Match of the Day - Brooklyn's Finest gets the cobra (JTG finally got released)

JTG vs. Santino Marella - JTG's last match in WWE - Superstars (2013)

It's a sad day if you are a WWE fan/meme enthusiast as "STILL EMPLOYED" JTG got the cut along with the 10 other superstars who were future endeavored by management today.

The final count for JTG's employment with the WWE is 07 Years, 30 days, 00 hours, 25 minutes, 12 seconds. JTG had not wrestled a match on TV since September of last year where he took a beautiful hit from Santino's notorious cobra.

Goodnight sweet prince of Brooklyn.

Song of the Day - 28-20: You Missed It, Honey!

Hannibal Montana - 28-20: You Missed It, Honey! from 28-20 (2013)

Some out of control yet right on the money noodly-ness from a cleverly named instrumental post rock/math rock out of New York.

Prepare your ears for this one.

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Song of the Day - 4'33

The World is a Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid to Die - 4'33'' from 4'33'' (2013)

The 8+ person emo orchestra pay tribute to the pioneer of all things experimental, John Cage with this spot-on rendition of 4'33''.

It's a must have.

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Song of the Day - Now Kith

Free Throw - Now Kith from Lavender Town (2013)

Not sure why I slept on this band for so long... they have everything I love in a band: samples, references to my childhood (lots of Pokemon and Boy Meets World), and lots of that teen angst twinkly stuff. Hell, they even named a song after me... using an 'E'-less keyboard.


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Song of the Day - Move Along

Salt Cathedral - Move Along from Salt Cathedral (2013)

A little pop never hurt nobody. Especially not the bouncy female-fronted pop that Salt Cathedral create.


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Song of the Day - Lost in the Hive

Mutoid Man - Lost in the Hive from Helium Head (2013)

Supercharged metal from Ben Koller (drummer of Converge/All Pigs Must Die/United Nations/Acid Tiger) and Stephen Brodsky (Cave In). The project is essentially were the two left of when Koller was in Cave In for a brief time.

Check it out!

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Match of the Day - Cabana/Quackenbush at National Pro Wrestling Day 2013

Colt Cabana vs. Mike Quackenbush - Nation Pro Wrestling Day (2013)

Happy Pro Wrestling Day, everyone!

This is only one of many matches put on last year for the 8 hour inter-promotional NPWD event in Philly.

This years event, while not as long, was set up as a free show with all donations going to the Against Malaria Foundation. Apparently, all the money raised will go to the purchase of Long-Lasting Insecticidal Nets that may or may not have John Cena on them.

Watch the replay of this year's show now, here!

Song of the Day - The Pale Horse and His Rider

Totally Ruined - The Pale Horse and His Rider from Hank Williams Compilation (2013)

A nice and easy low fidelity Hank Williams rework.



Comes from a pretty neat Hank Williams cover album put out by Birdtapes and various DIY, lo-fi, simple acoustic, bedroom, etc. bands. Check it out!

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Song of the Day - Vägledningen

Ignominy - Vägledningen from Come Abuse (2013)

Swedish hardcore punkers turned post metal sludge-goers

Let it consume your soul.

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Song of the Day - Frontal Lobe

Harm's Way - Frontal Lobe from Blinded (2013)

There will be samples.

Chaotic hardcore from Chicago, Illinois. Blinded EP was released by Deathwish Inc. and should be checked out whether you like hardcore or not. Why? Because There Will Be Blood that's why.

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Song of the Day - Fix My Life

Melt Yourself Down - Fix My Life from Melt Yourself Down (2013)

Some afrobeat for the soul.



Word.

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Song of the Day - Curse of the Knightmare

California X - Curse of the Knightmare from California X (2013)

Something I missed this year.

grunge-y, messy punk rock.

Get their debut S/T via Don Giovanni  Records.

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Match of the Day - The Rhodes Dynasty all or nothing match against The Shield

Cody Rhodes & Goldust vs. The Shield (Roman Reigns & Seth Rollins) - The Rhodes Family's careers on the line - WWE Battleground (2013)

Out of the weakest WWE PPV of 2013 comes one of the best matches of the year, it's the Rhodes brothers taking on the most dominant tag team in a long time, The Shield. If Cody and Goldie lost the match the Rhodes, including Huckleberry Dusty who works for NXT, would have lost their jobs and could never work in WWE again (because the Authority (Stephanie McMahon and Triple H) didn't like them or something (citation needed)).

This match and the whole storyline really was one of the most surprisingly good things to come out of WWE in the past twelve months. It's also the only good thing to come out of the Authority angle. Plus, it jump-started Goldust's withering career, gave us a chance to listen to Dusty Rhodes's insane ramblings, and gave Cody Rhodes something to do now that he has no mustache. The Shield on the other hand, gained more traction as a tag team and all in all just stayed relevant.

PS: This match is also the debut of Goldust's Darth Vader makeup.

Song of the Day - Can 'O Worms

Stone Titan - Can 'O Worms from Scratch 'N Sniff (2013)

Noisy and colorful metal from South Windsor, CT.



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Match of the Day - The Shibata/Ishii G1 stiff fest

Katsuyori Shibata vs. Tomohiro Ishii - NJPW G1 Climax 23 Day Night 4 (2013)

If there was one bit of hype that I read on the internet that I did believe this year, it was the hype for New Japan Pro Wrestling. With an incredible good match to match ratio, exciting wrestlers, and outstanding events, I think it's safe to say that NJPW was the best wrestling promotion of 2013.

One outstanding event NJPW put on this year was the 23 annual G1 Climax, a super tournament featuring 20 of the top wrestlers in Japan that took place over the course of 9 days. That's right, a 9 day event that NJPW streamed lived every day featuring pretty much only good matches. One match in particular that got mega attention over the course of the 9 days is the Shibata/Ishii match from Night 4.

Tomohiro Ishii versus "The Wrestler" Katsuyori Shibata is an adrenaline rush of stiff strikes and Japanese fighting spirit (which would be called no-selling in America). There's no feeling out process in the beginning, no rest holds, and absolutely no slowing down. There is a story to it however and that story is: who can look the most legit.

Song of the Day - Permanent State of Daylight

Calculator - Permanent State of Daylight from This Will Come To Pass (2013)

Sweet intro, sweet track.


Math.

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Match of the Day - The Callihan/Younger Guerrilla Warfare match

Sami Callihan vs. Drake Younger - Guerrilla Warfare #1 contender's match - PWG All Star Weekend 9 Night 1 (2013)

Speaking of best-of series's and Sami's...

The series of matches between Sami Callihan and Drake Younger are a brutal mix of performing arts and insane indy wrestling nonsense; the opposite of what I said the Zayn/Cesaro match was. But you know what, Callihan/Younger is in another league all by itself.

This Guerrilla Warfare match at All Star Weekend 9 (the first Pro Wrestling Guerrilla show I ever saw, so it holds a special place in my heart) is the third and final match of the Callihan/Younger series in Pro Wrestling Guerrilla and it also serves as a #1 contenders match for Adam Cole's PWG championship the next night. A Guerrilla Warfare match in of itself is an anything goes, hardcore match - a match that neither of these two are new too as both Callihan and Younger have cut their teeth in many violent promotions including CZW, BJW, IWA:MS, and IPW.

This match takes the cake for my favorite hardcore match of the year hands down. It's got chair spots, trashcan spots, staple guns, thumbtacks... hell, even the streamers get hardcore. The best part is that this is not some random slugfest, it's a big blow-off match between two heated rivals who just want to hurt each other. If you wanna get a better feel for this match I would recommend checking this video out that also features the first two matches boiling up to this match (it's a music video but the music doesn't suck).

Match of the Day - Zayn/Cesaro's 2-outta-3 falls NXT match

Sami Zayn vs. Antonio Cesaro - 2 out of 3 falls match - NXT TV (2013)

One of if not the best kept WWE secrets is NXT. Not to be confused with that Tough Enough-type game show, NXT is WWE's replacement for FCW, their old developmental territory. Currently it serves as the place to be for wrestlers looking to hone his or her skills, shed the indie skin, and create a good gimmick.

One of the best new talents in NXT has to be Sami Zayn, a former masked generic luchadore in the indies, who is now trying to make a new name for himself as a Canadian wrestler of Syrian descent. Regardless of his simple gimmick, he already has the ability to put on tremendous matches. Exhibit A: his series of matches with WWE "Superstar" and no stranger to Zayn in the past, Antonio Cesaro. 

The match that stands out the most in the series has to be the 2-out-of-3 falls match the two had with each other earlier this year. It's a entertaining bout that sees two former big time indie wrestlers put on a wrestling masterpiece without needed excessive flips or big spots. That's right, I said it; a masterpiece. Check it out!

Song of the Day - I Have The Wine

Sat. Nite Duets - I Have The Wine from Electric Manland (2013)

A fuzzed-out anthem about getting too fucked up to die.


There's also a little "Oblivion" by Grimes in there too...

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Match of the Day - Mr. Monday Night returns to Raw for the first time in 6 years

Rob Van Dam vs. Chris Jericho - Raw (2013)

After returning to WWE at Money in the Bank, Rob Van Dam looked to impress the "Universe" by doing more than going through the motions as he did for most of his TNA run. So, for his return match to Raw he stepped his game up tremendously against some nobody from Calgary... err, wait, I mean Winnipeg, Chris Jericho.

While this match looked a bit sloppy to me at first, I had to keep coming back to because I knew I was missing something. After my fourth or so watch I take back the sloppy comment and replace it with yeah, this might just be my favorite match of Raw 2013. Mind you, even with that god awful "Download the WWE APP", "everything we say is trending", "Isn't social media great?" commentary.