of Sport legend wrestled his retirement against Naohiro Hoshikawa in Michinoku Pro Wrestling. However, this would not be Saints' last match. It would just be his last match for over 10 years! Saint returned to the ring once more to compete for the British indie promotion, LDN Wrestling where he faced up against another former World of Sport alum, Johnny Kidd at LDN's Legends Showdown in 2007.

Despite being away from the ring for over a decade, Johnny Saint looked and performed just like he had all those years in the World of Sport era. Here's to the man of a thousand holds!

Theme Results

Returner: Johnny Saint to wrestling.

Theme Week - Returns!

Yep, it's back to school season once more. Whether you're returning to school or have never been to school, here is a theme just for one: return matches!

Every match this week will feature a wrestle or wrestlers in their first match back to a company they once worked for or returning from an injury.

That's about it. Enjoy!