Croquemitaine

OOC Post: If it wasn't obvious from the lurid yellow banner, I was attempting to channel a 1980's/PWI/Apter Mag vibe with my writing and presentation of the Rankings System. As part of that, I was ambiguous about whether this article was meant to feature on a website or in a magazine. Obviously, for 2023, you expect to find wrestling journalism online, but if you'd like to imagine that our League battles are taking place thirty-five years ago in the far-distant past of 1988, I tried to accomodate. The system itself is something I conceived about ten years ago for a potential TEW2013 diary that never happened. The basic mechanics have never stopped roiling around in my head and a few weeks ago I decided to apply it to The League as an off-season activity. It's a far-from-perfect system, and by rush-compiling three seasons of data over the weekend I have definitely introduced data errors, but then it's all in fun. Keeping it updated week-by-week during Season Eleven will be a much simpler task. If you're wondering why the Season Eight data had to be deemed unofficial, I have one phrase for you which must never be uttered again: "Former World #1 Big Scott Weathers!" Brandy McDonald actually held the #1 position for most of Season Eight, losing it to Nuclear Templeton in the last week. Nuke's had it on lockdown ever since, barring one blip where George Mastachas slipped ahead. As it turns out, for all the flack she's taken, Devil's Delight is not the biggest jobber in League history. Congratulations are in order to El Tornado. We wish you luck in your future endeavors! If I had to do it over again, I'd rank by Points Averages rather than Points Totals, which would be more fair to rookies and eliminate a few system glitches caused by their artificially low rankings (for example, Monty Dhillon and Lance Heartilly are roughly on the same level as wrestlers, but Heartilly received 45 points for defeating Dhillon, while Dhillon received only 25 for returning the favour). However, because any change to the formula means I have to go back and redo the stats week by week going back to the beginning of season eight, I'm going to stick with what I have and blame all inaccuracies on those hacks at IPW. For those of you familiar with pre-2020 TEW games, here's how I see wrestler's point totals indicating relative position on the card: 0 to 299 = Enhancement Talent (aka Dark Match Jobber) 300 to 399 = Opener (aka TV Jobber) 400 to 499 = Lower Midcard 500 to 599 = Midcard 600 to 699 = Upper Midcard 700 to 799 = Main Eventer 800 to 899 = Championship Contender 900+ = Wrestling God! Anyway, this system is all in fun and I hope you enjoyed the presentation, and I hope some of you actually find these rankings useful and insightful.

Points Ranking The League - Part 2 See the first official results from IPW's revolutionary new ranking system! William Peart - Publisher, Senior Editor In our last article on this subject, IPW's Senior Statistician, Fred Landers, introduced our new Points Ranking system along with a sampling of test data from two prior seasons. Today, Fred will go more in depth on the mechanics of the system and will also share our complete Season Ten official results. Take it away Fred! Fred Landers: Thanks again, Will. First, I have to say, is that everyone here at IPW's Information and Analysis Department are blown away by all the positive feedback we've received regarding our introductory article on the new Ranking System. On behalf of the whole team, I want to let you know that we appreciate your kind words. Now, on to business! Our system, like most such systems, begins with wins and losses. After all, winning matches is the point of professional wrestling. IPW awards a number of points to the winner of every League match. The points awarded are weighted by division, and then modified by the current ranking of both competitors. Defeat someone ranked higher than you? Earn bonus points! Defeat someone lower on the scale? Your award is pro-rated. It's largely because of the system's reliance on itself as a point of reference that our Season 8 and 9 results are considered unofficial. The design team reached a consensus that it would take two full seasons worth of results to properly valuate a wrestler's overall performance. This not only impacts League rookies, whose rankings simply cannot scale properly against those of veterans, but also has a long-term effect on those veterans, as older results are dropped from the equation and one can no longer rely on past glories to buoy one's position on the charts. Now, on to said charts! We'll begin by looking at the first half of Season Ten. I will remind you that as points are awarded week by week, so also are results from Season Eight being removed from the calculations. This occasionally causes unexpected fluctuations in a wrestler's position. As Season Nine's rookies have no Season Eight results to lose, their sample size will slowly approach parity with the veterans and normalize their rankings. Season Ten rookies will, of course, still be playing catch-up until the end of next season. A quick analysis of the first half results reveals a few interesting tidbits. There is consistency at the top and bottom of the charts, but in between there is a fair bit of movement. Dominant performances by Brian Blackfield and Christian Priest are finally being rewarded after proving themselves against stronger competition. Lower down the card, Monty Dhillon, like Blackfield in prior seasons, is suffering from the choking effect of exclusively fighting significantly lower-ranked competition. The Reverend Johnny Gross, in the midst of a disastrous season, maintains a high-ranking based on his strong season nine performance, while similarly unsuccessful division-mate Daniel Simmons is experiencing the free-fall that comes from an extended losing-streak. The second half largely continues the trends established in the first. Nuclear Templeton resumes the lock he's held on the #1 position since the final week of Season Eight. Blackfield, Priest, and Molina burst into the top 10, establishing themselves as major players and promising big shake-ups in the coming seasons. Lower down, we see the opposite of what I called the choking effect, as wrestlers at the bottoms of their divisions can often make significant jumps with one or two big wins. Daniel Simmons did this in Week Thirteen, transforming a potentially embarrassing season into a merely disappointing one. Gamma Division wrestlers finished both above and below the entirety of Beta Division, demonstrating a general level of parity in the midcard. Kichi Hida served notice that whatever struggles or nagging injuries held her back at the close of season nine are well behind her. Lance Heartilly, reaching rank 25 on only one season's worth of points, shows himself as an instant force to be reckoned with. Our main takeaway from Season Ten's final rankings is this: Season Eleven is going to be earth-shaking! And we'll be there, updating our rankings every week for your enjoyment and analysis. Until then, enjoy your off-season everyone, and see you in January! c20231129 IPWPublishingInc

Points Ranking The League IPW presents an exciting new analytical tool! William Peart - Publisher, Senior Editor Last week, Maryland's The League released their first set of Power Rankings. As it turns out, here at Inside Pro Wrestling, we've been working on a similar ranking system. Our rankings are based on a system of points awarded week by week. To explain the system in further detail, and to show how Points Rankings differ from Power Rankings, I now turn you over to IPW's Senior Statistician, Fred Landers: Fred Landers: Thanks, Will. IPW's Points Ranking system is something we've been working on for a few years now and we're very excited about it. The concept of a points ranking system isn't new. Similar systems are used in popular international sports like soccer and in professional tours like tennis. The idea is to mathematically determine the relative ranking of athletes and teams that don't compete against each other in set schedules. While professional sports teams can be quantified by their own league's standings, tennis players and international soccer teams, for example, don't always play in the same tournaments, play the same number of games, or face the same quality of opponents. Points systems have therefore been developed to quantify their achievements relative to each other, based on formulae unique to each type of competition. Wrestling's The League does in fact have its own standings and inherent ranking system based on wins and losses, and that's fine for most fans. However, many of us are curious about how wrestlers in different divisions, who do not compete head to head, really stack up against each other. While it's fun to debate the relative strength of a Brian Blackfield versus Season Ten champion George Matachas based on personal impressions and "eyeball tests", here at IPW, we decided to develop a system to definitively answer questions like these. Before I share our initial results, let me first answer Will's question about how Points Rankings differ from Power Rankings. There are two answers to this. In pure technical terms, the answer is that Power Rankings modify a wrestler's win/loss record by the quality of their victories or losses, while Points Rankings modify them by the quality of their opponents. The more fanciful answer is that Power Rankings are a measure of a wrestler's potential. That is, a wrestler whose Power Ranking is better than their Win/Loss record may be on the verge of a breakout, while a wrestler whose Power Ranking is worse than their Win/Loss record has probably been lucky and may be in for hard times. Points Rankings can be used to determine potential, but they're a little more definitively a measure of what a wrestler has done rather than what they will do. With all that being said, let's look at some numbers! The first two charts I'm going to show you are not considered official rankings by Inside Pro Wrestling. Our system, which is designed to be updated weekly, requires two full seasons to properly "calibrate" a wrestler's true value. Hence, the Season Eight final numbers here are based on an insufficient sample size for true accuracy, and the Season Nine numbers, while better, still contain some artifacts from the initial seeding period. Also note that the rankings for any wrestler who hasn't completed two full seasons will be artificially low. Even though these results are unofficial and contain minor inaccuracies, you can see certain trends begin to take form. Alpha Division wrestlers are clustered near the top, while Delta Division provides a consistent block at the bottom. That latter condition is unlikely to change with four (on average) new competitors entering that division each season. Beta and Gamma divisions are more spread out and intertwined, but that reflects popular analysis of the middle divisions. One of the first things we noticed, and consider it a validation of our system, is how the lowest-ranked performers in each division are typically the ones to be relegated at season's end, and the same is true for higher-ranked competitors and promotions. In our next article, we'll discuss how these rankings are determined, and we'll provide a complete week-by-week breakdown of Season Ten so you can see the system in action. See you then! c20231128 IPWPublishingInc

Swerve is actually an excellent choice. He's already been presented as a careful planner with his eye on the big prize, and his visibility and credibility are on the upswing. In fact, right now I'd say Swerve is a good choice to go ahead and take the belt from MJF (who will be weakened by short programs with Joe and Wardlow, and out-of-kayfabe may need surgery or at least recovery time for his torn labrum). Another out of the box candidate for the devil? Ricky Starks. The main downside to Swerve or Starks (or most other credible options) as the Devil is lack of personal history with MJF. The more they play up "this is personal", the more it has to be Cole, Wardlow, Roddy, or Joe (none of whom seem to be popular options with the fans). If they instead start focusing on the Devil being after the championship, that opens up the field. My gut instinct is that it was always meant to be Cole, and now they're scrambling due to his long-term injury. This is the sort of situation that AEW tends to bungle.

Random Thoughts: Congratulations to everyone on what were mostly successful seasons. Hopefully Diamond and the Scorpion will bounce back in Season 11. The disappointing result in Tag Team Turmoil must have really lit a fire under Team First Church's butts, 'cause Priest and Dhillon haven't lost a single match since. They join Nuclear Templeton as the only three wrestlers to sweep the second half. On the other end of the boot, Angela Wassermann, Diamond, El Tornado, and Scott Stevens each went 1-6 in the second half to close out truly disappointing seasons. Normally reliable second-halfer Mel O'Hallister did little better at 2-5, putting his status as a future championship contender into question. Looking forward, and I have no data to back this up, I believe the core "Alpha Six" have established a bit of separation from the pack. Reverend Johnny Gross absolutely dominated Beta in season nine, and Daniel Simmons wasn't far behind, but they both bounced hard when hitting Alpha this season. The biggest question and storyline going into season eleven will be whether or not Brian Blackfield can break into that group, presumably taking De'siree Mitchell's spot (although McDonald and O'Hallister are also beginning to look vulnerable). I think he will, but I don't know that he will. So Blackfield may stick in Alpha and Ouilette definitely won't. I expect the rest of our season ten promotees to, at worst, stick with their new divisions. Priest and Molina are both likely to advance again. Dhillon? I won't know until I see how he fares against competition like Rodriguez and Rose. He may power through like Priest did, or he may hit a wall. The big prediction, is of course for the League Championship. Let me be the first to say that I fully expect Nuclear Templeton to step up and reclaim the top spot. Good luck to all Omega Division participants. I'm actually excited about following updates and finding out who'll be joining (or re-joining) the League for season eleven.

A wise man once said that 10-4 may not be enough to promote out of Delta Division. We now know that, barring the unlikely result of Hida and Heartilly both losing, he was correct. In fact, we've now established that 11-3 may not be enough to promote! Meanwhile in Beta, it's still possible that someone will promote with a 7-7 record. I guess that's what happens when you have Brian Blackfield in your division instead of Devil's Delight... REGULAR SEASON FINALE ALPHA DIVISION (1) George Mastachas (10-3, OVR 523)* vs. (8) Daniel Simmons (3-10, OVR 504) - Simmons will put up a fight, but Mastachas will complete the dream season (3) The Mastodon (9-4, OVR 520)* vs. (2) Nuclear Templeton (10-3, OVR 532) - Speaking of putting up a fight, it's been an impressive run for the Mastodon. Unfortunately it ends this week at the hands of God's most perfect killing machine. (6) De'siree Mitchell (4-9, OVR 488) vs. (4) Brandy McDonald (7-6, OVR 519)* (5) Mel O'Hallister (6-7, OVR 520)* vs. (x-7) Reverend Johnny Gross (3-10, OVR 494) BETA DIVISION (6) Angela Wassermann (5-8, OVR 471) vs. (1) Brian Blackfield (12-1, OVR 571)* (4) Blood River (6-7, OVR 502)* vs. (3) Yoshii Nakamatsu (7-6, OVR 508) (z-8) Big Scott Weathers (4-9, OVR 482) vs. (2) Jean-Paul Ouilette (7-6, OVR 515)* (5) Billy Norris (6-7, OVR 506) vs. (7) Pulsar (5-8, OVR 473)* GAMMA DIVISION (2) Indigo Rose (8-5, OVR 490) vs. (1) Christian Priest (12-1, OVR 578)* (z-7) Markus Clay (4-9, OVR 469) vs. (4) Diego Rodriguez (6-7, OVR 506)* (6) Erick Gibson (5-8, OVR 488)* vs. (5) Terrance Stevens (6-7, OVR 477) (z-8) Diamond (4-9, OVR 474)* vs. (3) Lucas Molina (7-6, OVR 473) - Diamond's season is already over, while Molina's still got a shot at getting out of Gamma before Monty arrives 😜 DELTA DIVISION (1) Monty Dhillon (11-2, OVR 528)* vs. (3) Kichi Hida (10-3, OVR 464) - The unstoppable force meets... another unstoppable force (4) Jun Onoo (6-7, OVR 476) vs. (2) Lance Heartilly (10-3, OVR 444)* (5) Nocturne (6-7, OVR 425) vs. (7) Scott Stevens (4-9, OVR 418)* - Hate to pick against Stevens, but I just really want Nocturne to stick around (z-6) El Tornado (4-9, OVR 444)* vs. (z-8) Devil's Delight (1-12, OVR 420) - I kinda hope I'm wrong on this one, but I used my "sentimentality" pick for the week on the previous match

WEEK THIRTEEN CARD ALPHA DIVISION FIRST BLOOD MATCH: (4) Brandy McDonald (7-5, OVR 517) vs. (2) Nuclear Templeton (9-3, OVR 526)* - I was probably picking Nuclear anyway, but the match type seals the deal on this pick (3) The Mastodon (8-4, OVR 515) vs. (5) Mel O'Hallister (6-6, OVR 520)* - Mastadon's {champion)ship has sailed, but Mel's still got something to prove (7) Reverend Johnny Gross (3-9, OVR 494) vs. (1) George Mastachas (9-3, OVR 519)* (8) Daniel Simmons (2-10, OVR 498)* vs. (6) De'siree Mitchell (4-8, OVR 488) - Keeping things messy at the bottom for maximum season-closing drama! BETA DIVISION (y-1) Brian Blackfield (11-1, OVR 565)* vs. (2) Jean-Paul Ouilette (7-5, OVR 515) HARDCORE MATCH: (4) Yoshii Nakamatsu (6-6, OVR 504)* vs. (6) Pulsar (5-7, OVR 473) (8) Big Scott Weathers (3-9, OVR 477) vs. (3) Blood River (6-6, OVR 501)* (5) Angela Wassermann (5-7, OVR 470)* vs. (7) Billy Norris (5-7, OVR 501) GAMMA DIVISION EUROPEAN RULES MATCH: (y-1) Christian Priest (11-1, OVR 571)* vs. (2) Lucas Molina (7-5, OVR 472) - Gotta go with my partner here, but damn, what a match this should be (4) Diego Rodriguez (6-6, OVR 506)* vs. (3) Indigo Rose (7-5, OVR 486) - History is on Diego's side, but Rose has the recent momentum. Tough, tough pick. (6) Erick Gibson (4-8, OVR 484)* vs. (7) Markus Clay (4-8, OVR 469) (5) Terrance Stevens (5-7, OVR 473)* vs. (8) Diamond (4-8, OVR 474) DELTA DIVISION (1) Monty Dhillon (10-2, OVR 524)* vs. (z-6) El Tornado (4-8, OVR 444) (3) Kichi Hida (9-3, OVR 461)* vs. (4) Nocturne (6-6, OVR 426) (7) Scott Stevens (4-8, OVR 418)* vs. (5) Jun Onoo (5-7, OVR 471) (8) Devil's Delight (1-11, OVR 420) vs. (2) Lance Heartilly (9-3, OVR 440)* - Unless Devil comes out in a meter maid costume to throw him off again... One thing I've learned: High Fliers may not do great in the League, but they're always wild cards capable of taking out anyone at any time. So I expect one of Pulsar, Markus Clay, or even El Tornado to pull off an upset this week. Or not. *mumbles*stupidhighfliers*/mumble*

WEEK TWELVE CARD ALPHA DIVISION (5) Mel O'Hallister (6-5, OVR 520) vs. (1) George Mastachas (8-3, OVR 514)* (8) Daniel Simmons (2-9, OVR 498) vs. (2) Nuclear Templeton (8-3, OVR 522)* (7) Reverend Johnny Gross (3-8, OVR 495)* vs. (4) Brandy McDonald (6-5, OVR 514) (3) The Mastodon (7-4, OVR 510) vs. (6) De'siree Mitchell (4-7, OVR 487)* BETA DIVISION (1) Brian Blackfield (10-1, OVR 561)* vs. (6) Billy Norris (5-6, OVR 501) (2) Yoshii Nakamatsu (6-5, OVR 503)* vs. (3) Jean-Paul Ouilette (6-5, OVR 509) (5) Angela Wassermann (5-6, OVR 469) vs. (4) Blood River (5-6, OVR 496)* (7) Pulsar (4-7, OVR 469) vs. (8) Big Scott Weathers (3-8, OVR 477)* GAMMA DIVISION (1) Christian Priest (10-1, OVR 565) vs. (5) Terrance Stevens (5-6, OVR 472)* (3) Lucas Molina (6-5, OVR 467)* vs. (4) Diego Rodriguez (6-5, OVR 505) (7) Markus Clay (3-8, OVR 465) vs. (2) Indigo Rose (7-4, OVR 486) (8) Diamond (3-8, OVR 470) vs. (6) Erick Gibson (4-7, OVR 484) DELTA DIVISION (1) Lance Heartilly (9-2, OVR 441)* vs. (2) Monty Dhillon (9-2, OVR 522) (7) Scott Stevens (4-7, OVR 418) vs. (3) Kichi Hida (8-3, OVR 458)* (4) Jun Onoo (5-6, OVR 471)* vs. (8) Devil's Delight (0-11, OVR 416) (5) Nocturne (5-6, OVR 422) vs. (6) El Tornado (4-7, OVR 444)*

I did a CV97 Catherine Quine a while back: And here's 2013 thru 2020 Cat if anyone's wondering:

I'm going to say Phoenix is right abot Wassermann/Ouilette and the Delta runner-up is Nocturne/Heartilly. Meanwhile, Dhillon/Delight is a candidate for ... umm ... does WreSpi3 do negative star ratings?

WEEK ELEVEN CARD ALPHA DIVISION (1) George Mastachas (8-2, OVR 512)* vs. (3) Nuclear Templeton (7-3, OVR 514) - This ain't over 'til the champ says it's over (5) Brandy McDonald (5-5, OVR 512) vs. (2) The Mastodon (7-3, OVR 511)* (6) De'siree Mitchell (3-7, OVR 484)* vs. (4) Mel O'Hallister (6-4, OVR 521) (8) Daniel Simmons (1-9, OVR 495) vs. (7) Reverend Johnny Gross (3-7, OVR 496)* BETA DIVISION (1) Brian Blackfield (9-1, OVR 556)* vs. (6) Pulsar (4-6, OVR 469) (4) Blood River (5-5, OVR 496)* vs. (7) Billy Norris (4-6, OVR 497) (5) Angela Wassermann (5-5, OVR 469)* vs. (3) Jean-Paul Ouilette (5-5, OVR 504) (2) Yoshii Nakamatsu (5-5, OVR 499)* vs. (8) Big Scott Weathers (3-7, OVR 477) GAMMA DIVISION (5) Erick Gibson (4-6, OVR 483) vs. (1) Christian Priest (9-1, OVR 560)* (3) Diego Rodriguez (6-4, OVR 505)* vs. (6) Terrance Stevens (4-6, OVR 468) - Stevens' brush with relevance may have come to an end. (4) Indigo Rose (6-4, OVR 482) vs. (2) Lucas Molina (6-4, OVR 467)* (7) Diamond (3-7, OVR 470)* vs. (8) Markus Clay (2-8, OVR 461) DELTA DIVISION (3) Kichi Hida (7-3, OVR 455)* vs. (4) Jun Onoo (5-5, OVR 471) (2) Monty Dhillon (8-2, OVR 517)* vs. (8) Devil's Delight (0-10, OVR 415) (6) Nocturne (4-6, OVR 416)* vs. (1) Lance Heartilly (9-1, OVR 440) - Not just the result we want, not just the result we deserve, but the result we need. (7) El Tornado (3-7, OVR 442)* vs. (5) Scott Stevens (4-6, OVR 419)

WEEK TEN CARD ALPHA DIVISION (4) Brandy McDonald (5-4, OVR 511)* vs. (5) Mel O'Hallister (5-4, OVR 515) TABLES MATCH: (3) Nuclear Templeton (6-3, OVR 512)* vs. (7) Reverend Johnny Gross (3-6, OVR 496) (6) De'siree Mitchell (3-6, OVR 483) vs. (1) George Mastachas (7-2, OVR 507)* (8) Daniel Simmons (1-8, OVR 496) vs. (2) The Mastodon (6-3, OVR 507)* BETA DIVISION SUBMISSION MATCH: (7) Big Scott Weathers (3-6, OVR 477) vs. (1) Brian Blackfield (8-1, OVR 552)* (6) Jean-Paul Ouilette (4-5, OVR 498) vs. (4) Billy Norris (4-5, OVR 496)* (5) Yoshii Nakamatsu (4-5, OVR 494)* vs. (3) Angela Wassermann (5-4, OVR 468) (8) Pulsar (3-6, OVR 465)* vs. (2) Blood River (5-4, OVR 496) GAMMA DIVISION (1) Christian Priest (8-1, OVR 556)* vs. (3) Diego Rodriguez (6-3, OVR 505) (2) Lucas Molina (6-3, OVR 468)* vs. (6) Erick Gibson (3-6, OVR 480) (7) Diamond (3-6, OVR 469) vs. (4) Indigo Rose (5-4, OVR 476)* (5) Terrance Stevens (4-5, OVR 467) vs. (8) Markus Clay (1-8, OVR 456)* DELTA DIVISION (4) Scott Stevens (4-5, OVR 419) vs. (2) Monty Dhillon (7-2, OVR 513)* (1) Lance Heartilly (8-1, OVR 436)* vs. (7) El Tornado (3-6, OVR 442) (5) Nocturne (4-5, OVR 416)* vs. (6) Jun Onoo (4-5, OVR 467) TABLES MATCH: (8) Devil's Delight (0-9, OVR 414) vs. (3) Kichi Hida (6-3, OVR 449)*

WEEK NINE CARD ALPHA DIVISION (1) The Mastodon (6-2, OVR 505)* vs. (2) George Mastachas (6-2, OVR 499) (4) Nuclear Templeton (5-3, OVR 506) vs. (3) Mel O'Hallister (5-3, OVR 514)* SUBMISSION MATCH: (8) Daniel Simmons (1-7, OVR 496) vs. (5) Brandy McDonald (4-4, OVR 508)* EUROPEAN RULES MATCH: (7) Reverend Johnny Gross (2-6, OVR 488) vs. (6) De'siree Mitchell (3-5, OVR 482)* BETA DIVISION (4) Yoshii Nakamatsu (4-4, OVR 495) vs. (1) Brian Blackfield (7-1, OVR 549)* (6) Jean-Paul Ouilette (3-5, OVR 494)* vs. (2) Blood River (5-3, OVR 496) (3) Billy Norris (4-4, OVR 495)* vs. (8) Big Scott Weathers (2-6, OVR 472) (7) Pulsar (3-5, OVR 465) vs. (5) Angela Wassermann (4-4, OVR 464)* GAMMA DIVISION (1) Christian Priest (7-1, OVR 552)* vs. (8) Markus Clay (1-7, OVR 456) SUBMISSION MATCH: (7) Diamond (3-5, OVR 469)* vs. (3) Diego Rodriguez (5-3, OVR 500) (5) Indigo Rose (4-4, OVR 471)* vs. (6) Erick Gibson (3-5, OVR 480) (2) Lucas Molina (5-3, OVR 462) vs. (4) Terrance Stevens (4-4, OVR 466)* DELTA DIVISION LAST ONE STANDING MATCH: (5) Jun Onoo (4-4, OVR 466)* vs. (2) Monty Dhillon (6-2, OVR 508) (3) Kichi Hida (5-3, OVR 444)* vs. (6) El Tornado (3-5, OVR 441) CAGE MATCH: (4) Scott Stevens (4-4, OVR 419) vs. (1) Lance Heartilly (7-1, OVR 433)* (8) Devil's Delight (0-8, OVR 415) vs. (7) Nocturne (3-5, OVR 414)*

I thought about it for a while, and eventually decided that preventing your roommate from dying is more important than getting the show up in time. 🤔 So, carry on and good luck.

So the most hotly-anticipated Tag-Team Turmoil was a pretty good show, but I don't know that anyone is particularly excited by the final result. I don't mean that anyone is disappointed or upset (I mean, "#2 seed wins!" isn't shocking), more just... "meh". I suppose it does build anticipation for what The Juggernaut is going to do in Alpha next season, though. WEEK EIGHT CARD ALPHA DIVISION (1) George Mastachas (6-1, OVR 499)* vs. (5) Brandy McDonald (3-4, OVR 503) - Mastachas is on a roll, McDonald is in a free-fall FIRST BLOOD MATCH: (3) Mel O'Hallister (4-3, OVR 509)* vs. (8) Daniel Simmons (1-6, OVR 495) (2) The Mastodon (5-2, OVR 501)* vs. (7) Reverend Johnny Gross (2-5, OVR 488) (4) Nuclear Templeton (4-3, OVR 502)* vs. (6) De'siree Mitchell (3-4, OVR 482) BETA DIVISION (2) Blood River (4-3, OVR 492) vs. (1) Brian Blackfield (7-0, OVR 549)* (5) Billy Norris (3-4, OVR 492)* vs. (3) Yoshii Nakamatsu (4-3, OVR 495) SUBMISSION MATCH: (6) Jean-Paul Ouilette (3-4, OVR 494)* vs. (7) Pulsar (2-5, OVR 460) - Ouilette's gotta be wondering who he pissed off to keep getting booked in Submission matches EUROPEAN RULES MATCH: (4) Angela Wassermann (4-3, OVR 462)* vs. (8) Big Scott Weathers (1-6, OVR 465) GAMMA DIVISION (1) Christian Priest (6-1, OVR 550)* vs. (7) Diamond (3-4, OVR 469) (4) Diego Rodriguez (4-3, OVR 495)* vs. (6) Erick Gibson (3-4, OVR 480) (2) Terrance Stevens (4-3, OVR 465)* vs. (5) Indigo Rose (3-4, OVR 466) SUBMISSION MATCH: (8) Markus Clay (1-6, OVR 456) vs. (3) Lucas Molina (4-3, OVR 458)* - Ya think? 😜 DELTA DIVISION (6) Nocturne (3-4, OVR 414) vs. (2) Monty Dhillon (5-2, OVR 504)* - probably a much closer match than I'd like (1) Lance Heartilly (6-1, OVR 429)* vs. (3) Kichi Hida (5-2, OVR 445) - upset pick! (4) El Tornado (3-4, OVR 441) vs. (7) Jun Onoo (3-4, OVR 462)* (5) Scott Stevens (3-4, OVR 413)* vs. (8) Devil's Delight (0-7, OVR 414)

Well, there you have it. Our Season 10 Tag Team Turmoil Champions: No need to actually hold the tournament now. Everyone can just take the weekend off. 😜

I will give this a go, since it's all in fun. 😃 Match 1 Brandy On The Rocks (Brandy McDonald and Diamond) vs. Beef Captains (George Mastachas and Jun Onoo) - This is Mastachas' year. Plus the tag-team format may hide some of Onoo's weaknesses. On the other side, both McDonald and Diamond have been inconsistent this season. Match 2 Divine Juggernaut (Brian Blackfield and Reverend Johnny Gross) vs. Billy And The Cult (Billy Norris and Blood River) - Gross proved his dominance over all Beta Division opposition last season, and Blackfield is proving his this season. Match 3 Eternal Rivals (Monty Dhillon and Christian Priest) vs. Four Fists No Waiting (Big Scott Weathers and Jean-Paul Ouilette) - While I do think the First Church may have been seeded too high (Dhillon's never won a TTT match), I don't see them losing this match-up. Match 4 Irish Canadian Connection (Lucas Molina and Mel O’Hallister) vs. Team Friendship (Terrance Stevens and Lance Heartilly) - I can only repeat what Eternal Phoenix said. If Molina and Heartilly cancel each other out, then you have O'Hallister vs. Stevens. Have to go with O'Hallister. Match 5 Sky High (Markus Clay and El Tornado) vs. Aria of Thorns (Indigo Rose and Nocturne) - I just can't put any confidence in Clay and Tornado. Match 6 Money And Power (The Mastodon and Erick Gibson) vs. Zodiac Blitz (De’siree Mitchell and Pulsar) - Could go either way, but Gibson seems to be coming back into form, and Karen McClure has become a major difference-maker of late. The former may be a result of the latter. Match 7 Nuclear BBQ (Nuclear Templeton and Scott Stevens) vs. ARM. BAR. (Angela Wassermann and Devil’s Delight) - The. Champ. Is. Here. Match 8 Made In Japan (Yoshii Nakamatsu and Kichi Hida) vs. Just Two Guys (Daniel Simmons and Diego Rodriguez) - Am I underselling Simmons? Maybe. Match 9 Beef Captains (George Mastachas and Jun Onoo) vs. Made In Japan (Yoshii Nakamatsu and Kichi Hida) - I expect superior teamwork from the all-Japanese team. Match 10 Irish Canadian Connection (Lucas Molina and Mel O’Hallister) vs. Aria of Thorns (Indigo Rose and Nocturne) - My bracket may be completely wrong, but I am confident that the winner of Match 4 will defeat the winner of Match 5. Match 11 Divine Juggernaut (Brian Blackfield and Reverend Johnny Gross) vs. Nuclear BBQ (Nuclear Templeton and Scott Stevens) - Someone has to lose this, and Stevens' ring-rust may be the x-factor. Match 12 Eternal Rivals (Monty Dhillon and Christian Priest) vs. Money And Power (The Mastodon and Erick Gibson) - The Mastodon can't stay in the ring forever. Match 13 Made In Japan (Yoshii Nakamatsu and Kichi Hida) vs. Irish Canadian Connection (Lucas Molina and Mel O’Hallister) - Stretcher plus buzzsaw versus... stretcher plus buzzsaw. But O'Hallister is highest up the food chain. Match 14 Divine Juggernaut (Brian Blackfield and Reverend Johnny Gross) vs. Eternal Rivals (Monty Dhillon and Christian Priest) - Homer Pick!!! I don't know what will actually happen, but I know I want to see Dhillon and Priest get some revenge on Blackfield. Preferably by referee stoppage for maximum schadenfreude. Tag Team Turmoil Championship Match Irish Canadian Connection (Lucas Molina and Mel O’Hallister) vs. Eternal Rivals (Monty Dhillon and Christian Priest) - Not the result I want, but the result I expect if this match-up comes to pass. Dhillon, sadly, will be the weak link. Interesting that Phoenix and I ended up with the same final match-up (and winner) without either of us feeling overly confident about it. I went match-by-match, and most of my picks were 51%-49%. Except Match 10. I stand by that. So if Match 10 ends up being Sky High defeating Team Friendship... I'm just gonna go hide in a corner for a while.

Speaking as a completely neutral third-party observer, I think Weathers should take the safe, cautious approach and sit out of Tag-Team Turmoil. I mean, you don't want to take chances with your neck, amirite? My only concern is Weathers' long-term health, of course. 😇

These are my favourites, for various reasons.

WEEK SEVEN SCHEDULE ALPHA DIVISION CAGE MATCH: (6) Mel O'Hallister (3-3, OVR 504) vs. (1) The Mastodon (5-1, OVR 499) (3) Nuclear Templeton (3-3, OVR 497) vs. (4) Brandy McDonald (3-3, OVR 502) (2) George Mastachas (5-1, OVR 494) vs. (7) Reverend Johnny Gross (2-4, OVR 488) (5) De'siree Mitchell (3-3, OVR 482) vs. (8) Daniel Simmons (0-6, OVR 491) BETA DIVISION LAST ONE STANDING MATCH: (1) Brian Blackfield (6-0, OVR 545) vs. (3) Yoshii Nakamatsu (4-2, OVR 495) (2) Blood River (4-2, OVR 492) vs. (5) Jean-Paul Ouilette (2-4, OVR 490) (8) Big Scott Weathers (1-5, OVR 466) vs. (7) Billy Norris (2-4, OVR 488) (4) Angela Wassermann (3-3, OVR 458) vs. (6) Pulsar (2-4, OVR 460) GAMMA DIVISION (2) Lucas Molina (4-2, OVR 458) vs. (1) Christian Priest (5-1, OVR 545) EUROPEAN RULES MATCH: (6) Indigo Rose (3-3, OVR 463) vs. (5) Diego Rodriguez (3-3, OVR 486) - sleeper pick for MOTN HARDCORE MATCH: (4) Diamond (3-3, OVR 469) vs. (3) Terrance Stevens (3-3, OVR 461) (8) Markus Clay (1-5, OVR 455) vs. (7) Erick Gibson (2-4, OVR 474) DELTA DIVISION (5) Jun Onoo (3-3, OVR 463) vs. (3) Kichi Hida (4-2, OVR 442) (8) Devil's Delight (0-6, OVR 414) vs. (2) Monty Dhillon (4-2, OVR 500) (1) Lance Heartilly (6-0, OVR 428) vs. (7) Nocturne (2-4, OVR 408) (4) Scott Stevens (3-3, OVR 413) vs. (6) El Tornado (2-4, OVR 436) Random Thoughts - There are three legit main events this week: O'Hallister/Mastodon, Templeton/McDonald, and Molina/Priest. These matches are really going to set the tone for the second half of the season. - O'Hallister, Templeton, and McDonald need to show if they're in or out of the picture. Mastodon will prove he's for real or not*. Molina and Priest are going to determine if Gamma is a one or two-horse race this season. * Mastachas will have to wait for weeks' 8 and 9 to do the same. Although a loss to Gross would prove the negative. - Delta Division has a bit of a "Rocket Tag" feel. Anyone who can grab and hold momentum for a strong offensive run can score an absurdly quick win. This favours Dhillon, Hida, and maybe Onoo**. On the other hand, someone like Heartilly who can slow things down and disrupt that offensive momentum is also at an advantage. ** Stevens probably needs a season's worth of experience to join that group. - I was looking at the League Records the other day and noticed that most of the longest matches are from Delta Division in Season 8. Given that most of those were not 3*/4* classics, I think I see why changes were implemented for Season 9. 😜

Coincidental timing, but here goes....

WEEK SIX SCHEDULE ALPHA DIVISION (4) Mel O'Hallister (3-2, OVR 504) vs. (7) Brandy McDonald (2-3, OVR 498) HARDCORE MATCH: (2) George Mastachas (4-1, OVR 490) vs. (3) De'siree Mitchell (3-2, OVR 482) (6) Reverend Johnny Gross (2-3, OVR 489) vs. (5) Nuclear Templeton (2-3, OVR 494) (1) The Mastodon (4-1, OVR 492) vs. (8) Daniel Simmons (0-5, OVR 489) BETA DIVISION (1) Brian Blackfield (5-0, OVR 539) vs. (7) Big Scott Weathers (1-4, OVR 465) SUBMISSION MATCH: (6) Billy Norris (1-4, OVR 481) vs. (5) Jean-Paul Ouilette (2-3, OVR 489) - neither of these men belong in a submission match. This could be a 40-minute one-star classic! (3) Angela Wassermann (3-2, OVR 458) vs. (4) Yoshii Nakamatsu (3-2, OVR 491) (2) Blood River (4-1, OVR 492) vs. (8) Pulsar (1-4, OVR 456) GAMMA DIVISION (1) Christian Priest (4-1, OVR 538) vs. (4) Indigo Rose (3-2, OVR 462) (2) Lucas Molina (4-1, OVR 458) vs. (5) Diamond (2-3, OVR 467) (6) Diego Rodriguez (2-3, OVR 482) vs. (7) Markus Clay (1-4, OVR 455) FIRST BLOOD MATCH: (3) Terrance Stevens (3-2, OVR 460) vs. (8) Erick Gibson (1-4, OVR 469) DELTA DIVISION (2) Kichi Hida (4-1, OVR 443) vs. (4) Monty Dhillon (3-2, OVR 498) - I mean, there's no reason why he shouldn't be able to beat her... he just never has (1) Lance Heartilly (5-0, OVR 424) vs. (3) Jun Onoo (3-2, OVR 463) (8) Devil's Delight (0-5, OVR 414) vs. (7) El Tornado (1-4, OVR 431) - She's gotta win sometime (5) Scott Stevens (2-3, OVR 409) vs. (6) Nocturne (2-3, OVR 408)